Introduction Nobody wrote this quarter-final into their pre-tournament bracket. Norway hadn’t reached a World Cup since 1998, and Brazil were supposed to be the team standing between England and a semi-final. Instead, Erling Haaland’s brace sent five-time champions Brazil home…
Introduction By the time most players are considering a move to a bigger club, Kylian Mbappé had already broken Thierry Henry’s youth record at Monaco, won a World Cup at 19, and moved to Real Madrid in one of the…
Introduction Every football fan already knows the numbers: five Ballon d’Ors, the most goals in men’s international football history, a résumé that spans Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nassr. Fewer know that a racing heart condition…
Introduction Reigning champions against tournament trailblazers: that’s the shape of Tuesday’s early Round of 16 tie in Atlanta, where Lionel Messi’s Argentina face Mohamed Salah’s Egypt for a place in the quarter-finals. Neither side arrived here comfortably. Argentina needed a…
Introduction Every football fan already knows the numbers: five Ballon d’Ors, the most goals in men’s international football history, a résumé that spans Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al Nassr. Fewer know that a racing heart condition…
Introduction Rosario is a river city, not a football factory in the way Buenos Aires is often described, yet it produced the player who now stands alone at the top of the World Cup’s all-time scoring list. Most supporters can…