As the knockout stages begin, penalties are inevitable. What do the stats say about the best ways to take them?The 2022 World Cup final was a nail-biting affair, decided by a penalty shootout after Argentina and France were evenly matched with three goals apiece. Argentina subsequently won 4-2 on penalties, taking the…

As the World Cup enters the knockout rounds, we take a look at the creativity and emotion that fans of all 48 teams showed in the group stageThe 2026 World Cup has set a new all-time attendance record for the men’s tournament, surpassing the previous record of 3,587,538 set during the 1994 World Cup – and the…

“Where words fail, music speaks.” — Hans Christian Andersen

“If I love myself I love you. If I love you I love myself.” — Rumi

“If ever you feel like an animal among men, be a lion.” — Criss Jami

“Be polite to all, but intimate with few.” — Thomas Jefferson

More than 191m people in Europe face temperatures of at least 35C degrees on Sunday, with extreme heat warnings in Germany, Czechia, Poland and Hungary‘A sad inevitability’: after decades of climate warnings, why is Europe so unprepared for rising heat?Poland, Czechia and Slovakia were braced for record…

Iran attacked Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, and threatened a ‘complete halt’ to talksUS and Iran trade strikes as both sides accuse the other of endangering ceasefireHassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah lawmaker, has warned about “internal conflict” within Lebanon over the country’s agreement with Israel…