Following the World Cup - Smarter Sports Tracking & iOS Soccer Games

“I am not a hugely sporty person,” Rosemary Orchard warned at the top of this episode of iOS Today. That disclaimer turned out to be useful framing for a show about how Apple’s ecosystem makes it almost impossible to ignore the World Cup even if you try — and surprisingly easy to follow if you don’t. Between a free, ad-free sports app from Apple, several soccer games at different price points, and system-wide integration that surfaces scores and schedules in places like Apple News, the episode walked through what it actually looks like to track a global tournament on an iPhone in 2026.

Apple Sports: Free, deep, and system-connected

The centerpiece of the conversation was the Apple Sports app, which Micah Sargent and Rosemary both praised as a surprisingly capable tool for following the World Cup. It is completely free with no subscriptions, and it surfaces a dedicated “World Cup 2026 fixtures” section at the top of the interface. Tapping into that view shows recent matches, upcoming quarterfinal pairings, and group-stage results — all organized in a way that even a self-described non-sports fan like Rosemary could navigate. She noted that the app uses live activities to push updates to the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, which means you can stay informed without actively checking anything. “If you’re not into sports, you can make yourself sound very aware of what’s goin