Can England really win a World Cup by 2026?




The GegenPod, presented by Optus Sport show

Summary: Luke Wilkshire, Melanie McLaughlin and Richard Bayliss join David Weiner for this week's GegenPod as Optus Sport gears up for six straight days of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, beginning on Friday. Harry Redknapp thinks England can win a World Cup in the next eight years. Really? The panel also look at squad news in Spain, Italy, France and Netherlands and also Joachim Loew's re-generation of Germany's squad. Loew has ended the careers of some of Germany's World Cup winning stars, and Wilkshire has some strong views, from personal experience, on how that was handled. Closer to home, we look at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup hosting bid, the futures of Maty Ryan and Aaron Mooy, and the Olyroos' preparations for qualifying and the ensuing argument between Kevin Muscat and Graham Arnold over prioritising the A-League or the under-23s' preparations. In another busy show, we look at the FA Cup, Wolverhampton's giant killing potential, Manchester City's quadruple quest, Cristiano Ronaldo's cojones crime, Zizou's power play at Real Madrid, Manchester United's apparent hesitation to hand Ole Gunner Solskjaer the reigns full-time, Lionel Messi's standing ovation from Real Betis fans and a look at the tantalising Champions League and Europa League quarter-finals draws. Plus, as Scotland's Andy Robertson makes a mad dash to join his teammates in Kazhakstan, what is the strangest trip Wilkshire had to make in his career?