There is a word in sports called the commentator’s curse. But this does not mean that football fans should listen to Bollywood actors or cricketers when they talk about football, but the idea that when a commentator praises a player, he starts playing badly. Now, one does not know what the opposite is, but yesterday Offside was criticized Spain for 2,500 is passing without a goal in the World Cup, comparing them to Christopher Columbus without a guide, who may have been Italian but he was giving back to Spain when he started looking for the New World and instead of India he ended up in the Caribbean and was still praised for discovering America.A furious La Roja tore up the script as their 18-year-old talisman Lamine Yamal showed why he is considered the greatest player of this generation and several to come. Pundit Guillem Balague called it a mixture of “arrogance and confidence” and revealed that Yamal plays international football in the same way he does “five-a-side” on the streets.Wayne Rooney, who knows a thing or two about being amazing, said that when Messi came to Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​he had someone like Ronaldinho who looked up to him as a “big man”, while Yamal came to Barcelona and Spain as a big man himself.Yamal became the seventh player to score in the World Cup before the age of 19, which brought to mind the young Brazilian player Pele in the 1958 World Cup, but it was not what made the world smile. Forty-one seconds into the game, he found the heavenly Johan Cruyff approved by removing Cruyff conversion, and his 10-minute finish laid the foundation for Spain’s dominance.Meanwhile, Cape Verde continued their explosive form, although their first goal was as lucky as Uruguay’s wall. they parted like the Red Sea allowing Kevin Pina’s ball to enter. Perhaps it was Marcelo Bielsa’s crazy strategy beyond the fans’ understanding. Uruguay hit back with two goals, but we got another look at El Loco’s team when a bad pass saw the Uruguayan keeper run into empty space, allowing substitute Helio Varela to run in, take it. first touch past the keeper and shot from outside the boxwhich is causing confusion among Cape Verdean players and supporters.
Bielsa’s fans have been saying that he has more love than results, but as things stand, this Uruguayan team doesn’t have it and will need a miracle to reach the round. Not Cape Verde, who, along with Curacao, have been the minnow’s favorite team at this World Cup.Punjabis like to say that Singh is the King, and there was a Singh who played in New Zealand, but it was the return of the King as Mohamed Salah and Co finally broke through. Duck in Egypt World Cup to give the Pharaohs their first World Cup win, breaking a 92-year drought. Before the match, only Honduras had played more World Cup games without a win, but Egypt will not be satisfied with the victory and will want to go deep into the tournament.And finally, we saw the decline of Belgium’s Golden Generation in real time as they played goalless against “the most underrated team” at the World Cup. Iran are playing under dangerous conditions that require them to return to Mexico on the same day of their match.Iran’s resistance to American power has already won praise from around the world, including from the regime’s most critical critics, but the group has shown the courage that has come to compare to the past, highlighted by another moment of magical magic. When Kevin De Bruyne controlled the ball and struck early before setting up Maxim De Cuyper, a goal seemed inevitable in the past. Alireza Beiranvand stuck to the left hand to prevent the ball from crossing the line. As Remember the Titans saying goes: Left side, hard side.
See the 12th day
Matchday 12 will see the return of Lionel Messi as they face the country that exports Germany’s most famous international: Austria. Messi’s hat-trick against Algeria, much to the dismay of Ronaldo’s fans, has already become the headlines of the World Cup, and he could be the biggest winner of the World Cup if he scores against Austria in Dallas. Austria’s Ralf Rangnick is no fool.
Photographer Jose May, also known as Joe Skilz, works on a portrait of Argentina star Lionel Messi in Dallas on Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
France, the favourites, struggled against Iraq and looked set to threaten Senegal after “dictator” Mbappe went into World Cup mode. Having been beaten by mass destruction weapon and Targaryen descendant Erling Haaland, Iraq have a tough task of facing the most dangerous threats in the World Cup in Mbappe-Dembele-Olise.Jordan will face Algeria, both hoping to keep their World Cup hopes alive, but the game of the day is Norway vs Senegal, where the Nordic side will look to prove their place as a footballing nation. While Haaland is already sui generis, he is not the only prolific talent, with Odegaard, Sorloth, Nusa and others.Norway coach Stale Solbakken is pouring cold water on any excitement, including maths that predicts the country has a 99% chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. One hundred thousand similar to the Norwegian Computing Center, an independent non-profit, says that the qualification of Norway is inevitable, but Solbakken is not leaving anything, including making sure that their players do not have to suffer from American fast food by sending 500kg of seafood, 116kg of brown cheese and 6,000 orange food that Ha orangeland professionals eat.
Goalkeeping training
There has been some talk about the new ball being difficult for players to handle, but we have also seen World Cups where the most dangerous players in football have been inspirational. Cape Verde’s Eloy Room single-handedly defended Ecuador with 15 saves. Curacao’s Vozinha kept Spain in check, and despite two late saves by Raul Rangel kept Mexico’s lead against Japan to help their teammates qualify. While scoring goals in this tournament has been exciting, so have the goal scorers.
Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand (1) makes a save during the World Cup Group G soccer match between Belgium and Iran in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
FROM: Social Media Dystopia
The internet age should be enlightening, but instead it seems to show why Scott Adams said we are a civilization of six billion ninnies made up of a few thousand savants. Because the same brand that created the internet and everything else we take for granted is also the same brand that the actor and his partner look up to just for saying an important thought.
Who is João Neves’ girlfriend? Everything about Madalena Aragão as the star of Portugal appears at the World Cup 2026. (Image via Getty Images)
For those lucky enough to live a life where they touch grass instead of hash(tags), this is what happened. After the game with DR Congo, Joao Neves was asked about Ronaldo and he said: “We know what Cristiano Ronaldo has done for our national team and for the world of football. But right now I feel that for him, and for everyone, he is one of us, another guy trying to help. He is not different from all of us and he will give as much as we all will.”“In fact, the words were combined by social media to say that Ronaldo was an “ordinary” player, which is being polite based on what we saw of him in the opening game in Portugal, because Ronaldo was smaller and looked more like a sheep than the GOAT that his fans say he is.Neves’ Instagram account was soon flooded with hate from Ronaldo fanboys, who also attacked Neves’ teammate Madelena Aragao. Some wrongdoers wrote Aragao’s false statement saying, “tell your goat to rest”. Even Ronaldo’s friend, Georgina Rodriguez, fell for the words and wrote: “Wow! Look how the future generations are brought!” However, Rodriguez later realized it was a hoax and quickly took it down.The event was a reminder of the toxic side of fandom, which, thanks to human nature, fueled by simple AI tools, continues to destroy the beautiful game.PS: While toxic fandom is one of the worst things about social media, one of the best things about it is memes. Richard Dawkins’ investment in genetic homogeneity as part of cultural transmission is a very effective way of communicating with people. So, by popular demand, here are some of the best of the day.
Meme Watch
And finally, the best of all: The VAR referee for Iran vs Belgium.
PS: Thanks to Twitter users @vish0890, @vinit_shenoy, and @n_aficionado for their contributions. If you have memes to post, tag @nonsensicalnemo and use the hashtag #TOIOFFSIDE.
