Estonia vs Andorra: Two Tiny Nations, One Giant Mirror to the World’s Midlife Crisis Tallinn and Andorra la Vella sit 2,600 kilometers apart, but in the grand geopolitical waiting room they might as well be sharing the same cracked vinyl couch. One is a post-Soviet start-up that discovered capitalism the way a teenager discovers espresso—wide-eyed,…
Georgia vs Bulgaria: Two Small Nations, One Giant Game of Global Poker Tbilisi and Sofia do not, at first glance, look like the hinge upon which the twenty-first century will turn. One capital is famous for khachapuri and Soviet-era cable cars dangling over a river that looks suspiciously like it’s still arguing with the 1990s;…
Yerevan—The Armenian capital smells of apricots, diesel, and the faint, metallic whiff of existential dread that hovers over any nation whose neighbor keeps tanks on the lawn. On Thursday night, that bouquet was joined by grilled sardines and Cristiano Ronaldo’s cologne as Portugal rolled into town for a Euro qualifier. The final score—Portugal 3, Armenia…
Faroe Islands vs Croatia: When the Atlantic Mists Meet Balkan Fire—A Study in Global Asymmetry The North Atlantic, home to more sheep than humans and weather patterns that make London look positively Mediterranean, has coughed up its perennial David: the Faroe Islands. Meanwhile, somewhere along the Dalmatian coast, Croatia has been polishing its Goliath credentials—World…
Scotland Game: How a Nation Invented Modern Football, Then Decided Losing Was More Authentic By Cormac O’Shaughnessy, International Affairs Correspondent If you listen closely to the hum of global football chatter this week, you’ll hear a low, bagpipe-adjacent drone: Scotland is, once again, playing a game. Not just any game, mind you, but the Scotland…
