WORLD CUP
2026

Around the year 2000, football entered a golden age of artists, and two names towered above the rest: Zinedine Zidane of France and Ronaldo Nazário of Brazil, the striker the world simply called R9. They were opposites in style yet equals in greatness. Zidane glided across the grass like a dancer, slowing time with the ball glued to his feet. Ronaldo exploded past defenders with raw speed and a smile, finishing chances no one else could see. Between them they defined three World Cups, from France 1998 to Germany 2006. Their duels with each other and with the rest of the planet filled stadiums and television screens from Tokyo to São Paulo. This was the era just before Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo arrived, and these were the heroes who taught that new generation how to dream. Behind them stood a glittering cast of stars who made the 2000s feel like a parade of magic. To understand modern football, you first have to meet the millennium generation, when elegance and explosiveness ruled the world.