Hand Of Pod

The two hundred and ninety-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan and Andrés to look back on a faltering start to the World Cup group stage for Argentina, who drew 1-1 with Iceland on Saturday. What changes is Jorge Sampaoli making? What changes should he make? And how much scope for improvement is there, really? Perhaps foolishly, we're remaining optimistic about the Croatia game, which we'll review in HOP300 on Friday.

In the two hundred and ninety-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés are joined by Helgi, one of (as far as he knows) three Icelanders currently living in Buenos Aires. We preview Argentina's World Cup opener on Saturday with a look at what appears to be Jorge Sampaoli's all-but-confirmed starting XI, as well as asking Helgi how it feels to be experiencing his first World Cup with his own team to cheer for, and his impressions of how the Argentine press have been covering Iceland (and he's got a few impressions, because they've mostly been doing it by interviewing him).

In the two hundred and ninety-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés take you through the last week in Argentina's World Cup preparations, which has included the cancellation of Saturday's planned friendly away to Israel after the Argentine FA realised it wasn't an idea absolutely everyone was completely delighted with. Elsewhere, the B Nacional playoff final ended with San Martín de Tucumán putting in an improved second leg showing to tear Sarmiento apart and win promotion to the Superliga, and we go through the other results so far from the lower divisions, as well as a restructuring of next season's B Nacional.

In the two hundred and ninety-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés discuss Argentina's pre-World Cup friendly victory over Haiti in the Bombonera. Did we learn anything, or merely have various things confirmed which we already knew? Should Cristian Pavón start ahead of Ángel Di María? Who is the first choice goalkeeper? And is there really any point in playing friendlies against sides who (with the greatest respect to Haiti) aren't at the level Argentina will be facing in Russia?

The two hundred and ninety-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by Andrés and Julián to discuss Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad, and the chaos introduced to it by Tuesday's news that first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Romero would miss the tournament with injury. Should Willy Caballero or Franco Armani be Romero's replacement? In the outfield positions, are there any players missing who should be there, or any who are there who shouldn't be? And what should we make of Jorge Sampaoli's stated desire to play a 2-3-3-2 if possible? Which players would that involve – both for Sampaoli, and if one of us were the manager? All these questions and far more are up for discussion.

The two hundred and ninety-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan and Andrés to discuss the final weekend of Superliga 2017–18 action, in which there were a few high-scoring games, a few surprising results (including Independiente, Talleres and Racing falling over one another in their rush to not qualify for the Copa Libertadores)and a tight finish all round for the Copa places. We also have a look at a bad week for gender relations at the AFA and for TyCSports' publicity department.

It was fitting, given the way the season has gone, that Boca Juniors sealed their second consecutive league title with a draw in which they almost seemed to be trying to let the point slip away from them at times. In the two hundred and ninety-third episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by Andrés and Mariano to discuss Boca's title, why none of the chasing pack (not least San Lorenzo) had the wherewithal to make it into a proper title race, and all the ups and downs of the penultimate weekend of Superliga action, as well as looking forward to the final round of games.

In the two hundred and ninety-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés discuss the silliness of the conspiracy theories surrounding why Gimnasia v Boca Juniors was called off on Sunday (some fans seem to think Daniel Angelici controls the weather), and we look back at a Superliga weekend which saw Godoy Cruz keep up their slim title hopes with a clásico victory, and a five goal thriller (of sorts) in Parque Patricios among other matches.

In the two hundred and ninety-first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Julián get together over a mate and some biscuits to discuss a weekend of Superliga action in which Boca Juniors saw the title race swing decisively their way (surely this time, this is it?) after Godoy Cruz were held by Banfield. Elsewhere, River Plate are now so good that even their reserves can win at a canter ... although it was only against Arsenal de Sarandí, so maybe not. Racing won the clásico coudetense, Defensa y Justicia shocked Independiente in the clásico holandés (I wish I'd thought that name up to tweet during the match) and the race for the last Copa Libertadores spots, and all of the Copa Sudamericana spots, is as tight as ever. Oh, and we're now finally live on Patreon! Please check out our page and consider supporting us: www.patreon.com/handofpod

The two hundred and ninetieth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by Peter and Andrés to look back on a weekend of Superliga action in which the remaining three relegation spots were all decided, and the title race one last breath of life given to it thanks to Godoy Cruz's sixth consecutive win and Boca Juniors' second consecutive defeat. River Plate's efficient form continues, and we look at why Vélez Sarsfield have become so much harder to beat under Gabriel Heinze, even though they're still winning barely any matches.

The two hundred and eighty-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan and Andrés meet to discuss a weekend of action in the Superliga which saw Boca Juniors' defeat to Defensa y Justicia on Saturday throw the door wide open for Talleres and San Lorenzo ... and Talleres and San Lorenzo both fail completely to take advantage. There's a new second place team thanks to Godoy Cruz tonking San Lorenzo 5-0 on Sunday, but they're still seven points behind the leaders and there are now just five games remaining. Elsewhere, River Plate kept up their great run of domestic form with a 2-0 away win over Racing that was clinical if not spectacular, and Chacarita Juniors aren't dead yet – have a listen to find out why Sam reckons there's an AFA conspiracy to keep them in the Superliga (well, not really. But if they win again this weekend with some iffy refereeing, then maybe).

The two hundred and eighty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés meet to discuss a weekend of Superliga action which saw the title race all but ended by Pablo Pérez's 92nd minute winner for Boca Juniors against second placed Talleres. Why did he argue with Boca's fans immediately afterwards? Why didn't Carlos Tevez play that game? These are among the questions we answer. Elsewhere, River Plate's resurgence continues - the giants are now just two points off the Copa Sudamericana places, a situation that would have seemed unthinkable a few weeks ago. And we bid farewell, for the moment at least, to Arsenal de Sarandí's participation in the top flight of Argentine football; they were relegated after Patronato's 3-0 win against Rosario Central on Sunday.

Welcome to a special free preview of Hand Of Pod Extra. HOP Extra will be a weekly mini podcast available to supporters who put in enough to reach the appropriate reward tier on our upcoming Patreon page (which is not yet live). Sam will record a short bit each Sunday evening summarising the main talking points of the weekend. We wanted to give you an idea before launching the Patreon of what this extra episode would sound like, so enjoy!

The two hundred and eighty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod was recorded on Tuesday evening, after the friendly which dominates this episode: Argentina's record-equalling 6-1 defeat to Spain in Madrid. How much does Jorge Sampaoli need to change ahead of the World Cup? Is the situation salvageable from here? Is there any hope at all without Lionel Messi? Sam and English Dan consider the fallout. We also explain what's going on with a court case involving Independiente, where a youth prostitution ring has been uncovered operating out of the club's accommodation (without, we hasten to add, the club's knowledge).

The two hundred and eighty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan and Andrés to look back on a weekend of Superliga action which saw the gap at the top close to six points after Boca Junior could only draw following Talleres' victory. That sets things up nicely for the resumption of hostilities after the international break, when Talleres visit Boca. Elsewhere, Racing thrashed Patronato and River Plate, fresh from their Supercopa win, deservedly beat Belgrano 3-1, with Nacho Scocco coming off the bench to score twice. Should he still be a sub? Finally, we discuss the Argentine national team, and how Jorge Sampaoli will be approaching their two upcoming friendlies.

The two hundred and eighty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés look back over a weekend of Superliga action that, erm, neither of them managed to catch an awful lot of. Among the bits they did see were last minute wins for Boca Juniors and River Plate, and an entertaining game between Independiente and Argentinos Juniors which saw El Rojo cement third place in the Superliga. There's also discussion of Wednesday night's Supercopa Argentina, which saw River turn in their best performance of the last six months or so to spring a surprise, beating Boca 2-0 to lift the trophy. The prize itself isn't of huge importance, of course, but the repercussions for both clubs' seasons could be - most notably, could this be the springboard for a revival in River's fortunes?

The two hundred and eighty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés discuss a weekend of Superliga action which was full of surprise results: from Arsenal de Sarandí winning a game against, well, anybody on Friday evening, to Argentinos Juniors playing Boca Juniors off the park and claiming a 2-0 victory over the league leaders on Monday night. One shock result that didn't happen was a win for River Plate, who have a potentially huge couple of games coming up. Racing, meanwhile, might be paying Jorge Sampaoli to come and watch them these days ... and speaking of Sampaoli, we have some thoughts on his latest Argentina squad.

Episode 283 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan and Andrés discuss a weekend of Superliga action in which San Lorenzo lost away to Gimnasia, thus falling even further behind league leaders Boca Juniors, who rediscovered their attacking form in an entertaining 4-2 win over San Martín. San Lorenzo also ceded second place to Talleres. River Plate are still abysmal, and lost 1-0 away to Vélez Sarsfield in a dreadful match, while Racing managed two impressive wins: first becoming the first team this league season not to lose to Godoy Cruz in Mendoza, and then beating Cruzeiro 4-2 in the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday night. All this and more.

Episode 282 of Hand Of Pod comes to you a little later than normal this week, but Sam and Andrés are here to talk you through last weekend's Superliga action ahead of the next round of games. Boca Juniors found it hard going for the second week running, but once again came through for a 1-0 win which keeps them at arm's length (or perhaps two arms' lengths) from the chasing pack, while there were plenty of goals elsewhere. River Plate's attack improved a bit, but their defence still left a lot to be desired in a 2-2 draw against Godoy Cruz; Rosario Central's youngsters, meanwhile, announced themselves with some fanfare as Andrés Lioi hit a hat trick in their 5-0 tonking of Olimpo. On Wednesday night, Independiente suffered the disappointment of a shootout defeat to Grêmio in the Recopa Sudamericana.

Episode 281 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés look back on a weekend of action which saw Talleres leapfrog San Lorenzo to go second - albeit having played a game more - and Boca Juniors maintain the distance at the top of the Superliga with a nervy win over Temperley. There were a couple of high-scoring games to look back on as well, and Sebastián Ribas' red-hot scoring form continued with another goal for Patronato.