2026 FIFA World Cup

PFT Commenter argued the final would have been more entertaining had Argentina conceded early.

“If they had given up a goal in the first 20 minutes, I feel like that could have been like a 3-2 game”

Pardon My Take: Titans HC Robert Saleh, Spain Wins The World Cup, Ryan Fox Wins The Open And Bryson Melts Down + Mt Rushmore Of Animals You Want To Get Drunk With (Jul 20, 2026) · Listen from 6:11

PFT Commenter criticizes stadiums reinstalling artificial turf after the World Cup as disrespectful to players.

“It's such a slap in the face to every player that plays on the stadiums where it's like, yeah, they could put grass down for a month if they really wanted to”

Pardon My Take: Tony Romo, Conor McGregor Blows Out His Knee, The World Cup Is All Blue Bloods + Mt Rushmore Of Guys You Want To See Ride A Horse (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 44:20

PFT Commenter predicts a France–Argentina World Cup final.

“And so I think we're on a collision course for France and Argentina”

Pardon My Take: Tony Romo, Conor McGregor Blows Out His Knee, The World Cup Is All Blue Bloods + Mt Rushmore Of Guys You Want To See Ride A Horse (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 23:29

PFT Commenter calls a World Cup played in American time zones the best tournament in sports.

“The World Cup, when it's in your time zone and you can watch it at the time that God meant you to watch sports, there's no better tournament in the world than this”

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Twellman argued Brazil has lost its aura since 2014 and now plays scared rather than beautiful football.

“They don't play beautiful anymore. No, they play scared”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 2:32:44

Twellman predicted England would beat Norway in the quarterfinal, while warning Norway had momentum.

“My professional soccer opinion, I think England beats them. think they're a better team than norway overall”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 2:34:35

Twellman predicted a repeat World Cup final between France and Argentina.

“I think we're going to a repeat, guys. I do. I think it's France against Argentina”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 2:31:17

Twellman said France develops players broadly and lets surplus talent play for other nations, a model he suggested the U.S. copy.

“And then they throw their fishing net out and see who wants to come. And then the other ones go play for other countries”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 2:30:15

Katz predicted Spain would also win the next European Championship.

“They won the World Cup. They're probably going to win the Euro in two years”

Pardon My Take: Titans HC Robert Saleh, Spain Wins The World Cup, Ryan Fox Wins The Open And Bryson Melts Down + Mt Rushmore Of Animals You Want To Get Drunk With (Jul 20, 2026) · Listen from 4:57

Katz argued Spain won by smothering opponents through possession and pressing.

“They are a boa constrictor. They just lull you to death, slowly, slowly just keep the ball”

Pardon My Take: Titans HC Robert Saleh, Spain Wins The World Cup, Ryan Fox Wins The Open And Bryson Melts Down + Mt Rushmore Of Animals You Want To Get Drunk With (Jul 20, 2026) · Listen from 4:17

Dan Katz criticizes FIFA's tiebreaker changes for producing meaningless group-stage finales.

“I thought that FIFA changing the tie-breaking rules the way they did is so stupid”

Pardon My Take: Caleb Williams, Joel Klatt, USMNT Loses To Turkey, National Sports Podcast Rapid Fire, Mt Rushmore Of Household Appliances + Fyre Fest Of The Week (Jun 26, 2026) · Listen from 12:05

Katz criticized the new head-to-head group tiebreaker for rendering several final group games meaningless.

“And they basically with this new head to head rule, they've eliminated probably, I don't know, six games that just will have no meaning”

Pardon My Take: Max Homa Talking US Open And Wyndham Clark's Big Win, George Kittle, World Cup And The USMNT Is The Best + Mt Rushmore Of Deli Meats (Jun 22, 2026) · Listen from 35:39

Dabbundo says England has entered the favorites conversation, with England, Spain and France a tier above the rest.

“I think England has vaulted themselves into the favorites conversation if they weren't already there. And I think them, Spain, and France are still a tier above”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: NBA Draft Questions, Harper vs. Fox, and the USMNT’s World Cup Ceiling (Jun 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:50:12

Dabbundo favors Switzerland over Canada in their group, citing Alphonso Davies's injury.

“Alphonso Davies is their best player by a wide margin. He's the best player in North America, and he is not healthy”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: A Knicks Miracle (and an All-Time Spurs Collapse), a Mini-Mailbag, and a World Cup Preview | With Joe House, Kirk Goldsberry, Anthony Dabbundo, and Cousin Sal (Jun 11, 2026) · Listen from 1:43:39

Dabbundo cites studies showing hot kickoff temperatures reduce output, which he says hurts weaker teams with less depth.

“any soccer game that kicks off above 85 degrees, there is a noticeable decline in just output, pressing, shots, goals”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: A Knicks Miracle (and an All-Time Spurs Collapse), a Mini-Mailbag, and a World Cup Preview | With Joe House, Kirk Goldsberry, Anthony Dabbundo, and Cousin Sal (Jun 11, 2026) · Listen from 1:34:05

Dabbundo picks Spain to win the World Cup, citing its recent dominance over France.

“by process elimination, I crossed off everybody else and was like, I guess I'm picking Spain”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: A Knicks Miracle (and an All-Time Spurs Collapse), a Mini-Mailbag, and a World Cup Preview | With Joe House, Kirk Goldsberry, Anthony Dabbundo, and Cousin Sal (Jun 11, 2026) · Listen from 1:22:47

Lineker picks England as slight favourites and predicts they will win the World Cup.

“I think England have to be slight favourites. I'm going to go with England”

Pod Save America: Can Soccer Save the World? (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 39:03

Lineker predicts Spain will beat Belgium comfortably in the quarterfinal.

“I can't see Belgium living with Spain. I think Spain win that relatively comfortably”

Pod Save America: Can Soccer Save the World? (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 38:24

Lineker says the 2026 World Cup has gone far better than he expected and has been a triumph overall.

“But I think it's been way better than I actually thought it would be”

Pod Save America: Can Soccer Save the World? (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 4:19

Sagal noted that critics suspect the hydration breaks exist mainly to create more TV ad slots.

“everybody is saying these so-called hydration breaks are really just about giving TV another place to sell some ads”

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Sagal reported that FIFA introduced hydration breaks at a World Cup for the first time, citing heat concerns.

“FIFA has for the first time introduced hydration breaks, a three-minute pause in each half”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Reflecting Pools and Construction Zones (Jun 27, 2026) · Listen from 6:26

Sagal said a Boston bar owner reported that visiting Scottish fans drank all the liquor in his bar.

“He said they literally drank all the liquor he had in his bar”

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: The World Cup, Trad Wives, and the Wedding of the Century (Jun 20, 2026) · Listen from 4:36

Vietor says the World Cup reminded Americans that the country is defined by its people rather than its politics.

“We live in a great country, and one that is defined by its people and not by its politics”

Pod Save America: Can Soccer Save the World? (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 0:20

Vietor argues Balogun's red card was unjustified and deserved at most a yellow, noting Messi was not carded for similar conduct.

“I think it was at worst the yellow card. Lionel Messi did something very similar in a different game in this World Cup, didn't get carded at all”

Pod Save America: Trump Works the FIFA Refs (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 5:20

Kilgariff said the World Cup in the US let Americans enjoy sports festively without intense partisan investment or fan violence.

“we can celebrate and enjoy sports without being emotionally invested”

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark: 540 - Battery and Rock Night (Jul 9, 2026) · Listen from 1:11:39

Kilgariff said the World Cup showed that ordinary people across countries get along despite their governments.

“Countries are not the governments that make terrible decisions for them”

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark: 540 - Battery and Rock Night (Jul 9, 2026) · Listen from 45:34

Tim Ream agrees that the clock should be stopped during World Cup hydration breaks.

“so yeah i'm i feel you on that one just just stop the clock it's pretty simple solution”

Pardon My Take: NBA Draft, Giannis To The Heat, Wyndham Clark, USMNT Team Captain Tim Ream + Mt Rushmore Of Hard To Spell Words (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 2:06:43

Tim Ream says this is realistically his last World Cup and he wants to play as many games as possible.

“I know that this is my last World Cup, realistically. So I want to play as many games as I possibly can”

Pardon My Take: NBA Draft, Giannis To The Heat, Wyndham Clark, USMNT Team Captain Tim Ream + Mt Rushmore Of Hard To Spell Words (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 1:58:17

Ryan said he would pick Spain in the final, as he had since before the tournament.

“I'm going to go Spain because it's been Spain for me since before the tournament”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: Messi Takes England Out of the World Cup, Plus Preparing for Christopher Nolan’s 'The Odyssey' With Ian Wright, Anthony Dabbundo, and Sean Fennessey (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 47:28

Wright picked Argentina to win the World Cup final.

“I'm probably going to go with Argentina simply because I just feel that they just can't be beat”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: Messi Takes England Out of the World Cup, Plus Preparing for Christopher Nolan’s 'The Odyssey' With Ian Wright, Anthony Dabbundo, and Sean Fennessey (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 32:23

Claudia Oshry argued that Nicole Scherzinger suits the World Cup ceremony because she is better known internationally than in the U.S.

“But globally, she actually is quite well known. She did a Lewis Hamilton for a while, which I feel like really upped her global image”

The Toast: Reale Actives FC: Wednesday, July 15th, 2026 (Jul 15, 2026) · Listen from 39:00