Funny how some teams get asked about football… and others get asked to explain the world.
Shoutout to the Iran team for carrying that weight.
#WorldCup#Iran
Iran left a note in SoFi Stadium's locker room thanking LA for its hospitality at the World Cup.
"From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast."
"We came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honor, and leave with dignity."
"May peace, respect, and friendship prevail among all nations."
I cannot believe Cape Verde actually convinced this guy to play for them via LinkedIn😭. Monster of a defender.
His mother is Irish, his father is from Cape Verde. He was born and raised in Ireland, and currently the captain of Shamrock Rovers.
He represented Ireland at youth level before switching to Cape Verde.
In 2018, Cape Verde were looking for professional footballers with Cape Verdian heritage and the coach came across Pico Lopes.
He messaged him on LinkedIn to play for them, Lopes was working part time as a Mortgage advisor in a bank then and still playing professional football.
He didn’t respond because the message was in Portuguese and he didn’t understand, he thought it was a spam.
A year later (2019), the coach messaged him again, this time he did it in English. Lopes agreed to play for Cape Verde and the rest is history.
A very good addition to the squad, a pure leader. Ladies and Gentlemen, Pico Lopes.
🚨 The criticism surrounding FIFA, Gianni Infantino and the organisation of this World Cup continues to grow.
Writing for The Guardian, award-winning columnist Jonathan Liew delivered a scathing assessment of FIFA's president following a series of controversies, including the situation involving referee Omar Artan.
🗣️ Liew: "Given his own self-image as a kind of messianic pan-global statesman, there is a certain irony in the fact that this summer will cement his legacy as one of sport’s greatest cowards: a weak and petty man who lost control of his own tournament. A man who quivered in the face of genuine conviction. A man who had the world’s most powerful cultural force in his hands, and ended up giving it away."
🚨 Jürgen Klopp has launched a scathing attack on the cooling breaks being used during this World Cup. 👊
"Football is being held hostage by executives sitting in air-conditioned offices.
These breaks are being presented as a shield for player welfare, a noble weapon against the heat. In reality, they are nothing more than a golden cage built for sponsors.
When I saw players standing around during cooling breaks while television timeouts dictated the rhythm of the match, I couldn't help but ask myself: who is the World Cup really serving?
The supporters? The players? Or the advertisers?
A World Cup match should flow like a river. Instead, we are building dams in the middle of it so commercials can be shown.
It's dangerous for the spirit of the game. Football used to be the main event, but it now risks becoming background music for an advertising show."
He didn't hold back. 👏👏
Richie Sadlier👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
"It's baffling to me, how...it is controversial or contentious or objectionable that someone suggests...do you know what maybe let's not play football against them.
Maybe instead of playing a match against them, maybe let's not play a match."
John McGinn is casually enjoying the ULTIMATE football career:
• Winner of St Mirren's first major trophy (Scottish League Cup) in 26 years (2013).
• Winner of Hibs' first Scottish Cup in 114 years (2016).
• Scorer of Aston Villa’s winning goal in play-off final at Wembley, marking the club’s return to the Premier League following three year absence (2019).
• Part of Scotland team that qualified for Euro 2020, the country's first major tournament for 22 years (2020).
• Part of Scotland team that qualified for the country's first World Cup in 28 years (2025).
• Captain of Europa League-winning Aston Villa team, the club's first major trophy in 30 years (2026).
Legendary. 🏴
Seamus Coleman – one of our greatest-ever servants and captains – has announced his proud Everton playing career spanning more than 17 years will come to an end when his contract expires next month.
Thank you for everything, Seamus. 💙
Incredible stuff. The heroics of Mark Sheedy for Clare have made it Stateside
The Sixmilebridge star's incredible penalty save against Tipp was the #1 pick on ESPN Sports Center's Top 10 plays of the day
📽️: @SMBGAA
Holy shit, this is BRILLIANT: This dude breaks down why everyone thinks the whole WHCD event was fake... everything about trump is FAKE.
Best video you'll see today.