World Cup state of play – can anyone beat France but France?

Jimbo, Raphael Hongstein, Julien Laurens and Alvaro Romeo assess the big hitters in Europe with the Nations League qualifiers over and the World Cup on the horizon. England and Germany fight out a 3-3 thriller in a game that exposes both team’s flaws. Are we only just seeing Southgate’s shortcomings when the rest of the continent has been aware for a while? France beat Austria and lose to Denmark, yet with the talent Didier Deschamps has at his disposal, could they become the first nation in 60 years to retain the World Cup? Or will it be Argentina or Brazil who are looking strong by comparison to the likes of Spain, who have a settled midfield and goalkeeper but not much else. And Michiel Jongsma joins us to discuss the only major European nation that are looking strong right now – Louis Van Gaal’s Netherlands. RUNNING ORDER:  • PART 1a: Getting excited for World Cup (02.00) • PART 1b: Moment of the weekend (05.00) • PART 1c: England 3-3 Germany (09.30)  • PART 2: France – boom or bust in Qatar? (25.00) • PART 3: Spanish struggles (34.30) • PART 4a: Michiel Jongsma on the resurgent Netherlands (43.00) • PART 4b: What about Brazil and Argentina? (50.30) SIGN UP TO THE ATHLETIC TODAY FOR £1 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST 6 MONTHS • theathletic.com/totally Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices