by Roger Barkley | Jun 27, 2026
How quickly this game of ours can change. Belgium, which had been extremely disappointing in the 2026 World Cup, finally shook off its inhibitions and won emphatically, 5-1, over New Zealand on Friday night in Vancouver. As a result, the Red Devils avoided an early...
by Roger Barkley | Jun 27, 2026
The day was supposed to be defined by Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé going head-to-head at the World Cup, and Lamine Yamal facing his biggest test of the tournament yet. It ended with Haaland riding the bench, Mbappé and Yamal failing to score and Ousmane Dembélé...
by Roger Barkley | Jun 27, 2026
For a few moments, it looked like Iran had found the goal that would send it through. In the 93rd minute deep in stoppage time against Egypt, Shoja Khalilzadeh struck the ball into an empty net after a wild sequence inside the box. Iran celebrated like it had just...
by Roger Barkley | Jun 27, 2026
For about 20 seconds in Seattle, Iran had won their World Cup. Shoja Khalilzadeh bundled in a stoppage-time winner, the bench was halfway onto the pitch, and Team Melli were through. Then VAR drew its lines, and the celebration got erased by the width of a sleeve....
