How Much Do Managers Really Matter?

How Much Do Managers Really Matter?

After Ashish makes Stefan listen to his experience watching Ghana hold England to a draw, they talk about how much managers really matter, with particular focus on England and Brazil at this World Cup.

How Far Can Cape Verde Go?

After Stefan takes us back to the 1974 Poland-West Germany World Cup match, we talk about the fairytale story of Cape Verde so far, and discuss how far they can go in this year's tournament. We also talk more broadly about smaller countries like Portugal, Croatia and Palestine, whose teams have long overachieved based on their populations, GDP and global football experience. Email us with your thoughts and questions at thesoccernomicspodcast@gmail.com

Dual National Players: A Win for Africa, Europe, or Both?

We discuss the latest games, the geopolitics around the Iraqi and Iranian teams, and the debate over who is gaining most from dual national players.

The Socceroos and USMNT: Can Diverse National Teams Drive Social Change?

In our first episode since the World Cup we discuss some of the surprise results so far, and highlight the great start for the Socceroos and their young star, Nestory Irankunda - who like two of his teammates - was born in a refugee camp in Africa before he and his family were granted asylum in Australia. We debate whether the success of multicultural teams like the Socceroos and the US can change attitudes around immigration in their countries.

Why Does Little Western Europe Rule International Soccer?

When Simon and Stefan first wrote Soccernomics, they predicted that the US, Japan, Australia, Turkey and Iraq were destiened to become the kings of the sport. That turned out to be wrong...well, so far at least. Instead, ove the last five World Cups, Argentina is the only non-European team to have finished in the top three. So what's behind Europe's (specifically Western Europe's) domination of the game?