The Best Team Wins
11 July 2026 By Abiodun Giwa
Ronaldo on his way to the dressing room
Norway showed Brazil the way out of the World Cup 2026 in the United States at the round of 16. Norway had speed, but Brazil relied on the tap, tap, rhythm. A few days later, Portugal followed Brazil's lead, losing to Spain. Both Spain and Portugal played a seemingly quiet game, with neither side seeking to outdo the other. And the Spain goal came at the close of the game, quietly, without any drama, but with a shock.
Brazil's ousting, a team many observers anticipated might go far, came against expectations, and Portugal's exit rekindled Cristiano Ronaldo's legendary soccer years. Belgium's beating of the United States shows that experience matters. Haaland showed experience and tenacity.
Ronaldo was all over the field with his number 7 Jersey easier to spot than others on the field. He played out his heart. He was visibly tired as he walked off the field and waved to fans, seemingly without enthusiasm after the game. His eyes are probably looking to the future. He might wish to turn the clock's hand, but it is not possible. Many analysts are already saying it was his last World Cup. Whether or not Ronaldo plays at the next World Cup depends only on him. He has innumerable fans across the planet who love and admire him as a legendary and super player. It will be the Portugal coach's job to work with Ronaldo to find a replacement if he eventually decides to hang up his boots. Most of the Brazilian players are still young. Some of them, if not all, will certainly still feature in the future. They will learn the emerging soccer style that could help them as individual players and raise expectations for their national team and fans. We all love the Brazilian style and efforts to walk past defenders into the net, if possible. They will need to add some dribbling to make the tap-tap between players more attractive and effective for scoring desirable goals. The guy on the right flank in the latest 2026 aborted effort needs to strike the ball into the eighteen-yard box and not shift to the right, away from the action spot.
The newly emerging soccer style is the Mbappe style: speed, speed, and more speed. Messi's Argentina is unbeatable because of the inclusion of speed and space in the tap, tap culture. Many of Mbappé's goals came from speed and shooting precision. Many European countries have the speed. It was the instrument Norway used against Brazil. The United States fell to Belgium, unable to stop Belgium's spacing and speed. England has the grit, spacing, and use of the flanks, with Saka giving the right shots for the desired connections. He did it for his club, Arsenal, and he has it in play with the national team. Belgium's reliance on Lukaku's experience is admirable. Messi's experience also plays well for Argentina. Morocco's ferociousness helped the team in beating Canada, a lackluster but lost to Argentina's spiritedness. Mbappe's speed has been helpful to France. Any goalkeeper who disallows the ball from entering the net, as the Spanish goalkeeper does, is an asset. The US captain won hearts by mistakenly playing the opponent's back of the boot for the ball. The intensity was so great that it sent him to the floor. The coach did the necessary and pulled him out within minutes. Christian Pulisic won hearts, injured, but continued on the field, limping, and still ran for the ball.
Ronaldo earned the status of a legend from fans on Monday, while Lamine Yamal earns the future. Fans love him for dribbling and daring. But there has been little dribbling in this World Cup in favor of speed and tap, tap. Would Messi's Argentina win the cup again? Time will tell, an apology to Jimmy Cliff, because the game outcome is difficult to predict with teams like Argentina, France, England, Norway, Switzerland, and Spain still in contention. Would speed or tap, tap, or the combination win the day? Certainly, both. France has speed. So also, is England. Argentina and Spain have the combination and know how to get goals. Could France speed past all, or be overwhelmed by Argentina and Spain's purposeful playing style? The soccer fiesta is now at a stage where the best team wins, while all participants will live to tell the stories of their experiences of winning and losing.
Brazil's ousting, a team many observers anticipated might go far, came against expectations, and Portugal's exit rekindled Cristiano Ronaldo's legendary soccer years. Belgium's beating of the United States shows that experience matters. Haaland showed experience and tenacity.
Ronaldo was all over the field with his number 7 Jersey easier to spot than others on the field. He played out his heart. He was visibly tired as he walked off the field and waved to fans, seemingly without enthusiasm after the game. His eyes are probably looking to the future. He might wish to turn the clock's hand, but it is not possible. Many analysts are already saying it was his last World Cup. Whether or not Ronaldo plays at the next World Cup depends only on him. He has innumerable fans across the planet who love and admire him as a legendary and super player. It will be the Portugal coach's job to work with Ronaldo to find a replacement if he eventually decides to hang up his boots. Most of the Brazilian players are still young. Some of them, if not all, will certainly still feature in the future. They will learn the emerging soccer style that could help them as individual players and raise expectations for their national team and fans. We all love the Brazilian style and efforts to walk past defenders into the net, if possible. They will need to add some dribbling to make the tap-tap between players more attractive and effective for scoring desirable goals. The guy on the right flank in the latest 2026 aborted effort needs to strike the ball into the eighteen-yard box and not shift to the right, away from the action spot.
The newly emerging soccer style is the Mbappe style: speed, speed, and more speed. Messi's Argentina is unbeatable because of the inclusion of speed and space in the tap, tap culture. Many of Mbappé's goals came from speed and shooting precision. Many European countries have the speed. It was the instrument Norway used against Brazil. The United States fell to Belgium, unable to stop Belgium's spacing and speed. England has the grit, spacing, and use of the flanks, with Saka giving the right shots for the desired connections. He did it for his club, Arsenal, and he has it in play with the national team. Belgium's reliance on Lukaku's experience is admirable. Messi's experience also plays well for Argentina. Morocco's ferociousness helped the team in beating Canada, a lackluster but lost to Argentina's spiritedness. Mbappe's speed has been helpful to France. Any goalkeeper who disallows the ball from entering the net, as the Spanish goalkeeper does, is an asset. The US captain won hearts by mistakenly playing the opponent's back of the boot for the ball. The intensity was so great that it sent him to the floor. The coach did the necessary and pulled him out within minutes. Christian Pulisic won hearts, injured, but continued on the field, limping, and still ran for the ball.
Ronaldo earned the status of a legend from fans on Monday, while Lamine Yamal earns the future. Fans love him for dribbling and daring. But there has been little dribbling in this World Cup in favor of speed and tap, tap. Would Messi's Argentina win the cup again? Time will tell, an apology to Jimmy Cliff, because the game outcome is difficult to predict with teams like Argentina, France, England, Norway, Switzerland, and Spain still in contention. Would speed or tap, tap, or the combination win the day? Certainly, both. France has speed. So also, is England. Argentina and Spain have the combination and know how to get goals. Could France speed past all, or be overwhelmed by Argentina and Spain's purposeful playing style? The soccer fiesta is now at a stage where the best team wins, while all participants will live to tell the stories of their experiences of winning and losing.
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