Hello friends! It's time for the biggest sporting event in the world, and I have taken the mantle of World Cup Olle! I'll be with you through the entire tournament, providing updates, fun information, thoughts and insights.

We kick off today with a check-in on our Swansea players. We have three competing at this World Cup:

Ji-Sung Eom - South Korea (Group A)
Cameron Burgess - Australia (Group D)
Marko Stamenic - New Zealand (Group G)

Over the past few days, and in the coming days, many countries have played and/or will play friendlies ahead of the tournament. South Korea thrashed Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 and Eom came on after 65 minutes. He had some touches and even won a penalty after a blatantly obvious dive. They play El Salvador on June 4th in their last game before the big occasion. Hopefully Eom gets some more minutes, as he faces stiff competition behind players like Heung-Min Son and Kang-In Lee in the attacking lineup. South Korea will enter the tournament on the second day, June 12th, facing Czechia, with Mexico and South Africa as the other nations in their group. According to the bookies they sit third in the group, with Mexico and Czechia favoured above them. South Korea will need a win against South Africa and perhaps a draw against the favourites to guarantee progression, either as one of the top two or as one of the best third-placed teams.

Because of FIFA's expansion from 32 to 48 teams (across 12 groups), 8 out of the 12 third-placed teams will qualify for the round of 32. This means a team that reaches the final, or the bronze match, will have played 8 games instead of 7. It also means that 4 points pretty much guarantees qualification to the next round. 3 points will probably also be enough, depending on goal difference. We have seen third-placed teams qualify before — namely in all UEFA European Championship tournaments since 2016. In 2016, Portugal famously won the entire tournament despite finishing third in their group, a summer I suspect most Welsh fans will never forget.

Moving on to our next Swansea player, Cameron Burgess (below) and Australia lost 1-0 to hosts Mexico in their friendly a couple of days ago, with Burgess only getting a very short cameo off the bench. The Socceroos play with three at the back, and speaking to Australian fans it seems there is debate over whether Burgess should be starting or not. They have another friendly against Switzerland on Saturday; it will be interesting to see if Burgess gets minutes there. Australia are in Group D together with Paraguay, Türkiye and the USA. They have the worst odds of winning their group, but I think Australia might spring a surprise or two. They have a very young and exciting squad, with players like Jordan Bos (Feyenoord wing-back) standing out, as well as the Championship duo Irankunda (Watford) and Mohamed Touré (Norwich). Beware of the Aussies.

May 30, 2026; Pasadena, California, USA; Australia player Cameron Burgess (21) heads the ball against Mexico player Santiago Tomás Gimenez (11) in the first half at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images (Licensed by Swansea Independent)

Finally, let's turn to Marko Stamenic's hope for a World Cup miracle. New Zealand sit as massive underdogs in Group G (Belgium, Egypt, Iran), with 20/1 odds of topping the group. Like all of these Swansea-related teams, qualifying as a top eight third-placed team is their only realistic hope. But there are some things going in New Zealand's favour. There is a lot of drama (understandably) around Iran in relation to the United States and their ongoing conflict. New Zealand are set to face Iran in their tournament opener in Los Angeles on June 16th, but President Trump has said that the Iranian national team is not welcome. Iran subsequently requested that their game be moved to Mexico, with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum expressing that she has "no problems" with hosting them. The Iranians did get their training camp moved to Mexico, however, with the game still scheduled to be played in Los Angeles. The Iranian national team has not played a game in front of a crowd since November 2025, and the pressure on the players will be enormous. Perhaps this is the All Whites' chance to scrape a win and progress. They played a friendly back in March against Chile, which they surprisingly won 4-1, with Stamenic captaining the side in the absence of Chris Wood.

As of writing however, New Zealand have just lost 4-0 to Haiti - the team with the worst odds in the entire tournament - with their ordinary team, Stamenic included. This is genuinely atrocious by New Zealand and obviously a horrible sign. Another friendly awaits against England on June 6th.

It will be tough for all of our Swansea representatives, but I think they have a chance. Burgess and Stamenic are very likely to feature heavily, and I am hopeful that Eom will at least come off the bench at some point. That's it for this time; enjoy the friendlies and the anticipation for the world's biggest sporting event!

Artwork by Xolin