Spain win the World Cup as Ferran Torres sinks 10-man Argentina
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time to lift their second World Cup, a substitute settling it once Enzo Fernández had walked and Messi's last act ended in silence.
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Short notes from the World Cup 2026. Enjoy!
England survive a France rally to win a 10-goal third-place thriller
England raced 4-0 up by half-time in Miami, then spent the second half nearly handing it all back before holding on 6-4 against France.
Read more →Spain and Argentina swap praise as the World Cup final nears
A rest day with no football and plenty of flattery. Spain and Argentina spent Friday at press conferences in Manhattan talking each other up, while Messi slipped a warning inside a compliment to Lamine Yamal.
Read more →Messi and Yamal set for a full-circle World Cup final
A rest day before Sunday, and the final everyone wanted. Spain's 19-year-old Lamine Yamal against the 39-year-old Lionel Messi who bathed him for a 2007 photo, with Argentina chasing back-to-back titles as underdogs.
Read more →Argentina break England's hearts late to reach World Cup final
England led with 35 minutes left and still lost. Enzo Fernández and a 90+2 Lautaro Martínez header, teed up by Messi, sent Argentina through to face Spain.
Read more →Spain shut down France and Mbappé to reach the World Cup final
A penalty, a give-and-go and a back four that never blinked. Spain beat France 2-0 in Arlington to reach their first final since 2010.
Read more →France sweat over Tchouaméni as the World Cup's top four square up
A rest day before the semis, and it's the first World Cup left with all four top-ranked teams. France nurse a fitness worry while a birthday boy talks a big game.
Read more →Messi bleeds through a Xhaka collision as VAR's card swap trick returns
Lionel Messi played all 120 minutes with a gash over his eye in Argentina's quarterfinal win, and on the tournament's first rest day, the video review that sent Breel Embolo off instead of Leandro Paredes was still drawing fire.
Read more →Embolo's dive and Bellingham's brace send Argentina, England to the semis
A red card for simulation blew up Switzerland's night in Kansas City, and a disallowed goal in Miami extra time kept Norway's fairy tale one win short. Argentina and England meet next.
Read more →Merino's super-sub strike sinks Belgium as Spain reach first semi since 2010
Mikel Merino scored two minutes after coming off the bench to send Spain past Belgium 2-1 in Los Angeles, a night that also saw Thibaut Courtois carried off injured before his own understudy handed Spain the winner.
Read more →Mbappé misses a penalty, scores the winner as France end Morocco's run
Kylian Mbappé missed a penalty then scored the decider as France beat Morocco 2-0 in Boston, while a suspension controversy hangs over Saturday's England-Norway quarterfinal.
Read more →Morocco loses Saibari for quarterfinal, Messi leads Golden Boot race
The tournament's first true rest day brought bad news for Morocco, a crowded Golden Boot chase, and a look at the oldest lineup Argentina has fielded in years.
Read more →Messi's penalty redemption sends Argentina through, Switzerland end 72-year wait
Lionel Messi missed a penalty and then scored the equalizer as Argentina fought back from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2, while Switzerland reached their first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954 by beating Colombia on penalties.
Read more →Ronaldo's last bow as Spain edge Portugal, Belgium rout USA at home
Mikel Merino's stoppage-time winner sent Spain past Portugal and ended Cristiano Ronaldo's international career, while Belgium put four past a shell-shocked United States to knock the co-hosts out of their own World Cup.
Read more →Haaland sinks Brazil, ten-man England survive Mexico City
Erling Haaland scored twice in the last 11 minutes to send Norway past Brazil and into their first-ever World Cup quarterfinal, while England beat Mexico 3-2 despite playing more than half an hour with ten men.
Read more →Morocco end host Canada's run, Mbappe draws level with Messi
Azzedine Ounahi scored twice and Soufiane Rahimi added a stoppage-time third as Morocco knocked host nation Canada out of the World Cup 3-0, while Kylian Mbappe's penalty ended Paraguay's Cinderella run and pulled him level with Lionel Messi atop the Golden Boot race.
Read more →Cape Verde scare Argentina to extra time, Egypt finally get over the line
Cape Verde, playing in their first ever World Cup, pushed Lionel Messi's Argentina to extra time before falling 3-2, while Egypt won a penalty shootout over Australia to reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history.
Read more →Ronaldo scores first knockout goal as Switzerland end 88-year wait
Cristiano Ronaldo became the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout match before Gonçalo Ramos won it deep into stoppage time, Switzerland ended an 88-year knockout drought against Algeria, and Spain cruised past Austria behind an Oyarzabal double.
Read more →Kane passes Pelé, Tielemans scores World Cup's latest ever goal
Harry Kane's late brace pushed him past Pelé's World Cup goal tally, Youri Tielemans won a wild extra-time thriller with the latest goal in tournament history, and ten-man USA survived a Balogun red card to reach the last 16.
Read more →Mexico end a 40-year wait, Haaland's late winner sinks Ivory Coast
Co-hosts Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0 to reach the last 16 for the first time in four decades, while Erling Haaland's 86th-minute goal set up a Norway date with Brazil.
Read more →Germany and the Netherlands both exit on penalties as Brazil survive Japan
Monday's Round of 32 dumped two European heavyweights out from the spot, Germany to Paraguay and the Netherlands to Morocco, while Brazil needed the 96th minute to see off Japan.
Read more →Eustáquio's stoppage-time winner sends Canada into the last 16
Canada had the whole knockout-round opener to themselves and needed every second of it, with Stephen Eustáquio's 92nd-minute strike beating South Africa and Alphonso Davies finally getting onto the pitch.
Read more →Muslera howler sends Uruguay home as Kane breaks England's World Cup record
A goalkeeping nightmare from Fernando Muslera handed Spain top spot and bundled Uruguay out, while Harry Kane quietly rewrote England's record books.
Read more →Dembélé's near-record hat-trick sinks Norway as Cape Verde make history
France's Ousmane Dembélé scored three times inside 32 minutes against Norway, while debutants Cape Verde became the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup knockout round.
Read more →Ecuador stun Germany and Türkiye sink USA, yet both giants march on
On Thursday, Ecuador came from behind to beat group winners Germany 2-1 and a winless Türkiye mugged the hosts USA 3-2 in stoppage time, and neither result cost the favourites a knockout spot.
Read more →South Africa reach a first-ever knockout as Brazil and Switzerland top groups
On Wednesday, Bafana Bafana edged South Korea 1-0 to reach the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time in their history, while Brazil and Switzerland wrapped up their groups.
Read more →Ronaldo scores at a sixth World Cup as England draw a blank
Cristiano Ronaldo's brace in Portugal's 5-0 win over Uzbekistan put him past Messi into territory no one has reached, while England had 78.8% of the ball against Ghana and nothing to show for it.
Read more →Messi breaks the all-time World Cup scoring record as France and Norway advance
Messi's double against Austria made him the leading scorer in World Cup history, men's or women's, while Haaland and Mbappé braces sent Norway and France into the knockouts.
Read more →Yamal and Oyarzabal sink Saudi Arabia as Egypt shake up Group G
Spain answered their dismal opener by putting four past Saudi Arabia, while Egypt's first-ever World Cup win and a Belgium red card turned Group G on its head.
Read more →Netherlands and Japan run riot in Group F as Undav rescues Germany
Saturday's World Cup served up two routs in Group F and a stoppage-time winner in Group E, with Tunisia knocked out and Germany scraping top spot.
Read more →Saibari and Galarza break the record hours apart, and Paraguay win short-handed
Morocco's Ismael Saibari set the World Cup's fastest-goal record on Friday, and Paraguay's Matías Galarza broke it hours later. Paraguay then won with ten men after the tournament's first mouth-covering red card, while the USA reached the last 32 without Pulisic.
Read more →Canada rout Qatar for a first World Cup win as Mexico reach the knockouts
Canada won a World Cup match for the first time, hammering nine-man Qatar 6-0 behind a Jonathan David hat-trick, while Mexico became the first team into the knockouts. A serious injury to Ismaël Koné soured the night.
Read more →How Track the Cup projects the knockout bracket before it's decided
Until the real draw is set, the Round of 32 is filled from the live standings. Here's how the projection is built, and why it shifts after every match.
Read more →England survive a wild one with Croatia as Ronaldo's Portugal stall
England beat Croatia 4-2 in a chaotic opener, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were held by DR Congo, and Ghana stole a stoppage-time winner in the Toronto rain.
Read more →Messi equals Klose and Mbappé passes Giroud on a record-heavy Tuesday
Tuesday's openers handed Lionel Messi his first World Cup hat-trick and a share of Klose's all-time record, Kylian Mbappé the France scoring record, and Erling Haaland a two-goal World Cup debut.
Read more →What "best third-placed" means, and why it could decide your team's World Cup
Eight of the twelve third-place teams survive the group stage in 2026. How they're ranked, why it makes the last day chaotic, and where to watch the race.
Read more →Cape Verde hold Spain, Lukaku rescues Belgium, and Iran draw a charged night
Monday's openers were unkind to the favourites. Debutants Cape Verde held Spain to a goalless draw, Egypt nearly beat Belgium, and Iran twice came back against New Zealand in a politically charged game in Los Angeles.
Read more →Germany batter Curaçao 7-1 while Japan deny the Dutch in stoppage time
Sunday brought a Germany goal-fest against debutants Curaçao, a 2-2 thriller where Japan twice came from behind against the Netherlands, and a Sweden statement in Monterrey.
Read more →Vinícius lights up Brazil's draw with Morocco as Scotland end a 36-year wait
Saturday in Group C had a Vinícius Júnior stunner in Brazil's 1-1 draw with Morocco and Scotland's first World Cup win in 36 years. Qatar grabbed a historic point off Switzerland too.
Read more →Balogun's brace launches the USA as Larin earns Canada a historic point
The co-hosts had contrasting opening nights. The USA hammered Paraguay 4-1 behind a Folarin Balogun brace, while Canada's Cyle Larin came off the bench to snatch a first-ever World Cup point.
Read more →How the 48-team World Cup 2026 format actually works
Forty-eight teams, twelve groups, a new Round of 32, and 104 matches. How a team gets from the opening whistle to the final at the first expanded World Cup.
Read more →Mexico win an opener at last, in a three-red-card mess at the Azteca
The World Cup kicked off with Mexico finally winning an opener, a record three red cards, and a Shakira-led ceremony. South Korea came from behind to beat Czechia.
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