Copa Independent

What England MUST change against Panama after drab Ghana draw

In our latest episode of Copa Independent, chief football writer Miguel Delaney, on the ground in Boston, and sports editor Jack Rathborn in New York dissect England's underwhelming showing against Ghana. After so much optimism and positivity following the opening Croatia win, what went wrong for Thomas Tuchel's side this time around? What is it about 'second match syndrome' and England at tournaments? And what does it mean for the Three Lions' final game against Panama? Plus, we discuss Fifa's strange preference for head-to-head over goal-difference as a group-position decider - and how Cristiano Ronaldo isn't selfless at all despite letting Nuno Mendes take a free-kick against Uzbekistan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Messi v Ronaldo? The debate was always absurd

In the latest episode of Copa Independent, Lawrence Ostlere and Miguel Delaney discuss a fascinating Golden Boot race as Lionel Messi scores twice against Austria to move onto five goals, while Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland also net braces to take their tallies to four.The pair reflect on Messi’s extraordinary longevity and revisit his long-running rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo, asking whether there was ever truly a debate over who was the greater player. They also look ahead to Portugal’s second group-stage match against Uzbekistan and consider whether Ronaldo can respond.Elsewhere, they preview England’s second group game under Thomas Tuchel and assess whether the Three Lions can replicate the best moments of their opening victory over Croatia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Tuchel team-talk that fired England to beat Croatia

Football writers Miguel Delaney, Richard Jolly and Lawrence Ostlere are in North America to discuss England’s statement 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas. Did Thomas Tuchel’s team-talk change the game? Was England’s display the performance of the tournament so far? Are Croatia really any good?The team also assess Cristiano Ronaldo’s woeful performance for Portugal, and run the rule over the first full round of games. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three superstars, one World Cup: Messi, Mbappé and Haaland shine

Lawrence Ostlere, Miguel Delaney and Richard Jolly look back on day 6 of the World Cup where Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe arrived on stage and set the tournament alight as well as igniting the race for the golden boot. Can Ronaldo and Harry Kane respond today? We also preview England’s first game in the competition against Croatia this evening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Germany, Brazil and a tornado at the England camp

In the latest episode of Copa Independent, Miguel Delaney reports from the England camp after emerging from a tornado threat in Kansas City, Lawrence Ostlere reports from Houston after watching Germany dismantle Curacao, and Jack Rathborn tunes in from New Jersey after seeing Brazil held by an impressive Morocco.The guys discuss the latest World Cup results including Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Japan and Scotland’s important 1-0 win over Haiti, and look ahead to the next batch of games with Spain, Belgium and Iran all in action. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.