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Sport Nation
Studs Up! Podcast: Groundhog Day for Nix fans and the All Whites' date with World Cup destiny
Sport Nation • March 13th, 2025 9:24 am
Photo: Masanori Udagawa/Photosport
In Europe, and closer to home in the A-Leagues, the football is getting good! For Sport Nation’s Studs Up! podcast hosts Riccardo Ball and Daniel McHardy, the pair are dining on all of it.
Liverpool have been bundled out of the Champions League on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain - does that result now place PSG as firm title favourites coming out of the Round of 16?
Also, the lads break down all the action and oddities of the Auckland FC’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle, and a head-scratching interpretation of the handball law.
And while the Phoenix Wahine are doing well in the A-League Women competition and pressing for a playoff spot, McHardy is feeling like it’s Groundhog Day for Nix fans as Giancarlo Italiano struggles to get any results in the ALM - should Chiefy maintain his position for next season?
The Oceania Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are also just around the corner for New Zealand, with the All Whites naming their 23-man squad to play the semi-final against Fiji on March 21.
If they win, and let’s face it, they should minus some kind of absolute catastrophe, NZ will face either Tahiti or New Caledonia at Eden Park on March 24 for a place in football’s showcase event.
Riccardo and Daniel run the rule over Darren Bazeley’s group and who their dream starting eleven is. To them, it doesn’t matter how New Zealand gets to the World Cup, they just want to see the national side there at a time when captain Chris Wood is playing some of his greatest football in his career.
Plus, our resident football fanatics look at their best Betcha bets to hopefully fill the beer fridge - R18, please gamble responsibly.
Listen to the latest from the Studs Up! podcast below - and subscribe today on Spotify.
