Scottish Cup First Round Results

 

In the Scottish League Cup 1st round stages, all of the games have now been played. We had a total of 9 of our teams in action, and out of them, only 5 have made it through to the Second Round knock-out stage. The teams through are ABERDEEN, AYR UNITED, DUNFERMLINE, PARTIC THISTLES and STENHOUSEMUIR. 

All of this season’s Golden Goals teams are in BOLD CAPS. 

In Group A. ABERDEEN have finished top of the group after they won all of their four games. They won their first game 2-0 away to Boa Rangers, 2-1 at home to Queens Park, 4-1 away to Queen of the South. In their last game they won 3-0 at home to Kelty Hearts. Aberdeen are on a total of 11 goals. Queens Park finished in second place. 

Group B Dundee Utd finished top with Montrose in second place. ARBROATH finished in third place after they won their opening game 2-1 away to the Spartans. Then lost their next two games, 3-0 away to Dundee Utd and 2-0 at home to Montrose. In their last game they won 1-0 at home against Stirling. Arbroath are on a total of 3 goals 

Group C St Mirren finished top. DUNFERMLINE finished in second place after they won three of their games. They lost their first game 3-0 away to East Kilbride. In their second game they won 4-0 at home against Dumbarton, then won 5-0 at home to Cove Rangers. In their last game they won 1-0 away to St Mirren. Dunfermline are on a total of 10 goals. EAST KILBRIDE finished in third place after they won their first game 3-0 at home against Dunfermline they then lost 3-2 away to Cove Rangers. In their third game they won 5-3 at home to Dumbarton. Their last game they lost 4-3 away to St Mirren. Kilbride are on a total of 13 goals. 

Group D Ross County finished top with Dundee in second place. CLYDE finished in third place after they won only two of their games. They won their opening game 1-0 at home to Airdrieonians. They lost their second game 3-1 away to Ross County. They then won their third game 4-1 at home to Annan. In their last game they lost 4-0 away to Dundee. Clyde are on a total of 6 goals. 

Group E STENHOUSEMUIR finished top after they had won their opening game 2-0 at home against Forfar and then they won again, 2-1 away to Brechin City. They drew their third game 2-2 away to Partick and then won 5-3 on penalties. They also drew their last game 0-0 at home to Livingston but won 3-1 on penalties. Stenhousemuir are on a total of 6 goals. PARTICK THISTLE finished in second place. They had won their first couple of games, 6-0 at home to Brechin, 4-0 away to Forfar. They then drew 1-1 away to Livingston, then won 3-2 on penalties. In their last game they 2-2 against Stenhousemuir and lost 5-3 on penalties. Partick are on a total of 13 goals. LIVINGSTON finished in third place after they won their first game 2-0 away to Brechin City while in their second game, they drew 1-1 against Partick and then lost 3-2 on penalties. They they won their third game 8-0 at home to Forfar. In their last game they drew 0-0 away to Stenhousemuir and then lost 3-1 on penalties. Livingston are on a total of 11 goals.  

Group F Inverness CT finished top with East Fife in second place. 

Group G AYR UNITED have finished top of the group after they had won all of their four games. They first won 3-2 away to Stranraer, 1-0 away to Falkirk, 3-0 at home to Edinburgh City. In their last game they won 4-1 at home against Alloa. Ayr are on a total of 11 goals. Falkirk finished in second place. 

Group H Kilmarnock finished in first place with Hamilton in second place. 

The Second Round Draw 

ABERDEEN v Dundee

Dundee Utd v CELTIC

DUNFERMILNE v Ross County

HEARTS v Inverness CT

HIBERNIAN v PARTICK THISTLE

Kilmarnock v AYR UNITED

RANGERS v St Mirren

STENHOUSEMUIR v Motherwell 

Ties to be played on the weekend of 15/16 August

World Cup Golden Boot 2026

 

Mbappe - France

The Golden Boot has been won by Kylian Mbappe from France with a total of 10 goals from eight games played. He has become the first player to win the Golden Boot in two consecutive World Cups.

Mbappe is the first player to reach double figures for World Cup goals since Gerd Muller 10 goals for West Germany in 1970. Mbappe is also now the World Cup all-time top scorer with 22 goals - one ahead of Argentina’s Messi.

Here are the top ten players

1.  Kylian Mbappe (France) - 10

2.  Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 8

3.  Jude Bellingham (England) - 7

4.  Erling Haaland (Norway) - 7

5.  O. Dembélé (France) - 6

6.  Harry Kane (England) - 6

7.  Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) - 5

8.  Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) - 4

9.  Julian Quinones (Mexico) - 4

10. Vinicius Junior (Brazil) - 4

Final Sheet 8

 

Here is our final sheet for our Golden Goals World Cup 2026 with our 16 winners.

                        SEMI                                          GOALS    

             FINAL    FINALS    NAME                        TOTAL   

                  1               -           D. HARRINGTON        73 

                  2              4           B. BURROUGHS            70 

                 3               6           R. WOOD                        69 

                 4               2           RICHIE WILLIAMS       67 

                 5               3           A. STUBBS                     66 

                 6             14           A. NEWMAN                  65 

                 7             16           K. SETNA                       64 

                 8               5           I. SMITH                         64 

                 9             10           B. SOPER                       64 

               10               7           M. GREGORY                63 

               11               9           M. LIDDLE                     63 

               12             11           B. MORAN                     63 

               13               8           P. REEVE                        63 

               14             20           J. BLYTH                        62 

               15             12          K. RATTLE                      61 

               16             23          J. WOOD                          61 

With the most famous football saying “They think it’s all over….It is Now” we come to a close on the 23rd World Cup tournament from joint co-hosts Canada/Mexico/USA and start to think about what if? We started off this World Cup with our joint third best number of entries in our tenth World Cup Golden Goals 2026 and we have ended up with a total of sixteen winners. 

Congratulations to DANNY HARRINGTON on winning our tenth World Cup with his winning combination of Argentina (19) England (20) France (20) Spain (14) picking up a grand total of 73 goals.

We have now entered Danny’s name into the record book with a total of 73 goals, he has now finished top in our World Cup Champions League, after smashing my record (Steve Reeve) of 54 from Brazil 2014. 

So who were the best teams that we had in the 2026 World Cup after all of the games played.

FRANCE (20) ENGLAND (20) ARGENTINA (19) SPAIN (14) total of 73 goals

GERMANY held the current record for the highest score, with that 7-1 win over Curacao in Group E in their opening game.

SCOTLAND from Group C were our worst team, as they have only picked up one goal in all of their first round games.

The fastest goal has been scored by Matías Galarza for Paraguay in Group C after they won 1-0 against Turkey in their second game in the first round. It took just 64 seconds (1 minute and 4 seconds)

Top goal scorers in the World Cup 2026 “Golden Boot” goes to France’s Kylian Mbappe with a total of 10 goals. In second place we have Argentina’s Lionel Messi, with 8 goals. In third place we have England’s Jude Bellingham and Norway’s Erling Haaland both on 7 goals, In fourth place we have France O. Dembélé and Harry Kane both with 6 goals each. In fifth place with 5 goals we have Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal. 

So how did your teams do in the Golden Goals World Cup 2026? Below are all of our 28 nations with the number of votes in RED followed by the nations and number of goals in each of the seven stages of the World Cup.

FIRST ROUND  (2) CZECH REPUBLIC 2,   (1) SCOTLAND 1, (2) SOUTH KOREA 2,  (1) TURKEY 3, (4) URUGUAY 3

SECOND ROUND (1) CAPE VERDE 4, (1) CROATIA 6, (20) GERMANY 11, (1) GHANA 2, (2) JAPAN 8, (7) NETHERLANDS 11, (3) SENEGAL 10, (1) SWEDEN 7

LAST 16 (23) BRAZIL 10, (3) CANADA 9, (2) EGYPT 8, (5) MEXICO 10, (1) PARAGUAY 3, (9) PORTUGAL 8, (1) USA 11,

QUARTER-FINALS (8) BELGIUM 14, (2) MOROCCO 10, (3) NORWAY 13, (2) SWITZERLAND 10

SEMI-FINALS None of our teams went out at this stage.

3^rd and 4^th PLAY-OFF 3^rd (18) ENGLAND 20, (22) FRANCE 20

FINAL (24) ARGENTINA 19, (30) SPAIN 14

Our goals total finished at a grand total of 249 goals for the tournament which is our highest ever score due to the extra teams and round. This beats our previous top score from the French World Cup 1998, with a total of 138 goals.

Well that’s the end to our tenth World Cup Golden Goals. The next World Cup will be held in a joint tournament once again, between Morocco, Portugal and Spain in 2030 with an possibility of 64 nations playing. Let’s hope that we will be there again with another World Cup under our belts.

Join in the Fun!

 

We have just one week before we close the books for Season 44. The good news is that we have had 72 entries back and this is beginning to look like we might pick up the same as last season’s score of 111.

But we once again have no interest from the world outside the UK. Golden Goals is a very simple and unique football competition once again. All you have to do is choose three football teams from any English or Scottish leagues or from both, pay an entry fee of £8. Sit back and watch your three team’s results as it’s their goals that count. The News Sheet will be sent to you each week via email.

The goals come from League games, League Cup and the the FA Cup. Cash prize money is paid out every week with £100 to our next Champion at the end of the season.

If you would like to know more about the rules and entry form, then you can e-mail me Steve at goldengoals1983@gmail.com  once the deadline of midnight 27 July 2026, you will not be able to take part. 

The most popular combination that I have been asked for this season is Celtic, Leicester City and West Ham. PLEASE DO NOT PICK THESE AS THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN TAKEN. 

Spain Are World Champions

 

Holders ARGENTINA played against SPAIN in the 23rd final. Both of these teams like a bit of rough and tumble, but the first 15 minutes was just football but then the fouls started. Argentina picked up the first yellow card for Martinez, but he was substituted just before half time. Spain had most of the play in the first half and they had just two shots at goal. Argentina did not have one single shot on target. A very disappointing fist half then.

In the second half Argentina came out and started to play a bit better, but they got yet another card for Paredes as tempers start to flair. Argentina make yet another substitution, but it’s Spain’s turn to put the pressure on.  Spain get a free kick just outside the box, Lamine Yamal’s takes it, but nothing comes of it. 60 minutes have now been played Spain still having most of the ball now. Spain could of scored but it was headed straight at the goalkeeper in the 67th minute. Argentina’s Messi has been very quiet throughout the game so far. 75 minutes and Spain make two substitutions as they keep piling on the pressure. Spain have a corner but the header was poor straight at the goalkeeper again. Another yellow card for Argentina this time for Fernandez. 85th minutes for diving, and Argentina have still not had a shot on target. Spain have now had 8 shots on target but still no goals. 90+3 and Fernandez is set off for his second yellow card after a very bad foul. Yamal takes a free kick with the last kick of the game, but his shot is saved by the goalkeeper again. Into extra time after a very disappointing 90 minutes of the World Cup final.

In extra time 10 men Argentina still under pressure from Spain and they nearly, once again, score a goal. Great save by the goal keeper from another shot from Yamal. Spain then score but it’s disallowed after a foul on the goalkeeper in the 96th minute. This game has become one sided but still no goals. Still the pushing and shoving goes on. In the second half of extra time, within the first minute, Spain’s Ferran Torres scores straight into the back of the net, and puts Spain in the lead. Torres score’s again in the 23rd minute but is disallowed for offside. Argentina have a strike but missed, following a free kick. Argentina have a corner but the volley went right over the bar. Final whistle and Spain win 1-0.

Spain become World Champions for the second time, after they first won the title back in South Africa in 2010. They beat Holland 1-0. Spain have finished with a total of 14 goals which is their best that they have done with Golden Goals. Argentina finished with a total of 19 goals which is also their best with us.

3rd/4th Play-off

 

ENGLAND played FRANCE and neither of these two teams had played well in their semi-final games. England had a really bad game against Argentina after going a goal up, lost the game 2-1. France lost 2-0 against Spain in a game that they really did not want to play in.

England started off well in the first-half making most of the moves. It was not long before they went a goal up in the 3rd minute with a lovely individual goal and his first of the tournament, Declan Rice captain of the day. Saka nearly made it two after 12 minutes, but was rules off-side. France responded with a few quick attacks but they had poor finishing. England scored again from Ezri Konsa with a header coming off the post in the 18th minute. Why could England not do this against Argentina? France nearly came back in to the game with a Mbappe, but was off side in the 28th minute. England still had control of this game and another goal was added from Bukayo Saka in the 37th minute. The French heads started to look low as England kept up the pressure. Just before half-time, Saka scored again in the 45+1 to give England the 4-0 lead. It was an incredible first half for England.

In the second half you just knew that things were going to change as the French changed four subs at the start of the second half. What a difference that made to the game. Kylian Mbappe scored in the 48th minute with his 9th goal of the tournament. England started to struggle with the French attacks, as Bradley Barcola scored in the 54th minute his 3rd of the tournament. Mbappe score’s again in the 66th minute. 4-3 England now all over the place as their attacks end with bad finishing. France could have been in the lead at this point with great saves from the England keeper, Dean Henderson kept the score down. Jude Bellingham came off the subs bench in the 79th minute and that made an immediate impact on England’s momentum. England get a penalty in the 87th minute as Spence is brought down in the box. Saka takes the penalty and scored his hat-trick. 5-3 now. France never gave up and scored another goal in the 90+6 by Ousmane Dembélé his 6th of the tournament. 5-4 and the ending of the game is not over yet as Jude Bellingham scored a fantastic individual goal, England’s 6th goal and his 7th of the tournament. The game ends 6-4 to England who have finished in third place in this World Cup.

This was England’s best performance since they won the World Cup in 1966. Both teams finished on a total of 20 goals each. This game could have been the final of the World Cup it was fantastic to watch these two teams in action. Mbappe of France is now in the lead for the “Golden Boot” with 10 goals.

Sheet Seven

Well here we are with our next news sheet. The last one will be here after the final has been played. Here are our top 15 players in our winning frame.

     SEMI  QUARTER                                                    GOALS    

          FINALS   FINALS    NAME                                      TOTAL   

                1               3           D. HARRINGTON (A/E/F/SP)    62 

                2               1           RICH WILLIAMS (A/F/SP)        62 

                3               4           A. STUBBS (A/F/SP)                   61 

                4               2           B. BURROUGHS (A/E/F)           60 

                5               6           I. SMITH (A/F/SP)                      59 

                6              5            R. WOOD (A/E/F)                       59 

                7              -            M. GREGORY (A/F/SP)              58 

                8              9           P. REEVE (A/F/SP)                      58 

                9              8           M. LIDDLE (A/E)                        57

              10            12           B. SOPER (A/E/SP)                     57 

              11            14           B. MORAN (A/E/SP)                   56 

              12            11           K. RATTLE (A/F/SP)                   56 

              13            10           S. THOMSON (A/F)                    56 

              14            15           A. NEWMAN (E/F/SP)               54

              15            13           D. BARRETT (A)                        53 

Here is how the table stands after all of our teams that were left after the Semi-Finals. Their scores have been added to your totals. You will see that I have printed a red BOLD letter’s against your name. This letter indicates the teams that you have left in the World Cup 2026. Please note to re-cap on our rules that extra time goals DO count, but penalty shoot-outs DON’T!

The letters are for (A) Argentina (B) (E) England (F) France  (Sp) Spain

As you can see from the table above, that we have joint leaders with Danny Harrington and Richie Williams both on a total of 62 goals. Danny has Argentina, England, France and Spain while, Richie has Argentina, Belgium, France and Spain.

We had just three players who picked up the highest score after the semi-final games, with a total of 5 goals each. They were Danny Harrington, who still has all of his teams in action, and could be our Champion. Bailey Moran and Bob Soper.

So who are the best teams that we have in the 2026 World Cup after the semi-final games. 

ARGENTINA (19) FRANCE (16) BELGIUM (14) ENGLAND (14) total of 63 goals

All but one of our teams have scored in the semi-final games, and they have collected a total of 5 goals. The team that did not score was FRANCE.

GERMANY still holds the current record for the highest score, with that 7-1 win over Curacao in Group E in their opening game.

SCOTLAND from Group C are our worst team, as they have only picked up one goal in all of their first round games.

The fastest goal has been scored by Matías Galarza for Paraguay in Group C after they won 1-0 against Turkey in their second game in the first round. It took just 64 seconds (1 minute and 4 seconds)

Top goal scorers in the World Cup 2026 “Golden Boot” are at the moment Argentina’s Lionel Messi, and France’s Kylian Mbappe both with 8 goals. In Second place we have Norway’s Erling Haaland on 7 goals, In third place we have England’s Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane both with 6 goals each. In fourth place with 5 goals each we have France O. Dembélé and Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal. 

In the last Golden Goals World Cup 2022 we reached a total of 124 goals after the semi-finals, In this World Cup, our teams have scored a total of 5 goals after the semi-final games and a fantastic total of 238 goals over the tournament to date.  

So we can now confirm that in the 3rd and 4th play-offs to be played this Saturday

between ENGLAND v FRANCE and in the Final on Sunday, it’s ARGENTINA v SPAIN.