Ranking the Champions League Last 16

Well, there we have it. EURO 2020, done and dusted, and Roberto Mancini's young, bold and brazen Italy side took home the trophy by beating Gareth Southgate's resilient Three Lions on penalties, but England should be commended for taking the best side in the competition the full distance.In our final Euros episode, Sam and Jack take a look back through the best players in this years competition, ranking them on their performances; before Dean subs in to talk through the highs and lows of being part of a strange but wonderful tournament at Wembley.Finally, there's a quick spin through our favourite games, moments and Teams of the Tournament to round such a wonderful month of football off. It's been emotional. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

14 Jul 20211h 21min

Well, four have become two and Italy and England will face off in the EURO 2020 final at Wembley on Sunday having seen off the challenges of Spain and Denmark respectively, both over 120 minutes; although Mancini's boys also needed the penalty lottery and some big boy moves from Giorgio Chiellini to book their spot.We're joined by Muhammad Butt, Chief Writer at Squawka, to look back through two very different but equally entertaining semis, starting with England's win over Denmark, and how the Three Lions managed to secure their place in a major tournament final for the first time in 65 years; and then heading over to one of the games of the tournament in Italy vs. Spain, where two midfields did battle in a viewing experience from the ages.From there, it's eyes on the final - three reasons England should be confident, three reasons Italy should be confident and of course, a couple of predictions for good measure. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

8 Jul 20211h 23min

This week 16 became 8 as we saw the European Championships spring into knockout mode. There were shocks, spills, gaffes, glory and penalty shootouts; and the contenders from the Group of Death - France, Portugal and Germany - are all out of this competition, alongside the Netherlands.So, of all the nations left in, we ranked each team in terms of how likely they are to be lifting the trophy on the 11th July, given how they performed in their first knockout fixture, their routes to the final and their ability to get this done. It's pure, unfiltered, ranking - fresh off the back of the last game of the round finishing at 11pm.There's also our Tales from Wembley - a very hoarse Dean tells us about his experiences today as England saw off Germany 2-0, in all its detailed glory; whilst Jack and Sam discuss their trip to see Italy see off Austria in extra-time last Saturday. With all the twists and turns, that night feels a long time ago.It's Ranks!21:04.374 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

30 Jun 20211h 7min

The Group Stages are done, Rank Squad, and so our rescheduled podcast looking back at it is here! We thought it would be best to rank all the qualified teams, 1-16, on their performances during their group stage campaigns - and then look at what that means going forward - from Sweden’s organised resolve to Belgium’s ability to shift gears; England’s defensive masterclass to Austria’s machinations down the left. Then, we look back at three nations who hugely disappointed us and exactly why we felt so let down by their performances (yes, Turkey are in there, obviously); and pick out our favourite fixture each of the eight that lie ahead in the first knockout round. It’s Ranks! If you want more from us, why not come join the Ultras over on Patreon, where you get eight extra episodes a month for the price of a pint for us to share? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

24 Jun 20211h 28min

Every team has now played once at the European Championships, meaning we have a bit more to work with in terms of looking at how this whole thing plays out. We break down some categories of things we've learned: looking at the best team performances so far, some of the bet individual performances that came from left-field, players that we were disappointed with and breakthrough stars of the first match round.From the flying squad of the Italian corps to Slovakia's shock win over Poland, full-backs who got run over defensively to young guns making a name for themselves on the biggest stage, we take in the entire first round of games and rank them.Then Sam and Jack talk some tactical quirks so far, taking a peek at three good and three bad quirks we've seen so far, in a segment inspired by Gennaro Gattuso's most famous press conference. It's Ranks! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

16 Jun 20211h 8min

Three days to go and excitement at Ranks HQ has reached Fever Pitch. The European Championships, just the 364 days after they were supposed to begin, are finally upon us. The squads are (sort of) set, the players (we hope) are ready, and the storylines (we know) are just about to unfold. So, without further ado, here is our behemoth Euro 2020 (or ’21) Preview episode, where we’ve each taken two groups and analysed the four teams in each in detail, looking at strengths and weaknesses, how it might be won and lost, and who we think is going to stand up and be counted when the going gets tough. We talk tournament favourites, golden boots, dark horses; we predict the top two in every single group, look at some of our favourites to go through as third placed dynamos and pick out some of the best narratives that surround this tournament as we ready ourselves for lift off. It’s Ranks! If you’d like to join our Ultras for three episodes a week during the tournament, including Friday’s Ones to Watch, we’d love you to come join us for the price of a pint a month for us to share! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

9 Jun 20211h 38min

It's Official! Ranks FC has signed a partnership with New Balance Football, which means that we're going to be working closely with everyone's favourite Boston-based Sports Brand on all their football endeavours, and we can't tell you how excited we are! For a chance to win our new Ranks FC kit designed by the NB Football gang, head over to our Twitter or Instagram and get sharing! This week, we spoke to newly signed New Balance star, Liverpool wonderkid, youngest player to ever play in the Premier League, a man who has been lighting it up for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship this season and one of the hottest prospects in the English game right now, Mr. Harvey Elliott, to dig into just what makes him tick. We talked his loan spell and growing up as a player in the Championship, his ambitions for next season at Liverpool, what he needs to add to his game to break the starting XI, his Liverpool fandom, why there will always be a place in his heart for Fulham, that list of haircuts, his favourite music artists and cuisines and his heroes growing up, as we got to know Harvey a bit better. It's Ranks! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

4 Jun 202130min

It's been a weird year, nobody is arguing with that. But in the gloom, in the darkness, some heroes have shone on the pitch for their respective clubs. Be these leaders of men, comeback stories, against the odds triumphs or all three, we asked friend of the pod Zach Lowy, co-founder of Breaking the Lines, to come back and help us pick five of the best personal storylines across Europe this season. And boy did he deliver - from Championship hitmen (to the chagrin of Jack and Dean), to versatile Spaniards playing every position under the sun, to champion defenders who went from one end of fans affections to another, to veterans who inspired unlikely title charges, this one had it all. Before that though, as ever, there was time for Things We Love, which this week included Dean talking about Romelu Lukaku's redemption arc and the very real possibility of him returning to the Premier League; Sam discussing one of the best games of the season in the U21 European Championships, and Jack talking about Aguero's unveiling, Barca-born, Betis-bred defenders returning to the Villamarin and his predictions coming true in both European finals last week. It's Ranks! Come and join the Ultras on Patreon for two extra podcasts a week, our Torcida newsletter and access to the Rank Squad Discord Community! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2 Jun 20211h 8min