The Game Football Podcast The Times

It turns out its not only England that can win one nil and be disappointed. Tom Clarke joins Charlotte Dunker, Alyson Rudd and Gregor Robertson to look at tournament favourites France. Kante rolled back the years, Mbappe shone, but by the end were the French hanging on to beat a resilient Austria?
Having seen all the best teams apart from Portugal, who has stood out and who isn’t living up to expectations? Belgium certainly fell into the later camp. Their ‘golden generation’ once again struggled, albeit with some questionable officiating.   
Quick look and Romania and Georgia and that is day 5.

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England beat Serbia, but it wasn’t convincing. Does it matter? Who played well, who didn’t; and will there be changes for the next match?  Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and Jonathan Northcroft join Tom Clarke to dissect England’s tournament opener. The midfield is the main focus, is Trent the right man to partner Declan Rice? Further forward, is Foden best suited to the left side and if not there, where? 
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Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Italy all made their presence known with wins (some more impressive than others) in their first games of the Euros. But how important is it to lay down a marker early? Alyson Rudd and Gregor Robertson join Tom Clarke to discuss.
And England's campaign starts tonight! Will Trent Alexander-Arnold take the third midfield spot, how hard will Serbia be to break down, and what matters more: experience or youth? 

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Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and Hamzah Khalique-Loonat join Tom Clarke to reflect on a sorry night for Scotland, but a perfect start for the hosts. Were Scotland bad, or were Germany very good? Could the approach of Nagelsmann offer England a way to harness more of their creative players? Hamzah breaks down England’s first opponents, Serbia. Finally, who are the players to watch out for and where is Martin off to today?

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The excitement builds for tonight's mammoth opener: Germany v Scotland. Tom Clarke is joined by Martin Samuel, Jonathan Northcroft and Gregor Robertson to make their predictions, plus they discuss the merits and flaws of tournament camps.
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Martin Samuel, Gregor Robertson and James Gheerbrant join Tom Clarke for the first episode of ‘The Game: Euro pods.’ Martin is in Berlin ahead of the first match, James is packing his bags ready to join him.   
They run the rule over who starts along side Declan Rice in midfield…someone makes a surprisingly strong case Adam Wharton. Martin pulls on a Wham analogy, “sometimes someone just needs to play the tambourine!”
Before assessing if Scotland have a chance against the hosts, a quick look at domestic matters as Ten Hag stays at Manchester United. Is he there on merit, or through lack of alternatives…?
Finally, Scotland can they, will they…? 

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