Barrow · League One · Midfielder · #21 · England · 26 yrs
Irankunda and co have not yet earned golden generation status but they can revive Australia’s World Cup aspirationsThere always was a familiar feeling to this youthful squad of Socceroos. That sense of deja vu. That you had seen something like this before. But it took Nestory Irankunda running to the corner flag to remember what it was.By reviving Tim Cahill’s famous goal celebration, the new face of Australian football instantly connected this fearless crop of young footballers finding their way on the world stage to the greats wearing yellow that have gone before. Continue reading...
⚽️ World Cup kick-off 9pm EST/2am BST/11am AEST⚽️ Match gallery | Player guide | Golden Boot | Mail TomPre-match postbag. “I confess I was a wee bit worried after the first 10 minutes of the Brazil v Morocco game, because they were running about jolly quickly and firing balls into the net with great panache. The longer it’s gone on though the more confident I feel. I suspect we’ll confuse them by playing what they might think is a different sport” – Scott Blair“I’m English and living down under in Melbourne. We are actually getting a whole bunch of games at reasonable times as we normally have to watch intentional games at 2am. I’m enjoying tea and toast over breakfast games and looking forward to hearing the Scots belt out Flower of Scotland, always a spine tingling experience, even for and Englishman.” – Simon Dobson Continue reading...
Kicking off this Thursday, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has faced its share of criticism before it has even begun. A viral video has sparked fresh backlash, appearing to show members of Senegal's national team being searched with metal detectors on the tarmac of a US airport. Online, some users have claimed the players were being "treated like criminals" and pointed to the footage as evidence of "unapologetic racism". A widely shared photo also appears to show the team's coach undergoing the same screening. But what do these images actually show?
In today’s newsletter: the Pacific islands hoping to enter World Cup qualifying before ocean level increase wipes them from the map“This is not just about football, it’s about building something from scratch,” Eriati Reebo, the Kiribati football president, explains. “A legacy, a story, that the world will always remember.”Kiribati, a group of Pacific islands south of Hawaii with 138,000 inhabitants, is seeking entry into World Cup qualifying for the 2030 tournament. Becoming a recognised international football team would help to bring attention to the only nation on earth that sits within all four hemispheres, and one that is rapidly disappearing from the map. It could be the first, but certainly not the last, country to be engulfed by sea water, leaving it uninhabitable. And before that happens, it wants to professionalise the football setup and become a full member of the Oceania Football Confederation. This would both create a route to competing with bigger nations and help to keep the Kiribati spirit alive. Continue reading...
Few Barcelona academy players have experienced a more memorable season than Xavi Espart did in the 2025/26 campaign.The young defender not only fulfilled his lifelong dream of wearing Blaugrana by mak...
For football fans in Canada, the initial prospect of the World Cup coming to town was thrilling – but hundreds of tickets remain unsoldAs far back as he can remember, football has long been a part of Lawrence Yee’s life. Growing up in a Canadian town where hockey was the dominant sport, he found community and passion in the game. The sport – and the full, at times devastating, spectrum of emotion that comes with fandom – has remained braided into adulthood. Nearly four years ago, when Fifa announced Toronto and Vancouver would join 14 other cities in hosting the World Cup, Yee was ecstatic.“Hearing the biggest stage, the highest competition, the biggest tournament in the world was coming into Toronto? I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for someone like me. Being able to live in the city and cycle to the venue? I knew I’d be the first in line for tickets.” Continue reading...
