America 2026: A World Cup podcast

Canada notched their first ever World Cup victory after stomping Qatar 6-0 in Vancouver last night. Not everyone loved the wild celebrations on the touchline and after the whistle but is it all actually playing right into coach Marsch's plans for global domination?Kevin Kilbane was at the game in Vancouver on televisual duties, we get his thoughts on what he makes of the co-hosts, the potential fallout of Ismaël Koné’s horror injury and how he reckons the groups are poised going into the second round of games. America 2026 lands in your podcast feeds at least three times a week throughout the tournament, free to everyone, wherever you get your podcasts.

Life is just better when the World Cup is on.We know it. For better or worse, sport has a way of melting away the woes of the world, and nothing has captured that quite like the last few days of America 2026. Mere hours after Iran were ushered out the country at the whistle of their opening group game, our gaze was swung to the twinkling brilliance of Mbappé, Messi and Haaland, who each smacked in a bag of goals to truly bring the tournament to life. Suddenly, all the off-pitch noise felt a world away.Malachy Clerkin and Paul Howard are in studio and in the mood to revel through last night's action. We also catch up with Keith Duggan, who took in France v Senegal at the Meadowlands, though not before a detour to DC for UFC Freedom 250.

A highly sleep-deprived Paul Howard and Gavin Cooney are in studio today to pick apart the amorphous blob that was the weekend's group-stage action. A sprawling, shapeless mass of goals, the occasional flash of genuine quality and only modest amounts of drama. The Scots are making a name for themselves in Boston, Curaçao caught a fleeting glimpse of greatness before being yanked firmly back down to earth, and tired national stereotypes are turned on their head by Japan's late equaliser against the Dutch. Plus, we look ahead to today's action, which features our very own Pico Lopez lining out for his ancestral home of Cape Verde against tournament favourites Spain. A baptism of fire if ever there was one.

America 2026 roared into life in the stadium formerly known as the Azteca in Mexico City last night, with a match that was a much better occasion than it was a game. Elsewhere, early risers will have enjoyed much schadenfreude as the Czechs slumped to an opening-round loss to South Korea in Guadalajara. Malachy Clerkin and the fresh face of Gavin Cooney join Paul Howard in studio to chat about the opening games, their watch strategies, and how much of a role these new-fangled "hydration breaks" might play in who takes home the trophy. Plus, we explore 2026 Derangement Syndrome, where even in our wildest World Cup fantasies, we still cannot imagine the Republic of Ireland as anything other than a gloriously middling team in this tournament.

Not even a bowl of Mauricio Pochettino's lemons could soak up the negativity hanging over the host nation of World Cup 2026. From reports of FIFA referees being turned around at the border to the Iranian national team being permitted nothing more than day trips into the country, it's the events off the pitch that have been dominating global headlines.Irish Times Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan joins us from LA to pick through the situation on the ground, while Kevin runs the rule over what to expect from tomorrow's opening games and how the USMNT are shaping up with the weight of a divided US on their shoulders.Plus, with so many Canadians having long preferred to back the countries of their family heritage over their own, is this finally the year Les Rouges truly become "Canada's team"?

Maybe the worst thing about the Republic of Ireland losing their World Cup place to Czechia is missing out on the chance to play tournament co-hosts Mexico in their home stadium - the Estadio Azteca - almost 40 years to the day since Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' moment cemented its status as one of the truly iconic stadiums in world football.Paul, Kevin and Malachy discuss the state of play for both Mexico and Canada, as teams and as co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup. Can Mexico top their group to keep home advantage? Can Canada claim their first ever World Cup point? We also chat to Andrew Downie, a foreign correspondent for Reuters based in Brazil and the author of a number of acclaimed sports books, including a personal favourite of Paul’s, "Doctor Socrates".Andrew tells us how the 1986 earthquakes in Mexico City jeopardised the country's chances of hosting the World Cup last time round, how they managed to avoid losing the tournament, and the social and political ripple effects the disaster had on Mexican society.

With World Cup 2026 one week away, Paul Howard, Kevin Kilbane and Malachy Clerkin kick off our podcast coverage of the tournament.The Irish Times will publish episodes of America 2026 several times per week between now and the final on July 19th. Listen for analysis of all the football, digressions into World Cup history and coverage of the big stories happening inside and outside the stadiums.On today’s episode Paul, Kevin and Mal preview the tournament. Who are favourites to win? Who are the players to watch? Is there any merit to the expanded number of teams competing? And are we allowed to enjoy this World Cup with all the political and ethical baggage attached to it?Plus, Paul shamelessly name-drops while recounting his last World Cup final experience and Mal recalls his dressing-down by US president Donald Trump. 

Malachy Clerkin, Kevin Kilbane and Gavin Cummiskey are here to talk about the final round of games World Cup qualification matches. In part one we look at last night in the Aviva and Ireland's campaign as a whole. are we in a better place now? And what is Seamus Coleman's future in the Ireland setup?In part two we look at the playoff deciders, where there were plenty of surprising results including Bosnia and Herzegovina beating Italy on penalties. Finally we look ahead to some of the tantalising and not-so-tantalising matchups in the World Cup.