THE CUP THAT WAS

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History, before the whistle went off

The tournament kicked off on June 11 with three separate opening ceremonies — in Mexico City, Toronto and Los Angeles — the first time a world cup has ever needed more than one.  It was also the biggest edition ever: 48 teams, up from 32 in 2022, playing a record 104 matches, up from 64 in Qatar four years ago. Mandatory 'hydration breaks' were introduced too.

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In times of conflict

Iran arrived for the tournament against the backdrop of an active US-Israel conflict with Tehran. Facing uncertainty over visas for its staff, the team’s training base had to be moved from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. They would train just across the border and cross into the US only for  matches. 

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Cape Verde's fairytale

Cape Verde, the smallest nation ever to reach a world cup knockout stage, held Spain to a 0-0 draw on debut, with 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha saving seven shots and becoming an overnight sensation. Their run reached the Round of 32, where they twice equalised against Argentina before falling 3-2 in extra time. Vozinha made eight more saves, four off Lionel Messi alone.

ALL THE RECORDS

Messi’s vintage show

Messi opened his sixth World Cup with a hat-trick against Algeria that drew him level with Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16 career goals — then broke it days later with a brace against Austria at Dallas Stadium. He finished the tournament on eight goals and a career total of 21 — for a month, the outright all-time record.

Haaland, Vikings, and  spidercam storm

Norway’s run to its quarter-final began with a stunning Round of 16 upset of five-time champions Brazil, as both goals were scored from Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.  This result sent their fan chant, the Viking Row — supporters and players rowing to a drumbeat — viral worldwide. Their dream ended in the quarter-final itself, where England won 2-1 in extra time. Jude Bellingham’s two goals included a first-half equaliser that followed a Norwegian goal-kick, which, replays suggested, clipped a spidercam wire. Fifa’s ball-sensor technology found no evidence of contact. 

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"It started here… and I finished here."

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The curtain call

Brazil’s exit ended Neymar’s international career. Brought on as a substitute against Norway at MetLife Stadium — the same ground where he debuted in 2010 — he scored a stoppage-time penalty, then broke down in tears and announced his retirement.

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Ronaldo's world cup heartbreak

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'A clear conscience'

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sixth and, by his own admission, last World Cup ended in the Round of 16, beaten 1-0 by Spain on Mikel Merino’s stoppage-time winner. A tearful Ronaldo said he left with a “clear conscience”, closing out the only World Cup career to span six editions and score in every one — although a trophy eluded him.

EVEN THE GREATS FLUFF THEIR LINES

12 yard misses

Messi missed penalties against both Austria and Egypt, taking his career record to four misses in eight world cup spot-kicks. Kylian Mbappé missed his first-ever world cup penalty in the quarter-final win over Morocco. But he went on to make amends with a goal of his own. And of the four shootouts till the quarter-finals, each was won by the team going second.

Three hosts, none in quarter-final

Canada went first, beaten 3-0 by Morocco on July 4. Mexico followed a day later, undone by a rapid Jude Bellingham brace as England won the match 3-2.

Canada
Canada
Mexico
Mexico
USA
USA
BALOGUN ROW

USA shown the exit nonetheless

... after President Donald Trump said he’d personally asked Fifa chief Gianni Infantino to review striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban. Fifa controversially let him play. But the Americans lost 4-1 to Belgium anyway.

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Argentina live dangerously

Their biggest fright came against Egypt, against whom they trailed 2-0 with just 11 minutes left. They scored three times, with Enzo Fernandez completing a 3-2 comeback in stoppage time. 

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Egypt raises 'X'

Egypt cried foul over VAR calls that chalked off a goal and denied a penalty. Coach Hossam Hassan crossed his arms in an “X” — the designated signal for reporting racist abuse — as the chaos unfolded, though neither he nor the Egyptian federation explained what prompted it. The referee booked him for dissent rather than invoking the protocol.

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No bias, says Fifa

Hassan's public complaints afterward were about refereeing bias, saying: “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition.” Fifa's refereeing chief rejected claims of bias.

THE TOURNAMENT'S CONSISTENT SUBPLOT

All that’s fair in VAR

Portugal’s R32 win over Croatia turned on the ball’s internal sensor, which detected a fractional touch & ruled out a goal.

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Off the pitch

International fans discovered American ranch dressing with near-religious devotion. So much so that US authorities had to warn against carrying bottles in hand luggage. Mexican and South Korean fans revived their 2018 bond — “Coreano, hermano, ya eres mexicano” — with tequila and impromptu street parties.

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Manners, please

Japan’s fans, true to their reputation and ritual, stayed behind after matches with bin bags to clean their sections and the team’s locker room.

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Boston takeover

Scotland’s travelling support was blamed for a temporary beer shortage in Boston, after the team’s first finals appearance in 28 years.

The favourites who fell early

TEMPERS RUN HOT

Fists, fouls & the Falklands

Argentina vs England semi-final was in focus once again.

AFTER THE WHISTLE

Semi-final scuffles

England's Jude Bellingham slaps Valentín Barco on the back of the head after the semi-final, prompting a quick pushback.

One match, 26 fouls...

Besides the over two dozen fouls at the Argentina vs England semi-final, referee Ismail Elfath had to stop separate shoving matches. Bellingham was caught in the face by a Leandro Paredes elbow in the opening minutes, and the Englishman exchanged words with Rodrigo de Paul and Messi too.

...& geopolitics at play

Fifa has initiated an investigation into Argentinian players displaying a banner that read, 'The Falklands are Argentinian'. The move violated Fifa's stadium code of conduct and struck a nerve in the UK.

A FINAL OF TOTAL CONTROL

The Spanish tango

They passed. They pushed. They prodded ahead. 

AFTER 16 YEARS 

The beautiful game

Luis de la Fuente’s side had 20 shots to Argentina’s two. What kept the defending champions alive was Emiliano Martínez, whose 11 saves broke the record for a goalkeeper in a WC final. The game turned only in extra time, when Ferran Torres struck the net off a Nico Williams cross to seal Spain’s second world cup title.

FOR ARGENTINA

A reign ends

The loss ended their bid to become the first repeat champions since Brazil in 1962. For Messi, in what may well be his last world cup, it ended in tears — a defeat that felt less like a coronation denied than a passing of the torch.