PEABODY — When Sam Lattof opened his email and saw FIFA had approved his media credentials for a World Cup match at Gillette Stadium, he almost couldn’t believe it.

The Peabody native had spent years covering the New England Revolution, writing game recaps, interviewing players and coaches, and steadily building his reputation as a soccer reporter. But covering the world’s most-watched sporting event in his 20s was something he never imagined.

“I was so pumped… To be able to have covered six World Cup games, I never could have imagined it,” Lattof said.

A 2016 graduate of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, Lattof grew up playing soccer before shifting to baseball, basketball, football, and golf. Although he realized a professional career wasn’t in the cards, he wasn’t ready to leave sports behind. Instead, he found another way onto the field; this time with a notebook instead of a jersey.

“The whole genesis of me pursuing journalism, and definitely sports journalism, was: I was an athlete. I was like, if I’m not going to be a pro, I still wanted to be involved in sports in some way,’” he said.

After receiving a communications degree with a concentration in journalism from Salem State University in 2020, Lattof worked for local news organizations, including the Daily Item, while also building experience with national digital sports outlets. In 2021, he began covering the Revolution for what is now The Blazing Musket, eventually becoming the site’s manager.

When SB Nation ended financial support for many of its Major League Soccer sites, Lattof and fellow contributors refused to let their publication disappear. They rebranded as The Blazing Musket and expanded beyond Revolution coverage to include clubs across New England, the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams, podcasts, and social media content.

“I kind of took the opportunity… to expand it. … This can be a real opportunity to not just cover soccer with the New England Revolution at the MLS level, but to cover the women’s game, to cover all the ‘lower leagues’ in all of New England,” Lattof said.

That work helped position the outlet for its biggest assignment yet: the FIFA World Cup.

Lattof applied for FIFA credentials not knowing whether he would receive access. Once approved for the tournament’s opening match at Gillette Stadium between Scotland and Haiti, the opportunities kept coming. So far, Lattof has covered every World Cup match played in Foxborough.

Beyond interviewing international stars, Lattof said the experience has been defined by the atmosphere surrounding the tournament.

“It’s really been amazing to see all the fans come together… Especially with everything going on in the world at this moment, seeing all these cultures come together was just such an amazing experience,” he shared.

He recalled watching supporters from countries across the globe celebrating together at Patriot Place, while also befriending journalists and photographers from Norway, France, and elsewhere.

He described feeling like “a welcoming committee” for the international attendees.

Between helping visitors take photos outside Gillette Stadium and watching fans from different corners of the world dance together before kickoff, Lattof said the tournament became about much more than what happened on the pitch.

Inside the stadium, Lattof has interviewed some of the sport’s biggest names, marveling at both their talent and the worldwide attention they command.

“I’ve gotten to see… all these top players,” he said. “Just in general, not even from a media standpoint, watching them play has been absolutely insane.”

As remarkable as those moments have been, Lattof said they didn’t happen overnight. Years of covering Revolution matches before half-filled crowds eventually led to soccer’s biggest stage.

“Being at Revs games and being able to be in the press box and being able to talk to players, that was a dream come true already,” Lattof said. “To cover a World Cup… I’m really blessed to have been able to do it — especially in my 20s.”

For the Peabody native who once simply wanted to stay connected to the game he loved, the World Cup has become the latest — and grandest — chapter in his career that is still just getting started.