- What’s up, and welcome to B/R Football’s breakdown of every single Easter Egg
and reference in the Champions of the World special. Let’s get into it.
- What happens when 800 of the world's most elite football players
pause the season halfway through to go to the world's biggest football tournament?
Players stop being polite and start getting heated.
This is, The Champions of the World.
- So a new intro for this midseason World Cup, of course. The Champions mansion is closed, and the teams are on their way to Qatar—
and no, that’s not an Italy plane, it’s Mexico.
Kylian Mbappé traveled private and has his own entourage to keep him cool,
referencing his transformation into evil-villain-slash-self-proclaimed-superstar for both France and PSG.
- This is it, Leo. Our last chance to win the World Cup.
- You mean MY last chance to win the World Cup.
Yours was in 2018!
- We're here to put England on top of the map.
- [Producer:] Do you mean on the map? Like, on the map of England behind you?
- That's England?! Is that what a map looks like?
- [Producer:] And why are you here?
- I just genuinely love this country and their vibrant football culture.
- Hello. I'd just like to take this opportunity to remind everyone about the Champions League.
- In the taglines, Messi makes a dig at Ronaldo being washed in 2022 compared to any previous World Cup,
Jack Grealish doesn’t know what a map is,
David Beckham, who has been widely criticized for accepting an ambassador role for this World Cup, accused of putting cash over morals.
Oh, and Erling Haaland wants to remind you that he’s still on fire this season, even if Norway didn’t make the World Cup.
In this first arrival montage, we still see that the 'Glazers Out' protests have made their way to Qatar,
above a city with a building designed like the World Cup trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo is driving Portugal—oh wait, no, he’s actually being driven by Bruno and João Félix—
oh wait, no, they’re actually being driven by Bernardo Silva, a reference to Portugal’s squad and how the superstars in the team maybe aren’t the guys who do the most important work.
Belgium arrive on a chocolate car, which Eden Hazard just can’t resist—sorry, Eden—
which breaks down, so Courtois fills it up with beer, but the car then melts in the desert sun,
kinda like their performance at this World Cup, where they went out in the group stage.
Ecuador’s bus slides in front of Chile in the Group A parking lot—
a reference to Chile’s attempt to get Ecuador banned from the World Cup for allegedly fielding an illegible player in qualifying.
FIFA rejected the appeal, and Chile remain out of the tournament.
Then, Thomas Müller arrives on a horse, of course, Messi rides his huge dog, Hulk, which he first did in Season 1, Episode 2,
and Mat Ryan of Australia rides in on a kangaroo, with the smallest player in Australia’s squad, Marco Tilio, in the pouch.
Finally, we see Manuel Neuer pin up a MISSING sign for the Italy National Team—yikes—
and on the board you can also see a poster for Spanish lessons with Gareth Bale,
- Perhaps I can offer my services as a Spanish translator.
I have an affinity for languages, you see. It just comes easy to me.
Anger Management with Jose Mourinho—we all know how that went from Season 5—
and Casemiro’s dog-walking service, because he’s got that dawg in him.
[Colonial America music]
- With England in our group, this is going to be exactly like the American Revolution.
Which we just learned about in a documentary on the plane ride over here.
- We're back in the World Cup, and this time, we are going all the way.
- Hopefully, to the quarterfinal!
- Team USA have gone full Boston Tea Party with their outfits for this World Cup—
Brenden Aaronson watched Hamilton on the way over, and Weston McKennie is just excited to get to the quarterfinals,
which they almost did. See you in 2026, guys.
[Excited murmuring]
- Well, if it isn't my old friends from Ghana.
Haven't seen you guys since 2010! No hard feelings, right?
Here, let me give you a hand.
- [Gianni Infantino:] Gentlemen!
- As the players make their way to their accommodation, Luis Suárez greets his ‘old friends from Ghana’, the Ayew brothers.
Clearly the love isn’t shared following Suárez’s goal-line handball that eliminated Ghana in 2010.
Well, the joke is kind of on Suarez after Uruguay and Ghana both got eliminated from their group, meaning Suárez ends his World Cup campaign in tears.
- How are my favorite cash cows? I mean, players.
Was the flight nice? I don't care.
Here, let me point you toward your accommodations.
- It's right behind you, innit?
- Oh, this mansion? No, no, no. This is for our corporate sponsors.
Your mansion is over there.
It's tiny, but when you consider we built it in one night, it's actually very impressive.
- Woah, I'd love to know how you pulled that off.
Someone should do some long-form investigative journalism about that.
- Hahahaha, absolutely not.
Anyways, you're gonna love it there. Every group gets their own room.
- Wait, we have to share?
[Horrified gasping]
- I hate sharing! - Oh, man, I think I'm gonna be sick.
- Do the corporate sponsors have to share?
- Of course not, they're the most important people here.
- Next, the players are greeted by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in front of ‘The Sepp Blatter Legacy Tower’, a reference to Infantino’s disgraced predecessor.
Instead of staying in the luxury mansion—that’s saved for the sponsors, obviously—the players will be in the rather-less-glamorous ‘International Inn’.
Infantino’s boast that it was built in one night is a reference to the fact that they were still building fan accommodation in the days before the tournament started,
and Brenden Aaronson unwittingly references the many articles and documentaries made about the terrible working conditions imposed on Qatar’s migrant builders.
And upon finding out they’ll have to share rooms, we see evidence of Mbappé and Neymar’s frosty relationship at PSG.
[Classical music]
- Inside the inn, there's a hallway decorated by a Diego Maradona ‘Hand of God’ statue and an ice dispenser full of coins—
ice that is not free of charge, because in Qatar nothing is.
In the Group B dorm, we see Gareth Bale putting up posters of both Los Angeles NFL teams following his transfer to LAFC,
along with the golf clubs he’s obviously brought with him.
We pass a solemn Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson removing a queen mattress following the passing of Her Majesty Elizabeth II,
while Jack Grealish and Jordan Pickford replace it with a King mattress for Charles III.
Grealish’s bulging calves are visible through his trousers,
while a photo of England’s 1966 heroes hangs on the wall.
- Well, lads, we came with terrible kits, but we'll be leaving with the World Cup.
- Hear, hear!
[Sipping tea]
- Golden Generation, let's gooo!
- Yeah, alright! - Woohoo!
[Grunting]
- These Americans are quite confident for a team whose captain rides the bench at his club.
- Harry Kane and his teammates are drinking tea, which we all know is their whole country’s favorite drink, as he points out the new but unloved home kit.
Their tea is soon interrupted by the USMNT’s all-American ‘golden generation’,
and Raheem Sterling points out that their star man, Christian Pulisic, isn’t even a regular at their club, Chelsea.
- Pew pew, pew pew.
- [USMNT:] Pew pew pew pew.
- Ten points for Gryffindor.
- Oi, settle down.
- Bleh. - Clean Sheetus No Morus!
- Give it, it's not funny!
- The England players sit down to study philosophical books on ‘the unbearable weight of penalty kicks’,
a reference to their history of exiting tournaments via penalties.
Grealish, not known for his intellect, is reading his book upside down,
while Rashford stands over a trolley full of more football-related books, including ‘Reece James and the Giant Peach’, ‘VAR and Peace’, and ‘Tuchel a Mockingbird’.
England are soon interrupted by the USMNT and their nerf guns, with five shots connecting with Maguire’s famously large forehead.
Pickford is brushing his teeth when Harry Potter fan Weston McKennie steals his toothbrush to perform a magic spell, with Pickford’s short arms unable to get it back.
- Ew, dude, who puts vinegar on their fries?
- They're called chips. And you're one to talk, who drinks like that?
- It's called a keg stand, bro, it's a form of art.
- [USMNT:] Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!
- So, what's it like being stuck with the English and the Americans?
- Honestly, we're just happy to be here.
- We cut to Grealish and Henderson soaking their chips—or fries, depending where you’re from—while a handful of USMNT stars
tuck into a Thanksgiving feast and drink water via a keg stand.
Like the ice, the donuts are not free of charge, and we see young Gio Reyna’s Thanksgiving-inspired artwork pinned to the fridge.
Jack Grealish joins in the chant because he can’t resist a party, shown by his antics after Man City won the Premier League in 2022.
- The main person I want to thank is Bernardo Silva for coming off in the 70th minute because he was miles off it yesterday.
- Attention Group B. Clearly we are all feeling the strain of a cramped space.
So, in the interest of peace, I think it's best we divvy up the room.
- Woah, woah, woah. Are you gonna tell us what we can and can't do in our section like you do back home?
- Dividing up territory that doesn't belong to you is...not cool.
- Yeah, bro.
[Face palm]
- Maybe I can help. I've been embedded amongst the Americans for some time now
and have managed to pick up a bit of their language. [Clears throat]
Sup, fam. No cap. I'm him.
- Please, good luck getting through to them. They use Fahrenheit.
- Actually, your teams have more in common than you think.
You're both full of exciting young talent, but your women's teams are way better and much more likable.
Neither of you is going to win the World Cup, and, frankly, you're both a bit annoying.
- Don't be ridiculous. Everyone loves English football.
- No, everybody loves the Premier League. You guys? Not so much.
- You weren't even invited to the favorites party.
- Uh, favorites party?
- Yeah, Brazil always throws a big party for all the tournament favorites.
- Balderdash. England have been to many major tournaments, and I've never heard of a favorites party.
- Awkward.
- To stop the conflict, Kane suggests dividing the room into territories.
Dan James isn’t happy about being bossed around, a reference to Wales’ part in the United Kingdom, and England’s dominant role in it.
Iran also aren’t happy about England dividing up territory reminiscent of colonialism,
but Reyna fails to realize the USA are no saints in that regard, either.
Having played in both England and the US, Bale tries to heal the divide, but his iffy U.S. slang doesn’t land.
However, he does point out that both teams have more successful female counterparts—
the USWNT are reigning four-time world champions, while England won the Euros this summer.
Kane argues that people love English football, but Iran point out that it’s actually the Premier League that fans love, not the England team themselves.
And then Kane has the unfortunate realization that England are either not amongst the favorites or are simply disliked by the other teams.
[Party music]
[Grunting]
- You can do it, Neymar. Two more and you'll break it!
- Oh, ah, eeh, oh, ah.
- So, uh...how's Europa League?
- F--k you.
- Hey. [Record scratch]
- Now we’re into the party. A blindfolded Neymar is attempting to break open a piñata representing Pele’s Brazilian goals record,
supported by his teammates and, of course, Ronaldinho.
Renowned music producer Memphis Depay is DJing, while Senegal’s Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly dance with lasers,
a reference to how their fans distracted Mo Salah during the play-off penalty shootout earlier in the year.
A poster on the wall pays homage to Paul the Octopus, who successfully predicted eight results from eight attempts at the 2010 World Cup.
Mbappé is dancing but writhing in pain as we see Paul Pogba poking a voodoo doll through the window,
after his brother Mathias claimed Pogba used witchcraft to curse his French teammate.
In the background we see Thomas Muller graffitiing the numbers 1 and 7 next to Brazil and Germany flags,
a reference to that crazy semifinal in 2014.
Obviously, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are there, with the Argentinian attempting small talk by trolling Ronaldo about playing in the Europa League.
You guys had a favorites party and didn't invite us? Wait, why is Canada here?
- Hey, man. Canada's cool.
- Wow, what a harsh L to take.
This was supposed to be an American Revolution, but it feels like a Great Depression.
- We don't want to be at your stupid party, anyway.
And you spelled favorites wrong. There's supposed to be a U.
- Holy shit, we are annoying.
- The U.S. and England arrive and Pulisic is immediately annoyed by the presence of Canada and Alphonso Davies,
who is serving maple syrup to Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, tastily combining the two countries favourite delicacies.
Brenden Aaronson compares two greatly different eras of American history,
before Kane storms to the front to point out that the hosts have used the American spelling of ‘favorites’, without the English ‘u’.
Thanks for watching this breakdown of The Champions World Cup special, and be sure to come back for more throughout the tournament.