The Athletic FC Podcast

Four-time World Cup winners Germany are out. So too are the Netherlands and Japan after a dramatic day at the World Cup.Emma Paton is alongside Mark Critchley and Cerys Jones to look back on the action. Matt Slater shares his view from Boston after seeing Germany dumped out on penalties, losing their first-ever World Cup shootout to Paraguay.David Ornstein joins us to discuss the latest in the transfer market including Chelsea's move for Granit Xhaka as well as their reaction to confirmation Enzo Maresca has succeeded Pep Guardiola as manager of Man City.Plus, there's a look ahead to England's Round of 32 tie with DR Congo, a preview of the Day 20 action as well as our daily 'do you know' trivia.Host: Emma PatonWith: Mark Critchley & Cerys JonesFeaturing: Matt Slater, David Ornstein and Jack Pitt-BrookeExecutive Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Jay Beale & Grayson Moody

Canada saw off South Africa as the knockout stages got underway at the World Cup, with some big games to come on Day 19.Emma Paton is joined by The Athletic's Liam Twomey and Liam Tharme as they assess Canada's win with Josh Kloke explaining the significance of a knockout victory for the co-hosts.There's then a look at the World Cup bracket with the panel making their predictions as to who will make the final four of the competition.Ahead of the Netherlands taking on Morocco in one of the ties of the round, Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero joins from Monterrey to preview the game, explain the mood in the city as well as the possibility of an England v Mexico tie in the Azteca Stadium in the next round.Host: Emma PatonWith: Liam Twomey and Liam TharmeFeaturing: Josh Kloke and Tomas Hill Lopez-MencheroExecutive Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Jay Beale and Liam Warburton

Despite a 2-0 win over Panama with Jude Bellingham playing a crucial role, Thomas Tuchel's England still lack conviction.Joining Adam Leventhal to get stuck into England's final group stage performance are Tim Spiers and Art De Roche, with Jack Pitt-Brooke sharing his thoughts from the MetLife Stadium.With the group stage now completed there's also discussion around some of the big talking points as Lionel Messi moves onto six goals at the tournament, nine of the 10 African sides have reached the knockout stage - and Scotland head coach Steve Clarke resigns, with Jordan Campbell providing reaction in Boston.Plus, ahead of the knockouts beginning there's some bracket projections before our Canada correspondent Josh Kloke previews Canada's tie with South Africa.Host: Adam LeventhalWith: Tim Spiers and Art De RocheFeaturing: Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jordan Campbell and Josh KlokeProducers: Guy Clarke and Liam Warburton

The transfer window is truly up and running as Manchester City have agreed a £116million deal to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest - the most ever paid for a British player.Adam Leventhal is joined in-studio by Cerys Jones and Tim Spiers to discuss the massive move for the England midfielder. Football correspondent David Ornstein drops in for the latest details on the deal, and Man City writer Sam Lee joins the panel to analyse why the club were so adamant on signing Anderson from Nottingham Forest.Meanwhile, at the World Cup, Ecuador had its greatest football moment as they qualified for the knockout stages with a 2-1 win over Germany, while Ivory Coast, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden joined the USA in booking their place in the next round.The panel also discuss their breakout player of the tournament so far, plus, there's our daily 'do you know' trivia as well as a profile of our latest Star of Soccer, Iran’s BeiranvandHost: Adam LeventhalWith: Cerys Jones & Tim SpiersFeaturing: David Ornstein & Sam LeeExecutive Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Jay Beale & Grayson Moody

Brazil broke Scottish hearts on day 14 at the World Cup, running out 3-0 winners to leave the Scots' hopes of securing qualification hanging by a thread.Adam Leventhal is joined by Cerys Jones and Carl Anka to react to just how strong Brazil are, with James Horncastle highlighting the demeanour of boss Carlo Ancelotti.Canada saw their hopes of staying on home soil in the knockout phases slip through their fingers, while we're also joined by Adam Crafton to discuss some of the key themes of the tournament so far two weeks into the action.Plus there's our daily 'do you know' trivia and Japan's Ayase Ueda features as our Star of Soccer ahead of their final group game against Sweden.Host: Adam LeventhalWith: Cerys Jones and Carl AnkaFeaturing: James Horncastle and Adam CraftonExecutive Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Jay Beale and Liam Warburton

The storylines keep on flowing at this summer’s World Cup, this time, the goals dried up for England in a 0-0 draw with Ghana in Group L.Emma Paton is joined in-studio by Carl Anka and Liam Twomey as we discuss the World Cup action on Day 14.Jack Pitt-Brooke drops by to try and explain why Thomas Tuchel’s side struggled to break down Ghana. Plus, Nick Miller reports from Houston on the day Cristiano Ronaldo netted his first two goals at this summer’s tournament in Portugal’s 5-0 win over UzbekistanWe also round-up the latest bracket projections for the knockout rounds and look ahead to Scotland’s clash against Brazil.There's our daily 'do you know' trivia as well as a profile of our latest Star of Soccer, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Kerim Alajbegovic.Host: Emma PatonWith: Carl Anka and Liam TwomeyFeaturing: Jack Pitt-Brooke and Nick MillerExecutive Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Mike Stavrou and Grayson Moody

As the World Cup ticks over to Day 13, the summer transfer window is still making waves.Emma Paton is joined in-studio by Mark Critchley and Tim Spiers as we discuss the World Cup action as well as getting the latest from David Ornstein on the midfield merry-go-round.With Sandro Tonali, Lucas Bergvall, Elliot Anderson, Mateus Fernandes and Alex Scott potentially on the move, the dominos are starting to fall into place. David also brings us his latest one to watch from this week's DealSheet on The Athletic - USMNT’s Folarin Balogun.We also round-up the Lionel Messi show as the Argentine inspired his nation to a 2-0 win over Austria, becoming the World Cup’s top goalscorer of all time in the process. Matt Slater checks in from a rain-delayed 3-0 win for France over Iraq, as Kylian Mbappe also netted twice. Plus, Erling Haaland was at it again with a brace in a 3-2 win over Senegal.There's also our daily 'do you know' trivia as well as a profile of our latest Star of Soccer, Croatia’s Martin BaturinaHost: Emma PatonWith: Mark Critchley and Tim SpiersFeaturing: Matt Slater and David OrnsteinExecutive Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Mike Stavrou and Grayson Moody

With 121 goals scored across 40 games, the excitement just keeps coming at this summer's World Cup.To dive into the latest action, Emma Paton is joined by The Athletic's Mark Critchley and Cerys Jones. Pol Ballus reports from Atlanta after seeing Spain secure their first win of the tournament.Attention also turns to both France and Argentina ahead of their second group matches with both having put in statement showings last time out, while Jack Pitt-Brooke feeds back the mood in the England camp from Kansas.Plus there's our latest 'do you know' trivia question, Jens Petter Hauge as our Star of Soccer and Ray Winstone shares his World Cup memories with The Athletic.Host: Emma PatonWith: Mark Critchley and Cerys JonesFeaturing Pol Ballus and Jack Pitt-BrookeExecutive Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Jay Beale and Liam Warburton

It’s Day 10 of the World Cup, and the USMNT are through to the knockouts after a 2-0 win over Australia.Ian Irving is joined in-studio by Liam Twomey and Liam Tharme as we discuss another impressive performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Henry Bushnell drops in to give the lowdown from Seattle and asks if the USA can actually go all the way. We catch up with James Horncastle who was in Philadelphia for Brazil’s win over Haiti, and, we analyse Scotland’s chances of progression to the last-32 after defeat to Morocco.There's also our daily 'do you know' trivia as well as a profile of our latest Star of Soccer, Ecuador and Chelsea’s Kendry Paez.Host: Ian IrvingGuests: Liam Twomey & Liam TharmeFeaturing: Henry Bushnell, James Horncastle, Jordan CampbellExec Producer: Guy ClarkeProducers: Mike StavrouVideographer: Grayson Moody