Today with David McCullagh
All you need to know about the World Cup with our expert panel
03 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the significance of the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup?
FIFA's Men's World Cup 2026. The countdown has begun. Kick-off is tomorrow week, the 11th of June. An expanded 48 teams battling it out to be crowned champions of the world. It's going to be the biggest World Cup ever.
However, it's also overshadowed by global conflict, potential severe weather disruption and exorbitant costs for travelling fans, at least at some of the venues, to get us up to speed on everything we need to know. I'm joined here in studio by second captain's podcaster and Irish Times journalist, Ken Early.
Joining us from our Galway studio is former Republic of Ireland international and RT analyst, Maeve de Berka. You're both very welcome. Thanks a million for joining us. Ken, three host countries, a record number of teams, a record number of players, a record number of matches. You're on your way. Are you excited?
Yes.
Chapter 2: How will the expanded format of 48 teams affect the tournament?
I am excited, although I'm also... I'm just waiting to see what the experience of this is going to be like. I mean, this is the first time that the World Cup has been so big that it's more or less impossible to follow. You know, it's sort of become this enormous universe, this... I think 72 matches in the group stage over 17 days.
So like four matches a day, six matches a day in the latter stage, six matches a day. I mean, this is not, it used to be a tournament you could kind of, you could if you wanted to watch every game. That's no longer the case for us here in Ireland. A lot of these games are going to be on in the middle of the night. So it makes it even more challenging and quite how that's going to feel.
Well, I wait to find out.
It is, it's a monster, isn't it?
Yeah, it's huge. I mean, the idea here is let's just get as many countries involved as possible. And the matches will at least be interesting in each of those countries, in each of those 48. Everyone will watch their own games. But I have a feeling that it might really only start to build momentum once they get to the knockout phase.
And, you know, World Cup knockout football is, you know, it's a proven attention getter.
OK, but you're still going to have a lot of teams in the knockout stages.
Yeah.
Yeah, well, the first 72 matches functioned to eliminate 16 teams. They made the group stage just very forgiving. It's almost like a bunch of exhibition games. You can get in shape for the knockout games and you have to work quite hard to get knocked out in the group stage.
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Chapter 3: What challenges do fans face with the World Cup's logistics?
Of course, that's before I played Scotland the other night and only lost 4-1. So, you know, maybe I'm guilty here of underrating that, but it does seem as though, yeah, there are going to be some, this is a Gianni Infantino type of, this is not the game you would have seen at a World Cup in the past. You would have expected there's a certain level here. These are the best players in the world.
That's no longer the case.
Yeah. Maeve, do you agree the quality is going to be diluted a bit?
Yeah I think so I mean when you think that yeah two-thirds of the teams are going to make it into the knockout stages as well and there's going to be in that early group stages I think we will see a lot of mismatches and maybe games that you might prefer to catch the highlights of rather than watching the full 90 minutes so I think yeah I think although you know they're trying to to say it's a good thing that there's more teams involved personally I think it's it's it's
much too many to go from 32 teams right to 48 it's such a big jump really in terms of spreading the quality out and I think it'll only be really I think when the knockout stages kick off really is when the quality will start to shine Despite the newcomers we would expect the traditional contenders still to be in contention
Yeah I think so it's hard to look past the likes of say Spain who are favourites for the tournament obviously they have the superstar Jamal but he is injured coming back off a hamstring injury so it's hard to see will he be at 100% or you can look at the likes of France who I think probably have the deepest squad in the tournament they just have such quality going forward just their pace and power athleticism but then you look to the likes of the Arsenal defender Zabala as well and they have
he's one of the top defenders really in recent years in the Premier League so you can think of England as well I suppose as much as maybe Irish fans looking on we don't always like to see them do as well but it's been 60 years since they won their last World Cup and they're always up there I'm sure they would have mentioned it if they'd won
yeah exactly 1966 I think we all all remember well we don't remember but we know we know of it and yeah there's always such expectation around the English team you know so much expectation on the likes of Harry Kane there who's set to captain them at the third tournament I think and yeah Brazil Portugal Argentina those types of teams as well I think will be up there too
Yeah, it'd be interesting to see, can, I mean, Ronaldo, can he sign off with the World Cup? Is Messi going to play for Argentina? I mean, there's some real legends there, isn't there?
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Chapter 4: How will the weather impact the World Cup matches?
Luka Modric, the Croatian, is 40. So this is like a new development as well. Players did not used to make, I mean, there was Roger Miller, I suppose. Roger Miller stunned the world in 1990. Yeah. He's 38 years old. It was unthinkable that a 38-year-old man could come in and play. And now we've got some of the most famous players in the tournament are into their 40s.
And is that, the Scottish keeper is 43, I'm told by my eagle-eyed producer. I mean, is that because players are looked after better nowadays, better nutrition, better video?
Yeah, I mean, I think so. You know, sports medicine, let's say, has come on a lot. But you'll also notice those guys, the ones who I mentioned are like, The elite of the elite. There's not, you know, we're talking, you know, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, obviously, two defining players of the century. Most players are not going to either get the attention or have the ability.
You know, Luka Modric, another Ballon d'Or winner, you know, when you get to 40, most people can't do it. But maybe at the extreme edge of talent, you can still just about pull it off.
What about the Golden Boot, the most goals scored in the tournament? The record is Miroslav Klos with 16?
Miroslav Klos is the record for all-time, over 16 goals in total, spread over a number of World Cups. I think the record is Jus Fontaine, 13 goals in 1958.
With more games, presumably more chances to score and more goals, particularly against some of the competition.
You do in the last one. And also there's been a tendency, I think, in football over the last 20 years, in the Messi and Ronaldo sort of era, for the top goal scorers to score kind of figures that you haven't seen since the 20s, you know, since the 1920s. That's kind of back. And so Kylian Mbappe was the top goal scorer in the last World Cup with eight, which was the most for...
well I think since 1970 when Gerd Muller got 10 so this is maybe it is something we could see broken because there is an extra at least one extra game in this tournament and maybe with some of those mismatches I mean if Erling Haaland gets his hands on you know this is a player who scored nine goals in a youth World Cup game one time maybe Fancy's doing it at senior level
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Chapter 5: What are the potential mismatches in the group stages?
Pat's goalkeeper, Joseph Anang, is going with them. So that's two teams we can cheer for anyway, Maeve.
Yeah exactly no definitely I think we will be cheering both of those on and I suppose it gives us something to look out for just given that there are so many games at least we can narrow them down and kind of have an Irish interest in at least the group games Ghana and Cape Verde it'll be
hard for them to qualify into the knockouts but still at the same time you never know you never know Ken away from the pitch I mean we've mentioned three countries the number of venues and everything it's going to be logistically for the teams logistically it's going to be a bit of a nightmare isn't it?
Well, I mean, this is the reason that FIFA gave for not awarding the World Cup to the United States in 1986. They said, look, it's just too big. I mean, come on. Here we are 40 years on. It's like, well, let's add Canada and Mexico in as well. And Canada and Mexico, I think, have been, you know, I don't know. I think they've been screwed over a little bit by this draw.
If you look at it, there are actually more games in Texas than in either Canada or Mexico.
That can't be true.
That can't be true. It feels unfair, but this is the way that it's gone. So they're very much sort of sidelined players here. The main event is the US. And it is, yeah, it's an interesting approach they've taken to this World Cup. It's whatever the opposite is of what the Russians and the Qataris were doing, which people were talking about sports fashion. You're trying to burnish your image.
The Americans are doing the opposite of that. They're like, we don't really want you to come. We're going to make it really expensive and very difficult for you. And this has been their whole attitude. So you can't accuse them of what was happening before, at least.
Yeah, OK, at least they're a bit upfront about it. Maeve, you've lived in the US, you've played in the US, so you know it very well. And for Irish fans, if there are Irish fans going over, I'm sure there are, it's going to be logistically, for them, it's going to be very difficult and it's going to be very expensive.
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