Author: Joe Soriano

Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.

2025/26 Serie A Power Rankings after Matchday 3: Picking the top 6
16Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

2025/26 Serie A Power Rankings after Matchday 3: Picking the top 6

The 2025/26 Serie A season is now three games old after an unforgettable Derby d'Italia, a huge statement win by Napoli over Fiorentina, and a hard-fought 1-0 AC Milan win over Bologna this past weekend. Here are the latest updated Serie A power rankings. 6. Atalanta Atalanta and Ademola Lookman are embroiled in an impasse, and even though La Dea also lost leading goal-scorer Mateo Retegui this past summer, there's still star power left in Bergamo. They reminded the rest of Italian football of that fact in a 4-1 drubbing of Lecce, with Charles De Ketelaere landing a cooly taken brace alongside Nicola Zalewksi's standout game. Atalanta will find it tough to crack the top four again, but it's also tough to envision them falling so far behind in Serie A that they aren't able to qua...
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Premier League Power Rankings after Matchday 4
16Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings after Matchday 4

Another Premier League matchweek is in the books as Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham put up impressive 3-0 victories, Liverpool and Newcastle ground out tough 1-0 ones, and Chelsea dropped valuable points. Here are the power rankings after Matchday 4. 20. Wolves Wolves cut it close against Newcastle, only losing by a goal, but that's hardly any real consolation. They are easily the worst team in the Premier League right now, and it's going to be a long season for a team that has not come anywhere near replacing the star power left by Matheus Cunha. 19. West Ham Annihilated by rivals Tottenham, really nobody is surprised by the futility the Hammers have displayed, and it feels like only a matter of time before they burn through another notable Premier League manager and then r...
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La Liga Power Rankings: Picking the top 6 after Matchday 4
15Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

La Liga Power Rankings: Picking the top 6 after Matchday 4

With four matches in the bag, let's take a look at the updated La Liga Power Rankings after Real Madrid won their fourth in a row and Atletico Madrid outlasted Villarreal in a marquee matchup. Note that power rankings are weighed heavily on form, so this is a combination of predicted the best teams in the future and honoring the teams that have truly been the best through four games in the 2025/26 season so far. 6. Real Betis One of two teams with five matches played in the La Liga season, Real Betis are only 10th in the table despite this advantage, because they've only won one game this season, which was a 1-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves. So it's been a disappointing start to the campaign for a perennial European side, and the Conference League Finalists are going to need more ...
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Premier League Power Rankings: The top 10 teams after the first month of the 2025/26 season
11Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The top 10 teams after the first month of the 2025/26 season

Now that we've had the September international break to fully digest the first three fixtures of the 2025/26 Premier League season, it's time to do some power rankings and rank the top 10 teams in the English top flight based on what we have seen this season so far. 10. Sunderland Sunderland have been one of the biggest surprises to start the 2025/26 Premier League season and are actually all the way up in sixth in the league table with wins over London sides Brentford and West Ham. While that's not the most impressive competition, it's still been a strong start to the season for the Black Cats, who had one of the most involved summer transfer windows in the league, with the trio of Granit Xhaka, Omar Alderete, and Nordi Mukiele already making a huge impact. 9. Manchester United Man...
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Ranking the 10 best Serie A goalkeepers right now in 2025
10Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Ranking the 10 best Serie A goalkeepers right now in 2025

Serie A doesn't get nearly as much credit as it should for producing some of the finest goalkeepers in the world, and I don't think there's a league in world football right now that has had as much depth at the goalkeeper position among all the teams in the league over the past five years. Players like Guglielmo Vicario have gone on to have great success after leaving Serie A, but there's still more than enough high-end talent in the Italian top flight - and that goes beyond internationally recognized names like Yann Sommer and Mike Maignan. In celebration of all the goalkeepers in Serie A, including the more underrated ones, here's a ranking of the top 10 goalkeepers in the Italian top flight here in 2025. All statistics are courtesy of FBRef.com, which has, by far and away, the ...
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World Cup 2026: Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and the 5 best players older than 35
9Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

World Cup 2026: Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and the 5 best players older than 35

The 2026 World Cup will take place next year in North America, and the qualifying rounds have given us plenty of nostalgic moments with the two biggest legends in the history of this game, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, still racking up the goals. Well past the age of 35, Cristiano and Messi remain two of the world's finest players on the international stage, even as they have long past waved goodbye to the highest level of European football. But there are a couple of other iconic players past the age of 35 who could be factors at the next World Cup but are still shining for powerhouse clubs in European football. How do they stack up with the two GOATs? As the nations decide who is in and out of the 2026 World Cup, let's take an early look and rank the top five players older ...
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2026 World Cup Power Rankings: The 5 most important players to their country’s success
7Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

2026 World Cup Power Rankings: The 5 most important players to their country’s success

As the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches rage on, it's time to continue our early preview of next year's tournament in North America by narrowing our focus from the key teams to the key individuals that could shape the latest chapter of international football. Although we don't yet know the final field of the 2026 World Cup - and it looks like there are some giants who may not even make it to that point - the most important players to their countries are still going to be pivotal in these qualifying stages. So let's rank the top five players based on their importance to their team's qualification efforts and eventual hopes of World Cup success. Since it's too easy to pick the one star player at a smaller country and because one player can't pull everyone up to success (look at Mohame...
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Premier League Power Rankings: The 6 most important midfield anchors in 2025/26
7Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The 6 most important midfield anchors in 2025/26

Although most of the attention in world football goes to the goal-scorers and the playmakers who grace the highlight reels and pile up the counting statistics, more appreciation has been given to defensive midfielders in recent years. Players like Aurelien Tchouameni and Declan Rice are going for massive transfer fees, others like Rodri and Ryan Gravenberch are winning or have been in contention for prestigious awards, and even fantasy football has increased the attention on and appreciation for the humble No. 6. These players are often vital to the success of their teams, and there's a reason why all the Big Six clubs in the Premier League have been pushing so hard for top defensive midfield talent. Here are the six most important midfield anchors to their respective Premier Leag...
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Premier League Power Rankings: The top 5 GKs to start the 2025/26 season
6Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

Premier League Power Rankings: The top 5 GKs to start the 2025/26 season

A month of Premier League action has come and gone, so now it is time to take stock of the 2025/26 season through the first three matches and hand out some honors to players who are starting the season very brightly. Goalkeepers are easy to overlook, but the Premier League is chock full of top shot-stoppers right now, including quite a few new faces in new places. With three Matchdays in the books, let's rank the top five goalkeepers to start the season, basing it solely on their performances in the current campaign. 5. James Trafford, Manchester City James Trafford won't be starting in goal for Manchester City for long after the addition of Champions League winner Gianluigi Donnarumma from PSG, as the Italian international is regarded as one of the top three players in the world in h...
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2026 World Cup Predictions: An early ranking of the top 5 projected Golden Boot winners
6Sep By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

2026 World Cup Predictions: An early ranking of the top 5 projected Golden Boot winners

Since the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches are ongoing and it is now less than a full calendar year before the World Cup in North America begins, it's more than fair game to start an early preview of what we can expect at next year's World Cup tournament. There are few players who make more headlines on the international stage than the superstars scoring the goals, so from regulars at the top of the scoring charts to new stars around world football, let's take a look at an early projection of the top five Golden Boot candidates at the next World Cup. 5. Brazil RW Estevao Willian Estevao Willian has been scoring wondergoals for years, even though he's still just 18 years of age, and the new Chelsea arrival has been arguably even better than advertised - and Chelsea fans were already h...
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