The expectations for Liverpool were very high, but the Reds have been disappointing. Having won 3 of their last 11 and sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League, a switch to a back-three could make sense. #EPL #LFC #PremierLeague #LiverpoolFC #UCL thesoccergoal.com/2025/11/25/c...

Indy is staying in Philly! Vassilev extended his contract with Philadelphia until 2028 with an option for 2029. Big fan of this. Very underappreciated part of the Union, and with that brilliant mustache, it's easy to forget he's only 24. #DOOP

Bayer Leverkusen have only lost two games since Kasper Hjulmand took over. But #B04 are leaking in goals, conceding 22 in the 14 games. A big #UCL game against Manchester City awaits, and Leverkusen are missing 8 first-team players, including Tapsoba & CMs Palacios and Andrich.

Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze were both in the Championship when Crystal Palace scooped them up. Now after several phenomenal years with #CPFC, both are performing at the highest levels for Bayern Munich and Arsenal, respectively. Some of the smartest signings in #EPL history.

To be clear — this does not take away (much) from what was an incredible season. To go from missing the playoffs to winning the Supporters' Shield was incredible work from Bradley Carnell and the Union. But this was a bad, bad performance. #DOOP

Can blame the refs, the long break, recent drama, whatever... Home playoff game against the fifth-seed, and the Philadelphia Union were nowhere near good enough. Embarrassing performance. Terrible finishing, sloppy in defense. Deserved exit. #DOOP #MLS

Bruno Damiani is visibly shocked by the quality of MLS referees. Join the club. #DOOP

Wow. Andre Blake. Heck of a recovery to get back there, although it looks like he's hurt himself in the process. 35 years old! And a goalkeeper! #DOOP

Should not be ignored that LAFC were eliminated yesterday after a similar break. MLS playoff schedules are ... not great.

Pretty poor first half from the Union. Defensively, a mess and not clinical enough in attack. Expect Mikael Uhre to be called off the bench early in the 2nd half, especially with Baribo on a yellow and Damiani on thin ice. #DOOP fans, confidence levels right now?

Between rough tackles on Vassilev and Baribo, I'm a little surprised O'Toole hasn't been booked already. #DOOP

That is easily the best MLS game I've ever seen. Vancouver go up 2-0, concede, get a red card, Son scores an unbelievable free-kick, extra time... Then reduced to 9 after injury, LAFC almost win it a dozen times, but Son misses his pen and #VWFC win it on the last kick of PKs.

Twitter is the only place where people can post blatantly wrong info and still get likes. Someone's basically trying to tell me 2019 was five years ago...

With all his injury problems, Deniz Undav has been on the outside of Germany's squad looking in. But the #VfB striker has been scoring at an elite rate since his return, including a hat-trick today vs BVB. Strong case to be the starting striker at #WorldCup2026 — if he's fit.

Michael Olise had as many goal contributions today (5) as he did in his previous 8 Bundesliga games combined. Great decision by Didier Deschamps to rest him against Azerbaijan. Olise has been overplayed, but just that little rest has helped him return to his previous levels.

#M05 already turned Nadiem Amiri's career around, turning him from a bench warmer in Leverkusen to a Germany international. Why not try to get Timo Werner on a six-month loan or contract and take a punt on the RB Leipzig forward? He's better than the current options up top...

Defender Danny da Costa's heroics earned a point for #M05 today... But Mainz 05 are really missing Jonathan Burkardt. Burkardt was a goal machine — Benedict Hollerbach is not, & Nelson Weiper isn't at this stage. Only Nadiem Amiri & Armindo Sieb have multiple goals this season.

Not convinced Silvan Widmer still has all his teeth after a rough challenge from Bernardo... #M05 #M05TSG #Bundesliga

A bit of déjà-vu for Poland in World Cup qualifiers? If Poland can get past Albania, the Biało-Czerwoni will take on either Sweden or Ukraine for a spot in #WorldCup2026. In 2022, Lewandowski and Zieliński scored in a 2-0 win over Sweden in the playoffs to book a spot in Qatar.

Tomorrow, Mainz 05 will take on TSG Hoffenheim, who have had a crazy turnaround. Last year, #TSG battled relegation, with Andrej Kramarić voicing his anger with the team. This year couldn't be more different — Hoffenheim are 6th and on a 4-game win streak in the Bundesliga.

Last year, #M05 were the biggest surprise of the Bundesliga. Mainz 05 challenged for top four and ultimately qualified for Conference League. But playing Europe combined with injuries and some big sales has been too much for Die Nullfünfer, who have just one win from ten games.

Also a congratulations to Haiti & Panama, both making only their second-ever appearances at a #WorldCup tournament! Haiti hasn't qualified since 1974, while Panama memorably made it in 2018 and wildly celebrated its lone goal despite being thrashed by England. Well deserved!

Curaçao holds a place in my heart for a couple of reasons. I was there in 2014 for the World Cup and watched the whole tournament (well, most of it) on that tiny island. And, if you know my site, that Curaçao article was my first soccer story. Before that, it was all 🇺🇸 sports!

In 2019, I wrote an article saying Curaçao would qualify for the World Cup in Qatar and become the smallest-ever team in tournament history. This qualifying cycle, I did not. So, naturally, they qualified for #WorldCup2026 😂 Regardless, congrats to Curaçao for making history!

Adding on to teams qualified for their first World Cup since 1998... Austria has qualified for #WorldCup2026 after a late equalizer from Michael Gregoritsch! Tough break for Bosnia, who were just 13 minutes away from a spot in the World Cup but advance to the playoffs instead.

Kieran Tierney went from one of the most promising left-backs in the Premier League... To an outcast in both Spain and England... Now he's back with his academy club Celtic and just sent Scotland to #WorldCup2026 — the first time they've qualified since 1998. What a comeback!

Belgium clinch a spot at #WorldCup2026... But Wales stole the headlines in Group J with a dominant 7-1 win over North Macedonia. Massive win from Craig Bellamy's men, who earn a spot in the qualification playoffs.

Hate to see this. But also, this is great journalism. Everyone should read, especially #DOOP fans. It is not a good look.

Either Denmark or Scotland will clinch a spot in #WorldCup2026 as the two go head-to-head today. Denmark has been to 3 of the last 4 WCs, while Scotland hasn't qualified 1998. But despite Scotland's loss to Greece, just one point separates the two after Denmark tied Belarus.

Like it or not, Leroy Sané has booked his spot on Germany's #WorldCup2026 roster. He's come under fire recently, & Nagelsmann's decision to call up the Galatasaray winger was controversial. But he responded in a big way: a brace (& assist) vs Slovakia + an assist vs Luxembourg.

7th minute: Assan Ouédraogo is subbed on. 79th minute: Assan Ouédraogo scores. Not a half-bad debut for the RB Leipzig midfielder! (But, as a traditionalist, it pains me to see a midfielder wearing #9. Germany, 6'6" Nick Woltemade is right there.)

The focus has been on Germany, but Slovakia can qualify for its 2nd-ever World Cup today. The Sokoli were so close to shocking England at the Euros and already beat Germany once in qualifiers... If they had beaten Northern Ireland, they'd have one foot in #WorldCup2026 already!

Now that Norway has qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998... #DOOP fans, is there a case to be made for calling up (previously uncapped) Jakob Glesnes IF World Cup rosters get expanded? Can't hurt that he has experience playing in America in the summer...

Not enough people are talking about Fisnik Asllani. Nine G/A in 12 games for #TSG and has scored in Kosovo's last two #WorldCup2026 qualifiers — including an unreal goal for the opener against Slovenia. At his time last year, he was in the 2. Bundesliga playing for Elversberg.

Belgium might be on the verge of qualifying for #WorldCup2026, but they have been very underwhelming. Tied Kazakhstan 1-1, came away with one point in both games against North Macedonia, two close and somewhat lucky wins over Wales... Need to do much, much better this summer.

Kenan Yıldız could've formed a perfect attack with Jamal Musiala & Florian Wirtz. But despite impressing with Bayern & Juventus at youth level, Germany never called him up at any level. He now plays for Türkiye. This has become a recurring issue for Germany — story in comments.

Credit where credit is due, Leroy Sané played a big role today. Assisted Nick Woltemade for the opener and helped set up the second in a 2-0 win over Luxembourg. Recorded his first G/A for Germany since November 2024 against Bosnia. #DFBTeam #DieMannschaft #WCQ #WorldCup

Jakub Kamiński is quietly having a great season for 1. FC Köln. The versatile winger has four goals and an assist for #effzeh, who sit seventh in the Bundesliga. He's also stepped up for Poland — one to watch against the Netherlands as Biało-Czerwoni fight for a World Cup spot.

Germany has felt the impact of losing some potential stars to other nations in recent years. It's become a massive problem for one of the biggest national teams in the world. #DFB #DieMannschaft #DFBTeam #WCQ thesoccergoal.com/2025/11/12/i...

MSN was maybe the best front three of all time with Barcelona. But now, three players all approaching the tail end of their careers, who all play centrally now and won't necessarily be healthy for an entire season. #IMCF should steer clear of Neymar. Leave the past in the past.

Granit Xhaka does not like to lose. #SAFC #EPL #BayerLeverkusen #Bundesliga

MŠK Žilina and GK L'ubomír Belko always aim to be among the best in Slovakia. Right now, they are first in the Niké liga. Belko spoke to The Soccer Goal about Žilina, the national team, his contract renewal, and more. Link in comments. #nikeliga #nasaliga #mskzilina #sosoni

All reports indicate Raffaele Palladino will soon take over the hot seat in Bergamo. Palladino had Fiorentina battling for a top four spot last year and nearly reached the Conference League Final. Much more attacking than Jurić as well — helped turn Moise Kean's career around.

Ivan Jurić has been sacked by Atalanta. Two wins from eleven Serie A games. A GD of zero in all competitions. Big fight with Ademola Lookman after a substitution. Always felt like a weird hire, and he's done little to prove the doubters wrong. Right choice to move on.

Igor Thiago may have a case to be in Brazil's World Cup squad. The Brentford striker has been in great form, scoring eight goals in eleven games & a brace today against Newcastle. Never capped by Brazil, but could be a devastating option off the bench! #BrentfordFC #BRENEW #EPL

Pretty bizarre to see how many people openly hate on Leon Goretzka. He's overpaid, and he shouldn't be a starter. That can't be denied. But he's played nearly 300 games for Bayern, was a key part of the sextuple-winning team, and fills in anywhere on the pitch when asked.

Michael Olise had a very rough day against Union Berlin today. After a blistering start to the season, he's actually been relatively quiet in recent weeks. Still obviously a world-class player, but Bayern need a little more from him. #FCB #Bayern #MiaSanMia

Tom Bischof needs to be on the pitch whenever possible. It doesn't even matter where. The 20-year-old saved Bayern Munich's unbeaten streak with his gorgeous assist & consistently puts in elite performances. Should be the undisputed starting left-back until Davies returns.

Union Berlin were minutes away from a (deserved) first win against Bayern Munich. The Bavarians were saved by a late Harry Kane goal to stay undefeated on a day where they were far from their best. Hard-fought result in a tricky place to play, but Bayern keep finding a way.

MŠK Žilina sit top of the Niké liga after 13 games and are dreaming of more, with L'ubomír Belko leading the charge. Read about it on thesoccergoal.com, featuring exclusive quotes from the homegrown goalkeeper. #NikeLiga #MŠKŽilina #Slovakia #Žilina thesoccergoal.com/2025/11/08/m...