Episode 732 – The AFTN Soccer Show (World Cup Preview Part One with guests Sebastian Berhalter, Andres Cubas, and author Todd Smith)

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of World Cup, Canadian national team chat and interviews, along with the latest AFTN Book Club. The World Cup is less than two weeks away and the excitement is building here at AFTN Towers as we bring you the first of three preview podcasts for the tournament. This episode looks at the groups of the three hosts - Canada, Mexico, and the US - as we preview Groups A, B, and D. We also delve into the Canadian and American 26-man rosters and talk to Jesse Marsch about pressures of the tournament, especially as a host nation. We've also got two feature interviews to bring you, with two Whitecaps friends and teammates that will be going against each other on June 12th as the US take on Paraguay. Sebastian Berhalter and Andres Cubas talk about their World Cup hopes, dreams, and memories and how much it would mean to them to face off against each other at the tournament. The AFTN Book Club returns and we chat with Minneapolis author Todd Smith about his new book, Relegation - One American's pies and pints Journey from the top to the bottom of English football, and beyond. All of this plus we move onto the letter W in our Canadian Soccer A to Z series, music-wise, Mansun wrap up their residency as our Artists of the Month, and we've got yet another new Scotland World Cup song in Wavelength. They keep coming, we keep playing them! Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode: 01.23: Intro 04.05: Canadian Soccer A to Z - W 19.40: Canada's World Cup roster revealed - who made the cut, who didn't, and what could still change? 44.45: Group B Preview - a breakdown of Canada's opponents 57.35: Jesse Marsch talks World Cup pressures 64.05: Sebastian Berhalter makes US World Cup squad 70.50: Sebastian Berhalter interview on being around World Cup past and present 81.15: The impact of this World Cup on the game in North America 91.30: Marcelo Balboa on the impact of World Cup '94 and the growth of Sebastian Berhalter 98.40: Group D Preview - Paraguay 103.42: Andres Cubas interview on World Cup dreams and memories 114.05: Group D Preview - Australia and Turkey 123.00: Group A Preview - Czechia, Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea 133.30: AFTN Book Club interview - Todd Smith on his book "Relegation" 169.05: Wavelength - Nathan Evans x Saint Phnx - Home