There is a term in sports called the commentary curse. No, that does not refer to football fans who have to listen to Bollywood actors or cricket pundits talk about football, but the idea that the moment a commentator praises a player, he starts playing badly. Now, it is not known what is the opposite, but yesterday Offside criticized Spain for 2,500 passes without a goal in the World Cup, comparing it to Christopher Columbus without direction, who could have been Italian, but he was taking over Spain when he started looking for the New World and instead of India he ended up in the Caribbean and always praised for discovering America.A furious La Roja tore up that script as their 18-year-old talisman Lamine Yamal showed why he is considered the greatest player of this generation and many to come. Pundit Guillem Balague called it a mix of “arrogance and confidence” and revealed that Yamal plays international football the same way he plays “five-a-side” on the streets.Wayne Rooney, who knows a thing or two about being a prodigy, said that when Messi arrived at Barcelona, he always had someone like Ronaldinho to look up to as “the main man”, while Yamal arrived in Barcelona and Spain as the main man himself.Yamal became the seventh player to score in a World Cup before turning 19, evoking memories of a young Brazilian player named Pele in the 1958 World Cup, but that was not what made the world smile. Forty-one seconds into the match, he won the blue of Johan Cruyff approval pulling a Cruyff turn, and his 10th minute laid the foundations for Spain’s dominance.Meanwhile, Cape Verde continued its volcanic form, although its first goal was rather fortuitous like the wall of Uruguay. left like the Red Sea to leave the ball to Kevin Pina. Perhaps it was a crazy tactic by Marcelo Bielsa beyond the comprehension of mere fans. Uruguay hit back with two goals, but again we saw collective behavior from El Loco when a bad pass saw the Uruguayan keeper sprint into no-man’s land, allowing substitute Helio Varela to sprint, take a sprint. first touch past the keeper and shoot from outside the boxcausing pandemonium among Cape Verdean players and supporters.
Bielsa’s fans have always argued that he has more love than results, but as things stand, this Uruguayan team has neither and will need a miracle to reach the next round. But not the Cape Verdeans, who have become, together with Curaçao, the most beloved minnow team in this World Cup.Punjabis love to say that Singh is the king, and there was a Singh playing for New Zealand, but it was the return of the king as Mohamed Salah and Co finally broke. Egypt’s World Cup duck to give the Pharaohs their first World Cup victory, 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 just one win and will want to go further in the tournament.And finally, we saw the decline of the Golden Generation of Belgium in real time, as they served a goalless pair with the “most oppressed team” in the World Cup. Iran is playing in atrocious conditions forcing them to return to Mexico on the same day of their match.Iran’s challenge against American hegemony has already won praise from around the globe, including those deeply critical of the regime, but the team showed a grit that has come to typify the ancient civilization, epitomized by another moment of goalkeeping magic. When Kevin De Bruyne controlled the ball with an exquisite first touch before setting up Maxim De Cuyper, a goal seemed inevitable at first. Alireza Beiranvand shoots to the left hand to prevent the ball from crossing the line. As the slogan Remember the Titans says: Left side, strong side.
A look at day 12
Matchday 12 will see the Lionel Messi show back on track as they face the nation that exports the world’s most famous Germans: Austria. Messi’s hat-trick against Algeria, much to the chagrin of Ronaldo fans, has already become the main talking point of the World Cup, and he could become the top scorer of the World Cup if he scores against Austria in Dallas. Ralf Rangnick’s Austria is not a shame.
Artist Jose May, aka Joe Skilz, works on a mural of Argentina star Lionel Messi in Dallas on Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
France, another favorite, took on Iraq and looked rather threatening against Senegal after the “dictator” Mbappe went the way of the World Cup. After being hammered by the weapon of mass destruction and the descendant of Targaryen Erling Haaland, Iraq has its task to face the most dangerous attack in the World Cup in Mbappe-Dembele-Olise.Jordan faces Algeria, with both hoping to maintain their hopes of the World Cup, but the match of the day is Norway vs Senegal, where the Nordic side will try to prove that they have finally arrived as a football nation. While Haaland is already sui generis, he is not the only generational talent, with Odegaard, Sorloth, Nusa and others.Norwegian coach Stale Solbakken pours cold water on any complacency, including a mathematical model that predicts the country has a 99% chance of qualifying for the knockout round. Hundreds of thousands of simulations by the Norwegian Computing Center, an independent non-profit organization, say that Norway’s qualification is inevitable, but Solbakken leaves nothing to chance, including to ensure that his players do not have to suffer because of American fast food by sending 500 kg of seafood, 116 kg of brown cheese and 6,000 oranges, which experts estimate to be oranges.
Masterclass of goalkeepers
There has been some discussion that the new ball is difficult for goalkeepers to manage, but we have also seen a World Cup where the most tragic figures in football have been inspirational. Cape Verde’s Eloy Room single-handedly kept Ecuador out with 15 saves. Curaçao’s Vozinha kept the Spanish matadors at bay, and even Raul Rangel’s late double save preserved Mexico’s lead against Japan to help the co-hosts qualify. While the goalsing in this tournament has been exquisite, so has the goalkeeping.
Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand (1) saves 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)
OFF THE FIELD: Social Media Dystopia
The age of the internet should be about enlightenment, but instead it seems to show why Scott Adams said that we are a civilization of six billion children designed by a few thousand scientists. Because the same species that designed the internet and almost everything we take for granted is also one where a player and his partner are only meant to declare a basic thought.
Who is João Neves’ girlfriend? All about Madalena Aragão as the Portuguese star shines at the 2026 World Cup. (Image via Getty Images)
For those lucky enough to have a life where they touch grass instead of hash (tags), here’s what happened. After the match against DR Congo, Joao Neves was asked about Ronaldo and said: “We know what Cristiano Ronaldo has done for our national team and for the world of football. But at this moment I feel that for him, and for everyone, he is one of us, one more man who tries to help. He is no different from the rest of us and contributes like all of us.“Instead, the quote was spliced by social media to insinuate that Ronaldo was an “ordinary” player, which is educated based on what we saw of him in Portugal’s opening game, because Ronaldo was far below average and looked more like a sheep than the GOAT that his fans profess to be.Neves’ Instagram account was soon filled with hate from Ronaldo fanboys, who also attacked Neves’ partner Madelena Aragao. Some disbelievers even cooked up a fake quote from Aragao saying, “Tell your GOAT to retire.” Even Ronaldo’s partner, Georgina Rodriguez, fell for the quote and wrote: “Wow! Look how the future generations are growing up!” However, Rodriguez later realized it was a fake quote and quickly took it down.The incident was reminiscent of the toxic side of fandom, which, thanks to social media, encouraged by easy AI tools, continues to taint the beautiful game.PS: While toxic fandom is one of the worst things about social media, one of the best things is memes. Richard Dawkins’ coninion of the cultural parallel to genes as units of cultural transmission is indeed the best mode of human communication. So, by popular demand, here are some of the best memes of the day.
Meme Watch
And finally, the best of all: The referee VAR during Iran vs Belgium.
PS: Thanks to Twitter users @vish0890, @vinit_shenoy, and @n_aficionado for their submissions. If you have any memes to submit, tag @nonsensicalnemo and use the hashtag #TOIOFFSIDE.
