World Cup

My failure rate was far worse than random chance; it was as though some instinct was leading me unerringly to the exact opposite of the truth

From politics to entertainment and sport, Eoin Butler casts a critical eye over the heroes and the zeros of 2022

The tale of a grumpy man in a beard who’s not Keane on being back in the Sky Sports commentary box so soon after Qatar

Salt Bae caused controversy by celebrating with the Argentinian players

Morocco move up to 11th and replace Senegal as the top African nation

The perils of extra time

Previous record-holder was a photograph of an egg with 55.7m likes

Messi and World Cup-winning squad complete their victory parade in Buenos Aires with a helicopter flyover

Champions come back from Qatar with Buenos Aires in party mode since dramatic final victory

The Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with The Irish Times sports team

‘World Cup was good because football is good. This is why Qatar paid $220bn to borrow its light’

Qatar tournament in review - Mbappé's greatness; Morocco make history; infamous Infantino

2022 Ballon d’Or winner scored 37 times in 97 France games

A 4-3-3 line-up that includes three players from surprise semi-finalists Morocco

Argentina beat France on penalties after a gripping 3-3 draw after extra time in Qatar

Streets of central Buenos Aires are cacophony of yelling and horns after shootout victory

Desert Outtakes: A disconsolate Neymar; Rocky Morocco; Savage’s terrible prediction; Declan Rice gets hammered

Captain and star player says he wants to enjoy a couple more matches being world champion

The Morning Sports Briefing: Keep ahead of the game with The Irish Times sports team

The deposed world champions were outclassed during the first half, a collective and individual capitulation, a tactical and psychological failure

This was his cup; there has never been a story like this, a competition so centred around one man

France suddenly sprang into life in the second-half to create an extraordinary contest

‘Do you have a defibrillator in the studio because my heart can’t take this’

Final for the ages is crowning glory that puts Messi on a par with Maradona’s effort in 1986

Co Mayo town, home to the founder of the Argentinian navy, celebrates historic win

Kylian Mbappé's scores stunning hat-trick to twice bring defending champions back into game

Follow all the action as France look to win back-to-back crowns while Messi looks for a maiden world title

Long before Gianni Infantino’s jaw-dropping opening monologue this was always going to be a troubling celebration of the world game

Southgate questioned future after World Cup defeat by France

‘We showed that African football is prepared to face the top teams in the world’

Group stage tables, the route to the final and the race for the golden boot

37-year-old midfielder has likely played his final World Cup game but has yet to announce future plans

Striker has returned to fitness and played a friendly for Real Madrid earlier in the week

The impassioned Argentinian journalist, the outraged Moroccans and the annoying Olivier Giroud

The Fifa president’s white runners are a sign that he wants to be known as more than just a dull functionary

Politics and sport remain inextricably intertwined and the shadow of the Qatar World Cup will linger for a long time

And Gianni Infantino must have been reading some strange stuff before the World Cup

Kevin Kilbane: It has been upsetting on a daily basis to witness the huge chasm between the lives of the haves and have-nots in Qatar

Victory in a second successive World Cup would catapult France’s star player to heights rarely reached in the sporting world

It’s architecture that’s bound up most with raw expression of power, with all the cruelty and human misery that entails