Jason Cowley and Stephen Bush are joined by David Goldblatt, author of The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football, to discuss fear of the World Cup penalty shoot out and Gareth Southgate’s vision of a new progressive England. Then they talk about the Left’s problem with patriotism, how good Belgium’s Golden Generation really is, and the political tensions between Croatia and Russia. Finally, they share their predictions for who will triumph in the tournament (and check in on Stephen's performance in the parliamentary lobby league).

Get in touch with questions and comments for future episodes on Twitter: @JasonCowleyNS, @stephenkb or @ns_podcasts.

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