From plucky minnows to England heroes, Golden Boot showdown and Viking rows… why the 2026 World Cup was greatest ever

FIFA’S Team of Tournament features England’s Jude Bellingham, France’s Kylian Mbappe, Argentina’s Lionel Mess . . . and an unlikely hero in Cape Verde’s goalkeeper Vozinha. The veteran goalie, 40, earned special praise after pulling off a string of eye-catching saves as the minnows suffered a brutal 3-2 defeat to Argentina after extra time. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham celebrate England’s equaliser against DR Congo Credit: Getty From the opening ceremony, above, the memorable moment just kept coming Credit: Reuters It was one of the most memorable matches of the tournament, which also featured Viking rows, a barmy Tartan Army and countless Wayne Rooney one-liners. The memories of this World Cup linger like Donald Trump on the winner’s podium. The doomsters had predicted a dud. Too many teams, too many hydration breaks and way too expensive in a nation likely to shrug its disinterested collective shoulders. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Fifa greed seemed to be throttling the golden goose. Yet, football, as the old school managers liked to say, was the winner. So how will the 2026 tournament be remembered? Here, are the best moments. . . 1. Keane’s Shakira nod: It all kicked off with Shakira and Burna Boy belting out the official World Cup song Dai Dai at the opening ceremony in Mexico City. It wouldn’t be a World Cup without Colombian Shakira gyrating in a grass skirt. This was her fourth. She also performed at the closing ceremony in New York, with ITV analyst Roy Keane revealing a soft spot for the Hips Don’t Lie singer. Most read in Sport To much sniggering from his fellow pundits, Keane said: “It’s always nice to see Shakira.” 2. A brutal group stage: The group stage was supposed to be a damp squib after Fifa expanded the tournament to 48 teams to allow lower ranked teams to compete. Yet, the minnows defied the odds. Fans and players sing Wonderwall after that gritty Mexico victory Credit: World Cup 2026 News Pool (WCNP) FIFA President Gino Infantino and US President Trump present trophy to Spain Credit: Getty Curacao has a population smaller than Oxford — just 156,000 — and a land mass of just 171 sq miles but secured a point against Ecuador. The Democratic Republic of Congo — ranked 46th in the world — held Portugal to a draw before giving England a scare in the Round of 32. While Cape Verde — population 525,000 — advanced to the knock-out stage after a 0-0 draw against Champions-to-be Spain. Its goalie Vozinha, who wasn’t even contracted to a club, became a hero for his string of saves. In the last 32, he faced off against Lionel Messi and gave Argentina a real scare. 3. Beckham’s fishbowl of wine: In the stands to watch Scotland’s trouncing by Brazil in the group stage was David Beckham, who was caught swigging from what one BBC viewer described as a “fishbowl” of red wine. Another fan said: “Did everyone see Beckham take the biggest swig of red wine from the biggest glass ever?” 4. Victoria’s sour face: Later in the tournament, Becks defended wife Victoria as she failed to celebrate Jude Bellingham’s crucial equaliser in the Quarter Final 2-1 win against Norway. Posh Spice, who was sitting next to her more animated hairdresser Ken Paves, seemed to be staring distractedly into the mid-distance and not even looking at the pitch. Former Three Lions skipper David later said: “She was celebrating inside I promise, her reactions were slightly slower than mine.” 5. Wonderwall: Meanwhile, Oasis’s 1995 hit anthem has become a thing. When Wonderwall was first played after England beat Croatia 4-2, the players looked genuinely moved by England fans’ raucous sing-along. England boss Thomas Tuchel became a Mumsnet sex symbol. Credit: Getty 5 WINNERS Oasis: Their 1995 hit Wonderwall has re-entered the charts across the globe after being adopted by the England team and fans. Djed Spence: No one had England ace Spence becoming a breakout World Cup star. Cape Verde: A minnow that drew with big fish Spain and also ran Argentina close. Boston Landlords: Thirsty Scotland fans swamped the city for pre-match refreshment, and England fans were also in town. Rodri: Spain star won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. No commentary is complete without a pundit now musing: “Why can’t England produce a midfielder like Rodri?” 6. Barmy Tartan Army: Scotland fans will never be forgotten in Boston after drinking the city dry, while the Netherlands’ Oranje Army swamped Kansas City in memorable scenes. 7. Tuchel the ‘sex symbol’: If England Manager Thomas Tuchel didn’t realise what a white-knuckle ride his job is before the tournament, he does now. Hailed as a genius for beating Croatia — he told his players at half-time, “If we lose, we lose in our way” — he even became a Mumsnet sex symbol. A poster asked whether users of the website found him “strangely attractive,” saying he had a “lovely smile when being interviewed after today’s match”. One user replied: “He has a certain wiry, athletic, long-limbed vibe to him.” 8. Mexican madness: Then there was the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. England secured a dramatic victory after facing the altitude, thunder storms and a player sent off. Defender ‘Big’ Dan Burn came and headed a ball from his own box to well beyond the halfway line. Again, Tuchel lapped up the plaudits. Then came the downfall as Tuchel’s game management against Argentina in the Semi Final went to pot. But he’ll always have Mumsnet. 9. Anthony Barry: His assistant manager Anthony Barry burst into the national consciousness for his heart-on-the-sleeve half-time interviews. Against Croatia he told viewers that England were “playing with fear”. Norway’s Erling Haaland joined in the fun by donning a Viking helmet Credit: Getty 5 LOSERS Germany: Penalty kings Germany crashed out to Paraguay in the last 32 – on penalties. VAR: The ref-aiding technology became known as VARgentina after it give Lionel Messi’s men a stream of seemingly favourable decisions. Argentina: Standing with their backs to Spain as they collected the World Cup ­trophy was shameful and pathetic. Panama: It was the highest-scoring World Cup tournament ever played, with 308 goals over a record 104 matches. None of them were scored by Panama, the only team that didn’t find the net. Match-Going Fans: Hotels, transport and match tickets were hiked wildly. As England led France 4-0 in the third place play-off, he said: “I’m a little bit emotional, I can’t find the words about how proud I am of those players.” 10. Wayne Rooney: In the TV studios, Wayne burst on to the scene like he had as a player at Euro 2004. His summation of the closing ceremony as “crap” had heads nodding across the land. Over on ITV, Emma Hayes was the stand out, introducing the word “diagonality” into many people’s footballing lexicon. 11. Gianni’s grin: Fifa chief Gianni Infantino’s grinning mug seemed to stare out from the stands at most games. In fact, he travelled for nearly 60,000 miles to take in 44 matches. On 13 occasions he went to two matches on the same day. 12. Playing cards: Fifa was accused of “crossing a line” and putting the sport’s integrity into question, after it overturned a ban on the US’s star player Folarin Balogun for a red card. It emerged that American President Donald Trump had called Infantino and told him the card was “horrible” and that it was “not a foul”. The US were duly trounced 4-1 by Belgium in the Quarter Final to provide some sporting justice. The Belgians celebrated by trolling Trump by mimicking his up-pumping trademark jig. One social media user said: “Fantastic s***housery.” 13. Legends assemble: Apart from Ronaldo, who looked ready to join a pensioners’ walking football team, all the other big dogs turned up. In the stands to watch Scotland’s trouncing by Brazil in the group stage, David Beckham was caught swigging from what one BBC viewer described as a ‘fishbowl’ of red wine Credit: BBC 10 CELEBS Brad Pitt took in several games wearing a USA shirt. Tom Cruise joined the Beckhams for the USA’s match against Paraguay. Jessica Alba took selfies with her daughters at USA v Turkey, which was also watched by Paris Hilton and her kids. Matt Damon was pictured with wife Luciana at the Final as were superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce. The rapper was also at Ivory Coast v Ecuador. Ryan Reynolds cheered on his home country Canada as they played Bosnia & Herzegovina. Sabrina Carpenter watched Ecuador v Germany through opera glasses. Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz celebrated Spain’s match winner against Belgium. Timothee Chalamet was pictured kissing Kylie Jenner at the Final. Messi, Mbappe, Bellingham, Haaland, France’s Ousmane Dembele and Harry Kane scrambled to claim the Golden Boot. Kylian triumphed. 14. Haaland the Viking: Erling won over America with his goofy Viking routine as he did Dallas in a stetson and cowboys boots. Then he took a stuffed raccoon home on the plane with him. 15. Aggy Argentina: And then there was the Final. If your child’s under-six team behaved like Argentina’s whingeing brats, you’d take the ball off them and send them home. Comment now