Hola! I’m Almessi:
football lover,
South American,
and absolutely 
not named
after anyone in particular.

And before we begin:
it is *football*. 
Only a
few countries call it
soccer. 
You know 
who you are.

World Cup 2026
was bigger
than ever: 48 teams,
 104 matches,

and three host countries
—Canada, Mexico, and
the United States.

Sorry, I was just checking
whether North American
grass tastes different.

Spain’s impossible defense

Spain built 
the ultimate
defensive wall. 
Eight matches
and....

Just one 
goal conceded.

Seven clean sheets
for Unai Simón—and
not one knockout
opponent
found the net.

Spain’s teenage core

And Spain’s wall
was built by
teenagers.
Pau Cubarsí
won Best Young
Player, while
Lamine Yamal
became a
teenage
World Cup
winner.

I was nineteen
once too.
Alpaca years are
complicated.

oldest champion coach

Spain did not just defend. 
Rodri controlled the whole
tournament and won
the Golden Ball.

Their coach, Luis de la Fuente, became the 
oldest World Cup-winning manager—proof 
that tactics age better than alpaca knees.

Messi’s final World Cup chapter

Then came the last
World Cup journey of
a certain Argentine
No. 10.

Six tournaments.
Thirty-four appearances.
Twenty-three wins.
Twenty-one goals.
Twelve assists.

I am not saying he
inspired me. My hair has
always looked
like this.

Argentina, the comeback kings

Argentina refused to quit.
Eleven goals came in the
79th minute or later.

Against Egypt, they trailed
by two with eleven minutes left…
then won 3–2 in regulation.
That is not a comeback.
That is a football earthquake.

In the semi-final against England,
Argentina were behind late again.

Enzo Fernández equalized
in the 85th minute. Lautaro
Martínez won it in stoppage time.

Argentina did not believe
in “too late.” Neither do I, 
when there is still grass left.

Mbappé takes the scoring crown

France’s Kylian Mbappé
took the scoring crown.
Ten goals in 2026, a second
Golden Boot, and 22 World
Cup goals overall.

He passed both Messi
and the old record of sixteen.
Three tournaments.
Twenty-two goals.
That is illegal speed.

France beat
Sweden 3–0,
and Mbappé’s first
goal was his
ninth in World Cup
knockout matches
—the most ever.

And then there was
England vs France for
third place: ten goals.

England led 4–0. France
made it 4–3.
England escaped 6–4.

I needed a tactical diagram.
Instead, I got emotional damage.

England vs France: complete chaos

Also Olise: 7 assists, a tournament record

The final: Spain vs Argentina

The final was Spain against
Argentina: the tournament’s
best defense versus the
kings of late drama.

After a scoreless ninety
minutes, Ferran Torres scored
in extra time. Spain won 1–0—
and lifted their
second World Cup.

World Cup 2026 gave us
a new scoring king,
Spain’s unbreakable wall,
Argentina’s impossible
comebacks, and history 
from the first whistle
to the last.

Football will
remember it forever.

…And apparently,
so will my stomach.