About this episode

The episode discusses Iran's potential withdrawal from the World Cup amidst geopolitical tensions, a travel mix-up involving a Barcelona fan, and a humorous cup run by Llantwit Major.

A World Cup co-host is at war with another participating nation. Since the United States launched strikes against Iran at the end of last month, the big question in the football world has been whether the latter will still play at the World Cup. So will Iran play or not? Could they even face the United States? And who would likely replace them if they were to withdraw? Today, we run through all the conceivable scenarios and analyse the most turbulent build-up to a World Cup in living memory. Plus: The Barcelona fan who went to the wrong St. James’ Park and Welsh club Llantwit Major’s hilarious cup run. BUY THE SHIRTS: ⁠⁠ https://stingz.co/collections/sweeper-podcast⁠⁠ Get £6 off with Patreon: ⁠⁠ https://patreon.com/sweeperpod ⁠ The Guardian on the 1930 World Cup: https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/may/13/world-cup-stunning-moments-25-conte-verde-uruguay The Los Angeles Times on India: https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/sports-now/story/2011-07-19/did-india-withdraw-from-the-1950-world-cup-because-they-were-not-allowed-to-play-barefoot Chapters 00:00 – Intro 00:55 – Iran’s World Cup predicament 04:35 – USA fit to host tournament? 08:09 – Scenario 1 – Iran play at…

People in this episode

Hosts: Lee Wingate, Paul Watson

Topics covered

• Iran's World Cup situation
• USA and World Cup hosting
• Football withdrawals
• Travel mix-up
• Cup run stories

Keywords

• World Cup
• Iran
• United States
• Barcelona
• Llantwit Major
• football
• withdrawal
• travel mix-up
• cup run

Sponsors

Patreon

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Barcelona

Places: Iran, United States, St. James’ Park, Llantwit Major

More episodes of The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

• Shakhtar Donetsk's imposter club – Plus Heidelberg’s Asian aspirations & Montserrat’s Facebook coach ad · April 21, 2026 · 35 min
• FC Thun's impossible fairytale 1: Fires, fans & amateur football · April 14, 2026 · 37 min
• Bosnia’s poker player at the World Cup – Plus Ceuta coach’s Rome pledge & Nauru’s 1 child 1 ball initiative · April 7, 2026 · 38 min
• Liechtenstein: Europe’s strangest national team – Plus Germany’s drug dealer striker & Italy’s coach turned priest · March 31, 2026 · 34 min
• Eritrea’s dictatorship defection dilemma – Plus Poland’s Belarusian team and Russia’s war critic in Cyprus · March 24, 2026 · 29 min
• Steaua Bucharest’s European Cup dispute – Plus the Italian coach who sacked himself & Germany’s pirate island club · March 10, 2026 · 34 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast podcast page.