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Norway defeated Brazil, England knocked out Mexico, the continued excellence of Lionel Messi, the meteoric rise of Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, an incredible run for the Golden Boot and star-studded semi-finals – the 2026 World Cup provided incredible moments and it’s hard to pick a favourite.
There were plenty of exciting, outrageous matches and plenty of fun off the court, and FOX Sports ranked the 50 best moments.
But we also want to give our opinion. We’ve covered the biggest World Cup in history from many angles, but these are our favorite moments from the tournament. And we’re sure we won’t forget about them anytime soon.
Under normal circumstances, the game would have ended. England was hanging on for dear life at the moment, of course. But the Three Lions still won 1-0. They were still five minutes from regulation time in the World Cup final, the first in 60 years. Most opponents simply won’t recover from that. But Argentina is not normal. Lionel Messi definitely is not. So, with Messi and company knocking on the door, what happened next seemed almost preordained.
First, Messi set up Enzo Fernández’s equalizer. The 39-year-old GOAT then found Lauturo Martínez at the far post for the Albiceleste’s game-winning goal in extra time. Sitting in the press box at Atlanta Stadium, behind the England goal, I had a perfect view of both goals. And I still can’t believe what I saw. —Doug McIntyre
America had fun while it lasted
Go with the American men here, which could be controversial. Of course, the expectation was that this team would make it past the round of 16 and into the quarterfinals, and their match against Belgium was a flop compared to their previous games. It was a challenge for the group to mentally overcome the red card debacle.
But taking a step back, I can’t remember a time when covering Americans everyone seemed so relaxed. Every day at training it was clear that the boys were having a great time together, and that was reflected in their performances across four games. Even Christian Pulisic, who is a little more reserved with his emotions, seemed happy and smiled a lot. The US fans really rallied behind this team and stadiums rocked in Los Angeles, Seattle and Santa Clara. It was fun to cover his career. — Laken Litman
Erling Haaland who ends the World Cup in Brazil has to be at the top. Norway’s victory in the round of 16 was the result that made me sit back in my chair. This was the country’s first World Cup in 28 years, facing a Brazilian team for whom Carlo Ancelotti was hired specifically to fix, and for most of the afternoon, the Seleçao had the best chances. Then Haaland rose to head the ball and a few minutes later fired a left-footed shot from outside the area that no living goalkeeper could stop.
Two touches, two goals, seven for the tournament. Norway had never reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup. Brazil had not come out this early since 1990. The most decorated nation in this sport, ousted by a country of just over 5 million inhabitants and an unstoppable striker. Those are the underdog stories that entire fan bases rally around.
Oh, and Haaland has also taken social media by storm during his time here in North America. His star has never been bigger. —Matteo Bonetti
In my case, I’ll stick with Jude Bellingham’s World Cup. It came in with a lot of criticism, particularly a lot from the British media, which isn’t all that surprising as I’ve known this trend my whole life and career. But in the end, this young man proved once again how special he is and helped the Three Lions to third place, their best record since 1966 and their highest World Cup placing on foreign soil.
Don’t forget: he became the top midfield goalscorer in the history of a single tournament, as well as the top English men’s goalscorer in a tournament. Only Peruvian Teófilo Nene Cubillas has more goals in midfield in the World Cup than Bellingham. Oh, and his solo effort against France? A work of art. —Luis Miguel Echegaray
The end of Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain was incredible and with what we know now it is even more impressive. The small archipelago nation off the coast of Africa has a population of approximately 500,000 and has very little in-game history. In one of the viral stories surrounding that team, left back Roberto “Pico” Lopes was recruited when the national team coach discovered him through Linkedin.
But the performance of goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, and the images of him after that match will remain etched in many people’s memories for a long time. Spain won seven of its eight games in this World Cup. They won all seven of their matches at Euro 2024. The only blemish on Spain’s record in their 15 matches in their last two major tournaments came at the hands of Cape Verde. Before this tournament there was a lot of debate about whether a 48-team World Cup was going to work. Cape Verde helped make a strong case to support expanding the tournament. —Brian Sciaretta
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