World Soccer Talk

Ahead of the highly anticipated clash between Mexico and the United States in the Concacaf Nations League, World Soccer Talk's Kyle Fansler chats with three headline members of CBS's Concacaf coverage. Former USMNT players Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies and Maurice Edu are all part of the analysis on CBS's platforms during the Nations League Finals. The coverage of the game is also available on CBS's networks, with the 'Continental Clasico' available on Paramount+.In this interview, Davies, Dempsey and Edu talk about the ever-changing USMNT. Davies and Edu worked with interim head coach in BJ Callaghan during their time in MLS. So, they can provide an inside look on what was a surprising hire. Also, Dempsey talks about Folarin Balogun. Dempsey is arguably the USMNT's greatest forward of all time, and he is joint-top of the all-time goalscoring record. Dempsey gives his take on the importance for Balogun to get off to a strong start in the stars and stripes.Finally, all three provide insight on what it is like to work with CBS. The constantly growing platform is gaining serious praise for its coverage of both club and international soccer. Dempsey is, relatively speaking, the newest to this job as a pundit. Davies and Edu, on the other hand, know what makes CBS special, and they provide those answers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CBS Sports are coming off their best weekend ever with the UEFA Champions League Final coverage creating quite a stir across world media. At the same time, the news of Kate Abdo renewing her contract for 4 more years has been well received by soccer fans throughout the US.We share details on when CBS Sports' deal is ending with Serie A, as well as how does Serie A capitalize on the success they had this season, and how can CBS Sports build off that to help Serie A increase the popularity of the Italian league on TV moving forward?Is there an opportunity for Serie A to push on from here? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the biggest soccer story of the year, we break down the pros and cons of the Messi to MLS saga, and what it means for MLS Season Pass.Lionel Messi moving to Inter Miami changes everything with MLS. It papers over the cracks, but it also presents Major League Soccer with a unique opportunity. With great power comes great responsibility, so we discuss what it means for Major League Soccer moving forward.Are there negatives or challenges with the Messi signing? For sure. But certainly, the positives heavily outweight the challenges. It's a new chapter in US club soccer, and we dive head first into it.Also discussed is what this means for FOX Sports and Apple, as well as Telemundo and Univision. Strap yourselves in for a fascinating ride. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guillem Balague is one of soccer's most famous journalists, regardless of country. Renowned for his ability to capture the emotion and personality of the game, he is a major part of CBS's developing and entertaining soccer coverage. And, with a new documentary series on Paramount Plus, there is no better time to learn more about Balague.In this interview, Balague talks about Destination: European Nights, which is now available on Paramount Plus. The six-part documentary series has the Spanish journalist travel around Europe during the UEFA Champions League. World Soccer Talk's Kyle Fansler asks Balague about what it is like to travel around and get to know all these different cultures. With visits to Georgia, Israel and the usual cathedrals of the sport, Balague has a better understanding of European soccer than most.Outside of that, Balague also discusses his work with non-League side Biggleswade United, which is in the ninth tier of the English pyramid. There, he is the chairman of the club. Finally, Balague talks about his relationship with Grant Wahl. Like Balague, Wahl was an influential journalist, particularly in the American soccer scene. The two were colleagues, and Balague was with Wahl just before the latter passed away during the World Cup. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We preview CBS Sports' UEFA Champions League Final coverage plans and what viewers can expect. Plus we dive into Financial Fair Play (FFP), and whether Manchester City - if they win - will have their treble triumph tarnished as a result of the investigation that's going into the accusations of violating FFP. In doing so, we share the thoughts of Micah Richards, Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry on the topic.Also discussed are why salary caps are used by sports teams, whether Manchester City and Inter Milan's fanbase will be a factor in the Champions League Final TV ratings, news about our interview with Guillem Balague, how UEFA is hypocritical at times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Apple finally broke its silence about MLS Season Pass. In its attempts to get soccer fans (and journalists) off Apple's backs who are asking probing questions about how the service is doing, the tech giant refused to answer any questions. In doing so, it's sending a wrong message because people are now wondering why Apple (and MLS) are being so secretive. What do they have to hide?We share more details about what was discussed, what industry insiders are telling us, examples of viewing numbers shared by other streaming services, and where MLS Season Pass goes from here. We also answer your questions about promotion and relegation, and where France's Ligue 1 stands in the global soccer world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

JJ Watt's Burnley may not be the best descriptor. After all, the former NFL defensive lineman is but a minority owner of Burnley FC. Yet, the club won promotion back to the Premier League at its first time of trying. However, he has already, and will continue to have, a major impact on the club's popularity. That is particularly true in the United States.In this episode of the World Soccer Talk podcast, Kyle Fansler talks to AFP sports journalist Simon Evans. Evans, who is a "From the Bee Hole End" podcast host, talks about JJ and Kealia Watt. The two already made waves by lifting the Championship trophy and going on a bar crawl through Burnley. Evans discusses the similarities between Watt's upbringing in Wisconsin and the town of Burnley.Evans is a Burnley native. While he currently resides in the United States, he has a great understanding and respect for the people of the town. That town, which is largely working class, is somewhat similar to Wrexham, where two Hollywood owners in Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds turned around that Welsh club as it returns to the Football League. Can Watt bring enough American enthusiasm to Burnley so that it can develop a strong and consistent following across the Atlantic Ocean? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last time a Bundesliga club other than Bayern Munich won the title was when GolTV had the rights to broadcast games in the United States. During the time that FOX Sports and ESPN+ have had the rights to the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich has won every single season. And with Borussia Dortmund coming so close to winning it, but failing, the Bundesliga continues to have no good luck in breaking up the dominance by Bayern.On the latest World Soccer Talk Podcast episode, we discuss this as well as the relegation battle in the Premier League (and Germany), as well as the playoff games throughout the Football League, as well as races for Europe in Italy, and what the common thread is between all of these stories. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It doesn't get any better than this. We preview this weekend's end of the season in the Premier League, Bundesliga, Liga MX and English Championship as a host of games with enormous implications happen across Europe.This episode features hosts Christopher Harris and Kyle Fansler discussing everything from the promotion and relegation battles in England to where you can watch all of the major storylines this weekend. We also dive into the history of the teams who are facing promotion and peril. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poppy Miller is one of the best studio hosts in American soccer coverage. After all, she did win the 2022 World Soccer Talk award as best presenter among stiff competition from the likes of Rebecca Lowe, Kate Abdo or Sebastian Salazar. Miller joins the World Soccer Talk podcast to talk about her background and her rise to working with CBS. There, she is the host of Serie A coverage and Box 2 Box on the CBS Golazo Network.In this interview, Miller talks about her upbringing in Nottingham, where she developed a passion for Nottingham Forest and the sport itself. A talented player, Miller understood the challenges of turning professional. However, she wisely took advantage of her playing ability coming over to the United States to play college soccer. From there, she worked her way up from USL Championship's Charleston Battery to CBS.Among other topics, Miller reveals her favorite soccer player she has talked to, talks about the challenges of being a soccer fan while working professionally in the sport and the potential of relegation and promotion in American soccer. She has experience covering the sport at different levels, and has seen what the sport is like lower. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We cover a range of topics including the Bundesliga title race, Premier League relegation battle, manager merry-go-rounds across Europe and other subjects. But you, the listeners, keep on pulling us back in to talk about MLS Season Pass and Major League Soccer, as a whole. We've received an avalanche of feedback about MLS Season Pass, which we share on the show. That has brought up topics such as what the long-term goal is for MLS after it finishes expanding the league, and whether the league needs to be more realistic about its place in the soccer (and sports) landscape.This episode is in memory of Kartik Krishnaiyer's late father, who sadly passed away on Friday, May 19th. RIP. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of the World Soccer Talk Podcast, entitled Can MLS Season Pass for free sell soccer fans on MLS, is presented by Sling.MLS is betting the farm on MLS Season Pass by offering the streaming service for free. At the same time, MLS is making its MLS 360 whip-around show available in more places for free, too. While that's all well and good, is it going to benefit Major League Soccer in both the short term and long term when it comes to increasing subscriptions to the Apple TV service, as well as being a player on the national stage?We dive into this topic and several more related to MLS Season Pass. Many of you shared fantastic feedback in the Listener Mailbag segment too about the issues impacting Major League Soccer's growth.In this episode, we also discuss Jose Mourinho's tactics in the Europa League semi-final with AS Roma, in addition to the news that MLS is expanding to 30 teams beginning in 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bundesliga fans in the United States will be familiar with Archie Rhind-Tutt. He is the pitchside reporter and analyst for ESPN's coverage of the Bundesliga. What makes him stand out among other analysts is his relationship with the players and coaches in the Bundesliga. In particular, he holds a special back-and-forth with Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic. He also had a good relationship with former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann.Rhind-Tutt is an Englishman, and he is a Fulham supporter to boot. However, he fell in love with the German sport on a school trip. After growing closer to the Bundesliga, he found himself watching the league more and more. He credits that to the passion of the fans and the general environment of the Bundesliga with its community feel.The reporter joins the World Soccer Talk podcast to talk about what makes the Bundesliga special. Plus, he reveals why he has this calm feel and what that allows him to do as an analyst and pitchside reporter. Finally, he discusses whether or not he could bring this demeanor to the Premier League, which is much more traditional and straightforward in its coverage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's news that USL Super League aims to launch a D1 women's league in 2024 is big news. It's a shot across the bow to NWSL who is already established as a D1 league. Could the United States be facing a situation where it has two D1 women's leagues next year?To discuss this and many other related points, Christopher Harris and Kartik Krishnaiyer host the latest episode of the World Soccer Talk Podcast.In addition to discussing NWSL vs USL Super League, they analyze what the latest development means for Apple and MLS in their decision to launch a free trial of the MLS Season Pass streaming service halfway through the regular season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Topic du jour is the just announced soccer competition Soccer Champions Tour that's coming to the United States this summer featuring Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Milan and Juventus. We share the details of where the games are being played, how this summer competition may be different than others in the past, as well as which broadcast networks may be interested in showing the games in the United States.Also discussed is how it lines up against the joint MLS and Liga MX competition Leagues Cup, and if there's enough room for two mega soccer competitions this summer.We also discuss JJ Watt's visit to Burnley FC and whether he and his wife will be able to do as well as Wrexham AFC have done in the United States.Meanwhile, US Soccer made a big announcement this week, so we discuss the news about getting one big step closer to naming a new US head coach. Last but not least, we discuss MLS Season Pass in the Listener Mailbag section.Joining us today on the podcast is one of the top soccer writers in the United States, Bob Williams, who has written for many publications including The Sun, Daily Telegraph, Sport Business and more.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.