Copa Independent cover art

Copa Independent

Copa Independent

By: The Independent
Listen for free

Summary

 The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest ever for so many reasons, so we are launching the Copa Independent podcast to give you the full picture on every angle of it: not just the football, but the politics, the history, the debates and of course the nostalgia. Going out every week, it won't just get you feeling the World Cup but thinking about it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Independent Football (American) Football (Soccer)
Episodes
  • How to win the World Cup

    How to win the World Cup
    May 14 2026

    As more big players struggle with injury, and there is now an expectation that set-pieces at the World Cup will be refereed in a completely different way to the Premier League, a few international managers are already adapting plans. Which begs a bigger question: what is the best way to win a World Cup?


    Are there set approaches? Can you "playbook" it, as Gareth Southgate tried? Do you need an ideology, as Spain have? Are properly world-class attackers essential? Can you still hide away a winning system for a year in the way Sir Alf Ramsey and Carlos Bilardo did? How influential are conditions? Were Brazil 1970 only so good because no one could press in Mexican midday heat?


    We get into all of this and more in the latest Copa Independent podcast, with Miguel Delaney, Lawrence Ostlere and - making his debut - Adam Clery.


    Don’t forget the special World Cup nostalgia segments in stoppage time, extra time and penalties either, where we decide on the best historic feature of each tournament. This week: the greatest World Cup ad, the next addition to our all-time tournament XI – the big one, the number-10 playmaker – and, of course, some trivia questions.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • Weight of the waistcoat: Is England manager really ‘the impossible job’?

    Weight of the waistcoat: Is England manager really ‘the impossible job’?
    May 8 2026

    Fourteen men have managed the England men’s team since Sir Alf Ramsey won the World Cup in 1966, and none have come close to repeating the feat. Under high expectation, intense scrutiny and crippling pressure, a series of England managers have been hounded, humiliated, abused and, in Sam Allardyce’s case, stung by a ruthless media. No wonder Graham Taylor called it “the impossible job”.


    In this week’s episode of “Copa Independent” – The Independent’s new World Cup podcast – chief sports writer Lawrence Ostlere is joined by chief football writer Miguel Delaney and senior sports writer Kieran Jackson to discuss what it takes to be the England manager, why it’s so “impossible” and whether a foreign coach like Thomas Tuchel is the answer.


    The episode also features a debate on our all-time World Cup XI, as they attempt to select a central midfielder to play alongside German great Lothar Matthaus, with plenty of disagreement before eventually settling on a player who has never won the World Cup.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • I saw the Spain down in Africa

    I saw the Spain down in Africa
    May 1 2026
    We all know the ingredients that make a great World Cup, from moments to atmosphere, and 2010 had them all… but was it really a great tournament? Does that depend on age? And what of its champions? Were Spain boring or was it the opposition? Was this England’s worst World Cup? And would you have done what Luis Suarez did against Ghana? Lawrence Ostlere, Miguel Delaney and Richard Jolly get into a right debate about it all.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.