The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) on X (original) (raw)

Every football story that matters. Breaking news. In-depth analysis. 🏆 Follow the 2026 Men's World Cup here: bit.ly/taworldcup2026

• Pinned
  
  Welcome to Stars of Soccer, The Athletic’s World Cup player guide. Lionel Messi is here, and there’s room for Cristiano Ronaldo too. There are legends of the game, the current elite, rising stars and others who really make their teams tick. They are old and young, some at
  
• 
  Who are the dark horses at the 2026 World Cup? 🎙️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗙𝗖 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁
  
• 
  “𝙂𝙤𝙖𝙡 𝘽𝙖𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘽𝙖𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙖! 𝙂𝙤𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖! 𝙂𝙤𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖!” South Africa and Mexico kick off the 2026 World Cup, 16 years after the two countries opened the 2010 World Cup with a 1-1 draw at Soccer City in
  
• 
  Wolves have sacked Rob Edwards and are set to hire Gil Vicente head coach Cesar Peixoto. The timing of the move comes as a surprise, with Edwards involved in the social media announcement video for striker Raul Jimenez’s return to Molineux on Tuesday. Peixoto is now set to
  
• 
  Last year, 21 prospective U.S. cities for the 2031 Women's World Cup signed a letter warning they would not be prepared to sign up without “meaningful negotiation” of the terms some had agreed for the 2026 men's edition. The letter, which was never sent, referenced the
  
• 
  With the 2026 World Cup getting underway today, let’s revisit how
  @NickMiller79
  and
  @TimSpiers
  rank all 48 teams... Do you agree with their decisions? Read the full article for free: nyti.ms/4vLH4rg
  
• 
  Raul Jimenez shouldn't be playing at the World Cup today. He shouldn't be leading the line for Mexico, He shouldn't even be playing football... and he probably shouldn't still be alive. But he is and after nearly losing his life in 2020, he has flourished in the Premier League
  
• 
  Every day of the World Cup, our experts will bring you the lowdown on each game and predict the outcomes. Will co-hosts Mexico shine in front of their home fans? Can Son Heung-min still perform on the biggest stage? Join us as we make our picks for Mexico vs South Africa and
• 
  Haiti have agreed to change both their home and away World Cup kits after they were told by FIFA that the Caribbean nation’s shirt had been deemed “political”. The design contained an image of several freedom fighters raising the country’s flag, based on the final battle of the
  
• 
  The Athletic will use its new player ratings model to provide an objective assessment of each player’s contribution in a match. But before the first ball is kicked, here are
  @liam_twomey
  ’s provisional rankings of the top 50 players set to be involved at the World Cup. Let the
  
• 
  It was 13 minutes after 2pm on the first day of the 1994 World Cup. This was soccer's big moment in the U.S., an opportunity for the most popular sport in the world to make an impact in North America. There was just one fly in the ointment. Around 1,700 miles west, in Los
  
• 
  On a muggy Mexico City lunchtime, FIFA president Gianni Infantino entered the giant cow shed that is the press area at the Estadio Azteca and waved through a gap between a giant television and a temporary wall. No one waved back. A few moments later, as music blared