.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
In short
The episode of Guardian Football Weekly (World Cup Daily) covers Spain vs Belgium and previews England vs Norway, plus later-quarterfinal/semifinal outlooks. Guests/panelists: Barry Glendening, John Bruin, Nicky Bandini, and producer Joel Grove (plus recurring references to other voices like “Quentin Mathieu” and “Jonathan Wilson,” but the main on-mic guests are Glendening, Bruin, and Bandini).
Key claims
Spain won 2-1 by punishing a late error from Belgium substitute/keeper Lammens; Courtois’s earlier similar mistake is debated but his save is credited. Mikel Moreno is framed as a “super sub”/clutch scorer with data: 11 Premier League goals for Arsenal, 10 changing game state; he also scored late vs Germany in the Euros. Belgium’s midfield loss is highlighted: Tielemans pulled out last-minute.
Notable examples
Rodri handball not given as a penalty due to teammate contact rule; a forward-pass/clearance “loophole” moment; Michael Oliver’s block on Danny Olmo. Previews: England-Norway hinges on Mark Gay’s hamstring fitness; England’s mood is optimistic but not jingoistic; Switzerland may miss Manzambi’s inspiration against Argentina; Messi’s Egypt performance is likened to “Linsanity.”
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOQuarterfinal Highlights: Spain vs. Belgium
0:30 to 1:50
Discussion on Spain's victory over Belgium and key moments.
“But out of nothing, the Belgians equalised some vintage Kevin De Bruyne in the build-up and a lovely header from De Quetelera.”
Errors and Goalkeeping Analysis
1:50 to 3:30
Analysis of goalkeeping errors from Courtois and Lammens.
“Someone called RJB1998 posted a tweet during the game which said, The cutaway to Courtois when Lammens makes an error leading to a goal here is going to be phenomenal.”
Impact of Substitutions and Player Performance
3:30 to 6:00
Examination of substitutes and performance impacts during the match.
“Yeah, I agree with John's analysis of the two shots.”
Mikel Moreno's Importance in the Tournament
6:00 to 9:20
Discussion on Mikel Moreno's clutch performances during the World Cup.
“And that appears to be his lot in life at the moment in terms of being a Spanish international.”
Future of Belgian Football
9:20 to 12:20
Speculation on the future of Belgium's national team and emerging talents.
“To bring it back to Max referencing my Arsenal fandom, it's a heartbreak for me that we didn't throw him on for the last few minutes of the Champions League final.”
Player Characteristics and Team Evolution
12:20 to 14:03
Discussion on the characteristics of players like De Ketelaere and team evolution.
“I'm not really having a go at Archie, but he did say he thought de Cattellar had arrived at Milan with all this hype and had never quite lived up to it.”
Belgium's Talent and Tactical Analysis
14:03 to 18:08
Discussion about Belgium's player talent and tactical shortcomings in recent matches.
“I think he's got that header in his arsenal.”
Spain's Attacking Potency and Match Dynamics
18:08 to 19:32
Analysis of Spain's attacking capabilities and their upcoming match against France.
“I don't think it's that simple as taking the ball off Rodri.”
Penalty Controversy and Referee Decisions
19:32 to 21:03
Examination of the controversial moments in the Belgium vs. Spain match, including penalty rules.
“A lot of people seem to be outraged that when the score was still 1-1, that Belgium didn't get a penalty for the Rodri handball.”
Norway vs. England Match Preview
23:26 to 28:00
Preview discussion about the upcoming match between Norway and England, including team dynamics.
“Welcome to part 2 of the Guardian Football Weekly.”
Show all 14 chapters
Emotional Players and Tactical Insights
28:00 to 30:44
Exploring the emotional dynamics of players and the tactical role of coaches.
“because they know that that chance will come to that guy and he'll score.”
Emotional Players and Tactical Insights
31:58 to 32:29
Exploring the emotional dynamics of players and the tactical role of coaches.
“Calling your kid to say goodnight, waiting on a job callback, or just sending a meme to your best friend when it's been that kind of day.”
Switzerland vs Argentina: Match Preview
32:31 to 39:52
Analyzing Switzerland's chances against Argentina in the World Cup.
“Manzami, who actually, I noticed his transfers are going through.”
Listener Correspondence and Closing Remarks
39:52 to 41:03
Reading listener emails and providing final thoughts on the episode.
“thank you to everyone in Brooklyn that has offered me somewhere to do my radio show apparently it works in my hotel room how many offers did you get quite a lot Because I said yesterday, I bet someone will call Trump.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00John Brewin:This is The Guardian.
0:30Washington Wise.
1:00Nicky Bandini:and it felt like that was that. But out of nothing, the Belgians equalised some vintage Kevin De Bruyne in the build-up and a lovely header from De Quetelera. But Spain-France is a great semi-final to look forward to. And then tomorrow, we find out the other one. England-Norway again, Mark Gay's hamstrings, Declan Rice's dodgy stomach. Who will be right back? And have we found Barry's spirit Norwegian? There's the other quarter-final between Switzerland and Argentina. There's bad news for Messi in Egypt. People going great lengths to miss the World Cup. Your questions, and that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.
1:31Nicky Bandini:On the panel today, here in New York City, Barry Glendening, welcome. Hello. Hello, John Bruin. I'm parking here. And on the night shift, not too bad a night shift for this one. Nicky Bandini, hey? Positively civilised, only 11pm. Ah, well, that's easy, isn't it? Right, let's start then with the quarterfinal today. Spain 2, Belgium 1. Someone called RJB1998 posted a tweet during the game which said, The cutaway to Courtois when Lammens makes an error leading to a goal here is going to be phenomenal. Ah, it's agony for Sani Lemons, isn't it, Barry?
2:05Max Rushden:Yeah, it was an unfortunate mistake. I mean, the cutaway is only slightly tempered by the fact that Thibaut Courtois had made this kind of similar error for the first goal.
2:14Nicky Bandini:Similar-ish, I think. Similar-ish.
2:16Max Rushden:It wasn't as egregious a mistake, I suppose. He saved that shot from Danny Olmo. I'm going to say similar, almost identical. I don't agree at all. Anyway. I was saying Spain scored won this match by scoring the same goal twice you clearly disagree I just think the Courtois
2:37Nicky Bandini:I think the save from all my ways is a really good save and he could parry it away I think the mistake from Lemons is you've got to hold that at this level Clive you've got to be holding that John?
2:48John Brewin:Yeah the Courtois mistake and I will count it as a mistake and I'm sure he would count it as a mistake a man of very high standards the save is from closer range But when you go to matches and you watch the warm-up, what's the thing that they're always running through is deflecting the ball away from danger. And he didn't do that. But it wasn't as egregious as the Lamont's mistake, which is so unfortunate. Because I remember when he went to United last year, he was given the title of the new Courtois. And this was the moment that he's anointed his successor. And it didn't go well. let's credit Courtois with a good piece of what you in Australia called mateship after saying you know he's not renowned for that kind of thing no no he can be a tricky customer at times but he spoke he spoke about how it's not his fault you know these things happen and he's got a great future ahead of him but I suppose there might have been one left in on Rudy Garcia living up to Courtois by saying I would have been happy to stay on but it was the manager's decision yeah So absolving himself a little bit.
3:59John Brewin:Nikki? Yeah, I agree with John's analysis of the two shots. I think that's spot on for me. And it's just a shame, isn't it? Because Courtois, yes, he signs off with a mistake, but I think has had a reasonable claim in the last couple of years to be the best goalkeeper in the world. I think he's not got many challenges for that, in my opinion. So, of course, if he goes off and the guy who comes on makes a mistake, the narrative is unavoidable. There's no way around it.
4:27Nicky Bandini:Paul says, is Courtois the most consequential injury in World Cups? The worst mistake by a substitute? We were Googling this and I found a Guardian article from a few years ago. Marco Echeverri for Bolivia, playing in their first World Cup since 1950 against Germany in USA 94, was on the bench, even though he's their star player, Echeverri. Came on the 79th minute, four minutes, two touches later, Lota Mateus brought him down and he sort of gave him a harmless, petulant kick and was sent off, bad for two games, missed the rest of the group stages, Bolivia out.
4:56John Brewin:I think the story with that was that Echeverry had been their big star, him and Erwin Platini Sanchez. This is my memory of the World Soccer days. And he'd had a bad injury and that's why. And it's one of those players that's rushed back, you know, that often happens. And then that happened. And then he was never seen again at a World Cup. He did become a major star of the initial MLS.
5:18Nicky Bandini:That's right.
5:19John Brewin:Yeah. So those of us watching late at night on Channel 5 would have seen a lot of him in Precky, wouldn't we?
5:26Nicky Bandini:Golden days. Golden days. So Jammo says, say something fitting, please, about just how amazing Mikel Moreno is. And you kept saying, Barry, he's clutch. America has changed you.
5:35Max Rushden:Yeah. I don't like that expression, but he's clearly a clutch player. This is the second time he's done it in this tournament. He's done it countless times throughout his career for Real Sociedad, for Spain, in other tournaments, for Arsenal. And he was the most alert player in the box when Lammons made that boo-boo. And punish Belgium for it. He's probably not happy with being a super sub, but he is a super sub. And that appears to be his lot in life at the moment in terms of being a Spanish international. He's done very well in this World Cup because obviously I don't think he played more than half an hour, if that, for Arsenal, since suffering that stress fracture on his foot.
6:26Max Rushden:midway through the season. But I think Spain were one of the winners of this game. The only thing is, now he may not have been on the field at the end because he would have started, but Juri Tielemans is kind of a clutch player in his own way as well. And Belgium were without him because he had to pull out lastminute.com. I don't think he even did the warm-up, but I'm not sure what happened there. But he is a terrific player who can occasionally score massive goals in big games. And he's a big loss for Belgium going into this game.
7:01Nicky Bandini:Yeah, I agree with that completely. He's a brilliant player. On Marino, Nicky obviously watched a lot of him at Arsenal, or not that much of him at Arsenal, because he has a similar role, I guess. But he does play up front sometimes in midfield sometimes. And what does he have, the Lampardian knack? I don't know about clutch. I think for lots of us, Michael Marino is inevitable. That's how it feels for me. And Marino will arrive and he will score that goal. On that notion, I mean, there was someone dug into numbers for the Athletic a little while ago and he scored 11 Premier League goals for Arsenal.
7:35Ten of them have changed the game state. So ten of them have either been turning a losing position into a drawing position or a drawing position into a winning position. So there really is data to support this idea that he does it. And of course, he also, for Spain, I know Baz just alluded to it, but I'm thinking about the Euros and the quarterfinals against Germany. They were at the 119th minute when he scores the winner of that game, so don't go to penalties. It is actually kind of beyond this little meme now. It's a real thing. You keep scoring these incredibly important goals. And I don't know, maybe Baz is right and he wishes he could stop.
8:08But I don't know. If your story as a footballer was, yeah, I'm just the guy who shows up and delivers Spain to semifinals and quarterfinals, I don't think I'd be too mad about that. I think that's a pretty good story to have as a footballer.
8:21Nicky Bandini:Yeah, when does it go from meme to reality? It's an interesting moment.
8:25John Brewin:Is he not a reflection of the way the game has changed with five substitutes? Like, you can have a player that can do that. In baseball, they've got a pinch hitter or whatever. Like you for this pod, Joe. Coming in late, taking the glory. Thank you very much, yes. But, you know, in the days when, say, famous super subs, you know, Alder Gunnar Solskjaer is obviously the one that Ike springs most to mind. Amazed you didn't say David Fairclough David Fairclough was the second But was the original But David Fairclough Were coming in an era Where there was one sub And sometimes Might have had to play Left back or something Because he was the one sub It changed a bit with Solskjaer But Mourinho That can come on And you know That in that last 20 minutes 10 minutes Here's a guy That can do that And also The opposition know Exactly that's what he's going to do And he has that timing That knack Which is a Is it a lost start Nicky do you think that of the player arriving in the box to score these goals?
9:24It's sad. To bring it back to Max referencing my Arsenal fandom, it's a heartbreak for me that we didn't throw him on for the last few minutes of the Champions League final. You watch this happening and you think, what was Arteta thinking, not just going, all right, now you go win the game, Mikel. Yes, it's a good question, the late arrival into the...
9:40Nicky Bandini:Bellingham has an air of it, if you think about this World Cup. I don't think it's a completely lost art, but I think that there are so few players who do it this well. I think McTominay does it great for Napoli, for instance. So I think there are players who do it. I suppose we just had the archetype in English football was Frank Lampard for such a long time, wasn't it? And I suppose we haven't had one in the Premier League who feels quite as era-defining as that for a while. Jamie says, does anyone actually enjoy watching Spain? They're clearly good at winning games, but Christ, their dedication to anti-entertainment is resolute.
10:13Baz, is that unfair?
10:15Nicky Bandini:They created more than Belgium, right? But you imagine they're going to create more than Belgium.
10:20Max Rushden:I wouldn't say it's unfair. It's just not a thought that's really occurring to me, which I suppose means I think it is. Did you enjoy it? I'm not watching Spain, yeah. I know people used to get fed up with their ticky-tacky, woke nonsense back in the day. No, I think they're all right.
10:41Nicky Bandini:I guess when you have this image of Spain, they have had times when they've been really, truly exciting and blown teams away. And, you know, the last, you know, to get to the semi-final, the last few games, the last couple of games at least, haven't been, like, they haven't been thrilling, I guess.
10:57John Brewin:But when they won the World Cup in 2010, you know, this was the boring World Cup because they didn't quite do that to Belgium in this game. But that team and this team can do this. They make the opposition suffer, don't they? They squeeze them and drive them into distraction and then seize their chances. And there are moments, I guess, you know, Olmo has this wonderful balance about him.
11:19Nicky Bandini:Yamaha, of course, isn't quite on it. Well, yeah.
11:22John Brewin:I mean, he won the sponsors, Man of the Match, because he is the most famous person. My Irish-Spanish friend, I think you know who it was, was saying he thought he held onto the ball a bit too much. Right. Which I think it's almost like he's young and has to be the hero, almost. Him and Doku, I enjoyed their little. Yeah. It was good. Both of them actually did each other with a bit of skill, and maybe a bit of respect there. That was good to watch. That was exciting. I don't think that was the worst game. It was better than the France game last day.
11:53Max Rushden:Mal kept trying to score that goal. He scores where he cuts inside and curls it inside the far post. I think he had three or four shots to no great avail. One of them went quite close. I think he's hitting his stride. I think we might see he could have a big say in the semi-final or the final if Spain get to the final. I'm sort of surprised by that are you sure that isn't like an email that's been for 10 years stuck in your inbox for 10 years you've only just
12:24Nicky Bandini:got around to opening no no it's pretty recent I feel it's recent anyway fair enough I'm just a messenger here yeah yeah it's Jamie from Jamie it's not from my wife
12:32Max Rushden:I'm not criticising the sender it just I wasn't expecting anyone to say that
12:38Nicky Bandini:yeah had an end of era feel about Belgium Nicky you know De Bruyne coming off the Courtois injury you know they're not the golden generation anymore we know that but now that's really you know it's the retired generation i presume yeah maybe and maybe there's actually a new generation coming behind that that can do okay maybe it's not actually that that was their one generation they'll ever get i mean doku's there um deketelara's 25 i need to i need to say my bit on deketelara i know you love him already yeah but i heard archie say the other day and archie of course as always, brilliant analysis.
13:14I'm not really having a go at Archie, but he did say he thought de Cattellar had arrived at Milan with all this hype and had never quite lived up to it. I think that happened at Milan. I actually think he's been brilliant for Atlanta for the last few seasons. And yes, his numbers this season are a little bit worse, but this season he started with Evo Njuric as his manager because Gasparini left in the summer. So a lot of things didn't go right this season for Atlanta. But the two before that, he had 13 goals, 11 assists in 24, 25. He had 14 goals, 11 assists the year before that. For a player who, despite what's happening with Belgium this summer, or happened with Belgium this summer, I guess we say now, he is not a number nine.
13:52He plays behind the attack. I think his numbers are more than good enough for someone who plays that position on a team that's not one of the top, top-tier teams at Atlanta. So I think he's a brilliant player. I think he's got that header in his arsenal. I don't think people think of him as a header of the ball, but he scores quite a few with his head, actually, in Serie A. And so maybe the next team is about Doku and Di Quetelara, and it's not about De Bruyne and Lukaku anymore. But there's not an absence of talent on that side going forward.
14:25Max Rushden:Max and I were discussing earlier how Di Quetelara doesn't actually look like a footballer. He kind of resembles, I don't know, if you're watching an episode of Law and Order. Yeah, it's kept with corporate, isn't he? It's the preppy student who ends up being guilty of some heinous crimes. His frat club or his frat society tried to cover it up.
14:47John Brewin:I feel like on Monday, say we're on the Metro, we'll see him heading to Wall Street or something like that.
14:54Nicky Bandini:I had him more, you know, just a cutaway of generic children from Eton. Like he's got that hair about.
Read the full transcript
15:00John Brewin:Yeah, he's one of Prince Harry's mob, one of his mates. I can see that. I was just going to pick up. Belgium and Holland, or the Netherlands, we should call them. There is this idea, I think, within football, that the talent factor was always the Netherlands, and now it's Belgium. I mean, there is a lot of players coming out of that. Tony Bloom, of course, is the god of all analytics and scouting. A lot of players come through Belgium, Decaipo being one of them.
15:26Nicky Bandini:Sure, Decaipo's had a good tournament. Yes, he has, yeah. That's a miss as well. Missing Inanna and Tielemans is really big for them. Big, big, yeah. It's midfield gone. Yeah. Here's some... this is from my Belgian friend, Quentin Mathieu. I didn't know you had a Belgian friend, Max. I thought I knew everything about you. Oh, no, I keep my secrets. I keep my cards close to my chest. So here's his analysis, Barry, and you can eviscerate this because Quentin doesn't pass the ball enough on a football pitch despite being quite good at it. We were waiting for them to give us the ball or what. I hate when teams play like that, just defending.
15:56Nicky Bandini:That's not when we play our best football. I sometimes wonder why managers get paid so much to say, let's defend and see. it's a quarter-final FFS, just play football.
16:05Max Rushden:I think Quentin's been harsh on Belgium there. They certainly weren't as meek and passive as Morocco yesterday, that's for sure. I thought they sort of spent the first 20 minutes going, right, we'll sit back, see what these guys have to throw at us. And then Spain were definitely dominating the opening, say, before the first break. But then Belgium, I thought, started landing a few counter punches as their own. Doku made a few good runs, taking on defenders, midfielders, beating them. He was ending up running down blind alleys. But, you know, he was doing something, trying to do something.
16:50Nicky Bandini:And actually, there was that moment at 1-1, I think shortly after equalised, when I think De Quetellera can put Doku through. It's a break from a corner. and I think he doesn't quite get the pass right or someone intercepts it. And that could have been very different. And I guess by the 75th minute, they're thinking about extra time and penalties. And actually, John, I thought they defended, until that mistake, they defended pretty brilliantly.
17:13John Brewin:Absolutely, yeah. I mean, I suppose the question is, how potent are Spain in attack? And I think that's the big question that are going to be asked by France, isn't it? Because with all that possession that they have, and it's not quite at the level of the previous teams we've talked about, because they tend to be, they can be a little bit wasteful. It's taking those chances. And I suppose the question is, do they have as good a strike force as France? Well, no. No, we'll answer. I think we can answer that fairly, yeah, fairly honestly. So that's the issue, isn't it? And they've defended well enough.
17:48Nicky Bandini:They've conceded one goal this tournament. I guess the question is, Nicky, if we look ahead to that Spain-France game, is Spain's midfield better than the France midfield? So if they can dominate that, then they can at least reduce the number of chances that the France attackers make. I really don't want to pile on to your Belgian friend. Please, hammer him. I don't think it's that simple as taking the ball off Rodri. Rodri's really, really stinking good. He's having a brilliant tournament. We haven't mentioned him yet. But I felt like if I, at any second of that game, looked away and then looked back to the screen, there was like a 90 % chance that Rodri would have the ball when I look back again because he just always seemed to have the ball.
18:25and he's one of the best players in the world. So I think it's a bit mean on Belgium, I think, to say, oh, why didn't you just take the ball off that brilliant midfielder they have? And I think that it'll be really fascinating to see what the dynamic of that game against France was because this game, for the first part of it especially, but really for a lot of it, the way that Spain stop you from hurting them is just by making the entire game get played in your half. The ball's just constantly in Belgium's half And the only way they're going to break out of that is when they've got, lucky for them, players like Docky who can run.
18:59Now, France have a ton of runners. France are probably the best equipped in the world in terms of number of players who can stretch the pitch like that and play on the first break. So holding the ball in their half is not necessarily this great, I don't know, opponent cancelling move that it might be against someone else. But at the same time, I don't think France want to just sit in their own half and let Spain have the ball. So I do think that's a really interesting dynamic. And I don't have the answer of how it's going to play out, but I'm certainly curious to watch it.
19:31Max Rushden:Yeah. Yes, Barry? It's probably worth mentioning as well. A lot of people seem to be outraged that when the score was still 1-1, that Belgium didn't get a penalty for the Rodri handball. But to clear that up, I believe, well, I'm told, and I now know I didn't at the time, that if your teammate heads the ball against your hand, then it can't be a penalty. And also...
19:55Nicky Bandini:I found change of rule, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. And also, there was that moment just after Marino scored that Belgium... Simon came out, and he looked a bit dodgy today, but he came out, and the ball went in the box, and a Spanish defender kicked it. It was a pass forward, not a pass back, and he caused it because you can catch it if you pass it forward. And so that is a loophole that very defensive teams could...
20:19John Brewin:I think they got away with that because it was inadvertent as well. It was a clearance. I mean, we watched it with Jonathan Wilson, and even Jonathan had not seen it before, was confused by this moment and running through his internal rulebook, which I don't really want to think about, actually. But, yeah, how many moments has this World Cup thrown? And that was a special one, wasn't it?
20:40Nicky Bandini:Yeah, well, another special one, finally, before we move on, was Michael Oliver's excellent block on Danny Olmos. Julian on our subreddit said, Have you noticed the referees being hit by the ball or players more frequently in this World Cup than normal? It feels like nearly every game the referee is physically disrupting play, particularly in the attacking third. Have they been instructed to stand in a more advanced position or closer to particular passages of play? Do you know who was very bad for this as a referee?
21:02John Brewin:Howard Webb. Is that right? The ball always came off him.
21:06Nicky Bandini:Producer Chelsea, is it for ref cam? Are they trying to get the best shot? Just one more time. Could you do that again, please? I want to get a better shot of it. but had Michael Oliver been thinking he would have booked himself in a comedy way that would have been that would have got the lols in wouldn't it anyway that'll do for part one live shows on the 1st of September Vicar Street in Dublin 9th of September Soho Theatre Walthamstow please come along tickets are selling well so book now to avoid moderate disappointment guardian.co.uk slash football weekly live you can also buy tickets to the live stream I think we're doing the London show live stream and the New York gig as well which is next Thursday next Thursday I'm looking yes nodding from producer Joel thank you Joel and that'll do for part one part two we'll look ahead to tomorrow's games Hi Pod fans Max here Barry's here too Hello Global Weekly is supported by Gradient FC now Barry with the World Cup underway we know player performance will be under a microscope from superstars cementing legacies to upstarts vying for big summer transfers but with 48 teams and up to 6 matches a day it's hard to catch every moment and that is where the Gradient FC app shines their player rankings update daily during the World Cup so you know whose performances are trending up or down on the world stage.
22:18Nicky Bandini:How does it work? Well, gradients rankings use the same grades trusted by clubs across Europe's top leagues for player recruitment. Each match is graded by a team of experts who evaluate over 2 ,000 actions per match, not just by outcome, but by execution. So for example, a completed pass that leads the receiver into danger is graded negatively, while one that puts the receiver in on goal is graded positively. Now, I know you hate making match predictions, Barry, but maybe all that could change at the World Cup with Gradient FC, with head-to-head player comparison tools that show who's best across more than 100 grades in metrics.
22:48Nicky Bandini:It's easy to build and defend any prediction. And here's something else that will appeal to you, Barry. It's free. Fantastic. Explore it for yourself at gradientfc.com or download the Gradient FC app from the Apple Store or Google Play.
23:25www.washingtonwise.com
23:37Nicky Bandini:Welcome to part 2 of the Guardian Football Weekly. So Norway, England tomorrow. Where are you Barry on the fearometer?
23:43Max Rushden:Oh hi.
23:45Nicky Bandini:8.5. Okay, okay.
23:48Max Rushden:I think, yeah, hi.
23:50Nicky Bandini:You've predicted England to win every game so far. I presume that you're trying to curse them. Absolutely. Yeah, okay. 4-0 win tomorrow. No bother. what's the mood in uh what's the mood in England Nikki I think optimistic it is funny like I I don't know if it's just where I live obviously I'm I live in Brighton as known but I you feel it's going on but I don't feel like there's this sense of fervor like I might have expected I don't know how you feel about that John from before you came out I don't feel like for how for how realistic the chance is that England can win this tournament and they really are in a position now where they should be believing in themselves, whether or not we think they're going to beat Norway.
24:30They have certainly shown enough to carry that belief. I don't feel like the country is yet, I don't know, in that...
24:40Nicky Bandini:Jingoistic insanity?
24:42Max Rushden:Are white vans driving around with George's Crosses? I don't know if it's also just because it's really, really hot and so everyone just doesn't have the energy to do anything other than just lay around complaining about how hard it is. I mean, we're laughing, but extreme heat does sap your enthusiasm for anything.
25:01John Brewin:No, I agree, yeah. I agree with Nicky. Back in England, it felt like, and I think it's maybe a time zone thing. I mean, you know, those of us who watch the Mexico game in bed, alone, I should say. I don't think you need to qualify. Those are glass houses, Barry. takes one to know one Baz but anyway but it feels like winning the World Cup or going final World Cup is one of those things that's sort of nice to have for the English rather than an expectation that's the that's the idea and also the St George's flags well they've taken a bit of a downturning image in recent times because of certain give it bin face to the end of the season well yeah give it bin face is representing the best of England at the moment isn't he I think so Bin face and Harry Kane
25:58Nicky Bandini:that's what we're after yeah so Mark Gay is going to be assessed on Friday to see if he's fit he's got a hamstring strain Quants are obviously out for two games suspended Rhys James is in contention what's your back four Nicky oh god oh you just want four Dan Burns against Haaland don't you that's the answer just Dan Burns four times that's a really hard one to answer isn't it because we don't know what Rhys James' fitness is like and I've heard it said oh is it worth playing him in this game if there's a risk it's going to aggravate it and then you lose him for the rest of the tournament and that's a conundrum on itself because there might not be a rest of the tournament and that right back position is obviously a pretty big conundrum especially now with Kwanzaa being suspended as well I don't know don't put me on the spot for all four of it
26:43Max Rushden:Would he be concerned at all about how much of a physical and mental toll that Mexico game will have taken out of your brain.
26:55Nicky Bandini:Yeah, I'm a bit because we, I think because there's been long enough since that game.
27:00John Brewin:And it has felt like a long time.
27:02Nicky Bandini:Don't you think? Yeah, because I agree with you, I did think, wow, that they have left everything out there, you know, and that's hard to go again.
27:12John Brewin:It was only 90 minutes though, that's the thing, it wasn't extra time. It felt like. We'd found that. It was a lot longer. Those of us lonely in bed. Yeah, of course.
27:23Nicky Bandini:But there's the heat as well, but I suppose the heat should be the same for both these sides, shouldn't they?
27:26Max Rushden:The only thing I'd say is this is kind of a free hit for Norway and England are under a lot of pressure to win this game. I think Norway aren't under a lot of pressure. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the vibe I get.
27:40John Brewin:The thing about this game, though, is... I'm desperate.
27:43Max Rushden:I'm clutch.
27:43Nicky Bandini:No, no, no. I don't think you have to be totally clutching because, you know, Haaland is Haaland, right?
27:48John Brewin:Well, this is it, isn't it? And the way that you observe the way Norway played in this World Cup is they've been able to be patient in the games and they were against Brazil because they know that that chance will come to that guy and he'll score. Now, England have the similar thing in Harry Kane but there's something about the Norwegians. Let's not go into the National Stairsap. Okay, let's go into the National Stairsap. They're a bit cooler, a bit less. I mean their keeper had a brilliant game Yes he did and he's had a great tournament I think he's out of contract I was reading the other day Someone should sign him up But England We can't help ourselves can we Of just getting a little bit too excited A bit excitable And you know The yellow card tight rope And the possible It's just And I suppose that's the thing that Thomas I was going to say, Thomas Tuchel, one of his jobs is to stop the players being too emotional.
28:48John Brewin:But then I look at Thomas Tuchel on the sideline and think, that's probably not one of your better points. But Thomas Tuchel has been the master of the hydration breaks, even more than David Beckham in this tournament. He's probably not earned as much as David Beckham. He's only a few quid, but not that much.
29:05Nicky Bandini:Barry, the pedantic Norway fan that I saw on Instagram, on the big row at the end, he's gone viral. so there's a clip of all the Norway fans doing it and he's sitting there, arms folded like the pose you take when you're in a grump on the pod, sit back arms folded like this That's just my resting Oh is that your resting? I do apologise
29:28Max Rushden:It's not my grump Oh I see. If I'm in a grump you'll know
29:32Nicky Bandini:Oh I know, don't worry, you don't have to tell me I'll know, I'll fucking know But yeah, he won't row will he? Because he says it's factually wrong, saying the Vikings didn't row over the Atlantic, they sailed and you admire his pedantry.
29:45Max Rushden:I do, yeah. I love a pedant. And everyone knows that when the longboats invaded England in 793 AD, they didn't use oars. They used a Yamaha 14 horsepower outboard motor. Yeah, of course. With a four-stroke engine. Yes. It's common knowledge, isn't it? Absolutely. Like, I do admire his pedantry. I also admire how the fact that so many people are getting really angry about his pedantry and the fact that he did his interview and on the wall behind him were a pair of oars. So I don't know if he's just on a wind up. But anyway, yes. Anyone who adds to the discourse in an amazing way is always welcome in my book.
30:35Max Rushden:Yeah.
30:36Nicky Bandini:Well done, Norwegian pedant. We're running a survey to learn more about our audience. apparently hundreds of you have nothing better to do and have already filled it out so please keep going theguardian.com slash fwsurvey should take somewhere between 2 and 5 minutes if you're watching there's a QR code on the screen to make your life even easier and then you can tell us what you want from us and I mean whether the results are ever passed down to us I don't know and
31:03Max Rushden:I'd imagine if the results are bad they'll be passed down to us if everyone who answers the survey says takes yes on the should Max and Barry be paid way more money then that'll be kept secret Is that a question we're asking? I don't know if that's
31:20Nicky Bandini:even on it. Maybe in the comments if you could say big pay rises for all involved. Anyway thanks for getting in touch with that theguardian.com slash fwsurvey the email address footballweekly at theguardian.com if you want to send us some correspondence and that'll do for part two but yeah we'll look at Argentina and Switzerland in part three
31:40Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. But what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise.
32:01John Brewin:Your phone is your lifeline. Calling your kid to say goodnight, waiting on a job callback, or just sending a meme to your best friend when it's been that kind of day. Wherever life takes you, the TextNow app keeps you connected for free. Get a real phone number, unlimited talk and text, and 5G data for your favorite apps. All for$0 a month. No fixed contracts, no hidden fees, no panic when bills pile up. Just phone service that's there when it matters most. TextNow. We've got your back. Download TextNow in your app store today. Wireless plans require the purchase of a SIM card. Visit textnow.com for terms and conditions.
32:38Nicky Bandini:welcome to part three of the guardian football weekly uh so yeah argentina switzerland after the england norway game uh what hope do you give switzerland nikki munzambi it feels like without him they haven't got that little thing that made them special um this is obviously still a groundbreaking result for switzerland it's been a great tournament without him it's hard to see where the magic comes from but they're they're a solid team without him but they just are lacking that little bit of inspiration that you feel like you might need to get past Argentina um although listen Argentina showed some pretty significant frailties in that last game so you never know and also I wonder whoever's refereeing this game will they be a bit on a let's book an Argentinian quick
33:25John Brewin:Romero first you know yeah I mean yeah I mean the thing is with Switzerland is they have this amazing capability of boring the opponent to death don't they and you weren't
33:38Nicky Bandini:going to do national stereotypes
33:40John Brewin:that's just stereotyping I think that long ball should say yeah I mean it wouldn't be a tournament without a dull Swiss knockout game would it and it felt like the World Cup became a true World Cup when that game was played out. Manzami, who actually, I noticed his transfers are going through. I think there's something I find difficult about this World Cup, like transfers going on while it... We're ignoring them. Yes, well, good. For a big pod where we go, Barry, did you know this? Yeah, he's gone what? He's gone where? And yeah, they will miss him as a player. The big question of this game, of course, is Lionel Messi and what we saw in the Egypt game was suddenly the Kraken wakes and he suddenly just seizes it and nobody in the game apart from say two other or three other players have been able to pull a game into their own hands in the way that he did in that Egypt game that run that he makes down to the touchline that amazing run and it's like he's 39 and he's still doing what he was doing 16, 17 years ago but it feels like very much like an American sports story doesn't it like this can this guy can this run continue like Linsanity cut to his house
34:57Nicky Bandini:and he cuts to his trailer and he's putting his elbow
34:59John Brewin:shoulder back into his socket after every game the sort of the comeback kid you know that type of thing it's got and it has that and Messi is the Hollywood guy and because and also because he's so implacable as a character we don't really know what Messi thinks about anything that's you know it's all about Messi we cannot ignore this guy Neither can Switzerland. They probably won't be ignoring him. I hope he turns out to be just a real massive bore. He doesn't really.
35:28Nicky Bandini:What's his views on Norwegian rowing? Marcel Amora Iarajo will join us. Great. After the game tomorrow for legacy pod fans to talk about the Argentina game. So that'll be great. Our friend of the pod, Kiram Zidane, Egypt fan, said, if you think Egypt's over the soul-crushing loss to Argentina, think again. Egyptian snack manufacturer Chipsy, basically the walkers of Walker's Crisps Does David Beckham do their ads? Well they've halted production of all product lines featuring Messi on the cover after Egyptians threatened to boycott the brand That's some good stuff isn't it? Another opportunity there for backs to steal in isn't it?
36:08Nicky Bandini:Mike says it'll be very interesting to see if you mentioned the rioting in London last night by Moroccan fans which ended a policeman, if this was England fans you wouldn't hesitate I listen with baited ears says Mike well you've baited me into this first I've heard of it well there we are a police officer has been hurt several people arrested after disorder in London on Thursday night after France bit Morocco police and fans clashed on edgeware roads the Met Police said four people are arrested for violent disorder one officer had to be taken to hospital with a head injury after being hit by a glass bottle as Philippe mentioned yesterday actually the scenes around Paris pretty much were pretty amazing between the French and Moroccan fans on that the UK policing unit says that 223 incidents related to the England and Mexico match in the early hours of Monday had been recorded.
36:50Nicky Bandini:It said there had been six hate crime incidents, 32 incidents of domestic abuse. It made 42 arrests linked to that game, of which pubs were allowed to keep serving until 5 a.m. And I've done loads of work on domestic abuse, and the stats are so depressing. The last study by Lancaster University said that domestic abuse incidents can rise by 38 % when England lose and 26 % when England win. So, yeah, it's just so bleak. A bit of a gear change, but from The Athletic, Cape Verde keeper Voizinho has been recognized by having a newly discovered species named in his honor. A new species of marine mollusk has been named after the 40-year-old by a Spanish researcher called Jesus Ortea.
37:30Nicky Bandini:Ortea made the discovery of the new species a small sea slug of red appearance and about four millimeters that was until his published work Unknown by Science. And he's named it Aldisa Voizinho, in English, Voizinho's sea slug. So many congratulations.
37:43John Brewin:I saw some social media footage of him water skiing. Oh, right.
37:48Nicky Bandini:Yeah.
37:49John Brewin:He's enjoying his summer.
37:50Nicky Bandini:He's having a good time. He is having a good time. Yeah. I saw Pico Lopez on RTE with Stephen Kelly and Richie Sadler. Oh, okay. And he was great. Yeah, good value. What a time he's had as well. Yeah. Ian writes, hi, Football Weekly. I'm currently travelling in a small float plane to a remote family fish camp in Alaska. It's Australia 1, Egypt 1 in the 78th minute. I'm about to lose all cell and internet connection for a week. This email in my outbox will send when I'm back online. I've turned off all possible alerts and plan to only find out results and news by listening to any missed pods in my feed in chronological order.
38:24Nicky Bandini:Though whatever fixtures exist will be a bit of a spoiler, I trust you all to give me comprehensive recaps and analysis, negating the need for any other media. Did the plucky Socceroos steal another win? Is Luca Modric still running? Did Haaland and the rampaging Vikings summon past demons to score seven against Brazil? Are Mbappe's feet to say nothing of his boots literally made of gold? Did I consume more vegetables in the past week in a place where the only fresh food comes out of the ocean than Mark Langdon? I know I'll find the answers to these questions and many more soon. Keep up the great work.
38:53Nicky Bandini:Many thanks for the many years of entertainment. Peace, love and football to all, Ian.
38:57John Brewin:He's got a plot twist with Matt Ryan coming up, hasn't he? He does. He's got many things to discover.
39:04Nicky Bandini:Halas says I'm not looking forward to the World Cup being over for many reasons a huge one is that I've been using Football Weekly to go to sleep every night what am I going to do without daily pods and the dulcet times of Max and Barry are you interested in daily pods for the rest of your life to keep this listener happy
39:21Max Rushden:speak from the heart
39:22Nicky Bandini:would you be in Australia and I be in Europe I would be right next to you Barry every step of the way I'm not sure just keeping you on the straight and narrow
39:31Max Rushden:I'm not sure we'd survive I think three a week is fine
39:38Nicky Bandini:okay fine after a holiday okay fine listen the feeling is entirely mutual
39:49John Brewin:not this again not in front of the children
39:52Nicky Bandini:thank you to everyone in Brooklyn that has offered me somewhere to do my radio show apparently it works in my hotel room how many offers did you get
40:00Max Rushden:quite a lot Because I said yesterday, I bet someone will call Trump. There's loads in Brooklyn, yeah. And then you've thrown their kindness back in the face. Yeah, I do apologise.
40:09Nicky Bandini:But, you know, we'll pop round this week. Send us your address. Barry will come round with a cake for every single one of you while I'm broadcasting to the nation. But that'll do for today. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, Nicky. Thanks. Cheers, Baz. Thank you. Thank you, John. Cheers. Football Weekly is produced by Rory Simon and Matt Bentley Viney. Our executive producer is Joel Grove. We'll be back tomorrow.
40:29John Brewin:This is The Guardian. Thank you.
41:02Thank you.