Who wins the World Cup ?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Welcome back to This Is the Season podcast. I'm Joel. Here is my friend Nig. Hi.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

How are you doing? I'm Nigel Wingman, and this is very exciting. We're in our new home.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

During the season, Army United fan Nigel Wingman is a City fan. And there's that bit of rivalry. But we joined together. We've got the official Budweiser drink. They've not paid us for this, by the way, but uh co-op who've not paid us either, are doing two pizzas and uh four pack of Budweiser for a fiver, if you remember. Um World Cup starts tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

The interesting thing about this World Cup, because it's in three different countries, uh the North America basically. So America, Canada, and Mexico.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Mexico!

SPEAKER_00 0:51

And it all kicks off in Mexico tomorrow at 6.30, is the opening ceremony. Shakira is going to be performing.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Gerard Piquet's ex-misses. Yeah. Gerard Piquet, who was deemed not good enough for Man United, so he went to go and play for Barcelona, as probably one of the best defenders in the world, and was also with Shakira for all that time. I mean, I think he won.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Yeah, he did win.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

He won life, didn't he?

SPEAKER_00 1:13

And then he binned her. Absolutely. I mean, he's had a hell of a career since leaving United, and there is a theme developing with many players who leave United.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Right, right, that leave that for next season. Do you know what? If we were out there, we'd have to go to Mexico where the average price of a pint in the stadium is £2.4p. Wow. In America, it's £10.49.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Any prices for Canada?

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Canada here is £8.90. Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

So we've definitely got Mexico.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Mexico wins. So tomorrow, although you've got Mexico versus South Africa, which isn't the most tasty of fixtures to open a World Cup.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Yeah, but let's be honest. I mean, it it would not be like FIFA to be slightly bent. Yeah. And the fact they go, right, Mexico are starting. Who could they possibly beat? Because it's not going to be Brazil, is it? Or Argentina or Spain or France or Portugal?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

They've gone South Africa. Yeah, and you know what? If you're at the game, you're going to love it because it's two pounds a pint.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

That's it. You're going to be off your napper, probably hanging around with Chicorito.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

To be fair, I've got a couple of mates that are over there enjoying the World Cup. And it might be worth catching up with a couple of them as we obviously move through the tournament. I've got a friend who's going out to watch Scotland versus Brazil, so that'll be great if we can get any sense out of him. He's taken his son, but that's not stopped him in the past.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

I think Scotland will qualify. They probably will beat Brazil and get done by one of the minnows beforehand. But it's just that heat, isn't it? It's just that heat. I mean, I've listened to loads of people talk about the heat, and it really is a problem. But you've really got to be looking at this. If you're having bets and everything like that, the stadium is really important about where it is because some of them are undercover. Yeah. And the air con as well. So obviously that's going to support Norway and places like that. Yeah. Where, you know, and others probably, as opposed to playing out in you know 200 degree heat.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Who makes the decision whether the roof shuts or not? That's the thing.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

I would go for Bet Fred.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Right.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Depends what bets he's taken.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Yeah, exactly. If it looks like he's going to lose a load of cash because everyone's back in England, open the roof.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Open the roof. Open the roof. Right, so I mean, as far as the first game goes, I think it'll you know break records because people are desperate for the you know the World Cup. I mean, whether you love it, whether you hate it. Well, look, you download this podcast, so you must know that you like football. Yeah. The opening match, do you care who wins, or do you just want to see like a five-six couple of sendings off?

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah, I just want a bit of drama. You want goals, you want excitement, and uh you want Shakira, and you've got all of that, which is amazing. So, yeah, very much looking forward to that first game tomorrow. Eight o'clock, it kicks off the first game. Because they've increased the amount of teams that are in it, the fixtures aren't as tasty as they used to be. There's a there's quite a few. What look on paper like they're going to be dull games, but I think there'll be a few surprises because sometimes, when that's the case, you do get uh some pretty tasty football and some pretty exciting games, and more importantly, there's always worldly goals scored in World Cups that you remember for years and years because they're just absolute take-a-bouse on moments.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yeah, but there's also a player or a couple of players that'll stand out and and they're not massively heard of beforehand. Or Cody Gakpo, is it the World Cup that he had an absolute blinder at and then turned up at Liverpool? Everyone's going, Is this the lad we saw in the World Cup? Was it the Georgia goalkeeper as well?

SPEAKER_00 4:29

This is the thing. We mentioned this or when we were doing the the regular football podcast, and uh a lot of teams are really fighting at the minute to get the business done early doors. If you have a good tournament and you're like a kind of 30 to 50 million pound player, and you have a good World Cup and and and the deal isn't done before the tournament, you can then end up forking out nearly 100 million for a player just based on a worldly of a tournament.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

There's a few changes, isn't there? Hand over the mouth of talk or rock. Right. So the the rules are something along the lines of an aggressive manner. So I've just taken you down and you've put your hand over your mouth and and you're smiling, but you've actually you've actually called me a whatever what have you call me? That's an uh a yellow card. Is it sending off? It's a red card. Right, wow. A red card.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

There's the and so many players are used to doing that. Now, maybe it's like a tactical thing over a free kick, and they'll be just put they'll put the hand over the mouths because a lot of the time in the dugout, people are watching closely. So I think some players may, if they're not careful, be caught out by that, but just by just by covering the mouth and going, You you you itch it, and I'll pretend I'm gonna itch it, and you crack the ball in the top corner, and then they move it, and and that would then get them set out.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

No, no, no, that's fine. It's it's only got to be an aggressive manner. Oh, right, okay. The other rule change is well, there's there's a few, isn't it? The five-second rule. That's gonna be pretty interesting. But because we know what's gonna happen, it's gonna be enforced for the first few games, and then it's gonna be a bit lax because people are going, what?

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

I mean, and people are gonna start counting one, two, that was six seconds. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and there's there's that.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Um it's an extra job for someone in the VAR room because someone's literally gonna be oh, their job is literally just gonna be stopwatch, stopwatch, stopwatch, stopwatch.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

What a gig though. You get to go and see all the games and you sit there with a stopwatch. So you've got that, you've got the second yellow on a VAR as well. Okay. It's quite complex, this one. You can't overturn it, but you can say, and this is what I believe. So you're on a yellow, you give me a two-footed tackle, uh, it's not a red, certainly a yellow, and the ref just cautions me, the VAR then can go in and go, it was a yellow, you can send him off.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

If it's, you know, obviously a really tense moment in a game and it's going to change things because you go down to ten men, uh, there'll probably be another trip to the monitor.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Hey, do you know it's 40 years since the hand of God?

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Wow, 40 years.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

40 years.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Do you know on the day we're recording this, it's three years since we won the Champions League, Man City.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Let's have a look at Scotland, right? Scotland as well. I really do hope they qualify. Now, I always say as an Englishman, right, if England get knocked out early, I would support Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Wales, because that's what you do. There is no way any Scott is supporting England, not at all.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

No chance, zero chance. I fancy the chances to qualify, and it will be a better World Cup with the Scottish in there because they're just good banter.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Right. I mean, Haiti, first of all, I mean, they're not mugs. You'd expect them to win that game, but it's the heat. Yeah, it's it's the heat. And then you move on to Morocco, and then the last one is Brazil. Now, as a Scott, and this is no diss to anything, look, half my family's Scottish and half is uh Geordie, just to go and watch your team play against Brazil in the finals of the World Cup is tremendous, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

It costs an absolute fortune, though. Like the World Cup is ridiculous, the pricing of everything is absolutely insane. Now, I know, like I said, I mentioned a couple of people are going over there. It's literally like a remortgage your house job, honestly, to get tickets and and and get yourself over there, pay for accommodation, everything. All these fans are just getting absolutely mugged off. Um, it's in Miami.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Which will be hot. Yeah, well, yeah. Were you saying that? Ask Will Smith. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Argentina current holders, yeah. It was France, wasn't it? They played in the final. Yeah. And didn't France go because I listened to it on the radio on the way back, and I'm sure France were winning like, was it 2-0 or something like that? And I was like, right, this is all done. And then it I watched the last 20 minutes when I got home, and it was unbelievable, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 8:24

It was one of the best games ever, and usually in a final, it's proper caging. Like nobody wants to win. Right, yeah, rather than wanting to win, it was probably like similar to the boring Champions League final that we just watched, because you've literally got two teams who don't want to win, and one team's not letting them play football. That final in the last World Cup was probably one of the greatest games of all time. It was absolutely ridiculous. Is Martinez at the World Cup or not?

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Yes, he is, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Because I watched yesterday, he didn't start, and then I couldn't see that he was on the bench as the listed goalkeepers, but I would have thought that he surely he must have been because they've selected the squad by now. That's why I've got questions. Unless I was looking at the women's.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

No, no, no. Martinez has got a sore ring finger. Wow. So in the Europa League final he did his finger in, didn't he? So what was the point of playing in friendlies? He'll be there, won't he? I would have thought so. He's not gonna miss a World Cup, is he?

SPEAKER_00 9:18

No, that's what I mean. That's why I was just surprised because I didn't know about his ring finger, and um that was why I put it.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

He's been in Mexico, he's got a bit of ring stay. Right, Nigel. Um can England win the World Cup?

SPEAKER_00 9:31

Yes, they can, I think.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

If you were confident, you say yes, we can.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Yeah, I think I think let me we can win the World Cup, but it's gonna be difficult. I think there are better teams. I just hope the squad that he's picked are gonna be good enough. I've got a feeling that this is gonna be a big World Cup for Rashford as well. I honestly think he's gonna be he's gonna be on fire.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

I do, I do. I I mean it's weird. Like his club football looks like he's gonna be going back to United in a couple of days um because there's only a few days for them to take up the offer uh of of kind of completing the deal and pay him 30 million pounds, which is absolute peanuts for them.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Well they're trying to get it cheaper, aren't they?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Well they've signed um Gordon, aren't they? And I I don't know, do you think that Tuchel will start Rashford or do you think he'll start Gordon?

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Uh Rashford.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Yeah, I don't feel anyway.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

I also think he'll he won't start Ju Belling either. I think he'll go Morgan Rogers. Yeah. Because he's his boy, isn't he?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

So Croatia. End goal is gonna be Pickford, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

And it's good to see Trafford that was um that was I don't think he's got to look in, is he, unless uh Pickford gets injured.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

I think Pickford's definitely number one for England, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

I think it'll be his last World Cup whatever. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so left back, right back.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

I think he'll play O'Reilly at left back. Yeah, right back James. I think James, he likes him for this time at Chelsea, and he is a good player. When he's he's probably the bet England's best right back when he's when he's on form.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Well he's fit. I mean, people will say he's not played a lot because he's been injured a lot and whatever, but when he's on fire, he's on fire and he's got a good free kick on him.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

It'd be interesting to see what he does for the two centre backs. He likes John Stones, doesn't he? John Stones engage could be the two starting centre backs. Exactly. I think it's gonna be uh two of the three.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

I'm going John Stones because it the amount of stuff he's been put uh you know that uh Tuchel's been putting out about John Stones, he's worked really well and he's up to fitness and all that. And it's a fairly competitive match, so I think yeah, I think I think he'll start Stones.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

When John Stones is fit and at his best, he's one of the best players in his position in the world, in my opinion. Obviously, I might be biased because I'm a City fan, but unfortunately, he's so injury prone. But when he's fit and firing, he is absolutely insane. And so I'd probably go gay and stones.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Yeah, because and also his name's John Stones, so you know we look at foreign players' names and you go, which country does he play for? You see John Stones, that just the screams that screams England, doesn't it? Yeah, that's that's cool, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Okay, maybe Anderson and Morgan Rogers be your two in the middle. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Where's Declan Rice then playing?

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Maybe actually maybe Anderson and Rice.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Anderson and Rice, you've got to start.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

So Harry Kane's up top, anyway. No brainer. Left, right.

SPEAKER_00 12:17

We've just been saying I I don't know who you go with.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

I think you go right. Yeah, he likes Rashford.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

On the left?

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Bellingham in the middle, sacca on that side. I reckon that's his starting lineup for him.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Yeah, that's it. That was easy, wasn't it? Yeah, there we go. It'll be nothing like this whatsoever. He's in a lose-lose situation, Thomas Tuklea, because if we win the World Cup, it took a German to win the World Cup and he's a genius, but at the same time it took a German, not an Englishman, to win the World Cup. The other side is if it all goes tits, why have we brought a German in? You know, the Champions League winner, you know, an absolute top, top level manager, but he makes big decisions.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

I don't to be honest, I'm I don't think it matters that he's German. I think it's because he's such a German a great manager, and we've had Southgate for so many years, who's almost got this incredible bunch of players over the line, but then made some really silly calls and not changed it quick enough. Like as fans, it used to wind me up.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

You can't see it, and you're going like, get Carmer on, get Grealish on, yeah. Change this, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Change that, and he never did it. He just he just he didn't make those big decisions at the right moments, and also he stuck with the same team no matter what the opposition was that he was playing against. Whereas I think Tuchel is quite happy and he's picked a squad based on who he thinks will do a job against different opposition. He's not picked to start in 11, he's picked a bunch that he knows he can play and change things round depending on who we're up against.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

Cole Palmer was the one um that really shocked me. And I know he's not had the best of seasons.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

This is the thing, you can say the same about Foden as well.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Well, I don't know, because it there's flashes of brilliance with Foden, but it it's he had a couple of man-in-the-match performances this season, but the rest of the time, it's not just a Milan United fan, he was absolutely gash.

SPEAKER_00 14:07

I felt sorry for him that the the two games, the two friendlies that he played, Harry Kane wasn't there. England are never not going to start Harry Kane when he's fit, and I honestly believe that Foden playing behind him, you would see the best for Phil Foden playing in a number 10. He's always been played out of position. But the thing is now, we've just got to get over that and just get behind the bunch of players that are actually playing. It doesn't matter how much you go on about Foden, how much you're going about Maguire, any of the players who missed out, and and and and Cole Palmer as well. The problem for me is when you look at the bench and it's not working out, I feel like a Cole Palmer or a Foden are more likely to come on and change it compared to some of the other players that he has put on the bench.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yeah, yeah. I I I don't feel as confident. I was really confident last couple of World Cups, really confident, and I don't feel the confidence now because maybe that's where it's going to change. Because, you know, I've not been a World Cup manager, I've not won a Champions League. So we can sit here and bitch your moan about certain players that you'd have brought and certain ones you wouldn't have brought, insert Jordan Henderson gags here. Does Harry Kane, if fit, play every minute of every game until we get knocked out or win the World Cup?

SPEAKER_00 15:13

I think Harry Kane, if fit, plays every minute and every game for any team that's in the World Cup. Maybe you could take Haaland out of that, I don't know. But obviously, he walks into any country's starting 11. I mean he should win the Ballon d'Or this year. I know he didn't play in the final, unfortunately, because they got knocked out, but I think we have currently got the best striker in the world, along with Erlin Haaland.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

So you think that Ivan Tony and Ollie Watkins aren't getting her looking?

SPEAKER_00 15:41

I don't think they will. I mean, unless we are crying out for a goal and we're a goal down and then he might put two up top. Uh, there might be teams where we play against uh where he does start with two strikers. Most teams just stock up the midfield and and and and sacrifice a striker for extra creativity and extra goal, you know, creation.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

I've backed Harry Kane for golden boot because this is normally you normally win it in the first three games. So you look at you you look at who you play in, yeah, and if it's an easy, easier team, you just go all out and try and score four, five, six in those three games.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

I just really, really hope that we see some exciting football with England. I hope it's not like watching Arsenal where we just ground out and get results. Although to win a World Cup would be amazing, but I just want to see some good football, and this is why I think people get frustrated because we've got some of the best footballers we've had for a long, long time now. Yeah, the squad. I mean, look at who he's missed out, and that's because there's quality there that he knows are gonna do with the job. I just hope it's a really exciting World Cup full of goals.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

Right, we we we've said, like, you know, England can do it, they can do it. Believe 60 years of hurt and whatever else you want to say. He's coming home. It's yeah, all that all that shit, right? I've got a free £10 bet for you here.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

Where's it going? France. The reason why I don't like France is they implode, don't they? You know what the French are like, they will have a couple of issues, won't they? They're a brilliant team to watch, but there's a lot of them that are like you can never back Mbappé to be top scorer, which you probably he's obviously gonna get a golden boot now, said this, but I'd be better off backing Dembele because that they are all selfish, they all want the goals. Yeah, they all want the look at me, don't they?

SPEAKER_00 17:19

On paper, when you look at the Franz squad, I don't think you'd swap that for anyone else's, but Spain. This is probably gonna be well, it definitely is gonna be, unless he plays till he's 50. This is gonna be Ronaldo's last tournament.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

I don't know how much he's gonna play. Which also he shouldn't have really been playing in the first couple of games, should he?

SPEAKER_00 17:37

He is gonna definitely make a mark on this tournament. I mean, I definitely think Portugal have got a a really good chance because they've got a great squad. They're one of my favourites. Argentina in World Cups, they just come alive and they've got some decent players. They've just got an age defence as well.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

Autumn Endey, right? I mean, and I know he was at City and you you liked it.

SPEAKER_00 17:58

I thought you was gonna say it was great for a good period of time. But what how long ago was that? Ten years ago? Exactly, yeah, exactly. He's still still playing. They've got an old squad Argentina, yeah, but they are used to the heat. Oh, sure, sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

This is gonna be the big one now, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 18:12

And then and then we've not even mentioned Brazil, right? They've got a great manager now who knows a lot of their players from club football, a lot of the players he's managed at various different teams in different countries, so he's a great manager, and I do think Brazil may also have a very good tournament. But I just hope the World Cup starts good and there's some great games, Irvido, as I've already touched on, because when you're flicking through the list, there's not that many standout games yet until we get to that knockout stage, and then it'll get really exciting as it always does.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

If you look at group E, I think Ecuador are your dark horses. Now, bearing in mind, they don't score a lot of goals, but their defence is absolutely unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Yeah, again, you can't write them off. They're one of the best. I couldn't have Germany, you know. What about Belgium as well, not mention them?

SPEAKER_01 19:02

Well, Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku, how how bad it would be for you as a city fan if De Bruyne goes in there and you know he's got an opportunity to knock him in. It's the Swansong World Cup for a lot of people. Messi, Ronaldo.

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Yeah, um Neymar. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

You've got a load of players injured, isn't he?

SPEAKER_00 19:20

He turned up the other day in his in his own personal private helicopter. Do you see that? Who was that? Neymar, he flew himself down.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

He does his right, he does himself no favours, does he? Does himself no favours? It's the rolling around and just the being a tit.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

That's another one. Luca Modric, Swansong World Cup. Honestly, there's there's some huge names that we're gonna get to see for one last time in a World Cup, but have they been picked because of the name rather than how good they are? And is that gonna backfire? Are they gonna be happy sat on the bench if Ronaldo's not starting? Is that gonna cause trouble for that team?

SPEAKER_01 19:52

Well, this is it, this is why I thought they might implode as well, because it's all about Ronaldo, isn't it? Now, let's be honest with you. Yeah, you the Portugal have got the best player in the world, yeah, Bruno Fernandez. Last season he were laughed at me, but I think he's the best player in the world. I don't think he is. Uh well, I think he is. So he'd be popping him through for Ronaldo, but it depends how they manage that team.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

If you could create a final, who would be in the final that's not England? Because in the olden days it would have been Argentina, Brazil, wouldn't it? I mean, that you know.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

Yeah, I'd probably go Cape Verde versus Iraq.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Isn't it something along the lines of if USA and is it Iran finish second in their respective groups, right? They have to play one another.

SPEAKER_00 20:33

Wow, that's gonna be I mean, are they even there yet? I mean, it's you know, without getting all political, it's it's already with the referee situation turned into a bit of a bit of a farce, isn't it? So uh we'll we'll see, we'll see what happens there, won't we? But I'm looking forward to it. I think it would be funny if you we see USA get pretty much close to the final. As well.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Well, I can't see. I think Mexico got higher than that.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

If they do, then you're gonna everyone's gonna be thinking money's changed hands.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Yeah. It's horrible to say, but there's a lot of dodginess in football, isn't there? Yeah, or whatever, whatever level there's dodginess in football. Like there is anytime anytime there's money anywhere, yeah, there's dodginess going around. Um I'd like Spain to win and a couple of outsiders to do alright uh to get further than you expect them to get Ecuador and Japan. Yeah. Japan have got a couple of injuries, but they they just don't stop running. Hey, used to the heat. Yeah, used to heat. And they don't stop running and they keep going and going and going, and uh that they're quick and you know they did a job in uh on England, didn't they?

SPEAKER_00 21:30

I'll tell you another thing that I found I found weird as well was I didn't realise that some of the games were on as late as they are. Like Vancouver is nine hours behind, yeah, which I never realised. I honestly thought 2am, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Some of these games.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Yeah, some of them are on.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

What time's the Brazil game on? Is that 2 am or is that uh an early one? I'm not sure. Because ours are the England are like nine and ten, aren't they?

SPEAKER_00 21:49

You've given us a massive fact file here, but I wouldn't know where to start trying to find information.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

We'll come back before the England game. Um any emergency podcasts as well that might happen because what in If, you know, hang on, where's this wood? Touch wood, that someone like Harry Kane gets injured.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

We're recording this on Wednesday, and tonight England play their last friendly uh against Costa Rica at nine o'clock tonight. Do you think Maguire, Foden, and uh Cole Palmer are literally sat on the edge of the seat hoping that somebody gets injured?

SPEAKER_01 22:23

He would be already like just looking forward to the summer now. Morgan Rogers goes down or something. Yeah, yeah. Boss, boss. I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, you know, I wouldn't risk him. I wouldn't risk a player like that.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

It's just happened uh to the ladder you've just signed from Brazil as well, uh Edison. He's just literally got a call up to um the Brazil squad because on the first round of friendlies, someone got injured and he's now he's now flown over the city.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

It happens quite a lot, doesn't it? Uh this level, and you're playing in Premier League or Serie R or whatever Liga, you're playing at the top, top level, you're earning hundreds of thousands a week, right? And that's your bread and butter. You want to play for England. Yeah, it's not about the money, it's about the pride. You want to play every game as much minutes as possible.

SPEAKER_00 23:07

And you want to play tournaments. More importantly.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Why was it in that last game, the last friendly game, that I would go for 95% of those players looked like they couldn't give a toss. Because I didn't want to get injured. But if your man's looking, like I understand if you're Harry Kane, you're starting, if you're Jordan Pickford, you're starting, if you are but if you're Drew Bellingham or Morgan Rogers or something, you want to cement your name there, would you not pull the handbrake off and like properly go for it?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Yeah, yeah, I I know exactly what you mean, but you won't want to get injured. I think you'd prefer to take your opportunity when you've got minutes on the pitch in the real tournament and go for it. And that's why it's so good. When it is actually a real tournament, it's like it's like anything, it's like when we we work on the radio and when someone gets you to demo something, it's rubbish. It's never the same, is it?

SPEAKER_01 23:53

You you want to put a little bit of effort in. And who's your man at Aston Villa? John um uh what's his face? Scottish guy, John McGinn. John McGinn, yeah. So towards the end of the villa season, yeah, apart from the Europa League, um, he was pulling out of tackles, which he never does. I spoke to our mate Russ, who works out, and he went, he just don't want to get injured for the World Cup. And there's all the same. Because he he's a Scott he's a Scottish lad, isn't he? And he's probably their best player, and there's a lot of that going down.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah. This is why I thought, honestly, because I know it was like a good swan song, like like last day, everyone got excited for Bernardo Silva and for John Stones more importantly, for this point that I'm gonna make. But when when when obviously we were out of the title race and you knew that that was great for all those city fans because John Stones was gonna start a game and play in the back of his head with his injury like record as he as it sits, and he he must have been thinking, Oh my god, he must have had it, he must have been thinking about getting injured during that game. And I think one of the reasons Pep didn't play him in the run run up to the end of the season until that last game was because he was obviously leaving and you know he wanted to get a World Cup.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Yeah, yeah. No, I'm I I'm all for that. I'm I'm loving that. I'm I I might not sound it, but I generally I'm knackered. But I'm genuinely so excited for the World Cup. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The problem is it starts off really big, doesn't it, with the opening ceremony and all this, and you watch the first game and it it could be a belter, it could be, you know, a bit dull. Then you start picking and choosing your games, and it seems ages until you play, then you've got to wait a bit longer, then you play again, then you've got to wait until it gets into it. But um I'm I'm trying to get in as much football as I can. Ecuador don't score goals, but their defence is unbelievable. They're they're one of my dark horses, like I say, along with Japan.

SPEAKER_00 25:34

I'm looking forward to it kicking off. I can't wait to obviously we're gonna be doing loads of episodes during the World Cup, uh, mainly around the England games and the Scotland games.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

But was it Saudi Arabia who beats um was it Brazil or Argentina? Yeah. And and stuff like that. Stuff like that will happen, and it'll be a brilliant game and obviously react to it and stuff like that. But um, do follow the podcast because I always say all the time that um you look at the stats and everything. It means out to us because we won't make any money from it. A lot of people listen and don't follow us, especially followers during the World Cup, just click the follow button and uh you'll get the podcast uh flashed up on your home screen. Definitely. I think I said that, not like a 40-year-old nine. No, that's a 49-year-old man who doesn't know what that he's talking about.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

And you know what? Like I said, I've got a good few people who are who are out there, some following England, some following Scotland, and we'll definitely try and hook up with them and get them on the phone to kind of get their thoughts and get their feelings of what the atmosphere's like over there and what it's like, how much it is to get a beer, what the accommodation's like, all the other exciting things, what it's like travelling round Mexico, the back streets of Mexico when you're told not to leave your hotel.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

Jack Grealish spot in with the back streets of Mexico, and there is Jack Grealish with uh uh uh ten lots of solar, whatever, with lemons and limes coming out of them. I tell you what, though, this would be a predicament, yeah. So imagine uh Scotland win the first two games, yeah, six points in the bag, qualified. Do you rest players for the Brazil game? Do you tell John McGuinn he's not playing? Because they want to play, won't they? Absolutely. Or do they put the second string out?

SPEAKER_00 27:04

Imagine if we won that game, if they won that group, it'd be amazing. I just really hope they qualify and have a good tournament. But more importantly, I think it's coming home. England are gonna do a bit.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

60 years.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

I'll know straight after the first game, we'll all get those early vibes as to how far we think we're gonna go in the tournament. But we'll uh we'll do another one of these just before the England game, after the friendly tonight, when we get more information about what's happening, uh what it looks like Tuchel's starting 11's gonna be, and then we'll talk about how far we think we're gonna go in the in the tournament. But first of all, have you had a bet?

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Yeah, yeah. The bet. So I've had Harry Kane, uh golden boots. These bets are won early on.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Amazing. Right, yeah, just through a couple of quid. Well, I'm reinvesting my Arsenal in the Premier League. Completely, and then also have you had a to win.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

I've had uh I've had a lump on Spain to win the whole thing outright.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Can you remember the odds you got for that or no?

SPEAKER_01 27:58

I think it was fives.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

Right, okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

No, I think it was fives. I know it was fives.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

Right, and what and how much did how much did you put? A couple of quid. Write down again what you put on that. Wow, right, okay. That is a couple of quid.

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Yeah, yeah, brilliant, and then um to get to the quarters, um, Ecuador and Japan.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Right, okay. And that was that like you think they're both gonna get to the quarters, right? And what did you put on that?

SPEAKER_01 28:23

Right, okay. I'll take ten pounds. That's it, yeah. 10 pounds.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

That's good, that's good. Right, but wow, yeah, right. Well, listen, uh, yeah, hit follow um and thanks for listening. Share it around, and uh, yeah, let's let's have some fun.