Well folks, we finally made it. Welcome to the first World Cup edition of The Tap-Inn. Where, as always, you can tap in to the world of soccer with me, your Irish Tap-Inn bartender, Joe. 🍻

On tap today:

Ready? I thought so. Let’s pour.

I’m switching our format up a little now that we’re in World Cup season. Every newsletter is going to start with the things we love the most. Beer. Goals.

To get us started, how about the most iconic goal in World Cup history?

In the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England, Diego Maradona scored one of football’s most iconic goals by sprinting 60 yards from his own half, outmanoeuvring all the English defenders, and lobbing the ball into the net in a 10-second solo run.

The match was steeped in tension following the Falklands War four years earlier, and his goal became a defining moment of that tournament.

It remains the ultimate World Cup individual goal. Genius.

It's Friday afternoon, it's been a long week, but we made it. The first World Cup weekend is here. Now before you down your tools, shut your laptops and park up the trucks, there's one very important task left to complete. Figuring out how this whole tournament actually works. Don't worry, I'll keep it short, the first round's on me. Let's get into it.

“So, how does this thing start?”

Like every great party, the World Cup starts with everyone split into smaller groups. Twelve groups in total, four teams in each, which gives us our 48. Inside each group it's three points for a win, one for a tie, nothing for a loss. Think of it as a mini NFL regular season, just squeezed into two and a half weeks instead of eighteen. The group stage kicked off yesterday with Mexico against South Africa and runs through to June 27.

Now, getting out of your group. Finish first or second and you're through automatically. That's 24 teams booked in. Then the eight best third-placed teams sneak through the side door too, like the mates who always fine a way to talk their way past the bouncer. That leaves 32 still standing, the biggest bracket a World Cup has ever had. 

Then come the knockouts. Think of these as the playoffs. From here it's win or go home, no ties allowed. Any game still level after 90 minutes heads to extra time, and if it's needed, penalties. No second chances, no "we'll get 'em next week" Round of 32, then 16, then the quarters, and the semis, in every round half the teams clear out. There's no ‘Knicks in 5’ here. Lose a game and you're packing your bags. Any March Madness fan knows the feeling. One bad night and the summer's over.

And then we get down to it. After 39 days and 104 games across the US, Canada, and Mexico, two teams will be left standing for the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium. One will lift the trophy. 

“So, when is the final, Joe??”

Hey, the final is 38 days off. For now, the bar's open and the best ever summer of soccer is here. Just pull up a stool. What can I get ya?

Origin: This one came from the racetrack. In 1800’s England, a "dark horse" was a runner the gamblers knew nothing about, impossible to price and quick to empty your wallet.

Definition: A team nobody's backing that quietly goes a lot deeper than anyone expected. Careful though, this isn't your no-hoper getting battered every game. That's an underdog. A dark horse is the side flying under the radar with a real chance of going far.

Example: "Don’t sleep on Morocco. Proper dark horses. Nobody gave them a prayer in 2022 and they only went and reached the semifinals, the first African nation ever to do it. Write them off at your own peril."

Mexico kicked off the fiesta in style. Mexico had never won a World Cup opener. Not once, in eight tries. Until Thursday at the Azteca.

The southern hosts beat South Africa 2-0 to get the whole show rolling, and a packed Estadio Azteca roared alone with every bit of it. Julián Quiñones lashed in the tournament's very first goal inside nine minutes, sliding it clean through the keeper's legs. You could feel the nerves drain out of the place.

Raúl Jiménez added the second after the break, and there's quite a story behind that one (more on him below). It did get feisty: three straight red cards were shown, a record for a World Cup opener, and more than the last two world cups combined. South Africa finished with nine men. Not always pretty. But for the home crowd, the perfect first game. Vamos.

Mexico v South Africa wasn’t the only show in town yesterday.

🇰🇷 South Korea 2-1 Czechia. Comeback kings. Czechia nicked the lead with a header off a long throw-in, but Korea roared back through Hwang In-beom and substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu to snatch the 3 points. Son Heung-min missed a hatful and Korea still go level with Mexico atop Group A.

🎉 Three parties, one tournament. For the first time ever, the World Cup is throwing a separate opening ceremony in each host country. Parties across Mexico City, Toronto and LA, what’s not to like?

The best fixtures for the coming few days are:

🇺🇸 USA v Paraguay (Friday, 9pm ET, Los Angeles). The big one. Pochettino's USA open their home World Cup at the gleaming SoFi Stadium.

🇧🇷 Brazil v Morocco (Saturday, 6pm ET, New Jersey). Brazil have won the WC five times but not since 2002. Morocco are the side that stunned the planet by reaching the semis in 2022. Box office.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Haiti v Scotland (Saturday, 9pm ET, Boston). Two long droughts ending at once. Scotland are back for the first time since 1998. Haiti are here for the first time since 1974, only their second World Cup ever.

2022 Result: Group Stage (0 points)
Best World Cup finish: Unfortunately also 2022, Group Stage (2022 return after 36 years, finished 4th in Group F)
Star player: Alphonso Davies (pace, power, and the nation’s hopes rolled into one)
Top-selling beer: Molson Canadian
Joe’s favourite city: Vancouver (for the mix of mountains, ocean views, and a dangerously good craft beer scene)

Canada arrive with a golden generation that’s finally put them back on the soccer map. They have serious athleticism. But they are still learning at this level. Expect flashes of brilliance mixed with harsh lessons against more experienced sides.

Back in November 2020, playing for Wolves, Raúl Jiménez clashed heads with Arsenal's David Luiz and fractured his skull. There was bleeding on the brain, emergency surgery that same night, and doctors who later told him straight that surviving was a miracle.

Eight months on, he was back, playing with a protective headband. Then came a move to Fulham, a fourth World Cup, and on Thursday, in front of a roaring Azteca on home soil, he rose to head home his first ever World Cup goal. Five and a half years after the doctors weren't sure he'd live, never mind play.

He dropped to his knees and pointed to the sky. Some comebacks you just raise a glass to.

Scotland are back at a World Cup for the first time since 1998, and their fans aren't letting it pass quietly. The Tartan Army descended on Boston this week and reportedly drank several flights clean out of beer on the way over. They’ve also been surpsied that not everyone in Boston is as excited as they are. As a man who pours for a living, I can only salute the commitment. They face Haiti on Saturday.

Yesterday, the Estadio Azteca became the only stadium on earth to open three different World Cups. 2026, 1970 and 1986. This is hallowed ground, 7,200 feet up in the thin Mexico City air. Pelé lifted the trophy here in 1970. Maradona scored both the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" here in 1986, then lifted the cup himself.

The only ground where both legends won it all. A proper cathedral, they don't build them like this anymore.

Good question!

Referees at the 2026 World Cup earn around $100,000 as a base participation fee for the tournament.

They’ll also pocket per-match bonuses:

So while they’re not on Lionel Messi’s salary, they’re shouldn’t be worried about picking up the tab.

If you’d like to submit your own question about soccer or the World Cup. Email: [email protected] (But please don’t ask me for dating advice, that costs extra)

As they say in Quebec, À votre santé!

Have a friend who is all of a sudden - a big soccer guy - why not share The Tap-Inn with them so they actually understand what’s going on. Slainté.