DISCUSSION: Delivery of World Cup Toys to Casa Link

Declan Link takes delivery of official World Cup-themed soft, plush toys from Jazwares, the official worldwide plush licensee for the FIFA World Cup 2026, including national mascots. Paul Schmidt-Troschke & Jon Bonfiglio join him to discuss. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:28

Welcome back to the World Cup, etc., where today we have a slightly left field conversation um taking place because uh our friend over in Orlando, Declan Link. Hello, Declan. Hello, John. Has received a number of uh FIFA um sanctioned squishy toys at your residential address. Am I correct, Declan? Yes, there was massive excitement on the street yesterday when they arrived. So this is uh this relates to the global toy company behind uh Squish Mallows. The company's called Jazzwares, uh, and the official world they are the official worldwide plush licensee for the tournament. Declan, you are you are in among the select band of brothers here having received these toys, um, which are being rolled out as a first of its kind FIFA World Cup plush collection, with select items now available for presale and the rest of the lineup debuting in the in the coming weeks. Now, uh leaving the lineup, our FIFA World Cup Squishmall is bringing, uh I understand the brand's signature, ultra soft feel. I don't think I ever had in my youth a toy with an ultra soft feel. I doubt you did either. Uh Declan to Soccer's bigger stage, but also delight to say that um joining us is uh Paul Schmidt Troschka, who is of a different generation. I bet he had some ultra soft feel uh toys.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Um yeah, thanks for uh introducing me like that. No, in fact, I I did not have. Um I grew up in a in a kind of uh a little bit conservative household. So um I played with self-made dolls in my very early age. Um, I must admit.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

Yeah, you probably played with guns and knives, didn't you, in southern in southern Germany in your youth?

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Yeah, of uh I I did that as well, yes.

SPEAKER_03 2:23

Um yeah, so this is the these toys are uh designed to celebrate the tournament across the host nations, of course, of Canada, Mexico, and um and the USA. Declan, can you just describe a little bit what arrived in the post at uh at Shea Link?

SPEAKER_04 2:39

Yes, certainly, John. Uh the first thing that arrived, which uh probably will help me with my keepy uppies because it's a nice uh sort of regulation size football soccer ball uh in black and grey panels with FIFA World Cup 2026 written on it. So hopefully I'll be able to get up to five uh keepy uppies on my right foot and five key pea uppies on my left foot, and then put it on knock it up and then have it uh stay on the back of my neck. That's the first thing. There is uh three smaller uh footballs, soccer balls. One is uh reddish orange. Uh I guess it's one of those stress I'd I'd say they're probably stressfuls. That orangey red one is for Canada, the green one is for uh Mexico, Mexico, and the third one uh you would have thought logically would be for the United States and would be in red, white, and blue, but it's actually a multicolored ball, uh stress stressful, I'm assuming, uh, with just uh green and pink and lilac and uh a couple of other colours on it saying the FIFA World Cup. But the prize possession which I have here, which I can't keep my eyes off, is the 10-inch colourful bear plush. And I sent Paul a picture of it, and he's been annoying me all day long, wanting to see if I could send it over to him in Mexico. Now, you've got competition there because ad dog loves plush cuddly toys, and ad dog is eyeing the toys up every every time I get a chance to show them to her. So, Paul, you might have competition and the um 10-inch colorful bear plush, I'm assuming the name is, um, might not actually arrive in Mexico.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Well, as we as all men know, um 10 inches is huge. And um, so yeah, this must be this this uh colourful bear, plush colourful bear must be uh taking up some significant space on your desk, definitely.

SPEAKER_04 4:44

It is, but it it's really added to my collection of toys because I've still played with my Ken and Barbie dolls, and they sit there on the desk as well. So there was just a little space here for um for uh colourful bear, plush, little plushy. So um, yeah, I um I'm quite happy with life. It doesn't really get any better than this.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

No, I I can imagine I'm I'm also um alongside the toys, I'm also uh key uh keen to discover some of the some of the novelty items, wearables, and stadium ready fan gear, perfect for watch parties and match day celebrations. Paul, you are you because you also obviously we we joke a lot about how tall you are, but there's there's something you'd be one of those great, you know, those tourist guides that carry umbrellas around, pink umbrellas and red umbrellas around so people don't lose them in the crowds. I think you're you you you're a sort of a size ready advertising hoarding, and I think some stadium ready fan gear would be great on on you at this um uh at this World Cup. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. Um I I never um like seriously considered to to like being a mascot or something like this. Um but uh yeah, being that tall definitely uh helped my helped my parents to to find me when when I got lost on on the various uh like weekend uh city trips we made. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:10

Yeah, I think I think you'd be great with this kind of stuff because you have that sort of simple smile about you, which is endearing to everybody, makes everybody sort of want to look after you. So I think this could be, I'm gonna explore these possibilities because I think there must be some sponsorship options with you sporting fan gear outside and inside um stadiums. Uh Paul, can you also just describe? So we've got the bear, we've got the 10-inch colorful bear plush bear. Can you just describe the other two figures that are um that are available which we haven't received uh as as yet, please?

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yes, of course. So, in total, to my understanding, there are nine different items. Declan just described five. Um then we have, of course, the three official mascots of each team. So there is the official Zayu Jaguar mascot of the Mexican team. Um, it's only eight inches long. Um then we have uh the of course Canada, the moose mascot, the maple moose maple maple the moose mascot. And when it comes to the US, of course, we have clutch bolt eagle, the the mascot of the US national team. And lastly, of course, we have a 10-inch World Cup plush trophy. Um, so these are the other items which uh which you can get.

SPEAKER_03 7:38

So just thinking about the three nations, so that the the and I apologize, listeners, for the surreality of this of this episode, but you know we are where we are. So we have a jaguar for Mexico, um we have a moose uh with antlers for Canada, and we have a kind of scrawny-ish-looking bald eagle for the USA. Uh, which one of these if you you can only have one of these three, Declan, and forget about um national partisanship, which which of these three would you uh would you uh not give to your dog?

SPEAKER_04 8:14

I would why because I don't want to punish the dog or I want to tr reward the dog?

SPEAKER_03 8:19

No, you know, if you want if you're gonna keep one on your desk and just kind of feel warm and fuzzy, you're gonna forget everything that fever stands for, and you want to feel warm and fuzzy about the possibilities of anthropomorphizing animals, which nations have decided to um to make uh signify something about themselves alongside a football world cup tournament. Which of these would you would you keep close uh to your on your desk to the other?

SPEAKER_04 8:44

I think the again I'm I'm sure it's very subjective and it's down to personal preference, but I think the best looking eight-inch plus share is the uh Zayu the Jaguar, the Mexican Jaguar. Because the uh maple the moose and uh clutch bald eagle look a little bit like they've had a bad day at the office.

SPEAKER_03 9:10

Yeah, the eagle, um clutch the bald eagle, definitely looks a little bit confused. He's almost got sort of squinty eyes, as though he's landed somewhere he does he has no sort of sense of. The thing I like about um uh Maple the Moose is that he has that sort of happy Canadian face. Like, can I help you find uh wherever it is that you're going in Montreal kind of uh face? But yeah, if you were if you were to to to to as we all used to do at school, um pick the kids for your side, I'd I think uh Zayu would be one of your first picks, right? Uh Paul, what what's your sense of these? How are you feeling about these three?

SPEAKER_01 9:48

I I feel uh I feel great about them. Um first uh uh it's it's uh it's a little bit weird. I mean, maybe uh we have to uh there might be like um some thoughts in in the designer's mind as well, um, of the appearance, especially of the faces of these mascots. Um uh yeah, I would immediately love to hug the the maple the moose mascot if uh if it would stand uh in kind of a life size model in front of me. Um the the the Jaguar, the Zaia the Jaguar, he looks a little bit disturbed, like um a little bit afraid as well. And um for for the for the uh clutch the bold eagle mascot, um it seems that the that the the design is just um a little bit like uh oriented the yeah, the kind of design of the face and uh of of of the look in the eyes, um yeah, basically um of the current uh US uh foreign policy. And um thought you say I like how you brought that back to yeah. It's a little bit psychopathics. Yeah, of course. You can throw anything to me and I'll be able to do that.

SPEAKER_04 11:06

Guys, interestingly, the um Maple the Moose and Clutch Bald Eagle, Canada and the and the USA, both have five stars underneath them, whereas Zaru the Jaguar doesn't have any stars. So I wonder what the significance of that is.

SPEAKER_03 11:24

That's um that's really interesting, isn't it? Um we'll have to we'll have to find out. I will um I will write an email and request information from that. But of course, this this um this conversation, which may seem completely random, does continue our occasional series on World Cup toys and games as we as we approach the tournament. And even though I do say so myself, I think still the um the best idea that we've come up with is the whole um whack-a-mole with Gianni and Fantino coming out of the ground and being smacked across the head by the Paul, just meant John, John, um just mentioning uh Uncle Johnny, you know, and the way that Paul characterized a maple moose.

SPEAKER_04 12:07

Looks very warm and friendly and welcoming, just like Canada and Canadians are. I wonder if any chance Maple the Moose was the one who delivered the news to Uncle Johnny that he wasn't going to get poke-like treatment from the uh security and the transportation from the local Vancouver World Cup committee today.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

Yes, um, this is the story that uh Gianni Infantino in Canada was requesting top-level security clearance, which I understand, um correct me if I'm wrong, uh Declan, is something which only the Pope gets, and not even the Canadian Prime Minister gets.

SPEAKER_04 12:44

That's exactly how I understand it, John.

SPEAKER_03 12:46

And it was denied. And on that uplifting news, um, we look forward to joining up with you again to uh to talk about World Cup toys at some point in the future. If any of you have any games of yesteryear related to World Cup or other footballing tournaments that you'd like to share with us or any suggestions for um either serious or humorous games that we can uh we can quick quickly rapidly develop. Patent, of course, because that's the important thing. As we know from all FIFA World Cups, the o is nothing is worth anything unless you're making money from it. Patent and then sell on, then do write into us at World Cup, etc. at the foot forward, etc. at gmail.com. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Jacqueline. Talk soon.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Thank you so much. So that's it from us for today.

SPEAKER_04 13:32

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SPEAKER_02 13:50

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SPEAKER_01 13:56

Also check out our World Sports etc. And with that, thank you so much for listening and goodbye.