England statement win & Messi vs Ronaldo | Tifo Podcast Live
Video Overview & Insights
England kicked off their World Cup 2026 with an impressive 4-2 victory against serial overachievers Croatia. Thomas Tuchel firmly imprinted his philosophy in this game, as Bellingham and Kane shone with an intense and at times direct performance.
@41:27 JJ's quote is spot on:
(talking about Cristiano Ronaldo) "He's like a playstation player. So he does all the tricks, but you can tell he's about to have to load the trick into his brain to then do it. Whereas Messi just does things that come from the universe ... Messi is connected to everything around him all at once; and Ronaldo has learned how to do that. One of them is a natural artist, the other has learned how to be an artist and doing it really well, but it's never as authentic as the person who naturally gets it."
Joe Devine, Jon Mackenzie, JJ Bull and Kaya Kaynak analyse whether this was a “performance for the era”. Plus Messi is leading the goalscoring charts following a hat-trick against Algeria.
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"I honestly think Qatar might win" did not age well haha
Welcome to Tifo Football Live!
Come hang out live (nearly) every day with Joe Devine, JJ Bull, Jon Mackenzie, Kaya Kaynak and others from Tifo and The Athletic FC as well as special guests. Enjoy watchalongs, expect tactical analysis, the Tifo Football Podcast, quizzes, games and more!
Today's watchalong match: England vs Croatia (9PM BST)
#worldcup #worldcup2026 #football #soccer
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STREAM RULES (PLEASE READ)
• Be respectful: no hate, harassment, or trolling
• No spam or repeated messages
Rooooooooooooooooooooooooooney!!!
• Keep chat focused on the match
• NO SPOILERS: don’t post or hint at goals, VAR, key incidents, or scores early (delays vary)
Loving seeing Joe this happy.
• No backseating unless asked
• Avoid turning chat into political or controversial debates
JJ on point
• Respect mods and their decisions
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Image credits: PAUL ELLIS / Contributor / AFP via Getty Images & ROBERTO SCHMIDT / Contributor / AFP via Getty Images
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It really was a spicy one
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Jon's ten years at uni has ruined him... Every time he opens his mouth it's like he's reaching for a word count
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Is this cottaging?
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Ronaldo has been past it for a long long time. He has no right to be anywhere near that Portugal squad while playing in Saudi. He should be dropped. He shouldn't even be in the squad.
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Jon McKenzie bores me to death but the others are good enough for me to somewhat like this pod.
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My favourite part about these World Cup podcasts is JJ’s increasingly fervent desire to go home
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Wasn’t that Walcott’s first start for England too? He and Rooney tore them to shreds.
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Additional footage sourced from freestockfootagearchive.com
We’ve successfully made the English accept quarters!
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Love this show. Love Kaya esp but I’m biased cuz I’m an Arsenal fan.
TAGS
Joe is obviously wrong, when you're young, you're Kinder.
More User Perspectives
that couch is on it's last legs, will it last the tournament?
@theblastedfrenchTech point. Colour temp on your cameras seems way off. And notice when John does tactics in the seperate camera statem there's a strange delay almost like shutter speed is off or the frame rate. And his colours temp is again different to the sofa setup.
@Mehmed12322Big question for Ronaldo is whether his first step is fast enough at 41 to take an opportunity against a younger elite CB. Based on yesterday it appears not to be the case.
@amitpandey8468The problem with Ronaldo for Portugal is that whilst he might still be one of, if not THE best finisher in the world on his day, he's offering them NOTHING else at all.
If Martinez had the stones (not John) he would bench him, and sell it to him that he'll be more likely to score if he goes on for 20-30 minutes at the end, especially if the players on the team who still have the stamina have made it a more open game by putting them one or two ahead and creating space for him
Another example of the Athletic doing everything in their power not to talk about Austria vs Jordan, just like in the disgraceful performance of Jimbo and his Crew. THE FOOTBALL HIPSTERS DEMAND COVERAGE OF THIS GAME! As encouragement I'll start a Rondo: Austrian goal scorers at World Cups! I'll start: Marko Arnautovic. Let's see if Kaya can win this one too!
@kraeutrpolizeiI’m sorry but saying ronaldo is not a genius is perhaps the worst take I’ve heard. You guys actually get paid for this twitter level of analysis?
@alen2773England need a German coach😂😂😂😂😂 croatias best midfield player is in his 40’s, relax 😂😂😂😂
@SlightlyTiredI love love love that the editor has refused to edit a single moment of this podcast
@mmaswitchstanceI'll take hydration breaks over vuvuzelas any time
@procsortedNot adding the music lol
@andrewlowman8073Anderson was a machine in that game.
@mazamonx50:49 Pained I didn't see this live. JJ's Jay Jay pick has to have won. Bin all the story about love from Jon and embrace the cult of the man so good, he was named twice
@_agboladeMessi and Ronaldo is like Mozart and Salieri
@amillerismthank you for the pods!
@theblastedfrenchNobody added music to that pause :(
@shoppingforleaves3162So jon is a Leeds fan 🤔 good to know
@angelmwaki5883Kane the best player? A team built around him? Biiiiiig mistake.
@tuplawee313There is no vs
@j.s3300Hellloooo I'm Joe "Kind" Devine
@MumonguGamingEditor doing Joe dirty with no music 😂
@Hayden_carttDescriptive terms have normalizing potential. First half of the first half is clunky, but reminds us of how the game is played and how it is being changed (against the will of many).
@yaelyaelyaelyaelI remember Yeboahs volleyed goal against Liverpool. I think that was goal of the season? ❤️💯🚀
@LoFiNic2025Pertition to call DR Congo for Doctor Congo
@Kpelle3DI think England did well in making space for runners like Madueke and Bellingham, but I feel there’s still questions about can they break down a low block like Spain faced against Cape Verde. What happens if the opposition simply don’t get baited out and not allow any space for Madueke, Gordon, Bellingham, Rashford etc to run in behind? They have Saka but he has fitness issues so can he be relied on?
@AJTTYI love how we are getting to see Jon's tremendous eye and taste with these Ebay picks.
Also the little reminisce about Tony Yeboah was lovely
Is there no way to watch the live match watch along back?
@_booth7992I know it's wrong but Rondo del Rey does SEEM like a badass title
@RenewedRS28:10 what a zinger there from Jon[The BigQuestion] Mackenzie
@DBS_YTC