Jun 30, 2026
The 48-team World Cup was supposed to be soft. The last 32 says otherwise
Germany and the Netherlands are gone, both on penalties, and the expanded format that was meant to cushion the big sides has done nothing of the sort...
World Cup opinion
3 articles tagged with "World Cup opinion"
Jun 27, 2026
The 48-team World Cup gave us Cape Verde, but it also gave the big sides a safety net
Cape Verde’s debut run and Uruguay’s exit are everything FIFA hoped the bigger World Cup would produce. The trouble is that letting 32 of 48 teams thr...
Jun 17, 2026
Mbappe and Haaland delivered, but the World Cup’s day of stars belonged to Messi
Three superstars scored on the same June afternoon, and the two cast as the future both delivered. At 38, Messi still walked off with the headline.