A photography expert’s guide to the best images from the World Cup
After a thrilling World Cup, City PM Picture Editor Andy Blackmore ranks his favourite images from the tournament.
Aside from war, about the only other human experience that spans such a wide range of emotions is sport. Of all the sports, perhaps football is the most emotive, and photographers at the World Cup hold the ultimate mirror to that boiling cauldron of passion: the highs and, of course, the lows.
Photography has changed beyond recognition since the last time England were agonisingly in a final. Film is long dead; long live film. And digital cameras, fast telephoto lenses, wide-angles on remote triggers, the internet and pitch-side transmission technology have revolutionised the mechanics of the coverage. Yet some things can never change: the photographers are just as devoted as they ever were.
Whatever the conditions, come rain or shine, or even stifling heat, the photographers endure it too. Having shot alongside them, believe me, sports photographers are some of the most obsessive and passionate sports fans on the planet. It shows. You can feel their love for the beautiful game in the way they observe it. I hope you can too.
Iconic sports photography is the combination of perfect timing and perfect vision, the synergy of moment and emotion, that split-second when the picture is so much bigger than the sum of the parts. The decisive moment.
Life as a photographer
A life on the road. Hurry up and wait, more bureaucracy than the Vogons, more passes than Mastermind, battling upstream through crowds like a determined salmon returning home, managing batteries and toilet breaks. Eating on the run. It never stops. The eyes of a hawk, the patience of a saint and the reactions of a Formula 1 driver. All for that one shot that makes it all worthwhile. Living on adrenaline and Mars bars.
Never have so many photos been taken at any World Cup, thanks to the cultural obsession with the omnipresent smartphone and living through a lens rather than living in the moment. Millions and millions of mediocre happy snaps taken, and forgotten, never again to see the light of day.
Yet a rare few images will transcend all of that, whether they will become as iconic as those of England winning the 1966 World Cup or that “The Hand of God” image of Maradona; only time will tell. But here is a small selection from the 2026 World Cup.
My top five World Cup images
Love him or hate him, you can’t ignore him. Justin Setterfield’s shot for Getty Images of Lionel Messi being thrown into the air by his teammates captures more than celebration; the placement of the hands is almost religious in its devotion. Pity they didn’t drop him.
It’s only live once. Blink, and Carl Recine of Getty Images would have missed it; his stunning frame perfectly captures Mexico’s pure, unadulterated joy at their goal against Ecuador. Brilliant.
It’s a law of physics for football that for every high there is a low, and in Giorgio Viera’s stunning shot for AFP of a Norway fan mourning the disallowed goal against England, we can almost feel his pain too. Almost.
Patrick Smith’s photo for Fifa of a victorious Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane after winning the match against Norway does a rare thing in photography: it invites you into the moment and lets you share the pride too. So near yet so far. But that image remains.
Just like football, position and timing are everything, and Roberto Schmidt’s shot for AFP of the ball frozen on Erling Haaland’s head proves it; a split second of magic that lives forever. A cracking shot.
The privilege
Of course, this is only a tiny selection of a massive body of work, and I have been truly privileged to edit them; in many ways, it’s a dream job, looking at amazing photography and getting paid for it!
Alas, to show you every brilliant photo would take many more pages than I’ve been allowed; besides that, you’d never be able to lift such a mammoth tome.
Each image is a testament to the skill and devotion of every photographer who covered this year’s World Cup, working punishing hours in challenging conditions, moving from venue to venue carrying tons of equipment and juggling long lenses and monopods; yet their passion for the game is seared into the pages.
No matter how demanding or exhausting, I bet none of them would have missed a single stressful second, and they can’t wait until 2030 to do it all again. Only this time to capture another iconic image of a victorious England lifting the trophy, one that will live forever.
Ah, it’s the hope that kills you.
Andy Blackmore is Picture Editor at City PM with further work available here