Jul 20, 2026
Spain look built to last, and that should worry the rest of the world
Spain backed up Euro 2024 with the World Cup, and with Lamine Yamal only nineteen and Rodri collecting the game’s top prize, the dynasty question is a...
Lionel Messi
46 articles tagged with "Lionel Messi"
Jul 20, 2026
Rodri and Spain dominate the 2026 World Cup awards, Mbappe takes the Golden Boot
Rodri won the Golden Ball, Unai Simon the Golden Glove and Pau Cubarsi the Young Player award as Spain swept the individual honours. Kylian Mbappe was...
Jul 19, 2026
Spain are world champions as Ferran Torres’ extra-time goal downs ten-man Argentina
Ferran Torres’ extra-time strike settled a tense final at MetLife Stadium, denying ten-man Argentina and handing Spain their first World Cup title sin...
Jul 19, 2026
Messi and Yamal: two Barcelona generations meet in the World Cup final
Messi is 39 and probably saying goodbye. Yamal is 19 and just getting started. The World Cup final puts two players from the same club lineage on oppo...
Jul 19, 2026
Spain vs Argentina: what to watch in the World Cup 2026 final
Spain and Argentina meet at MetLife Stadium with the World Cup on the line. Here is how the two unbeaten finalists shape up before the 00:30 IST kicko...
Jul 18, 2026
Whatever happens against Spain, this feels like Messi’s long goodbye
At 39, and openly admitting he is exhausted, Lionel Messi has dragged Argentina to a third World Cup final. Sunday against Spain may well be the last...
Jul 17, 2026
Messi edges Mbappe on assists as the World Cup Golden Boot goes to the wire
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are locked together on eight goals with one game each left, and the tie-break maths currently leaves the Argentine in f...
Jul 16, 2026
A World Cup final of opposites: Spain’s control against Messi’s Argentina
Spain reached the World Cup final with the tournament’s meanest defence; Argentina got there on Lionel Messi and a habit of late drama. Sunday’s showp...
Jul 15, 2026
Enzo and Lautaro strike late as Argentina beat England to reach the World Cup final
Two goals in the final five minutes, both made by Lionel Messi, turned a losing semi-final into a place in the final for the holders.
Jul 15, 2026
England face Messi’s Argentina in Atlanta with a final against Spain up for grabs
The World Cup’s last semifinal pits England against the holders Argentina in Atlanta, with the winner meeting Spain in Sunday’s final.
Jul 14, 2026
MLS keeps luring Europe’s icons as its summer window swings open
Allan Saint-Maximin’s move to Charlotte is the latest sign of a trend. As the MLS summer window opens, some of Europe’s biggest names keep heading to...
Jul 13, 2026
Mbappe leads Messi by an assist as the World Cup Golden Boot race reaches the semis
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are tied on eight goals, Erling Haaland is stuck on seven and out of the tournament, and Harry Kane is chasing on six....
Jul 12, 2026
Messi faces England at last as an old World Cup rivalry returns in the semis
Wednesday’s semi-final in Atlanta pits Thomas Tuchel’s England against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, reviving a fixture last played in 2005 and one Messi...
Jul 12, 2026
Alvarez stunner sends Argentina past Switzerland and into an England semi-final
The holders needed extra time and a Julian Alvarez wonder-strike to see off a stubborn ten-man Switzerland in Kansas City. Argentina’s reward is a las...
Jul 12, 2026
Four teams, two ties, and a France-Spain semi-final that feels like the final
The World Cup is down to four, with France v Spain and England v Argentina to come. Two heavyweight semi-finals, one wide-open trophy race, and a pick...
Jul 11, 2026
Messi’s Argentina meet Switzerland’s underdogs for a World Cup semi-final place
Argentina, the reigning champions, face a Switzerland side in their first World Cup quarter-final since 1954, with a place in the last four on the lin...
Jul 8, 2026
Ronaldo’s World Cup story ends with the one prize he never got
Spain’s late winner in Dallas sent Cristiano Ronaldo out of his sixth and final World Cup, the one prize that eluded him across two decades at the top...
Jul 8, 2026
Argentina meet Switzerland’s stubborn defence with a semi-final on the line
The holders survived a scare against Egypt to reach the last eight, where they meet a Switzerland side into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first...
Jul 7, 2026
Argentina score three in 13 minutes to stun Egypt and reach the quarter-finals
Down 2-0 with a quarter of the match to play, the defending champions produced the latest of great escapes in Atlanta to keep their title defence aliv...
Jul 6, 2026
Argentina national football team: full squad and key players at the 2026 World Cup
Lionel Scaloni’s world champions kept their 2022 spine and added fresh legs around Lionel Messi for the 2026 World Cup. A look at Argentina’s full 26-...
Jul 5, 2026
Mbappe and Messi are level at the top of the World Cup Golden Boot race
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are locked together on seven goals at the top of the World Cup Golden Boot race, with Harry Kane and Erling Haaland lur...
Jul 5, 2026
Messi’s Argentina meet Salah’s Egypt with a World Cup quarter-final at stake
Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah go head to head in Atlanta on Tuesday, with Argentina and a history-chasing Egypt one win away from the World Cup quart...
Jul 4, 2026
Salah’s Egypt beat Australia on penalties to reach the World Cup last 16
Egypt won their first World Cup knockout match in Dallas, edging Australia 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. A last-16 tie with Messi’s Argentina is...
Jul 4, 2026
Messi reaches 20 World Cup goals as Argentina edge a defiant Cape Verde in extra time
Cape Verde twice fought back in Miami before a Diney Borges own goal in the 111th minute sent the holders through 3-2. Lionel Messi’s opener made him...