Kahraba Ismailia · Premier League · Attacker · #10 · Egypt · 2025 yrs
Mexico City’s storied Azteca Stadium has been the stage for some of the most iconic moments in World Cup history, from Pelé’s third title to Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal. The hallowed venue hosts the 2026 World Cup opener between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday, a throwback to the 2010 curtain-raiser in Johannesburg – and a rematch between coaches who faced off as players in the same stadium 40 years ago.
If you had the chance to meet Diego Maradona, what would you do? Smell him? That’s what our chief sports writer, Barney Ronay, did at the 2018 World Cup during Argentina’s first group game of the competition. To keep up with more of Barney’s adventures in his World Cup video diary, follow @guardiansport on TikTok. Continue reading...
Morocco’s semi-final appearance in Qatar has raised the possibility of an African team reaching the final, but who are best poised to do so?With a record 10 African teams at the first 48-nation World Cup finals tournament, the big question, after Morocco’s historic semi-final appearance in Qatar, is whether any of them can go a step further.The prospect of an African side becoming world champions appeared realistic after Cameroon defied the odds to beat Diego Maradona’s Argentina, the defending champions, in the opening game of the 1990 tournament and embarked on a fairytale run that ended in a 3-2 quarter-final defeat by England. But in the eight subsequent World Cups, African teams have been long on promise and short on delivery. Continue reading...
After living in the Argentina idol’s shadow, the 39-year-old star of Qatar is still capable of a final glorious chapterLionel Messi in Qatar felt like the perfect story. It was the great finale. He is doomed always to be compared with Diego Maradona and, placed alongside a life of operatic ups and downs, of injury and addiction, drugs bans and organised crime, the highest highs and the lowest lows, his narrative always seemed a little flat: a kid was good at football, and then was consistently good at it for two decades, winning title after title. Yes, there were tears and frustrations, moments of doubt, but he wasn’t nearly drowning in a cesspit, shooting at journalists with an airgun or using a fake penis to evade the drugs testers.Qatar offered at least a degree of dramatic intrigue. Club success evidently wasn’t enough. Messi was driven. He had overcome his natural reserve to become the true leader of the team while winning the Copa América in Brazil the previous year. He gave team talks. When, giving a TV interview after the quarter‑final win over the Netherlands he snapped at Wout Weghorst: “Que mira, bobo?” – what are you looking at, idiot? – it was celebrated as the quiet man coming out of his shell, albeit with an oddly childish phrase. Could the Argentinian finally lift the trophy in what was assumed to be his final World Cup? In the knockout stage, it felt every game could be his last; his genius and its apparent fragility seemed a constant reminder of mortality. Continue reading...
From Pelé’s third title to Maradona’s legendary double and Baggio’s agonising penalty miss, tournaments hosted in Mexico and the US have left us with some of the most memorable moments in World Cup history. Here’s a throwback to the 1970, 1986 and 1994 editions.
