Episode 689 – The AFTN Soccer Show (Travelled Near and Travelled Far - Jesper Sorensen, Jeevan Badwal, Rayan Elloumi, MLS run-in, CanMNT impress, World Cup 2026 qualifiers and tickets)

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps and international football chat and interviews. The Whitecaps have wrapped up week two of their three weeks off and everyone's getting itchy week, just wanting to get back at it. We have a chat with Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen about the difficulties of getting any work done in this period, the season run-in, bolstering the midfield again, and the impact Thomas Muller has had on the team. We also look at the Whitecaps season run-in and how the MLS West might shake out in terms of points and positioning. We also chat with two young guns that have come through the 'Caps academy. It's been a great 2025 so far for Jeevan Badwal. We talk to him about his breakthrough season with the first team, what Whitecaps players he admired growing up, being an inspiration for the next generation, and being a sponge around Thomas Muller. For Rayan Elloumi, he hopes to emulate Badwal's rise and we talk to the WFC2 player about his excellent season so far, his journey from Edmonton with the BTB Academy, and his hopes for moving into the first team. Plus we look at how the eight Whitecaps players have fared in the early stages of this international break, talk Tristan Blackmon's performance in the US' loss to South Korea, and delve into Canada's impressive win over Romania and the excellent outing from Ali Ahmed. We also talk World Cup 2026 tickets and the good and bad of the currently system for getting hold of them. Music-wise, Hazel O'Connor continues her residency as our Album of the Month, we've Britpop songs from Menswear and Fluffy, and a song about the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in Wavelength from Declan McKenna. Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode: 01.27: Intro - Vancouver FC, Vancouver Rise, overseas league games in US 24.15: Jesper Sorensen interview 44.30: The Whitecaps regular season run-in 51.30: The math to win the MLS West 68.50: Rayan Elloumi interview and discussion 80.40: Jeevan Badwal interview and discussion 96.05: World Cup tickets set to go on sale - but at what cost? 112.35: World Cup qualifiers round-up at the battle for 2026 in full flow 134.35: How the Whitecaps internationlists fared 144.40: Canada win big in Romania 157.05: Wavelength - Declan McKenna - Brazil