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The 2026 World Cup ended last night with a 1–0 win for Spain against the champions Argentina. It was certainly one of the finals of all time and probably the most one-sided match I’ve ever seen (and by design). It took 117 minutes for Argentina to get a shot at goal and despite it all, they had a decent chance to bring the match level after Ferran Torres only goal in extra time. It wasn’t a pretty sight and for me at least neither was the tournament as a whole. I enjoyed individual moments:…

The England men’s national football team loves to relive its failures as if they are things for future generations to live up to. Over this World Cup period, I’ve watched a mini doc on Alan Shearer recollecting the 1998 campaign where they eventually lost to Argentina in the Round of 16 on penalties. This specific arc has been pushed multiple times even before the upcoming semi final clash with Argentina and it puzzles me. Even if it was a “destined” matchup at this World Cup, why hone in it or…

In 2014, Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal made an unusual substitution as his team were heading towards penalties against Costa Rica at the World Cup. He replaced Jasper Cillessen with Tim Krul in the 120th minute and it was a success as Krul saved two penalties and the Oranje made it to the semi-finals. 12 years later and Tony Popović tried a similar tactic for Australia, replacing Patrick Beach for Aussie #1 Mat Ryan who had been benched for the match. Sadly it didn’t work out for Popović…

Did you know that Colombia were supposed to host the 1986 World Cup? Route None told the story of how that changed to Mexico and all the corruption and controversial surrounding the change from both sides. The post Route None on the controversial change of host for the 1986 World Cup appeared first on Playrface.

The Athletic published an interview with Jorge Campos today and having also seen him in a Visa advert for the 2026 World Cup, it reminded me of his famous flamboyance and talents both in goal and up front. So I looked for a video showcasing them all and Barbosa Fútbol Videos came through like always. He was voted 3rd best goalkeeper in the world in 1993 by the IFFHS and scored 48 career goals. Keepers from the Americas were just built different. The post A Jorge “Campolation” appeared first on…

cm9798.co.uk played a save with a team made up of World Cup Managers. They were set up as an international team and you played in the 1998 World Cup. The post cm9798.co.uk played a save with a team made up of World Cup Managers appeared first on Playrface.

I loved football as a kid but without Sky, I couldn’t watch much beyond Champions League and FA Cup matches on ITV and Match of the Day on BBC1. That means I somehow missed/forgot a lot of Ian Wright’s best years (that and as a Man United fan, I shut out anyone who didn’t play for them. Except Tony Yeboah but I’ve written about that before). Thankfully, YouTube exists and this video shows all 185 of his goals for Arsenal. It’s a record that’s since been beaten by a certain Thierry Henry but…

TIL: The Isles of Scilly Football League is the the smallest in the world with only two clubs: Woolpack Wanderers and Garrison Gunners. The post The world’s smallest football league appeared first on Playrface.

You may have seen Michel Kuka Mboladinga, the DR Congo superfan who stands like a statue throughout match their matches. Sadly he was denied a visa for their crucial match against Uzbekistan which DR Congo won 3–1 to qualify for the Round-of-32 and it’s unlikely if he’ll get one for the next match against England. Mboladinga’s motionless stance is a tribute to DR Congo’s ⁠first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, who was assassinated in 1961. I’m so sick of these visa rejection/delay stories at…

I found every combination of World Cup country codes (e.g. CAN for Canada and MEX for Mexico would make CANMEX or MEXCAN etc.) and I could only find 4 English words: brasco (Brazil and Scotland) canned (Canada and Netherlands) tunned (Tunisia and Netherlands) turned (Turkey and Netherlands) In terms of whether those teams could meet in the competition: SCO vs. BRA kinda happened BUT Scotland was the designated home team so it technically didn’t count for BRASCO. CAN vs. NED would be in the…

I’m hella late with this but I just found a rendition of Ba Ba Black Sheep by Joseph Langabel for the England vs. Ghana (here’s his original version). I love that guy. The post Joseph Langabel’s rendition of Baa Baa Black Sheep for England vs. Ghana appeared first on Playrface.

Beautiful art from No Score Draws to commemorate Cabo Verde’s first ever goal at a World Cup, scored from a long range free kick by Kevin Pina. The post A Cabo Verde shock on the card appeared first on Playrface.

Former Germany international striker Pierre Littbarski played for Japanese side JEF United Chiba between 1993 and 1996, scoring 10 goals. The post Pierre Littbarski at JEF United Chiba (1993–1996) appeared first on Playrface.

And last but not least, we have Group L starring England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. England The manager Thomas Tuchel. It’s still weird to see the former Chelsea and PSG manager as England manager. Southgate did an amazing job but left the door for success open for Tuchel as a trophy win still alludes the Three Lions. X years of hurt and all that. Tuchel is methodical and not afraid to drop players which can go any of two ways depending on results. He’ll be hoping for the sake of his job that…

Onto Group K starring Portugal, DR Congo, newcomers Uzbekistan, and Colombia. Portugal The manager Roberto Martinez. He’ll be leaving at the end of the tournament and he’s had a fantastic tenure, winning the Nations League in 2024/25. Despite that success, World Cup glory has alluded him with Portugal and he’s arguably caught Cristiano Ronaldo at the “wrong” end of his career to drive them past the quarter finals of tournaments. Last World Cup 2022. Things were looking bright until they faced…

Group J? Here it is and it’s a triple-A group with Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. Argentina The manager Lionel Scaloni. He won the whole thing in Qatar and hasn’t fallen off since. Thankfully Messi hasn’t either (whom he claimed before the tournament was in charge, not him). Last World Cup 2022. They came out on top of that dramatic final and Messi finally lifted the trophy everyone wanted to see him with. Who’s getting the goals Messi.1 And maybe Julián Alvarez, Lautaro Martínez,…

It’s Group I time with France, Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. France The manager Didier Deschamps. I can hardly remember a time when he wasn’t France manager. This is his last tournament in charge so he’ll want to go out with a flourish and should he go all the way again, it’ll be a third consecutive World Cup final, something not done since Brazil in 1984, 1998, and 2002. Last World Cup 2022. That World Cup final featuring a hat-trick from Mbappe and That Chance from Randal Kolo Muani. Sadly they…

Let’s look at Group H with Spain, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay. That’s three titles, one round of 16, and a debut amongst the four of them. Spain The manager Luis de la Fuente. Similar to Darren Bazeley at New Zealand, de la Fuente has worked through the Spanish youth coaching ranks before he was appointed head coach of the senior team in 2022. His focus on youth has paid off with only 2 defeats in 42 internationals, scoring 112 and conceding just 34. Last World Cup 2022. Spain were on…

Now for Group G and a unique chance for one nation to guarantee a place in the knockout stages for the first time. Belgium The manager Rudi Garcia. The Frenchman has been around at club managerial level but this is his first international job after Domenico Tedesco left in January 2025. He’s had an auspicious start, losing just once in 14 games. I’m pretty confident he’ll make it out of the group and from there, the world is his Guylian oyster. Last World Cup After finishing 3rd in 2018, it was…

Well look at that! Lewis Hamilton just won his first grand prix for Ferrari in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. It’s his first GP win since the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix and his 106th overall (most of any driver in history). The win narrows the gap between him and the current leader Kimi Antonelli to just 41 points. The post Lewis Hamilton wins first grand prix as a Ferrari driver appeared first on Playrface.

Group F now with the Dutch, the Japanese, the Swedes, and the Tunisians. It feels like a World Cup group from the 00s or an incredible-sounding world cuisine buffet. Netherlands The manager Ronald Koeman. During both stints as manager, he has got the Netherlands to the final of the Nations League (losing in 2019 to Portugal) and the semi-finals of Euro 2024 (losing to England). Considering they missed a few major tournaments prior to both, it’s a return to form. Last World Cup 2022. The…

Congrats to the New York Knicks who beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 to win the 2026 NBA title (4–1). This is their first title since 1973 where they also won the series 4–1 (vs. the Lakers). New York is having A Moment this year, that’s for sure! The post The Knicks win in 5! appeared first on Playrface.

Do you remember those lenticular cards of footballers that you got in cereal boxes? Shreddies gave them away as part of their 1998 World Cup promotion, calling them World Cup Stars Action Replay. Cereal Offers has some great photos of them starring the likes of Patrick Vieira, Bebeto, Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp, and Hristo Stoichkov. The post World Cup feeder appeared first on Playrface.

Kenny Dalglish Soccer Match (1990) (via) The post Kenny Dalglish has spoken! appeared first on Playrface.

Time for Group E starring 4-time champs Germany, first-timers Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador. Germany The manager Julian Nagelsmann. Since winning the World Cup in 2014, Germany has failed to get out of the group stage in the last two tournaments. Nagelsmann is hoping to buck that trend because they surely can’t go three straight World Cups without knockout stage play. This will be only his second major international competition (outside of the Nations League I guess) after reaching the…

Onto Group D starring the last of the three hosts USA, Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. All four nations have reached the knockout stages in their histories and two of them even finished third (USA in 1930 and Turkey in 2002). USA The manager Mauricio Pochettino. The former Spurs, PSG, and Chelsea manager has been in charge of the USMNT since 2024 and hasn’t had an auspicious tenure so far, with notable defeats to Canada, Turkey, and Switzerland in his first year in charge, and then losing to…

For Cycling Weekly, Chris Marshall-Bell examined the budgets of successful WorldTour cycling teams: At cycling’s World Tour seminar in Geneva, Switzerland, in December, UCI President David Lappartient’s slideshow illustrated the projected cost structure of professional teams for the 2026 season – encompassing men’s and women’s WorldTeams, and the second-tier men’s and women’s ProTeams. The data showed the combined budgets of the 18 men’s World Teams in 2026 will reach €620-630m, up from €570m…

Someone I follow posted this and my first thought was “oh god, is this AI?”1 before reconfirming it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke that I’d missed. Yes, that’s former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech in a Drumeo video playing along to a Journey song he’d never heard before. Having spent many years watching him play in the Premier League, I was surprised to see him so proficient with a drum kit as it’s not a common hobby amongst ex-pros at his level (to my knowledge; feel free to list…

It’s time to look at Group C now, which includes Brazil, Morocco, second-timers Haiti, and returners Scotland. Notably, Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland were all in the same group back in 1998. Brazil The manager Carlo Ancelotti. That still feels weird to read. His accolades in club football make him one of, if not the, greatest managers of all time. But international management is brand new territory for the Italian who has the pressure of any Brazil coach on his shoulders. It can’t be any worse…

Former West Ham and Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood played for Finnish side Haka on loan in 1998, scoring three goals and helping them win the league. The post Marlon Harewood at Haka (1998) appeared first on Playrface.