Episode 739 – The AFTN Soccer Show (Watching The World Go By with Sam Adekugbe, Rayan Elloumi, and Taylor Twellman)

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of World Cup, Vancouver Whitecaps, and Canadian Championship chat and interviews. The Whitecaps returned to action after 46 days away, defeating Cavalry FC in the Canadian Championship quarter-finals over two legs, including an emotional return to Swangard Stadium. We pick over the bones of those matches and the other three quarter-finals and hear from 'Caps coach Jesper Sorensen ahead of the the busy weeks of matches coming up. We also have a couple of Whitecaps interviews for you as we talk with Rayan Elloumi about his World Cup experience away with Tunisia and getting back on the scoresheet, while we chat with Sam Adekugbe about his World Cup punditry duties, getting ready to get back on the pitch, and the psychological toll this latest injury has been for him. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in its final stages and it's been a great tournament so far, both on and off the pitch. Well, for the most part. A long list of incidents and questionable decisions have cast doubt over the trust in, and questioned the integrity of, the tournament and they are casting a dark shadow over proceedings. We delve into a series of unfortunate events and look back at how well Vancouver did as a host city. All of this plus we hear from MLS analyst Taylor Twellman about the future of the Whitecaps, Sebastian Berhalter, and where the host countries need to go now to continue to improve the game, we look at the continuing death of sports radio in Vancouver, and music-wise, we've three C86 songs for you with tracks from The Dentists, 14 Iced Bears, and A Riot of Colour, while we have a Mexican World Cup song in Wavelength. Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode: 01.22: Intro - back to life, back to reality 15.30: The death of Vancouver 'sports' radio 22.35: How Vancouver fared as a World Cup host city 44.10: World Cup controversies erode trust and integrity 80.05: Canadian Championship quarter-final round up 95.30: Whitecaps see off Cavalry charge to set up Montreal semi 110.55: Jesper Sorenson on squad rotation and the busy schedule to come 124.00: Rayan Elloumi interview 134.20: Sam Adekugbe interview 151.15: Taylor Twellman on Sebastian Berhalter's future and the direction of US Soccer 171.20: Wavelength - Grupo Frontera - Un Solo Corazon