Marcus, Luke and Pete pile into the studio after Morocco only bloomin’ went and did the Spanish! How’s Luis Enrique going to Twitch about this one…

We discuss why the Spanish keep coming unstuck, why Samuel Eto’o kneed a man in the head, and why Portugal were so, so much better without Ronaldo. We also celebrate two forces that have been with us since the dawn of time – Pepe and Wayne Rooney. Wazza is just the gift that keeps on giving.

Pete’s Film Club is back! Sign up for weekly episodes throughout the World Cup and much more here: patreon.com/footballramble.

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Marcus, Lars and Jim convene at Ramble HQ After one final portion of the World Cup group stage banquet.

We discuss an incredible night for South Korea and Cristiano Ronaldo’s great generosity – plus the happiest man to ever be sent off in a World Cup, a very teary Luis Suárez and a very punchy Edison Cavani.

We also find out how FIFA are well-prepared to make sure the group stage format is never this good again.

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A taste of some of our favourite moments from the World Cup so far!

We've got daily episodes coming at ya throughout the knockout stages right up to the final! Hit that subscribe button to make sure you never miss a thing.

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Jules, Pete and Andy chat about a truly epic night of football! Not for Japanese policemen, mind.

Japan top the Group of Death™ against all odds while Kai Havertz at least wins the real quiz sponsored by Budweiser. Plus, a Mexican fan stabs his telly and Harry Maguire finally makes an appearance in Ghana’s parliament.

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Journey with Andy and Jules to the Lusail Stadium for Portugal’s second group stage game against Uruguay at the 2022 World Cup.

They discuss the strangeness of this tournament, the atmosphere in the country amongst the fans, and encounter an alarming number of grown men doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark celebration! Plus, hidden hot dogs and Bud Zeroes all round…

Pete’s Film Club is back! Sign up for weekly episodes throughout the World Cup and much more here: patreon.com/footballramble.

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Dotun and Andy are joined by French football expert Jonathan Johnson after a dramatic day for World Cup giants and unfancied hopefuls alike!

Amidst a baffling night for Poland, we discuss why Argentina and Lionel Messi are fitting together at just the right time. Plus, why France could be knocked off their stride by defeat to Tunisia and Andy curse ANOTHER dark horse…

Pete’s Film Club is back! Sign up for weekly episodes throughout the World Cup and much more here: patreon.com/footballramble.

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Definitive proof last night: it’s always good to have a Marcus in there!

Marcus, Jim and David discuss England’s 3-0 victory over Wales and just how responsible Chesney Hawkes was for that second half storm. We also deliberate who Southgate should go with in the knockouts after Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden impress. And it isn’t over for Gareth Bale in a Wales shirt, but should it be?

Meanwhile, USA and their swashbuckling midfield progress – how far can they go? Plus, Senegal prepare to batter the England band with some brilliant drums and Dick Advocaat rides again!

**Pete’s Film Club is back! Sign up for weekly episodes throughout the World Cup and much more here: patreon.com/footballramble.**

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Whew, what a day of World Cup football! Marcus, Lars and Pete bounce into the studio after Vincent Aboubakar and Serbia’s mad defensive line make a very entertaining combination and Jordan Ayew whips down the South Koreans.

Elsewhere, we take a trip to Richarlison’s island which may or may not be owned by Sven, Cristiano Ronaldo and Piers Morgan call upon the Hair of God, and Marcus gets very confused by the Far Cry video game franchise.

Pete’s Film Club is back! Sign up for weekly episodes throughout the World Cup and much more here: patreon.com/footballramble.

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Dotun and Andy are joined by Miguel Delaney to recap more Qatar clashes, as Spain and Germany both rope-a-doped their way to honours even in last night’s main event.

Elsewhere, Belgium’s ageing generation looked all out of ideas against Morocco while Croatia keep their fountain of youth flowing. And, with a clash tonight against serial shithousers Uruguay, can Portugal finally sort themselves out?

Pete’s Film Club is back! Sign up for weekly episodes throughout the World Cup and much more here: patreon.com/footballramble.

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Marcus, Andy and Pete are here to answer this World Cup's definitive question: after last night's heroics, have Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi secured a move to Fulham?

Elsewhere the Aussies' great win over Tunisia gives them hope, Andy's going to have a fight with Graeme Souness and Wayne Rooney's bizarre (little) man management skills have been exposed. 

Pete’s Film Club is back today! Luke and Pete watched the FIFA-funded 'United Passions', which is nearly the worst thing they've ever done. Sign up for weekly episodes throughout the World Cup and much more here: patreon.com/footballramble.

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What happens when Sepp Blatter and FIFA make a film? Today, Pete and Luke find out...

We’re releasing bonus weekly editions of Pete's Film Club on our Patreon throughout the World Cup. Here’s a taste of our first episode out today, where Pete and Luke review FIFA's self-funded film about its own history. It's United Passions! Oh God.

Sign up for as little as $5/month here and get these episodes and ad-free Rambles direct to your own podcast feed: patreon.com/footballramble.

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We all know that the January transfer window is still a month away, but there are still hundreds of Arsenal transfer rumours popping up in the media as usual.

Despite the volume, the two targets that are continually mentioned are the Brazilian midfielder Danilo, who looks like an absolute bargain at around 25million, and of course the Ukranian sensation Mykhalo Mudryk, who seems to have set his heart on a move to the Emirates, but there have been some outlandish figures mentioned to prise him away from Shakhtar Donetsk.

The biggest plus with these two transfers is that, not only are they both young and extremely talented, they are both going to be available in January.

Shakhtar Donetsk have made it clear that they are going to be listening to offers in January, and with the Brazilian season over, Danilo is ready to move on and has stated that he is “ready to play in any competition”.

It’s no secret that Arteta has stated we are short of players to challenge for every trophy, and it is also a fact that we need a midfielder desperately, and an extra winger to give competition to Saka and Martinelli, and these two stars are looking the most likely to arrive in January.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may have a rich and powerful supporter in his expected presidential campaign: Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Or, he might not.

Despite reports that Musk would back DeSantis in 2024, the delivery of the message gives pause: Musk announced (if you can call it that) his DeSantis support vaguely with a one-word tweet. Asked by a user if he would support DeSantis for president, Musk responded: “Yes.” 

That’s it.

This is not the same thing as Musk announcing his preferred candidate—as the New York Post quickly interpreted the tweet. I suppose it is an indication of where Musk is headed politically. But we’ve had ample evidence of that for some time.

Arsenal will look to bolster their squad in the January transfer window to keep it competitive.

The Gunners are having one of their best seasons as a football club and hope to end it with at least one trophy.

Mikel Arteta’s side is overachieving now and will need reinforcements to stay in form.

The Spaniard has now identified two areas in the team that need to be strengthened.

A report on Football London reveals the ex-PL star wants a central midfielder and a winger.

Voters in about two dozen Georgia counties began voting today in the Senate runoff between Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Trump-backed challenger Herschel Walker, despite attempts by the Georgia Republicans to block Saturday voting.

The election will determine whether the Senate remains split 50-50 with Democrats in control, or whether Democrats will take a 51-49 majority that will ease their ability to confirm judges and move legislation through committees. 

Originally, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, had allowed voting the Saturday after Thanksgiving, then changed his mind and issued guidance prohibiting it. But the Warnock campaign sued, arguing the prohibition was contrary to Georgia law. On Wednesday, the Georgia Supreme Court allowed voting to begin Saturday. Their effort was opposed by state and national Republicans.

Voting began Saturday with long lines across the state as voters decided to take advantage of the extra day of voting. “We had to take them to court just so you could vote today,” Warnock said at a campaign stop Saturday morning.

Early voting opportunities are especially important in a runoff election because there’s little time to vote by mail. Mail ballots must be received by the time the polls close on the date of the runoff election—December 6—making it difficult to request and return a mail ballot in time. Election officials and voting rights groups are therefore urging Georgians to vote in person.

Arsenal defender & Lioness captain Leah Williamson says there’s ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ on her injury recovery by Michelle

Arsenal’s Leah Williamson, also captain for the Women’s England team, the Lionesses, has not been available for team selection by Jonas Eidevall since sustaining a foot injury in early October.  Leah also had to withdraw from international duties.

Jonas Eidevall confirmed that Leah was now back in training with her Arsenal teammates, but is not yet match fit.

The Lionesses Captain last played for her club in a 1-0 win over Ajax that ensured Arsenal qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. During the same match, fellow defender and Women’s Brazil Captain Rafaelle Souza suffered a metatarsal bone injury, whilst Leah picked up her similar injury in training the following week.  Leah has missed the subsequent two international breaks with England since then.

Williamson, speaking to Skysports ahead of an unveiling of artwork celebrating Helen Hardy, the founder of Manchester Laces football club, said that after a tough time away from the pitch she was closing in on a recovery.

Do you remember the days when Arsenal used to play a game every Saturday? In fact every single game in all divisions kicked off at 3 pm on a Saturday, and we got the results at around 5.30 and we watched the highlights on Match of the day, before the TV started mucking about with the fixtures so that we could watch live games.

There were League games on a Saturday, and Cup games or European games (which only involved the Champions and the Cup Wnners and were straight knockout games) on the occasional Wednesday. Maybe players weren’t as fit in those days or paid as much, but we certainly didn’t need such big squads. My memory may be wrong but I think Liverpool won the League and European Cup in 1977, and got to the Final of the FA Cup by only using about 18 players in the whole season. The game was much more physical and the pitches were much more ridiculous and there were only a couple of subs in each game. Also International games were few and far between and usually in the close season.

Then the TV companies got involved and we started playing early kick-offs, Sunday games, and then they brought in Monday Night Football, then Fridays, and now we have live games every day of the week and three at least on every Saturday and Sunday.

Since we played catchup after Covid the games have been nearly every three days as we caught up, then there was straight into the Euros, then the new compacted season because the World Cup is in mid-season, plus international breaks, plus European Group games, and you could be playing at any time on any day.

Nowadays there are 8 English teams playing in Europe every season, and with Group games and knockouts. If you get to the Final of the Europa League it means playing 16 extra games to get there…

On Tuesday, Donald Trump, now a candidate for president, had dinner with the white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes and the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, to wide condemnation.

Fuentes first gained notoriety for attending the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017. He was one of “very fine people on both sides,” as Trump said at the time. As my colleague Ali Breland cataloged last year, Fuentes has a sizable track record. He has denied the Holocaust, opposes interracial marriage, and wishes for a return to Jim Crow segregation, among other racist beliefs. Fuentes recently said he’d prefer a Catholic monarchy to a democracy.

"Fuck democracy," Fuentes says. "Divorce, abortion, ghettos, crime, political correctness, diversity… track record of democracy, not so good. Catholic autocracy? Pretty strong… Catholic monarchy, just war, inquisitions and crusades: pretty good, pretty good stuff" pic.twitter.com/zsZktiZVt6

— Sam Hoadley-Brill READ CHARLES MILLS. RIP (@deonteleologist) November 25, 2022

Despite all this, Fuentes has been partially accepted by the Trump wing of the Republican Party. Earlier this year, he hosted Reps. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) at his America First Political Action Conference. (He drew press attention to the event by comparing Vladimir Putin to Hitler—before adding that he meant this as a “good thing.”)

Arsenal is now expected to make another bid for Palmeiras star Danilo.

The midfielder has been on their radar for many weeks now and they wanted to buy him in the summer.

However, with the Brazilian league in progress, his present employers refused to sell him at the time.

The midfielder is now set to leave them as he is prepared for a new challenge, which has alerted the Gunners again.

A move for him means the Brazilians have sorted out signing a player for a key position on their team.

Bukayo Saka and Yunus Musa were two promising players at the Arsenal academy when they were teammates there.

Musah left the club in 2019 to join Valencia after the Spanish side promised him a faster route to first-team football.

Although he spent a huge part of his upbringing in England, he now plays for the USA.

Both nations faced each other in the World Cup last night as the US held their English counterparts to a goalless draw.

It was a tense game, with England struggling to get a goal against the Americans.