It's Here! Kickoff Day — Breaking Down the New World Cup 2026 Rules & FIFA

It's Here! Kickoff Day — Breaking Down the New World Cup 2026 Rules & FIFA

This is it. The World Cup is here — and on kickoff morning, Gary Striker and The Qooligan break down everything that's actually changing about the game you're about to watch. First, the rules. And there are a lot of them: the new substitution clampdown that punishes time-wasting, the straight red card for the hand-over-mouth taunt, VAR reviews on second yellows, captain-only conversations with the referee, the eight-second goalkeeper count, and the discretionary crackdown on players feigning injury. The Qooligan — who referees himself — explains how each one will actually play out on the field, who's most likely to get caught first, and why the biggest change of all might be the mandatory water breaks that quietly turn every match into four quarters. Then there's FIFA. Infantino's kickoff-day charm offensive, the $14 billion question, and whether all that money really does "go back into football." We get into the watch-party fever spreading across San Jose, Oakland, the Mission and Austin — and the very different mood in Mexico City, where celebration and protest are sharing the same streets. And we close on the two games that open the whole thing: Mexico vs. South Africa at a heaving Azteca, and the South Korea–Czechia clash one of our correspondents calls the most important game nobody's talking about. The wait is over. New episodes of Summer '26 every day of the tournament at hooligan-soccer.com [hooligan-soccer.com]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The African Profile: All Ten African Nations at The World Cup

The World Cup kicks off tomorrow — so on the eve of the biggest summer in soccer, Gary Striker and The Qooligan zoom all the way out for a continental macro view: all ten African nations heading to World Cup 2026, group by group. Morocco headline the continent's hopes — red-hot, deep, and carrying real semifinal expectations after their run to the AFCON final, with Hakimi, Brahim Díaz and Bono leading a side built to go deep. But the story runs far past the favorites. Bafana Bafana open the whole tournament against Mexico with the toughest of draws. Côte d'Ivoire bring the most physically imposing back line in the field and arrive off a win over France. Cape Verde — the tiny island nation almost nobody fancied — might just be the shock of the group stage. And Senegal, stacked front to back, have the misfortune of landing in one of the tournament's true groups of death. We run the full continent: Tunisia as Group F kingmaker, Salah's last dance with Egypt, Mahrez and Ryan Aït-Nouri's Algeria, DR Congo's quiet third-place hopes in Portugal's group, and the Black Stars of Ghana facing a must-win opener against Panama. The thread running through it all: in this 48-team format, one win can be enough. We break down exactly who can sneak through — and which African side has the best shot at making history. New episodes of Summer '26 every day of the tournament at hooligan-soccer.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

South America's Teams & Their Chances — with special guest Nathan Joyes of The Copa Club

Two days to kickoff, and the South American contenders are anything but settled. Gary Striker and The Qooligan are joined by Nathan Joyes — South American football journalist and host of The Copa Club Podcast — to go nation by nation through the continent's hopes at World Cup 2026. Is this the weakest Brazil side in a generation? Nathan argues that finishing fifth in qualifying, Ancelotti's stubborn 4-2-4, and shaky fullbacks are bigger problems than the Neymar circus everyone's fixated on — and explains why Endrick has to start. Then it's into the Group of Death, where Paraguay open against the USA without injured star Julio Enciso, and why he fancies them to cause trouble anyway. We dig into Ecuador — everyone's trendy dark horse — and why a watertight defense built on Pacho, Hincapié and Caicedo might not be enough while they lean on 36-year-old Enner Valencia up top. Uruguay, under the unpredictable Bielsa, set up a potential round-of-32 grudge match with Argentina. And the champions themselves? Underrated, ridiculously deep, and quietly the most dangerous team nobody's talking about — injury rumors and off-field noise notwithstanding. We finish in Colombia, where an aging golden generation hits its last-chance saloon. Plus the young stars worth tracking all summer: Endrick, Kendry Páez, Valentín Barco and Nico Paz. Nathan's verdict on who goes furthest? You'll have to press play. Catch Nathan on The Copa Club Podcast for everything South American football. New episodes of Summer '26 all tournament long at hooligan-soccer.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Betting the World Cup 2026 — with special guest Devin Crittenden of The Soccer Sharps

World Cup week is finally here — and before a single ball is kicked, we're getting our money's worth. Gary Striker and The Qooligan are joined by Devin Crittenden of The Soccer Sharps (and the World Cup spin-off Capping the Cup) for a betting-brain preview of Summer '26: who to back, who to fade, and where the value's actually hiding. Devin makes his case for Spain as the best team on the planet, explains why a 48-team field has quietly drained the jeopardy out of the group stage — three points now puts you through roughly 86% of the time — and breaks down the goalscorer markets that are smarter than blindly backing Harry Kane. We get into Mbappé's chase for the all-time World Cup scoring record and the cracks running through France, why Argentina are still very much a factor, Ronaldo's black-hole effect on a stacked Portugal, and a Brazil side priced far higher than they've earned. Then the fun stuff: Belgium's genuine dark-horse case (one word — Doku), Norway's frankly silly qualifying numbers, Morocco's encore, and The Qooligan's bold minnow shouts to sneak out of the group — Haiti and Cape Verde. Plus the edges nobody's pricing: the new Trionda ball, the New Jersey heat, Norway's all-black kit, and why the referee's confederation might decide your yellow-card bets. And yes — we land on what's realistic for the USA, and the coin-flip that could send them crashing into Iran in the round of 32. Place your bets responsibly. Kickoff's Thursday. Catch Devin on The Soccer Sharps and Capping the Cup (with the Designated Pundits). New episodes all tournament long at hooligan-soccer.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

France & England at World Cup 2026: Groups, Squads & Real Chances

Two of the big eight. Two very different summers ahead. Gary Stryker and The Qooligan are joined by Nick Britten — co-host of Road to World Cup 26 and Hooligan Soccer [https://www.hooligan-soccer.com]Contributor — to break down France and England's groups, squads, and the pathways that could make or break their tournaments. France look frightening: Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise, Barcola, and Deschamps chasing one last trophy before he walks away. Are they unstoppable, or will they undo themselves like France always threaten to? Then there's England — a kind-looking group with Croatia, Ghana, and Panama, Tuchel's eyebrow-raising squad calls (Spence, Henderson, Toney in; Foden, Palmer, Maguire out), and the round-of-32 nightmare nobody wants: a packed, sweltering Azteca against Mexico. In this episode: * Why France are the team to beat — and the one thing that could unravel them * Norway, Haaland, and the Senegal "derby" that makes Group I a minefield * Tuchel's squad logic, decoded: the four-D-chess picks and the big names left at home * Heat, altitude, and the Azteca: England's real obstacle isn't the draw * Plus: World Cup ticket prices finally falling — and where the bargains are hiding The biggest summer in soccer is one week away. Follow Summer of '26 for the full group-by-group ride, and find all the writing at hooligan-soccer.com. [https://hooligan-soccer.com] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]