In this issue
Everyone loves an underdog, and for this issue we’ve told two of the year’s most unlikely success stories: village club Mjallby becoming champions of Sweden and Cape Verde qualifying for their first-ever World Cup. You’d have got long odds on Morocco triumphing at the recent Under-20 World Cup too, and we take a closer look at their shock win as well.
There are no underdogs in sight at the upcoming Copa Libertadores final though, with the two best sides in South America set to meet, while Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai told us about his dream of reaching the 2026 Champions League final back home in Budapest.
Jamie Evans, Managing Editor
Contents
THE WORLD THIS MONTH
12 Henry Winter Tony Bloom’s instant impact at Hearts
14 Keir Radnedge The Two Presidents: Infantino and Trump
16 Jonathan Wilson Graham Potter & Sweden
18 Jim Holden World Cup preparations
20 Obituaries
22 Moves you might have missed
23 ESM XI
24 In numbers
HEADLINERS
26 Indonesia Patrick Kluivert sacked
27 Serbia Serbia change managers
EYEWITNESS
34 Cape Verde African minnows qualify for the World Cup
42 Sweden Mjallby become champions of Sweden
46 Australia A new competition kicks off
52 Argentina Boca Juniors mourn a legend
FEATURES
28 World Cup Watch Qualification talking points
70 6 of the Best Under-20 World Cup stars
INTERVIEWS
38 Roberto Lopes Cape Verde defender on World Cup qualification
58 Dominik Szoboszlai Face to face with the Liverpool and Hungary superstar
64 Stephen Constantine Well-travelled coach on his nomadic career
68 Hugo Broos South Africa’s head coach looks ahead to AFCON
99 Norman Whiteside My Biggest Game
COPA LIBERTADORES
72 Final preview
74 Palmeiras profile
76 Flamengo profile
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
78 International round-up
WORLD SERVICE
82 Chile Under-20 World Cup review
84 United States MLS regular season review
86 Africa CAF Champions League preview
88 Tuvalu Using futsal as a springboard
90 The Sweeper tales from the 211
