Libero

With all 48 teams at the World Cup 2026 now having played, Gianni Infantino will be delighted that the football is now doing the talking, quite emphatically. To pick apart the first round of matches and the off-field stories that are bubbling away under the surface at Fifa's big jamboree are Miguel Delaney, James Horncastle and Tariq Panja.

P1: (00:32)

P2: (30:45)

For this summer's main event, we are offering all new signups to SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, a two-week free trial. Time it right and that's two bonus episodes and four extended shows without paying a penny. Remember, bonus episodes are only available to members on the Einsteins tier and above. Join now: liberopodcast.com.

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Produced by: Tom Bassam

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Libero has landed at the World Cup and we've even seen some football. We have everyone’s first impressions from the first week (or so) in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Both Tariq and Jonathan were in Mexico City for the opener, Jack and Miguel are ensconced in the England camp, while Rory and James are experiencing it from opposite sides of the USA, engaging in the greatest pastime of all: working out if America likes football or not. Tying it all together is John, who tells us the one thing the rest of us don’t know: whether anyone back home cares.

Initial impressions: (01:23)

Wilson and Tariq in Mexico: (13:11)

Tickets: (27:31)

Jack and Miguel in Kansas: (39:21)

Final thoughts: (52:59)

For this summer's main event, we are offering all new signups to SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, a two-week free trial. Time it right and that's two bonus episodes and four extended shows without paying a penny. Join now: liberopodcast.com.

—

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via getintouch@liberopodcast.com

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

Join our Discord @Libero Podcast

Follow us on X @podcast_libero

Follow us on Bluesky @liberopodcast

Follow us on Instagram @liberopod

Follow us on TikTok @liberopod

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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The 2026 World Cup is upon us. The “biggest, most inclusive and best" football tournament ever is finally here . Gianni Infantino told us to say that. On today’s Libero, James Horncastle, Rory Smith and Jonathan Wilson look forward — if that’s the right word — to what is about to unfold across the United States, Mexico and Canada and try to pick their way through the politics and the problems to find some actual football.

P1: (01:15)

P2: (28:43)

We are offering all new signups to SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, a two-week free trial. Time it right and that's two bonus episodes and four extended shows without paying a penny. Join now: liberopodcast.com.

—

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via getintouch@liberopodcast.com

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

Join our Discord @Libero Podcast

Follow us on X @podcast_libero

Follow us on Bluesky @liberopodcast

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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The 2026 World Cup has a class of elite coaching talent unlike any other tournament in history. Thomas Tuchel, Carlo Ancelotti and Mauricio Pochettino will all be calling the shots for nations they are not from. There is a clear shift in the profile of managers willing to take jobs that were previously the preserve of international football specialists. Is this the start of a permanent trend shift for top coaches looking to escape the intensity of club football? Will they being able to adapt to a model where money cannot simply be thrown at a problem position. Jack Pitt-Brooke, John Brewin and Jonathan Wilson tackle this one.

P1: (01:56

P2: (26:26)

We are offering new members a two-week free trial of SC Libero⁠ on all pricing tiers, time it right and that's two bonus episodes and four extended shows without paying a penny. Join now: liberopodcast.com.

—

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via getintouch@liberopodcast.com

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

Join our Discord @Libero Podcast

Follow us on X @podcast_libero

Follow us on Bluesky @liberopodcast

Follow us on Instagram @liberopod

Follow us on TikTok @liberopod

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Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will play at this World Cup despite a combined age of nearly 80. It is a credit to their commitment to football and, undoubtedly, improvements in sport science that the two defining players of the last 25 years are still going, but it also begs the question of why can't the game let go of these two superstars? Messi and Ronaldo are not the only players in the upper age bracket at this tournament, is that because there is a dearth of talent coming through? Or has the media landscape that allowed them to rise so high become more fragmented in the age of niche passions.

In the first of our World Cup series, James Horncastle, Rory Smith and Tariq Panja wrestle with these questions and more.

P1: (11:05)

P2: (26:46)

Join SC Libero, the most important of the least important membership clubs, now: liberopodcast.com.

—

Produced by: Tom Bassam

Email in via getintouch@liberopodcast.com

Subscribe to our YouTube channel @liberopod

Join our Discord @Libero Podcast

Follow us on X @podcast_libero

Follow us on Bluesky @liberopodcast

Follow us on Instagram @liberopod

Follow us on TikTok @liberopod

Follow us on Facebook @liberopod

Music: Kid Kodi - Blue Dot Sessions
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