All Articles

Sixteen years and two unrelated substitutes named Torres separate Spain's last two World Cup–winning goals. The gap between them explains this team better than either goal does on its own. Thirty-nine seconds into the second period of extra time, a loose ball dropped awkwardly in the Argentina box, and Ferran Torres didn't wait for it to bounce twice. One touch, left foot, off the underside of the bar. MetLife Stadium came apart. Somewhere behind him, Lionel Messi turned away

Mohammad al-Waheidi had been working for weeks to set up screens.In the spaces between destroyed buildings and overcrowded tents around Gaza City, al-Waheidi and his colleagues from the Egyptian Relief Committee set up screens to allow displaced families to enjoy the games of the 2026 World Cup. Families with no access to running water and electricity, families who knew nothing for sure about the next day gathered every evening to watch football. On July 8, a day before the g

Delhi Police used lathi charges and tear gas. The government met the protesters' delegates for the first time in 30 days. Nothing changed. NEW DELHI:The barriers close to Jantar Mantar were welded to shut out protesters early in the morning. These barriers rose to over six feet high, fixed to the grille of a church nearby so that they would not be moved around. Five metro stations such as Rajiv Chowk, Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat and Seva Teerth were closed by D

Pau Cubarsí has started every minute of Spain's run to the World Cup final, posted passing accuracy no defender at this tournament has matched, and broken a clean sheet record held by Paolo Maldini. He is 19. Almost nobody is talking about him. When Spain beat France 2-0 in the semi-final, the conversation immediately turned to who had scored. Mikel Merino got both goals. Lamine Yamal made the chance for the second with a pass that skipped through France's defensive line in t

There is a sequence of events that FIFA has not disputed. Folarin Balogun, the United States striker, got sent off with a red card during the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, in which America won with a score of 2-0, on July 1. Getting a red card meant automatic suspension for one game. As a result, Balogun was going to miss the Round of 16 match against Belgium. On the next day, people inquired if the red card could be appealed, but the officials at FIFA had to say no becaus

The teams that made it to the final four in the 2026 World Cup had one thing in common: their best players didn't always start. It was a lesson learned the hard way. At some point during the 2026 World Cup knockout rounds, something funny happened to the sport. Goals from substitutes. Matches turned by players who began the game on the bench. Teams that looked ordinary for 60 minutes and dangerous for the final 30. The pattern kept repeating, and by the time the semi-finals

When Florence Pernet was denied accreditation to cover the 2026 World Cup, she photographed matches from her television instead. The images went viral. A footballer deleted his entire Instagram to make room for them. Before the World Cup started, Michael Olise wiped his entire Instagram account clean. Every post is gone. Years of images, celebrations, match photographs all deleted. His 10 million followers immediately started speculating. Transfer move imminent. Unhappy at Ba