Shkendija survived Bravo and is the only Macedonian side left in Europe

Tetovo started the return leg carrying a deficit from Ljubljana and an own goal on their back, and finished it 3:1 and through. First Stankovic punished them from sixteen metres for 0:1, then Gasper Jovan unluckily put the ball into his own net in the 38th minute, in the 50th Kruezi headed them ahead, and in the 88th Gjorgjievski - the same man who had earlier hit the bar and missed from five metres - finally scored for 3:1. Next up is Scotland's Hibernian, first leg away. Shkendija is the only Macedonian club still breathing on the European stage, and that is a sentence repeated here every summer with a different name attached. The question is not whether Tetovo can hold out against Scotland, but why the entire weight is left to one club.

Rastoder saved Panathinaikos, and Athens found out what a Macedonian forward looks like under pressure

Panathinaikos came to Athens with a 2:1 lead from Hungary, and at one point it looked like they were going out - Paks led 2:1 and the Greek giant was a step away from humiliation. In the 66th minute Elmin Rastoder came on, and in the 85th he scored for 2:2 and 4:3 on aggregate. A Macedonian international comes off the bench and settles a tie a club with that budget should never have let reach that point. Here, such a player would get a column about „the talent slipping away from us”; in Athens they will simply regard him as the man who did the job. The gap between those two reactions is an entire sporting culture.

UEFA threatened Infantino with a boycott: the World Cup is not for sale

Gianni Infantino's plan to sell ownership stakes in the World Cup to private investors got the sharpest possible answer - an extraordinary UEFA session and unanimous backing for a boycott of FIFA competitions if the proposal is not withdrawn. Representatives of more than 40 national federations spoke at the meeting, with Aleksander Ceferin leading it. UEFA's argument is direct: if investors get a stake, the format, the scheduling and the calendar will suddenly answer to shareholders, not to football. Spain and Portugal, hosts of the 2030 World Cup along with Morocco, could refuse to play in a tournament they are staging themselves. CONCACAF and the English federation then joined in. When America and Europe both say no to the same thing, the problem is not geographical.

Eddie Howe left Newcastle, and no result drove him out

After five years, Eddie Howe told the people at Newcastle he wants a break from football. He found the club 19th in the Premier League in November 2021, took it back to the Champions League and delivered the 2024/25 League Cup - a trophy the club had waited 70 years for. Last season was harder: 12th place and a convincing defeat by Barcelona in the last sixteen. The summer took Gordon to Barcelona and Tonali to Tottenham, and Bruno Guimaraes's future remains a talking point. The favourite to succeed him is Matthias Jaissle of Al-Ahli. So: a manager who delivered a trophy after seven decades steps away because they are selling off his team around him. Saudi money buys a club, but evidently it does not buy patience.

Real want Rodri, City are not selling - at least not for 43 million pounds

According to Spanish sources, Real Madrid are convinced they can sign Rodri for 43 million pounds, and the player himself wants to move to La Liga after refusing to extend his contract at the Etihad. Manchester City, for their part, have no intention of letting him go this summer and, if they decide to sell at all, will demand far more. The thirty-year-old has 298 appearances for City, 28 goals and 32 assists, four Premier League titles and the 2023 Champions League. So much for an „agreed price” - when a club announces it is confident of a transfer, that usually means the negotiations have only just started. Will Real pay what Rodri is actually worth, or wait for the contract to expire and take him for free?