World Soccer - UK (2022-05)

FROM THE

ASSISTANT

EDITOR

EUROPE

UK and Ireland

likely to host

Euro 2028

AcollaborativebidfromEngland,Scotland,

Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic

of Ireland looks set to win hosting rights for

the European Championship in 2028 after

submitting a joint expression of interest to

UEFA by March’s deadline.

Initially it was the only declaration,

until Turkey and Russia also declared their

interest in staging the tournament. Given

that the latter is currently banned from

international competitions by both FIFA

and UEFA, their bid was universally derided.

UEFA even suggested that further sanctions

could be taken if they proceed with the

bid, putting the home nations in pole

position to seal the tournament.

Russia’s statement also included an interest

in hosting the 2032 tournament, which looks

likely to be contested between Italy and Turkey.

EUROPE

‘Historic

performance’

plans for

Champions

League shelved

UEFA have decided against a controversial

proposal for the reformed Champions

League for the 2024-25 season.

Thistimelastyear,whenItalyandAlgeriawerein

the process of setting world and African records for

lengthyunbeatenruns(37and35internationalgames

respectively),theideathatneitherofthemwouldbe

presentatQatarforthe2022WorldCupwouldhave

beenunthinkable.Yetfootballhasafunnywayof

surprising you.

ThesurrealsituationofEuropeanchampionsItaly

missingoutonasecondconsecutiveWorldCupwas

summed up by journalist Richard

Jolly,whopointedoutthatformer

EnglanddefenderMatthewUpson

–whoselastcapcameinthe

ThreeLions’4-1defeatto

GermanyinSouthAfricain

2010 – has scored a World Cup

knockout goal more recently than

theAzzurri–afactthatwill

remain true until 2026 at least.

Our man in Rome, Paddy Agnew,

reportsonthefalloutandreaction

from the shock defeat to North

Macedonia in this issue.

Aftersuchresults,itisnotuncommontohearthe

words“disaster”or“tragedy”,yetthecurrentsituation

in Ukraine offers a sharp sense of perspective. Still,

footballhasplayeditspartintheresponsetoRussia’s

invasion;OlegZadernovskyreportsfrominside

Ukraine, while Dariusz Kurowski reveals the response

fromfootballclubsinneighbouringPoland.

Elsewhere we’ve got a full round-up of March’s World

Cup qualifiers, reports from Mexico and Brazil,

acloserlookatthefutureof

Africanclubfootball,plus

an exclusive interview from

JapanwithSpainlegend

Andres Iniesta. Enjoy.

Jamie Evans, Assistant Editor

After such

results, it is not

uncommon to

hear the words

“disaster” or

“tragedy”, yet

the situation in

Ukraine offers a

sharp sense of

perspective

THEWORLD THIS MONTH

Likely final

host...Wembley