America 2026: A World Cup podcast

Spain haven't lost a competitive game since Scotland beat them in March 2023. Tonight's win leaves them just a single match from breaking Italy's record unbeaten run of 38 games. Oh, and from lifting a World Cup trophy too, of course.

In the end, Spain's structure and patience proved far too much for France. They were ruthless in midfield, picking apart the soft spots in the French line-up and doing the unglamorous things well. You'd be forgiven for thinking they wore the look of the rightful favourites. A title they’ve been quietly holding onto all along while our attention was pulled elsewhere.

Malachy Clerkin and Paul Howard took the game in from the studio, while Keith Duggan joins us from the stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England are through to the World Cup semi-finals, and still nobody can say quite what they're good at, or what they're trying to do exactly. Now that Jude Bellingham has established himself as the squad's main man, will his clashes with Thomas Tuchel and his coaching staff prove England's undoing? Or is it precisely the kind of kinetic charge that carries a side all the way?

Miguel Delaney has the inside track, having shadowed England throughout the tournament. Kevin Kilbane also knows more than a thing or two about dressing-room scuffles between big personalities.

Elsewhere, Argentina looked leggy but ground down Switzerland after another draining slog through extra time. Spain, meanwhile, might just be peaking at exactly the right moment with France waiting for them tomorrow night.

Produced by Rob Sutton
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

France thumped Morocco with relative ease last night, laying bare just how wide the gulf still yawns between the plucky underdog and the ruling classes of world football.

Ken Early joins us from Boston for our weekly check-in, sharing his reflections on the tournament as the endgame comes into view. He also gives his take on the zealous furore engulfing Brazilian media since the seleção's exit.

Closer to home, Malachy Clerkin and Gavin Cooney are in studio to look ahead to the weekend’s quarter finals games.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yet another moment, yet another highlight reel, yet another memory for us all - courtesy of Leo Messi's remarkable football career.

Egypt’s two-goal lead should have been more, but in the end they were made to bow to the sheer weight of inevitability. Was it fate alone at work here? Or was there a human thumb pressing on the scales?

After FIFA's litany of missteps this week, perceived contentious calls are more up for debate than ever. When the game's governing body is torching its own credibility, even the conventional decisions start to look loaded.

Dave Hannigan joins us from New York to run through last night's matches, and gives us his take on the many World Cup conspiracy theories up to this point.

Produced by Rob Sutton
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American Dream is over. The United States, perhaps laden down with the sheer weight of the swirling situation, limped to a 4-1 defeat in Seattle. A result which ends their campaign and potentially the administration’s interest along with it. For all the strings pulled to drag Folarin Balogun back onto the pitch, their exit was a quiet, deflating end to the loudest week of the World Cup so far.

Paul Howard and Malachy Clerkin are in studio to review the events of last night and the rolling catastrophe still engulfing FIFA.

Meanwhile, Keith Duggan was in Dallas to see Spain pip Portugal last night. The defeat also draws the curtain on Cristiano Ronaldo's (not-so) storied World Cup career, forever missing the one prize that eluded him to the very last.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.