World Cup is here, Atlanta’s Not Ready, Ronaldo’s Not Done, and Nigeria’s Not There

World Cup is here, Atlanta’s Not Ready, Ronaldo’s Not Done, and Nigeria’s Not There

The Five A Side Podcast is BACK — and we're coming in hot with the World Cup already underway right here in Atlanta 🔥 We reunite the full crew — Dalu, AK, Temi, Haruna, and special guest Tobi — to break down everything World Cup 2026. From the vibe (or lack of it) in Atlanta, to who's actually winning this thing, to the African teams we're riding with all tournament long. We get into France's squad depth, Spain's scary balance, Portugal's Ronaldo problem, and why England under Tuchel might actually be different this time. Plus — Nigeria didn't make it. We had to talk about it. Then things get real when we debate the Thomas Partey handshake situation, the Somali referee denied a US visa, and what it means to host a World Cup in this political climate. Oh, and we close it out with the most memorable World Cup moments of all time — '82 Brazil, '06 Zidane vs Brazil, Uruguay vs Ghana 2010 — the nostalgia hit DIFFERENT. ⚽ Topics Covered: World Cup vibe in Atlanta — is the city ready? Full tournament predictions: France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina Portugal's midfield depth vs the Ronaldo problem African teams built for the heat — Morocco, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire England squad selection debate: Palmer, Maguire, Bellingham, Henderson Group of Death breakdown MVP predictions for the tournament Thomas Partey controversy Most memorable World Cup moments ever 🎙️ Subscribe, like, and share with your people. Five Aside will be at the games in Atlanta all tournament — stay locked in. #WorldCup2026 #FiveAsidePodcast #Atlanta #WorldCup #Football #Soccer #PremierLeague #Nigeria #Arsenal #France #Spain #Portugal #England #africanfootball Timestamps 0:00 – Intro / Banter & Setup 1:45 – Welcome Back / Temi Returns to the Pod 3:00 – World Cup in Atlanta: Vibe Check & Is the City Ready? 7:00 – Atlanta World Cup Energy vs. European Host Cities 8:45 – Who's Winning the World Cup? Predictions Begin 9:00 – AK's Pick: France — Why They're the Most Balanced Squad 14:00 – Dalu's Pick: Spain — The Most Complete Team 17:30 – Haruna's Heart: Portugal & Bruno Fernandes Hype 20:30 – Portugal's Midfield Debate: Are They Actually the Best? 22:00 – Ronaldo Problem: Does He Hurt Portugal? 24:00 – Tobi Joins the Pod / His Pick: Spain, Dark Horse: Netherlands 26:00 – 48 Teams, 12 Groups — Nigeria Didn't Make It. How We Feeling? 28:30 – What Does Expanding to 48 Teams Mean for Quality? 29:30 – Will the Heat Be a Factor? African Teams Built Different 31:30 – African Teams to Watch: Morocco, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Congo 33:30 – Japan as a Dark Horse? France Won't Make the Semis? 37:00 – Norway & Ødegaard: Underrated Group Stage Threat 38:30 – Group of Death: France, Norway, Senegal, Iraq 40:30 – England Under Tuchel: How Far Can They Go? 45:00 – MVP Predictions: Bruno / Yamal / Olise / Messi / Ødegaard 49:00 – Top Contenders Breakdown: Can Anyone Upset France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina? 51:00 – England Squad Selection Debate: Palmer, Maguire, Bellingham, Henderson 58:00 – Favorite World Cup Songs (Wavy Flag, Waka Waka) 1:08:00 – Most Memorable World Cup Games (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) 1:15:00 – Brazil '82: The Best Team to Never Win 1:20:00 – Nigeria's Missed Opportunity: What It Means for the Golden Generation 1:25:00 – African Teams: South Africa, Cape Verde, Egypt, Congo Deep Dive 1:31:00 – Somali Referee Denied Visa / FIFA & Immigration at the World Cup 1:32:00 – Thomas Partey Handshake Controversy: Debate Gets Heated 1:44:00 – Outro / Five Aside in Atlanta for the World Cup

An Arsenal Fan's Mum Tells Her Side of the Story

What happens when a Nigerian mum discovers her son has two dangerous obsessions: animals and football? In this hilarious and heartwarming episode, Dalu sits down with his mum to unpack the origin story of his football addiction. From kissing cats and sleeping in dog houses to singing Okocha's name at sunset, the conversation takes a nostalgic turn through Nigerian football culture, Rangers vs Iwuanyanwu chaos, World Cup memories, Arsenal heartbreak, and the moment Neymar won Mum's heart forever. A funny family conversation packed with football banter, childhood stories, and unexpected Neymar fandom. Timestamps 00:00 – Introducing Mum's first Five Aside appearance 00:45 – The childhood animal obsession that worried Mum 02:00 – The infamous cat-kissing incident 03:00 – Discovering football through Jay-Jay Okocha 05:00 – Why Mum thought football passion was dangerous 05:40 – Rangers vs Iwuanyanwu: the referee-slapping story 07:40 – Football becomes the "lesser evil" 08:20 – Growing up with football injuries and football conversations 09:15 – Mum learns football through Messi, Brazil and international stars 10:00 – The Brazil match that made Mum fall in love with Neymar 11:30 – Neymar mania: skill, dribbles and surviving tackles 12:40 – Praying for Neymar after his injuries 13:20 – Is anyone else in the family this football-obsessed? 14:20 – How Kanu, Arsenal and neighbours shaped Dalu's fandom 15:20 – Supporting Arsenal and 20+ years of suffering 16:00 – Mum's plea for Arsenal to stop ruining household happiness 16:25 – Future appearances and signing off

PSG’d Off! Arsenal Fall on Pens, Fans Lose Their Heads & Dembele Enters Legend Status

Arsenal’s Champions League dream ends in the cruelest way possible: penalties. In this special Five Aside fan reaction episode, emotions are running wild as Gunners and PSG supporters debate controversial penalty decisions, Dembele vs Mbappé legacy talk, Arteta’s tactics, transfer targets, and whether Arsenal are one step away from becoming Europe’s next powerhouse. Raw, passionate, and completely unfiltered fan reactions straight from the final. Timestamps 00:00 – PSG fans celebrate European glory 01:00 – Is this PSG team the start of a dynasty? 02:00 – Ligue 1 advantage debate & Dembele's performance 03:00 – Dembele vs Mbappé: Who is the bigger PSG legend? 04:00 – Arsenal fans react to the heartbreak 04:45 – Did PSG deserve the win? Tactical breakdown 06:00 – The penalty controversy explodes 07:00 – Arsenal’s squad, transfers & Premier League success 08:00 – Chelsea fans join the banter 08:45 – Were Arsenal actually the better team? 09:30 – Arsenal supporters process the defeat 10:30 – Reasons for optimism: Arsenal’s future in Europe 11:15 – Summer transfer targets discussed 12:00 – Kvaratskhelia to Arsenal? Fan recruitment pitch 12:45 – Eze debate: Hero or culprit? 14:00 – Arteta criticism and Gabriel’s penalty miss 15:00 – Should Gabriel have been taking penalties? 16:00 – Rival fans give Arsenal credit despite defeat 17:00 – VAR inconsistency and major refereeing decisions 18:00 – Deflated Arsenal fans look ahead to next season 19:00 – Full match breakdown and tactical reflections 20:00 – Kvaratskhelia penalty incident revisited 21:00 – Madueke penalty controversy debate 22:00 – Neutral perspective on the refereeing decisions 23:00 – Did the better team win? Final verdicts 24:00 – Why Arsenal fans should still believe

Fly Emirates vs Emirates Fly Better 😭✈️ Arsenal vs PSG Gets Toxic

The Five Aside crew goes ALL IN on the UCL Final debate as Arsenal fans, PSG supporters, and certified football terrorists clash over tactics, “world-class” players, underdog narratives, and whether Declan Rice can survive PSG’s midfield chaos. From Saka debates to Arteta tactics, Hakimi injury concerns, Enrique’s revenge arc, and Arsenal fans claiming “the pressure is off” — this one gets HEATED. Plus: the funniest joke of the episode — “Fly Emirates vs Emirates Fly Better” — might genuinely decide the final. 😭 Will PSG’s attack overpower Arsenal’s defense? Or are the Gunners finally ready to complete the dream? Chaos, banter, and football Twitter-level headloss throughout. Timestamp 0:00 Intro & panel predictions 3:00 Arsenal defence vs PSG attack debate 7:00 PSG's system — how they attack 8:00 Flanks vs midfield — Bayern comparison 10:00 Route to the final 11:00 Underdog debate 13:00 Arsenal fan culture & social media 16:00 World-class players in Arsenal's squad? 17:00 Weak Premier League season debate 22:00 Arsenal going in with no pressure 24:00 PSG overconfidence — Club World Cup story 26:00 Luis Enrique respects Arteta 28:00 How will Arteta set up? 31:00 Timber vs Mosquera at right back 34:00 Martinelli vs Zubimendi 36:00 PSG midfield — just let them have it? 37:00 Joint combined XI begins 43:00 Midfield trio — Rice, Vitinha, Neves 47:00 Right wing — Saka vs Doué 51:00 Left wing — Dembélé as player of the tournament 54:00 Luis Enrique's team-first culture 57:00 Match predictions 1:01:00 Dembélé vs Mbappé — bigger PSG legend? 1:03:00 Rice vs Fabregas — bigger Arsenal legend? 1:08:00 Daniel defends Fabregas 1:11:00 How we became fans — origin stories 1:16:00 Final words & outro

North London’s Red Wedding: Arsenal Fans Finally Lose Their Heads

Arsenal fans in Atlanta absolutely lose the plot after finally ending the drought — and the scenes are pure chaos. From emotional lifelong supporters and rival fan banter to Bruno Fernandes debates, Tottenham survival stress, Klopp nostalgia, and Arteta praise, this one has everything football culture is about. There’s singing. There’s screaming. There’s tears. There’s cooked takes. And somehow Spurs fans still caught strays. Football heritage was alive and well tonight. Timestamps 00:00 – Arsenal fans flood the celebrations 00:45 – Father & son Arsenal story goes emotional 01:45 – “I don’t know what to feel” after winning the league 02:40 – Arsenal fan club president speaks on the journey 04:10 – “We suffered for this” – emotional Arsenal speech 05:20 – Predictions for next season & Champions League hopes 06:00 – Reliving Arsenal heartbreak over the years 07:10 – Rival fans react to Arsenal’s title win 08:15 – Bruno Fernandes vs Declan Rice debate erupts 10:00 – Set-piece assists argument gets heated 11:20 – United fans back themselves for next season 12:00 – Crowd chaos & trophy celebrations continue 13:10 – Harry Kane banter and trophy jokes 14:00 – Arsenal fans already predicting next season 15:00 – “We want our trophy!” crowd takeover 16:10 – Years of banter finally paid back 17:00 – “God did” – Arsenal fans celebrate the payoff 18:00 – Chelsea fan reacts to Arsenal lifting the title 19:00 – Pep Guardiola, Man City & next season discussion 21:00 – Liverpool fans debate Arne Slot & Klopp legacy 23:00 – Klopp vs Pep tactical legacy discussion 25:00 – Nigerian football shoutouts & fan culture 26:00 – Lifelong Arsenal fan reflects on the pain years 27:00 – Champions League optimism goes through the roof 29:00 – Spurs fan enters the chaos 30:00 – Relegation survival stress explained 31:00 – “Slot Out” chants begin 33:00 – Tottenham ownership frustrations aired out 34:00 – Chelsea ownership & oil money banter 35:00 – More title celebration madness 36:00 – Arsenal’s defense praised as Europe’s best 37:00 – Final trophy scenes & crowd erupts