Table of contents for Summer 2025 in FourFourTwo UK

X @JamesAndrew_ E james.andrew@futurenet.com Three summers ago, the Lionesses captured the public’s imagination and attention when they defeated old foes Germany at Wembley to win the Euros. The afternoon of the final, I remember sitting in a London pub where the game was on in the background. As it progressed and more and more people started watching, additional TVs were switched on as England pushed for a winner, and when Chloe Kelly poked home her extra-time clincher, the whole place erupted. Since then, Wembley has seen the ‘sold out’ sign slapped on the door for multiple Lionesses fixtures, while WSL crowds continue to soar with Stamford Bridge, the Emirates and more top-tier stadia hosting matches. So, as another competition beckons, the women’s game has another opportunity to grab the hearts…

01 For which club did Gary Lineker (right) make the most appearances in his playing career? 02 With 123 yellow cards, which former Aston Villa and England footballer holds the record as the Premier League’s most booked player? 03 Which European club plays its home games at Stade Velodrome? 04 True or false: Francesco Totti hit 250 goals in Serie A. 05 Which League One club are nicknamed The Millers? 06 In which eastern US state is the men’s World Cup final set to be played next summer? 07 Liverpool sealed their 20th top-flight title in April, matching Manchester United’s all-time record. Which club is third? 08 At the start of last season, which club had won more Portuguese titles: Sporting Lisbon or Porto? 09 Who won the Championship title…

@markwhlte YES How dull it must be to view football’s most unlikely triumphs through the eyes of an accountant. Leicester City’s miraculous Premier League title win – with a great big red line through it due to the Foxes failing Financial Fair Play in order to win promotion. Nottingham Forest’s two European Cups under Brian Clough – rendered mortal by their being the first club to spend £1m on a player. It sucks the joy from the game, picking apart imperfect moments of magic between petrol-powered dynasties. Nothing is a fairytale if you squint. But must every contender for fairytale status be assessed according to cheques and bank balances? I understand that, for example, RB Leipzig aren’t eligible, being a multinational corporation’s assault on the ecosystem of German football. Nor…

Three years ago, in the final of the Euros at Wembley, the image of Chloe Kelly’s iconic celebration transformed women’s football in England forever. Shirt twirling above her head, Kelly had just scored the goal that would give the Lionesses their first major trophy, in front of more than 87,000 people at the national stadium. Attendances quickly boomed in the Women’s Super League, while the number of young girls starting to play the game skyrocketed. A year on, that momentum continued as more history was made in Australia. For the first time, England’s women’s team reached the World Cup final. Mary Earps’ penalty save wasn’t enough to help the Lionesses overcome Spain in Sydney, but once more, they’d broken new boundaries, achieving something they’d never done before. Now, the Lionesses…

Would you say your long-range strike against Spain, which sent England to the Euro 2022 semi-finals, has been your career highlight to date? That tournament was a bit of a rocket for me. I was able to establish myself in a position in midfield, and once I’d done that, I joined Bayern Munich and could also make that my position there. I got a lot of confidence. The goal against Spain was really important, but not only that, just to be a part of a team that was successful and play a lot of minutes was all super important to kick on and try to find my next level. What did it mean for Sarina Wiegman to trust you in midfield? It’s so important to get the trust from the…

For a while, Jess Fishlock associated Switzerland only with heartbreak. In 2022, it was the scene of the biggest disappointment of her international career, as Wales lost a World Cup play-off in the 121st minute in Zurich, narrowly denying the midfielder a first ever appearance at a major tournament. Fishlock was 35 years old that night, and there was no guarantee that the opportunity would come again. This, despite a glittering club career that has taken her to play in eight different countries, claim trophies in five of them, and win the Champions League twice. Three years on, however, she is returning to Switzerland to fulfil her lifelong dream, at Euro 2025. She has waited 19 years for this moment, since her senior international debut in 2006. Back then, featuring…

“OUR TOGETHERNESS IS A GREAT STRENGTH. WE WIN GAMES EVEN WHEN WE DON’T PLAY WELL” What’s been the highlight of your international career? Definitely winning a bronze medal at the World Cup two years ago. I still get goosebumps when I think about it. The whole tournament was a highlight, particularly the game against Japan in the quarter-finals. That was special. Hopefully we can take the next step at the Euros. How did it feel to receive the 2024 Diamond Ball, the award for Sweden’s player of the year? It was one of the proudest moments in my life. As a child, you look at those awards and think, ‘One day, one day’. My father and I always talked about it, and it wasn’t about if I was going to…

Gianni Infantino had been FIFA president for a mere nine months when he unveiled his grand vision. “Today, football is not just about Europe and South America,” he declared in November 2016. “The world has changed, and we need to make the Club World Cup more interesting for teams, and also for fans around the world. We are trying to create a tournament that’s more attractive, with more quality and more clubs. It will attract more sponsors, and television companies from around the world.” Soon, the Confederations Cup was no more. Traditionally held a year before the World Cup as an eight-country test event for the host nation, it had its final edition in Russia in 2017. In its place this summer, four years later than planned, comes the new…

The front page of the Daily Mirror was emphatic. Less than two months after they had won an historic Treble, Manchester United were preparing to sit out the FA Cup to take part in the new FIFA Club World Championship, and the prospect drew horror across the nation. “Is there anyone left in Britain who does not think Man Utd should be in the Cup?” the headline asked, surrounded by quotes from a series of increasingly random celebrities. “They should think about the fans – it’s outrageous,” fumed glamour model Caprice. “It devalues a noble competition,” insisted film critic Barry Norman. Other livid luminaries on the front page included Tony Blair, Darren Day, Falklands veteran Simon Weston and it girl Tamara Beckwith. Encouraged by the FA, who believed it would…

You recently retired aged 40 after playing over 900 games. Why now? I’d been thinking about it for close to two years and had become quite comfortable with calling it a day. But as soon as I actually announced it, I kind of immediately regretted it! You start questioning, should I do it or not? I know it’s the right call now, but it’s just the unknown and not doing something you love anymore. I’m going to miss playing. There’s a slight sadness to it, definitely. You made your debut for Wimbledon in April 2003, at 18, against Sheffield Wednesday. How did you prepare? I just remember how different it all felt. You go from playing reserve football in front of about 50 people to walking out into an atmosphere…

Lalitpur City is no substitute for Leeds United; the Nepal Super League will never compare to the Premier League. Nevertheless, Simon Grayson is loving his Himalayan adventure, winning the Nepalese top-flight title as the latest chapter in a long and storied career. It’s a different world. During a game against Pokhara Thunders in April, Grayson was stunned when an opposition director ventured pitchside to protest about a decision and ended up fighting with the match commissioner. That led to the Pokhara suit receiving a stadium ban for the rest of the season, which runs for just eight weeks in total. “I’ve been in football for nearly 40 years and seen some things in my time, but nothing like that!” laughs Grayson, speaking to FourFourTwo from his hotel in Kathmandu. “They…

The Norwegian striker remembers George Weah’s dubious ‘cousin’ at Saints, as well as Le God’s genius and falling out with Graeme Souness at Blackburn How did your move to Southampton come about in 1996? I was scoring loads of goals in Norway and I went to Southampton on trial for a few days. They liked what they saw. It was a dream come true: every week, you were playing against these massive teams that you’ve been hearing about since you were a kid. New grounds, big crowds – it was brilliant. In your third game, you starred in an incredible 6-3 win over Manchester United. How did it get to 6-3?! The circumstances were very good for us to get a result. It was United’s worst period of that season,…

There’s a simple pleasure in seeing a football shirt and immediately recognising the logo of the sponsor. A car company, a beer brand, even the title of a film – the superiority of these symbols cannot be overstated, when compared with the mark of a faceless gambling site whose social media profiles were created days prior to the official announcement. We play an interesting sort of brand association when it comes to football kits. If we’re familiar with the sponsor, our feelings towards the design may subconsciously improve, almost as if the collaboration is a kind of endorsement from a source that we trust. In the early days of sponsorship, local businesses were a common occurrence on kits, with even teams at the highest level of the game carrying the…

Each of the last two European Championship hosts has won the tournament – Switzerland will set their sights a little lower than the Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2022, having never made it past the group stage before, but they did reach the last 16 at the 2023 World Cup. With an experienced manager guiding some Swiss icons as well as up-and-coming starlets, this team boasts a bit of everything. LESSON FROM QUALIFYING Switzerland were given a place at the tournament automatically, but they would have made it to the play-offs regardless: they took part in qualifying anyway to keep themselves match-sharp and won five of their six fixtures. That also won La Nati promotion to League A in the Nations League. STRENGTHS A home crowd. The feeling of playing…

SAY, CHAMPIONS! LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND Mo Salah snaps a selfie in front of the Kop following Liverpool’s 5-1 win against Tottenham in late April – a result which confirmed a 20th English title for the Reds. Not pictured: the single tear rolling down Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cheek as he watches on, forlornly. Pic Carl Recine/Getty Images THE JACK SKY WALKER STAND BLACKBURN, ENGLAND Members of the Rebel Alliance converge at a secret hideout so desolate, not even the Empire will dare to follow them: the turnstiles outside Ewood Park. Supporters attend Blackburn’s Women’s Championship showdown with Newcastle United on May the 4th (be with you)! Pic Nathan Stirk/The FA/Getty ROOOOOONEY! YOKOHAMA, JAPAN “The perfect picture doesn’t exi…” Wait, perhaps it does. Palm trees, sunset, sea, sand and a silhouetted maestro giving it full Wazza…

When the final whistle blew at Wembley on July 31, 2022, there came one of the loudest cheers I have ever heard at a football ground. After that came a legacy that is still evident in the women’s game today, as we count down to Euro 2025. England’s women created history three years ago by winning the European Championship, their first ever major trophy, beating rivals Germany 2-1 after extra time. It was a monumental day, not just for the Lionesses but because of the ripple effect throughout the game that the euphoria of that special day caused. Chloe Kelly’s winning goal sent more than 87,000 fans – me included – into a frenzy. Supporters lost their minds in disbelief that the wait for silverware was finally over. There were…

Three decades ago, Arsenal’s North Bank was famously replaced by a giant mural for a full season during redevelopment work at Highbury. More recently, a few more Arsenal-inspired murals have been popping up in north London. The artist’s name? Northbanksy, of course. Inspired by the legendary Banksy, a mysterious street artist who’s long been daubing walls around the UK, the Gunners fan’s moniker was always going to stick after his guerilla artwork began to be spotted alfresco, too. Some of his original works included a not particularly subtle ‘KROENKE OUT’ slogan, railing against Arsenal’s American owner. Photos swamped social media – when more graffiti appeared, admirers shared updates on what ‘Northbanksy’ had been up to. Clockendbanksy wouldn’t really have worked as well, after all. For a while, the man himself…

Euro 2022 was a defining moment for you and the Lionesses. How do you look back on it? The impact we’ve had on women’s football since then has been incredible, and I’m so proud to have been even a small part of it. The way the women’s game has risen since 2022 has been phenomenal and we’ve been given a lot more respect, which is great, although the hard work must continue. At Arsenal, we’re now playing the majority of home games at the Emirates, which has been a huge statement. What we did in 2022 was incredible – we want to replicate it. How does entering the tournament as holders change your approach? It comes with added pressure, because everyone will want to beat us. We have to revel…

How did your Brighton move come about last summer, when you left Chelsea after nine years? It happened quite quickly. When you’re in the summer and looking for a new club, you want to get something sorted. I was talking to a couple of clubs and trying to make a decision. I heard that Brighton were interested, had a call with them and I could see what the vision was. It was exciting to see where they wanted to go and what they wanted to do. It was a bit like when I first spoke to Chelsea many years ago about what they wanted to achieve and how much the owner wanted to push the women’s game. When I spoke to Brighton, I got excited about the project. After Brighton…

Five days after defeating England to win the World Cup, Spain’s squad made their stance clear. “After everything that happened during the delivery of medals and the Women’s World Cup, we want to state that all the players who sign this letter will not return to a call for the national team if the current leaders continue,” read a Futpro union statement signed by 81 players, 23 of them squad members. They had just been crowned world champions, yet felt they had no choice but to withdraw from playing for Spain until Luis Rubiales, the president of the country’s football federation, resigned. The greatest moment of their careers had been overshadowed by the events of the medal ceremony, when Rubiales kissed midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips without her consent.…

MEN’S UNDER-21 EUROS June 11-28 Two years ago, England won the Under-21 Euros for the first time since 1984, thanks to a host of names who’ve since gone on to prosper in the Three Lions’ senior squad. Curtis Jones inadvertently deflected in Cole Palmer’s shot to put the Young Lions ahead in the final against Spain, before James Trafford’s dramatic injury-time penalty save sealed victory and allowed captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis to lift the trophy in Georgia. Levi Colwill, Anthony Gordon, Morgan Gibbs-White, Angel Gomes and Noni Madueke also took to the field that day, prior to making senior England debuts, and even their coach Lee Carsley earned a temporary promotion for the Nations League campaign last autumn. Carsley has since returned to his role as Under-21s chief, as England attempt…

Margaret Thatcher’s administration had spent 1984 battling the miners and dismantling the coal industry. But with that fight almost won, as the clock ticked into the New Year, she had another of the United Kingdom’s best-loved and most established institutions squarely in her sights – English football. The early months of 1985 were among the most miserable ever experienced in the national game. Between mid-March and late May, came the Luton Town riot, the Valley Parade fire at Bradford City and the Heysel stadium disaster. The very notion of football having a future was called into question. The establishment saw football as nothing but trouble and the beautiful game was about to realise its unpopularity with the country’s decision-makers. “Two Britains emerged in the 1980s,” writes Andrew Marr in his…

Whatever United can do, City can do better – or at least that’s what 10th-tier Maine Road FC believe as they celebrate the 70th anniversary since their birth. The North West Counties Division One North outfit was set up by Manchester City fans back in 1955 and have been going strong half a century longer than the Red Devils’ 20-year-old breakaway side FC United of Manchester. Though the latter were formed in response to the Glazer family’s Old Trafford takeover, Maine Road FC’s vice-chairman Colin Broadbent is keen to point out their club was created in homage to their heroes in sky blue (below). “We’re the opposite of what FC United are, they’re a protest club,” Broadbent tells FourFourTwo. “We weren’t set up in protest. A few of us on…

You can take the man out of professional football, but you can’t take the professional footballer out of the man. The sweat is dripping off Ciaran Clark, after stepping off the Copper Box Arena pitch in Stratford. “We’ve had to do it the hard way – we played most of that second half with a man in the sin bin, but everyone put their bodies on the line,” he says. “They were unbeaten, all of the crowd were against us, but we’re unlucky not to be right up there in the league.” “WHEN I GOT CALLED, THEY ASKED ME IF I WAS KEEPING FIT – I WAS JUST WALKING AROUND THE GOLF COURSE” A year after departing Stoke, the 35-year-old former Aston Villa, Newcastle and Republic of Ireland defender has…

The former defender talks the art of tackling, proving the doubters wrong, making Alex Ferguson angry and winning the League Cup with Birmingham Who were your heroes, growing up? Being a footballer is the dream for many boys and girls – I was no different. My dad used to work near Loftus Road, so despite having Arsenal and Palace fans in the family, my team were QPR. It was the ’90s, so you could still buy tickets on the door on a matchday. My heroes then were Ray Wilkins and Sir Les Ferdinand – I’d often try to copy his amazing leap for headers by jumping into the pool on summer holidays. Were you always destined to become a footballer? It started well, winning the FA Youth Cup with Aston…

ST JAKOB-PARK BASEL Opened 2001 Capacity 35,689 Euro 2025 Highlight Final Did you know? This May, the Eurovision Song Contest took place a stone’s throw away at the St Jakobshalle. STADION WANKDORF BERN Opened 2005 Capacity 32,997 Euro 2025 Highlight Quarter-final Did you know? It sits on the site of the venue that hosted the men’s World Cup final in 1954 – the Miracle of Bern. STADE DE GENEVE GENEVA Opened 2003 Capacity 30,950 Euro 2025 Highlight Semi-final Did you know? The stadium lies less than four miles from the French border, in the south west of the city. STADION LETZIGRUND ZURICH Opened 2007 Capacity 24,186 Euro 2025 Highlight Semi Did you know? At the same site in 1960, German Armin Hary was the first human to run 100m in…

Owen Hargreaves is one of English football’s most curious cases. The son of a Welsh mother and an English father, he was born in Canada before moving to Bayern Munich as a teenager. There, he broke into a team of superstars and won a Bundesliga and Champions League double at the age of 20. The ball-winning midfielder had his pick of several interested nations – but he chose to select England, the country of his father’s birth. Yet rather than being welcomed with open arms, the clearly talented youngster was treated with suspicion by the media and large sections of the fanbase. Hargreaves was made to feel like an outsider, despite consistently tidy showings across 42 caps for England’s failed ‘Golden Generation’. After securing a further three Bundesliga titles and…

CRUZEIRO 0 FLAMENGO 1 Copa do Brasil, 1995 “This game made me leave behind youth football and spread my wings. I was 18. We played against Romario’s Flamengo and, despite losing, everyone recognised my good work – my team-mates, the fans, the media. “Where did Juliano come from?” I read in the newspapers the day after. Nobody knew me. I was one of the pivots in a 4-2-3-1 and had a great game, attacking a lot. Brazil selected me for the first time just two months later. I don’t think that would have been possible without the hype around me after this game; neither would my career in Europe, the trophies I won. It all started here.” BRAZIL 1 TURKEY 0 World Cup semi-final, 2002 “Although I was playing as…

“PEOPLE ARE DUMBFOUNDED WHEN I TELL THEM ABOUT MY MUM’S EXPERIENCES IN THE GAME – IT’S CLICKED” Your mum Janice scored goals for England at the unofficial World Cup in Mexico in 1971, in front of huge crowds. When did you become aware of her football pedigree? I was maybe seven when she got out a scrapbook and my nan said, “Look, your mum went round one defender, then the other defender.” It was the Mexico story. There are only six English people who’ve ever scored at the Azteca – Gary Lineker is top with three and my mum is next with two. They played in front of 90,000 people. When I was nine or 10, I did a show-and-tell at school of my mum representing England, at the Azteca,…

ALL KICK-OFF TIMES BST SUNDAY, JUNE 15 A: Al Ahly vs Inter Miami (1am) C: Bayern Munich vs Auckland (5pm) B: PSG vs Atletico Madrid (8pm) A: Palmeiras vs Porto (11pm) MONDAY, JUNE 16 B: Botafogo vs Seattle Sounders (3am) D: Chelsea vs TBC* (8pm) C: Boca Juniors vs Benfica (11pm) TUESDAY, JUNE 17 D: Flamengo vs Esperance (2am) F: Fluminense vs Dortmund (5pm) E: River Plate vs Urawa Reds (8pm) F: Ulsan vs Mamelodi Sundowns (11pm) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18 E: Monterrey vs Inter (2am) G: Manchester City vs Wydad (5pm) H: Real Madrid vs Al Hilal (8pm) H: Pachuca vs Red Bull Salzburg (11pm) THURSDAY, JUNE 19 G: Al Ain vs Juventus (2am) A: Palmeiras vs Al Ahly (5pm) A: Inter Miami vs Porto (8pm) B: Seattle Sounders vs…

No one has ever fallen for the Basque County quite like Archduchess Maria Christina. An exquisite pianist and polyglot, she left the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy to marry King Alfonso of Spain in 1879, and built a palatial holiday home on the shores of San Sebastian following a beguiling stately visit. In her Basque hideaway, she swam in the Bay of Biscay, gambled in a Monte Carlo-style casino she had erected and drank cocktails with renowned guests, the UK’s own Queen Victoria among them. Today, her statue overlooks La Concha beach, gazing eternally across a corner of the world Maria Christina believed possessed a certain kind of magic. It doesn’t take FFT long to see what the fuss is about as we land a few miles along the coast in Bilbao, the…

XI BEST: Gordon Marshall, Stuart Kennedy, David Weir, John Hughes, Gary Gillespie, Scott MacKenzie, Simon Stainrod, Russell Latapy, Derek McWilliams, Scott Arfield, Kevin McAllister. WORST: Leo Fasan, Joe Tortolano, Jackie McNamara, David Elliot, John Rankin, Jason Marr, Lex Grant, Paul Wright, Denny Johnstone, John Stewart, Jordan White. PLAYER B: Kevin McAllister remains the best footballer never to be capped for Scotland. A local lad who gave his all for the club and now has a stand named after him at the new Falkirk Stadium. W: Joe Tortolano had a successful career at Hibernian, but couldn’t do anything right for the Falkirk support. MOMENT B: Last season, finally lifting the League One trophy. Brilliant management team John McGlynn and Paul ‘Smudger’ Smith put together a team of excellent players that went…

The tireless Scot on starting at Arsenal, his lethal partnership with The Goat and – of course – Manchester City’s incredible 1999 comeback at Wembley So, you made your professional debut for George Graham’s Arsenal in 1990… I went down there as a 16-year-old, having just scored for Scotland in the 1989 Youth World Cup Final in front of 50,000 people. I was confident in my ability, but that soon changed when I saw the level of player in the Arsenal youth academy. I felt really out of my depth. I started trying too hard in games, hogging the ball and losing my rag. George Graham sat me down and told me to stop trying to be something I’m not. “You’re here on merit, son,” he said. “We brought you…

For the first time since 1970, England head into a major football tournament as the holders. In Mexico, Sir Alf Ramsey’s men failed to retain the World Cup they had clinched on home soil, and Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses – who triumphed at Wembley too – will have to escape the Group of Death if they are to defend their European crown in Switzerland this July. For 14 of the 16 sides it will be business as usual, but Poland and Wales are making their maiden appearance at a finals. In this guide, we’ll give you the lowdown on every team and the grounds they’ll be visiting, plus our tips for the Golden Boot and 25 reasons why you should be excited about this summer’s Swiss showpiece. Enjoy! WANT MORE? FIND…

Iceland head into Euro 2025 ranked higher than ever. Boosted by high-profile victories over Germany and Austria, they rose to 13th in the world in March. That brings hope that they can turn around a pretty dire European Championship record, as they’ve won only one game across four tournament appearances. They did go unbeaten in 2022, though, with three draws in a group-stage exit. LESSON FROM QUALIFYING Iceland qualified automatically as runners-up in a group containing Germany, Austria and Poland, and recorded a shock 3-0 win against Germany. It showed that not only are they comfortably better than some of the weaker countries in Europe, but they can also pull off the odd surprise against the elite. STRENGTHS Underestimate the long throw of Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir at your peril. The wiry…

Denmark don’t have the historic prestige of Sweden and Norway, but they did get to the knockout rounds at the last World Cup and have reached the semi-finals at two of the past three Euros, even contesting the final in 2017. Escaping their group will be hard this time, however. Germany and Sweden are two of Europe’s giants. LESSON FROM QUALIFYING The Danes won when they were supposed to, home and away to Belgium and the Czechs, and lost when a loss was expected, home and away against Spain. That comfortably secured automatic qualification – but dig deeper and there is evidence that Denmark can challenge the very best. They led 2-0 in Tenerife with less than 20 minutes to play, before losing in stoppage time. A little more belief…