World Cup: Bronze Goes to England

England defeated France 6-4 in an epic match neither side were all that keen to play! The World Cup third-place game is the most awkward of fixtures. As Probuddha Bhattacharjee writes, "winning the FIFA World Cup is the ultimate prize...[the third-place match] brings together two teams still processing the collapse of their greatest ambition, asks them to recover within days and then presents bronze as a prize. The finalists prepare for immortality; the losing semi-finalists must return for one more game."  

So, it was not surprising that both camps expressed their dissatisfaction at having to play this match. Thomas Tuchel--blamed by just about everyone, including Donald Trump, for England's semi-final defeat (once more) against archrival Argentia--plainly said it: “None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match...They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that.” Didier Deschamps, his French counterpart, confirmed the mood. “England does not want to play this game, and neither do we. But here we are.” 

Yet, this 'unwanted' game keeps providing exciting matches and records. Up until yesterday, the prior 20 third-place matches produced 76 goals or 3.8 per game on average, including one in 1958 that delivered nine goals. World class teams, relieved of the pressures of winning the tournament, often produce unusually open football. That free flowing approach was taken to the extreme on Saturday in Miami in a historic game that produced ten(!!) goals.

Let's be honest no one really expected much from this game. England, still nursing their crushing semi-final loss, did not bother to start their stars Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. While France did field Kylian Mbappe (chasing his second Golden Boot) and Michael Olise, the team initially seemed content to float through this tournament obligation with as much verve as you do a lazy river. But after an embarrassing first half for France, national pride and competitive instincts took over. With both teams firmly 'in it to win it,' in the second half we had one of the games of the tournament! As Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian writes, "What did we just witness? A third-place play-off or a schoolyard match where defending was strictly prohibited? England walked away with a 6-4 victory, but the scoreline barely scratches the surface of the tactical anarchy in Miami... A rampant Bukayo Saka hat-trick seemed to have buried France by halftime, only for Kylian Mbappé to treat the second half like a personal crusade, momentarily becoming the undisputed king of World Cup history before the wheels fell off Didier Deschamps' farewell party." Enjoy the highlights below:

We could easily have had another 2-3 goals. At the end of it, football was the winner. Congratulations to England for their best finish in the World Cup since 1966! Congratulations to France for a strong showing yet again. Under departing coach Deschamps, France has won the World Cup in 2018 and reached the final in Qatar in 2022. Records that fell:

1. 10 goals — the highest-scoring third-place match ever, surpassing the 1958 record of 9 goals
2. First FIFA World Cup match to feature 10 goals since Hungary’s 10–1 win over El Salvador in 1982
3. Mbappe's brace in the match brings his tally to 10 goals in the tournament surpassing Lionel Messi's 8 (for now)
4. Mbappe is now also the all-time leading World Cup scorer with 22 goals (in 22 games!), surpassing Messi's 20 (for now)
5. Michael Olise set up two goals yesterday, setting a new FIFA World Cup record with seven assists in a single tournament, surpassing Pelé’s 56-year-old record

On to the final: Spain/ Barcelona vs Argentina/ Bangladesh (Dhaka or Buenos Ares?)

World Cup: The Goal That Wasn't

This Guardian article from Taha Hashim, captures the mood for most of us today...the first pause in the World Cup schedule after 27 consecutive days of matches. It's a strange feeling not having any football games to cheer. But perhaps we needed this break to process Argentina's/Argenfifa's? dramatic comeback against Egypt?

Enter the Void
As Taha writes: "What do we do now? Stare numbly at a blank wall for the next 24 hours?...Endlessly re-watch Sidny Lopes Cabral’s curler against Argentina and his Pat Cash-style climb into the stands to celebrate?...We’re 96 matches down, just seven to go – eight if you are, for some reason, heavily invested in who finishes third. But maybe we do need a moment to chill, to decompress, after Argentina’s desperate comeback win over Egypt, an emotional cracker that even left Lionel Messi in tears at full-time. There’s so much to discuss: another spurned penalty by Messi before his redemption act; the wall that was Mostafa Shobeir; the anger felt by the Egyptians after Enzo Fernández’s winner. Space must, however, be given to the greatest goal that never was."

Yes, Egypt's first goal in the 15th minute was superb--Yasser Ibrahim beat Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez with a header into the top right corner to give the Pharaohs a 1-0 early lead. And then in the 58th minute, Haissem Hassan weaved "his way through half the pitch, a move straight out of the Messi playbook. He found Mohamed Salah, whose cute through ball met the perfectly-timed run of Mostafa Ziko, a first-time finish giving his side a two-goal lead against the holders. It would have been wrong if he hadn’t taken his shirt off to celebrate.

"...Cue the machinations of VAR, with Lisandro Martínez’s shirt pulled and foot stood on at the other end before Hassan’s otherworldly run, prompting the goal to be disallowed." 

But justice was served in the 67th minute when again Hassan connected with Ziko for their third second fantastic goal. Somehow, Messi and La Albiceleste clawed their way back and then in stoppage time Argentina scored an almost split reversal of Egypt's disallowed goal; this time Salah seemed to get fouled in the Argentine penalty, but play was allowed to go on and the counterattack that ended with Enzo Fernandes heading in the winner. Was it recalled? Was it even checked on VAR checked? Umm, no! At least go through the motions FIFA, don't be so blatant! This match was the best of football, and also the worst. Mabrouk ya Misr. Ja'alatmuna fakhurayn!

Profit is Opinion, Cash is Fact

The above saying emphasizes the distinction between reported profits, which can be kneaded/ engineered/ fudged, while actual cash flow, is more tangible and harder to manipulate. It reflects a company's real financial health. Three charts from Apollo Global Management related to the Magnificent 7 illustrate the point (click to enlarge).

Mag 7 Profit Margins

The Hyperscalers' Free Cash Flow

Mag 7 Recent Performance

Happy Birthday: America Turns 250!

In celebration of America's birthday, the U.S. Census Bureau releases some fun facts every year. E.g., in 1776, there were 2.5 million people in the 13 colonies (map below), including ~500,000 enslaved Africans (or 20% of the population). In 2026, we have 300+ million Americans (no enslaved) across 50 states. Virginia was the most populous colony (~500,000) in 1776, today California (32.3M) is the biggest state. Philadelphia (30K), New York (25K), Boston (16K), and Charleston (15K) were the biggest cities then, New York (8.3M), L.A. (3.8M), Chicago (2.7M), and Houston (2.3M) are the biggest cities today.

The 13 Colonies in 1776*

*Area that would become Maine (in 1820) was under Massachusetts.

These United States of Americas have certainly come a long way but its essential idea as a land of opportunity for all has, and continues to, attract a remarkable number of people from all over the world. And who better to explain the allure of America than an immigrant themself: Zohran Mamdani, mayor of a city of immigrants in a country of immigrants, delivered a speech marking America's 250th at City Hall sitting behind the desk once used by George Washington...Happy Birthday America!

World Cup: The Sweet 16

Here we are, down to the Round of 16 in the biggest World Cup ever. It's far from over, but already the 2026 vintage has been a resounding success. The tournament is boasting record-breaking attendance and soaring TV ratings. It's no surprise when have so many goals, late-game heroics, upsets, and big performances from football's biggest stars, including Messi and Mbappe.

Source: world-cup-26.com 

More goals have been scored in this World Cup than any other. Sure, more games have been played in this tournament (88) than any other as well. However, the previous high was in Qatar in 2022 when there were 172 goals over 64 games. The current tournament exceeded that in the 59th game hitting 177 goals. The 2.92 goals per match is the best since Mexico 1970, long considered one of the best World Cups (though Qatar 2022 produced the best final). And the stars are playing their part. Messi has come life, scoring at a blistering pace-- seven goals in four matches! Not to be undone Mbappe has now scored 18 goals in 18 World Cup matches (2018, 2022, and 2026)! This World Cup has also shown the growing footballing prowess of African countries. Ten African nations qualified for the tournament (Algeria, Cape Verde--oh Cape Verde, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morrocco, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia); nine made it to the knock-out stages! Cape Verde, DR Congo, and Senegal may have just fallen short against the traditional footballing powers, but Morrocco and Egypt carry on.

Here's to more drama, thrilling endings, and goals, goals, goals!

World Cup 2026: Ki Djogu, Kabu Verdi!

Before the 2026 World Cup, many (most?) people had not heard of Cape Verde, let alone find it on a map. But this tiny island nation off the West African coast with a population of just 530,000 quickly became the story of the World Cup, after drawing with past winners Spain and Uruguay in its first two games and making it into the knockout stage of the tournament in its very first appearance! 

Still, no one expected much of the 67th ranked FIFA team against reigning the world champions and the #1 ranked FIFA team. One headline before the match in Yahoo sports was "Salah Awaits Messi as Egypt Beat Australia on Penalties..." Well in the end, an exhausted and drained Argentina narrowly--very narrowly--avoided one of the all-time great upsets by edging out Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time in one of the best matches in World Cup history. An instant classic.

Messi got his seventh goal of the tournament with a deft touch to open the scoring in the 29th minute, and it looked like Argentina would score more. But Cape Verde, who started slow, came back from behind twice to level the game. Sidny Lopes Cabral's second equalizer, a wicked curling shot from the top left corner of the penalty box, was arguably the goal of the tournament:

Cape Verde's 40-year-old goalkeeper and Instagram sensation Josimar Jose Evora Dias, or simply "Vozinha", had another exceptional game with 10 saves against Argentina, including 5 against Messi. By the end of the 30 minutes of extra time, Cape Verde was increasingly looking like they were going to equalize a third time. Argentina's Emiliano Martinez needed to be a make a spectacular save to keep Sidny Lopes from scoring again in the 116th minute. By the end, Argentinian players were visibly wilting in the heat and humidity of Miami and just (just) managed to hold on. Highlights of Argentina's great escape here:

Super fans in Dhaka will be relieved. They were not expecting this.

This Day in Physics

On Jun 30, 121 years ago, Albert Einstein's groundbreaking paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" (original German version: "Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper) was received by the journal Annalen der Physik. In it, Einstein laid the foundation for the theory of special relativity, introducing key principles that transformed our understanding of space, time, and electromagnetism.

The following video provides the key insights of the paper:

Along with his other 1905 papers (photoelectric effect--for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921, Brownian motion, and mass-energy equivalence), it became part of the 'annual mirabilis' works that transformed 20th-century science.