Sports
Africa produces talent, but where is World Cup-winning system?
As an African, there is one question that continues to trouble me no matter how many extraordinary players the continent produces or how many of them become stars at the biggest clubs in the world: Why has Africa still never won the World Cup?
The answer cannot simply be a lack of talent.
Africa has produced some of the greatest players of the modern era, including Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, who have won Champions League titles, domestic championships, golden boots and individual awards while becoming key figures at some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Africa has never lacked players capable of competing at the highest level. What has been far more difficult to build is the system around those players.
Africa’s broad talent
There is another part of the conversation that is often overlooked. Some of the world’s biggest football stars have African roots but have represented European or other national teams because they were born, raised or developed there.
Kylian Mbappe, whose father is Cameroonian and mother is Algerian, represents France, while Romelu Lukaku, whose father was born in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, represents Belgium.
England have relied heavily on players of African heritage such as Bukayo Saka, while Germany have benefited from players including Jamal Musiala, whose father is Nigerian, and Antonio Rüdiger, whose father is from Sierra Leone.
The same story exists beyond Europe. Timothy Weah, the son of Liberian legend George Weah, was born and raised in the United States and chose to represent the U.S. national team despite his family ties to Liberia and his mother’s Jamaican heritage.
This does not mean those players should have chosen African countries, because international football is also shaped by where players grow up, where they receive their education and coaching, and where they develop their strongest football identity.
It does, however, underline the extraordinary depth of African football talent, much of which is developed within European systems before eventually representing those countries at the international level.
Many close calls
The continent’s World Cup history is therefore not simply a story of failure. African teams have repeatedly shown that they can compete with the world’s best and, at times, come agonizingly close to rewriting football history.
Cameroon announced themselves in 1990 by defeating defending champions Argentina before becoming the first African team to reach the quarterfinals. They led England 2-1 before two Gary Lineker penalties, including one in extra time, ended their remarkable campaign.
Senegal produced another extraordinary run in 2002. They opened the tournament by defeating defending champions France before reaching the quarterfinals, where Türkiye ended their campaign with İlhan Mansız’s golden goal in extra time.
Ghana came agonizingly close in 2010 to becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal. Against Uruguay, Luis Suarez stopped a certain goal with his hand on the line and was sent off, but Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty by hitting the crossbar.
Uruguay eventually prevailed in the shootout, leaving Ghana with one of the most painful near-misses in World Cup history, made even more heartbreaking by the fact that it happened on African soil.
These moments are remembered primarily as heartbreak, but they also reveal something important. African football has repeatedly produced teams capable of standing alongside the world’s best.
Change of conversation
Morocco took that argument further in Qatar in 2022, becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal.
They defeated Belgium, Spain and Portugal before losing to France, showing that an African team could combine individual quality with tactical discipline, organization and collective belief.
The progress continued at the 2026 World Cup, when Africa sent a record 10 teams to the expanded tournament.
Nine reached the knockout stage, while Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals for a second consecutive World Cup before losing 2-0 to France.
The World Cup rewards systems
So why has that progress still not produced a champion?
Look at the countries that have lifted the trophy and a pattern begins to emerge.
Spain’s golden generation was supported by a football philosophy developed over decades, with technical development, possession football and tactical education embedded throughout the country’s football culture.
Germany responded to the disappointment of Euro 2000 with major reforms to youth development, establishing regional talent centers and elite academies that helped create the generation that eventually won the 2014 World Cup.
France offers another example. Clairefontaine was inaugurated in 1988 as part of a broader French commitment to elite player development, and within a decade the country had won its first World Cup with several players who had developed through the system.
Argentina’s 2022 triumph offered another lesson, showing how extraordinary individual talent could be maximized when placed inside a coherent tactical structure.
The lesson is not that these countries necessarily produced better footballers than Africa. It is that they developed systems capable of identifying, developing, organizing and maximizing their best players.
The governance problem
There is also a more uncomfortable side to the discussion, involving how players are identified and selected within African football structures.
A long-running rumor surrounding Kylian Mbappe claims that his father, Wilfrid Mbappe, wanted his son to play for Cameroon when he was young but was allegedly asked for money before that could happen.
Whether that particular story is legitimate or simply another football rumor, the underlying concern is not entirely imaginary.
There have been documented cases of corruption and bribery within African football, including the 2018 investigation into former Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was filmed accepting $65,000 during an undercover investigation and was later sanctioned by FIFA for breaching its corruption rules.
Nigeria also investigated assistant coach Salisu Yusuf in 2018 after he was filmed accepting $750 from men posing as football agents who wanted players selected for a continental tournament, although Yusuf denied wrongdoing and said the money was a gift.
Those cases do not prove that national-team selection across Africa is routinely determined by money or personal connections, but they demonstrate why concerns about governance, transparency and merit cannot simply be dismissed as football gossip.
Individual stars need a system
That distinction is critical because Africa has often been remarkably successful at producing individual stars while struggling to build football ecosystems capable of developing entire generations.
A talented teenager can leave an African academy at a young age, move to Europe and eventually become a world-class footballer. However, the success of that individual does not necessarily strengthen the football system that produced him.
The domestic academy may lose its best player, the local league may lose its biggest attraction and the national team may eventually inherit a collection of players who developed in different countries, tactical systems and football cultures.
That is where the gap becomes visible.
Modern football demands more
The modern game has become increasingly sophisticated, with pressing structures, defensive organization, positional play, transitions, set pieces and coordinated movements demanding far more than individual brilliance.
Exceptional players can still change matches, but the strongest teams create structures that repeatedly put those players in positions where their qualities can decide games.
Talent can win moments, but systems create the conditions for talent to win tournaments.
This is why the idea that Africa simply needs another generation of superstars misses the central problem. The continent already has superstars.
What it needs is continuity, institutional stability and a development structure that extends beyond individual players, coaches and tournament cycles.
Building a football ecosystem
African federations need long-term youth programs that survive changes in leadership, stronger coaching education, better facilities, improved sports science and scouting networks, competitive domestic leagues and national teams that develop tactical identities over several years rather than being assembled shortly before major tournaments.
Most importantly, African football needs institutions that can outlive its greatest players.
The recent World Cup results suggest that the door is not closed. Morocco’s semifinal in 2022 and quarterfinal appearance in 2026 have shown that an African team can compete deep into the tournament, while Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and other nations continue to produce players capable of performing at the highest level.
The challenge is turning those ingredients into a sustainable structure.
Next step
The World Cup is particularly unforgiving because national teams cannot simply buy solutions during a transfer window or assemble an entirely new squad when weaknesses appear.
Their players must come from an existing development system, their tactical identity must already be established and their federation must have the institutional capacity to prepare them for the demands of the tournament.
That is why Africa’s greatest opponent has never simply been Europe or South America. It has been the gap between the extraordinary talent the continent produces and the football ecosystems built around that talent.
Africa has already proved that it can produce players good enough to win the world’s biggest trophies at club level. It has also repeatedly demonstrated that its national teams can compete deep into the World Cup.
The next challenge is building systems strong enough to make those breakthroughs routine rather than exceptional.
The continent has spent decades proving that it can produce the stars. Now it must prove that it can build the system around them.
Güzin Müjde Karakaşlı has spent years balancing a legal career with elite billiards, and in France, she brought both worlds together by making history as a world champion.
The Turkish attorney defeated Dutch player Karina Jetten 30-18 to become the women’s three-cushion billiards world champion, winning the first individual world title of her career and making history for Turkish women’s billiards.
Three days after the final, Karakaşlı paused when asked how it felt to become a world champion.
“My feet aren’t touching the ground,” she said.
It was an appropriate description for a woman who had spent years pursuing a goal that once seemed distant.
“I don’t know, but I’ll do my best,” Karakaşlı said with a laugh. “Billiards is a game with endless difficulties, but it is equally perfect and fascinating. Throughout my journey, I have always tried to become better, learn new techniques and read the game more accurately. I still know there is a lot I need to improve.”
The significance of her victory, however, goes beyond the title.
“I went there not only for myself, but also to represent my country as the Turkish champion,” she said. “When I look back at those few days in France, I am proud not only because I became world champion, but also because of my composure at the table, my fight and, especially, the mental strength I showed.”
Becoming the first Turkish woman to win the world title was difficult to put into words.
“My biggest wish is for this achievement to be a gift and an inspiration to all of Türkiye, especially young girls,” she said. “The medal is around my neck, but I believe the meaning it carries belongs to all of us.”
Sporting family
Sport was part of Karakaşlı’s life long before billiards became her passion.
Her parents met while playing volleyball, and their home was one where sport was constantly watched and discussed. As a child, she remembers watching Turkish billiards great Semih Saygıner defeat Belgian legend Raymond Ceulemans.
“Volleyball was the sport in our home at first,” she said. “But we watched all sports, especially those played with a ball. I remember that famous match between Semih Saygıner and Raymond Ceulemans almost like a photograph from my childhood.”
Karakaşlı sees strong similarities between her careers as a lawyer and professional billiards player.
“Both require the highest level of reasoning and a mathematical approach,” she said. “They are two of the most important parts of my life.”
The similarities extend to strategy and decision-making.
“You need to know when to attack and when to defend, read the situation and choose the right strategy and the optimum tools,” she said.
At the billiards table, however, the margin for error can be microscopic.
“The table is 142 by 284 centimeters, and there are billions of possibilities,” Karakaşlı said. “You have 40 seconds when you approach the table for a position. You have to make the finest possible decisions about thickness, spin, collision and the strength of the shot, and then execute them.”
That demands extraordinary concentration.
“You have to be completely in the moment,” she said. “On one hand, you feel all the tension of the world in your mind and arms. On the other, you are trying to see the ball near the short cushion so precisely that you can hit it without moving another ball. When you look at it that way, it is almost crazy.”
Why she did not celebrate wildly
The final against Jetten produced a decisive 30-18 victory, but Karakaşlı does not consider it the easiest match of the tournament.
“There is no easy match because every match is difficult,” she said.
Her control of the game prevented Jetten from finding a way back.
“I never gave up control of the game, and I was able to break my opponent’s resistance to a point where she could not recover,” she said.
Preparation also played an important role. Karakaşlı credited her work with Berceste Şeber and Prof. Dr. Nurullah Genç before the final.
Perhaps the most striking moment came when she won the championship point.
There was no scream, dramatic jump or prolonged celebration.
Karakaşlı had made herself a promise before the match.
“No matter what happens, I will never lose my focus or the connection between my mind and the table,” she said. “I kept the promise I made to myself.”
Only after the final point could she relax.
“It was over. From that moment, I could finally let go.”
The people behind the victory
The first person to call her after the championship was Ersan Ercan, president of the Turkish Billiards Federation.
“He said he was very happy that I had brought home the last missing trophy in our museum with the Women’s World Championship title I won in France,” Karakaşlı said.
Rather than making a call herself immediately after the victory, Karakaşlı ran toward Dutch sports photographer Ton Smilde and embraced him.
“He was the closest witness to all the effort I had put in,” she said. “He is a colleague of yours who never left me alone.”
She later called her twin sister, Merve.
“It was such an emotional moment that we could hardly speak between the tears and prayers,” Karakaşlı said.
Making room for two careers
The world title did not come at the expense of Karakaşlı’s legal career.
For years, she has organized her professional responsibilities, court appearances, case files and training around one another.
She remembers making a promise to herself at 23, when she won her first international medal and became the youngest woman in the field at the time.
“Don’t make your dreams smaller. Don’t give up on your talents,” she told herself.
The world championship became another fulfillment of that promise.
Her experience as a lawyer has also shaped the way she views challenges facing women in sport.
“Gender barriers are mostly not barriers that we create ourselves,” she said. “But by telling our stories and adding new achievements every day, we can gradually remove them.”
She believes greater access to billiards through school sports and development projects can help more girls discover the sport.
“The Turkish Billiards Federation museum is filled with incredible achievements,” she said. “I hope that this legacy, together with the contributions of women athletes at the beginning, will inspire girls several generations from now.”
The next dream
Winning the world championship has not made Karakaşlı any less ambitious.
“From now on, I will enter tournaments as the title holder,” she said. “My first motivation will be to defend that title.”
Beyond that lies an even bigger ambition: an Olympic gold medal.
Billiards is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and remains a candidate for inclusion in the Olympic program. Karakaşlı wants to represent Türkiye in women’s billiards at the Olympics and pursue the gold medal.
For her, however, the legacy of her world title may ultimately be measured by something much smaller than a trophy.
A child picking up a cue.
Karakaşlı spoke about two young players, Turkish junior champion Çınar and a young girl named Zeynep.
Watching Zeynep place the cue on the table and try to strike the ball moved her deeply.
“I cannot describe the happiness I felt watching her,” Karakaşlı said.
She believes billiards can introduce children to physics, geometry and psychology while giving young girls another sporting path.
“We need mothers and sisters who play billiards,” she said.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games have come under growing criticism over accommodation and transportation problems, with several teams describing the organization as chaotic and accusing organizers of failing to provide adequate conditions for athletes and officials.
Thailand compared the accommodation system to a game of “musical chairs,” while South Korea’s Olympic committee president said the organizers would deserve a failing grade.
The biggest challenge has been finding enough rooms for the roughly 17,000 athletes and officials attending the Games. Some competitors have also complained about cramped sleeping quarters, while transportation problems have added to the frustration.
The Games do not have a traditional athletes’ village, with organizers abandoning the original plan as a cost-cutting measure. Instead, teams are staying in hotels, temporary container-style units known as “villas” and the Costa Serena cruise ship, which is moored in Nagoya port and serving as a floating hotel.
More than 4,000 people are staying aboard the ship, while about 2,000 are housed in the modular units.
For Thailand, the accommodation shortages have created a revolving-door situation.
“It remains a problem from the beginning until now,” Chalitrat Chandrubeksa, deputy secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, said.
Chalitrat said the number of beds available on the cruise ship and in hotels has not matched the team’s needs, forcing athletes and staff to repeatedly change accommodations.
“At the peak, we required 201 beds on the cruise ship but they provided only 170,” he said.
“When athletes checked in and found their names missing from the list, they had to be placed somewhere else. When the new athletes arrived, the previous ones had to move out and look for other hotels. It’s like musical chairs.”
Thailand has also had to place some staff well outside Nagoya because of the shortage.
“Our medical team has to stay about one hour 30 minutes from Nagoya,” Chalitrat said.
The team has rented additional vehicles from Tokyo to ensure its medical staff can reach athletes when needed.
“It has been chaotic,” he said.
Transportation has emerged as another major source of frustration, with teams reporting buses arriving late or failing to appear for scheduled journeys to training sessions and competition venues.
Chinese Taipei also said transport schedules were frequently changed at short notice.
Steven Chen, spokesman for the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, said the team had anticipated accommodation problems and booked about 100 additional hotel rooms as a precaution.
“We were informed at the last minute before departure that there weren’t enough beds. That was a major blow to every country,” Chen said.
He described transportation as the team’s “biggest headache.”
“When our team had an evening flight, they suddenly informed us that the afternoon bus to the airport was changed to pick us up in the morning, which caused us a lot of trouble,” he said.
South Korea has also repeatedly criticized the organization of the Games.
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee said the problems were affecting athletes’ performances.
Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, was particularly critical of the organizers.
“If I were to give them a grade, it would be an F,” Ryu said, accusing local officials of making excuses for the problems.
Athletes have also taken their complaints to social media, with some criticizing both their accommodation and food.
Organizers, however, have defended their efforts and said they are working to address the concerns.
“We have already increased shuttle buses as much as possible to satisfy athletes’ needs,” Asian Games organizing committee spokesman Hiroshi Koshizuka told AFP.
Koshizuka acknowledged that transportation problems had occurred but said they had not significantly affected the Games.
“There had been no significant impact on the Games and no event has been delayed,” he said.
He added that a system had been established to handle complaints and promised that organizers would continue addressing the issues.
Accommodation has remained another flashpoint, particularly over the size of the modular units being used to house athletes.
Local residents who toured a prototype unit near Nagoya TV Tower also questioned whether the cramped spaces were suitable for competitors.
“Once inside, I noticed that the space was quite long and narrow,” a 49-year-old nurse who gave her surname as Wada told Reuters. “If two beds were placed side-by-side, it might feel a little cramped there.”
Atsuko Sasa, 55, who lives in Aichi prefecture, said organizers could have prepared better.
“I understand that it’s a difficult situation, but when it comes to the environment for athletes, I do wish we had been a little more prepared,” she said.
Organizers have defended the modular units, saying their size was dictated by transportation and construction limitations.
Yuta Matsuo, deputy director of the athlete accommodation section, said officials had anticipated concerns about the rooms and considered the needs of athletes with different body types.
“We recognised from the start that such comments would come,” Matsuo said.
He said each bed was equipped with an ottoman that could be used to extend its length.
Matsuo also said larger units could not realistically be transported to the site.
“The units we’re using are the largest size that can be transported by truck,” he said. “Anything larger becomes closer to construction. You can no longer build it at the factory and move it.”
Organizers instead connected multiple units to create additional space where possible.
Turkish boxers Gizem Özer and Semih Gümüş won bronze medals Thursday at the 2026 European Elite Boxing Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, after both were beaten in their respective semifinals.
Özer lost to France’s Sthelyne Grosy in the women’s 60-kilogram semifinal at Asics Arena, while Gümüş was defeated by England’s Abdul Burton in the men’s 55-kilogram division.
The results gave both fighters their first medals at the senior European Championships.
Özer had reached the semifinals with a 5-0 quarterfinal victory over Czechia’s Barbora Maxova, securing at least a bronze medal before Thursday’s bout. She also recorded a win over Poland’s Aneta Elzbieta Rygielska during her run through the tournament.
The 25-year-old southpaw, who represents Elazığ Belediye Spor and Türkiye, was seeking to build on the bronze medal she won at the 2023 European Games in the 60-kilogram division. She also earned an Olympic quota at those Games before representing Türkiye at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After her semifinal loss, Özer expressed her frustration with the decision but said she was already looking toward the next stages of her career.
“Beating the opponent is not enough; I also have to beat the referees,” Özer said. “I’m sorry, I strongly believed I would win. This must have been destined. The World Championships and the Olympics lie ahead.”
She also thanked those who had supported her, particularly her coach Nazım Yiğit.
For Gümüş, the bronze marked an important breakthrough in his first European Championships at senior level.
The Turkish fighter reached the semifinals after three victories, including a 5-0 quarterfinal win over Kosovo’s Bashkim Bajoku. He had also beaten Portugal’s Armenio Reis and Germany’s Ali El Sari on his way to the medal rounds.
Gümüş believed he had done enough to advance to the final but said he would take valuable experience from the tournament.
“I reached the semifinals by winning three tough bouts,” Gümüş said. “I was far superior in the semifinal. The fight was in my hands, but a great injustice was done. Everyone here saw it.”
The 55-kilogram boxer also highlighted the significance of sharing the podium with his older brother, Samet Gümüş, who won bronze in the men’s 50-kilogram division.
“Together with my brother, we finished third here,” Semih Gümüş said. “We finished third but I am happy. This is not a defeat for us; it is a very big gain.”
He added that the tournament had provided valuable experience as he looks toward the World Championships and the next Olympic cycle.
“Of course I am sad about my loss, but I gained valuable experience here,” Gümüş said. “Until the next European and World Championships and the Olympics, God willing we will achieve many fine victories, gain great experience and raise our flag.”
The 2026 European Elite Boxing Championships, being staged in Sofia through Sept. 25, are the first European Elite Championships held under European Boxing, the continental organization affiliated with World Boxing.
More than 400 boxers from around 40 national federations are competing across 20 weight divisions, with World Boxing ranking points also available.
Türkiye have several other medal contenders in the competition, including women’s fighters Hatice Akbaş and Busenaz Sürmeneli, as the championships move toward the final bouts.
Türkiye will open their UEFA Nations League campaign against France on Friday in Kocaeli, where Zinedine Zidane will take charge of Les Bleus for the first time in a competitive match.
The Group A1 meeting at Kocaeli Stadium is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. local time, with both teams looking to begin a new chapter after disappointing finishes at the 2026 World Cup.
The match marks Türkiye’s first appearance in League A since the Nations League was introduced in 2018. The Crescent-Stars previously competed in Leagues B and C before earning their place among Europe’s top-ranked group of teams.
Türkiye will remain at home for their next match, facing Italy in Bursa on Sept. 28. They will then travel to face Belgium on Oct. 2 before playing Italy away on Oct. 5. The group phase continues in November with meetings against Belgium and France.
The other Group A1 match Friday will see Italy host Belgium in Rome. Both matches are scheduled for the same time.
Türkiye looking to rebound
Vincenzo Montella’s team enter the Nations League after a disappointing World Cup campaign that ended in the group stage. The tournament was Türkiye’s first World Cup appearance since 2002.
The Nations League therefore offers an immediate opportunity for the Crescent-Stars to reset, although the opening assignment is particularly demanding against a France side packed with established international stars.
Türkiye have faced France six times, winning once, drawing once and losing four times. Their only victory came in a 2-0 European Championship qualifying win in June 2019.
The teams drew 1-1 in their most recent meeting in October 2019.
Friday’s game will be the seventh meeting between the countries and the first since that 2019 qualifying campaign.
Orkun a doubt for France
Türkiye midfielder Orkun Kökçü is not expected to feature after continuing to deal with pain in his toe.
Kökçü missed Türkiye’s training sessions earlier this week and was again absent from Wednesday’s session as he continued his treatment. TFF confirmed that he did not train with the team because of the injury.
Türkiye’s squad also includes four players receiving their first senior call-ups: Adil Demirbağ, Bartuğ Elmaz, Melih Kabasakal and İlhan Fakılı.
Real Madrid forward Arda Güler is available, while Montella will have to balance his attacking options against a France defense that includes several players from Europe’s leading clubs.
Zidane begins France tenure
The match carries particular significance for France, as Zidane will make his competitive debut as national team coach.
The former France international and Real Madrid manager replaced Didier Deschamps following the World Cup. Zidane’s first squad includes captain Kylian Mbappe as well as attacking options such as Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Desire Doue. Liverpool defender Jeremy Jacquet is among the new faces called into the squad.
France finished fourth at the 2026 World Cup after losing to eventual champion Spain in the semifinals before suffering a 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place playoff.
The result brought an end to Deschamps’ tenure and opened the door for Zidane, who begins his reign with a difficult away fixture.
Mbappe remains the centerpiece of the French attack. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 international goals and continues to captain the team. He missed a training session earlier this week because of flu-like symptoms, although his availability remains an important part of France’s preparations.
France’s squad also has several absences. Aurelien Tchouameni was left out amid fitness concerns, while other players have missed the camp because of injuries.
A new challenge in League A
Türkiye’s promotion to League A brings them into a group containing three major European football nations.
France, Italy, Belgium and Türkiye make up Group A1, with each team scheduled to play the others home and away.
France won the Nations League in 2021, while they finished third in the 2024-25 edition after beating Germany in the third-place playoff.
For Türkiye, the immediate task is to establish themselves at the highest level of the competition.
Friday’s encounter also gives Kocaeli another chance to host the national team. Türkiye previously played Chile at the old İsmetpaşa Stadium in 2008, winning 1-0, before beating Georgia 4-1 at Kocaeli Stadium in a 2026 World Cup qualifier in October 2025.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen heads to this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix buoyed by a last-to-first karting victory and hoping to carry that momentum into his first Formula One win of the season.
The Dutchman needed just 14 laps and 35 minutes to charge through a field of 100 competitors at Red Bull’s “Max vs. 100” karting challenge at Silverstone in Britain last week.
While the exhibition event was little more than a bit of fun for the 71-time grand prix winner, Verstappen jokingly noted that it was his first victory of the season.
He will now look to turn that momentum into a Formula One triumph. Verstappen has claimed six podium finishes this year, including four in the last five races, and finished second in Madrid.
Baku’s unforgiving street circuit could provide an opportunity for Verstappen to end his victory drought and become the first driver to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix three times.
“Madrid was a good result for us and the team has been working hard on taking this positive momentum to make sure we maximize the performance of the car in Baku,” said the 28-year-old.
“We’ve made some good steps with the car over the last few races and we have some good memories here,” he added.
The Baku street track, a 6.003-kilometer mix of flat-out blasts and tight corners, has a reputation for unpredictable races.
Seven different drivers have won the nine previous races at the venue, with Verstappen and former Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez the only two to have won there more than once.
With safety cars a regular feature of the race, Verstappen’s victory hopes may well rest on Red Bull’s ability to take on the might of Mercedes. The team’s runaway championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, heads into the weekend seeking a third straight win and ninth of the season.
The 20-year-old Italian, who won his home race at Monza from the back of the grid and followed that with victory in the Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, is 81 points clear of British teammate George Russell, his closest title rival, after 14 rounds.
Russell and third-placed Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton have both ruled themselves out of realistic title contention.
Antonelli closing on title
A win in Baku would further strengthen Antonelli’s grip on the championship and move his prospects of becoming the first Italian to win a Formula One title since Alberto Ascari in 1953 closer to reality.
McLaren’s reigning champion Lando Norris, meanwhile, will be fired up to make up for the win that got away from him.
The Briton had been leading comfortably from pole in Madrid and seemed on course for his third win in four races when an ill-timed virtual safety car went against him. He eventually had to settle for third.
French racer Isack Hadjar will return to action alongside Verstappen after recovering from a wrist injury that sidelined him for the last three races. Yuki Tsunoda is set to return to his reserve role.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the first race of a triple-header on consecutive weekends, will be held Saturday this year, with Azerbaijan observing Remembrance Day on Sunday. The entire Formula One weekend has been moved forward by one day to avoid the national observance.
Organizers are also marking a decade of Formula One racing in Baku. The race joined the calendar in 2016 as the European Grand Prix before being renamed the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017. This year’s event will be the 10th Formula One race around the Baku street circuit, with the event absent from the calendar in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kylian Mbappe has doubled down on his Ballon d’Or credentials, arguing that his individual brilliance should carry significant weight as he seeks to win football’s most prestigious individual award for the first time.
The France captain and Real Madrid forward said Tuesday that he feels confident about his chances after a season in which he finished as the leading scorer in La Liga and the Champions League before claiming the Golden Boot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“They won’t announce a team in the envelope, they will announce a player,” Mbappe said in an interview with Radio France Internationale.
“The ability to perform individually and produce eye-catching moments, that’s what stands out to people for an award like this.”
Mbappe’s argument is built around a remarkable scoring campaign, even though neither Real Madrid nor France ended the season with a major trophy.
The 27-year-old scored 25 goals in La Liga and 15 in the Champions League for Madrid before adding 10 goals at the World Cup. His performances in the tournament also pushed him to the top of the competition’s all-time scoring list.
Mbappe finished the World Cup with 10 goals, winning the Golden Boot and taking his career total to 22 goals in 22 appearances. He moved past Lionel Messi, who had 21, after scoring twice in France’s third-place playoff defeat to England.
His individual numbers provide the centerpiece of his Ballon d’Or case.
“I was top scorer in all the biggest competitions and I think that this could be a good year for me, and I really feel it,” Mbappe said.
The challenge for Mbappe is that the Ballon d’Or race is not based solely on goals.
Real Madrid finished second in La Liga and were eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, while France fell short of the World Cup title. That leaves Mbappe competing against several nominees whose individual performances were accompanied by major team success.
The 30-man shortlist includes defending champion Ousmane Dembele and his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodri and Lionel Messi are also among the nominees.
Kane, in particular, enters the discussion after a prolific season with Bayern, while Dembele is seeking to retain the award he won in 2025.
Yamal is another major contender after helping Barcelona secure La Liga and playing a prominent role in Spain’s World Cup triumph. The tournament added another layer to a race that already featured several players who enjoyed success at club level.
Mbappe, meanwhile, is making the case that the Ballon d’Or should ultimately recognize the player who produced the most decisive individual performances rather than simply the player who collected the most trophies.
His World Cup campaign has strengthened that argument. Ten goals made him the tournament’s leading scorer and extended a remarkable record that now stands at 22 World Cup goals, putting him ahead of Messi in the competition’s all-time scoring standings.
The Frenchman has also emphasized that winning the Ballon d’Or is an ambition rather than an obsession. He has acknowledged that he would be disappointed to miss out but has maintained that the final decision belongs to the voters.
That decision will come Oct. 26 at the London Palladium, where the Ballon d’Or ceremony will be held for the first time outside Paris. The 2026 edition also marks the award’s 70th anniversary and pays tribute to England’s Stanley Matthews, the inaugural winner in 1956.
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