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Rory Smith
Messi’s magic runs dry as Spain cast their final spell
Sun 19 Jul 2026
Oliver Marsden
Brazil, England, Curaçao – how Lebanon’s diaspora turns it into a multi-team World Cup fanzone
Sun 19 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
In spite of it all, this World Cup’s legacy will be a thing of beauty
Sun 19 Jul 2026
George Simms
England’s ridiculous summer gets its ridiculous ending with 6-4 third-place play-off victory
Sat 18 Jul 2026
Corner Flag No. 7
Sat 18 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Despite Fifa’s meddling, the World Cup has kept its shine
Sat 18 Jul 2026
Bill Edgar
The only guaranteed 2026 World Cup Invincibles? Turks and Caicos Islands and US Virgin Islands
Sat 18 Jul 2026
George Simms
The more things change with England, the more they stay the same
Sat 18 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Messi, Knicks in New York and US-England affection – The Observer’s World Cup memories
Sat 18 Jul 2026
The 20 books to read this summer
Sat 18 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
All eyes on him: Lionel Messi’s final act
Sat 18 Jul 2026
Paul Hayward
Fifa launched the four horsemen of avarice – but this World Cup somehow survived
Fri 17 Jul 2026
Simon Barnes
It’s always something: a brief history of England at the World Cup since 1966
Fri 17 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
England’s simple problem – running into a team that is better
Fri 17 Jul 2026
George Simms
Despite integrity concerns, the World Cup has delivered on its promise
Fri 17 Jul 2026
Mia Guethe
Tuchel is the anti-Southgate – England should stick with him
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Dani Gil
The man inspiring Spain’s new golden generation
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Giles Smith
After review… most of this World Cup’s innovations have fallen flat
Thu 16 Jul 2026
George Simms
My mad five weeks covering the World Cup
Thu 16 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
England get caught in Argentina’s spell
Thu 16 Jul 2026
George Simms
Don’t cry for me: Argentina deal deadly late blows to knock out England
Wed 15 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
An old conflict rears its head in song and on the World Cup pitch
Wed 15 Jul 2026
George Simms
England continue their ghostbusters tour
Wed 15 Jul 2026
Xavier Greenwood
Bellingham and co have put an end to the 90s nostalgia industry
Wed 15 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Spain prove the old adage: a great team beats great players
Wed 15 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Peaceful World Cup is about to face its toughest test
Tue 14 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Spain’s tiki taka has curdled as France stand in the way of control
Mon 13 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
The World Cup final four have somehow justified their rankings
Mon 13 Jul 2026
George Simms
The Jude Bellingham Show
Mon 13 Jul 2026
Megan Nolan
It’s ‘football innit’: Identity and fandom blur in a New York bar
Sun 12 Jul 2026
Matthew Glynn
Faces of the World Cup 2026
Sun 12 Jul 2026
George Simms
World Cup semi-final beckons for England after brilliant Bellingham brace
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Power of the Premier League gives Tuchel a winning hand
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Corner Flag No. 6
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Amalie Sortland
Banging the drum: I’ll be shouting for Norway as my London local goes full-on Scandi
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Xavier Greenwood
Divided loyalties but France and Morocco fans all speak football
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Bill Edgar
Defenders’ record from the spot not too far off the rest
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Outside looking in, content creators compete for moments that last
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Jessy Parker Humphreys
How Infantino parked the bus and made Fifa impervious to change
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Jessy Parker Humphreys
World in conflict casts deadly shadow over beautiful game
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Simon Barnes
Was the Azteca masterpiece really England’s finest footballing hour?
Sat 11 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Fans offered an alternate shared reality in Cosm’s new theatre of football
Fri 10 Jul 2026
Giles Smith
Player ratings in BBC and ITV’s daily showdown
Fri 10 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Fifa’s demand to trust them is now an impossibility
Fri 10 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Here for a good time, not a long time – the fun countries are out
Fri 10 Jul 2026
George Simms
The international managers selling mediocrity as something more
Thu 9 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
The World Cup’s one-day break was long enough – let’s get back to the good stuff
Thu 9 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Brazil exit, but fans leave behind a new approach to World Cup attendance
Wed 8 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Once more with feeling: Messi orchestrates his own great escape
Wed 8 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Trump’s a soccer guy now
Tue 7 Jul 2026
George Simms
Mexico awakes to the morning after
Tue 7 Jul 2026
Tim Adams
Watching England beat Mexico on demand left me stranded behind the nation’s emotional curve
Mon 6 Jul 2026
George Simms
England build their Wonderwall in a game for the ages
Mon 6 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Craven Fifa put spectacle over substance in its Folarin Balogun ruling
Mon 6 Jul 2026
Xavier Greenwood
Mile high rub: why England will struggle to rise to Azteca challenge
Sun 5 Jul 2026
Ben Coles
World Cup watching tactics... you snooze, you lose
Sun 5 Jul 2026
Kenan Malik
This World Cup shows how contradictory and messy it is to define who we are
Sun 5 Jul 2026
Corner Flag No. 5
Sat 4 Jul 2026
George Simms
Altitude meets attitude at a classic venue. It will be worth staying up for
Sat 4 Jul 2026
George Simms
Team Tuchel targets new heights in Mexico
Sat 4 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Salah has the last word in penalty exchange
Sat 4 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Take a bow, Cape Verde – you are the winners
Sat 4 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
In Maga country, fans find themselves in a state of World Cup fervour
Sat 4 Jul 2026
Mia Guethe
Sorry England, but Harry Kane is as German as Thomas Tuchel
Sat 4 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
After 250 years of hurt, an England win would be surprisingly welcome
Sat 4 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Lionel Messi, the ubiquitous brand that keeps on giving
Fri 3 Jul 2026
Giles Smith
Danny Murphy: The co-commentator who leaves us wanting more
Fri 3 Jul 2026
Bill Edgar
Historic late night could be Kane’s chance to delight once more
Fri 3 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
The great World Cup levelling up
Fri 3 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
On the road again: the USA fans seeking a song they can call their own
Thu 2 Jul 2026
George Simms
Harry Kane plays Superman role again to send England into last 16
Thu 2 Jul 2026
Rory Smith
Deschamps seeks to lift curse of success with a touch of style
Wed 1 Jul 2026
Bill Edgar
England unbeaten in 58 first-time meetings as DR Congo await World Cup debut against them
Tue 30 Jun 2026
Seun Matiluko
Diaspora divisions have given way to joyful World Cup pan-Africanism
Tue 30 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
World Cup knock-outs: Well that was fun – but now things get serious
Tue 30 Jun 2026
George Simms
Fall of the German giants is no longer a surprise
Tue 30 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
Transfer window vs World Cup: all we are saying is give peace a chance
Mon 29 Jun 2026
Xavier Greenwood
Watching England at the World Cup felt like coming home again
Mon 29 Jun 2026
George Simms
Who else? Bellingham inspires England to group-topping win
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Corner Flag No. 04
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
Spaceship nature of arenas won’t feel alien for long
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Jessy Parker Humphreys
Football is ill-equipped to deal with players facing criminal charges
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Ursula Shepherd
Rape and sexual assault charges cast a shadow over festival of football
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Xavier Greenwood
The World Cup vs the Big Bang theory
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Simon Barnes
Is it time to blow the whistle on the penalty shootout?
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
Hyphen-Americans are celebrating a return to their roots
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Bill Edgar
Bloated World Cup the latest example of elite football’s expanding schedule
Sat 27 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
World Cup football still gleaming despite Infantino-driven celebrity culture
Fri 26 Jun 2026
George Simms
Blame for Scotland’s World Cup falls on Steve Clarke’s shoulders
Fri 26 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
The World Cup has become a competition of national identities
Fri 26 Jun 2026
Sam Cunningham
Glen Johnson: ‘The one thing England are missing is killer instinct’
Fri 26 Jun 2026
Giles Smith
No shelter from storms in Salford
Fri 26 Jun 2026
Melanie Reid
From would-be GOATs to tethered goats, Scotland’s journey takes a familiar turn
Thu 25 Jun 2026
George Simms
Development versus diaspora, the two routes to World Cup success
Thu 25 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
Donald Trump has developed a boos problem at sporting events
Thu 25 Jun 2026
George Simms
Second-game fever gives Thomas Tuchel a new headache
Wed 24 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
Brazil’s long-distance relationship problem
Wed 24 Jun 2026
George Simms
The World Cup puts a new light on shining star Erling Haaland
Wed 24 Jun 2026
Rory Smith
World Cup banter battle is leaving everything on the pitch
Tue 23 Jun 2026
