World Cup Without Neymar, Empty Seats and Vardar in Italy: The Football Weekend

The World Cup has begun, and Brazil went in without its biggest star

The 2026 World Cup has started, and the first big name to take a seat on the bench is called Neymar. Coach Carlo Ancelotti put him in the squad, but Brazil opened the tournament against Morocco without him - a calf injury, with word he will return next week. The man is the top scorer in the national team's history with 79 goals in 128 matches, but he is 34 and since 2023 has spent more time recovering than playing. Ancelotti is supposed to bring Brazil back to a title for the first time since 2002, and he began with a draw in the opener. Morocco, let us recall, reached the semifinals of the last World Cup - not an opponent to underestimate.

Full stands on paper, empty seats in reality

FIFA promised a record World Cup, and right at the start it faced something unpleasant for the cameras - empty seats. The tournament lasts six weeks, 104 matches at 16 stadiums across the US, Canada and Mexico, and for the first time it has dynamic pricing. The cheapest ticket started at 60 dollars, then on general sale it jumped to 140, and the average increase reached 34 percent. For the US - Paraguay match in Los Angeles, the cheapest spot cost 2,735 dollars. FIFA got so heated up with dynamic prices that it emptied out the very thing it is selling - the live experience. When a football ticket costs as much as the rent, the ordinary fan watches from home, and the stand is left for photographs that did not come out.

Manchester United is cutting to buy: Fernandes in the foreground

The summer rebuild at Manchester United is picking up speed, and the main target in midfield is becoming Mateus Fernandes of West Ham. United first tried with Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest, but did not want to enter an expensive bidding war with City, which has already had a 120-million-pound offer rejected. West Ham, after relegation from the Premier League, has to sell to meet financial rules, and is asking 80 million pounds for the 21-year-old Portuguese. The key detail that says it all: the team from Old Trafford is taking "drastic financial measures" for a single transfer. When the current giant has to scrape for one bound player, the money in football long ago stopped going where the game is most beautiful.

Vardar has set off for preparations in Italy, first test against Umbria

Macedonian football champion Vardar is holding its preparations in the Italian town of Norcia, and today in Foligno the first warm-up match is scheduled - the opponent is an amateur Umbria side. The "red and blacks" set off a few days ago under new coach Fabiani, and five internationals joined the camp yesterday. The goal of these preparations is not some friendly result against amateurs, but form for the Champions League qualifiers this summer. For a club with Vardar's history, the European summer is where it is measured whether the word "champion" means something or just sits on the jersey.

Jani Atanasov has gone to Kazakhstan: a new home in Aktobe

Macedonian international Jani Atanasov is the new player of Kazakhstan's Aktobe. The 26-year-old from Strumica has signed a contract for a year and a half and will strengthen the midfield of a club with ambitions on the domestic scene. Until now he defended the colours of AEL Limassol in Cyprus, with 31 appearances and one goal. Kazakhstan is not a destination one dreams of in the schoolyard, but for a Macedonian international who wants minutes and a stable engagement, it is a realistic step - better regular play there than a bench at a nicer name. Atanasov continues where his career takes him, and our internationals have long grown used to the road to the national jersey running through leagues that are rarely broadcast here.