Soccer News
Transfers, results, the World Cup, and the debates fans actually have
43 pieces: the 2026 final, transfer and injury news, the full history of the tournament, the Messi-vs-Ronaldo debate, and the making of a realistic 3D browser football game.
Heroes
Messi vs Ronaldo: The GOAT Debate, One Last World Cup
Ronaldo's World Cup ended in the round of 16. Messi's ends Sunday, one win from a second title. Fifteen years in, the trophies, the goals and even the goal-counting method still don't settle who's the greatest.
Rodri's Comeback Isn't Finished: A New Injury Cloud Right Behind It
Rodri leads the 2026 World Cup in touches, passes and line-breaking balls heading into Sunday's final. He also needs surgery the moment it's over. The reigning Ballon d'Or winner's comeback, in two acts.
Dibu Martinez and the Dark Art of the Penalty Shootout
Argentina have won all four major-tournament shootouts Emiliano Martinez has kept goal in. This is the method behind that record, and the evidence for whether any of it actually works.
Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup: The Whole Tournament
Five goals, five assists, an unbeaten run through Mexico, and a match-winning pass in the final itself. There was a lot more to Maradona's 1986 than four minutes against England.
Franz Beckenbauer Won the World Cup as Captain, Then as Manager
Beckenbauer won the World Cup as captain in 1974 and as manager in 1990. Only one other man in the tournament's history has done both jobs as captain first.
Geoff Hurst's Hat-Trick: The Only One By a World Cup Winner
Geoff Hurst scored three goals for England in the 1966 final at Wembley. One of them has never stopped being argued about.
Iniesta 2010: Spain's Only Title and the Shirt Underneath
Andres Iniesta scored the only goal of the 2010 final in the 116th minute, then pulled up his shirt to reveal a message written for a friend who had died the year before.
Johan Cruyff Lost the 1974 Final and Changed Football Anyway
Cruyff's Netherlands scored the fastest goal in World Cup final history, then lost anyway. Half a century on, more of modern football traces back to that defeat than to the team that won it.
Lamine Yamal: Spain's Right Flank, Carried by a Teenager
One goal in seven matches, a hamstring that would not leave him alone, and still the player Spain's whole right side is built around. Yamal's tournament, in full.
Mario Gotze's 113th-Minute Goal, and What Came After
Mario Gotze scored the only goal of the 2014 World Cup final as a substitute, deep into extra time. The four years that followed were nothing like the goal itself.
Mbappe's Two World Cup Finals: A Goal at 19, Then a Hat-Trick
One World Cup final goal at 19. A hat-trick four years later. Kylian Mbappe has scored more in World Cup finals than anyone in history - and he is still 1-1.
Messi and Argentina's Road to the 2026 World Cup Final
A last-gasp comeback against Egypt, extra time against Switzerland, and a semfinal assist for the ages. Inside Argentina's nerve-shredding run to the final.
Messi's Last World Cup: What a Second Title Would Mean
Messi turns 39 in what he calls his last World Cup and is one win from a second title. What beating Spain would add to the GOAT debate, and why 2026 is nothing like 2022.
Paolo Rossi 1982: From Betting Ban to World Cup Hero
Banned for two years over a betting scandal he denied, Paolo Rossi went scoreless through four World Cup matches in 1982 - then scored six goals in the next three and won it for Italy.
Pele at 17: What Two Goals in a World Cup Final Meant in 1958
At 17 years and 249 days old, Pele scored twice as Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 to win their first World Cup. No other teenager scored in a final again for sixty years.
Puskas and the Mighty Magyars: 1954's Best Team That Lost
Hungary went 31 games unbeaten, humiliated England twice, and were 2-0 up inside eight minutes of the 1954 final. Then they lost anyway.
Rodri: The Least Spectacular Player Who Could Decide the Final
Rodri will not feature on Sunday's highlight reel. But the version of football that wins World Cup finals runs through exactly the player nobody is watching.
Ronaldo Nazario: The 1998 Final and the 2002 Redemption
Hours before the 1998 final, Ronaldo had a seizure and played on. Four years and two ruptured tendons later, he scored twice in Yokohama to win the World Cup he had lost to himself.
Zidane's Two Finals: Two Headers in 1998, One in 2006
In 1998 Zidane won a World Cup final with two headers. In 2006 he lost one after using his head a different way. Same player, same stage, eight years apart.
History
Hand of God, Goal of the Century: Four Minutes in 1986
In four minutes at Estadio Azteca, Diego Maradona scored the most notorious goal in World Cup history and then, by FIFA's own vote, the greatest one.
Jules Rimet and the World Cup That Almost Never Happened
Jules Rimet invented the World Cup, then had to talk Europe into actually showing up to the first one - and watch a world war nearly kill the whole idea.
The 1966 Ghost Goal: What Goal-Line Technology Says Now
Geoff Hurst's disputed 1966 final goal has never been proven either way. Modern goal-line technology would answer it instantly - and the real reason it exists has nothing to do with Hurst.
The First 48-Team World Cup: What Expansion Actually Changed
Twelve groups instead of eight, a round of 32 that never existed before, and 40 extra matches. Here is exactly what the 48-team expansion changed - and what it did not.
The First World Cup: 13 Teams, a 15-Day Boat, Two Balls
Thirteen teams, a fortnight at sea, and a coin toss over whose ball to use. The first World Cup was assembled from almost nothing - and still produced a final worth telling properly.
The Maracanazo: 173,850 People, and a Final That Never Was
173,850 people watched Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 at the Maracana in 1950 - still the biggest crowd in football history. By FIFA's own rules that year, it was not technically a final.
The World Cup Trophy: Stolen Twice, Found by a Dog
The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from a stamp exhibition in 1966, found six days later by a dog named Pickles, then stolen again in Rio in 1983 and never seen since.
West Germany 3-2 Hungary: The Upset That Rebuilt a Nation
In 1954, nine years after the war, a squad of semi-professionals beat the best team in the world 3-2 in Bern - and Germans still call it the day the Federal Republic was truly born.
World Cup
The 2030 World Cup: Hosts, Venues and Dates, Explained
Twenty stadiums, seventeen cities, six countries, three continents - and a nod to where it all started in 1930. Here's exactly what FIFA has locked in for the 2030 World Cup, and what's still unresolved.
2026 World Cup Final: What the Odds and Models Actually Say
Every sportsbook, statistical model and pundit panel has Spain favored to beat Argentina on Sunday. History says that is exactly the kind of consensus a World Cup final loves to wreck.
How to Watch the 2026 World Cup Final: Times and TV Channels
Local kickoff times worldwide, which channel has it in your country, and how the MetLife Stadium transport and gate rules actually work on final day.
MetLife Stadium: The Venue Built for the 2026 World Cup Final
MetLife Stadium beat out Dallas and Los Angeles for World Cup final rights, then had a grass pitch grown inside its NFL turf bowl. Here's how, and what the ground means for Sunday.
Spain vs Argentina: 2026 World Cup Final Preview
La Roja's control against La Albiceleste's champions' nerve. We break down the July 19 final: the two roads to New Jersey, the match-ups that decide it, and how to watch.
Spain vs Argentina: The Midfield Battle Behind the 2026 Final
Spain want the ball for 90 minutes. Argentina want it back fast, in dangerous areas, so Messi can do the rest. Whoever wins that fight in midfield wins Sunday's final.
Nations
Argentina's Road to the Final: Nerve, Late Goals, England
Three knockout comebacks, two goals in six minutes against England, and a defending champion that keeps finding a way. This is how Argentina reached Sunday's final.
Spain's Road to the 2026 World Cup Final, Match by Match
From a goalless draw with World Cup debutants Cape Verde to a ruthless 2-0 semi-final win over France in Dallas, this is Spain's full route to the 2026 final.
