Since 2018, Gus Hully has had one rule that he has not broken even once: when a country is eliminated from the World Cup, he opens the beer he chose to represent it and drinks it. 🍺 He did it in Russia with 32 bottles, repeated it in Qatar with 32 more—and in that edition only one was left untouched, Argentina’s, the tournament champion.
Now, for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Gus started again from scratch. It took him 18 months to complete his collection: 48 beers, one for each qualified national team. He got half of them in shops and bars in London; the other half, by traveling or negotiating with collectors.
Iraq’s cost him 30 pounds from a Pole who had visited the country. For Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq, he turned to non-alcoholic malts. For Spain, he chose Estrella Galicia, the same one as in 2022. 🇪🇸
The Cheltenham Town fan—English fourth division—posted the photo of the 48 bottles on June 8 and within hours it went viral around the world. Football’s most epic ritual is ready. All that remains is to see which one is the last to fall. 🏆