Miguel Delaney

Yeah, I mean, look, that is a connected issue.

uh like the size of the world cup is basically of a piece with how everything in football is getting bigger because no one wants to see ground and ultimately the expansion has been done for political reasons but as dion's kind of touched on there there are two sides to this like there is genuinely a romance to it and romance to kind of just three debutants of this world cup um

you know, Uzbekistan, Curaçao, they're going to enjoy kind of genuine national moments here.

Jordan's the other one, sorry.

Then you've got, because of the expansion, Haiti, given the strife, Iraq as well, also get to enjoy these sort of moments, this sort of release.

And that shouldn't be diminished, even if it can sit alongside concerns about it.

But even on that, like, I mean, okay, we kind of might dismiss some of the games, not particularly attractive.

But like I have to say, like today's match,

Mexico, South Africa.

I mean, if that was on a random international break during the season, like a lot of listeners, I wouldn't care.

And now today, like, so I'm in New York at the moment.

I'm going to England's base tomorrow.

And now I'm kind of feeling like I'd love to be at the Azteca, Mexico in the Azteca opening game.

Like, that sounds great.

Yeah.

Should it happen, of course.

But even that, suddenly, as Dion touched on, suddenly all the storylines become alive.

Like, Mexico, this is maybe the biggest underperforming country in the World Cup, given the size, given they've not got past the quarterfinals.

They've suddenly found a bit of form before the tournament.

South Africa back for the first time since 2010.