More than the Score

More Than The Score joins football fans across the United States as the hosts record a comfortable win in their World Cup opener against Paraguay.
The United States joined co-hosts Mexico and Canada in hosting their first match of the tournament, recording a comfortable 4-1 victory at the Los Angeles Stadium.
Lee James joins a watch along in a New York bar, while Isaac Fanin gauged the reaction of fans in the host city.
More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Last year, the Caribbean island nation of Curacao qualified for the Fifa men's World Cup for the first time in their history - led by 78-year-old manager Dick Advocaat. He's now set to become the oldest man to ever coach at the finals, when he leads Curacao out against four-time world champions Germany.
That got us thinking about how much experience matters for coaches. Does having decades of knowledge under your belt make you a better guide for young athletes - or less flexible and more set in your ways?
Last November, More than the Score's Ed Harry talked to Aston Moore, a British athletics coach who's worked with dozens of elite Olympians and Paralympians, including two-time world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson. He turned 70 in February, but has no intention of retiring. He explains the importance of commitment and adaptability for coaches and the athletes in their care - and why he prefers to teach people by letting them work out the answers for themselves, rather than telling them what to do.
Ed also hears from journalist Anthony Wootton, who discusses why sports organisations in North America seem to have more patience with their head coaches.
All this summer, More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. Search for More than the Score, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

The BBC’s Lee James and John Bennett are in New York City, where they discover excitement for the World Cup 2026 is starting to build, albeit slowly, against the backdrop of the New York Knicks run in the NBA Finals.
They reflect on Mexico winning their opening match before turning their attention to another of the co-hosts, Canada.
We hear Lee’s extended interview with Jonathan Osorio. The midfielder is a key part of a Canada squad celebrated for its diversity. Osorio was born in Toronto to Colombian parents. Ahead of the co-hosts opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which falls on his birthday, he tells Lee James why this Canada team's multiculturalism is a reflection of the nation in 2026. He also says this World Cup is an opportunity to grow the game so they can in the future be considered a 'soccer nation'.
More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway with hosts Mexico taking on South Africa in the opening match at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Expected to play a crucial role is South Africa's captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, whose performances over the past two years have established him as one of Africa's leading players. He spoke to Isaac Fanin about the rise of African goalkeepers and why leading Bafana Bafana in the first game means so much to him and his family.
Mani Djazmi’s been speaking to former Mexico international Joaquin Beltran about what Mexican’s describe as El Quinto Partido, the Mexican curse of never winning five games in a World Cup.
Plus Isaac visits the Mexican community in Los Angeles, including interviews with Tracy M. Serrano-Ruiz, Interim Chief Executive Officer of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, the Consul General of Mexico in Los Angeles
More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
Audio for this programme was updated on 11th June 2026 with additional audio about Mexico.

USA, Canada and Mexico are co-hosting the biggest ever World Cup, but which nation will go furthest in the tournament?
The BBC’s Mani Djazmi is joined by CONCACAF football expert Jon Arnold to assess the co-hosts chances. We also hear from Canada manager Jesse Marsch, Former USA captain Marcelo Balboa and Mexican journalist Ricardo Otero.
Marsch tells us he believes his side can make history in a home World Cup and it’s an opportunity to create future stars.
More than the Score brings you more than the men’s football World Cup - the new teams, standout stars, trends and fandoms shaping the tournament in ways the stats don’t show. With 48 teams competing across Mexico, the US and Canada, BBC World Service promises to take you deeper - from the group stages to the final. Search for More than the Score wherever you get your BBC podcasts.