The Midfield Centipede | 2026 FIFA World Cup

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4:43Luke Moore: Here we go again everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble. The bloody World Cup starts today. It's Thursday 11th of June. I'm Marcus Speller. I'm Jim Campbell. And I'm Luke Moore.

5:07Luke Moore: It's today! It's today! We need Peter to do his noddy holder. Get him to do his noddy holder. It's free! That's actually very good. Really good, Jim. Very good. That's as good as Pete's. There we go, then. Pete's going to be gutted about that. Pete's USP gone. I'll tell you bloody what. Yeah. It is today. It's sort of like an adult's Christmas, isn't it? It is, yeah. Yeah, it is. Although that makes Christmas sound like a sexy Christmas. Well, I mean, let's be honest. It kind of is. There's a lot of leg on show. And hopefully some presents.

5:46Luke Moore: Very nice. Before we get started with today's show, if you haven't listened to our predictions episode yet, you can find that episode below this one in your podcast app. I recommend it. It's a mixed bag. It is a mixed bag. Absolute mixed bag, that. some just outrageous shouts like when I listen back to it I was thinking there's some outrageous shouts in here and a good proportion of them are from me I don't know what I was thinking oh don't worry there are some regrets across the board oh big time I think you and I Luke have you know what we've not been cowards we've put our necks on the block yeah and we'll get endless amounts of shit for it probably for the next three or four years and if there's one thing that was always a wise thing to do throughout history was put your neck on the block I'll go Brassel's still getting shit for Turkey and that was what how many years ago and he didn't even predict them Look at you, so we're going Turkey-er, are we?

6:29Oh, whatever it is. How many years ago was it? Was it the World Cup in 2022?

6:34Luke Moore: No, it was 2024. Oh, okay. So it was only a couple of years then. Yeah. Euro is not World Cup, you idiot. Yeah, that's what I mean. But he didn't, though. He went for Czech Republic, not Turkey. So, yeah, he mugged you all off there. He mugged you all off. But anyway, right, enough of the bollocks. It's happening tonight in Mexico. I tell you what, it's all across the continent. It really is. Mexico versus South Africa, what is now a classic opening World Cup fixture. Apparently so, yeah. It's going to be great. I mean, it's at the Azteca this time around, Jim. Yeah, which is, you know, as we've discussed many, many times, the most World Cup team in the most World Cup stadium.

7:12I think Mexico and Canada have almost been slightly forgotten about as hosts. Why do you think that is? Thousands of reasons. Thousands of thousands of reasons. Or one big orange one. Yeah, one big orange one and one evil egg. But, I mean, they've got a real chance here, Mexico, to have a really sort of historic tournament. They're, you know, they're an okay team by their own standards. They've got some players in there that could do something. There's going to be a lot of expectation. I think Mexico are kind of burdened by this idea, aren't they, of getting to the fifth game, which they've never been that far in a tournament.

7:48Luke Moore: And annoying that there's an extra game. Yeah, absolutely. They've got to go a little bit further out. And given how much of a World Cup team they seem to be to our generation, the fact that that's also the case is strange. Yeah, never been past the quarterfinals. But I mean, that just shows you the breadth of the World Cup, doesn't it? That you're looking at the tournaments as a whole in retrospect, I think. But it's an exciting time for them, right? And also, the game's been played, as you said, at the Azteca. Producer Rory, who is Scottish, as I keep reminding everyone. At the time of recording.

8:14Yeah, exactly. We'll see. We'll see next week. But he's Scottish for now. He said one of the most Scottish things ever in the office earlier. No, no, even more Scottish than that. He said, look at the Azteca stadium. It's at an altitude of 7 ,200 feet. That's two Ben Nevises.

8:34Luke Moore: Love that. But you've been to the Azteca. I've been up the Azteca. I've not been up Ben Nevis. Did you feel the altitude just in your everyday kind of doings? I felt great. Yeah, well, fine. Of course you did. Answer the question. Put Marcus Speller the brand to one side for one second. Just answer the question. Yeah, no, I didn't really feel anything, Luke. I didn't actually, because I have, as you know, trekked and trolloped around South America. Definitely trolloped, and with a dog wearing jeans, from what I remember. A dog wearing jeans with a mobile phone in its belt. Specifically in La Boca in Buenos Aires.

9:08I can't believe that sitcom part didn't get commissioned. I agree, I know, I know. The world wasn't ready.

9:12Luke Moore: There's no justice. It never is ready for me, Jim, it appears. so there are places in South America like Quito in Ecuador or La Paz in particular in Bolivia which is even higher where you do feel it but that's South America I'm talking about Central America I know you are North America you're actually saying I want you to tell me whether you felt the attitude it's a simple question not particularly no fine that's it yeah move on to your next point well I what was my next point I thought it might be an interesting talking point you've decided it isn't but I wasn't running around so what I'm saying is that the players may well I mean England have played there you know obviously in 86 they played a couple of games there.

9:47Luke Moore: I can't remember what some of the quotes were from some of the players. I don't think it's a huge consideration, the altitude, because it's not really been mentioned that much. And I mean, look, Raul Jimenez plays for Fulham, well he's now just moved to Wolves, that's right by the Thames, do you know what I mean? and the altitude of about 50 feet. So he's not making any sort of noises about that. Nobody is. So I wonder how... But he's probably grown up in Mexico. Yeah. Well, not all Mexico is at elevation. I just think... Look, I don't know how much of an issue it's going to be, but I think it will be interesting to see how the players deal with it.

10:30And we had a lot of... I mean, there'd be a lot of chat about this ahead of the South Africa World Cup. I would love there to be a World Cup. Because Robbie Sommet said one of the best things ever, didn't he? Yeah, didn't he? I was on the beach earlier and it was absolutely fine, wasn't it? I went for a row on the beach earlier and it was fine. Yeah, exactly. People were like, well, beaches tend to be sea-devil. Incredible stuff. But like, isn't... God, that is a much more innocent time, isn't it? Where altitude is one of the big talking points. And perhaps it is in this one, but there are so many others.

10:56And also, you're getting annoyed about the weather. Now you're going to know about the altitude. In Robbie Savage's case, it harks back to a time 16 years ago when people on TV were just thick. Not thick and nefarious. Yes. Yeah. Robbie Savage is thick, but he's not really actively hurting anyone. And there's no room for that in TV now. No. No. We've all descended badly from that.

11:18Luke Moore: Yeah, I think we have. Well, I think that South Africa are going to give a damn good account of themselves. But you would expect Mexico to win this game. And I'll tell you what, that stadium will be popping. Yeah. They have to win that game, right? Yeah. Because the pressure will be massive if they don't. it's a really, really good opportunity for them to start with three points, obviously. I think South Africa haven't been to the World Cup since they hosted it, have they? So this is Mexico are heavy, heavy favourites here. Well, I mean, this is probably, on paper, their easiest game. I mean, South Korea know their way around a World Cup and so did the Czech Republic.

11:53Luke Moore: It's a really well-weighted group, this. Yeah. I know what you mean. Is it a very underwhelming group of death in its own way? Oh, you mean? Because it's hard to call it. It's hard to call it. Mexico are massive favourites for this game, by the way, just to let you know. Not just because they're at home, but because they're a better team. I don't really know what to make of South Korea or Czech Republic just yet. Vaguely, I've got vaguely better knowledge of Czech Republic than I would have South Korea, but that's the beauty of the World Cup, right? They'll be playing afterwards, so we'll have a look then.

12:20Luke Moore: We will have a look then. Shakira and Burner Boy set to headline the opening ceremony with the official tournament song, Die, Die. Do the spelling. D-A-I. D-A-I. Seems very mean-spirited otherwise. Yes, it really does. It's a dreadful song. I mean, we should make that absolutely clear. I'm glad you said that, because I listened to it and I thought, God, I really am middle-aged. Well, it's just, the thing is, I don't think it's necessarily just that. I think it probably is, you know, never to be partly. But I mean, this sort of stuff is very generic craft. That's the problem. It's made to be that, isn't it?

12:49We had a comment on YouTube from Ebony. Hello to you, Ebony. He says, I found the Osho Speed song in the World Cup album to be really good. I recommend listening to the whole song. I mean, I have listened to the whole song. Right. It's genuinely a crime against music. I got about, after seeing that comment, I thought, this feels like a trap. I'll willingly walk into that trap. I got about a minute and a half through the second time. It's just because it is very generic, as you say, isn't it? And it's meant to be as broadly appealing to as many people as possible. Because it's essentially just generic by numbers pop, based on the current kind of popular sounds.

13:22I don't think it's even that, though. It's artless. It sounds like an AI creator. Quite. I actually think you're giving, I mean, the point about being artless is true, but I think you're actually giving it too much credit. I think it sounds like it's not even... It sounds music adjacent rather than music. Sure, yeah. It's generated... It feels like it's just completely generated by algorithms. For children. For children. Yeah, what is... And you've got basically a poorly educated idiot just shouting random cliches over the top of it for like three minutes. And it feels like about 15 minutes because it goes on for so long.

13:56It's so poor. That's what they should have done.

13:58Luke Moore: They should do a prog album next. Yeah, that would be... It feels like that anyway. You might as well. This is like Ted Lasso. I don't need to watch it to know I won't like it. I won't need to listen to this song. I mean, they've brought in Shakira in this. Where's the old waka waka waka? Shakira's always there. No, but like that song was a classic, Jim. I'm going in favour of Shakira generally. Absolutely. I'm particularly in favour of Shakira staying in football for as long as possible just to keep looking at Gerard Piquet. She stayed in it longer than him. Exactly, yeah. You've got the old waka waka business in 2010, as I believe the song was titled.

14:30I'm making more of a contribution to football than PK is now. You'd have to say. Because PK is behind Baller League, I think. Well, I'm Team Shakira on that then.

14:38Luke Moore: So there was that one. You remember the Canaan one? Yeah. Wave your flag. You know, you could say, oh, what is that, Jeanette? No, it wasn't Jeanette. They were good songs. Like, I... Anyway. They're of the same sort of feeling though. That kind of... No, they're not. It's got that kind of... What's the phrase I'm looking for? There is a very sort of bland kind of generically cheery kind of Richter smile style positivity to it. Okay, okay. That they all share. That they've not got this time around. No, they're aiming for it this time and it's just so low effort. It's a diluted version. Yeah, exactly.

15:13It's like a bad tribute to that earlier stuff you're talking about, Marcus. All right, just chill guys, just chill.

15:17Luke Moore: Okay. Despite that song, Luke, that we're going to have to watch during the official tournament, Are you World Cup for it? Oh, fuck off. Fuck off. Move on. Are you pleased with yourself? Very pleased. You were involved with that, Jim, as well, were you? Yeah, good. Well done, everyone. So Mexico are favourites for this game. What about South Africa? Their head coach is 74-year-old Hugo Bruch. I love him. It's a great name. He looks like someone tried to build Mick McCarthy and Didier Deschamps from memory, Frankenstein style, and then mash them together. Nice. He looks exactly like that. Yeah, I'll take that.

15:58Luke Moore: There is definitely a little bit of the old Miko McCarthy about him. Yeah, for sure. Which is something that we're all going to get behind. The Belgian Mick McCarthy, as a concept, has got to be something you've got to support. Yes, definitely, yeah. Do you like chips? Well, of course I like chips. Do you like moles? Well, he will be, briefly, the oldest manager in World Cup history. Briefly. He'll hold it for about seven hours because Czech Republic's Miroslav Kubek is seven months older and his team play later on on the opening day, which is crazy, isn't it? The record is going to last a few hours.

16:32And the guy who has it at the moment is the ex-South Africa coach, Otto Ray Hargel. Exactly, yeah. Yeah. How about that? It's a really interesting World Cup for that. It's a World Cup for the oldies.

16:41Luke Moore: Yeah, it feels like it is. Well, they like warm weather, don't they? It pleases me. Yeah, it does. Because I'm also an oldie. But I'll tell you what, old Miroslav, he's only going to hold that record for a few days because the big swinging dicks rolling into town. Dick Advocat at 78 will take the record three days later when Carousel played Germany. Do you think he calls himself the big swinging dick? He should do. I suppose if he's still swinging. Here I am. Oldest swinger in town. Oldest drooper in town, presumably by now. When you said that, I simply had an image in my mind of him swinging into a room on some monkey bars by his cock.

17:15This is Louis van Gaal's fault, isn't it? It is, it really is. You think of a Dutch manager. Quite.

17:23Luke Moore: I don't think, what I remember, Van Haar, it's Dutch culture's fault, Jim. Van Haar was holding the cock, and displaying the balls, like it was like, the last chicken in Sainsbury's. Yeah. Dick Avacar was all about, swinging the swinging dick. Sure. Yeah. Yeah, indeed. I couldn't agree more. Anyway, well done to him on a great career. Very well. Touching tribute by us, that. Talking about his penis. It is, it's going to be so great to see Dick Avacar get back down. But look, Tonight it's all about Hugo and Miroslav and the other managers. Javier Aguirre, I believe, is the Mexican manager. So it'd be very interesting to see.

18:01Luke Moore: And it's a marvellous start at the Aztec Stadium. I know in Mexico they've got problems at the moment. There are some protests and there's some political unrest and so on and so forth. So see how that plays out. But an opening game of a World Cup at the Aztec Stadium, my goodness. Yes, great. Stuff dreams are made of. It's brilliant. It really is. Can't wait. It really is. Now, how about this? every player who is making their World Cup debut at this tournament, including a lot of South Africa players, of course, because all the Mexican players have played in at least four World Cups. From birth.

18:32Luke Moore: Yeah, even that 17-year-old lad they've got. They will wear a debut patch on their shirts. Have you seen this? I have seen it, yeah. At first, I thought, that's not a bad little idea. And then the patches will be removed from the shirts after a player's debut and turned into collectible tops trading cards, which of course will be sold and I'm like I just think there's no stone left no there's no part of this World Cup that will not be commercialised and sold on for profit spin ideas out of thin air in a way that's legitimately quite impressive at times in terms of the actual thought experiment the ideas behind it have you also seen that they're they're also one of the stains I forget which one it is they're removing surgically removing every single blade of grass and they're going to sell that as well yeah I wouldn't surprise me they're not but you thought for a second they might have been I wouldn't put it past them.

19:19And that's the story. I wouldn't put it past them. Like when Pelé had his hair turned into diamonds. You can do anything. You can do anything.

19:25Luke Moore: Yeah. For those who are thinking, what? I mean, there was a fair bit of process between taking hair from his head and turning into diamonds, but you are ultimately correct. Yeah. I mean, it feels very gimmicky, this, doesn't it? They've actually been doing it in MLS since 2024. So there's an existing culture of this in the US. Trading cards is a big deal. A lot of people are interested. It's a massive thing, and I suppose tops are the sort of this generation's kind of Merlin or Panini stickers. So there's an element of that that I suppose you look at as being quite cool. But it won't be affordable, will it?

19:56It's gimmicky for Lamin-Yamal and Erling Haaland to be wearing those on their debut.

20:00Luke Moore: And the thing is, Jim, actually, on another day or another tournament, you might say, you know, to be able to say, oh, this, you know, I've got the, what is it, the debut patch on, as you say, Lamin-Yamal's shirt or something, would be quite good. Unfortunately, though, this World Cup has been commercialized to the high heavens. and it's just ridiculous. I was talking to somebody yesterday who, and as you say, Mexico and Canada are slightly sidelined because the bulk of the tournament is in the US and the US administration, it's fair to say, like to put themselves in the limelight. So, you know, that's been the focus.

20:31Luke Moore: But the ticket prices are the same across the board. It's not like, oh, I'll go to a few games in Mexico and Canada because they'll be a bit cheaper. I was talking to someone yesterday who's going out to Canada for, well, the tournament is on while he's there and a category two ticket for Canada versus Switzerland, $500. They're not going to sell them. Wow. $500, face value. But the thing is, Luke, for the host nations, they are. This is the frustrating thing. For some of them, some of them they would. So they might do for the home nation game. Yeah, maybe. What I'm saying is, is it going to be a huge surprise that, you know, if you were to sit down and watch, I don't know, you know, Australia, Paraguay and it's going to be a half empty stadium.

21:14Is that, I mean, Well, indeed. Because, you know, that's happening. I've just picked it at random, but that's happening in California. I suppose maybe in California you might get some people because there'll be a diaspora there. But the point I'm making is there'll be some random games where surely fans have been priced out to such an extent that it's just not going to be people playing. I've heard so many rumors of certain games where it's like 10 % sold. Yeah, and also... It's like a ramble tour. Presumably the way for them to, you know, get out of that embarrassing optic is for them to slash prices, but they're going to wait until pretty much, you know, soon before kickoff to do that, you would think.

21:52So that's going to create a sort of very, very chaotic situation around the stadiums. It is all shaping up to be really quite

22:04Luke Moore: badly disorganized, I think. I think that's fair to say. Turning our attention back to the football, as we will do so often during this World Cup. As we have to do. As we have to do. Mexico, of course, yeah. South Africa it's a lovely lovely fixture and I'm looking forward to seeing Raul Jimenez he's just left Fulham it was announced he was leaving Fulham among a number of other players I thought that was really poor it was really poor and it was a tiny teensy little writing we thank these players for the it sounded like they were pissed off with him yeah it was ridiculous and Jimenez has made a contribution right massive contribution huge contribution I've loved watching him play for Fulham a lot of Fulham has kicked off rightly so and then I saw was it yesterday maybe the day before they're like oh thank you Raul you're a great service to the club and blah blah blah but anyway look the right message was eventually put out there they got bullied and shamed into doing the right thing eventually yeah which is a feeling I know quite well yeah I also by the way on that without getting too derailed news broke this morning that the manager that Wolves hired to get them out of the championship next season because they'd already shot their bolt in the Premier League Robbie Edwards has just been fired oh wow If you're Rob Edwards, despite the ticket prices, you'd be thinking, I'm getting myself out to this North America right now.

23:19How much severance pay have I got? Yeah, exactly. That'll get me one group game.

23:22Luke Moore: Yeah, right. He could set up shop in New Jersey, a bit of Bon Jovi territory. He could. Why would he do that? We're going to be singing Always. Oh, that's right. I thought you were just doing Bon Jovi. You can if you want. I know you can. We're going to talk about Graham Potter later. I'm terrified that so many games have been played in New Jersey. Goodness me. Anyway. It's going to be great. For Tommy and Gina it is. Lovely. Has a World Cup in their backyard. That's brilliant. Do we think that Mexico may suffer from not having to competitively qualify for this tournament? It's always something that dogs the hosts.

23:52Luke Moore: I think they're going to suffer with the altitude. Raul Jimenez, get me back to the Thames. Give me one of those fucking rowing boats with the posh lads. I think, yeah, as Jim said earlier, Mexico have got to win. It's set up for them. They will be full fit and mad for it. And they'll have a partisan home crowd. I mean, I hope they do well. I really do. Yeah. It would be great to see. South Africa, I think that the mere fact that they've qualified for the first time since 2010, you know, is a huge achievement. It's not been patronized, and that is. This is do not lose your first game kind of territory for them.

24:32Luke Moore: Don't disgrace your debut patch. Exactly. Indeed, yeah. They qualified pretty well, though. I mean, they came top of their group, didn't they? and then they had a decent group. They had a group with Nigeria in it and they won the group. So they've obviously got some confidence going into it. Yeah. There's a bit of chat though around Gilberto Moura, the 17-year-old heading into this World Cup. He's just been described as the Mexican phenomenon. He'll be the youngest player at the tournament. So I wonder if we'll be seeing him this evening. He looks great. He looks really good. He does. And this stage is set for starters for a young lad like him.

25:09It's also an amazing, really nice throwback because you don't normally these days see players as much who break through playing for teams that you just never see play. It used to happen all the time. It's one of the best things about the tournament, isn't it? Yeah, and so he plays for Tijuana at the moment. And he's obviously on the radar of loads of different clubs in Europe. He's played, I think, well over 50 games for Tijuana. and he's only 17. He was also highlighted as one of the stars to watch by the BBC website as well. So people will be excited to watch him play. But he made his debut for Tier 1, I think, when he's only, I think he might have only just been 15.

25:45Wow. So he's a real phenomenon. Yeah. Eight caps as well for Mexico so far. I love that phenomenon though. Oh yeah. Because it only takes one performance or one moment. Yeah. Like, Karol Paborski seemed like an absolute world beater from year 96. Totally, yeah.

26:01Luke Moore: What I love about this is that if you're wondering, what type of player is he? He's obviously not a fullback. He's an attack in midfield. It's exactly what you want for a young player like that who's turning heads already. Well, blimey, we're looking forward to it. Now, if you're enjoying our content in the build-up to the World Cup and want even more chat to feed your fever, then look no further than our old pals Andy and Dotton over at On The Continent. They'll be providing twice weekly shows covering all the biggest stories surrounding Europe's sides in North America and they've already got some previews out on the feed.

26:33Luke Moore: Just search On The Continent on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts to subscribe and listen now. Right, coming up after this, England have replaced their unicorns with bald eagles.

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30:26Every human being who is trapped with the hair only with sex masochism. then it is allowed but not in other situations and they did it and they did it several times I think

30:43Luke Moore: Come on back to the football ramble everybody Louis van Gaal there, talking sense Right, last night So just through the avoidance of doubt you are allowed to grab the hair if it is a form of sexual masochism but nowhere else Just so you know So was Martinez on Calvert-Lewin was that our order? we don't know what the conversation was that's true true seems unlikely that they were arranging some sort of gangbang but who knows I'll concede that Jim very very the odds are against it I'll concede that but yeah you never know yeah at this early stage last night in America eventually England beat Costa Rica 3-0 the rich coast were put to the sword Thomas Tuchel said I wished for that I demanded that I said before the match we want to push it to the next level from intensity commitment cohesion and we did that.

31:34And it was intense, wasn't it? Because about 25 minutes into the game, Costa Rica decided to make it really physical. I thought it was quite funny. We're not going to do much this summer. Yeah. This is our whole World Cup now. Yeah. And the only thing that kind of took away from the intensity in my view was the array of like, I mean, I'll take this under advice, kind of quite overweight blokes sitting around the corner flag at tables just eating loads of food. Right next to the pitch. Is that just kind of specific to this stadium or is this like the front section stuff that we've been hearing about with the ticketing for all the games are there these little VIP areas at the front I guess we'll see won't we I like the idea that listen I'm not criticising anyone I like the idea of being able to sit right next to the pitch have a lovely full presumably quite nice little cafe lunch yeah meal and the ploughmans while you watch the World Cup but when Ingrid have really turned the screw and they're zipping the ball about and the tempo's good and they're forcing corner after corner there's only so many like fat burrito men you can see without the intensity being taken away.

32:35That's what I'm saying. I know what you mean.

32:36Luke Moore: Yeah, when Costa Rica they started to make it a bit physical and there's a little bit of niggle in the game I thought are we going to have a repeat of, do you remember when England played Ecuador? Yes. Ahead of the 2014 World Cup. Yeah, but that was in America as well. It was. There was a referee there who wasn't very good but he had massive biceps. Yeah. Oh yeah. And there was a big rainstorm I think the game was delayed a bit. There was some parallels and I thought are we going to get because Raheem Sterling was sent off in that game. but Alex H &M got injured. It's a pre-tournament friendly, lad.

33:00Do you know what it reminded me of? I completely forgot about that.

33:02Luke Moore: I thought we were going to go down that route. It reminded me of the Columbia game in 2018 where Columbia just essentially just decided the best way we're going to get through this is just by kicking the shit out of England. And I tell you what, it nearly worked. They did. I mean, it worked. England obviously got through on penalties. We're going to have to do that at some point, aren't we? I mean, I expect so, yeah. But I think that... Maybe in the Panama, okay. Look at it, yeah. Just for a bit of fun. Hopefully we're already through by then. Croatia, Ghana, Panama, I reckon. Yeah, probably those games to start with.

33:31But I liked that they had a bit of a test. I don't think realistically Costa Rica are going to be able to go toe-to-toe with England. And so if you think about it, what's the one way it could become a test for England? It would be things like the conditions that we've talked about till the cows come home, but also the physicality of it. At least Costa Rica didn't treat it like a lot of smaller nations treat an England game, particularly at Wembley, as, oh, we're having a fucking great old day out at Wembley. And so we're going to set up in two blocks of four, a four and a five. We're not going to do anything.

34:04They did do that, but they also made it physical. And I think it was a good test for certain players who need to be, who need to have their mentality kind of in check. Players like Bellingham, who can be very volatile. And there's one or two others as well. Particularly in the thick of that midfield. Elliot Anderson dealt with it pretty well as well. Because they are going to get that treatment probably from, to an extent, all the group stage opposition. Because Croatia, I mean, there was a nice VT about Croatia in the build-up yesterday because obviously they had loads of time to fill. I presume they were going to roll that before the Croatia game.

34:38They had to roll it last night. Talking about Croatia's story, clearly they've got loads of really talented players and they're capable. And their World Cup record for the size of the nation they've got is amazing. So there are going to be a test, but they're still going to be physical. Ghana will be really physical and Panama will probably, respectfully, have no choice but to be physical. Particularly if there's something still to play for at that point for them. So it's a good test for England. I thought they were much better than they were against New Zealand, which I just don't really even acknowledge as a game.

35:04I thought this game, the set up was better. The line up was probably...

35:08Luke Moore: It was a proper line up. If you saw that for the Croatia game, you'd say, okay, that's fine. And there were other really good positives to take as well. I thought Anthony Gordon was really good. I thought Bellingham and Kane linked up well. I was quite confused by the tenor of the conversation on the commentary between... I forget who it was now, but they were kind of being quite critical of Bellingham. Matt Lefayce and Dixon, I think. Yeah, it was about fish sticks. They were kind of being quite critical. Which is funny because on the BBC ticker or on Five Live, Stephen Warnock was loving Bellingham.

35:36Luke Moore: I thought he was good. I mean, he was full of, you know, so I was kind of, you know, had sort of both on the go. And Warnock was really, you know, he was purring. Well, I thought he was good. One thing I would say about Bellingham, having said what I've just said, I didn't mean it as a criticism, I just meant it as the way he goes about things, is that he always wants to be involved, never shies away, never doesn't look for the ball. One thing you could say about Bellingham, if you can have that debate about who plays in the 10, is that you can be guaranteed that Bellingham won't hide. He'll always want it.

36:06He'll always look for the ball. He'll always try and make something happen. If anything, sometimes he tries too hard.

36:11Luke Moore: But there was a bit of that because he knows his place in this team is actually not guaranteed. I think that's good for him. And for a player like Bellingham, Jim, you would think it would be, but Tuchel has said he loves Rodgers and Rodgers, whenever he's played there, plays the way Tuchel wants him to play. And Tuchel has been quite clear with his squad selection, but also with some of his matchday selections as well. He's like, look, you might be playing for Real Madrid or whoever. There's a job to do. Are you going to do it? Rodgers has shown that he's done that job for Tuchel under his tenure.

36:41Luke Moore: Bellingham, you know, is clearly, you know, the bigger name and you would say the better player. but Bellingham here was I'd say it was a trial for him but certainly if Bellingham wasn't pulling his weight then he'll say, alright, fine, I've got Rodgers ready to go there Yeah, and actually they both played in a similar way in that they looked really, really keen to make a big impact they were both kind of very, very positive Rodgers in particular missed a couple of chances that he maybe flashed out a bit because perhaps it's in his head that he's got to make a statement show Tuchel that he's capable of starting.

37:18As you mentioned in the first half, I thought Bellingham was very, very positive in that regard as well. And to be honest, as an England fan, this is what I want from these players. I want them to be coming on, looking to find a moment, have a big impact. You've got a very limited number of opportunities to make an impact when these moments come your way. And I thought actually, England in general, were really, really positive in that regard. And if this is a true blueprint of how they're going to play, I'm excited by that. because they really took the game to Costa Rica. Obviously, they're always going to win that game.

37:49They're always the favourites for it. But the manner in which they approached it, I thought was really, really good. And, you know, talking of Bellingham, you know, kind of not hiding and always looking for the ball, with Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, you have that in the midfield as well. So there's more than six legs in that midfield, is how it feels. Do you know what I mean? There's at least 12, I'm going to say. Just the quality of those legs. It's a centipede. Yeah, exactly. It's a midfield centipede. and that's going to be difficult for our opponents.

38:16Luke Moore: Which is a really good movie. Bellingham, it is. I think that with Bellingham and Rodgers as well, obviously it was Bellingham was the man in the hot seat, the hot position, I don't know, that sounds a bit weird. Can't sit down in that position. No, he's in the hot 10 shirt. Even though you might want him in that heat. Yes, you might. There's also that industry that you're going to need as well. Yeah. But it's funny you say about, Tuuk, I mean, Tuuk went on to say, if we can really play like this and grow into the tournament and have the kind of cohesion and brotherhood and team spirit that we showed today then we will have an amazing connection with the fans and you get that as well there was a moment when Noni Maduweke was fouled and he was unhappy with that and he was sort of saying to the defender oi watch yourself and then Bellingham did what Bellingham does he came over and he was like oi you leave him alone sort of thing and there's a bit of that which I don't mind he's just got to be careful there and that's where you need Jordan Henderson from the sideline calming him down but that brother shouldn't that help him with that chance that open goal well actually what I was going to say before we get to that was was Tuchel has been really, really clear and very purposeful about this idea, as he says there, cohesion and brotherhood.

39:23Luke Moore: It's one of the reasons why the squad is who it is and certain people missed out because in those early squads, he felt like there was a great group and they gelled. And that is going to be very important. It's always important, but even more so when there's a lot of travel and there's potentially a longer World Cup if you stay in it that long. Well, I think what's happened is, is that people have automatically assumed, and maybe I've actually probably been guilty of this myself, but zooming out a bit and looking at it, I think people have assumed the team spirit can't possibly be as good as it was under Southgate just because of the type of character Tuchel is.

39:58Not just because he's German, but because of the way he seems... But the thing that... What Tuchel said about Ivan Toney last year, Southgate's never saying that about a player. He's just never doing that publicly. Tuchel publicly said about Ivan Toney... What, about Bellingham? Yeah, he said he's level and his attitude and his training wasn't the level where we wanted it to be. Therefore, he's not being selected. And obviously now he's come back round again, he's come full circle, he's back in the squad again. It's fine. So you could argue that's actually worked. And Tony's spoken quite eloquently himself about how different he feels now and all the rest of it.

40:28To me, I suppose it's an assumption based on very little evidence that the camp won't be as happy because it's not Southgate. We just don't know that. We don't know that to be the case. It may be a very, very happy camp. It may even be a happier camp than it was in the Southgate. we just don't know at this point. But I also think, picking up on what Jim was talking about, the Morgan Rodgers mischance and the Maduweke one we just mentioned, that there's a bit of a kind of a trend coming into this tournament because I've seen it with Cristiano Ronaldo as well. He missed a one-on-one the other night, which was admittedly quite funny.

41:02Players miss chances, right? There's a lot of, it's a microscope at the moment because we're looking, we're really excited for the World Cup and we're looking for anything to tap into before it kicks off properly tonight. you know, the Maduweki one is a bad one. He's made it. He's done such wonderful work. He made it himself. You know, if we're going to be generous, we'd say, look, you know. It's very, it happens very quickly, doesn't it? He's not confident. He's got to score it. He's not confident on his right foot. Sure. But we'd like him to get it out of the way before the tournament starts.

41:27In the rehearsal. Yeah, exactly. It's a dress rehearsal. But ultimately, all I'm saying is, it's a very long - That's why everyone's eating burritos. It's a very long-winded way of saying. I wouldn't read too much into it. Players miss chances. 100%. 100%. And also, one of the real positives from that was Jude Bellingham going over to him and, you know, giving him a bit of encouragement after it. He just went into his ear and he just went, lol. He went, how have you, fuck, have you missed that? You absolute clown. But I'll tell you what, though, I can't remember what he was saying. It might have been you, Jim, on the WhatsApp.

41:55At one point, we didn't have any left-footed people in the whole of Britain. Exactly. And now we've got a guy who's so left-footed, he misses open goals with his right. I'm proud of how far we've come. Yeah, exactly. He's a great bit of growth. That's the funny thing. He's all right with his right foot. he obviously in that moment didn't feel confident hitting it with dry I think the angle was a bit awkward wasn't it to hit it with either foot at that point anyway

42:16Luke Moore: but yeah England ultimately ran out of winners it was good for Oli Watkins to get a goal you always want your strikers to score the type of goal you want him to score as well exactly yes if a goalkeeper basically throws it onto his face it wasn't the strongest opposition I understand that Costa Rica I mean they've not even qualified for the World Cup so maybe that's why they were maybe that's why bunch of fucking losers Maybe that's why they were happy to be a bit more physical, because an injury wouldn't be that, we're not going to miss out on too much. But joking aside, it was a good test for England, and I think that is the little something we wanted to see.

42:51Luke Moore: Does that translate into a performance against Croatia, and so on and so forth? Only time will tell. But against New Zealand, it was, from a spectator's point of view, it was a waste of everyone's time. And I'm glad. I mean, it should have been behind closed doors, that game. like they're playing a game today against Miami United I think they've got a third or fourth tier don't show that you don't get a cap for that that is behind closed doors it's pay-per-view and I've signed no it's nothing but this is what we wanted to see because we kept harking back and people were so bored of us saying it I'm bored of hearing myself don't say it then don't say it well I have to say it I have to say it we hark back to that game way to Serbia because it was the only one where you a bit of intensity people play blah blah blah blah that's the last mention of that We thought, right, how is this side going to play?

43:37Luke Moore: We know Tuchel's spoken a good game on this, but we saw a bit of it last night, and that's good. And again, to mention what Stephen Warnock was saying, he said, this is why I love Thomas Tuchel, you can see what they're doing in training. And that's a good point. I think England have got every chance. I don't think there's any question marks over him. No, I think Tuchel is the right man to bring the best out of these players. And it's true. You want to see Anthony Gordon getting past his man, putting the ball in there and having a go. It's a long night for that, Gita. Exactly, yeah. You want to see all this.

44:05Luke Moore: Just kicked him at one point. You know the players are capable of this. We all know they are. But how many times in the past, and I'm going quite far back and the more recent Euros, we think, well, we know the players are good. All right, everybody calmed down. Oh, well, it was only, you know, one nil against Paraguay and it was an own goal, but fine, you work your way into it. Oh, well, it was only that. And then suddenly you're out or you haven't really got going. And so you just wanted a little bit of something and I think we got it. I won't be saying that thing about Nona Maduaki's mischance if he does exactly that.

44:35in a knockout game. Sure, of course. I think the New Zealand game was actually very handy in terms of lowering the expectation a bit. This one's cranked it up a little bit.

44:44Luke Moore: No, yeah. And you take it in context. Yeah, you know. Absolutely. I think it'd be very interesting to see who starts on the right, actually. So I don't think it's cut and dry that Saka will because he's the only player in the squad that Tuchel's been talking about in terms of fitness and how they're managing that. Obviously, he's had a season that's been impacted quite heavily by injury. I think people are maybe overstating like how, you know, in quotes, bad his season was. He scored 11 goals, got eight assists. I think Saka will still be reliable and he looked pretty lively when he came on as well.

45:15But I'm quite unclear as who's going to start. I think Madiweki might be in line to start. I think he might too. I think he might as well.

45:23Luke Moore: But he looks the part. I know obviously he missed that chance, but he does look lively, Madiweki. I mean, even in the Champions League final when he came on. Yeah, very positive. And he's got that great pace. Again, the energy levels are very high Have you heard from that section of Arsenal fans who didn't want him at Arsenal yet? They were very quiet quite quickly, actually. What about the section of Chelsea fans who thought, ah, we've sold him for that much to you? Yeah, they were also quite quiet on that now. But he's had an interesting season, though. It's not been a resounding success. He started brightly, but then sort of tailed off a bit.

45:52And actually, that positive version of Madueca that we saw yesterday, despite him missing that chance, that kind of disappeared for a little while. And his direct running, and his game's quite simple, isn't it? It's based on pace and athleticism and trying to beat his man and either getting a crossing or getting a shot off. It's really, really direct. There were times where that kind of ebbed away a little bit. And this is the Madueke that we all want to see. Yeah, you're absolutely right. But I think the nature of those wide forwards, before we do this to death, I know we've got to move on, but these wide forwards, what you, I think, are entitled to ask from them is to be super positive, to always look for the ball and always be direct and always be positive.

46:32Especially playing with Kane. Yeah, exactly. exactly what Kane needs. Exactly. You don't want them to be doing that kind of the worst version of Jack Grealish, right? Yes. Turn back a side play, simple pass, five times in a row, right? I know there's an element of that where you can kind of

46:44Luke Moore: You're not going to get them from these two wide men. I don't think you are. I think that's a good thing. You won't get them from Rashford either. No. Yeah, and Saka. So you clearly know what Tuchel wants there. Yeah. He wants that. Let's see it then. Another really good thing was I know that basically all of them were blocked, but whenever Etchiezer came on, he clearly has license to shoot from range instruction from Tuchel as well. I love it. Or certainly a license. I love it. I wish he'd both more. Yeah, I mean, but where are they? I know, exactly, yeah. This is the thing. But I think the way that front line is good, I think Gordon will be the one running ahead of Kane and you want him to just slip balls through, blah, blah, blah, blah.

47:18Luke Moore: Look, we're feeling a little bit more positive about England. And can we have a moment for Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and Jordan Pickford who are all sunburned? Yeah, they will be. Which I really respect. Anthony Gordon was really sunburned in the interview I saw. What about Dan Byrne? I'll tell you who was the most sunburnt I've seen so far. If you want to do sunburnt, watch. That was a reasonable joke. You deserve more from me. No, I'm just asking you. Just so people know, the most sunburnt person I've seen on TV as a player in the World Cup so far has been Andy Robertson. Excellent.

47:46Make that absolutely clear. His head was really red. Love it.

47:51Luke Moore: Absolutely love it. Well, let's move on to Scotland then, shall we? Ahead of their opening game against Haiti in the early hours of Sunday morning, Stevie Clark has vowed to break Scotland's glass ceiling by punching the shit out of it and progressing to the knockouts in this tournament. By running away from Norway. I'm only joking. Here come the Vikings again. I'm a big Scottish supporter. I would love to see Scotland do well. Do you think when Norway do the whole Viking routine and so on? It's intimidating, isn't it? Yeah, but is that disrespectful to the island of Britain? Considering what they did here.

48:24Yeah. Wash your cut off. Is it a bit naughty? I think England should be pulling on that thread. Why not? You know why not. Tell me. I mean, I wonder whether the time has now passed for us to be still holding a grudge against King Harold Hadrard of Norway, who came to these shores in 1066.

48:47Luke Moore: 1066 was a big year for this. Busy year. Really busy year. Just a mere 900 years before our greatest hour. Luke Luke you know me you know me that's for that's for fucking Hadrard he was probably more famous he said to the Queen put that on a tapestry you know me right I like to let Bagans be Bagans but it's a World Cup year yeah I know exactly it's a World Cup month we will not accept it I think Norway should be allowed to do like a Viking version of the Hacker like the All Blacks do before each game I'd love to see that yeah I would as well yeah well obviously we spoke on Tuesday about Scotland cancelling their pre-tournament friendly with Norway YouTube community member Ryan commented there's nothing unprofessional about cancelling the friendly because of course that's what Starla Solbach had said about Steve Clarke he called him unprofessional Ryan goes on to say Norway are still bitter we stop them from qualifying for the Euros I love this fight in Scotland where you can careful lads should be a rivalry if you think about it geographically it should be a rivalry I love to see them play each other I love to see that the YouTube community member Ryan which is an odd thing to name your child, is taking the John McGinn line.

49:57John McGinn said the same. John McGinn's talk was absolutely suitable fighting talk for a World Cup. He basically said a version down the camera to Norway of, you look after yourselves, we'll look after ourselves. Thanks very much. See you later. Oh, he has got a hat trick in the end. He's laughing quite a lot as well. He's not being magmanimous, actually. Stop doing that Buddha thing, Harland. It's your fourth goal. It's game. Boring.

50:24Luke Moore: All right. Well, coming up after this, no chat about war. We're just going to chill, relax, and work on everything.

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52:49Luke Moore: Welcome back to Football Ramble, everybody. Right, there's more World Cup news. No, no, no, it's not that England have swapped the unicorns with bald eagle-style inflatables. No, no, it's nothing jolly like that. It is Michelle Platini is suing Gianni Infantino and FIFA. over 2015 corruption allegations, which he says derailed his bid to become FIFA president. I mean, he is right. It would derail a bid. It very, very much did. Wonderfully disruptive timing from Michel Platini, which I do respect. Do you think he's aware of today? No, I know what's happened. The timing is explained by the fact that Michel Platini simply saw that video of Gianni and Fantino trying to take a corner.

53:29Luke Moore: Yeah, I've got him right. I'll put up all that financial malfeasance, but I'm not. I was a good player back in the day. You're a fantastic player. I'm not going up against that. That guy can't even strike the ball properly. Basically, that would be his best argument, wouldn't it? We're just going to show you two videos. Who do you believe? This guy taking a corner or this guy. And I think Platini's well with his rights because if you think about it, say you get a job as the ambassador to a foreign country, it would be pertinent, I think, to learn the language of that country. If you are a FIFA executive of many years standing, I think you should be taking some, at least some private coaching to be able to kick the ball.

54:08Sooner or later, you're going to be able to have to kick a ball. Careful, you're delving into, has he ever played the game? But Seth Black was just like, I'm not asking him to be able to play at the top level. They just want to be decent at a dead ball. For a press opportunity. Yeah, it's a very limited range of skills you need to require. Like, remember when Tony Blair was doing the headers?

54:24Luke Moore: Yeah. With Keegan? Yeah. He could do them. It looked fine. He could do. Is there anything Infantino's done that isn't cringey and embarrassing? No. No, there isn't. There genuinely isn't. How can you saw him sleep and you'd be like, oh, come on. To paraphrase you, Marcus. Why are you sleeping on a bed full of money? You could put the man on Steve McQueen's motorbike and he would still look like an absolute fucking clown. All motorbikes would just look ridiculous from then on. Like an eggy prick. Yeah. It absolutely would. Oh, he's so lame. Well, the criminal complaint accuses, from Plattini, accuses Infantino and two former FIFA officials of malicious prosecution.

55:01Luke Moore: and in a separate civil lawsuit Platini is seeking compensation from FIFA over alleged efforts to block his election as FIFA president so the jamboree goes on yeah I mean who's your money on Jim? probably on Infantino to win this one unfortunately man in the high tail well quite yeah but Jim if this has been designed by Platini to just simply ensure that Infantino can't enjoy the World Cup then that's great yeah I do agree with that But he's a fucking lizard, isn't he? Yeah. He's unaffected by things like this. Yeah. Because he can just spin his own kind of PR nonsense into reality in his mind, tell everyone to chill out and relax and just pretend the bad things aren't happening.

55:43There's no one on earth more skilled at pretending the bad things aren't happening than Gianni Infantino. Yeah. And that will extend to this as well.

55:50Luke Moore: Is Chemical Alley still with us? I do not know. He was up there, wasn't he? If I had to guess, I would say he's probably died quite a terrible death. Yeah, it does seem quite likely. I mean, this is presumably, you know, slightly pointless to speculate about, but we could be in a world where Michel Platini is the FIFA president and Infantino isn't. And it's hard to imagine it would be worse. It's a continuation from Blatter. But he'll inevitably be shit at it as well. Of course. But would it be as bad as this? I don't think it can get any worse. I agree. I don't think it can get any worse. I think, you know, if you look at Infantino's press conference pre-tournament, which I think is the first time he's taken direct questions from the press in over three years.

56:31Luke Moore: That's mental, isn't it? I mean, given the level of power and exposure he has and how often he's in the press, I mean, you think he should be doing it a little bit more often. He usually does his press conferences in the White House. Quite. Yeah. I wish I was joking. I just thought not only was that quote that we've referenced a couple of times now, Reh Omar Artan, just really, really disrespectful and just, as you said, like cringe. It was also like really cowardly. Yeah. It was also so cowardly. Arrogantly cowardly. Really? Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure everybody's seen this, but in case somebody hasn't, it was BBC's Dan Rowan, I think, who asked the question.

57:06It was, yeah.

57:07Luke Moore: And as you say, it was in a press conference, and he was asked on Omar Artan, the Somalian referee who was banned from entering the US, despite being a FIFA-recognised referee and was going to be a part of the tournament. And Dan Rowan said to him, look, do you have to admit here that you've basically lost control of your own tournament? That's right, yeah. Which is a very fair question, because if you look at previous World Cups, even in Qatar, Russia, and those before, FIFA, as we've often said over the years, are this sort of almost like floating government who turn up to your country and they say, no, no, no, I don't give a damn what the laws of your land are.

57:42Luke Moore: This is what we want. They even insist upon this kind of thing being adhered to in the categorisation and the parameters for when you table your bid. You have to sign up to it. So part of the fueling of what Dan Rowan's question was is essentially based in this idea that the US haven't adhered to all the parameters, whatever you think of them, that you need to adhere to to have a bid considered by FIFA. And it is things like you cannot stop people coming in who are part of official delegations, who are part of official squads, all the rest of it. It's supposed to be, for better or worse, aside from the politics of that, of the immigration side of that, you know, and they've completely ignored it.

58:25And what the US has done, I saw a quote from a Trump administration official yesterday, essentially just, I mean, we live in a post-truth world and largely kind of spearheaded by them, so it shouldn't be surprising. But what they effectively did was just made up a reason for why Artan couldn't be allowed in by saying they linked him with the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab, which is based in Somalia. And apparently Artan's answers to those questions, which essentially is arguably racially profiling him anyway, was, I've never, I've nothing to do with this. I've never heard of any of this. I don't know what any of this is about.

58:58But they used that to pin it on him, to give them an excuse to not accept him, which essentially is directly in contravention to Infantino's own FIFA rules about how you bid for a World Cup in the first place. So it's absolutely spot on from Rowan.

59:12Luke Moore: Even if you wanted to be incredibly, well, closed-eyed and beyond generous to the administration there. You could say, all right, well, if they bar some of the fans or something, which again, there's problems there. This guy's an official referee. You know what I mean? This is ludicrous. I think Canada offered him a kind of get-off. Oh, I don't know. I think Canada have offered him to referee some games at Canada. Possibly. But I mean, the tournament is worse for him not being in it because he's been identified as one of the top referees. So that's having a tangible effect on the actual tournament itself as well.

59:44And you wonder if this will be a reality check for FIFA, really, because the previous rules that they have established simply aren't being adhered to because the country they've given it to just simply do not care about that stuff. And FIFA, I think, have been arrogant enough to not understand that they are the ones being used here.

1:00:04Luke Moore: Well, he knows that. I mean, to go back to Dan Rowan's question, when he asked him about all this stuff that we're saying, his response was, chill, relax, we work on everything. The fact that he used chill and relax, Again, cringey bastard. We try to solve everything. Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution. So he's basically saying, just shut up. I mean, we have said in the past, governments need to stand up a bit more to FIFA, but not like this. Well, this is it, isn't it? This is it. And FIFA themselves now just end up looking kind of powerless and stupid.

1:00:38And Infantino doesn't really know where to go other than just this arrogant posture. Also, what makes it worse is the fact that people have been asking about this way, way before the World Cup. for years about America's immigration plan he's been like he's just been patting people on the head saying it'll all be fine he's even made statements to that effect so it's just because he's powerless in it yeah but but what he's done in the build up is he's tried to cozy up to Trump to try and get him curry favor I don't know people just I don't know why people keep doing this it doesn't fucking work this is what I mean he's not seen that he's the one who's been used there if you try and sort of cozy up to someone like that they are pulling your strings not the other way around

1:01:12Luke Moore: oh dear it looks enough like a fucking thunderbird as it is he's just seen this coming yeah Is this a little bit more positive and a little bit more enjoyable from FIFA? Fans can have their name displayed on the big screen at the World Cup in venues before matches through its super shout-out program. $79 an hour. Yeah, I was about to say, it used to be free, that kind of thing, didn't it? It's been like a cute little thing for people at the stadium. A little kiss cam. Wave at the camera, everyone. There's your name up there. I love$79. Or$80 will seem a bit pricey. Is it 79? So we're still doing 79.99.

1:01:49It'll be plus tax.

1:01:50Luke Moore: Imagine that that you looked up. Look, there's your name up there. Sales tax isn't included in the US. How much did that cost you? $79. You could have got me half a pint for that. Can you use it in your exit interview if you're detained? I've got a super shout out. I've got a certificate here. The main hustle, though, the main kind of grift here, though, that's being missed is that it says on the sales page that your name can appear, quote, during the match at the right moment in the right game. What does that mean? But in reality, they've also said when you go to the payment page that your name will not be displayed during a live match.

1:02:25Luke Moore: Yeah, because that would be ludicrous. When it says the right moment in the right game, does that mean if someone gets booked your name comes up? Am I? You're sent off. You've got to go. No, because even though, no, no, it won't. Because even though you've paid for that, you simply won't be receiving that. That is properly Orwellian stuff, that. It really is. Something, there are positive stories though that we can hang our hats on, Jim. Like the Germany saxophone guy who's been having a great time. He's added Walk the Moon's Shut Up and Dance to his growing list of songs he's playing for German crowds.

1:02:54That's a proper pop song. That is a proper pop song. I'm pleased that he's added that to his itinerary. I think he's going to eventually get annoying, particularly if Germany knock out England at some point. But ultimately, for now, I'm broadly in favour of him.

1:03:08Luke Moore: If he adds Living in America by James Brown, I'll support Germany. Any Bon Jovi stuff? Will that translate to the sax? He knows what to do if he wants more support. I'll tell you what he wants to do. He wants to do a bit of careless whisper when England get knocked out. That would be... You'd have to take it. Trust me, Marcus's guilty feet will have no rhythm at that point. It's a very cool saxophone, isn't it? Like a matte black saxophone. Oh, yeah. There we are, you see. Right, let's finish with something that we can all get behind. after saying back in March that he would dust off his cowboy hat after Sweden qualified for the World Cup Graham Potter strolled into an open training session wearing said cowboy hat and he looked great I think he looks a bit awkward I think the hat was wearing him a bit a little bit but bearing in mind it's Graham Potter I actually thought he pulled it off I rate that he did it and he did it because he said he was going to do it presumably because Sweden's games are in Texas Is that right?

1:04:07Maybe. Two of them are definitely in Texas.

1:04:08Luke Moore: You know what he was singing to himself? What? I'm a cowboy. Oh no. You're singing, on a steel. Come on! Oh, I thought you were doing a kid rock song there, hence the groan. I can't think of anyone less wanted Dead or Alive than Grant Potter. People do not have an opinion on Grant Potter that is so strong that they want him either dead or alive. Just go, go and get him if you want. I'd love it if you go get Grant Potter for me, but if you can't, if you're busy, don't worry about it. No one will notice. Dead, alive or available. Yeah, whatever. It doesn't matter. He's one of them. Wanted Graham Potter if he's passing.

1:04:43Yeah. I mean, if you look back to some of the conversations we were having about Graham Potter towards the end of his time at West Ham, to imagine him strolling into a press conference wearing a cowboy hat at the World Cup about to lead a team out. There you go. I mean, that is quite a turnaround. I respect that. If he turns up on a horse

1:05:02Luke Moore: the next game, you're having that. Oh, definitely. Yeah. If he lassoes one of the opposition players during the game. As he's thrown goal. Don't worry, lads, I've got this one. Sweden lose every game, but by the end of it, he's gone full cowboy. And then does Brokeback Mountain with the assistant manager. Come on. Great stuff. Yeah. Lead into it. A bit more Bon Jovi. Yeah, that's fine. Not entirely dissimilar, are they? It's the soundtrack. It is the soundtrack. Before we end, if anybody was wondering, Chemical Alley died in 2010. He didn't even watch the 2010 World Cup. God rest him. Yeah. I'll tell you what, God rest him and I think what I would say is if people need an advertisement as to why they should listen to this show, what did they talk about on the first day of the World Cup?

1:05:44Quite a good bit of Chemical Alley chat. A man who was part of a despotic regime probably under quite a significant amount of duress who died 16 years ago. Yeah. Cheers. See you tomorrow. Probably in hell. I'll tell you what, we need to stop. Pretending it's heaven. I'll steal her siren. Did you hear that? Probably in hell pretending it's heaven.

1:06:08Luke Moore: It's lovely and warmer, man. Not as warm as Florence. Yeah, yeah.

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