Spain 1-0 Argentina: My thoughts
The photograph that set the whole thing up Before the game there was a lot of talk about Messi and Lamine Yamal and the picture they took together. Years ago, Yamal's parents won a…
Football
Match days, tournaments and the teams I follow.
9 articles
England's World Cup: Tuchel's Gamble, the Saka Mystery, and a 6-4 Send-Off
I've spent more time thinking about England's World Cup than about any other team's, and almost all of it on one specific thing: that second half against Argentina. I watched it ba…
Spain 2-0 France: My Thoughts, and the Final Ahead
What the four semifinalists brought It's easy to say this looking back, but each of the four teams arrived at the semifinals with a clear identity, something they'd already shown a…
England 1-2 Argentina: My Thoughts
A rivalry 21 years in the making This game started well before kick off. Honestly, it started years ago. The more I read about it in the build up, the more I felt the vibe, especia…
World Cup Takes
The World Cup is done, so this is everything I thought about it that isn't a team or a match report. I've written up every single team individually, group by group, and the final a…
The Quarters Were Good. The Semis Will Be Even Better
We've got our four semifinalists, and this is the first time since 2006 that the top four favourites have all made it this far. I actually quite like the pattern this World Cup has…
How I'd Fix the World Cup Group Stage: Eight Groups of Six and Why Every Game Would Matter
In my big World Cup write up I said the 48 team format was better than I expected, but that the problems people predicted still showed up, mostly around third place. This is where…
World Cup 2026 Quarters Preview
My take on the quarterfinalists France have been the best team by far, out of the toughest group in the tournament. Comfortable win over Sweden in the last 32, then a scrappy 1 0 o…
Worth the 90: The App That Tells You Which Game to Watch, Without Spoilers
I've wanted to build this for years. The problem is always the same: I miss a football match, I want to know whether it's worth catching up on, but I don't want the score or the re…