Second Captains

It's a huge weekend for Ireland, as we face into our game against Belgium in Bordeaux tomorrow, and the Belgians are apparently in turmoil, at war with themselves and a tactical shambles. Can we take advantage? Richie Sadlier is in studio, and has brought a new four-legged friend... Ken was in Lens for England-Wales, and we talk Rooney, Hart and Bale. Michael Walker tells us about Northern Ireland's brilliant win yesterday and, inevitably, there's Jimmy Nesbitt.

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England and Wales is one of the tastiest games of the group stages, and to Ken, Eoin and Murph's delight Wales know how to press the English panic button. Ahead of Saturday, we take a look at the most infamous game in Ireland and Belgium's shared history - the World Cup qualifier in 1981 that saw Ireland robbed by a Portuguese referee. 20 years later author and sports journalist Paul Howard tracked him down and brought him face to face with his mistakes. Paul joins us in studio to tell us the remarkable tale of what happened that day. Plus there's sledging Wayne Rooney, bodyswap movies and Kyle Lafferty.

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Paul McGrath joins Ken, Eoin and Murph to continue our coverage of Ireland in our daily Euro 2016 podcast, and one of Ireland's greatest ever footballers is bullish about our chances of handling Romelu Lukaku and company on Saturday. We get the Welsh view from Tom Williams of AFP as Gareth Bale channels his inner Warren Gatland and needles the English ahead of their match tomorrow, and there's also feverish Icelandic commentary, Ronaldo's poor grasp of geography and the post-masculine vibe of the Irish fan experience.

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It was a positive start to the Euros for Ireland, with Wes Hoolahan's goal and performance the highlight in our 1-1 draw with Sweden. Ken is in Paris, having sampled a night with the Irish fans, which he assures us was part of a wider study on fan behaviour throughout the tournament...Richie Sadlier joins us in studio and we discuss Jeff Hendrick's coming of age, Jon Walters injury, what exactly it takes for a player to fail a pre-match fitness test, issues with Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy, and Robbie's eyes. And Richie reveals his anguish at taking on the senior analyst role in RTE.

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It was as if the world of sport realised that it needed to up it's game to get any attention as the Euros kicked off... and both the GAA and rugby action at the weekend was pretty entertaining.14-man Ireland recorded a stunning first ever victory over the Springboks in South Africa, while our u-20s beat New Zealand in similarly emphatic style. Tipperary hammered Cork, Donegal opened up their summer, and Oisin McConville and Gerry Thornley are on hand to talk us through it all.

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Eoin, Ken, Ciaran and Emmet Malone look forward to Ireland's Euro 2016 opener against Sweden, and back to the European festival or tear gas that took place in Marseille over the weekend.

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The Euros are finally here, and we have the first of our daily shows throughout the tournament. Ken Early is in Marseilles, uncomfortably close to the Queen Victoria pub, the unofficial England football supporters' HQ. Dion Fanning tells us why Ireland have taken the day off today, and Michael Walker is with Northern Ireland. Plus there's a scumbag of the week, and the giant dildo UEFA had to distance themselves from.

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Two more All-Ireland contenders make their summer bow this weekend - Mike Quirke and Karol Mannion talk Donegal, and Kerry... and debate whether Roscommon deserve to be in that bracket too.We talk about the Muslim footballers playing in Euro 2016 and competing at the highest level while also observing Ramadan with journalist and activist Shireen Ahmed. Plus there's tedious Euros bus slogans, Ken's all-time Euros XI, and supporting Northern Ireland.

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Eoin, Ken and Ciaran are in the grip of Euro fever, as Jerome Boateng becomes a political football, the sportswear marketing campaigns become ever more complex, and Zlatan reveals another reason why he didn't fit in at Barcelona.We check in with Philippe Auclair to talk about the Yin and Yang of Frenchitude, on the eve of the tournament. And Oluwashina Okeleji joins us to pay tribute to his friend and interview sparring partner Stephen Keshi, aka the Godfather of Exodus, who died suddenly this week aged 54.

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Ken has arrived in France, and reports live from his old town of Marseilles as preparations for Euro 2016 continue. Ireland have already had a couple of media storms, with Martin O'Neill's "queers" comment from last week revealed, and then apologised for over the weekend. Miguel Delaney joins us to talk about the relatively restrained reaction. Plus there's Ken's rapprochement with Basile Boli, laser hair removal with the Ireland football team, Jamie Vardy's next move and Zlatan's thoughts on Leicester.

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