World Cup

The Radar

Teams

Scores & Schedule

Standings

Men’s World Cup

Gianni Infantino addressed MLS owners' meeting, a first for a FIFA president

FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed MLS owners at the league’s Board of Governors meeting this week, becoming the first FIFA president to attend a board meeting since MLS’s founding in 1996. “I was very happy for the first time that the FIFA president comes to an MLS meeting of this nature,” Infantino said. “We have great events coming up here in North America with the new Club World Cup next year, the World Cup in ‘26, so a lot of promotion for soccer, or football as we call it.” The MLS Board of Governors consists of a representative from ownership of each of...

Paul Tenorio96

How FIFA plan to advance technology in football: From synthetic feeds to skeletal tracking

Adam Leventhal24

Germany switching kit supplier to Nike from Adidas from 2027

Luke Bosher166

Mexico head coach Jaime Lozano: 'I dreamed about being in this role'

Felipe Cardenas10

How FIFA's World Cup 2026 plans are taking gun violence into account

Melanie Anzidei97

World Cup changes

What a 32-team Club World Cup would have looked like last summer

FIFA has confirmed plans to expand the Club World Cup, here is the expanded tournament would have looked if it had been played last year

Ed Mackey87

The expanded 2026 World Cup might not be a terrible idea

Ajay Rose130

Bigger groups, more matches - what FIFA's latest change means for the 2026 World Cup

Ed Mackey and Matt Slater63

World Cup 2026 to have four-team groups and 104 matches

Matt Slater and David Ornstein214

Argentina win World Cup

Unbridled joy with a sinister edge - how Argentina celebrated their World Cup win

Four million fans turned out in Buenos Aires to celebrate Lionel Messi and friends on Tuesday, but there was a dark side to the euphoria

The Athletic UK Staff52

The definitive butterfly effect moments that led to Messi winning the World cup

Nick Miller65

Messi's voice, lucky Aguero and lots of beef: How Argentina won the World Cup

Ed Malyon, Sam Lee and more126

Lionel, Kylian, thank you

Alan Shearer158

This was the Angel Di Maria final — then he came off and Argentina very nearly fell apart

John Muller82

The night Messi won the World Cup - told with some help from the man himself

Oliver Kay117

World Cup conversations

Interviews with those who have lifted the trophy to trailblazers breaking new ground in Qatar.

The man that got Lionel Messi sent off on his Argentina debut

In his first Argentina game, Messi was sent off for elbowing Vilmos Vanczak, who cherishes the role he played in the iconic forward's story

Steve Madeley2

Klose: 'When you play Messi, Cristiano and Ronaldo and score the most, you must be grateful'

Alan Shearer9

Australia's Awer Mabil: From refugee camp to the World Cup

Nick Miller12

Inaki Williams: 'My parents risked their lives to provide for me and Nico - World Cup is for them'

Dermot Corrigan12

Jamal Musiala: Messi comparisons, neuroathletics and how to pick a lock

Raphael Honigstein7

Xherdan Shaqiri on still watching Liverpool, World Cup hopes and life in America

James Pearce7

Qatar's cup: Fan stories

S-E-N-E-G-A-L: Spending matchday with the Seven Letters

Hours of preparation, years of dedication and you don't swap letters! A day with the Senegal fans who've lit up the World Cup...

Charlotte Harpur47

Female Iran fans fear state 'spotters' are spying on them at World Cup games

Laura Williamson and Adam Crafton67

'I don’t feel safe': Detained at the World Cup for wearing a 'Women Life Freedom' T-shirt

Charlotte Harpur91

'They can’t crush us': An Iranian woman's experience of the World Cup - and what now?

Laura Williamson7

Travelling with Saudi fans: 100 buses, sympathy for Messi and a shock for the ages

Matt Slater24

Watching the World Cup with Qatar's migrant workers in the 'Industrial Fan Zone'

Adam Crafton54

The Radar

The Radar - The Athletic's 2022 World Cup scouting guide

The Radar is here - The Athletic's guide to 100 of the most talented and under-the-radar footballers on show at the World Cup

The Athletic Staff91

How to understand The Radar, The Athletic's World Cup player guide

Mark Carey1

Tactical analysis

Why this World Cup is the tournament of the 'finisher'

Substitutes have scored or assisted almost 30 per cent of goals, comfortably higher than the average of every previous World Cup

Liam Tharme4

This is how you can stop Lionel Messi

John Muller11

How does your country take a goal kick?

Stuart James12

The World Cup's intriguing tactical conundrum of who to play as centre-forward

Michael Cox8

Why some World Cup managers are using their full-backs to do very different jobs

Liam Tharme11

MLS's Don Garber on World Cup and why U.S. is 'the ATM of the soccer world'

The MLS commissioner covered a number of topics in an exclusive roundtable, including competition with Liga MX, roster rule changes and more

The Athletic Soccer staff249

FIFA men's U17 World Cup increasing to 48 teams with next five to be held in Qatar

FIFA has announced that the next five men’s under-17 World Cups will take place in Qatar and the tournament will expand from 24 to 48 teams. The tournament, which was founded in 1985, will also be held annually rather than biennially from 2025. The women’s under-17 World Cups from 2025 will also become an annual competition as well as being expanded from 16 teams to 24 teams. The next five editions of the women’s under-17 World Cup will take place in Morocco. The changes were announced ahead of the 74th FIFA Congress, with FIFA saying that the changes: “Follow a global...

Nnamdi Onyeagwara9

Cheick Tiote's magic to 'Crystanbul' - our writers' favourite comebacks

Our writers describe the greatest comebacks they have seen live - jump in, reminisce and then add your own…

Simon Hughes, Andy Mitten and more61

Saudi Arabia launch bid campaign for 2034 World Cup

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has officially launched its bid campaign to host the men’s World Cup in 2034. Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the sole candidate to host the tournament in October, after Australia decided not to bid. SAFF has now begun its campaign which includes the unveiling of its bid logo and official website. Under the slogan “Growing. Together”, SAFF says its bid seeks to highlight the parallel between Saudi Arabia’s rapid development and the transformative potential of hosting the World Cup while the logo is made up of intertwined rows...

Omar Garrick93

Luis de la Fuente extends Spain contract until 2026 World Cup

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has agreed a contract extension through to the World Cup in 2026. The Athletic reported that Spain were set to extend De la Fuente’s deal until 2026 last month, with his previous deal due to expire after the European Championship in Germany this summer. De la Fuente guided Spain to their first-ever Nations League triumph last year when they defeated Croatia in a penalty shootout in the final. He also oversaw Spain’s qualification for this summer’s Euros. A statement from the Spanish FA (RFEF) on Thursday read: “The Managing Commission...

Colin Millar and more2

Producer of Messi 'Rise of a Legend' explains how he captured World Cup run behind the scenes

Executive producer describes what it's like to capture Messi's life on film.

Felipe Cardenas19

Andreas Brehme: The unexpected German World Cup hero - and a player who truly cared

Brehme, who scored the winner in the 1990 World Cup final, died on Monday night from a cardiac arrest at age 63

Raphael Honigstein29

World Cup 2026 tickets: How do I get one? Are they on sale? How much do they cost?

The World Cup will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico — this is the state of play for tickets

Joey D'Urso156

The 2026 World Cup presents logistical issues for the NWSL

An increasingly crowded summer soccer calendar in the U.S. poses a variety of problems for the NWSL

Meg Linehan16

Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and the row that dislocated a finger and rocked South Korea's Asian Cup

A disagreement between the Spurs and PSG players ended not just with captain Son dislocating his finger, but with disharmony in the camp

Charlie Eccleshare75

Would a half-time show work for the World Cup or Champions League final?

European football has tried to incorporate Super Bowl-style entertainment before or during matches - but met with limited success

Greg O'Keeffe243

Comparing the Super Bowl to the men's World Cup final and Champions League final

Differences in viewership are well documented, but the NFL, FIFA and UEFA all have eyes on each other

Felipe Cardenas76

Haji Wright on his 'crazy' World Cup goal: 'I was like, "OK, I’ll take it!"’

The striker knows goals for Coventry City will help him get back into Gregg Berhalter's plans for the USMNT

Greg O'Keeffe22

How Canada will approach World Cup 2026: 'Our players know they'll have that support'

Canada interim head coach Mauro Biello says the team plans to use two home bases to accommodate for games in Toronto and Vancouver

Joshua Kloke11

Inside the World Cup 2026 final host city selection: Why New Jersey was picked over Dallas

The 2026 World Cup final will take place in New Jersey - despite all roads leading to Dallas for a while....

Melanie Anzidei and Adam Crafton219

Will Man City be worried? Why did Southgate scout Henderson? Are fan walkouts valid? - The Briefing

Nick Miller brings you his take on three of the weekend's talking points…

Nick Miller112

World Cup 2026: The biggest tournament yet and a New York final

The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will feature more matches than ever before - now we know where they will be

The Athletic Staff182

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium wins the 2026 World Cup final

The 2026 men’s World Cup final will be staged at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey after FIFA, world football’s governing body, chose the venue over those in Dallas and Los Angeles. The home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets has been selected ahead of Dallas’ AT&T Stadium and L.A.’s SoFi Stadium to host world football’s most prestigious match. Dallas, though, will host the most matches at the tournament with nine, while L.A. will feature the U.S.’s opening game of the tournament on June 12. The opening game of the 2026 World Cup, meanwhile, will...

Melanie Anzidei and Ali Rampling537

2026 World Cup final: The pros and cons of Texas' AT&T and New Jersey's MetLife

Dallas and New Jersey are the favorites to land the 2026 World Cup final, but what are the strengths and weaknesses of each bid?

Melanie Anzidei111

AFCON finally has African managers. But the rest of the world has not caught up

African nations took a long time to put non-Europeans in charge. Now they are thriving and might offer a path to bigger club jobs

Jay Harris36

Men’s World Cup

Gianni Infantino addressed MLS owners' meeting, a first for a FIFA president

World Cup changes

What a 32-team Club World Cup would have looked like last summer

Argentina win World Cup

Unbridled joy with a sinister edge - how Argentina celebrated their World Cup win

World Cup conversations

The man that got Lionel Messi sent off on his Argentina debut

Qatar's cup: Fan stories

S-E-N-E-G-A-L: Spending matchday with the Seven Letters

The Radar

Tactical analysis

Why this World Cup is the tournament of the 'finisher'

More Stories

MLS's Don Garber on World Cup and why U.S. is 'the ATM of the soccer world'

FIFA men's U17 World Cup increasing to 48 teams with next five to be held in Qatar

Cheick Tiote's magic to 'Crystanbul' - our writers' favourite comebacks

Saudi Arabia launch bid campaign for 2034 World Cup

Luis de la Fuente extends Spain contract until 2026 World Cup

Producer of Messi 'Rise of a Legend' explains how he captured World Cup run behind the scenes

Andreas Brehme: The unexpected German World Cup hero - and a player who truly cared

World Cup 2026 tickets: How do I get one? Are they on sale? How much do they cost?

The 2026 World Cup presents logistical issues for the NWSL

Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and the row that dislocated a finger and rocked South Korea's Asian Cup

Would a half-time show work for the World Cup or Champions League final?

Comparing the Super Bowl to the men's World Cup final and Champions League final

Haji Wright on his 'crazy' World Cup goal: 'I was like, "OK, I’ll take it!"’

How Canada will approach World Cup 2026: 'Our players know they'll have that support'

Inside the World Cup 2026 final host city selection: Why New Jersey was picked over Dallas

Will Man City be worried? Why did Southgate scout Henderson? Are fan walkouts valid? - The Briefing

World Cup 2026: The biggest tournament yet and a New York final

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium wins the 2026 World Cup final

2026 World Cup final: The pros and cons of Texas' AT&T and New Jersey's MetLife

AFCON finally has African managers. But the rest of the world has not caught up

Men’s World Cup Teams