Jude Bellingham showcased his talents by netting four goals in the knockout stage of the World Cup, reminiscent of Diego Maradona’s brilliance in 1986. (Photo/ANI) Forty years ago in Mexico, Diego Maradona scored twice against England and twice against Belgium in consecutive World Cup knockout matches. On Sunday in Miami, Jude Bellingham did exactly the…
France’s Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to reach twenty World Cup appearances. He achieved this milestone at twenty-seven years and two hundred one days old. (AP Photo) Kylian Mbappe and World Cup records go together like goals and glory and on Thursday night, he added another one to his growing collection.When Mbappe took to…
The biggest-ever FIFA World Cup, featuring 48 teams, is now down to its final eight after a Round of 16 packed with extraordinary football, emotional farewells and no shortage of drama. FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinals will get underway from Friday The knockout stage delivered everything it had promised. Egypt became the tournament’s flagbearers of…
Egypt’s Yasser Ibrahim (2) celebrates scoring his side’s opening opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026 (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser) Egypt defender Yasser Ibrahim gave the Pharaohs a dream start against Argentina in their FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash,…
One can sum up Cristiano Ronaldo’s career in two pictures. No, not the five Ballon d’Ors or the Champions League titles that he has won. Both pictures are from different World Cups, captured at just the moment before the zenith and after the nadir of his career.The first is from the 2006 World Cup and…
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (7) reacts after the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Portugal and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson) Hello and welcome to another edition of Offside. First off, Spain saw off Portugal to win the Iberian derby, while Belgium won the world’s approval…
United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino embraces United States’ Folarin Balogun. (AP Photo) United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino has thrown his full support behind FIFA’s extraordinary decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-match ban, insisting the ruling upheld the principles of “ethics and integrity” as the co-hosts prepare for a blockbuster FIFA World Cup…
Cristiano Ronaldo with Portugal teammate Bernardo Silva (AP Photo) Hello and welcome to another edition of Offside. Today is the birth anniversary of one of the greatest authors in the Western literary canon. One of the most written-about authors in the world, Franz Kafka didn’t even want much of his work published, but his dying…
Jude Bellingham triggers confusion over FIFA’s new rule during England’s World Cup draw/ Image: X England midfielder Jude Bellingham became the centre of a fresh World Cup controversy during Tuesday’s goalless draw with Ghana after television cameras captured him covering his mouth while speaking to Ghana captain Jordan Ayew. With FIFA’s new mouth-covering rule already…
4 min readJun 22, 2026 08:33 AM IST Messi’s hat-trick in the defending champions’ 3-0 romp over Algeria was contrasted with the sorry figure the Portuguese superstar cut in 1-1 draw with underdogs Democratic Republic of Congo.With the two legends on the final legs of their careers, we analyse why. 1. Productivity in attack Messi…
