Hand Of Pod

The 2022 World Cup qualifiers are finally upon us, and in this week's HOP Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Tony and Peter preview Argentina's opening double header at home to Ecuador and away to Bolivia. Prior to doing that, we look back on last week's Copa Libertadores games.

This week on Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Tony, Andrés and Santi look back on the first two post-lockdown rounds of Copa Libertadores matches, which went better than expected for Argentine clubs. We also run the rule over Lionel Scaloni's Argentina squad announcement, and give you the latest news on the likelihood of domestic football returning to Argentina this year. No idea what's going on with Sam's voice in this one, by the way.

This time on Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by English Dan, Tony and Santi to discuss how preparations are going for the return of the Copa Libertadores next week – in particular at Boca Juniors, whose plans have been somewhat hamstrung by almost the entire first team and a bunch of coaches testing positive for COVID-19. Will Argentine clubs be at a disadvantage due to not having played football in six months? What's happening to the women's game in the country? These questions and more are answered here.

In this week's HOP, Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi discuss CONMEBOL's recent strongarming of the AFA – and, perhaps, the Argentine government – into opening football in Argentina before they wanted to, with the rather sudden announcement that the Copas Libertadores and Sudamericana will be kicking off again later in the year.

HOP is back! This week, Sam, Tony and English Dan give you an update on the discussions that have been had in Argentine football – and what's happened quarantine-wise in Argentina as a whole – in the two months and a bit since we last recorded. We also answer a couple of listeners' questions. The plan now is to record about once every two weeks until football returns, but we're not really any the wiser yet about when that will be.

This week's Hand Of Pod will be the last episode we'll record in March. That was already going to be the case when Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Julian and Tony met to record, because the government announced on Monday that football across the country was suspended for the rest of the month. It's now well and truly the case, though, because on Thursday evening President Alberto Fernández announced a nationwide quarantine which will end when March ends. As such, we review the opening weekend of Copa Superliga action, including River Plate's refusal to play, and wonder what the immediate future will bring.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Tony look back on the drama of Boca Juniors' title win, as the Xeneize pipped River Plate on the last day to win their third Argentine championship in four seasons. We also looked at the other drama from the weekend just gone ... which was almost none, because continental spots and relegation won't be decided until the end of the Copa Superliga group stage (if indeed that goes the distance). We also discuss the current situation regarding next season's league system for the top flight.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi look back on a weekend which saw Santi very frustrated by Independiente (again), and which saw Boca Juniors win and River Plate draw, meaning River enter the final weekend of Superliga action just a point clear at the top. Will Boca get the combination of a win and a bad result for River they need to claim the title? We'll find out on Saturday night.

On this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Tony and Santi look at a weekend of action which saw the title race officially whittled down to the country's two biggest clubs, with River Plate still enjoying a three-point advantage over Boca Juniors with two matches remaining. Boca visit relegation strugglers Colón on Friday night, while River host Defensa y Justicia on Saturday.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, sponsored by albicelestes.com, Sam, English Dan, Tony and Andrés are joined by a new panel member, Santi, to discuss a weekend which saw both of the frontrunners for the title win their matches, meaning that River Plate's lead ahead of Boca Juniors at the top of the table remains at three points, now with just three matches to go. We discuss last weekend's matches, the title run-in and much more, including a lot of listener questions.