Yep, we all laughed at him and so obviously he went out and scored. Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 and, in doing so, broke the 900 barrier. Lionel Messi’s on 865, by the way. Sigh. 

Spare a thought for Scotland. They were so much better against Poland than they were in Germany during the summer, but they still ended up getting beaten after giving away a 96th minute penalty to Poland. 

And congratulations to San Marino, victors in a competitive game for the first time ever. Nicko Sensoli will never have to pay for a drink again.  

Plus, why haven’t the USMNT completed the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino yet? And what are the USWNT going to do without Alex Morgan. Paul Tenorio and Meg Linehan join us with their thoughts.

And it wouldn’t be a Daily Football Briefing with Liam Twomey telling us something about Chelsea. But have they just done something…smart? 

Got something to say to us? Oh, please say it, it’s international week and we need the content. Post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Try Matt Slater’s explainer about Leicester, PSR and the Twilight Zone. The link is in the description, but if you prefer to read with your ears, there’s a special Athletic FC podcast out today on the same subject.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5742838/2024/09/04/leicester-city-psr-premier-league/

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Liam Twomey, Paul Tenorio, Meg Linehan

Producer: Lucy Oliva 

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Behold the new Nations League! Come on, it actually sounds like it might be fun. And anything’s better than an interminable stream of friendlies, right? The new structure means that every position in the group means something different, which means that there will be something on the line in every match. And that’s got to be good. Tomas Hill Lopez Marcheno drops in to let us know if Spain are still likely to steamroller everyone.

Plus, Steve Bruce is back! But is he ready for League One? And while we’re on the subject of old football managers, you’ll be needing one of those this Autumn because the new Football Manager has been delayed.  

Got something to say? Oh, please say it, it’s international week and we need the content. Post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? There’s a tremendous interview with Brighton owner Tony Bloom on The Athletic, really fine work from Andy Naylor and, well, with that Football Manager news, you may as well start a new save for the next three months, and this will give you food for thought.  

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero 

Producer: Ben Green

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The late, great Eric Draven used to say that it can’t rain all the time. Manchester United supporters may disagree. It’s been another bad start to what might be another bad season, but Carl Anka isn’t so sure. He’s here with lots of reasons to be at least sort of optimistic about the future. 

Can Everton be optimistic about anything? They’re the real crisis club in England. We’ve borrowed Matt Slater from The Athletic FC podcast to assess the situation.   

Got something to say? Oh, please say it, it’s international week and we need the content. Post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Jay Harris, the aforementioned magnificent centre-back, has written all about Ivan Toney and the unsatisfying end to his incredible story at Brentford.

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Carl Anka, Matt Slater

Producer: Abi Paterson

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Well, sort of. He’s certainly got the lowest goal per shot ratio across Europe’s five biggest leagues. But then again, he does take a lot of shots. And now he’s got his eye in and he’s broken his duck, we can expect those numbers to change.

Plus, who won the transfer window? Tim Spiers is here and what he says may startle and alarm you. Because he’s been quite kind to Manchester United.

On that note, UEFA have done something good and constructive. And I, for one, am startled and alarmed. 

Got something to say? Oh, please say it, it’s international week and we need the content. Post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Oli Kay is always excellent, but his column on the messiness of the transfer window is essential reading and the link is in the episode description. 

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Tim Spiers

Producer: Abi Paterson

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For their supporters, the most galling aspect of Manchester United’s heavy defeat to Liverpool will be the suspicion that this wasn’t even Liverpool at their best. It really could have been much worse. So where do they go from here? Carl Anka was at Old Trafford and needs a hug.

Kylian Mbappe has opened his account for Real Madrid, his brace against Real Betis gave his new team a confidence building result, but they’re still four points behind Barcelona.

And Bayer Leverkusen’s long unbeaten Bundesliga run is over. Seb Stafford Bloor is back to tell us why they shouldn’t be too concerned about what happened on Saturday. 

It’s all in the Great Big Monday Round-up, everything you need to know from the ten biggest leagues in the world. Well, it’s the ten leagues that I run on my FM games anyway. 

Need something to read? Phil Hay’s moving tribute to Sol Bamba is, well, as wonderful as you would expect. The link is in the description and the thoughts of everyone at The Athletic are with Sol’s friends and family.  

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5737310/2024/09/01/sol-bamba-leeds-cardiff-ivory-coast/

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Carl Anka, Seb Stafford Bloor

Producer: Lucy Oliva

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We’ve been quite critical of the new-fangled Champions League here and a lot of that criticism still stands, but…did anyone else watch that draw and think, “Well…it’s not perfect. It might not even be good. But it does look a bit more fun than the old way.”

Plus, how did Chelsea get on against Servette? And what on earth happened to Real Madrid when they went to the Canary Islands? 

Got something to say? Post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Try Jack Pitt-Brooke on the new era of Lee Carsley at England. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5728690/2024/08/29/england-carsley-gomes-grealish/

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Liam Twomey, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Aleksandr Čeferin 

Producer: Steve Hankey

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A shock in the League Cup and Atletico Madrid drop more points.

Poor old Ipswich. Dealt a horrendous pair of opening Premier League fixtures with Liverpool at home and then Manchester City away, they must have been looking forward to their little trip to fourth division AFC Wimbledon. Abi Paterson was there for this cruellest of blows. 

Nottingham Forest met Newcastle and one Sandro Tonali in the glamour tie of the round. Guy Clarke was watching that one for us. 

Atletico Madrid spent big this summer, but they’ve dropped four points from three games and, despite racking up an xG of 2.71, they just couldn’t break down Espanyol. 

All that, the League Cup third round draw, the last Champions League qualifiers and the latest transfer news. How do we get all of this content into just ten minutes of high quality audio? Simple. I scream at people until they get it right. 

Got something to say? Don’t keep it to yourself. That’s how ulcers develop. Post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Here’s that Champions League draw article that you absolutely must read. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5716629/2024/08/28/uefa-ucl-europa-draw-swiss/

Need something to watch? Here’s that Bernal video I mentioned from JJ Bull.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp8ajQgfMQg

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Abi Paterson, Guy Clarke, James Pearce and Neil Mellor  

Producer: Steve Hankey

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Dani Olmo is finally a registered Barcelona player and just in the nick of time. The Catalans were staring down the barrel of a nasty shock away at Rayo Vallecano until Olmo appeared at the break and inspired a spirited fight back. That’s three wins from three for new boss Hansi Flick. 

Everton were in the League Cup against Doncaster and, after the start they’ve had, that was quite the banana skin. Producer Steve was watching to see if anyone slipped up.  

Transfer deadline day is looming and the transfers are coming thick and fast. Manchester United have been busy, so too have Napoli, but has anyone been as active as Brighton & Hove Albion? Listen to this episode and you’ll discover why this is unlikely to be a problem for their bank manager. 

Got something to say? Don’t keep it to yourself. That’s how ulcers develop. Post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Need something to read? Try Carl Anka on Manchester United’s steady improvement in the transfer market, an arena in which they have hitherto cast themselves as, well, the polar opposite of Brighton. Link’s in the description

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4757969/2024/08/27/manchester-united-transfers-sales/ 

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: David Ornstein

Producer: Steve Hankey

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Did you know that Kobbie Mainoo has more interceptions than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues? Or that Brice Samba is one of only six unbeaten goalkeepers on the continent? Of course you didn’t. You’re a normal human being with an exciting life outside of football. But if you do like that sort of thing, you’ll love today’s show and a feature that will run until you all write in to demand that it stops.   

Plus, it was a very good night for Juventus, we’ve learned how to say Cagliari and who’s that at the top of La Liga with three wins from three? Nope, it’s not who you think.

Got something to say? Get it off your chest, post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Danny Taylor’s lovely Sven Goran Eriksson piece is linked in the description. 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5722811/2024/08/26/sven-goran-eriksson-england/

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

Producer: Steve Hankey

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We’ve been very mean about Chelsea for several weeks now, but are they about to have the last laugh? They put six past Wolves on Sunday. Tim Spiers was watching, he’ll tell us if we’re all in a lot of trouble. Manchester United lost too, Carl Anka is looking for positives there.

But we don’t just discuss the Premier League here. Seb Stafford Bloor went to Saxony for the Bayern Munich game, I was watching Napoli, we’ve got all the news from Spain and France and then we’ll quick-step through Portugal, the Netherlands, Scotland, Turkey and MLS. Or, as I like to think of it, ‘all the leagues I have active in my FM saves.’

Put simply: You NEED this podcast. You’ll never keep up with all the football unless you listen to this immediately. In ten minutes, we’ll give you the world. Or at least the bits that interested us today.

Got something to say? Get it off your chest, post it on the app or send me an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Need something to read? Tim Spiers has watched every video on Cristiano Ronaldo’s YouTube channel so that you don’t have to, he’ll get a statue for this, you can read about it by clicking the link in the description.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5718836/2024/08/25/cristiano-ronaldo-youtube-channel/

Presenter: Iain Macintosh

With: Tim Spiers, Carl Anka, Seb Stafford-Bloor

Producer: Abi Paterson

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Another weekend filled with football approaches so we have your one stop guide to the fixtures you should be keeping an eye on - and a mini Bundesliga preview. Though you really should read Seb Stafford Bloor’s words, he knows what he’s talking about.

Elsewhere Chelsea were in action, so was David De Gea, and Cristiano Ronaldo, find out how they got on. Plus the big transfer news too with James McNicholas on Mikel Merino and George Caulkin reacting to news that Kieran Trippier might be off.

Got something to say? Get it off your chest, post it on the app or send an email ([email protected]) or, you know, write a review on Apple.

Find Seb Stafford Bloor’s full Bundesliga preview here

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5705002/2024/08/21/bundesliga-new-season-bayern-leverkusen-dortmund-leipzig/

And have a read of Jacob Whitehead’s ‘Inside the De Ligt Deal’ here 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5705404/2024/08/22/matthijs-de-ligt-manchester-united-inside-deal/ 

Presenter: Abi Paterson

With: Seb Stafford Bloor, James McNicholas, and George Caulkin

Producer: Steve Hankey

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