The England Pod

We're on our way. Ali Maxwell is joined by James Allcott for one big England-specific preview before the tournament begins. From Thomas Tuchel's impact and the emergence of Elliot Anderson & Nico O'Reilly and the growing sense that this England team might just have something special, the pair discuss all the reasons for optimism heading into the summer. But it wouldn't be England without a healthy...

Dave, Ali & George predict the World Cup knockout stage, ending with a final and a World Champions prediction. How will England get on after winning Group L? Worth listening to Parts One & Two first for the context around our knockout bracket. Get tickets for our World Cup Preview Live Show in Luton here: https://linktr.ee/Grosvenor_Casinos Check for FREE if you are due a refund in 60 seconds at h...

England's final World Cup warm-up ends with a win, and perhaps most importantly: no injuries. Ali Maxwell and George Elek react to England's 1-0 victory over New Zealand in Florida, where Harry Kane's 79th England goal settled a game that saw Thomas Tuchel give minutes to two entirely different XIs across the two halves. They discuss the performances of Marcus Rashford, Djed Spence and Elliot Ande...

A sobering night for the Lionesses and it looks like England will have to go through a tricky play-off stage to qualify for World Cup 2027, following a humbling 0-4 defeat in Spain. Robyn Cowen & Kathryn Batte pick through it. They discuss whether Spain were too good for England and why Serena Wiegman's side struggled both in and out of possession. Plus: what now needs to happen against Ukraine —...

Dave, Ali & George predict the WHOLE World Cup, group by group and all knockout games. In Part Two, we work backwards from Group F to Group A, including predictions for Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Morocco, Scotland, Turkey and many more. Worth listening to Part One first: https://open.spotify.com/episode/183BVWq7XljPLIsmvgJZDT?si=7dqaSOyRRTeIRFmyyo8qxw Get tickets fo...

Dave, Ali & George predict the WHOLE World Cup, group by group and all knockout games. In Part One, we work backwards from Group L (England's group) and also take in Group K, J, I, H, G - including tournament favourites Spain, France and other well-fancied sides Argentina and Portugal. Check for FREE if you are due a refund in 60 seconds at https://refundclub.co.uk/england * *Refund Club is a trad...

Ali, George and special guest Nick Goff make betting picks ahead of the World Cup, starting with Outright and Golden Boot markets and expanding into a group of teams they want to get with and get against. -- Sign up to SBK here to get £50 in Free Bets when you sign up and place your first bet of £20: https://wlsmarkets.adsrv.eacdn.com/C.ashx?btag=a_5851b_775c_&affid=27342&siteid=5851&adid=775c=B20...

Spain again. The Lionesses head to Spain knowing a point would be enough to secure automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. Standing in their way is the team they've become most familiar with over the last few years. Robyn Cowen is joined by Kathryn Batte - they discuss the fitness concerns around Lauren James and Lucy Bronze, whether Ella Toone is ready to start, the challenge fa...

Get 50% off tickets for our Live Shows in Sheffield, Reading and Luton for a limited time only here 👉 https://linktr.ee/Grosvenor_Casinos -- What does Thomas Tuchel actually want England to look like? Ali sits down with Dave to break down the tactical identity of Tuchel’s England after 12 games, 27 goals, and 15 months of experimentation. Why do England build so heavily down the right? We go thro...

Ali, George and Dave have crunched the numbers, made the spreadsheets, and have worked out the pathway to glory/despair. If England are going to win the World Cup this is who we'll play along the way, whether that be finishing 1st, 2nd or even 3rd in our group. (Spoiler alert: we really want to win the group this time) If that wasn't nerdy enough for you there's also an attempt to predict which pl...

Get 50% off tickets for our Live Shows in Sheffield, Reading and Luton for a limited time only here 👉 https://linktr.ee/Grosvenor_Casinos Ali and Dave were at Wembley to hear Thomas Tuchel explain the thought process behind his 26-man World Cup squad. Why Toney? Why no Palmer? Why Madueke? Why no Maguire? Where's Wharton?! We deliver our view on the big calls and assess how we're feeling now the...

Thomas Tuchel will announce his 26-man squad for the World Cup on Friday morning but inevitably there have been leaks and it seems the big news is no place on the plane for Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Harry Maguire or Adam Wharton, while it seems that Ivan Toney has made it George and Dave react to the early news of the squad before we attend Tuchel's press conference on Friday Learn more about your...

Ahead of Thomas Tuchel announcing his 26-man England squad this week, George and Dave reveal the players they would select if they were in the hot seat Ali also has a go predicting who he thinks will make the plane come what Friday Join us and Emile Heskey live in Sheffield, Reading and Luton ahead of the World Cup: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Grosvenor_Casinos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...

George and Dave are joined by BBC Radio 5 Live's John Murray to reflect and reminisce on the 2018 World Cup in Russia and how Gareth Southgate's side got everyone feeling good about England again. From Kane's last gasp winner against Tunisia, hitting Panama for six, the penalty shootout heroics against Colombia, slabhead vs Sweden, and that Trippier free-kick against Croatia, it was a summer full...

Five weeks to go until the World Cup, and two weeks before the squad sis selected. Ali, George and Dave discuss: Have Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly played themselves onto the plane in recent weeks with Arsenal? What would you ask Tuchel if you had one question and were guaranteed the truth? And how do you keen a group of young men entertained while in a camp setting for 8 weeks? Learn more abou...

Ali, George and Dave tackle some tough questions: What would success look like at this World Cup? Would you feel more confident about the summer if Gareth Southgate was still manager than you actually do right now? Why is such a big discussion around Bellingham v Rogers in Tuchel's #10 position? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it a crisis? Ali, Dave and George meet to chat about injuries to England players, heat & fatigue at the World Cup, and discuss who is current top of the clamour list - HE HAS TO BE ON THE PLANE! Go well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave and George gathered on Thursday night with a simple premise: Dave simulates the result of every game at the World Cup and George tells us what happened in them (just for England games, we're not mad) Listen and find out whether it's glory, heartbreak or a big load of nothing for Thomas Tuchel's lads across the pond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robyn Cowen and Kathryn Batt reflect on England's 1-0 win in their Women's World Cup qualifier against Iceland, which made it four wins from four in their group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Robyn and Kathryn delight in England's massive World Cup qualifier victory over Spain and Alessia Russo's latest moment of quality. Then they look ahead to Saturday's match against Iceland, with England looking to strengthen their position in the group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BBC commentator Robyn Cowen, the Telegraph's women's football reporter Kathryn Batte and David Walker gather to look ahead to big world cup qualifiers for the Lionesses. They take on Spain at Wembley on Tuesday before heading to Iceland on Saturday, with the fitness of captain Leah Williamson and what the defence would look like without her among the main talking points ahead of the crunch ties. W...

George and Ali sat down to talk about Max Dowman. George is somewhat starstruck after Dowman's performance vs Southampton in the Cup. Ali is being a bit of a bore and trying to put the brakes on the hype to some extent. Either way, it's a conversation worth listening to, let us know what you think. Ali also provides a youth team update from the March camp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p...

England lose 1-0 to Japan at Wembley to round off a strange, experimental camp. It was rubbish to watch. How much does it matter? Ali, Dave and George dig into a disjointed attacking setup, a tough night for Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, and what this means (if anything) for the World Cup pecking order under Thomas Tuchel. Plus: are we overreacting, underreacting, or just reacting to games that don’...

Ali and Dave gather to reflect on the 48 hours of reaction since the Uruguay friendly and to look ahead to the Japan game on Tuesday Who gets the right wing spot now there's no Saka - Bowen or Palmer? Is this the most important game of Morgan Rogers' career so far? Is "mini Valverde" James Garner primed to start again in Rice's absence? Will Tuchel throw a curveball and play Ezri Konsa at right-ba...

Ali, George and Dave preview England's game against Uruguay - a friendly with huge World Cup significance. The return of Ben White & Trent Alexander-Arnold’s continued absence Tuchel’s strict positional thinking and why versatility might not matter Cole Palmer vs Phil Foden Predicted XI and the key battles all over the pitch New kit chat All England, all the time. Go well! Learn more about your ad...