World Cup begins with THREE soft red cards! Matildas and Brighton defender Charlie Rule joins us to rate World Cup songs, play VAR and preview Socceroos v Turkey episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 12, 2026 · 29 MIN

World Cup begins with THREE soft red cards! Matildas and Brighton defender Charlie Rule joins us to rate World Cup songs, play VAR and preview Socceroos v Turkey

from The Failed Footballer · host Olan Tekkers & iHeart Australia

The World Cup has officially kicked off, and I’m doing what I do best: pretending I’m qualified to talk about it. First up, I'm saying it how I see it...Ronaldo is finished. I know that may upset a few people, but look - someone had to say it. Portugal are better off if he doesn't play, let alone start. In the opening game there were three red cards - were they all soft? Did VAR get it right or wrong? Then, i'm joined by Matilda's and Brighton defender Charlie Rule, who actually knows what she's talking about. We get into what World Cup pressure actually feels like when you’re the one wearing the badge, how early players start thinking about a World Cup cycle, and what separates the ones who get called up from the ones who stay there. (I must've missed the memo). Charlie gives her thoughts on which teams she thinks are built for this tournament and adds her pick to our Ultimate All-Time World Cup XI.  We also react to some truly tragic World Cup anthems that are doing the rounds right now and honestly, some of them feel like a crime. Then we throw to our sports reporter John Bric who's there in Vancouver giving us the on-the-ground vibe: the fans, the noise, the ticket prices...they are insane.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 12, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

World Cup begins with THREE soft red cards! Matildas and Brighton defender Charlie Rule joins us to rate World Cup songs, play VAR and preview Socceroos v Turkey

0:00 29:30

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Failed Footballer?

This episode is 29 minutes long.

When was this The Failed Footballer episode published?

This episode was published on June 12, 2026.

Can I download this The Failed Footballer episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!