The Rabona

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  1. 2 hr ago

    The FIFA' $1B "Hydration" Ad Break...

    Every match at the 2026 World Cup stops twice. For three minutes each time. Midway through each half, the referee blows the whistle, the players trudge to the touchline for a drink, and millions of viewers around the world are shown advertisements. FIFA says it's about player welfare. It's about the heat. It's about keeping athletes safe in the North American summer. It's generating $1 billion in advertising revenue. Globally. Across a single tournament. Here's how it works. The breaks are mandatory in every single match — even in fully air conditioned stadiums where the temperature is perfectly controlled and there is no heat risk whatsoever. FIFA insists sporting integrity means they must be applied equally. What a coincidence that equal application also means equal advertising opportunity in every single game. In the USA alone, hydration breaks are estimated to generate over $250 million for Fox Sports. An average 30-second slot costs between $200,000 and $300,000 — rising to $750,000 during USA matches and the later stages. Fox Sports paid $485 million for the rights to broadcast this entire World Cup. The hydration breaks alone are worth more than half of that back. In one tournament. And it gets better. Fox Sports missed the restart of the opening match between Mexico and South Africa because their ads overran. They were so busy making money they missed the actual football. Across the entire tournament that's four minutes and twenty seconds per match — seven hours, thirty minutes and forty seconds of hydration breaks in total. That's not a water break. That's a business model. We hate them. The crowds jeer them at every single venue. Players and managers have called them unnecessary. And one of us — Ash — thinks they might actually have a point. Are hydration breaks the worst thing to happen to football — or is a billion dollars too much money to argue with? Tell us below.

    9 min

  2. 1 day ago

    How Every AFC Bournemouth Player Is Performing at the World Cup

    The World Cup groups are OVER and while England fans are nervously watching Tuchel’s side grind through the group stage, Bournemouth fans have six players scattered across North America — and most of them are having a very good time indeed.We went through every Cherry at the 2026 World Cup and gave our honest verdict on how they’ve performed so far.*Tyler Adams — USA* Adams has been at the heart of one of the tournament’s biggest stories. The USMNT topped their group with a game to spare, beating Australia 2-0 and destroying Paraguay 4-1 in what many are calling the best USMNT performance at any World Cup. Adams has been exactly what Pochettino needed — athletic, combative, and the kind of defensive midfielder who makes everyone around him better. Bournemouth fans already knew that. America is finding out now.*Ryan Christie & Ben Gannon-Doak — Scotland* The Tartan Army took over Boston. They drank the city dry. They put traffic cones on every statue they could find. And Christie and Gannon-Doak were right there in the middle of it. Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 — their first World Cup win since 1990 — and now face Brazil needing a result to make history. Christie has been solid throughout. Gannon-Doak has shown flashes of real quality. Both have represented the club brilliantly.*Justin Kluivert — Netherlands* The Netherlands have been one of the more impressive sides in the tournament so far, and Kluivert has contributed meaningfully to their campaign. Quick, direct, and dangerous in the final third — exactly the player Bournemouth fans watched terrorise Premier League defences last season.*Rayan — Brazil* The young Brazilian we’ve been talking about all season. Massively underrated at club level, criminally ignored by the wider football world. At the World Cup, Brazil’s depth means he hasn’t had the stage his talent deserves yet — but when he’s come on, he’s shown exactly why Bournemouth rate him so highly. One to watch in the knockout stages.*Alex Paulsen — New Zealand* New Zealand were always going to face a tough group but Paulsen represented his country with real pride. Solid, dependable, and a reminder of how far Bournemouth’s recruitment reaches across the world.And then there’s *Antoine Semenyo* — technically now a Man City player after his January move, but forever a Cherry in our hearts. Ghana’s best player at this tournament by some distance. Seventeen league goals last season. An £83 million move. And now showing the world exactly what Bournemouth spotted before anyone else did.Six Cherries abroad. All of them representing the club with pride. Not bad for a team that three weeks ago secured European football for the first time in their history.Which Bournemouth player has impressed you most at the World Cup? Tell us below.

    12 min

  3. 3 days ago

    FIFA President Was at TWO Games at Once... Here's Why

    On Thursday, Gianni Infantino appeared on the big screen at Ecuador vs Germany. At the exact same time, he appeared on the big screen at Curaçao vs Ivory Coast. Two games. Two stadiums. Hours apart. Same man. Same seat. Same moment.The internet immediately lost its mind.Because this shouldn't be possible. The two Group E final fixtures kicked off simultaneously — standard World Cup procedure to prevent match fixing. What was not standard was the FIFA president apparently defying the laws of physics to attend both of them at exactly the same time. The images went viral within minutes. Fans online declared he was an alien. Others said he had a twin. One person simply wrote — "starting to think bro is not human."So what is actually going on?

    11 min

  4. 3 days ago

    The Four Best Final Group Games at the World Cup… And Why They Matter

    The World Cup group stage is almost over. And it's going out with a bang.Out of all the final group games still to be played, four of them stand out above everything else. Four games where the stakes are enormous, the outcomes are unpredictable, and what happens in the next 48 hours will shape the entire knockout bracket. Here's why each one matters.

    13 min

  5. 5 days ago

    We Named Germany Players Until Someone Ran Out...

    Germany have beaten Curaçao 7-1 and Ivory Coast 2-1. They're already through to the knockout stages. And their Round of 32 game is in Boston on June 29th — potentially against Scotland. So we thought it was time to properly talk about one of the greatest international teams in football history. We started simple. We took turns naming Germany internationals — one each, back and forth, no repeats, no hesitation — until someone ran out. It sounds easy. Germany have been at every World Cup since 1954. Four time winners. Legends in every generation. Müller. Beckenbauer. Klose. Lahm. Neuer. Ballack. Rummenigge. Matthäus. The list goes on and on and on.

    6 min

  6. 6 days ago

    Scotland Won't Win the World Cup… But They've Won the Hearts of America!

    Scotland are not going to win the World Cup. They know it. We know it. Boston knows it. And somehow, none of that matters even slightly. Because what the Tartan Army has done in Boston over the last two weeks is one of the most joyful, chaotic, beautiful things football has ever produced at a World Cup. They drank the city dry of beer. They put traffic cones on every statue they could find. They marched to Fenway Park with bagpipes. They filled bars, streets and stadiums with noise, colour and an energy that Boston — a city that knows a thing or two about passionate sports fans — had simply never seen before. And then Scotland went and beat Haiti 1-0. Their first World Cup win since 1990. The whole city celebrated like it was their own team. Yes, they lost to Morocco. Conceding after just 70 seconds was brutal. And yes, they now need a result against Brazil in Miami to have any chance of making the knockout stages of a World Cup for the very first time in their history. The odds are against them. They're facing Brazil. At a World Cup. In Miami. But here's the thing. Before this tournament, Scotland hadn't been to a World Cup since 1998. Twenty eight years of watching from home. Twenty eight years of near misses, heartbreak and qualifying disasters. And now they're here, they're alive, and an entire American city is genuinely devastated that they've had to leave.The Scottish national team posted a heartfelt thank you to Boston before departing for Miami. "You've made us feel part of your incredible city," they wrote. The Tartan Army responded in kind. "We hope it's not goodbye," they said. "But see you again soon."And the best part? If Scotland beat Brazil and qualify as a third place team — they come back to Boston. To face Germany. On June 29th.Scotland won't win the World Cup. But they've already won something that lasts a lot longer than a trophy.

    14 min

  7. 23 Jun

    Everything We Predicted About the World Cup Was Wrong

    The 2026 World Cup has been running for less than two weeks. And it has already produced more shocks, surprises and genuinely unbelievable moments than most tournaments manage in their entirety. We went through every group, every result, and every team that has either dramatically overdelivered or catastrophically underdelivered — and gave our honest verdict on the biggest surprises of the tournament so far. Cape Verde held Spain to a 0-0 draw. A result so shocking it reportedly led to the biggest lost bet in 2026 World Cup history. Spain, one of the pre-tournament favourites, couldn't break down a side ranked far below them. The group is suddenly wide open. USA dismantled Paraguay 4-1 in what is being described as the best performance by the USMNT at any World Cup. As hosts, the pressure on the Americans was enormous. They didn't just handle it — they announced themselves as a genuine force in this tournament. Belgium have been a disaster. Egypt held them to a 1-1 draw in a group many expected Belgium to cruise through. The golden generation is long gone and this Belgian side looks like a team that simply doesn't know what it is anymore. Morocco held Brazil to a 1-1 draw with Brazil looking toothless throughout — raising serious questions about whether the Seleção have the quality to go deep in this tournament without a genuine world class striker leading the line. Australia beat Turkey 2-0 despite Turkey having some of Europe's most exciting players in their squad — Arda Güler, Kenan Yıldız, Hakan Çalhanoğlu — and simply outworked them from first whistle to last. And then there's Cape Verde. Still alive. Still competing. Possibly the most charming story of the entire tournament. Which surprise has shocked you the most — and which team do you think is going to cause the biggest upset in the knockout stages? Tell us below.

    10 min

  8. 01/12/2025

    What Crisps Would Arne Slot SH*G? | Football Show

    Welcome to The Rabona!If you’re a fan of shows like The Rest Is Football, Football Weekly, The Totally Football Show, That Peter Crouch Podcast, Football Ramble or Football Daily, you’ll feel at home here. Rabona brings a fresh mix of strong debate, bold predictions and a bit of fun alongside the serious talking points. What to expect every week: big stories from the world of football, unfiltered opinions, predictions and games, with plenty of banter along the way. Southcast Studio 2025

    38 min
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Football Football Football

Information

  • Creator
    Southcast Studio
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Southcast Studio
  • Show Website
    The Rabona