South America's Teams & Their Chances — with special guest Nathan Joyes of The Copa Club

Two days to kickoff, and the South American contenders are anything but settled. Gary Striker and The Qooligan are joined by Nathan Joyes — South American football journalist and host of The Copa Club Podcast — to go nation by nation through the continent's hopes at World Cup 2026. Is this the weakest Brazil side in a generation? Nathan argues that finishing fifth in qualifying, Ancelotti's stubborn 4-2-4, and shaky fullbacks are bigger problems than the Neymar circus everyone's fixated on — and explains why Endrick has to start. Then it's into the Group of Death, where Paraguay open against the USA without injured star Julio Enciso, and why he fancies them to cause trouble anyway. We dig into Ecuador — everyone's trendy dark horse — and why a watertight defense built on Pacho, Hincapié and Caicedo might not be enough while they lean on 36-year-old Enner Valencia up top. Uruguay, under the unpredictable Bielsa, set up a potential round-of-32 grudge match with Argentina. And the champions themselves? Underrated, ridiculously deep, and quietly the most dangerous team nobody's talking about — injury rumors and off-field noise notwithstanding. We finish in Colombia, where an aging golden generation hits its last-chance saloon. Plus the young stars worth tracking all summer: Endrick, Kendry Páez, Valentín Barco and Nico Paz. Nathan's verdict on who goes furthest? You'll have to press play. Catch Nathan on The Copa Club Podcast for everything South American football. New episodes of Summer '26 all tournament long at hooligan-soccer.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices