World Soccer – July 2026

Summary

£5.99 buys World Soccer's July 2026 European Leagues Special — a complete record of the 2025-26 campaign across Europe's biggest domestic competitions plus the UEFA club finals, published later than usual because Managing Editor Jamie Evans wanted eyes on the season just finished rather than the World Cup. Henry Winter leads with "Did Pep Guardiola do enough?" — questioning whether one Champions League title in ten years at Manchester City justifies the resources, while Keir Radnedge (p.14) reports the FIFA-FIFPro agreement through to 2031 and Jonathan Wilson (p.16) analyses Jose Mourinho's return to Real Madrid.

The 38-page season-review core (p.40-77) covers England, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and Scotland, plus Asia, Africa and South America stories. UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League finals each get individual post-mortems (p.52-56). The ESM Golden Shoe winner is revealed on page 24. "6 of the Best" (p.50) names the under-the-radar coaches who outperformed resources. A Special Report on Greenland football (p.74) is the issue's genuine oddity. The Women's World Cup qualifying round-up for Brazil 2027 runs from page 78.

Antonio Simoes closes the issue with My Biggest Game (p.99). The Aficionados travel offer promotes "The Basque Way" — four nights in Bilbao and San Sebastian from £1,095, with Phil Ball as guide. Subscription offer: six months from £32.99 (21% off) with a free copy of "101 Greatest Soccer Rivalries" (£9.99 value).

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Content Guide

▸ Season Review / 6 of the Best / Special Report / Women's Football / Eyewitness / My Biggest Game

p.12 · Did Pep Guardiola do enough? — Henry Winter
Winter evaluates Guardiola's decade at Manchester City: six Premier League titles, a transformed English football culture, the development of England internationals like Nico O'Rilly — but only one Champions League. Financial charges remain unresolved; City denies everything. Winter's final line — "one European Cup in ten years with those resources" — lands harder than any statistic. Cite this column in any debate about whether Guardiola's legacy matches his budget.

p.40-77 · 2025-26 Season Review — The Complete Record
The issue's core: two-page summaries of every major European league with champion, top scorer, promoted and relegated clubs. England (p.58), Spain (p.60), Italy (p.62), Germany (p.66), Portugal (p.68), Netherlands (p.70) and Scotland (p.72) each get dedicated spreads. Asia (p.48), Africa (p.49) and South America (p.49) stories are condensed but include league winners. Use the champion lists as your 2026-27 pre-season betting reference before the August kick-off.

p.50 · 6 of the Best — Under the Radar Coaches
Profiles six managers who led clubs above their wage-bill expectations in 2025-26. Each entry includes the coach's tactical trademark, the squad's pre-season media prediction versus actual finish, and a short bio. Find one name here before your club appoints its next head coach.

p.74 · Greenland — Special Report
A rare piece on football's development in Greenland, where permafrost and short summers force a unique match calendar. The report covers the federation's infrastructure investments and the national team's first steps toward FIFA recognition. File this under "pub quiz trivia" before anyone else in your group knows Greenland plays international football.

p.78 · 2027 Women's World Cup Qualifying — Round-Up for Brazil 2027
A concise review of which confederations have completed qualifying, which spots remain open, and the standout results so far. The piece flags one or two potential debutant nations. Track this page if you are planning a Brazil 2027 travel itinerary around your team's group stage.

p.99 · My Biggest Game — Antonio Simoes
The former Portugal and Benfica winger recounts the single match that defined his career, with the context of Portugal's golden generation and his role within it. Simoes names the opponent, the scoreline and the one moment he still replays. Read this for the first-person texture that match reports never capture.

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Editor's Take

This is World Soccer's most practical issue of the year — the season-review section is a clean, permanent reference you will still consult in November when someone asks who won the Eredivisie. Henry Winter's Guardiola column is the standout piece, and the "6 of the Best" coach feature is genuinely useful for scouting. The Greenland report is a curiosity but only three pages. Weakest link: the Eyewitness pages (Italy, Denmark, Switzerland, France) read like travel notes rather than reporting. The subscription gift — "101 Greatest Soccer Rivalries" — is a £9.99 book that would cost more separately. Buy this for the record-book value.

Strengths
• 38-page season-review section is a permanent stat reference
• Henry Winter's column is the most quotable Guardiola critique in print
• Under-the-radar coaches list has genuine scouting utility

Weaknesses
• Eyewitness pages are thin — more diary than journalism
• Greenland piece is a curio, not a substantive report

Verdict: Essential — The only one-volume record of the 2025-26 European season; buy it for the reference shelf, read it for Winter.