Speaker
Joe Cole
Appearances over time
8 episodes
Episodes
8
Spain win the World Cup as Rodri reigns supreme
England v Argentina & France v Spain - who reaches the final?
Bellingham saves England and sets up semi-final v Argentina and Messi
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
England struggle in Ghana stalemate and Ronaldo gets off the mark
Lamine Yamal lights it up and Cape Verde continue to dream
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
France's attacking depth is so strong that dropping one of Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise, or Barcola to add a midfielder is a genuine tactical dilemma.
Mexico's Quinones had already scored 3 goals in the 2026 World Cup heading into the round of 16 against England.
Joe Cole noted that Marcelo Bielsa has won three titles in Argentina and one championship with Leeds over a 30-year managerial career, yet Uruguay look in danger of going out.
Cristiano Ronaldo is 41 years old and still performing at the World Cup level, with the panel questioning whether he can play every minute of the tournament.
Thomas Tuchel's plan for England is reportedly to split playing time between Gordon and Rashford in a 60-minute/30-minute rotation on the left flank.
Joe Cole argued Bellingham is the most complete player England have ever had, surpassing even Glenn Hoddle technically.
Carlos Queiroz, Ghana's coach, previously worked as assistant at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson and helped change their European tactical setup to a 4-3-3.
Lee Carsley won 5 games as England caretaker manager before losing to Greece at Wembley, and the panel felt the FA missed a trick by not giving him the permanent role.
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.
England were 1-0 down to DR Congo within 15 minutes and looked disorganised — but Gary Lineker says the last two-thirds of the match were genuinely encouraging, with chances created and composure shown under pressure. The goal was coming.
Micah Richards isn't buying the positivity. England have played roughly 90 minutes of decent football across four games, the right-back situation is a self-inflicted wound, and a disorganised midfield is leaving a vulnerable backline totally exposed. Without improvement, the final is out of reach.
Harry Kane was blatantly fouled by the DR Congo goalkeeper — a nailed-on penalty, per Joe Cole — and VAR somehow missed it. Gary Lineker says VAR has had a disastrous run of decisions and the problem is super slow-motion replays that allow officials to read anything into any contact.
Jordan Pickford jumped too high with his feet not set — and pace will beat any keeper in that position. Brad Friedel identifies it as a technical error rather than a concentration lapse, but is worried that Pickford has had a nervy moment in three of England's four games, which is out of character with his recent club form.
Jose Mourinho used to scream from the touchline at Chelsea with such intensity that players would just give him a thumbs up and say 'yeah, gaffer' without understanding a word. Joe Cole has no idea to this day what Mourinho was actually shouting.
Brad Friedel set realistic expectations for the USA: get out of the group first, win one knockout game, then see. Belgium are beatable — but Doku and Lukaku can negate America's pace. If it goes to Spain, the USA probably bow out. But Weston McKinney, who Friedel coached as a teenager, is the most influential player in the squad.
VAR had a disastrous run of decisions at the World Cup, and Gary Lineker has a clear explanation: super slow-motion replays distort reality and allow officials to find contact where the real-time eye would never see an offence. Ban it for VAR review, and the decisions improve overnight.
On a terrible pitch, ball bouncing off his chest with a centre-half smashing him from behind, Gary Lineker finally lost it when Bobby Robson screamed at him to hold it up. 'You f***ing try holding it up!' — and then instant remorse, because Bobby was so lovely.
Rice, Bellingham and Anderson are all naturally number 8s who want to attack and press. When England lose the ball, all three chase it forward — leaving Konsa, Gaye, Spence and O'Reilly exposed. Micah Richards says fixing this is the difference between a quarterfinal exit and a deep run.
Germany had a goal controversially ruled out via VAR — and both Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker are unequivocal: the Paraguay goalkeeper dived, the ref was conned, and Germany were robbed. The decision changed the entire trajectory of the game.
Paraguay's win isn't just a German problem — it's a warning for England. Micah Richards says teams playing a low block are consistently getting results at this World Cup, and England must get an early goal against DR Congo on Wednesday or risk being dragged into a similarly scrappy war of attrition.
Germany finally lost a World Cup penalty shootout — and the panel agrees they deserved every bit of their humiliating exit. Alan Shearer, who was at the game in Boston, called the first half one of the worst performances he had ever seen: no energy, no quality, no fight.
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.
Analysis
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