World Cup Rambling

Author: Matthew Okot

One man talking his way through various aspects of the World Cup from tournament retrospectives, to individual stories of teams and players from the great to the not so great, taking in the qualifying competitions as well as the finals themselves. The Greatest Show on Earth is a treasure trove of stories with something always waiting to be mined. Presented by Matthew Okot Twitter @MatthewOkot @WorldCupRamble
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Language: en

Genres: Soccer, Sports

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God the Father, God the Son - Part 2: Maradona, Messi and Argentina at the 2010 World Cup
Episode 7
Friday, 31 October, 2025

Following on from Maradona steering Argentina to the 2010 World Cup (just), we look back at how his team got on in South Africa. Although there were some notable absentees from the World Cup squad, Maradona had a highly-talented team, with some sparkling attacking players, most notably Lionel Messi. Argentina shone at times, winning their group with a 100% record and playing some of the most stylish football of the group stages. Maradona was his usual colourful self, providing great quotes for the press. Yet, Messi’s inability to get on the scoresheet, doubts about the midfield balance and doubts about the defence, would all come together in a disastrous quarter-final against Germany. The limitations of Maradona’s management were brutally exposed and the attitude of Argentinian fans towards Messi would go from indifferent to outright distaste. Argentina National Anthem is from https://nationalanthems.info/ TWITTER/X@MatthewOkot@WorldCupRamble Subscribe to World Cup Rambling on your podcast platform.