Are Arsenal now the best women’s team in the world?
Full Time: A show about women's soccer
The Athletic
4.8 • 807 Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Arsenal are the inaugural winners of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, after defeating Corinthians 3-2 after extra time on Sunday. But does being crowned world inter-continental champions mean anything for the Gunners and their place in global women’s soccer?
On this episode of Full Time, Producer Theo is joined by The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur and Megan Feringa, to analyze the 2026 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, where it succeeded and where it failed after a dramatic finale.
After that, the trio digs into another memorable weekend in the English Women’s Super League, where Manchester City thrashed Chelsea 5-1, firming up their grip on the title. What makes the City team so special? Can anyone stop them? Is Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor’s future in doubt? And, how will Arsenal and City match up when they meet next weekend?
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HOST: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
GUESTS: Charlotte Harpur, Megan Feringa
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen
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Referenced on the show:
The Champions Cup is here to stay, but FIFA must learn lessons from London teething trouble
Arsenal beat Corinthians to win inaugural Women’s Champions Cup and $2.3m in prize money
Corinthians stun Gotham 1-0, will meet Arsenal in FIFA Women’s Champions Cup final
This Manchester City side is a beast – Chelsea were just its latest prey
Sonia Bompastor ‘happy’ to leave Chelsea ‘if people think I’m not the right person’
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | As far from Morocco, Corinthians, you know, Gotham, they wanted to be there. Like, that meant a lot to them. |
| 0:08.7 | Corinthians manager, Lucas Piccinato, said, you know, we'll never forget playing the European champions in their own home. |
| 0:15.3 | It was, we wanted to give the fans their dream to be world champions. So for them, it meant a lot. |
| 0:21.8 | And I think we can be European-centric. |
| 0:24.6 | And the women's game has more of a possibility to broaden its lens on a global scale. |
| 0:36.5 | Hello and welcome back to full time. |
| 0:39.0 | My name is Theo Lloyd Hughes, producer, Theo Lloyd Hughes. |
| 0:41.8 | I'm going to be your host today for a very special episode of full time. |
| 0:45.4 | On Sunday night, Arsenal became the inaugural winners of the FIFA Women's Champions Cup, |
| 0:50.1 | and now they have the official title of FIFA Intercontinental Champion or perhaps even |
| 0:55.5 | world champion. So what does this mean? What does it mean to lift that trophy? What does it |
| 1:00.0 | mean to be the best of all six confederations in the FIFA world? We're going to be getting |
| 1:05.3 | into all that on the podcast today and Arsenal's dramatic win over Corinthians that finished |
| 1:10.0 | three to two after extra time in London |
| 1:11.7 | on Sunday night. We're going to try and figure out what this tournament means, is it important, |
| 1:14.8 | and how do we really evaluate Arsenal and all things global women's soccer? |
| 1:20.4 | After that, we're going to turn our attention to the English Women Super League where yes, |
| 1:23.3 | Manchester City thrashed Chelsea 5-1 on Sunday to all but seal a first WSL title in 10 years. |
| 1:31.3 | Although with eight matches still left to play, you won't hear them getting too carried away just yet. |
| 1:36.2 | City are of course 11 points at the top of the table and it does look all but sealed, |
| 1:40.0 | but this team really has something special going on. |
| 1:43.4 | So, Hamf City Mastermind is such an extraordinary season so far? |
... |
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