Simon and Garfunkel once sang that the prophet’s words were written on the subway walls. They are only partially true, as gospel truth can be found in all forms of art, including cartoons. Take Paul Rigby’s cartoon headline in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, which illustrates the plight of England’s batsmen during the 1974-75 Ashes tour: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Thommo doesn’t understand you, Lillee must.” The line became so fictional that not only did it become part of cricketing folklore, it was even used by the then DGMO Vice-General Rajiv Ghai. This sentence demonstrates the robustness of India’s air defense system.For defenders facing the dictator Mbappe and his generals, they must have had the same premonition that the English felt when facing Denis Lilly or Jeff Thomson: if Mbappe can’t catch you, Ollis will. If Olise doesn’t do it, Dembélé might. If you avoid Dembélé…You get the point, because this is a truly talented French attack that has the potential to produce runs whenever they click. Just ask Senegal and Iraq, who can’t coexist with Kylian Mbappe and his teammates. The scariest part is that you realize this team still isn’t playing at a top level, but is just showing flashes of their craft.Take Mbappe’s first goal as an example He touched the ball for the first time with his right hand Then deftly fired the ball into the goal with his left foot, which we were told was not his stronger foot. The only thing that could stop France’s form was a force of nature, and as they did 131 minutes before the restart, Mbappe scored again in what appeared to be a direct arms race with France. Lionel Messi. The latter scored 18 goals in 28 games. Mbappe has scored 16 goals in 16 games, a truly scary number because this is football’s biggest stage and even the greatest players can suddenly find themselves in trouble.
Speaking of Messi, he is on the verge of winning the only award that eluded him in football – the Golden Boot. Messi made the point after scoring two goals against Austria in what was dubbed the “Third Reich derby” to move up to five goals, which in any normal World Cup year would have been enough for the Golden Boot. But this is not a normal World Cup, with Haaland and Mbappe not far behind. If Messi had been better on penalty kicks, maybe the game wouldn’t have been a contest anymore.Despite being the GOAT, the Argentinian is pretty bad at penalty kicks. Now, all goats have their own weaknesses. Shaquille O’Neal’s free throw shooting is terrible, averaging just one-half per game. Virat Kohli has never quite solved his tendency to clumsily claw his way through deliveries outside off-stump. Messi is a pretty average penalty taker. During his international career, he took 31 penalties and scored 25 goals. Including club games, he has made 116 of 149 games, which is just 77%.In contrast, cristiano ronaldoCritics often call him a “penalty taker”, he has taken 211 penalties, but still has a success rate of 83.8%, scoring a total of 183 penalties. Robert Lewandowski has the best record among elite players with a 91% record, while Harry Kane is 89.2%. Even Ronaldo’s Portuguese teammate Bruno Fernandez had a success rate of 89.3% in 75 penalty kicks.Now, it should be noted that Messi often escapes penalty kick duties from his teammates and even “assists” Luis Suarez, but this is still a mediocre number for a “GOAT” like him.Speaking of Goats, Erling Haaland led Norway to a 3-2 win over Senegal, which will make the final game of the group a mouth-watering showdown between France and Norway. Often referred to as a “Targaryen” for his blond hair, Haaland is about the same size as a dragon from House of the Dragon, especially when he heckles goalkeepers. The biggest shock this time was that he actually got the ball but couldn’t score.In 1998, after Haaland Sr. came on, the Norwegian team returned to the World Cup and they enjoyed the happiest time of their lives, with everyone from politicians to fans singing Vikings slogans and providing a Disney-style sporting baptism to a group of predators, but then again, it was always directly related to the color of a person’s skin.
The next game will be France vs. Norway and the internet is already abuzz with Batman v Superman memes as two of the most talented players of their generation go head-to-head. Of course, France’s attack is more targeted than Norway’s, which relies heavily on Haaland and Odegaard, but France can still be a protracted battle.Finally, in the last game of the day, the Algerian team stopped Jordan’s victory with two quick goals, and the commentators said: Kobe never will. But perhaps the main talking point was Luca Zidane’s performance in goal. The Algerian latched onto Nizar Rashdan’s shot but was unable to prevent the ball from hitting the net. He made two cheap mistakes in the first game against Argentina and Messi scored twice, but he may want to point the finger at the ball.
Talking Points: Enjoy it
This is a very high-scoring World Cup, and one of the reasons for this is the ball used by FIFA in this tournament. FIFA told The Associated Press that the ball is designed with deep seams to produce “optimal flight stability,” which allows it to rocket toward goalkeepers and increase grip when hitting and dribbling in wet conditions.Austria coach Ralf Rangnick told The Associated Press: “The ball was as fast as a cannonball. I think today and the past few days you will see that if you put the ball in the right place, it’s very difficult to save.”
The adidas Trionda is unique in that it only has four thermally bonded panels, which is the lowest of any men’s World Cup ball. Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart pointed out that the ball reached the goalkeeper faster than they expected. The four-piece design makes it aerodynamically different from other balls and can cause unpredictable behavior when hitting the ball with spin.Combined with more protection for attackers – think of how England defenders brought down Maradona before he scored the Hand of God – means this World Cup has become a goal-fest.
Check out Day 13: Goat Redemption?
Ronaldo’s Portugal face Fabio Cannavaro’s Uzbekistan on Day 13, as the talented Portugal side look to get their season back on track after a damaging draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo.In 2006, after Zidane’s headbutt and the Sarajevo curse took effect, Cannavaro won the World Cup with Italy, facing a team some even considered more talented than Figo’s golden generation, including Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandez, Vitinha, Rafael Leon, Pedro Neto and Joao Neves. Of course, all eyes will be on Ronaldo, who stuttered in his first game and whose gravitational star appeal, coupled with toxic fans, threatens to derail the team and its momentum. Much has been written about the social media firestorm caused by Joao Neves’ innocuous remarks taken out of context.No matter how many jokes there are on social media, we have to ask whether Portugal would be better off without the veteran ‘Goat’, whose sphere of influence shrinks with age. On the other hand, anyone who has followed his career knows that his source of confidence knows no bounds, and if anyone can shock his critics, it’s Ronaldo. Judging from his longevity, 211 of the players participating in this year’s World Cup (or 16.9%) were born after Ronaldo made his professional debut for Sporting Lisbon.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the World Cup Group K soccer match between Portugal and Congo in Houston, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Meanwhile, England will find a familiar face in the dugout opposite Ghana, who are led by former Manchester United assistant coach and Alex Ferguson’s trusted right-hand man Carlos Queiroz. The game has the added advantage of England’s all-time leading scorer Harry Kane, who will be appearing at the “Boston Stadium” for the first time, but the stadium is actually called Gillette Stadium and is home to the New England Patriots and the NFL’s greatest quarterback, Tom Brady. Tom Brady won six championships with the Patriots before winning his seventh with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at age 43.Kane, a self-proclaimed Brady stan, has long talked about becoming an NFL kicker once his career is over, but for now he remains committed to breaking the curse on the England trophy. The Three Lions have not won any major trophies since the 1966 World Cup, which they won at home, and while Kane finally got his hands on a trophy after moving from Tottenham to Bayern Munich, he will be hoping to, like Brady, finally win for England. He was not alone, though, with Tuchel selecting a talented England squad to play alongside him, including the concept of a rugby-style finisher. The term refers to the introduction of talented players towards the end to ensure the team does not run out of energy, as was the case with the introduction of Morgan Rodgers, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka in the final 15 minutes of the game against Croatia.Ghana’s attacking ambitions, on the other hand, are led by Antoine Semenho, who was born in London and plays for Manchester City in the Premier League.Croatia will face Panama in Luka Modric’s 200th game, who could be both the team’s problem and solution. The perennially successful team in the World Cup did not gain independence until 1991, but it finished second once in 2018 and third twice in 1998 and 2022. This year, however, the Red and Blue have looked lackluster, although a win could help them advance. Finally, Colombia faced the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose 5-3-2 formation held Portugal at bay while Congo would also Get their “statue man” back in the stands.All in all, every team will have played two games by the end of Day 13, giving a clearer picture of what to expect as we head towards the Top 32.
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Winner: “Hydration Break” by Ronaldinho
PS: Thanks to Twitter users @SarathySatire, @vish0890, @vinit_shenoy and @n_aficionado for their submissions. If you have any memes to submit, tag @nonsensicalnemo and use the hashtag #TOIOFFSIDE.
