Kevin Kilbane was at the game in Vancouver on televisual duties, we get his thoughts on what he makes of the co-hosts, the potential fallout of Ismaël Koné’s horror injury and how he reckons the groups are poised going into the second round of games. 

America 2026 lands in your podcast feeds at least three times a week throughout the tournament, free to everyone, wherever you get your podcasts.

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On paper, a 4-2 win over an old bogey side looks like the perfect way to open a World Cup. Add in the fact that this is an England team who have brushed aside everyone in their path en route to the tournament, and the mood should be euphoric. So why are the pundits, and even their own management, so slow to pat the team on the back?

Ken Early is one such sceptic. We catch up with him in Philadelphia after coming fresh from the action at Jerry World. Gavin Cooney, on the other hand, has a different worry entirely: that we may just have seen the tournament's future champions.

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We know it. For better or worse, sport has a way of melting away the woes of the world, and nothing has captured that quite like the last few days of America 2026. 

Mere hours after Iran were ushered out the country at the whistle of their opening group game, our gaze was swung to the twinkling brilliance of Mbappé, Messi and Haaland, who each smacked in a bag of goals to truly bring the tournament to life. Suddenly, all the off-pitch noise felt a world away.

Malachy Clerkin and Paul Howard are in studio and in the mood to revel through last night's action. We also catch up with Keith Duggan, who took in France v Senegal at the Meadowlands, though not before a detour to DC for UFC Freedom 250.

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The Scots are making a name for themselves in Boston, Curaçao caught a fleeting glimpse of greatness before being yanked firmly back down to earth, and tired national stereotypes are turned on their head by Japan's late equaliser against the Dutch.

Plus, we look ahead to today's action, which features our very own Pico Lopez lining out for his ancestral home of Cape Verde against tournament favourites Spain. A baptism of fire if ever there was one.

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Malachy Clerkin and the fresh face of Gavin Cooney join Paul Howard in studio to chat about the opening games, their watch strategies, and how much of a role these new-fangled "hydration breaks" might play in who takes home the trophy. 

Plus, we explore 2026 Derangement Syndrome, where even in our wildest World Cup fantasies, we still cannot imagine the Republic of Ireland as anything other than a gloriously middling team in this tournament.

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From reports of FIFA referees being turned around at the border to the Iranian national team being permitted nothing more than day trips into the country, it's the events off the pitch that have been dominating global headlines.

Irish Times Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan joins us from LA to pick through the situation on the ground, while Kevin runs the rule over what to expect from tomorrow's opening games and how the USMNT are shaping up with the weight of a divided US on their shoulders.

Plus, with so many Canadians having long preferred to back the countries of their family heritage over their own, is this finally the year Les Rouges truly become "Canada's team"?

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Paul, Kevin and Malachy discuss the state of play for both Mexico and Canada, as teams and as co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup. Can Mexico top their group to keep home advantage? Can Canada claim their first ever World Cup point?

We also chat to Andrew Downie, a foreign correspondent for Reuters based in Brazil and the author of a number of acclaimed sports books, including a personal favourite of Paul’s, "Doctor Socrates".

Andrew tells us how the 1986 earthquakes in Mexico City jeopardised the country's chances of hosting the World Cup last time round, how they managed to avoid losing the tournament, and the social and political ripple effects the disaster had on Mexican society.

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The Irish Times will publish episodes of America 2026 several times per week between now and the final on July 19th. Listen for analysis of all the football, digressions into World Cup history and coverage of the big stories happening inside and outside the stadiums.

On today’s episode Paul, Kevin and Mal preview the tournament. Who are favourites to win? Who are the players to watch? Is there any merit to the expanded number of teams competing? And are we allowed to enjoy this World Cup with all the political and ethical baggage attached to it?

Plus, Paul shamelessly name-drops while recounting his last World Cup final experience and Mal recalls his dressing-down by US president Donald Trump. 

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In part one we look at last night in the Aviva and Ireland's campaign as a whole. are we in a better place now? And what is Seamus Coleman's future in the Ireland setup?

In part two we look at the playoff deciders, where there were plenty of surprising results including Bosnia and Herzegovina beating Italy on penalties.

Finally we look ahead to some of the tantalising and not-so-tantalising matchups in the World Cup.

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• Belgium, World Cup 1998
• Turkey, Euro 2000
• Iran, World Cup 2002
• France, World Cup 2010

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• Ireland’s squad
• Handling the pressure of a playoff 
• How Ireland won back to back games against Portugal and Hungary 
• Match fitness and the impact of players not getting regular football 
• The Troy Parrott factor 
• The Czech team 
• Should we practice penalties? 
• Kelleher’s penalty-saving prowess

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America 2026 drops just in time for Ireland’s first (hopefully not last) playoff game against Czechia. To listen to the podcast, follow America 2026 on your podcast app - and look out for us on YouTube.

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