Good one, Wilson!

I’m forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air, They fly so high, Nearly reach the sky, Then like my dreams They fade and die. As a kid, I chose to barrack for West Ham for three reasons. The first was the colours — I love that maroon. The second was the name. How good calling it after preserved pork? And the third was the song, more lullaby than sporting anthem: I’m forever blowing bubbles, Pretty bubbles in the air. When shadows creep, When I’m asleep … Asleep?

Full episode above. The hilarious Lawrence Mooney is in the segments before and after us. Our bit starts at 12.00. With Cam Fink (holding golden walnut we won for Ange & The Boss), Santo Cilauro and Ed Kavalee I’m sitting at the Cup Fever desk, Cam to my left, Santo Cilauro and Ed Kavalee next to him, and there’s less than a minute to air when I receive a tap on the shoulder from the floor manager. ‘Your legs’ she says, motioning down.

Courtesy of Working Dog Productions and Cup Fever - now showing on SBS On Demand But for a disappointing finish in Dallas, today’s Round of 16 match might have been ours, and I found myself barracking for the Egyptians as our proxies (duly appointed by a process of shanked penalty kicks and an uncooperative upright).

None of us want to leave. The bus is a 25 minute walk away, at least I think it is, although you float on air during these marches to stadia, and maybe it’s more? Our bus captain Joe couldn’t have been more explicit as we disembarked. ‘We’ll leave at 10pm. If you arrive at 10.01 you’ll have to make your own way back to San Francisco. It’s a US$250 Uber’. I don’t even have Uber.

‘I know you Aussies come from a land down under,’ the man with a microphone booms. ‘But there’s a worse place down under, and it’s called Hell, and that’s where you’ll be going if you don’t support Jesus Christ.’ We’re at the confluence of two marches, a point outside the stadium where a plastic rope separates U.S. fans in their elaborate hats and dress ups shuffling in one direction and our visiting golden horde shuffling in another.

Subscribe to our audio diaries from the World Cup, World Cup Road Trip These were the scenes in block 231 when Nestory Irankunda defied the run of play to shoot hard and left, and send a nation into utter delirium You knew that it could happen, since Kaiserslautern 2006 it’s actually the lure that drags many thousands of us across oceans, structuring holidays and finances for years in advance, thinking of what happened in that stadium, what ridiculous joy was unleashed; but you know that the...

It’s only day two and it’s already had the noise and energy that makes going to World Cups so addictive. This is my fifth, it’s Cam’s fifth too, and we’re indebted to Francis for offering us the World Cup Road Trip url to share these stories. We were on Sunrise earlier today! Cam was asked by Kate the presenter if I was his best mate. He changed the subject! Hurtful. You’re my best friend Cam. Buddy? Cam? We watched opening matches for two of the host nations in the Van City fan fest.

I’m in Vancouver and too excited for such mundanities as jet lag or sleep. It’s my fifth men’s World Cup as an attendee, and daughter Polly’s first. This is us moments after landing yesterday: Cam Fink and I are likely to reboot Francis Leach’s World Cup Road Trip podcast concept, sharing stories from the road and the stadiums.

Polly is senior women's at Yarra Jets now We leave today! I don’t have much time to write as a result, but excitement is high and we’re hopeful that our young and exciting Socceroos can pull out something special on the world’s biggest sporting stage. My Ange & The Boss codirector Cam Fink will be there too, and we plan to reboot Francis Leach’s ‘World Cup Road Trip’ with audio snippets of our travels and adventures.

I felt stricken for the racers, remembering the noose of those 10-day deadlines, that sense that the story you’re chasing isn’t good enough, the logistical horrors, the sleeplessness, the leaden fear every mistake would be seen by everyone you knew and hundreds of thousands you didn’t; and last night the racers had to square up to the judges, cop the criticism square in the face and keep it together for the live record.