# Scotland in the lap of the gods: Ken Early in Miami, the Neymar tribute act, and the Disgrace of Gijón

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/america-2026-a-world-cup-podcast-7773210/scotland-in-the-lap-of-the-gods-ken-early-in-miami-the-neymar-tribute-act-and-the-disgrace-of-gij-n
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/america-2026-a-world-cup-podcast-7773210/scotland-in-the-lap-of-the-gods-ken-early-in-miami-the-neymar-tribute-act-and-the-disgrace-of-gij-n.md
Podcast: [America 2026: A World Cup podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/america-2026-a-world-cup-podcast-7773210)
Published: 2026-06-26T01:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/irish-times-sport/episodes/scotland-in-the-lap-of-the-gods-ken-early-in-miami-the-neyma
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69ab015a6ffdcd8188961ba6/e/6a3dc159cb67fc75eaa9638d/media.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/america-2026-a-world-cup-podcast-7773210/episodes/scotland-in-the-lap-of-the-gods-ken-early-in-miami-the-neymar-tribute-act-and-the-disgrace-of-gij-n
Duration seconds: 4188

## Resource

To everything there is a season. That’s a lesson Scotland will surely have to learn if the football gods grant them another crack at this World Cup in the knockouts. Brazil were only too happy to feast on a calamitous defensive set-up, banging in three past a back line that flatly refused to ‘just knock it’. Paul Howard checks in with correspondents across North America, starting with Kevin Kilbane in Vancouver, who watched Canada's momentum get smothered by Switzerland. In Miami, Ken Early is in reflective mood, turning over how the Scots made such a mess of it, and why Brazil's fans so desperately want Neymar to have his ‘Messi in Qatar’ moment. Plus, Jonathan O’Brien unpicks a quirk in this year’s format, one that harks back to one of the strangest and most consequential episodes in World Cup history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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