Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mohamed Salah have spent the past two decades defining one of soccer’s greatest eras. Now, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup marks Ronaldo’s final appearance at the tournament and another defining moment in the careers of Messi and Salah, they’re also preparing for life beyond the pitch. Before Messi’s Argentina … Read more
Last week, somewhere amid the World Cup frenzy, a now-viral video circulated of Norwegian striker Erling Haaland mid-mouthed in a restaurant, glancing left and flinching at his own reflection. One post on sharing the video racked up more than 31 million views in mere days. But here’s the thing: It isn’t him. Fact checkers traced … Read more
To casual soccer viewers, the game may look like it always has—same green field, 22 players, a referee, and the familiar rhythm of play unfolding over 90 minutes. The changes are only visible if you look beneath the familiar surface. What appears to be a traditional match is now supported by layers of tracking systems, … Read more
The sheer scale of data being recorded at this summer’s World Cup is unprecedented. FIFA, the tournament organizer, will track around 150 million data points per match. Inside the ball alone, sensors monitoring IMUs (Inertial Measurement Units) will log 500 movements per second to trace the ball’s motion. If that sounds excessive, Patrick Lucey can … Read more
You got a World Cup ticket. It arrived in your inbox with a QR code, professional branding, and a confirmation email that looked like the real thing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. For years, spotting a scam was relatively simple. A suspicious email address, broken English, or an obvious typo were often enough to raise suspicion. But … Read more
Slowly but surely, artificial intelligence is finding its way into sports. The latest venue? This year’s World Cup, where Google will be partnering with the defending champions Argentina to showcase Gemini on and off the pitch. The agreement with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) makes Gemini the main global sponsor of the national team. As … Read more