2026’s summer of sport has given us plenty to talk about: from the biggest football tournament in the world to a Cinderella run at Wimbledon, this summer has had almost everything.
Spain became world champions again, Arthur Fery announced himself on the biggest stage at Wimbledon and Matthew Hudson-Smith produced a historic performance in front of his home crowd.
Here are three stories that defined the summer of sport:
1. Spain wins the World Cup
Football’s biggest tournament returned with a record 48 teams competing across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Spain came into the World Cup as the favourites off the back of their 2024 Euros win. As one of the standout teams of the tournament, they demonstrated their dominance with their semi finals performance knocking out France. However, it would take until extra time in the final for Ferran Torres to break the deadlock, allowing La Roja to defeat Argentina 1-0 and win their second World Cup.
The surprise package of the World Cup came with debutants Cape Verde, who were drawn in a group with Spain and Uruguay and given little chance of making it through the group stage. However, they defied expectations and went unbeaten, making it to the knockout stage.
In the opening game against Spain, Cape Verde’s 40 year old goalkeeper Vozinha made seven saves which earned his country a historic 0-0 draw against the European champions and eventual World Cup winners. This also meant Vozinha became the oldest goalkeeper in football history to keep a clean sheet on his World Cup debut.
After making it into the knockout stage, Cape Verde faced off against defending champions Argentina in the Round of 32. While Argentina advanced after winning 3-2, the small African nation managed to push the three time winners all the way to extra time, with Vozinha making eight saves to keep them in the game.
Despite a defeat in extra time, Cape Verde’s underdog story is undoubtedly the story of the tournament. Vozinha’s Instagram rose from 50,000 followers to over 17 million by the end of the group stage, turning him into a global star within weeks.
2. Wimbledon’s fairytale
Football wasn’t the only sport that had a fairytale run this summer, as wildcard entry Arthur Fery became a Wimbledon semi finalist. The 23 year old Brit entered Wimbledon ranked 114th in the world, having never made it past the second round of a Grand Slam.
Fery defeated Otto Virtanen in the second round, who upset fourth seed Ben Shelton, before advancing to face world number 37 Zizou Bergs. After falling behind two sets to one, Fery fought back to win two consecutive sets in a match that took almost five hours.
This win set up a match against former world number three Grigor Dimitrov, which led to Fery’s biggest win of his career. After once again falling behind two sets to one, Fery fought back to force a fifth set tiebreak which he won 7-6. This victory meant he became the first British wildcard to reach a Grand Slam quarter final, where he would face ninth seed Flavio Cobolli.
In the quarter finals, there was no need for another comeback as Fery won in straight sets, with the third being a whitewash that led him into the Wimbledon semi finals.
In the semi finals, the Cinderella run came to an end as Fery lost to second seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated the Brit in straight sets to reach the final. However, Zverev didn’t go all the way, as Wimbledon winner Jannik Sinner retained his title in the final.
Despite not making it to the final, Fery’s run from an unseeded wildcard to briefly becoming Britain’s new number one was one of the biggest sporting stories of the summer.
3. European Athletics came to Birmingham
Some of Europe’s best athletes came to Birmingham as the Alexander Stadium hosted the European Athletics Championships.
One of the biggest stories came from a homegrown track and field sprinter, as Matthew Hudson-Smith made history in front of his home crowd by becoming the most decorated male athlete in European Championships history.
Hudson-Smith’s 44.17 second victory in Birmingham gave him his third European 400m gold medal, making him the first man to win the event three times. The sprinter’s win was a full circle moment, as he had trained at the Alexander Stadium since he was nine years old, and won the historic 400m in front of the Matthew Hudson-Smith stand, which was named after him for the championships.
Hudson-Smith wasn’t the only Brit to make history in Birmingham, as Amy Hunt became the first athlete to win four medals at a single European Athletics Championships.
Hunt won gold in the 100m and 200m, before helping Great Britain win the women’s 4x100m and mixed 4x100m relay.
With Hudson-Smith and Hunt’s historic wins, there was plenty for the home crowd to celebrate as Great Britain came second in the medal table behind Italy.
With a Spanish World Cup win, a Wimbledon fairytale and a historic European Athletics Championships, 2026 has been a summer to remember for sport.
All image credits: getty images
