Hand Of Pod

The inevitable has happened: Argentina are out of the 2018 World Cup after a 4-3 defeat to France in the second round. In the three hundred and second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by Andrés and English Dan to pick over the bones of the defeat, and of the chaotic campaign that led to it. Listeners' questions cover what the next steps should be, who might come into the team in the next few years, whether Jorge Sampaoli should remain as manager, and much more besides.

For the three hundred and first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés are celebrating after Argentina's last-gasp 2-1 win over Nigeria saw them through Group D of the 2018 World Cup in second place behind Croatia, and into a second round tie against France. Were the players really picking the team? Was Javier Mascherano awful or amazing? Is Marcos Rojo the greatest footballer of all time? All these questions and more are up for consideration.

The three hundredth episode of Hand Of Pod is a less celebratory affair than we'd hoped for such a landmark, with Sam and English Dan picking over the bones of Argentina's second half catastrophe against Croatia, which leaves them needing to beat Nigeria – possibly comfortably – on Tuesday if they're going to advance. We ask what needs to change, when these problems first took root. Thanks to all our listeners for sticking with us through 300 episodes. We hope you continue to enjoy the show!

The two hundred and ninety-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan and Andrés to look back on a faltering start to the World Cup group stage for Argentina, who drew 1-1 with Iceland on Saturday. What changes is Jorge Sampaoli making? What changes should he make? And how much scope for improvement is there, really? Perhaps foolishly, we're remaining optimistic about the Croatia game, which we'll review in HOP300 on Friday.

In the two hundred and ninety-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés are joined by Helgi, one of (as far as he knows) three Icelanders currently living in Buenos Aires. We preview Argentina's World Cup opener on Saturday with a look at what appears to be Jorge Sampaoli's all-but-confirmed starting XI, as well as asking Helgi how it feels to be experiencing his first World Cup with his own team to cheer for, and his impressions of how the Argentine press have been covering Iceland (and he's got a few impressions, because they've mostly been doing it by interviewing him).

In the two hundred and ninety-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés take you through the last week in Argentina's World Cup preparations, which has included the cancellation of Saturday's planned friendly away to Israel after the Argentine FA realised it wasn't an idea absolutely everyone was completely delighted with. Elsewhere, the B Nacional playoff final ended with San Martín de Tucumán putting in an improved second leg showing to tear Sarmiento apart and win promotion to the Superliga, and we go through the other results so far from the lower divisions, as well as a restructuring of next season's B Nacional.

In the two hundred and ninety-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés discuss Argentina's pre-World Cup friendly victory over Haiti in the Bombonera. Did we learn anything, or merely have various things confirmed which we already knew? Should Cristian Pavón start ahead of Ángel Di María? Who is the first choice goalkeeper? And is there really any point in playing friendlies against sides who (with the greatest respect to Haiti) aren't at the level Argentina will be facing in Russia?

The two hundred and ninety-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by Andrés and Julián to discuss Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad, and the chaos introduced to it by Tuesday's news that first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Romero would miss the tournament with injury. Should Willy Caballero or Franco Armani be Romero's replacement? In the outfield positions, are there any players missing who should be there, or any who are there who shouldn't be? And what should we make of Jorge Sampaoli's stated desire to play a 2-3-3-2 if possible? Which players would that involve – both for Sampaoli, and if one of us were the manager? All these questions and far more are up for discussion.

The two hundred and ninety-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan and Andrés to discuss the final weekend of Superliga 2017–18 action, in which there were a few high-scoring games, a few surprising results (including Independiente, Talleres and Racing falling over one another in their rush to not qualify for the Copa Libertadores)and a tight finish all round for the Copa places. We also have a look at a bad week for gender relations at the AFA and for TyCSports' publicity department.

It was fitting, given the way the season has gone, that Boca Juniors sealed their second consecutive league title with a draw in which they almost seemed to be trying to let the point slip away from them at times. In the two hundred and ninety-third episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by Andrés and Mariano to discuss Boca's title, why none of the chasing pack (not least San Lorenzo) had the wherewithal to make it into a proper title race, and all the ups and downs of the penultimate weekend of Superliga action, as well as looking forward to the final round of games.