DISCUSSION: Best & Worst of the 2026 World Cup

In the final episode on the 2026 World Cup, the guys come together to discuss the best, the worst, the unusual and the unique. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Hello everyone and welcome to officially for the first time, would you believe, World Football etc.? The name has been changed, as has the logo for anybody that wants to look, and the email address too, World Football, etc. Yes, the full spelling of et cetera. We have just kept we've kept in to vex and confuse anyone who wants to write to us. Worldfootball, etc., E-T-C-E-T-E-R-A at gmail.com. And yeah, we hope that a number of you will, because we have a uh a number of new live events confirmed over the next few months across various territories, which we will we will confirm over the next few uh few episodes. Uh there will also, as we're saying, be priority booking and discounts for our Patreon subscribers. So if you haven't gone across there to listen to our ongoing series, pop over to World Sports, etc. on Patreon, P-A-T-R-E-O-N, for those of you who haven't heard of it before, or Friends of World Sports, etc. is another way you can find us also on Patreon. Hopefully you'll find it interesting and worthwhile. And in any case, if you are thinking of joining us for live events, it will also save you money. Dates and locations to follow very soon. But now uh it is time to say farewell, goodbye, or Vida Sain, and adios to the 2026 World Cup. And who else to do the honors to run through uh uh the best and the worst of the World Cup, but Declan Link, whose dog is definitely not called Lucy. Hello, Declan. Hello, John and Paul Schmidt Troshka, who finds himself with some time on his hands, uh, it turns out, as his relationship doomed to fail, as well, uh, failed. It is no more. Have you shed a tear, Schmidt Troshka? Are you or are you happy to have dodged the the inevitable bullet? She's never listened to this, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Oh, she uh she actually uh we we actually might have to cut that out because she probably still listens to it. We have to cut that out, sorry.

SPEAKER_02 2:26

I'm gonna check to see uh where our listeners in Mexico are from, because I don't remember having seen any where she where she lives. So let me check and uh we can we can see if she's um if she is an assiduous listener or or not. Or maybe she's got a uh a VPN and just stalks you quietly. Uh but let's come to the to the events um to the to a list of categories for this World Cup, just as a kind of a post mortem, a final discussion on everything that took place. Let's um let's begin. We have uh four or five six we have seven categories best match, best character, best player, best team, best coach, biggest loser, which is a great topic. Uh, and uh moment of the tournament. Let's start with best match. Um Declan, uh what's what have you chosen?

SPEAKER_03 3:20

My choice is uh as a complete neutral is the uh Argentina Cape Verde round of 32 game. It was absolutely fantastic. It would have been of historic portions if Cape Verde had won that game. It was edge of the seat stuff. I didn't have a dog in the fight, so that to me is the best match of the 2026 World Cup.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Paul. Um, yeah, that that would have been uh my number one, uh, because I mean it is still very, very historic, right? Um, but as a neutral as well, I must say that uh I mean the game between England and France when it comes to just watching a great game with loads of goals was definitely um, and ironically, as well, was uh just an amazing, an amazing watch.

SPEAKER_02 4:11

That that is me growling and not Declan's dog. You can't you can't put in the sodding third, fourth place playoff as you're gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

Yeah, usually you can't. Usually you can't, but I mean that that was some firework, and I would have loved to see it in in a different format, of course. Um, but we got it, and it was absolutely amazing. I mean, nobody can contest that. Declan was cool, cool.

SPEAKER_03 4:34

John, when when I was seven years old, uh going back all those many decades, I remember going to the Wembley Arena in London for a birthday party, my seventh birthday party, and me and I'd like to say all my friends, but both my friends went along there and we watched the Harlem Globetrotters play against the Washington Generals. The England-France game reminded me so much of that game when I was seven years old and my birthday party.

SPEAKER_02 5:02

Do you know what? On track radio on Monday morning on my penultimate slot, uh, as the World Cup correspondent, I said exactly the same thing. It just had that sort of feel of um uh a sort of an exhibition match, which was just completely meaningless.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

Yeah, completely agree. I I can't understand people, uh, much as I understand I I uh respect your opinions, PST, about football and everything else. That third v fourth game, the so-called bronze game, means absolutely nothing.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

No, I didn't say that that it meant anything. I completely agree that it was completely meaningless and that nobody cared who who won that match. And uh, I mean in the end, it uh Tuchel's chances definitely um definitely increased, probably to the pain of uh of millions of English football fans. Um, but it was still very fun to watch. And uh and that's it. So um, I mean you stole the best game uh in front of me, and I also still had to leave something to John. So, John, uh what do you have on your card?

SPEAKER_02 6:04

Well, what I have in breaking news, Porsche Mitroschka, is that oh over the last um 10 episodes, there's only been one download of the of the podcast from the place where your girlfriend lives. So um I has I think she's probably been pretending that she listens to to you rather than actually tuning in. Or do you have some other kind of evidence to the contrary?

SPEAKER_01 6:29

No, I I I I definitely I definitely have evidence, but I mean, um, as you said, it is over. So I guess as a as a kind of um healthy reaction, um you cut off all ties, right? So this is a kind of a cleansing.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

So I'm helping you to uh to move on.

SPEAKER_03 6:46

This is part of his therapy. This is definitely part of his therapy. And at the same time, at the same time, John, Paul Paul is putting it out there to the world that I'm available.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

There we go, which is something which is gonna annoy her even more, I suspect. But uh let me uh so my match of the tournament, I've got two uh because I'm surprised the Declan chose one. So I I brought up some some backups. But um, I mean I thought that the Norway-Brazil game was great just because it was such a I mean we kind of knew that it was gonna go that way, but um, but I think it just really announced Norway as a as a global force and um and just sort of highlighted um all of Brazil's problems. Um so that was uh that that's noteworthy. But I think you can't really um not uh one of us not mention the England 3, Mexico 2 at the Aztec. It just it just had the feel of a standalone match, almost a sort of a Sunday afternoon blockbuster that you watch in front of the television and probably watch again and again and again. Um I also said something on um you know on on track radio, which I which I stand by, which is that it's very rare that you watch a that you come across a football game where you think if I watch that again in the future, I will want to watch it in its entirety and not as a highlights package, because there were just there was just so many different narratives there. It was such a cultural anomaly to a lot of the other stuff that was happening, of course, in the USA and during the World Cup as well, the sort of more anodyne spaces as well. So I'm choosing uh yeah, the England 3, Mexico 2 match as as my match of the of the tournament, just completely compelling, I think. Um let's move on to the second category. Best character, Paul. Uh, please don't say Bukaio Saka for scoring a hat-trick in the third, fourth place playoff.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Uh almost uh no, I'm uh of course it's uh Vozinha, the Cabo Verdian goalkeeper, um, not only with an amazing performance, which nobody uh probably uh probably very surely not even himself expected, but this guy um in interviews uh he he is just an amazing and amazing character. Um he he he broke broke records and will be a national hero um in his country uh for probably for as long as Cabo Verde exists. Um and and people live on that island, uh so probably for for forever. And he is just he was so so humble and said that uh no, he's not gonna take any um any new contracts which were uh I mean quite um uh quite lucrative, um, of course, and he will focus uh on becoming a tourist guide on his island to uh to show more people the beauty and history of Cabo Verde. So that is my best character.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

What a guy, Viceni, what a guy and a great goalkeeper as well. Declan, your character of the tournament?

SPEAKER_03 9:51

Well, here particularly I have two, John, Paul. Uh the first one is the striking Viking, Erling Haaland. I thought he had an incredible tournament. Uh, going back to the conversation with Oyvon Klausen, the whole of the Norwegian population had been brought together because of primarily Erlin Haaland, but also because of the efforts of the Norwegian team and the Norwegian squad. So, from a character perspective on the field, I think he deserves to be the best character or one of the best characters. Uh, the second one, and I'm gonna um intentionally mispronounce his name, is Jamy Kamal. Do you know who I'm talking about?

SPEAKER_02 10:37

I don't, but I like that now every time you mention a name that you can't pronounce, which is a pretty significant percentage of them, that you're gonna come in and say something like that you're deliberately mispronouncing. I think it's an interesting tactic.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

I thought it was very cute. Uh his real name is Kaney Yamal, Lamine Yamal's three-year-old brother, after the game and after all the atrocities that went on after the referee blew his whistle on Sunday. That he just had that abandoned kid, love for his brother, no agenda, he's three years old, and for all we know, in 19, 20 years old, uh Lamine might well be, you know, bathing, bathing him or one of them might be bathing him or Messi might be back as a 60-year-old bathing him. So I thought it was very cute, him running towards his big brother after the game, and it sort of kept everything in perspective after the atrocious behavior of the Argentinian players.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

Yeah, you know the thing about that that struck me about that bathing thing that Messi did 20 years ago with um with uh Lamin Yamar was the fact that that's that's the kind of um calendar which just wouldn't get published today because of the whole sort of uh sensitivity around children, especially young children. Uh and it just it's just kind of almost been outlawed as a as a thing. And just to think about how time has passed, but also culture has changed during that during that period of time. But no, definitely uh uh and I like the fact that you're diversifying the character as well because I'm going to diversify it still further with Merlin the Duck. I think uh the best the character of the tournament for me was this uh highly unusual, quacking figure that uh that became completely the thing in Mexico and now has its own trademark. His family have been given a a house by the Mexican government. Um there's obviously a tune, there's a there's a song now that uh the uh uh Nacocorrido that accompanies Merlin and so on. And uh yeah, just who would have thought that um a few days, even a week ahead of the World Cup, that the the probably the main figure in Mexico uh would not be Julian Quiñones, uh Hilberto Mora or Raul Jimenez, but would actually be a duck.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Oh wow, yeah, true. Uh, didn't know that that the duck uh has a house now, probably not a duck house. Um, but yeah, that that was one of the uh, if not the most amazing social media uh phenomena of uh of this World Cup and went global. Um and uh lovely to see. I mean, these animals are just uh adorable, and for them to to rise to such fame. I think we we probably can call him the most famous duck of the world in world history ever, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Probably. And and also when you say that ducks are really cute, I don't know whether you have or you, Deccan, um, but I've lived with ducks in the past and they're really not that friendly.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Of course you did.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

They're really not that friendly creatures. They also um they also generally crap uh liquid and they don't crap in one spot, then they they sort of um crap the horizontal as well. So you end up with um with uh duck crap uh absolutely everywhere, and it is um, you know, they're definitely not good good housemates. So they've coached Merlin pretty well, I think. Um Merlin doesn't seem to have annoyed any uh any um any bystanders or co-habitees.

SPEAKER_03 14:08

Um I I have a confession to make. I have never lived with ducks before, and I'm proud to say that. However, I take issue with PSTs, uh Merlin the duck being the most famous duck in the world because there's some duck who lives just up the road from me, whose name is Queen. Donald, who probably everyone else in the world knows. But but um, but are we talking real but Paul?

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Were you talking real ducks or just I was talking, I was talking real ducks.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

I mean, Donald might be real for Declan, right? I mean, he he used to work there and probably uh got some maybe some psychosis or something from from the Disneyland job, uh, as you probably can get in the heat and and stuffed into into uh weird costumes. Um, but I was I was talking about the real ones, yes.

SPEAKER_03 14:57

Now, um I mean I've never been I've never actually been the same since one day um my girlfriend at the time, pre everything else has gone in my life, um, let me put the Cinderella costume on. That was a bit weird.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Yeah, um I'm just looking at famous ducks through history, and most of them, almost all of them, aren't um aren't real at all. The one of the few that comes out is the the Peabody Ducks, which I've never heard of before, a group of five North American mallards who have lived in the luxurious lobby fountain of the Peabody Memphis since 1933. Presumably the Peabody Memphis is a hotel, and apparently they perform a daily march down a red carpet at 11am. But they can't be the same ducks, right? They must, I mean, must be different ducks, they're not the same.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

We had we had a Peabody uh hotel here in Orlando for the longest time that's changed hands, but we stayed in there once and they definitely had the same thing with the five ducks walking up the red carpet at a certain time every day. That was a thing with it, whoever the peabody chain was.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

Yeah, well interesting, and it's great that you've experienced that live, Declan. So you haven't lived with ducks, but you've actually experienced the peabody ducks uh marching out the red carpet live, which probably gives us a little window into the kinds of hotels that you you stay in. I've just checked, and a duck's lifespan typically ranges from five to fifteen years. So yeah, the people the original peabody mallards are definitely not still alive, which is good to know because that would have annoyed me if ducks lived longer than humans. Let's move on to best player, Declan.

SPEAKER_03 16:29

I am going to go for best player for let me think. Rodri from Spain, because I'm so happy that he's come back to being the force that he was when he won the Ballandor. He's had a year or so struggling with a horrendous knee injury, and he he he was the the the true leader for Spain once they got past Cape Verde uh in that first game and and pulled them pulled them along and was an absolute um you know star player for Spain in the final. So my vote is Rodri from Spain, which none of you will probably agree with, but there you go.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

No, I mean I don't I think as a driving force uh for sure. The thing about which obviously we've said before, definitely when we did the series on the different roles and positions, is that the holding midfielder is is a pretty unsexy role, right? So it often goes on unheralded, unseen. It's not it's not showy, but um, but in terms of the impact and the the engine room component or role that Rodri has at the center of the the Spanish side is is absolutely is absolutely crucial. Paul, your best player?

SPEAKER_01 17:44

Yeah, um my best player uh was uh Rodri as well, because I um as you said, I um I like to appreciate players like these. Um without uh without them a team just would not work in the way it does. And I think that that this position is uh is the in in all in all the most significant one. Um I mean uh Vitinya for PSG is probably uh a similar example. Without Vitinya, this team uh and you can see it when he is not on the pitch, which which very rarely happens. Um it's it's it's just different. But I will go. Um, I mean I'll give him his his last World Cup honors. I think that that Messi, considering all, uh especially his age, just had a had an amazing tournament. I mean, almost almost got the got the golden boot. And um Messi is a player which seems to still somehow um get better in some instances, at least uh when it comes to the to the mental part of the game or where you where you have to use your your intelligence. Um how he played with his 39 years old, um, especially in in contrast to Cristiano Ronaldo, who might be, I don't know, maybe in a little bit better physical shape. I don't even know about that, um, but definitely not not in a in a in a better mental place. And and Messi just uh just showed the world why he just stays stays at the top. And um, I mean uh apart from everything political, of course, and apart from his uh from his um um demeanor in in in front of referees and and everything like that, but when it comes to purely uh skills and and play and um and of course uh also kind of um legacy uh level than Messi. You have to give it to Messi.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

I would have um I would have probably gone with that had um I thought his general shithusery in the final was just pretty despicable and really did him no favours um uh at all. Uh but you know you you're right in terms of the footballing component. He had 59 shot involvements in this World Cup, the most in a single edition, in a single finals since Diego Armando Maradona in 1986. But I just find myself unable to pick him out because of his, yeah, because of his uh how he acted uh in in the final. So I'm gonna go with Mbappé. Uh 10 goals, first player in uh in back-to-back tournaments to win the the golden boot. And and I he's as we as we sort of said before, he's a figure who generally has left me cold in the past, who uh I didn't really feel too any sort of warmth towards. But um, but now seeing him and his role uh in at the heart of the French side, I think has really changed my mind with him. And I am very intrigued to see how he how he turns up for Real Madrid um this year, uh, and if he stays there for an extended period of time and what lies next to him. He is a much more interesting figure than I had uh ever thought uh possible. So I'm gonna go for Mbappé in uh in the best player stakes. Uh best team, Declan.

SPEAKER_03 21:09

Yeah, the best team, uh obviously by far and away, head and shoulders about everyone else was Scotland.

SPEAKER_02 21:17

Yes, they we we should do and a whole um episode on how Scotland just really were uh uh lit up this uh this finals tournament.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

Um I'm not I'm obviously joking. I mean, they obviously created a major stir in Boston for the two games they had up there. Uh they screwed it up for the England fans because basically everywhere shut down because they had spread so many malicious rumors about the England fans, and the England fans nowadays are an absolute credit to the FA and to the England Supporters Travel Club. Um, so you know, Scotland were happy to be here, which is wonderful. It's lovely to be invited to the disco on a Friday night or the dark. On a Saturday night, but at the end of the day, um, you know, I'm I'm only joking about that. You have to give the best team award to Spain, as far as I'm concerned, uh, because they won the World Cup. At the end of the day, just like I was batting on and on last week about Thomas Tuchel's mission was to get England through the semi-final game into the final, and he didn't do that, so therefore he failed. Spain did not fail, and they succeeded in doing what the mission was uh and becoming champions for the second time. So, as far as I'm concerned, the best team were Spain, and particularly with their defensive record, only conceding one goal throughout the whole tournament. That is outstanding.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it, Paul?

SPEAKER_01 22:49

For me, it is uh Cabo Verde, because uh I think that that what what they did was completely unparalleled. Um, I mean to to have Morocco in 2022 um uh reaching uh reaching the semifinals was also quite astonishing, but this is on a completely different level, right? You have an island with uh an island nation with less than a million inhabitants, and um they almost managed to beat Argentina and did not lose against Spain. Um I mean that was the only team in this World Cup which did not lose against Spain, uh, and I think you have to give uh to give it to them. And um, yeah, just I mean the spirit is just amazing. Everything around Cabo Verde is amazing. I definitely have to travel there at some point in time and and see uh what what makes uh these people the way they are in the end. And uh yeah, so I'm gonna go with uh with Cabo Verde.

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Yeah, and I think look, I mean clearly Spain were the best team because they won the World Cup and also they just were the best team. And again, not just a team, a group of individuals, but clearly the way that they played, and you could see it at the end as well, a team. But um, but also I think absolutely K Verde uh are right up there as well. Um I would add the Democratic Republic of Congo as one of the best teams as well, just because of how they how they played, how they were more than the sum of their uh parts, and just they brought, given the fractured nature of everything that's going on at home for them, the fact that they brought together a sort of a unified story uh to the World Cup, which focused on football, I think was was really amazing. But I'm gonna go for Norway uh because uh yeah, they weren't the best team, but it all of these uh all of these sides that we're speaking about, all of these nations are, I think, incredible representations, manifestations of of a team. And I thought that even though Norway had some top-tier players, that really everything about them just said collective unit, and the joy with which they played as well, um, was just really, really refreshing. So, my uh I mean I would have gone for Spain, but of course, no point doing the same thing. So, beyond that, I think uh Norway is the side that I'm picking as the as the best team of the tournament. This next one may be a little contentious. Watch us all agree now completely. Uh best coach. I'm gonna start with you, uh Paul, on this one, uh, just so you can go ahead of Declan and then not be not be um struggling for oxygen in his wake of him choosing the one that you've chosen.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

Yeah, hold your horses. It's uh it's actually uh Thomas Toche, of course not. Um I mean in the end, Louis Def de la Fuente, right? I mean, um he he he won won with the best team, and um and I think that that that in the end uh his his kind of uh yeah character being more laid back, being a little bit more quiet than other characters, and um and coaching his team very well, also in in in very difficult uh in very difficult moments. There is not a single decision um of him where I um which which I remember now where I would say uh oh this was uh definitely wrong uh or scandalous or anything like that. Um and on the contrary, there are lots of decisions of other coaches in in that realm. Um I definitely find these points where I say yeah, that really was uh and I mean which was proven by the result in the end, um, which were then uh turned out uh to to be wrong. Declan?

SPEAKER_03 26:34

I'm torn on this one uh between three different coaches. Uh uh the first one is the Kate Verde coach, uh, because I want to say his name, uh it sounds just a sexy name to go with the Kate Verde football uh history that they created in the World Cup. So Bubista. Um the second one is uh the failed Wolverhampton Wanderers coach, Solbaken, starles Solbaken from Norway, on the on the back of what you just said about Norway. Um, and then the third one is uh Leonel Scaloni from Argentina because of his great sportsmanship and tactics he showed and exhibited in the final. So I'm I'm sort of scratching my head in a Laurel and Hardy type of way right now, just to um to say something somewhat sensible. But obviously, there's no one that uh you can really you can really vote for apart from Luis de la Fente. He is he is in my opinion the best coach because again, he he won the tournament.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

Yeah, and and as we've said before, he was the three of us agreed that he was the fourth, we put him fourth on our list ahead of the the semifinals. But I think a lot of that also is uh there's an argument to be made, I mean not exclusively, because some coaches do need to lead from the front depending on your side and and and who it is that your players are and and and so on. But but there is an argument to be made, almost in the way of referees, that that um that if you don't notice the coach, that you might think that he's not doing anything, but actually the Luis de la Fuente method uh is is of course that the work is done years and years before any given match. It's not just uh turning up on the on the sideline and what you do there. To some extent, Solbaken would be would be similar uh there. Um yeah, Luis de la Fuente, of course, uh given the the the win has to be right uh right up there. It was curious, I think, that Dejam didn't really uh sort of show up, seem to know what to do against the Spanish or try anything unusual in the in the semi-final because uh you know he's a pretty unique coach as well. And and I feel about Scalonia the way I feel about Messi, that um, you know, when Scalonia in the final, I have I've got a lot of time for him, but when in the final he said if we win with Grace, we have to lose with Grace as well, and then his team proceeded to lose, well, to press up, they didn't win with Grace at any point, um uh during the tournament, certainly not against England, and um, and they absolutely did not lose with any grace there at all. So I I I can't bring Scaloni up uh there there either. Let's uh let's come to the last two criteria. Biggest loser, Declan.

SPEAKER_03 29:22

We talked about him in in our earlier podcast during the World Cup, and we've done a few of those podcasts. To me, the biggest loser, he looks great on TV, he uh speaks very well, he's he's got a basically a full failed track record, apart from I think winning with Wigan in a cup in England at one point, is Roberto Martinez, because he was basically undone throughout this tournament and did Portugal a complete disservice with his stubborn loyalty to Cristiano Ronaldo, and I think if Cristiano Ronaldo had been uh like a designated substitute to come off the bench, he would have been utilized so much better than he did, and the rest of the Portuguese talent was completely wasted. So, my vote for the biggest loser is Roberto Martinez, Paul.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Um, my biggest loser is um very very close one to Roberto Martinez. It is Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldo because um the the Ronaldo is pretty much on par with Messi with with a lot loads of stuff, or or actually above them, above him when it comes to to Balandors, etc. Um, but he never won a World Cup. And I think that this is really um because he's he's one of the most competitive individuals on the planet, probably. And for him to um to also have no chance anymore to win this trophy, um, yeah, he he definitely has to spend some time um with his psychologist to um to to make that right again or to make that uh that go away. Um that that itch uh he probably will have constantly for for some time. And uh, I mean in terms of countries, I would say that the biggest loser, of course, is Germany. Um, it is clear that Germany has a structural fundamental problem, not only one problem, it is a um it is kind of a um I mean a big mix of of issues um which are not fully known yet, uh which are going to be investigated. And um I think for now we can say that Germany is definitely not among uh same as Italy, um, not among the greatest uh football nations uh uh on earth right now, um despite the four stars on um on the shirt?

SPEAKER_02 31:46

I don't know, you know, I think a manager makes uh a lot of difference, and uh we may be entering into a kind of a golden age of of uh managers in Europe. If you think of Jürgen Klopp uh in Germany going uh to the German side, uh will Pep Guardiola go to the Italian side? Three days of talks, I understand, with uh with with with Mancini. Zidane has gone to France and of course Spain are currently a sort of a vintage addition and such a young. I mean, it's crazy to say that they're vintage and so as young as they they are. So, I mean, that is uh a hell of a a coaching lineup for these historically strong, um uh strong nations. My biggest loser, I have two, and I'm really struggling to decide which of the two. Uh Carlo Ancelotti is one, and Marcelo Bielsa is the second. And what's making me struggle to decide is because Marcelo Bielsa, I mean, look, as we've recounted in a blow-by-blow uh sort of detail, uh, just a complete World Cup implosion for the history books. But uh you know, his reputation was already pretty low, and it's pretty much the end of his career. Uh whereas with Carlo Ancelotti, the qu the interesting question there is what does he do now? Does he stay with Brazil? Because I don't see that he is the kind of figure like Klopp that could potentially mask German issues, structural issues, as we've seen. Ancelotti just has been unable to do that. So um he's definitely somebody who is going to struggle to fully deliver on on his agreed project and his agreed contract for the next for the next four uh four years. I don't know if if either of you can help me break this deadlock. Uh Declan, uh, biggest loser from your perspective, Bielsa or Ancelotti?

SPEAKER_03 33:42

Uh I would say Bielser. I think Ancelotti came in and he didn't have enough time to really get a grip on a the Brazilian mentality, b, the Brazilian culture, because back in Brazil, you know, they all feel that they invented the game as well. They don't like foreign coaches, so he's been fighting all of that. Um, I do think that he will get it right, and they they they've got so much talent in that country. I think they're the large the the largest number of players from any country in the world play in the Champions League is Brazilian. So he's got all the talent in the world. So with based on his um CV and resume, I think he's gonna be ultimately great. So I I'm I'm I'm thinking he's gonna be fine. So um our Uruguayan leader probably needs to uh hang it up and and uh go off and uh and and uh and get a job uh at a start with a golf course or something. Paul?

SPEAKER_01 34:46

Um I would also say uh beyalsa because um uh in case of Angelotti, as you said, Declan, uh, he didn't have enough time, and he definitely has all the skills and proved a lot of times already that he can that he can build up a team um if he has if he has the the appropriate time, but I actually want to exchange Germany as the biggest loser um for Turkey uh because that must be remembered. Um I think it was 62 shots on uh 62 shots in in three games with um till the end, uh till the last game, uh no goal. And um and everybody expected so much. Uh it was so many people's dark horse, and they just did not deliver at all, which is extremely stunning if you look at the lineup and at the at the value of the team um and and many other things. But uh yes, uh we have to have to remember this this Turkish performance because it was uh historic for all the for all the wrong reasons.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

And um last our last category of the night, moment of the tournament. Paul, let's go with you first on this one.

SPEAKER_01 35:53

Yeah, the very easy one, very straightforward. Um the best moment for me was when Ferratores scored, because I could not live with Argentina win again. Um, having then first, we had this conversation already, having four stars on their shirt, and just the way they played, uh, they were clearly not of the best team, and also not among the top two teams, and not also not among the top four teams, in my opinion. Um, in a different and like in a parallel universe, they would have lost against Cape World or maybe against the against an Egypt. And um, and so I was extremely, extremely relieved, and again, just very, very, very happy for uh for Spain. The goal itself was not um was not too too special, of course, but um it was just this moment of relief of yes, um football justice is actually restored. I have a second moment, um, and I think this had uh one of the highest comedic values in um I mean it's probably gonna be legendary in uh in in decades ahead, when of course Donald Trump did not want to leave the Spanish national team alone um and let them celebrate. He uh, of course, he always wants to like uh wants to be with uh with winners, and uh what makes it even even more funny, of course, is that just a couple of um not too many weeks before he then couldn't uh Janine Infantino couldn't get him uh off the stage. Uh he said that Spain is uh is a very, very bad country. He wants to cut all ties, uh all trade ties to Spain, and all of that, um, because of course they they advocate um very much against uh foreign intervention and uh also do a lot in terms of um um in terms of the Gaza in genocide, um uh remembering uh Palestinians fighting for them. Um and they actually just um is one of the very, very few countries in the world, um uh Spain um got I think uh 20 children from Gaza in very uh in very severe conditions into the country, into the country's hospitals, um, uh which is unfortunately an extremely rare event. Um uh speaks a little bit to the to the moral banquet of uh of of the whole of Europe. Um but yeah, the right country won and uh and the Donald Trump won.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

Um and spare a thought for Kukureya, uh Chelsea player Guguriya, who in in consecutive years was stuck in a photo, in a winning photo with Donald Trump, because of course Chelsea won the Cub World Cup last year and he refused to move on. And the same thing happened with uh with with Spain, and of course Kukorea is uh is a particularly distinctive figure with his hair, as is Donald Trump. So um he's probably gonna have those two photos on his mantelpiece, and uh they they're being photo bombed twice by uh by that man. Uh Declan, your moment of the tournament?

SPEAKER_03 38:42

Uh my moment of the tournament, uh predictably, uh I think it's genuinely from a sort of uh outside of a personal perspective, but also from a personal perspective, was being at the Azteca for the round of 16 Classic against Mexico. Uh it was it was the one authentic um real experience I feel that I definitely felt, even though it was fantastic to go to Dallas and to go to Boston and go to New York and Atlanta a couple of times. It it was just it was steeped in that sort of mythical proper football atmosphere that you only get in Europe, South America, and countries like Mexico and Central American countries. And um, you know, it's it's one of those ones I probably haven't really properly digested yet. I've got to, as you said, I've got to go back and look at the whole game. I've watched the highlights. So to me, that was a genuine experience, and it was fantastic for the two Young Link boys to experience that, you know, one because of the uh atmosphere, the hostility, the quality of the game, the history with the stadium, um, and then just getting out of the stadium, going back and sort of trying to, you know, realize what we'd just gone through. And then, you know, when I was coming back from Atlanta on Thursday last week, Sean didn't Shawnee knew didn't go to Atlanta with George, but he knew how gutted and devastated I was. He sent me a text saying, um, you know, at least we're in Mexico City. So that's my best moment of the tournament by far.

SPEAKER_02 40:19

I think that's a that's uh a really good moment to to finish on, Declan. So let's uh let's say from us here at World Football uh, etc., it's been a longish, longish, pretty long five weeks. We we hope we've been informative. Uh we hope you've you've enjoyed our coverage and our reviews and the stories that we've told and the different features we hope we have and continue to offer something different to you all out there. And we've loved being on the journey uh with you uh all listeners, and it really appreciate you continuing to uh to tune in. And of course, a really big thank you uh to you, Declan, first of all.

SPEAKER_03 41:02

Oh, it's my pleasure, John. This is like a window in your world. You love doing what you're doing, and you're there all the time commenting and uh experiencing what goes on in the world. It just happens that with our World Cup football, etc. podcast, sadly, the coughing lid is being closed, but we're moving on to a new chapter.

SPEAKER_02 41:23

Yeah, lots of lots of potential futures. And uh, as I said right at the beginning, we're going to be sharing all of that with you. Uh the different structures, the different focuses, what we've got coming up, um, and lots of really exciting events as well to confirm. But uh yeah, thanks, thanks, Lloyd Stecklin. And of course, thanks to you, Paul Schmidt, Troschka also.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

Yes, it was an absolute pleasure. I never watched more football um in my life in uh and that uh and uh also over over that time period. Um was absolutely a pleasure to um to talk to you about everything which went on in these 104 games in total. Um a pretty pretty insane uh insane number over five weeks. And um, yeah, I will continue to uh even more enjoy uh enjoy our episodes and um an absolute pleasure, as I said.

SPEAKER_02 42:18

And with that, let's finish up with one of Deccan's uh catchphrases, go England.

SPEAKER_03 42:26

Honestly, John, you're such a bad man. I've never said that in my life. You've said go England all the time. I've never said go England with the live reports after the England games.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

You said you definitely said you definitely bring it back up. You've said going maybe maybe not after every podcast, but you've definitely said going on at least one occasion.

SPEAKER_03 42:45

I would, you know what I would love you to share with because you keep it very, very secret, all of your fan emails from around the world. We've never we never get a chance to see about all this um stuff that people send you. So hopefully, with the new email address, um, we will be uh able to uh get a window on your world of all your fan adoration around the world.

SPEAKER_02 43:07

That's a very good point because we've we've we we the only um emails we've had recently. I mean, I guess everybody's been really busy with the with the World Cup as well, but the only emails we've had recently have been the sort of minor corrections here, here or there, nothing significant. But this is now that things are slower, it's an it's an opportunity uh for fan mail. Um I don't really want to encourage this, uh, fan mail to come in. Uh again, although we we both you and I know Declan where that fan mail is going to be mostly designated. And perhaps this is uh exactly the right note with which to finish on, uh, because not only is it a farewell to World Cup football, etc., but uh uh encouraging um young ladies out there who may be listening in to write in uh letters of interest to Paul Schmidt-Troschka is probably the final uh tolling of that bell for the relationship, which is no more.

SPEAKER_03 44:01

Yes. Come on, come on, ladies of the world. PST is single now.

SPEAKER_01 44:06

Thanks to bring that up uh that up once again. Um and yes, farewell. Have a good one, guys.

SPEAKER_03 44:15

I've got one thing to say go England, whatever that means. Thank you. Let me let me fill this.