The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

World Cup 2026: Cape Verde’s tourism boost, Paraguay’s rags to riches keeper & an England fan manhunt

The 2026 World Cup continues to produce breathtaking matches – arguably none more so than debutants Cape Verde versus world champions Argentina.With players who once worked as electricians and mortgage advisors, Cape Verde pushed Lionel Messi & Co. to extra time in the round of 32, serving up one of the most memorable knockout ties in World Cup history. And one of the all-time great goals, scored by Sydny Lopes Cabral, who was playing in the German fifth tier not long ago and was so poor that he was hanging up binbags as makeshift curtains.But how does the game compare to other World Cup classics in the modern era? And what will Cape Verde’s fairytale run do for tourism in the country?Another outsider surpassing expectations is Paraguay, who eliminated four-time world champions Germany. Goalkeeper Orlando Gill, who was facing his idol Manuel Neuer, boasts one of the best rags to riches stories at the tournament.Plus: Viral Kiwi Tim Payne completes a transfer to Olimpia in South America and an England fan sparks an international manhunt.Sign up to The Sweeper’s Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/SweeperPodChapters:00:00 – Intro00:53 – Cape Verde v. Argentina05:50 – From zeroes to heroes19:00 – A World Cup tourism boost23:06 – Paraguay’s dark arts25:17 – Orlando Gill’s amazing story26:55 – Tim Payne’s Olimpia move29:48 – An England fan manhunt

World Cup 2026: Cape Verde’s Messi meeting, Doctor Congo in dreamland & the Habsburg Derby

The 2026 World Cup group-stage is over – and we’re already under way with the knockout phase of the tournament!Among the teams in the last 32 are seven knockout debutants: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, DR Congo, Egypt, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Cape Verde, who have been the story of the tournament and face Lionel Messi’s Argentina next. But which other countries reached the knockouts on their first-ever World Cup appearance? And which others made it through the group phase with three draws?Elsewhere, there are some ties with intriguing political backdrops. Austria face Spain in a battle of the two branches of the Habsburg family, while co-hosts Mexico and Ecuador go head-to-head in the Latin American Embassy Derby. There’s also a sinister history between Germany and Paraguay, an assassination plot involving England and DR Congo, and an air base that will link the USA and Bosnia forever.Plus: South Korea’s president intervenes following the country’s miserable World Cup performance, Marcelo Bielsa has a full-scale meltdown on camera and Tunisia stake a claim for being the worst team at the World Cup.Sign up to The Sweeper's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/SweeperPodFollow Joey D'Urso on Instagram here:https://www.instagram.com/joey.durso/And Joey D'Urso's Substack is here:https://joeydurso.substack.com/Chapters:00:00 – Intro02:38 – Debutants and draws05:10 – Knockout newcomers10:50 – Cape Verde’s Messi meeting17:51 – Political pairings28:11 – Regrets and recriminations

World Cup 2026: The Gijón grudge match, a Dutch royal groundhop & Hervé Renard’s crisp white shirts

It has been another scintillating week of action at the 2026 World Cup, where the final round of group games is about to get under way.Algeria are preparing to exact revenge against Austria for the ‘Disgrace of Gijón’ 44 years ago, in what may be the biggest grudge match of the tournament, while the Dutch royal family has been groundhopping to watch the Netherlands and Curaçao on the same day.Elsewhere, Hervé Renard and his crisp white shirts have failed to salvage Tunisia’s campaign, a marriage proposal went wrong at the Uruguay-Cape Verde match and Senegal have resorted to ordering takeaways to their team hotel in the absence of a proper chef.Plus: Borja Iglesias struggles to get into the Spain training base, an Iranian player has his celebrity aunt to thank for his call-up, German fan Freddy sparks a bidding war from North American airlines and Montevideo tops the all-time World Cup birthplace table.Chapters00:00 – Intro01:10 – Shocking scandals11:18 – Famous fans16:58 – Crazy call-ups21:55 – Miscellaneous mayhem26:09 – Bountiful birthplaces

World Cup 2026: Balogun’s curious US citizenship, Peru’s mascot drug raid & Algeria’s sleep tax

The 2026 World Cup is already producing crazy quirks and hilarious headlines – with the co-host trio of Canada, Mexico and the USA leading the way. The USMNT have a star striker who gained citizenship by pure coincidence, while the American and Canadian tournament mascots have inspired a Peruvian drug bust and a Mexican duck wearing a national team shirt has gone viral across the world.Meanwhile, Algeria have begun a love affair with the people of host state Kansas, who have completely thrown their support behind the team, while Scotland are BBQing with AirBnB hosts in Boston and South Korean fans are forging a tequila-based bond in Mexico City.Plus: Cape Verde stun the football world against Spain, Brazil and Mexico contest the ‘Non-European European Border Derby’, Australia’s refugee strikeforce make a flying start and Algeria top the ‘World Cup Sleep Tax’ table.Chapters:00:00 – Intro00:50 – Cape Verde’s heroics04:45 – Curious citizenships10:20 – Glorious geography14:10 – Strange statistics20:26 – Beautiful bonds25:40 – Amazing animals

Uzbekistan: The World Cup's nearly men no more

Uzbekistan are on the cusp of making their long-awaited World Cup bow. With former Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro at the helm, the former Soviet republic is about to become the first Central Asian country and the first double-landlocked nation to take part in the greatest show on earth. But what else do you need to know about the White Wolves before they have even kicked a ball in North America? In the final episode of our four-part series on the 2026 World Cup debutants, it is all about Uzbekistan, who have shed their decades-long nearly-men tag and arguably boast the best chances of any of the newcomers to the competition. Plus, DR Congo’s preparations are disrupted by the Ebola outbreak and Bosnia bring the largest coffee pot on the planet to North America. Join our Curaçao v Germany watch-along on Sunday 14 June at 6pm UK time here. Chapters:00:00 – Intro01:45 – The coach: Cannavaro’s playing pedigree04:00 – The players: Khusanov the star man08:45 – Qualifying: Nearly men no more11:09 – Group: Portugal, Colombia & DR Congo13:16 – DR Congo: Ebola outbreak at home16:44 – Bosnia: The world’s largest coffee pot