Soccer fanatics share their World Cup highlights — so far

A joyous expression made famous by Ted Lasso character Dani Rojas — "Futbol is Life!" —has become a Friday destination for many KAXE listeners, both the futbol fanaticos and the soccer curious.

Soccer is the beautiful game after all.

As we careen toward the final matches of the World Cup, we wanted to share some soccer super fans' highlights from the 93+ games from the past month and over 93 matches.

Tune in to KAXE every Friday at 8:40 a.m. during the World Cup for "Futbol is Life!" Send us photos of your futbol watch parties and join the conversation by texting 218-326-1234.

Listen above for a special edition of "Futbol is Life!" with DJ Dang and John Latimer from Tuesday, July 7.

Obsessed Argentinian fan (redundancy alert!) Bianca Karjalainen

1. Argentine banderazos and showing U.S. fans how deep the culture of futbol is: For those unfamiliar, Argentine banderazos are large, passionate, fan-driven pre-match rallies where thousands of supporters gather to sing, wave massive Argentine flags and eat asado. It's a carnival-like atmosphere that is created in local parks and public spaces the day prior to an Argentina international match. Locals in Kansas City and Dallas were given a front-row opportunity to experience the unifying force that these rallies create.
   

   

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   Bianca Karjalainen

2. Morocco and representation of the diaspora: In their match against Brazil, Morocco was the first team in World Cup history to feature a lineup of players all born outside of the country they were representing. Morocco's national team has long held a successful strategy of recruiting players amongst the diaspora. What is impressive to me is how young and eager many of these foreign-born players are. Players like Ayyoub Bouaddi could have played for France's national team but instead chose to represent and honor his parents' country of origin (he made the switch in May!). The World Cup is, in so many ways, a remarkable display of honoring identity and creating belonging within nationalities despite displacement due to war, colonialism, etc. 
   
3. The goalkeepers of the 2026 World Cup: Eloy Room of Curaçao saved a remarkable 15 goals against Ecuador, the most on record by any goalkeeper in a FIFA World Cup match that did not feature extra time. Vozinha — Cabo Verde goalkeeper Josimar José Évora Dias — has become the sweetheart, feel-good story of the World Cup this year. He has no club that he is tied to, a humble approach, and with his talent created a massive upset in Cabo Verde's opening match against Spain. Orlando Gill of Paraguay had made his senior club debut last year, with the match against Germany being his 10th international appearance. He was able to create the opportunity for Paraguay to defeat Germany in the knockout round — a major upset in the tournament. Not shown during the match, Emi Martinez of Argentina directed teammates to their positions during the penalty kick against Jordan. Martinez is known for this type of support and mentoring, especially to the younger players. 

Goalkeeper coach Chris Walker

1. The Dutch March: It's something I never get tired of seeing at a major tournament, and it surely didn't disappoint this year. In the lead-up to their final group stage game against Tunisia, over 35,000 supporters turned out in orange to march on the streets of Kansas City in support of the Netherlands. The videos of the supporters bouncing to "Links Rechts" give me goosebumps every time I watch them. Someday, I will be part of it! Here's my favorite photo of the lot.
   

2. The history-making goalkeepers: One of the greatest effects of a World Cup is the chance for any player from any country to become an overnight star. With the whole world watching, one legendary performance can cement that status. As a former goalie, it filled me with joy to see Cabo Verde's Vozinha and Curaçao's Eloy Room take full advantage of that opportunity.

   Not only was it a wonderful story for both Cabo Verde and Curaçao to qualify for their first-ever World Cup, but these keepers put on a show. Vozinha held Spain to a scoreless draw in their first game and, since then, has gained more followers on Instagram than the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Victor Wembanyama. Room, who plays his club football for Miami FC (not to be confused with Lionel Messi's Inter Miami) in the USL Championship, only had the game of his life with a near-record 15 saves in a scoreless draw against Ecuador. That's like an NHL goalie having a 50-plus save shutout performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

   

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   Chris Walker

3. Congo's superfan: One of the coolest traditions in world football is that of the Democratic Republic of Congo's superfan nicknamed "Lumumba Vea." He regularly attends Congo matches, dressing up as former Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba. But that's only part of the story. What makes it so noteworthy is how he raises his right arm to resemble a statue of Lumumba and stands motionless for the entire game while Congolese fans cheer right behind him. An incredibly unfortunate result of this World Cup was that he was denied entry into the United States because of the current Ebola outbreak in Congo. Thankfully, though, he was allowed to enter Mexico to attend Congo's second group stage game against Colombia. 
   
4. The continued rise of soccer in America: Only because I'm guessing no one else will bring it up, I have to shout out how much of a joy this World Cup has been to witness on home soil. You could throw Canada into this sentiment as well, but I believe this World Cup will have such a massive impact on the sport moving forward. Yes, people said that about 1994, but I believe both can be true. 1994 gave the U.S. more of an awareness of what the sport of soccer is. 2026, in my opinion, is now showing the power of that sport and the effect it can have, thanks to the performance of the U.S. men's national team. The biggest difference between the two versions is social media, which opens up every goal, every story and every experience of this World Cup to millions and millions more people than it did in 1994. I'm an example of how much this sport has grown from when I was a kid in 1994, and I don't think it can be overstated what this World Cup will do for the next generation and continued growth of soccer in America. FIFA and the World Cup are no strangers to controversy, but on many levels, this World Cup has been an overwhelming success

DJ Dang

1. Cabo Verde wins the World Cup!!!!!!!! Well, the World Cup of our hearts anyway. This tiny African island nation with a population a fraction the size of Argentina gave the reigning champions the game of their lives. With 40-year-old keeper Vozinha standing tall and scorer of a Goal of the Tournament Sidny Lopes Cabral, the Blue Sharks showed us all what the beautiful game is all about. Immense amount of heart and skill! Obrigado, Cabo Verde!!!
   
2. Ten African teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup: An incredible nine of 10 advanced from the group stage into the knockout rounds. An incredible achievement and proud moment for soccer fans across the continent. At this writing, we have only Egypt and Morocco left, and we can reasonably dream of an improvement on Morocco's third-place finish in 2022. Fast, skilled and experienced... watch out for the Atlas Lions!
   

   

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   Dan Gannon

3. Fan energy across North America: Whether it was the Scots singing the night away at a Red Sox baseball game in Boston, Bosnians bringing the world's largest coffee pot to Toronto, Guadalajara's embrace of Korean fans, the citizens of Lawrence, Kansas, adopting the Algerian team or the Viking row chant that Norwegian fans have treated us to, the spirit of passion, love and joy has exuded from so many fans. This is truly what it's all about.