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WCAD 4-25: Messi, Haaland & Mbappé Shine Again
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Amit and Austin recap a star-studded day of World Cup action, starting with Norway's 3-2 win over Senegal which was keyed by a terrific performance from Erling Haaland. The guys next marvel in another high-level showing from Kylian Mbappé and France, before attempting to find words to describe Lionel Messi's show-stopping day in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria. Finally, a look at Algeria's 2-1 late night win over Jordan and a quick rundown of what to watch on Tuesday. Plus, does Erling Haaland give off Jaws vibes?
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Transcript
World Cup Daily Highlights
00:00:01
Speaker
A fun thing about doing a ah day-to-day podcast during the World Cup is you kind of get to capture the story of each day. And it almost feels like each day at the World Cup has its own story, has its own set of headlines, it has its own set of
Star Players Shine: Messi, Mbappe, Haaland
00:00:18
Speaker
themes, right? And it felt like today, and to a further extent, the last time we saw these eight teams in action, the story has been the stars.
00:00:29
Speaker
And a admit it was on display again today. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland. It's worthy to salivate over. They're seizing the
Team Strategies: France vs Argentina?
00:00:39
Speaker
stage. It's been really fun to watch them hit another level. And what's awesome is that their teams are designed around them hitting that level. I think a great thing about international soccer is trying to see whether it's the collective of the team or the stars. Look, in in the case of of France and Argentina, very clearly the team is is elite too around them.
00:01:00
Speaker
But sometimes that like X factor just can mean more in these games where there's overall a bit less time on the field where you're trying to do less. Those moments are created by the stars and to watch them
Golden Boot Competition Heats Up
00:01:14
Speaker
seize it. So ah take it with the plomb, let's say it's been really fun, really fun to to see it.
00:01:20
Speaker
And these guys are all right at the top of the golden boot race, right? Messi 5, Haaland 4, Mbappe 4. It's been so much fun to watch them. And in particular today, it was just so, so
Podcast Introduction and Recap
00:01:32
Speaker
good. This is the World Cup After Dark Podcast. My name is Austin Miller. On the other end of the line is Amit Malik. We're gonna be recapping all of today's action. We'll take a quick look towards tomorrow as well. Amit, look, on this show, it takes a lot. to bump Messi and Argentina from the top spot, right? Messi and Argentina play. They're usually what we're leading the show with.
00:01:52
Speaker
That's not what we're going to start the show today because I think things are so interesting in
Match Analysis: Norway vs Senegal
00:01:58
Speaker
Group I. And I think what we saw from Senegal, in Norway in particular today, is worthy of opening the show with. So it's a 3-2 win for Norway. It's more of the Erling Haaland show. It's more of Norway continuing to not find their ceiling yet, right? And this, I think, has been our number one question about this team. We watched them rock through European qualifying. We said, all right, they're very clearly better than Italy, or whatever that's worth. They took care of business quite handedly against Iraq in their first game.
00:02:30
Speaker
And today they come out and they get three more points against Senegal. Maybe it wasn't quite as impressive as it was against Iraq. And now they've set up a last day meeting with France that's going to have stakes. where I feel like we might finally find out maybe where this team's level is. But the sky feels like the limit for them so far.
00:02:49
Speaker
It's close. Their attack is getting them to that level. Their defense, I thought, at points today answered the question with flying colors. But also, you saw from Senegal that they were able to put those center backs under pressure, get this game close. The final XG for this game ends up being fairly close. It's like 2.1 to 1.8. I think, look, that's... I would talk about the stars. Erling Haaland is a difference maker in that sense.
00:03:13
Speaker
I really like this Norway team. I thought what stood out for them today, Senegal tried to chase them, tried to harass them, and their defenders were very calm and composed under pressure on the ball.
00:03:26
Speaker
Off the ball, they just kept more guys back than Senegal did. That was a decent strategy to limiting transition. One of these teams was much better in transition. That's Norway. That being said, I think like this
Upcoming Challenge: Norway vs France
00:03:39
Speaker
back line against France, we're we're going to see if it can hold up. It's been you know it's been ramping up in difficulty.
00:03:46
Speaker
i you know Norway better than Senegal. They they won the game. I don't know like necessarily they're overall, but no, I feel pretty comfortable. One of these teams was much more composed than the other today.
00:03:59
Speaker
aye This is one of the things we wanted to find out the most. So yes, it's it's all looking good for Norway. i just I'm not going to halt the brakes. I'm just, you know, the the weakness is still a clear weakness.
00:04:10
Speaker
Yeah, but the strength is still a clear strength for this team. And I thought the way Norway started this game was was really, really impressive because they kind of just put Senegal under pressure right from the start.
00:04:21
Speaker
And they had a series of set pieces in the first couple of minutes where they just really put Senegal under pressure. So Ayer gets wide open on a corner and Mendy makes a really good save. at Mendy makes another great save on Odegaard.
00:04:34
Speaker
And then from there, Norway just kind of keep the momentum going. And Senegal just get way too open on the goal, right? They're trying to press Alexander Sorloff. And it just leads to this really good pattern of play from Norway. And then it's just mistake upon mistake compounding for Senegal, right? So you've got the first initial mistake of pressing Sorloff and getting beat.
00:04:56
Speaker
And then it's Kulabali, the center back, who makes a very poor clearance. It falls to Holmgren. He strikes, and it really felt like Mendy, who had good saves to start this game, it feels like he's leaning the wrong way on this, right? So the whole goal is open to his right, and it kind of feels like he's cheating right, and then all of a sudden Holmgren beats him back left, and he's late to it, gets a hand to it, but it's not strong enough, and it's in the back of the net.
00:05:17
Speaker
This is kind of some of our concerns about Senegal is Mendy for all of his plaudits can throw in a howler here and there. And Koulibaly at center back has been a player that for a while we've been questioning and he did not have a great game tonight against the top level attacking talent in this tournament.
00:05:35
Speaker
He didn't. there's There's a lot of things to unpack. I agree with everything you said. Well put. And let's start with Senegal's shape in this phase of the game and the mistakes here. Look, they're pressing all the way back to Norway's keeper. Norway keeper just hits a long ball to Sorlath. He's just aiming for for a big target. Sorlath brings the ball down 60 yards from goal.
00:05:56
Speaker
Senegal's like, that's a big oaf. We're going to press him. And he turns his guy and then slips in a runner freed 40 yards from goal. And to me, like, that's the type of difference in this kind of game. When Alexander Zorloth is breaking a Senegal press, like that's trouble. I thought they got a lot.
00:06:15
Speaker
he He played really well in this game. He's on the right wing. It's not natural. Then you look at Senegal as a foil. They've got two strikers. They're trying to shoehorn into a striker in a right wing spot. And look, Ismael Saar has a good game, but it was a bit more fluid. And I think Sorlotz and Noosa too, their ability to be press resistant was was excellent. Then to your point, I mean, I just agreed.
00:06:41
Speaker
Koulibaly, Mendy, these are bad mistakes. Koulibaly's box defending was poor. His pace is poor. And just to round out, you go back to our preview for the AFCON in January of 2026. One thing we circled as a weakness for the Senegal team was at some point, Khalidou Koulibaly is not of the level. His legs are gone.
00:06:58
Speaker
And he was really poor today. Like there's no way around it. Against two teams that are ruthless in transition, he's been exposed. And i you know before we keep going, I'm not sure you can play him at the highest levels anymore. I mean, rock is one thing, but if Senegal are able to get through, I don't think he should see the field.
00:07:16
Speaker
And it's funny because almost on this call, you feel like, ah, Kulavali and Mendy had two mistakes on one goal. Like they both had their mistake and it only led to one goal. This might not be that bad. And it's also interesting because then Mendy makes another mistake in the first half where this is the second time this tournament we've seen this where Erling Haaland just puts on the jets and is like, I'm closing with this goalkeeper down. And the goalkeeper is just like, whoa, that's way faster than I was expecting. And that's what happens here. Mendy has the ball and he's just ready to clear it and play it.
00:07:44
Speaker
And Haaland just gasses it. breaks him down, gets to it, free shot, and it's off the post. And Holland just like crashes to the ground in in agony after missing this chance because it it was a free goal. Can't be given this guy free goals. And you're thinking to yourself like, all right, that's no three mistakes combined from Koulibaly and Mendy, and it's only led to one goal. Maybe it won't be that bad for Senegal. Unfortunately, it was that bad for Senegal.
00:08:09
Speaker
They're way too open again on the second goal. and And look, this is just a team you can't be that open against. It's a Very good ball from our Notre Guard. and And guess who? It's Erling Haaland for 2-0. He's excellent in this Norway setup. And this is one thing we said about them.
00:08:24
Speaker
Look, he likes to run in transition. He doesn't get to do that at Man City. He's looking like his Dortmund days. I mean, what's a more terrifying sight? And the the again, we've said over and over the math that this Norway team forces you is you can't really play open with them. He's the most terrifying player in space. Yeah, I don't think Norway or France or Spain, you know, England, but...
00:08:49
Speaker
But this guy plus the team IQ of Norway, like Senegal look silly in hindsight for giving him this much space. His his ability to run with size, with speed, and then his super, super duper star power is that the ball comes to him. It doesn't really matter which way the ball comes to him. He's turning it into a quality shot at weird angles. I don't know how he practices all of these because he's like kind of a tall, weirdly built guy.
00:09:19
Speaker
The guy's got every finish in his bag, and we see that on the third goal, but this is just such direct work here of him really putting the Senegal center backs in a bad spot. And the fact that these goals sandwich halftime is a really bad omen for Senegal, right? And I think it doesn't speak super great to Papadiala, the Senegal manager. We can get to some of lineup decisions in a second.
00:09:40
Speaker
But like yeah right you go into halftime, you're down a goal, you've survived, and you come out at halftime, and then boom, you're beat right out of it, and you're two goals down. It's just ah a difficult, difficult look. But, I mean, Senegal get a lifeline in this game. And it's Sadio Mane, who, again, I think had a really good game for Senegal
Senegal's Tactical Adjustments Needed?
00:09:58
Speaker
here. He makes two great plays, right? So first he makes a play on the wing, and the ball kind of cycles around. And he makes this great slip-on play in the middle.
00:10:06
Speaker
And it's his smile, Saar, who's in the box. And this is big for Senegal because it's Saar who pops at home. And it's not Nico Jackson, who a lot of their chances have been falling to and have not found the back of the net. So they get the ball in box to somebody else, and Saar scores.
00:10:19
Speaker
Really good work. And Jackson is at his best when he's enabling SAR. And look, the the key for Senegal was getting like three or four guys overloaded centrally. And so that they could play a ball in and then a guy could run off of it. That's been, you know, a lot of goals in this tournament have kind of come from this. You overload somewhere and the runner comes.
00:10:40
Speaker
For Senegal, the plan was centrally on the weak Norwegian center backs. The issue for them was accessing this space enough times in this game. They didn't really get it until Norway's legs started to fall off. And what it cost them to get it was really getting really high up the field. But When they were able to, like this was what I wanted to see from Senegal. This is what they can do. Sar is a really smart off-ball runner. And look, Sadio Mane is not like the pacey, torch-you-behind winger he was at Liverpool. wasn't really even that guy at Bayern. But he's like, especially if Ilman and Dai is not on the field, we'll talk about that in a bit, he's their most important guy to cut in that pass, enter the box. He's the best passer, and that's you know something about...
00:11:27
Speaker
Senegal's midfield three, Gay and Gay and Sar and Kamara, whoever was on the field at the same time, not really be able to unlock it quite enough. And I think as we talk about this game, yes, Senegal gets back in. The the balance from...
00:11:43
Speaker
Pop Tjau was just a little bit off in getting guys that could ask questions of the Norway backland, but being solid. They needed to be more in one direction. They tried to have it all. And we see, okay, great. You got into one, but the balance is so far tilted, chasing the game. Look what happens. And this is the second game in a row that this has happened for Senegal, where they get the goal and they get back into it And look, I understand that it came fairly late on against France, but there was still a window to chase that game and get a result.
00:12:08
Speaker
But this is the second straight game where Senegal get a goal and almost immediately they're giving it back the other way to Norway. And so here it's five minutes after Senegal have scored to make it 2-1. Norway just swarm again. And Norway's press was really effective in this game because... They just ran everybody at the ball and they just put Senegal into uncomfortable spots.
00:12:30
Speaker
And when it's Holland, when it's Noosa, when it's Sorloth, when it's these guys running at you, there's just less time than you think to make plays. And you eventually make mistakes or eventually whip it long and you lose possession. And so it's just Norway again, finding this kind of swarm mentality paying off. So so Berg ends up getting the ball out wide. It's a cross and it's to Erling Haaland and he just scoops it off the underside of the bar and in. And this is the the point that you were making earlier, right?
00:12:57
Speaker
doesn't matter how the ball gets to him, he's finding a way to get a high quality finish out of it. And this wasn't a super comfortable play, right? The ball is just kind of awkward and it's not a great spot for him to score. And he just says, that's fine. And he just kind of scoops it, bangs it off the bar and in.
00:13:15
Speaker
Watching Norway is like Jaws. like There's one guy, and he's circling. And you know where he is, right? He's at the deep end. And the ball is just kind of pinging around.
00:13:26
Speaker
There's a lot of pressure. You're trying to escape. You're trying to relieve the pressure. And you know what the answer is? You just get the ball towards him. And this goal encapsulates that. From the second this kind of box sequence starts, you're like, uh-oh, Senegal are ah a foot behind. But couldn't they escape? Can they stick a foot out? They do stick a foot out. Oh, no, it's coming back and...
00:13:44
Speaker
there's There's one guy in the center and the ball goes towards him and you're like, oh no, it's the shark in the water. And how does he turn this into a quality chance? I mean, it's just his superpower. So this was...
00:14:00
Speaker
this is what we're talking about with the stars at this tournament. Like exactly that jaws feeling that analogy, like that permeates Norway makes them such a tough team to play against. Like they're just dangerous from anywhere, like one ball away from being being dangerous.
00:14:17
Speaker
And the second you are behind the play, that terror that John Williams scores in your head, like he's, he's, he is the biggest threat in football. Like, yes, there's a bop in messy. We're going to talk about these guys today, but like,
00:14:30
Speaker
he's so unique in in in the way he plays. It's really fun. And they just pounce on every mistake and they just constantly put pressure on you to be maybe not perfect, but you have to be near perfect to ah avoid letting the ball fall into those dangerous situations. And that's what happened here.
00:14:46
Speaker
ah Senegal come up with a big block to keep this game at three, one. It felt like that was going to be big for the goal differential going forward. Let him admit they actually come up with a goal to make this 3-2 in the last couple of minutes. And again, it's Saar in the box. This time he receives the ball from Nico Jackson. and And as you said, this is the best role for Nico Jackson on this team because it feels like every time he's getting a chance to finish, he's snapping at and it's not going to the back of the net. But he plays provider here and he does it pretty effectively.
00:15:11
Speaker
Similar kind of goal to the first goal for Senegal and in the way that Sar is being used as an off-ball runner. Yeah, this is good. Again, just do two more of this. But let's talk about Nico Jackson, right like We've said before the AFCON preview pod, before this pod, like how much of it is on his level.
00:15:30
Speaker
he He doesn't have the that confidence in front of goal. He doesn't have the composed finish. I mean, he's cutting a figure of Ener Valencia, right? Like similar thing. and And in a mean way, like he looks like a striker. He plays like a striker. He makes the run of a nine and credit to him. He does enough in this game to get two goals. So like, I think he's a useful player for this team, but is there a way to switch him in SAR centrally or would that completely make Jackson useless? Does SAR only work because of Jackson being centrally?
00:16:03
Speaker
It's a bit of a conundrum to to work out here. And should there be another runner in the Senegal team? Is it time to ask the Omen and Die question that that you've been asking in particular? I mean, coming into this tournament, I thought he was their most creative player. I think the burden is all on Sadio Mane, and it's been really confusing not to have him. He's a really good dribbler. I get he's slight, so if you put him on, your press isn't effective. But it's not like Sadio Mane is running guys down super effectively either. I think you need his creativity. And even if it's not to start, this guy should be getting 30 minutes. He saw 10 minutes against France. What's he doing here? Really...
00:16:41
Speaker
confusing. Ibrahim Mbaye, you know, quoted himself well against France. He comes into this game. I think he's better on the right wing. The ball gets to him and immediately he's disposing defenders or they're backing off of him to cross.
00:16:53
Speaker
what happened what Why don't you have more of these guys on the field? This to me, the NDI thing, the Koulibaly selection thing, the Jackson thing, Mendy is one side. Like that's tough for your goalkeeper to decide to to go bad mode. But I'm really, really disappointed with Poptjol for those lineup selections. And secondly, for his approach in this game, we're talking about how ruthless Norway are in transition.
00:17:19
Speaker
Look, yeah tude <unk> it's basically almost an even game next year, so it's a little bit unfair. But I think game state-wise, Senegal were way too open in chasing a Norway team that had more quality in the ball. You could see it in the first half the quality in the ball. I think they needed to adjust, and it was really frustrating. Like, I'm...
00:17:38
Speaker
I'm not going to go down being like Senegal are better than Norway. I don't think they are. I don't think that's fair, but i think you play this game enough times the right way. You can get it to a stalemate or even ride the game state. Well,
00:17:49
Speaker
But like if Senegal are playing Norway, even an XG, that's coming down to who has the better finishers. And that question is abundantly clear, right? The best finishes are on the other side in Norway and Erling Haaland and in the rest of that attacking crew. So you need to kind of find a way to equalize that because and all things being equal, if the chances are dead equal in this game, Norway are going to win it nine times out of ten.
00:18:12
Speaker
Yeah, that's a very fair point. And so maybe, you know, I'm i'm doing a double standard here. I'm like, Norway should... Or Senegal should have been more defensive and and not so naive, but also at the same time, they needed more attacking with a player like a die. So I get that's necessarily not the most fair in a game that that worked like this, but it was it was kind of a a timeline element ah of the
Senegal's Path to Advancement
00:18:33
Speaker
way it unfolded. It's the only other thing I'll add.
00:18:35
Speaker
Look, as we kind of... get through Senegal to looking forward, like, they're not done here, and they have the players in this squad to create chances at a high level. Like, they they could have created more chances than Norway playing in an against-the-ball approach. Their thought was to, like, use their midfield to to run through. I'm not going to say it's complacent because it's worked against everyone. Like, this team beat Morocco, a very good Morocco team. I understand, but maybe the day was just...
00:19:05
Speaker
not their day to to chase the ball or or Jack's a little bit wasteful. I think against the rock, if they lined it up, right, they could get the goal or the, the objective they need to. And what Mandy went off injured in the second half of this game. I think that's another thing. No more. You always the backup wasn't great. He was fine. I don't think he was at fault for anything that happened while he was in the game.
00:19:25
Speaker
Obviously, none of the goals happened while he was there. Many kind of got hurt on the on the third Norway goal. The situation for Senegal, as you laid out a bit, they've got one final game coming against the rock. They've lost their first two games. They have no points in the bag. But this third place situation means that with their goal differential at minus three, which isn't terrible, right? We've said all along three minus two is where you're looking to try to be.
00:19:49
Speaker
They beat Iraq. They're going to get to that number and they can probably do it by just beating them by one goal.
Key Matchup: Norway vs France
00:19:54
Speaker
And they're late enough in the equation here, right? With it being grouped eye that they're going on the penultimate day to where they will have a pretty good idea. i think of the number that they need to get to. And that number might be as simple as all right three minus two is going to be enough when the game you go through as a third place team. And if that's the case, man, of the third place teams that that third place picker wheel could spin, I don't want it to be Senegal, even having seen these two games, because this is like, these are top five attacks that they're going up against. Give them a fair fight. And i think things get more interesting.
00:20:25
Speaker
That's a great way to put it. They're they're dangerous against anyone else. I think they their midfield is close in these games. They're close in the game state. like It's right there. so Let's see.
00:20:36
Speaker
This second goal in this game is just massive in how much going end. Also, somewhere in like the eighth minute of stoppage time, there's a header clearance off the line that also could be massive for for Senegal's goal difference. um Just need a little bit more tinkering. like It's almost there. I think...
00:20:55
Speaker
Koulibaly, if you can figure out to to not play him in a big moment, you can figure out maybe Jackson and Dye working that out a bit. the The top 15 team in the world is is it's lurking in a shape there like an amorphous blob. We just need it to to come together.
00:21:12
Speaker
And I think it's key for Senegal that they're probably not going to be in a situation they have to score a lot against Iraq because I don't know if I would have trusted them to get that done right if they need to get two or three pass at Iraq. You're feeling a little queasy, but I think with the goal of differential where it's at, I think that late goal to get it in 3-2 has them in an okay spot.
00:21:29
Speaker
For Norway, i admit we said it. Look, they've Checked all of the boxes so far. and And yes, I think it's fair. There are concerns about this defense and I'm intrigued to see what it looks like against a legitimate high level team, which is what they're going to get in France in the last group stage game. But I think it's also a pretty good measuring stick for Norway because they're going to get to play that high level game. They don't have the draw advantage for a long period of this game. It looked like they would have the draw advantage against France in order to win the group. That's not going to be the case given where the goal differential is at, but it's a game with stakes, but it is an elimination game for Norway. I think this is a big test for them.
00:22:03
Speaker
It's a good situation to have that test and see where you shake out against France really, really good attack. Can you pressure them? Can you put the France center backs under pressure? um i I think their defense Against the ball, it has questions. But I've been really, really impressed at their team IQ. I said this before, specifically from a guy like Iyer, Moeller, Wolf, um Ryerson, who who comes off early in this game, and and Noosa on the wing, you know being able to drop deep and then ping that ball to Holland. It's a team that's really, really well drilled.
00:22:37
Speaker
ah think if you... Put that formula into your version of defend encounter against France. You can grind it to a stalemate, play 0-0, play for moments, and then be opportunistic if France have to commit anything. So it's a pretty pretty good you know place to be.
00:22:55
Speaker
This team is really, really dangerous in the knockouts. Yeah, because that attacking fluidity and that attacking prowess is enough to put fear into just about any defense. And I'm very, very intrigued to see what it looks like
France's Dominance Over Iraq
00:23:06
Speaker
against France. Speaking of, Amit, France, 3-0 winners over Iraq.
00:23:10
Speaker
This was a very France under Didier Deschamps performance, which is to say there's a scenario which this game maybe be ends 6-7-0. It didn't. It was 3-0. France were very comprehensive and they... took the front foot in this game. for the first 15 minutes, they were all over Iraq and they got their goal from it. It's killing Mbappe. And this is just a pure goal scorer attacking threat goal in that this isn't a grade A chance. This isn't some great bit of work. It's Mbappe getting the ball, finding a half space, cutting onto his left foot and just picking out the top quarter. One nil. How do you like?
00:23:46
Speaker
Talk about Holland's superpower is his ability to turn weird balls into shots. And Bappe's is his willingness to strike the ball wherever he wants and get a good strike on it. It's not necessarily that he turns like weird angles into shots, but his, when he gets a touch to set up, ah he literally thinks he has range from like 40 yards. And that is, you know, some really, really special ball striking. um Yeah, like you said, it's it's a half chance, it's a quarter chance, it's a tenth chance for anyone else. And for him, he's like, I've seen how this play ends already in my head.
00:24:22
Speaker
He's got that confidence and that swagger that was just missing this year at Madrid. And i think he loves playing with Alise, with Barclay, with...
00:24:34
Speaker
Dembele who again we said where do you fit Dembele is a bit of a question here but when you score first 20 minutes in without having to really commit anything into attack right he's just throwing a Lise and Mbappe and being like do something guys and they are so like if you can't get past the first level of the DeChamp maze like you're in a lot of trouble France didn't do a ton at the end of this first half. I think it was just kind of Mbappe doing bits, right? There's one moment where he kind of senses that the Iraqi goalkeeper is off his line. He's like, oh, I'll try from there. And he doesn't quite get it. He has one where he probably could have gone down for a penalty, right? And he just kind of stays up because the highlight real goal would have been that good.
00:25:16
Speaker
look, this is France under Deschamps. They are trying to... So the first 15 minutes were really, really good. I think they took the initiative, they took the front foot, and then they kind of said, okay, what can we do with four guys going forward in this game with everything else stable in the back?
00:25:30
Speaker
I think it was it was fine for France. I don't think there's anything really to take umbrage with. No, not at all. And look, I thought one thing we saw that was perhaps an interesting data point from this game is Manu Kone comes in alongside Rabiot. We've seen too many. And look, I think at the highest level, Rabiot is an interesting case because his passing is so good.
00:25:51
Speaker
Obviously, his mobility isn't the same. And I think Deshaun might see this performance and go... what if in a big game I played Choumeni and Kone and I've got two guys like that and now I'm that much harder to score against and I could shut even more doors and windows than before. so i think that's one thing you you might see here.
00:26:08
Speaker
Look, they were they were comprehensive and... Iraq, you know, I thought played just fine. They didn't do anything wrong. They're just specifically in this game, in a way that happens in a lot of these World Cup games, the physical advantage for for France was so strong. Iraq could not escape. They couldn't escape. And then...
00:26:28
Speaker
Once France was like, we don't even want to press you. Once they backed off, I mean, what what was the line? About 30, 40 yards from there, they were they they could get up to that line and they couldn't do anything past that line. And that's that is just the hallmark of of this France team.
00:26:43
Speaker
This group was just hell for Iraq. It just was like this group was just always going to be a very difficult ask. and I think they've actually acquitted themselves fairly well here, right? Like the scorelines may not bear that out. There's seven goals against one goal for they had their moments against both Norway and France in this game. They lost Iman Hussain early in this game. I think that was a big change that they had to make. There was also a bit our first lightning stoppage of this World Cup. We made it a lot further than I think you and i thought that we would, but the ghosts of American college sports past have come back to haunt us here with a long lightning break. Two hours at halftime, maybe that's going to slow down France. It did not. And the second goal here, um i said that Iraq have acquitted themselves well, and I stand by that. I think they have. They have also made two absolute mock-ups in the back in these games. And these are just mistakes that you cannot make against high-level talent.
00:27:32
Speaker
So the one here is Tashin, the center back, takes a goal kick and just tries to play it across to Basil, who's the goalkeeper who replaced Jalil Hassan, who was not good in the first game. And instead of passing it to his goalkeeper, he passes it right to Dembele. And Dembele's like, oh, thank you very much. I'll pass it right to Mbappe. And Mbappe scores. It's 2-0. They don't get any easier in than that. ah I'm going to go old man in the excursionistas platea on you here for a second, Amit.
00:27:58
Speaker
Bad teams should not be trying to play out of the bag. Like enough of this. Like what is your benefit here? Like, Oh, we've gotten our goalkeeper free of the space to pick a pet. Just whack it long and press like, stop doing this. There was a moment in, I think Senegal did this where they like, they play this short little pass, Norway, start the press and they play one more pass and they're just whacking it long.
00:28:18
Speaker
Just hit it long for the first one. You don't need to try and do anything cute. Just hit it long. It's okay. It's fine. Stop trying to act like everybody can play out of the bag. right. I'm off my horse. <unk> It's a good horse to be on. I mean, especially if you are not a a great ball playing team, don't mess around. Like even to Uruguay, you're not of that level. Don't mess around. You know, just just look where you're going. And if you don't like the pass, hit it long. For those at home, excursionistas reference was we went to ah ah what a third tier Argentine soccer game. Yes. you know, anytime there's a goal kick, they don't want to see the past. They just hit it long. Same references, you know, the, the dad at an American sports youth soccer game. You don't want to see your team play to the back. Let's not mess around. There's no time for that.
00:29:02
Speaker
Let's not trust Argentine third tier goalkeepers to make any plays with their feet You're playing with your hands for a reason, right? That's that's kind of the the same thought here. The third goal for France, it's a great pass, I bet, from Alise, who still has not gotten a goal in this World Cup, but has been involved in so much of France. Great pass to Dembele for the third. As we said, this was comprehensive from France. Yes, maybe a different team scores more. Maybe Kylian Mbappe pads his his his golden boot tally in this game. This was really good from France, and and this was the type of performance that you'd like to see against the type of opposition they were met with.
00:29:36
Speaker
100%. talk about Norway and it's kind of this this Jaws theme of terror for for one player.
France's Knockout Stage Prospects
00:29:41
Speaker
France are kind of cultivating this air of Jaws theme for the whole team. yeah like The way people are talking about them, the way they're playing, it feels like they can flip the switch whenever they want. It feels like they are just looming over everything. like Yes, with all these top top teams, you give them space, they kill you, but...
00:30:03
Speaker
It's also even if you don't give them space, they still kill you. So we said this before at some point. This is Dechamps, like best team to play his game. The thing for France is that their path is full of a bunch of good teams.
00:30:18
Speaker
So they're going to and and they've had two good games in this group. So there is some point they could get got by being got. But truthfully, truthfully, Any team in this field in one game against this France team will not be favored, nor should they be there.
00:30:37
Speaker
There's just no case for it. They're overwhelmingly better than everyone I've seen. And without even like getting into their fourth gear, it is extremely, extremely concerning for how good they are. And I think it's interesting, too. They've won both their games, but they haven't won this group yet. and And that's what sets up the interesting matchup against Norway. So so France and Norway are each on six points. They'll meet in the last match day.
00:30:57
Speaker
ah France will have the advantage of playing for the draw. And there is, I think, a pretty significant difference between being first and second. So the first place team in this group will get a third place team. It's looking like that will be Sweden if Sweden are to qualify as a third place team.
00:31:11
Speaker
This Sweden backline against this France attack. Uh-oh. And we also saw this Sweden backline against that Norway attack and a friendly. Also, uh-oh, not great situations for them. Then the round of 16 would be either Germany or a third-place team, which would probably Paraguay or Australia.
00:31:27
Speaker
That's not ideal. Like that's a pretty legitimate round of 16 game. And the second place team in this group, though, gets shipped right to that quadrant of death. We've kind of been sizing up. They will play the runner up from the Germany group that is looking like it's going to be Ivory Coast. And then the winner of Group or the runner up of Group Epp, that is going to be some combination of Brazil, Japan, Morocco or Netherlands.
00:31:47
Speaker
Yeah, that's the quadrant of death. And I think France would probably like to avoid that. It's tough paths both ways. I think the best thing is that that round of 32 game is easier.
00:31:58
Speaker
Look like that. We're talking about that France path. If it's Germany in the round of 16, then it's ah Spain in it. Or is that the semifinal? There's a tough quarterfinal in there, too. Right. For for this this path.
00:32:11
Speaker
Yeah, because it could be Morocco, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan, right? Like that team again is kind of looming around in the quarterfinals. Germany, Netherlands, Spain is just a gauntlet, even if you are France. It's kind of the point here. But to your point, like, oh man, you don't want to see the Ivory Coasts the no or the the Moroccos in in your first two games either. So this is a weird bracket. We we were going to talk about at some point a lot more when we get there. Yeah.
00:32:41
Speaker
Let's see how it shakes out. France also, the depth is one other thing that is a theme as we get to these knockout games that the time between the games tightens up a bit. And you can already see Dechamp just like sliding in two or three rotations for free because he can and he can get away get away with it. that That's another thing that's going to be an X factor for them separating versus like Norway like...
00:33:04
Speaker
Players 12 through 15, maybe 12, but 13 through 15 aren't quite there. Senegal is another story, but that's also going to be a separator. And i think it's interesting in this group to look at where these teams are going to play their knockout stage games. So that first place path is MetLife, Philly, Boston. And that second place path is Dallas. Okay, climate controlled, but then MetLife and Miami. You saw it today with these Norway players, right? It was hot. It was muggy. They don't like those conditions. They're putting ice on their necks at every opportunity they can.
00:33:34
Speaker
And that's something to watch with this Norway team going forward. Also in this group of it, it's Senegal and Iraq who are both on zero points and it's a must win game to close out this group. The goal differential is obviously poor for Iraq. It's minus six. It's minus three, as we said, for Senegal. We're going to need to see a winner, right?
Senegal's Critical Match Against Iraq
00:33:50
Speaker
And in the case of Iraq, it's going to be probably need to be by multiple goals to have success.
00:33:55
Speaker
Senegal might be okay with a one goal win. a two goal win. And I think they're feeling pretty good. We'll have to see where that third place line is shaking out when they take the pitch, but you would back Senegal to beat Iraq, right?
00:34:07
Speaker
You would. And even if the assignment is three goals, somehow it ends up that way. i think they can get there. That's, you know, maybe a little bit mean, but this team has something in a gear waiting. So let's see what the assignment is as we shake out towards the final day.
Messi's Exceptional Performance for Argentina
00:34:23
Speaker
um It'll be a fascinating case of of managing. It's good for Senegal that they're they're in the the the the dealer slot.
00:34:31
Speaker
So we're 34 minutes into this show, and that tells you how good that last group was because we had yet another Lionel Messi day, a and we've left it to the third slot on the show.
00:34:44
Speaker
I don't know what this guy has to do to get first slot on the show, but Lionel Messi, again, two goals and a 2-0 win for Argentina against Austria. Look, we're a broken record at this point. It's so hard to try and keep saying things about this guy that we haven't said before because it's impossible.
00:35:01
Speaker
But today was just another vintage Lito Messi game. And this guy is 38 on 39. He's been outside of the top level of club game for years now. And he still has just shown up at this World Cup and just picked up right where left off.
00:35:17
Speaker
He has. He is making me reconsider Argentina's entire prospects. Truthfully, that's how good he's been because we knew the team around him was good and we had expected some slippage. And there is some slippage. I think the midfield is a touch slow. I think maybe at the highest levels, you might think...
00:35:37
Speaker
Lattaro Martinez, Kuti Romero could get got. The fullbacks are an elite. Did I say Lattaro Martinez? I meant Lissandra Martinez. Lattaro Martinez up top also is not an elite striker. They're not even playing Julian Alvarez. And all of that just does not matter because he is back to like...
00:35:55
Speaker
i don't want to say prime, but his post prime where he was just kind of standing around. He's on the right and he cuts in and you can't stop it. And he's manipulating not one, not two, like five guys at once.
00:36:08
Speaker
And if you are accounting for him, he's just a hatchet to your entire defense. He, it's He's got multiple superpowers, by the way. We're going to talk about him. and You see them all on display here. It's the dribbling, it's the passing. and that The fact that he just has that pocket on lock, we we did a whole like giggling bit eight years ago, four years ago. we did it last week. when like It gets to that spot and you're in danger. and he He does it again. and You keep wanting to say, why don't teams stop it? And the answer is simply that he is he's like unguardable and still.
00:36:47
Speaker
And when he is still unguardable, those two words, it is a big, big, big changer for me in how you see Argentina. I mean, we were... ah interested on the level. Like he's been good in in Miami, but it's not like he's just like walking into charity goals or feel good goals. This is like, oh, he's the best player on the field goals.
00:37:09
Speaker
That is scary at 38. And you said it, right? We talked about the the Holland superpower, the Mbappe superpower. The Messi superpower is that spot right at the edge of the box. He always finds a way to be there in space. And when he does, boom, it's in the back of the net. And this game in particular was so interesting because because the Messi of eight years ago might have kind of collapsed under the weight of a poor start in this game because it was a poor start for Lionel Messi. So Argentina get a penalty in the first 10 minutes of this game. um Posh and Schlager close out on Lautaro Martinez. Argentina have cooked the the Austrian press for the second time in the first eight minutes of this game. But but Posh and Schlager close out on Lautaro and they're given a penalty on VAR.
00:37:51
Speaker
And Messi steps up and the Austrian goalkeeper Schlager kind of waits him out. And eventually goes the right way, cuts the angle. And I think Messi has this moment of, uh-oh, he went the way that I was trying to go. And he just tries to fit it in right by the post. And he misses. He puts it wide. And you're just like, whoa, that was unexpected.
00:38:09
Speaker
And then it kind of keeps going because Schlager robs him again. It was actually Oliver tracking back who got his foot to the ball. But Messi was in a position to score and didn't. And then he's got a third chance where he he passes this ball to Enzo Fernandez and it's played by Schlager back to Messi and he stabs at this finish and in all of a blocks it. so he's had three good chances to score and he hasn't.
00:38:32
Speaker
And in the past, you know, in the pre-Messi kind of golden era of Argentina, those were the moments that just kind of started to weigh on it and it all just kind of spoiled. And that's not the case here because... eventually he's going to get another chance, right? And so Argentina to do their famous swarm, win, and flood, right? So they swarm the ball.
00:38:50
Speaker
McAllister wins it. And all of a sudden, they're just flooding numbers forward on the left. Diago Almada carries the ball forward, plays it to Molina on the wing. And then guess what? It's a ball from the wing and it's coming across the face of goal. It's coming across right at the edge of the box.
00:39:05
Speaker
And you know how this ends. It's Lionel Messi putting it into the back of the net. But before it even gets to Messi, Chalel Mata makes this late run and he just steps over because he's like, oh, I'm in a good spot on this late run. But you know who's making an even later run in an even better spot?
00:39:19
Speaker
Of course, the GOAT. It's Messi. And that's where the ball gets to. He hits it. And this time he doesn't miss. And it's the record breaker. I mean, it's his 17th World Cup goal most all time. He passes Miroslav Klosa.
00:39:29
Speaker
What a way to do it. It's incredible scenes. And we talked about the spectacle of Messi at Arrowhead. And look, I think Mbappe and Holland are spectacles in their own right. But this time he takes on an even bigger canvas at Cherry World at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, which is just packed to the gills with Argentina supporters. It's it's an insane moment. And I think Almada has been jockeying for time and his spot in this team. And...
00:39:56
Speaker
In transition, particularly, he is so smart at setting up this play. And that dummy is just... It's genius. It really is. Because how many that's a good shot. And I wonder if Messi says something to him or is like vocally saying something, leave it. Or he just knows because he, like everyone else, knows what's behind him without even having to think about it. And that's just like...
00:40:23
Speaker
awesome telepathy at the highest level. And I think when Almada and Messi have this kind of connection, it's going to be hard to keep Almada off the field. I thought he was really excellent in this game. Look, Austria are not naive. Like I think Ralf Rognick had the right ideas today, but his personnel is a bit limiting on the back
Austria's Struggle Against Argentina
00:40:42
Speaker
line. They do some great box defending, some great keeping to get away with it. This is the one moment where...
00:40:48
Speaker
It's four on six, and that just can't happen in this this style because you're like, how come Messi's in that spot unmarked? Doesn't everyone know? And you watch the guys like 10 yards behind him when this play starts because of transition. He just can't make that late run up.
00:41:06
Speaker
That's like, it's too early in the game for that to happen, but it's because of the turnover. This is Argentina's game model working as intended. and I think Argentina controlled this game really well from a goal up. They have a couple of chances to kill it off and don't quite kill it off. I think in in in particular, right, that there's a long ball to Nico Gonzalez who has come on and his shot gets blocked and there's a second shot blocked and then transition comes to nothing from Austria. But other than Austria really didn't create much in this game. And I think they were really scrambling try and find something. I don't think they asked for many questions Dibu Martinez in goal for Argentina. And it just comes down to the fact that there's just not any ballplayers on this team. Right. Like Savitzer is probably the only guy you're trusting in the play of all.
00:41:48
Speaker
Gregorich gets the the nominal nine start. And he died. I didn't think he was much better than Sasa Kalozic, who started in the first game. Mark Arnautovic clearly can't go 90 minutes for Austria. And so Ragnac has to pick which, you know, 25, 30 minutes he wants to use him. And he eventually brings him on. There's a second where he's playing double striker with Gregorich. And it just never really comes off. And they just struggled to create. And I think a lot of that is due to how well Argentina defended, how well they control the game. But a lot of it is also due to the fact that Austria just aren't really built to chase a game on the ball and create things. They need to do it through chaos. And they just couldn't get Argentina pressured in this game.
00:42:27
Speaker
Argentina is like the worst type of team to when you say you need to get them in chaos. They're they're way too composed. And to your like third division excursionistas point, if Argentina is ever in a lick of danger, they just they just eat it and say, we'll defend again. They're very, very experienced in that way. And that is one plus from them being in ConvoBall. We've talked about ConvoBall a lot of times. Like they don't really mess around. I think to survive in ConvoBall, you can't mess around. And so they don't do that.
00:42:56
Speaker
I'm with you 100%. It's a lack of ballplayers. Again, we said we we're missing Christoph Baumgartner. Look, Schlager and Seibold are good midfielders, but they're not quite at that elite ball creation. Conrad Leimer has to be in the back line because the back line's not good enough.
00:43:12
Speaker
Sabitzer is good, but he's not fit enough and dynamic enough at this age to get a high volume. And then you're just kind of drawing dead. I thought Patrick Warner was poor. I think Posh at right back is not giving you enough. I think Schmid, who had the great goal in the first game, isn't giving enough here. And then, yeah the striker position has just been a carousel of misses. And so...
00:43:35
Speaker
I know I had a lot of of optimism about this Oscar team, but honestly, if you go back and listen, the the flaws that we kind of thought would be here at Stryker without Baumgartner had really shown up. And I don't feel bad for Rolf Rognick, but there's not a lot he can do. And then maybe even the one X factor you're hoping for is right the youngster Chukwameka he's not quite as polished yet. He doesn't quite have that final ball. Like he's very clearly, you know, more willing to dribble and try something than anyone else on this team, but he's not unlocking anything yet compared to let's just say what Switzerland did with Monzambi again is just rattling in my brain of that guy really, really flashed. And you're hoping if there was an X factor to save a quote unquote, middle and European team here, it could be him. It wasn't. So
00:44:23
Speaker
Listen, this team is going to maybe have better chance against not Argentina. Sure. But the issue is, if it's Spain, it's going to look pretty similar to this, right? Like they they just need to hang around and get up one and see where that can take them.
00:44:40
Speaker
But if you kind of just defend your one-on-one battles on the back line enough, they don't have an another answer than win a duel somewhere dangerous. That is the entire Red Bull model. It's not enough at this point.
00:44:55
Speaker
this point And I also thought that Austria weren't as committed to their energy drink press at every opportunity in this game. And I think they couldn't have been because they kind of did it in the first 10 minutes. And I started just tracking it to you. i was like, all right, Austria press one, Argentina win one, Austria press two, Argentina win two. And like, I felt like every time they pressed high and they kind of went after it, Argentina just answered it and just passed through it. And it just wasn't going to be a sustainable game model for them here.
00:45:21
Speaker
It wasn't. and And again, the last thing with this playing this model is you need your back line to be 10% better athletes. And i think Alaba has lost a step down. So player I like, he's kind of, you watch the tape and he's showing up in all the corners of all the goals, doing something a little bit wrong at all of them. And that's just the level. And again, I kind of talked about posh being a little bit statue, like it doesn't work. It doesn't work. So Ragnick's got a tough job on his hands because it looks like it's going to probably be Austria-Spain, right? So let's see how that shakes out.
00:45:53
Speaker
And Austria obviously will have to get through Algeria first to make that matchup. That I think is going to be a really interesting game to see those two matchups and how that looks. ah Argentina, I admit, do eventually kill off this game and I'm going to give you one guess to who it was.
00:46:07
Speaker
Was it the the little man from Rosario? It was. and this was just like, this was almost like Argentina. that Everybody else just refused to score until it was Messi's chance to score.
00:46:18
Speaker
Yeah. Paredes like is wide open at the top of the box. They're all guarding message. He's like, that's great here. Take it little. And he takes it and beats four guys. Yeah. The balls deflected, but he keeps going. And I think there's just that it's bad box defending from Austria. It's tough because most little guys like that aren't just going to keep coming at you. he,
00:46:38
Speaker
is a one-man question asker in a way that's different than the other one-man question askers, but he still finds a way. So look, I think Austria at this point are just mentally, physically, they've they've chased the game, they're broken, but it is a very comical goal in the way it unfolds.
00:46:56
Speaker
Argentina atop the group heading towards the spot in first place. And as we said, a matchup with what could be at this point, like Cabo Verde, they were Saudi Arabia in the round
Argentina's Favorable Path Forward
00:47:05
Speaker
of 32. That's very good. They're probably going have France all the way on the other side of the bracket. They're not in the quadrant of death.
00:47:11
Speaker
The path is opening up here, right? I think that's one of the biggest developments of today, and we'll see how things shake up with Portugal-Colombia. But there's now a real scenario here that Argentina could get three pretty winnable games every you know until maybe England in a semifinal, who...
00:47:32
Speaker
Again, I think Argentina-Portugal, if you listen to our prediction show, I pick Portugal and I feel pretty dumb saying that out loud. And there's still time for Portugal to to fold past what they've done. There's still this question of can you expose the Argentine midfield?
00:47:47
Speaker
But Messi has elevated them. and you look at those games. I mean, they're going to be favored in those games. As you said, they don't have that gauntlet France have. Even if France will be favored, they don't have that quadrant of death.
00:47:59
Speaker
They should probably maybe be second now on what they've shown. We'll see what England show. But like this has been a really, really impressive two games from Argentina on their title defense. One thing we've talked about them is the vibes of this team are so important.
00:48:15
Speaker
They have been immaculate through two games. It's been just a party, a celebration. As you i'll let you say it, like this is the division for them. Yeah. Look, are Argentina the favorites? Maybe not. But do you want to be the team that has to beat them? I don't think so. Right? And that's kind of where this is all heading. Look, I kind of come away from today with with watching Mbappe, watching Messi in France and Argentina.
00:48:38
Speaker
And it just kind of feels like there's this overarching theme to this World Cup where we're going to have all this wackiness and craziness and Cabo Verde is going to do something and... and You know, whoever it may be, Curacao are going to take points off, whatever. And look at all these weird teams that got into the round of 32. Uh-oh, Ecuador and Uruguay are out.
00:48:57
Speaker
And we're going to get through all of that. it just kind of feels like at the end of this, we might just run back the best final ever. We might just get France and Argentina again with France as the obvious favorites. But but Argentina is the reigning champion with the belt around their waist. And there's a long way to go.
00:49:13
Speaker
And the path for France is going to be pretty darn complicated to get there. And the path for Argentina is obviously going to have its its ups and downs too. But that's kind of my overarching feeling at this point in the World Cup.
00:49:24
Speaker
I want to see England play again. To me, I still like England, but there's something as much as I like them about their whole like ghosts haunting them and Argentina being extremely ghost free at this point. So I think that's one clear plus in the Argentina column. We also have to to check on Portugal for sure, which is going to happen tomorrow. So it's so fun. you You have a new day and it makes you think about a new thing and you see a team and you're like, oh, that could be juicy. Look, in my mind, I'm one thing we said is I think we're despite all the fun and chaos, it could be pretty chalky on to get to the quarterfinals. i think we're just going to have some heavyweights throwing like absolute haymakers at each other. i think the soccer is also going to be pretty good. Like the way these guys are going, maybe I'm just feeling hopeful from some good, good group stages games though.
00:50:11
Speaker
Well, and the bracket is just so interesting because it does feel like there's going to be some open paths to the quarterfinals. and There's going to be just some heavyweight paths to the quarterfinals. I think that just makes for a really, really interesting tournament.
Algeria's Victory Over Jordan
00:50:21
Speaker
In our final game of the night, a two one come from behind win for Algeria against Jordan. This game was really interesting.
00:50:30
Speaker
Algeria were on the front foot early in this game, but Jordan held their own. Mahrez had two really good first half opportunities. He got behind the Jordan defense twice, didn't get a shot off on his first attempt. in on his second attempt, the shot war just really wasn't that good.
00:50:45
Speaker
But then in 30, 36 minute, This game changes. It's a bad looping giveaway for from Algeria. And Mohamed Abutaha gets the ball for Jordan. He's in a ton of space. He finds Altamari. And Altamari gives it back to Abutaha. And then it's a ball across from Abutaha. Altamari actually whiffs on his shot. And it luckily for him goes right to Al-Rashton. And Al-Rashton fires a low shot. And it's off the hand of Luka Zidane.
00:51:11
Speaker
of course, and in. so that's yet another goal that I think Lucas who Don gives up and he doesn't look that great on it. I thought the Jordan press in this game was really good. They picked their moments to burst forward. They forced Algeria into this giveaway here. and he wasn't involved in the goal, but I thought Ali Olwan has had a really good tournament. He's been really active in both games. As this game shifts to the second half, I think Jordan have Algeria in real trouble. That press is there. Algeria are really forcing it. They're not quite finding the moments, but credit to them. They come up with the goals and they come up with the goals on set pieces. The first one, it's a great delivery from Riyad Mahrez and Ben Buali rises high on a corner and scores.
00:51:55
Speaker
It's set piece action. And look, I don't think that's necessarily how we expected Algeria to get goals in this tournament. That's maybe not how we expected them to get goals in this game, but that's where they found their breakthrough. And so they get that one. It's a really delayed water break. I think Jordan were kind of hanging on trying to get to that hydration break and they don't.
00:52:14
Speaker
Algeria takes advantage. And the second goal for Algeria, again, kind of in the 80th minute is is some of the same, right? So by this point, Mars has gone off and Hadjmoussa has come on, but it's a corner from Hadjmoussa. Ben Sabini is the one with the header. His header is blocked by a Jordan defender and it just Falls to Yuri and Yuri pounces on this play. I mean, Yuri, the number nine for Algeria pounces on the ball. He looks like he's in an offside position.
00:52:43
Speaker
ah It bounces off a Jordan defender. And then the replay shows in the VAR line show that he was actually onside anyway. So the celebration stands. It's a 2-1 lead for Algeria. And they're able to to hang on for the big three points in this group.
00:52:56
Speaker
He wasn't directly involved in either of the Algeria goals, but Ibrahim Masa had another good game for Algeria. He was direct. He got into dangerous spaces and he had a really high work rate. And I think he's part of the reason they were to to to get the three points here. And then just their consistency on set pieces. Jordan gave them trouble.
00:53:15
Speaker
Jordan pressed high. Jordan pounced into some opportunities. i thought Altamari was really good again for Jordan. And as I mentioned, Olwan was good. The defense was was solid with It just got set piece twice and that proved to
Argentina Secures Group J Lead
00:53:29
Speaker
be the difference. So in this group, Argentina, as we alluded to earlier, they win the group. They top group J. They have a very open path in front of them. I think it's gonna going to be fascinating to see what those matchups end up being. that Austria and Algeria will play on the final match day. Both those teams are on three points.
00:53:46
Speaker
Austria have a zero goal differential. Algeria have a minus two goal differential after this result tonight. A draw in the final game would send them both through with Austria as runner up and Algeria in third place.
00:53:59
Speaker
If there's a winner, that team would obviously go through in second. But what's really interesting here is the team that goes through in second is almost assuredly going to be playing Spain in the round of 32. While the team that goes through in third place could end up in ah in a number of different spots. It's kind of hard to project where that is now.
00:54:16
Speaker
But by the time these two teams come back around and play again to close out the the group stage, we'll know where that spot would be, where that third place team would go. So could there be a little game theory it involved?
00:54:29
Speaker
I don't know. Let's see. But it's going to be an interesting final day. Jordan are eliminated, but but I thought they really acquitted themselves well in this tournament. I thought they gave problems to both Austria and Algeria. The defense just wasn't quite up for it in either game. Couldn't quite see out so some situations that it got themselves into.
00:54:47
Speaker
But for a team that that we thought might be one of the worst teams at this tournament, I thought Jordan had a pretty good performance and now they've got a dead rubber against Argentina. But but we'll see how they close it out.
00:54:59
Speaker
All right, four more games on the schedule tomorrow. We're closing out the second round of group stage
Upcoming Matches: Portugal, England, Panama, Colombia
00:55:05
Speaker
matches. It's the Cristiano Ronaldo show. Portugal, ah Uzbekistan, England play Carlos Keros in Ghana. We've got Panama, Croatia, and Colombia, DR Congo to close it out.
00:55:15
Speaker
Pick me out a game here. I think the Ronaldo show is can't missable, but the best game has to be Colombia-Diarkongo for me. I think D.Iarkongo acquitted themselves very, very well against Portugal in that 1-1 draw. I think there if there's going to be some chaos in the bracket outside of some of the other groups, like this group could also have it. Look, I think Wisa and Bakunbo are like at...
00:55:43
Speaker
a really good level right now and at the level to ask questions of the Columbia center backs. And then also Luis Diaz might be better than whatever Portugal put out for 90 minutes. So it's a really, really exciting game. Two physical teams, um two little bit different styles though. Like I think,
00:56:01
Speaker
Yeah, Portugal said we're going to run past Dierkonga. We can't do that. Is Colombia going to do something different? Is it going to be long balls? This is going to be grimy in a good way. i think a lot of the games that we have said would be like this have really delivered. So that's why I'm like, let's go back to the well. Give me two physical, talented teams. Dierkonga have put themselves in the conversation. want to see how it unfolds. I'm back, Colombia, but I think it could be good.
00:56:24
Speaker
I think the physicality point is a really good point there. I think these are Columbia are maybe underrated a bit physically. We obviously know what DR Congo can be physically. i think there's gonna be a lot of physicality. Look, the Ronaldo show, I think is going, as you said, it's can't miss. And as I kind of alluded to the last time we talked about Ronaldo, it would be very peak for him to rescue his personal tournament while single-handedly torpedoing Portugal's tournament by scoring twice here and making himself on takeoffable for the rest of this tournament. Let's see if that's what happens.
00:56:50
Speaker
I've been intrigued by England Ghana, right? We saw the KRLS masterclass. I saw a tweet today that apparently some Ghanaian witch doctors have promised a curse on England. Look, I'm all for World Cup curses. Sign me up whenever that's involved.
00:57:03
Speaker
I was impressed by England against Croatia. So are they going to do that again and kind of just blow Ghana out of the water? Or will we see Thomas Tuchel kind of step back into that very much more comfortable 1-0 game plan? I'm intrigued by this matchup, even if I think England are obviously superior talent wise and should run gone off the pitch.
00:57:25
Speaker
I am too. I think the marker that France, that Spain have responded, that Argentina have shown, i want to see England have the answers and execute the answers at a high level. I don't want to see England slogging through this game.
00:57:38
Speaker
I know Ghana, what they're going to do under Karos, but I think England should know, be prepared and fix it. And let's get Harry Kane, his entry into the the golden boots list too. So I'm with you. And then look, Panama Croatia is fun. I think Panama are going to try to to unseat Croatia's legs. They might not have a good time of it, but they're going to make it happen. and Croatia are, there's pressure, right? There is. Yeah, there is because they can't like, okay, they got the first game out of the way. They lost to England, but now you're kind of counting on them to beat Panama and Ghana and go through comfortably. That's the expectation that we've all had in this group. So yeah, um let's see if if if they're able to do it. Right. And to the Carlos Caros Ghana point, it's one thing to slog Panama for 90 minutes. It's a whole different animal to slog England for 90 minutes, right? And just the amount of talent they can throw on the pitch. So let's see what happens there. all right, that's it for another edition of the World Cup After Dark. You know where to find us. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, subscribe, like, review, comment, all the good stuff. And if you want to support us directly, you can do so at patreon.com slash WCAD, where $3 a month gets you access to subscriber-only content and directly supports us doing what we do. Amit and I will be back to read recap the Tuesday games on Wednesday morning. So be sure to check us out then. Until then, enjoy the football and we'll see you soon.