Newcastle United settled matters early and put one and a half feet into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, after achieving a sweeping and historic away victory against their Azerbaijani hosts, Qarabag, with a score of (6-1), in the match that brought them together on Wednesday evening as part of the first leg of the round of 16 of the most prestigious continental competition.

Newcastle's goal-scoring festival details

The visitors gave the home side no time to catch their breath, with Newcastle opening the scoring after just three minutes through their star striker Anthony Gordon. The Magpies' attacking onslaught continued, with defender Malick Thiaw adding a second goal in the eighth minute, leaving the Qarabag defense in early disarray.

Anthony Gordon continued his exceptional performance, returning to score his team's third goal and his second from a penalty kick in the 32nd minute. Just one minute later, in the 33rd minute, Newcastle extended their lead with a fourth goal, before Gordon concluded the first half by scoring his personal hat-trick and his team's fifth goal from another penalty kick in the 45th minute, ending the first half with a resounding 5-0 lead.

In the second half, the home side tried to save face and managed to reduce the deficit with a single goal scored by Elvin Sefer Cliffe in the 54th minute. However, Newcastle refused to let the match end without a final touch, as Jacob Murphy scored the sixth goal in the 72nd minute, confirming the overwhelming superiority of the English team.

The return of the Macbes to the European scene

This resounding victory underscores the remarkable progress Newcastle United's sporting project has made in recent years. After years of absence from the Champions League knockout stages, the team has returned to prove itself a force to be reckoned with in European competition, benefiting from administrative and technical stability and strong reinforcements that have transformed the club into a formidable opponent capable of challenging Europe's elite away from home.

Technical differences and determining qualification

The match highlighted the vast technical and physical gap between the Premier League and their opponents, with Newcastle dominating the game from start to finish. This result serves as a strong message from Newcastle to the rest of the competition, indicating that the team is ready to go far in this edition.

With this result, the return leg, scheduled for 11 pm next Tuesday at St. James' Park, has become a celebratory outing for Newcastle fans, and an opportunity for the coach to rest some key players in preparation for upcoming domestic and continental commitments, as the Azerbaijani team needs a football miracle to overcome this large deficit.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed on Wednesday that all 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup will be played in "full stadiums," dispelling doubts about the impact of high ticket prices on fan attendance, despite tickets still being available ahead of the tournament scheduled to begin on June 11.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC, Infantino confidently stated, "The demand is strong; every match will be played in packed stadiums," referring to the resounding success of the second phase of ticket sales, which concluded last January. The FIFA president revealed astronomical figures reflecting the fans' passion, noting that "508 million ticket applications were received in just four weeks, competing for approximately seven million available tickets. These applications came from more than 200 countries worldwide.".

Record numbers and a new tournament format

This edition of the World Cup is of exceptional historical importance, as it is the first in the history of the World Cup tournaments to witness the participation of 48 teams instead of 32, the system that had been in place since the 1998 World Cup in France. This great expansion raised the number of matches to 104 matches, which poses unprecedented logistical and organizational challenges for the three host countries: the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.

Infantino commented on the public turnout, saying: "We have never seen anything like this before, it is amazing," explaining that FIFA "reserved a portion of the tickets for the last-minute sales phase" which will begin in April and continue until the end of the World Cup on July 19, to ensure that the opportunity is available to the largest number of fans.

Price controversy and Super Bowl comparison

Regarding the criticism leveled by fan groups about ticket prices being described as "exorbitant" and reaching record levels on the black market, Infantino defended the pricing strategy using a striking analogy to the American market, saying: "It's like having 104 Super Bowls in one month," referring to the NFL Final, which is the most expensive and most-watched sporting event in the United States, adding that this momentum "naturally reflects on the prices.".

The FIFA president explained the pricing mechanism, saying, "Official ticket prices are fixed, but you have, particularly in the United States, what's known as dynamic pricing, which means prices rise or fall depending on demand and the importance of the match." He added, "You can also resell your tickets through official platforms, i.e., the secondary market, and prices will rise again. That's part of the nature of an open market.".

Huge financial returns for game development

On the economic front, Infantino estimated FIFA's revenue from this exceptional edition at "$11 billion, perhaps a little more." This figure represents a significant leap compared to previous tournaments, reflecting the economic strength of the North American market. Infantino emphasized in closing that these revenues would not simply accumulate in FIFA's coffers, but rather that "every dollar is reinvested in football across the 211 member associations" of the international federation, with the aim of developing football infrastructure and talent worldwide.

Goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi returned to the starting lineup for his club Al-Nassr, making his debut in the match against Turkmenistan's Arkadağ, thus ending an absence of eight consecutive matches that included the Saudi Professional League and the AFC Champions League 2. This return came as a direct technical decision from Portuguese coach Jesus, who seems to have decided to give the young goalkeeper a new opportunity to prove his worth and protect the goal of "Al-Aalami" (the global team).

The crisis that sidelined Al-Aqidi from the starting lineup stems from a series of significant tactical errors, most notably during the Riyadh derby against arch-rivals Al-Hilal in the fifteenth round of the Roshan League. That match, which ended in a 3-1 defeat for Al-Nassr, saw Al-Aqidi sent off, further complicating his situation, especially since this setback followed a shaky performance in the previous match against Al-Qadisiyah, which the team also lost 2-1.

This decline in goalkeeping performance cast a long shadow over the team's league campaign, as Al-Nassr lost their lead to Al-Hilal and dropped to second place. This situation forced coach Jesus to rely entirely on Brazilian goalkeeper Pinto, who had been close to leaving the club during the winter transfer window. However, Al-Aqeedi's crisis compelled the management and coaching staff to retain him to ensure defensive stability.

In preparation for Al-Aqeedi's return, coach Jesus held a private meeting with the goalkeeper before the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 match against Arkadag. The Portuguese coach assured his player that he remains a valuable asset for the team's future, while also emphasizing the need to learn from past mistakes that cost the team precious points and to work with high concentration to avoid repeating those errors.

This match holds special significance not only for Al-Aqeedi but for Al-Nassr as a whole, as the AFC Champions League is a crucial arena for Saudi clubs to assert their continental dominance and test the depth of their squads. The return of the first-choice goalkeeper to continental competition is a strategic move by the coaching staff to prepare all players for the decisive stages of the season, especially given the fierce competition both domestically and continentally, which necessitates having two goalkeepers at a high level of readiness.

In terms of statistics, Nawaf Al-Aqidi (26 years old) played 11 matches in the 2025/2026 season before facing Arkadag, conceding 12 goals and managing only 3 clean sheets in 960 minutes of play. In contrast, Brazilian goalkeeper Pinto's statistics show a relative advantage, having played 18 matches, conceding only 10 goals and keeping 11 clean sheets in 1620 minutes. This presents Al-Aqidi with a significant challenge to regain the trust of Al-Nassr's fans and coaching staff.

It is worth noting that Al-Aqidi missed 7 consecutive rounds in the Roshan League (from round 16 against Al-Shabab until round 22 against Al-Fateh), in addition to the Asian first leg match, and now he returns in a serious attempt to make a new start that may redraw the goalkeeping map at Al-Nassr.