England Scrape through to the round of 16

Plenty of debate around Harry Kane’s legacy, whether he needed to leave Spurs, and what England would possibly do without him. We then look across the knockout games so far, including Belgium’s dramatic comeback against Senegal, the USA’s chances against Belgium, France looking terrifying, Spain starting to click, Portugal’s Ronaldo dilemma, Croatia’s tournament know-how, Germany and the Netherlands going out on penalties, Japan’s unlucky exit, and the strange feeling of a 32-team knockout round. Finally, we preview some of the next big fixtures, including Argentina vs Cape Verde, Australia vs Egypt, Paraguay vs France, Canada vs Morocco, Brazil vs Norway and, of course, Mexico vs England. Please like and subscribe for more World Cup specials 00:00 Intro attempt and restart 00:19 World Cup knockout special begins 00:52 Glen survives England’s Great Escape 01:15 Suneil joins the podcast 01:36 England coming home… or just coming home early? 01:41 World Cup fever and awkward UK kick-off times 02:26 Watching England vs Panama with friends 03:38 Australia’s kinder World Cup viewing times 03:59 Knockout-stage kick-off pain 04:21 Suneil on watching England vs DR Congo live 04:48 Congo take the lead and England struggle 05:10 DR Congo keeper has a blinder 05:41 Half-time interviews and England starting slowly 06:11 Hydration breaks and Infantino’s four-quarter football dream 07:04 Player welfare vs advert-friendly breaks 07:51 Are Australian TV channels showing ads during hydration breaks? 08:32 ITV, Emma Hayes and actual football analysis 09:02 Did England need the Congo scare? 09:22 Was Ghana already the wake-up call? 09:52 Mexico at the Azteca preview 10:33 Why England must start fast against Mexico 10:47 Kane, Bellingham and England’s spine 11:18 Bellingham in hostile atmospheres 11:40 Brad Friedel on Mexico and altitude 12:36 Mexico vs USA rivalry and bias 12:45 England’s defensive problems 13:25 Rice at right-back and lack of cohesion 13:41 England missing Reece James and Trent 14:11 Jed Spence, Madueke and the right-side issue 14:47 Should Jed Spence stay deeper against Mexico? 15:12 Spence blamed for Congo’s goal 15:43 Madueke’s defensive awareness questioned 15:47 Why not start Saka? 16:24 Even an unfit Saka offers more 16:40 England’s midfield setup against Congo 17:03 Should Kobbie Mainoo get minutes? 17:29 DR Congo’s danger and Wissa’s quality 18:04 Harry Kane’s second goal 18:35 Celebrating Kane without waking the kids 18:53 What would England do without Kane? 19:11 The lack of young English strikers behind Kane 20:09 Kane looks sharp and fit 20:23 Kane passes Pelé and reaches another milestone 20:39 Did Kane need to leave Tottenham? 21:07 Kane playing with better quality around him 22:03 Kane leaving Spurs with the fans’ blessing 22:23 Belgium vs Senegal drama 23:23 Belgium’s ageing squad and US chances 24:32 Suneil catches Belgium’s comeback late 25:06 Can the USA beat Belgium? 25:21 France look scary good 26:29 France’s ridiculous attacking depth 27:01 Rabiot and Digne still getting picked 27:22 Spain start to click 27:54 Is this France’s tournament to lose? 28:00 Portugal vs Croatia preview 28:23 The Ronaldo dilemma 28:32 Suneil on Ronaldo’s role for Portugal 29:27 Ronaldo changing how Portugal play 29:45 Ronaldo as a late-game weapon 30:28 Croatia and Modric’s tournament know-how 30:53 Germany and Netherlands go out on penalties 31:31 Germany’s decline 32:13 Paraguay playing to their strengths 32:42 Japan unlucky to go out 33:07 Japan exposing Brazil’s weaknesses 33:27 Expanded World Cup creating brutal early knockouts 33:43 The weirdness of a 32-team knockout round 34:15 Premier League pre-season already looming 34:30 Spurs pre-season and missing World Cup players 35:06 Scotland’s painful exit permutations 35:48 Cape Verde’s incredible story 36:14 Argentina vs Cape Verde preview 36:36 World Cup controversy vs great football stories 37:04 Trying to get the Cape Verde mayor on the podcast 37:43 Could Cape Verde shock Argentina? 38:15 Casual fans getting invested in Cape Verde 38:34 Big Saturday of World Cup football 38:45 Remaining knockout fixtures 39:06 Australia vs Egypt could be a good game 39:19 Paraguay vs France and Canada vs Morocco 39:34 Brazil vs Norway and Mexico vs England 40:06 Where Graeme will watch England vs Mexico 40:59 Pre-season kick-off pain incoming 41:19 Suneil’s final thoughts 41:30 Squeaky bum time 41:56 Cape Verde as the FA Cup underdog story 42:25 Outro — like, subscribe and come on England