Soccer Down Here

06/25/2026

Haiti came to Atlanta on Wednesday night with nothing left to play for in the standings and everything left to play for as a nation.

No home venue for qualifying. Borrowed stadiums across CONCACAF just to qualify. Three matches on the biggest stage in the sport.

They brought a percussion band in Section 232. Wilson Isidor scored one of the goals of the tournament. J***y Placide made his final bow at 38.

The score was 4-2 Morocco. The story was something else entirely.

Jon Nelson's full feature from Atlanta Stadium is at the link.

A percussion band in section 232, one of the goals of the tournament, and J***y Placide's final bow. Haiti's last match of the 2026 World Cup was about far more than the scoreline.

06/25/2026

Morocco 4-2 over Haiti in a match many will never forget. Jason Longshore breaks it down for After the Whistle, powered by the Soccer Down Here Lager and NoFo Brew Co.

06/25/2026

Morocco 4-2 Haiti was one of the best matches of the 2026 World Cup so far, and Atlanta Stadium was the right place for it.

Haiti came into this match already eliminated and played like none of that mattered. They led twice. Wilson Isidor scored a goal that will be remembered, and in doing so became only the second Haitian player to score at a World Cup. The first was Emmanuel Sanon in 1974 against Italy. Fifty-two years between them.

J***y Placide made seven saves in his final international match after announcing his retirement before kickoff. He was extraordinary.

Morocco showed their full attacking quality for the first time in this tournament. They needed it. Soufiane Rahimi off the bench, Bilal El Khannouss controlling the game, Hakimi with a goal and an assist.

After the final whistle, both sets of fans stayed and celebrated. The Haitian players walked a full lap of the stadium. 68,239 people gave them what they deserved.

Full match report on the site.

Haiti played without fear, took the lead twice, and gave Atlanta one of the nights of the tournament. Wilson Isidor scored Haiti's first World Cup goal since 1974. A full match report from Atlanta Stadium.

06/24/2026

Kevin Huet wears Professional Referee Organization on his chest and is researching his craft at Kennesaw State University

The physiology, obstacles, observations and advances are under review in Kennesaw- and explained on SDH AM

KSU's Kevin Huet has been officiating since he was 12. Now he's an exercise scientist and PRO assistant referee — and he's using research to explain what 90 minutes on that field actually demands.

06/24/2026

The referee doesn’t get a replay. They get one angle, one moment, and a decision that has to be made right now.

Senior Lecturer of Exercise Science at Kennesaw State University and certified PRO AR Kevin Huet on what might be forgotten by fans when the whistle blows.

Total Referee

06/23/2026

We visited Jozy Altidore at Sogility's Fayetteville, GA facility recently, just a few miles from where US Soccer has set up its own operations. The timing, and the location, are not a coincidence.

Altidore built Sogility around a belief that American soccer has consistently missed talented players because the development system never figured out how to handle kids who do not fit a standard mold.

Sogility's answer involves small groups, cognitive training, light-up boards that generate real player data, and sessions where four-year-olds learn to read space without knowing they are learning game theory.

With the World Cup arriving on American soil this summer and US Soccer operating practically in his backyard, he thinks the timing could not be better.

"It's the most fun I've had since I've been a professional," he told us.

The full feature is on the site. If you care about where American soccer goes next, this one is worth reading.

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06/23/2026

Messi and history. Mbappé and Haaland keeping pace. A massive Tuesday at the World Cup. Atlanta continuing to show out.

Today’s Morning Espresso covers Messi breaking the men’s World Cup scoring record, the shape of the Golden Boot race, Portugal-Uzbekistan, England-Ghana, Colombia-DR Congo, Atlanta’s Fan Festival numbers, the latest on Atlanta’s soccer future, and more in The Refill.

The game never stops and neither do we.

☕ Read today’s edition:

Lionel Messi breaks the men’s World Cup scoring record, Mbappé and Haaland chase the Golden Boot, and Tuesday’s World Cup slate brings Portugal, England, Colombia and more into focus.

06/23/2026

The final group-stage matches have arrived! Come watch all the World Cup action with us at NoFo all week long. Then make plans to join us Thursday night because we’ll be open LATE as we cheer on USA vs. Turkey at 10pm across all locations!

Grab your friends, wear your red, white, and blue, and let’s bring the energy 🇺🇸🍻

06/22/2026

The viral FIFA Fan Bands have taken over the FIFA Fan Festival in Atlanta. ⚽️🌎

I caught up with Al McRae, President of Bank of America Atlanta, about how these bracelets became one of the must-have World Cup souvenirs and how Bank of America is using the tournament to help grow the game through youth soccer initiatives across the country.

Plus, I got to make my own bracelet and take home a piece of Atlanta’s World Cup story.

06/22/2026

☕ Spain came to Atlanta last night and put on a show. Lamine Yamal scored after 10 minutes. Mikel Oyarzabal added two more in 25. The World Cup was right here and it delivered.

Meanwhile in Miami, Cabo Verde drew 2-2 with Uruguay and are now favored to reach the knockout stage. A country of half a million people doing something nobody expected.

And today in Dallas, Messi plays Argentina's second group game on the 40th anniversary of Maradona's greatest World Cup day, one goal from becoming the all-time leading scorer in the history of the tournament.
Today's Morning Espresso is up. Everything you need for the day.

Spain answered the doubters in Atlanta. Cabo Verde kept their World Cup dream alive in Miami. Tonight, Argentina play in Dallas on June 22, exactly 40 years after the Hand of God. Morning Espresso is your read for the day.