Football Daily - World Cup: England's World Cup Begins

Episode Date: June 17, 2026

England's World Cup campaign is about to begin.Rick Edwards and Lloyd Griffith are joined by John Murray and Paul Robinson from Dallas, where Thomas Tuchel and Harry Kane have been speaking to the media ahead of England's opening match against Croatia. We hear from both of them and assess England's chances before they get their tournament under way.Before that, the team react to another historic night for Lionel Messi. He became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick as he continues to rewrite the record books.Julien Laurens also joins the pod to look react to France's 3-1 win over Senegal and discuss whether the French have what it takes to challenge for the trophy once again.Plus, Rick and Lloyd head out for lunch in LA, where Lloyd's promise to share his nachos doesn't quite go to plan.

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Live from LA. It is finally. here. For you listening now, it is England Day, the match we've been waiting for for what feels like forever. Before we get into all that, though, today we did a workout class together.

It was a load of very athletic ladies doing a circuit workout, and then us looking like little and nudge or Hayland Pace. At the end... Which one's rich? Well, you tell me. And

the state of us at the end Yeah. It's a genuine embarrassment. And I have posted up a picture of us. Not looking at our best. We looked like... We put a shift in, didn't we? We looked like we've just been relieved of a hostage situation.

Yes. Like we looked... Which is kind of what it felt like. It felt like it was... I mean, it's very different over in LA. It's harder. It's just harder working. It is very different over here.

And the heat and the weights, I think they're heavier because of the heat. I think they must be. Absolutely. So, yeah, it was... I mean, we didn't look great, mate. No, we did. And you'll thank me for putting out the photo. Also, first little bit of friction, I think, that we've had so far on this trip.

Because I wanted to go for lunch in a place, and you took too long in the shower and then putting kind of industrial strength moose in your hair or whatever it was that you were doing. And we ran out, I don't know what it was, but we ran out of time, and we couldn't go to the place I wanted to go to for lunch. And I'm going to say, I was annoyed, and it's okay, but I forgive you.

No, this is ridiculous. That's completely true. No, we'd finished our class And then we got back to the house No, and then... Yes, we made a plan. And then you basically went into your room, okay? I said, I'm going to get, I'm going to shower.

Didn't hear that. And then producer Lizzie and I, we're talking about the show And other things that we've got planned on for about... We were chatting about 45 minutes. And then you came out and said, oh, are we ready? It was like, yeah, because you wanted to go to lunch Before we were going to go meet our friend for lunch. You wanted two lunches.

I didn't want two lunches. Anyway, I didn't want two lunches. I forgive you. We subsequently went and had a late lunch with, well, we fraternised with the enemy. We did. Max Rushden from the Guardian Football Weekly, which is a fantastic podcast. It is. And there's no getting away from it.

If that's your thing, it is. Also, I have to say, when your colossal pile of loaded nachos arrived, here we go. No, this is what you said. You said, help yourselves. I'm obviously not going to finish these. Those words left your lips. The next, genuinely, the next time I look at Dover,

you'd basically lick the plate clean. I hadn't licked the plate clean because there was a bit of paper on it. It was paper, baking paper. It was like a cliché of an oversized American porcelain. Don't do that for the listeners. He's doing it like, it's a mountain. It was a mountain. It wasn't a mountain.

You could barely see over it to see the screen. In my defence, okay, it didn't say sharers. It wasn't from the sharer section. It was from the mains and their big portions over here. You also had a main, but I didn't fat shame you with your eggs and rice. Also, you're having rice at lunchtime, even though it was a breakfast. Anyway, I did say, does anybody want some of these nachos? And you and Max were like...

I won't finish them. I won't finish these. I said I probably won't finish these. Does anybody want any nachos? And you went, oh, no, okay. I'm okay, thank you. So I just cracked on. And then, look, it was an exciting game.

And I just got two into me nachos. And the next thing was, oh, there's only two left. Do you want them? And you're actually like, no, we're fine, mate. It's absolutely. Well, there's none of the nice stuff left. It was literally just two bear chips. Yeah, absolutely.

But they were absolutely fantastic. And honestly, I feel... I just think we did this lift lower body workout. We put such a shift in. And then I did it... And then you're just undoing all of that. And I did an upper body workout. Just shoveling these nachos into my mouth.

Honestly, you... I'm being fat-shed. No, no, no. This feels like the bike app. all over again. How many forks do you want? Just one and a straw. Thank you.

Anyway. Well, we've had a great day of football again here. The big players all delivered. France three, Senegal 1. France looked good. Mbapé with a couple. Norway beat Iraq 4-1. Harlem with a couple.

Austria Jordan is happening as we're recording now. But we have to start with Leonel Messi, who has looked at what Mbapé and Harlan did. and said, hold my Yerba Marte. If you're just waking up, at the age of 38, he scored his first World Cup Hattrick in Argentina's 3-0 win against Algeria. The Manloid is a machine. What's a Yerba Marte?

You know, it's the thing that all the Argentinians drink, Marti. Yeah, yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. I thought that rather than beer, it was a little... No, I liked it. Just in case there was anyone else from Grimsby that didn't know what a Yerba Mardi is. I thought, let's just set the scene.

You liked that. it, but you didn't understand it. And that's fine. And I know him as well. I know Lionel Messi. In what way? A good friend of mine. No, you actually did mention this earlier on. And you have, you've literally met him. I've spent the day with him. Really nice, chap. I'll be honest. That's surprising.

The fact that I ever mentioned it. I've mentioned a lot of things this week. But, no, I spent a day with him and he's absolutely lovely. I'm over the moon for him, you know, as a fan of football and also as a friend. As a friend. Yeah, and probably take a bit of credit. He is the oldest player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup. he's now scored 16 World Cup goals

so that means he is equal with Miroslav Closer as a player who scored the most in World Cup history this stat is like nuts 20 years to the day since his first World Cup goal which is on the 16th of June 2006 that's absolutely ridiculous

and Jonathan Beas this is a nice touch on the Five Live commentary he said yeah I remember commentating on that goal as well. Jonathan Pierce has been going for a long time. And this is not at all surprising. The 20-year period is the longest gap between first and last goals scored by a player in World Cup history.

Look, I'll be honest here. I thought Messies playing in the MLS, the standard's not great. He's... Which is not as good as other divisions. Yes. Because we are in America. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's old. No getting their real. around it. He's 38. He's 38. He has his 38th birthday in a few weeks time. Yeah. It's Lloyd. And I felt like that if anything, the Argentinina team are going to be kind of carrying him in the way that I look at Portugal and think they're probably carrying Ronaldo at this point. It was a little bit older. And that I was thinking any of this just goes to show that I know very little indeed. Also, it did occur to me. Do you know who's going to have absolutely hated that hat trick. Your friend of mine, Cristiano Ronaldo.

He'll be looking at that few. He will be livid. And also, obviously, the similarities that both of them are compared, you know, as the goats. I mean, are you on team Messi? Are you on team Ronaldo? They're both kind of coming towards

the end of their careers in a league that's not the most competitive. And if I'm honest, do not what I can see happening? Go on. Ronaldo scoring four goals. Just to try and better him, Ronaldo.

And just a chance. And what will happen is, Ronaldo would just be screaming at his teammates for not passing to him. He'll be stopping his teammate shots from going in. On the edge of just trying to tap it. And even if it's offside, it's classic Ronaldo, I reckon. So that's my prediction. But I'm saying that as a friend of Messi. Of course, yeah.

I mean, my favourite thing about the kind of Messi-Rinaldo rivalry is I honestly think it kind of eats away at Ronaldo. Like, he wants to be regarded as the best place. player in the world. And he certainly regards himself as the best player in the world ever. And I think Messi doesn't care. Doesn't think about it, maybe?

I think Messia's like, oh, go on, mate, have a go. Yeah. Have a go. I don't. Where's your World Cup? I do not believe that he thinks a lot

about Cristiano Ronaldo. I do think Cristiano Ronaldo spent a lot of time thinking about that. I think he's very much like our relationship, should have made. So hang on, which one am I here? Oh, I think you're Messi.

that's very kind of I think you're messy that's very kind I think I am deris for sale who actually for a brief time was a player I really liked

so there we go yeah it does it fits all right let's get down to it then England take on Croatia in their first game of the World Cup later today we'll have live commentary

for you on BBC Sounds with the wonderful John Murray and the equally wonderful Paul Robinson and they join us now from Dallas yes hello from Texas good evening good evening both How are you enjoying Dallas, John?

Because the last time we spoke to you, you're in Mexico City, having the time of your life. Yeah, sad to leave Mexico. I didn't want to go. But at the same time, Fort Worth, actually, is where we're staying. And as we speak to you now, we've not actually been into Dallas, have we? Because the stadium is in Arlington, which is next to Great Prairie, which is about 17 miles away from Dallas. And we're in the other direction about... geography with John Murray.

That's what I'm qualified to talk about geography. That's what I got my degree in. And Fort Worth. Finally, but there's some use. Yeah, exactly. Fort Worth, Rick, you would love it because of the JFK stuff there. Because JFK and Jackie spent the last night before the fateful day staying in Fort Worth. And it is all over the town.

And it's absolutely fascinating. and everywhere you go, you know, it's almost, it's almost slightly chilling to think, you know, we've seen the hotel where JFK stayed and to think, you know, he stepped out of those doors and the plans that he had for the day, the plans that he had, of course, you know, that was going to be the end of it. And it really, it really does make you think. Is that good or a bad omen before an England game? It's all right, don't worry. We're there. The England team, not there now.

We're not there. Not. But maybe a bad omen for us. Maybe we're better not going to Dallas Yeah, good point Paul and Lloyd I'm assuming you're friends Because Lloyd is apparently friends With every goalkeeper Only good goalkeepers

Good ex-goalkeepers And Lloyd is he not told you About his goalkeeping exploits himself He's not a bad goalkeeper I mean Do you think he's mentioned it a couple of times? Yeah, possibly Yeah, possibly

Just like he's probably mentioned Grimsby Town's exploits in the playoffs this season as well Did you go to that lady? Yeah, I heard a bit of that as well Well no, I haven't mentioned that But I do keep mentioning to Paul that the last time Paul, well last time

Tottenham Hotspur played Grimsby, Paul was in goal and Grimsby beat Tottenham 1-0, Jean-Bald Cameron-McCallala in the 88th minute, and he hates it. Any fault on your part for the goal, Paul, remember it? Well, it's always a goalkeeper's fault, isn't it? Always a goalkeeper's fault, but just thankfully the Manchester United lost there this season

and took a bit of heat off us from all those years ago. They absolutely did, bless us. Now, Thomas Tuchel has just finished his press conference. John, you sat down with him. How was he, in good spirits? Yeah, I sensed a little bit of an edge compared to the other experiences I've had with him over the course of the last 18 months plus

and I can understand that because this is where it really begins for him in earnest because that's what he's employed to do to win the World Cup for England and it's all stretching ahead. It's very real now and I think there was also a tinge of disappointment the fact that they've lost Tino Liverment so that was that was you know

probably eating away somewhere in there, but also, you know, he was talking about, you know, thinking about when he was a youngster coming to the World Cup as a coach, and what a, you know, it seems, the suggestion was that, you know, that was like a million miles away from him when he was a boy to think that he would come to the World Cup. So I think there's an edge of excitement, actually, as much as anything else about the fact that he will be involved in the World Cup for the first time. Well, let's hear from him now. Thomas, desperately disappointing news about Tino Livermento,

but on the eve of England's first match at this World Cup, what are you here to do to temper expectations or to talk it up? Neither. We were very clear of what we expect from ourselves. We expect to compete on highest level. And the focus at the moment is on group stage, not further, and not get distracted. And group starts tomorrow.

We start tomorrow in the tournament Very difficult match strong opponent This is where the focus is We know what we expect from ourselves We know what we want to do And we feel that we're ready to go And why Trevor Chalabar For the choice, for the first man to come in

First of all we were like very sad And devastated for Fortuno Who did everything to be fit with us And we waited until the very last moment Until he gave green light to be with us After his injury To have this re-injury now in training made us sad and he was of course very sad but that's how it is he will go through it and come back stronger

choice for Trevor is we just free up Jarrell Konsa as a as a fullback for both sides we have Chatsbens who can play on both sides so we take an alternative and the fifth central defender with Trevor Chaluba who covers us on both central defender positions I know him personally and and trained him can guarantee for his attitude and training and he was always ready, always ready mentally to come and help us out and that's what we do. When you named the squad,

you did talk about the intention to rotate the team during the group stages. There's obviously been a lot of talk about what your starting lineup will be for the first match, but should we be expecting that? I don't know, to be very honest, I don't know. So intention is just an intention, but the reality is we have to react what's happening within matches

and then in between matches and then we will go from match to match. The intention is to use everyone because everyone at the moment deserves to have minutes. The intention is to use the substitutions because they are pushing and they can change and influence matches on a highest level. But again, it's just intentions.

We need to do what is necessary, what we feel at the sideline and then decide from match to match. And listen, Thomas, this is a first. for you isn't it first to be involved in a World Cup and I just wonder you know when you were maybe 12 years old whether you would have thought all these years later managing at a World Cup managing England at a World Cup there was no there was no chance I could think that far this was not even a dream was too far away now I'm very proud and I had fantastic 16 days within the Federation with my

my closest stuff and and with the players so we feel ready to go now you arrive in the playing venue, you arrive in Dallas, you see the fans outside the stadium. This is where the excitement really kicks in because you feel, okay, now it really starts what you're prepared for. To say it is a dream come true,

it is true, but when I was 12 years old or even like 22 years old or whatever, there was no such thing that I could realistically dream to be the head coach of England. So it is amazing, I'm very proud of it, and incredible experience. And I feel duty bound to ask before the first match.

What do you think the chances are of putting another star on the England shirt? Well, we will try. We will try. We will compete for it. And the responsibility is in the effort. I think no one expects us to guarantee that. No one, because we cannot guarantee it. We don't know what the outcome is. We need luck on the way if we want to go all the way. And the responsibility is on the effort and on the courage that we show. and it starts tomorrow in group stage

and so where the focus is. Thanks Thomas. So, yeah, Thomas Tuchel, speaking about calling up Trevor Chalabar in place of Tino Livramento. And it's a slightly odd call because Chalabar is a centreback. Can you explain his thinking? Well, I think he's a centreback

that can play that right back and he can play both roles and he actually said that tonight in his press conference. Actually, it's funny enough that none of the journalists asked him the question about Trent Alexander Arnold what's been talked about today. why it wasn't Trent. I think there's going to be a few stories

maybe written tomorrow about that. And also, Harry McGuire wasn't even in the conversation. So those two players, you would think, you know, Trent Alexander Arnold would seem the ideal replacement for him, but you don't understand what the relationship is between those two. Is it frayed after not being called up?

He clearly doesn't fancy him, for one of a better phrase, with his defensive capabilities. And actually, Chalabar can play across anywhere in the back line. And does that allude to maybe a slight problem with one of the central defenders that he wants the cover as well. I think that he, you know,

if he wanted Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander Arnold in the squad, they'd be there already. And, you know, we're probably talking about bringing in someone who will be the 26th man. You know, it might well be. He gets on the field.

But he knows Chalabur well. He knows him from Chelsea. I think I've got a feeling. He gave him his debut at Chelsea. So, you know, I think that plays into it. And, you know, we can. cover the match of the other day, didn't we, with Netherlands and Japan. Japan lost a player

and brought in an attacking player, lost a defender in Endo, and brought in an attacking player as the replacement. So I think there is a feeling that you want to bring in the best man for those set of circumstances. I think it is. I think that's a set of circumstances and the type of player that he's bringing into the squad. I think there's a big emphasis on the squad and the team rather than individuals. And I think when you look at Chalabar, there's nothing that in his record and his international record that stands up against Harry McGuire or Trent. I mean he's got one cap for England and a friendly and that was

the dismal performance against Senegal at the end of last season. Nevertheless I can totally understand why people would say why isn't it Trent Alexander Arnold? It's a very very valid debate. Does Toekle just not like Trent Alexander Arnold? Because you do think that from the point of view of the

international press pack they will look at Trent Alexander Arnold as being this very gifted, certainly a fairer, player who most countries would cry out for in their squad and probably in their starting 11. Yeah, I think it's a, it is a question that I'm sure will be asked. How is Rail Madrid's right back, not in the England squad? But I'll listen back, Rick, to the, when he spoke on the very first day that he spoke to us as England manager, he did speak right back then about how it was his intention to put together the

26 players that made the best team and the best squad and who would not necessarily be the best 26 players who were available to him and you know he repeated that kind of thing on the day that he named his England squad and that's what he's got he has made his bed here with the 26 that he has picked and he will be judged on how they perform here is there also a sense that gerald quonser can come across and play it right back well yeah i think he's i mean he's he's You look at his starting 11. It's almost picking itself, isn't it? Rees James is going to play at right back.

Nico O'Reilly will play it left back. And then I think he's just looking at other options, what he's got that can be versatile. And John's absolutely right. He's always said that the group is more important than an individual. And we go back to a game that we covered. Was it Serbia at the start of this season when we were there in England, 1-5? And you look at the way that they played there.

They had a lot of the big names missing in that game. And I think from that point on, Tuchel made a real point of saying after the game. He said, I've been telling you this for a while. while. I've been telling you this is coming. This has been happening in training. I've got a faith in this group of players. That performance I know has been coming. And then from there, they went on to win eight out of eight qualifiers and not concede a goal. So listen, you can't argue with the decisions that he's making until they go wrong. Is there anything in the idea that he wants to bring in a player who isn't going to, for want to a better turn of phrase, kick off if they

don't get on the field of play? But if you bring in someone like Trent and then he doesn't get a single minute, is that going to create a sort of an atmosphere in the way that Trevor Chalibur coming in maybe won't? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that you can look at that and you can encapsulate that in the way that he's treated Jude Bellingham this season. He left him out of the March Friendlies, not necessarily made him an automatic starter. Jude Bellingham knows that now he's got to fight for his shirt. He's got to fight for his place, not just in the squad, but in the team. And I think that grounding that he gave Jude Bellingham, I think he's been quite clever Thomas Tuchel because he knows that he needs a player

of Jude Bellingham's quality, but he needs Jude Bellingham at his best, both on and off the field, and I think he left him out of the squad at times this season, he's left him out of the side at times this season, at times where it wasn't overly important, he knew that the team would get the result it needed and he's proved to Jude Bellingham that

England don't need Jude Bellingham, but England are better with Jude Bellingham at his best if that makes sense. Thomas Stook has spoken about having a plan, but also the need for flexibility. What is that plan, John, and do you have now an idea of that 11? Well, as I said to him there in the interview, again, when he named the squad, he was talking about rotating the team in the group stages.

And, you know, as he kind of intimated there, that is the plan. It might, that plan might change. But he's also spoken about having 14 to 15 starters and barring injuries. you know, I think what England do here is going to be based around those 14 to 15 and you know

the others might come into the reckoning as well depends what haven't but that is the that I think is the strategy there that you will see him changing the team from match to match

is another one isn't he we spoke about that this morning didn't we he's obviously carrying that Achilles injury and he's going to have to manage his minutes I think you look at the team that started against Costa Rica

I don't think that's going to be far away from the start in 11 tomorrow Saka he knows that if they go deep in the tournament it's going to be a key player for them. But I think at the moment with his injury, we might not see him start tomorrow.

One man who will definitely be starting is Harry Kane. Let's hear from it. Just tell us, Harry, how are you feeling on the eve of the start of another World Cup for you? Yeah, excited, to be honest. Obviously, playing after six days or so, or waiting, watching all the games, kind of waiting for your turn.

Obviously, the anticipation starts to grow. And you just can't wait to kind of be out there on the pitch. So definitely some excitement. now we're here and we're kind of seeing the stadium and yeah, just looking forward to being out there with the boys for sure. And it is fair to say, isn't it? That, I mean, you could barely be in better form

heading into a World Cup after the amazing season that you've had. The numbers are incredible. Yeah, 100%. For sure, it's the best season I've ever had in my career and it was a great time to do that leading into a World Cup. You always want to stay fit and healthy towards the back end of the season,

which I was able to do. And that leads us nicely into this summer. We had a great prep camp, two good friendly games. And now, yeah, I think not just me, but I think the whole team is just itching to kind of get out there and prove ourselves on the pitch. How has it made you feel about yourself to have hit totals like this this season?

Yeah, I think it just shows that all the hard work I put in, both on the pitch and away from the pitch as well, it's obviously working. Always the mindset to improve and get better as possible, no matter how many years you've been playing the game, There's always stuff to learn, and there's always ways you can improve, and this season has proved that, and not just to improve, but it's, I think, maybe 20-odd goals more than what I've had in other seasons

or any other season in my career. Sounds ridiculous to say that. So it just shows you can keep pushing the limits, anything is possible when you put your mind to stuff, and, like I say, from my point, to view, this season, it's been amazing. Do you feel almost superhuman? I wouldn't go that far, but I feel great. I think, yeah, when all aspects of your game, at a level that you've probably not seen before

in terms of physically, mentally, just game understanding, all these things. My finishing, even in training, as good as has ever been in my career, to be honest with you, feel really sharp. And look, as we know, in sports, in football, you can have highs and lows, so I don't like to get carried away with where I'm at.

But also, I can use it as confidence and use the back end of the last season, finishing with the two hatchicks. You know, I can definitely use that momentum into this summer, for sure. Yeah, just finally. you know the England captain it's the World Cup give us a bit of a rally and cry

for everyone who will be following England around the world and back home yeah well everyone we always have amazing support both wherever we travel and also back home and it's the start of another special summer so from my point of view it's just about making the

the country proud as we always try and do to put in performances that they're going to enjoy and they can see the passion they can see the togetherness that we're going to bring and hopefully that the United States of country as well, so I can't wait to get this thing started. Harry Kane sounds confident, John, I'd say. Yeah, you can say that again.

He's got every right to sound confident as well. I mean, I don't think we've talked enough, you know, about how many goals that he scored this season. 61 goals for Bayern Munich. I mean, those numbers are absolutely. Crazy numbers. They are. I mean, you're talking Dixie Dean kind of numbers, which are the sort of numbers that I'm not sure I ever thought I'd say players scored that many goals.

And as he sort of casually dropped in there during the course of the interview, you know, he said, yeah, it's about 20 goals more than I've ever scored in a season before. 20 goals more than he's ever scored in a season. 20 more than Mbapé. And you look at the European top leagues, so many more than Mbapé,

so many more than Harland. And he's right up there at the top of the list for me in the conversation for the Ballandoor. And I mean, standing as I was, just a couple of feet away from him, he is now, and I actually used the phrase, do you feel almost like a superhero? Because he's got a real glow about him.

He looks good at the moment, didn't they? Oh, he does, and he's got a real presence to him. And actually, I thought it was interesting. After I spoke to him, he went in with Thomas Tuchel to the press conference. He received probably more questions than Thomas Tuchel did, which is very, very, very unusual that a player will receive more questions than the managers. Someone's saying that. Then Zlatko Dahlich came in alongside Luca Modridge.

And Luca Modrich must have received twice as many questions as like Cardalach did. But I think that shows you, because it's a room of reporters from all over the world, they want to speak and hear from Harry Kane. And the best one was the very last question of the whole press conference. There was a Mexican reporter sat on the front row.

He asked Harry Kane, what does he think of Raul Jimenez and how does he compare himself to it? And that was the last question in the press conference. Fantastic question. What was the answer, please, Paul? I didn't stay to listen. Do you know, if I was Harry Kane, I'd just turn around and say, I'm ten times better than he is.

It's interesting, isn't it? Because all of the top, top strikers are up and running. We saw Mbapé score two, Harlan score two, Messies just score for Argentina. So it is kind of now over to Harry Kane. Come on. And don't worry, he himself referenced that. So that has not escaped the attention of Harry Kane. and I am not surprised that it hasn't either.

You know, he's looking at that and he's thinking, they've all made a quick start, my potential rivals for the Golden Boot at this tournament. You know, so there's an extra incentive, not that he needed it. When you were playing, Paul, how much confidence does it give you in the team when you have a striker that is in the kind of form

that Harry Kane is? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, when you look around at the dressing room, you look at the plethora of quality that you've got there and the amount of players that play in, you know, the top level, I think 22 players in that 26-man squad have won a trophy in the last two seasons

and when you look around there you can see the quality and the individual quality and you have those individuals the Harry Keynes the Wayne Rooney's the David Beckams and when they're fit and they're playing to the level

that they have been doing like Harry Kane has this season you know that you're always in with a chance I mean when he's going to get half a chance and he's going to get a goal you've always got a chance when you've got a player like that in your side

he is vital to England I think we touched upon Jude Bellingham there Jude Bellingham has, or Thomas Tuchel has proved that England don't need Jude Bellingham but they're better if he's there on his game. England need Harry Kane. He's not a player who can be replaced. Yes, they've got Ivan Tony, they've got Olly Watkins in the side, they've got Marcus Rashford who can play there.

But he is that pivotal to England. England are nowhere near their maximum without Harry Kane. He's that important to them. Paul, any goalkeeper that is facing England this tournament, are they going to be petrified coming up against Harry Kane in such an incredible season? Well, obviously, I mean, you don't think of that as a goalkeeper. You don't worry about the opposition that you're playing against, but you know when there's quality there,

and you look at the quality of the strikers in this tournament. Hold on. Are you serious that you wouldn't think at all about the opposition strikers? They wouldn't get in your head a little bit? Not really. No, no. You've got to face what's in front of you. You obviously watch them. You do your homework on them.

You learn their techniques. You learn their body shapes, where they're, you know, their finishing techniques, etc. But regardless of who you're playing, you've still got to do your job. I mean, you could be playing in the opposition team, I mean, you're capable of putting it high, top, left-hand corner the same as anybody else. Regardless who's got the boots on, you've still got to do your job. I'm absolutely not, Paul, but thank you for saying that.

John, Paul, absolute pleasure as always. Chat to you soon. In the Range Rover Sport, performance is more than a promise. It's something you feel on every drive. With the choice of powerful mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines, Range River Sport responds instantly, bringing unbridled power and precise handling. It's a perfect balance. Explore more atrangerover.ca.

He's widely recognised as one of the greatest footballers in history. He's won the prestigious Ballandour Award five times. He's the all-time leading goal scorer in professional football. And according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he's the first active footballer in history to achieve billionaire status. Guess who we're talking about yet? That's right. Good Bad Billionaire is exploring the life and fortune of football icon Cristiano Ronaldo. That's Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service.

Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Hello, I'm Alastair Bruce Ball and I'll be commentating on the World Cup for the BBC this summer. It's a commentator, favourite World Cup moment. France, 4, Argentina 3 in Russia, 2018. Amazing goal from Benjamin Pavard in that game on the half volley.

Tabard for the Lord! What makes the World Cup such a special tournament? It's its exotic nature. I think particularly as a kid, it just seemed to happen in far-off lands that you'd only ever dreamt about or heard about. The People World Cup 2026. Listen on BBC Sounds.

At the People World Cup 2026 with Rick Edwards and Lloyd Griffin. Listen on BBC Sounds. The other big game today was France Senegal. France ended up winning 3-1. Julian Loran joins us now from New York. Julian, they looked particularly in the second half. Really good, France. Hello, boys. Hello everyone.

Yeah, yeah, second half. I mean, there was a massive contrast. between the first half and the second half, which I think is really interesting because from the lineup that Deschon decided to play with Olise as a right winger, like he does in his club at Bayern Munich. So on that point, no issue. D'embele has a 10, I guess closer to what he does at PSG in a way too.

You could understand that. For the rest, it was everything that we expected, and that first half was really disappointing from a French point of view. Senegal really the better team. They should have been at least a goal up, maybe even two, at the end of that first half. And I was watching and thinking like, just what's going on here?

Why the French player is so lethargic? Why there's no rhythm to it? There was no tempo to what they were doing with the board. It was all a bit sloppy. Everything was a bit slow. And then we did say on Five Live with Pat Nevin and Deno, something has to change now because they can't continue like that because at some point they're gonna get punished.

And Deschen changed one little thing tactically. Olise came centrally, then Belé went on to the right-hand side. And that seemed to just unlock all this incredible potential that his team has and the second half was really outstanding. They were fantastic to watch. There was a big penalty call. Deno and Pat Nevin were very split on it

on the Five Live commentary. We're also split on it, I think. You think no contact. I don't think no contact, no contact, no. I think complete nonsense. It's a clear Peno. Where are you on this? Yeah, I thought it was Stonewall Penal penalty, I have to say.

And it's not because Rick is my preferred of you too. Oh, unbelievable. No, I have to know. It doesn't matter. It's fine. But I just think, you know what? It's interesting, contact or no contact. I think sometimes you could go in for a tackle,

and just the way you go in, even if the contract is not massive, you unbalance the guy who's on the ball. And I think in this case, that's exactly what happens. And I thought it was a pen. And when the ref went to see the screen, I thought, okay, he's going to change his mind and give the penalty.

and he didn't at all, but apparently that's what he does. This left, my Australian friend was saying, like if there's one guy that, you know, we stick to his first season, it's him. So maybe there's a bit of a theme there. Yeah, very bizarre. I'm interested to see whether we'll see him referee a game anytime soon. Yes.

It hasn't gone down brilliantly. Because I agree with you, effectively. Even without contact, if you've gone in with a challenge like that and then Bappez had to kind of hurdle over unbalanced, then I think that's a pen. And as it happens, I think there is contact as well. But the ball was going at anyway, but I mean, let's just do it.

All that. The thing about France is that forward line is insanely strong. So when they went one nil up, they bring on Brady Barcola. And then when they're two nil up, they bring on Ryan Shirky. I mean, it's ridiculous, Jules. Yeah, it is. And to be fair, I think what that enables you to do as well is the three goals they scored are all very different, really.

The first one, the ball from Olysset to Mbapé is a genius ball, and that's why he does. Everything seems to stop. Nobody sees the pass apart from Olyse himself, and this is great. There's actually a still photo you could see, or even if you watch the goal again, D'embele, who's so used to PhD of recycling the ball all the time, so when you don't find something on the right,

you move the ball again to the left, et cetera, et cetera, and you see Dembele saying to O'Lise, who's on the ball, just recycle the ball and let's go again. And no, Olyse just finds this incredible pass. The second goal, the Barcola won, as you mentioned, Rick. They get the ball back on the edge of their box fronts, his three passes, 12 seconds, and they're scoring on the other end. Because that transition goes so quick from Rabio,

especially to Dan Barcolla with his pace. And that is lethal. And I don't know, if you want to defend with a lower block, Olysset can unlock you like he does on the first goal. If you want to, because you have to go and attack a bit more and play a slightly higher defensive line, then they can unlock and beat you that way. And then the third goal is just genius from Mbapé from 25 yards or whatever.

But you're right, when you can bring on Cherokee and Barcola, you've got even somebody like Chirang that can come on, even Mateta if you really want something completely different. That kind of richest that you have attacking-wise is, I think this is, I think Spain is the best team collectively, probably the way they move the ball. I think Portugal probably have overall the best squad in terms of depth in every position. But I think attacking wise, this French team is the best one.

Yeah, because as you say, they can kind of deal with anything that's in front of them. They can score lots of different types of goal and they'll find solutions. Yeah, and I think this is the beauty of it. And we saw that today in the second half. First half, okay, forget about it completely. And I do think the first half is a good warning sign in a way. So it's a good reminder for us, French people who are all, as you know, very arrogant and can think things for granted very easily. you can't take anything for granted in this walk-up or any walk-up,

but it's a good reminder of that. And I think the second half they show what they can do and if they play like that for the whole 90 minutes or even 70 minutes, they good luck to everybody, anyone who wants to beat them. But you're right, this ability that they have. And it's simply because the profile of those players that we mentioned is just different. So, and Olise is a different player to Cherki,

then to Barcola, then to Dembele, then to Duet, who's a bit of a mix of everybody. Mateta is a different profile. to your arm is the different profile actually use even if you want to go down that line but I think those players bring you all different abilities and qualities so much that yeah you can probably

face anything and be confident that you can find a way through you mentioned Dembele I thought he was a little bit disappointing today yeah and that's what we mentioned we didn't have much time at the end of the game on Five Lab but we talked a little bit about it with Pat and Deno in the sense

that if you look at the front floor forget the first half because nobody was really good But the second half, clearly Olise stepped up in that tactical change and him coming inside. Dewey on the left, I thought, was far more of a threat. And when he runs at you with the ball and does like a million step over,

your head is spinning. Kiliang is Kiliang. So the fourth one is the one really that Back home already right now, there's a debate to run. Because we already had a bit of a debate before about Dembele. He's the ballando holder.

So technically, that makes him the best player in the world, really, still now. And yet we still have. haven't really seen Dendebele are his best. And I'm not saying the Dendebele of PhD because this is a team that is completely different to PhD. He plays a different way. He plays in different positions.

So we can't even say, like, why can't we see the PhD Dengelé with France? Because that would never be the case. However, he should still do better than what he did today. That was far too transparent for somebody who's that good. So that's Deschon's task for next game against Iraq. Find the best way of getting certainly much more of Dembelle than what we saw today. Senegal will be disappointed with the result, obviously,

but actually they were pretty good. The first stuff was great. I really thought the first half, they were solid defensively, they were well-organized out of possession with the ball. They were great. They know exactly, they've been playing with each other for so long. The last 10 years, they've been the best African team. Okay, Morocco for the last four years, I've been outstanding.

But this team, in this kind of managed generation, if you want, they've been incredible. And you could tell that they know exactly. what to do when they have the ball that 433 works so well they've got youth and they've got experience they've got a lot of things going for them really and and okay Nicholas Jackson

his chance that he's the post is a bit more difficult than the Ismaila Sardana one who should score every single day really and they should have been won in at least a half time so they would be disappointed but then I think again if they focus on that first half and all the positive they should be still encouraged that they can go through

I've got to talk about Iraq Norway which was a superb game of football And Norway, you have to say, are going to be contenders, I think. I mean, their qualification campaign was better than anyone else's. So I think they won eight out of eight, scored 37 goals, conceded how many? Five? I think five or six. Something like that.

Erning Hall has now got 57 goals in 51 appearances for Norway and scored two in this game and is a machine. and they just, they look really good because Iraq was decent. Yeah, Iraq was decent. I thought the way they moved the ball, the way they scored their goal as well, who sang's goal.

The move is great, the finish with his header is great as well. And I think this was the perfect game for Norway as well, considering this generation had never played in the World Cup before, that they had to wait for a long time since 1998, the last time they were a World Cup. I think it was probably good to face a team like Iraq, even if the first half again, until the second goal, really, when you took the lead again,

that was good, it was a good start, and then it became a bit even and a bit leveled, and then they had to go and get that goal before the break, and then the second half was obviously much more comfortable, but I think it was really good for them for a first game instead of having played France or Senegal straight away, for example. So that would be good, that would take some nerves away. Now they can get ready for the Senegal game,

which is massive for them because they win and they're through already. And then you can think about the France game to finish it off, this group and potentially the same for France. So great, great to see Highland scoring. Nothing really surprising there. But even that, you know, it's not easy, I think, to play in the World Cup. Nerves are there. First games, as we saw with Spain, for example, just never easy.

So well done to them. It was a good maiden like the same cricket. Jules, lovely to talk to you as always. You're my favourite. You are mine too, you know. But I love you too, Lloyd, but not just not as much. No, bless you. But I appreciate this is something that's got a lot of history.

It's got a lot of history. It's got a lot of success from now. Yeah. Other things to mop up that you might have missed, the Norwegian fans rowing in the crowd in unison is fantastic. I don't know this story behind it, but it looked great. It had the sound of the Iceland thunder clap as well. So to be fair, it was a little bit like Oz at the boot camp this morning

when we were doing the, I don't know what they're called, but the rowers? The other rowers, yeah, yeah, yeah. Also, this was really good. Sammy Mockbell, one of our colleagues at the BBC, senior football correspondent, in fact. He was at the Thomas Tuchel press conference, and he introduced himself,

because basically you say, you say your name and then where you're from before you ask your question, and he said, Sammy Mockbell, Daily Mail, which is where he used to work. And Tuckl apparently absolutely, I loved it. So when I'm next to the press conference, I'm going to say, Rick Edwards, T4, and you're going to say

Lloyd Griffith St James Grimsy parish church choir Yeah good It's weird in it But pretty fun Also just a little update On Vizina

Our favourite goalkeeper Cape Verdi goalkeeper So remember he had 50,000 Instagram followers I think 45,000 If we're splitting followers

I would like to Yeah 45,000 before the Kate Verdi game and he's now at 10.8 million followers Which is absolutely ridiculous Also, at the point of writing this little bit, maybe what, 45 minutes ago, he's accrued another 300,000 followers,

which is the population of quite a large city in England. Also, to put into context the followers that he's got, if he was in the England team, okay, he'd be fourth on the list. Jude Bellingham, 41 million, Marcus Rashford, 22, Harry Kane, 18 million, and then Vizania. And then Vizania. You probably don't need reminding, but full England commentary is available.

later a day on Five Live Sport with John and Paul Robinson at 9 before that Portugal against Dr Congo at 6. The other game in England's group, Ghana, Panama is at midnight, then it's Uzbekistan, Colombia at 3am. And of course our podcast will be out

firstly in the morning, bringing you all the reaction to that England game. I'll have to get some nachos. The 2023 Ballandor, France footballer is Leonel Messi. The winner is Fresenar. This is the

story of the greatest rivalry in the history of sport, a rivalry that split football into two fates for a generation. There could be no, oh, Messi and Ronaldo are both great players. There had to be one that was better. They 100 million percent pushed each other to the next level. You know, we were the lucky ones who got to see it. I'm Steve Crossman. This is Sporting Giants, Messi v. Ronaldo.

Listen first on BBC Sounds. In the Range Rover Sport, performance is more than a promise. It's something you feel on every drive. With the choice of powerful mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines, Range River Sport responds instantly, bringing unbridled power and precise handling into perfect balance. Explore more atrangerover.com. He's widely recognized as one of the greatest footballers in history. He's won the prestigious Ballandor Award five times.

He's the all-time leading goal scorer in professional football. And according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he's the first active footballer in history to achieve billionaire status. Guess who will win? talking about yet. That's right. Good Bad Billionaire is exploring the life and fortune of football icon Cristiano Ronaldo. That's Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.