Our first ever in-person episode! We watched England play from a pub in Dublin, surrounded by Irish fans booing every England touch. Fitting, because England served up 74 minutes of pure stress before scraping past DR Congo 2-1, rescued (again) by Harry Kane. Sam and Ash review the great escape, hand out brutal player ratings, and preview a terrifying last-16 tie against Mexico at altitude.Plus the last-32 chaos: Germany dumped OUT on penalties for the first time ever, Netherlands bottling it against Morocco with some of the worst spot-kicks you'll ever see, France demolishing Sweden, and a VAR shocker that broke Senegalese hearts. And we launch a brand-new segment — "Who Wants to Be a Ball-ionaire?"⏱️ CHAPTERS (approx)00:00 – Welcome: our first ever in-person episode01:37 – England 2-1 DR Congo: 74 minutes of pure stress12:27 – England player ratings (Rashford's 3/10, Gordon shines)22:03 – Last 32 roundup: Germany OUT, Netherlands bottle it35:58 – England v Mexico preview: the altitude nightmare43:07 – NEW: "Who Wants to Be a Ball-ionaire?"51:50 – Wrap-up📊 Follow our draft & points through the knockouts: talkinballocks.com💬 Are England going to bottle it, or grind their way to glory? Tell us below.⭐ First in-person episode! Enjoying the show? Follow Talkin' Ballocks and leave a rating — it genuinely helps new listeners find us.

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England v Mexico, World Cup 2026, Azteca, England DR Congo, Harry Kane, Germany out, last 16, football podcast.

The group stage is done, the knockouts are here, and our draft is somehow locked dead level at 95-95. This week Sam and Ash react to a nervy England 2-0 Panama (job done, but are they actually any good?), then predict the entire World Cup 2026 bracket — every knockout game, the upsets, and who lifts the trophy. Spoiler: we may have talked ourselves into England's first final in 60 years.Plus: France batter a Haaland-less Norway as Dembélé scores a 25-minute hat-trick, Belgium finally show up with Lukaku and De Bruyne breaking records, and we launch a brand-new Mastermind-style World Cup History Quiz that did not go well for one of us.⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 – Welcome back: Episode 5 + the draft locked at 95-9503:53 – England 2-0 Panama: job done, but why so nervous?06:06 – Does Tuchel know his best XI? Rating England so far25:42 – The boys react to the England goals27:11 - France batter Norway + Dembélé's 25-minute hat-trick34:00 – Belgium finally turn up (Lukaku & De Bruyne records)37:05 – Points update: level pegging into the knockouts40:12 – World Cup Bracket Predictions: every knockout game59:48 – England's path: Mexico, Japan & a semi vs Argentina01:10:00 – England v Argentina: '86 history & our final call01:12:29 – NEW: World Cup History Quiz (Mastermind style)01:26:40 – World Cup Anthem Battle02:34:25 – Wrap-up📊 Follow our draft & points into the knockouts: talkinballocks.com💬 Who's YOUR World Cup winner? And were we mad to put England in the final? Tell us below.⭐ We're building this from scratch — every subscribe, comment and share genuinely helps.#WorldCup2026 #England #BracketPredictions #Panama #FootballPodcast #knockouts

The World Cup has officially gone weird. This week England follow up their 4-2 Croatia win by getting held 0-0 by Ghana — and a Ghanaian witch doctor reckons he cursed Harry Kane to make it happen. Sam and Ash unpack the madness: the curse, the VAR that "went for a coffee" and denied Ghana a clear penalty, and whether the Croatia high was a false dawn.

Also this week: Ronaldo goes from washed to "I'm back," Messi breaks records like he's bored (then fluffs a penalty), Haaland muscles into the Golden Boot race, what on earth happens if Donald Trump has to hand over the trophy, and an "Imagine the Chaos" on Scotland's shot at shocking Brazil. The tournament has fully unplugged — and we're here for it.

📊 Follow our draft, points & weekly damage: talkinballocks.com
💬 Was 4-2 Croatia a false dawn, or just a bad night against Ghana? Let us know.
⭐ Enjoying the show? Follow Talkin' Ballocks and leave a rating — it genuinely helps new listeners find us.

England 0-0 Ghana, World Cup 2026, Harry Kane, VAR, Ronaldo, Messi, Golden Boot, Scotland Brazil, football podcast.

England finally turned up — a 4-2 win over Croatia, the first time they've won a World Cup game by that scoreline since the 1966 final. Sam and Ash break down the best England performance in years, then rank all 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup and call the Golden Boot race.

This week: FIFA's maddest new rule yet (sent off for covering your mouth?!), the governing body forcing a Toronto shop to smash a World Cup trophy bong, Tuchel's half-time rocket, Messi's hat-trick and Ronaldo's nightmare, and our brand-new tier list of every team — from "Can Win It" to "On the Flight Home." Plus the World Cup Anthem Battle to finish.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 – Welcome back + the draft & new points rules

05:00 – FIFA vs the World Cup trophy bong

12:00 – Sent off for covering his mouth?! FIFA's new rule

17:00 – Would YOU cheat to win the World Cup?

21:00 – The ref who gave nothing: USA v Australia

26:00 – England 4-2 Croatia: the full breakdown

32:00 – Tuchel's half-time speech

36:00 – Croatia, Modrić & the end of a golden generation

40:00 – Golden Boot race: Messi, Mbappé, Kane, Haaland & Ronaldo

50:00 – Host nations flying: USA, Mexico, Canada

57:00 – Ranking all 48 teams

01:10:00 – Points roundup

01:16:00 – World Cup Anthem Battle

01:22:00 – Wrap up

📊 Follow our World Cup draft & points table: talkinballocks.com

💬 Think we ranked your team wrong? Tell us — we read everything.

⭐ Enjoying the show? Follow Talkin' Ballocks and leave us a rating, it genuinely helps new listeners find us.

England 4-2 Croatia, World Cup 2026, Golden Boot, Harry Kane, Tuchel, team rankings, football podcast.

The World Cup is back, and Week 1 delivered pure chaos. Ash and Sam dissect the referee who went viral for mumbling complete gibberish during a major VAR decision, the Somali ref denied entry to the USA over alleged terror links after FIFA had already cleared him, three red cards in one opening game, and the USA hammering four past Paraguay.

Then it's all the usual nonsense: the Where On Earth guessing game, a genuinely dark True-or-Bollocks story from the 1974 World Cup, the Anthem Battle, and a thought experiment on what would actually happen if VAR crashed in the middle of the World Cup Final.

Two lads, far too much confidence, and a Bollocks Meter that's working overtime. Follow the show and check the World Cup draft and live points at [talkinballocks.com].

Welcome to the very first episode of Talkin' Ballocks—the sports comedy podcast where serious football debates meet complete and utter nonsense. Hosted by long-time mates Sam and Ash, this is your new weekly hub for riding the emotional roller coaster of the World Cup 2026 through a proper English lens.

To kick off Episode 1, the lads dive into "Pure Ballocks" to dissect the most ridiculous news stories of the week. First up, we look at the England squad training with high-tech, battery-powered "palm cooling devices" to survive the North American heatwave. Is it elite sports science, or absolute ballocks? Then, we tear into FIFA after a massive ticketing portal glitch allowed fans to check out with premium World Cup tickets for exactly £0.00, leading to a hilariously awkward email chain demanding the money back.

Next, we debut our wildcard trivia game, "What on Earth is That?". We look at Group E underdogs Curaçao—the tiny Caribbean island with a population of just 156,000—and see if Ash can separate real history from fake bluffs when it comes to World Cup debutants Uzbekistan. We also launch the "National Anthem Battle," randomly generating national anthems to debate which tune would genuinely terrify an opposing team in the tunnel.

Finally, it’s the Main Event. Ahead of the opening match, Sam and Ash go head-to-head in a high-stakes World Cup 2026 Bracket Draft. Using a snake-draft format, they must select 6 teams each, balance their budgets across "Elite," "Mid-Tier," and "Chaos" picks, and set up the season-long leaderboard. No spoilers, who's ended up with the better draft?

Make sure to follow/subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss a weekly episode!

 Get Involved & Follow the Chaos:

• TikTok: @Talkin.Ballocks

• Instagram: @Talkin.Ballocks

• Follow our World Cup Draft ⚽️: [https://talkinballocks.com]

Talkin' Ballocks is a weekly video podcast hosted by Sam and Ash. For business and sponsorship enquiries, contact [email protected].