Lammens laments late mistake as Spain make the semis - World Cup Daily

Summary

Football Weekly: Lammens Laments Late Mistake as Spain Make the Semis – World Cup Daily (July 11, 2026)

Overview

In this World Cup quarterfinal recap, host Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, John Brewin, and Nikki Bandini from New York to dissect Spain’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Belgium. The episode also looks forward to the upcoming England-Norway and Argentina-Switzerland quarterfinals, considers Belgium’s end of an era, and weighs Spain’s strengths and vulnerabilities ahead of their semi-final clash with France. Throughout, the panel offers witty banter, contextual analysis, and listener correspondence, providing both expertise and entertainment for World Cup followers.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Spain 2–1 Belgium: Quarterfinal Analysis

• Lammens’ Critical Error
  • Substitute goalkeeper Sani Lammens spilled a long-range strike from Pau Kubarsi, leading to Mikel Merino’s winning goal.
  • The panel expresses sympathy for Lammens, recognizing the extra pressure of coming off the bench in a World Cup quarterfinal.
    • “A devastating and uncharacteristic error for the Manchester United keeper.” – Max Rushden (01:22)
    • “The mistake for Lemons is, you gotta hold that at this level, Clive. You gotta be holding that, John.” – Max Rushden (04:02)
• Goalkeeper Discussion
  • Thibaut Courtois’ earlier mistake for Spain’s opening goal is considered less egregious, but his absence proved pivotal after injury.
  • Courtois displayed class post-match, supporting Lammens: “Let’s credit Courtois with a good piece of what you in Australia call mateship… he spoke about how it’s not [Lammens’] fault.” – Barry Glendenning (05:01)
• Clutch Mikel Merino
  • Merino’s late goal and reputation for scoring vital, game-changing strikes is celebrated.
  • “He’s clutch. America has changed you.” – Max Rushden to Barry, referencing US sports lingo (06:52)
  • Nikki highlights Merino’s Lampard-esque knack for crucial interventions:
    • “Maybe Baz is right and he wishes he could start. But I don’t know if your story as a footballer was, yeah, I’m just the guy who shows up and delivers Spain to semi-finals and quarterfinals. I don’t think I’d be too mad about that.” – Nikki Bandini (08:42)
• Spain’s Style and Entertainment Value
  • Panel debates whether Spain’s play is pleasurable to watch:
    • “Does anyone actually enjoy watching Spain? They’re clearly good at winning games but Christ, their dedication to anti-entertainment is resolute.” – Listener Jamie (11:32)
    • “They make the opposition suffer, don’t they? They squeeze them into and drive them into distraction and then seize their chances.” – Barry Glendenning (12:23)
• Lamine Yamal and Young Talent
  • Yamal named Man of the Match; panel observes his tendency to hold on to the ball, with potential to bloom further.
  • “Yamal, of course, isn’t quite on it… he won the sponsors’ man of the match because he is the most famous person… It’s almost like he’s young and has to be the hero almost.” – Barry Glendenning (12:46)
• End of Belgium’s Golden Generation?
  • “They’re not the golden generation anymore. We know that. But now that’s really, you know, it’s the retired generation, I presume.” – Max Rushden (14:05)
  • Nikki Bandini notes promising new blood in Doku and De Ketelaere, suggesting a pivot away from De Bruyne/Lukaku era (14:34).

Notable Quote – On De Ketelaere:

• “He doesn’t actually look like a footballer… if you’re watching an episode of Law and Order, he’s the preppy student who gets ends up being guilty of some heinous crimes… his frat society tried to cover it up.” – John Brewin (15:50)

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2. Controversial Incidents and Rule Clarifications

• Belgium’s Non-Penalty for Handball
  • Clarified that a handball from a teammate’s header cannot now be penalized.
    • “If your teammate heads the ball against your hand, then it can’t be a penalty.” – John Brewin (20:57)
• Referee Interference
  • Amusing discussion of referee Michael Oliver inadvertently blocking Danny Olmo, and how refs are getting in the way more frequently during this World Cup for possible “ref-cam” reasons (22:05-22:31).

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3. Looking Ahead: England v Norway Quarterfinal

• England’s State of Mind/Physical Toll
  • Panel muses on England’s lack of full “jingoistic insanity” despite realistic title hopes; heat and time zone seem factors dampening enthusiasm back home.
    • “It feels like winning the World Cup or going far in the World Cup is one of those things that’s sort of nice to have for the English rather than an expectation.” – Barry Glendenning (27:42)
• Line-up and Selection Dilemmas
  • Fitness concerns for Marc Guehi (hamstring), Kwanza (suspended), and Rhys James (in contention but possibly not risked).
  • Nikki: “Oh God. You just want four Dan Burns against Håland, don’t you? Four Dan Burns. That’s a really hard one to answer…” (28:23)
• Norway’s Attitude and Danger
  • Norway, with Erling Håland, present a “free hit,” less pressure, and an ability to be patient and strike when it matters.
    • “Because they know that that chance will come to that guy [Håland] and he’ll score. England have the similar thing in Harry Kane, but there’s something about the Norwegians. They’re a bit cooler.” – Barry Glendenning (30:12)
• Humorous Aside: Norwegian Fan’s Pedantry
  • Viral interview with a pedantic Norway fan who corrected the “rowing” v. “sailing” chant—a moment the panel admires for its comic precision (31:44-32:47).

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4. Argentina v Switzerland: Preview

• Swiss Missing Star Magic
  • Switzerland described as “a solid team without that little bit of inspiration,” with recent injuries depriving them of X-factor players (34:52).
• Messi Watch
  • Argentina’s reliance on Messi, capable of pulling out individual magic even at 39:
    • “What we saw in the Egypt game was suddenly the Kraken wakes and he suddenly just seizes it. Nobody in the game… has been able to pull a game into their own hands in a way that he did…” – Barry Glendenning (36:15)

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5. Listener Correspondence & Fun Moments

• Egyptian Snack Manufacturer Pulls Messi Branding
  • After Argentina eliminate Egypt, snack company halts all Messi-branded products due to consumer backlash (37:56).
• World Cup-Linked Domestic Abuse Statistics
  • Somber discussion of increased domestic abuse reports after England matches (38:23).
• Cape Verde Keeper Honored with Marine Species
  • “A new species of marine mollusk has been named after [goalkeeper Vozinha] by a Spanish researcher” (39:48).
• Podcast as Sleep Aid
  • Listener laments the prospect of fewer Football Weekly episodes as World Cup ends:
    • “What am I going to do without daily pods and the dulce at times of Max and Barry?” (41:03)
• Panel’s Banter and Chemistry
  • Regular ribbing between Max, Barry, John, and Nikki, including playful discussions about England’s chances, national stereotypes, and fan culture.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Merino’s Clutch Gene:
  “For lots of us, Mikel Merino is inevitable… Merino will arrive and he will score that goal… 10 [of his 11 Arsenal Premier League goals] have either been turning a losing position into a drawing position or a drawing position into a winning position.” – Nikki Bandini (08:42)

• On Spain’s Style:
  “They make the opposition suffer, don’t they? They squeeze them into and drive them into distraction and then seize their chances.” – Barry Glendenning (12:23)

• On Belgium’s Next Generation:
  “Maybe the next team is about Doku and De Ketelaere and it’s not about De Bruyne and Lukaku anymore. But there’s not an absence of talent in that side.” – Nikki Bandini (15:50)

• On Referees Getting in the Way:
  "Michael Oliver’s excellent block on Danny Olmo..." – Max Rushden (22:05)

• On the Pedantic Norway Fan:
  “He won’t row, will he? Because he says it’s factually wrong, saying the Vikings didn’t row over the island, they sailed. And you admire his pedantry.” – Max Rushden (31:44) “In 793 AD they didn’t use oars, they used a Yamaha 14 horsepower outboard, of course, four stroke engine.” – John Brewin (32:03)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:21] Recap of Spain v Belgium, Lammens’ error
• [05:01] Courtois comments post-match
• [06:52] Merino “clutch” discussion
• [08:42] Nikki Bandini on Merino’s game-changing stats and role
• [11:32] Listener question on Spain’s entertainment value
• [14:05] Discussion: End of Belgium’s golden generation
• [15:50] Doku and De Ketelaere: The new Belgian core?
• [20:57] Handball rule clarification in Belgium v Spain
• [22:05] Referee Michael Oliver’s “block”
• [25:55] Preview: England v Norway, panel’s expectations
• [28:23] Defensive selection dilemmas for England
• [31:44] Norwegian fan’s viral pedantry (rowing vs sailing chant)
• [34:52] Preview: Argentina v Switzerland
• [36:15] Barry on Messi’s continuing magic
• [37:56] Messi snack branding backlash in Egypt
• [38:23] Discussion of World Cup-linked domestic abuse statistics
• [39:48] Cape Verde keeper Vozinha honored with a new species
• [41:03] Listener uses Football Weekly as a sleep aid

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Closing Thoughts

This episode skillfully combines tactical and technical analysis of Spain’s late win, character and cultural insights into England and Belgium, and crowd-pleasing banter about fan culture, refereeing oddities, and football’s place in society. If you missed the quarterfinals or just want a taste of the Guardian Football Weekly’s unique blend of expertise and wit, this is an essential World Cup listen.

Transcript

[Barry Glendenning]

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[Max Rushden]

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[Barry Glendenning]

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[Max Rushden]

Hi pop fans. Max here. Football Weekly is supported by Contentful marketers. No matter what pitch you play on, a big win feels the same electric. It's that moment when you read the play before the trend even starts. Beat the clock on a campaign, a little help from AI and connect with customers in real time like you've trained for it your whole career. That's contentful. World class digital experiences built fast, built beautifully, create and launch personalized content in an instant across every channel your customers are watching. No chaos, no limits, just open field. Take your [e-mail]. Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly. Spain do just enough Mikel Mourinho winning it late on Pau Kabasi, outmuscled for Belgium's equalizer earlier struck it from 25 yards, substitute keeper Sani Lemon spilled it and the camera cut away to the injured Thibaut Courtois. A devastating and uncharacteristic error for the Manchester United keeper. The extra pressure of coming off the bench, the extra pressure of a World cup quarter final. Fabienne Ruiz had opened the scoring and

[Barry Glendenning]

it felt like that was that.

[Max Rushden]

But out of nothing, the Belgians equalised. Some vintage Kevin de Bruyne in the build up and a lovely header from Di Quettaleira. But Spain France is a great semi final to look forward to. And then tomorrow we find out the other one. England Norway again Mark Gaze hamstrings Declan Rice's dodgy stomach. Who Will be right back. And have we found Barry's spirit? Norwegian, there's the other quarter final between Switzerland and Argentina. There's bad news for Messi in Egypt. People going great lengths to miss the World Cup. Your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly. On the panel today here in New York City, Barry Glendenning. Welcome.

[John Brewin]

Hello.

[Max Rushden]

Hello. John Bruin.

[Barry Glendenning]

I'm parking here.

[Max Rushden]

And on the night shift. Not too bad a night shift for this one. Nikki Bandini.

[Nikki Bandini]

Hey, positively civilized.

[Max Rushden]

Only 11:00pm Ah, well, that's easy, isn't it? Right, let's start then with the quarterfinal today. Spain 2, Belgium 1. Someone called RJB 1998 posted a tweet during the game which said the cutaway to Courtois when Lammens makes an error leading to a goal here is going to be phenomenal. Ah, it is. It's agony for. For Sani Lemons, isn't it, Barry?

[John Brewin]

Yeah, it was an unfortunate mistake. I mean, the cutaway is only slightly tempered by the fact that Thibaut Courtois had made this kind of similar error for the first goal.

[Max Rushden]

Similar Ish.

[Nikayla Matthews Akome]

I think.

[John Brewin]

Similar ish. It wasn't as egregious a mistake, I suppose he saved that shot from Danny Almo. I'm going to say it's similar, almost identical.

[Max Rushden]

I don't agree at all.

[Boost Mobile Advertiser]

Anyway,

[John Brewin]

I was thinking Spain scored, won this match by scoring the same goal twice. You clearly disagree.

[Max Rushden]

I just think the Courtois. I think the save from Olmo is a really good save and he could parry it away. I think the mistake for Lemons is you gotta hold that at this level, Clive. You gotta be holding that, John.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, the Courtois mistake. And I will count it as a mistake and I'm sure he would count it as a mistake. A man of very high standards. It's from the. The save is from closer range. But when you go to matches and you watch the warm up, what's the thing that they're always running through is deflecting the ball away from danger. And he didn't do that. But it wasn't as egregious as the Lammens mistake, which is so unfortunate because I remember when he went to United last year, he was given the title of the new Courtois and this was the. Yeah, I know. And this is the moment that he's anointed his successor and it didn't go well. Let's credit Courtois with a good piece of what you in Australia called mateship after saying, you know, he's not.

[Max Rushden]

He's not renowned for that kind of thing.

[Barry Glendenning]

No, no, he's. He's. Can be a tricky customer at times, but he spoke. He spoke about how it's not his fault. You know, these things happen, and he's got a great future ahead of him. And it. But I suppose there might have been one left in on Rudy Garcia. Living up to Courtois by saying, I would have been happy to stay on, but it was the manager's decision.

[John Brewin]

Yeah.

[Barry Glendenning]

Absolving himself a little bit, Nikki.

[Nikki Bandini]

Yeah, I. I agree with John's analysis of the two shots. I think that's. That's spot on for me. And. And it's just a shame, isn't it? Because Courtois, yes, he signs off with mistake, but I think has had a reasonable claim in the last couple of years to be the best goalkeeper in the world. I think he's. He's. He's not got many challenges for that, in my opinion. So, of course, if he goes off and the guy who comes on makes a mistake, the narrative is. Is unavoidable. There's. There's no way around it.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah. Paul says it's Courtois. The most consequential injury in World Cups. The worst mistake by a substitute. We were Googling this. I found a Guardian article from a few years ago. Marco Eri for Bolivia, playing in their first World cup since 1950 against Germany in USA 94, was on the bench, even though he's their star player. Eri came on the 79th minute. Four minutes, two touches later, Lota Matias brought him down and he sort of gave him a harmless petulant kick and was sent off bad for two games. Missed the rest of the group stages. Bolivia out.

[Barry Glendenning]

I think the story with that was that Echeverri had been their big star. Him and Erwin Platini Sanchez. This is my memory of the world soccer days. And he'd had a bad injury, and that's why. And it's one of those players that's rushed back, you know, that often happens. And then that happened, and then he was never seen again at a World Cup. He did become a major star of the initial mls.

[Max Rushden]

That's right.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah. So those of us watching late at night on Channel 5 would have seen a lot of him in Preki, wouldn't we? Golden days.

[Max Rushden]

Golden days. So Jamo says, say something fitting, please, about just how amazing Mikel Moreno is. And you kept saying, barry, he's clutch. America has changed you.

[John Brewin]

Yeah, I don't like that expression. But he is clearly a clutch player. This is the second time he's done it in this tournament. He's done a countless times throughout his career for Real Sociedad for Spain, in other tournaments for Arsenal. And he was the most alert player in the box when Lemons made that boo boo and punished Belgium for it. He's probably not happy with being a super sub, but he is a super sub and that appears to be his lot in life at the moment. In terms of being a Spanish international, he's done very well in this World cup because obviously I don't think he played more than a half an hour if that for Arsenal since suffering that stress fracture is on his foot midpoint midway through the season. But I think Spain were one of the winners of this game. The only thing is now he may not have been on the field at the end because he would have started, but Yuri Tielemans is kind of a clutch player in his own way as well. And Belgium were without him because he. He had to pull out. Lastminute.com I don't think he even did the warm up, but I'm not sure what. What happened there. But he's a terrific player who can occasionally score massive goals in big games and he's a big loss for Belgium going into this game.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, I'm just on. On. I agree with that. Complete. He's a brilliant player on Marino. Nicky obviously watched a lot of him at Arsenal, or not that much of him at Arsenal because he has a similar role, I guess, but he has that. Well, he does play up front sometimes, in midfield sometimes. And what does he have the Lampardian knack?

[Nikki Bandini]

I don't know about clutch. I think for lots of us, Mikel Mourinho is inevitable. That's how it feels for me. Marino will arrive and he will score that goal on that notion. I mean, there was someone dug into the numbers for the Athletic a little while ago and he scored 11 Premier League goals for Arsenal. 10 of them have changed the game state. So 10 of them have either been turning a losing position into a drawing position or a drawing position into a winning position. So there really is like data to support this idea that he does it. And of course he also for Spain. I know B just alluded to it, but I'm thinking about the Euros in the quarterfinals against Germany. They were at the 119th minute when he scores the. The winner of that game. So don't go to penalties. It is actually kind of beyond this little meme now. It's. It's a real thing. You keep scoring these Incredibly important goals and. And I don't know, maybe. Maybe Baz is right and he wishes he could star. But I don't know if your story as a footballer was. Yeah, I'm just the guy who shows up and delivers Spain to semi finals and quarterfinals. I don't think I'd be too mad about that. I think that's a pretty good story to have as a footballer.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah. When does it go from meme to reality? It's an interesting moment.

[Barry Glendenning]

Is he not a reflection of the gateway? The game has changed with five substitutes. Like you can have a player that can do that. In baseball they call it a pinch hitter or whatever and at that like

[Max Rushden]

you for this pod coming in.

[Barry Glendenning]

Thank you very much. Thank you for glory. Thank you very much. Yes, but you know in the days when say famous super subs, you know, oligona soul shows over the one that I springs most to mind.

[Max Rushden]

Amazed you didn't say David Faircloth but

[Barry Glendenning]

David Fairclough was the second name but was the original. But David Faircliff would come in an era where there was one sub and sometimes might have had to play left back or something because he was the one sub. It changed a bit with Solska, but Marino is that. That can come on and you know that in that last 20 minutes, 10 minutes, here's a guy that can do that and also the opposition know exactly that's what he's going to do. And he has that timing, that knack which is a. Is it a lost art, Niki? Do you think that of the. The player arriving in the box to score these goals.

[Nikki Bandini]

It's certainly just as a. To bring it back to Max. Referencing my Arsenal fandom, it's a heartbreak for me that we didn't throw him on for the last few minutes of the Champions League final. You watch this happen and you think what. What was Arteta thinking? All right now. Now you go win the game. Mikael. Yes, it's a good question. The. The late arrival into the Bellingham has

[Max Rushden]

an air of it.

[Boost Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Max Rushden]

You know, if you think about this World Cup, I don't think it's a

[Nikki Bandini]

completely lost art, but I, I think that there are so few players who do it this. This. Well, I think McTominay does it great for Napoli, for instance. So I, I think there are, there are players who do it. I suppose we just had the archetype and archetype in English football was Frank Lampard. For such a long time, wasn't it? And I suppose we haven't had one in the Premier League who feels quite as era defining as that for a while, Jamie says.

[Max Rushden]

Does anyone actually enjoy watching Spain? They're clearly good at winning games but Christ, their dedication to anti entertainment is resolute. Baz, is that unfair? They created more than Belgium, right? But you imagine they're going to create more than Belgium.

[John Brewin]

I wouldn't say it's unfair, it's just not a thought that's really occurring to me, which I suppose.

[Max Rushden]

Did you enjoy it? Did you enjoy it?

[John Brewin]

I like watching Spain. Yeah. I know people used to get fed up with their ticky tacky woke nonsense back in the day but no, I think they're all right, I guess, I

[Max Rushden]

guess when you have this image of, you know, they have had times when they've been really truly exciting and blown teams away and you know, the last, you know, to get to the semi final, the last few games, last couple of games at least haven't been like. They haven't been thrilling, I guess but

[Barry Glendenning]

when they won the World cup in 2010, you know that this was the boring World cup because they, they didn't quite do that to Belgium in this game. But that team and this team can do this. They, they make the opposition suffer, don't they? They squeeze them into and drive them into distraction and then seize their chances.

[Max Rushden]

And there are moments, I guess, you know, Olmo has this wonderful balance about him. Yamar of course isn't quite on it.

[Barry Glendenning]

Well, yeah, I mean he, he won the sponsors man of the match because he is the most famous person my Irish Spanish friend. I think you know who it was was saying he thought he held on to the ball a bit too much. Right. Which I think it's almost like he, he, he, he's young and has to be the hero almost. Him and Doku, I enjoyed their little. Yeah, it was good. Both of them actually did each other with a bit of skill and you know, maybe a bit of respect there, you know. That was good to watch. That was exciting. I don't think that was the worst game I've seen. It was, it was better than the France game yesterday.

[John Brewin]

Yeah, okay. Trying to score that goal. He scores where he cuts inside and curls it inside the far post and I think he had three or four shots to, to no great avail. One of them went quite close and I think he's hitting his stride. I think we might see he could have a big say in the semi final or the final if Spain get to the final. I'm sort of surprised that by that. Are you sure that isn't like an email that's been for 10 years stuck in your inbox for 10 years, you only just got around to opening pretty

[Max Rushden]

reason I feel it's recent anyway. I'm just a messenger here. Yeah, you know, it was. It's Jamie from Jamie. It's not from my wife.

[John Brewin]

I'm not criticizing the sender. It just. Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone to say that.

[Boost Mobile Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Max Rushden]

Had an end of era feel about Belgium, Nikki, didn't it? You know, De Bruyne are coming off the courtois injury. You know, we, they're not the golden generation anymore. We know that. But now that's really, you know, it's the retired generation, I presume.

[Nikki Bandini]

Yeah, maybe. And maybe there's actually a new generation coming behind that can do. Okay, maybe it's not actually that that was their one generation they'll ever get. I mean Daku's there. Diketellara is 25. I need to, I need to say my bit on Diketellara. I know you love him already.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah.

[Nikki Bandini]

But I heard Archie say the other day. And Archie, of course, as always, brilliant analysis. I'm not really having a go, Archie. But he did say he thought Duchess Lara had arrived at Milan with all this hype and had never quite lived up to it. I think that happened at Milan. I actually think he's been brilliant for Atlanta for the last few seasons. And yes, his numbers this season are a little bit worse. But this season he started with Avon Jurich as his manager because Gasparini left in the summer. So a lot of things didn't go right this season for Atlanta. But the two before that, he had 13 goals, 11 assists in 24, 25 he had 14 goals, 11 assists the year before that. For a player who, despite what's happening with Belgium this summer or happened with Belgium this summer, I guess we say now he is not a number nine. He plays behind the attack. I think his numbers are more than, more than good enough for someone who plays that position on a team that's not one of the top, top tier teams at Atlanta. So I think he's, he's a brilliant player. I think he's got that header in his arsenal. I don't think people think of him as a header of the ball, but he scores quite a few with his head actually in Seria. And so maybe the next team is about Doku and Diketalara and it's not about De Bruyne and, and, and Lukaku anymore. But there's, there's not an absence of talent in that side going forward.

[John Brewin]

Max and I were discussing earlier how the Ketalera doesn't actually look like a footballer. He kind of resembles. I don't know if you're watching an episode of Law and Order. Yeah, he's the preppy student who gets ends up being guilty of some heinous crimes. His frat club or his frat society tried to cover it up, but it

[Barry Glendenning]

turns out, I feel like on Monday, say we're on the. On the Metro, we'll see him heading to Wall street or something like that.

[Max Rushden]

I had him more, you know, just a cutaway of generic children from Eton. Like he's got that hair about.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, it's one of Prince Harry's mob. One of his mates.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, I can see that.

[Barry Glendenning]

I was just going to pick up Belgium and Holland, or the Netherlands, as we should call them. There is this idea, I think, within football that the talent fracture was always the Netherlands and now it's Belgium. I mean, there is a lot of players coming out of that. Tony Bloom, of course, you know, is the. The God of all analytics and scouting. A lot of players come through Belgium to being one of them.

[Max Rushden]

Sure, the had a good tournament. That's a miss as well. Missing Anana and Telemans is really big.

[Nikki Bandini]

Big.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah.

[Barry Glendenning]

It's midfield gone.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, I'm. Here's some. This is from my Belgian friend, Quentin Mature. So.

[John Brewin]

And I didn't know you had a Belgian friend, Max. I thought I knew everything about.

[Max Rushden]

Oh, no, I keep my secrets. I keep my cards close to my.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yes.

[Max Rushden]

So here's his analysis, Barry. And you can eviscerate this because Quentin doesn't pass the ball enough on a football pitch despite being quite good at it. We were waiting for them to give us the ball or what. I hate when teams play like that, just defending. That's not when we play our best football. I sometimes wonder why managers get paid so much to say, let's defend and see. It's a quarterfinal. Ffs just play football.

[John Brewin]

I think Quentin's been harsh on Belgium there. They certainly weren't as meek and passive as Morocco yesterday, that's for sure. I thought they sort of spent the first 20 minutes going, right, we'll sit back, see what these guys have to throw at us. And then Spain weren't. Spain were definitely dominating the opening, say before the first break, but they. Then Belgium, I thought, started landing a few counter punches of their own. Docu made a few good runs taken on defenders, midfielders, beating them. He was ending up running down blind Alleys. But it, you know, he was doing something, trying to do something.

[Max Rushden]

And actually there was that moment at 1:1, I think, shortly after Equalized when I think De Catalara can put Doku through. It's a break from a corner and I think he doesn't quite get the pass right or someone intercepts it and that could have been very different. And like, I guess by the 75th minute they're thinking about extra time and penalties and actually, John, I thought they defended until that mistake. They defended pretty brilliantly.

[Barry Glendenning]

Absolutely, yeah. I mean, I suppose the question is how potent are Spain in attack? And I think that's the big question are going to be asked by France, isn't it? Because with all that possession that they have, and it's not quite at the level of the previous teams we've talked about, because they, they tend to be, they can be a little bit wasteful. It's taking those chances. And I suppose the question is, do they have as good a strike force as France? Well, no, no, we'll answer. I think, I think we can answer that fairly. Yeah, fairly, honestly. So that's the issue, isn't it? And they've defined defend well enough.

[Max Rushden]

They've conceded one goal this tournament. I guess the question is, Nikki, is, you know, if we look ahead to that Spain, France game is, is Spain's midfield better than the France midfield? So if they can dominate that, then they can at least reduce the number of chances that, you know, the France attackers make.

[Nikki Bandini]

I really don't want to pile on to your, your Belgian friend, please. As simple as taking the ball off Rodri. Rodri's really, really stinking good. He's having a brilliant tournament. We haven't mentioned him yet, but I felt like if I, at any second of that game looked away and then looked back to the screen, there was like a 90% chance that Rodri would have the ball. When I look back again, because he just always seemed to have the ball and he's, he's one of the best players in the world. So I think it's, it's a bit, a bit mean on Belgium, I think, to say, oh, why didn't you just take the ball off, off that brilliant midfielder they have? And I, I, I think that it'll be really fascinating to see what the dynamic of that game against France was because this, this game, for the first part of it especially, but really for a lot of it, the way that Spain stop you from hurting them is just by making the entire game get played in your half the ball's just constantly in Belgium's half and the only way they're going to break out of that is when they've got lucky for them, players like Docker who can, who can run. Now, France have a ton of runners. France are probably the best equipped in the world in terms of number of players who can stretch the, the pitch like that and, and, and, and play on the first break. So holding the ball in their half is not necessarily this great. I don't know, opponent canceling move that. It might be against someone else, but at the same time, I don't think France want to just sit in their own half and let Spain have the ball. So I, I do think that's a really interesting dynamic and, and I don't have the answer of how it's going to play out, but I'm certainly curious to watch it.

[John Brewin]

Yeah, it's probably worth mentioning as well. A lot of people seem to be outraged that when the score was still 1:1, that Belgium didn't get a penalty for the Rodri handball. But to clear that up, I believe. Well, I'm told, and I now know, I didn't at the time, that if your teammate heads the ball against your hand, then it can't be a penalty.

[Max Rushden]

Fab.

[Barry Glendenning]

Change of rule, wasn't it? Yeah, yeah. So, yeah.

[Max Rushden]

And also there was that moment just after Mourinho scored that Belgium Simon came out and he looked a bit dodgy today, but he came out and the ball went in the box and a Spanish defender kicked it. It was a pass forward, not a pass back. And he calls it because you can catch it if you pass it forward. And so that is a loophole that very defensive teams could.

[Barry Glendenning]

I think they got away with that because it was inadvertent as well as a clearance. We watched it with Jonathan Wilson and even Jonathan, had not seen this before, was confused by this moment and running through his internal rule book, which I don't really want to think about actually, but. But yeah. How many moments has this World cup thrown up? And that was a special one, wasn't it?

[Max Rushden]

Well, another special one, finally, before we move on, was Michael Oliver's excellent block on Danny Olmo. Julian on our subreddit, said, have you noticed the referee is being hit by the ball or players more frequently in this World cup than normal? Feels like nearly every game the referee is physically disrupting play, particularly in the attacking third. They've been instructed to stand in a more advanced or closer to particular passages of play.

[Barry Glendenning]

Do you know who was very bad for this as a referee. Howard Webb.

[Max Rushden]

Is that right?

[Barry Glendenning]

The ball always came off him.

[Nikki Bandini]

Yeah.

[Max Rushden]

Producer shots. Is it for Ref Cam? Are they trying to get the best shot just one more time? Could you do that again, please? I want to get a better shot of it. But had Michael Oliver been thinking he would have booked himself in a comedy way. That would have been, you know, that would have got the lulz in, wouldn't it? Anyway, that'll do for part one. Live shows on the 1st of September, Vicar street in Dublin. 9th of September, Soho Theatre, Walthamstow. Please come along. Tickets are selling well. Book now to avoid moderate disappointment. Guardian.co.uk footballweeklylive. You can also buy tickets to the live stream. I think we're doing the London show livestream and the New York gig as well, which is next Thursday. Next Thursday. I'm looking. Yes. Nodding from producer Joel. Thank you, Joel. And that'll do for part one. Part two. We'll look ahead to tomorrow's games. Hi, Podfans. Max here. Barry's here too.

[John Brewin]

Hello.

[Max Rushden]

The weekly is supported by Gradient fc. Now, Barry, with the World cup underway, we know player performance will be under a microscope, from superstars cementing legacies to upstarts vying for big summer transfers. But with 48 teams and up to six matches a day, it's hard to catch every moment. And that is where the Gradient FC app shines. Their player rankings update daily during the World cup, so you know whose performances are trending up or down on the world stage.

[John Brewin]

How does it work?

[Max Rushden]

Well, Gradient's rankings use the same grades trusted by clubs across Europe's top leagues for player recruitment. Each match is graded by a team of experts who evaluate over 2000 actions per match, not just by outcome, but but by execution. So, for example, a completed pass that leads the receiver into danger is graded negatively, while one that puts the receiver in on goal is graded positively. Now, I know you hate making match predictions, Barry, but maybe all that could change at the World Cup. With Gradient fc. With head to head player comparison tools that show who's best across more than 100 grades and metrics, it's easy to build and defend any prediction. And here's something else that will appeal to you, Barry. It's free.

[John Brewin]

Fantastic.

[Max Rushden]

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[Barry Glendenning]

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[Barry Glendenning]

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[Max Rushden]

Acast.com. Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. So, Norway, England tomorrow. Where are you, Barry? On the fearometer.

[John Brewin]

Oh, high. Yeah, 8.5.

[Gradient FC Advertiser]

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[Nikayla Matthews Akome]

Okay.

[John Brewin]

I think. Yeah, high.

[Max Rushden]

You predicted England to win every game so far. I presume that you're trying to curse.

[John Brewin]

Absolutely. 4 nil win tomorrow. No bother.

[Max Rushden]

What's the mood in. What's the mood in England, Nikki?

[Nikki Bandini]

I think optimistic. It is funny. Like, I, I don't know if it's just where I live. Obviously I'm, I live in Brighton. That's known. But I, I. You feel it's going on, but I don't feel like there's this sense of fervor like I might have expected. I don't know if how you feel about that, John, from before you came out. I don't feel like for how, for how realistic the chance is that England can win this tournament and they really are in a position now where they should be believing in themselves. Whether or not, whether or not we think they're going to beat Norway. They have certainly shown enough to carry that belief. I don't feel like the country is yet. Is yet. I don't know. In that.

[Max Rushden]

In jingoistic insanity.

[John Brewin]

Our white vans driving around with George's crosses. George's crosses.

[Nikki Bandini]

I don't know if it's also just because it's really, really hot and so everyone just doesn't have the energy to do anything other than just lie around complaining about how hot it is.

[John Brewin]

I mean, we're laughing, but extreme heat does SAP your enthusiasm for anything.

[Max Rushden]

No, I agree.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, I, I agree with Nikki. It, it did in. Back in England. It felt like, and I think it's maybe a time zone thing particular. I mean, you know, those of us who watch the. The Mexico game in bed alone, I should say, I don't think you needed

[Max Rushden]

to qualify those in glass houses.

[Barry Glendenning]

Barry takes one to no one

[Nikki Bandini]

anyway.

[Barry Glendenning]

But it feels like winning the World cup or going far in the World cup is one of those things that's sort of nice to have for the English rather than an expectation that. That's.

[Gradient FC Advertiser]

That.

[Barry Glendenning]

That's the. That said it. And also the. The St. George's flags. Well, they've taken a bit of a downturn in image in. In recent times because of certain.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, give it Bin Face to the end of the season.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, you give it big faces representing the best of England at the moment, isn't he? But so Bin Face and Harry Kane, that's what we're.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah. So Mark Gay's go be assessed on Friday to see if he's fit. He's got hamstring strain. Cons are obviously out for two games. Suspended. Rhys James is in contention. What's your back four, Nikki?

[Nikki Bandini]

Oh, God. Oh, you just want four Dan Burns against Harlan, don't you know? Dan Burn four times. That's a really hard one to answer, isn't it? Because we don't know what Rhys James fitness is like. And I've heard it said, oh, is it worth playing him in this game if there's a risk it's going to aggravate it and then you lose him for the rest of the tournament? And. And that's a conundrum on itself because, I mean, there might not be a rest of the tournament and that right back position is obviously pretty. A pretty big conundrum, especially now with Kwanzaa being suspended as well. I don't know. I don't know. Don't put me on the spot for all four.

[Max Rushden]

No, no, that's okay. You don't.

[John Brewin]

Would he be concerned at all about how much of a physical and mental toll that Mexico game will have taken out of your brain?

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, I'm a bit. Because we. I think because there's been long enough since that game.

[Barry Glendenning]

It was. Felt like a long time.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah.

[Barry Glendenning]

Don't you think?

[Max Rushden]

Yeah. So I. Because I. I agree with you. I did think, wow, that they have left everything out there, you know, and that's hard to go again or, you

[Barry Glendenning]

know, and it was only 90 minutes, though. That's the thing. It wasn't extra time.

[Max Rushden]

It felt like.

[Barry Glendenning]

It felt like those of us lonely in bed. Yeah.

[Max Rushden]

But there's a Heat as well. But I suppose the heat should be the same for both these sides. Shouldn't.

[John Brewin]

The only thing I'd say is I. This is kind of a free hit for Norway, and England are under a lot of pressure to win this game. I think Norway aren't under a lot of pressure. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the vibe I get.

[Barry Glendenning]

The thing about this game, though, is I'm desperately.

[John Brewin]

I'm clutching.

[Barry Glendenning]

No, no, no, no.

[Max Rushden]

I don't think you have to be totally clutching because, you know, Harland is Harland.

[Barry Glendenning]

Right. Well, this is it, isn't it? And. And the way that you observe the way Norway played in this World cup is they've been able to be patient in the games and they were against Brazil.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah.

[Barry Glendenning]

Because they know that that chance will come to that guy and he'll score. Now, England have the similar thing in Harry Kane, but there's something about the Norwegians. Let's not go into national service. Okay? Let's go international service. They're a bit cooler. A bit less.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, a bit. I mean, their keeper had a brilliant game.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yes, he did. Yeah. And he's had a great tournament. I think he's out of contract. I was reading the other day, someone should sign him up and. But England, we can't help ourselves, can we? Of just getting a little bit too excited, a bit excitable and, you know, the yellow card tightrope and the possible t. You know, it's just. And I suppose that's the thing that Thomas. I was going to say Thomas Tuchel's. One of his jobs is to stop the players being too emotional. But then I look at Thomas Tuchel on the sideline and think, that's probably not one of your better points. But Thomas Tuchel has been the master of the hydration breaks even more than David Beckham in this tournament.

[Max Rushden]

It's probably not earned as much as David Beckham.

[Barry Glendenning]

He's on a few quid, but not gone that much, but. Yeah.

[Max Rushden]

Barry, you wanted the pedantic Norway fan that I saw on Instagram on the. On the. On the row. On the big row at the end.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yes.

[Max Rushden]

He's gone viral. So he was. There's a clip of all the Norway fans doing. And he's sitting there, arms folded, like the pose you take when you're in a grump on the pod. Sit back, arms folded like this.

[John Brewin]

That's just my wrist.

[Max Rushden]

Oh, is that your resting? I do apologize.

[Barry Glendenning]

I do apologize.

[John Brewin]

Not my grump. Oh, I see. No, if I'm in A grump. You'll know.

[Max Rushden]

Oh, I know. Don't worry, you don't have to tell me. I'll know, I'll know. But yeah, he won't row, will he? Because he says it's factually wrong saying the Vikings didn't row over the island, they sailed. And you admire his pedantry?

[Barry Glendenning]

I do, yeah.

[John Brewin]

I love a pen. And everyone knows that when the longboats invaded England in 793 AD they didn't use oars, they used a Yamaha 14 horsepower outboard, of course, four stroke engine. Yes.

[Max Rushden]

It's common knowledge.

[John Brewin]

Absolutely. Like, I do admire his pendry. I also admire how the fact that so many people are getting really angry about his pedantry and the fact that he did his interview and on the wall behind him were a pair of oars. So I don't know if he's just done a wind up. But anyway, yes, anyone who adds to the discourse in an amusing way is always welcome in my book.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, well done. Norwegian pedant. We're running a survey to learn more about our audience. Apparently hundreds of you have nothing better to do and have already filled it out, so please keep going. Theguardian.com FWSurvey should take somewhere between two and five minutes. If you're watching, there's a QR code on the screen to make your life even easier and then you can tell us what you want from us and I mean, whether the results are ever passed down to us. I don't know.

[John Brewin]

And we'll, I'd imagine if the results are bad, they'll be passed down to us. If everyone who answers the survey says, you know, takes yes on the should Max and Barry be paid way more money, then that'll be kept secret.

[Max Rushden]

Is that a question we're asking? I don't know if that's even on it. Maybe in the comments. If you could say big pay rises for all involved. Anyway, thanks for getting in touch with that. Theguardian.com FWSurvey the email address footballweeklyguardian.com if you want to send us some correspondence. And that'll do for part two, but yeah, we'll look out to Argentina and Switzerland in part three.

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[Barry Glendenning]

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[Max Rushden]

Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. So, yeah, Argentina, Switzerland after the England Norway game. What hope do you give Switzerland? Nikki?

[Nikki Bandini]

It feels like without him, they haven't got that little thing that made them special. This is obviously still groundbreaking result for Switzerland. It's been a great tournament without him. It's hard to see where the magic comes from, but they're, they're, they're a solid team without him, but they just are lacking that little bit of inspiration that you feel like you might need to get past Argentina. Although, listen, Argentina showed some pretty significant frailties in that last game, so you never know.

[Max Rushden]

And also, I wonder, whoever's refereeing this game, will they be a bit on a. Let's book an Argentinian quick Romero first, you know?

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, the thing is with Switzerland is they have this amazing capability of boring the opponent to death, don't they?

[Max Rushden]

And you weren't going to do national stereotypes.

[Barry Glendenning]

That's just stereotype.

[John Brewin]

I think that long ball,

[Barry Glendenning]

I mean, it wouldn't be a tournament without a dull Swiss knockout game, would it? And it felt like the World cup became a true World cup when that game was played out. Manzabi, who actually, I notice his transfers are going through. This is something I find difficult about this World cup, like transfers going on

[Max Rushden]

while we're ignoring them.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yes.

[Max Rushden]

Well, good for a big pod where we go, Barry, did you know this?

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, he's gone well.

[Boost Mobile Advertiser]

He's gone well.

[Nikki Bandini]

Fair. Yeah.

[Barry Glendenning]

And yeah, they, they will miss him as a player. The big question of this game, of course, is Lionel Messi. And what we saw in the Egypt game was suddenly the Kraken wakes and he suddenly just seizes it. And, and nobody in the game, apart from say, two other or three other players, have been able to pull a game into their own hands in a way that he did in that Egypt game that, you know, that run that he makes down to the touchline, that Maisie run. And it's like he's 39 and he's still doing what he was doing 1617 years ago. But it's. And it feels like a very much like an American sports story, doesn't it? Like this can this guy, can this run continue? Like Linsanity cut to his house and

[Max Rushden]

he's cuts to his trailer and he's putting his elbow, his shoulder back into his socket after every game.

[Barry Glendenning]

The comeback kid, you know that type of thing it's got and it has that and Messi is the Hollywood guy and because, and also because he's so implacable as a, as a character we don't really know what Messi thinks about anything that's, you know, it's all about Messi. We cannot ignore this guy. Neither can Switzerland. They probably won't be ignoring him.

[Max Rushden]

Hope he turns out to be just a real massive boar. It doesn't really.

[Barry Glendenning]

What's his views on Norwegian rowing?

[Max Rushden]

Marcelo Mora y Araujo will join us. Ah great. After the game tomorrow for legacy POD fans to talk about the Argentina game. So that'll be great. Our friend of the pod, Kiram Zidane Egypt fan said if you think Egypt's over the soul crushing loss to Argentina, think again. Egyptian snack manufacturer Chipsy basically the Walkers

[Barry Glendenning]

of Walker's Chris David Beckham do there.

[Max Rushden]

Well they've halted production of all product lines featuring Messi on the COVID after Egyptians threatened to boycott the brand. That's some good stuff, isn't it?

[Barry Glendenning]

Another opportunity there for Becks to steal in then, isn't there?

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, yeah, yeah it could. Mike says it'd be very interesting to see if you mentioned the rioting in London last night by Moroccan fans which ended a policeman. If this was England fans you wouldn't hesitate. I listen with baited ears, says Mike. Well you've baited me into this.

[John Brewin]

That was the first I've heard of it.

[Max Rushden]

Well there we are. A police officer has been hurt. Several people arrested after disorder in London on Thursday night after France bit Morocco police and fans clashed on Edgeware roads. The Met police said four people are arrested for violent disorder. One officer had to be taken to hospital with a head injury after being hit by a glass bottle. As Philippe mentioned yesterday actually the scenes around Paris pretty much were pretty amazing, pretty cordial between the the French and Moroccan fans on that. The UK policing unit says that 223 incidents related to the England Mexico match in the early hours of Monday been recorded. So there have been six hate crime incidents, 32 incidents of domestic abuse made, 42 arrests linked to that game for which pubs are allowed to keep serving till 5am and I've done loads of work on on domestic abuse and the stats are so depressing. The last study by Lancaster University said that domestic abuse incidents can rise by 38% when England lose and 26% when England win. So yeah, it's just so bleak. Bit of a gear change but from the athletic Cape Verde keeper Voisinia has been recognized by having a newly discovered species named in his honor. A new species of marine mollusk has been named after the 40 year old by a Spanish researcher called Jesus Ortea. Ortea made the discovery of the new species, a small sea slug of red appearance and 4 millimeters. That was until his published work, unknown by science, and he's named it Aldisa Virginia. In English, Voisinia's sea slug. So many congratulations.

[Barry Glendenning]

I saw some social media footage of him water skiing.

[Max Rushden]

Oh, right.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah, he's enjoying his summer.

[Max Rushden]

Having a good time.

[Barry Glendenning]

He's having a good time.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah. I saw Pico Lopez on RTE with Stephen Kelly and Richie Sadler.

[Nikki Bandini]

Okay.

[Max Rushden]

And he was great.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah.

[Max Rushden]

Good value. What a time he's had as well. Ian writes High Football Weekly. I'm currently traveling in a small float plane to a remote family family fish camp in Alaska. It's Australia one, Egypt one in the 78th minute. I'm about to lose all cell and Internet connection for a week. This email in my outbox will send when I'm back online. I've turned off all possible alerts and plan to only find out results and news by listening to any missed pods in my feed in chronological order, though whatever fixtures exist will be a bit of a spoiler. I trust you all to give me comprehensive recaps and analysis, negating the need for any other media year. Did the plucky soccer steed another win? Is Luka Modric still running? Did Harland and the rampaging Vikings summon past demons to to score seven against Brazil? Are Mbappe's feet, to say nothing of his boots, literally made of gold. Did I consume more vegetables in the past week in a place where the only fresh food comes out of the ocean than Mark Langdon? I know I'll find the answers to these questions and many more soon. Keep up the great work. Many thanks for the many years of entertainment, peace, love and football to all.

[Barry Glendenning]

Ian he's got a plot twist with Matt Ryan coming up, hasn't he?

[Max Rushden]

He does, yeah. He's got many, many things, Halas says. I'm not looking forward to the World cup being over for many reasons. A huge one is that I've been using Football Weekly to go to sleep every night. What am I going to do without daily pods and the dulce at times of Max and Barry? Are you interested in daily pods for the rest of your life to keep this listener happy? Speak from the heart.

[John Brewin]

Would you be in Australia and I be in Europe?

[Max Rushden]

I would be right next to you,

[Barry Glendenning]

Barry, every step of the way.

[John Brewin]

I'm not sure.

[Max Rushden]

Just keeping you on the straight and narrow.

[John Brewin]

I'm not sure we'd survive. No, I think three a week is fine.

[Max Rushden]

Okay, fine.

[John Brewin]

After a holiday.

[Max Rushden]

Okay, fine. Okay, fine. No, no, listen. The feeling is trial separate. The feeling is entirely mutual.

[Barry Glendenning]

Not this again. In front of the children.

[Max Rushden]

Thank you to everyone in Brooklyn that has offered me somewhere to do my radio show. Apparently it works on the hotel room. So how many offers did you get?

[John Brewin]

Just out of interest?

[Max Rushden]

Quite a lot.

[John Brewin]

Because I said yesterday, I bet someone will collect Trump.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, there's loads in Brooklyn.

[Barry Glendenning]

Yeah.

[John Brewin]

And then you've thrown their kindness back.

[Max Rushden]

Yeah, I do apologize. But, you know, we'll pop round so we can. Send us your address. Barry will come around with a cake for every single one of you while I'm broadcasting to the nation. But that'll do for today. Thanks, everybody. Thank you, Nikki.

[Nikki Bandini]

Thanks.

[Max Rushden]

Cheers, Baz.

[John Brewin]

Thank you.

[Max Rushden]

Thank you, John.

[Barry Glendenning]

Cheers.

[Max Rushden]

Football Weekly is produced by Rory Simon and Matt Bentley. Viney. Our executive producer is Joel Grove will be back tomorrow.

[Barry Glendenning]

This is the Guardian.

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