The men who made the World Cup - The Sunday Story episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 21, 2026 · 25 MIN

The men who made the World Cup - The Sunday Story

from The Story

Nearly 7,000 men have played in the World Cup since it began in 1930. To capture some of their extraordinary stories, The Times' football reporter James Gheerbrant set out on a quest to track down 48 players from the 48 countries playing in this year's tournament. We hear the remarkable memories of 3 of them: One of the old surviving players, another who trained under the shadow of gunfire in Vietnam, and a final player whose team endured death threats.Guest: James Gheerbrant, football reporter, The Times.Host: Luke Jones.Producer: Dave Creasey.We want to hear from you - email: [email protected] more: 48 countries, 48 players: World Cup through eyes of men who played in it.Further listening: Who is the “king of soccer" Gianni Infantino?Clips: ITN, BBC, CNN.Photo: Getty Images. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 21, 2026

Nearly 7,000 men have played in the World Cup since it began in 1930. To capture some of their extraordinary stories, The Times' football reporter James Gheerbrant set out on a quest to track down 48 players from the 48 countries playing in this year's tournament. We hear the remarkable memories of 3 of them: One of the old surviving players, another who trained under the shadow of gunfire in Vietnam, and a final player whose team endured death threats.Guest: James Gheerbrant, football reporter, The Times.Host: Luke Jones.Producer: Dave Creasey.We want to hear from you - email: [email protected] more: 48 countries, 48 players: World Cup through eyes of men who played in it.Further listening: Who is the “king of soccer" Gianni Infantino?Clips: ITN, BBC, CNN.Photo: Getty Images. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The men who made the World Cup - The Sunday Story

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Nearly 7,000 men have played in the World Cup since it began in 1930. To capture some of their extraordinary stories, The Times' football reporter James Gheerbrant set out on a quest to track down 48 players from the 48 countries playing in this...

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