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Belgium comfortably defeated World Cup co-hosts the United States 4-1 in Seattle, channelising a fierce "sense of injustice" following an unprecedented pre-match ruling by FIFA. US striker Folarin Balogun appeared certain to miss the…

Cristiano Ronaldo's historic World Cup career has finished without international football's ultimate prize. The 41-year-old was left in tears as Portugal were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup following a dramatic 1-0 last-16 defeat against…

Egypt's penalty shootout win over Australia carried real historical weight. The Pharaohs became only the fifth African nation to win a World Cup knockout match, joining an elite group. Here are the five sides who have carried the continent…

Lionel Messi has added yet another entry to his crowded record collection. The Argentina captain became the first player in World Cup history to score seven or more goals at two different editions of the tournament. He reached…

Argentina's dramatic victory over Cape Verde carried a slice of history beyond the scoreline. According to Opta, the 3-2 extra-time win was Argentina's 12th extra-time match at a World Cup. That figure equals Germany's all-time record for…

Holders Argentina narrowly avoided one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history by scraping past heroic debutants Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time. A dramatic 111th-minute own goal from Diney Borges ultimately saved the world champions…

Egypt secured their first-ever victory in a World Cup knockout stage on Friday night, defeating Australia in a dramatic penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in extra time. Mohamed Salah set the tone in the shootout with an audacious Panenka…

African football has reached a landmark it has chased for decades. Nine of the continent's ten teams have qualified for the knockout stage at the 2026 World Cup, an unprecedented achievement. Only Tunisia failed to come through. Morocco,…

Lionel Messi has turned the 2026 World Cup group stage into a personal procession through the record books. Across Argentina's three Group J games, against Algeria, Austria and Jordan, the 39-year-old captain has broken or equalled a string…

The longest group stage in World Cup history has reached its conclusion, and the full round-of-32 line-up is now set. The 48-team tournament has been trimmed to 32, with the knockout bracket locked and a host of mouth-watering ties in…