The FIFA World Cup has officially taken over the planet, causing chronic sleep deprivation, spontaneous living-room screaming matches, and an sudden urge to wear jerseys to formal events.

But what are you supposed to do during those agonizing hours between match kick-offs? Stare at a blank TV screen? Absolutely not.

While the world’s best footballers battle it out on the pitch, Crunchyroll has a bench full of elite sports anime ready to keep your adrenaline levels dangerously high.

From ego-driven strikers to lightning-fast running backs, grab your snacks and settle in for a marathon of victories, setbacks, and comebacks worthy of the world stage.

Who knows, it might inspire you to begin your sports journey too.

BLUE LOCK

Following a disappointing World Cup exit, the Japanese Football Association decides they’ve had enough of “teamwork” and launches a brutal, hyper-isolated training camp called Blue Lock.

The goal? Throw 300 of the country’s best high school forwards into a cutthroat battle royale to breed the ultimate, entirely selfish, world-class striker.

Only one will survive to lead Japan to glory.

Haikyu!!

Shoyo Hinata is pint-sized but possesses an insane vertical leap. After his middle school team gets absolutely demolished by the genius “King of the Court” Tobio Kageyama, Hinata vows revenge.

He enrolls at Karasuno High School to finally crush his rival, only to walk into the gym and find out Kageyama just enrolled there, too.

Now, the sworn enemies have to weaponize their freakish chemistry to bring a fallen powerhouse school back to the national stage.

Shoot! Goal to the Future

Kakegawa High School used to be a legendary name in high school soccer. But these days, the team is a shell of its former self.

Enter Atsushi Kamiya, a former Kakegawa captain turned international soccer star, who returns to coach the struggling squad.

His biggest hurdle? Hideto Tsuji, a profoundly talented player who has completely given up on the sport.

It’s a race against the clock to spark the team’s passion before the whistle blows on their season.

Kuroko’s Basketball

Seirin High just recruited Taiga Kagami, a powerhouse player fresh out of America, alongside Tetsuya Kuroko, a boy so aggressively ordinary he practically blends into the background.

Kagami is horrified to find out Kuroko is terrible at shooting and dribbling until he sees him play. Kuroko’s utter lack of presence allows him to act as an invisible passing ghost, revealing himself as the secret “Sixth Man” of the legendary Middle School Generation of Miracles.

Together, they aim to take down Kuroko’s former teammates one by one.

Eyeshield 21

Sena Kobayakawa is a timid kid who has spent his entire life running away from bullies. Decades of acting as an errand boy have accidentally gifted him with superhuman speed and an uncanny ability to navigate tight spaces.

When the terrifying, submachine-gun-toting captain of the school’s American football team spots Sena’s agility, he forcefully drafts him into the squad.

To hide his identity from rival schools, Sena is forced to don a tinted visor and take the gridiron under the legendary alias: “Eyeshield 21.”

Yuri!!! on ICE

After a crushing, rock-bottom defeat at the Grand Prix Final, Japan’s top figure skater, Yuri Katsuki, heads home with zero confidence and every intention of retiring.

His career seems entirely iced over until a video of him mimicking a routine goes viral, catching the eye of five-time reigning world champion Victor Nikiforov.

In a shocking move, Victor flies to Japan and offers to become Yuri’s coach, sparking a beautiful, high-stakes journey back to the world stage.

MF GHOST

It’s the 202X decade, and Japan has fully embraced self-driving electric vehicles. Traditional cars are all but extinct.

However, internal combustion gets a roaring second life thanks to MFG, a dangerous street-racing circuit held on public motorways.

Kanata Rivington, a brilliant 19-year-old trained by a legendary racer in the UK, arrives in Japan to compete in the MFG with a humble Toyota 86. In the process, he tracks down clues about his missing father.

TECNO has partnered with Brazilian photographer Angélica Dass in launching “100 Portraits of Becoming.”

It is a two-year global initiative that explores identity, representation, and how AI sees people.

The project officially kicked off in Nairobi, Kenya — where Dass began photographing participants using the latest TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra.

Who’s Angélica Dass?

Angélica Dass is best known for exploring identity and self-expression through portrait photography.

Her award-winning “Humanæ” project challenged conventional ideas of race and skin color by highlighting the diversity of human skin tones.

ICYMI, Dass and her project gained much recognition from:

• TED
• World Economic Forum
• UNESCO
• American Museum of Natural History
• Vogue
• National Geographic

Portraits beyond appearances

With this portrait project, Dass teams up with TECNO to photograph 100 people across five countries.

Rather than simply documenting faces, 100 Portraits of Becoming aims to tell the stories behind each participant. Every portrait is paired with a personal narrative about growth, identity, and life experiences. Creating what TECNO calls a “Living Archive.”

Participants are photographed in natural light, without filters, and while wearing clothing of their own choice to better reflect their authentic selves.

The collaboration also explores how AI can go beyond simply recognizing faces. Asking instead how technology can better reflect the complexity of human identity and give people more control over how they choose to be seen.

Powered by TECNO’s Universal Tone imaging

All portraits are shot using the TECNO CAMON 50 Ultra, which features the company’s Universal Tone imaging technology.

Introduced in 2023, Universal Tone is designed to improve how smartphone cameras capture different skin tones. According to TECNO, the system is built on a database covering hundreds of skin tone samples, allowing photos to produce more natural and accurate results across a wider range of complexions.

The company says the technology aligns with the project’s goal of promoting more authentic and inclusive representation in photography, especially as AI-powered imaging becomes increasingly common nowadays.

From Kenya to the world

As previously mentioned, Kenya serves as the project’s first stop. With TECNO citing the country’s growing technology ecosystem and young population as reasons for beginning there.

Over the next two years, the initiative will travel to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil. The first collection of portraits and stories expected to go live online in August.

As of writing, TECNO is currently accepting participants from the Philippines where Dass is expected to take part from August 16 until August 22, 2026.

Through 100 Portraits of Becoming, TECNO hopes to spark conversations around identity, diversity, and how technology can better reflect the people it captures—not just visually, but through their stories as well.