Will 48 teams dilute the quality of the World Cup?
The Game
The Times
3.2 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 18 March 2019
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Natalie Sawyer and Gab Marcotti are joined by Alyson Rudd and Paul Hirst to dissect club football before the last international break of the season.
Wolves knock out Manchester United to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals. How does Nuno do it? Can we call it a shock? Do United need this break more than anyone? And have neighbours City been getting the luck of the draw this season?
Liverpool are back on top of the Premier League. Did the win at Fulham show that the Reds are nervous or that they have nerves of steel?
We debate whether 48 teams is right for the World Cup. And if so, is it right for Qatar, a nation with a smaller population than East Anglia, who arguably needed a co-host to begin with?
Plus Preston, Messi and a seething Siewert.
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Transcript
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| 0:40.0 | Trains now on Uber. T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app. Hello and I'm Gabriel Marcotti and we thank you for joining us on the |
| 0:55.7 | Hello and welcome to the game podcast from the Times. I'm Natalie Sawyer and I'm |
| 1:01.0 | Gabriel Marcotti and we thank you for joining us on hopefully |
| 1:05.3 | somewhat less windy Monday in London in the studio with us I am very excited |
| 1:10.8 | because we have the home secretaries far younger and more |
| 1:15.5 | attractive sister. Allison Rudd and down the line even more of a dish it's |
| 1:20.8 | Paul Hurst. Later on we'll be discussing Liverpool surviving a dish. It's Paul Hurst. Later on we'll be discussing Liverpool, surviving a scare, and the prospect of a 48 team World Cup. |
| 1:28.0 | But we start at Molinue, where wolves booked a date at Wembley with Watford in the |
| 1:34.0 | F. Aye Cup semi-final. Nunez men beating Manchester United 2-1 in the |
| 1:38.0 | quarterfinals on Saturday night. |
... |
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