The Athletic FC Podcast

France's superstars continue to sparkle, as Kylian Mbappe's brace helped to see off Sweden 3-0 in at the MetLife.

Emma Paton is joined by Mark Critchley and Carl Anka to discuss France's free-flowing attack with Adam Crafton also posing the question: are France unstoppable? We also hear from Felipe Cardenas after Mexico's 2-0 win over Ecuador setting up a potential Round of 16 clash with England.

David Ornstein drops by with the latest from the transfer window as Tottenham Hotspur win the race to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United in a deal worth £85m. Where does this leave Man United's search for midfield reinforcements?

Plus, ahead of the USA taking on Bosnia & Herzegovina, Henry Bushnell drops by to preview the game and the significance reaching a run to the quarter-finals could have for the USMNT.

Host: Emma Paton
With: Mark Critchley and Carl Anka
Featuring: Adam Crafton, Felipe Cardenas, David Ornstein and Henry Bushnell
Executive Producer: Guy Clarke
Producers: Jay Beale and Grayson Moody
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Four-time World Cup winners Germany are out. So too are the Netherlands and Japan after a dramatic day at the World Cup.

Emma Paton is alongside Mark Critchley and Cerys Jones to look back on the action. Matt Slater shares his view from Boston after seeing Germany dumped out on penalties, losing their first-ever World Cup shootout to Paraguay.

David Ornstein joins us to discuss the latest in the transfer market including Chelsea's move for Granit Xhaka as well as their reaction to confirmation Enzo Maresca has succeeded Pep Guardiola as manager of Man City.

Plus, there's a look ahead to England's Round of 32 tie with DR Congo, a preview of the Day 20 action as well as our daily 'do you know' trivia.

Host: Emma Paton
With: Mark Critchley & Cerys Jones
Featuring: Matt Slater, David Ornstein and Jack Pitt-Brooke
Executive Producer: Guy Clarke
Producers: Jay Beale & Grayson Moody
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada saw off South Africa as the knockout stages got underway at the World Cup, with some big games to come on Day 19.

Emma Paton is joined by The Athletic's Liam Twomey and Liam Tharme as they assess Canada's win with Josh Kloke explaining the significance of a knockout victory for the co-hosts.

There's then a look at the World Cup bracket with the panel making their predictions as to who will make the final four of the competition.

Ahead of the Netherlands taking on Morocco in one of the ties of the round, Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero joins from Monterrey to preview the game, explain the mood in the city as well as the possibility of an England v Mexico tie in the Azteca Stadium in the next round.

Host: Emma Paton
With: Liam Twomey and Liam Tharme
Featuring: Josh Kloke and Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero
Executive Producer: Guy Clarke
Producers: Jay Beale and Liam Warburton
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite a 2-0 win over Panama with Jude Bellingham playing a crucial role, Thomas Tuchel's England still lack conviction.

Joining Adam Leventhal to get stuck into England's final group stage performance are Tim Spiers and Art De Roche, with Jack Pitt-Brooke sharing his thoughts from the MetLife Stadium.

With the group stage now completed there's also discussion around some of the big talking points as Lionel Messi moves onto six goals at the tournament, nine of the 10 African sides have reached the knockout stage - and Scotland head coach Steve Clarke resigns, with Jordan Campbell providing reaction in Boston.

Plus, ahead of the knockouts beginning there's some bracket projections before our Canada correspondent Josh Kloke previews Canada's tie with South Africa.

Host: Adam Leventhal
With: Tim Spiers and Art De Roche
Featuring: Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jordan Campbell and Josh Kloke
Producers: Guy Clarke and Liam Warburton
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The transfer window is truly up and running as Manchester City have agreed a £116million deal to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest - the most ever paid for a British player.

Adam Leventhal is joined in-studio by Cerys Jones and Tim Spiers to discuss the massive move for the England midfielder. Football correspondent David Ornstein drops in for the latest details on the deal, and Man City writer Sam Lee joins the panel to analyse why the club were so adamant on signing Anderson from Nottingham Forest.

Meanwhile, at the World Cup, Ecuador had its greatest football moment as they qualified for the knockout stages with a 2-1 win over Germany, while Ivory Coast, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden joined the USA in booking their place in the next round.

The panel also discuss their breakout player of the tournament so far, plus, there's our daily 'do you know' trivia as well as a profile of our latest Star of Soccer, Iran’s Beiranvand

Host: Adam Leventhal
With: Cerys Jones & Tim Spiers
Featuring: David Ornstein & Sam Lee
Executive Producer: Guy Clarke
Producers: Jay Beale & Grayson Moody
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.