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The Lead As football's greatest spectacle prepares to touch down in North America, cartoonist David Squires offers a unique perspective on FIFA President Gianni Infantino's vision for the World Cup 2026. Through a series of insightful cartoons, Squires draws parallels between the tournament's expansion and the dramatic narrative of West Side Story, creating a satirical yet poignant commentary on the intersection of sport, politics, and commerce. The Cartoonist's Vision David Squires, renowned for his sharp wit and incisive commentary through visual art, presents a narrative that captures the essence of FIFA's ambitious plans for the 2026 World Cup. The cartoon series reimagines the tournament as a modern-day drama, with Infantino as the central figure navigating the complex relationships between football's traditional powers and emerging markets, much like the Jets and Sharks in the classic musical. The Political Landscape The cartoons highlight the political maneuvering surrounding the World Cup, particularly the involvement of former U.S. President Donald Trump and the tournament's expansion to include 48 teams. Squires captures the tension between commercial interests and the spirit of the game, showing how FIFA's leadership must balance competing demands from different continents and stakeholders. The Commercial Impact With the World Cup's expansion and move to North America, the tournament's commercial value has skyrocketed. Squires' cartoons illustrate the financial implications of this expansion, showing how broadcast rights, sponsorships, and ticket sales have transformed the World Cup into a global commercial enterprise worth billions of dollars, raising questions about the balance between profit and the sport's integrity. The Cultural Significance Beyond the political and commercial aspects, Squires' work also touches on the cultural significance of the World Cup. The cartoons capture how the tournament serves as a platform for national identity and international unity, while also highlighting the cultural tensions and rivalries that define football's global appeal. The Future Outlook As the World Cup 2026 approaches, Squires' cartoons suggest a future where the tournament continues to expand both in scale and commercial reach, while facing ongoing scrutiny over governance and ethics. The narrative implies that Infantino's leadership will be crucial in shaping how football evolves in the coming decades, balancing tradition with innovation and global interests with local identities.

The Lead: France's World Cup Ambitions Under Deschamps As France prepares for another World Cup campaign, manager Didier Deschamps reflects on his team's status as favorites, his relationship with captain Kylian Mbappé, and the evolution of his management philosophy. The 1998 World Cup-winning captain has now led France to three major finals in his 14-year tenure as manager, establishing himself as one of the most successful international managers in modern football history. The Event Details: Deschamps' Management Philosophy Deschamps, who guided France to their second World Cup triumph in 2018, emphasizes adaptation as his "magic word" for success. "I say to myself, 'In relation to the person I have in front of me, I,'" he explains. This approach has allowed him to navigate changing generations in the French squad while maintaining consistent results. Despite criticism of France's playing style, Deschamps remains focused on outcomes rather than aesthetics: "if the France team has been categorised as a [team with a] defensive, restrictive game, it didn't prevent us from getting results." The Data Analysis: France's Tournament Record Under Deschamps' leadership, France has participated in four of the last seven World Cup finals, with the manager involved in three of them. This remarkable consistency has established Les Bleus as perennial contenders on the global stage. The team's achievements include: 1998: World Cup victory as captain 2018: World Cup victory as manager 2016: European Championship runner-up 2022: World Cup runner-up 2021: Nations League winner The Impact Analysis: Leadership Transition and Mbappé's Role Following the retirement of key players like Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud, Raphaël Varane, and Antoine Griezmann after the 2022 World Cup, Deschamps has overseen a changing of the guard in the French dressing room. He has named Kylian Mbappé as the successor to France's most-capped player of all time, Lloris. "Kylian, today, who is our captain, before being captain, he listened, he looked, he doesn't do things like Hugo. It's not at all the same character and personality," Deschamps explains, highlighting the different leadership styles between the two captains. The Prediction: Mbappé's Quest for Greatness As France heads to the 2026 World Cup, Mbappé approaches the tournament one goal shy of Olivier Giroud's all-time scoring record for France (57 goals). Despite underwhelming performances at Euro 2024, which Deschamps attributes to "suboptimal" preparation following a difficult final six months with PSG, the 25-year-old remains France's talisman. Deschamps defends his use of the Real Madrid forward in a central position, noting: "for the past two years at Real and his last year at PSG … it's been three years that he has played in a central position." With Mbappé now established as captain and leader, France will once again be among the favorites to claim their third World Cup title.

Mexico Hosts World Cup 2026 Opening Ceremony Mexico kicked off the World Cup 2026 with a spectacular opening ceremony, marking the beginning of the highly anticipated tournament. El Tri's Winning Start Mexico's national team, El Tri, made a strong start to the tournament with a win in their opening match. The Road to World Cup 2026 The World Cup 2026 is set to be a thrilling tournament, with top teams from around the world competing for the coveted title.

Mexico's Convincing Victory Mexico secured a 2-0 win against South Africa in their World Cup opener, with Raúl Jiménez scoring the second goal in a comfortable victory for the hosts. The Event Details The match got off to a lively start, with Raúl Jiménez having a shot shovelled wide by South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. However, it was Julián Quiñones who broke the deadlock, cutting inside and drilling his shot through Williams' legs nine minutes into the game. Mexico's first goal was scored by Quiñones in the 9th minute. South Africa's Sithole was sent off four minutes into the second half. The Data Analysis Mexico dominated the game, with Quiñones sidefooting against the post six minutes before the break. The only question was the margin of victory, which was finally settled when Raúl Jiménez arrived unmarked at the back post to head home Roberto Alvarado's cross. Mexico's second goal was scored by Raúl Jiménez. South Africa's Themba Zwane was sent off with seven minutes remaining. The Impact Analysis The win is a positive start for Mexico in the tournament, but the broader problems surrounding the World Cup, including concerns over aggression and shambolic organisation, are still present. The Prediction Mexico will look to build on this convincing victory as the tournament progresses, while South Africa will need to regroup and improve their performance to stay in contention.

The Tracey Emin Competition Details This summer, as part of our partnership with Tate for their Tracey Emin: A Second Life exhibition, we have an amazing prize up for grabs. A Second Life is the largest ever exhibition of Emin's work, and features career-defining sensations alongside works never before exhibited. Answer the question below before 11.59pm on Sunday 5 July to be in with a chance of winning: Prize Package Breakdown A special-edition one-year Tate Membership for you and a friend Lunch for two at Tate Modern A Tracey Emin Teacup and Pancake blanket (worth £200) An exhibition catalogue for A Second Life A Tracey Emin tote bag A Tracey Emin cap Competition Terms and Conditions The promotion starts on Tuesday 9 June 2026 and closes at 11:59pm on Sunday 5 July 2026. Open to residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 and over. By entering this competition, you consent to the use of your personal data by the Guardian and Tate as set out in these terms and conditions and the Guardian's privacy policy. Your information will be used to administer the promotion only in accordance with our privacy policy and Tate's privacy policy. Important Prize Information There will be one winner. The winner is responsible for paying all associated costs that are not specifically stated to be included in any promotional materials or these Terms and Conditions, including (without limitation): travel to or from Tate Modern, food and drink, spending money, personal expenditure or any incidental expenses. The prize is non-transferable, non-refundable and there is no cash alternative.

The Final Artistic Statement Georg Baselitz's final exhibition presents a powerful, emotional reckoning with death by the influential German artist who died in April at age 88. The works, created while Baselitz was frail and facing mortality, showcase his signature inverted figures and chaotic style as he confronts his own mortality. A Visual Journey Through Mortality On one wall, a body falls calmly through a serene blue sky. On the opposite, splat, it's landed with a thud on the blood-spattered mud. You don't need to be an expert in image analysis to figure out what Georg Baselitz's final paintings are about: death was coming for him, and he knew it. Baselitz painted these final works from a wheeled office chair with a paintbrush on a stick, the canvas splayed out on the floor in front of him, his body not strong enough to stand like it used to. But they are still immediately recognisable as Baselitz works, filled with scrawled nude bodies, hung upside down to disorientate the viewer and subvert your gaze. The Physical Manifestation of Aging It's just that now the chair has left mucky tracks across the paintings, evidence of the slow creep of decrepitude. The figures in these works, as usual, are mainly him and Elke, his wife and great muse. It's their sagging skin and brittle limbs scrawled on every work. As soon as you walk in and see that body falling through the sky you know exactly what Baselitz was dealing with: life is a trip, a rush, and then bang, you hit the dirt and you're dead. Desperate Struggles Against the Inevitable Instead of still and calm, the figures are flailing and thrashing, they've grown extra limbs, they are fighting against what's coming, they are panicked, manic. They look like spiders trying to climb out of a bathtub, and he repeats them over and over. The final gallery is filled with these enormous golden insectile forms wriggling on black canvases, falling into the abyss, trying desperately to escape. They're pretty horrifying things, bleak, angry, filled with fear. Canonization Through Art Things are calmer in the room of golden canvases. Here, his and Elke's bodies are papery thin, fragile things. You can barely distinguish one from the other, they've almost become one figure now. For years, we've been watching Baselitz's figures become frailer and weaker – he wasn't a prolific painter, and he had his fair share of exhibitions, so we got to see him age over time, his lines become shakier, his figures become saggier and more gaunt. But this is another level, a sense of finality, of impending morbidity, of bodies broken beyond repair. With the gold canvases, it's like he's canonising himself and his wife, turning the figures into Byzantine religious icons. The Artist's Legacy Baselitz said, "Now that I'm more or less at the end of my painting activity, I thought I should draw some kind of conclusion." The eagles, the bodies, the references to art history: this is him reaching for all of the touchstones of his life in art. He knew, I guess, that artists outlive themselves through their work, and these are objects to be worshipped long after he's gone. How could you not be moved by a painter this important, trying to say goodbye and doing it so beautifully? He wanted a conclusion, well here it is, a full stop on a career. Or an exclamation point. What a painfully sad goodbye. Exhibition Details Georg Baselitz: Back Again is at White Cube Bermondsey, London from 10 June to 30 August 2026.

The Danish String Quartet's Captivating Performance A hushed chord sustained by the second violin, viola and cello. Fragments of a melody played as a distant memory by the first violin, which reached slowly upwards to a final crystalline harmonic. Pizzicato, diminuendo, silence. In this captivating performance by the Danish String Quartet, stillness settled over the closing portion of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 3 in F Op 73 like heavy snow. Bow changes became impossibly seamless. The quartet’s silken tone appeared to exude eerily, disconnected from the basic friction of hair on string. Dynamic Shifts in Tone and Style Such quiet control was all the more striking in the wake of jagged, impassioned solo interjections, deeply incised octave unisons and phrases pursued as if the musicians’ survival depended on it. There was articulation so spiky it was percussive – all contact, no resonance – and passages that sounded symphonic in their velveteen richness. Yet there were also moments of polite levity and luminous classicism. The atmospheric gearshifts were sometimes imperceptibly gradual, sometimes violent, but rarely visible: beyond describing itself as “relatively bearded”, the Danish String Quartet is not an ensemble given to choreographed spectacle. A Showcase of World-Class Musicianship They were, announced violist Asbjørn Nørgaard, thrilled to be back at Wigmore Hall, “this church of chamber music with the best sound in the world”. And you could tell. They played Stravinsky’s Suite italienne (arranged themselves) as a showcase of what a truly world-class quartet can do with the Hall’s acoustic. The work’s rococo twiddles were neat and outrageously classy. Tremolo was served on ice, its melancholic impact immediate. Descant lines were picked out sweet and bright. The quartet relished the squelchiest moments of Stravinsky’s neoclassical harmonic palette, the spare duet that opened the last movement and the sun-saturated warmth into which it blossomed. A Smooth Transition to Ravel's String Quartet After the interval, Ravel’s String Quartet in F saw another switch of palette. There was spacious, unforced nattiness, diaphanous shimmers and scrubbing with the harsh intensity of swarming insects. A handful of instants when ensemble or intonation briefly wavered stood out, inevitably, in such exquisitely polished surroundings. But elsewhere the four musicians seemed to communicate so intimately – so naturally – that their playing sounded like a single, 16-string instrument.

The Formation of Soundgarden and the Grunge Movement Kim Thayil, guitarist of Soundgarden, has always felt like an outsider. Born to Indian parents, Thayil grew up in a suburb of Chicago and later moved to Seattle, where he co-founded Soundgarden in 1984 with bassist Hiro Yamamoto. The band's early sound was influenced by heavy rock and post-punk, and they quickly gained a following in Seattle's music scene. The Evolution of Soundgarden's Sound Thayil's gateway to heavy rock was Kiss, but he was turned off by the hair metal that dominated the 80s. Instead, Soundgarden embraced the might of heavy rock while rejecting the genre's retrograde sexism, defining the grunge movement. The band's breakthrough hit, 'Black Hole Sun,' transcended their gnarly milieu to become an enduring anthem. The Impact of Chris Cornell's Vocal Power Thayil and Yamamoto hailed from Park Forest, a suburb of Chicago, and grew up as immigrants and outsiders. This distance wasn't entirely a bad thing, especially when he got into weird, heavy music. Chris Cornell, the band's vocalist, was initially deemed 'competent and workmanlike' by Thayil, but he quickly developed a fearsome range that would make him a legend. The Loss of Chris Cornell and Kurt Cobain Soundgarden had been the first grungers to sign to a major label, but their greatest commercial achievement came with the release of 'Badmotorfinger,' which went double platinum. However, the mainstream acceptance their peers enjoyed seemed likely to elude Soundgarden without a big crossover song. When 'Black Hole Sun' arrived, Thayil was initially hesitant, but it won Soundgarden their first Grammy and helped their 1994 masterpiece 'Superunknown' sell over 7m copies worldwide. Just as Soundgarden were breaking through, the vibe turned dark with the loss of Chris Cornell and Kurt Cobain. The Legacy of Soundgarden Thayil remembers when the group played festivals such as Lollapalooza: 'We'd play our songs, with their tricky time signatures, and the kids would start jumping up and down, but by the first verse they'd all be out of sync.' Despite the challenges, Soundgarden's music continues to endure, and their legacy as pioneers of grunge remains unchallenged.

The Birth of Dubstep By the turn of the millennium, British electronic music was in need of a new direction. The jungle and drum'n'bass scenes were stagnating, and garage had become overly commercialized. In response, a small group of artists from London, Croydon, and Essex came together to create a new sound that focused on bass, space, and togetherness. This marked the beginning of dubstep. The DMZ Crew DMZ, a record label and party series led by Mala, Coki, and Loefah, became one of dubstep's driving forces. With its anti-VIP ethos, DMZ created a unique environment where the focus was on the music and the community. The crew's approach to music was centered around creating an immersive experience, with Mala stating, "Playing your sound means that you enhance the experience of listening to it; to be able to control the environment in which people hear it." The First DMZ Party The first DMZ party took place in March 2005 at 3rd Base in Brixton. Coki recalls, "I was on the door for the first ever DMZ, and everyone was getting pissed off at me because I was letting people in for free." The party was a groundbreaking event, with Joe Nice, an early US champion of dubstep, describing it as, "a huge soundsystem, and the queue was around the block and down the hill." The Impact of DMZ DMZ's influence on dubstep cannot be overstated. The label and party series provided a platform for artists to experiment and push the boundaries of the genre. Loefah notes, "If it was a brand new tune, within 10 seconds of it dropping, if it was so mind-blowing you'd have to pull it up [rewind it and play it again]." The DMZ crew's emphasis on community and inclusivity helped to create a loyal following and foster a sense of belonging among fans. The Legacy of DMZ DMZ's legacy continues to be felt in the music scene today. Mala and Coki's recent performance at Fred Again's residency at London's Alexandra Palace is a testament to their enduring influence. As the dubstep scene continues to evolve, the contributions of DMZ remain a vital part of its history and identity.