The Unused Subs

Sam Cosgrove = FREE TO PLAY!

Auckland FC's previously-banned A-League Super Villain is available to play Melbourne City in Round 1 of the new season. In a bizarre turn of events, as news of his availability was made public, he just so happened to be sitting with The Unused Subs at Tyler St Sport!

So... how did it come to pass that his 2-game ban was served in NZ's National League?

And you just know that this result is going to fuel the rage of AFC and Sam Cosgrove detractors - but that's okay, because the man himself doesn't mind playing the role of the bad guy. Not one bit!

In our Season 3 Premiere, Cozzee chats about embracing the bad guy image, the fine line between diving to win fouls and going down under legitimate contact from a defender, the online trolls and how he almost manages to avoid them!

What's life like under new coach Pedro Moreira? And is Sam's ruptured ankle ligament giving him grief? Remember that he nearly missed AFC's Championship run through injury.

Plus: we go deep on Manchester City - Cozzee's favourite club. What should their punishment be for all they've allegedly done...or should they be congratulated for making the Premier League what it is today?!

Michael Woud’s efforts are revealed in the 10 Ball Challenge, we reveal Auckland and Wellington's 'Most Likely' Starting XIs this A-League season, and Bev Priestman says her new Nix recruit and Football Ferns centurion Abby Erceg has absolutely, definitely still got it. Should Erceg make herself available for the Ferns in Brazil '27?

The Unused Subs are back! So tell your mates and join us on the bench for Season 3!

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Spain has defeated Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final to become WORLD CHAMPIONS for the second time! On the surface, a solitary goal in extra time doesn't sound overly impressive or convincing, but dig a little deeper and you will see that this was not only a one-sided finale, but one of the most dominant World Cup campaigns, ever.

Spain conceded only one goal in 8 matches. They defeated Portugal, Belgium, France and finally Argentina in the knockout phase. In the show piece event against Lionel Messi's reigning champs, they secured 68% of possession, peppered Emi Martinez's goal with 20 shots - 11 of which were on target - and in return, Argentina could only muster 3 shots, none of which troubled Unai Simon in the Spanish goal.

One the final episode of The Unused Subs, Goran, Jacob and Iffy chat the final, as well as the half-time entertainment (what a performance from Shakira BTW!) and the ordinary showing from Original Ronaldo in a poorly fitted tracksuit. We go over our favourite moments of the season, ask who would we want to have bathed us like Messi did Yamal all those years ago, and chat about what's next for the Wellington Phoenix & Auckland FC in the A-League.

David Beckham comes up in conversation when we mention the bath stuff. It gets a bit weird actually.

Thanks so much to our great mates at McDonald's NZ for backing The Unused Subs, and for Tyler St Sport for providing our home ground. And thanks very much to YOU for watching! We'll be back to champion kiwi football very soon, but for now, enjoy the off-season!

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England has been defeated by Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Semifinals. And of course, the finger of blame is pointing directly at England's manager Thomas Tuchel. Were his defensive tactics in the final half hour of the clash 'cowardly' as has been reported in the UK media since the 2-1 loss?

The Unused Subs analyze the result, and how Lionel Messi was afforded way too much time on the ball to craft YET ANOTHER comeback for Argentina, and safe passage through to another World Cup final for the greatest of all time.

This episode boils down to THREE MASSIVE QUESTIONS:

- Why isn't football coming 'home'?
- 3rd place playoff: Yes or No?
- Are the two best teams in the Final?

We make our predictions too - even though we were disgustingly wrong last time - and give another shoutout to Cristiano Ronaldo and his team of scientists at the lab. They'll need to work wonders if they're to compete with Lionel & Argentina in 2030!

Who have you got: Spain or Argentina for the World Cup?

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Cristiano Ronaldo to play on for 2030. Yep, CR7 will play at a home World Cup, at the age of 45.

According to Paul Ifill.

But he's got a point! How he traverses the next four years to get there though, that's unknown. What's also unknown is what was going through the mind of Breel Embolo; Switzerland has Argentina locked at 1-1 having just equalized and bossed the second half, then off the 10 metre platform he goes, diving on the floor for a second yellow. We've seen some idiotic things, but this has to be Top 10 at a World Cup, surely?!

Of course that puts the four top nations into the final four, so bring on our Two Flags prediction once again! Why was it such a social media phenomenon last week? Why did English football let Michael Olise walk out the door? Is Jude Bellingham the difference maker when England meets Argentina?

And how do we feel about the All Whites playing India, the world number 138?! It's a chance to see our kiwis in the flesh in Auckland and Christchurch, but the opposition ain't great on paper.

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From not-so secret phone calls to suspend American red cards, to baffling refereeing decisions and our new best friend 'SNICKO', the 2026 FIFA World Cup has had it all... and then some!

With that in mind, the boys on The Unused Subs bench count down the TOP FIVE WILDEST THINGS to have happened before the quarter finals get underway. Where does the orange guy helping Folarin Balogun rank? What of the Croatia/Portugal VAR Snicko debacle? And how about Cabo Verde and Vozinha's on-field performance, creating a social media star? But perhaps, more importantly... is this whole tournament a FIFA conspiracy aimed at getting the big names and nations as deep into the tournament as possible??

Goran, Iffy and the returning Jacob Spoonley predict the winners of the quarter final matches; can France get past Morocco? Will Erling Haaland prove to be too much for a buoyant England? And is Spain actually not that good?!

As always, so much to discuss and debate from the FIFA World Cup!

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Kiwis talk football too!

#football #soccer #newzealand