America 2026: A World Cup podcast

‘It looks altogether brighter’ echoed the immortal words of the BBC commentary mere moments before Brian Cipenga smashed one past Pickford at the near post to hand DR Congo an early lead.Congo fought valiantly, but twice they couldn't deny Harry Kane, who now has a high-altitude clash with Mexico at the Azteca to look forward to this Sunday.Gavin Cooney and Paul Howard are in studio to round up the last couple of days. They can see clean through Harry Kane's dives as well as Thomas Tuchel and Anthony Barry's party line. Unfortunately for Gavin, though, the same can't be said for the little surprise Paul has in store for him.We also look ahead to Spain v Austria at 8pm and Portugal v Croatia at midnight, before what might just be the loneliest fixture in football: Switzerland v Algeria at 4am.

The old world is fading, and the new one struggles to be born. There was a time when it seemed a foregone conclusion that the likes of Germany and the Netherlands would loom large at the business end of any World Cup, grinding out wins with efficient, controlled football. Last night, neither looked anything close to it. Germany crashed out to Paraguay, the Dutch to Morocco, both on penalties.Killian Sundermann - comedian, podcaster and crestfallen Germany fan, joins Paul Howard and Gavin Cooney in studio to explain exactly what went wrong for his boys, and to offer a message of hope and direction to his fellow suffering Germans.Japan, meanwhile, threw everything at their footballing mentors Brazil before falling to a late Gabriel Martinelli winner. They didn't sparkle but perhaps, like a good Ancelotti side, they'll just keep finding a way to win regardless.

Jesse Marsch's team stand as Canadian heroes to rank alongside Céline Dion, Justin Bieber and Tim Horton after last night's win over South Africa in Los Angeles - the nation's first-ever World Cup knockout victory, and perhaps the dawn of a brave new world for Canadian soccer.The game itself, though, was… rather less dramatic. Gavin Cooney and Malachy Clerkin join Paul Howard in studio to pick back over a mixed bag of a group phase, one marred by FIFA's baffling choice of format. Iran and South Korea crash out, while ties like Algeria v Austria slid into farce as teams gamed the bracket.Plus, we look ahead to the rest of the round of 32, kicking off with tonight's slate: Japan v Brazil, Germany v Paraguay, and Netherlands v Morocco.

To everything there is a season. That’s a lesson Scotland will surely have to learn if the football gods grant them another crack at this World Cup in the knockouts. Brazil were only too happy to feast on a calamitous defensive set-up, banging in three past a back line that flatly refused to ‘just knock it’.Paul Howard checks in with correspondents across North America, starting with Kevin Kilbane in Vancouver, who watched Canada's momentum get smothered by Switzerland. In Miami, Ken Early is in reflective mood, turning over how the Scots made such a mess of it, and why Brazil's fans so desperately want Neymar to have his ‘Messi in Qatar’ moment.Plus, Jonathan O’Brien unpicks a quirk in this year’s format, one that harks back to one of the strangest and most consequential episodes in World Cup history.

Forty years to the day since Diego Maradona's unforgettable brace against England at Mexico '86, three of the defining stars of the 2026 World Cup produced doubles of their own. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each struck twice in a remarkable night that invited comparisons with the tournament's most enduring icon. Paying tribute to Maradona in some moments, and perhaps surpassing him in others.Paul Howard is joined in studio by Malachy Clerkin and Gavin Cooney - the Messi, Mbappé and Haaland of sports podcasting - to unpack the night's action. As well as Luther Vandross, Britpop, and why Cristiano Ronaldo may prove to be the Enoch Burke of this competition.Plus, Irish Times columnist Dave Hannigan joins us from New York to explore why the United States continues to struggle to produce a footballing phenomenon in the mould of Haaland, and how the Dunning-Kruger effect can apply to the confidence of the USMNT fan.

Kevin Kilbane, the self described Dunphy of Canadian Television, joins us from Vancouver after the Sunday night games, along with Gavin Cooney in studio. Paul Howard has continued his Herculean effort to watch every single group stage game and reports back on a packed weekend of World Cup action. Favourites Spain look to be warming up but questions linger over Lamine Yamal’s fitness. Co-hosts Mexico and the USA keep their momentum up, while Cape Verde find themselves knocking on the door of the next round. The Dutch, the Germans and the Japanese manage to keep their dark horse status intact but the widely faniced Turkey crash out in what’s been the shock of the tournament so far.

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.

Thomas Tuchel complained that he "couldn't see his team" during the anthems in Dallas last night. Little did he know just how much would be read into that remark as the evening wore on.On paper, a 4-2 win over an old bogey side looks like the perfect way to open a World Cup. Add in the fact that this is an England team who have brushed aside everyone in their path en route to the tournament, and the mood should be euphoric. So why are the pundits, and even their own management, so slow to pat the team on the back?Ken Early is one such sceptic. We catch up with him in Philadelphia after coming fresh from the action at Jerry World. Gavin Cooney, on the other hand, has a different worry entirely: that we may just have seen the tournament's future champions.