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The revamped Champions League: A success or a Super League devoid of jeopardy?

Published

1 year ago

February 1, 2025

The revamped Champions League: A success or a Super League devoid of jeopardy?

At a time when some events are banning phones to ensure the audience is properly engaged in the experience, the perceived success of the new Champions League format was instead captured by the image of Aston Villa and Club Brugge players huddled around various devices anxiously checking the scores in Barcelona and Zagreb to see if they’d made the top eight and play-offs respectively.

Wednesday’s scenes at Villa Park and the Etihad Stadium had a palpable charm to them. Here was a modern twist on transistor radios being held to one ear, game-states being passed by word of mouth followed by cheers or curses, progress or elimination. This was presented as a welcome novelty, something that didn’t used to happen in the group stage the league phase has replaced. All hail the league phase!

The broadly positive reception to the new formula called to mind Harry Lime’s immortal line in The Third Man. “In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” Lime perhaps wouldn’t have been so disdainful if he’d known about the Swiss model, as the new Champions League format is known.

But aside from delivering more money to the clubs, more games to the broadcasters and more revenue to itself, did UEFA’s overhaul work?

There were some great stories during the league phase, from Lille and Brest over-performing to Manchester City’s unexpected psychodrama. Lille, for instance, lost their coach Paulo Fonseca to Milan in the summer and sold their best young player, Leny Yoro, to Manchester United. They needed to go through two preliminary rounds, where they eliminated Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, just to make the league phase.

When Ruben Amorim’s Sporting beat them on the Swiss model’s opening night, most people would have tipped the Lisbon side, not Lille to be the gatecrashers into the top eight. But, no. Lille bounced back to beat champions Real Madrid, then neighbours Atletico. They drew with Juventus and only lost to Liverpool after going down to 10 men.

Remy Cabella celebrates with Ngal’ayel Mukau as Lille thump Feyenoord 6-1 on Wednesday (Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)

But past editions of the Champions League did not lack storylines like Lille’s, so it is hard to attribute theirs to the new format.

Brest, perhaps, benefited from playing eight games and eight different opponents instead of six against three other clubs, as was the case in previous seasons. It feels a long time ago now but the momentum for their qualification to the upcoming play-off round came from a light introduction to Europe’s elite club competition.

To the neutral, their fixtures felt less Champions League and more Austrian Bundesliga or Mitropa Cup in the early months as they beat Sturm Graz and RB Salzburg, then creditably held Bayer Leverkusen to a draw before overcoming Sparta in Prague. It was a heartwarming tale, even if Brest’s Cinderella story was a bit like giving Cinders a dating app with the best possible algorithm to help her find her happy-ever-after.

GO DEEPER

The miracle of Brest, a club a world apart from Champions League opponents Real Madrid

They were trumpeted as the second-best new addition to the Champions League. The other was the buzzword of the final night simulcast.

As the competition clashed for the first time with the winter transfer window, the notion of jeopardy was roundly heralded as the Champions League’s best new signing, hyped as a prospect capable of drawing more attention than the usual cast of stars. But, make no mistake, a lot of smoke and mirrors were in use here.

Part of the jeopardy came from missing out on the top eight.

Atalanta and Milan fell out of it on Wednesday. Their punishment? Two more games on their schedule in the play-offs. Is that a penalty? Fans of clubs tend to want to see them in action as much as possible, particularly in the Champions League, so this did not seem much of a penalty. On the contrary, it could be interpreted as a bonus by anyone apart from the coach and the players who have to factor in more effort, preparation and fixture congestion.

Yunus Musah sees red in Zagreb and Milan are beaten – and condemned to play two more games (Marko Lukunic/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images)

At one end of the standings, Liverpool could send the kids to play PSV in Eindhoven. At the other, nine teams had already been eliminated before the final gameweek. The bulk of the remainder were either sure of qualification or almost sure of it, which meant the jeopardy was jostling for position in a table so large it felt like watching midfield overtakes in the Indy 500.

As a viewer, it was hard to keep up and stay on track.

The real drama came from the random coincidence of the new format’s introduction with the one season in Pep Guardiola’s 17-year coaching career when his team are spluttering. In the end, though, the extension of the opening phase from six games to eight allowed big clubs like City, who left it last-minute compared with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, enough rope to pull themselves out of trouble.

It used to be that 10 or 11 points was the benchmark for qualification from a six-game group. Though in 2013, 12 points weren’t enough for Napoli. This time round, in the inaugural league phase, City, Sporting and Club Brugge reached the play-offs with 11 points from two extra matches. Less from more somehow represented progress.

City diced with disaster, left it late, and still reached the play-offs (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

The tie-breakers were unsatisfactory, too.

While Brugge celebrated in defeat in Manchester, Dinamo Zagreb were downcast in victory at the Maksimir. They had beaten Milan but missed the play-offs on goal difference. It raised the question: is goal difference a fair differentiator when you’ve played a different set of fixtures to, in Dinamo’s case, City, Sporting and Brugge?

Away goals would not represent a perfect solution either, as you don’t play every team home and away.

GO DEEPER

Eighteen Champions League games, one unusual assignment: watch every match (in five-minute segments)

By playing eight different teams, there is more variety, more curiosity and less sameness. However, the new format throws up another conundrum: when is a league not a league? By not playing everyone, your club’s fixtures can feel abstract and that abstraction could be like lifting the lid on Pandora’s box. Because if home and away isn’t a thing, does it matter where these games are played? Might it open the door to UEFA Champions League fixtures in New York and Riyadh?

We should never forget the original sin of this format change was the challenge posed to UEFA by a Super League. The Swiss model is an open model. It isn’t closed to entry. But it does secure clubs more revenue — albeit not as much as some think they would make in a new competition — and the 16-team play-off round works like a safety net from elimination that keeps the under-performing elite in the competition instead of sending them down to the less lucrative, more tiring Europa League as in previous years.

So as with the illusion of jeopardy, the other trick here — a compromise, really — is that this is a Super League approximating format under UEFA branding.

“Are you not entertained?”

I’ll leave you with the image of Aleksander Ceferin, bloodied by the Super League insurrectionists, throwing his sword onto the Colosseum gravel.

Is it a thumb-up, a thumb-down, or is your fist still hovering uncertainly in the air?

GO DEEPER

Champions League play-offs draw analysed: Man City face Real Madrid, relief for Bayern, Milan and Juventus

(Top photo: Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Related Topics:Champions League Featured la liga Ligue 1 premier league serie a soccer

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2026 World Cup Odds: How Far Can Mexico Go After Winning Group A?

Published

5 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

2026 World Cup Odds: How Far Can Mexico Go After Winning Group A?

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After its massive 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday night, Mexico has won Group A and officially clinched a spot in the knockout round.

El Tri will play its Round of 32 game in Mexico City, and will face the third-place finisher in either Group C/E/F/H/I.

This is the fourth time that Mexico has topped the group stage of a World Cup, with the other three coming in 1986, 1994 and 2002.

With the win, Mexico remains unbeaten in World Cup group games at home, going a combined 6-2-0 (W-D-L), with two wins and a draw in 1970 and 1986, and now two wins in 2026.

Before the tournament began, Mexico was listed at +6500 to win the World Cup. Now, after winning its first two games of the tournament, Mexico has surged up the oddsboard to +5000.

Can Mexico build off its first two matches and make a deep run in this tournament? Let’s check out the updated odds for El Tri as of June 19.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

Team Mexico — Stage of Elimination

Last 32: +125 (bet $10 to win $22.50 total)
Last 16: +135 (bet $10 to win $23.50 total)
Quarterfinals: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Semifinals: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Runner-up: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Outright winner: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)

Mexico is currently +5000 to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup after winning Group A (Getty Images).

Mexico’s Past World Cup Results:

1930: Group stage
1934: Did not qualify
1938: Withdrew
1950: Group stage
1954: Group stage
1958: Group stage
1962: Group stage
1966: Group stage
1970: Quarterfinals
1974: Did not qualify
1978: Group stage
1982: Did not qualify
1986: Quarterfinals
1990: Banned
1994: Round of 16
1998: Round of 16
2002: Round of 16
2006: Round of 16
2010: Round of 16
2014: Round of 16
2018: Round of 16
2022: Group stage
2026: TBD

What to know: Mexico has made a habit of being in the running, but never really being in the running. Make sense? Consider this: El Tri made it out of the group stage in seven consecutive World Cups (1994-2018), but never made it past the Round of 16 in any of those years. In 2022, Mexico failed to make it out of the group stage, and it will look to get back to its winning ways in 2026 after a great start to the tournament. With its win Thursday night, Mexico has now advanced to the knockout stage in eight of the last nine World Cups. It is important to note, however, that Mexico has never made it past the quarterfinals at a FIFA men’s World Cup.

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Goalkeeper Raúl Rangel’s elite play and South Korea’s mistake help Mexico advance

Published

5 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Goalkeeper Raúl Rangel’s elite play and South Korea’s mistake help Mexico advance

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Three and a half years after its biggest failure on the World Cup stage in half a century, the Mexican national team needed only two games to advance to the knockout round of this year’s tournament as winner of Group A.

Mexico’s defense held off a spirited final push by South Korea, earning a 1-0 win on Thursday night at Guadalajara Stadium in front of a fiery announced sellout crowd of 45,522.

“It was a very tough game,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said.

Goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu made a mistake in the 50th minute, failing to stop what appeared to be a simple cross and bobbling the ball. That allowed Mexico’s Luis Romo to easily tap the ball into the net and claim a 1-0 lead.

“In the end, a mistake was going to tip the scales,” Aguirre said.

Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel blocks a shot from South Korea’s Son Heung-min during their World Cup match at Guadalajara Stadium on Thursday.

(Natacha Pisarenko / Ap Photo/natacha Pisarenko)

“You always want to be there; I felt it, and I got the chance,” said Romo, who started the game after starting the opener on the bench — a strategic change by the Mexican coach that paid off.

South Korea put pressure on the Mexican team throughout the game. Late in the scoreless first half, Jae-sung Lee came close to giving South Korea the lead. Aguirre hoped his team would shake off nerves following the emotional opener at Azteca Stadium and show more bite in its second game against South Korea, but his team didn’t have much power behind its attack during the game’s first 45 minutes.

The crowd in Guadalajara grew frustrated and began booing the Mexican national team’s performance at the end of the first half.

Mexico, however, won back their cheers when it capitalized on South Korea’s costly mistake and converted it into a goal.

Obed Vargas replaced Romo in the 71st minute and was close to scoring a spectacular goal if not for Seung-gyu’s save.

El Tri earned a win without any other goals thanks, in part, to a great night by goalkeeper Raúl Rangel, who stopped a header by Cho Gue-sung in the 87th minute. Captain Edson Álvarez helped turn away South Korea’s attack late, holding up relatively well despite having left ankle surgery during the past year.

“It was just a reflex,” said Rangel, whose club team Chivas plays at at Guadalajara Stadium. “I was very focused and stepped up when the team needed me, and I’m happy about that.”

LAFC star and South Korea captain Son Heung-min fired one shot over Mexico’s goalkeeper in the first half, but Álvarez cleared it off the line before the referee ruled Son was offsides.

South Korea finished controlling possession 58% of the time, but it only earned two shots on target.

“It wasn’t a good game because they didn’t let us do much,” Aguirre said.

Mexico was coming off a comfortable 2-0 victory over South Africa, while the South Koreans had defeated the Czech Republic 2-1, marking their first World Cup opening-match win since 2010.

During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Mexico was eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1978, breaking a streak of seven consecutive appearances in the knockout rounds. However, playing on home soil, the team’s goal is to emulate El Tri’s achievements in 1970 and 1986, when they reached the quarterfinals — the country’s best World Cup finish.

Due to the new 48-team format, Mexico would need to win two knockout-round matches and reach a sixth game to realize its goals.

“We’re taking it one step at a time; first, there’s the third game,” Romo said.

Mexico's Luis Romo celebrates with his teammates after scoring during a match against South Korea at Guadalajara Stadium

After the win over South Korea, Mexico will close out group play against Czechia at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Wednesday. El Tri will get to play the first two games of the knockout round — should it win the first one — at Azteca Stadium, a venue where it has never lost a World Cup game.

South Korea has four points and will be favored when it plays South Africa Wednesday in Monterrey. If South Korea wins the match, it would be the Group A runner-up and advance to play the Group B runner-up on June 28 at SoFi Stadium.

“We want all nine points,” Vargas said of Mexico’s goal entering its next game against Czechia.

Sports

2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot Race Tracker: Lionel Messi Is Alone At The Top

Published

15 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot Race Tracker: Lionel Messi Is Alone At The Top

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Who’ll win the Golden Boot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup? The race is on for who’ll score the most goals at the tournament, and it is set to be one of the tournament’s most closely watched storylines.

Several of the world’s top forwards will be aiming to finish as the competition’s leading goalscorer. Kylian Mbappé enters the tournament after winning the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, and Mikel Oyarzabal are among the other players expected to challenge for the award.

And check out our list of all the 2026 World Cup goals, ranked!

Favorites To Win The Golden Boot

Harry Kane: +310 (bet $10 to win $41 total)
Lionel Messi: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Kylian Mbappé: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Erling Haaland: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Kai Havertz: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
Vinícius Júnior: +3300 (bet $10 to win $340 total)
Folarin Balogun: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Mikel Oyarzabal: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Lamine Yamal: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Raphinha: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Michael Olise: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Romelu Lukaku: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Viktor Gyökeres: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Cody Gakpo: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Cristiano Ronaldo: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)

3 Goals

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

2 Goals

Johan Manzambi (Switzerland)
Harry Kane (England)
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Kylian Mbappé (France)
Harry Kane (England)
Elijah Just (New Zealand)
Yasin Ayari (Sweden)
Kai Havertz (Germany)
Folarin Balogun (USA)

1 Goal

Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)
Rubén Vargas (Switzerland)
Ermin Mahmic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Michal Sadilek (Czechia)
Teboho Mokoena (South Africa)
Jáminton Campaz (Colombia)
Luis Díaz (Colombia)
Daniel Muñoz (Colombia)
Abbosbek Fayzullaev (Uzbekistan)
Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Martin Baturina (Croatia)
Petar Musa (Croatia)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
João Neves (Portugal)
Marko Arnautović (Austria)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
João Neves (Portugal)
Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana)
Ali Olwan (Jordan)
Romano Schmid (Austria)
Leo Østigard (Norway)
Ayman Hussein (Iraq)
Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal)
Bradley Barcola (France)
Ramin Rezaeian (Iran)
Mohammad Mohebbi (Iran)
Maxi Araújo (Uruguay)
Abdulelah Al-Amri (Saudi Arabia)
Emam Ashour (Egypt)
Alexander Isak (Sweden)
Viktor Gyökeres (Sweden)
Mattias Svanberg (Sweden)
Omar Rekik (Tunisia)
Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
Keito Nakamura (Japan)
Daichi Kamada (Japan)
Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands)
Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands)
Felix Nmecha (Germany)
Nico Schlotterbeck (Germany)
Jamal Musiala (Germany)
Nathaniel Brown (Germany)
Deniz Undav (Germany)
Connor Metcalfe (Australia)
Nestory Irankunda (Australia)
John McGinn (Scotland)
Ismael Saibari (Morocco)
Vinícius Júnior (Brazil)
Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
Gio Reyna (USA)
Mauricio (Paraguay)
Cyle Larin (Canada)
Jovo Lukić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Ladislav Krejcí (Czechia)
Julián Quiñones (Mexico)
Raúl Jimenez (Mexico)
Hwang In-Beom (South Korea)
Oh Hyeon-Gyu (South Korea)