Football Weekly Wrap | All the Pre-World Cup Headlines

No Premier League fixtures this week, but the off-season hasn’t been short on drama. I’ve got the Champions League final, the most controversial England squad in decades, and a World Cup kicking off in 10 days across North America. Here’s a breakdown of the week’s biggest football stories.

Arsenal’s season came to the cruellest possible end on Saturday morning NZT. Kai Havertz opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a clinical left-footed finish past Matvey Safonov, and for an hour the Premier League champions looked comfortable.

Then Cristhian Mosquera fouled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the area on 65 minutes. Ousmane Dembele converted the penalty and PSG never looked back. Kvaratskhelia almost found the winner in the 77th minute, but Myles Lewis-Skelly produced a superb block to deflect his effort onto the post. Extra time couldn’t separate them.

In the shootout, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel both blazed over from the spot. Gabriel’s miss was the final kick of the night, giving PSG a 4-3 win on penalties to retain the trophy. They’re the first club to go back-to-back in the competition since Real Madrid in 2018.

I think Arteta got his substitutions wrong. By taking off Bukayo Saka, Havertz, Martin Odegaard, and Leandro Trossard before penalties, he removed four of Arsenal’s regular penalty takers. Gabriel volunteered for the decisive fifth kick and fired over. He shouldn’t have been in that position.

Even so, it’s been a historic campaign. A first league title in 22 years, a Champions League final appearance for the first time in 20. Arsenal will go again.

Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man England squad for the World Cup dominated the conversation this week. Phil Foden and Cole Palmer were both left out, alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Maguire.

Tuchel said he couldn’t fit Foden into his system alongside Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, and that Palmer’s form dipped in Chelsea’s final weeks. I’m not sure I buy either explanation, but the qualifying record speaks for itself. England sealed their spot without conceding a single goal across eight matches.

Twenty-one of the 26 players are Premier League-based. Rice, Saka, and Eze all travel after their Champions League final exertions. Jordan Henderson, now at Brentford, will become just the second England player to feature at four World Cups. For anyone checking legal betting sites ahead of the summer, Kane’s 58 goals across all competitions for Bayern Munich this season is the number to watch.

Off the pitch, the post-season reshuffle is well underway. Pep Guardiola has departed Manchester City after a decade and 20 trophies, with Enzo Maresca agreed on a three-year deal to replace him. Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson are leaving Liverpool, and Michael Carrick has been confirmed as permanent Manchester United manager.

I’d expect one of the busiest transfer windows in years when it opens on June 15.

Closer to home, the countdown is on. New Zealand’s squad has gathered in Florida ahead of their first World Cup in 16 years, and I reckon most of the country will have one eye on Group G over the next few weeks.

New Zealand face Iran, Egypt, and Belgium. Chris Wood captains the squad with 45 goals and 88 caps, having scored nine times in qualifying before returning to the Nottingham Forest starting XI in April after knee surgery. All three group-stage fixtures fall in NZ daytime, which is a bonus for anyone planning to follow along on the best betting apps.

Progress depends on taking points from Iran or Egypt. Belgium will be the toughest test. But the 2010 squad drew all three of their group matches and went home as the only unbeaten team at that World Cup, so there’s precedent for a result.

For NZ fans looking to follow the entire tournament on live betting sites, it all gets underway on June 11 with Mexico hosting South Africa in Mexico City.