Speaker
Gary Lineker
Appearances over time
9 episodes
Episodes
9
Brilliant England battle through Mexico test to the Quarter Finals
Argentina survive huge scare against Cape Verde as Messi makes it 8 in a row
Kane to the rescue as England squeeze past DR Congo
Terrible Germany crash out as Brazil fight back
Mentality monster Bellingham sees England top the group
England struggle in Ghana stalemate and Ronaldo gets off the mark
Lamine Yamal lights it up and Cape Verde continue to dream
S8 EP1: Gary Lineker on England’s losing streak, leaving the BBC, and his frosty relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo
World Corrupt Episode 6: A Dystopian World Cup
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Mexico conceded more goals against England today than in all their previous 10 World Cup games played at the Azteca stadium combined.
England were held to a goalless draw by Ghana in Boston in their second World Cup group game.
Germany have now failed to make the Round of 16 in three consecutive World Cup tournaments, a stunning fall for a historically dominant side.
Lamine Yamal is the first player in history to start a match at both the UEFA Euros and the FIFA World Cup while aged 18 or younger.
Jude Bellingham's 30th-minute header was England's first shot in the game against DR Congo — their longest wait for a first attempt on record in a FIFA World Cup match.
Gary Lineker earned just £16 a week as a 16-year-old apprentice at Leicester City, with an extra £5 envelope for his mum.
Spain remain unbeaten across their last 32 matches across all competitions — 23 wins and 9 draws — the outright second longest unbeaten streak in their history.
Germany famously had an unbeaten record in World Cup penalty shootouts — until this match against Paraguay.
France's second group game in 2018 was a 0-0 draw against Denmark, and they went on to win the World Cup.
Lionel Messi's goal against Cape Verde was his 20th in World Cup history, scored with a sublime controlled half-volley.
Harry Kane scored a late brace to give England a 2-1 win over DR Congo, rescuing what had been a troubled performance.
The USA defeated Germany 4-1 in the group stage, an early indicator of German vulnerability in this tournament.
Harry Kane equalled Gary Lineker's England record of 6 goals in knockout rounds of major tournaments with his penalty against Mexico.
Argentina lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup but still went on to win the tournament.
At his peak at Barcelona and Tottenham, Lineker earned around £325,000 a year — roughly 4 days of Haaland's current salary.
Sepp Blatter gave a Swiss newspaper interview calling the Qatar World Cup a mistake — because the country is 'too small,' not because of human rights. Tommy and Roger dissect why men in power only find candor after they've lost it, and how Blatter's confessional was really just bitterness toward Infantino.
Gianni Infantino opened the World Cup with a 57-minute rant claiming to feel gay, disabled, and a migrant worker — a speech universally condemned by journalists. Tommy argues Infantino's only goal was to signal to Qatar's trillionaire Gulf Arab sponsors that he'll take every bullet for them.
Eight European teams planned to have their captains wear rainbow One Love armbands. FIFA responded the night before England's opener with a threat of immediate yellow cards for any captain who wore one. England, the Netherlands, and others caved — then Germany covered their mouths for the pre-game photo and issued a statement saying 'Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice.'
After Shakira, Dua Lipa, and Rod Stewart all refused to perform, Qatar turned to Morgan Freeman — the man who was the face of the US bid that lost to Qatar, and who famously dropped his script mid-presentation. Roger floats the theory that Freeman was always on Qatar's payroll and dropped the script on purpose.
The Iranian national team stood silent and stony-faced during their national anthem in solidarity with the protest movement sparked by Mahsa Amini's murder. Families of players still in Iran face retaliation. Some fans back home wanted the team to not play at all; others felt the gesture didn't go far enough.
Tommy Vitor catalogues MBS's record: ordering the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, torturing family members in a power grab, spraying a ceiling with bullets during a fight with his mother, launching the Yemen war, and cutting a $2 billion check to Jared Kushner. He's now palling around with Infantino at the G20 — and that's what makes FIFA's position so alarming.
The Danish national team wore specially made Hummel jerseys with muted crests and sponsor logos as a symbol of mourning for migrant workers who died building the stadiums. Hummel's statement: 'We don't wish to be visible during a tournament that's cost thousands of people their lives.' Roger calls it the most effective messaging moment of the tournament.
The Emir of Qatar wrapped a Saudi flag around his neck while watching Saudi Arabia beat Argentina — a conscious geopolitical signal that their years-long blockade is truly over. Tommy argues Saudi Arabia is now looming larger over this World Cup than Qatar itself, with a 2030 bid in the works and MBS's money flowing everywhere.
Infantino received Russia's Medal of Freedom from Putin after praising the 2018 World Cup for showing 'a wonderful face of Russia to the world' — and has refused to return it despite the Ukraine invasion. He then sat between MBS and the Emir of Qatar at the World Cup opener. Tommy: 'I see two brutal, corrupt autocrats making an Infantino sandwich.'
Fox, sponsored by Qatar Airways which paid for their Doha set, announced it would cover only on-field action and deployed a social influencer who runs a guitar website as an expert analyst. The BBC instead had Gary Lineker open with a sober, viral recounting of every human rights concern — and got millions of views.
Lionel Messi is a paid Saudi tourism ambassador while Argentina bids to host the 2030 World Cup against Saudi Arabia. David Beckham signed a $150 million, 10-year deal to be Qatar's brand ambassador — prompting an English comedian to threaten to put £10,000 through a wood chipper unless Beckham quit.
Mexico try to suffocate opponents with altitude and intensity in the first 20 minutes. After that, their players are dead on their feet. England's task is simple: don't concede early. Brad Friedel thinks England are so much better than Mexico that the result should look after itself.
Rob Beckett has a theory: to be a referee, you have to crave attention. Give them names on their shirts and a ref-cam, and they behave. But eventually the desire to intervene kicks back in. VAR's early restraint at this tournament has given way to a rash of bad calls — and Rob thinks he knows why.
Joe Cole thought Anthony Gordon would arrive at the World Cup with all the Scouse swagger in the world — but he looked nervous and fluffed his lines in the opening games. Two assists against DR Congo later, Gordon has his confidence back. Joe is genuinely pleased for him.
Qatar's US ambassador wrote a formal op-ed response to Tommy and Roger's CNN piece, accusing them of racist and biased coverage. Tommy's take: it's textbook whataboutism from a 'snowflake liberal autocrat' — and the clap-back generated ten times more media requests than the original piece.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Sports 69%
- News 11%
- Health & Fitness 8%
- Society & Culture 8%
- Business 4%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
