One goal from Harry Kane changes everything.

After the tension of watching England’s Round of 32 tie from an airport lounge, the dream stays alive and so does the journey. Next stop: Mexico City.

What follows is a first taste of a city that’s fast becoming one of my favourites anywhere in the world. Beneath one of the world’s largest national flags, thousands of football fans gather in the FIFA Fan Festival to cheer on Portugal and Croatia, united less by national allegiance than by a shared love of the game.

There’s Cristiano Ronaldo mania, heartbreak for Croatia, conversations with fans from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Croatia, and a reminder that sometimes the best stories happen nowhere near the stadium.

With England now bound for the Azteca, the excitement for Sunday’s knockout clash is beginning to feel very real.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#MexicoCity #WorldCup2026 #Azteca #Ronaldo #FAN48

Before this episode, I’d never heard of Janteloven.

It’s an unwritten Norwegian social code that says you shouldn’t think you’re better than anyone else. I discovered it while chatting to a group of Norway fans in Brooklyn, and what followed became one of my favourite conversations of the entire World Cup.

We start with football, but quickly end up talking about national identity, why Norwegians love America’s larger-than-life characters, the rivalry with Sweden, Erling Haaland, Brazil, baseball, Viking confidence and what it’s really like to be Norwegian.

It’s funny, thoughtful and completely unexpected – one of my favourite encounters so far!

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

New York becomes the world’s biggest fan zone as the knockout stages begin.

An Egyptian deli owner tells me why Norway’s supporters have stolen the show, a New York ambulance driver serenades Brazilian fans in Times Square, and then it’s into Hurley’s Bar, where Dutch supporters turn Manhattan orange ahead of their Round of 32 clash with Morocco.

Along the way there’s the World Cup’s first penalty shootout, an unforgettable moment with a jubilant Paraguay supporter after Germany crash out, conversations about growing up Dutch in New York, why Amsterdam remains one of my favourite cities, and even a surprise theatre connection on the walk back to the hotel.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#FIFAWorldCup #Netherlands #NewYorkCity #FootballCulture #FAN48

Halfway through the journey, it felt like the right time to stop looking ahead and spend a moment looking back.

From a rooftop in Brooklyn, I reflect on the first few weeks of FAN48. Twenty-six nations met, thousands of miles travelled, countless tacos consumed and a growing realisation that the best stories have rarely been the ones I expected to find.

From a Brazilian learning the bagpipes to DJ Black in New York, a Yorkshire dad at the BMX World Championships and a professional slap fighter I definitely wasn’t looking for, this isn’t really becoming a podcast about football at all. It’s becoming a podcast about people.

With Mexico next on the itinerary and the knockout stages beginning, I look back at what I’ve learnt so far, what I’m hoping to discover next, and why the conversations that happen by accident often become the ones that stay with you.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#WorldCup #FootballCulture #TravelPodcast #MexicoCity #FAN48

As the group stage comes to a close, FAN48 pauses the journey for a special conversation.

For one episode only, “No pundits, no players, just people” bends its own rules as Rob sits down with one of Britain’s most respected football journalists, Henry Winter, in Kansas City before England begin the knockout stages.

Together they reflect on ten World Cups, why tournaments always surprise us, what makes USA 2026 unique, England’s chances, the changing culture around the national team, and why fan experiences remain the heart of football.

From the Tartan Army in Boston to Wonderwall echoing around MetLife Stadium, from hydration breaks to refereeing, Leeds United to the legendary Azteca, it’s an insightful conversation about football, travel and what World Cups really feel like from inside the tournament.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#HenryWinter #England #WorldCup2026 #FootballPodcast #FAN48

England. Panama. New York. And one of the strangest emotional journeys of the World Cup so far.

It starts with tacos in Times Square, a rain-soaked pilgrimage across to MetLife Stadium and questions about whether the World Cup atmosphere has finally deserted us. But as the match unfolds, so does the day.

Along the way, Rob meets an American Arsenal supporter experiencing his first World Cup, a Mexican couple celebrating their engagement, and an England fan attending an astonishing tenth World Cup. There’s laughter, reflection, plenty of rain, and a reminder that where you watch a match can completely change how you experience it.

Sometimes football really is a game of two halves.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#England #WorldCup2026 #ThreeLions #NewYork #FootballFans

A chance encounter in a New York hotel bar turns into a conversation about football, fatherhood and following your dreams.

Rob meets Matt from York, a Leeds United supporter in town for England v Panama, who shares the remarkable story of his son Jacob. Inspired by watching Olympic BMX champion Beth Shriever during lockdown, Jacob went from discovering the sport during Covid to representing Great Britain on the international stage.

Along the way, they discuss Elland Road’s redevelopment, Yorkshire music, World Cup atmospheres, the importance of giving young people something to believe in, and why sport can change lives far beyond the result on the scoreboard.

Plus, reflections from New York as World Cup fever continues to build ahead of England’s next match.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#WorldCup2026 #LeedsUnited #BMXRacing #EnglandFans #FAN48

Back in New York, Rob heads to a sports bar in Times Square expecting to spend an afternoon watching football. Instead, he finds a little World Cup of his own.

In the space of a few hours he meets Côte d’Ivoire supporters celebrating qualification, a proud Curaçao fan carrying a speaker in her backpack, an Ecuadorian airline pilot following his team across America, and DJ Black – the official DJ of the Panama national team – who confidently predicts a 2-1 victory over England.

Along the way there are conversations about identity, migration, optimism, football culture and what happens when supporters from every corner of the world end up sharing the same room.

Plus, birthday reflections from Manhattan, Times Square at full World Cup volume, and a reminder that sometimes the best stories appear when expectations are at their lowest.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#FAN48 #WorldCup2026 #EnglandFans #Panama #FootballCulture

Brazil v Scotland in Miami. My first proper World Cup matchday, and it did not disappoint.

From Wynwood to the stadium, from a sea of yellow shirts to pockets of Scottish blue, this episode follows the full journey into Miami Stadium for one of the great World Cup fixtures. There are Brazilian fans full of joy and hope, Scots trying to believe, Neymar warming up like a rock star, and somehow, inevitably, bagpipes on the bus home.

The result may not have gone Scotland’s way, but this was exactly what FAN48 is about: colour, noise, strangers becoming friends, and the strange, brilliant places football takes you.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#FAN48 #WorldCup2026 #ScotlandFans #FlowerOfScotland #FootballStories

Most of us spend a football match staring at the pitch without ever really thinking about it.

This episode of FAN48 goes behind the scenes of the World Cup with Justin Lang, the man responsible for preparing and maintaining the playing surface at SoFi Stadium, oooh, no , The Los Angeles Stadium.

From growing grass on a farm in Washington State to installing a World Cup pitch inside one of the most extraordinary stadiums on earth, Justin explains the science, planning and problem-solving involved in creating the stage for football’s biggest tournament.

We talk about artificial sunlight, tactical watering, thunderstorms, stadium design, why some teams like a fast pitch and others don’t, and how a World Cup pitch ended up with the name Phineas.

It’s a fascinating glimpse into a side of the tournament most fans never see.

Host: Rob Shaw Cameron
FAN48: fan48.info
Instagram: @fan48pod
WhatsApp: +44 7518 715948

#FootballPodcast #WorldCup2026 #BehindTheScenes #FootballCulture #FAN48