We're back! Sam, Chris, Andrés and Santi S review Argentina's near-perfect start to their attempt to defend the World Cup title, after they got nine points from three matches and conceded just once in group J. We ask whether Lionel Messi is any good at football (he might be), look at the defence and midfield and run the rule over the other CONMEBOL representatives.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Andrés and Santi B discuss a clásico mendocino that didn't go as expected for the first twenty seconds, but went very much to form thereafter as Independiente Rivadavia ran out 5–1 winners over Gimnasia de Mendoza. Boca Juniors also got a four-goal winning margin, while Riestra and River Plate both won by a couple. The playoff qualifiers aren't quite decided as we go into the last weekend of group stage action, but this is the final episode of the Torneo Apertura for us, because Sam's mate didn't consult Sam before deciding when to get married. We'll be back when the World Cup is underway ... unless you'd like to join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/handofpod

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Andrés and Santi S gather to discuss a superclásico win for Boca Juniors that was narrow – and might have escaped them had a refereeing call right at the death gone the other way – but deserved, as Chacho Coudet's reign at River Plate hits its first bump in the road. Elsewhere there was another win for Newell's Old Boys, who seem to have remembered how to play football and a seven-goal thriller in Santiago del Estero among other results.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi S look at last week's league results and the midweek continental matches, both of which brought positive results for River Plate and Boca Juniors ahead of Sunday's superclásico. It was also a great week for Independiente Rivadavia.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Santi S and Santi B discuss half a round of Torneo Apertura action that saw Independiente scrape a win over Racing in the clásico and – we hope you're sitting down for this – Newell's Old Boys win a second league game in a row. We also go over the action from the opening week of Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana group stage matches.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Santi B and Santi S look back on Argentina's two friendly wins in the Bombonera over Mauritania and Zambia. We discuss how encouraging or discouraging the performances were, which players have done themselves favours (or done themselves no favours at all) in terms of getting into the squad for the World Cup and who we think will ultimately make the cut. We also take a look at the current standings in the Torneo Apertura group stage and preview Saturday's Avellaneda clásico.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi S get together to discuss a round of Apertura action that saw both Lanús and Defensa y Justicia hit five goals (not against each other), Coudet's River claim another win and Independiente Rivadavia get back to winning ways. We also give our reactions to the Copa Sudamericana group stage, which took place while we were recording the second half.

If you enjoy the pod and would like more (including, this week, our reaction to the Libertadores draw that was taking too long for us to include it on the main episode), you can get extra episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/handofpod

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés look back on a midweek round of action that began with a wild draw in Avellaneda between Independiente and Unión, continued with a dull one in Junín between Sarmiento and Racing and ended (from our point of view recording before Estudiantes de La Plata v Lanús) with Eduardo Coudet winning his first match in charge of River Plate. All this and more awaits you ...

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés discuss a draw for River Plate in their last match prior to Eduardo Coudet's arrival as head coach, a good win for Racing and some cracking goals in Parque Patricios, but the main topic is a ridiculously dramatic week in the life of AFA President Claudio Tapia.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Santi B and special guest Joey D'Urso look back on (almost) two whole rounds of Torneo Apertura action, which saw Marcelo Gallardo step down as River Plate manager, signing off with a 3–1 win over Banfield, Independiente Rivadavia continue their excellent start to the season and Independiente (de Avellaneda) have a torrid week in Mendoza (not for the first time). As well as all that, Lanús followed up last week's home win with an away win after extra time over Flamengo to claim the Recopa Sudamericana.