Exeter Out of League Cup

 

In our last game of the first round of the League Cup, EXETER CITY had a player sent off in the 87th minute, and then lost 2-0 away to Plymouth with two late goals in injury time.  

Week One

Well here we are with our 44th Season of Golden Goals and a very big welcome to you all and what a season we are going to have once again. As you can see that we have ended up with a total of 124 entries in this seasons competition, and I would like to thank everyone who has helped us to get to that figure which managed to get in to the top ten best season’s of  Golden Goals in fourth place. It is with great regret that we did not reach our record total of 149 from the 2017/18 season. Although we have seen some names missing from last season, we have gained another 6 new players this season. 

So who is going to be our 44th Champion and win that £110 prize money? We will find out in the next forty-two weeks time but I wish you all the very best of luck.

So here we go once again with another kick-off for our 44th consecutive season of GOLDEN GOALS

You will see from the above table that we have a total of 18 past Champions playing this season, including 3 two time winners. Our last season Champion is also back, and they are Vincent Cruickshank. Vincent has changed his winning combination from last season to Cambridge United, Manchester City and Southampton. We also have a total of 24 ladies playing in this season competition.

So how did the voting of teams for this season finally end up. It was MANCHESTER CITY that picked up the biggest number of votes, with a total of 38. Last season they had a total of 19 votes and scored a total of 113 goals, so this was no surprise that they would be  most voted English team this season.

With our Scottish teams, CELTIC, after picking up 70 votes last season, they picked up just 41 votes this season. Staying with the Scottish teams, the second highest voted team comes from the premiership again and they are RANGERS with just 18 votes, which is up from last seasons total of 10. The Scottish teams had a good turn out this season with a total of 13 teams once more being picked. We have just 5 teams from the Premiership and 6 from the Championship. In League’s One and Two we have 1 team in each league. 

With the English teams things have changed as they always do in this competition. We have a total of 14 Premiership teams in this years competition with MANCHESTER CITY being our top team with 38 votes this season.  Next comes WEST HAM UNITED with 37 votes. Last season they had just 2 votes. In third place with 31 votes we have ARSENAL. They were our second voted team last season with 26 votes. In fourth place came LIVERPOOL. They have 29 votes compared to 49 last season. Our fifth voted teams are CHELSEA with 20 votes. They had 12 vote last season. In the Championship we have picked up 13 teams, while in League One we have 11, and 8 teams taken from League Two.

We have one team that are back into the football league and Golden Goals this season and they are National League winners YORK CITY with 1 vote. York return to League Two after ten seasons of non-league football. They have appeared in seven seasons with Golden Goals. They became our 14th voted English team when they first appeared in our very first season of 1983/84. finishing on a total of 100 goals, which turned out to be their highest end of season goals total. Last time that we had York was back in the 1999/00 season where they finished on a total of 40 goals. In their previous seven seasons, they have netted a total of 493 goals, and that gives them an average score of 70 goals per season.

So on with the competition and this week’s sheet shows you all the games that have been played up to and including the 9th August. Any games that have been played before and up to Friday the 7th August, have all been counted as midweek goals, so some of you have a bit of a lead already for the 100 Midweek Cash Jackpot of £50.

Week One we had our very first winner of the new season, who won on a total of 11 goals to win the first £6 weekend prize money. Our winner is JED WEARDEN. 

Jed started with Golden Goals back in our 2010/11 Season and finished in 73rd place out of 109 players. Jed ended the season with a grand total of 250 goals. Last season he finished in 80th place out of 111 with a total of 235 goals. His winning teams are 

                                        CELTIC 5, LUTON TOWN 3, WEST HAM UNITED 3

WEEKEND RESULTS

We have had a good start to the season with plenty of goals but we had one of our team picking up the highest score over the weekend with 5 goals. They were from the Scottish Premiership  CELTIC, after they won their second league game 5-1 away to Kilmarnock. Celtic started with Golden Goals back in our very first season of 1983/84, where they became our 2nd voted Scottish team. In that season they ended with a total of 116 goals. They have hit 100 or more goals in 23 of their 44 seasons to date. They hold the record for the most goals scored with 144 in the 2024/25 season. So this is their 44th Season with us and over the years they have netted a total of 4309 goals, which gives them an average score of 97 goals per season. They have 41 votes this season.

So lets see how the rest of our teams that were in action, got on over the weekend.

LEAGUE CUP 1st Round

We have already had some of our teams in cup action, and, if you have been following our blog, you will know that four of our teams have been knocked-out. They are Bristol City, Port Vale, Wrexham and York City. We had a total of 25 teams playing in the cup over the weekend and here are the results.

Teams that are through to the next round are CAMBRIDGE UNITED, who won 2-1 at home against BARNET. CARDIFF CITY won 3-2 at home to Swindon Town. LUTON TOWN won 3-0 away to GILLINGHAM. LEICESTER CITY won 1-0 at home against Northampton Town. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY won 1-0 at home to Bolton wanderers. BIRMINGHAM CITY won 1-0 away to Swansea City. WEST HAM UNITED won 3-1 at home to Portsmouth. CHARLTON won 3-1 away to Cheltenham. SOUTHAMPTON won 2-0 away to Colchester Utd. AFC WIMBLEDON drew 1-1 at home against Newport County, and then won 5-4 on penalties. READING drew 1-1 away to BROMLEY and then won 5-4 on penalties. BURNLEY drew 1-1 at home to Notts County and then won -3 on penalties. PRESTON NE drew 1-1 at home to HUDDERSFIELD TOWN and then won 4-3 on penalties. Other teams that went out are BRISTOL ROVERS who lost 1-0 at home to Peterborough Utd. DERBY COUNTY lost 2-1 at home to Lincoln City. CHESTERFIELD lost 1-0 away to Fleetwood Town. GRIMSBY TOWN lost 3-1 at home to Blackpool. OXFORD UNITED lost 2-0 away to Leyton Orient. MK DONS lost 4-1 away to Norwich City. SALFORD CITY drew 1-1 at home to Shrewsbury Town and then lost 4-3 on penalties. STOCKPORT COUNTY drew 1-1 at home to Doncaster Rovers and then lost 5-4 on penalties.

SCOTTISH RESULTS

Now, you might already know that the Scottish have already played their first round of their League Cup, if you have been following our blog and with their group format once again, so most of our teams have already played more than five games this weekend. But here is the results of their second league games.

In the Premiership CELTIC are top of the table after they won their second league game, 5-1 away to Kilmarnock. With their biggest result to date, Celtic are now on a total of 6 goals. After a goal run of 5 league/cup games, ABERDEEN picked up their first blank score sheet, 2-0 away to Dundee. HEARTS have won their first league game 4-0 at home to Dundee Utd. Hearts are now on a total of 5 goals. RANGERS have still yet to win in the opening games, as they lost 2-1 at home to HIBERNIAN. Rangers are on a total of 2 goals, which makes them our worst Scottish team this weekend,  while Hibs are on 3 goals.

In the Championship, ARBROATH drew 0-0 at home to Inverness CT and picked up their fourth blank of the season and now two in a row. DUNFERMLINE drew 1-1 at home to AYR UNITED and picked up their 11th goal of the season. Ayr are on a total of 14 goals and have now scored in all of their six league/cup games played. STENHOUSEMUIR have won their first league game, 2-0 at home to Greenock Morton. Stenhousemuir are on a total of 9 goals.

In League One EAST KILBRIDE drew 1-1 away to Airdrieonians and picked up gaol number 19.  They have now scored in all of their 6 league/cup games played.

In League Two CLYDE lost 1-0 away to Dumbarton and picked up their second blank score sheet.

Here are our top ten in our first week of the season.

         FIRST                                       M/WEEK     W/END     TOTAL

         WEEK    NAME                        GOALS      GOALS     GOALS 

               1        CHARLIE FARLEY       26                  4               30

               2        M. WALKER                  14                  6               20

               3        T. GUY (3)                      18                  1               19

               4        G. DOWSETT (2)           10                  8              18

               5        D. BARRETT                  15                 3               18

               6        CJEXPRESS26               16                  2               18

               7       MANDYME26                13                  0               13 

               8       J. WEARDEN                   1                11               12

              9        M. JACOBSEN                  4                  8               12

                    10        G. DOWSETT (1)              9                  3               12

More League Cup First Round Games

More games have now been played in the first round of the League Cup. WOLVES are our first team through tom the next round, after they won 3-0 at home against PORT VALE. MIDDLESBROUGH will be joining them after they won 1-0 against WREXHAM.

In the Scottish Championship, PARTICK have won their second league game, 2-0 at home to LIVINGSTON. Partick are on a total of 16 goals and have now scored in all of their 6 league/cup games. Livingston have picked up their second blank of the season. 

League Cup First Round

In the first round of the League Cup, BRISTOL CITY have become our second team to get knocked-out of the cup. They lost 1-0 at home to Walsall, with a goal early in the second half. They have just 1 vote.

Champions First Win

In the Scottish Premiership, last season’s champions CELTIC, have now played their first league game of the season and won, 1-0 at home to Dundee, with an early goal in the second half. Last season, Celtic finished on a total of 98 goals. 

In the first round of the League Cup, YORK CITY are our first team to go out of the cup, after they lost 2-0 at home to Crawley Town. 

Scottish Results

In the Premiership, ABERDEEN won their first league game 2-1 against HEARTS with two late goals. Aberdeen are on a total of 13 goals and have now scored in all of their 5 league/cup games. Hearts get their first goal of the season. HIBERNIAN lost 2-1 at home against Motherwell.

In the Championship, AYR UNITED go top, after they won their opening game of the season 2-0 at home to ARBROATH. Ayr are on a total of 13 goals and have now scored in all of their 5 league/cup games. Arbroath picked up their third blank of the season. LIVINGSTON are in second place after they won 2-0 at home against Queens Park. They are on a total of 13 goals. PARTICK are in third place after they won 1-0 away to Greenock and are on a total of 14 goals and a goal run of 5 league/cup games. DUNFERMLINE drew 0-0 away to Inverness CT and picked up their second blank of the season. STENHOUSEMUIR drew 1-1 away to Raith Rovers and are on a total of 7 goals.

In League One, EAST KILBRIDE are in second place after they won their first game 5-1 at home to Queen of the South. Kilbride are on a total of 18 goals and have scored in all of their 5 league/cup games.

In League Two, CLYDE won 3-1 at home against Stranraer and are now on a total of 9 goals.

Rangers Draw First Game

In the Scottish Premiership, the first game of the season has been played. RANGERS have drawn their first league game 1-1 away to Dundee Utd. Rangers, who finished in third place last season in the table, have a total of 18 votes this season, where last season, they had just 10 votes and a total of 96 goals.

Book Now Closed

 

The book is now closed on our 44th Season of Golden Goals. We have ended up with a total of 124 players, which makes it our 4th best season, in our top ten. But the good news is that it’s our 14th consecutive season of 100 or more players. A BIG thank you to all who have entered.  

How the team selection finished 

We have ended up with just 46 English teams this time round with Manchester City leading the votes this season with a total of 38 votes. Last season they had just 19 votes. West Ham United are second with 37 votes. In third place with 31 votes we have Arsenal. In fourth place we have Liverpool with 29 votes. In fifth place with 20 votes we have Chelsea.

With the Scottish teams we have a total of 13 teams this season with Celtic leading the votes once again with just 41. last season they had 70. Rangers are second again with just 18 votes. Hearts are third with just 3 votes. We have another two teams with 2 votes and the rest have one vote each. 

We welcome back into the football league, and Golden Goals, York City with 1 vote this season.  

The first News Sheet should be with you on Monday 10th August with all this seasons facts and figures.

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.