Any Given Thursday

And just like that, only 8 remains. The World Cup Round of 16 has come and gone, and we've broken down all the big moments. And unfortunately for the Americans, we must start with a USMNT audit after their all-time stinker on Monday night, losing to Belgium 4-1 in Seattle. What went wrong for this team after such a promising June? We examine the team's mental weaknesses, the dreadful individual pe...

We're back after a thrilling and dramatic inaugural Round of 32 at the World Cup! We were going to lead off the pod with Germany, but then Cabo Verde happened (again). What a story and what a performance (again) from the Blue Sharks, who took Messi and the defending champions to the very brink in Miami, and in the process, provided one of the greatest World Cup games of the century. We spend some...

Our Club Spotlight series is returning for a special World Cup edition! At this season's tournament, we have four nations competing at their first ever World Cup: Curaçao, Cabo Verde, Uzbekistan, and Jordan. As the competition progresses, we will be highlighting each footballing nation – exploring their political, geographical, and sporting histories and learning how they got here. Next up is Jord...

We pick all 16 Round of 32 games as the knockout stage kicks off at the World Cup. Which favorites will coast? Which will be upset? Find out here! Plus, we look ahead to some possible matchups in future rounds. Cheers!

We're back to talk about the last round of the group stage! Teams advanced. Teams went home. We have thoughts. First, we acknowledge Canada advancing past South Africa in their first ever knockout appearance, before moving on to the ways in which FIFA has detracted from the drama of the group stage, including the new head-to-head tiebreaker and the expanded format. Next, we discuss some of the pos...

Another highly entertaining round of group stage football is behind us, and we're having deja vu! That's thanks to Capo Verde, who once again held a former World Cup champion to a draw – this time Biela's Uruguay. Who did the African islanders put together such a high-octane performance in the Miami heat? Fellow debutants Curaçao also shocked a South American dark horse favorite in Ecuador with a...

In honor of the NBA draft this week, our special series, Any Given Redraft returns, along with star guest Jacob Hill! Today, we tackle a strong 2014 crop of players, including Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, and Zach Lavine. We begin by revisiting the big storylines heading into the night, the broadcast on ESPN starring Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, and Jay Bila...

We've got another World Cup bonus episode for you on the most important goings-on from the past couple days. First, we check in on the soaring hosts – USA and Mexico have already topped their group and advanced, and Canada are not far behind. Who looks the best out of the trio and why? Then we take a look at the fiasco that is the Türkiye national team, who bowed out of the tournament after just t...

Our Club Spotlight series is returning for a special World Cup edition! At this season's tournament, we have four nations competing at their first World Cup: Curaçao, Cabo Verde, Uzbekistan, and Jordan. As the competition progresses, we will be highlighting each footballing nation – exploring their political, geographical, and sporting histories and learning how they got here. Next up is Cabo Verd...

We're back to talk the first round of games in the World Cup group stage! We start by discussing the quality and depth throughout the tournament, from South Korea to Jordan to New Zealand and Iran. Has there ever been so much quality at a World Cup? Then we give our flowers to Cabo Verde and DR Congo, who picked up historic results against Spain and Portugal, respectively. We examine how they achi...

We've got a special bonus episode for you on 3 World Cup topics we simply couldn't resist. First, we break down how the United States turned up to the tournament in such style, running circles around Paraguay in a 4-1 victory. How did Poch get the lads humming and what were the tactical moves that allowed them such freedom? We also look ahead to their second match against Australia, who shocked Tu...

Our Club Spotlight series is returning for a special World Cup edition! At this season's tournament, we have four nations competing at their first World Cup: Curaçao, Cabo Verde, Uzbekistan, and Jordan. As the competition progresses, we will be highlighting each footballing nation – exploring their political, geographical, and sporting histories and learning how they got here. First up is Curaçao,...

We're wrapping up our World Cup Preview series with an unfortunate but necessary conversation about the political and logistical state of the tournament in the United States. There's a lot of kerfuffle about the heat, American football stadiums, American soccer culture in general, and so on – but these are not reasons to host a World Cup. In fact, they're part of the reason we host them on every c...

It's a CONCACAF World Cup for the first time in 32 years, so it's only right that we take a look at the 3 host nations, as well as their confederation-mates from Central America and the Caribbean. Who has the strongest squad? Who's got the best shot to go deep? Who's most likely to crash and burn? We begin with the always-drama-filled United States and Mexico, where we compare and contrast strengt...

On our 5th of 7 World Cup preview episodes, we dive into some stats and storylines that are flying under-the-radar heading into the tournament. We're talking 40 year-olds, teenagers, the state of South American football, weather, rule changes, non-league footballers and more. Be sure to tune to get all the niche details that will impress your friends. And don't forget to like and subscribe and fol...

Our 7-day march to opening kick off of the World Cup continues with a deep dive into who might take home the tournaments most coveted prize – the James Rodríguez Award. This special trophy is awarded to the World Cup's most electric young player, but with a catch. First, you must be 22 or younger by the conclusion of the competition. Second, you cannot already be a global star playing for a megacl...

On the third edition of our World Cup previews, we talk teams that could be headed for disappointment at this year's tournament. Can Argentina keep up with the demands of yet another deep run? Is Belgium's golden generation finally out of gas? Is Mexico good enough to carry the national burden of "el quinto partido?" Has Saudi Arabi lost their luster as a Middle Eastern footballing power...

On our second World Cup preview episode, we're diving into the BEST OF THE REST to determine who will could be this year's Morocco. We examine the credentials of more established squads like Colombia and Switzerland, some high-flying newcomers like Norway, and some international outsiders like Japan and Austria with distinct and exciting styles of play. Finally, we take a look at some long-shot na...

We're kicking off our World Cup Preview series by discussing the 7.5 teams we think can actually win the whole thing. We share why each of Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain can hoist the trophy in July, plus one mystery team who may be in with a shout. We also discuss the reasons why each nation won't go the distance, plus place them in tiers within this elite groupi...

It's the final show of the 2025-26 season! We're back to wrap up the Europa and Conference League, looking at Aston Villa and Crystal Palace's paths to victory, plus sharing some of the best moments from the league phase and knockouts, and revealing our Team of the Season in both tournaments. Finally, we look at who has qualified for next year's editions, including some powerhouse Italian clubs an...

Crystal Palace are your 2026 Conference League champions! The Eagles hoist their very first European trophy in their very first European campaign thanks to a Mateta put-back, beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0. We talk how Palace's pace and off-ball execution were able to snuff out Rayo's build-up and attack, the general chaotic nature of the match, and why Glasner deserves so much credit for his work at...

We're back to talk Conference League final! Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano face off in what some are calling the most wholesome final of all time. We talk all about their respective journeys to the final, their very brief European journeys of the past, and what it would mean to capture a first continental trophy. We also revisit some of the more extraordinary off-the-pitch circumstances Rayo ha...

It's official – Aston Villa is your 2026 Europa League champion! We recap how Villa triumphed over SC Freiburg for their first European trophy since 1982 (and Emery's 5th!), discussing how they dominated virtually every phase of the game, the phenomenal goals from Tielemans, Buendia, and Rogers, Emery's usual tactical mastery, Emi doing Emi things, and much more. Then we review what went wrong for...

The Europa League final between Aston Villa and Freiburg is nye upon us, and we're breaking down everything you need to know before Wednesday's kickoff! We've got a fascinating matchup between two clubs with vastly different backgrounds, but clubs that actually share a lot in common on the pitch. We discuss the paths each side took to reach the summit of Europa League mountain, their respective Eu...

The final European Thursday of the season has come and gone, and we have two pairs of finalists to show for it! We express our excitement at the spectacle, as 3 of our 4 winners qualified for their first ever major European final (and the 4th, Aston Villa, returns to one after 44 years). First we tackle the Europa League, where Villa dismantled a shoddy and somewhat short-handed Nottingham Forest....