The FIFA World Cup is always a vibrant spectacle where everyone strives to present themselves in the best and most expressive way possible.
Here are ten moments from the tournament, captured by Depositphotos photographers…
The most modern stadium of the World Cup is SoFi Stadium, located in Inglewood near Los Angeles. Opened only in 2020, it seats 70,000 spectators and is packed with the latest technological marvels available at the time (which remain state-of-the-art today). The stadium looks like a genuine extraterrestrial object. It hosts the tournament’s home team matches, two round of 16 games, and one quarterfinal.
Before us is perhaps the happiest fan of the World Cup. Her favorites, the Cabo Verde national team, are performing miracles here. They managed to avoid defeat against the European champions, Spain. So far, they have not lost to anyone in the tournament and are seriously aiming for the knockout stages. It is said that unexpected joy is the sweetest, and such feats from the islanders were certainly not anticipated!
One of the most widely recognized faces of the tournament is Spaniard Lamin Yamal, who arrived to confirm his star status earned at a very young age—too young for many to believe in such talent at first glance. But so far, Lamin is in excellent form. He has already made his mark on the pitch, breaking several age-related records, and has posed for photographers, putting on mini-performances in his unique style.
One of the official World Cup mascots is hard at work. There are actually three mascots, one for each host country. This one is Canadian, named Maple—a humanoid moose dressed in a red goalkeeper’s uniform, symbolizing creativity and resilience. The USA’s mascot is Clutch, a bald eagle in a blue outfit, representing courage, leadership, and unity. Mexico’s mascot is Zayu, a jaguar in green, embodying strength and agility. All three have been tirelessly active throughout the tournament.
Here come the Canadian fans. They seem to genuinely believe their historically modest national team can win the Gold Cup. Why not? After all, home advantage is well known to help. So far, the “Maple Leafs” have looked very impressive. To thrash Qatar 6-0 is no joke—it takes real skill to pull that off!
BC Place in Vancouver has become the main stadium for the Canadian team. It will also host one round of 16 match and one round of 8 match. For Vancouver, the World Cup is far from an exotic event as one might think. The city is home to one of the strongest MLS teams, Whitecaps, who reached the finals of the League Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League last year. Vancouver knows its football and is hosting the World Cup properly!
They say football is not ballet, and that’s true: reports of fractures, dislocations, and cruciate ligament tears often resemble battlefield dispatches. Yet, moments of ballet occasionally shine through in football. For example, in this pirouette jointly executed by two global stars—Frenchman Michael Olise and Senegalese forward Sadio Mané.
Brazilian fans are enjoying the World Cup to the fullest, extracting maximum pleasure from every form of entertainment. Even on the road, they manage to recreate a branch of the Rio carnival. The Brazilian torcida is the epitome of football passion. In the photo, they are clearly celebrating after a 3-0 victory over Haiti. The opponent may not be the strongest, but the scoreline is impressive and something to proudly show back home.
Here is Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker—charismatic and fierce as always, and sporting a strikingly decorated kit. But this is no random design or mere folk art. The pattern was created by specialists from Michael Jordan’s brand and carries deep meaning. The prints and motifs are inspired by wild Brazilian predators—jaguars, anacondas, and poisonous frogs—symbolizing the team’s speed and unpredictability. Unpredictability in a good sense, of course, not in terms of unexpected failures and early exits, which some prognosticators have predicted for Brazil.
The World Cup is not only about joy and celebration but also pain and hard work. All these emotions blend into an unimaginable cocktail. This is captured in a photo where one of world football’s hardest workers, Moroccan Ashraf Hakimi, tackles one of the most temperamental modern players, Brazilian Vinícius Júnior. The pain on Vinícius’s face is unmistakable. This is another face of football—multifaceted, just like human life itself…
