America 2026: A World Cup podcast

France thumped Morocco with relative ease last night, laying bare just how wide the gulf still yawns between the plucky underdog and the ruling classes of world football. Ken Early joins us from Boston for our weekly check-in, sharing his reflections on the tournament as the endgame comes into view. He also gives his take on the zealous furore engulfing Brazilian media since the seleção's exit. Cl...

Yet another moment, yet another highlight reel, yet another memory for us all - courtesy of Leo Messi's remarkable football career. Egypt’s two-goal lead should have been more, but in the end they were made to bow to the sheer weight of inevitability. Was it fate alone at work here? Or was there a human thumb pressing on the scales? After FIFA's litany of missteps this week, perceived contentious...

The American Dream is over. The United States, perhaps laden down with the sheer weight of the swirling situation, limped to a 4-1 defeat in Seattle. A result which ends their campaign and potentially the administration’s interest along with it. For all the strings pulled to drag Folarin Balogun back onto the pitch, their exit was a quiet, deflating end to the loudest week of the World Cup so far....

There was a real expectation heading into this tournament that off-field issues would wreak havoc on World Cup 2026. It's had its moments, but nothing has come close to the news of the past couple of days. FIFA has rescinded the red-card suspension of USA star striker Folarin Balogun, clearing him to face Belgium tonight. They did so, primarily, at the request of President Donald Trump. The fallou...

"We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge of it." Fridays tend to run giddy on the America 2026 podcast but make no mistake, this World Cup is barrelling into the serious business end now. Malachy Clerkin is in studio to keep an increasingly delirious Paul Howard company. Kevin Kilbane joins us from Canada, where the tournament's stay is drawing to a close. Though not without l...

‘It looks altogether brighter’ echoed the immortal words of the BBC commentary mere moments before Brian Cipenga smashed one past Pickford at the near post to hand DR Congo an early lead. Congo fought valiantly, but twice they couldn't deny Harry Kane, who now has a high-altitude clash with Mexico at the Azteca to look forward to this Sunday. Gavin Cooney and Paul Howard are in studio to round up...

The old world is fading, and the new one struggles to be born. There was a time when it seemed a foregone conclusion that the likes of Germany and the Netherlands would loom large at the business end of any World Cup, grinding out wins with efficient, controlled football. Last night, neither looked anything close to it. Germany crashed out to Paraguay, the Dutch to Morocco, both on penalties. Kill...

Jesse Marsch's team stand as Canadian heroes to rank alongside Céline Dion, Justin Bieber and Tim Horton after last night's win over South Africa in Los Angeles - the nation's first-ever World Cup knockout victory, and perhaps the dawn of a brave new world for Canadian soccer. The game itself, though, was… rather less dramatic. Gavin Cooney and Malachy Clerkin join Paul Howard in studio to pick ba...

To everything there is a season. That’s a lesson Scotland will surely have to learn if the football gods grant them another crack at this World Cup in the knockouts. Brazil were only too happy to feast on a calamitous defensive set-up, banging in three past a back line that flatly refused to ‘just knock it’. Paul Howard checks in with correspondents across North America, starting with Kevin Kilban...

It may not have been a catastrophe of a draw for England in Boston last night, but they’re following previous World Cup patterns and maybe that should be worrying enough for Thomas Tuchel. Howard, Cooney and Clerkin are back in The Irish Times studio to suss out where England’s Premier League 25/26 approach went wrong for them last night, if this really affects anything about the tournament and wh...

Forty years to the day since Diego Maradona's unforgettable brace against England at Mexico '86, three of the defining stars of the 2026 World Cup produced doubles of their own. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each struck twice in a remarkable night that invited comparisons with the tournament's most enduring icon. Paying tribute to Maradona in some moments, and perhaps surpassing h...

Kevin Kilbane, the self described Dunphy of Canadian Television, joins us from Vancouver after the Sunday night games, along with Gavin Cooney in studio. Paul Howard has continued his Herculean effort to watch every single group stage game and reports back on a packed weekend of World Cup action.  Favourites Spain look to be warming up but questions linger over Lamine Yamal’s fitness. Co-host...

Canada notched their first ever World Cup victory after stomping Qatar 6-0 in Vancouver last night. Not everyone loved the wild celebrations on the touchline and after the whistle but is it all actually playing right into coach Marsch's plans for global domination? Kevin Kilbane was at the game in Vancouver on televisual duties, we get his thoughts on what he makes of the co-hosts, the potential f...

Thomas Tuchel complained that he "couldn't see his team" during the anthems in Dallas last night. Little did he know just how much would be read into that remark as the evening wore on. On paper, a 4-2 win over an old bogey side looks like the perfect way to open a World Cup. Add in the fact that this is an England team who have brushed aside everyone in their path en route to the tournament, and...

Life is just better when the World Cup is on. We know it. For better or worse, sport has a way of melting away the woes of the world, and nothing has captured that quite like the last few days of America 2026.  Mere hours after Iran were ushered out the country at the whistle of their opening group game, our gaze was swung to the twinkling brilliance of Mbappé, Messi and Haaland, who each sma...

A highly sleep-deprived Paul Howard and Gavin Cooney are in studio today to pick apart the amorphous blob that was the weekend's group-stage action. A sprawling, shapeless mass of goals, the occasional flash of genuine quality and only modest amounts of drama.  The Scots are making a name for themselves in Boston, Curaçao caught a fleeting glimpse of greatness before being yanked firmly...

America 2026 roared into life in the stadium formerly known as the Azteca in Mexico City last night, with a match that was a much better occasion than it was a game. Elsewhere, early risers will have enjoyed much schadenfreude as the Czechs slumped to an opening-round loss to South Korea in Guadalajara.  Malachy Clerkin and the fresh face of Gavin Cooney join Paul Howard in studio to chat abo...

Not even a bowl of Mauricio Pochettino's lemons could soak up the negativity hanging over the host nation of World Cup 2026. From reports of FIFA referees being turned around at the border to the Iranian national team being permitted nothing more than day trips into the country, it's the events off the pitch that have been dominating global headlines. Irish Times Washington Correspondent Keith Dug...

Maybe the worst thing about the Republic of Ireland losing their World Cup place to Czechia is missing out on the chance to play tournament co-hosts Mexico in their home stadium - the Estadio Azteca - almost 40 years to the day since Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' moment cemented its status as one of the truly iconic stadiums in world football. Paul, Kevin and Malachy discuss the state of play for...

With World Cup 2026 one week away, Paul Howard, Kevin Kilbane and Malachy Clerkin kick off our podcast coverage of the tournament. The Irish Times will publish episodes of America 2026 several times per week between now and the final on July 19th. Listen for analysis of all the football, digressions into World Cup history and coverage of the big stories happening inside and outside the stadiums. O...

Malachy Clerkin, Kevin Kilbane and Gavin Cummiskey are here to talk about the final round of games World Cup qualification matches. In part one we look at last night in the Aviva and Ireland's campaign as a whole. are we in a better place now? And what is Seamus Coleman's future in the Ireland setup? In part two we look at the playoff deciders, where there were plenty of surprising results includi...

Ireland’s World Cup dream ended in heartbreaking fashion, giving up a 2-0 lead against the Czech Republic to ultimately lose on penalties. Paul Howard and Kevin Kilbane talk about the disappointment of failing to progress after a dominant first half performance, the penalty that gave the Czech Republic belief and how the rest of the match unfolded. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

Relive the glory and the heartbreak of Ireland's previous attempts to reach a major tournament with someone who was there to experience the joy, fight some losing battles and witness that handball. Kevin Kilbane and Paul Howard look back at playoff games past: Belgium, World Cup 1998 Turkey, Euro 2000 Iran, World Cup 2002 France, World Cup 2010 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

Paul Howard and Kevin Kilbane preview Ireland v Czech Republic: Ireland’s squad Handling the pressure of a playoff  How Ireland won back to back games against Portugal and Hungary  Match fitness and the impact of players not getting regular football  The Troy Parrott factor  The Czech team  Should we practice penalties?  Kelleher’s penalty-saving prowess Hosted on Aca...

Former Ireland international Kevin Kilbane and journalist Paul Howard are making America 2026, a new podcast about the World Cup from The Irish Times. America 2026 starts next week for Ireland's playoff game against Czech Republic. Follow now on your podcast app, and look out for us on YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.