Charlie Alford

Ismael Saibari goes from doctors’ diagnoses to making World Cup history

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:9 July 2026
Post last modified:10 July 2026

At World Cup tournaments, there are players who score goals, and there are players who create moments that remain etched in the tournament’s memory for decades. When it comes to Ismael Saibari, he has done both. At the 2026 World Cup, the Moroccan international was not merely one of the tournament’s stars; he became the embodiment of one of the greatest individual achievements in the history of Arab and African football. Three goals propelled the “Lions of the Atlas” into the knockout stages and secured his place in the history books, as he became the first African player to score three…

Dembele enters the history books

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:27 June 2026
Post last modified:27 June 2026

Dembele has cemented his place among the greats of French football, becoming only the fourth French player to score a World Cup hat-trick. He joins an elite list that includes Edmond Konen (1934), Just Fontaine — who accomplished the feat twice in 1958 — and Kylian Mbappé, who achieved it in the 2022 World Cup final. The milestone proved even more significant, as his third goal against Norway marked the 2,900th goal scored in World Cup history — a tournament record dating back to its 1930 inception. On a personal level, this performance brings Dembele’s World Cup tally to four goals,…

World Cup: First red card in football history for mouth covering

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:20 June 2026
Post last modified:20 June 2026

The 2026 World Cup witnessed the first sending-off in football history under the new law regarding covering the mouth during altercations between players, after the referee showed a direct red card to Paraguay national team player Miguel Almirón during the match against the Turkey national team. The decision came after a review by the VAR, which showed Almirón covering his mouth with his hand during a heated verbal exchange with a Turkish player, an action the referee deemed a clear violation of the amendment that came into effect a few months before the start of the tournament. World Cup new records…

The greatest goalkeepers in World Cup history

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:10 June 2026
Post last modified:10 June 2026

In football, a goalkeeper does not always need to lift the trophy to secure his place in World Cup history. Some have built their legacy by enduring on the world’s biggest football stage, whilst others have forged their legend by keeping a clean sheet against their opponents. Throughout the history of the World Cup, two distinct paths to immortality have emerged among goalkeepers; the first is measured by the number of matches a goalkeeper has played, and the second by the number of clean sheets he has kept. World Cup: Hugo Lloris sits top of record books Over the course of…

World Cup history — Streaks and attacking records

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:6 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Days before the start of the 2026 World Cup, a collection of the most prominent historical records that have stood for decades in the archives of the FIFA returns to the forefront. At the top of the list are the long unbeaten streaks of national teams, in addition to the attacking dominance of a number of major teams since the first edition in 1930. These figures do not just reflect match results; they summarize entire eras of footballing dominance and reveal the historical differences between various playing styles over time. Longest unbeaten streaks According to the official statistics issued by the FIFA,…

The biggest scorelines in World Cup history

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:5 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Most football matches are decided by small margins, but others are not. In fact, matches in the World Cup often feature remarkable scorelines not seen elsewhere. In such games, defensive structure can collapse, and goals accumulate quickly. Sometimes this happens through clear mismatches. At other times, it results from unusually open play. With the 2026 edition approaching in the United States, Canada and Mexico, a record 48 teams are taking part. This raises the bar. Uneven scorelines are all the more likely to appear, particularly when debut nations come up against established football powers. Below are the highest-scoring matches in World…

Streeting attempts to rewrite history over Gaza

Post author:HG
Post published:3 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Wes Streeting appears to be attempting to rewrite history over his position on Gaza, after supporting Israel’s genocide for years. You spent two years supporting genocide and now pretend you didn’t? Just staggering dishonesty from these human pieces of excrement. https://t.co/Vz7iEYsHIW — Bog Standard Marxist (@muskeatsbogeys) June 2, 2026 Recently published conversations between Streeting and Peter Mandelson, a friend of Epstein and a former government advisor, show Mandelson calling Streeting “hysterical” and “pathetic,” saying: I think Wes is experiencing an early mid-life crisis. Previously, Streeting released some messages between himself and Mandelson to clarify the nature of their relationship. In them,…