News & Stories
News & Stories
Reporting, profiles and explainers from the road to '26.
Tag
climate · weather · world-cup-2026 · heat · cooling-breaks · fans
Climate & Kickoff: Will It Be Too Hot to Play?
Late-June and July temperatures across all 16 World Cup 2026 host cities, how FIFA's cooling and water-break protocols work, which venues have closing roofs, and what ticket-holders should expect.
May 20, 202612 min read
Featuredworld-cup-2026 · coaches · managers · tactical · data
The Bosses: 48 Managers, Compared
Every WC26 head coach by formation, pressing intensity and tactical fingerprint — filterable by style. Plus the six storylines that decide who survives the group stage.
May 20, 20268 min read
world-cup-2026 · dark-horses · morocco · croatia · japan · predictions
Dark Horses 2026: Six Teams Who Could Wreck the Bracket
Morocco, Croatia, Japan, Uruguay, Netherlands and Senegal — the six second-tier sides with realistic paths to the semi-finals, ranked by ceiling, floor and bookmaker price.
May 20, 202610 min read
Featuredworld-cup · history · finals · interactive · ranking
Every World Cup Final, Ranked: Score All 22 Yourself
From the 1930 Centenario to Messi's Lusail coronation — 22 World Cup finals you can rate five stars apiece. Plus our critic's pick of the eight that defined the trophy.
May 20, 202610 min read
Featuredworld-cup-2026 · final · penalties · monte-carlo · predictions
Will the Final Go to Penalties? A Data-Driven Forecast
How often do World Cup finals reach penalties? A historical baseline plus an in-browser Monte Carlo model that projects extra-time risk for the 2026 final.
May 20, 202612 min read
Featuredworld-cup-2026 · fan-fest · watch-party · host-cities · travel
FanFest 2026: Where to Watch in Public in Every Host City
All 16 World Cup 2026 host cities mapped — official FIFA Fan Festivals, municipal viewing parks and the unofficial spots where the city will be watching.
May 20, 202610 min read
Featuredworld-cup-2026 · squads · snubs · storylines · profiles
The Final Cut: Snubs, Surprises, and One Last Goodbye
Twelve squad-selection stories shaping WC26 — the snubs, the surprise picks, the forced retirements, and the bolt-from-the-blue debutants.
May 20, 202614 min read
world-cup-2026 · friendlies · tracker · schedule · tune-ups
The Final Tune-Up: Every Team's Last Warm-Up Schedule
The Jun 1–9 friendlies window, mapped: what every World Cup 2026 manager will test in their last match before the opener at Estadio Azteca.
May 20, 20269 min read
Featuredworld-cup-2026 · form · friendlies · xg · data
Friendlies Form Guide: Who's Hot, Who's Falling Apart
Every World Cup 2026 team's March–May friendlies form, sortable by xG diff. The hot teams to ride, the slumps to fade, and the warm-up windows that mean nothing.
May 20, 20267 min read
world-cup · data · shotmap · xg · analytics
The Geography of Goals: Where Strikers Actually Score From
Six-yard box, penalty spot, edge of the area, or that one famous half-volley from outside the D? A data-led tour of where World Cup goals actually leave the boot.
May 20, 202616 min read
world-cup-2026 · goalkeepers · rankings · data · tactical
Goalkeeper Power Rankings: Every #1 at WC26
All 48 starting World Cup goalkeepers, tier-ranked by save percentage, post-shot expected goals and sweeper-keeper score. The S-tier is six deep this year.
May 20, 202613 min read
Featuredworld-cup-2026 · golden-boot · predictions · odds · mbappe · kane · messi · haaland
Predict the Golden Boot 2026: Top Scorer Odds
Mbappé. Kane. Messi. Haaland. The odds, the data and the historical pattern behind who lifts the Golden Boot 2026 at the World Cup.
May 20, 202613 min read