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- Moodboard: World Cup 2026
Shiny Thing$ #236: Spring ⚽ Moodboard
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In less than a month, the World Cup comes back to America, and with it comes all of the feelings and imagery that only one sport, “the beautiful game” of Fútbol, can create on a world stage. Grainy highlights from the past will start showing up in the content packages on ESPN and all over instagram very soon, so this week we wanted to get ahead of it with a timeline cleanse… a scrolling moodboard of memories, noise, color, and the romantic chaos that follows the World Cup wherever it goes.
Hungary's first goal in the 1938 World Cup final
Pele, c.1958
Brazil’s Mario Zagalo at the final whistle of the 1962 World Cup final
Brazil’s 1962 win
West Germany v England, 1966 Final
England’s Bobby Moore, lifted by his teammates off the pitch after the win
Queen Elizabeth II presents the 1966 Jules Rimet trophy to Moore
Brazil, 1970 Final
Pele, in the stands celebrating after the Final - Mexico, 1970
…he found a sombrero
Argentina celebrating the win as the host country in 1978
Diego Maradona vs Belgium, 1982
Italy’s Marco Tardelli post-goal in the 1982 Final
Diego Maradona and team Argentina celebrating in 1986
Tearful Diego Maradona after losing the 1990 Final
Germany - Champions in 1990
Italian star Roberto Baggio after famously sailing the make-or-break penalty kick in the 1994 Final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena
The miss, from above
The start of David Beckham’s villain arch - France, 1998
Brazil’s Ronaldo, 1998
Fabian Barthez collides with Brazil’s Ronaldo in the 1998 Final
Beckham redemption arch - qualifiers, 2001
Brazil’s Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Gilberto Silva after winning in 2002 - one of the greatest national teams ever assembled
Brazil celebrates, 2002
Zidane being sent off after a vicious headbutt to Italy’s Marco Materazzi in 2006 - France would play the remaining 10 minutes of the final with only 10 men, and lose in penalties
The pitch, 2014
Lionel Messi’s first and only FIFA World Cup title - December 2022 in Qatar
Lionel Messi heads to the stage for the trophy presentation after beating France in 2022
Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, awaiting World Cup 2026…
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Until Next Week…