{"podcast":{"title":"The Game","slug":"the-game-1066443","podcast_index_feed_id":1066443,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/0fc6a233-bbae-4ba5-b882-c075544353a8","website_url":"https://www.thetimes.co.uk/podcasts/the-game","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61ba0e501a8cbe71d83cf13e/1781622185758-e35264ad-4a4c-4124-b920-75949a523cf7.jpeg","author":"The Times","episode_count":1380,"summary":"The thinking fan's football podcast, providing previews and reviews of all the action - every Monday and Thursday. Listen to the best of The Times and The Sunday Times journalists as they cover the biggest sport on the planet; from winners to losers, who's in and out on the transfer roundabout, tactical developments, data analysis and the dreaded VAR. Hosted by Tom Clarke and Gregor Robertson alongside special guest appearances, the team bring you the latest on the Premier League and the EFL, as well as a front-row seat to international tournaments including the Champions League, European Championships and World Cups. We know football isn't life and death. It's much more serious than that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T06:20:51.825312+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-game-1066443"},"episode":{"title":"WORLD CUP DAY 26: Ronaldo out and Balogun can't save USA","slug":"world-cup-day-26-ronaldo-out-and-balogun-can-t-save-usa","published_at":"2026-07-07T07:38:20+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-game-1066443/world-cup-day-26-ronaldo-out-and-balogun-can-t-save-usa","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-game-1066443","url":"https://shows.acast.com/timesthegame/episodes/world-cup-day-26-ronaldo-out-and-balogun-cant-save-usa","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/timesthegame/e/6a4caced5bc2f8d54a863955/media.mp3","summary":"So, it turns out Folarin Balogun didn't make a difference anyway. USA produced a dismal - and maybe distracted - display against a brilliant Belgium side, losing 4-1 to crash out of the tournament and mean that we have no co-hosts left.  Peter Rutzler and James Gheerbrant join Tom Clarke to discuss that match and also Spain's win against Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo bowing out of the World Cup but does the blame for Portugal's failings actually lay at the feet of manager Roberto Martinez? Has he wasted another golden generation?  In part two Tom catches up with Paul Hirst in the Argentina camp to hear about their preparation for Egypt and asks if there is a scenario where Messi might be rested?  All the guests also reveal where they were to watch England's remarkable win against Mexico.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"So, it turns out Folarin Balogun didn't make a difference anyway. USA produced a dismal - and maybe distracted - display against a brilliant Belgium side,…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2547,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-game-1066443/episodes/world-cup-day-26-ronaldo-out-and-balogun-can-t-save-usa/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-game-1066443/world-cup-day-26-ronaldo-out-and-balogun-can-t-save-usa.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}