On this episode of The Underdog Football Show, Chris Horwedel covers a soccer calendar that has immediately snapped back into full speed after the World Cup, with Leagues Cup chaos, WAFCON World Cup qualification, the start of the Carabao Cup, a wild J1 League opener, major transfers and a remarkable lower-league story from Rochdale.

The show opens with Leagues Cup, where Inter Miami and Lionel Messi continue to dominate headlines alongside Noah Allen, while Portland produces another high-scoring MLS–Liga MX matchup. In Japan, Kashima Antlers and Yokohama F. Marinos deliver one of the most dramatic opening-day games anywhere in world football.

In England, Middlesbrough and Wrexham begin their Carabao Cup campaigns before Chris turns to the Premier League title picture, where Arsenal and Manchester City lead the latest futures board and the expectations around defending champion Arsenal have clearly changed.

WAFCON reaches the quarterfinal stage with World Cup qualification directly on the line. Chris previews Algeria–Ivory Coast, Morocco–South Africa, Cameroon–Nigeria and Malawi–Ghana, with Malawi’s extraordinary debut tournament and the Chawinga sisters remaining one of the biggest stories in women’s international football.

This week’s EFL deep dive focuses on Rochdale. After 102 consecutive years in the Football League, relegation sent the club into the National League. Three years later, Rochdale produced a 106-point season, endured an extraordinary final-day title heartbreak and still found a way back through Wembley and an 18-year-old goalkeeper. The twist: manager Jimmy McNulty left almost immediately after delivering promotion.

Transfer coverage starts with Bruno Guimarães completing his move from Newcastle to Arsenal, giving Mikel Arteta one of the deepest midfields in Europe. Newcastle, meanwhile, continues a summer of enormous transition after losing several major players and Eddie Howe.

Mohamed Salah’s move to Trabzonspor becomes one of the most surprising transfers of the summer, ending a defining Liverpool career and sending one of the Premier League’s greatest modern players to Turkey’s Black Sea coast.

Barcelona’s pursuit of Rodri could accelerate Manchester City’s post-Pep Guardiola transition, while Ipswich adds Saša Lukić, Crystal Palace takes a low-risk chance on Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ismaël Bennacer emerges as an intriguing free-agent option.

In women’s football, Kerolin completes a record move from Manchester City to Barcelona, while Manchester United appoints Eva Olid after her rapid rise with Hearts.

The episode closes with an update on FIFA’s abandoned private-investment plan.

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