The Atlantic Voice Podcast

Our "series featuring first episodes of reality TV shows featuring celebrities buying football teams"(copyright, Atlantic Voice) reaches the entry "Welcome to Wrexham." It's the grand-daddy of them all (copyright, the Rose Bowl) but is it the best? And later in the final week, Zeff will contrast and compare all the shows reviewed.

England v Norway later in the day, and Zeff is explaining what it means whenver you hear a football fan or media member refer to a "Golden Generation." And then it's a look back at the 1981 England-Norway World Cup qualifier and the famous bit of commentary that comes from it.

Our final book review from our venerable literary correspondent, Peter. His selection is "Soccer IQ" by Danny Blank - a book about the skills of the beautiful game written by a coach. But as we discover, this is not some dry coaching manual....

Nathan has returned to give his take on FIFA and their seemingly outsized influence on the game that we all love. Is their modus operandi smudging the romantic lens through which we view the sport? Is there a different way we could all come together and celebrate football without the pricetag that has been set on it?

The round of 16 concludes, sending the tournament into its first 'off' day - a day without a game. Colombia-Switzerland, the last game of the round, was decided by the only penalty shoot-out of the round, leading Zeff to ponder the alternatives.

It's the end of the road for the US, as all three host nations now watch the rest of the tournament from the comfort of their own homes.

Yes, that's right.

Good Mornng and welcome to "Live with Kelly and Mark." And Zeff, as he continues his reviews of "series featuring first episodes of reality TV shows featuring celebrities buying football teams"(copyright, Atlantic Voice). This time it's Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelas heading to Italy for "Running with the Wolves." What's that? You didn't know they even had a team?

"I'll tell you something. I'm glad I found out in time just what a partnership with a pair of w*****s like you would've been. A sleeping partner's one thing but you're in a f*****g coma! No wonder you've got an energy crisis your side of the water. But us British... we're used to a bit more vitality, imagination, a touch of the Dunkirk spirit, know what I mean? The days when yanks can come over he...

Croatia took on Portugal in a Round of 32 game featuring two heavyweights of the beautiful game, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric. Only one can leave as a winner.....

England live on the edge in their match against the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving Zeff flashbacks to a darker time......  

Day 21 and our friend Nathan has returned to look at some off-the-field considerations of the knockout stages. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe keeps scoring and a duck can't get a ticket......

The knockout is in full swing and in reality that this is when the tournament really begins. Get ready for all the cliches about "It's win or go home" or "There's no tomorrow for one of these teams" and of course the penalty shoot-out will be making an appearance. If it hasn't already (ahem, Germany....)

Another review in our "series featuring first episodes of reality TV shows featuring celebrities buying football teams"(copyright, Atlantic Voice), this time featuring actress Eva Longoria and her share of Liga MX team, Necaxa FC.

Zeff takes a break from watching football and heads off to New York and Madison Square Garden to watch......the darts! Yes, grown men throwing small projectiles at the wall. But as you're about to find out, there's a little bit more to it all. And get ready, because it's going to be here for a little while.....

Peter is back to talk about the book "Football Hackers" by Christoph Biermann , to understand how numbers and statistics are helping to redefine how we see the beautiful game and the whos, hows, and whys, of the 'data revolution.' Is "Moneyball" just for baseball?

Part 2 of the reknown Summer Movie Preview is here ( Part 1 can be found when you click this ) and Eric and Zeff are looking at what's on at your local picturehouse in July and August. As always there's superhero or too, but this summer the work of two of cinema's most celebrated directors, Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott. All the trailers can be found here

What's your daily routine? Does it exercise the mind? The body? Zeff has one, though the positive effects have yet to be proven....

Watch your national team over the years and you might find yourself having a sense of "Deja Vu all over again", as Yogi Berra once said (and apparently sang by John Fogerty). Losing you? Watching England can do that to you, as Zeff wll explain. 

It's the host's position that those "Greatest of all time" debates are pointless; but that's an entirely different thing to acknowledging it and appreciating it. And even then, comparisons will inevitably be made.....

Day 12 of the World Cup of Tea and one for the football "geeks" amongst you, as Zeff goes through FIFA's official match summary of the USA-Paraguay group match from Day 2. Take a peek behind the curtain as we learn how the pros quantify what goes on in a match for players and the teams.

The second review in our series featuring first episodes of reality TV shows featuring celebrities buying football teams (gosh, that sentence is a mouthful). Up next from 2025, "Built in Birmingham: Brady & the Blues" that follows star quarterback-turned-TV-analyst Tom Brady, as he becomes part owner of Birmingham City, currently in The Championship, the tier below the Premier League in England.

Book review day, and Peter is back, sharing with us his thoughts on James Montague's "Thirty-one Nil" which looks at the world's game away from the mainstage slate of the Brazil's, France's and Spain's that hog our attention. In light of the expanded field this year, it is, as Peter points out, more than timely reading.

A win - or even a draw - sends the hosts to the knockout stages of the Mundial. And with all the excitement and hype, what would, and this World Cup, mean for the future of the beautiful game in the US? As seems to be forever the case, the media are wondering about soccer's ultimate destiny on these shores. But is it time to stop asking, or even care, what the answer is? ( I didn't mean to go in h...

The first round is done and the tournament should really kick in to gear over the next week, as teams now have a real sense of their direction of travel. And it's the same for show, as we follow up on some thoughts and lay out the next few days.