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Mina Kim: Welcome to Forum, I’m Mina Kim. Some are calling this week’s World Cup semifinal one for the ages, as the top four FIFA-ranked teams in the world and their biggest superstars face each other — Spain versus France tomorrow, England will face Argentina Wednesday. Daniel Alarcón and John Green, hosts of the Away End podcast, are here to preview the World Cup’s final week and break down some of the biggest moments from the historic tournament, including a magical run by Mexico and a painful exit for the U.S. We’ll look at what it could all mean for the growth and popularity of soccer in America, and hear what the 2026 World Cup has meant to you.
Listeners, what moments will stay with you, whether in the games or with the people you watched them with? 866-733-6786 is the number. You can email Forum at kqed.org, or find us on Discord, Blue Sky, Facebook, or Instagram at KQED Forum.
Daniel Alarcón and John Green are longtime friends, in addition to co-hosting their pop-up podcast about the 2026 World Cup, The Away End. Daniel is a contributing writer at The New Yorker, co-founder of Radio Ambulante, and a professor at Columbia Journalism School. Welcome to Forum, Daniel.
Daniel Alarcón: Good morning. I’m John.
Mina Kim: Yeah, good morning. John is also with us — a YouTuber and author of several books, including Everything Is Tuberculosis and The Fault in Our Stars. John, welcome to you.
John Green: Thanks so much.
Mina Kim: So, John, I know both of you are dreaming of some different teams making it to the semifinal stage, but now that the teams are set, tell me what you’re looking forward to in these semifinal matchups, starting with the one that will be played first, I guess — France versus Spain.
John Green: Sure, yeah. I think we all wanted an underdog to make it to the World Cup semifinals — this happened last tournament with Morocco — but this time around it’s the big four. France versus Spain, probably the two best teams in the world right now. France, though, is overwhelmingly the best team in the world, I think. Just talent from top to bottom — they have some of the best strikers in the world, players like Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé — and it’s hard to see them losing that game. That said, Daniel and I are notoriously bad prognosticators, so the fact that we both think France is going to win is a great sign for Spain.
Mina Kim: What do you think, Daniel? What’s interesting to you about this matchup?
Daniel Alarcón: I just want to reiterate, so the listeners know how bad I am at making predictions — I’m 119 out of 125 in the bracket that I made with friends. So, no, I’m really bad. Having said that, I agree with John. It’s hard to look past France. They’re so strong, it’s almost like they’re in another league. I think John said it was like watching the Harlem Globetrotters at times, because they don’t even seem to have to try that hard to win games — at a canter.
Mina Kim: If Spain does pull it out, though, how do you think they’d be able to do it? How would they pull it off?
Daniel Alarcón: Well, I think they’d pull it off by boring France to death with a thousand tiny little passes, and then bringing Mikel Merino on in the 87th minute to score with his first touch. I’m joking, obviously — Spain is an incredible team. But I have been on the record saying they are not my favorite team to watch, as much as I admire them technically. And I’ve said this before, but I think it’s worth noting, and I think your listeners will agree, those of you who’ve watched games — the best teams don’t always make for the most entertaining games. Like Iran-New Zealand, all day long — two deeply imperfect teams going at each other, and it ends up 3-3 or 4-3, or something absurd like that. Whereas teams like Spain, like France — I could easily see that being a 1-0, one way or another.
Mina Kim: Wow, all right. Well, the second semifinal matchup, on Wednesday, England will face Argentina in Georgia. John, tell me what you’re looking forward to, or what you find interesting about this potential game — what could happen given the players.
John Green: Well, it’s a very historically fraught game. In 1986, England and Argentina played a famous game, often known as the Hand of God game, because a great player, Diego Maradona, scored with his hand. He tried to head the ball, but then he lifted his hand above his head and knocked it in with his hand. When asked about the goal after the game, he was asked if there was a hand involved, and he said, “If there was a hand, it was the hand of God” — which is notably not a denial. So it’s a very fraught game, also for geopolitical, historical reasons — the Falklands War and so on.
It’ll be really interesting. I think it’ll be a tempestuous game. I think there’s some real venom on both sides of the ball. And of course, you have the greatest player probably ever to play the game in Lionel Messi, in what is almost certainly his last tournament. I was very moved when the Argentine players were singing, after the quarterfinal, a song about doing it for Diego and for Leo’s last tournament. This is Leo’s tournament, and he’s a very special player. We’ll see if he’s special enough to overcome an extraordinarily stacked England team.
Mina Kim: Yeah, it’s been interesting, because Argentina has shown some weaknesses there. But does this mean, John, that you’re rooting for Argentina?
John Green: I wouldn’t go quite that far. I’m not sure that I have a strong rooting interest in the World Cup at this point. I root for good games. Now that all the underdogs are out, and my friend Daniel’s Colombia is out, and so on, I remind myself that there are children in all of these countries who will be very happy if their team wins the World Cup.
Mina Kim: Aww.
John Green: That is so sweet, John.
Mina Kim: Yeah, that’s a really nice way to think about it — especially if you have a specific team that is your team, or if there’s a team that has been your team that is out of it now. Daniel, is there anything you would add, or say differently, about what John has said about England-Argentina?
Daniel Alarcón: I just admire that John is for the children, but he’s not being specific about which children. This has been a difficult tournament for me, because, generally, Mina, I’m pro-Latin-American no matter what. Argentina, shall we say, has gotten the rub of the green on a lot of controversial calls, which has made it a little bit harder to take, and a little bit harder to cheer for them. Messi is an extraordinary player — I agree, probably the greatest of all time. I find myself tilting toward England, thinking that they’ll pull it off, and also kind of weirdly rooting for them, in a way that I find surprising and, honestly, kind of personally troubling — making me question my entire identity.
John Green: I will say that England hasn’t won a World Cup since 1966, and it would be a huge deal for the country if they did. So I’d be happy for those kids too.
Mina Kim: Ha! I think it would also be pretty surprising if they do come out of this group, but yes — they have been playing, as you say, John, really demonstrating the fact that they have so much experience, that they’re stacked, as you put it, and have so much composure when they’re playing their games.
I want to hear from listeners: who has been your team, and who do you hope will win it all, in addition to some of the moments that will really stay with you in this 2026 World Cup — when you cried tears of joy or tears of agony. And also, whether you’re a longtime soccer fan, or if this year’s World Cup turned you into one. Again, 866-733-6786 is the number, email Forum at kqed.org, or find us on our social channels at KQED Forum. I’ll get to your calls and comments in just a moment.
First, I just want to hear what this World Cup has been for the two of you personally, too. I’ve heard you note, I think, Daniel, that this is a way you count time. What do you mean by that?
Daniel Alarcón: I mean that, in very real ways, every time a World Cup rolls around, I feel like I’m nine years old again. The first World Cup I remember was Mexico ’86. I remember the game John referenced — the Maradona hand-of-God goal, which I saw. He didn’t mention what’s often called the Goal of the Century, the single greatest goal ever scored in a World Cup — Maradona dribbling past the entire English defense, basically one-on-seven, and scoring. I remember my father saying, “Yes, the second goal was a handball, but the first goal was so beautiful, it counts for two. So it’s okay.”
I love all the rituals around the World Cup — collecting the Panini stickers, teaching my kids about the history of the tournament and the teams, and the anticipation. I’ve been living here in Bogotá, Colombia, for the year with my wife and my family, and Colombia had a great run. Every single game was special — it was an event, a social event, and something that I don’t think I, or my kids, will forget.
Mina Kim: How did Colombians in Bogotá react when they exited the World Cup?
Daniel Alarcón: With a mixture of sadness and a little bit of anger, I think. We could have done better — we just didn’t have a striker, we didn’t have anyone. And I say “we” — I’m Peruvian, I should clarify, but I married into a Colombian family, so I choose to say “we,” with that little asterisk. But yeah, we didn’t have anyone to put the ball in the net, and unfortunately that’s how the game is scored — that’s the metric by which we decide who wins. So, in the absence of a scored goal, you’re going to have a lot of trouble.
Mina Kim: John, who has been your team for the World Cup — the one you were rooting for and following until they exited?
John Green: Well, I’m a U.S. men’s national team fan and have been for a long time, and it was great to see the U.S. men win a knockout-round game. But I think the winner of this year’s World Cup will be whoever wins, and then the second winner will be Cape Verde. I thought their run was incredible — they almost beat Argentina. It was one of the greatest World Cup games I’ve ever seen. I was with friends and family, and everyone was hanging on the edge of their seats. It was such a special moment for me.
Like Daniel, I also measure my life in World Cups — I think about where I was during each one. For me, this will be the World Cup I watched with Daniel, and it will always be special for me for that reason.
Mina Kim: Yeah. How you watch it really matters, doesn’t it, in terms of people’s experiences of the World Cup. That’s been such a piece of this, I think, for so many people I’ve talked to about what this World Cup means. John?
John Green: Yeah, it’s about who you watch it with, and how you watch it, and where you watch it — whether you’re in a bar in Bogotá, or whether you’re in Indianapolis, like I am, watching with friends and family. Those are the actual memories. You remember the football, but what you actually remember most are the human connections that you make through the football. That’s what football is actually about.
Mina Kim: Yeah. We’re talking about the 2026 World Cup as we enter the final week — what to expect in that final week of what has been a historic tournament with 48 teams. We’ll also break down some of the biggest moments and best performances, and we want to hear them from you, our listeners. We’re breaking it down with John Green and Daniel Alarcón, co-hosts of the Away End podcast. We’ll have more with them, and with you, after the break. Stay with us — this is Forum, I’m Mina Kim.
