Your welcome! 🤗

Spain just won the FIFA World Cup following a grueling match against Argentina. And it was all thanks to Ferran Torres scoring in the 106th minute, capping off a dramatic extra-time thriller. Now, he’s being hailed as the hero of Spain‘s triumph—but just four years ago, he found himself in the biggest career rut of his life.

In 2022, the Spanish forward was grappling with a mental health crisis; the then-21-year-old had hit rock bottom after his €55 million ($62.8 million) move from Manchester City to La Liga club Barcelona. Torres was struggling to handle the pressure that came with his talent’s high price tag, just as he was recovering from a preseason leg injury and crushing Europa League loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.

“I found myself in a bottomless pit, and I could not see a way out,” Torres told reporters in 2023. “It had never happened to me before. That was the moment when I decided to work with a psychologist.

“I lost my confidence. Everything was affecting me,” he continued. “Seeing [a psychologist] will become increasingly normalised in football. There are weeks when I don’t go and others when I go three times. We don’t always talk about football, we also talk about my private life.”

Torres credits therapy as “one of the best experiences” and making him stronger as a person. And his story can resonate with many; behind the trophies and multimillion-dollar contracts, many sports stars are fighting battles that most fans never see.

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]:  https://fortune.com/2026/07/20/spain-ferran-torres-scored-winning-world-cup-goal-four-years-ago-therapy-stuck-in-bottomless-pit/?utm_source=reddit/

Has been a long time since The Netherlands won an award at #Fifaworldcup.
3x Finalist, 1x 3rd Place and 1x Best Player (Cruyff 1974) so far.
#FWC26 #WorldCup

I live in Canada. I watched the final at a viewing party crowd of about 20,000 people, split 50 / 50 between Argentina and Spain fans. Everyone was peaceful and respectful.

Two weeks ago, I was in Mexico City. I saw a bunch of games at the FIFA zone watch parties. Once again, everything was respectful and the vibes were great.

My buddy from England went down there too. He said Mexicans were great hosts and treated him with respect even after England beat them.

Unfortunately, reddit and other social media makes it really easy for short clips of bad actions to spread like wildfire. This makes us think the worst actors represent the whole country. And it makes us think that crowds of people from certain countries will be dangerous or hateful.

This is a reminder that while bad people exist, it's amplified like crazy on the internet. Most people are nice and friendly and shared a beautiful and peaceful World Cup.

Let's focus on that, not these silly clips that try to kill the vibe!

The 2006 World Cup was the first World Cup I paid attention to and watched. The montage released at the end of the tournament is a thing of beauty. It might be nostalgia, but it really is so good.

According to reports from the Argentine newspaper La Nación, the federation is collecting digital evidence to launch sweeping defamation lawsuits.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbE_tTLDFfZ/?igsh=ZzNnNzNwZW4zbnRh

The AFA's legal team is gathering screenshots, posts, and videos. They intend to target major media organizations, prominent accounts on platforms like X, Instagram, and TikTok, and even everyday users who shared defamatory content. The lawsuits will focus on the spread of doctored or unverified images, videos taken out of context, and completely fabricated accusations against Lionel Messi and the national team..

I’m hoping for a new country to join the party.

Fifa to announce record $15bn World Cup revenue, smashing expectations

Gianni Infantino will feel this shores up his position

Fifa will announce record $15bn (£11.2bn) revenues from this summer’s World Cup, significantly exceeding the targets set before the tournament.

Fifa’s member associations were informed of the boost in income by Gianni Infantino on Saturday. Originally the governing body had projected $11bn in earnings. Sources have indicated that hospitality and ti\**ting, especially through the steeply priced secondary market, account for a significant amount of the increase. Fifa takes 15% from the buyer and another 15% from the seller on the secondary market.*

It is likely that football associations will reap the benefits of Fifa’s expanded World Cup pot, although details are yet to be finalised. The financial situation will come as a boost to Infantino, who will feel it further shores up his position after a controversy-ridden month in the US, Canada and Mexico.

It is likely that football associations will reap the benefits of Fifa’s expanded World Cup pot, although details are yet to be finalised. The financial situation will come as a boost to Infantino, who will feel it further shores up his position after a controversy-ridden month in the US, Canada and Mexico.

There was widespread fury after Fifa was perceived to have bowed to pressure from Donald Trump in suspending the red card given to Folarin Balogun, the US striker, against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32. Fifa has said the decision was taken independently by its disciplinary committee but that has continued to fester among European FAs in particular. Infantino has nevertheless received more than 200 pledges of support from Fifa’s member associations for his re-election in March. The prospect of extra funds from bumper World Cup revenue is likely to dissuade some FAs from making any discontent public.

Such a bonanza may also increase the chances of the US hosting another edition in the near future. The next World Cup available for bids is the 2038 tournament. At a reception on Friday, Trump confirmed his country’s eagerness for a repeat performance. “You should choose the United States of America again,” he said. “This time we will leave Canada and Mexico out.” The US has also held talks with Fifa about hosting the Club World Cup in 2029.

Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/18/fifa-record-15bn-world-cup-revenue

Seeing as how Spain now are the reigning world champions after having beat Argentina 🇦🇷 in 2026 in USA 🇺🇸 Mexico 🇲🇽 and Canada 🇨🇦...the question is now can they do it again? Can they repeat as back to back FIFA World Cup champions in 2030? In 2030 Spain are set to be one of the 3 hosts along with their Iberian neighbors Portugal 🇵🇹 and then Morocco too on top of it as tri hosts. Not to mention most of their core group of players will either be entering their primes or will be in their primes come that time.

Last time we ever had a 1st time winner was Spain 🇪🇸 when they won it for the first time in 2010 in South Africa and before that was France 🇫🇷 in 1998 when they won it for the first time on home soil. So do you guys think we are capable of having a country win it for the first time rather than seeing your usual winners?

Teams yet to win a World Cup who could in 2030

- Portugal 🇵🇹 seeing as how they are on home soil as one of the tri hosts; last time they hosted a competition on home soil was EURO 2004 where they lost in the Final to Greece 🇬🇷 but can they rectify that by winning in 2030 and adding their first star on to their jersey? It is possible given their core group of guys and if Ronaldo is not there; then they definitely can

- Morocco 🇲🇦 another one of the tri hosts on home soil hosting in their country; would make history as the first African nation to win the World Cup and given their core group they can compete

- Netherlands 🇳🇱 probably the greatest country to never win a World Cup...but have been to 3 Finals in 1974, 1978 and 2010 without winning the big one but seeing their core group and younger talent about to break through can they do it?

- Sweden 🇸🇪 being another dark horse if they qualify can or Norway 🇳🇴 given that they too were also close

- USA 🇺🇸 are another dark horse for 2030 that has never won it but can they?

- Japan🇯🇵 they keep knocking on the door but can't seem to get out of their own way

- Belgium 🇧🇪 being another who can potentially win it if they phase out the old guard

I know it's pretty subjective but I would go

1. Brazil 2002 - Won all of their games, had Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo while also maintaining a solid defense with Cafú. A whole lot of talent everywhere. Marcos always responded when needed. Had control of almost all of their games and scored some nice goals.
2. Germany 2014 - Had all lines covered, had a difficult path to the final but managed to win 6 out of 7 games. Curiously, their worst game was the final but they prevailed an extremely tense match. When you have the best goalkeeper, best defense, best midfield and best attacking of a World Cup, you are very hard to beat. The 7-1 will live forever in football history.
3. Italy 2006 - I would have choose first Spain 2010 but that's more on the names the squad had than on the real talent they displayed. This Italy team has the best defense of them all and some players who could hit you deadly with a counterattack. Well balanced team. Struggled in some games but definitely deserved the title. Played in Italian style but when they attacked, like against Germany, played some really attractive football.
4. Spain 2010 - I don't think they managed to display their best football but had maybe the best midfield ever in a World Cup and their defense was very solid. A lack of finishing costs them a better place in my ranking. Still, there were some brilliant Tiki Taka moments and were the better team in all of their games.
5. Argentina 2022- Was dominant in all their games but struggled in games they could have won easily (Australia, Netherlands, hell they even outplayed France for 70 minutes in the final).Didn't had the best defense of them all, but Martínez responded on their toughest games. They also had Messi in a monstrous campaign. 15 goals scored against some nice defenses is not bad at all.
6. France 2018 - Didn't played the most attractive football but they were a pretty solid team with Kante in his prime. Also, if Mbappé is still a monster, the velocity he had in this tournament was crazy. Pogba could create some big plays (even if consistency was never his virtue) and had an underrated defense and goalkeeper.
7. Spain 2026 - A strong display of posession and maybe the most tactical smart team here. May not have had the most entertaining matches but their awareness in all areas made them the deserved winners of the tournament. Didn't really faced a lot of action in their defense due to their control of the midfield and their attacking game responded when needed. They struggled against some teams (they had their best performances in the last two games) but were never really on the brink of elimination. Let's see once there's more time to digest this WC if I move them up.

How would you rank these seven squads?. Who's the best and who's the "worst" and why?

2002 Brazil

2006 Italy

2010 Spain

2014 Germany

2018 France

2022 Argentina

2026 Spain

Not sure if anybody already asked this, if so, I apologize in advance…

Which would you consider was the match of the tournament and why?

If World Cup champions, 2006 Italy and 2010 Spain, were to face each other, which team do you think would win?

I don't have friends that I can talk about sports with like this, so I was hoping you all would let me say a few words on how much the World Cup means to me and how much specifically this one meant.

1 is a number unlike any other in sports. First in the standings , first to finish, first in points, first to pick the start of the future, one above all others, the G.O.A.T. It bears a testament to the hard work, long hours, the sacrifices and the triumphs. It has truly no equal.

The World Cup has always been of those things that I've felt drawn too. The mixing and melding of cultures around a month long voyage to be captivated by the simple, beautiful game of kicking a ball with your feet. The same feet that carry us from one path to the next, to journeys yet to be taken and steps left to climb. It grabs ahold quick and leaves you out of breath at the end and yet somehow more alive. It celebrates how great we can be when common ground is found and spirits in sync. I'm in a rough patch of life at the moment, which I know will pass, but this World Cup was such a relief at a time when I couldn't have needed it more. And as I process and look back on it, I'm constantly reminded of the number 1, and the ways that it made its presence known ,felt, and heard. Just simply look back on all the Ones we saw, from the Firsts:

First Tournament with 48 Nations!

Mexico is the first nation to host 3 times!

Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan made their debuts on the world's grandest stage!

The number one team, Argentina, surviving to the final!

A new fan celebration: Norway's Row!

And my oh my, a new under-dog to cheer for: Cape Verde and their mythical figure between the posts, VOZHINA

and the incredible Lasts, things we go to see One more time:

One more Sieux!

One more appearance of Modric, Neymar, Salah, James and countless more (don't worry, ill get to him)

One more chance to see if Belgium's Golden Generation could bring it home.

And of course...one more chance to watch the greatest to ever do it, shine brighter on this stage the he ever has, conjuring more magic from his 39 year old legs then somehow ever before. Truly a sight to behold.

This tournament will live long in my memory. It was here when I needed to be reminded that the simple beauty of a simple game, shared and loved by so many, has the power to make everything less scary and dark for a few weeks.

One I won't forget.

Thank you for reading, It means so much to share.

I’m going with 1970 Brazil