Spain

England took a first-half lead against the World Cup and European champions at Wembley and then lost 3-2. This article explains exactly how that lead slipped away, and why the same question that followed the…

What follows when a World Cup final ends in confrontation rather than celebration? This article explains how FIFA’s response affects Argentina’s players, staff, supporters and football association, and why the…

FIFA’s proceedings against Argentina reach from a banner after the England semi-final to the disorder around the Spain final. This article explains why that breadth matters, what has been alleged and why…

Rodri lifted the World Cup and the Golden Ball only days ago, but he now needs back surgery that could delay his Manchester City return. This article explains what the operation means for City's opening…

Spain beat Argentina to win the 2026 World Cup, but the scoreboard and the scenes after full time told two very different stories. This article breaks down what the statistics actually show about Spain's…

Spain didn't just beat Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final, they beat them by every measurable margin, and this piece breaks down exactly how wide that gap was. It also digs into why the aftermath, not just…

One guest at the World Cup final changed the queue for everyone else. This article explains why Donald Trump's single appearance at the tournament put the Secret Service in charge of the gates at the New…

Twenty-four hours before a World Cup final, most of a team's work is already done. What remains is rhythm: one last session, one last run-through of set pieces. On Saturday the weather took that away from…

New York issued a statewide air quality health alert days before the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, with Canadian wildfire smoke pushing AQI past 200.

This semi-final had been sold as the standout fixture of the World Cup, and it never arrived as one. This covers Mikel Oyarzabal's early penalty, Pedro Porro's clinical second, the chances missed at both ends,…

Belgium spent 88 minutes in Los Angeles proving they belonged in this quarter-final, and then the tournament's most reliable late arrival took two touches to prove it did not matter. This covers the strange…

Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career is over after Portugal lost 1-0 to Spain in the last 16. Roberto Martinez resigned immediately after the final whistle.

A round-of-32 tie that had everything, and then found more. This covers Portugal's 2-1 win over Croatia in Toronto: Ivan Perisic's opener, the penalty that gave Cristiano Ronaldo his first World Cup knockout…

Every World Cup hands its stage to a few players who were children at the last one. This tournament, with a record number of debutants, has more of them than most. This piece runs through the young players who…

Uruguay arrived at this World Cup as dark horses and left it with two points and a manager already out of the door. This piece looks at the 1-0 defeat to Spain in Guadalajara that sent them home, a night…

Five days ago Spain were the story of the World Cup for all the wrong reasons. This piece looks at the 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia that put that right, at the teenager who turned a tense afternoon in Atlanta…

This piece examines one of the most striking results of the 2026 World Cup group stage: how a nation of fewer than 500,000 people brought European champions Spain to a complete standstill. We look beyond the…