Soak… and strike | 2026 FIFA World Cup

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3:28Luke Moore: You know you can win, so don't give up the chase, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble. England won and the good doctor awaits. It's Sunday 28th of June. I'm Marcus Feller. I'm Luke Moore. And I'm Jim Campbell.

3:54Jim Campbell: E-Z-E! E-Z-E! E-Z-E! E-Z-E! E-Z-E! E-Z-E! E-Z-E! E-Z-E! E-Z-E! Come on! There we go!

4:07Luke Moore: Never in doubt! Never in doubt! Hello everybody! Welcome to the Football Ramble live stream on YouTube. Pleasure to have you all with us. Here we are. We're going to do a full pod live for you right now. Do get your comments in as we go. We'll try to get as many as possible. But thank you for joining us on this day. That England, of course, are feeling rather secure at the top of the group. They've gone through. They're into the last 32. We'll play DR Congo. Gentlemen, let's get into it. Let's get straight to it. Panama 0, England 2. Group L is ours, Luke Moore. It's ours. It is. I was a sensational performance from start to finish.

4:44I was very happy with it. But no, I thought it was tricky at times. It was a bit muddy, a bit sticky. I thought the hydration break in the first half killed us a bit. And there's work to be done. I think if you were going to spin it positively, you'd probably say, hopefully they're going to build into the tournament and hopefully they're going to respond to playing better opponents because they need to, for sure. And I think, you know, off the back of the Ghana game, I mean, the Croatia game is a bit of a basketball match and England are better and it suited England so they win fairly easily. The Ghana game, Ghana just didn't come to play, right?

5:21I wasn't on the show after that but if I was I would have said Ghana did what they did brilliantly and they didn't come to play and that can be tough for any team and we've seen other teams in the tournament struggle in that way as well. But last night I never thought that Panama would be able to play with the discipline that Ghana did. They're not set up for it, they don't play in that style anyway. And ultimately England won the game but I do think it was concerning and I think that I feel less confident off the back of the win than perhaps I expected to, which is a bit of a weird feeling because ultimately I did get it done and they were the better team and they deserved to win.

5:57But it was a little bit frightening at times.

5:59Jim Campbell: Yeah, I mean, part of it is, I suppose, looking around at other teams and you look at France and they're obviously very good, even just in a sort of mode where they're not particularly tested. You look at Argentina as well. Spain have kind of disappointed a little bit, but all that technical quality that we know they have is still on display. So you figure they'll grow into it. You look at England and I don't know if the growth is actually there. You know what I mean? I've not seen much from them that suggests that if we come up against the true test, that we've got what it takes to get past it.

6:33Jim Campbell: But, you know, there's a lot to be said for going into a tournament and there's a lot to be said for playing the opposition in front of you rather than, you know, kind of getting in your own heads about that stuff now. So, I mean, yeah, it was kind of as we expected really, wasn't it? I don't think anybody realistically could have said, based on what we've seen from England so far, that this was going to be a proper, proper shellacking, especially as Panama lost their other games 1-0. So we're twice as good as everyone else in Group L. You're welcome. So I think, or you could say we're as good as both of them put together.

7:03Jim Campbell: Either way. Yeah, I feel like, having said what I just said, and I do think there are issues here, and Marcus, I know that you feel similar, Lisa, but the way I would also look at it is that I think the group in retrospect is tougher or was tougher than perhaps people expected. I think if you look at Panama, they're not the Panama of 2018. I'm not going to profess to have watched a load of them between then and now, but they're not the team in 2018 who looked very, very lucky to be there actually and England obviously put them to bed by halftime last time they played them.

7:35Luke Moore: An argument against the 32 team World Cup. Yeah, yeah. But at the same time, I thought they were pretty decent against Croatia and they were really unlucky against Ghana, right? So they were a team who came to bring something to the tournament. It wasn't just we're lucky to be here. Ghana, you know, they played in the way that they played, but they did it brilliantly well. And Croatia can't always be dangerous. And like we were saying before the show, Jim, you were saying it would be the most Croatia thing in the world to beat Spain in the next round. Portugal.

8:04Jim Campbell: Sorry, Portugal in the next round. They've got the minerals with which to do so. So I think there's a load of things going on at once here. But before I throw it back over to you, Marcus, I'll just say, I think you have to make the argument that there's too many players in this England team who aren't playing well enough. I mean, you've got to look at the wide forwards. I thought Rashford was trying way too hard last night. I thought he got caught in possession loads. When he got the opportunities, with the exception of that header, he was a bit unlucky with. But when he got the opportunities, he seemed to snatch at all of them.

8:31The wide forward thing remains a problem because Saka doesn't look fully fit. And we don't really know if Saka or Maduweke is the first option. There's huge problems at fullback. You have to say that now, and you envisage that, but it looks like it's come to pass. And then dotted around, can you criticise the centre-backs? Not really, haven't done much wrong. Pickford, maybe a little bit headstrong here or there, but not really done much wrong. Kane scored. Bellingham's been good. Anderson's been all right. Rodgers didn't really do much last night, you know, against inferior opposition. So there's a lot of questions to be answered still.

9:03Luke Moore: Yeah, there is. I think that we'll have people watching this stream and listening to this perhaps later. And a lot of people, a lot of the comments will be, ah, it's not good enough. I'm worried. And a lot of people saying, oh, come on, just move on. 2-0. It was done. I want to say that was a professional job, 2-0 England, job done, lovely stuff. But I think what you're saying is there are signs here where you go, there is a little bit of cause for concern, particularly in defence. and of course every big side should strive to really do what France are doing and Argentina are doing I think they've been the best two teams yeah exactly yeah you're right Spain haven't but you know we know they can play so I have to say we got to half time and I thought yeah what was that that was great I mean interestingly Vega Phil has said the first half was Southgate-esque but at least it improved a bit in the second half I actually I don't want to turn this into a Southgate-Tuchel sort of thing because that's a waste of everybody's time well again the first half wasn't Southgate-esque because in the last two it was 5-0 half time exactly and against Iran you know we whacked in a load of goals it was only in the last Euros I thought they were a bit stodgy and and I think England because we had that second half against Croatia people thought hang on not even the second half it's probably about 25 minutes fine but whatever we saw something there against Ghana you can explain that away by saying, do you know what, actually, in retrospect, Ghana were brilliant.

10:33Luke Moore: It was Carlos Kieros, you know, classic him, even though he was the Iran manager when England knocked six balls to him. But, you know, Kieros, yes, if you like, Ghana were brilliant defensively and they did what they had to do. So you can explain that one of my... This one was meant to be the archetypal professional sort of two or maybe even three nil job. Yes, the scoreline was two nil, but that doesn't tell the full picture. And I agree. I think that... I think there are causes for concern and particularly at the back. Now, with England in the last tournament, it was kind of who's partnering Declan Rice in the centre of midfield in this game?

11:07Luke Moore: Is it going to be Trent Alexander-Arnold? Is it going to be Conor Gallagher? We didn't know. And it feels like who's going to be right back, that we've got a situation there because we all thought Jed Spence would start. He didn't start. Gerald Kwanzaa did, of course. And then he picks up an injury and goes off, but he didn't really play that well.

11:22Jim Campbell: Surely that's been simplified now, though. It is surely Jordan Henderson. Nice to see him. It's got to be Jed Spence at this point.

11:30Luke Moore: So I think we can talk about, you know, the obvious stuff with England, but I think drilling down to what our concerns are, you know, as we go into the last 32 to play the good Dr Congo in Atlanta, which is an air-conditioned stadium. So thank you for that. You've been lucky with the weather. Well, we've been lucky with the weather. We have indeed. I think England have had a decent slice of luck, all things considered in this group. A good value for group winners. Don't get me wrong. One of the group. Yeah, one of the group. And some of the chat from the players post-match was, we have achieved, I think Jude Bellingham said, we break into sections, right?

12:04So we had the first couple of warm-up games. We got through those and we were relatively happy. The next quest was to win the group. Done that. So that's fine. And I think that's right. Yeah, and I do too. And I think from a player's point of view, it's probably very helpful to think of it that way. But if you zero in on the actual performances, it's been a bit of a mixed bag. Now, they're not going to be the first team to start slowing the group and build and go on and do something good. So if that happens, then obviously it's all got to be put in context retrospectively. But just to zero on something we haven't talked about, is there any, because I think we can go a bit deeper on the Kwanzaa right-back situation if you want, but I think before we do that, maybe it's worth talking about the changes that were made.

12:44Do you think that makes a difference? Because he's changed the shape a bit. He's had to drop a couple of key players, James and Rice. and

12:53Luke Moore: obviously injured yeah for whatever reason you've got to change them up and then you look at other teams around I mean Norway changed 10 players right so is it that we're reading too much into it and ultimately yes Panama had their moments but they don't look too bad I don't think Panama and this is not me as an England fan making excuses no no no but I don't think they look too bad I think they had a lack of discipline that Ghana had but they also had more of an outlet going forward well marginal offside they would have scored which would have been would have been a great goal by the way. But does it matter that we change so many players is my short question.

13:24Luke Moore: Well, I think with the changes, I think that people wanted to be a bit more attacking. And I think he looks at that midfield situation and he's seeing there was chat that Elliot Anderson wasn't going to play the game. And obviously Decker and Rice didn't play the game. The one enormous positive for England is Jude Bellingham.

13:42Jim Campbell: I mean, what a player. He's always ready to step up in those moments. And I think actually it suits him. It was very interesting to me that he was happy to speak up about the atmosphere in the last camp not being quite right. He's clearly taken a lot of responsibility this time. I think we need him to be that guy who pops up in those big moments and is happy to sort of take on that responsibility where he does make it all about him. And he is like, I'm the main man, I'm the guy. I think he sort of benefits from that type of thinking. There's this bit of a Michael Jordan thing where you get the idea that he kind of creates enemies in his own head to win battles.

14:22Jim Campbell: No, he does, yeah.

14:22Luke Moore: But what I would have thought... I do that, to be fair. Exactly. Indeed, and again, we're sorry. Very busy with the real ones. Yeah, yeah. When you said he takes responsibility, you saw that in particular with the second goal because there was space to be exploited in behind. You know, England were trying to get the wingers on. And this is where your full-back situation, I think, could bite Tuchel here. I think Nico O 'Reilly, yeah, fine, okay. but the fullbacks weren't getting ahead and they weren't making the overlapping rounds and much was made in certain circles and sections where England want to play those triangles out wide and overload and knock it around and so on and we haven't really seen that we saw a bit of that against Costa Rica in the pre-tournament friendly which I think everybody wanted this game to be like and so what happened was you had a bit of space there but the wingers weren't really exploiting it it's the horseshoe isn't it

15:12Jim Campbell: that's the problem

15:12Luke Moore: but who exploited who thought Roger I'll do it it was Jude Bellingham he was everywhere The way he moves, his body shape and all the rest of it, just in sort of stylistically, it reminds me a little bit, and it's just a little reminder, everybody calm down, I'm not a little bit Zidane-esque at times, you know, with the long legs and the stride and the, you know, wanting to... I know what you mean, he glides along the field. Exactly, yeah, and I think with Bellingham, so my original point was going to be, I think maybe he changed that midfield dynamic because, and we were talking about this, and Jim, you used the word, you talked about Bellingham and you said his authority on the pitch, and you're absolutely right in every sense of that word.

15:46Luke Moore: I think with Rice, they're suddenly like, oh my goodness, Declan Rice may not be able to play every single second of football that he can conceivably play, which we've been so accustomed to in the last few years. So he had a rest. Elliot Anderson, there was a chat of muscle, soreness and fatigue, basically. Jordan Henderson, you know, okay, he came on. And I think Henderson could play, but I don't think too many people want to see it. I think he's very much a backup option. Cobby Mayne, who's also in there. But Bellingham now, more of an eight than a 10 that you would have him because the way that he's tackling is everything.

16:18Luke Moore: So I think maybe Tuchel thought, this is a chance for me to have a look at this with Rodgers in front. I didn't think Rodgers played particularly well. I thought he was okay. So I think with regard to the changes, Luke, I didn't mind that so much. Yeah, I'm not saying I mind it. I'm just wondering if you think it contributes to the stodginess of the performance. Potentially. But my concern really is the back line to go there again. I think Esri Konza is just not quite up to speed yet. I think Gay looked more himself in the second half. And I think Gay is that left-sided centre-half for England now.

16:48Luke Moore: I think that's fine. It's all connected though, isn't it? I think, you know, you can't really answer that question. Because I definitely think the full-back situation clearly informs the wide forwards who haven't been great. And I've said what I said about Rashford. Obviously, Gordon hasn't been great either. Obviously, that's on the other side to the right back. I think we're talking about it. Yeah, yeah. But it's hard to know based on this sample size of three games. If you want to extrapolate it out to the Costa Rica and New Zealand games as well, it's five games, I suppose, which is still a relatively small sample size, of what type of team England actually want to be.

17:25Because if they turn something into a basketball game against Panama, which they kind of did for a bit, they'll win. We've seen literally that last night, and England are a better team. If they go up against a team that plays in a really sticky low block, the way they're playing at the moment, because of the aforementioned issues, it looks like they can't break a team down. Although, if they do get an early goal, that completely changes the complexion of that type of setup. But the final thing I would just say is, if you get into a slugfest against a good team, probably not Congo, I think you're going to be better than Congo, but Mexico in Mexico City, I think they'll lose.

18:02At the moment, I think they'll lose, and that's the problem.

18:05Jim Campbell: Yeah, I mean, I think there are two ways of looking at this, though, because in terms of, you know, England not necessarily being able to break Panama down and obviously struggling in this similar context against Ghana as well. I think in that first half, there was little of real quality from England in terms of their shots. They were taking more shots, though. They were against Ghana. Well, quite, but Rashford had one, Saka had one. There were a few sort of floated balls that led to headers that didn't quite work. But I think the pressure they put Panama under was kind of relentless to the point where it was no surprise at all when they cracked the game open in the second half.

18:40Jim Campbell: So I think there is a sense that actually, I mean, this is really what you want from England with this sort of assignment. And I actually, I think there's also an argument that we haven't really seen England fail a test yet. I mean, that first half against Croatia was, as we said, a little bit of a basketball game, still finding their range, still finding their feet at that point. But responded brilliantly. Well, exactly. And we actually do know that England have that in them. Now, I would like to think that that is the England that Tuka wants. We want to see it again. We don't want to get to the end of this tournament, wherever the end of the road is, and we go, oh, that was an anomaly.

19:15Jim Campbell: Oh, that's annoying. Yeah, completely. We'll do it in the Nations League. Don't worry about that. But, you know, the knockouts are a completely different assignment in terms of the mentality in which you take into a game, in terms of the stakes which your opponents are facing when they're playing a team who are, you know, kind of more widely regarded than they are. England's status will help them until we come up against a team that we traditionally have an inferiority complex against. But hopefully by then, it's all tuned up. I think Declan Rice is a massive kind of miss out of this game. I think he probably helps you get a bit more territory.

19:50I felt the thrust was missing without Rice. It felt to me not as much thrust, yeah.

19:55Luke Moore: But let me go back to that point you were talking about, you know, if England are into the knockouts now. and there will be favourites to beat DR Congo it's not a given but you know it's we prescribe them a defeat we will be looking to revoke their licence indeed we will we're going to strike them off the list but they're not going to be able to practice medicine after we're done with them but one thing we were talking about you know the more intense the game we're knockout football that's what England will respond to Tuchel said now we collect our strength and energy we build our team spirit and belief we will step up the bigger the games get the bigger we'll be that's lovely fighting talk it is lovely fighting talk and I think that that has to be it.

20:31Luke Moore: You know, if we're all sat around this table saying, oh, he's a bit there and I... You can bet your bottom pound that old Tommy Tuchel is, you know, he's the England manager now. Yeah, but he's also picking Jarrell Kwanzaa to start right back. So we have to bear that in mind. Indeed. So I think you can talk about midfield dynamic and front line and so on. And, you know, Harry Kane scored another goal. He's now England's all-time leading goal scorer at the World Cup. He's got 11. He took, taken himself past Gary Lineker. Great achievement for Kane. Good to see him scoring again, you know. So we can talk about that.

21:02Luke Moore: And I think that there's, I don't think anybody's in too much doubt that you would expect more intensity and so on and so forth. And when England play teams, or you would imagine D.R. Conger will not just sit in that, you know, sit very, very deep. They would maybe try and play a bit more. Would they not try and take it into deep water though? Would they not try and take it into time? Is their best chance not nicking one or winning on penalties? Yeah. Is that how they would feel about it? Well, okay. So we'll talk about that game perhaps in a sec or maybe nearer the time. But I think defensively, that's where the concerns are with England.

21:34Luke Moore: And actually, when people, again, to labour the point, if this was a Gareth Southgate team, there would be none of that defensive stuff going on. It would be much tighter. And I think that this is going to be the issue for Thomas Tuchel. The whole right-back situation or full-back situation, everyone immediately said when he picked his squad, oh, we are at least one full-back short there. And people, well, maybe Dan Byrne can say that. and then you get Newcastle fans saying in the comments, please don't put down Burnett left-back. So Nico O 'Reilly cannot get an injury. I think that would be disastrous.

22:05Luke Moore: But even the centre-halves, as I say, Konza, Esri Konza is a good centre-half. I know you rate him very highly. John Stones is the most experienced player for England, and he was in the defence against Croatia, which looked a little bit shaky as well. I mean, who's going to play right back? Is Jarl Kwanza going to be fit? Do we want him there? what about Jed Spence Tuchel seems to have reservations about him despite picking him for the team I mean do you go because I think Nico O 'Reilly he's got the left back spot I think Mark Gay is left centre half now do you bring John Stones back and play as Riconza at right back I mean this is where you start to go hang on we don't know who's playing Thomas Tuchel hates right backs he does hate right backs he picks them he shouts at them the ones he picks get injured and the ones who are the best ones don't get picked but I feel that this is the thing this is where everyone will be looking at England going hang on this is a mess what is your best team

22:54Jim Campbell: what is your best back line? I don't know if it is a mess let's look at it logically if you want someone who's got a bit of verticality and is going to sort of overlap Spence is really the only option there because Conte as a right back doesn't sort of bomb on as much because perhaps his kind of natural home as a centre back despite him having a decent amount of experience as a right back if you do want a little bit more solidity in a game where you're going to be vulnerable down the flanks on the counter you play Conte there Stones is a good option in the middle as we know Tuka's already chosen him over Gay at some point So I wonder if this is actually as big an issue as it seems.

23:27Jim Campbell: And in terms of the centre-backs, Marcus, did you think that they put in a shaky performance yesterday? Because I wasn't really worried by them. Yeah, but I just... I thought it was more the shape.

23:36Luke Moore: The lack of recovery pace, I think, is an issue. If England are sort of pushing forward... I mean, if England are in a position where they, say, play Brazil in a quarter-final, I tell you what, Vinicius Junior will be thinking, you know, I'd get there. Now, he'll think that about any defender. Let me say that, because he's one of the best attacking players in the world. And he's incredibly quick. So I think these are things that England really need to show now into the knockout rounds. They need to show against the Arcongo, who have got Wisser up front, who's got a couple of goals. He's got the bit between his teeth.

24:06Luke Moore: They need to show, right, none of this, as I say, slight shaking, slight nervousness among the fans. You could say, you know, at our watch party last night, you could just tell there was a little palpable sense of people going, ooh, there's something about here I'm not too happy with.

24:20Jim Campbell: We also get in our own heads about games not being exciting quickly. Do you know what I mean? You start to feel quite sort of fatalistic about it. Like, oh, God, this is going to be a slog again, isn't it? And again, it isn't necessarily always the case. Like, not every game is amazing for, you know, the whole 90 minutes. In fact, only that Bayern Munich PSG semi-final in the Champions League has been like that in the history of the whole sport.

24:42Luke Moore: That's fair. And Austria and Algeria, maybe. No, that was something else. We'll come on to that. We will. But that quote, let me say it again. we will step up the bigger the games get, the bigger we'll be. That's got to be something, surely, that I would trust. All this sort of chat aside, I do ultimately believe that. Yeah, we'll see, won't we? I believe that he has to say that. And I believe that he believes that. And I think, you know, as ever, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The group is to be gotten through. You don't want to, and I was saying in the lead up to the tournament, you don't want to be the big team that struggles and goes out early.

25:19Other teams have found it tough as well in places. And if you look at it, it's not really been, I mean, there's been one or two groups where you're surprised by the outcome, right? But Mexico won the group, you'd expect that. Switzerland won their group, you'd expect that. Brazil also did it. The USA ones perhaps a touch of a surprise.

25:37Luke Moore: Turkey had been at a... Turkey going bottom. Germany won their group. Netherlands won their group. You know, Belgium topped their group. Spain topped their group. France England Portugal but Colombia were a good side it's gone broadly as you'd expect and I don't know if you try and put yourself in the position of other teams who are looking to avoid other big teams I think I tend to feel like other big nations do fear England regardless I think that's something they won't be going oh god they look absolutely shit they'll be going they've won their group so I think we do need to maintain some perspective but I do think the problems we've identified are legitimate problems and I think Tuchel can say what he likes to come back to what you said there but ultimately you know we did start a game last night with a right back who doesn't even play right back for his club who couldn't get in the team that he left so he had to go overseas to get a game and the guy who was too good for the team he played for and was courted by Real Madrid isn't even in the squad Now, Thomas Tuchel's perfectly within his rights to do whatever he wants as the manager, pick whatever squad he wants.

26:48But the results speak for themselves. And I think if you're in a situation now where you've got through the group stage and you've now got one fit right back, and the other option isn't really even been playing as a right back, he's been playing as a right of a three, then there are going to be questions asked. Is it time for a back three already? Maybe you solved the problem that way. Back two. Sorry, guys. We haven't trained with this for years, but Kwanzaa likes it.

27:15Luke Moore: No, I'll tell you what we're going to do. I'll tell you what we're doing. No one will see this coming. What is it, Rashford or Gordon? Both. Is it Saka or Maddoke? Both. Both. Two at the back. Nice. Get their ball in the channel. Two at the back. Do we even need a formation? Is this total football? Total football. Well, we had a poll in the comments which asked the question, how did last night's win make you feel? The results are in. 11 % said more confident. I like it. I mean, they are mad. 60 % said same, same. That's what I voted. Same, same. Yeah. You ever been to Vietnam? That's what they...

27:49Luke Moore: Same, same, but different. Okay. Are these tourist prices or are these local prices? Same, same, but different. Is this Thomas Tuchel's England or Gareth Southgate's England? Yeah, same, same, but different. 29 % said less confident. We're toast. Yeah, that was the option. 29 % think we're toast. Yeah. And you, Jim, you're the original toaster. Yeah. You and Robbie from Arsenal Fan TV. I had no idea you knew that that was my secret identity. That's how you met Robbie from Arsenal Fan TV. That's correct. Both Arsenal fans, both toasters. It all makes sense in the end. We should say before we move on that Jordan Henderson came on in the 84th minute, of course, to make history.

28:23Luke Moore: Heartwarming story. He's the first male player, England male player, to appear at four World Cups. Go on, Jordan. Well done, Jordan.

28:29Jim Campbell: You've got to clap back. I literally am clapping, you maniac. Jude Begum and Morgan Rogers said in an interview he's the best person they've ever met in football. They did say that. Yeah, I mean, fair enough. That gets you a cap.

28:41Luke Moore: Yeah. That'll get you up there. But you know, on that, on that, sorry Jim, but on that, you know, who's the players that have come on last night? Maduweke, Spence, Eze, Watkins and Henderson. Yeah. Now Henderson's there to do a very specific job as is Spence due to an injury. The other three can't really think of much they did. No. You know, against Panama who are already out. I thought Watkins looked like, I mean, look, he should have got longer. I think Watkins' right movement was good. I agree, Jim.

29:07Jim Campbell: Eze had a pot shot from distance, which you kind of want him to do but didn't really lead to much. But yeah, I think, I thought Watkins did all right actually. But again, I completely agree. If we were to see more from him, obviously quite an anodyne thing to say, we need to see him fall longer. But my point just is, I know you want to move on. Very quick, can I just say, my point is, when you bring a player like Eze on, I'm not going to go Eze for any other reason than you just talked about him briefly. The type of player he is, what you're looking at, it's almost an extension of what Roy King said in the analysis.

29:36I don't know if you guys saw that. I don't want to go full Roy King because that's probably not that helpful. But he was making a point which I agree with, which was that you want your players to be desperate to play. And when they come on, it's a cameo. And when you think of a cameo, you think, oh, that's a really eye-catching 15 minutes, right? You've got the run of the park, really, against a tired Panama team who are already out. Can you make something happen?

29:56Jim Campbell: Can I be Alec Baldwin in Gary Glenrock?

29:58Luke Moore: Exactly. Absolutely. Can I be Sean Connery in Robin of Prince of Thieves? Absolutely, you can. Right at the end. That's much more on theme as well, by the way. It is, yeah. He's dressed like some of those lads do in the crowd. in that, isn't he? It's hardly in it, but it's that proper cameo. Not even on the credits. Yeah. No, there we go. It's a secret. I don't really know where we're going with that. But anyway, the point being that the players who come on who are attacking need to show the reason why they should be being picked more. I don't want to get into a situation where we need to unpick a lock in the court final if we get that far and these attacking players that are being brought on aren't able to make an impact.

30:27Luke Moore: Well, the reason why I mentioned Sean Connery is I think Olly Watkins should be sat on the bench dressed as King Richard the Lionheart. Okay. what harm can it do to the reputation of our nation in front of the world's cameras at least he's got an English accent can't see he's got like a mask over his face unlike Sean

31:02Jim Campbell: say more. More exactly. The more you do with Venmo, the more you get, like earning up to 5 % cash back with Venmo Stash. Get the Venmo debit card or check out online. Venmo Stash bundle terms and exclusions apply. Max$100 per month. See terms at venmo.me slash stash terms. Venmo checkout not available at all merchants. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. Hey, Pablo Torre here. As a sports journalist, I've covered global sports for many years now. And there is one thing that I can promise you. Nothing compares to the World Cup. And this time it is even better thanks to McDonald's.

31:40Jim Campbell: You have the chance to take home one of nine legendary cups when you order the FIFA World Cup meal. The cups feature some of the biggest legends in football, like David Beckham, Terry Henry, and Ronaldinho, Christian Pulisic, Lamine Yamal, and Alfonso Davies. Right now, get one of nine legendary cups when you order the FIFA World Cup meal only at McDonald's. At participating McDonald's, only for a limited time, while supplies last, all rights reserved, copyright 2026. McDonald's at the FIFA World Cup 2026. This is Nick and Jack from The Best One Yet, and we are excited to tell you about Walmart Business.

32:15Staying ahead of business trends means moving fast and adapting quickly. Walmart Business helps you simplify operations

32:21Jim Campbell: so you can focus on building the next big thing. Find exactly what your organization needs with their ever-expanding business assortment and everyday low prices. Keep your momentum going fast with reliable shipping and fulfillment. Eligible organizations can take advantage of tax-free shopping, both in-store and online, saving you more while getting you everything you need. It's Walmart built for your business. Sign up for a free Walmart business account today at business.walmart.com. There are moments that reveal who we are and who we're meant to become. For those born to lead, such moments call for a vehicle of equal distinction.

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33:17Luke Moore: 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 Jamieson 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

33:57Jim Campbell: oh 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 Yeah. Oh, my goodness. Love that. The reason no one had done it was because he was being the president of Liberia. Yeah. And also because they couldn't tackle him because he was just taking the ball around people all the time.

34:23Luke Moore: Yeah, that's it. He was still dribbling. It had just gone on forever.

34:26Jim Campbell: So, yeah, he invited us. He'd 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 we signed sort of Liberian shirts and AC Milan photos of the classic goal. 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.

34:59Luke Moore: What is it like then? I mean, it must be quite something when you get the nod.

35:04Jim Campbell: Well, the classic story is pretty much one of my first ever stories. So it's 2009. We're in Buenos Aires. oh now you're talking diego maradona there we go saying i can't see you tonight so what do you do you go out into uh 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 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

36:03Luke Moore: authenticity before and you have the the triple lock authentication um and tell us a little bit

36:09Jim Campbell: more about that well uh we introduced it with leo messi just before christmas so essentially what you do is you uh you videotape 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 It is Leo signing your exact product at the exact time in the exact location. So 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.

36:48Jim Campbell: And it basically creates a triangle between the physical product, your phone and our data records. so it's 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

37:09Luke Moore: worth and that's why you go to the great lengths to uh yeah to make sure that's all authentic as you say 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 absolute pleasure

37:22Jim Campbell: Thanks, fellas, and enjoy the World Cup. It's going to be iconic.

37:26Luke Moore: 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.

38:01Luke Moore: Croatia will probably get to a semi-final. They'll manage to do it. They'll all be limping around the pitch, but they'll manage to do it.

38:07Jim Campbell: I'm licking my lips at the prospect of Cristiano Ronaldo facing Croatia. I think Croatia are just kryptonite, aren't they? Yeah, they are. At this point. For anyone. It's like Modric and Ronaldo. Modric versus Ronaldo, it's like two old men playing chess in an old people's house. It's lovely, that, isn't it? Yeah. The Croatia's journey through, though, you said they'll probably get to a seven. I know you're being flippant, but I think if they win, they have to play Spain. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe it's a stretch

38:30Luke Moore: for all these old Croatian men at this point. But they are the archetypal sort of canny operators.

38:37Jim Campbell: But surely that runs out at some point. Surely if you're playing Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic in 2026, surely that is going to stop happening. Surely, Jim. Yeah, surely. That result also, that was the result of Noctow Scotland, right?

38:49Luke Moore: It was, yeah. Officially? Yeah, yeah. so yeah Croatia have done that Ghana will face Colombia that's a tasty one we'll talk about Colombia a little bit later in the context of their group when they withdrew with Portugal but yes Croatia that victory confirmed Scotland's exit half an hour after full time the Scottish FA announced that Steve Clarke had stepped down as head coach interestingly Clarke he resigned and he was in his home back in Scotland doing it no but they called him when it was just a British diatom on the home phone is he over ready yeah well I mean he actually obviously cut a very full on and irritated figure after the Brazil game and he knew and he said well I think we're going home and I wonder if because you know without dissecting Scotland too much because they've gone I wonder if in that game against Brazil he looked like he was showing a tiny bit more attack and intent than we perhaps thought and I wonder if he thought do you know I should have stuck to my principals and we'd have lost 1-0 and we would have maybe had a chance or a better chance or whatever.

39:52Luke Moore: It's exciting, isn't it? Indeed. And this is it, Luke. You know, he signed a four-year deal a month ago. This is bananas. The English FA did this as well with Tuchel. There's no reason to do it at that time. I said to you at the time... Well, no, I think there's a difference with Tuchel because Tuchel is a sought-after manager and if they think we've got an elite manager which you could make a good argument and you think we've got home euros in a couple of years' time, we can get this guy down on a contract. who's going to take over. Clark makes less sense. It's a slightly different point, but I think the reason that Tuchel, this is off topic, but the reason that Tuchel got the deal was because I think his agent probably just said everyone wants him.

40:23And that's how it works. With the Scotland thing. Who's queuing up for Clark? Yeah, well, that's true. Killy want him back. But I do think with Steve Clark, there's a real kind of interesting dichotomy there. Because one is that, you know, if you're a Scotland fan, you're probably quite capable of occupying two quite different emotional positions. One is that he's taken us to more tournaments than we kind of expected. Bless you, Marcus. I wasn't on camera. You could have just carried on there. I want to keep quiet.

40:54Jim Campbell: Manners don't cost anything, do they? You want your sneeze, blessing? Yeah, have a sneeze. I wanted a subtle sneeze. Yeah, it was disrespectful to Steve Clarke doing that in the middle of that. But when we've been there, we've basically, most recently, of course, it's almost felt like, what's the point of us being here if we're going to do this, right? A lot of drudgery. I think it's a bit bittersweet, really.

41:13Luke Moore: Well, I think he occupies a very similar ground to Gareth Southgate does for a lot of England fans, particularly towards the end. You know, Clarke, I think history will judge him pretty well. As you say, he broke that duct of Scotland not qualifying for tournaments for ages. He got them to three. And the World Cup as well. Again, an expanded Euros, whatever. But the World Cup, that was the one. They hadn't been there since 1998 for crying out loud. And they won a game at the World Cup. Yes, they've gone out. so there are things there but ultimately their line was going to the knockouts of a tournament you think about Hungary two years ago where they just did not go for it and then Hungary pinched it at the death and this one as well this was a tougher task they're not expected to beat Morocco and Brazil they had a really tough group Scotland I think but it's the manner of it and I think as a mate of mine said he felt that Clark still thought oh I'm Kilmarnock manager and I'm just trying to kind of stick on in there and so it's a difficult job but I think he leaves with his head held high in time.

42:12Luke Moore: I think he obviously tail between the legs at the moment and I think there'll be a lot of affection for him among Scotland fans, more so as time goes on perhaps, but I think there will be a reasonable amount of Scotland fans who'll just think, yeah, no, let's move on to the next. I mean, careful what you wish for and so on. Especially because McInnes has gone to Rangers, so he's been one of the biggest candidates for the next job. Sure, I think McInnes wouldn't have. I mean Moyes would be the one they'd probably want but I mean he's happy Everton Just wait that out with caretakers until Moyes takes the job Come on David, come on Or Scotland start playing in Everton kits and Moyes goes alright I'm on board now

42:50Jim Campbell: I think like four more years of very pragmatic football where you get criticised a lot is probably quite an exhausting concept for Steve Clarke from the position he's sat in now but he has left Scotland as a team and the Scotland manager's position as a position in a really, in a kind of better place than it was when he took over. It's probably a far more appealing job now, even though it's going to be a bit of a head-scratcher for whoever takes it. And who they identify and get in now is really important. But I mean, it has been a success for them.

43:23Luke Moore: Yeah, I agree. And looking at previous managers, you go all the way back to say like when Walter Smith was there, the late Walter Smith, or even Big Eck, Alec McLeish. they sort of got people going a bit and they didn't get to the tournaments. And I think Scotland went through that phase where it was just drab and people, look, they've got a great support and they always will have that, but it was not really capturing the imagination. And then in Euro 2016, they see Wales and Northern Ireland go to the Euros and they're not there. And Clark got them going. He has. He had his limits. We've seen them.

43:59Luke Moore: They've been exposed again. Yes, some people go, well, that's grossly unfair. again, Morocco and Brazil. I think it's the manner of it. I think if you go out, you know, swinging kind of thing, it was what we expected really. I think this is good for everybody. But as I say, I think he will be, he is one of the greatest managers in Scotland's recent history. Probably the best. Yeah, absolutely. You know, you'd have to go back to old Craigie Brown, you know, in the 90s. So he's gone. And I'm sure there's a lot of touchline reporters who will be delighted to think that they might get better interviews out of the next Scotland manager.

44:31Luke Moore: But we shall see. Speaking of teams going home, the Uruguayan Football Association have decided to cancel the private plane that was going to take the squad home. Every single player now is instead having to return on a commercial flight. This is an absolutely amazing implosion for Uruguay. Are they still listening to Bielsa? At one point, Bielsa in his post-match in their last game, he just started screaming into the mic. Wasn't he saying, ask me the question, basically? Just get over with. Astonishing stuff. I really don't. Uruguay. they've got to lick their wounds and ease up and come again.

45:04Luke Moore: But there's one thing we know, they'll be back. Yeah, they will. Whichever tournament it will be, they'll be back at some point. Let's move on to DR Congo. The team England are going to be playing in the last 32 minutes. It's Dr Congo. Dr Congo, sorry. The Democratic Republic of Dr Congo. They beat Uzbekistan 3-1, securing their place in the knockouts for the first time ever to face England with their first ever World Cup win. And I think, I'm sorry, Scotland, just very briefly, when you see the likes of Cape Verde and Dr. Congo and other teams making history and having these great celebrations I just think Scotland fans are going just can't we?

45:40Luke Moore: Do you know what I mean? Why aren't we involved? Indeed. Indeed. But anyway Dr. Congo they won the game Jan Wisser Wisser was heavily involved in this tucked his penalty away scored a lovely goal but I would say the goal of the game was the Uzbekistan goal Yes. That's one of the goals of the tournament a lovely loop It was a great goal Beautiful deft touch that was incredible stuff They started well They started really well. I think Uzbekistan might have a few regrets in this tournament. Against Colombia, look, again, Colombia are a better side and I think Diarconca are a better side, but they played some nice attacking stuff.

46:10Luke Moore: He even scored a lovely goal against Portugal, which was chalked off. Yes, they did. That was a beauty as well. Conceding 11 goals is a problem, though, isn't it? I was about to get to that. I think they probably regret all of those. I was going to get to that, Jim. Are there 11 things in particular you regret? Every player that started. other than

46:33Jim Campbell: Shuradov

46:33Luke Moore: Shumurodov Shumurodov

46:35Jim Campbell: with that goal but this is a sort of historic moment for them though isn't it and again just them being here at all is massive and I think they do leave despite the 11 goals conceded with their heads held pretty high actually but they're growing as a sort of sporting nation aren't they I mean if you look at the incredible affection for Kuzhinov back in Uzbekistan shouldn't have given the penalty he shouldn't have that was poor that was really poor it's just 10 if you don't do that that was Luca Modric

47:06Luke Moore: it was this is how I do it in the Premier League you wouldn't know you could just kick him it might be a foul in the World Cup in fact do we even know what a foul is in this World Cup that's a really good point it's different every time we have no clue honestly there are times where the game is going and the flow of the game and everybody knows what a foul feels and looks like and it'll happen and players go I've been I've wince at the TV oh they're playing on with that they're carrying on I've been like oh that was a nasty oh they're playing on but his eyelash was offside it's an interesting one and I know we've got time to preview England against the good doctor but I do think it's quite interesting how they play so they soak up they soak and strike don't they they like to soak and strike soak and strike so that will be an interesting challenge that's your idea in a communal shower isn't it it's lovely that's how I like to spend a lot of my time I so could have a strike as you two know well but so I wonder if it's going to be a kind of variation on a combination between what Panama and Ghana have done against England you know so it'll be a challenge I don't I'd be surprised if England have ever played Dr.

48:17Congo before either which that'll be an interesting historical moment

48:20Luke Moore: well it will absolutely it will but ultimately I do think without viewing absolutely everything through an England lens I do think if you were given this round of 32 game before the tournament, you're taking it all day long. I think it would, because Senegal were the other ones that were... I think Senegal present more of a challenge. I do. With that, you know, with my chat about the England defence, you know, Senegal, one thing they do have is a lot of pace on the break. But anyway, look, the fact is, Jim, you have rightly got me to admit that I'm a coward sometimes when it comes to the knockout.

48:50Luke Moore: So, again... It's perfectly set up, Marcus. You take what you get. It's perfectly set up for Johan Visser to have absolutely stunk the Premier League out for the last nine months. He's already out. Hat trick. He's having a good tournament though. Producer Charlie, who's a Newcastle fan, with Viss's second goal, he's like, I respect it was a really good goal, but I cannot fully get on board with the fact that he meant it. Yeah, he was just trying to waste time. Let's turn our attention to one of the other groups involving Argentina, Jordan, Algeria and Austria. Algeria three, Austria three. This was great.

49:21Come on. Because we thought this was going to be a little trade-off.

49:23Luke Moore: Yeah, we did. And then I'll tell you what, it was an absolute liberty I mean the Belgarly goal was great one of the goals

49:29Jim Campbell: of the tournament a pinger off the corner flag you hardly ever see that

49:32Luke Moore: and then his feet are amazing in the penalty era but what was an absolute liberty here was that as things stood at two all they were both going through I know this is amazing and Iran have obviously suffered and then Mahrez just scores and everyone's like what? what are you doing? what are you doing? I'll tell you what they're doing exercising the ghosts of which world Cup was it? 74. Was it 74? No it wasn't 82. When West Germany and Austria. They changed the rules for that particular reason. The disgrace of Heon. That's right. The disgrace of Heon and Algeria on the other side of it. I can't believe the donkey was involved.

50:13Luke Moore: Gijon. The disgrace of Gijon, Jim. It's a disgrace. I think that Mahrez was a bit like, no, no, no, no, we're not having any of that nonsense here. I love that. And then Kaladzic was a bit like, oh yes we are it's rare to see a team score what looks like a winner in the 90 second minute and the other team looks so like why have you done that offended yeah what

50:37Jim Campbell: that's no no but to then have the gumption to go up the other end there you go yeah exactly if you're going to do it we're going to do it as well

50:43Luke Moore: who could play that game I mean was it were the Algerians on the bench going yeah that's great guys but we're now currently off to play Spain yeah ah okay right there's the goal that's great who have we got Switzerland yeah that's probably better that'd be fine I'd prefer that do you know what I feel more neutral about that I do as well funny enough actually that's it you know Austria obviously they needed the goal and they got it but they will play Spain now and Algeria will play Switzerland so I know what I would be rather doing absolutely but it's great for the people of Lawrence in Kansas

51:10Jim Campbell: it is yeah they've really got behind they've taken Algeria to their hearts Algeria and they've had a really entertaining game there that ends well for them as well

51:17Luke Moore: bearing in mind I mean look they were beaten by Argentina so that can happen but to lose your first game 3-0 to then find yourself finishing second in the group. You've got to give them credit.

51:27Jim Campbell: We've got some real talent in that team as well. Obviously, we all know about Riyad Mahrez and he's kind of towards the end of his career now, but he's obviously the most high-profile player. But Ibrahim Mazza is a really, really entertaining player as well. And yeah, I mean, this game had some brilliant goals in it. One of the best games of the group stage. The lovely little deft touch from Marko Arnautovic to open the scoring. Well, he sort of bundled it and then actually he managed to kind of... It's like he'd last minute decided, that he actually had to do something there.

51:53Luke Moore: Yeah. I've never seen someone decide so late. It's a deft bundle. It was a deft bundle. A deft bundle. Savicza's goal was a nice one as well. That was a great arrival. I love a great timed arrival. We all do.

52:06Jim Campbell: And also, Marcel Savicza is the sort of player, he's quite high profile, he's had a good career, played for some big clubs, but you can see that even somebody like that, and I suppose this is part of the course, really, for a team like Austria that aren't there that often, the delight in his face as it's sinking in that he has scored a goal at a World Cup. Yeah. It's just brilliant. And it was great for Austria to bounce back because obviously it's a home game for Algeria, wasn't it, taking place in Canada? Well, exactly, yeah. Take on the home fans and everything.

52:30Luke Moore: Yeah, so good results for all involved there. But Iran are eliminated as a result of that. So they're the only team to go out without losing a game at this World Cup. It is a great shame for them considering how desperately close they were. And how appallingly they've been treated. They've been able to fly to Mexico after every game. Indeed, indeed. but just half a foot offside you know that winner they were denied of course in their last game and you know looking at what needed to happen just a winner in this game just if Austria don't get that goal they're through but they're not and Austria and Algeria go through and of course Argentina topped the group they beat Jordan 3-1 obviously Lionel Messi was benched to rest him but then he thought you know I do fancy the golden boot he's got six already it's ridiculous if goalkeepers are going to be that charitable I mean that was so poor you have to say not just for that one for both free kicks it was so poor the goalkeeper for the first free kick I love you watch it back he sets up his wall very diligently good on you well done and then when the guy's running up at least Lo Celso puts it in the corner yeah but Lo Celso as he's running up the Jordan goalkeeper takes I think three steps so he's fully behind the wall which is the entire opposite point of having a wall and he just watches it go in the corner the messy one it rolls past his foot

53:46Jim Campbell: but I mean I suppose the obvious answer to this is that he simply puts his foot out but it's so close to him and at a kind of annoying angle if he does want to get down to that with his hands that has to be sort of truly cat-like reflex his weight's on the other foot as well by that point which is a massive problem for goalkeepers generally I just think it made me feel quite painfully close to sympathy for Cristiano Ronaldo I'm never going to outscore him

54:12Luke Moore: he's the first man ever to score in seven World Cup games in a row. Wow. Which, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't even do if Portugal were to go all the way and win the final. So Ronaldo will be involved at the 2030 World Cup. Without question. Without a doubt. And obviously Portugal are one of the host nations there. You know, sorry to cut in, but Messi scores a goal in every game. Yeah. I think he'll have, what, 11 goals or something. Which is still not going to be the record. No. Because the record is by Just Fontaine, who played for France, who scored 13 goals in six matches in 1958. Mad.

54:46Luke Moore: They didn't even get to the final. I know. He's still in the line-up of all the top goalscorers in the World Cup. I think he only played in one. Yeah, that was all he needed. Yeah. I thought my work here was done. But Argentina have Cape Verde in the next round. Yes. I mean, what a story that is. Yeah. Argentina are on pens. Just imagine it. I mean, Cape Verde haven't lost yet. Well, yeah, yet. I'm just saying, I'm just saying. They will lose at some point, Mark. I know that's a controversial thing to say. It isn't. But it just makes you think, what if? what if imagine the scenes in Buenos Aires of Argentina getting knocked out by Kate Verde my god they're not going to

55:21Jim Campbell: one of my highlights of this game was the surprisingly retro edition of Martin Tyler and Andy Townsend yeah commentary yeah Jordan Argentina yeah I like the Argentina

55:33Luke Moore: away kit it's a very nice kit very nice of you

55:41Jim Campbell: Hannah I just fan-moved you for dinner obsessed I'm literally spending it right now on the lip gloss that's been sitting in my cart. What do you mean spending it right now? You instantly spend your balance with the Venmo debit card. Stop. Say more. More exactly. The more you do with Venmo, the more you get, like earning up to 5 % cash back with Venmo Stash. Get the Venmo debit card or check out online. Venmo Stash bundle terms and exclusions apply. Max$100 per month. See terms at venmo.me slash stash terms. Venmo checkout not available at all merchants. the Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A.

56:43Jim Campbell: Alfonso Davies. Right now, get one of nine legendary cups when you order the FIFA World Cup meal only at McDonald's. At participating McDonald's, only for a limited time, while supplies last. All rights reserved. Copyright 2026. McDonald's at the FIFA World Cup 2026. This is Nick and Jack from The Best One Yet, and we are excited to tell you about Walmart Business. Staying ahead of business trends means moving fast and adapting quickly. Walmart Business helps you simplify operations so you can focus on building the next big thing. Find exactly what your organization needs with their ever-expanding business assortment and everyday low prices.

57:18Jim Campbell: Keep your momentum going fast with reliable shipping and fulfillment. Eligible organizations can take advantage of tax-free shopping, both in-store and online, saving you more while getting you everything you need. It's Walmart built for your business. Sign up for a free Walmart business account today at business.walmart.com.

57:42Luke Moore: let's move on to Cristiano Ronaldo's side Portugal they drew 0-0 with Colombia Colombia finished top of Group K this was always going to be one of those ones where you think Portugal will probably be favourites to finish the top group in first position but Colombia not a bad side at all Davison Sanchez thought he'd scored the winning goal right at the death but it was disallowed because his toe was offside it's the best offside decision yet it is the most marginal of them absolutely crazy I know you have to draw the line somewhere

58:08Jim Campbell: but again though he scores the goal with his head but his foot is offside now I suppose you could make the argument that he uses his foot to propel himself forward so it's not really an argument that is it it's more of a more of just an observation empirical fact yeah but I'm just my crusade for you know the part of your body that you score the goal with needing to be the bit that's offside is ongoing even with this I think it's a really interesting angle I think it's perhaps splitting hairs somewhat but then when you see that screenshot you say we're already splitting hairs and they would split hairs I was about to say

58:39Luke Moore: so yeah Portugal top the group I mean sorry Columbia top the group Columbia takes unbeaten I think they're a good side I think they're slipping a bit under the radar a little bit yeah I mean James Rodriguez was having a lovely

58:49Jim Campbell: he's rolling back the years he really does consistently seem to perform for them however mad his club career is we have to also get in we have to get on board with the other day they just look great they do the kits look great

59:00Luke Moore: it's the colour it's like in European terms I'm always jealous of the Dutch and the Swedes yeah because it just pops yeah it pops yeah the Colombian kit pops because the Colombian players have all got really good tans as well. They just look great. So I think there's an element of that where we would be into it. They're basically like bigger boys from a different school. Yes. Sexier boys. Sexier boys, yeah.

59:20Jim Campbell: Riding around on bikes outside. What are they doing here? Yeah, exactly. Smoking. They've already been excluded from school. They'll beat Ghana, won't they?

59:29Luke Moore: I would have thought so, yeah. They've got a chance of going deep because I think if they win that... I agree with you. They've got a pretty good run. Switzerland or Algeria next. Yeah, no, they really do. They really do. and I mean how this game finished nil-nil is beyond me how on earth nobody got a winning goal

59:44Jim Campbell: well it's the fat cats at City Hall it is disallowing goals

59:47Luke Moore: and some great goalkeeping as well and also it's Cristiano Ronaldo playing a full game again up front yeah of course yeah yeah yeah that would be Croatia's lovely I'm really looking forward to that Roberto Martinez did say Cristiano is in good physical condition I mean he's in incredible physical condition particularly for a 41 year old we monitor his physical information live and Cristiano was very very good. I guess I'm not going to sit here in the condition I'm in and criticise a man who's a similar age to me still playing in the World Cup. But what I will say is there's an element... Like you, he shouldn't be starting games.

1:00:18Luke Moore: You should not be starting up front for Portugal. No.

1:00:21Jim Campbell: That's not controversial. No, I agree with that. But you know that old adage that if you have to keep telling everyone you're the king, you're not really a very good king. If you have to keep telling everyone that Cristiano Ronaldo is in great condition, you wonder whether he is actually in great condition.

1:00:34Luke Moore: He's being asked a lot about it though. For the top, the point is, this is the real deal. It's a World Cup, right? Even in a 48-team World Cup where you've got some fairly average teams in there, right, if he's still having to answer questions. Because the sensible and serious point here is that at some point they're not going to have the luxury of playing Uzbekistan or already being through or whatever and it's going to be a massive issue because they're going to need to find something. Could even be against Croatia and then they're going to have a political situation within their squad which is clearly unmanageable at some point.

1:01:07It's just a ticking time bomb.

1:01:09Luke Moore: Yeah. So, Luke, I hear what you're saying, but the groups are over. They are. The groups are over. And speaking of managing things, we've had 72 games in this World Cup already. To eliminate how many teams? 16. Bearing in mind, in 1970, the World Cup was 16 teams. It's like the world's longest argument about who does the dishes. It doesn't matter at the end. 72 games and the first round is finally over if you're thinking that was a lot of football you're right the previous World Cup had in total 64 games in total 64 games in the last World Cup in previous in 32 in a 32 team World Cup it's 64 games this expanded World Cup it would be 104 games which is extraordinary FIFA is reportedly considering expanding the World Cup to 64 teams in 2013 of course yeah absolutely I mean that would get rid of this third place business I would do but I mean I would say I would do it like Race Across the World I would say it's happening on this day in this country first hundred teams to get here can play hundred yeah why not okay why not don't tell them that straight knockout what they do at the moment yeah what they do at the moment flip of a coin and then 30 of you go over it's not that different it's not that different is it well Lewis Tibbs said I'm sold let's make 2030 a 64 team tournament that's of course in Spain Portugal and Morocco the first in the groups goes straight to the knockouts then second has a playoff against another group's third place let's go Lewis enough enough stop saying these things out loud actually I said it to be fair but thank you for your comment though Lewis we do appreciate you it doesn't sound like we do does it no it doesn't 215 goals already scored in the tournament 2.99 goals per game the highest since 1958 I've got a little theory which is great and obviously we want to see goals but the little working theory I've got particularly based for football fans in this country is that we are cynical about the amount of games that have happened already.

1:03:04Part of that, to me, feels like the time, the times that they're played. I think if we had a situation where the time zone was slightly different and we were watching games all day, every day.

1:03:13Jim Campbell: I think that would be too much. I'm quite glad it's through the night. No, I think people would be so into it. Yeah, I'm missing the sort of afternoon games. But what I would say, I don't think it's necessarily that I've been missing games that's made me feel particularly, or personally rather, quite fatigued by the expanded group stage. It's just that there's no jeopardy. like there's not really been any of the big teams other than Uruguay who've kind of basically just brought it all on themselves who look like they're going to kind of have this sort of disaster and by the same token there aren't you know there's Cape Verde and there are a few teams and it's like oh this is a great story but it feels like the World Cup is about to start rather than being 72 games in or whatever it is yes when you put it like that

1:03:55Luke Moore: I think to myself we could all do with a holiday between the group stage and the knockouts It's perhaps like a two-year holiday. What I do like that this is facilitated, though, is I do like there being more knockout games. Because in knockout games, it's like everything's on the line. The drama tends to be high. You do get the occasional duff one, but generally speaking, it always culminates with some drama. And I think we'll really get into our struggle. We've got a whole extra round of that now, which I think might be quite interesting. Yes, indeed. I just want, I mean, which territories can host 64 teams?

1:04:27Jim Campbell: Yeah, this is another factor. I mean, that's the thing.

1:04:29Luke Moore: It's already in three countries. Do you know what, right? What we need, and Infantino is probably already doing this. FIFA need to build a big island somewhere. I was going to say, yeah. And have a FIFA country, and that's where we go. Is this where this goes? Yeah, FIFA can get their own country. Yeah.

1:04:43Jim Campbell: Football land.

1:04:44Luke Moore: Yeah, football land, indeed. Hopefully in a temperate climate. Yeah. Just in the North Sea somewhere. That'd be handy for us, wouldn't it? Well, the last, the round of 32 kicks off later today. There's no break. You cannot take a breath. And this is Canada versus South Africa kicking off later today. But Canada, real chance. That's a great draw for them. I've criticised South Africa. I'm surprised they actually qualified based on what I saw in the first game. Canada will be delighted to be playing South Africa. But look, you know, South Africa have surprised some people, myself included. They could perhaps give Canada a bloody nose.

1:05:23But I think to me, the standouts for the for the knockout games tomorrow yeah it's Brazil-Japan

1:05:29Luke Moore: Brazil-Japan's a lovely one and then obviously the hashish derby which is a difficult it's a difficult time to watch but then if you're stoned you might you might be fine it's Netherlands-Morocco yeah I told you get some munching you'll be alright it's a shisha on a carpet versus a ripping a fat bong in a techno club right yeah this thing's all lang syne choose choose your fighter choose your fighter Ivory Coast v Norway that's a Fanta and fish and chips for me is that right a bit more traditional I suppose you might say and then we go down I mean anyone's stand up for you we talked about Portugal Croatia Jim but Colombia Ghana the last tie of the last 32 I think is a nice one yeah I think that's I'll tell you what Switzerland Algeria at 4am that'll test you

1:06:14Jim Campbell: that really will that'll separate the wheat from the chaff yes I do think Mexico

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1:08:12Jim Campbell: And what happened to the rug? Sounds like your outdoor setup is not ready for patio season. Fix it all with Wayfair. Shop Wayfair for grills, rugs, furniture, and more. With 20 million five-star reviews, room of choice delivery, and expert setup on qualifying orders, it's never been easier to do more for less. Get 10 % off your first eligible purchase. Hurry to Wayfair.com or download the app now. way fair every style every home the Ecuador obviously England have an interest in this because if they get past the good doctor the winner of that game will be who they play but Mexico Ecuador just feels right in the World Cup doesn't know what you mean it was glamorous warms the heart

1:08:54Luke Moore: yeah both teams like amazing support means so much to them of course it means so much to everybody but Ecuador like that was enormous for the country I've been saying it for almost a week now to me it seems heavily likely that England's World Cup ends in at the Azteca. That means we win against Dr. Congo? Yeah. I'll take it.

1:09:11Jim Campbell: Will you? You think England wouldn't kind of rally enough to be able to beat Mexico? I think it looks very, very difficult.

1:09:17Luke Moore: So what I'm saying is I'll take it because if by your deal we'll get through the round of 32 and then I'll renegotiate. Okay. Don't tell me that. You've undermined your own. I saw Eddie Hearn the other day talking about when he's got his fighters when he's plotting their careers. He's like, I never ever match him up against a boxer who's training in Mexico City. because the altitude and because they're just hard. They just feel there's an element of that and the crowd will be vociferous to say the least. I think that's a tough ask. We can't get ahead of ourselves, can we? I was about to say, let's see how England get on against Dr.

1:09:49Luke Moore: Congo soon enough. Now, let's finish the show with some correspondence. On Thursday, we asked you to tell us about your nation. As we head into the knockouts, we want a worldwide network of ramble correspondence, please. Canada face South Africa tonight, of course, and we have our first two listeners stepping up to the plate.

1:10:07Jim Campbell: Yes, so friend of the Ramble, Jacob, is in Toronto and Jacob's messaged on Patreon to say, Hi everyone, the mood in Canada is multi-headed. Enjoyable phrase. Is that a phrase? It is now. I like it, I like it. There have been so many firsts that it feels un-Canadian and greedy to ask for more, especially lacking our best player, Alphonso Davies, and our best defender, Moist Bombito. But at the same time, looking match by match, you can make a pretty good case. We deserve the win against Bosnia and at least a draw against the Swiss, which I think is fair. So we also fumbled the opportunity to win the group.

1:10:38Jim Campbell: I think we can get by South Africa, lose the next one in Houston, and consider it a success. And yes, Jesse Marsh is very American in his nature. It would seem that most of us are looking past it because the results have been good. This will not survive a poor run of form. It will probably begrudgingly survive a loss in the round of 32. Okay, I think that's fair. I think that's very measured. I think Canada, Canadianly, obviously so Canadian, it's obviously going to be measured. I think they've got to be massive favourites against South Africa I would think so I mean they're not playing in Canada though are they I'm not sure that that matters they're closer to Canada than they are to South Africa aren't they

1:11:12Luke Moore: they're going to be playing in Jesse Marsh's homeland yeah sure let's look at it like that okay I think they'll beat I think they'll beat South Africa do you reckon so he's going to start his team talk lads you're in my home yeah it's coming home

1:11:26lads it's me yeah what about this then on the other side of the ledger Andrew emailed us at show at footballamble.com. He says, South Africa fan here, beating South Korea was the greatest result since Neil Makoko Tovey led South Africa to win the 96 AFCON with Mark the Nation builder Williams coming off the bench to score a brace against Tunisia.

1:11:45Luke Moore: I agree with him. I genuinely do. I think he's right. Massive result. That's some great players back then. Lucas Radaby, Mike Fish. But he is right. He is the greatest result since then. He said, the only issue was that I was so tired and hot the next day I joined a team's call for work with no shirt on and didn't realise if someone pointed it out. was he swinging his top round his head waka waka waka giving it an easy yeah but there we go so it all starts tonight the old knockout phase exciting yeah yeah yeah well you missed a couple of things there he said Mokoko means rooster oh yeah okay and I just bloody love football yeah I mean that kind of goes without saying the second one I wanted to make sure that got said we all bloody love football don't we indeed we do indeed we do Luke Moore that's what I'm saying and that's why we do this thing called the football rap exactly thank you very much for listening to the Football Ramble part of the ACAST Creator Network massive thank you to everybody who's joined us live on YouTube today it's been an absolute pleasure thank you for your comments we appreciate all of your questions and comments really do obviously we can get to all of them because some of them quite frankly weren't up to standard we'll be back tomorrow to react to the start of the knockouts it's already here you can't blink for a moment in this World Cup otherwise you'll miss about two and a half games do subscribe to the Football Ramble on YouTube and your podcast app so you never miss an episode.

1:13:00Luke Moore: There we are. Thank you, Luke Moore. Thank you very much. Thank you, Jim Campbell. Thank you. And thank you, the first round of the World Cup. How well we knew you.

1:13:14Jim Campbell: The Football Ramble is a Stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network.