America 2026: A World Cup podcast

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.
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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
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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.
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There was a real expectation heading into this tournament that off-field issues would wreak havoc on World Cup 2026. It's had its moments, but nothing has come close to the news of the past couple of days.

FIFA has rescinded the red-card suspension of USA star striker Folarin Balogun, clearing him to face Belgium tonight. They did so, primarily, at the request of President Donald Trump. The fallout has been messy: bodies like UEFA have condemned the decision in the strongest possible terms, and things will likely only get stranger from here.

Miguel Delaney, chief football writer for The Independent and author of the superb "States of Play," joins Paul Howard to pick apart the saga and where it goes next. Miguel also reports back from the Azteca, where England marched into the next round by handing Mexico just their third home defeat there in 90 games.

Plus, Kevin Kilbane joins us from Vancouver, where the co-hosts' run at the tournament is over. Though not without another Jesse Marsch zinger or two.

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"We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge of it."

Fridays tend to run giddy on the America 2026 podcast but make no mistake, this World Cup is barrelling into the serious business end now.

Malachy Clerkin is in studio to keep an increasingly delirious Paul Howard company. Kevin Kilbane joins us from Canada, where the tournament's stay is drawing to a close. Though not without leaving an enduring mark on the country's culture, and on Kevin's star power.

Paul also caught up with Ken Early in New York last night, who shares his reflections on England, hearts of darkness, and the champions-in-waiting: France.

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