The World Cup is a sporting competition between national football teams to determine the best of them. But it’s always been a vessel for so much more, not least the ambitions of political leaders ranging from the mildly ethical to the downright evil. Host countries want to tell a story about themselves on the global stage, the winners make the case for their own national greatness, and there are a million more stories around this famous tournament that nobody planned for.

A new book from Jonathan Wilson — columnist for The Guardian, co-host of the Libero podcast, and esteemed local Substacker — seeks to tell the very best tales from nearly 100 years of World Cup football. The Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup is a delightful read, full of sharp insight and laugh-out-loud moments. From Benito Mussolini’s bonus trophy for the 1934 World Cup winners — the Coppa del Duce — to the inside story of France’s disastrous 2010 World Cup, to the insidious inner workings of FIFA in the modern era, it’s all there.

Wilson joins the show this week to talk a little Premier League title race before we get into his book, the latest edition of the World Cup next summer, why Gianni Infantino’s reign as FIFA chief makes us all pine for the days of Sepp Blatter, and a whole lot more.

Go get your copy of The Power and the Glory after you’ve had a listen here!

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There’s a big game down in Italy on Saturday, but there’s only one headliner for this weekend. It’s El Clásico, Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu, the biggest game in club football outside the late stages of the Champions League.

This one is box office each and every time, even if we’ve descended somewhat from the interstellar days of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. We’ll make do with Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Jude Bellingham, and whoever wins out here will take pole position in the Spanish title race. With Atlético Madrid fading somewhat, this is a campaign that could well end with both these teams taking 90+ points — or, as this week’s guest suggests, perhaps they both have more weaknesses than you might think.

Here to help us get our bearings ahead of kickoff on Sunday (11:15am ET / 3:15pm UK) is Dan Hilton of The Barcelona Podcast.

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Club football is back and so is Germany’s biggest game. It’s BAYERN MUNICH vs BORUSSIA DORTMUND in Der Klassiker.

The Bavarian hosts have returned to their formidable best with 11 wins from 11 matches across all competitions. Bayern have scored 25 goals in six Bundesliga matches, with Harry Kane, Luis Díaz, and Michael Olisé firing on all cylinders. They are once again among the favorites to win the Champions League.

The last couple of years weren’t up to Dortmund’s standards domestically, as they fell away from what they’ll feel is their rightful place as Bayern’s main challengers. They look to have reclaimed that place from Bayer Leverkusen and are unbeaten in the league, though they’ve relied more on stout defense than explosive attack.

It’s shaping up to be a beauty, and joining us to preview the match is the commentary team who will be delivering it to American viewers on ESPN at 12:30pm ET on Saturday: Derek Rae and Stewart Robson, who also happen to be co-commentators for EA Sports FC 26 — and many previous iterations of the famous franchise formerly known as FIFA!

We get into how they record for the video games, their travels together across Germany and shared taste for bratwurst, and much more...

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It’s the second international break of the young club season, so we’re continuing our tour around the continents to see who’s doing what in World Cup qualifying. This week we head over to the Confederation of African Football to see who’s on their way to North America next summer, plus:

• How the expansion of the tournament to 48 teams rights a historical wrong with respect to how many tickets African nations get every four years.

• The wonderful story of Cape Verde, population half a million, who are on the verge of qualifying for their first world cup.

• Why the continent’s traditional powers like Nigeria and Cameroon are struggling to qualify.

• Why the power base of the continent is moving north to Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, thanks in part to changes to FIFA rules and the North African diaspora in Europe.

• The controversy around South Africa’s qualifying campaign and why they are the most rapidly improving team on the continent.

Here to break it all down is Maher Mezahi, an African football journalist based in Algiers who hosts the African Five-a-Side podcast:

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Monaco and Nice are not the biggest clubs in the South of France — that’s Marseille — but they maintain a testy feud that carries the cultural differences between the two towns. The Principality of Monaco is fiercely independent from France but plays in Ligue 1 alongside Nice, a gorgeous but (somewhat) less glitzy destination than the champagne-and-caviar precincts of the Monégasques.

AS Monaco has a rich footballing tradition in recent decades, from the Arsène Wenger days (and those of Thierry Henry and George Weah) to more recent times, when the club has been a kind of finishing school for elite talent like Kylian Mbappé and Bernardo Silva. OGC Nice has not enjoyed the same success recently, and yet engenders fierce support rooted in deep tradition that Monaco can’t always match: the Stade Louis II, where this weekend’s match will be played, has inconsistent attendance in a town where football isn’t always paramount.

Meanwhile, both clubs are seeing varying levels of fan revolt over poor results and msigivings about how they’re run — not least Nice, where fans are even more disenchanted with Sir Jim Ratcliffe than Manchester United supporters. That combined with a rebellion against French footballing authorities has spurred a boycott among Nice ultras, who will not be attending this match or enjoying their traditional mass scooter procession across the 20-or-so kilometers from Nice to Monaco.

Joining us to break it all down is Jonathan Johnson, a Paris-based French football expert.

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It’s the Madrid derby this Saturday as Atlético host Real Madrid at the Metropolitano, and ahead of the big game we’re getting into some La Liga history. There’s a thrilling story of how two Racing Santander players defied Generalissimo Franco’s fascist regime, a look at the man largely in Santiago Bernabéu’s shadow who did so much to make Real Madrid what it is today, and the tale of how a flying Atléti winger became a Nazi spy.

Each of those is a chapter of Once Upon a Time in La Liga, a new book out this month. Author Brendan Madden joins the show to share them, talk about his path from data journalist to football storyteller, and of course talk about how the current versions of Atléti and Los Blancos are looking coming into this weekend’s marquee fixture.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the book: https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/once-upon-time-la-liga

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It's the Merseyside derby this weekend, and we get into that feud a bit with this week's guest. After all, Stephen Warnock came up through the Liverpool academy and has been to Anfield and Goodison Park umpteen times (and to Everton's brand new Hill Dickson Stadium once). But that’s not the marquee match of the round. Neither is Man United-Chelsea.

The big one is ARSENAL vs MANCHESTER CITY at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, and it could tell us a lot about whether the Premier League is about to see a two-horse title race, a three-way, or even a foursome if Chelsea get involved. It will certainly have a different feel from those recent seasons where Pep Guardiola got the better of his ex-pupil Mikel Arteta, however, because Arsenal come into this one as firm favorites.

Beyond all that, Warnock also talks about a couple of his more idiosyncratic managers back in his playing days, Big Sam Allardyce and Neil Warnock. He also remembers sharing a flank with streets-won't-forget Barclaysman Morten Gamst Pedersen, and these are the kind of behind-the-scenes stories you'll find — along with some expert insight into the fitness and recovery side of things — on his new podcast, Strain on the Game.

Check that out, but first: Have a listen here, leave a review if you enjoy yourself, and check out more sharp conversations and on-the-ground reporting at The Football Weekend.com.

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The 2026 World Cup in North America is less than a year away, and while the club season has now kicked off in earnest, we'll have a number of international breaks before the big show. Each one is an opportunity to take stock of the various national teams across (nearly) every continent and see who’s on their way to the United States, Canada, and Mexico next summer.

We’ll take those opportunities with a series of shows in those windows where club football is on hiatus, and joining up for the inaugural edition is Felipe Cárdenas, senior writer for The Athletic covering national teams across North and South America.

We got into the U.S. Men’s National Team, Mauricio Pochettino’s performance, and the controversy around this summer’s Gold Cup; Lionel Messi’s last ride with Argentina and his chance to add a line to his resumé that could really settle all debates; Carlo Ancelotti’s bid to put the icing on his own cake with Brazil; Chile and Colombia’s struggles; Bolivia’s 13,000-foot home field advantage; and how Mexico and Canada are setting up as hosts.

(And to come clean: I mispronounced Felipe’s last name in the intro! Ignore my “ñ.” We learn.)

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