Sport Report – World Cup Roundup
By Jasper Searles – Junior Sports Reporter
Hi everyone, its Jasper, junior sport’s reporter, here with a new article. I hope you all enjoyed the 2026 World Cup and this hot summer in general. I hope you are delighted by today’s article.
Pre-Tournament predictions
What I Predicted…and how did I do?
Winners – Spain
Spain won the World Cup, so that was a success, they only conceded one goal all tournament. For some, Spain weren’t the most appealing team. Unlike many teams, Spain didn’t have an out and out number nine. However, their movement in tight spaces, utter creativity and footballing IQ gave them the biggest trophy of them all. The class of 2010 watched in the stands with delight. Ferran Torres scored a late winner which Argentina’s Lionel Messi described as the most painful way to lose (you love to see it).
Golden Boot Winner – Harry Kane
Actual Golden Boot Winner – Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid. Harry Kane came very close, but at the end of the tournament, it was Jude Bellingham that stole the show for England. A well-deserved win for Mbappe, with two goals scored in the third-place play-off against England securing the award with 10 goals in total for World Cup 2026 . Messi (who finished on 8 goals) didn’t score any goals in the cup final against Spain, denying his chances of winning.
Golden Glove Winner – Jordan Pickford
Actual Golden Glove Winner – Unai Simon of Athletico Bilboa. Simon wasn’t necessarily the best goalkeeper in the tournament, in my opinion, but he had a successful Spanish defence in front of him, handing him the award.
Player to Watch Prediction – Neymar Jr
Neymar Jr scored just 1 goal, but Brazil went out quite early. He couldn’t play the first few games due to injury, denying him other playing and goalscoring opportunities. This is probably the worst outcome of my predictions! However, if he wasn’t injured, I believe things could have been different.
Dark Horses – Norway
Now, I was also quite spot on with my Dark Horses prediction. I said Norway, although I was considering the Ivory Coast. They’d won the AFCON in 2023, and they’d just beaten France before the tournament. But I had faith in the Vikings. Norway ended up beating Ivory Coast in the last 32, after getting out of a hard group (including France, Senegal and Iraq). They went on to beat Brazil in the last 16, before losing to England in the quarter finals. The defeat to England was a close contest, a 2-1 defeat. England went on to finish 3rd so not a bad team to go out to, with many arguing England should’ve gone to the final because of some controversial decisions.
Underachievers – France
Finally, I also predicted France as underperformers. They came 4th, but some may see this as a bad tournament. Many thought they would win the whole thing, so I guess let’s say they didn’t reach high expectations. They ended up going out to the winners Spain. But in the third-place playoff match, they had a chance to prove themselves again but failed. They were beaten 4-6 by England.
Transfer News
Many big transfers have happened over recent weeks. Here are the latest rumours for more potential moves.
Chelsea looking for experience
In recent days, many sources have linked Stamford Bridge to big names as they look to pull off the signing of Jordan Henderson and the one really making the headlines, Danny Welbeck.
Welbeck had 13 goals/ assists in 2025-2026 season. The reason for the double signing? Experience. Chelsea has a young squad. Xabi Alonso knows what he’s doing but he is a manager with minimal experience, with this being his first job in the premier league.
Big changes at Newcastle
Before it even started, it was clear it would be a big summer of change in this transfer window.
At the start, Anthony Gordon left the North East for Barcelona, undoubtedly a bigger team with great opportunity for him. This was then followed by Italian Sandro Tonali, who has moved to Tottenham Hotspur. When I heard the news Tonali was leaving to go to Spurs I thought it was a joke. Tottenham? They have fought off relegation the last two years but still raid better performing teams of their players.
Newcastle continues to be restricted due to Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) which means they are finding it harder and hard to compete and lose their young players. Just two years ago, Newcastle were forced to sell Elliott Anderson in a £15m deal due to PSR and look where he is now! The England International has now signed for Manchester City for £116m! Newcastle cannot move forward as a club if the unfair rules don’t change.
After 5 years in charge and a preseason loss, manager Eddie Howe has resigned from The Magpies. I believe that the loss of key players, as well as rumours that Captain Bruno Guimaraes, who appointed a new ‘super-agent’ before the World Cup, is about to join Arsenal – if they ever actual make a bid! His legendary status will be tested with the fans, who will be hoping there is no repeat of the Isak saga from last summer.
Man City Leader to leave?
Rodri, the World cup winner, one-time Balon D’Or winner, (even if he didn’t deserve it, in my opinion), is linked with Real Madrid. There is no denying he is an excellent, world class player. Manchester City fans, if there are any, have said they are hopeful he will sign a new contract, instead of looking to join Los Blancos. Experts suggest we will find out sooner then we realise.
Many other transfers are happening all the time, so watch out!
That’s it for today. See you soon for another article. Well done to England for the best World Cup finish since ’66.
Bye and have a good summer.
That’s all for this week’s football round-up — see you soon for more results,
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PSR for the win
This is a great read Jasper, there wasn’t a lot of media attention surrounding Spain and Norway pre-tournament but both proved to be brilliant.
I think your section about Newcastle is probably the most balanced piece I have read throughout the recent dramas at the club. It reflects how most fans (I speak to on match-day) feel and sums up the frustrations we all have.
Top work!
Not sure I’m a fan of the Tottenham slander. We have been misbehaving for 2 seasons but the owners are now finally(!) showing ambition. Having said that it’s still a shame to see the Geordies in this current position.
Some good predictions there ( although we will forget the Neymar one! )
France as underachievers was a good call. Even though they reached the semi final, they still went out with a whimper despite having the best squad of players by a distance.
How do you think the Urchins will do this coming season?
Great article Jasper, look forward to the next one!