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Football Ramble

27 Jun 2026 · 51m · 17 chapters

Episode artwork

Candyfloss grows by the sea | 2026 FIFA World Cup

In short

Football Ramble’s World Cup roundup focused on Cape Verde’s historic qualification, Uruguay’s collapse, and other knockout/third-place scenarios (plus side stories like Mexico fans, a lost dog, and memorabilia sponsor segments).

Guests/backgrounds

No episode-specific guests are interviewed. Hosts are Marcus Speller, Jim Campbell, and Pete Donaldson (regular Football Ramble panelists).

Key claims

  • Cape Verde (population ~530,000) reached the knockout stage by drawing three group games and finishing second; they were quoted at 1% to qualify.
  • Uruguay are eliminated after multiple goalkeeper errors by Fernando Muslera; Bielsa says Muslera chose to come off and Bielsa takes responsibility for mismanagement.
  • Norway made 10 changes vs France; France won 4-1 with Dembele’s hat-trick; Senegal beat Iraq 5-0 and look likely to advance as a third-place team.

Notable examples

  • Cape Verde goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Aoues made a key save; striker “Little Grandma” Vizinha kept clean sheets.
  • Muslera became the first keeper since 1966 to make three World Cup errors leading to goals.
  • Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr is close to the top scorers; Senegal’s nickname “Lions of Taranga.”

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

0:00

Reflections on Resilience

The speaker contemplates personal growth and resilience in training.

“I tell myself, it's not about comparing.”
4:34

Cape Verde's Historic World Cup Journey

Discussion on Cape Verde's achievement in reaching the knockout stage.

“Come and see our faces for that at 10am.”
7:22

Reflections on Uruguay's Exit

The hosts analyze Uruguay's disappointing World Cup performance.

“had they have not gone through, it would have been absolutely gutted.”
9:10

The Future of Cape Verde and Potential Matches

Speculation on Cape Verde's next match against Argentina and their prospects.

“Are they going to play Argentina in the next round?”
14:01

Bielsa's Controversial Decisions

Analysis of Bielsa's management and controversial decisions during the World Cup.

“since records began in 1966 has made three errors at World Cup they've all led to goals and he's hooked at half time by Martello Bielsa in this game And Bielsa has said that it was the keeper's decision to come off.”
18:14

The Drama of World Cup Exits

Discussion on the unexpected exits from the World Cup and the resulting drama.

“Do you think if you get called up for Uruguay by Bielsa, even if you're retired, it's like kind of being summoned to detention?”
21:11

Candy Floss Celebrations

Humorous take on a fan's unique celebration involving a candy floss machine.

“I live in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's factory.”
25:01

Candy Floss Celebrations

Humorous take on a fan's unique celebration involving a candy floss machine.

28:06

Authenticity in Sports Memorabilia

Learn about the technology ensuring the authenticity of signed sports items.

“and it's all geolocated and time stamped and so on and what we want to do is show to the customer the exact moment your product is signed so here is leo signing your exact product at the exact time in the exact location.”
32:07

Effects of Hydration Breaks in Football

Discuss how hydration breaks have influenced coaching strategies and game flow.

“I think the hydration breaks have actually helped the entertainment in the game.”
Show all 17 chapters
34:30

Norway's Strategy Against France

Analyze Norway's approach in a match against France and the implications of their tactics.

“I mean, if they do get beaten by Ivory Coast and they don't kind of get going again.”
35:57

Reflections on England's Performance

Examine past performances of England in tournaments and the importance of momentum.

“and there have been differing results of that.”
42:01

Senegal's Historic Win and World Cup Dynamics

Explore Senegal's victory and its significance in the World Cup context.

“But in the Euros, I suppose that's where we're looking at.”
49:56

Belgium's World Cup Performance and Player Analysis

Discuss Belgium's strong showing in the World Cup and key player performances.

“They beat New Zealand 5-1 to top the group.”
56:00

Pride at the World Cup: A Complex Celebration

Explore the complexities surrounding Pride during the World Cup and its significance.

“I've just seen lots of people saying that actually everything was fine and it was all very inclusive and everything went without a hitch.”
56:32

Inconsistent Refereeing: VAR Controversies

Discuss the inconsistencies of refereeing decisions and VAR's impact on the game.

“As it often does, especially in this tournament.”
57:19

Players' Interactions and Off-Pitch Conversations

Dive into the interactions between players and what they might signify off the pitch.

“can Esri come to do what he wants I hope so I hope that continues I'm up for that The one that amuses me is the difference between, I've got one of our England players, I think, covered his mouth at one point.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00I tell myself, it's not about comparing. But then I start wondering, what can they lift? Are they adding more weight to their barbell than I am? And suddenly, I'm not training. Then I realize, my journey is not theirs. I've earned every step. So I smile. My smile is the shape resilience takes to keep me moving. To put more smiles out into the world, Colgate has supported female athletes for over 50 years with the Colgate Women's Games, the nation's longest-running indoor track and field series for girls and women. Colgate, your smile is your strength.

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3:49Jim Campbell: Get back in the saddle, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble. Uruguay bomb out, Belgium turn it on and Cape Verdean through. It's Saturday 27th of June. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Pete Donaldson.

4:13Jim Campbell: Hello, everybody. It's a super Saturday here at the Football Ramble. Before we get started, a special announcement. We'll be going live on YouTube tomorrow morning to react to England versus Panama. Jim, Luke and I will be live at 10 a.m. for your daily dose of Football Ramble. So make sure you join us. Just search Football Ramble on YouTube to subscribe right now. will either be happy, middling or sad. That's what we'll be. Come and see our faces for that at 10am. We've also recorded a special preview show of that game between England and Panama live on YouTube as well. That's available right now.

4:48Jim Campbell: So go and check it out. We're not talking about England on this pod. We've done a separate one for you. Have a little listen. Have a bang on that. Right then, Pete Donaldson. Yes. I brought me Kevin Keegan Rug in, by the way. People watching our video. That's lovely. It doesn't smell of fish anymore. I pressure washed it. Good, good, good. It's dried in the sun. And Kevin Keegan, one of our most celebrated English footballers. We love the man. Looking resplendent if you're looking on the YouTube or on the much maligned Apple podcast app. You can see the old Kevin Keegan in England shirt. It's so 70s, isn't it?

5:20It is. Even the dark bits in the background are brown. Yeah, DHK. The very 70s way. I dare you to start making these again. Right, Pete Donaldson. Yes.

5:30Jim Campbell: I remember many, many, many moons ago Right You went to And Suns A small island nation Yes Called Cape Verde Yeah Planted a footballing seed into the ground You did You absolutely did I remember this Not particularly verdant island, I have to say Because it's very windy But a Verde island Exactly And it's come to fruition, that seed that you planted all those years ago Right They are in the knockout round of the World Cup The smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stage and they did it by drawing three games but finished second in the group. They didn't even need to finish third. No, and they were quoted at 1 % to pass the group stage at the World Cup.

6:10Get a load of that. You know, 530 ,000 people population, obviously, that's been mentioned quite a lot. But I liked it when they celebrated this going through-ism. Going through, enemy? That'll do. Going through state? Yeah. The qualification for the next round. they celebrated with the 1 % 1 % did they really 1 % oh I thought they were just

6:31Jim Campbell: really into billionaires I know yeah they are the 1 % but I mean yeah it's second place none of your you know best placed third placed muck none of that muck none of your Scotland we might get there vibes it's Kate Verde they're through in second space and I absolutely love that it is one of the stories if not the story of the first round of this World Cup it's incredible and the fact is they finished second in the group because anybody who goes in when they wouldn't have done it, then they can sod off, quite frankly. And this was, I think, actually the most sort of open of the games they've played, isn't it?

7:05Jim Campbell: Because you could tell the teams are more closely matched and there's a sort of slightly frenzied sense to some of the play. But that, I mean, that's an incredible win from them. They should have won it. They should have won it. I'm so glad. They really should have done it. Luckily, Uruguay are absolute crap. We'll get to them in a minute. But they should have, oh my goodness, had they have not gone through, it would have been absolutely gutted. Oh my goodness. I wonder if the miss where he put it wide, was he offside maybe? Yeah, I think he might be right actually. There was a suspicion. But whether he was or not, the chance was missed.

7:34Jim Campbell: But there was one before that as well was to keep a save. Really beautiful move. The whole way up the pitch, like when Cape Verde are actually defending. It's the goalkeeper, Mohamed Al-Aoues, makes a really, really good save. Yes. But it's one where it favours the attacker. But still, it doesn't matter, does it? Because they've gone through and it's a great story. And another clean sheet for the little grandma, Vozinha. Yes. Little grandma Why do you got little grandma Is that what Vizinha means? Vizinha means little grandma Because obviously the A Feminises it Right And I think He was brought up By his grandparents Right So I maybe Is he one of those people Who like talks Like a grandma's son Yeah A nankin They have different Like references to everyone else Is that right?

8:14Yeah That's probably how The Keystone Cops stuff Yes That's exactly what I was going to say Because of Yeah

8:17Jim Campbell: Well that's where we first saw him In Keystone Cops He's Yeah Maybe he was always seen With his grandmother I don't know Yeah Something like that I don't know what the reasons are. Maybe he's really into milfs. Presumably. That's been quite an annoying nickname for most of his life. Oh, very annoying. No, but now everybody knows it. It's gutting. Absolutely gutting for him. But he's a hero, surely. No, I think his grandparents gave him the nickname, sorry. Right. I bet they bloody would. Yeah, but I... They're absolutely arrogant pigs. She's like, I'm getting my name into this lad's footballing career.

8:48Jim Campbell: Can you imagine introducing yourself? Sorry, your name's Little Grandma. Yeah. What's that about then, weirdo? Why do you speak so funny? Yeah, but he could say to you, what's your name? And you say, James, why do I call you Jim? It's different cultures. Fair. Yeah, fine. Do you know what I mean? You're just as much as an imposter as he is. Fair. Well, anyway, he kept a clean sheet. He did. He kept another clean sheet and they're there. Are they going to play Argentina in the next round? Not as good as it. No, but I think this is perfect. I think this is absolutely... Well, that as well. The reason why I think it's perfect.

9:24Jim Campbell: He looks like a little grandma. And always has. I think it's perfect because, well, I was about to say they're not going to win it and then 1%, 1 % came to mind. I mean, they got a draw against Spain. They did get a draw against Spain. But that one couldn't go to penalties though. At some point they will need to get the ball in the net. Messi's always missing penalties at the World Cup. They'll be fine. Yeah, but Emi Martinez, you're forgetting him. I think it's very unlikely they're going to beat Argentina. But I think this is perfect because they go through the group. that's the story and they play the defending champions they play against Lionel Messi if they got beat by like a South Korea who managed to get exactly you know what I mean it'd be like if you get beat by exactly you've got regrets it's like when Macclesfield went out to Brentford there you go it's just not a shame it's a shame it is a bit of a shame yeah but if you go out to a side who are got ambitions to win it which we assume that they will go out in the face of the creator and just try and give them our bloody nose so it's a marvellous story there's no doubt about that but yeah them watching the Uruguay-Spain game on their phones on their phones lovely stuff only one player had the wifi cord clearly which is absolutely lovely stuff can someone cut one of our social media clips into the Cape Verdeans looking at their phones that'd be good Marcus has done something crazy we've got the Kevin Keegan rug have they got any chance though Marcus against Argentina is there anything in your dark heart I think you can answer that one is there anything don't be a predictor be a lover of football and a lover of drama and a lover of the world's game and a lover of a well-timed Christian Romero headloss headloss that's true well I I'll have you know before this game I was on CNN fake news fake news and I said and I was tax returns no but I I think it's actually very good I genuinely was asked about the time I went on there before I was genuinely asked about I said this on Uncut I think the note the Iranian team left in the dressing room and it was basically that's really nice to see isn't it Marcus yes do you want me to talk about football or the situation get involved you've got to be an adaptable guest yes and I said open that straight now I was asked about Cape Verde can they do it I said yes they can a result against Sadiole but I fancied them to do it they did it I fancy them to beat Argentina it's a win for Cape Verde and for Marcus there we go well I was getting it in a roundabout way I'm answering Pete's question and I just answered it Jim you stop these digs that you always have at me I think they'll be Argentina on penalties there you go right you say it's a very look I asked for a low risk kind of punt and I'm getting one and I simply have to accept it thank you I would very much love that to happen Marcus I'm not sure we spoke about it on air yesterday, but we're all big fans of a South American Alan.

12:24Jim Campbell: Yes. Because Ecuador have a player called Alan. Any love for Gary Rodriguez of Cape Verde? Yeah, I have a lot of love for that. Gary Rodriguez. Love that Gary. I think Men Behaving Badly was massive out there in the 90s, and I think he's probably named after. Could be named after, but it could be like a Gary Lineker or maybe Gary Cahill. Gary Ablett. Gary Ablett. there's a huge enclave of Gary Ablett fans for some reason it could be that it could be something to do with that but they're through because Spain beat Uruguay 1-0 Uruguay are out of the World Cup two points won't be enough for them to survive third place purgatory this is a sad story for a great footballing nation and a sad story for a great manager in Marcello Bielsa and also a sad story for a great goalkeeper in Fernando Muslera this really is sad is the word it is the word Jim Campbell because Uruguay have given the game so much particularly the World Cup over the years and Musler has been in more recent times he was a part of the run to the semi-final in 2010 Bielsa we know Bielsa what he's given football generally and yet it's all rather horrible I mean Bielsa has referred to himself as toxic after this I mean it's extraordinary stuff they go out with an absolute whimper in a group that they really would have fancied Saudi Arabia should have won the game Muslera makes an error in that game should have beaten Cape Verde really Muslera again makes a bit of an error and then against Spain you can forgive them for losing 1-0 to Spain but again Muslera makes an error it's the first time a goalkeeper since records began in 1966 has made three errors at World Cup they've all led to goals and he's hooked at half time by Martello Bielsa in this game And Bielsa has said that it was the keeper's decision to come off.

14:13Now, with the incredible, I don't know, honesty, you could say,

14:20Jim Campbell: and what Bielsa said about himself after the game, I'd be surprised if he was lying about that. But we'll see if that does come out. That would be an incredible gamble. Just a bare face lie. Again, so what he's said after the game, and he was furious after the game, there was a moment actually where he was being interviewed on the pitch. and it was like he cracked up. He saw Bach, didn't he? He did. Yeah, it was weird. I genuinely didn't like to see it. He's cut a very strange figure. We know he's got the sort of disposition of a man who hates the camera, hates any kind of limelight, which is odd considering what he does for a living.

14:57Jim Campbell: But this is like to the nth degree of that. And yeah, I would be slightly concerned for the bat. I mean, he said after the game, I have not left anything to Uruguayan football. A coach who has been in a country for three years and not got results, cannot say he's made a contribution. Fourth place in the qualifiers has no value, nor does third at the Copa America, and there is no need to even define this performance at the World Cup. My time doesn't say anything. We could have had seven points, but we have two. This is the result of my management. I'm responsible for all the disappointment because of the job I did.

15:26Jim Campbell: But if I have to analyse what happened, I also have to include the errors. Mishelera was the one that decided to depart the field. Obviously, we're talking about the substitution there. And I took Valverde off because I wanted to strengthen the attack. So he'll be, I mean, taking off Federico Valverde, arguably their best player. You can scrutinise that all you want, even if he'd kept them on, even if they'd have snuck through. I mean, this whole situation, Jim, is very, very sad. It is sad. It's sad to a degree. It's a combination of disasters, isn't it? It's also a lot of that. It is just genuinely Bielsa's mismanagement there.

16:03Jim Campbell: The players have been complaining about being trained too hard to the point where they're picking up injuries and stuff and they're not actually feeling at their physical best, which is surely the point of running your players into the ground. But after the back of very, very long seasons, he's been an international manager numerous times before. He knows that. He understands the rigours of the modern game. So it's poor foresight from him there. The players have been complaining about the style as well. I think they basically wanted to kind of really dig in against Spain, didn't they? But they end up losing the game because they didn't.

16:37Jim Campbell: certainly that's how they saw it so I have sympathy to a point but I'm also, to be honest and this is nothing against Uruguay I don't have anything against Uruguay other than them having four stars on their shirt and we're jealous of that well, they've obviously won two World Cups and they've won two gold medals at the Olympics which they say was a de facto pre-run to the World Cup no one else is doing that so that's annoying for me parking that though I'm actually glad that someone big has gone out because there's been no jeopardy really in the group stages up to this point. And there have definitely been loads of kind of surprise packages who've been interesting and there have been stories that have been good.

17:18Jim Campbell: But actually, I do think that the group stage has dragged now. And part of the reason it's dragged is because no one's ever really felt under any danger. And for Uruguay to still go out when you've got the third place kind of route available as well, it is an unmitigated disaster. but at least we've seen one we want some drama I mean there's a great supercut on Twitter that people are circulating of Muslera's fuck-ups at major tournaments and he's got them in he's got them in him and he's had such an incredible career and such a long career it's sad though it is sad because he was retired from international football Bielsa got him out of international retirement in March quite recently but that's kind of signified Bielsa's run by all reports it's just been that kind of huge amount of loyalty to people who probably should have moved out on the national team and that's kind of and Bielsa has found himself out of the World Cup so you want to kind of hear of that honesty when a manager he'll surely get hooked after this I don't know where his contact runs to but you want to hear that honesty sort of go I've not been good enough the team haven't been good enough and it's all down to me pretty much and much Lerner because he's shit which is a lovely bit of work he wanted to come off he won't come off he's so bad I don't know what I mean on that you'd think that like would there not be something to be said for Bielsa just getting you know getting in his players and going you know you've been an incredible goalkeeper you need to finish this match and go out on a high you know what I mean rather than sort of going alright fine yeah you have been shit actually if he's not if he's not interested it's very weird yeah it's weird man management for me and that's kind of his strength isn't it well it has been in the past isn't it but it's not really worked that way this time around, oddly.

19:03Jim Campbell: Do you think if you get called up for Uruguay by Bielsa, even if you're retired, it's like kind of being summoned to detention? Maybe. I've got to go or there will be consequences for this. You can't blame a player who thinks, you know what, like, being called up for the World Cup, he obviously must be tempting. I mean, Paul Scholes was very tempted by Fabio Capella, you know, when we all thought that was a ludicrous sort of suggestion. So, I mean, it does happen, obviously very different, but I think it's such a shame because as I say well I've already said it but it's oh man they must be furious there because again that group you get through you never know etc etc but the fact is it's been so bad and he even mentions the Copa America why on earth did they not change the manager before I mean they obviously just stuck with him thinking you know this is going to be okay but I don't think there's ever been a happy camp under Bielsa since he's been there it's a very strange situation and you know and Harvey Renard was waiting in the wings and Tunisia got him you know So you could have done something is all I'm saying.

20:02It would have been a nice Fulham move, I think, half an hour. I mean, that would be a dream for us, wouldn't it?

20:07Jim Campbell: That's like wherever you are, drop everything, get into the studio. Big news. And drop your trousers as well. Sure. Before we go for a break, Peter, a Mexico fan was filmed celebrating reaching the round of 32 by putting his head in a candy floss machine. You informed us that you have or would do that. I know the two are quite different. I would do that. I very much enjoyed somebody on that video, I think it was on Twitter, underneath it had like a response to it saying, oh yeah, and someone's filming it. How performative. How performative. He's got his head in a candy floss machine. This is a performance.

20:46Jim Campbell: He's being a dickhead for attention. Of course it's being filmed. It's not inauthentic. No, I do this all the time in a dark room by myself. It would be annoying if we only just heard of it. We said, well, how on earth did someone not get a phone out and film that? Well, I mean, I think it would lightly burn you, would it? Prove it. I'd definitely, I'd be definitely up for it. Where you live, there must be candy floss. There's loads of candy floss machines almost everywhere. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, you live in Sweetytown. I live in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's factory. No, but you live by the coast.

21:21I do live by the coast. Candy floss, as we know, grows by the coast. To be fair, they just come in bags.

21:25Jim Campbell: I think there's kind of a dark kitchen who makes it all. You need Sierra to grow the candy floss. Exactly, yeah. It's like coral. Yes, it is. Pink coral. Yeah, amazing. People don't realise how natural it is. In other Mexico news, a dog... So much Mexico news, isn't there? I know. They are killing this workout. They're like content machines, this fucking workout for Mexico. I'm loving it. They've only got about three games. Yeah, it's brilliant. There is chat, obviously, and I'm very reticent to mention England here, but I'm going to that England could have maybe Senegal in the next round which is a tie I wouldn't fancy oh what's the matter Fulham boy afraid you might feel something genuinely bring it on Jim come on people criticise mid-table obscurity I like it I like that creamy middle anyway if England were if England were to progress to the last 16 and Mexico were as well would you think should we spoil the party because these Mexican fans are great Absolutely.

22:23Jim Campbell: But anyway, Mexico, yes. A dog... Come your ears, Kevin. Come on, Kevin. A dog that had been lost for a month has been returned to its owners after being spotted in a viral video being carried around by strangers. Absolutely knock out this. It's great stuff. Yeah, a few questions, though. Why? Yeah. Where was the dog? Well, he'd run away from home and he'd become stray and then his owners saw him on a... His or her owners saw the dog on a video. Yeah, okay. we're sure about that these people didn't nick the dog and go yeah it's a dog napping a film dog napping yeah oh we've slipped up in Mexico there's lots of stray dogs kicking a ball aren't there yeah all of them I saw one doing over in King exactly yeah which when you when you've got four legs it's not that easy no honestly it's hard to get them to slow down that is true they're always going somewhere aren't they stray dogs in Mexico yeah they're busy yeah you don't have to go as far as Mexico though lots of stray dogs in this fine continent of Europe.

23:23Jim Campbell: Oh, we spoke about it, I think, on court. Where's the best place to see? Kosovo, quite good. For big bands of big furry dogs. Yeah, I have said before on the pod, might have been on cut, that in South America, something that I really did enjoy was, in particular in Peru, but the neighbouring countries, Ecuador and Bolivia, can provide this kind of stuff as well, is dogs standing by the side of the road. Like panpipes. And barking.

23:50Do you remember those in town centres? The Peruvian guys Where the fuck did they go?

23:54Jim Campbell: And there was a band called Or there was an album called No, it was a band called Incantation Wasn't it? Right, yes It was Pam Pipe Moobs Sorry, not Pam Pipe Moobs Though they would be quite good To hold the Pam Pipes That's more of an accordion, isn't it? I guess so, yeah No, Pam Pipe Moobs Was a huge vibe in the 90s But nobody talks Nobody talks about Pam Pipe Moobs And nobody talks about the bands of panpipe guys that used to be in town centres even in Harleypool where I grew up Gregorian chant was the thing as well wasn't it although you didn't see Gregorian chant buskers sadly but yeah panpipe buskers what happened to them if anyone knows anything let us know we're the panpipists panpipists but what the dogs would actually do is they would stand by the side of the road bark at cars and then on the odd one they would run alongside it and try and bite the tyres they do that in Moldova as well it's an incredible thing I was in a taxi in Cusco in Peru and there was a dog in one of the main streets stood in the middle of the road and the taxi driver drove up to it, stopped obviously, dog didn't move, beeped its horn, dog just started barking, taxi driver had to drive around it.

24:56Jim Campbell: King of the world. They rule the roost over there. But there we are. Right, coming up after this, Norway let us all down.

25:10Jim Campbell: This next part of the podcast is brought to you by icons.com, the world's leading signed sports memorabilia company. Icons.com is home to authentic signed memorabilia from football's greatest names, including Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Pele, Zinedine Zidane, R9, Gaza, Jude Bellingham, and many, many more. And every last signature on the icons.com website is guaranteed genuine, so you can be sure you're getting the real deal. Icons.com CEO Dan Jameson joins us now. Dan, you go to some extraordinary lengths to serve the fans and get these pieces of memorabilia signed. What's the most memorable trip that you've had to make?

25:51Oh, man. I mean, we chase footballers all over the globe. So it's a great job to have. We got the license for the Ballon d 'Or and you have to start collecting all the Ballon d 'Or players like we had most of them. So the greatest person we had to track down was George Ware. Oh, my goodness. Love that. The reason no one had done it was because he was being the president of Liberia. and also because they couldn't tackle him because he was just taking the ball around people all the time

26:16Jim Campbell: he was still dribbling so yeah he invited us he just lost his election so he invited us to Liberia so we jumped on a plane took two days to get there landed in a random airport and were escorted by a gun-toting security man into a compound so yeah so we signed sort of Liberian shirts and AC Milan photos of the classic goal. And yeah, and then we kind of flew back, got stuck in Morocco on the way home and eventually collapsed with a Ballon d 'Or signed and a full authenticated product. So that was pretty cool. What is it like then? I mean, it must be quite something when you get the nod. Well, the classic story is pretty much one of my first ever stories.

27:01So it's 2009. We're in Buenos Aires.

27:05Jim Campbell: Oh, now you're talking. Diego Maradona. is saying, I can't see you tonight. So what do you do? You go out into Palermo in Argentina and you have a few beers. Midnight, you get a call that Diego will see you now. Ha, nice. You have to drop everything, including your pint, rush back to the hotel, grab the stuff, drive across town and go to his mum's house because they've just finished watching their telenovela and it's now over. you go into this little house and diego is in the back room and he goes to one of those beaded curtains and he sort of emerges this is about quarter to one and um he's got a big smile on his face and yeah he sits down and starts signing everything if if it was easy anybody could do it but yeah you try tracking down diego we mentioned authenticity before and you have the the triple lock authentication um and tell us a little bit more about that well we introduced it with leo messi just before christmas so essentially what you do is you uh you videotate the entire signing and it's all geolocated and time stamped and so on and what we want to do is show to the customer the exact moment your product is signed so here is leo signing your exact product at the exact time in the exact location.

28:28So what we do is we have an NFC, which is just a chip, basically, in your product. You can scan it with your phone, comes up with all the authenticity credentials, the photos, the timing, the license, and all those sort of good things. And it basically creates a triangle between the physical product, your phone, and our data records. So it's sort of tripling down on reassuring customers that this stuff is real, because authenticity is everything to us and without it we don't have anything we have to prove every day that this stuff was really signed by your heroes and that's why it's worth what it's worth and that's why you go to the great

29:04Jim Campbell: lengths to uh yeah to make sure that's all authentic as you say uh dan a pleasure talking to you i'm sure we could have talked a lot longer about so many stories you've got but thank you for sharing those ones that you did with us absolutely pleasure thanks fellas and enjoy the world cup it's going to be uh iconic indeed it is so jude bellingham is the latest player to join the collection and to mark this worldwide exclusive icons.com are running a special competition where you can win a 2026 England shirt signed by Jude Bellingham himself just head to icons.com forward slash win that's icons.com forward slash win and follow the instructions all you need to do is answer one question for your chance to win this amazing prize entries close at the end of June so don't delay head to icons.com forward slash win and get involved

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32:07I think the hydration breaks have actually helped the entertainment in the game. They've helped coaches cope. Why are you looking at me like that, Mark? is this because I'm

32:17Jim Campbell: I'm interested in your reasoning that's why because well they've helped coaches coach well I'm out of the foot around everybody he's so unconfident about his own opinion and also competitive about it yeah that was an AI Phil Neville there I think why are you bringing Phil Neville into a lovely tournament like this I was having such a good time because he's thrust his way in there that's why and he's being interviewed on there by Mark Chapman now yeah Chap is understandably questioning him he likes the hydration bricks the thing that everybody hates he likes it's good for coaches and commercials right then Norway 1 France 4 Norway made 10 changes for this game it was very much Norway B wasn't it which was disappointing because obviously we wanted to see this big old clash of the big dogs early Harland was asked about this and he was like oh yeah they were going to win and top the group anyway so it doesn't really matter I do like Harlan.

33:16He's so refreshingly honest about shit like this. Did you see him do that viral video about him just turning up on someone's stoop outside their house with the social media guy for Norway? And he was pretending that the Norwegian social media guy was the football player to someone who just didn't know anything about football. So he's like going, yeah, I'm just a social media guy. Take a picture of him with us and then show your friends. He's such a dickhead. that this guy's the footballer and I'm just a social media guy. He fucking loves to content. He's great. He's a very modern footballer with a very unique take on things and I fucking love watching his stuff.

33:56Jim Campbell: I enjoy him a lot as well. It was a shame not to see him though, wasn't it? We wanted those big players on the pitch. Well, he put the social media guy on the pitch. Yeah. I think basically Norway have looked at this, they've looked down the line and gone, we're just happy to play every coast, right? So maybe the rest for the players is what they value more. At one point, it was looking like it was going to be more than four goals. And I was thinking, right, if you get tonked 6-1, what does that do to your kind of, you know, the psyche of the Norwegians? Yeah, sure. Well, I do take that. Yeah, and we will find out, won't we?

34:30Jim Campbell: I mean, if they do get beaten by Ivory Coast and they don't kind of get going again. I mean, there's chat, isn't there? I've not heard, sorry to go back to English things, but I've not heard Gareth Southgate or anybody say this before. And I know that Harry Kane said before the Ghana game to the players, look, we've disappointed in the second game at tournaments before, or we've not had our best games or results. You know, let's try and do it here. I'm convinced from what we saw with Southgate, you know, in his last, well, not the last tournament, that was an odd one, but in Euro 2020 and World Cup 22, with disappointing nil-nils against Scotland and the US.

35:11Jim Campbell: I think that he saw England go into that third game in the World Cup in 2018 against Belgium and he made loads of changes. And I think he felt that maybe, not inertia, but it halted their progress a bit or halted that sort of... Kills momentum. Kills momentum, exactly. Even though, obviously, they advanced past Columbia and so on. And I think it was probably more by design that in that second game, it was... You don't go about for a draw, but it's like, let's just make sure you do not lose this game, but you play in a way that, yeah, you don't lose it because you're playing an inferior opponent.

35:43Jim Campbell: And, you know, and England were very strange in those games, but then the third game comes along and then England put in a performance and then go and win it, which, you know, obviously you top the group with seven points. We've seen sides rest players for that third game and there have been differing results of that. It's difficult to suddenly go through my mind and rifle through who's done that. It's not difficult. Your mind's like a vice, Marcus. and you love the World Cup. But you, you know, every situation is different to the next, you know. So I don't think there's a blanket rule of you should rest players or you shouldn't rest players.

36:19Jim Campbell: I thought this was a bit much. I mean, the coach said, you know, he did say, well, the only consideration is the fans in Norway and here. You know, they would have wanted to see Erling and Martin, but we want to go as far as we can. So it was a no-brainer. It didn't take us long to come to that decision. Obviously, Odegaard has had injuries this season. Maybe that's a consideration. Haaland's played a lot of football. It's disappointing from a neutral point of view. I just think 10 changes is a lot. I don't know how that benefits them really, other than it's almost a bit Sunday league. You give everybody a run-out sort of thing.

36:56Jim Campbell: Because that side is never going to play. I understand maybe making four or five changes because some people are then a bit more ready just to come in. I think you're overthinking it, Marcus. I think they were just happy to lose this game and rest the players. I don't think they put a team out like that. That's literally what the coach said, so I should just listen to that. And also, I don't think you put a team out like that going, maybe France will do the same thing. If we do this, we'll put our guns down. If you put yours, you first. I mean, to be fair, France didn't have their own way. At one point, they were pretty tasty.

37:25They didn't have their own way at points and in points. Yeah, Norway scored. Yeah, Norway scored. And there was a lovely back heel at one point, that I very much enjoyed that sliced about two players out of the game. Okay, okay. So that's luck.

37:37Jim Campbell: Other than that, they had it all the road. Worth£3 ,000 for the ticket. Yeah, that's annoying, isn't it? No one should have had two goals. When Strand Larsson went to take the penalty, I remember, I didn't realise it was Strand Larsson because there was a few players standing over the spot. And I thought, well, do you know what? If they get back at 3-2, you know... It's a nice day out. Exactly. You have to philosophically look at that and go, well, do you know what? I saw a France play. I saw a Dembele hat-trick. You know, we put a couple of goals oh Strand Larson's got the penalty yeah I mean he's proper Wolves Strand Larson taking that penalty wasn't it it was perfect height for the goalkeeper perfect height perfect everything unless he unless he's convinced the goalkeeper's going the other way and he's giving him the eyes or the stutter or the goalkeeper's you know Mannion's kind of gone to go one way shifted his weight really quickly it didn't look like that for me it just looked like he thought this is where I'm going to put it you know what the vibe of the game is very much we don't care about the result yeah Well, I don't care about this penalty then.

38:33But it was just odd.

38:35Jim Campbell: Yeah. Very disappointing. A lot of ice in the veins on the French side, on the celebrations. Everyone's putting ice into the veins. I think we might need to de-ice France in the next round. I see. There's just so much ice in the veins. Yeah. Well, it was a good save from Magic Mike, ultimately, though. It was. Not the only Magic Mike that was there. Wow. Channing Tatum. That's why he gave the big bucks. Spotted amongst the Norway fans. He was wearing a blonde wig. Well, he was basically wearing a... an Erling Haaland kind of costume wasn't it so was that his forehead yes oh okay who else's forehead I wondered if he sort of the wig came came with a little forehead it looked like he had a lot of forehead oh I see what you mean so he was he's in the Nike advert with Erling Haaland isn't he I think playing his double which goes some way to explaining what he was doing there but not the whole way I mean he doesn't look like him at all no there's something about Channing Tears I might find endlessly charming I think he's one of those bros that are just not toxic.

39:33He's just a bro, isn't he? He's a bro who's having just the best life. Have you ever had this? If he offered you a high five,

39:37Jim Campbell: you'd take it. Yeah, I'd probably do this. I'd miss it. I've been to his bar in... Just look at the elbow, mate. You'll be fine. Exactly. That's a good point. Look at the elbow. I was going to say... You went to his bar? I've been to his bar in New Orleans. It's awful. Absolutely awful. Really? It's sort of dressed up to look like a sort of house party. Right. I don't know if it's still there. It shouldn't be. it's awful but I very much enjoy his signature sandwich are you sure this was a bar I think it's his house it's his house alright I want to Channing Tatum's house it doesn't look like Channing Tatum no and it looks like it looks like a house and it's really rubbish Channing Tatum's like a black lady yeah an angry woman who's saying get out of my house yeah yeah it's not very welcoming that bar have you ever had have you ever had a Channing Tatum sandwich before no he's got a specific I've not had anything thing to do with the man.

40:25A specific sandwich which is very delicious and it's basically a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Loads of grip jelly, right? Uh-huh. And then you just put Cheetos in there.

40:34Jim Campbell: Oh, dear. Oh, dear. And he's muscular. Peter? Yes. I don't know the publication Eater but in 2024 they reported Channing Tatum's Bourbon Street Bar closes after 12 years. Yes! 12 years. Good run. Good run. It's a long old house party that. Considering how crap it was according to Pete. Yeah, absolutely naff. they've done quite well that's a shame they should have sold more sandwiches they should have which is just actual sandwiches instead of that muck but yes good win for France though Dembele's hat-trick Dembele deserves a mention we should probably say that yeah brilliant absolutely brilliant everyone's scoring Michael Alisse's goals apart from Michael Alisse after I backed him to be top scorer come on Michael yeah that is poor Desiree Duhi got one as well yeah all of the all the attacking talent all the food groups banging them in for me he could Paolo Rossi and only score in the knockouts I believe that's correct if he scored in the group stage I don't want to hear from you but anyway yeah the France march on and don't worry Jim I predicted France to underachieve although considering their favourites if they don't win the World Cup which they bloody well will clever very clever yeah I mean they do look the best team so far France they really do because it's probably quite an anodyne thing to say but well we did actually mention when we talked about Spain Uruguay.

41:53Jim Campbell: Spain weren't great. They've not clicked yet at the tournament. They do tend to take a little bit of time though, don't they? They did last time. Out. But in the Euros, I suppose that's where we're looking at. They were pretty good throughout. There's definitely a possibility that they could click and grow into the tournament. I don't think there's any doubt about that. What do you think of the Norwegian rowing, by the way? I really like it. I've seen a lot of people be quite cynical about it. David Cartlis doesn't like it. Why? Peter? I don't know why DC doesn't like it. but I'm fairly fond of it.

42:24Jim Campbell: I assume Luke doesn't like it because rowing's a posh sport. Rowan's a posh name. What did they show? Woo! Woo! I don't know. Oh, oh, oh. No idea. Like home improvement. Right then. I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere. Senegal 5, Iraq 0. What? This is a bit of a joke of a game. Well, Senegal become the first ever African team to score five goals in a World Cup match. You'll do that against a rack, against that many men. Especially now that all the stories about the ball moving very quickly in the air when you would otherwise expect it to slow down a bit have come out. Everyone's like, bang, just bang.

43:06Everyone's like, oh, I can whack this and the keepers think they've got time.

43:10Jim Campbell: Senegal definitely got the memo for that, didn't they? Yeah, absolutely. It moves even faster. Why are we not shooting from distance more? Exactly, and that does seem to be what people do. We saw another Dogzo. It's a Dogzo-themed World Cup. A lot of Dogzo. That wasn't a Mexican dog, Zoe. No, the Reds are just these Reds are coming thick and fast, aren't they? This is mad, this World Cup is absolutely crazy. But yeah, Senegal, they finished the group in third. They are in third place purgatory. They have three points and a goal difference of plus two. That is the best goal difference of all the third place teams on three points.

43:39Jim Campbell: You would fancy them to go through. Yeah, I hope they don't get England, but then I am a coward. Stop being a coward. No. Who do you want instead? You want the good doctor, don't you? You don't want anyone, do you? You want a bye. I want Curacao. I want Macclesfield. As I've said before, I want England to have to play teams that have already been eliminated on the way to the final. Yeah. I guess you just want someone who wants to score a goal. That's the problem, isn't it? Yeah. Because we're not very good at teams that don't want to score any goals. Evidently. Evidently. Well, don't defend. That's not in the spirit of it.

44:14Play properly.

44:15Jim Campbell: Come out of your trenches. It's not fair. Queensbury rules. I think tickets are still available for our watch. See, a despondent Marcus. Oh! Pete's spilling his water. A despondent Marcus going, oh yeah, sorry everybody, this is going to be terrible. We did not score any goals. I predicted us to win this damn competition. You did, yeah, you did. And we're still fighting for this cup. You think we're that good and you're frightened of us playing Senegal or Dr Congo? Who are you? Who are you? I'm a very tired man, is what I am. Now, we previously discussed the fact that Australia's nickname is the Socceroos.

44:51Jim Campbell: Socceroos? Well, Senegal's nickname is the Lions of Taranga. Cape Verde's nickname is the Blue Sharks. And of course, our very own boys are the three lions as well. But I like the fact that Australia have done that again because they just don't give a damn. Especially because kangaroos are actually native to Australia and we're claiming lions for some reason. King Richard the Lionheart. And as we know, there's three of him. Sure, fine. Any further questions, Jim? I feel silly now.

45:22Jim Campbell: Well, let's go back to the lines of Taranga, Jim. Senegal, they've had a tough time at this tournament. They probably felt maybe they should have got something against Norway. I mean, France, a very tough start. But in that first half, they were very competitive. And had it not been for Ismail Assar missing a chance, they might have been in a better position there. Exactly, yeah. But they, yeah, France turned it on very much so in that second half and they ran out, obviously, fairly comfortable winners in the end. But if you, you know, against Norway again, they'd be disappointed they didn't get something out of the game.

45:59Jim Campbell: They almost certainly will go through to the knockouts. Yeah. And obviously hammering Iraq, yes, they were aided by the fact that Iraq went down to 10 men. But I felt like Senegal would have battered them anyway. Well, I don't know about that because obviously, you know, Senegal go ahead after four minutes. But after the red card, it took them a while to score again. and once they score again in that situation, the floodgates open. So if it had been 11 v 11 the whole game, it probably wouldn't have been by such a heavy score. And actually that had to go kind of in Senegal's favour, didn't it? Because in a group like this, if you lose to France and Norway, there's no shame in losing either of those games.

46:36Jim Campbell: But with the order these games are in, you have to batter Iraq. You have to to give yourself any chance. And the circumstances did allow them to do that. So things have gone their way there. They've obviously earned it themselves by playing very well. but yeah, they'll be relieved by that, I would think. Yeah, I think that's fair, actually. I mean, I think a five-goal win at this stage when it is going to go down to goal difference is just what they wanted. A couple of screamers in there is welcome as well. Yeah, that's true. And Ismail Saru himself, you know, he's up on three goals, and he's only two behind Lionel Messi.

47:06Jim Campbell: Wow. He's in contention, as a lot of other people are. He's got multiple players who have scored three or more goals at this tournament. But yeah, I think Senegal,

47:20Jim Campbell: they've not given the best account of themselves, which I think certainly surprised me. And they have almost certainly a chance now into the knockouts. As I say, if it is against England, then they're going to have to improve. There's no doubt about that. But we shall see, because it is quite difficult to predict who is going to play who in the next round other than the ones that are set in stone at the moment.

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49:55Jim Campbell: Let's move on to Group G. Belgium. They've turned up. They're here. They beat New Zealand 5-1 to top the group. And Romelu Lukaku became Belgium's all-time leading goal scorer at the World Cup. There was talk that he was out of shape. and on good nick before the tournament. But the man just scores goals for that country. His scoring record is amazing. Yeah, he gives the team a bit of focus, I guess. And even a roundly injured and rusty Romelu Lukaku is probably going to score against a team like New Zealand, who, yeah, it just looked like one of those kind of... It's the flat-track bully kind of situation, really, isn't it?

50:33I think at this stage, at this moment... At this stage, Belgium have more than enough to get through over a middling New Zealand side. he's got so many goals for Belgium

50:41Jim Campbell: Lukaku he's 5th in the all time top scorers list in the history of international football it's absolutely stunning really and I think his forward play for the second goal was excellent so even if he's kind of coming into the tournament a little bit rusty actually he seems to have found some quality at the right time maybe he just looks at Woods and goes well you know you've got one of them you've got one of me I mean he came on in the 85th minute so it was late on in the game and yet still sort of had an impact but I think I don't know if he's going to start that much for Belgium in games, but it's a handy player to bring on.

51:15Jim Campbell: And let me tell you something, as the game is going on, defenders don't want to see him. They do not want to see him. Like you said, just pulling players, knowing how to work space as well. It's unwelcome. Exactly how they should be playing Ronaldo. Indeed. New Zealand are the lowest ranked team in the tournament. So I think you can only take so much from Belgium's performance, but I think Leandro Trossard obviously has played very well as he has in the other two games. and his second goal was brilliant technique. Kevin De Bruyne as well. Again, you factor the opposition in, but some of the touches, some of the passes, his goal were really, really good.

51:49Jim Campbell: He's still clearly got enough in the tank that he can make a difference. To beat New Zealand. Yeah, to beat New Zealand. But, I mean, you know what I mean, right? I think they have to sort of grow into the tournament from the performances they've put in so far, and this was really the perfect way to start that off. There's a van that's always parked outside my house, and on the side, I think it's like a flooring company or something and their name is KBD and every time I walk past it, I go, Kevin Bedoyner. It's got the point where I'm starting to annoy myself, to be honest. Finally. Kevin Bedoyner.

52:23Jim Campbell: Well, Peter, were you annoyed that Iran were denied a famous victory by a half a foot being offside? I mean, that was... You have to draw the line somewhere. You do. Write down the foot. It's do and it's fine, but it's anti-football. and it's anti-fun and would that have set up a US-Iran next round fixture? I don't know but it it's just annoying No, US have got Bosnia-Herzegovina Right I think that was I think there was a chance that Iran could have got the US and obviously after this match that's not going to happen Well, speaking of that I forget who was on comms when that goal when, well it was chalked off but when it went in govente the most famous goal in Iran's history I was like one of do you not remember the 1998 World Cup when they beat America 2-1 but I take yeah I'm being silly of course but this game I mean Egypt are a funny side aren't they yeah you expect a little bit more and yet I mean it was very it was an entertaining game this one it was a keenly contested match it was I will I will say that it was it was sort of basketball stuff I say I mean I say Egypt you know they've you know they're unbeaten they've won one and drawn two obviously more than enough to go through but Iran yeah they could have had more I mean they should be okay Iran as it goes.

53:37Jim Campbell: They're in there in third place purgatory and they're currently sixth out of eight, of course. So I think they're above Croatia. Croatia's still got to play, but they're definitely going to be above South Korea. Depends on what Algeria and Dr. Congo do. There's certain things that they need to go their way. Yeah, I mean, with Croatia and South Korea behind them, though, it might be tricky. Who knows? It's precarious. Well, if Croatia lose to Ghana, they're through. If Dr. Congo fails to beat, I'll say it was one bloke, fails to beat Uzbekistan, they're through pretty much because Uzbekistan would need to win by seven goals.

54:17Jim Campbell: And if Algeria or Austria win in their meeting, and I think that's the one, then they're through. So a winner in that, I think that's probably the most likely you would expect Congo to beat Uzbekistan. I wouldn't have thought Croatia would lose to Ghana but if Algeria or Austria win that game which I would probably fancy Austria to do then they're through so a chance for Iran to progress that would be nice for the tournament to have Iran knock and run Well we naturally hate FIFA and anything that makes it more difficult for FIFA to operate I think it's just broadly positive And the way Iran have been treated is an absolute disgrace It is It's an incredible show of defiance from them and obviously defiance isn't the only story attached to their tournament.

55:02Jim Campbell: It's one of sporting quality and achievement as well. What are you more sad about the way they've been treated or the fact that Shoah Hale Zade put a pair of those Thug Life sunglasses in celebration after he's stored? It's an amazing celebration. It was. What a moment it would have been. And there was a photographer there, snapped everything and then it's chalked off. And I completely understand why he thought he was on side in the moment. It was quite chaotic, wasn't it? Yes. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Iran and Egypt have only played each other once in their history in a competitive match isn't that mad?

55:36because they're both really good teams back in the day well there we are

55:41Jim Campbell: this match of course was marked as an official pride match in Seattle as it coincided with pride weekend and Seattle's pride fest this was something a lot of people were quite worried about because the FAs of both Iran and Egypt disgraced themselves by being absolute babies about it but it does seem there were no actual incidents on the ground. I've not heard of anything. I've just seen lots of people saying that actually everything was fine and it was all very inclusive and everything went without a hitch. Pride's cool, isn't it? Yeah, it is. It's not supposed to be. Pride is ultimately a protest.

56:15Jim Campbell: That's what it began as. So I suppose, in a way, the furore around this was a sign of why it has to be a protest in the first place and the work that is still to be done. but it wasn't the festival of homophobia that everybody expected it to be around the game. So that's a good thing. But even that was overshadowed by VAR. As it often does, especially in this tournament. The referee. It's been different every time. I know, it's the dictionary definition of inconsistent. I don't know, I think offsides have been unenjoyably harsh. but accurate you've got to draw the line somewhere but accurate the referees have been you know let the play go on let the pride march continue well to the point of though with the referee decisions so far in terms of fouls I just I don't know I honestly don't know what's going to happen can you kick someone in the face or not I don't know Jim I just don't know anymore it's the can Esri come to do what he wants I hope so I hope that continues I'm up for that The one that amuses me is the difference between, I've got one of our England players, I think, covered his mouth at one point.

57:30Oh, Jude Bellingham. Jude Bellingham, and it wasn't a confrontational covered mouth, whereas Miggy Almaraz was. I think that is in the rules. That is in the rules. That's a funny little quirk, isn't it? Yeah, I think that's a sensible quirk. Can you just draw in to just not do it at all?

57:46Jim Campbell: No, because clearly Bellingham is talking to one of the Garner players, and it's a very cordial conversation. oh yeah mate will you look after my password it is it could be anything could you not think it's kind of could you not sort of like being a like slap him on that guy you fuck yeah but he might be it's more sinister that way if anything he might have gone what is it really like playing under Carlos Kyrus that's all he might be saying you know well anyway the World Cup you can't bloody take your eyes off it thanks for listening to the Football Ramble part of the Acast Greater Network go and listen to our England Panama our preview now and remember to join Luke, Jim and I at 10am tomorrow live on YouTube.

58:27Jim Campbell: Hopefully we'll have a collective easy for you. We've only had one. We've only had one so far. We've just had the one. All we have had is one. We want another one damn it all. That's what we want. Anyway, for those of you coming to 40 Foot Brewery tonight, we'll see you there. For those of you who aren't, there are a few tickets available still. So come and get involved. There we are. Thank you, Jim. Thank you. Thank you, PT. Come on, England. Oi, oi. And thank you. Take care.

59:02The Football Ramble is a Stack Production and part of the Acast Creator Network.

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From the publisher

Wouldn't you bloomin' believe it, Cape Verde have qualified for the knockouts! Delight for the Cape, but despair for Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay who head home. Can we take one of their four stars away from them for that?


Marcus, Pete & Jim are here to revel in the Cape Verdean joy. Plus, a Mexican fan sticks his head in a candyfloss machine and Channing Tatum pops up at the Norway match, because why the hell not?


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