Ken is having a great time at this World Cup and has chosen wisely so far, catching Messi's hat trick, The Azteca on opening night and England putting in one of their best ever World Cup performances... at least that's what MOST people thought.

Next up its Brazil for Ken, and with loads of surprise results and some of the big stars shining, its shaping up to be a great tournament.

To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series’  ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and Stakeknife.

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The All-Ireland football championship knew it had to produce something to grab some eye-balls on this World Cup weekend, and boy did it deliver.  Donegal and Armagh were both beaten, and they now face trips to Dublin and Kerry respectively.

Paul Flynn and Dara Ó Cinnéide line up at the start line with us before a whirlwind tour of 8 incredible games this weekend.  Have Kerry’s injuries cleared up just in time; are Monaghan under-rated; how did Cork break down Donegal; is there a kick in Meath this year… and just how valuable will 2 weeks’ break be for Galway?

And as the 'Dubs to Parnell Park' debate rages, there's a Brannecdote of note.  

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This weekend gave us our first glimpses of Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti, Switzerland, Qatar, Germany and Curacao, and we manage to call in on quite a few teams on our Sunday night whistle-stop tour. 

We speak to comedian, podcaster and Scotsman Ray Bradshaw about Scotland's first win at a World Cup in 36 years and the influence of McTominay and McGinn.

And Ken was in beautiful* Houston for Germany 7-1 Curacao this evening, where he may have seen Jurgen Klopp, but he definitely saw Bastian Schweinsteiger, and he also caught up with Curacao journalist Lilo Sulvaran. 

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We’re less than an hour away from the big kick-off at World Cup 2026, Ken is at the Azteca and we are having a blast on the World Service this week. You’ll hear from Ken all tournament long and Branno’s gonna join him in a few days time.

Click the player at the top of the page to play the show. To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. It costs 5 euro a month, there’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, and helping us send Ken and Branno to America.

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Ireland are preparing for one of the biggest nights in the history of women’s football in this country… but yet again, off-field issues threaten to overshadow our winner-take-all match against France in Grenoble tomorrow night.

The FAI have released a statement saying no official announcement will be made until Thursday, but today government sources state that our home game against Israel in October will now be played at a neutral venue.

Gavin Cooney of the Irish Times joins us from France to go through the significance of this news and to analyse Ireland's chances of beating France and securing a place at the World Cup.

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The Munster and Leinster hurling finals didn’t eliminate anyone from this year’s All-Ireland championships, but judging by the on-pitch celebrations, winning them really, really mattered for Limerick and Galway.

Joe Canning and Jamie Wall tell us why Cork can have few complaints about their 1-point defeat to Limerick… and is there a chance Galway spoil the Munster re-match in July’s All-Ireland final?

We discuss Katie's half time walk-on in Croker, the best fans in the world, and Murph’s shameful and boastful post-match behaviour.

And there's Andy Farrell’s new forever contract with Ireland; as this generation begin to retire, can he get more from the next group coming through?

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We're just one week out from the World Cup and we're starting to feel it.

First stop for Ken is Mexico City early next week, but before he went he gave us a special World Cup edition of KenCall!

This week we also had Tim Vickery on Ancelotti's source code for coaching and how old injured legends Neymar and Messi will fare in the heat. Plus there's Mbappe's defensive stats, who Ken is supporting and Madrid men stirring the pot.

Click the player at the top of the page to play this best of show. To listen to all our World Cup programming throughout the rest of the summer, join the Second Captains World Service. It costs 5 euro a month plus VAT, there’s no contracts, no hidden fees, no sign up fee, no ads and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led.

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Arsenal went to Budapest surfing a tidal wave of hope and joy, and finished losing on penalties after one shot on target in more than two hours of play. Less than Inter managed losing 5-0 last year, and less than Arsenal themselves managed against Barcelona in 2006, when they played most of the match with ten men. 

Did Mikel Arteta's best-laid plans nearly come off - or did the plan ultimately get between them and the chance of a first Champions League title? 

We also talk about Arne Slot, whose two seasons at Liverpool came to an end a few hours before kick-off in Budapest. What he did right, what he did wrong, the things that happened that were beyond his control, and the things that didn't happen that maybe weren't. Can the apparent successor, Andoni Iraola, realistically do any better without major reinforcements to the squad? 

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Welcome to fight week on the Second Captains world service! There was a Donnybrook in Dalyer, the McGuinness melee in Kerry and Keano and Bruno fighting on the internet. Plus we have a champions league show tomorrow and Monday, and coming very soon, the World Cup in Canada/USA/Mexico which will be really weird and really interesting.

Its a fiver to join, it takes 30 seconds, you have instant access to every show we’ve ever done, and all the top stuff coming up such as Ken at the World Cup, the Champions League final, Rory’s majors quest, the URC playoffs, the hurling championship, and the fallout from the McGuinness incident. GO TO secondcaptains.com/join

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The other four Champions Cup finals Leinster lost were all close, winnable and heartbreaking for fans; this defeat to Bordeaux however was over after 20 minutes and deeply concerning for all involved.

We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about all the things that went wrong in Bilbao, and what this means for Leo Cullen, Nienaber and Irish rugby.

And in a weekend of massive games in hurling and gaelic football the Kerry/Donegal half-time brouhaha could yet have long-term repercussions for Jim McGuinness, if the lengthy ban for Dublin's Ger Brennan was anything to go by.

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A day of goodbyes - Pep Guardiola, Bernardo Silva, John Stones, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Seamus Coleman, West Ham United.

Ken gives his Premier League team of the season, and you … to be honest, you won’t be surprised by too many of his picks.

Dion Fanning and John Brewin join us to talk about the end of the Premier League season. How good a season was it? Does Pep Guardiola leave Manchester City having proved himself the greatest manager of all time? And who is most likely to step up and challenge the new Arsenal supremacy?

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