Brady breaks – In a 68-minute pre-2026 World Cup conversation, Tom Brady praised the mental speed behind Zlatan Ibrahimović’s famous bicycle kick, while Ibrahimović revisited the risk, the timing, and the satisfaction of scoring against England.
Toronto got its World Cup noise early, with Canada taking on Bosnia and Herzegovina at the first match of the tournament. On the same stretch of momentum, Fox is leaning hard into 2026 coverage by pulling in major NFL talent for soccer discussion.
That included Tom Brady, Fox’s No. 1 NFL play-by-play announcer. Ahead of the World Cup, Brady sat down with Fox soccer analyst Zlatan Ibrahimović, the Swedish striker who made 122 appearances for the Swedish national team and scored 62 goals, for a wide-ranging 68-minute interview.
One of the sharpest moments came when the pair broke down Ibrahimović’s famous bicycle kick from Sweden’s 2012 victory over England in an international friendly. Brady said the physical act impressed him—but it was Ibrahimović’s speed of thought that stuck.
“The physical thing is one thing, but your thought process [and] decision in a short period of time,” Brady said. “[To] process the situation, [say,] ‘Oh my god, I think the goal’s open,’ and make that – the mental part, to me, exceeded what even you did physically.”
Ibrahimović leaned into what he called the sweetness of that moment. He talked about a fraught relationship with English fans, saying they viewed him as “a prima donna with a ponytail,” and he described scoring against them with that kind of technique after being stymied by England in earlier years.
“I was pumped the whole week,” Ibrahimović said. “It was a friendly game, [it] was not a competition game, but I said, ‘I’m gonna show them who I am.’”
He then walked through how the match played out on his end. Ibrahimović scored in the game’s 20th minute, netted an equalizer in the 77th minute, and added a go-ahead, hat-trick goal in the 84th minute.
That’s where the bicycle kick came in. Ibrahimović explained that the opening appeared as soon as England’s keeper, Joe Hart, tried to head the ball over him. In his telling, he knew where the goal was and decided to go for it.
“I can assure you, from 10 players, nine players would not do that,” Ibrahimović told Brady of his bicycle kick. “Because they would say, ‘Stop the ball. Waste time.’”
“But only the genius would do – the one out of the 10,” Ibrahimović said, prompting a laugh from Brady. “That’s me.”
He also acknowledged the kick wasn’t just bold—it was risky. If he missed, Ibrahimović said he could face ridicule from fans who would dismiss him as a showboat for trying a difficult trick shot in a close game.
“Only the crazy one would go opposite,” Ibrahimović said. “But that’s how I see myself when I play the game. You have to dare to try to risk to make it, or you never succeed in that way.”
The interview landed as the 2026 World Cup is positioned as the largest ever, with Fox broadcasting all games in the United States on Fox and FS1. Matches will also be broadcast in Spanish throughout the tournament on Telemundo and streaming on Peacock.
The tournament’s schedule begins with a Group B matchup: 3 p.m. ET—Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina on Fox from BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario. Later, 9 p.m. ET—United States vs Paraguay on Fox from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The format calls for 48 competing nations divided into 12 groups of four. Each group plays a round robin style, with teams earning three points for a win and one point for a draw. The top two teams from each group advance to the Round of 32, along with the eight best third-place squads.
If teams finish equal on points. tiebreakers are set by a sequence: the greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned; superior goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned; greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned; superior goal difference in all group matches; greatest number of goals scored in all group matches; highest team conduct score based on the number of yellow and red cards; and. for teams still tied. ranking by the most recent published edition of the FIFA Men’s World Ranking.
Key dates also extend across the calendar: Group Stage runs June 11-June 27; the Round of 32 is June 28-July 3; Round of 16 is July 4-7; quarterfinals are July 9-11; semifinals are July 14-15; the third-place game is July 18 in Miami Gardens. Florida; and the final is July 19 in East Rutherford. New Jersey.
Tom Brady Zlatan Ibrahimović bicycle kick England Sweden 2012 friendly 2026 World Cup Fox FS1 Telemundo Peacock
Tom Brady talking soccer now? Next he’s gonna coach my local youth team or whatever.
Okay but why does Zlatan always act like he’s the main character 😂 “prime donna with a ponytail” like… did they really say that? Also bicycle kicks are so overrated, it’s just timing.
I’m pretty sure Ibrahimović scored on England in like 2018 or something, so the whole “2012 victory” part feels kinda off to me. But regardless Brady saying “mental speed” is just NFL-speak for luck. Still that story about showing the English fans who he is… honestly I get it.
The article jumps around a lot, first World Cup noise then Canada playing Bosnia or whatever then Fox soccer coverage… like I just wanted the bicycle kick breakdown. Still, Brady praising the “thought process” makes it sound like he could do the kick too? Also they mention 2026 coverage, so I’m like are we even watching any games yet or just interviews forever?