‘He made us believe in magic’
Football has paused to say farewell. Lionel Messi’s Argentina teammates, friends and rivals have come together...
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02 Sep 2026
The Odyssey review: Homer’s epic sails to new heights with Nolan
To begin with, I was disappointed by Christopher Nolan’s previous film, Oppenheimer. Although it generated a...
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24 Jul 2026
Spain’s World Cup win is just the opening chapter
Spain have done it again — and this time, it feels less like a triumph than...
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21 Jul 2026
Six weeks of football madness, magic, and mourning
For six unrelenting weeks, the planet organised itself around football. The 2026 FIFA World Cup —...
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19 Jul 2026
Spain vs Argentina: A generational battle for the ultimate glory
When Lionel Messi walked onto the Fanatics Fest stage in New York on Friday, phones outnumbered...
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19 Jul 2026
Yamal’s improbable journey
Some stories are too perfect to be fiction. In the autumn of 2007, a 20-year-old Lionel...
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18 Jul 2026
39 years of magic
There are footballers. There are great footballers. And then, standing entirely alone in a category the...
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24 Jun 2026
When football fever turns to frenzy
Bangladeshi football fans are known the world over for their passion. Every four years, when the...
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22 Jun 2026
The curious case of Curaçao
The final whistle blew. The scoreboard read Germany 7, Curaçao 1. And yet, nobody went home...
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16 Jun 2026
FIFA 2026: Brazil fans bring the yellow and green party
The World Cup had been ticking along for a few days. Mexico, Canada, and the USA,...
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15 Jun 2026