Sam's Army
The wild and wonderful world of soccer from an American perspective. Samuel Army and a rotating cast of fans, athletes and athlete fans discuss all the relevant goings-on from both sides of the pond. Headlines and a weekly recap plus previews and predictions with an emphasis on the Premier League and Champions League, along with the US men’s and women’s national teams, and just enough from the rest of Europe, MLS and NWSL to be dangerous. Episodes also typically feature candid interviews with players, coaches and other people of interest from in and around the sport. We aim to keep things light and entertaining but with enough analysis to appeal to fans new and old. Many people are calling Sam’s Army Podcast the best podcast they have ever listened to – not me, but many people. Note: true believers in #b2bwcw are eligible for a 22% to 26% discount at checkout. Holler!
Episodes
USMNT: Takeaways from the 1-2 "home" loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final, and thoughts on the team and Poch's performance at the tournament more generally. Who is pushing for starting roles at WC26? Who helped their case to make the roster? Who did not? And where the team goes from here (starting with September friendlies).
STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs
Rapid reaction to the USMNT's (unnecessarily?) hard fought 2-1 win over Guatemala in front of a hostile crowd in... St Louis?!?!?! Diego Luna and Malik Tillman continue to make a case for punching their tickets to World Cup 2026, and not just to round out the roster. Also, chatter about Pochettino having no choice in how to handle the Pulisic situation.
USMNT: Rapid reaction to nervy win on penalties over Costa Rica in the Gold Cup quarterfinal. Some individual shoutouts, thoughts on Max Arfsten's highly "eventful" performance and a preview of what to expect from Guatemala.
STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs
INTERVIEW: San Diego FC's 4-goal hero Milan Iloski chatted with teammate/roommate Tommy McGunner and Sam in 2023 about his path to Orange County, his cooking "skills", some truly impressive pranks and big plans for the future in Denmark (now MLS)
USMNT: what we have learned about this team and individual players so far this tournament plus what to expect from Costa Rica and (unbiased) predictions
GOLD CUP: the pluses and minuses of Jesse Marsch proactively painting himself as the bad boy of CONCACAF as well as whether Saudi Arabia give Mexico problems in other quarterfinal
ROUND THE WORLD: thoughts on the Club World Cup so far, games to watch from the last matchday of group...
USMNT: takeaways from comfortable win over Trinidad & Tobago plus a look ahead to Thursday's tougher game against Saudi Arabia, including starting XI and predictions (plus some broader thoughts on the first round of games and what to watch for in the Gold Cup)
HALFTIME: What If... Jesse Marsch had been hired as USMNT coach and Compliment Corner for Mr. (Manufactured?) Controversy himself, Alexi Lalas
ROUND THE WORLD: early thoughts...
Highlights and WAY more lowlights from Saturday's 1-2 loss to Türkiye and Tuesday's 0-4 shellacking by Switzerland. We scour the wreckage of another catastrophic international window for silver linings. How much of this is on Pochettino? Who from this USMNT roster is in the mix for World Cup 2026? Is Sam capable of criticizing Pulisic? Are we about to get grouped in the Gold Cup??
PREMIER LEAGUE: Top 5 battle ends appropriately with a damp fart as Newcastle backs into UCL while Aston Villa backs out (albeit somewhat controversially) and Nottingham Forest can't get it done. Long summer ahead for some teams, notably Villa. Also, flowers are festooned on deserving FPL winners... and one loser.
HALFTIME: What If you could choose where Ronaldo plays next - where's he going?
ROUND THE WORLD: the lads try their bes...
Maël Corboz and Isaiah Young -- two Americans from Jersey -- discuss Arminia Bielefeld's insane run beating three Bundesliga teams - including Bayer Leverkusen in the semis - to reach the DFB Pokal Cup final, plus how two kids from New Jersey ended up on the same German 3rd division club (albeit one with 2nd or even 1st tier history and fan support). Plus, a preview of Saturday's massive DFB Pokal Cup fina...
PREMIER LEAGUE: Palace beating City (and fans' reaction) is everything great about soccer. Teams mostly hold serve in MW #37 setting up an interesting battle for Champions League spots on Decision Day - especially if Bournemouth can pull a midweek upset vs City.
HALFTIME: What If you could own any one relic in history -- anything at all -- from your favorite club?
ROUND THE WORLD: preview of one of the weirdest Europa League finals...
PREMIER LEAGUE: in defense of Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, explaining City's inexplicable Southampton setback, Tommy questions the importance of the top 5 battle and LOLing at the Zero F's Given Brigade (Tottenham and United)
HALFTIME: Pop Quiz on the latest Sportico report listing the top 50 "biggest" clubs in the world
ROUND THE WORLD: MLS hit-it-n-quit-it minute
STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs
PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal's recent slide risks transforming five-team race for three top 5 slots into six-team race for four slots. The emasculating Guard of Honor tradition may have saved Chelsea's season. Aston Villa's tightrope walk (without a safety net) deserves more attention.
HALFTIME: What If you attempted 10 penalties on Gianluigi Donnarumma - how many you making?
ROUND THE WORLD: Champions and (abbreviated) Europa League pr...
PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool get some just rewards for being worthy champs. Brutal week for Unai's Aston Villa. Secret to Pep's success with City (hint: #TeamLove). FA Cup semifinal recap. FPL updates.
HALFTIME: based on disclosure that Darvin Ham (ex-Laker coach and current Bucks asst) had his Los Angeles storage locker sold at auction... What If you could bid on the storage locker of ANY current or former player - who you going with...
PREMIER LEAGUE: Aston Villa put on one of the performances of the season against Newcastle. Chelsea stare death (of their season) in the face but bounce back against Fulham. Tottenham and Manchester United officially wave the white flag on the 2024-25 PL season.
HALFTIME: What If you could only watch one game show for the rest of your life?
ROUND THE WORLD: important announcement about Champions/Europa Leagues, MLS Hit-It-N-Quit-It...
PREMIER LEAGUE: Nottingham Forest suffer a (potentially) costly defeat, Tottenham and Manchester United continue to stink out loud plus a look ahead at one of the low-key bigger games of the season as (tired) Villa host Newcastle.
HALFTIME: What If the unthinkable happens and USMNT lose in the semifinals *but* you get to handpick two teams to play in the World Cup 2026 final - who you going with?
ROUND THE WORLD: preview of the thr...
PREMIER LEAGUE: theories on why top 5 teams in the table amassed zero wins this weekend, juice-less Manchester Daerby and Aston Villa peaking at the right time
HALFTIME: what if you were given the choice of attending three straight Champions League finals or one World Cup final?
ROUND THE WORLD: MLS Hit-It-N-Quit-It Minute plus preview of huge midweek slate f/t Champions League and make-or-break Europa League for Manchester United ...
PREMIER LEAGUE: rapid rundown of FA Cup quarterfinals and thots on semifinals draw; double dose of previews f/t London, Manchester AND Merseyside daerbies plus especially critical weeks for Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest
HALFTIME: What If Neal Maupay (wanting out of Marseille and unwelcome back at Everton) rings you asking your recommendation for world's best shithouse league... where you sending him?
ROUND THE WORLD: MLS Hit-It...
ROUND THE WORLD: postmortem of USMNT's nightmarish international break featuring lifeless losses to Panama (0-1) and Canada (1-2), featuring who is to blame and what needs to change
HALFTIME: What If we had Dest and Jedi available this window... and Josh Sargent's turn in Compliment Corner
MLS HIT-IT-N-QUIT-IT MINUTE
PREMIER LEAGUE: FA Cup quarterfinals preview
STOPPAGE TIME: Ivan Toney's Best Bets and GOAWs
PREMIER LEAGUE: the Ghost of Tyler Terens reacts to Liverpool (wanted it) vs Newcastle (needed it) in League Cup final. Brighton take City for a ride and Spurs down weapons versus Fulham. Also, is anyone in the league in better form than Bruno Fernandes?
HALFTIME: Pop Quiz on odds to win this summer's FIFA Club World Cup
ROUND THE WORLD: reaction to Poch's latest USMNT roster, including late additions and subtractions. Who what XI ...
PREMIER LEAGUE: NunoBall earns Forest a deserved 1-0 win over City. Arsenal escape with a gross 1-1 draw vs United. Spurs show a little spine against Bournemouth. Preview of Liverpool vs weakened Newcastle in League Cup final. And we look ahead to the rest of the weekend, featuring City/Brighton, Arsenal/Chelsea and Bournemouth/Brentford -- plus what there *really* is to play for this season.
ROUND THE WORLD: Hit-It-N-Quit-It MLS M...
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