Last call for Leo: Messi's 21 years with Argentina
Plus: his five best games, USMNT 3-0 Mexico and England score SEVEN
Newsletter archive
Every round from behind the bar, collected in one place. Twice a week since day one.
Why USA vs Mexico is North America's biggest grudge match
Plus: Ronaldo walks out on Portugal, the team with 3 wins in 36 years, and an Irish wondergoal
USMNT win 4-1: the menu for this fall and the road to 2030
Plus: A 4-1 win, a 16-year-old starter, and everything that lies between today and the 2030 World Cup for the Men's National Team
Why Man City could be kicked out of the Premier League
Plus: the 114 charges City have been found guilty of, Ronaldo's countdown to 1,000 goals, and a festival beer with Harry Kane
All you need to know about the international break
Plus: why the Premier League is putting its feet up for three weeks, Arsenal's shock defeat, and the first game in international soccer history
The Red Card Hall of Shame
League Cup upsets, Premier League preview and a beer with Liverpool's Szoboszlai
What happens when you get a red card?
Plus: Wrexham's wretched weekend, Drake collabs for a soccer jersey, and the Manchester Derby referee has a Sunday to forget
Manchester's loudest day of the season is here
Plus: the results from our Monday poll, German fans make a rollercoaster in their own stadium (really), and the man who funded his coaching license by winning Who Wants o Be a Millionaire (yes, really really)
What makes a derby a derby?
Plus: Champions League Matchday 1 arrives, a massive upset in Spain, and why Norway's biggest export drinks Ringnes
Getting up and staying up
Plus: the good and bad of Wrexham's 26/27 promotion chances, the new most expensive midfielder in Premier League history, and a seminal moment in European soccer 71 years ago today
Nobody invites you to the Premier League
Plus: Messi's shock retirement, things go from bad to worse at Tottenham, and a Super Bock with Bruno
Messi & Ronaldo: the end is near
Who just mentioned retirement this week, how long do they actually have left, and what's their greatest ever game?
How to buy a soccer club
Plus: Bezos buys into Liverpool, a 17-year-old breaks a 30-year record, and the false 9 explained
Under new management
New managers, Arsenal's weird bonus shootout, and your offside cheat sheet
Transfer deadline day: explained
Plus: the three magic words that make a deal official, Salah's shock new club, and soccer's two biggest powers are at war
The Transfer Machine, Explained
Plus: preseason chaos across three continents, an update on FIFA's power struggle, and why medicals can kill a deal
Your favorite player is currently in panic mode — here's why
5 reason's players (literally) sweat their way through pre-season, Poch signs on for four more, and a legend of the game retires
5 reasons why pre-season actually matters: a club hierarchy POV
Wondering why Premier League clubs have spent £1.3 billion this summer? Why five of the league's best clubs have new managers? How one British player just shattered the transfer record? What pre-season actually looks like behind the scenes? Joe's got you covered.
Your World Cup Wrapped
Plus: The first ever annual JOEYS, the bar crawl comes home and what is next for the USMNT
Last Call on the World Cup
Plus: How the main battles in New Jersey were won, The players who picked up awards and I give my sincere apologies.
The Biggest Game in Sports
Plus: The academy that created both Messi and Yamal, the price of Metlife tickets and the first ever World Cup Final Half Time Show.
The Final Four
Plus: What Neymar is up to now, the beer region of France, Haaland lookalikes and the beer between England and Argentina.
The Anatomy of a Comeback
Plus: Team USA bow out, England v the Vikings and the second youngest player ever at a World Cup
How do Underdogs do it?
Plus: Team USA, more Cape Verde and why Fridays newsletter was all wrong.
Is it last call for Balogun?
Plus: Goodbye Germany, A Scottish pub gets a rebrand and the co-hosts continue the party.
Explained: the round of 32
Plus: Canadian dreamland, the player too fat for soccer (and how he turned it around), and the Ronaldo & Messi showdown is over
It's official: the greatest goalscorer in World Cup history is...
Plus: the USA lose (but still win?), Ronaldo grabs the spotlight and a fully-grown man is mistaken for a child
The lesser known MVP award
Plus: Another unknown player goes viral, Spain return and why do we have draws at the World Cup?
For the love of club (and country)
Plus: Oh Canada, Spain's rebound and how Scottish fans have improved diplomatic relations with the USA.
The USMNT start in style
Plus: Brazil start strong, why soccer teams run up the score and what manager has already lost his job.
Welcome to the Summer of Soccer
Plus: How the 48 team World Cup actually works, Mexico’s explosive opener, Canada’s golden generation, Scotland’s return after 26 years, and a miracle comeback after a fractured skull.
The World Cup is (almost) here
Plus: New rules for the World Cup, a Liverpool legend hangs up his boots, USMNT v Germany recap and one last dance for Messi
The most iconic World Cup of all time is...?
With just seven days to go, I look back at the five most iconic editions in World Cup history, the US gets ready for one last warm-up tomorrow, and the player who almost missed his own wedding just to train. You don't want to miss this one.
Soccer's off-season
Plus: Heartbreak in Budapest for Arsenal, what 'sacked' means in soccer, Liverpool searching for a new coach and, can Argentina win the World Cup again?
Champions League royalty
PLUS: Messi gets injured two weeks before the world cup starts, USMNT play their final WC warm-up game vs Senegal on Sunday, Champions League final preview and who was Ferenc Puskás?
A weekend of goodbyes
Arsenal lift the Premier League trophy for the first time in 20 years, USMNT World Cup team announcement and from the English second divison to European soccer in a year, Sunderland's dramatic rise
Arsenal's 22-year wait is over
Arsenal are champions, Ronaldo's Saudi dream has come true and Brazil's best ever player has defied the odds to be selected for his nation's World Cup squad
The 8 different trophies in English soccer (and the ones that actually matter)
Plus: FA Cup Final recap, a US legend turns 55, and the best jerseys at the 2026 World Cup
The oldest trophy in soccer (and who's gonna win it tomorrow)
The FA Cup explained. Plus: Messi's big payday, the 2026 World Cup's biggest underdogs (that actually have a chance) and who's getting relegated from the Premier League?
The six best forwards at the 2026 World Cup
Plus: Help me pour a better pint, a coach in England has just been caught spying on opposition training sessions while hiding in a bush, and the quickest goal in World Cup history
The best (and worst) penalty of all time?
Penalties explained. Real Madrid's dressing room civil war. Mexico's World Cup meltdown. From the most dramatic 12 yards in soccer to training ground punch-ups that landed players in the hospital, today's edition has it all.
How many games does a soccer team actually play a year?
Plus: It's Champions League semi-final time, the two USMNT players who really (really) can't get injured before the World Cup, and the tragic story of the Torino plane crash in 1949
The single most valuable game in sports
English soccer's promotion and relegation system produces the Championship playoff final — a game worth $136 to the winner — and this Saturday Wrexham find if they'll qualify for it. Meanwhile, the Champions League served up NINE goals in Paris and one England fan is selling his house to attend the World Cup.
Who are the best teams in each European league?
Plus: the stadium serving 13 million million beers and what horses have to do with soccer
Promotion and relegation: explained
Yes, teams do actually get kicked out of the league
So who's going to win the Premier League?
What Manchester City beating Arsenal means for the title race
VAR: soccer's CCTV system, explained
Plus: Arsenal face their biggest game in years and someone just abandoned the USMNT ship
Nike just stole soccer's crown jewel
Plus: Rory, relegation battles and a workers' strike at the World Cup
Soccer's five newest rules explained
Plus: the USMNT's best striker, Wrexham get thumped, and a 66-year wait for a trophy
The Champions League explained
Plus: the competition's most successful ever club, coach and player
Why World Cup 2026 will be unlike any other
Plus: the first-ever World Cup, an Irishman in Buenes Aires and LEGO breaks the internet
The worst thing about international soccer
Plus: where Turkey is on a map, Pulisic's crisis and 30 red cards
Soccer jersey numbers explained
Plus: The old fashioned #9, a wrong knee, and a very (very) sad Irishman
The Carabao Cup explained
The trophy nobody cares about (until they're in the final)
A bar crawl through Messi's 900 career goals
On tap: Famous Messi goals, red cards and handballs
Happy St Patrick's Day from The Tap-Inn
Our most Irish edition ever and why there's no better day to bring someone new to the bar.
The art of the set-piece
Plus: Bruno Fernandes breaking records and Champions League preview
Soccer's unbroken record is about to be broken
Plus: Champions League records, USMNT World Cup news, and why The Tap-Inn needs your help
Aguerrroooooooo
Why soccer loves a late goal, Wrexham in the FA Cup, Messi vs Ronaldo: the last dance?
The EPL run-in
And why Boston may not be hosting games in the World Cup this summer
Why a soccer player can cost over $250m
Plus: Cristiano Ronaldo's new club and Brazil's World Cup chances
The name’s Glimt, Bodø/Glimt.
Explained: the biggest Champions League underdog story in years
The art of the sub (no, not the sandwich)
Substitutions explained, Ronaldo's Atlanta visit, and a bad night for Messi
The most predictable club in England
Plus: a USMNT history maker in the UEFA Champions League
Why soccer managers are always getting fired
Plus: getting binned on live TV and NFL sacking comparisons
Lamine Yamal: soccer's next superstar?
Plus: why one Manchester United fan has been waiting 496 days for a haircut
You're offside, mate
Plus: Wrexham's big day and Haaland's Anfield moment
Soccer's transfer window explained
And why today can make or break a team's season
An all-time great Champions League goal
Plus: how not to spend $60m, January transfer record breakers, rip-off tickets
Why Canada won't win the World Cup (and why they could)
Plus: a new manager bounce for Man United and a very special birthday
How soccer formations shape the game
And what parking buses has to do with Soccer 🚌
AFCON Final drama
Senegal win title after fights, walk-off, missed 90'+24' penalty
Soccer league tables explained
And the best single season in Premier League history
The biggest upset in soccer history?
And Salah sends Egypt into the AFCON Semi-Finals
One team, many fronts: soccer competitions explained
And the Premier League's highest-scoring game of all time
Football vs Soccer. Who's to blame?
Plus: TWO Premier League managers are dismissed and who's the oldest player to ever play in the World Cup?
Mexico: third time lucky?
Plus - what a standard ball should look like, The Hand of God and AFCON latest
2025's Top 10 Moments
And is Cristian Pulisic dating a Hollywood A-lister?
AFCON has arrived
and Mbappe equals a Ronaldo record
What makes a soccer rivalry
And where is the World Cup Final being held?
Messi Causes a Riot
and how to 'Bend It Like Beckham'
Did Pulisic just become the best player in Italy? 🧐
Plus Messi's secret position at Barcelona and a Champions League record gets smashed
What we learned from the World Cup Draw
One last Messi vs Ronaldo Showdown? 🤞
The World Cup Draw Is Finally Here 🇺🇸
And what countries actually win anything in soccer?
Why soccer teams have soo many kits
And Liverpool's woes continue
Who the hell are FIFA?
And Pulisic shines in Milan
Winners Go Up. Losers Go Down.
Here’s How Promotion and Relegation Works.
Penalties: The Most Stressful Kick in Soccer, Explained
USMNT bust-up with Paraguay after 2-1 win
Why the Clock Never Stops in Soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo sees red in Dublin
Subs.
No, I'm not talkin' sandwiches
The perfect way to play soccer
Tiki-Taka or Route One?
Why Ties Are a Thing (and When They Aren’t)
And TAA returns to Anfield
World Cup 2026: The Biggest World Cup Ever
And what's a tap in?
Yellow, yellow, red. Making sense of soccer's card system.
And how The Tap-Inn bouncer (referee) keeps the house in order.
How to read a soccer lineup
And looking ahead to El Clásico 🇪🇸 this week
Why Soccer Teams Play in So Many Competitions
Plus the Uefa Champions League returns
How to read a league table
And Cape Verde become the second smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup
Why The Soccer Clock Never Stops
And did the USMNT win this weekend?
How teams qualify for the World Cup
And who are the USMNT playing this week?
We need to talk about penalties.
Plus a USMNT showdown in Turin
Why This World Cup Will Be Unlike Any Other
And are the USMNT in with a shot?