To round off the year it seemed fitting to look back over the World Cup that has just happened over the previous weeks. Joining us to talk about the controversies on and off the pitch and the genuine thrills on and off the pitch was Rhys Richards - the writer of Blood on the Crossbar: The Dictatorship's World Cup all about the 1978 World Cup; Argentina's first World Cup triumph.

You can find Rhys on Twitter at @RhysWRichards.

You can buy his book Blood on the Crossbar: The Dictatorship's World Cup here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Crossbar-Dictatorships-World-Cup/dp/1801501742/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=blood+on+the+crossbar&qid=1672394688&sprefix=blood+on+the+c%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1 

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us. Also please review the podcast to get the word out there.

Rhys' Choices:

1. Dafydd Iwan
2.  Argentina v Netherlands in the quarter-final
3. Argentina fans
 
Matt Choices:

1. Vincent Aboubakar goal v Serbia
2. Antoine Griezmann
3. The 2022 World Cup Final

Marc’s Choices

1. Richarlison's goal v Serbia
2. The Group E Finale - Japan v Spain/Costa Rica v Germany
3. Australia at the 2022 World Cup 

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

As the World Cup draws to a close, we look back on these stadiums that have hosted the biggest games in world football - from the forgotten stadium of 1966 to scene of Zinedine Zidane's infamous swansong.

Matt's Choices

1. White City, London (1966)
2. Estadio Martínez Valero, Elche (1982)
3. Olympiastadion, Berlin (1974 & 2006)

Marc's Choices

1. Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux (1938 & 1998)
2. Renato Dall'ara, Bologna (1934 & 1990)
3. Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul (2002)

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us.

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

On the eve of the 2022 World Cup, it was inevitable that Matt and Marc would eventually delve into the exploits - or lack of exploits - of their own country at the World Cup. Of course, Wales have not made a World Cup appearance since 1958, so we looked at qualification heartache, how a Welsh referee shaped world football in one of the most famous finals ever and paid respect to the current crop who are representing Cymru in Qatar. Joining us to talk about Wales and the World Cup was Lewis Bell, a fellow Welshman and the co-host of the excellent My Football Heroes podcast.

Lewis' Choices

1. Wales' 1994 qualifying Campaign
2. Infamous qualification losses
3. Toshack and Flynn's impact on the 2022 World Cup squad

Matt's Choices

1. Wales 1958 qualification campaign
2. Mel Charles at the 1958 World Cup
3. Swansea City's impact on the 2022 World Cup squad

Marc's Choices

1. Mervyn Griffiths
2. Robbie Savage in World Cup qualifiers
3. Jonny Williams

Make sure to go check out Lewis' excellent podcast, My Football Heroes, which features an episode with Matt. You can find the podcast here or wherever you get your pods from. https://open.spotify.com/show/1DDqhkVY0Yft7c1rtXxsBy

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us.

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

Carrying on our World Cup theme, this week we decided to focus on those elite players who have achieved one of football's greatest goalscoring feats: being top goalscorer at a World Cup and winning the Golden Boot (yes, we know it used to be called the Golden Shoe). We discussed some of the greatest goalscorers in World Cup history, as well as talking about who we think might win the award in this upcoming World Cup.

Matt's Choices

1. Guillermo Stabile at the 1930 World Cup
2. Garrincha at the 1962 World Cup
3. Davor Suker at the 1998 World Cup

Marc's Choices

1. Eusebio at the 1966 World Cup
2. Gary Lineker at the 1986 World Cup
3. Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci at the 1990 World Cup

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us.

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, we did our first World Cup-themed episode in the build-up to this winter's World Cup. Of course, as Welsh men, we wanted to delve into one of Wales' group mates and that led us to look at Iran - their previous World Cup exploits and a look ahead to what they could do at Qatar 2022. Joining us to discuss all things Team Melli was Arya Allahverdi of the Gol Bezan podcast - a podcast dedicated to the Iranian national team (and who very recently interviewed fellow group mate Gareth Southgate).

Arya's Choices

1. Arya: Iran 0-1 Argentina ( at the 2014 World Cup)
2. Iran 1-0 Morocco (at the 2018 World Cup)
3. Saeid Ezatolahi 

Matt's Choices

1. USA 1-2 Iran (at 1998 World Cup)
2. Ashfin Ghobti 
3. Mehdi Tarimi 

Marc's Choices

1. Nasser Hejazi 
2. Carlos Queiroz vs Choi Kang Hee in 2014 World Cup qualification
3. Masoud Shojaei (2018)


You can follow Arya on Twitter at @Arya_Allahverd and his podcast Gol Bezan at @GolBezan.

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us.

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

On the week of the 2022 Copa Libertadores Final, we decided to explore South America's premier club competition and all the fun stories behind it - from Zico to 'Super Superclasicos'. We were delighted to be joined by groundhopper and all-round Copa Libertadores-lover David Wilcox to chat about the competition and his own experiences of watching football in Brazil and Argentina.

David's Choices

1. Flamengo and Zico in the 1981 Copa Libertadores
2. Argentinos Junior winning the 1985 Copa Libertadores
3. Boca v River in the 2018 Copa Libertadores Final

Matt's Choices

1. Atlético Nacional winning the 1989 Copa Libertadores
2. Vélez Sarsfield winning the 1994 Copa Libertadores
3. São Caetano runners up in 2002 Copa Libertadores

Marc's Choices

1. Enzo Francescoli
2. LDU Quito winning the 2008 Copa Libertadores
3.  Neymar Puskás Award Goal vs. Peñarol  In the  Copa Libertadores Final 2011 

You can follow David on Twitter at @di1cox.

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us.

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

After Matt went to watch Málaga v FC Andorra last weekend, this week we decided to focus on those small countries around the world who, although small in stature, have their own big footballing tales to tell.

Matt's Choices

1. FC Andorra
2. Football in Gibraltar
3. Vatican City football

Marc's Choices

1. Faroes Islands 1-0 Austria in 1990
2. Mario Frick
3. Nicky Salapu and Next Goal Wins

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us.

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

In this episode we looked at those players who have scored hatricks at the pinnacle of European football. Plus, we delve into a lot of Champions League trivia and talk about the joys of 'List of Champions League Hatricks' Wikipedia page.

Matt's Choices

1. Mike Newell's hatrick for Blackburn v Rosenborg
2. Michael Owen's hatricks for Liverpool and Manchester United
3. Robert Lewandowski's hatrick for Dortmund v Real Madrid

Marc's Choices

1. Marco Van Basten's hatrick for Milan v IFK Göteborg
2. Adriano's hatrick for Inter v Artmedia Bratislava
3. Mislav Oršić's hatrick for Dinamo Zagreb v Atalanta

You can find Matt on Twitter at @MattLostBoyo and Marc on Twitter at @MarcLostBoyo.

And follow the podcast at @PlayedForKuwait.

If you enjoyed the podcast, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your pods from and tell a friend about us.

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig

With Marc moving to Southampton, for this week's episode we decided to delve into Southampton FC. We explore Southampton's origins and how the club influenced Athletic Club in its nascent years, all the way through to Kevin Keegan's signing, Danny Wallace winning goal of the season and into the 21st century with Rickie Lambert helping to reignite the club in the lower leagues. Joining us to talk all things Saints was Southampton fan Alex Daniel.

Matt's Choices

1. Kevin Keegan signing for Southampton
2. Southampton's 2003 FA Cup Final team
3. Sadio Mane scoring the quickest hatrick in Premier League history

Marc's Choices

1. Southampton's relationship with Athletic Club
2. Danny Wallace's 1983/84 Goal of the Season
3. Southampton 6-3 Manchester United

Alex's Choices

1. Rickie Lambert
2. Shane Long's goal at Anfield in the 2017 League Cup semi-final
3. The 2017 League Cup Final

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig.

In the past month, we've seen a film star appear on a League of their Own and go viral for a mocked-up, yet still very rousing, prematch team talk and we've seen a documentary released about two Hollywood stars running a team in the 5th tier of the English football pyramid. So for this episode, we decided to focus on the times when Hollywood stars intervene in football and when the worlds of the red carpet and the football pitch collide

Matt's Choices

1. Sylvester Stallone and Football
2. The stars of the Mask of Zorro and their 'reluctancy' to invest in football
3. Reynolds/McElhenney taking over Wrexham - Welcome to Wrexham

Marc's Choices

1. Michael Sheen and Football
2. Matthew McConaughey and Austin FC
3. Atlético Madrid's 2003/04 film sponsored shirts

Music: Chimez by Dan Henig