October 21 – Belgium are still top of the FIFA men’s national team world rankings, a position they have held since October 2018 when they supplanted France. The French, on the back of their Nations League win this month, have moved back into the top three and sit behind Brazil.
October 14 – The UK might have voted for Brexit and are now suffering a European backlash for doing so, but the English Premier League is still one of the most welcoming of foreign players of any country in the world, according to new data released by the CIES Football Observatory.
October 13 – After an economic 1-0 victory against Austria, Denmark is heading to the World Cup again, seven points clear at the summit of Group F.
October 12 – Germany became the first team to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after breezing past North Macedonia 4-0 on Monday to claim top spot in Group J with two games to spare.
By Samindra Kunti in Turin
October 7 – With a phenomenal rearguard action, world champions France came from two goals down to triumph 3-2 over neighbours Belgium and book a place in the Nations League final against Spain.
By Samindra Kunti in Milan
October 6 – Spain and Ferran Torres overpowered Italy 2-1 in a fluent, attacking display to end the European champions’ world-record unbeaten run of 37 games and claim a spot in the Nations League final.
October 5 – Football’s world players union has called for their members to be treated more compassionately in order prevent burnout, saying compulsory breaks must be put in place.
October 1 – Monaco top a league of Big 5 clubs ranked by youngest average age, while six other Ligue1 clubs from France join them in the top 10 positions.
September 30 – Pressure is building on Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman after the club made their worst start to a Champions League campaign ever following a humbling 3-0 defeat at Benfica.
September 30 – Flamengo and Bruno Henrique once again breezed past Ecuador’s Barcelona 2-0 to complete a 4-0 semi-final victory and set up a blockbuster Copa Libertadores final against Palmeiras, the second all-Brazilian final in a row.
September 29 – A survey of its members by the World Leagues Forum (WLF) has found that 95% of them would support a permanent option to keep an increased number of substitutions that can be used by clubs in their leagues.
September 29 – Sheriff Tiraspol, from an unheralded Moldovan outpost close to the border with Ukraine, are celebrating one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the Champions League after winning 2-1 at the home of Real Madrid, the competition’s 13-time champions.
By Samindra Kunti in Paris
September 29 – It took 74 minutes and it’s what Paris Saint-Germain had been waiting for – divine intervention from their newly acquired genius. Lionel Messi delivered a sumptuous finish after quick interplay with Kylian Mbappe to ensure a 2-0 win for the hosts against English champions Manchester City to top Group A in the Champions League.
September 24 – Manchester City, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and PSG will all retain their domestic league titles this season, according to data forecasts from the CIES Football Observatory. Real Madrid will take the Spanish title off Atlético.
September 16 – Belgium remain top of the FIFA world ranking with Brazil a close second and England a newcomer on the podium, moving into third, following matches played in September’s international window.