Today is a great day to read this perfect and prescient piece about how Fabrizio Romano works goldengoal.world/2026/06/10/f...

Soccer Media’s “Gun for Hire” - Golden Goal

The insanely viral, ethically questionable, utterly unstoppable rise of Fabrizio Romano

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"It snatches him back from the abstraction of greatness, from the margins of the human experience, and makes him a fragile being like any of us again. He is exceptional because he made it to the edge, but then, at the last possible moment, came back to us." ❤️

Golden Goal@goldengoalmag.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Today is failure day on Golden Goal! First up, we have @zeets.bsky.social on Roberto Baggio, the Patron Saint of Football Failure goldengoal.world/2026/07/18/t...

I still hate vuvuzelas (scroll down to read, but also read the other entries). Via @goldengoalmag.bsky.social goldengoal.world/2026/07/26/r...

Remembering the World Cup: 2002-2022 - Golden Goal

Part II of our compendium of World Cup memories

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Players with Caribbean heritage dominated France’s previous golden generation—why were there so few in the 2026 team? goldengoal.world/2026/07/18/t...

The Vanishing Antilleans of the French National Team - Golden Goal

Players with Caribbean heritage dominated France's previous golden generation—why are there so few in today's team?

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A compendium of World Cup memories, from the golden epoch of Romanian football to the triumph of multicultural France, featuring reminiscences from Joseph O’Neil, Mircea Cărtărescu, Mehdi Hasan, Pico Iyer, and more goldengoal.world/2026/07/19/r...

Remembering the World Cup: 1970-1998 - Golden Goal

A compendium of World Cup memories, from the golden epoch of Romanian football to Roberto Baggio's ballooning penalty kick

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Baptized by Messi himself, Lamine Yamal has tailored his individual brilliance to fit Spain’s collective style, writes @becquer.bsky.social goldengoal.world/2026/07/19/t...

The Passion According to Lamine - Golden Goal

Baptized by Messi himself, Lamine Yamal has tailored his individual brilliance to fit Spain's collective style

goldengoal.world

I wrote about the strangely normal spectacle that is the third place playoff, which breaks up the narrative of the World Cup in odd ways.

Golden Goal@goldengoalmag.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We also have @kattullus.bsky.social on the majesty and meaninglessness of the third-place playoff goldengoal.world/2026/07/18/t...

For @goldengoalmag.bsky.social, I wrote about Lamine Yamal's misunderstood #WorldCup, Spain's new iteration of tiki-taka, and, of course, the baby photos. goldengoal.world/2026/07/19/t...

The Passion According to Lamine - Golden Goal

Baptized by Messi himself, Lamine Yamal has tailored his individual brilliance to fit Spain's collective style

goldengoal.world

Today is failure day on Golden Goal! First up, we have @zeets.bsky.social on Roberto Baggio, the Patron Saint of Football Failure goldengoal.world/2026/07/18/t...

The Patron Saint of Football Failure - Golden Goal

When Roberto Baggio failed to save Italy in 1994, he saved the rest of us.

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Join us tonight at 7pm as we discuss the 2026 World Cup with Simon Kuper, Leander Schaerlaeckens, Rory Smith, and Ishaan Tharoor! mcnallyjackson.com/event/2026-0...

Making Sense of the 2026 World Cup

McNally Jackson is an independent bookstore with five New York locations.

mcnallyjackson.com

How the vintage resale market capitalized on the symbolism of old World Cup jerseys goldengoal.world/2026/07/13/t...

Time-Worn - Golden Goal

How the vintage resale market capitalized on the symbolism of old World Cup jerseys

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"In the tradition of French predecessors including Thuram and Thierry Henry," writes Laurent Dubois, Kylian Mbappé has "openly weighed in on political matters, speaking out against the country’s far right." goldengoal.world/2026/07/13/m...

Merci, Kylian - Golden Goal

Kylian Mbappé, one of the World Cup's best-ever players, is also one its most politically outspoken

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For this week's @goldengoalmag.bsky.social newsletter I wrote about refereeing and conspiracy theories (for my sins) goldengoalmag.substack.com/p/nothing-el...

Nothing Else Compares. Nothing Else Matters.

Reflections on Argentina, refereeing, and the her

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Missing the World Cup? @kattullus.bsky.social remembers a dreadful knockout match between Ukraine and Switzerland at the 2006 World Cup goldengoal.world/2026/07/08/t...

The Worst Match Ever Played - Golden Goal

Remembering a dreadful knockout match between Ukraine and Switzerland at the 2006 World Cup

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The World Cup is heating up in the quarter finals. It has been controversial: immigration crackdowns, pricey tickets, and a cozy relationship between FIFA and Trump. @alexshephard.bsky.social, senior editor at @newrepublic.com and co-founder of @goldengoalmag.bsky.social joins to discuss.

"In a country where football is religion, the Argentine Football Association is essentially God." goldengoal.world/2026/06/22/o...

Argentina's Old Boys' Club - Golden Goal

As the Albiceleste defends its World Cup title, a fight over the country's football association rages on in the background

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Alejandro Chacoff with an insightful article comparing this 2026 Brazil to the oft-criticized 1994 champions for @goldengoalmag.bsky.social

while waiting for england vs mexico, you can do a lot worse with your time than read this great essay by Rafaela Bassili in @goldengoalmag.bsky.social about the last twenty years of brazilian football and political corruption

The Hexa Dream - Golden Goal

Brazilian football at the precipice

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The great Juan Villoro on how perseverance defines the life and career of Croatia’s veteran captain goldengoal.world/2026/07/02/l...

Luka Modrić, The Man Who Never Stopped Running - Golden Goal

How perseverance defines the life and career of Croatia's veteran captain

goldengoal.world

"Mexico’s promising start at the World Cup has obscured the web of internal interests that threatens the future of football in the country." Ivan Pech looks at what's wrong with Mexican football goldengoal.world/2026/06/30/l...

Maybe he really is a god…

Golden Goal@goldengoalmag.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"How did Norway come to possess these three immense physical specimens? One explanation is simply that Norway itself is massive and mythic." @kkoczwara.bsky.social on Erling Braut Haaland, Alexander Sørloth, and Jørgen Strand Larsen goldengoal.world/2026/06/22/n...

"As football reflects the world, the teams of the Netherlands and Indonesia reflect a truly global story, but it’s one that FIFA will never tell." goldengoal.world/2026/06/29/t...

Indonesia’s Star at the World Cup - Golden Goal

Tijjani Reijnders, who carries Moluccan Indonesian ancestry, represents an era of uneasy integration for Moluccans in the Netherlands

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“Also, Son Heung-min is a model son, in Confucian terms. I mean, a big part of the Sonny lore is how his father made him practice relentlessly." The novelist Ed Park talks to his sons about Son goldengoal.world/2026/06/30/t...

The Son Also Rises - Golden Goal

A farewell to South Korea's star striker

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"His glow-up—there is no other word for it—has been one of the most entertaining, feel-good stories of world football, all sunglasses, designer suits, and vitamin D." Hua Hsu on Scott McTominay is a delight goldengoal.world/2026/06/30/s...

Goodbye to Scott McTominay, Scotland’s Wildcard - Golden Goal

When was the last time his career made any sense?

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“I’ve always been fascinated by players who are idols at their clubs but struggle to find their place on the national team.” The novelist Emilio Fraia writes on the Brazilian star Raí at the 1994 World Cup goldengoal.world/2026/06/23/n...

Nothing Twice: Raí before 1994 - Golden Goal

On the difference between a son and a father, playing for club and playing for country.

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“That same sense of uncertainty extends beyond the pitch. This is an election year in Brazil, and Ancelotti’s test is not so different from the one facing politicians selling their future plans for the nation.” goldengoal.world/2026/06/29/b...

Brazil: A More Constrained Reality - Golden Goal

The country’s democratic and sporting life in recent years has been struck by its own crisis of confidence. Can the seleção give Brazil the shot of optimism it needs?

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Brazil's democratic and sporting life in recent years has been struck by its own crisis of confidence. Can the seleção give its country the shot of optimism it needs? Read @apagliar.bsky.social on Brazil ahead of this afternoon's game against Japan: goldengoal.world/2026/06/29/b...

Brazil: A More Constrained Reality - Golden Goal

The country’s democratic and sporting life in recent years has been struck by its own crisis of confidence. Can the seleção give Brazil the shot of optimism it needs?

goldengoal.world

"[Sadio Mane]" is humble, he is selfless, he will sacrifice again and again, but he will not be disrespected. Poet Nam Le on Sadio Mane goldengoal.world/2026/06/26/s...

Sadio Mané Has Always Been Under the Radar - Golden Goal

A poet's ode to Senegal's aging lion

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"I’ve always been fascinated by players who are idols at their clubs but struggle to find their place on the national team." Emilio Fraia writes on the Brazilian star Raí at the 1994 World Cup goldengoal.world/2026/06/23/n...

Nothing Twice: Raí before 1994 - Golden Goal

On the difference between a son and a father, playing for club and playing for country.

goldengoal.world

After a winter of youth protests and a controversial AFCON triumph, @aidaalami.bsky.social reflects on what it means to root for the Atlas Lions today goldengoal.world/2026/06/23/m...

Morocco: A Winter of Discontent - Golden Goal

After youth protests and a controversial AFCON triumph what does Morocco represent at the World Cup?

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