Erling Haaland (and friend) may have been the big winner at the 2026 World Cup.

We’re happy to welcome back Ken Early (@kenearly.bsky.social) from the Second Captains podcast for a futbol chat.

Ken was in North America for this summer’s World Cup, so we talk about how he found things in mainly the US and Mexico (only a stop over north of the 48th parallel). We discuss city center venues vs their suburban cousins and the commute those require, stadium concessions, being trapped in fishbowl-like enclosed press boxes and seeking relief from them and more. What were Ken’s best and worst matchday experiences?

We also chat about what Ken got up to away from the matches, including stumbling into a political convention in Houston and going to a gun club in South Florida. Also, the saturation of gambling and predictive markets in American sports and other sporting ills.

It’s early in the new Premier League season, but there was some analysis of the start of the campaign, including, Arsenal’s win over Chelsea the day before recording. Can Chelsea or a Pep-Less Manchester City thwart an Arsenal repeat?

There’s also a brief mention of the Katie Taylor fight over the weekend just past in Dublin and a brief cameo from a Second Captains listener favorite, Ken’s dog Ted. There was no time for any popular culture chat, so hopefully next time we can have some movie talk with Ken.

As with our other European guests, scheduling is always complicated, so thanks to Ken for being so patient in finally being able to record this show.