The Sweeper Curacao & Haiti's World Cup heroics, Thun’s Swiss title tilt & Argentina’s invented champion
In Part 1, Lee and Paul are joined by North and Central American football expert Jon Arnold to talk about the craziness in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Why did Curacao fly from Bermuda to Jamaica via London in the November window? Why has Haiti's French coach Sebastien Migne never set foot on the island? How did an uncelebrated last-gasp own goal save Suriname's World Cup hopes? And was it a cowardly move for Steve McClaren to resign as Jamaica coach with the play-offs coming up in March?
In Part 2, the focus switches to three stories across three different continents that have caught our eye at Sweeper HQ: promoted Thun's Swiss title charge, Al Hilal and Al Merrikh's move to Rwanda, and a controversial new championship title in Argentina. What has coach Mauro Lustrinelli done to help Thun take the Super League by storm this season? What exclusive club have the Sudanese duo of Al Hilal and Al Merrikh joined by moving to Rwanda? And will Argentina really have eight title-winners every year?!
More from Jon Arnold:
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jonarnoldfc
Substack newsletter: https://getconcacafed.substack.com
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
00:51 – Curacao's World Cup miracle
13:17 – Haiti's triumph in face of adversity
23:47 – The own goal that saved Suriname
26:57 – The inter-confederation play-offs
28:35 – Steve McClaren's Jamaica exit
35:40 – Thun's extraordinary Swiss title tilt
39:48 – 2025: The year of the promoted club
41:48 – Sudanese duo's Rwanda move
45:19 – Trivia: Three-country football clubs
46:49 – Argentina's new championship title
51:07 – On The Spot