Preamble
2026 world cup It will be the first to have 48 teams, and 16 of them will come from Europe. Friday's draw in Zurich will establish the UEFA qualifying groups (12 in total) and Thomas Tuchel will discover his path to taking England to the finals. His team is in pot one, Wales in pot two and Scotland in pot three alongside Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The draw starts today at 11am (GMT).
Numerous press conferences are held elsewhere, as first division continues this weekend. Newcastle's Eddie Howe and Liverpool's Arne Slot will speak this morning, with Ange Postecoglou, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta speaking later. We will also try to keep you informed on all the football news that develops during the day.
Key events
How the UEFA draw will work
There will be 12 qualifying groups (six with five teams and six with four teams), in which teams will play each other home and away, and only the group winner will automatically advance. The runners-up (plus four teams with the best Nations League records) will enter the playoffs for the final four European spots in the 48-team final.
The teams are distributed into five pots (the details of those will be below); A small drawback is that teams that reach the semifinals of the Nations League must enter a group of four teams. As the quarterfinals have not yet been played, those teams cannot be fully qualified today. For example, Italy plays Germany in the quarterfinals, so both teams will be included in a group of four and five teams, and the winner of the tie will enter the group of four teams.
The games will be played during five international breaks, from March 21 to 25, June 6 to 10, September 4 to 9, October 9 to 14 and November 13 to 18, 2025.
Man City posts record revenue but profits fall
Manchester City posted record revenues last season but profits fell from the previous 12 months, the club's annual report revealed. In 2023/24, revenue rose from £712.8m to £715m over the year to June 30, when City won their fourth in a row. first division qualification.
However, profits fell from £80.4 million in City's treble season to £73.8 million, with a drop in broadcast income due to Pep Guardiola's side missing the League final. Champions. The City's current investments include a £300 million extension of the Etihad Stadium's North Stand.
Club president Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “Our constant ambition to aim for and achieve the unprecedented is a hallmark of the organization we have become. “Our focus remains on further evolution and growth and therefore greater value creation in all aspects of our business.”
City are awaiting a decision on more than 100 allegations of alleged breaches of financial rules brought against them by the Premier League, of which only a brief mention was made in the financial report. The club has denied the charges.
Here's what to keep in mind this weekend…
Preamble
2026 world cup It will be the first to have 48 teams, and 16 of them will come from Europe. Friday's draw in Zurich will establish the UEFA qualifying groups (12 in total) and Thomas Tuchel will discover his path to taking England to the finals. His team is in pot one, Wales in pot two and Scotland in pot three alongside Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The draw starts today at 11am (GMT).
Numerous press conferences are held elsewhere, as first division continues this weekend. Newcastle's Eddie Howe and Liverpool's Arne Slot will speak this morning, with Ange Postecoglou, Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta speaking later. We will also try to keep you informed on all the football news that develops during the day.
