Simon Gleave
simongleave.bsky.social
Simon Gleave
@simongleave.bsky.social
Head of Analysis at Gracenote | Fan of sport, particularly Rugby, Football, Cricket | Cambridge, Palace & Utrecht | Love Film&Music | My views are my own
Pinned
My annual Festive Fifty playlist of my favourite tracks of the year.

The rules:
1. 50 different songs
2. Must have been released as a single in 2025 or on the tracklist of an album released in the past 12 months.
3. Max. 1 track per artist

open.spotify.com/playlist/4vV...
Simon's 2025 Festive Fifty
open.spotify.com
My annual Festive Fifty playlist of my favourite tracks of the year.

The rules:
1. 50 different songs
2. Must have been released as a single in 2025 or on the tracklist of an album released in the past 12 months.
3. Max. 1 track per artist

open.spotify.com/playlist/4vV...
Simon's 2025 Festive Fifty
open.spotify.com
December 22, 2025 at 11:59 AM
It seems reasonable to expect one to two of the #RWC2027 groups to NOT finish in seeded order in the top two places.

So, all of these assumptions about how it is going to play out seem rather premature, not least as there are nearly two years to go before it starts.

Same goes for 2nd/3rd.
December 3, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Australia - New Zealand is -5.80 with home advantage accounted for so that makes it into the top five closest matches (at this point).

A 1 point gap in the world ranking points is worth approximately 2 points on the field in theory.
The smallest ranking point gaps in the groups (with seedlings) are:

E (4) Samoa -1.83 v (3) USA
C (2) Fiji -3.83 v (1) Argentina
D (4) Portugal -4.21 v (3) Uruguay
B (3) Georgia -5.8 v (2) Italy
E (3) USA -5.83 v (2) Japan
A (4) Hong Kong -7.11 v (3) Chile
December 3, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Highly unlikely that there will be only one SH team in the semi-finals of a SH-hosted tournament.

Mind you the fact that one of the QFs will almost certainly be between two SH teams does increase that possibility.
Assuming the better sides win, RWC 2027 will unfold like below ...

#RWC2027
December 3, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Simon Gleave
You know, I was going to make a 52/48 cursed ratio joke here.

But take out the undecideds?

It's 53%/47%.

You can't even make this stuff up.
December 2, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Scotland COULD have beaten Argentina by 21 points.

In fact it was more realistic than 'could have beaten the All Blacks by 20 points'.

They didn't.

They lost.
The biggest “could you have,aye” in history.
November 28, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Simon Gleave
Curaçao qualified for the World Cup. Most of their players were born in The Netherlands. Unlike the Netherlands World Baseball Classic team, most of whom were from Curaçao.
November 19, 2025 at 12:23 PM
English media call it the Pom Squad so I don't see a problem here.
World Rugbyneeds to ban pundits using the term Bomb Sqd UNLESS the starting pack & substitutes are the two best packs in world rugby.

England do not have a bomb sqd.
NZ do not have a bomb Sqd
France, Ireland & Scotland DONOT HAVE A BOMB SQD

#ENGvNZL
November 28, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I have been informed by @elbakan.bsky.social who was kind enough to share his tickets with me for the first three on this list that they were Category 1 tickets. Just checking with him on the cost.

In any case, I could afford to go to the World Cup then. I couldn't now.
I was fortunate enough to go to the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.

I was helped by early internet adopters like myself and I attended:
Italy v Mexico
Saudi Arabia v Belgium
Spain v Switzerland
Brazil v Netherlands

The tickets were category 2 I think and cost $60-$75 (equivalent today is $131-$164)
FIFA tightly guarded 2026 World Cup ticket prices.

Now, The Athletic reveals costs for each game, at each venue, at every stage of the tournament.
November 27, 2025 at 9:11 AM
I was fortunate enough to go to the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.

I was helped by early internet adopters like myself and I attended:
Italy v Mexico
Saudi Arabia v Belgium
Spain v Switzerland
Brazil v Netherlands

The tickets were category 2 I think and cost $60-$75 (equivalent today is $131-$164)
FIFA tightly guarded 2026 World Cup ticket prices.

Now, The Athletic reveals costs for each game, at each venue, at every stage of the tournament.
November 26, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Tonight there is a #ChampionsLeague match between the top two teams in the world - Arsenal and Bayern Munich.

Bayern went up a place to second in the Euro Club Index yesterday because of Spain's negative results which adversely affected Real Madrid.

www.euroclubindex.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:11 AM
England's Grand Slam of Autumn International victims (rankings at the beginning of the AIs):

England (world ranked 5) beat
Australia (7)
Fiji (9)
New Zealand (2)
Argentina (6)

2016s Grand Slam (England (2) was
South Africa (4)
Fiji (10)
Argentina (9)
Australia (3)

This year's was better?
November 24, 2025 at 9:05 AM
World Cup playoffs UEFA

A
Italy (FIFA rank 12) v Northern Ireland (69)
Wales (32) v Bosnia & Herzegovina (71)

B
Ukraine (28) v Sweden (43)
Poland (31) v Albania (63)

C
Türkiye (25) v Romania (47)
Slovakia (45) v Kosovo (80)

D
Denmark (21) v North Macedonia (65)
Czech Rep (44) v Ireland (59)
November 20, 2025 at 1:09 PM
67% of the UEFA qualifying groups had the exact 1-2 forecast by FIFA rankings.

The exceptions:
B: Kosovo 2nd above Sweden
C: Scotland 1st above Denmark, Denmark 2nd above Greece
F: Ireland 2nd above Hungary
H: Bosnia 2nd above Romania
I: Norway & Italy swapped places
K: Albania 2nd above Serbia
November 19, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Based on this, Italy have only themselves to blame.

Italy were the ONLY one of the top-10 ranked European teams before qualifying began to fail to qualify directly.

They now have a 2nd chance in which the best team they can play against is Poland (ranked 31st in the new ranking, Italy now 12th)
European teams, their FIFA ranking before qualification and their fate:

2 FRA✅
3 ESP✅
4 ENG✅
6 POR✅
7 NED✅
8 BEL✅
9 ITA P/O
10 GER✅
13 CRO✅
20 SUI✅
21 DEN P/O
22 AUT✅
25 UKR P/O
27 SWE P/O
28 TUR P/O
29 WAL P/O
30 HUN❌
32 SRB❌
35 POL P/O
38 ROU P/O
39 GRE❌
41 SVK P/O
42 CZE P/O
43 NOR✅
45 SCO✅

1/
November 19, 2025 at 9:12 AM
European teams, their FIFA ranking before qualification and their fate:

2 FRA✅
3 ESP✅
4 ENG✅
6 POR✅
7 NED✅
8 BEL✅
9 ITA P/O
10 GER✅
13 CRO✅
20 SUI✅
21 DEN P/O
22 AUT✅
25 UKR P/O
27 SWE P/O
28 TUR P/O
29 WAL P/O
30 HUN❌
32 SRB❌
35 POL P/O
38 ROU P/O
39 GRE❌
41 SVK P/O
42 CZE P/O
43 NOR✅
45 SCO✅

1/
November 19, 2025 at 9:06 AM
If Austria and Denmark both win their groups this evening (both need a draw), the ONLY team in FIFA's current top-12 European teams that won't have qualified directly for next year's World Cup will be Italy.

Gattuso can moan about qualification being too hard but it was seeded for them to get there
November 18, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Quite. The fact is that Italy were top seeded in their group and are still number one ranked amongst those teams.

Yes, Norway have been fast improving but still.

Also, Italy are far and away the highest ranked (read: theoretically best) team in the play-offs.

They have no excuse if they fail.
Never been easier to qualify for major football Championships.

Perhaps he thinks FIFA should follow the Eurovision Song Contest model and just put the countries with the biggest TV audiences straight through to the finals?

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
World Cup 2026: Is Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso right that qualifying is unfair on Europe?
Was Italy coach Genaro Gattuso making a fair point on places for Europe at the World Cup? Or was it just sour grapes?
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Simon Gleave
Had a quick look at this for Andy's time.

100% Vs Italy (7 matches)
100% Vs Argentina (2)
100% Vs Fiji (1)
100% Vs Scotland (8)
100% Vs Australia (3)
100% Vs Japan (3)
86% Vs Wales (7)
75% Vs SA (4)
63% Vs England (8)
43% Vs NZ (7)
33% Vs France (6)
82% Vs Above (56)

Andy; we love you
☘️Ireland's win% against Nations Championship teams 2016 - 2025:

100% v Italy (13 matches)
100% v Argentina (4)
100% v Fiji (1)
92% v Scotland (13)
86% v Australia (7)
83% v Japan (6)
69% v Wales (13)
63% v South Africa (8)
54% v England (13)
50% v France (10)
45% v New Zealand (11)
73% v Above (99)
November 18, 2025 at 1:32 PM
☘️Ireland are going to end the year in the top-5 of World Rugby's rankings for the 10th successive year. Only New Zealand have also done this over the same period.

2025 - 4th (pending)
2024 - 2nd
2023 - 2nd
2022 - 1st
2021 - 4th
2020 - 5th
2019 - 5th
2018 - 2nd
2017 - 3rd
2016 - 4th

1/
November 18, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Scotland's end of year World Rugby rankings 2017-2025:

2025 - 9th (pending)
2024 - 6th
2023 - 6th
2022 - 7th
2021 - 7th
2020 - 7th
2019 - 9th
2018 - 7th
2017 - 5th
November 17, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Scotland's win% against selected teams under Gregor Townsend

91% v Italy (11 games)
80% v Australia (5)
67% v Fiji (6)
63% v England (8)
57% v Argentina (7)
50% v Japan (2)
44% v Wales (9)
38% v France (13)
0% v Ireland (11)
0% v New Zealand (3)
0% v South Africa (4)

40% overall vs the above teams
November 17, 2025 at 9:32 AM
💷England have averaged 33.2 points per match over their last 10 matches against top opposition and conceded 17.8.

England's attack hasn't been this good over 10 matches since 2019.

The defence hasn't been as good as this since 2021.

@englandrugby.bsky.social @samlstandsup.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Reposted by Simon Gleave
For the first time ever Arsenal are now ranked #1 on the EuroClubIndex rating system.
They are also ranked #1 on both ClubELO and Opta Power Rankings.

@simongleave.bsky.social
clubelo.com
www.euroclubindex.com
theanalyst.com/articles/who...
November 5, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Reposted by Simon Gleave
Do you want to pre-order Attacking the Space? The book that made the best pundit in rugby say this

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

Then you can find the link here - geni.us/AttackingThe...
October 29, 2025 at 12:29 PM