Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left podcast. Today we use the

2026 World Cup to pull everything that runs under the game up into the light. Nearly a quarter of

the players are representing the country other than the one they were born in, praised as national

heroes when they score, but scorned as foreigners when they lose.

The history of colonialism built the machinery that turns immigrants into targets, and the

results are playing out live around this year's tournament, in the towns that throw their

arms open, and the borders that slam shut, in who a country will claim and who it leaves

outside. For those looking for a quick overview, the sources providing our top takes in about 60

minutes today include pop culture detective, AJ Plus, Bianca Growler, Rick Strong, Uncivilized,

DW News, and Pist Magistice. Then, in the additional

deeper dives have of the show, there will be more in four sections. Section A, colonialism's

long game, section B, diaspora, and dual identity, section C, the cup on the ground, and

section D, race, mythology, andology. And now, on to the show.

When I was a kid, my dad would always tell me to always root for the underdogs. And I've carried

that advice with me basically my whole life. I mean,

who doesn't love a Cinderella story? I think we all do. We love it when a team that's been counted

out. They overcome all the odds to emerge victorious. It creates a cinematic moment that we can all

get behind. But I also think that that phrase, always root for the underdog, unintentionally

provides us with a very basic power analysis.

And when applied to a global sporting event like the Olympics or like the World Cup,

I think it doubles as an anti-colonial lens. Whenever you're asking who's the favorite and who's

the underdog and why, you necessarily start noticing some structural imbalances.

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