Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s travails, Portugal heads into tonight’s World Cup knockout match against Croatia as a strong contender to win this year’s tournament. Victory in Toronto tonight would keep it on track for the latter stages — and reinforce a national brand that has consolidated the Atlantic country as a powerhouse far beyond the soccer…
This U.S. government official cozies up with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has already made inroads with the Trump administration due to a highly publicized presidential bromance. That’s FBI Director Kash Patel, chatting it up with Infantino and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Colombia v. Portugal match on June 27, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Florida….
Foreign-born players are increasingly a fixture of teams across the World Cup. In Switzerland, which faces off against Algeria tonight, the politics of a progressively diverse population have literally been on the ballot as the tournament unfolds. Last month, just days after the first World Cup games kicked off, voters in Switzerland weighed in on…
Many of the countries that failed to advance in the World Cup are seeing the normal cycle of accountability: angry fans, finger-pointing media, fired coaches. Uruguay’s sports officials have gone further, reportedly cancelling a team charter plane and making players take commercial flights home as a form of punishment. In Turkey, where a stunning crash-out…
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here’s an offering of the best…
Switzerland is busy selling itself as a premier venue for international sports competitions — and the government is throwing its weight behind the effort. In June, Bern backed plans to fund international sports competitions from 2027 to 2029, and two weeks ago, it approved $247 million in funding for the 2038 Winter Olympics, which it…
Matt Mahan suffered a disappointing finish in California’s gubernatorial primary last month, but the World Cup has offered the mayor of Silicon Valley’s largest city the chance of an immediate remontada. His home San Jose, riding a sports tourism surge, stands to gain more economically today as the U.S. national team opens knockout play in…
When Bosnian refugees started arriving in Utica, New York, in the mid-1990s, it was a down-on-its-heels Rust Belt city that had seen its population crater by roughly a third from a mid-century peak of just over 100,000 residents. “I thought I came to another war zone when I came here,” said Hanka Grabovica, who arrived…
BRUSSELS — Forty-four members of the European Parliament are urging FIFA President Gianni Infantino to reverse his decision to allow Russian athletes to play at this year’s inaugural U-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan. They argue that Russia should not be readmitted to FIFA competitions until it enters peace negotiations with Ukraine, ceases fire and agrees…
When two teams take to the World Cup pitch, their national histories and politics take the field with them. Seldom is that weight as present as in Wednesday’s knockout stage game between the U.S. and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The U.S. played a decisive role in ending Bosnia’s nearly four-year war in the 1990s, a conflict…
