Lionel Messi recorded his first World Cup hat-trick in Argentina’s 3–0 win over Algeria.

Ousmane Dembélé scored the fastest first-half World Cup hat trick since 1956 vs. Norway, but the France star thought he was better in another match.

Mersad Smajic, a St Louis, Missouri, real estate investor and restaurant owner, has been thrilled to see fellow Bosnian immigrants thrive in their new home, which has been especia

ENGLAND fans and players belted out Wonderwall after coming from behind to beat DR Congo 2-1 in the World Cup round of 32. The Three Lions stars stood glassy-eyed as they sang their hearts out to

Could you order all of them? Well, that’s what we’re trying to do. The Athletic is ranking every game, from worst to best. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments. Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app Congratulations to Scotland on a first World Cup win in 36 years but a game with 44 fouls and four shots on target (from 24 attempts) was never going to rank too highly here.

Croatia came out on the front foot early. Vlasic beat Ghana goalie Benjamin Asare in the 17th minute but not the post. Center back Marin Pongracic headed over on a corner kick in the 24th, and Perisic’s header from 18 yards on a Modric free kick in the 30th was easily handled by Asare.

The 2026 World Cup has expanded the field to 48 countries. We have some of the giants of international football (but not Italy), but also some nations in their first World Cup. Here is the best World Cup performance for all 48 nations to qualify in 2026.

With every World Cup, new heroes emerge, and some of them have sad stories that break the hearts of soccer fans. As far as the 2026 FIFA World Cup is concerned, the tournament has made many small-nation goalkeepers famous.