I can’t stop thinking about the halftime show of the World Cup final. It was one of those things you just had to see to believe. It was so weird, so improbable, so nonsensical that part of me is in awe of what took place, and part wonders how many people it took to greenlight this and assume it was a good idea.
Truthfully, here’s how I presented the halftime show to my non-soccer watching friends in our group chat.
Let’s expand beyond the group chat to examine the key elements of all this. It begins with Madonna emerging from a disco ball amidst roller skaters before jumping in a dune buggy being driven by Ronaldo (R9) and Ronaldinho. Poor R9 seemed frozen while driving the dune buggy. He was smiling as if he was trapped in a hostage video and didn’t seem relaxed for one second until he was off camera altogether.
Madonna represented the USA element of this halftime show. This is important, because we’re going to come back to this.
Then we got the Muppets playing “Seven Nation Army,” with Gustavo Dudamel leading the New York Philharmonic, which was a delight. I don’t know why exactly they were playing “Seven Nation Army, but I didn’t care because it was cool.
BTS were great because they’re BTS. Look, I am a 41-year-old man, and yes, my view of K-Pop might be extremely skewed due to my nine-year-old daughter’s love of K-Pop — but it was rad. BTS put on a great show, and are still my pick (along with Blackpink and others) to be the Super Bowl halftime show this year.
Next up was a Ted Lasso interlude, because of course there was. It made me wonder how much Ted Lasso resonates outside the USA at all. I know the show has fans in England, but is this something that has really gone global? If not this would be wildly confusing, but nonetheless it led to the Canadian element of the halftime show: Justin Bieber.
Never really cared for Biebs. It was fine. I’m not gonna lie though, the “BELIEBE” sign made me giggle.
Okay then, we’re well past the halfway point and we’ve had USA’s artist and Canada’s artist representing two of the host nations — now we just need a performer from Mexico to bring it home. Introducing … SHAKIRA?!
Look, I know Shakira is intimately involved in all things FIFA, but she is very well known and established to be Colombian. You can’t just replace Mexico’s place in all this by grabbing another Latin artist and calling it a day. Sure, the theme of all this was supposed to be global, but it was extremely weird to have two host nation countries represented and not a third.
Shakira did what Shakira has done for 20 years.
It was time to close out the show by remembering the children are our future. Dozens of kids were on the field, and incredible props to some of these youngsters for performing solos in front of an entire stadium, with hundreds-of-millions of people watching around the globe. I could have never.
The Muppets were back, this time in their Sesame St. variant forms, because children and Sesame St. Chris Martin and Coldplay were in the background offering support. It was technically their number, but nobody puts Miss Piggy in the corner.
The prevailing theme of the whole show was love across the world, which I could be really jaded about — and normally I would be, but damn did it feel needed right now. This was joyous anarchy, and while the world might not be accustomed to the halftime show, it was a really nice breather. The big misstep was not having a performer representing Mexico, however.
I can’t stop thinking about the halftime show of the World Cup final. It was one of those things you just had to see to believe. It was so weird, so improbable, so nonsensical that part of me is in awe of what took place, and part wonders how many people it took to greenlight this and assume it was a good idea.
Truthfully, here’s how I presented the halftime show to my non-soccer watching friends in our group chat.
Let’s expand beyond the group chat to examine the key elements of all this. It begins with Madonna emerging from a disco ball amidst roller skaters before jumping in a dune buggy being driven by Ronaldo (R9) and Ronaldinho. Poor R9 seemed frozen while driving the dune buggy. He was smiling as if he was trapped in a hostage video and didn’t seem relaxed for one second until he was off camera altogether.
Madonna represented the USA element of this halftime show. This is important, because we’re going to come back to this.
Then we got the Muppets playing “Seven Nation Army,” with Gustavo Dudamel leading the New York Philharmonic, which was a delight. I don’t know why exactly they were playing “Seven Nation Army, but I didn’t care because it was cool.
BTS were great because they’re BTS. Look, I am a 41-year-old man, and yes, my view of K-Pop might be extremely skewed due to my nine-year-old daughter’s love of K-Pop — but it was rad. BTS put on a great show, and are still my pick (along with Blackpink and others) to be the Super Bowl halftime show this year.
Next up was a Ted Lasso interlude, because of course there was. It made me wonder how much Ted Lasso resonates outside the USA at all. I know the show has fans in England, but is this something that has really gone global? If not this would be wildly confusing, but nonetheless it led to the Canadian element of the halftime show: Justin Bieber.
Never really cared for Biebs. It was fine. I’m not gonna lie though, the “BELIEBE” sign made me giggle.
Okay then, we’re well past the halfway point and we’ve had USA’s artist and Canada’s artist representing two of the host nations — now we just need a performer from Mexico to bring it home. Introducing … SHAKIRA?!
Look, I know Shakira is intimately involved in all things FIFA, but she is very well known and established to be Colombian. You can’t just replace Mexico’s place in all this by grabbing another Latin artist and calling it a day. Sure, the theme of all this was supposed to be global, but it was extremely weird to have two host nation countries represented and not a third.
Shakira did what Shakira has done for 20 years.
It was time to close out the show by remembering the children are our future. Dozens of kids were on the field, and incredible props to some of these youngsters for performing solos in front of an entire stadium, with hundreds-of-millions of people watching around the globe. I could have never.
The Muppets were back, this time in their Sesame St. variant forms, because children and Sesame St. Chris Martin and Coldplay were in the background offering support. It was technically their number, but nobody puts Miss Piggy in the corner.
The prevailing theme of the whole show was love across the world, which I could be really jaded about — and normally I would be, but damn did it feel needed right now. This was joyous anarchy, and while the world might not be accustomed to the halftime show, it was a really nice breather. The big misstep was not having a performer representing Mexico, however.
I can’t stop thinking about the halftime show of the World Cup final. It was…
Spain has officially won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and, of course, Princess Sofia and…
However, something else is on the line on Sunday.
Thanks to a huge performance in the third-place match against England, where he scored a pair of goals and added an assist, Kylian Mbappé of France currently sits atop the standings. But with one match remaining, Lionel Messi could still catch him and take home the Golden Boot.
But it would take something special from him on Sunday to catch Mbappé.
Here are the standings, and the scenarios.
Here are the players at the top of the Golden Boot standings. Note that we have included just the players with four goals or more. For the full list of scorers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, you can check FIFA’s official list:
Two players on this list could, theoretically, catch Mbappé.
First is Spanish forward Mikel Oyarzabal, who has enjoyed a tremendous run of form for Spain at the 2026 World Cup. With five goals and an assist, however, he would need to score six goals in the Final to take the outright lead away from Mbappé. If he matched Mbappé’s totals of ten goals and four assists — meaning he scored five goals and added three assists in the World Cup Final — he would have to do so in less total minutes than the 769 Mbappé played at the 2026 World Cup.
But the player with a better chance of catching Mbappé is Messi, but it would still take something special for Messi to catch the French superstar. If he matched Mbappé’s total of ten goals with a brace against Spain — remember he scored two goals in the 2022 World Cup Final against France — he would need to add an assist to beat Mbappé. If he somehow scored a hat trick against Spain, that would move him to the top.
Or, if Messi finishes level with Mbappé on both goals and assists, he would have to do so in just 57 minutes or less, then he would win on the final tiebreaker.
When it comes to the Golden Boot, assists are the first tiebreaker. If two players remain tied on both goals and assists, the player that played the fewest minutes would win the Golden Boot.
If, however, Mbappé holds on and wins the Golden Boot, he would become the first player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to win the Golden Boot twice.
However, something else is on the line on Sunday.
Thanks to a huge performance in the third-place match against England, where he scored a pair of goals and added an assist, Kylian Mbappé of France currently sits atop the standings. But with one match remaining, Lionel Messi could still catch him and take home the Golden Boot.
But it would take something special from him on Sunday to catch Mbappé.
Here are the standings, and the scenarios.
Here are the players at the top of the Golden Boot standings. Note that we have included just the players with four goals or more. For the full list of scorers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, you can check FIFA’s official list:
Two players on this list could, theoretically, catch Mbappé.
First is Spanish forward Mikel Oyarzabal, who has enjoyed a tremendous run of form for Spain at the 2026 World Cup. With five goals and an assist, however, he would need to score six goals in the Final to take the outright lead away from Mbappé. If he matched Mbappé’s totals of ten goals and four assists — meaning he scored five goals and added three assists in the World Cup Final — he would have to do so in less total minutes than the 769 Mbappé played at the 2026 World Cup.
But the player with a better chance of catching Mbappé is Messi, but it would still take something special for Messi to catch the French superstar. If he matched Mbappé’s total of ten goals with a brace against Spain — remember he scored two goals in the 2022 World Cup Final against France — he would need to add an assist to beat Mbappé. If he somehow scored a hat trick against Spain, that would move him to the top.
Or, if Messi finishes level with Mbappé on both goals and assists, he would have to do so in just 57 minutes or less, then he would win on the final tiebreaker.
When it comes to the Golden Boot, assists are the first tiebreaker. If two players remain tied on both goals and assists, the player that played the fewest minutes would win the Golden Boot.
If, however, Mbappé holds on and wins the Golden Boot, he would become the first player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to win the Golden Boot twice.
The Final, between Spain and Argentina. Will Argentina become the first nation since Brazil won in 1958 and 1962, or will Spain secure their first title since 2010?
However, something else is on the line on Sunday.
Thanks to a huge performance in the third-place match against England, where he scored a pair of goals and added an assist, Kylian Mbappé of France currently sits atop the standings. But with one match remaining, Lionel Messi could still catch him and take home the Golden Boot.
But it would take something special from him on Sunday to catch Mbappé.
Here are the standings, and the scenarios.
Here are the players at the top of the Golden Boot standings. Note that we have included just the players with four goals or more. For the full list of scorers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, you can check FIFA’s official list:
Two players on this list could, theoretically, catch Mbappé.
First is Spanish forward Mikel Oyarzabal, who has enjoyed a tremendous run of form for Spain at the 2026 World Cup. With five goals and an assist, however, he would need to score six goals in the Final to take the outright lead away from Mbappé. If he matched Mbappé’s totals of ten goals and four assists — meaning he scored five goals and added three assists in the World Cup Final — he would have to do so in less total minutes than the 769 Mbappé played at the 2026 World Cup.
But the player with a better chance of catching Mbappé is Messi, but it would still take something special for Messi to catch the French superstar. If he matched Mbappé’s total of ten goals with a brace against Spain — remember he scored two goals in the 2022 World Cup Final against France — he would need to add an assist to beat Mbappé. If he somehow scored a hat trick against Spain, that would move him to the top.
Or, if Messi finishes level with Mbappé on both goals and assists, he would have to do so in just 57 minutes or less, then he would win on the final tiebreaker.
When it comes to the Golden Boot, assists are the first tiebreaker. If two players remain tied on both goals and assists, the player that played the fewest minutes would win the Golden Boot.
If, however, Mbappé holds on and wins the Golden Boot, he would become the first player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to win the Golden Boot twice.
The Final, between Spain and Argentina. Will Argentina become the first nation since Brazil won…
But before we see what comes next, we need to understand how this chaos somehow topped the last meeting between these two nations, why we’re in the Middle East in the dead of winter, and what a win would mean for two of the game’s top stars, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi. For Mbappé, a victory would further solidify his status as one of football’s best, adding a second World Cup to his very young, promising career. For Messi, it could very well be his last World Cup in a career filled with countless accomplishments, yet a trophy that’s eluded him for years.
But before we see what comes next, we need to understand how this chaos somehow topped the last meeting between these two nations, why we’re in the Middle East in the dead of winter, and what a win would mean for two of the game’s top stars, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi. For Mbappé, a victory would further solidify his status as one of football’s best, adding a second World Cup to his very young, promising career. For Messi, it could very well be his last World Cup in a career filled with countless accomplishments, yet a trophy that’s eluded him for years.
This is simply incredible. After 120+ minutes of thrilling football, Argentina and France find themselves in a penalty shootout with the World Cup on the line. After going through a phenomenal group stage and thrilling knockout rounds throughout this tourney, it really doesn’t get any better than this.
But before we see what comes next, we need to understand how this chaos somehow topped the last meeting between these two nations, why we’re in the Middle East in the dead of winter, and what a win would mean for two of the game’s top stars, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi. For Mbappé, a victory would further solidify his status as one of football’s best, adding a second World Cup to his very young, promising career. For Messi, it could very well be his last World Cup in a career filled with countless accomplishments, yet a trophy that’s eluded him for years.
This is simply incredible. After 120+ minutes of thrilling football, Argentina and France find themselves…
Harper Beckham is slowly but surely following in the footsteps of her famous parents, Victoria…
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in last days, and the main event for the entire month-plus of action is about to begin. The final between Spain and Argentina is set to take place on Sunday afternoon, with hundreds of millions of eyeballs glued to TV screens as we crown another champion of the world.
There’s no shortage of drama or emotion when it comes to Spain and Argentina. We have what is likely to be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, while Spain is looking to anoint Lamine Yamal as the next Messi for both Barcelona, and the national team. Let’s dive into what we think will happen in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Mark Schofield: The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been dominated by superstars. Erling Haaland became a household name here in the United States thanks to a captivating blend of personality and skill. Kylian Mbappé continued his run at the record books with a dazzling string of performances. Jude Bellingham vaulted England deep into the knockout rounds with a legendary stretch of play. Lionel Messi is, well, Lionel Messi.
But through it all, even though Spain has a few premier talents on their roster, what makes La Roja dangerous is they look like the best team.
This is a side that yes, has Lamine Yamal but it is Mikel Oyarzabal leading the way in the goal chase, as the Real Sociedad forward who leads Spain in goals. Their buildup play has been masterful — a staple of Spanish teams year-after-year — but they have found the quality in the final third that was perhaps most evident on their second goal against France, this beauty off the foot of Pedro Porro following a lovely touch from Dani Olmo:
This is also a side that still has yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
Now I know, Messi and Argentina look inevitable. The comeback against Egypt. The comeback against England. It feels like they are marching to yet another title, even if they have yet to play a perfect 90 minutes. If they do against Spain, they will be tough to beat.
But … consider Luis de la Fuente. The Spanish manager has just two losses during his tenure in charge. One was a loss to Portugal, on penalties, in the UEFA Nations League.
The other was a loss to Colombia in a friendly.
James Dator: There’s always a degree of emotion that comes into play when picking a game like this, but I have to put aside the romanticism of Argentina and just focus on what makes logical sense — which is the reality that Spain has been playing this tournament on an entirely other level.
If you went back in time to mid-June and said “Lamine Yamal won’t be that impactful in the World Cup” the consensus would widely be that Spain would get eliminated in either the Round of 16 or the quarter-finals. Instead, we’ve witnessed La Roja play a peerless game that has befuddled everyone they’ve played against thus far.
Look no further than what happened to France in the semi-finals. That was a team dripping with unbelievable scoring talent, and they were befuddled against the Spanish defense. I don’t buy that this was some mammoth collapse by France, as much as Spain had built an impenetrable wall that never lost its shape. Some of the best footballers in the world tried everything to generate chances, yet only managed to get four shots on target. If that’s all you can get with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembélé, well, I don’t like the chances of anyone else.
Even with Lamal not making an impact, the ever-present counterattack threat of Lamal going off freezes teams from taking risks. This plays directly into Spain’s strategy, and they will choke you out with the long game. It gives me pause whether Argentina can push the pace through their wing play and get the soft opportunities in the box that they were given late in the game against England. This is an entirely different beast to face, and I think Spain can run them out of the park.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in last days, and the main event for the entire month-plus of action is about to begin. The final between Spain and Argentina is set to take place on Sunday afternoon, with hundreds of millions of eyeballs glued to TV screens as we crown another champion of the world.
There’s no shortage of drama or emotion when it comes to Spain and Argentina. We have what is likely to be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, while Spain is looking to anoint Lamine Yamal as the next Messi for both Barcelona, and the national team. Let’s dive into what we think will happen in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Mark Schofield: The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been dominated by superstars. Erling Haaland became a household name here in the United States thanks to a captivating blend of personality and skill. Kylian Mbappé continued his run at the record books with a dazzling string of performances. Jude Bellingham vaulted England deep into the knockout rounds with a legendary stretch of play. Lionel Messi is, well, Lionel Messi.
But through it all, even though Spain has a few premier talents on their roster, what makes La Roja dangerous is they look like the best team.
This is a side that yes, has Lamine Yamal but it is Mikel Oyarzabal leading the way in the goal chase, as the Real Sociedad forward who leads Spain in goals. Their buildup play has been masterful — a staple of Spanish teams year-after-year — but they have found the quality in the final third that was perhaps most evident on their second goal against France, this beauty off the foot of Pedro Porro following a lovely touch from Dani Olmo:
This is also a side that still has yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
Now I know, Messi and Argentina look inevitable. The comeback against Egypt. The comeback against England. It feels like they are marching to yet another title, even if they have yet to play a perfect 90 minutes. If they do against Spain, they will be tough to beat.
But … consider Luis de la Fuente. The Spanish manager has just two losses during his tenure in charge. One was a loss to Portugal, on penalties, in the UEFA Nations League.
The other was a loss to Colombia in a friendly.
James Dator: There’s always a degree of emotion that comes into play when picking a game like this, but I have to put aside the romanticism of Argentina and just focus on what makes logical sense — which is the reality that Spain has been playing this tournament on an entirely other level.
If you went back in time to mid-June and said “Lamine Yamal won’t be that impactful in the World Cup” the consensus would widely be that Spain would get eliminated in either the Round of 16 or the quarter-finals. Instead, we’ve witnessed La Roja play a peerless game that has befuddled everyone they’ve played against thus far.
Look no further than what happened to France in the semi-finals. That was a team dripping with unbelievable scoring talent, and they were befuddled against the Spanish defense. I don’t buy that this was some mammoth collapse by France, as much as Spain had built an impenetrable wall that never lost its shape. Some of the best footballers in the world tried everything to generate chances, yet only managed to get four shots on target. If that’s all you can get with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembélé, well, I don’t like the chances of anyone else.
Even with Lamal not making an impact, the ever-present counterattack threat of Lamal going off freezes teams from taking risks. This plays directly into Spain’s strategy, and they will choke you out with the long game. It gives me pause whether Argentina can push the pace through their wing play and get the soft opportunities in the box that they were given late in the game against England. This is an entirely different beast to face, and I think Spain can run them out of the park.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in last days, and the main event for the…
They were wrong.
Instead, Messi came back four years later to lift the trophy in Qatar. Then he came back again this year at 39. However, Messi is not the exception any more.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, has said that this World Cup will be his last after Portugal’s Round of 16 exit following the team’s loss to Spain. Brazil’s Neymar, 34, too, announced his retirement from international football, as did Germany’s Manuel Neuer, 40. Meanwhile, Guillermo Ochoa, who turned 41 this month, is stepping away from professional football after becoming the first goalkeeper to make six World Cup squads.
Even as this World Cup has felt like one long farewell tour, for many of these players, the goodbye came years later than anyone expected.
While there isn’t a definitive global dataset comparing retirement ages across generations, the evidence points in one direction: football’s elite has been getting older for decades. A 2019 peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers of Psychology tracking nearly 30 seasons of UEFA Champions League football found the average age of players rose from 24.9 years in 1992-93 to 26.5 years by 2017-18. That trend is now on full display at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which had eight players in their forties—more than every previous edition combined—including Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, one of the tournament’s breakout stars.
What’s striking is that this celebration of more veteran players on the pitch is happening during an era of football that has produced teenage stars like Lamine Yamal, Endrick, and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye. Soccer isn’t necessarily getting older because young players have disappeared; it’s getting older because veterans are leaving later.
Research suggests professional footballers still reach their physical peak in their mid-to-late twenties, though the exact age depends on position. And while aging is gradual, players in their thirties begin to lose their explosive speed and the stamina to maintain the high-intensity running that modern soccer demands most.
A long-term study of Spain’s top players found these reported losses in endurance were most notable among external defenders, external midfielders, and forwards, whose roles rely on explosive acceleration to either score a goal or shield their keeper’s box. Central defenders and central midfielders, meanwhile, became more accurate passers with age, suggesting that positioning, anticipation, and decisionmaking increasingly compensate for fading speed.
Messi may be the best example of how elite players adapt with age. Rather than constantly chasing the ball, he often spends long stretches walking, reading the game before deciding exactly when to get involved. According to The Athletic, FIFA tracking data shows Messi has spent 63 percent of his movement at this World Cup walking, conserving energy for the moments that matter most.
This just goes to prove that sports science hasn’t changed the biology of aging—it changed how soccer clubs respond to it. A 2024 review of athletes with extended careers found a correlation between professionals staying at the top of their game and increasingly individualized training.
Instead of prescribing the same program to an entire squad, coaches now tailor workloads around a player’s injury history, recovery, training response, and physical capacity.
However, as players get older, experience becomes a competitive advantage. Veteran footballers increasingly compensate for declining physicality with sharper decisionmaking, game intelligence, and a better understanding of their own limits.
Mere moments after Argentina lost to France in a Round of 16 match during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, commentators were already predicting it would be his final time on a World Cup pitch. “This was Lionel Messi’s final World Cup match, surely,” one stated, “and maybe his final game for his country.” Messi was 31 at the time, and many assumed they had just watched his last appearance on soccer’s biggest stage.
They were wrong.
Instead, Messi came back four years later to lift the trophy in Qatar. Then he came back again this year at 39. However, Messi is not the exception any more.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, has said that this World Cup will be his last after Portugal’s Round of 16 exit following the team’s loss to Spain. Brazil’s Neymar, 34, too, announced his retirement from international football, as did Germany’s Manuel Neuer, 40. Meanwhile, Guillermo Ochoa, who turned 41 this month, is stepping away from professional football after becoming the first goalkeeper to make six World Cup squads.
Even as this World Cup has felt like one long farewell tour, for many of these players, the goodbye came years later than anyone expected.
While there isn’t a definitive global dataset comparing retirement ages across generations, the evidence points in one direction: football’s elite has been getting older for decades. A 2019 peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers of Psychology tracking nearly 30 seasons of UEFA Champions League football found the average age of players rose from 24.9 years in 1992-93 to 26.5 years by 2017-18. That trend is now on full display at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which had eight players in their forties—more than every previous edition combined—including Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, one of the tournament’s breakout stars.
What’s striking is that this celebration of more veteran players on the pitch is happening during an era of football that has produced teenage stars like Lamine Yamal, Endrick, and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye. Soccer isn’t necessarily getting older because young players have disappeared; it’s getting older because veterans are leaving later.
Research suggests professional footballers still reach their physical peak in their mid-to-late twenties, though the exact age depends on position. And while aging is gradual, players in their thirties begin to lose their explosive speed and the stamina to maintain the high-intensity running that modern soccer demands most.
A long-term study of Spain’s top players found these reported losses in endurance were most notable among external defenders, external midfielders, and forwards, whose roles rely on explosive acceleration to either score a goal or shield their keeper’s box. Central defenders and central midfielders, meanwhile, became more accurate passers with age, suggesting that positioning, anticipation, and decisionmaking increasingly compensate for fading speed.
Messi may be the best example of how elite players adapt with age. Rather than constantly chasing the ball, he often spends long stretches walking, reading the game before deciding exactly when to get involved. According to The Athletic, FIFA tracking data shows Messi has spent 63 percent of his movement at this World Cup walking, conserving energy for the moments that matter most.
This just goes to prove that sports science hasn’t changed the biology of aging—it changed how soccer clubs respond to it. A 2024 review of athletes with extended careers found a correlation between professionals staying at the top of their game and increasingly individualized training.
Instead of prescribing the same program to an entire squad, coaches now tailor workloads around a player’s injury history, recovery, training response, and physical capacity.
However, as players get older, experience becomes a competitive advantage. Veteran footballers increasingly compensate for declining physicality with sharper decisionmaking, game intelligence, and a better understanding of their own limits.
Mere moments after Argentina lost to France in a Round of 16 match during the…
Lamine Yamal has a penchant for a luxe accessory, and this World Cup is no…
A handful of Scotland fans have returned, with a traffic cone adorned in designs that honor Boston. It was created by a fan/artist who fell in love with scenes of Scottish fans in Boston, with the traffic cone becoming synonymous with the fanbase due to their penchant for playfully putting them on the heads of statues, most notably the Duke of Wellington’s statue in Glasgow.
This new iteration of the cone is going to be touring the city to raise money and awareness for mental health charities. Seen as a symbol of friendship, it’s designed to foster friendship between the cities which will hopefully last long past the World Cup.
#Scotland #fans #returning #Boston #reason">
A handful of Scotland fans have returned, with a traffic cone adorned in designs that honor Boston. It was created by a fan/artist who fell in love with scenes of Scottish fans in Boston, with the traffic cone becoming synonymous with the fanbase due to their penchant for playfully putting them on the heads of statues, most notably the Duke of Wellington’s statue in Glasgow.
This new iteration of the cone is going to be touring the city to raise money and awareness for mental health charities. Seen as a symbol of friendship, it’s designed to foster friendship between the cities which will hopefully last long past the World Cup.
#Scotland #fans #returning #Boston #reason">Scotland fans are returning to Boston for the best reasonScotland’s time in the 2026 World Cup may have been short-lived, but the fans’ effect on Boston will live on for a long, long time. Visitors took over the city, integrated themselves to their hosts, and had an absolute ball during the group stage of the tournament. Now some of them are back, for the best reason imaginable.
A handful of Scotland fans have returned, with a traffic cone adorned in designs that honor Boston. It was created by a fan/artist who fell in love with scenes of Scottish fans in Boston, with the traffic cone becoming synonymous with the fanbase due to their penchant for playfully putting them on the heads of statues, most notably the Duke of Wellington’s statue in Glasgow.
This new iteration of the cone is going to be touring the city to raise money and awareness for mental health charities. Seen as a symbol of friendship, it’s designed to foster friendship between the cities which will hopefully last long past the World Cup.
#Scotland #fans #returning #Boston #reasonScotland’s time in the 2026 World Cup may have been short-lived, but the fans’ effect…
Haaland reportedly purchased the taxidermied raccoon in Texas, because that is an appropriate place to find a stuffed raccoon posed in such a way that it can hold a bottle of vodka with its little hands. The piece of folk art came from Wild Bill’s Western Store, costing Haaland a smooth $750 — which is a bargain for a new friend. Now Haaland is trying to solicit the internet to name his new buddy, and the options are pretty great.
There is only one correct option, obviously: ROW. Now only does it honor the Norwegian fans during the World Cup who rowed their raw around stadiums and across cities, but also “Raccoon on Wheels” is one of the greatest statements I have ever heard.
This was a transformative World Cup for Haaland. He went from being a brilliant but largely misunderstood player — and walked away being one of the most beloved athletes on the planet.
Haaland reportedly purchased the taxidermied raccoon in Texas, because that is an appropriate place to find a stuffed raccoon posed in such a way that it can hold a bottle of vodka with its little hands. The piece of folk art came from Wild Bill’s Western Store, costing Haaland a smooth $750 — which is a bargain for a new friend. Now Haaland is trying to solicit the internet to name his new buddy, and the options are pretty great.
There is only one correct option, obviously: ROW. Now only does it honor the Norwegian fans during the World Cup who rowed their raw around stadiums and across cities, but also “Raccoon on Wheels” is one of the greatest statements I have ever heard.
This was a transformative World Cup for Haaland. He went from being a brilliant but largely misunderstood player — and walked away being one of the most beloved athletes on the planet.
It’s safe to say that Norway became a lot of people’s favorite team after the USMNT’s elimination from the World Cup. Superstar striker Erling Haaland was a huge part of that, as the giant enjoyed being in the United States for the Cup, soaking up the sights, sounds, and experiences. That also involved falling in love with a dead, stuffed raccoon posed to hold a liquor bottle that he brought home, and now
Haaland reportedly purchased the taxidermied raccoon in Texas, because that is an appropriate place to find a stuffed raccoon posed in such a way that it can hold a bottle of vodka with its little hands. The piece of folk art came from Wild Bill’s Western Store, costing Haaland a smooth $750 — which is a bargain for a new friend. Now Haaland is trying to solicit the internet to name his new buddy, and the options are pretty great.
There is only one correct option, obviously: ROW. Now only does it honor the Norwegian fans during the World Cup who rowed their raw around stadiums and across cities, but also “Raccoon on Wheels” is one of the greatest statements I have ever heard.
This was a transformative World Cup for Haaland. He went from being a brilliant but largely misunderstood player — and walked away being one of the most beloved athletes on the planet.
It’s safe to say that Norway became a lot of people’s favorite team after the…
