We're wrapping up our World Cup Preview series with an unfortunate but necessary conversation about the political and logistical state of the tournament in the United States.

There's a lot of kerfuffle about the heat, American football stadiums, American soccer culture in general, and so on – but these are not reasons to host a World Cup. In fact, they're part of the reason we host them on every continent. We begin the episode having a little bit fun at the expense of Europeans and their inflexibilities.

However, there are other, much more serious reasons why the U.S. should not be hosting this competition. The Iran team will be unable to stay overnight in the country, forced to fly in and out of Mexico on game days and nights. A Somali referee was not granted entry despite being appointed by FIFA and widely considered one of the best African officials. Participating players are being detained at airports. Fans' visas are being denied despite booking extended trips. ICE agents will be prowling near host sites full of fans from Latin American communities.

These are simply unacceptable and unavoidable facts that are unprecedented in the history of the World Cup – even despite FIFA's corrupt history – and they will continue to plague the tournament throughout its duration. We discuss all these factors, why it should disqualify us as hosts, how it projects us to the world, FIFA's role in all this, and much, much more.

It's not our usual fare, and certainly not what we enjoy talking about, but hey – you get the cards you're dealt. North America 2026, baby!

Cheers!

It's a CONCACAF World Cup for the first time in 32 years, so it's only right that we take a look at the 3 host nations, as well as their confederation-mates from Central America and the Caribbean. Who has the strongest squad? Who's got the best shot to go deep? Who's most likely to crash and burn?

We begin with the always-drama-filled United States and Mexico, where we compare and contrast strengths and weaknesses and debate their respective ceilings. Does the U.S. have a midfield problem? Who's scoring the goals for El Tri? How far can Mexico's Azteca advantage take them?

Then we look into Jesse Marsch's unique Canada's squad, who win with continuity and high work-rate, but have been plagued by the injury bug. Can Alphonso Davies return in time to inspire a knockouts run?

We also take a look at Panama's veteran group who play a classic CONCACAF style and appreciate the incredible stories of Haiti and Curaçao, who overcame great odds to be at the tournament.

Cheers!

Note: This was originally scheduled as the 7th preview, but was moved up a day. The final preview episode will be up tomorrow!

Chapters:

3:55 - USA

18:15 - Mexico

25:05 - Canada

31:35 - Panama

36:05 - Haiti

38:55 - Curaçao

On our 5th of 7 World Cup preview episodes, we dive into some stats and storylines that are flying under-the-radar heading into the tournament.

We're talking 40 year-olds, teenagers, the state of South American football, weather, rule changes, non-league footballers and more.

Be sure to tune to get all the niche details that will impress your friends. And don't forget to like and subscribe and follow us on the socials!

Cheers!

Chapters:

04:40 - Old men & teenagers

13:00 - South American leagues

16:05 - Deschamps & France

18:45 - new rules & North American weather

27:40 - Non-leaguers