Plenty of questions have followed the biggest star in the Middle East and his choice of this relatively obscure Turkish club. So here is the full picture.

After nine years of titles, personal records, and hundreds of goals and assists, Mohamed Salah left Liverpool this summer as a free agent — and the rumours and offers came thick and fast. Two MLS clubs, a Saudi Pro League side, an Italian club, and the team considered the most serious contender: Beşiktaş of Turkey. But Beşiktaş struggled to match Salah's wage demands, and negotiations with his agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, broke down over commission. The deal collapsed.

That opened the door for Trabzonspor — Turkey's fourth club, or, if you like, the Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Turkish top flight: a side that does not come from Istanbul and is not part of the traditional big three of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, or Beşiktaş, but from Trabzon. A city on the shores of the Black Sea, deep in Anatolia, a peripheral corner of Turkey that has almost always lived in the shadow of Istanbul's metropolitan dominance — and even of the major cities of Ankara and Izmir. They are, in every sense, the "others" of Turkish football, and local Trabzon identity is something they wear with enormous pride.

And those "others" put a serious offer on the table: €17 million per season for two years, with potential bonuses taking it to €19 million, and when shirt sales and commercial deals are factored in, Salah stands to earn over €40 million in total.

Several factors made Trabzonspor the right fit. Salah was keen to remain in European football and in European competition — Trabzonspor play in the UEFA Europa League. He also needed his agent's commission to be right, his salary to be as close as possible to what he earned at Liverpool, and he was genuinely pleased that the environment in Trabzon and Turkey would suit his family — both culturally and religiously.

There is also something else: Salah has always loved being the outsider, the underdog who arrives somewhere and rewrites the story.

When you look at all of those elements together, Trabzonspor ticked every single box.

And why was Salah wearing the number 61 in the photo Trabzonspor published?

61 is Trabzon's telephone dialling code — and it has become a badge of fierce local pride, a kind of Trabzon identity symbol that says: "We are different, we are outsiders, we are underdogs — and we love it." A little like the 08 of Be'er Sheva, only on the Black Sea.

But not to worry — 61 was just for the announcement. During the season, in both the Turkish league and in Europe, Salah will wear the number 10, just as he does for the Egyptian national team.

Thousands upon thousands—some singing, others simply smiling and patiently waiting for their turn to board the train.

The 2026 World Cup Final was, above all else, a home game for Argentina because of its fans.

"I sold both my car and my wife's car just to buy a ticket," Juan, who traveled from Rosario, told BabaGol.

From 9 a.m. onward, Penn Station in Manhattan filled with Argentina supporters, each carrying a different story. Some had flown from Argentina, others were Argentines living in the United States, and many had simply caught the Albiceleste fever.

Just as happened throughout this World Cup in Israel, the same phenomenon could be seen around the globe: fans from every continent wearing Argentina shirts with the number 10 and "Messi" on the back.

Football was not the only topic occupying Penn Station.

"Red card for Donald Trump! Come get your red card for Donald Trump!" shouted Edna, an activist protesting the renewed war, as she attempted to hand out symbolic red cards to supporters. Very few stopped to take one. Their focus was elsewhere.

The stadium in New Jersey—ironically named MetLife Stadium—sits well outside the city, requiring train transfers for most visitors. Arriving there feels more like reaching a spacecraft launch site than one of the world's biggest sporting events. Detached from the pulse of New York City, even its official tournament name, "New York New Jersey Stadium," feels oddly disconnected.

That isolation seemed to influence both the atmosphere and the football itself.

The spotlight naturally fell on Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal.

Messi struggled to find space or receive meaningful service. Yamal looked dangerous early, nearly scoring in the opening minutes, but gradually faded from the match.

Argentina never truly settled during the first half, which ended scoreless.

Ironically, after a World Cup filled with drama and unforgettable moments, the Final itself became a disappointing football match.

That feeling was reinforced by a halftime show featuring Madonna, Justin Bieber, and Shakira, which lasted nearly 28 minutes. Watching artists of that caliber is entertaining, but in the middle of a World Cup Final it felt out of place, overly commercial, and at times even cringeworthy.

When play resumed, it became clear that if Argentina had been poor before halftime, they were virtually absent after the break.

Every tactical adjustment made by Lionel Scaloni failed to change the flow of the match.

Then came the turning point.

Just moments after Argentina produced arguably its best attacking move, Enzo Fernández—already booked earlier in the second half—lunged into a reckless challenge, received a second yellow card, and was sent off, leaving Argentina with ten men.

Deep into stoppage time, Lamine Yamal had a chance to win it from a free kick, but sent his effort well over the crossbar.

Extra time followed the same pattern.

Argentina looked completely out of ideas. Even the desperate encouragement from tens of thousands of supporters failed to generate the momentum that had carried the team throughout the tournament.

In every previous Argentina match, there had been a moment when the crowd lifted the players and pushed them toward victory.

This time, that moment never came.

In the 106th minute, Spain struck.

A calm, clinical counterattack—exactly the kind Spain has perfected—ended with substitute Ferran Torres finishing after another substitute, Nico Williams, brilliantly set him up.

The stadium fell silent.

The public announcer called out the scorer's name and the updated scoreline, but what everyone truly noticed was the overwhelming silence that had engulfed the arena.

Tens of thousands of Argentina supporters knew the truth.

After such a flat performance, and after surviving so many difficult moments through individual brilliance earlier in the tournament, overturning the deficit now seemed impossible.

The goal itself was a reminder of football's enduring truth: disciplined, organized, and resilient teams can overcome emotion, passion, national identity—and even the greatest player in history.

Messi's tears at the final whistle moved many inside the stadium.

They understood they were likely witnessing the farewell of the man who had given Argentina hope for two decades.

Spain are thoroughly deserving world champions.

They were the tournament's best team from start to finish.

Yet their coronation and trophy presentation became memorable for a different reason.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who presented the trophy, lingered on the podium long after the ceremony should have belonged to Spain's players, while FIFA President Gianni Infantino appeared to urge him repeatedly to step aside.

Trump, who throughout the tournament appeared eager to use the World Cup for political gain—including his controversial intervention surrounding Folarin Balogun's red card—seemed determined to remain the center of attention.

The loud boos that greeted him when he appeared on the pitch suggested that, despite the extraordinary ticket prices that kept many supporters away, the American president's popularity remains limited, and the World Cup did little to improve it.

The 2026 World Cup—an enormous tournament and perhaps the biggest global cultural event ever staged—came to an end with a Final that never quite lived up to its billing.

But it crowned an outstanding Spanish team and delivered one final reminder that, in football, compelling stories are not enough.

You have to win matches, and above all, you have to keep the ball out of your own net.

But as you approach 45th Street, you begin to hear a familiar melody.

"For the Malvinas, for Diego, and for Leo's last one."

The song blasted from the speakers of motorized rickshaws racing through the autumn evening in Midtown Manhattan.

The second clue—and the one impossible to miss—was the thousands of people wearing every imaginable Argentina shirt, filling Seventh and Eighth Avenues from 33rd Street northward.

If there is one fan base capable of changing Manhattan's rhythm, it is Argentina's. And for one Saturday, Times Square became Argentina.

Tens of thousands poured into Midtown from the early morning, celebrating regardless of the weather. Haze gave way to relentless rain by late morning, yet nobody cared that the official march was not even scheduled to begin until 5:00 p.m.

The crowds became almost unbearable. At one point, the NYPD deployed additional officers and barriers along Seventh Avenue. The supporters barely noticed.

"We're here for our country, and we're here for Leo Messi," said Alejandro, an Argentina supporter living in New York.

"This could be his last tournament. Maybe even his final match for Argentina. I came today, and I'll be here tomorrow, mainly to thank him."

The last time Lionel Messi played at the New Jersey stadium that will host the World Cup Final was exactly ten years ago.

It was the Copa América Centenario Final, commemorating the 100th anniversary of South America's premier international tournament.

That night, Argentina and Chile went to a penalty shootout. Messi blasted his penalty over the crossbar, Chile lifted the trophy, and afterward Messi stunned the football world by announcing his retirement from international football, after once again being blamed by sections of the Argentine media and even having his national identity questioned.

Ten years later, everything has changed.

"Today, Messi is the greatest symbol of being Argentine," says Horacio, who traveled from Córdoba to New York.

"He's like asado. Like Fernet and cola. Like Diego. Maybe even bigger than all of them combined. Messi is Argentina. We're crazy about him."

After winning the Copa América in 2021 and the World Cup in 2022, Messi has become Argentina's greatest ambassador to the world.

"I just want to tell him that I love him. What he has done in this tournament is the reason you see New York like this today. We've never experienced anything like it. This is because of Messi. It's because of him."

The weather became part of the spectacle.

From midday onward, heavy rain drenched the supporters, prompting thousands to open umbrellas simultaneously, creating a breathtaking scene across Midtown.

The downpour was so intense that Spain canceled its final training session, while Argentina trained as scheduled.

"In Argentina, the weather doesn't matter," Alejandro said.

"Football is played in every condition—especially when it's for the national team. The players keep training because they know the fans are giving everything now, and they'll give everything again in the Final."

And indeed, the 2026 World Cup Final promises to feel like a home match for Argentina, with an overwhelming presence of sky-blue-and-white supporters inside the stadium.

For them, this is a defining moment for a nation that has endured years of economic and political hardship.

Above all, it is a moment for their hero—their footballing messiah—Lionel Messi, whom they simply want to thank.

The stage could hardly be more fitting: the European champions against the South American champions. The tournament's two best teams.

Messi against Lamine Yamal—the same child Messi famously bathed during a UNICEF photoshoot 19 years ago, in one of football's most remarkable stories.

Both emerged from Barcelona's famed La Masia academy. Both became stars wearing the iconic No. 19 and No. 10 shirts at Camp Nou.

While Messi remains the undisputed face of Argentina, Yamal represents a new Spain—more diverse, multicultural, shaped by immigration, and looking toward the future.

For Yamal, this is the first World Cup Final of his career after a tournament that, by his extraordinary standards, has not been his finest.

For Messi, who has already won every major trophy in football—and secured eternal love from the Argentine people—there is nothing left to prove.

"Messi doesn't have to prove anything to us," Horacio says as the celebrations continue across Manhattan.

"We already know he's the greatest of all time. That's why there's no pressure on him in the Final."

He's right.

After lifting the World Cup in 2022, and with eight goals and four assists in this tournament, Messi has nothing left to prove. If anything, borrowing a famous line from former Israeli striker Alon Mizrahi, Messi has nothing left to prove—and somehow he keeps proving it again, every single match.

His enormous portrait waving proudly above Times Square, alongside songs that mention him, Diego Maradona, and even God, perfectly captures Argentina's spirit ahead of the biggest match of them all.

Indeed, the semi-final between France and Spain in Arlington, Dallas, was a special, high-quality, and thoroughly enjoyable occasion. But it is the French — who arrived full of optimism — who will want to forget it as quickly as possible.

For the first time ever, the French national team played a match on July 14th — Bastille Day, the French national holiday. That is no small thing. "It is very special to play such a big match on the day of our Revolution, and it only adds to the national celebration," Jérôme, one of the few hundred French supporters who made the trip to Texas to back the side in their third consecutive World Cup semi-final, told BabaGol. "But it won't be worth anything if we don't do the job. Tomorrow, the celebrations will pause for the match. Beating Spain is all that matters."

While the French national holiday dominated the headlines, Spain also had a national moment of their own — albeit a smaller one, and the day before the match. The birthday of the player who, in the summer of 2024 during the Euros, became the new face of Spain through football: Lamine Yamal.

Yamal, who celebrated his 17th birthday on the eve of that Euro final, and marked his 18th with an extravagant party that drew widespread criticism, kept things low-key this time around and focused on preparing for the big game. "None of you expect me to be good tomorrow," he said at the press conference, "but maybe that's exactly why I'll surprise you."

"Lamine is celebrating his birthday and I hope his teammates give him the gift of a place in the final — and then a World Cup win," Juan from Seville, who had followed Spain from the knockout stages onwards, told BabaGol. Yamal's tournament had been solid rather than spectacular by his own extraordinary standards. "He's still so young, and so gifted — he has so much more to give Spain."

At the pre-match press conferences, both Spain manager Luis de la Fuente and Didier Deschamps — who dreamed of becoming the first man to win the World Cup as both player and manager twice over — reached for the language of war. On matchday itself, it was France who appeared to carry the greater confidence.

They had the larger support outside the stadium in Dallas, and it was also announced that before kick-off there would be a minute's silence to mark the tenth anniversary of the victims of the Nice terrorist attack in 2016, when a Tunisian-born truck driver living in France killed 86 people. That tribute seemed only to add to the heavy national weight already pressing down on the French players on July 14th — because when the match began, they simply did not show up.

More than seventy thousand spectators in a somewhat subdued atmosphere watched Lamine Yamal ghost in behind Luca Digne and win a penalty in what had actually been a decent opening spell for France.

The penalty was coolly converted by Mikel Oyarzabal — the quiet sensation of Spain's tournament — giving Spain an early lead that effectively set the tone for an easy afternoon. Oyarzabal has scored five goals at this World Cup. He scored six more in qualifying, and three in the pre-tournament friendlies. That is 14 goals in his last 14 appearances for the national team, and 30 in total for Spain. The Real Sociedad forward has established himself at this tournament as a genuine monster — a quiet one, but a monster nonetheless, and one who takes penalties with exceptional composure.

From that point on, it was Spain's game entirely. The second goal arrived in the second half, after a sublime one-two between Pedro Porro and Dani Olmo, finished by the defender himself, who produced a heavenly performance and was named man of the match.

In the 86th minute, French supporters unfurled a large Tricolore in memory of the 86 victims of the Nice attack. A decade has passed since that sorrowful Bastille Day, and though Kylian Mbappé and his teammates desperately wanted to bring joy to the nation of liberty, fraternity, and equality on its national day, it simply did not happen. France looked lost against Rodri, Lamine, and company, and the Spanish olé chants had already started in the stands by the 70th minute. In truth, it would not be an exaggeration to write that Spain knocked France out rather than merely beating them 2-0 — because this was a sporting knockout that the scoreline barely captured.

"In a World Cup semi-final you need to be at your peak, and we simply weren't there today," summarised outgoing France manager Deschamps. A new era is about to begin in France, with Zinedine Zidane — who has an agreement in place to take over and is only awaiting formal confirmation — set to lead the side. For years, France benefited from the stability Deschamps brought, much of it rooted in the character he had shown as captain during his playing days. Now, Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, and their teammates can look forward to receiving a little of the star quality and daring that Zidane instils. Perhaps enough to celebrate a 14th of July with a European Championship in two years' time — and to go again for the World Cup in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco in 2030.

And yet, the atmosphere inside and outside the stadium ahead of the Norway–England quarter-final was almost perfect. Both sets of supporters were in superb spirits — songs, jokes, warm exchanges. A wonderfully positive matchday feel that blended fan culture, ancient history, and a meeting between genuine football giants.

Norway are the dark horses of this World Cup. They navigated a group of death alongside France, Senegal, and Iraq to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

The Norwegians are enjoying a rare golden generation of talented players performing at the very top of European football: Martin Ødegaard, Alexander Sørloth, and of course Erling Haaland, Manchester City's striker who has been on fire at this tournament with seven goals — including three braces. Haaland was born in England while his father, Alfie Inge, was playing for Leeds United, and in fact spent the first four years of his life as English as they come. In theory, he could have represented the Three Lions. But he broke through at such a young age in Norwegian youth football that the question became irrelevant very early in the career of this force of nature.

Alongside what happens on the pitch, Norway's supporters are providing the standout phenomenon of the tournament. Their rowing celebration — known as the Ro — has become a viral sensation, adopted by Norwegians and non-Norwegians alike, fans and players from across the world.

"The rowing movement is a nod to our Viking ancestors, who would row in unison during their voyages in search of food and new lands, calling out to motivate one another at sea and ahead of battle," Asper Bergen, a Norwegian fan gathered in the supporters' area outside Hard Rock Stadium, explained to BabaGol.

But ahead of the match against England, the rowing carries a very different set of connotations. For the English, that movement — together with the battle cry of Ro! — evokes the Norse Viking raids of the late eighth century, when longships descended on the British coastline and struck terror into the local population.

English history makes much of the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 — from which Chelsea's famous stadium takes its name — the first engagement in which British warriors repelled a Viking assault.

In that sense, the Norwegian fans' Ro at the 2026 World Cup carries within it a hint of menace. "Historically, we don't love that," admits Scott, an English supporter who made the trip to Miami. "But it only motivates us. We're a much better team, and we'll win."

The problem for Scott and England's fans is that historically, when these two sides have met, it is Norway who have tended to come out on top. The last time England and Norway met in a competitive fixture was in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, when Norway won 2-0 and ultimately qualified for that tournament in the United States. That defeat was one of the reasons England missed out on the competition entirely and stayed home.

When the match got underway — following a minute's silence in memory of Jayden Adams, the South Africa international found dead in circumstances suspected to be suicide, which brought the whole occasion into proper perspective — the sporting atmosphere resumed.

Norway's fans went back to their rowing and whistling at Jude Bellingham, while England's supporters chanted "England! England!" each time it seemed the pints they had been sinking since morning were finally catching up with them.

The first half began at a sluggish pace in the humidity, but Norway played well — until the 36th minute, when Andreas Schjelderup received the ball on the left and drilled a left-footed strike to the far corner. The ball kissed the post and flew in. An iconic goal that stunned the stadium and sent a message: the Vikings are here to make history, and to enjoy every moment of it.

England's response was swift. In first-half stoppage time, Jude Bellingham finished a counter-attack in stunning fashion to make it 1-1. Harry Kane even had a goal disallowed for offside. The pace, the atmosphere, the football — by this point, everyone inside the stadium and watching at home knew: we are witnessing a genuine World Cup classic.

The second half opened with another Norwegian goal ruled out, this time for a foul by Haaland on England centre-back John Stones. And yet, for almost an entire half, England — bar one simple through ball — were barely present. "Whatever the result, for us this is a historic and incredible match," Auga, a Norwegian fan, told BabaGol at the end of the ninety minutes as the game went into extra time. He was right. Such dominance from Norway in their very first quarter-final appearance, against a Premier League-stacked England side, was a genuinely impressive feat.

But in extra time, it began to unravel — or rather, to melt. The humidity, the heat, and the very intensity Norway had thrown into the match simply took their legs. Bellingham, another superstar having a tournament to remember, seized on it to put England ahead at 2-1 early in extra time — his sixth goal of the tournament — and from there it was largely England's game until the final whistle, the victory, and a ticket to the semi-finals.

"We were lucky today," England's German manager Thomas Tuchel told the media. "We made a lot of technical and tactical errors, and our performance was disjointed. That has nothing to do with mentality. We need to play better."

"We weren't good, we paid mortgage-level prices for our tickets — but we've got Jude Bellingham, and it's coming home!" a pair of English supporters who had made the journey from London told BabaGol on their way out of the stadium.

Tuchel is right, of course — but so is that happy pair. Because when England win a match like this, one in which they were outplayed by Norway for most of it, and still find their voices at the end to sing Wonderwall in perfect unison with the crowd, then perhaps it's time to acknowledge that this England side has what it takes — to overcome the fear of the Vikings, to survive an off day, and to truly bring football home.

"God is on my side and He is the best one to set things right. He wasted the effort of an entire nation… And yes, Mabrook — the cup has been handed to Argentina as a gift here."

Zizo's words capture the mood among most Egypt players and supporters after the extraordinary round-of-sixteen tie against Argentina, which ended in a 3-2 win for the reigning champions following a breathless, dramatic comeback from Lionel Messi and his teammates in the final fifteen minutes.

As far as Egypt are concerned, an injustice was done — and conspiracy theories are already spreading across social media. The disallowed Egyptian goal, combined with the fouls committed against Hamdi Fathi and Salah in the build-up to Argentina's third, are at the centre of the grievances. "All I can say is that Fathi's shirt was torn, and he didn't tear it himself," said Mustafa "Ofa" Shobeir, the current Egypt goalkeeper, who delivered a masterclass between the posts — including a penalty save against Messi in the first half.

"I have no intention of watching even one more minute of this World Cup," said Egypt manager Hossam Hassan after the final whistle. Hassan, Egypt's all-time record goalscorer as a player, and the man who had dedicated the penalty shootout victory over Australia in the previous round to the Palestinian people, ended this match in deep frustration. "I'll say everything without any regard for the consequences. This match was fixed. The whole world saw it. If Argentina wants to win this badly, and that's how it works, why invite any other teams at all?"

Hassan, too, reached for the Arabic expression: "Hasbiya Allah wa ni'ma al-wakeel" — "God is sufficient for me and He is the best disposer of affairs" — a phrase of resignation and righteous indignation that echoed across football fans throughout the Arab world.

But not everyone in Egypt was left in mourning. "You achieved something unprecedented. The future will be even better," tweeted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Ahmed Shobeir, the legendary goalkeeper who stood between the posts for Egypt at the 1990 World Cup and father of the current number one, wrote: "Thank you… you were men."

And the truth? Egypt have every reason to be proud. This match has become an instant World Cup classic — one in which they played a central, vital role.

Moreover, Egypt entered this game with nothing to lose and everything to gain. They had already done the unthinkable twice in this tournament: securing their first-ever World Cup victory, advancing to the knockout stage for the first time in their history, and then beating Australia in the round of sixteen. Each milestone was historic.

That liberated spirit showed vividly in the first half, both in Yasser Ibrahim's surprise opener and in Shobeir's penalty save.

When Amam Ashour — one of Egypt's standout performers throughout the tournament — was forced off injured, manager Hossam Hassan used the substitution to consolidate and shift the team's style. He brought on Hamdi Fathi, a more defensively-minded player, effectively sacrificing possession in the second half in favour of compactness and the counter-attack.

It worked to near-perfection. Both the disallowed Zizo goal and his legitimate strike that temporarily made it 2-0 to the Pharaohs came from brilliant transitions — full of joy, freedom, and incisive football.

What happened in the end goes beyond football alone, and somehow it accompanies Argentina at this World Cup, just as it did at the last one. Legal or otherwise, favouritism or coincidence, one cannot ignore the fact that there is something special around this team. Something that even Egypt, on one of the greatest days in their footballing history, could not overcome.

So yes, the Egyptians feel hard done by, and that is entirely understandable. And yet, they leave their fourth World Cup with their heads held high — after a magnificent match, and a defeat only to the reigning world champions and the greatest player of all time. This could be a watershed moment in Egypt's relationship with the game they love — one of Africa's most storied football nations and a giant of the Arab world. As for Mohamed Salah, who put in a magnificent individual performance — with brilliant creative play and yet another stamp of confirmation that he is the finest Egyptian footballer of all time — this tournament has helped him shake off the burden of constant comparisons to Mohamed Abu Trika, the hero of Al-Ahly and the Egypt national team from the early 2000s. The one blemish that remains on his CV is the Africa Cup of Nations — Egypt's bread and butter, a trophy they have claimed a record seven times — which Salah has yet to win.

Despite the frustration, both Egypt and Salah can look back on this summer in North America as a genuine success. A summer to be proud of.

"Today it's a match between the suburbs of Paris and the suburbs of Europe!" jokes Soufiane, a Moroccan supporter, before kick-off. "What can you do? Just as the two countries are intertwined, so are the two teams. The players sometimes know each other from pitches in the same neighbourhood. That's something powerful."

And Soufiane is right. The bond between France and Morocco runs deep. The two countries share a rich colonial past — the memory of the 44 years during which Morocco was a French protectorate in the first half of the twentieth century. After King Mohammed V led the Moroccan independence movement in 1952, ties between the two countries remained strong, and to this day France and Morocco are closely connected across trade, diplomacy, and above all, society — with around one and a half million Moroccans living in France. From that community, a significant number of footballers have emerged, growing up and developing within the French football system, some even representing France. Those who don't, cross over to represent the Moroccan national team.

Morocco has become a leading force in the art of passport scouting, and at this tournament they made history by fielding an entire starting eleven born outside the country. The French contingent within the Moroccan squad is particularly strong: no fewer than six players in the squad were born in France, grew up there, developed through the French football system, and several even represented France at youth level. Defender Issa Diouf, midfielder Neil El Aynaoui of Roma, and bench players Redwan Halhal, Samir El-Mourabit, and Jassim Yassine are all French citizens — but the symbol and face of the double-identity phenomenon is Ayoub Bouaddi, the Moroccan sensation of this World Cup.

Eighteen-year-old Bouaddi is a remarkable story. An extraordinary talent, an outstanding student of mathematics and science, and a key player — even captain — for France's youth national teams, until just three months ago. In May, he opened an Instagram account for the first time in his life and posted a photo of himself wearing a Morocco shirt from the 2018 World Cup in Russia, announcing that he had decided to represent the Moroccan national team. "I am very excited to put on the red shirt of Morocco," he wrote. His choice came straight from the heart. "I am grateful to France, and I am proud to have worn France's colours, but I am also Moroccan. That is who I am, and I am very proud of my double identity."

At this World Cup, Bouaddi has been a revelation, and his story has become a symbol of Morocco's rise as a footballing power that now attracts genuine talent — not only players who failed to break into the French senior side, but gifted footballers who actively choose to represent Morocco.

Bouaddi justified his decision from the very first minute. He impressed in every match: against Brazil, Scotland, Haiti, the Netherlands. The confidence, the composure, and the quality of his play over the past month have made him look like a seasoned senior professional. He was a vital part of Morocco's run to the quarter-finals. As fate would have it, his quarter-final opponent was the very team he had been expected to shine for as a senior player — and who also happen to be the tournament's main favourites to go all the way.

His decision, and the dual identity it embodies, was at the centre of every pre-match conversation. In the first half in Boston, Morocco held firm. Bouaddi, who knows the French players well — his best friend is Ethan Mbappé, Kylian's younger brother — was an important link in a Moroccan side that absorbed wave after wave of French pressure.

Bouaddi made history in the match, becoming, at 18 years and 280 days, the second-youngest player ever to feature in a World Cup quarter-final. Before him stood only one name: a certain Pelé, who did it aged 17 years and 239 days, with Brazil at the 1958 World Cup.

His quality, combined with Yassine Bounou's penalty save in the 28th minute, was enough to keep Morocco in it for one half. The second half fell apart.

Without the injured Ismaïl Saibari, the Atlas Lions struggled to threaten the French goal, and above all they seemed to afford France far too much respect. The final scoreline of 0-2 was, in truth, kind to Morocco.

At the final whistle, Bouaddi was asked in the mixed zone how it felt to face the team he had been destined to play for, and whether he regretted his decision. "I am very proud of my choice, and very proud of our team. We've been on an incredible journey, and what matters is continuity. Maybe this World Cup is over, but the journey doesn't end here."

Outside the stadium, Morocco's supporters were disappointed. "We didn't show up for the match. Our best players weren't at their best, or were injured, and there's nothing you can do — France are the best team in the tournament," summed up Mohamed, a Moroccan fan living in Kansas City.

"It's fine. Reaching the quarter-finals is a great achievement," said Mounir, another Moroccan supporter. "Morocco has so much more to offer world football. We're hosting the World Cup in 2030, and everything you've seen here will only continue to grow. We're not stopping here, and we've brought a great deal of pride to Morocco at this tournament."

In that sense, both the fan and Bouaddi are right. Morocco's journey has only just begun, and the team of double identities will continue to raise Morocco's name in world football in the years ahead — with players who, despite having grown up within the excellent French football system, will choose to place their Moroccan heritage, the identity of their parents, at the very top of the podium.

Spain against Portugal was supposed to be one of the marquee fixtures of the round of 16 at this World Cup. But despite an engaging and eventful first half, the second deteriorated into a slow drift towards extra time and penalties — until it didn't.

Inside the stadium, the majority belonged to Portugal's supporters — or more precisely, to Ronaldo's supporters. Like Juan and his family, tens of thousands were wearing the Portuguese number 7 shirt, having arrived from virtually every corner of the globe — everywhere, it seemed, except Portugal itself, which was conspicuously underrepresented. From Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, the United States, and yes, from Israel too, fans had come to watch their idol continue his journey at the 2026 World Cup, at the age of 41 and a half, in the Iberian Peninsula derby against the reigning European champions.

Before kick-off, Ronaldo was the only topic of conversation. His press conference the day before — the wit, the sparring with journalists, the sheer theatre of it — had set the tone. "He's a genius," said Juan, grinning. Everyone was asking the same questions: Would he score? Would he be substituted? Could he carry Portugal to the final — and a Hollywood showdown with Lionel Messi and Argentina that only Donald Trump's restless imagination could have scripted?

Outside the stadium, from the early hours of the morning, the famous "Siu!" cheer could be heard echoing from every direction, and giant cardboard Ronaldo masks adorned the long queues snaking towards the turnstiles for the earlier of the two last-16 matches played that day.

The tie offered a fascinating conceptual tension: a team that traditionally plays without a fixed striker, against a team whose entire identity is built around one striker — his mood, his fitness, his brilliance.

The match in the first half was played at a high tempo. In the 25th minute Ronaldo arrived at an excellent chance, but Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón was equal to it.

"We believe in Ronaldo — today has to be his day," said Erick Gutiérrez, who had come from Guatemala especially to watch Cristiano, at that point in the match.

But as the minutes ticked by, the energy of both teams — and of Ronaldo himself — gradually faded. The match drifted, becoming somewhat tedious, even soporific for parts of the crowd. Most of them, of course, had come for one man. In their eyes he is the "real GOAT" — Greatest of All Time — the eternal debate between Cristiano and Lionel Messi that has consumed football for two decades. Sadly for the Portuguese, at World Cups there is simply no comparison between the two to be made.

The reminder of that fact arrived in stoppage time, when Arsenal's Mikel Merino finished off a sharp Spanish counter-attack with a goal that was small in its execution and enormous in its consequences — silencing an ocean of red and green Ronaldo shirts.

"It's not over," Jessica Heatherspoon, an American fan in a Ronaldo shirt, told BabaGol moments after Spain's goal. "Portugal are excellent, and Ronaldo is a personal example to every child — mine included — of what hard work and excellence look like. This cannot end like this."

But a few minutes later, it ended exactly like this. At the final whistle, many in the crowd struggled to process their emotions. Some walked out early. Others stood and stared as Ronaldo moved slowly around the pitch, saying his goodbyes to opposition players. Some talked to one another — strangers becoming briefly connected in shared loss. Some could not hold back their tears. And like Ronaldo himself, they wept over the fact that this story — Cristiano's story with this thing called the World Cup — appeared, at last, to be over.

"This man is the reason I love football," Bikram Thapa, a Ronaldo fan born in India who now lives in Houston, told BabaGol. "It's very hard to watch him walk off the pitch like that, with his hand over his face. Every Ronaldo fan knows exactly how he feels right now. He never had a truly meaningful moment in the most important competition. We all know how much this tournament meant to him."

The truth? This really is the tragedy of Cristiano Ronaldo — the Sisyphus of the World Cup. A great king with a large ego, who at times drove his teammates with anger and at times placed himself too firmly at the centre of the story, yet who, time and again, across six World Cups, pushed that boulder called Portugal's World Cup dream up the hill — sometimes higher, sometimes less so — only to watch it roll back down.

His performance against Spain was precisely one of those moments. The stage had been set for him and around him. The match was shaped in a way that suited him perfectly. Tens of thousands had come for him alone. But again, he could not score, could not propel Portugal forward in a tournament they have never won, and the boulder rolled back down once more.

Ronaldo has not yet confirmed whether this was indeed his final World Cup. It is reasonable to assume it was — though in some far-fetched future constellation, he might yet be part of the Portuguese squad for the 2030 home tournament. For his supporters, that remains entirely possible. "Nothing about him would surprise me," said Bikram when asked whether he could imagine Ronaldo continuing. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's part of the squad at the next World Cup. How can you write him off? This is Ronaldo. He's genuinely capable of deciding he'll fight for it again and being there. Even at an advanced age."

Whether Bikram's wish comes true or not, Arlington shed a tear — or caught its breath — with Ronaldo on this night. A figure adored by so many, loved to be hated by so many others — but universally respected, without exception, for his relentless, repeated attempts to write one extraordinary piece of history for his country at a World Cup. That, it seems, will now not happen.

The Pharaohs' last-32 clash with Australia delivered enormous drama. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes and remained level after extra time, decided only by a penalty shootout.

Australia started brightly, throwing wave after wave of attack at goalkeeper Mohamed Shobeir. But it was Egypt who struck first.

In the 13th minute, Emam Ashour received the ball on the edge of the box and, just as he had done against Belgium, picked his corner and fired home. 1-0. His second goal of the tournament — and entirely against the run of play in those opening minutes.

Egypt held their lead throughout the first half. Conspicuously quiet and barely involved was captain and undisputed star Mohamed Salah — for whom this match represented a genuine opportunity to reshape his national team legacy, after years of painful near-misses with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ten minutes into the second half, Australia launched a ball into the box and Mohamed Hany nodded it into his own net — making history of the bleakest kind: the first player ever to score two own goals at a single World Cup, having already put one past himself against Belgium. 1-1, and from that moment the match became a tense, attritional affair of half-chances and half-attacks, in which concentration and composure would prove decisive.

As the 90 minutes drew to a close, Salah grew into the game, finding teammates in promising positions and threatening himself on a couple of occasions. But Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beitz was in outstanding form, producing a string of critical saves that carried into extra time.

When it became clear the match would not be settled in open play, Australian coach Popovic made what can only be called a "Van Gaal 2014" substitution — replacing his starting goalkeeper with his backup specifically for the penalty shootout, mirroring the famous moment when the Dutch manager brought on Tim Krul for Jasper Cillessen against Costa Rica at that tournament.

The man replacing Beitz was Mat Ryan — for years Australia's undisputed first choice. At the 2022 World Cup qualifying play-off against Peru, Ryan himself had been substituted by Andrew Redmayne, whose eccentric dancing on the line helped save the crucial penalty that sent Australia to that tournament, where they famously reached the last 16 before facing a peak Lionel Messi. In this moment, Ryan was expected to produce something similar.

The shootout began with a glaring miss from Australian captain Harry Souttar, who ballooned his kick into the sky.

But Ryan, whose penalty saves had previously delivered Australia the 2015 Asian Cup and a World Cup play-off win over Syria, simply could not stop the Egyptians, who were precise and composed throughout.

First up was Mahmoud Saber, who had been introduced as a substitute in the 120th minute precisely for this purpose.

Salah stepped up third and, with ice in his veins, delivered a Panenka — a delicate chip straight down the middle that humiliated the goalkeeper, sent the crowd behind the goal into delirium, and kept Egypt's momentum firmly intact.

Australia's fourth taker, Luke Irvine, missed. And then Hossam Abd El-Magd scored the decisive penalty, setting off wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands. 4-2 to the Pharaohs in the shootout — history for the land of the Nile, and Egypt became the second African side to secure their place in the round of 16.

These were deeply emotional moments for the entire Egyptian nation. Salah broke down in tears on the pitch while teammates embraced him. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan — still the all-time leading scorer in Egyptian football history with 69 international goals — celebrated with team director Ahmed Hassan, the record appearance holder with 184 caps, waving an Egyptian flag. He then produced a Palestinian flag and, in his post-match interview, dedicated the victory to the Palestinian people.

But the centre of attention was, inevitably, Salah. "The answer is simple — I can't decide who the greatest Egyptian of all time is," Salah laughed, slightly flustered, in response to a question from this correspondent about the long-running debate over his status relative to Mohamed Abu Trika. Abu Trika — who led Egypt to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles — is considered a legend far beyond football, known for his outspoken criticism of the Egyptian authorities and Israel, and his close identification with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Salah was careful not to wade into that comparison directly, but he did speak to what this achievement means for an entire generation of Egyptian footballers. "What we did today will not be forgotten — I'm sure of that. For me personally, it means everything. Our generation has suffered from bad luck. We lost two African finals, we were knocked out in two semi-finals, we didn't qualify for the 2022 World Cup. So yes — we did something that everyone is talking about, and we are very proud, because this may be the greatest achievement in the history of this generation. I hope something even greater is still to come."

The match against Australia is one that reshapes Salah's national team legacy. It closes the chapter on the long-standing comparison between him and Abu Trika — a debate that for years resembled the Messi versus Maradona argument in Egyptian terms. Now, whatever happens in the round of 16, Egypt will forever remember Mohamed Salah as the man who took this nation further than it has ever gone in the most popular sport on the banks of the Nile.

Monterrey — the city that sits in the shadow of the famous Cerro de la Silla mountain — hosted the last-16 tie between Morocco and the Netherlands in what was an extreme football occasion, carrying almost the intensity of a derby.

In the days leading up to the match, fans from both camps flooded into the city. The Moroccans arrived in impressive numbers, while the Dutch painted the city centre and fan zone bright orange the day before kick-off. The local Mexican public was also fully engaged — many of them backing Morocco, in no small part to avenge the Netherlands' elimination of Mexico in the last 16 of the 2014 World Cup: a match settled by a controversial penalty awarded for a foul on Arjen Robben, in a game Mexico had largely dominated. That moment is inscribed in Mexican football memory with one defiant phrase: no era penal — "it wasn't a penalty." Fascinatingly, that game had taken place exactly twelve years earlier, on 29 June 2014. Nobody in Monterrey that evening could have known how profoundly those words would echo inside the stadium by the time the night was done.

This was not the first World Cup meeting between these two sides. At USA '94, Dennis Bergkamp inspired a 2-1 Dutch victory. But a great deal has changed since then. The balance of power looks very different today.

Morocco have invested enormous resources in developing football across the country — through the Mohammed VI Royal Football Academy, and through an aggressive and systematic pursuit of talented players from Moroccan communities established across Europe. The Moroccan diaspora, which arrived largely in the 1960s and 70s as a workforce that helped rebuild postwar Europe, has become a breeding ground for elite football talent. Several players in this Morocco squad have Dutch roots. Noussair Mazraoui, Sofyan Amrabat and Anas Salaheddin were all born in the Netherlands and developed through Dutch football. And then there is Ismael Saibari — born in Spain but shaped by Dutch football — who was PSV Eindhoven's standout performer last season and who, after a tournament that began with an explosive hat-trick of goal contributions, has reportedly agreed a move to Bayern Munich once the competition is over.

The match itself was largely Moroccan in its control. Only in the opening minutes and at the start of the second half did the Netherlands show any real attacking spark. Periodically, the Mexican crowd broke into chants of "no era penal", with the Moroccan supporters quickly joining in.

But then, against the run of play, the deadlock was finally broken — and from the orange side. In the 72nd minute, Cody Gakpo — who not long ago suffered the devastating loss of an unborn child with his partner — connected with a ball that broke to him in the box and fired the Netherlands ahead. His teammates, including those on the bench, all surrounded him in a deeply emotional scene.

For a moment, it seemed as though Morocco might unravel, unable to overcome the history and complexity of their relationship with this Dutch side.

But in the 91st minute came a dramatic Moroccan equaliser. A superb long ball from Chamseddine Talbi dropped perfectly for Issa Diop — half-Moroccan, half-Senegalese, a player who had previously represented France at youth level — who rose to head Morocco level. The Estadio BBVA shook. 1-1, and extra time.

In many respects, justice had been served. Morocco had simply been the better team.

Extra time was largely Moroccan in character too. In the 113th minute, Gakpo suffered an injury and was substituted. As he took his time leaving the field, Mazraoui — who has been outstanding throughout this tournament — approached him to hurry things along. The two exchanged words in Dutch, a telling reminder of how blurred the lines of identity can be in modern football.

The match went to penalties, and what followed was a shootout unlike most — tense, nervy, and deeply dramatic.

Martens de Roon missed. Then Justin Klaassen. It seemed the Netherlands were on their way home.

The shootout had actually begun with a miss from Morocco's Nayef Aguerd, and the Dutch had reason to believe. But soon enough, they began to miss too — carving out that familiar hole they so often dig for themselves when it comes to penalty shootouts at major tournaments.

After two misses apiece — including from Achraf Hakimi for Morocco and Klaassen for the Netherlands — Saibari stepped up. He sent his penalty straight into the net, and that was the signal for enormous celebrations among the Moroccan and Mexican supporters both inside and outside the stadium. "No era penal!" bellowed the crowd — now repurposed into a gleeful paraphrase: "there were no penalties," because the Netherlands never truly mastered the art of taking them. Many shouted those words with tears in their eyes.

The Dutch, for their part, looked poor throughout. They never functioned as a collective and were nullified by Morocco's young, disciplined defensive structure. With the exception of Wout Weghorst, who came off the bench and battled and pressed, very few Dutch players made a meaningful impact on the match. It ended with misses from Quincy Promes and Hakimi.

The 2026 World Cup is a wild, surprising, endlessly dramatic tournament — full of late goals, shocking upsets and heavyweight exits as early as the last 16. And in that spirit, Morocco — on a night when their key players, Brahim Díaz chief among them, were below their best — sent yet another signal to the rest of the field: we are here to go further than a semi-final. Further than we have ever been before.

At the 2026 World Cup, it has been transformed into a grand football arena hosting some of the most significant matches of the group stage, and will also host a semi-final.

Argentina versus Jordan was, on paper, a dead rubber. But it contained within it the entire story of Jordan's World Cup campaign.

Despite two defeats — against Austria and Algeria — Jordan are immensely proud of what they have shown at this tournament. They scored two historic goals, produced spells of genuinely impressive football, and no less importantly, they introduced the world to the red-and-white Hashemite keffiyeh — the most recognisable symbol of Jordanian national identity. At their matches, it has functioned as a rallying banner and a declaration of self.

Football in Jordan is a fully national affair. King Abdullah attended matches at this World Cup alongside his son Hussein, the Crown Prince, who is regarded as a devoted fan of Al-Nashama — the Courageous Ones — and was present at every decisive qualifying match along the road here.

On the professional side, Jordan are Asia's runners-up, and one of the continent's most rapidly improving sides. Their current coach is Moroccan Jamal Sellami, following in the footsteps of his predecessor Hossam Hassan, both of whom brought the gospel of proud Arab football from Morocco to the Hashemite Kingdom. The support flows from the royal house itself, which wants to tell a new national story for Jordanians.

"For us as Jordanians, simply being here is an enormous moment," Ali Al-Nusseibeh, a Jordanian fan who travelled to the United States to accompany the national team at this historic World Cup, told BabaGol. "The fact that I am here, the King and Crown Prince are here too — it only reinforces the feeling that Jordan is developing. We are at the World Cup, and we were not even bad in the first two games."

The Jordanian squad received a visit from FIFA president Gianni Infantino the evening before the Argentina match. Infantino, a seasoned political operator, lavished praise on the Jordanians, declaring that he was "proud of Jordan for what they have achieved at this World Cup," and paid tribute to King Abdullah and the royal family — all while draped in a traditional Hashemite keffiyeh.

"For us, finishing our debut World Cup campaign with a match against the world champions and Lionel Messi is an enormous privilege," fan Al-Nusseibeh said. "It is a genuine opportunity to show the world that Jordan is a country. A country like any other."

In the match itself, Jordan found it somewhat difficult to assert their emerging national identity on the scoreboard — to put it mildly.

In the 19th minute Argentina were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. The man who stepped up was Giovanni Lo Celso — and that matters. Lo Celso was once one of Argentina's most celebrated young talents, a player for whom greatness was predicted, yet one who never quite fulfilled that promise. Despite 67 international caps, this match against Jordan was his first ever World Cup appearance. Lionel Scaloni had elected to give minutes to his fringe players, and Lo Celso repaid him by curling a sublime effort into the top corner. Jordanian goalkeeper Abu Leila was rooted to the spot. 1-0 to Argentina.

In the 30th minute, a foul inside the Jordanian area led to a penalty, which Lautaro Martínez converted for his first World Cup goal. 2-0 to Argentina at half-time. Jordan, aside from an effort from Ali Alwan, had offered precious little.

In the second half, coach Sellami introduced Mousa Al-Taamari, Jordan's star player who plies his trade at Rennes in France. In his youth he was nicknamed "the Jordanian Messi" — and he is, genuinely, a devoted admirer of the real one. At that very moment, Messi himself was warming up on the touchline, and the entire stadium began chanting: "Messi, Messi, Messi." It is entirely possible that Al-Taamari, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin whose family roots are in Bethlehem, was singing along with them.

In the 51st minute, Al-Taamari had a moment of small magic. In an interview he gave to the author of these lines for BabaGol eight years ago, he spoke at length about his admiration for Messi and the hours he spent studying the Argentine's movement to learn from and imitate him. And so it was that a sharp Jordanian move — three quick one-touch passes — found him in space, and he finished in style with a sliding effort that made it 2-1. King Abdullah celebrated with Crown Prince Hussein in the stands, and Jordan had their latest world-stage moment: a goal against Argentina.

In the 60th minute came the moment 70,000 Argentine, Jordanian and neutral fans had gathered to witness — the real Messi entered the game. The original Messi versus the Jordanian Messi, on the grandest stage of all. From that point forward, for the Jordanians at least, the scoreline mattered less. Jordan had their perfect photo opportunity for the new story they are writing: a nation redefining its identity through football.

In the 80th minute Argentina earned another free kick. This time, Messi stepped up. And Messi, being Messi, delivered what tens of thousands inside the stadium and untold millions watching around the world had come to see — a low, curling effort around the wall, Abu Leila again helpless, 3-1 to Argentina. In doing so, Messi became the first player in history to score in seven consecutive World Cup tournaments, and the fifth player ever to score six or more goals in a single World Cup group stage.

It was the final note of the match, and with it Jordan received the complete package: the Jordanian Messi scored, and the real Messi scored too. Given the gulf in quality between the sides, it was truly the best they could have hoped for.

Khahtan George, a Chaldean Christian Iraqi from Baghdad, is one of the rare few who made the journey to the United States directly from Iraq itself, arriving in Philadelphia ahead of Sunday's group-stage clash against France.

It was always going to be a match with a predictable result. This is France. This is Kylian Mbappé, freshly inspired after watching Messi score twice. No Iraqi supporter genuinely expected the Lions of Mesopotamia to defeat the tournament's overwhelming favourite.

But that never meant there was no hope of a surprise, no pride, no celebration of the simple, staggering fact of being here. At the World Cup. As fans, as media, as a national team. Iraq took the longest qualifying road of any nation in this tournament's history — 21 matches, more than any side has ever played to reach a World Cup.

"A few photographers came, a few journalists, but not many Iraqi journalists got visas. And even those who did struggled to fund the trip," photographer Arshad, whose family live in Michigan — which is why he could afford to be here — told BabaGol. "Those who made it either had some government funding or support from the federation. Coming independently? Financing something like this is almost impossible for us Iraqis."

The France–Iraq match will almost certainly become a cult moment and a trivia staple at every football quiz from now on, as the longest game in World Cup history — thanks to a thunderstorm running headlong into the American sports lightning protocol. When lightning is detected within approximately eight miles of a stadium, play is suspended for at least 30 minutes, or until the US meteorological service gives clearance to resume. More on that shortly.

But before the storm, this was already a special occasion, because Iraq is a deeply moving story in football terms — and all the more so when it comes to the World Cup. Iraq is a fractured, scarred and wounded nation, shaped by the weight of nearly three decades of wars and crises.

From the American invasion of 2003, through the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein in 2006, through the civil wars that preceded, accompanied and followed, with the devastating presence of al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terror organisations — the social fabric of this ancient country has been shredded. And yet, inside all that chaos and cruelty, football has remained the single unifying force of this broken, beautiful, historically rich nation. At the 2007 Asian Cup they won against all odds, with Sunni, Shia, Arab, Kurdish and Christian players combining on the pitch in one of the greatest sporting stories ever told. Since then, Iraq has been regarded as one of the most emotionally resonant stories in world football, their supporters perpetually on the verge of tears at international tournaments. So it was in Philadelphia, where the stands were filled with Iraqi flags, Kurdish flags, traditional and modern Iraqi headscarves, and so much more.

Iraq appeared at just one previous World Cup, in Mexico in 1986, when Ahmed Radhi scored their only goal — and for a generation, he was the Iraqi game's equivalent of a folk hero. At the 2026 World Cup's opening round, he was joined in that pantheon by Ayman Hussein, the man who symbolises Iraqi football more than any other, whose personal story is as turbulent as his country's, who scored the goal that took Iraq to this tournament, and who became only the second Iraqi ever to score at a World Cup.

Against France, Iraq's primary aim was to survive and avoid a heavy defeat. "I asked for permission to start with three goalkeepers to stop Mbappé," joked Graham Arnold at the pre-match press conference. He wasn't laughing much the next day.

It began reasonably well for Iraq. In the opening minutes they appeared to be holding firm against the tide of French talent and quality. But a single moment in the 13th minute revealed the distance between these two sides. Ousmane Dembélé received the ball on the right wing, dribbled past defender Tahseen, the ball broke to Michael Olise, who laid it off to Mbappé in one touch — and he fired into the net without hesitation. 1-0 to France, and it seemed the floodgates were open.

Iraq's plans, though, were unravelling in a different way. Shortly after the drinks break, striker Hussein was forced off with a groin injury, and it seemed as though every element of Iraq's game plan was collapsing at once. Yet they didn't fall apart. Substitute Ali Al-Hamadani, coming off the bench, was impressive.

Then, just before half-time, the floodgates truly opened — but they were in the sky. The thunderstorm that had been building all day finally broke, drenching Lincoln Financial Field in torrential rain and, crucially, triggering the American protocol described above. The second half was delayed. Then delayed again. Then again.

Despite the downpour, many Iraqi supporters stayed in their seats, dancing with their flags. "This is football! Rain or no rain, we're at the World Cup!" a group of fans near the touchline shouted, watching their players trudge irritably back to the dressing room through the sheets of rain.

The storm didn't relent. Only after two hours was clearance given to resume. Both teams warmed up again as if for a new match — but returning to full intensity was an enormous ask for a side that is a significant force in West Asian football, yet does not rank among the continent's elite on the global stage.

After such a prolonged break, Iraq could not rediscover the fighting spirit that had defined their first half, and the class gap between the teams became impossible to conceal. Mbappé danced through and capitalised on an error by Iraqi goalkeeper Ahmed Basel, scoring to move to within reach of Messi's all-time World Cup tally of sixteen goals. Then in the 66th minute, Dembélé scored his first ever World Cup goal. 3-0 to France, and it felt like only a matter of time before more would follow.

Towards the end, Mbappé was substituted. Iraq still tried to threaten the goal of Mike Maignan, but to no avail.

"Just being here is the achievement," fan Khahtan told BabaGol. "I am very proud of this team — that despite all the difficulties, the long road, they are here, in the United States of all places, representing the Iraqi spirit with dignity. There is no shame in losing to the best teams in Europe. They are in Europe; we are in the Middle East. Our challenges are different."

"Our players were questioned at the border coming in. Fans didn't get visas, or couldn't afford to come. But we are still here. Participating. Competing. And if we're going to lose, then at least we showed that we have faith, spirit and determination, and that we can make life difficult for anyone."

He said it from the stands with an enormous smile, soaked from head to toe, after conceding three goals in the longest match in World Cup history.

The speaker is Eric, a bartender at the fan festival in downtown Boston, two days before Scotland's Group D clash with Morocco.

The Scots had arrived in Boston riding an extraordinary wave of euphoria. After 28 years away from the world's biggest stage, they had opened the tournament with a 1-0 win over Haiti — and the party was fully underway. At the fan festival, thousands of Scottish supporters organised what they cheerfully called a "hate watch" — gathering not necessarily to cheer their own team, but to will England into defeat together. They found willing allies in Irish-American fans and a sizeable Croatian contingent, united by a single, gloriously petty cause.

"I think this is exactly what's beautiful about football," Laura, a Scottish supporter who had flown in for the Morocco match, told BabaGol. "It's the one excuse for all these people to come together and want England to lose" — she laughed — "but also to drink beer and sing at the top of their voices."

On the other side of the city, the Moroccan fans had only arrived on Thursday, but they made an immediate impression. A rally at Boston Common — torches blazing, voices thunderous — announced their presence to the whole of downtown.

"A lot of Moroccan supporters didn't get US visas," explained Khalid Tijir, a Moroccan journalist who spoke to BabaGol. "But there are so many who live right here in Massachusetts and along the East Coast, who understood that the burden of support had fallen to them this time."

For all the passion, the World Cup hadn't entirely taken over Boston. The atmosphere was concentrated in the centre, on the public transport, in the bars. But by Friday morning, with roughly 30,000 Scots already in the city, the mood shifted sharply. Traffic ground to a halt, and by the time you reached Gillette Stadium in Foxborough — a 45-minute drive on a normal day, closer to two hours on matchday — you could already hear the skirl of bagpipes, the roaring chorus of tartan-clad supporters daring to dream that, just maybe, Scotland could reach the knockout round for the first time in their history.

Faith and hope, though, are one thing. Reality is another.

Morocco, who named an unchanged side from the one that earned a draw against Brazil, took the lead inside two minutes. Brahim Díaz was caught in possession again — his second such error of the tournament — and Ismael Saibari, typically deployed as a box-to-box midfielder or a wide player, but starting as a striker for the second consecutive match under coach Mohammed Wahabi, was clinical. His second goal of the tournament; Díaz's second costly mistake.

The Atlas Lions controlled the rhythm throughout the first half. Scotland struggled to string more than two passes together, rarely threatening Yassine Bounou's goal. The scoreline at the break read 1-0, though it might easily have been three.

Scotland's first genuine chance came in the 63rd minute, when a driving counter-attack ended with Ryan Christie of Bournemouth curling an effort just over the bar. Morocco went close too, rattling the woodwork at the other end.

In the 81st minute the entire Scottish end demanded a penalty after Scott McTominay went down in the area, but Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev waved play on. The Scots pressed hard in the closing stages, throwing bodies forward, but Morocco's defence — disciplined, compact, utterly assured — repelled every attempt. Bounou was imperious, frustrating McTominay on every occasion the striker managed to work an opening.

In stoppage time, substitute Chamseddine Talbi collected a fine pass inside the box and should have buried it; instead he skied it over the bar. The move had come through captain Achraf Hakimi, whose involvement on the pitch sat in sharp contrast to the news breaking simultaneously off it: reports from France confirmed that he is to stand trial on rape charges.

His eventual yellow card gave Scotland a corner in the dying seconds. Nothing came of it. Tantashev blew the final whistle.

The Scottish supporters unleashed a torrent of frustration at manager Steve Clarke and his players, but began to trudge from the stadium singing "No Scotland, No Party" — a defiant refrain becoming tinged with resignation. The loudest voices in the stadium now belonged to Morocco. "Boston is Morocco tonight!" screamed one supporter who had scrambled onto a stairwell railing, as thousands around him roared "Dima Maghreb, Maghreb, oh-ah, oh-ah!" — shaking the walls of the home of the New England Patriots, a venue that has surely never witnessed anything quite like it.

In the mixed zone after the match, Brahim Díaz was asked about the difference between this Morocco team under Wahabi and the previous side managed by Walid Regragui. Díaz sidestepped the question, but his expression said everything. There is something in Wahabi that instils quiet, unshakeable confidence in this young squad. A man who started his coaching career at the Belgian-Jewish club Maccabi Brussels, Wahabi learned his football in Belgium, then embedded its principles across every level of Moroccan youth football, before taking charge of the senior team just two months before this tournament began. Against Brazil they produced a brilliant first half and came away with a draw. Against a very different opponent here, they were dominant again in the opening 45 minutes — and even when they sat deeper in the second half, they never fragmented, never lost their shape or their passing discipline, and could have extended the lead with sharper finishing.

Wahabi's Morocco may well be the finest, most organised African team in World Cup history. In truth, this is a European-style side wearing an Arab-African identity with enormous pride. For their supporters, that combination is more than enough.

Outside the stadium, a Moroccan fan and a Scottish fan walked out arm in arm, both — in all likelihood — considerably less than sober. The Scot was still bellowing "No Scotland, No Party," though with rather less conviction than before. The Moroccan, matching the same melody with a wide grin, was singing his own amended version: "Go Scotland, go home."

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The match between France and Senegal at the New York-New Jersey stadium promised a lot — and delivered.

The two national teams had met only once before yesterday, in that iconic and unforgettable game at the opening of the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, when Senegal, in their first-ever World Cup appearance, stunned France and the world 1-0 on a goal from Papa Bouba Diop, backed by a phenomenal performance.

Senegal and France also share a rich history of exploitation, trade, and colonialism dating back to the 17th century. Senegalese soldiers fought for France in the World Wars, Senegal was part of the French Union, and it only became an independent nation in 1960.

"There's so much that connects the two countries and the two national teams," Papa Mahmoud Gueye, a Senegalese journalist with the outlet Taggat, explained to BabaGol in conversation at the media center in New Jersey. "There are players on both teams who could have represented the other side, and a great deal of Senegalese football is directly connected to French football — culturally, commercially, and professionally."

Senegal were brimming with confidence on the eve of the match. At the final training session, Kalidou Koulibaly spoke at length with the media: "We play for our flag, for our people, but we also represent all of Africa. We are continental champions" — the African football confederation had declared Morocco champions, though the matter is under review at CAS — "so of course when we face a strong opponent like France." The training session itself opened with the entire squad and staff kneeling in prayer together for victory.

The night before the match, Senegalese fans put on a show in Times Square, warming up the atmosphere with songs, jerseys, and chants for the Lions of Teranga. Not all Senegal fans managed to make it to the United States. Senegal is famous for its fan group known as Le 12ème Gainde, which at every tournament stages striking displays — members paint their bodies white, each carrying a single letter, together spelling out S-E-N-E-G-A-L, traditionally accompanied by drummers and musicians. Ahead of this World Cup, some members of this cheer squad were denied visas, forcing replacements to train for two weeks to arrive ready and confident for the tournament.

In Times Square, amid the singing and dancing, you could feel the belief that they could recreate the wonder of 24 years ago coursing through the crowd. And why not? With a coach, Pape Thiaw, who had been a player in that 2002 squad; an assistant coach, El Hadji Diouf, who had been the star who set up the winning goal; and a veteran leader like Sadio Mané, who has led the national team to two Africa Cup of Nations titles and three World Cups — it's easy to see why the Senegalese were confident they'd get something out of this match.

In the first quarter of the game itself, it really did look like it might happen. Senegal came out strong, controlled possession, pushed forward, and came close to scoring first. On the other side, Les Bleus, despite a lineup stacked with stars and quality, showed nothing resembling the play of a title favorite. Among the Senegalese fans — and among the rest of the 85,000 in the stadium — the impression took hold: yes, Senegal could do something here today.

To Senegal's misfortune, a completely different France emerged for the second half. Goalkeeper Édouard Mendy was excellent, saving Senegal again and again, but Kylian Mbappé scored in the 66th minute to draw level with Olivier Giroud atop France's all-time scoring chart, and Senegal began to fade. Senegal had an equalizer ruled out for offside, and shortly after, in the 82nd minute, conceded a second goal from Bradley Barcola's feet.

Deep into stoppage time, 18-year-old Paris Saint-Germain player Ibrahim Mbaye became the fourth-youngest player ever to score at a World Cup, breaking free of his marker and blasting the ball into the top corner past Mike Maignan.

That goal reignited hope among the Senegalese — that maybe they could level things in the few minutes remaining. But it was Mbappé who struck again almost immediately, turning and firing a thunderous shot that left Mendy no chance. A brilliant goal that sealed the 3-1 scoreline for France and made Mbappé France's all-time leading scorer with 58 goals.

The match ended, but not without a reminder of the past. After the final whistle, the family of Papa Bouba Diop — scorer of that legendary goal against France, who passed away several years ago — walked onto the pitch and were honored by both the French and Senegalese players.

"We didn't take advantage of the chances we had," said Senegal coach Thiaw after the match. "We'll need to improve and fix things. But this loss is already behind us — we're looking ahead to the next matches, and Norway will be a very tough opponent."

Despite the defeat, Senegal can still advance to the next round. "We're still African champions," midfielder Idrissa Gueye told reporters in the mixed zone. "And in a World Cup like this, with 48 teams, anything can happen."

First came Qatar. Until Saturday, the Qataris held the unhappy distinction of being the worst-ever World Cup hosts on the pitch, having failed to win a single game on home soil in 2022. That shadow had hung over years of enormous investment in the sport, investment designed as much to rehabilitate Qatar’s global image as to build a genuine footballing culture.

Their opening assignment at the 2026 World Cup was Switzerland — the strongest side in their group, ahead of Canada and Bosnia. Few gave them any hope. But Julien Lopetegui’s side had other ideas. A penalty converted by Breel Embolo in the 17th minute put the Swiss ahead, and the script seemed to be writing itself. It didn’t.

Qatar absorbed the pressure, stayed competitive, and were rewarded in the 95th minute when veteran Boulam Khoukhi — Algerian-born, Qatari by naturalisation — met a precise delivery from defender Homam Al-Amin and headed home the equaliser. Qatar’s first-ever World Cup point. For the Qatari footballing project, and for the wider Arab football world, it felt as significant as a win.

Then came Morocco. With all due respect to the various hosts’ opening fixtures, Morocco vs Brazil at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was the first truly great match of this World Cup.

85,000 people — the vast majority of them Brazilian — packed the arena expecting a samba show from Carlo Ancelotti’s side, from Vinícius Júnior, Raphainha, and company. What they got was a very different spectacle. Morocco, despite having moved on from the golden generation of Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri and Romain Saïss, showed immediately that they have no intention of letting the 2022 magic fade. That tournament saw them reach the semi-finals and finish fourth. This feels like the continuation of something, not the end of it.

In the first thirty minutes, the roles felt reversed. Morocco played like the Brazilians used to — total midfield control, attacking full-backs bombing forward, the kind of football that makes you lean forward in your seat. Achraf Hakimi on the right, Noussair Mazraoui on the left, and above all 18-year-old Ayoub Bouaddi simply terrorised the Brazilians. Bouaddi’s story is one of the tournament’s most compelling: a product of French youth football who, after being overlooked by Didier Deschamps for the senior squad, chose to represent Morocco instead. He’s also a mathematics student. Already, clubs including Arsenal are reportedly keeping a close eye on him.

In the 21st minute, the performance got its reward. Bouaddi won the ball in midfield, Brahim Díaz of Real Madrid released a sublime pass, and Ismaël Saibari finished with a composure and flair that would have made any Brazilian proud — lifting the ball over Alisson to silence the stands.

Brazil, stung, responded. Bruno Guimarães found Vinícius Júnior in the 31st minute, and the forward did what only he can do — cutting inside from the left with lethal efficiency to equalise.

The half ended 1-1, but the message had been sent. Morocco under Mohammed Wahabi — the Belgian-Moroccan coach who previously won the Under-17 World Cup with this same generation — are younger, fresher and more dynamic than under Walid Regragui. “We have a young squad, and we will only get better,” Wahabi told reporters in the mixed zone after the match. “There is a lot to learn from this game, but we are in good shape.”

The second half was more balanced. Morocco couldn’t sustain the same ferocious intensity, and the Brazilians had chances, though not the performance their supporters had hoped for. In ten minutes of stoppage time, Nayef Aguerd’s last-gasp effort was kept out by a fine Alisson save.

1-1 at full time. Two Arab nations, two 1-1 draws, and one statement of intent to the rest of the tournament.

The first is a vast mosaic of colourful flowers bearing the inscription: La Pelota Vuelve a Casa — “The Ball Comes Home.”

The second is a painted wall featuring the emblems of the three host nations, with the words: “We are Mexico City. A city with football in its heart.”

These two signs may sound like minor details, but for anyone who loves football and World Cups and has just arrived in Mexico, they serve as a reminder: remove your shoes, for the ground beneath your feet is sacred. This is a place where football runs deep in the veins, and where the connection between the beautiful game and the host of the World Cup’s opening match is felt in every corner.

Mexico City is a colossal metropolis. An endless sprawl of some 30 million people that has always been a centre of civilisation. It was the heart of the Aztec Empire — one of the great cultures of Mesoamerica, the indigenous Americas before the Spanish arrived — when it was known as Tenochtitlán. Notably, football in one of its earliest forms, a rubber ball game called Ōllamaliztli, was a tradition thousands of years old played right here in this very city by its native cultures, including the Aztecs. The city later became the centre of the Spanish Empire in the Americas, after being conquered in 1521 by Hernán Cortés, who renamed it Ciudad de México.

One of the city’s most important arteries is Avenida Tlálpan, along part of which runs an ancient aqueduct built by the Aztec king Moctezuma and later renovated, expanded, and used by the Spanish. Along the entire boulevard — kilometres upon kilometres through this vast, unending urban landscape — enormous murals cover the walls, all depicting Mexican and Latin American football stars rendered in a style that draws on Aztec and indigenous mythology. Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Diego Maradona, Pelé, Diego Forlán, Ronaldinho, and dozens more, including players from Mexico’s women’s national team.

Two days before the opening whistle, one of the most congested roads in North and Central America was further clogged by protests: workers’ organisations demanding their rights, particularly around rest hours; doctors and nurses calling attention to the sanitary conditions in hospitals; and animal rights activists demonstrating against the city’s pre-World Cup street-cleaning campaign targeting stray dogs.

Organising the biggest World Cup in history — with 48 teams spread across three countries (Mexico, the USA, and Canada) — is no simple task, and reports of glitches and irregularities have already emerged. Referees’ visas refused, players subjected to interrogations: things that did not happen at previous tournaments. So far, though, these incidents have occurred only in the United States. In Mexico, things move at a different pace — slower, quieter — and the chaotic atmosphere surrounding this World Cup has yet to fully take hold here, even if the extensive construction work around Azteca Stadium has added to the disorder.

Despite the unrest, Edgar Hernández, a driver for a large transportation company, tells BabaGol: “The protests happen and you can understand why people are out there — it always happens when the whole world is watching Mexico. But it’s a great honour for every Mexican that Azteca and Mexico are hosting the World Cup for the third time. You can’t help but feel the emotion. There’s nobody who isn’t happy about this.”

What is worrying some locals, however, is the national team itself, which has not made it past the round of sixteen in forty years — not since the last time Mexico hosted. “We don’t have one truly great star,” explains Paula Sánchez, a Mexican supporter and blogger, speaking to BabaGol. “But maybe that’s actually a good thing. We have Raúl Jiménez — he’s our face, and we trust him to lead. A lot will depend on the atmosphere inside Azteca. If the players show they’re fighting and we open with a win, everyone will be behind them. But if it ends in a draw, all those tens of thousands of fans could become a source of pressure that breaks the players.”

It’s a crucial point. Azteca Stadium is the historic cathedral of World Cup football. It will become the first stadium ever to host three World Cups, and its story is inseparable from the story of this city — the city that was the centre of the Aztec Empire and then the Spanish Empire, a place with temples dedicated to indigenous religions, to Christianity, and yes, to football as well.

The day before the opening match, the entire area around the stadium was packed with supporters from across the globe. “I’ve already been to six World Cups,” says “Pulpilto” Sánchez, a Colombian fan who is a familiar face on the World Cup circuit. “Coming to Mexico City feels different. It’s a dream come true. This place carries enormous significance for the World Cup,” he says, his eyes shining.

“You have to understand that much of how Mexican national identity has been constructed rests on the world knowing that a stadium of historic importance stands here,” explains Dr. Giovanni Pérez of UNAM. “In 1970, Pelé led Brazil to their third World Cup title right here in this stadium; in 1986, Maradona dribbled past all of England, touched the ball with his hand, and won a World Cup in this city that was historic and deeply symbolic for Argentina. These events have truly transformed Azteca into a temple of football, a temple of the World Cup — and they have added enormous prestige to Mexico and Mexico City, both nationally and internationally.”

After Pelé and Maradona, who will be the one to etch their name in golden letters into the history of Azteca Stadium and Mexico City before this summer is over?

We’ll find out over the coming weeks. What is certain is that a World Cup in Mexico means football and the World Cup are coming home — to a true footballing temple — and that is enough to make millions in Mexico, and around the world, genuinely moved.

It has been a stage for teams from lower-ranked leagues to showcase their quality — and a competition that made clubs from the top leagues believe they could actually win a European title.

London and Madrid are two of football's great powerhouses. Every season, we expect to see the biggest names from these cities in the later stages of European competition. Yet for Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano, reaching a European final was something that existed only in dreams — until 2026.

Both clubs represent the suburbs of their cities. Crystal Palace lifted their first-ever trophy just a year ago, winning the FA Cup. Rayo Vallecano, on the other hand, have never won a domestic title, never played in a Copa del Rey final, and their best-ever finish in La Liga was eighth. For the English side, this was their debut season in European football altogether. Their Spanish opponents had played just once in European competition — a single appearance in the UEFA Cup, 25 years ago.

The Conference League turned their dream into a genuine opportunity. The match in Leipzig was a complete festival for both sets of supporters. You could feel it the moment you stepped into the streets. Groups of friends travelling together for another European away day. Parents who never imagined they would be at a moment like this with their child — living real football. The elderly, after decades of disappointment, finally experiencing what a chance of a lifetime truly feels like. It didn't matter whether you wore the blue and red stripes or the diagonal red stripe.

Unlike Rayo Vallecano, Crystal Palace had a handful of players who had already tasted European glory. Daichi Kamada won the Europa League in 2022 with Eintracht Frankfurt under Oliver Glasner. A year before that, Yeremi Pino lifted the same trophy with Villarreal. But on this magical night in Leipzig, the hero was Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Before this season, Mateta's only taste of European football had come as a youngster at Lyon. Since then, he had spent a decade at Mainz and Crystal Palace — scoring more and more goals, but never coming close to winning silverware. "I feel fantastic," he said at the final whistle, struggling to find the words to describe what he was feeling. "They support me a lot, as a player and as a team. They're always behind us, and we did it for them too," he added, dedicating the moment to the supporters who had shared his greatest night.

But it wasn't only his night to remember. It was also a farewell for Oliver Glasner — the man who delivered three trophies to a club that had never won any. The match's MVP, Adam Wharton, was playing Championship football for Blackburn Rovers just two years ago. Now he was celebrating a European trophy, despite not even making England's World Cup squad. These are the kind of underdogs who make their fans feel, for one night, like they belong among the biggest clubs on the continent.

In the fifth edition of the Conference League, we were given the ultimate story the competition was built for. As clubs outside the big five leagues find it increasingly difficult to compete at this level, the real challengers should be the true outsiders. Chelsea — a recent European champion who won the Conference League three years after lifting the Champions League — never truly embodied the spirit of this competition. Roma and West Ham won the title after decades of hurt, which came closer. But Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano are the real thing.

Tonight in Leipzig, it was a moment of crystal shining bright. And who knows when Rayo's lightning will ever get a chance like this again?

For the first time in four years, the final was held at Teddy Stadium, nestled in the nation's capital of Jerusalem.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva, the newly crowned 2025–26 Israeli Champions — fresh off their title clincher just one week ago and still riding the champagne fumes of their celebrations — arrived hoping to complete the Double for the first time in their history.

The mood in the Negev's capital had been at an all-time high in the days leading up to the final, as their title-winning campaign helped exorcise the pain of losing the championship on the final day last season.

But their mission was never going to be straightforward. Waiting for them were Maccabi Tel Aviv — the most decorated club in the country, hungry for silverware after a chaotic and deeply disappointing campaign, full of drama both on and off the pitch.

Maccabi, the reigning 2024–25 champions, had fallen off the title pace from an early stage and finished dead last in the UEFA Europa League group stage with a single point. Manager Žarko Lazetić was dismissed in January following a derby defeat to their city rivals — the first such loss since 2014. His replacement, Norwegian coach Ronny Deila, lasted just two months before departing amid suspicion of a sexual harassment case. The caretaker stepping into the Cup Final dugout was Kenny Miller — a Scottish football household name and former assistant to Deila.

On the other side, Be'er Sheva's Ran Kozuch has established himself as something of a Cup guru. Entering his fourth consecutive Cup Final, he has won the previous two editions — including the 2025 triumph with Be'er Sheva.

Teddy Stadium, packed with more than 30,000 spectators who had enjoyed fan activities throughout the afternoon, was looking as festive as ever.

The game began in the Southerners' favor. In the 12th minute, 2026 Israeli Player of the Season Kings Kangwa stole possession in midfield, switched play to Mohammed Abu Rumi, and the January signing slotted home his debut goal in red at the perfect moment. 1–0 to Be'er Sheva — a scoreline that held until the break.

The second half, however, told a different story. Maccabi took control slowly and steadily, looking a step sharper than their opponents, and their quality soon translated into goals.

In the 57th minute, a Roy Revivo corner from the right found its way to the far post, where Tyrese Asante headed it back into the box and Hélio Varela met it with a header of his own to make it 1–1. Another landmark moment for the 24-year-old Cape Verdean, who had been named in Cape Verde's 2026 World Cup squad earlier in the week.

Seven minutes later, the roles were reversed as Varela surged down the left with purpose, laying the ball off to Roy Revivo, who dribbled past Lucas Ventura and, with his weaker right foot, found a fortunate deflection that crept into the net. A fine goal from the young talent — one that drew comparisons to his father Haim, who produced similar moments of magic during his days at Celta Vigo and Fenerbahçe.

Be'er Sheva had time to respond, creating two decent chances for substitute Javon East, but the Jamaican striker lacked the sharpness required on the night.

As the final whistle approached, the game grew increasingly feisty and fractious, with clashes, fouls, and heated arguments punctuating the closing stages. Be'er Sheva's Djibril Diop was dismissed after two quick yellow cards, and when the referee did blow for full time, it brought not only yellow-and-blue celebrations but also a full-scale brawl between both benches — resulting in four red cards, two from each side.

The fallout will be for the football association to sort out. What matters tonight is that Maccabi Tel Aviv found a way to salvage a trophy from a turbulent campaign — yet another testament to the winning culture embedded in the club since the Mitch Goldhar era. It is the 25th cup in their storied history, and perhaps one of the sweetest — won in the most Maccabi way imaginable.

Photo courtesy: Shaul Greenfeld

During the first weeks of the US, Israel-Iran War, Iran's Minister of Sports, Ahmad Donyamali, and the head of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, addressed the issue directly, stating that as long as the war continued, "there is no chance Iran will participate in the tournament" or "play in a country that murdered our president and our citizens."

These statements sparked false reports claiming Iran had officially withdrawn from the World Cup. In reality, Iranian officials were working behind the scenes to convince FIFA to relocate their matches from the United States to Mexico. The proposal was even welcomed by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, but was ultimately rejected by FIFA following internal discussions.

Trump casts doubt, Infantino reassures

On the other side, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was unsure whether it would be "safe for Iran's national team players to arrive in the United States" for the World Cup—further fueling speculation that Iran might withdraw.

In an effort to ease tensions, FIFA President Gianni Infantino personally visited Iran's training camp in Antalya, Turkey, during the March international break, where the team played friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica.

During the visit, Infantino stated: "FIFA and the entire global football community stand with Iran during this difficult time. FIFA is committed to supporting Iran and will do everything possible to ensure the Iranian national team fulfills its fixtures in the upcoming World Cup and participates as planned."

In the match Infantino attended, Iran's players stood during the national anthem holding photographs of schoolgirls from Minab who were killed in bombing attacks during the early days of the war.

Iran was drawn into Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand. The team is scheduled to play two matches in Los Angeles—a city with a large Iranian diaspora community expected to turn out in strong support—and a third in Seattle against Egypt. That match was, somewhat ironically, designated in advance as the tournament's "Pride Game," before the competing teams were even known.

The designation has since become a point of contention, with both the Iranian and Egyptian federations requesting its removal, citing "unreasonable branding considerations."

A possible hint

Will Iran participate in the World Cup or not? A possible clue may emerge from next week's AFC Champions League fixtures. Due to the war, the West Region Round of 16 was postponed and consolidated into a centralized knockout tournament set to take place in Saudi Arabia.

Tractor Sazi, the Iranian club from Tabriz, was drawn to face Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai. In recent weeks, the club had requested a venue change on safety grounds, claiming it was "not safe for an Iranian team to travel and play in Saudi Arabia." However, on Saturday evening—following several hours of ceasefire—the club confirmed it would travel to Saudi Arabia as planned.

A club, of course, is not a national team. But given the deep hostility between Iran and its Gulf neighbors, the prospect of an Iranian team playing in Saudi Arabia against an Emirati side once seemed unthinkable. Now, it is happening.

Is this a sign of things to come regarding Iran's World Cup participation? Possibly—but the answer remains far from simple.

From the Iranian federation's perspective, as long as the ceasefire holds, there is no formal obstacle to participating as planned—even accounting for the earlier statements from the sports minister and federation chairman. Moreover, potential sanctions, fines, and lasting damage to Iran's standing within FIFA could prove more harmful to Iranian football than any negative press generated by showing up.

"All teams have confirmed their arrival"

"From FIFA's perspective, there are no changes to the match schedule. All teams have confirmed their participation, and Iran is one of them," a senior FIFA official told BabaGol.

A source within the tournament's organizing committee added: "At this stage, we have received no indication that Iran will not arrive in the United States or set up its base camp in Tucson, Arizona, as planned. Like everyone else, we are monitoring developments around the ceasefire and are in contact with FIFA, the White House, and all relevant parties. The situation is being continuously evaluated, and the halt in fighting naturally creates a different atmosphere."

All efforts to ensure Iran's participation

Throughout the US, Israel-Iran War, football has been deeply affected—at times even serving as a symbolic battleground reflecting the broader tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel.

From the controversy surrounding Iran's women's team at the AFC Women's Asian Cup in Australia, to the suspension of leagues and tournaments across the Middle East; from the dismissal of national team star Sardar Azmoun after he posted support for Dubai's ruler following Iranian missile strikes on the emirate, to the bombing of the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran—and even the renaming of a street that once honored Iranian legend Ali Daei, due to his perceived "lack of support for the war effort."

Whether the ceasefire between Iran, the United States, and Israel holds or not, further developments regarding Iran's World Cup participation are expected in the coming days. But as long as the fighting remains paused, it appears that all parties involved will do everything in their power to ensure Iran's national team arrives in the United States and competes at the 2026 World Cup.

Not because of Champions League results, but due to a stunning decision: the Confederation of African Football (CAF) declared Morocco African champions, just two months after they lost 1–0 to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat.

That final was already a bizarre affair. Controversial refereeing decisions — most notably a disallowed Senegal goal deep into stoppage time and a penalty awarded to Morocco — sparked chaos on the pitch and in the stands. Senegal's players walked off in protest, plunging the stadium into disorder.

Eventually, they returned. Brahim Díaz of Real Madrid stepped up to take the spot kick — but squandered it with a sloppy Panenka. In extra time, Senegal scored, secured a 1–0 victory, and celebrated their second AFCON title.

Two months later, everything changed.

CAF's appeals committee ruled that Senegal had effectively forfeited the match, awarding Morocco a 3–0 technical victory — and with it, the continental title.

The ruling was based on Articles 82 and 84 of CAF's regulations. Article 82 addresses failure to appear, abandoning the field, or refusing to play. Article 84 states that such actions result in an automatic 3–0 defeat. According to CAF, Senegal's conduct met these criteria following Morocco's formal complaint.

"This is a dirty game"

The fallout was immediate.

The Senegalese FA announced it would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 48 hours. "This scandalous decision harms African football as a whole," the federation said. "We will act swiftly to defend Senegalese football at CAS in Lausanne."

Players reacted furiously on social media. "Come take the trophy and medals — they've lost their minds!" wrote Moussa Niakhaté, posting a photo with the silverware. "This isn't AI — it's real."

Fodé Ballo-Touré responded with laughing emojis alongside a photo of the trophy, while Maccabi Haifa defender Abdoulaye Seck was more pointed: "The cup is already with me — if they want it, they can come and try to take it. This is a dirty game."

Even Morocco is surprised

One of the most unexpected reactions came from Morocco itself.

"The federation never intended to challenge sporting performance," the Moroccan FA stated. "Only to ensure the events aligned with regulations. A formal response will follow after consultations."

The tone suggests that even Morocco did not expect CAF to overturn the final result. Their appeal reflected a familiar instinct in African football — challenge controversial decisions — but not a genuine belief that a completed final would be reversed.

"There's a chance CAS will overturn this," a Moroccan FA official told BabaGol. "It's extremely difficult — almost impossible — to change a referee's decision after a match has been resumed, played, and decided on the field."

Morocco's players have echoed that sentiment through silence. No posts, no interviews — a quiet acknowledgment, perhaps, that being handed the title retroactively is deeply problematic.

Legal battle ahead

Should the case reach CAS, CAF could face serious embarrassment.

Senegal is expected to argue that the match was never abandoned — that it concluded with the referee's final whistle. They are also likely to contend that Article 82 was misapplied, since the game resumed under the same conditions and reached a legitimate conclusion.

Crucially, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala allowed Senegal back onto the pitch, and Morocco continued playing for an extended period. That, Senegal will argue, validates both the match and its result.

"Changing the winner of a completed final is an extreme overreach," said Abdoulaye Sow, a Senegal FA spokesperson. "If you want to punish delays, that's one thing — and Senegal wasn't the only side involved — but calling it a refusal to play? After extra time was played and a champion crowned? It's absurd, scandalous, and wrong. We will take this to CAS — and win."

Additional sanctions

CAF's appeals committee also issued a number of further rulings:

Ismael Saibari's suspension for stealing goalkeeper Edouard Mendy's towel was reduced to two matches, and his $100,000 fine was cancelled. Morocco's FA retained a $100,000 fine for the disorder between the stands and the pitch, while a separate fine related to the conduct of ball boys was reduced to $50,000.

Not the first scandal

CAF has a long history of contentious rulings later overturned by CAS.

In the 2019 CAF Champions League final, Wydad Casablanca's players walked off in protest, and referee Bakary Gassama awarded the title to Espérance of Tunisia. CAF subsequently reversed the decision, declaring Wydad champions — only for CAS to overturn that ruling and restore the trophy to Espérance.

History may now be repeating itself.

All eyes turn to CAS as Senegal prepares its appeal, hoping for a resolution before the next World Cup — or at least before the next AFCON. Until then, one thing is clear: among fans, players, coaches, and officials alike, almost no one in African football is taking CAF's decision seriously.