The Touchline | 𝐓

Unrivaled football coverage ⚽️ • Enquiries: [email protected]

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨‼️ Amount of knockout stage goals in the World Cup:

5 — Lionel Messi
0 — Cristiano Ronaldo

Isn’t it clear?

[Stake.com @Stake]

Mbappe, Kane, Messi or Ronaldo 🤔

Who'll be the top goalscorer of the tournament?

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨🇦🇷 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Argentina's best XI for the World Cup!

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡: 5 days left for the World Cup to start! 🏆

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: Nearly all 104 matches scheduled for the 2026 World Cup could face temporarily suspension during the match due to unstable weather conditions!

• Risk of thunderstorms, hail and even tornadoes in central regions such as Kansas City, Atlanta and Dallas.

• Risk of extreme heat and humidity in coastal cities like Miami and Houston, while Monterrey could experience extreme temperatures.

— @lequipe

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Cristiano Ronaldo commented laughing emojis at a video of Kevin Prince Boateng during an interview.

🚨🗣️ Boateng: "Before when I played for Las Palmas, I said that Cristiano Ronaldo was the best player in the world and that my favorite team was Real Madrid."

"When I signed for Barcelona, they told me that I had to say that Lionel Messi was the best in the world and Barcelona was the best team, otherwise it was impossible. They would not sign me, and I know they did it to other players as well."

"Then, in my first press conference, I had to sit there and lie. I said Messi and Barcelona were the best."

Cristiano then commented: '😂😂😂😂"

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Sports analyst Mark O'Haire has simulated the World Cup 100,000 times, showing the leniency in the new group stage format.

✅ 6 pts = 100% qualify
✅ 4 pts = 99.8% qualify
⚠️ 3 pts = 67% qualify
❌ 2 pts = 5% qualify

More often than not, 3 points and a -2 goal difference is enough to get you through to the next round.

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: The economist who predicted the last three World Cup winners now predicts the Netherlands to win the 2026 tournament! 🇳🇱🏆

• A German economist named Joachim Klement built a statistical model from scratch in 2014 that has correctly called every World Cup champion since.

• After nailing Germany in 2014, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022, his system now forecasts the Netherlands as the unlikely 2026 champion.

• Klement’s model weighs factors like population size, GDP per capita, FIFA ranking, climate and socioeconomic elements.

• He openly admits the math only explains around 50% of the outcome, with the other half coming down to pure luck.

• The whole thing started as a joke to mock mathematicians who think they can predict everything with numbers.

• According to the projections, the Dutch will knock out France in the quarter-finals, Spain in the semis and Portugal in the final.

• The model also has Brazil crashing out in the round of 16 against Japan.

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪: There will be 8 pairs of siblings at the World Cup.

• Guéla Doué 🇨🇮
• Desiré Doué 🇫🇷

• Iñaki Williams 🇬🇭
• Nico Williams 🇪🇸

• Derrick Luckassen Brobbey 🇬🇭
• Brian Brobbey 🇳🇱

• John Souttar 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
• Harry Souttar 🇦🇺

• Lucas Hernandez 🇫🇷
• Théo Hernandez 🇫🇷

• Quinten Timber 🇳🇱
• Jurriën Timber 🇳🇱

• Laros Duarte 🇨🇻
• Deroy Duarte 🇨🇻

• Leandro Bacuna 🇨🇼
• Juninho Bacuna 🇨🇼

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨🗣️ 𝗡𝗘𝗪: 5x Europa League winner Unai Emery reveals the secret behind his success as a manager.

"I love my job. I have no problem working from 8 am to 8 pm, in front of a laptop, analyzing our team or other football teams, or preparing training sessions.”

“Look, I have a principle: in football, you can work 24 hours a day. There is always something you can do. For example, if you need a striker, you can watch every match of every potential striker you might want to sign of every team in the world."

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡: Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo in World Cup knockout matches! 🌍

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨🗣️ Federico Chiesa: "I want to play regularly, if I don't find continuity in Premier League I have to look ELSEWHERE."

"The first year of Liverpool I practically didn't play… I'm going to pre season tour in the USA, then I'll talk to the club and the new coach Iraola and we'll see."

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨🗣️ 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Virgil van Dijk opens up about his mental struggles this year:

"Mentally wise, it's been very difficult this year, from the moment I got the phone call regarding Diogo Jota until the final game."

"During this year, we have never had a real moment where we could process everything. Or to even think about it. We still have to do this, I think it will come after the World Cup."

"Look, I don't want people to think that I am being pathetic right now. But it's been an extremely heavy year."

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

�� Reporter: Who would you like to swap jerseys with at the World Cup?

🚨🗣️ Dani Olmo: "Leo Messi."

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗭𝗬 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧: Paulo Dybala has only played 39 minutes of World Cup football.

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Neymar choosing which underwear to take to the World Cup.

He picks up one with Messi on one side, Neymar on the other, and “The 3 Biggest” phrase written in the middle.

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

💎 First World Cup / Last World Cup 💫

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🚨🗣️ 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Lionel Scaloni on how did Leo Messi communicate his presence in the World Cup:

"Well, I simply sent him a message. He told me that he would wait for the squad announcement…"

"He asked me whether he would be among the called-up players. So I told him: ‘Alright, you’re in the squad,’ and that was the end of it."

"We all expected that he might make some kind of announcement and I was probably the first to think he would. But in the end, he did what any player would do, he waited for the coach’s call-up. That’s all."

"It gave me a lot of peace of mind when he told me he wasn’t going to make any announcement and that he would simply wait for the list of selected players. And that’s exactly what happened."

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: FIFA's last-minute ban on reusable water bottles at 2026 World Cup stadiums has sparked criticism that commercial interests are being prioritized over fan comfort and safety.

· FIFA reversed its earlier policy that allowed empty, transparent reusable bottles, saying the ban is needed to reduce the risk of bottles being thrown and causing injuries. The rule now applies across all World Cup venues.

· Supporters' groups and fan advocates argue that limiting personal water containers could increase the risk of dehydration and heat-related illnesses, especially with several matches expected to be played in hot summer conditions.

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪: 2 billionaires will play the 2026 World Cup.

Of course, they are Messi and Ronaldo.

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Dozens of fans from the United Kingdom have had their permits to enter the United States changed from 'approved' to 'travel not authorized.'

— @BBCSport