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Morning everyone
Happy early Father’s Day to all the dads out there! Big sporting weekend with the World Cup and US Open on and in full swing.
Let’s get into the biggest global sporting event there is.
🗓️ Today in History
June 19th, 1865 – Juneteenth
Every year on June 19, Americans celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States. While President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, that Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that enslaved people were free, more than two years after the proclamation was signed. The day became a powerful symbol of freedom, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of equality. Today, Juneteenth is recognized as a federal holiday and serves as a reminder of a pivotal moment in American history when the promise of liberty finally reached the last enslaved Americans.
❓ Trivia
What player has won the most world cups?
P.S. We’re now breaking down the answers at the end of each edition, so you get a little more insight.
The Game That Takes Over The Planet
Every four years, the World Cup captures the attention of billions and reminds us why it's considered the most significant tournament in sports. Nations don't just compete for a trophy, they play for pride, history, and bragging rights that can last generations. Legendary rivalries like Brazil vs. Argentina, England vs. Germany, and France vs. Italy have produced some of the most dramatic moments ever seen on a field. For a few weeks, entire countries stop what they're doing, living and dying with every goal, making the World Cup less of a tournament and more of a global obsession.
From shocking upsets and miracle goals to controversial calls and unlikely heroes, every edition seems to produce something that fans talk about for decades. Whether it's a teenager becoming an overnight superstar, an underdog nation stunning a soccer powerhouse, or a legendary player cementing his place in history, the World Cup has a way of delivering drama that no scriptwriter could ever match, both on and off the pitch. Let’s dive into some instances.
Stolen Trophies
The World Cup’s history isn’t just about what happens on the pitch, it’s also had its share of wild off-field drama, including the infamous theft of the original Jules Rimet Trophy. First awarded in 1930, the trophy became the ultimate prize in world football, but in 1966 it was stolen right out of an exhibition in England just months before the World Cup kicked off. The search turned into a national one until it was unexpectedly recovered by a dog named Pickles, who found it wrapped in newspaper under a bush during a walk with his owner. England had narrowly avoided a global embarrassment, and the trophy went on to be lifted by World Cup winners again in the years that followed.
The story takes an even darker turn in 1983 after Brazil had been awarded permanent possession of the Jules Rimet Trophy for winning their third World Cup in 1970. Despite being kept in a supposedly secure display case at the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in Rio, the trophy was stolen by thieves who broke in and took it without setting off alarms. Unlike its 1966 rescue mission, this time there was no happy ending—the trophy was never recovered and is widely believed to have been melted down and sold. The Jules Rimet’s disappearance one of the most infamous unsolved thefts in sports history.
2022 World Cup Final
Many soccer fans consider the 2022 World Cup Final between Argentina and France to be the greatest championship match ever played. For nearly 80 minutes, Argentina appeared to have complete control, building a 2-0 lead and looking ready to cruise to the title. Then, in a stunning turnaround, Kylian Mbappé scored twice in less than two minutes, transforming what looked like a comfortable victory into coin toss.
The chaos continued in extra time as Lionel Messi put Argentina back in front, only for Mbappé to answer yet again and complete a hat trick on the biggest stage in the world. With the score tied 3-3 after 120 exhausting minutes, the championship came down to a penalty shootout. Argentina finally emerged victorious, giving Messi the one trophy that had eluded him throughout his legendary career. Six goals, multiple lead changes, superstar performances, and a storybook ending combined to create a final that will be talked about for generations.
Barefoot withdrawal
One of the strangest stories in World Cup history involves the Indian national team and a pair of shoes. India qualified for the 1950 World Cup, but a long-standing tale claims the team withdrew because FIFA would not allow its players to compete barefoot, as many Indian players had done in international competition. While historians note that travel costs and logistical issues also played a major role in India's withdrawal, the barefoot controversy became the story that took the headlines. Whether entirely true or partly myth, the image of a World Cup team missing its chance on soccer's biggest stage because of a footwear dispute remains one of the tournament's most unusual and enduring legends.
Battle of Nuremburg
The “Battle of Nuremberg” is the nickname given to one of the most chaotic World Cup matches ever played: the 2006 group-stage clash between Portugal and Netherlands in Nuremberg.
What was supposed to be a high-level knockout-style showdown turned into pure chaos. From the opening minutes, tackles flew in harder than passes, and the game quickly spiraled out of control. The referee, Valentin Ivanov, ended up issuing a record 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards in a match so physical and heated that players were more focused on surviving challenges than creating chances. Both teams had moments of quality, but the game is remembered far more for its brutality than its football.
By the final whistle, Portugal had edged a 1–0 win, but the real story was the discipline record and the sheer tension that never let up for 90 minutes. Fans and media quickly labeled it the “Battle of Nuremberg,” and it remains one of the most infamous examples of a World Cup match completely boiling over on the biggest stage.
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The Wild World of the Van Gogh Truthers
In 1990, after years of practicing medicine and reviewing Van Gogh’s case history via his hundreds of letters, Arenberg published a paper in JAMA diagnosing Van Gogh as suffering not from epilepsy, as the artist’s physician claimed a century earlier, but from Ménière’s disease, an inner-ear affliction that can cause vertigo, of which Van Gogh complained, and tinnitus, a persistent ringing in the ears. Ménière’s, to Arenberg, could better explain Van Gogh’s decision to slice off his ear. After retiring, in 2017, Arenberg recommitted himself to studying Van Gogh and became convinced that art historians had made an even more alarming mistake: Van Gogh had not committed suicide. He’d been murdered.
Read the article for free on Air Mail, a lively digital read for the world citizen, with stories both foreign and domestic that you won’t find anywhere else, written by some of the world’s finest journalists.
🍽️ Last Bite
🎰 Trivia Breakdown
One stat immediately separates Pelé from everyone else: he's the only player in history to win three FIFA World Cups. The Brazilian legend first captured the trophy as a 17-year-old phenom in 1958, then added titles in 1962 and 1970. His dazzling combination of speed, skill, and goal-scoring ability helped transform soccer into a truly global sport, and his 1970 squad is still considered one of the greatest teams ever assembled. Plenty of stars have won championships, but more than 50 years later, no player has matched Pelé's record of three World Cup victories, a feat that remains one of the most untouchable achievements in sports.
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