I just realised France are playing on Bastille Day 🇫🇷 This is the Place de la Bastille, where I was a few weeks ago, when it was just the 37 degrees... 🥵 #FRAESP

Here are three books you need to read if you want to understand the rivalry between England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and Argentina 🇦🇷 📚 📘 England v Argentina by David Downing 📘 Animals! by Neil Clack 📘 El Partido by Andrés Burgo (Spanish) It’s a shame, as Argentina is one of my favourite countries! #ENGARG

5) The Language of Argentinian Football How have English words found their way into Argentinian footballing parlance, sometimes with comical iterations? @hylland.bsky.social wrote a whole book about it: open.spotify.com/episode/5bIs...

4) Football and National Identity in Argentina Why does football matter so much to Argentinians? I sat down with journalist Fernando Romero to learn more. open.spotify.com/episode/7tBI...

3) The Kentish roots of Newell's Old Boys English names are a very evident legacy of British involvement in the Argentine game. I met a descendant of Isaac Newell and spoke to some historians investigating his life ❤️🖤 #NOB open.spotify.com/episode/1SMP... 📸 @modernlepra.bsky.social

2) The Roots of Argentine Football In this podcast, I visit the key sites in early Argentine football, including the site of the first match, the British Cemetery, the BA English High School, and Quilmes AC, #Argentina's oldest club open.spotify.com/episode/6m0U...

#OnThisDay in football, 13 July 1930 - The first World Cup kicked off in Uruguay, with two matches jointly at Pocitos and Gran Parque Central (pic) 🇺🇾 1944 - "Nice one" Cyril Knowles born 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 1973 - Roberto Martínez born 🇪🇸 2007 - Lamine Yamal born 🇪🇸 2014 - Germany won a fourth World Cup 🏆

Random segue ahead of #NORENG This is Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC. At the 'Battle of Stamford Bridge' (25 Sept, 1066), English king Harold Godwinson surprised the Norsemen and ended Viking rule in England. James and Chalobah are the only Chelsea players in the tie. Will they feature? 🤔

Ahead of the biggest night in its men's football history, get to know Norway's domestic #groundhopping scene with a local @mariushelgaa.janitsjar.net 🇳🇴 ▶️ open.spotify.com/episode/776h... #NORENG #WorldCup2026 📸 @hylland.bsky.social at Vålerenga

FYI the Spanish anthem, La Marcha Real (Royal March), doesn’t have any lyrics, because they’ve never agreed any post-Franco. In the 1920s, Barça fans booed the anthem so hard that the Primo de Rivera regime banned them for several months and demanded the president step down. More in my book…

Dropping Sunday 🗞️ Ahead of the 90th anniversary of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, I look at how the conflict impacted football and footballers, and its legacy today. Sub/catch up 👉🏼 outsidewrite.substack.com #Spain #FootballHistory

My Insta feed seems to be full of negative pieces from influencers against Argentina. Not about the football team, but about the country's genetic makeup and discussions around r@cism. I've not seen that in previous tournaments. Why now? I'm guessing because of high-profile incidents since 2022.

🚨 Upcoming long-reads on Outside Write: NOW: South London - Home of Football 12/7: Football and the Spanish Civil War 19/7: The First La Liga Season 26/7: How the Working Class Took Over Football Sub/follow 👉🏼 outsidewrite.substack.com #Skystorians

Happy 159th birthday to @queensparkfc.bsky.social, founded #OnThisDay 9 July 1867 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🕷️ 🧐 First/oldest FC in Scotland 👕 Donated Scottish national side its blue shirt 🏟️ First dedicated football stadium ⚽ Credited with creating 'combination' (passing) game Loads more in my book, Origin Stories 📕

It’s 9 de Julio, Argentina’s Independence Day (1816) 🇦🇷 Have you been #groundhopping there? It’s a must. I’ve been twice but have only caught matches at seven grounds, plus visited a bunch of others. 📸 screengrab from @futbologyapp.bsky.social

As seen from a train window. Can you guess the #NonLeague ground?

Game's gone

Egypt were the first African footballing power, attending the Olympics in the 1920s. Egypt's first star was Hussein Hegazi, who was also the first Egyptian to play in England, a century before Mo Salah. From my book, Origin Stories 📕 #ARGEGY #WorldCup2026

Book reviews 🤔 My books generally rate well overall, but then you get the odd bit of feedback that you just want to jump in and comment on... but it's really the done thing. Anyway, fellow new(ish) authors, here's something I wrote on handling reviews... 👉🏼 www.linkedin.com/pulse/wisdom...

So, I finally built a portfolio website for my football-related work. I am available for: 👨🏻‍💻 Writing 🗣️ Speaking and lecturing 🎙️ Podcasts and documentaries Covering: 🧐 Football history 🔥 Football and politics 🏟️ Groundhopping and football culture More 👉🏼 www.outsidewrite.co.uk

If there had been VAR the last time England played at the Azteca… 🇲🇽 #MEXENG

I walked the coastal path from Folkestone to Dover today. I highly recommend if you have decent stamina over 3/4 hours hiking. History all over it! Martello towers, Battle of Britain memorial, early sonar, lots of concrete bunkers and a Norman castle with a Roman lighthouse! 🤯

Did you know Alfredo di Stéfano was just one of many South American players with Irish heritage? There's a whole chunk on that topic in my latest book, Shades of Green: A Journey into Irish Football 📗

Top day in SW19 🎾 Not been for about a decade. Can’t lie, given the choice, I’d chose being a tennis player over any other sport. Permanent summer, individual glory…

France 🇫🇷 v Sweden 🇸🇪 tonight Here’s why France is the home of the World Cup…and the Euros, too… 🏆 🏆 Here a link to the book I mention in this video 👉🏼 www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/origin-...

#OnThisDay 29 June 1895 ⚒️ Thames Ironworks FC was founded at a shipbuilding firm. In 1900, the club rebranded as West Ham United.

For more on Real Madrid's history and life before 'Real', listen to my interview with @miguellpereira.bsky.social, author of a new book about the club. open.spotify.com/episode/44Mt...

What's the 'Harington Cup' about, you may ask. It was a one-off match in the context of Allied troops withdrawing from modern-day Türkiye, having occupied it after defeating the Ottomans in WWI. From my book, Origin Stories...

Today's long read is all about how football (soccer) took off in the United States 🇺🇸 There was a chance in the 1920s that it could become a superpower. The original American Soccer League (ASL) was a brief spark. Read on 👉 outsidewrite.substack.com/p/what-might... #WorldCup2026 #USA

Ahead of #URUESP tonight after my Uruguayan books post, here are just five of many great books about Spanish football that you should read… 🇪🇸 📚 ⚽️ Featuring books by @miguellpereira.bsky.social @sidlowe.bsky.social @colinmillar.bsky.social and @jervisevans.bsky.social #worldcup2026 #españa