Today, we round up all the most interesting developments from the new, extended international break.

We've had a long three weeks without domestic football, but many interesting things are afoot on the national-team scale.

We begin in Europe, where many new coaches have taken over post-World Cup. We do quick hits on Klopp's Germany, Xavi's Netherlands, Zidane's France, as well as Italy, Croatia, Belgium, and Scotland. And yes, we talk about the very silly Ronaldo situaiton...

Then we discuss goings-on in other other continents, including Messi's farewell to Argentina, the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, and Africa's usual chaos.

Finally, we close on a sort-of-serious segment on what's happening down in Oceania. Hail Fiji!

Cheers to Stéphane Auvray!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

03:06 – UEFA | Germany

05:32 – The Netherlands

10:01 – France

14:01 – Croatia

17:42 – Portugal & Ronaldo

25:09 – Italy

30:04 – Belgium & Scotland

33:53 – South America & CONCACAF

38:53 – Africa & Asia

42:34 – Oceania

It's our very first edition of ACROSS THE CONTINENT's intended format!

Every Monday, we will discuss a shared topic demanding our attention across the footballing word. Then, each of us will bring a surprise subject to present to the other.

This week, we have no choice but to tackle Manchester City as the main story, after it was announced they've been found guilty of nearly all 115 charges leveled against them.

David the lawyer breaks down exactly what those charges stipulate, then we debate the merits of potential punishments, as well as the affect this will have on the legacy of Pep Guardiola and his players.

We then turn our attention to the current international break. First, David updates us on the 12 new coaches hired by UEFA nations since the World Cup. Then Maxwell points to the shifting balance of power in the 2nd tier of CONCACAF, from Central American to Caribbean teams.

Cheers to Dick Advocaat!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

02:16 – overview of charges against Man City

09:25 – potential punishments

17:42 – how will this affect legacies?

20:50 – David's topic | 12 new coaches in UEFA

28:19 – Maxwell's topic | balance of power shifting in CONCACAF?

We're back to cover the Greek National Team in our latest Club Spotlight!

This one is long awaited by us, as we've been talking about the influx of young Greek talent across Europe for awhile now – but how did they get here?

We begin by giving a brief history of the national team in the 20th century, which was mainly a struggle, qualifying for only a couple major tournaments.

Of course, everything changed at Euro 2004, when Otto Rehhagel led Greece to a shock title, defeating the Portuguese hosts in both the group stage and the final.

But after the 2014 World Cup, the talent dried up and the nation went through a decade of international strike. Desperate to change their fortunes, the FA put together a project to revitalize Greek football and bring through a new generation of technical players.

We discuss how they did this, what their long-term vision is, and how the current side shapes up, highlighting many of the talented youngsters that have been tearing up Europe – Konstantelias, Karetsas, Tzolis, Tzolakis, Kostoulas, and more.

Cheers to Ivan Jovanović!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

03:03 – 20th Century history

08:13 – Euro 2004

19:47 – dark ages

21:17 – the revitalization project

29:17 – the current team

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6896033/2025/12/24/inside-greek-footballs-rebirth-from-euro-2004-to-the-battle-of-thermopylae/

https://blog.transferroom.com/how-greek-and-cypriot-football-has-become-a-new-hotbed-for-top-talent

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/greek-football-primed-renaissance-055000125.html

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5339532/2024/03/31/greece-euro-2004-history/

Fotmob