Episode 412: World Cup qualification is sealed

This week, Sam’s voice sounds ridiculous for the first half of the episode because Santi and Andrés didn’t say anything about it until the half-time break. The three of them discuss Argentina’s two recent World Cup qualifiers – a 1–0 win away to Uruguay and a 0–0 draw at home to Brazil – which (together with Ecuador claiming a 2–0 win away to Chile on Tuesday night) confirmed Argentina’s place at the 2022 World Cup.

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn. And if you’d like to help support the pod financially (in return for exclusive extra content!), you can find us on Patreon.

Hand Of Pod · Episode 429: Messi passes Pelé and Puskás, and the Liga Profesional 2022 begins

Hand Of Pod · Episode 412: World Cup qualification is sealed

Episode 411: River’s title to lose, and two huge matches for Argentina

This week Sam and Santi look back on three weeks of action (due to Sam first being on holiday and then being very busy) during which the title race seems to have swung decisively in River Plate’s favour. We wax lyrical about Julián Álvarez (Independiente fan Santi even compares him to a young Sergio Agüero) and answer some listeners’ questions. We also preview Friday and Tuesday’s World Cup qualifying double header, in which Argentina have their two biggest clásicos: first they travel across the Río de la Plata to face Uruguay, then they head to San Juan, where they’ll host Brazil.

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn. And if you’d like to help support the pod financially (in return for exclusive extra content!), you can find us on Patreon.

Hand Of Pod · Episode 429: Messi passes Pelé and Puskás, and the Liga Profesional 2022 begins

Hand Of Pod · Episode 411: River's title to lose, and two huge matches for Argentina

Episode 363: No one at the top wants to win, and looking forward to Argentina v Brazil

In this week’s Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on a weekend of Superliga action which saw all of the top four drop points (Boca Juniors were the only ones to even draw), ensuring a tight title race has got even tighter due to wins for a few of the chasing pack. We also consider the Copa Argentina semi-finals, one of which was played during and one of which was played after this recording (the final will pit Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero against River Plate), and look forward to Friday’s friendly between Argentina and Brazil, which is being played as I upload this episode.

Want to watch the Superliga and Copa Argentina? Take advantage of a seven-day free trial followed by a 20% discount for your first three months with Fanatiz by following this link and using the discount code hopfz when you sign up!

You can follow HOP in various ways. We have a Facebook page, and a Twitter page. You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn. And if you’d like to help support the pod financially, you can find us on Patreon.

Episode 345: Taking some positives from Copa América elimination

In the three hundred and forty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on Argentina’s elimination at the hands of Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa América, and consider a Copa campaign during which there were (in our opinion) more positives than negatives, in terms of team building.

You can follow HOP in various ways. We have a Facebook page, and a Twitter page. You can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or TuneIn. And if you’d like to help support the pod financially, you can find us on Patreon.

Episode 208: Argentina finally click in World Cup qualifying, and we gear up for the playoffs

The two hundred and eighth episode of Hand Of Pod is a relatively short one (by our standards), in which Sam and English Dan meet to discuss the encouraging improvement in Argentina’s performances in World Cup qualifying, which in the last week have seen them claim a (slightly unlucky) 1-1 draw at home to Brazil and a 1-0 win way to Colombia. Is Gerardo Martino’s ‘idea’ any clearer, and how will it be affected when Lionel Messi returns to the team? We also look forward to the pre-Sudamericana and pre-Libertadores liguillas (playoff tournaments) which are all that now remain of the Argentine Primera season for 2015, and have a rather inexpert go at working out which teams have been and might still be promoted from the second and third divisions. HOP is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a fine English-language source of news from Argentina and across Latin America.

You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, and follow us on Twitter.

Episode 207: We are five! Previewing Argentina v Brazil with Tim Vickery

Episode 207 of Hand Of Pod is a very special one, because on Friday we turn five years old. Sam is joined for the celebration by Andrés, English Dan, Peter and very special guest Tim Vickery, who’s flown down from Rio de Janeiro specially for the occasion. Entirely coincidentally to Tim’s visit (honest), on Thursday night Argentina host Brazil in World Cup qualifying, so after a review of last weekend’s most important league action – which saw Nueva Chicago relegated in spite of an impressive win over Quilmes – and a discussion about our team of the championship, we move on to previewing Argentina v Brazil. There’s plenty of chat throughout about the differences between football in the two countries, from the trends in management (Argentina good, Brazil bad) to player development, in which it seems both countries have something of an imbalance in very different ways. HOP is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a fine English-language source of news from Argentina and across Latin America.

You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, and follow us on Twitter.

Mystic Sam’s predictions for Argentina’s two upcoming WCQs:
Two draws

Episode 161: A look at Argentina’s friendlies and River extend their lead

In the hundred and sixty-first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on Argentina’s two recent friendlies in China – in Beijing against Brazil and in Hong Kong against Hong Kong (although neither of us saw the latter). We explain why the AFA won’t be getting any money themselves from the Hong Kong match, before looking at the weekend’s Primera action, which saw River Plate emerge as the big winners – other sides stumbling, combined with River’s 1-0 win away to Newell’s Old Boys, means the champions have a four point lead at the top of the table. We also belatedly preview this weekend’s Rosario clásico between Central and Newell’s, among much more.

As ever, Mystic Sam’s previews for this weekend’s matches are below. You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, and follow us on Twitter.

Mystic Sam’s twelfth round predictions
Gimnasia v Olimpo
Quilmes v Atlético de Rafaela
Banfield v Estudiantes
San Lorenzo v Independiente
Defensa y Justicia v Lanús
Central v Newell’s
Racing v Vélez
River v Belgrano
Godoy Cruz v Boca
Tigre v Arsenal

Episode 66: Boca’s slip-up, a big win for Tigre, Sabella’s progress with Argentina & more

The sixty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan and Dan meet to discuss Tigre’s impressive win over San Lorenzo in Sunday’s big relegation clash, and where it leaves both sides in the relegation table, as well as those around them. We also discuss Boca Juniors’ slip-up in drawing 1-1 away to Banfield, Alejandro Sabella’s charge of Argentina and Lionel Messi’s brilliant hat trick against Brazil on Saturday, River Plate going top of Nacional B with two games to go before the end of the season, and all the title race talk from the Primera, as well as looking at the Nacional B relegation struggle. There are some very silly listeners’ questions this week, but we answer them anyway.

As usual, you’ll find Mystic Dan’s eighteenth round predictions below, and if you want to subscribe to us on iTunes, you can click here.