Transcript of Bold predictions for World Cup champions and crash-outs New

Which host team will go furthest? Obviously for me that's United States because they're my dark horse. They're going all the way to the quarterfinals at least. They've got enough players that people don't know about who can— hmm-hmm— hold their own, and more than hold their own. And also I think people make fun of America and their football team, and I don't think they should. I think they're better, and Mauricio Pochettino is a winner! Hmm-hmm. US Men's National Team: Dark Horse.

From Apple News, I'm Rebecca O'Neill. Rebecca Lowe, and I'm Brendan Hunt, and this is After the Whistle. Today we're talking all about Rebecca's beloved England and the other teams you should pay attention to in this absolutely massive tournament.

Plus, we're gonna talk dark horses, the early exits that will shock everyone, and I mean everyone.

Brendan, all the groups, all the matches, all the action, we're doing it now. Reminder, there will be adult language.

This podcast is brought to you by Verizon, an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. No one gets you closer to the FIFA World Cup than Verizon. Brendan Bloody Hunt, that's actually going to be your official nickname throughout the World Cup because it just emphasizes how excited I am about life. The World Cup kicks off on Thursday, on Thursday, quite literally on Thursday. Our last episode, so our opening episode of season 3 of The Whistle, was pretty much all about the United States, okay, the US men's national team. So that's That's the episode you want if you want to talk US.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

The rest of the world is what we're going to touch on in today's preview episode.

47 other teams.

47. Not going to definitely mention 47 other teams. Probably not. Probably not. Probably about 7. Starting with the center of my world, and maybe the center of a lot of people's world. And that is—

Go on, I'll let you say it. I can see how excited you are. England. Yeah!

Who don't even kick off their World Cup until like 3 weeks away. No! Because they're in Group Z.

The unprecedented Group L. I know, Group L just doesn't have a good ring to it.

It doesn't! I'm already nervous.

You can't feel good about a Group L.

I'm already nervous, Brendan, but the old feelings of desperation. Sure. Mate, I'm desperate to win this.

It would appear to be the best chance England have had in a very, very long time.

We say that a lot.

We do say that a lot, but they mean, I think this is the third World Cup in a row where they've just gotten slightly better, but also it's not quite fair to say that about 2018, because I think in 2018, didn't know yet they were going to be that good. When 2018, when England made it to the last 4 for the first time since, gosh, what, since '90?

'90, yep.

And so that was a fun ride. And then it was less surprising last time. In fact, disappointing. How often can you say England disappointed with a quarterfinal run? Not often. But now here you are. Set the table, Rebecca.

Okay. Well, the table needs to be set from like a kind of giant perspective, especially for anyone watching or listening who, who's sort of new to football, new to England. Football in England runs through people's blood. Not everyone, but about 9 out of 10 people. And my entire life has been framed by England at either World Cups or European Championships. My entire mood of my entire life has been framed by how England do at those major tournaments. It takes me a long time to get over it every 2 years because there's never been any glory. The country continues to be desperate, and we go through this up and down situation in the 2 years between each tournament where we don't believe, and then something happens. And it's normally about now, a few days before the beginning of a tournament, when you just forget that you realistically are probably not going to win it, but you start hoping and dreaming and all those feelings. And the idea of seeing England win a World Cup is so beyond my comprehension.

Oh, you're already doing it to yourself, Rebecca. You're already doing it to yourself. The tournament hasn't even started yet.

Makes me emotional.

And they're another week away.

Why do I want it so, like, more than anything?

A little bit even more context, and this from an outsider's point of view. Way back in 2001, as I was just getting into football and particularly, like, diving into the history of it and, you know, really getting into English football quite a bit, I did a two-person comedy show at the Edinburgh a fringe festival, Mr. Seth Meyers. It was called Ironic Yanks. And the central conceit to the show was that the US would win the World Cup before England won it again. And here in 2026, technically speaking, still in play. But that's not the important part. The important part is my sort of— it was kind of like a rotating stand-up show. And my last stand-up bit was basically 5 solid minutes about how England not only loses, but loses as dramatically as possible, almost because it was more English to lose dramatically and depressingly than it was to actually win the thing. And while that is— there's still some argument to that, I got to say, at the very least, and this is a sign of progress, these last 3 tournaments— I know, um, last 4 tournaments, um, including the 2 European Championships— that's not England anymore.

England actually are coming in like expecting to win, and people wanting them to win.

And let me tell you why I think we might win.

Okay, okay.

So I did a bit of research Right. When you look up and down, I know, just to bring out the notes, by the way, can we just take a moment to look at how many notes I have on my desk and how few you have? I feel like you're the whole world of Johnny No Notes over there.

You are. Come on, I'm just more efficient.

So when you look at the England squad, it struck me that a lot of players are coming into this World Cup having won a trophy. English players don't win a lot of trophies. Case in point, 4 years ago, going into 2022 in Qatar, the World Cup, the England squad, between them, only 6 players had won at least one major trophy going in. This time, 15 of the England squad— there are 26 players— 15 of 26 have won at least one major trophy. Plus you also have players in there like Jordan Henderson, who didn't win a major trophy in the past season with Brentford, but has won major trophies in the past, has won the Premier League with Liverpool, has won the Champions League with Liverpool. And I just wonder, Brendan, whether the experience of going up there and lifting a trophy, of getting a medal around your neck, of being a winner, is going to shift the mindset. Not to mention, we have a winner as a manager in Thomas Tuchel, a German, which is another whole podcast, by the way, that a German is the manager of an England team. We're not touching on that right now.

Oh, I will.

Go on. We're touching on the fact that he is a winner. He wins wherever he is. So we have Thomas Tuchel as a winner. We have 15 out of 26 players who are winners, including others who have been winners in the past. In the past. And I just think maybe, maybe this time that will stand us in good stead to win the stinking World Cup. What do you think?

Well, the reason why I think they could win— let me get to in just a second here. Who, who would you say still today, not just historically but right now in this time, um, is England's number one football rival culturally?

Germany.

Germany. Germany. And historically also Germany. Germany. Yeah. And, uh, where is, where is the current head coach from?

From Germany.

And this is why I think England might actually win, because it could be. And folks, like, for decades now, there's been a rather uncouth sliver of English support that when they play Germany, sing some very rude songs that include lyrics like, "Two world wars, one World Cup, get it?" And have been so stridently anti-German. And like, now it's 2026 and a lot of that has cooled off. But nonetheless, it's still a rivalry and it would tickle me No end if it turned out that the missing piece for England, lo these 60 years, was a German coach.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

It's kind of—

it's kind of written.

It's irresistible.

Some people who are very anti-Thomas Tuchel would say there would be an asterisk next to if England won the World Cup under Thomas Tuchel. Not me, my friend. It would become Sir Thomas Tuchel. Get him to Buckingham Palace. ASAP and get him a knighthood.

Oh, German knight. That'd be fantastic. A German knight. Quick footnote, no foreign coach has ever won the World Cup. I know.

That's an incredible story. That's an incredible stat.

I'm shocked by that too. I didn't realize that till this week. Given that it's rather in vogue now, like, it's shocking to me. I know.

That concerns me.

Give me a little bit of nuts and bolts though. Why will they— not just these cultural and narrative forces, why on the pitch do they have a shot?

Harry Kane's coming off the best season of his life. Harry Kane is our striker, he's our captain, he's 32, he's 33 at the end of the World Cup. And often players peak in football age 28, but he is actually peaking age 32.

He really is.

Absolute perfect timing. He's also— what a guy, what a guy.

Loves American football.

Loves America, don't we all? Loves American football. He is Literally, I'm not sure he's ever put a foot wrong in his life. Well, no, no, no, off the pitch, I mean.

Oh, got it, got it, got it.

We don't have to talk about missed penalties. Brendan, you're back. And so he's just a good, solid, wholesome egg. You know what I mean? Harry Kane, couldn't ask for a better person to lead the England team. We have an array of fantastic talent. Bukayo Saka on the right plays for Arsenal, just coming off the Premier League victory. Didn't have his most brilliant season for Arsenal, but he's just His baseline is brilliance, right? I also talk about this all the time. I would like to put him in my pocket. Can I? I love Bukayo Saka.

I was going to ask you, how concerned are you about Saka? Because I am, of course, an Arsenal fan. I love me some Saka. Yeah, he did not have a great season. And my worries are that his injuries that he suffered last season have affected him in a longer-term way. And I hope to God that's not true. And he got injured again this season. When he came back, he had like one really good game.

Yeah, the West Ham game.

And he looked like his old self. But, but generally, like, he's— every time he tries to do that move where he comes in, uh, onto his left foot, it's getting blocked every single time. Like, there's, there's a timing issue, um, in him is what it looks like to me.

I am a little concerned, I'm not gonna lie. If it, if it had been this time last year, I would have been a little more positive. But I also think he's a big game player. Yeah, he has a big game mentality, so I, I put my trust in him. On the left, we have either Marcus Rashford, who's looking good and who Thomas Tuchel loves, and who's been on loan at Barcelona, has had a really good season, or we have Anthony Gordon, who by by the way, side note, has just joined Barcelona, which is interesting because Marcus Rashford is now returning to Manchester United because that's where he was coming from on loan. Anthony Gordon, who can speak fluent Spanish, which nobody knew. He grew up in Liverpool and not many people in England can speak fluent anything, right?

Barely English.

Correct. And he has signed for Barcelona saying it was his absolute dream to play for Barcelona and that's why he can now speak fluent Spanish because he's been practicing for years. By the way, I mean, that's amazing.

It is amazing. It'd be more amazing if he learned Catalan, but yes, it's amazing.

True. But I do think somebody like Anthony Gordon, he is ruthless in, in his preparation. I mean, you don't go and learn another language because your dream is to move to that country unless you are laser-focused. He has an amazing way of, of approaching games. He does a lot of meditation, yoga, visualization. Love him, right? Anthony Gordon could be a name we talk about a lot this World Cup. We have a good goalkeeper in Jordan Pickford. Our defense might be a little suspect because I'm not sure that Mark Gay alongside Ezri Konsa or John Stones, who are the two— who are the three center-halves that that really you're picking from is strong enough. It depends. John Stones has hardly played any football, but Ezri Konsa has just won a trophy with Aston Villa. Full-backs is okay. Nico O'Reilly, we'll talk about him again, I know. Reece James.

He had an amazing season.

He had an amazing season for Manchester City. Reece James at right-back is injury-prone. But then you've got this midfield. You've got this beautiful midfield.

Heck of a midfield.

Oh, Declan Rice. Come on. Also, Declan, what a guy. I mean, another one I could just put in my pocket. I just adore him. And Elliot Anderson next to him is a silent assassin of brilliance. So, I mean, I've pretty much— we haven't even mentioned Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rodgers. So with my analysis there of the England team, that is a World Cup winning team. But I've said that before.

You have said this before, but I truly believe it is truer now than it has ever been. And like, it's been 2 good World Cups in a row. But this does feel like their best situation and not a difficult group. But oh boy, there's some, there's some, there's some challenges ahead of them. If they, if they win out, for example, and they could end up having to play Mexico in Mexico. How do we think that group's going to go?

Okay, so we're going to do top, top 2.

Top 2.

England are going to come top. I got Ghana second.

Really? Yeah. I think Ghana are the worst team in the group. Do you? Because Panama have been having like what is for Panama a bit of a golden generation. And I, and even the last last time they played England in the World Cup, they lost 6-1. Um, I think they end up finishing third, and which means they could— they could merely could make it to the round of 32. We'll explain the third place situation later, but I think it's England-Croatia. And also, I'm going to be at the England-Croatia game, so, um, uh, fireworks. Yeah.

So what we're going to do is we're going to just very quickly whip around each group, skipping over Group F for now. We'll explain why later. Do you want to just get things kicked off, Brendan?

We got Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, and, uh, Czechia. Czechia, one of several countries, uh, since we were born have changed their name ever so slightly to make it just a little bit confusing. Apparently they'll tell you they were called Czechia all the time, and they weren't. They were Czechoslovakia actually, and then they were the Czech Republic. Anyway, Czechia. Um, I think, uh, Mexico wins this group. They've got one of the best home fields in the world, and, uh, of course Mexico is hosting some of the World Cup, and all of Mexico's group stage games will be in Mexico. And I think, uh, Korea and, uh, Son Heung-min of Los Angeles Football Club. Anyway, I think it's going to go, uh, Mexico, South Korea, but I, but I'd be, uh, but I'd be concerned about the Czechs because the secret one for the Czechs, one of the tallest teams in tournament. Are they? Yeah. And South Korea, famously not that tall.

Good stat, good knowledge that. I'm gonna go also though with Mexico and South Korea in the 1 and 2 spots. Mexico are unbeaten in 2026. They are also the only team— they're the only team to have hosted a World Cup 3 times. Okay, the previous 2 World Cups in '70 and '86, they reached the quarterfinals, which was their best ever showing. That home home field advantage for me, although there is a school of thought that Mexico could have played in the United States and also felt at home, right, in terms of the home support being in the US, what it is for Mexico. But being at Azteca Stadium, which we're not allowed to call Azteca Stadium, we have to call it Mexico City Stadium— I need to get that into my brain— they could have a good World Cup and reach the quarterfinals with that home support. So for me, Mexico and then South Korea. I agree.

One last thing on Mexico, my favorite thing about this is their coach, uh, Javier Aguirre, who has coached them before and played for them before, um, he, he took them into like a military-style training camp for like a month before this even started. There was an agreement between the Mexican team and the Mexican league to let players who had been called up to the World Cup squad out of their Mexican league obligations. Like, some people were going to a final and they weren't allowed to play because it had been pre-agreed they were going to go to this camp.

That doesn't sound fun.

It doesn't sound fun at all, but it also makes me think Mexico's going to kick some fucking ass. At least as far as their round of 16 match. And if they get pasty old England in that hot Mexican sun, we'll see what happens.

Group B. Yep. Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland. Canada, right? What interests me about Canada is Jesse Marsh. It's the Jesse Marsh story. The Jesse Marsh, 'I should have been the USA manager, I'll take Canada instead,' loves a quote, loves a little soundbite. And I kind of love him. I mean, I've interviewed him a lot of times, and I just love the cut of his jib. I find him brilliant to listen to. Only problem is that they've been in 2 World Cups, they've not won a game, they've only ever scored 1 goal by one of their own players, another goal was an own goal, and I'm not sure they've got that many goals in them.

Yeah, and I don't know that their home field advantage is going to be quite so formidable as Mexico's. I think on paper, Switzerland is unequivocally the best team in this group. And, you know, shout out Ganesh Chakraborty. But I also love Jesse Marsh. He's so wonderfully pugnacious. He's going to be the coach of the US someday. He's going to be great.

Do you think? I don't know. I think that ship has sailed.

It depends on how many bridges he's burned. But yeah. You know, those, uh, those boardrooms tend to, tend to rotate, and, and he's still a pretty young coach. Um, so I think, uh, Switzerland will, uh, win the group, but Canada, uh, will narrowly finish second and make it to the next round.

I agree with exactly that. Switzerland 1, Canada 2. Right, let's move on to Group C. This is an interesting group. This is, I think, is my favorite group. Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland. Brazil I think Brazil.

Here's the thing on Brazil. Okay. They're not the best on paper right now, and they haven't been for a while. They haven't won since 2002, which is a very long time for Brazil to go without winning a World Cup. But they have perhaps the best coach in the world, Carlo Ancelotti. But we've established, of course, that foreign coaches do not win the World Cup. And Carlo is famously Italian. But as a coach, he has won almost everything that there is to win, definitely on the club side. And he won a ton as a player too. But he's not ever won a World Cup either way. He's the kind of coach who looks at what the team is. Like, what do we got? And that's how we're gonna play. So he has said, all right, we're gonna play a front four. They're gonna play a 4-2-4, not his go-to style because of the players he has at his disposal. And A, I love when coaches do that. They don't come in with their own, like, orthodox, we're doing it my way type of thing. And also, most importantly, Ancelotti coached Vinícius Júnior at Real Madrid, where they won everything they could win together.

And Vinícius Júnior has never been quite the player for Brazil as he's been for Real Madrid. And so Ancelotti is largely hired to make that happen. And also, finally, there's been two previous times when the World Cup has been in North America, in Mexico, 1970— sorry, three times. Mexico, 1970. Who wins that World Cup? Hmm, Brazil. And then in 1986, Argentina wins. And that's important because it looks like South American teams might have a bit of an advantage in North America because then in '94, Brazil wins there as well when it's in the United States. So Brazil might have more going for them than they seem to on paper. And I'll tell you one more thing. People are excited about Morocco because they were in the last four and they are, technically speaking, current African champions. But But teams who have that big breakout World Cup, as they did in Qatar in 2022, don't usually match it the next World Cup around. So I'm a little more down on Morocco than most people are. Yeah.

And they also just changed their manager a few months ago. They're a team in transition. So I'm with you on Brazil, and I actually think people are too down on Brazil. I'm going to go Brazil top, Scotland second.

Whoa!

I know. Whoa! Did I tell you that I am actually, I think, half Scottish, maybe a quarter? I can never quite get that right.

You think maybe half?

Yeah. Hang on. I can never— Ask! My dad was born in Scotland. What does that mean?

That makes you half Scottish.

There we go. Well, well, I'm going to go with them for Chris, for Chris Lowe.

Wow. If there's one game I wish I could be at, well, there's two in this group. Brazil-Morocco would just be a fantastic game and also like tell us so much about them. I think that's the first game of the group. But also Brazil-Scotland will be the best game to be in the stands for in this entire World Cup. Okay.

We're going to have to speed up because there's a lot of groups to get through, guys. So we're going to very quickly touch on Group D because we've already talked US, but just give me your order of 1 and 2 for Group D.

USA and Turkey, because I think by the time USA plays plays Turkey, they will not need a win to win the group.

I agree with you. USA, Turkey, 1 and 2. Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador. I think Germany might struggle. I'm not sure, having watched them play the United States at the weekend, wasn't that impressed. Think Ecuador could be bloody good, and actually I have Ecuador finishing top of that group. Same. Do you? Same. With Germany second?

Ivory Coast second.

Oh yeah, I don't— I could see that too. I could see that too, because Germany just Not all that.

Not all that. But they, but they sometimes when they come in, not all that, that's when they surprise the most.

Well, that's true. We're skipping over Group F for now because we'll come back to that shortly and I'll explain why. Group G, Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand. Trying to get excited by this group, Brendan, struggling to, if I'm honest.

Not the most fun group. Belgium are not the Belgium of old, and really the Belgium of old didn't do all that great. They finished third, two World Cups ago. But right now they kind of feel like they're Doku and nobody else. Doku. Jeremy Doku, who plays for Man City and has had an incredible season, and he is unstoppable on the unless you just put two dudes on them. And then I don't know what else Belgium has to offer right now.

I agree. I've just written down Jeremy Doku. He could be the breakout star at this World Cup, become himself a household name. Um, it's a difficult one to call. I'm gonna go Belgium to win it just because I think the weakness of Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand is, is blazingly obvious. Belgium to win it, Egypt to come second. Agree. Okay, Spain are in Group H. Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay.

Spain, your reigning European champions. Lamine Yamal. Is he fit? Is he fit?

Does it matter if he's fit for the first game?

I don't think it does. For the first game, no. And for the group, no. But for their—

I think he'll be fit past the knockout stages. Yeah, for the knockout stages. You don't think?

I feel like there have been times before where like a big famous player has come into the World Cup and like, oh, he's not fit yet, but he'll get fit. Oh, we've had that. See David Beckham, but not—

David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane. Quite a few for England.

Yeah. And it never works out. And he's a lot younger and I dare say better than any of those players. But if he's not fit, I have my doubts about Spain, but not for getting out of this group. I think it's Spain and Uruguay, but I do think Cape Verde will finish in third.

Do you think they'll get a point?

I think they'll get more than a point. Do you?

Do you think they'll win a game?

I think they'll beat Saudi Arabia.

First-timers winning a game. I flippin' love that. Okay, I mean, to be honest, I think they take a point right now just to get a point at a World Cup final. It would be thrilling. If they win a game, oh, the scenes. Okay, Group A. Group F, another really good group. France, Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. Now France, for me, is all about— I mean, it's all about a lot of players, of course. Mbappé, you could start with. For me, it's Ryan Schurke and Michael Olisée, two players who I am quite literally in love with.

It's the best front three in this entire World Cup. Olisée, Mbappé, reigning World Player of the Year Ousmane Dembélé.

But Schurke off the bench.

Schurke off the bench. But, uh, I got my doubts about France. France? I have concerns about France. Yeah, we'll get to them a little bit later.

They're like the favorites.

We're going to talk a little bit about— I know, I know, but I have concerns. I think Norway will have an absolutely barn-burning group stage and not go much further than that. Senegal, who will tell you that they are the reigning African champions, very difficult. Also, Senegal's first ever game in a World Cup was 2002. They were playing reigning champion France and they beat them 1-0 in one of the most amazing upsets in World Cup history. I remember that game very vividly. So this is a tough group for France, and I have them finishing third. Third? Yeah. Senegal, Norway, France. Third? Yeah, I know, I know. And by the way, predictions are bullshit. We're crazy. What we're trying to do is a ridiculous World Cup. Why are we doing this in the first place? So I'm going to make some crazy ones. I got France coming in third.

Okay. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Okay. I have them finishing top but not by much from Norway. I think Norway— I agree with you. I think, I think they have a, have a great group stage, and we'll get on to Norway a little bit later as well. And Senegal will come third, and Senegal will definitely qualify. Okay, Group J. Group J is Argentina— all the A's— Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. Argentina, for me, defending champions. I think people are not really talking about them very much, and I know that's crazy to say about a team with Lionel Messi in it, but they've got a a really good team still. A lot of players still from that 2022 World Cup. You've got a great goalkeeper, Emi Martínez. You've got Romero at the back. You've got Enzo, uh, Fernández in midfield. Mac Allister has not had a great season for Liverpool, but he's a good player in midfield. He's won the World Cup. He has experience. Julián Álvarez up top is a different Julián Álvarez than he was 4 years ago. Lautaro Martínez has goals in him. I just think because no one repeats World Cup— I mean, the last team to repeat was in 1958 to '62, right?

No, and I think Italy in the '30s. No one else has two Peets. Did they say that?

I think you go with repeat.

Repeat.

Got it. Yeah. That's kind of the etymology of three-peat.

We didn't do three-peat in England, so I learned that when I came over to America. Anyway, more about the English and American ways of doing soccer a little later on. I think we're sleeping on them. They're going far. They're winning this group easily.

And yet also, I believe France was the first reigning champion at the last World Cup who made it out of the group stage in something like 4 consecutive World Cups. So it's not a gimme that the returning champion comes in and, and has the right go. Having said that, yes, I think this group is too easy for them to not win, and so I go Argentina and Austria narrowly over Algeria.

I agree. And Group K: Portugal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan, and Colombia. That for me is a Portugal 1, a Colombia 2, and it's impossible, quite literally impossible, to ever have a conversation about Portugal without talking about the main man, CR CR9? CR7. I just mix him up with Ronaldo.

The very, the very specific reason why we have that whole nickname in the first place, and you just blew it out of the water. Um, yeah, he'll be 40 years old. He is 40 years old. 41 years old. I think he will not be starting every game. There's just no way he'll be able to do that. And, um, his presence can be a liability. Remember in the last World Cup, or was it the last Euros, at one point he was taken off for Gonzalo Ramos, who who promptly had a hat trick. Like, Portugal are so deep that he is kind of the, for you basketball fans, like the Carmelo Anthony black hole of the offense, where the ball comes to him, it's not coming back out. And sometimes that pays off, but he's 41 years old.

What's really interesting is just a couple days ago, Lionel Scaloni, the head coach of Argentina, said, "Look, I don't make a decision about this team unless I go through Lionel Messi." And he was very clear that Messi essentially is managing that team. He owned it. Roberto Martinez doesn't say that, but you get the sense that's also going on in the Portugal camp as well. The difference is that I think Messi's in a— he's younger, but he's also— I don't know, I just feel like he can have more of an impact. I'm nervous about Cristiano Ronaldo, I really am, um, and it all becoming about him when they have one of the best midfields, if not the best midfield at this World Cup. Okay, we are finishing with Group F, and the reason is, for viewers and listeners, uh, of previous After the Whistles, we have always done a Dutch in 60 because Brendan loves himself some Netherlands.

It's where I learned to love football.

It is. So the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia. Another really tasty looking group. Dutch in 60, let's go.

Okay, I'm usually blindly optimistic about Haaland, and we know this from previous times. But here's the thing, I'm not this time. I'm just not. Because for this nation that is a nation of Robin van Persie and Dennis Bergkamp and Johan Neeskens and Johan Cruyff, I mean, come on. We still have Memphis Depay. Memphis Depay is leading the line and has been since 2014. Where have all the strikers gone? And this concerns me greatly. And let's see, but in the friendlies, not Not very encouraging either. Lost to Algeria, barely beat Uzbekistan. Japan gonna be very tricky, Sweden gonna be very tricky. I'm so bummed Yourián Timber's not gonna make it. He was a late injury scratch. He's so fun to watch for Arsenal. So I'm very, very concerned overall. But here's the thing, you know what they got right, Rebecca, which they don't often do? The vibes. The vibes right now are on point between Virgil van Dijk and Frenkie de Jong. Like, the vibes are right, and vibes can sometimes take you far.

And they follow the boss. Bus. That's what I so love.

I'm going to go to Holland, Japan. I'm going to follow the bus for the first time.

Are you really?

I'm so excited.

Can't wait to see that.

Okay. But I do have them winning the group, narrowly over Japan, Sweden third.

I think Sweden might surprise us. Oh gosh. But then again, Japan. No, I'm going to go with you. Netherlands. No, I'm going to go with Japan.

Japan.

Japan won.

Netherlands. It's not crazy.

Netherlands Sweden to run them very close and qualify in third place. Okay, we whipped around, we are done.

Hey, great job with the whipping around, right?

This is After the Whistle presented by Apple News. We'll be back in just a minute.

Rebecca, the World Cup's coming up in a couple of days, and I for one cannot wait.

I have a countdown clock in my hotel room. Literally? Yeah, yeah, seconds, minutes, hours, days. Let's go!

I'm impressed.

We all wish that we could get as close as possible to the action of these amazing games.

And no one gets you closer than Verizon.

In fact, Verizon is giving away thousands of free match tickets coast to coast just for being a Verizon customer. And some lucky customers are even getting pitchside access, meaning they'll watch a portion of the gameplay up close from the field.

Now, it's one thing to go to a World Cup match like that already in and of itself is a bit of a lifetime dream. But, but you can kick it up a notch theoretically by actually being pitchside.

Yeah. Meters away from your heroes. Seeing football that close, by the way, is a whole nother experience. Because you appreciate it more. You see the speed of play and you see how bloomin' good these players really are. Not a Verizon customer? It's not too late to switch. Bring in your AT&T, T-Mobile, Spectrum, or Xfinity bill for a better deal.

Must provide very recent postpaid consumer mobile bill in the name of the person redeeming the deal. Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply.

No one gets you closer to the FIFA World Cup than Verizon.

Okay, welcome back. We are now gonna get into the part that Rebecca and I always look so forward to, which was where we, we debase ourselves with predictions. Predictions, which are, of course, folly in any tournament, but particularly a 48-team tournament with a very complicated third-place structure that we will get to later. So we're going to go through a few things that we think. We will land on who we think we each have as our top 4. But the first thing we're going to get to is who do we think is a big team most likely to have a shocking early exit?

Well, I think I know who you're going to go for. Fair. You're going to go for—

France.

I find this That's staggering. Okay, can I just remind everybody watching, joint favorites, some, for some people it's Spain, for some people it's France, but most people have France winning the World Cup or Spain based on the fact that they have a squad which quite literally could field two teams at this World Cup and go on to win it. Either of them could. And you have them crashing out when?

Uh, it depends on, on how things shake out, but I think, um, in the first two knockout rounds. Because? Because, okay, all right, so admittedly I'm just going on like, uh, culture here a little 'Cause yeah, they were the last World Cup runner-up. Before that, they won the World Cup. They've had the same coach the whole time, the great Didier Deschamps, who was a European champion and world champion as a player. There should be no reason why things fall apart. I got a couple reasons. One is France's first game is against Senegal. Senegal's first ever game in the World Cup was in the 2002 World Cup. They played champion France, again, world champion and European champion France, and Senegal, former French colony, Italy won the game 1-0, um, one of the biggest upsets in the history of the World Cup. And now here comes Senegal again, and a better Senegal than it was then. Now mind you, Senegal is technically your African, uh, continent runner-up right now, as they were in 2002, but they are much more, um, they're not as out of nowhere this time as they were in 2002. And so I think that's a bellwether a little bit.

Now also, um, France France, they tend to have a tournament where it all goes to shit and it happens out of nowhere. 2010. 2010 is what comes to mind specifically. 2010, there's literally a documentary about it, go check it out. The players go on strike at one point, their manager makes his choices based on astrology. It's a whole thing. And they were super deep then, Thierry Henry was still on that team. And so it just feels to me like France is due. And also the category is a shocking early exit. And like, none of the major ones would be that shocking. Like Argentina, again, you know, like champions hangover. Brazil, we're not that excited about. Germany, still very young. Spain, I can't quite pull the trigger on that. And I don't think England will be it either. If Holland doesn't go through, Holland's not going to be that big a surprise. So for shocking early exit nominee, and again, predictions are folly, what the fuck do I know? I go France.

That is the headline of the pod, by the way. France going out and finishing third in their group. You're right, I struggled with this one. Because Germany, if they go out early, is not a huge shock because they've not been the Germany that we're so used to. But I've got to go with— I'm going with two names because I'm kind of not— neither of them are massive shocks. Germany would be one. I think they're gonna— I think they're gonna be out early. And I think Belgium are. And Belgium, I know, are not a huge crazy shocking early exit, but based on the last 10 years, Belgium— and they have a couple of players still there, and we know Doku's gonna, I think, set the World Cup on fire to an extent. But I don't think there's enough around him. So I'm going to go with Germany or Belgium, which are relatively boring compared to yours.

Okay. Real quick on Belgium, why I think that's a good shout is like these small countries, we forget, you know, Holland, Belgium, Croatia, very small countries. Like they're not perennially good. They have windows. Like sometimes Holland even just straight up doesn't qualify. And it does kind of feel to me like Belgium's window has passed.

Yes. Yes. Dark horse team. Teams. Who have you got, dark horse?

Um, one that you mentioned already, and I'm— I also am going to ride the fence here with two teams, but, um, uh, I think Colombia have an excellent chance, um, because I think the South American teams will do well in this World Cup, and I'm not that excited about Brazil or Argentina. And I think Ecuador— I think Ecuador, um, people forget they didn't have a terrible World Cup before, and when they would do well in previous World Cups, it was always because there was someone named Valencia It could be different guy in Valencia every time, but they're more variegated now. They have a little more going on. And so I think Ecuador could have a good run here.

They have Enner Valencia, who is still representing the Valencias nicely with Ecuador. I'm going to— I think I'm going to go to with everything. I'm going to— I'm going Japan because they beat England. They looked really good. Their attitude to life I just love. But I also feel their attitude to this World Cup is quite refreshing. So many teams will be thinking, oh, maybe if we could just get to the quarterfinals, that'll be a nice checkbox and we'll have done well. They are coming to win the World Cup. I'm also going with the United States.

Oh, Rebecca!

I know!

Oh, I know! Oh, I didn't know it was coming. It's so pure.

Well, this is— here, go on. This is why I tried to explain to the viewers last time out where I tell the producers to keep us apart because we can't help but talk football whenever we see each other. So we have to keep ourselves apart, otherwise we'll end up telling each other our predictions because we just like to chat. I know, look at your little face.

Go on, Rebecca, justify your— is this crazier than me saying France will crash out? Go on, go on.

I don't think it is. No, it's definitely not. Because I think, because I, having lived here for so long now and love the way Americans love football and love the way Americans love sport, and I I think that if they win their first— It's kind of based on if they win their first game. They win their first game, the feeling in this country as they get further in the tournament, if they continue to do well, I think will be unlike anything we've ever seen. Anything we've ever seen. We talked about this a little bit in the first episode. I just think they've got enough players that people don't know about who can—

Mm-hmm.

Who can hold their own, and more than hold their own. And also, I think people make fun of America America and, and their football team, and I don't think they should. I think they're better, and Maurizio Pochettino is a winner. US Men's National Team, dark horse. I actually had a dream that they reached the semi-finals. Okay, let's move on. Um, we— I know you'll— you love me now.

This is the best.

You loved me before, didn't you?

But you do. My entire life, I've had 2 children and I've been married twice. This is the best day.

Which host team will go furthest? Obviously for me, that's the United States because they're my dark horse. They're going all the way to the quarterfinals at least. You?

Yeah, I USA goes furthest. I think Canada will go the least far. Yeah, but I think all three of them get out of that group, and that's, that's impressive. Golden Boot, uh, Harry Kane. Can't, can't think much further than that, frankly.

Harry Kane for me. Erling Haaland is my very close second because I think either Norway are gonna not do much or he's gonna be— he's gonna light it up. And if he lights it up, everyone's in trouble.

Uh, Rebecca, let me take you back to 1994 where the Golden Boot was shared by, uh, semi- finalist Hristo Stoichkov of Bulgaria, but also, uh, Oleg Solenko of Russia, who scored 5 goals in 1 group stage game to get a snag of the Golden Boot, which is easily something Erling Haaland can do. You can absolutely picture him getting 9 goals in 3 group stage games and then being out but leaving with silverware.

And that's just the sort of thing he would do. Okay, now players to keep an eye on, slash the James Rodríguez Award is what we're calling this, because 2014, for anyone who doesn't remember, James James Rodríguez burst on the scene for Colombia and absolutely tore that World Cup apart. It became his. The 2014 World Cup was his World Cup. Maybe the less said about him now, the better. The Minnesota United player.

Still wearing number 10 for Colombia.

Still? Yeah. Who are you keeping an eye on? Who's the breakout?

Well, I have two here too, because I— but one of them is going to make you very happy because I think the spirit of this award is like, who's a young player we don't— people don't know about yet. So I think sometimes there's an older player, and I have an older player who is a Premier League player who I think people don't talk about, who I think was incredibly valuable for his team. They suffered without him. They did better when he was there. And that is Daniel Munoz, the Crystal Palace fullback. Yeah, Daniel Munoz, Crystal Palace wingback, I dare say, who, when Crystal Palace were having their bad stretches, he was not around. I know this because he was on my fantasy team, and when he's around, around, he's really important. I mean, everyone's going to be talking about Luis Diaz, and rightfully so, but Danny Muñoz is a guy in, I think, the Rodriguez category who was like, oh no, he's been around, you just don't know about him, but he could shine here.

That's a great shout. And you're right, he's in his late 20s. And you're— and I remember when he first—

I think he just turned 30.

Did he really? So you— when he came to Palace, I was like, who's this guy? Because if you sign a 27-year-old to go straight into the first team of a Premier League team, you're like, well, I should have heard of him. Yeah, nobody heard but they have now—

bloomer, very much late bloomer. And you're the one, um, uh, the youngest player in this tournament, uh, Gilberto Mora of Mexico, who if, if he doesn't have a breakout tournament now, still he's gonna haunt my dreams, uh, for the next 10 or 15 years because this kid is amazing and he's 17 years old. Um, he's been starting for Tijuana for, uh, 2 years already. He is dangerous, he's magic on the ball, and he's gonna— especially at a home tournament for him, he's, he's gonna, he's gonna have a big, big summer.

I think he'll play in game Thursday.

Yeah, can't wait.

Yeah, for sure. Absolutely. 17-year-old, what? This is crazy. I'm gonna go for 2 players, one of whom you'll be very happy with. My first one is Nico O'Reilly.

No, he's amazing.

He is amazing. Fullback but also can play midfield and plays for Manchester City. He's won 2 trophies this season and scores big goals in big moments. Very underassuming. Not somebody that you would straight away come to mind and say he's going to be the breakout star for England, but I think he might have a chance. My other player player is a little crazy. I'm not saying he's going to be a household name or the breakout star, but Sebastian Berhalter off the bench, all starting with a set piece, I think could make some headlines this World Cup. I think his work ethic is brilliant, his heritage obviously is brilliant. His dad, for anyone who doesn't know, was the former US men's national team manager Greg Berhalter, also a Crystal Palace legend. Played about 10 times, but we'll call him a legend. Berhalter probably isn't going start, but when you need a goal, put him on, he'll work hard for you, and he's got a, he's got a good set piece in him, a really good set piece in him. So I'm gonna go for him.

Um, and also Pochettino loves him. And as people were like, why is Tanner Tesman not here? Well, the reason is because Sebastian Berhalter has been rising through the ranks so much. That's a great shout, great shout.

Thanks. Okay, finally, let's talk about who are going to be our two semi-finalists, or four semi-finalists, our two semi-final games, a final, and a winner. Go.

I think your final 4 will be among England, Portugal, Colombia, and I'm gonna say it again, Ecuador. And I believe your final will be England and Portugal and England—

Sorry, hang on, say that again. Your final 4 will be England, Portugal, Colombia, and Ecuador. Obviously we know no France, no Spain. No. No Argentina.

No.

I kind of, that's a sexy little semi-final situation, isn't it? You did say this could be a wacky World Cup. I did.

I think it could be quite wacky.

And your final is who?

England and Portugal. England to win.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

No, you can't say that.

I can't. I don't like it. They win on penalties. It'll be narrow. It'll be at best 1-1, probably nil-nil. Everyone will be just dying of heat by then. But yeah, that's my final.

People get emotional, right?

And the World Cup's not just hockey.

Just from a prediction.

Why do we let—

I don't know.

I'm ready to have my heart broken again, as the saying goes. Who are your final 4?

Stupid, this game. Yeah, we're dumb. Um, I think the final form, very boring. Spain-France, one semi-final. England against Argentina. Oh, what's the final? That is second semi-final. England-France final, and England win. Have we both got England winning? This is too much for me.

I mean, here's why we have them winning, because they have a German coach.

Can I just say what—

correct.

Can I just say one thing? If England do win the World Cup, do I have to do the After the Whistle after that game? Because I'm not sure you're getting anything meaningful out of me other than tears, wailing, good wailing.

I can't wait.

And just like a general bewilderment at the world.

You'll be like the entire cast of Cheers after the last episode when they were on Carson that night and they were all absolutely disgustingly hammered, but you'll be one person who has drunk as much as all 10 of them. I cannot wait for this. One part of why it's not crazy about England is I think teams have to suffer before they make it. A lot of people think that. That's not new. News. And they, uh, they've not only suffered the last two World Cups with a semi-final and then an early quarterfinal by a rare Harry Kane penalty miss, but also they've lost the past two European finals. Like, they are— yeah, they are so ready to win a trophy. And so I think this is the time.

It's like the opposite of circling the drain when you get relegated. It's like circling the peak. We've been circling the peak. Is that— is that—

could that— that's an incredible analogy. I was about to make fun of you for that, but now I'm on board. It's good, right? Yeah, they've been circling the peak.

So that's England. And this is After the Whistle presented by Apple News. We're gonna be back in just a tick with some bits and bobs. This FIFA World Cup 2026, no one gets you closer than Verizon.

In fact, Verizon's giving their customers unmatched access to the FIFA World Cup with thousands of free tickets, meet and greets with soccer legends, and the once in a lifetime opportunity to watch a portion of the World Cup from the pitch.

All of that just for being a Verizon customer.

If you're not a Verizon customer, make the switch today. All right, folks, we are back. We're gonna wrap this up of what has been an action-packed and emotional episode with our— What are we gonna do here, Rebecca?

Well, it's Bits and Bobs, which isn't like news and notes.

No.

It's a different— What's the word for it?

Alliterative?

Correct. I knew you'd know that. It's basically what's getting you, you know? What are the other things that are floating around in your brain? So you go first, your first bit.

Folks, we're gonna talk about this third place thing. So as is traditional, the top 2 teams in every group will advance, but also 8 of the 12 third place teams will advance. And you can go look at what the tiebreakers are, but I think it's goal difference first and foremost. Points, points, then goal difference. But because of the way this is going to work, you might not know who is the 8th ranked of the 8 teams until the very last of the games. And how this works out is if you go— this is probably on FIFA's website too, but I always go to the Wikipedia page for World Cups because that's always the most information. There is a literal a literal pre-made matrix of something like 450 mathematical possibilities of what the 8 combinations could be. And it is preset then, like, if it's this combination, kind of like the NBA lottery, basically, if it's this combination, then it means it's this group. So teams might not know until 2 days before they have to get on a plane where they're actually going. Some teams might find out, you know, again, at the last kick of the last ball, the group stage, they thought for sure they were going one place and like, no, now they're going to the whole other part of the country, uh, playing a different team in different weather.

It's, it's kakamehameha. And, uh, and frankly, um, it's one of the reasons why I think, uh, 48-team World Cup is just too much. 32 was perfect.

I know, 32. Yeah, you're right. My one bit and bob, Brendan, is how I think we are all going to become overtaken, overwhelmed, and obsessed with the hydration breaks, which we are supposed to call cooling breaks, I think. So let's call them cooling breaks, even though it'll be quite cool in the stadiums with roofs, but the other stadiums, as we've discussed, not so cool. Here's why. You saw, many people saw Maurizio Pochettino get out his computer during the cooling breaks in the, in the friendlies just recently, and the players gathered around him. You also saw, and this is where it's interesting, a different performance after the cooling break than before, because of course Maurizio Pochettino is getting to see— and this applies not just to the US Men's National Team but to all the teams— the managers can scream as much as they want on the side, nobody's listening, especially not in these kind of massive stadiums. But he can then spot something in the first 22 and a half-ish minutes, show it to them on the laptop, or just verbally tell them about it. And as we've then seen, the next 22 and a half minutes, they can act upon that.

Now, of course, it can happen for the other team as well, but it can— it's going to become a game of quarters. Now, that is quite sacrilegious, by the way. Of course, in America, things are different. Quarters is often, right, NFL's quarters?

Uh, yeah, NFL's quarters, NBA's quarters, right?

And there's going to be, there's going to be some people. There's going to be some people, a lot of people, who are not going to like what they're calling the Americanization of soccer. Now let's just remind everybody, this isn't America choosing this, this is FIFA. But the cooling breaks are going to change everything, and we are going to start analyzing games, talking about— maybe not verbally yet, but saying the second half of the first half. Well, you're going to start saying the second quarter. Yeah. And this is a little crazy to me, and I think it's going to be a big part of this. What do What do you think?

I think the part that's interesting to me is soccer is the hardest to coach in-game. Coaches can have almost no impact during the course of a game, no matter how much Mikel Arteta might want to jump and scream on the sidelines. And this gives coaches a chance to have input and an effect on what's happening in a way they've never had before. And so I think you're spot on. And the way it gets talked about will be interesting. And I also agree, it's a little bit sacrilegious and I don't love it.

Neither do I. What's your other bulb?

Hey, I ordered jerseys a long time ago from Nike for my Netherlands jerseys and from US Soccer for my US jerseys. Like, uh, uh, where are they? Okay? Like, this happens every World Cup. Like, I didn't order them too late. I ordered them and I gave a long cushion. And, uh, why are these companies always surprised that people are ordering shirts? You made them for the World Cup. The World Cup is coming back. I want my shirts, Nike. I want my shirts, US Soccer.

Sorry, sorry, we're bringing your shipping issues to after the whistle.

Yeah, because it's every World Cup and I'm tired of it.

How many have you ordered?

Two of each.

Two of the US men's national team and the Netherlands? Yeah, well, one of—

well, two Netherlands are for me, one of for my wife, but also I ordered the little comic book they made, a little DC, uh, in the— and, uh, is DC or Marvel? I don't know, it's a little comic book. It's for my 5-year-old who doesn't like soccer yet. I'm trying to get him in somehow. Anyway, I ordered it weeks ago. The game's starting in 2 days.

Do you think, Brendan, it could be a problem that you've ordered 2 countries? Oh, you shouldn't be allowed.

Oh, is that what you think?

Well, I don't see me ordering whatever.

Whatever. The US is gonna surprise everyone. Whatever. I'm the one with one Passport.

That's a good shout. It's really easy though to get into both countries on two passports. I fully advise it. Okay, that's the bits and bobs for today. What about— you've got something coming up.

Yeah, hey folks, um, I do a thing called Elvis Prestello. It's an Elvis Presley impersonator who sings only Elvis Costello songs. And I've been doing it for a long time with good buddies. It's good fun, and we are playing this Thursday night, um, at the Troubadour. Um, uh, Elvis will take the stage after the end of the South Korea game. Um, but please do come by. Uh, it's always great, great fun and a great way to kick off the World Cup.

It's a big day Thursday.

It really is.

Beginning of the World Cup, and you're on stage. Yep.

Can't wait for that Mexico game. Once the ball is kicked, oh, everyone's mood is going to change, whether they care about Mexico or South Africa or not. Like, that's when it starts, and we are going to feel it, and I can't wait.

Bring it on, folks!

We are on socials everywhere. Look for @AfterTheWhistleApple on Instagram and TikTok. And when you're on there, uh, review us or like us or stuff like that, the, you know, trigger the algorithms, uh, into getting people's eyes onto us, please.

You can actually watch us now, Brendan, as well, because we're on video. Yeah, on Apple Podcasts and also on YouTube with the grass on the wall. And for round-the-clock— now you've got me touching it— for round-the-clock tournament news, scores, standings, check out the World Cup Hub on the Apple News app. It's really good. Where available.

We're so close, Rebecca.

I know. We're so close. We're hours away. Do you know that?

You know, and finally, we can do episodes that are reactive rather than having to pretend I know anything about anything.

Can I just make one thing clear for everybody listening? I think there might have been one or two swear words today. That is going to be probably the lowest count moving forward. Oh yeah, Brendan, because, you know, I've been quite surprised at the fewest— the few number. But as we move through the football tournament, yeah, it's gonna be a lot of swearing.

The curse words are directly proportionate to the emotions. Yes.

I'm okay with it.

Thank you.

I'll never swear though, because I'm British. We don't swear.

Oh boy. This is After the Whistle from Apple News. Thank you for listening.