Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nick Ames, Lucy Ward, and Jacob Steinberg as England kick off their World Cup campaign in impressive fashion. The episode invites listeners to rate, review, and share on Apple Podcasts, and to join the discussion via email. Today’s focus is England’s 4–2 win over Croatia, with Thomas Tuchel’s side pressing aggressively and playing with real tempo and attacking intent, particularly in a strong second half. The panel debates how much significance should be attached to such a convincing opening performance. Elsewhere in the group, Ghana’s 1–0 win over Panama receives only brief attention before moving on to DR Congo, who earned a well-deserved draw against a disappointing Portugal side. This naturally leads to growing discussion about Cristiano Ronaldo’s role in the team going forward. The episode also previews the next set of fixtures, includes Nick Ames reporting from the GOP convention on his day off, revisits the ongoing “apples” segment, and wraps up with listener questions. Listeners are encouraged to support The Guardian and follow Football Weekly on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.