
Football
Listen now
Listen in the appEpisode context
Listen here or keep browsing the show and related sport coverage from here.
After a controversial and seemingly never-ending build-up, today is finally the day the 23rd Fifa World Cup begins. Tonight, co-hosts Mexico face South Africa at the Azteca, the most famous stadium in World Cup history. And it was also in Mexico City where Gianni Infantino held his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. Three-and-a-half years on from his infamous 'Today I feel...' monologue, and with key topics like Iran, ticket prices and visa issues to discuss, what did the Fifa president have up his sleeve this time?
Senior sports writer Kieran Jackson is joined by chief football writer Miguel Delaney, dialling in from our base in New Jersey, to dissect and analyse Infantino's hour-long media conference and look ahead to the tournament opener. We also pick our star substitute for our World Cup XI, ahead of picking our manager next time around.
Copa Independent will be recording several podcasts throughout the tournament, hearing from our reporters dotted across the United States and from the heart of the England camp.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next listen
All from Copa Independent →
Next listen
What England MUST change against Panama after drab Ghana draw
Listen guide
"Gianni Infantino's World Cup opener: Today I feel... chill" is an episode of Copa Independent. Runtime 29 min. Published June 11, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.