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WCAD 4-34: The USMNT Meets the Bell Curve but loses Balogun
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Austin and Amit recap yet another banner day at the World Cup, starting with the USMNT's comprehensive, but costly, 2-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina. They next cover another Harry Kane special as England rallied for a 2-1 win over DR Congo, then try to make sense of Belgium's death defying 3-2 rally against Senegal.
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Transcript
Reflecting on World Cup Experiences
00:00:01
Speaker
So we're over 80 games into this World Cup, and I will readily admit that I've watched all over 80 games of them. i'm I'm very much looking forward to my FIFA participation certificate that Gianni Infantino is going to sign that said, you watched all the World Cup games. Congratulations.
00:00:17
Speaker
So here on the World Cup After Dark podcast, I admit that we can sometimes get caught up in the weeds and and we can sometimes, in going from game to game, you can at times, I think, lose the big picture nature of it all.
USA's Knockout Round at Home
00:00:31
Speaker
But admit, it kind of hit me today that the U.S. is playing a knockout round match at a home World Cup with no other so major sporting competition. It's a big freaking deal.
00:00:45
Speaker
standalone game uh for as one john rotstein would say i think i felt some of this with the azteca game yesterday yeah but for it to be in the united states you know obviously where you and i are both from like it just you could feel it you could feel how much it it means and the crowd today was excellent in its own right and It's the celebrations are awesome. Let's let's I'm not going to pump the brakes here. I'm not a brake pumper. Don't want to be a brake pumper. This is the game they they should be in. This is the bell curve, right?
00:01:18
Speaker
Round of 16. Now we're here. Belgium's waiting. This was what you had to do. But But first time United States has ever been favored in a knockout game, got the job done. That's what a big boy does. And so United States soccer, pat yourself on the back. Welcome.
00:01:34
Speaker
Welcome to welcome to where you should be. And great game. All things considered from the United States perspective
USA's Strategic Victory over Bosnia
00:01:39
Speaker
there. We're we're going to talk about it here. This is World Cup after dark. But yeah, what a what a landshed moment.
00:01:45
Speaker
He's a bit Malik. I am Austin Miller on today's show. We're going to start with a recap of the. Yeah, go ahead. Landshed's not a word either. Landmark, watershed, you know, it's it's after dark, but sorry, keep going. Just make spell together. It's fine. We have any new words on the show. We do it all. As said, he's a bit like I lost Miller. This is the World Cup After Dark podcast. We're going to about the big USA win over Bosnia.
00:02:06
Speaker
We're going to break down two other just wild World Cup knockout round games that we saw today. H dot Kane striking again for England when it mattered. and Belgium really coming back from the death to beat Senegal.
00:02:19
Speaker
But a bit, let's start in Santa Clara. Let's start with a two-0 win for the U.S. against Bosnia. As you said, you are not a brake pumper. This was the result that I think we expected for the U.S. I think the path to get there was maybe perhaps a bit different than we would have thought. There's a bump along the way that could have future ramifications, which is the red card for Florian Baligan. But all said and done, this was about as comprehensive as you could hope for for Maurizio Pochettino's men. Really professional performance was very detailed to the scouting report. And you look back at what we said about this game is that Bosnia can't hurt you. They don't have a lot to hurt you. They can take shots of distance with their tricky wingers. You can't lose a striker. And basically they're, they're not really going to do anything outside of that. And then, yeah, they're going to muck it up, but you can attack the channels. You can attack Kolasinac.
00:03:13
Speaker
And that's what the United States did in this game. Bosnia switched to five and make it as tough as they can. And it was not as easy. They didn't get that opening flurry that they did in all of their group stage games.
00:03:24
Speaker
But just kept attacking the patterns, and I thought their defensive work in this game was really the story of the game. you know They're pressing to get the ball back. Totally suffocated Bosnia. It leads to their goal. And have to be said, after the red card, down to 10.
00:03:40
Speaker
Boston, you never really get close, right? It's just pot shots from distance. And so I think at the end of the day, like it's a pretty one-sided game. Bosnia ends up with 0.2 XG and that's a lot of that game being played.
00:03:52
Speaker
Not a lot, but a quarter of this game being played with,
USA's Defensive Mastery
00:03:55
Speaker
with 10 men. So I think that speaks to how limited Bosnia is a team that again, got here because of a red card in a one-off knockout game against Italy in the playoff, a team that skated through by beating Qatar on the last day of the group stage. Uh,
00:04:11
Speaker
But you have to play the game in front of you. And I thought the United States player for player on the field, you know, did their job. And I think they had the perfect game plan for this game, right? They from the start decided that they were going to lock Bosnia in. And it was pretty clear pretty quickly after Bosnia gets a corner after their kickoff play, right? That Bosnia are unable to play through the U.S. Anytime the Bosnian defense does anything other than simply rip the ball long, it's trouble. And that's just not a very comfortable place to be. And that's a credit to the U.S. front line. It's credit to Pulisic again. It's credit to Balogun. It's credit to everybody.
00:04:50
Speaker
They just made life really hard on Bosnia. And from pretty early on in this match, it became clear this is a when, not if situation. Right. And Basia was not in the full, full, low block. They were trying to mid-block to not sit in their box as deep as possible.
00:05:08
Speaker
But as you said, they they couldn't go anywhere with the ball. And it's just a textbook of pressing to recover the ball and not giving up anything. Like... You can control the game without the ball by just diverting them backwards and centrally and then out and to not letting guys turn.
00:05:27
Speaker
And this is the strength of the United States team. I think when you have a guy like Adams, you should be able to execute a press at this level. When you have Tillman and McKinney, you should be able to execute a press at this level. And then, you know, the back line has to do their job. And Tim Ream at some point is going to be the United States limiting factor.
00:05:46
Speaker
it's not against Bosnia. It's not, they're not a team that can expose his pace in behind. He found his pace level, right? Like right these guys. Yeah. Right. And the other two center backs are fantastic as well. And I think a secret, not so secret story, depending on your, you know, how how involved you are with this team. Like,
00:06:04
Speaker
Freeman has been ah just a really, really good center back, super athletic. But what he's also showing is he can step into the ball as well. And he's kind of become a two way player. But you got kind of got two guys in that center back line, f Freeman and Richards, that are just winning a
Balogun's Impact and Controversies
00:06:19
Speaker
bunch of duels. And so you start counting the guys that you can't get past. And it becomes very, very hard for teams to find any space.
00:06:26
Speaker
And then, as you said, I think You know, they it it was a matter of if not when. And yes, maybe getting the pattern on the ball when when not if thank you. Maybe it was a matter ah of not like getting that pretty move to unlock them. But it was almost that Bosnia was going to give you the ball in an area so dangerous you weren't going to have anything else to do with it, but take a good shot. And that's that's kind of the story of the first half.
00:06:53
Speaker
And we said it on our preview podcast, right? And it was very clear the U.S. was when they kind of were building with the ball, when it wasn't in ah in a transition or a semi-transition or in a turnover situation, they were trying to do it on the right. And that's because it's Sead Kolasinac for Bosnia. And I think Barbaras does an okay thing here, right? To try and put five at the back, just try and put as many numbers as he can. But it's still very clear what the U.S. is trying to do and who they're trying to go after.
00:07:20
Speaker
a similar pattern that we saw really be successful against Paraguay in the first game. And I think he moves Klasenak to a wing back so that, okay, if he's beaten, there's now two guys like behind him that can help, but it's that channel, right? He comes up really high on Dest and McKinney over and over again is getting into this space.
00:07:41
Speaker
Balogun is getting into this space. Tillman is in the area and they all know they're playing for that cutback or they're looking for Balogun's movement. I think that's the thing that completes all of this is whenever there's an ounce of space, Balogun is trying to find the the area around the center backs, whether he's splitting them, whether he's on the back shoulder, whether whether he's getting across them for the run. And so his a threat on the front line in any direction, he can go any direction and get the ball, I think is totally changing the the dynamic of this team.
00:08:15
Speaker
That's what's real bummer that he's going to miss the next game. We'll talk about in a bit. But in general, it was just kind of similar in a lot of ways to what Mexico are doing is leveraging their nines elite movement and really good dynamic movement to use transition. And then he's really deadly and wants their space in in the game.
00:08:34
Speaker
And it's the defense is the defensive shape for the U S that I think deserves a lot of credit for just, as you said, locking Bosnia in and they're just nowhere to go. And pretty clearly it's the only thing they can do is go back to Vasil and Vasil can boot it long and they'll lose it. And then it'll just recycle and start again.
00:08:51
Speaker
And that is the type of play that leads to the opening goal for the S right on halftime. They'd been pushing, they'd been grinding. Balagan has one that that's chopped off or offside after they take advantage of a stake. And so they force another one of those Bosnian long balls from the goalkeeper, Vasil, but he doesn't get it very far. And it's an immediate win for the U.S. in the midfield. Reem steps up to win it. One pass from Adams.
00:09:15
Speaker
It's flicked to Tillman. It bounces and then Balligan is in the right spot to stab it. Essentially, this is the quick transition from winning the ball in the midfield to putting the ball in the back of the net before Bosnia can ever really recover.
00:09:27
Speaker
And this is textbook, textbook Pochettino stuff. This is what he made his bread and butter on at Tottenham is this exact kind of press to transition to get your your best three or four guys in space on a back line.
00:09:40
Speaker
Pochettino, like, is actually what he does is more dangerous without the ball is how how successful he is. So... that it's it it's a way to hurt a team like Bosnia without having to
Highlighting USA's Tactical Success
00:09:54
Speaker
to necessarily be like a Spain or a France. Like you're using your athleticism in a dangerous way.
00:10:00
Speaker
This is why you bring the guy in to to allow stuff like this. Right. And the goal here, it's just, it's, it's clinical, right? It is. And I think the the play that really stuck out to me is the flick in the midfield here, just the quick, get the ball, get it off. And that's something that we pointed out in particular against Paraguay, the speed with which the U S is playing, it's just making it so hard for us. And Bosnia is not a fast team. They're not a quick team. Right. And so when you get the ball, you win it and you're moving that quick, you're just naturally going to find advantages.
00:10:29
Speaker
Yep. The center backs wouldn't be this open, this split any other time in the game. And that you show that tape to them, they go, why why are we this far away against Ballyon? You could never leave 10 yards of space between your center backs, but it's there in this exact moment. So I thought of just a really, really good half from the United States. They also didn't get overly sucked in, right? They just keep their control of the game. It was a very good control game and field tilt game. That's how you expect the United States to play.
00:10:58
Speaker
and there's no outlet for Bosnia, right? And that in Dzeko starts up here and they go with the two striker look, but there's just no holdup. There's no runners off any holdup. And the XG really like shows that it's 0.72 to the U S to 0.04. Yeah, that's it. And we switched to the second half. And it's more of the same. And so Sergei Barbaras has to make a change.
00:11:18
Speaker
He's got to do something. And so he takes off some of his more bulkier players, I think, and tries to get runners on. He brings in Barak Tarevich. He brings on Tajarovic. He brings on Mijamic. And this is basically, I think, Barbaras saying, we're going to have to try and contest the midfield. It might not go well.
00:11:33
Speaker
We not win the midfield. But if we don't contest the midfield, we're not going to stand a chance. Right. He gets Dzeko off. And I think there's something here where... Ed Junko, great player, talismanic player, got them here, had moments in the group stage too, but should they have played with two strikers from the start in a game where they were kind of needed an outlet? And I think maybe you're hoping one long ball, you win one fifty fifty you get a knockdown, you're getting a chance off of it. And there are a few shots of distance, like one or two in the first half. But as you you you narrated the XG, like it's not really anything. Now he has to come off and it's kind of 50 minutes and you lost them. But...
00:12:12
Speaker
I don't know. Like, are you really not starting and Dzeko here? So it's it's a tough call for Barbaras. At any point now, it's something of like a 3-5-4-5-1. I don't know where this extra body is. It's a weird blob he's got. It's only one striker, and he's just trying to flood the middle to dis...
00:12:30
Speaker
placed the U.S. out of the pitch control. And now he's got two of his guys that he really likes, Bojok Turevich and Alebegovich, to do their thing where they cut in and serve the ball to the striker or take shots. And so...
00:12:45
Speaker
There's a moment of danger here where like they get across in front of goal. Tim Ream has to go full stretch to to cut it out and immediately sparks a counterattack. There's space in this game. And now you're thinking, OK, yeah, Bosnia is here. They're gonna they're pressing aggressively man to man. But if we do one turn or we get one moment, we're gone the other way for two. And it feels like, yep, Barbraz has played his card in the United States. Now this is time for them to feast up one. And it and then things turn all of a sudden. Yeah, and I think to to continue kind of the the poker narrative with Barbraz, right? Like, he's just dealt a poor hand here. Like, you can only play the
Pochettino's Strategy Adjustments
00:13:22
Speaker
cards that you have, and i don't i think this was the reaction that he had to make, but you have to also acknowledge that everything here is reactionary.
00:13:30
Speaker
right? Bosnia, they're just forced into a reactionary position. And that is is credit to Pochettino. It's credit to this U S team. It's just like the 11 best players in the field are probably all playing for one team in the first half and in the second half. And so there's just not a lot that Bosnia can do, but you said it, they get one moment, of danger here. They get that low, low cross in the box. Ream does a really good job of handling it and it sparks transition. And that's the danger that Bosnia are playing with.
00:13:56
Speaker
But then there's the game changing moment, right? So, so we're just past the hour mark in this game and it's Florian Balagan. The U S is talismanic nine, the player that I think you and I are both in agreement, maybe hasn't been their best player, but has been their most important player.
00:14:12
Speaker
And he gets into this tussle with more reverence, and his right foot stamps on the ankle, and the ankle kind of turns. It's accidental contact. I think we're both in agreement on that.
00:14:24
Speaker
But when you send a referee to the to the VAR monitor, and he's looking at this image, and you freeze the image of studs right on a twisted ankle, like that's always going to speak. And I think, particularly to a South American referee, particularly to South America, this is like a very classic South American VAR red card where you get the frozen image like, oh, it's studs on ankle.
00:14:45
Speaker
And it wasn't intentional for value. And I think this is a really harsh red card and it's a massive blow for the U not so much for this game for the fact that he's not going to be able to play against Belgium.
00:14:57
Speaker
It's a it's a bummer. It like perhaps so far in the United States tournament is the biggest obstacle. The biggest percentage swing against their chances of reaching a quarterfinal is this play right here. And it's a foot that's just out of position. Like he's trying to like side jockey with Mujmoviฤ to like get like his foot behind the ball.
00:15:22
Speaker
And as he's sticking his foot sideways, it's in the, it's in the back of the ankle. And it's like, yeah, he doesn't mean to do it, but I'm i'm with you too. Like you watch it. it's It's a studs on the ankle. I don't know what you're supposed to do here. it's a It's a tough one. I think the VAR has also genuinely been really good at this tournament. like They haven't been intervening. and then to And then there's been a few where it's like they just come in at weird times.
00:15:49
Speaker
I don't want to over-ref chat it. like It is what it is. It's it's a bummer. Yeah, and I think the thing that's hard is i don't think it was super avoidable. Like, i don't know that Baligan does anything wrong here. It's just like you lift up your foot and it just happens to go down on the other guy's ankle. Like, ah, it's it's just unfortunate. It just is. I mean, it probably should be a yellow card. sure But once you go to the monitor and you see what you see, you can't like do that, can you? No, it has to be read or nothing. And once you see it, it kind has to be read. But it just I don't know. It didn't feel like it's a call that needs to be made. And like, it's just this it always seems to circle back to this for us. And it it's the margins, man. It's the little things. And like, this isn't even a little thing, I think. But this is a thing that is going to have a significant impact on the US's entire campaign. Their entire tournament could be jeopardized because of this moment that is.
00:16:49
Speaker
actually relatively meaningless in the context of this game because Bosnia don't really take advantage of it, but is is massive has massive meaning going forward. We'll talk about it more when we preview the round of 16 later on this week. So at this point, i minute you're you're kind of thinking, I've seen this Bosnia game before, right? Like I watched this game against Italy where they're down a goal. The team that's up a goal goes down to 10 men and Bosnia just kind of hang around and make life hard. And the U.S. s deserves a lot of credit for not really letting that happen.
00:17:20
Speaker
What we saw Bosnia do to succeed against Italy was use both wingers to kind of get double teams or beat their guys off the dribble and just spray balls to the big oafs at the back post. And so
Preview: USA vs. Belgium
00:17:33
Speaker
that was Dzeko then and Demirovic. They've also got Tabakovic that comes off right around comes on around Dzeko's not here, so there's two forwards. And basically, they've pinned the two guys on the two United States center backs. That's where Barbraz wants to put his extra guy. So he's telling his guys, cross there, cross there. And it was interesting because maybe you want an extra guy in buildup ah to to do something, but like Bosnia aren't going to do anything in buildup. It's pretty basic. And so I think the best thing the United States does here is their wide
00:18:05
Speaker
fullbacks, their wide midfielders close down really, really hard on those guys. They keep making the wide shuttle run. They keep preventing the cutback. There's maybe one cutback for Alibagovic where you're going, oh, that was a scary shot. But outside of that, it's just kind of, of you know, crosses from weird angles. I thought Stu Holden did a really good job on the broadcast of detailing the defensive approach here and when you don't like When you're forced to cross more centrally, like you can't shape the ball over, and it's just kind of right towards the heads of the United States center backs, who, as we mentioned, had a great game, Chris Richards, Vigil. physical advantage, but just a better player than than the Bosnia strikers. Same thing with Reem. There's maybe one moment here where he's sprinting backwards, and like if you can't get Reem sprinting backwards, then there's not a lot of ways to attack the United States. You've really got to...
00:19:01
Speaker
be a team that can hurt them on the ball by eliminating defenders, passing or dribbling. There's two guys in the United States, double them frequently. So you end up like with nothing, really. You go from 0.05 to 0.2, then XG like in a half. And so I think it's just a really good defensive plan from the United States.
00:19:24
Speaker
Yeah, and the best chances here really fall to the U.S., right? Pulisic has the finish where he's offside, and then the U.S. get their second goal. And so there's a foul that that's made by Radulic, who drags down Sergio Jess from behind, trying to press the ball. It's a pretty close free kick. You almost think it might be a bit too close. The Bosnian wall, though, doesn't jump. It's maybe not great from Basile, the goalkeeper, but this is a top spin blast from Alec Tillman, and it's the perfect technique for this situation.
00:19:55
Speaker
Really, really hard to pull off because as everyone will tell you to get up and down is really hard. You generally can't side spin You can't knuckle it or you can try, but he, he just drives it with spin. And it's like a, it's like an arrow that's, that's coming back down. And,
00:20:11
Speaker
The only thing you can say is that he doesn't quite get in the corner. It's spinning away, though, from Vasilic, and that's what makes it tough. I still think at the end of the day, it's bad goalkeeping. like he he He should probably read this better, but why it's tough for him is two things. He's he's screened by the wall.
00:20:27
Speaker
He's maybe hoping his wall will jump. The middle two defenders of the wall do not jump, and that is right where that ball goes. and Because he can't see it, he can't do it, and then it's hit hard enough. it's a goal. And so this is why you put a hard shot on target. Right. And at the end of the day, like deserved for Malik Tillman. Like if you had told me that he was the United States best free kick taker, like a couple months ago, I'm not sure I would have bought him necessarily being that guy, but he clearly had that technique like down for that spot. That's very, very impressive.
00:20:57
Speaker
So if there is any critique ah of the U S today, is it the use of the substitutions here? Yeah, it's interesting. Pochettino doesn't make any until the 87th minute, right? He keeps his guys to see out, especially after 10, right? There's basically 12 minutes we're talking about where he doesn't make any subs. Pulisic, who has not played 90 all tournament in like months, is running hard. And you know so is everyone else. And I think there's a few reasons here. One is the freezing point thing that you and I talk about all the time. Maybe he's thinking, if I have to go 120, want wait and see. But...
00:21:32
Speaker
wait and see but That one I don't buy as much because you're going to be doing the same things you would have been doing, right? And you should probably make subs. The thing that I find some more credence in is that he just doesn't
England's Tactical Battle with DR Congo
00:21:43
Speaker
trust his backups. He really likes his guys on the field, particularly his midfielders and his center backs who like there's a big, big downgrade. I think the next best players on this United States team that weren't on the field when they started the game are probably Weah, Pepe, Aronson,
00:22:04
Speaker
and they didn't show themselves well against Turkey. And then it's Berhalter, right? And Berhalter has really been the 12th guy. Like that's been his, his favorite guy to use. And so I would have put on Berhalter earlier, but outside of that, like I can see him not wanting those guys.
00:22:19
Speaker
I really liked Brendan Aronson. He didn't play well against Turkey. So like, I can understand people are kind of just pigeonholed him as a runner, but even if he's a runner, wouldn't have that, it had been helpful versus what Pulisic was trying to do. Like Pulisic is really tired in this game. um Look, I get it.
00:22:35
Speaker
Tillman Adams, McKinney, their work rate is excellent. And I think particularly Adams is maybe one of the best condition players and in the world. And so it was Robinson too. So like, it's fine. I think the point that you're going to say is that you need every ounce of rest that you can get when this thing condenses. Yeah.
00:22:54
Speaker
Yeah. And I think it it comes down to me. If you're not going to trust these guys in this situation, you're not going trust them in any situation, right? Right. Right. Up a goal against Bosnia. Isn't enough for you to, and I know you're down to 10. If that's not enough for you to feel like you can change and and get these guys on for legs, you're not going to feel like you can change and get these guys on flags at any point in this tournament, because you're never going to be in a better situation than this going forward.
00:23:18
Speaker
And that is probably going to catch up to you at some point. Like it's just going to be really, really hard to win this tournament with 11 guys playing 85 plus minutes a game. Like the calendar is just going to catch up to you at some point. And I know that the big goal for the U S might not be to actually win the tournament, but I think they can talk themselves into that actually being their goal.
00:23:38
Speaker
And look, at some point you're going to need rotation. You're going to need somebody else. And it's all well and good when you're playing your best 11 from the start. I get that. I think it it helps you make good starts and everything. I don't think he needs to change the lineup.
00:23:50
Speaker
But at some point, he's going to need to bring someone else in or else you're just going to get to a point where these guys are going less and less and giving you less and less. And I think this U.S. system is really dependent on those guys being able to press the gas 90, 95% time.
00:24:06
Speaker
I agree. And I think this is something that hurt Ivory Coast in their loss against Norway. And we'll talk about Senegal, Belgium, but Belgium is exactly the team that's going to make subs no matter how much time's left and go till the 90th minute to to come at you. And so...
00:24:22
Speaker
To your point, like you just can't back off that line at all. I think there's something about Bosnia not being good enough to to pin the United States in that he felt like his guys were holding the line like physically and metaphorically.
00:24:35
Speaker
But I'm 100% with you. like It's not going to work against a team that has more options. So maybe you should have used it. I don't know. it's Pochettino looks really great right now. So it's a quibble.
00:24:46
Speaker
and And I also understand it from the perspective you manage the game that's in front of you, right? right You just got to get through and and then you worry about the other questions that you worry about. And there's going be questions, right? With the Balogun suspension and the sending off.
00:24:57
Speaker
I think that the the place to close here for the U.S. on this game emit is it's kind of what you opened with. right, the bell curve has been achieved, right? They're in the round of 16. They've got their matchup with, I don't even think it's fair to call Belgium a European power, but against a big-ish European team, like this is what it feels like this whole cycle, this whole shebang has been building towards.
00:25:20
Speaker
It's there. How are you feeling about it? I think it's a quiet confidence, right? I think so. I think the tape is out that Belgium is slow and beatable.
00:25:31
Speaker
Like they just are. And we'll talk about that game and our last game of the day that we're going to talk about. But you got to feel good. And one thing we'd said before the tournament, we were like, how do you feel about that game? It's a toss up. Maybe the United States are slight underdogs.
00:25:44
Speaker
Then in the group stage, we said, just like the United States are slight favorites. Now Balogun's out. So I think it's fair that it's like a general toss up. Like I thought Senegal were so much better than Belgium coming into that game. And i I still feel that way. Like I just think this Belgium team is super, super ripe to be beaten.
00:26:02
Speaker
But I can tell you that in in in the round of 16 of a World Cup, like there's there's no nothing about anything you think you could beat or think you could do or do anything like you got to go. You got to go kill a team like that, like a really, really good team like that.
00:26:16
Speaker
So yeah yeah, they should feel confident, but I think it's just something that none of these players have ever, ever experienced before. Like, were they close against the Netherlands in 2022?
00:26:28
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. it's a different like It's a different kind of ballgame to actually finish the job, especially when i think the chatter is going to go that there should be favored between now and Monday. And I think that is one thing that maybe is the one wrinkle that's a little bit different because of how Belgium has looked. I think the smart people are going to figure out, and us not the only ones, that the United States should beat Belgium on Monday at home. And I think the home field advantage is real. It was real at the Azteca. It was real here. So like...
00:26:56
Speaker
I don't know what the betting numbers are. We're not a betting podcast. I would be very shocked to the United States is not slightly favored on Monday. And so that just puts a lot, a lot of pressure on them. There's a lot of time for a lot of discourse between now and Monday, and there's not a whole lot of else going on the sporting world these days. Tour de France starts on Saturday, if you're interested in it, but but I don't think that's bumping the ah the U.S. from the front page.
00:27:15
Speaker
Hey, we got Wimbledon. Taylor Fritz dressed like Roger Federer today. What was that about? That's it aside. The other podcast that the two of us could do if we weren't doing this podcast, but even less people would listen to them. um Great day for you. I mean, your dark horses are into the round of 16 and you get to just sit back and enjoy H.Kane special to bring England back from the brink. Is it an oversimplification to say that Harry Kane was not even just the difference? Like without Harry Kane, England don't win this game.
00:27:47
Speaker
I don't think it's an oversimplification. think the team is designed around his special powers at the nine for better and for worse. Now, his things that he does are elite at this level.
00:27:59
Speaker
They are of the world class level. it's not a great reflection on England that that's what they needed, but like the guy's a world-class player and he did it. And this was a dicey, dicey game.
00:28:15
Speaker
DR Congo really, really made England find something deep, but I think... As we think about England as a team, like they have a weird gear that is not pretty, but is effective that we saw in the second half here. And this was, I think, as good of a game as D.R. Congo could have hoped to play.
00:28:34
Speaker
Right. It starts out absolutely perfectly for them. So Sebastian DeSobbe, the manager, decides not to start Cedric Bakabu. And in fact, he doesn't play Cedric Bakabu at all. I don't know if there was an injury situation there. You'd have to think there was something for Bakamu to not see the pitch at all here. So he puts Wiese as his nominal nine and he brings on Brian Sapenga and Brian Sapenga comes on and immediately admit he pays it off.
00:28:58
Speaker
They get Spence, who has been kind of a liability on the back line for England, soer suckered into marking Sadiki. And Mbemba plays this great cross field ball.
00:29:09
Speaker
And so as Spence kind of gets sucked into the Sadiki vacuum in the center, Sapanga's just wide open on the left. And he makes this run on the wing. He's got space to bring the ball down. And he's got space to take this quick snap shot at the near post.
00:29:22
Speaker
And he beats Jordan Pickford there. And these are questions for England, right? What is Pickford doing here? And what is the defending doing on this opening goal? Great questions. And let's start with Pickford. It's poor goalkeeping to get beat at his near post. I think he's not thinking Sapenga is going near post, right? This is generally the spot on the field where you go far post, but it's a decent strike from Sapenga. As you said, he got it out of his feet faster than you expect.
00:29:48
Speaker
That being said, this is a 0.07 XG shot. Like, this is not a shot that Pickford should get beat on Pickford would tell you that. i think he probably sees this shot in training 100 times and saves it more than 92 times, right? Like, he really should not keep be be getting beat here. But...
00:30:05
Speaker
OK, your goalkeeper toss is a howler. it It is, to your point, a systemic failure from England's defense. And I think Spence has a really, really tough game here. He's a left back by trade. He's playing at right back because Tuchel didn't bring enough right backs. He's lost Rhys James.
00:30:21
Speaker
He had Quants, a center back, playing right back. He's lost him. So now his option is play this left back and right back. And let's talk about what Jed Spence is good at. He's a really good athlete. really good straight line speed. But his positional awareness on this side is worse, and he gets caught up the field way too many times. And then the other thing is your closeout angle, right? Maybe something you think about in basketball, but like in soccer matters when that ball is sprayed wide. You can't over pursue. You've got to keep your feet for their quick feet. And you've got to think about which way the guy wants to go. Right?
00:30:56
Speaker
And then you got to give Sepengo some credit. Guy is a really tricky dribbler, really shifty, really small, like can change direct. And I thought Sepengo was just kind of running a clinic on Spence for this first half. Yeah, I thought Sapanga played a really good game. And so Dierkongo get an early lead in this game, Amit. And for the first quarter of the first half, England really don't have a response, right? So Madweke comes back into the lineup for England. There's Nobukayo Saka from the start.
00:31:24
Speaker
And it's just very labored for England, even down a goal in a World Cup elimination game. Yeah, it's interesting England's entire bit here in this first half. I think Rice and Anderson, the whole reason why you play them together and why you play Madweke and is this whole shape is built for England to be annoying to play against, to be against the ball. It's supposed to work against a team like France, like Spain, like Argentina. Thomas Tuchel is brought into this project to beat the big dogs.
00:31:55
Speaker
And he doesn't really have great ideas to beat a team like this that he has to be on the front foot on other than control the game like really, really ugly like. The worst thing that could have happened to a Tuchel team is is giving up like a really, really small chance. They're missing progression. They're missing take on ability. Rashford, not a take on guy. Madueke, he's. takes on, but then what he does next is really bad. like I don't even think he was horrible in this game, but he's like really ineffective. And now Kane's on an island. And so we go back to the only player that can really threaten is Jude Bellingham. And even he's having a tough time getting on the ball.
00:32:35
Speaker
Nico Riley's in this game too, but he's an off-ball threat. So most of this half is just Modueke doing shimmies left and right, and like trying to shake his defender, and then putting in bad crosses because... I watched would wake all year. He's a bad end product player. He's a good progressive ball carrier. He can shake a guy, but then he doesn't do the next part.
00:32:56
Speaker
And so England look really, really stale and labored until Tuchel kind of gets the team at the hydration break and is like, guys, we just got to rev up the press on these guys and get the ball in the box.
00:33:07
Speaker
And it's a, it's a good answer from Tuchel, but yeah, You can see the limitations of the England approach, of Tuchel's approach, and the way they play against a team who was very, very physically up for that. and And the last thing I'll say is that they've been playing five in the back all tournament, and they mix it up here with 4-3-3. And I do think that really gives England problems in the midfield.
00:33:30
Speaker
They were not expecting to to be pressured. I think they were expecting to just have the ball and sit on it for like 60 minutes because they could. They were very uncomfortable in the first half. And DR Congo could match them physically, right? Like there's not a massive physical advantage here for England in this game. They do finally get it revved up and they start creating chances. And then this is where the DR Congo defense and particularly Lionel Impassi, their goalkeeper, comes to shine, right? So there's a big save on a Rashford header after cross from Rice where it's pretty much point blank and Impassi makes the save. Twan Zavy makes a great tackle to take a chance away from Kane. Then Rashford is cleared off the line by Wan-Bissaka. That was a crazy chance. That was a crazy chance. Just right to him. And Wan-Bissaka does really well to close his legs and not let it go through him and block it off the line. But I think the moment of the first half it, the moment of the first half, is a golden chance for Wisa to make this 2-0 for JR Congo, and he somehow doesn't put it in the back of the net. So Wan-Bissaka puts a cross in, it deflects off Nico O'Reilly, and Wisa just has to get his foot to it and put it on target.
00:34:40
Speaker
He gets his foot to it, but it doesn't go on target, and it hits the post. And this moment, I think, looms large over the entire rest of the game. You want to guess the XG on this chance for Yonwisa?
00:34:53
Speaker
It's high. It's over 0.5. And like again, just to see an open play chance over 0.5, it's deflected, right? And that's why it gets to him.
00:35:04
Speaker
But Yonwisa should score this chance, man. It's a got to score. It's a got to score. And like it happens so fast. You blink and you're like...
00:35:15
Speaker
That ball was in the net. I saw like your brain finishes plays when you see them, when you watch enough soccer and your brain is like, that's a goal. And it wasn't a goal. And it's, oh my gosh, this changes the whole game, right? Like this is insane. Yeah.
00:35:28
Speaker
This is ah where the chorus of listeners are all saying to themselves at home, take your chances, take your chances, take your chances. And and that is is a big moment here for Derek Congo. After that, Harry Kane gets a run in behind. He goes down, no penalty call.
00:35:43
Speaker
This was semi-controversial. Then there's a ridiculous save from Imposti to deny a glancing header from Bellingham. This save was so, so good because this header was just the slightest of touches from Bellingham to direct it on target.
00:35:54
Speaker
and impasse still able to make the save and then there's kind of england's one real set piece chance the first half where kane gets gets free at the far post and again this is one that you've seen a lot of it right you've seen kind of this slow motion set piece where the ball's just in the air forever and all of a sudden kane's all alone but again he's saved because impasse is there again and he makes the block so dear co get this thing into halftime at one nil right they're winning one nil they had the lead they had a bunch of saves they had a bunch of chances But it kind of starts to feel like England are in trouble here. And we're really going to see what gears and what buttons they're pressing to get back in this game.
00:36:32
Speaker
Yeah, for the second quarter, it was really good from England. I think they they rev it up and just it's pure box assault. And they do a good job of creating all these weird headers. And it's a bunch of really good saves. And it's kind of chaos.
00:36:46
Speaker
But after halftime... I think that break just gives DR Congo a lot of confidence and a reset to just like kind of re-engage ah and press out to England and buy themselves some time.
00:36:59
Speaker
And I think me personally, somewhere around like the 60th minute, I was like, uh-oh, this isn't going to happen. like they it It really... It really felt that way. Like I would, in the first half, I was like, there's so much time. And after they kind of started kicking back up, was like, this is good. This is what I want to see. This is better. Their urgency. That to me was the biggest thing. didn't start with urgency.
00:37:19
Speaker
But then the second half, I was like, you start, it starts to creep in. It's so real. It was really, really slimy. And the hour mark is where Tuchel makes his first changes. And I think they're both very important changes. So he gets Sokka in from on the way guy, and then he brings on Anthony Gordon for for Marcus Rashford. And I think you have to say Anthony Gordon was really, really good in this game. And obviously outside of Kane, who gets the two goals, Gordon is probably a difference maker here for England.
00:37:46
Speaker
Yeah, and so he's not even the type of player that you think should be good against a low block because he's not like an excellent dribbler-like take-on artist. He's much more of a guy that thrives in space for Newcastle in a high-pressing system.
00:38:01
Speaker
But what he does do different than Rashford is he's a super high work rate player, and he's a really good presser, ball recoverer. And I thought Rashford was kind of more of a finisher guy cross guy he chills and the ball gets to him but he's not necessarily like suffocating his outside back i thought what gordon did was just go at juan bisaka over and over again and then as soon as england lost the ball how many times did feel like he was the first guy just in there getting it back for them and really enabling england to lock them in a block the other thing that that happens here eventually is
00:38:39
Speaker
this is at the water break. yeah I'm going to skip ahead. Is that Declan Rice moves to right back? And that is such a big change too, because now Elliot Anderson is just by himself in the middle, but Rice has so much more space to cross at the right back position. We talked in that first bit about crossing angles and crossing spots.
00:38:59
Speaker
Rice is a really good crosser, but he can't do anything centrally on this
Senegal vs. Belgium: A Tale of Two Halves
00:39:03
Speaker
side. He's got that shape of his delivery. You've seen it on an arsenal corner kick. He was so much more effective here. And crucially, he was much better than Spence on the ball and making the right decision.
00:39:16
Speaker
Spence was such a black hole in buildup for England in the first half that it felt like they were stuck and Madweke didn't have help necessarily other than Spence just running by him on an overlap. It's all now like the wheels are greased and Congo are chasing the midfield and the tilt is slowly, slowly, slowly getting pushed back.
00:39:36
Speaker
And you can afford to put Rice at right back because by this point, DR Congo are less and less of a threat going back the other way because they've expended so much energy to defend to this point that you can take that gamble and say, i don't think I have to worry that much about Rice coming back the other way. And as you said, the crossing angles changing is fundamental. And so I don't think it's an accident that on the England goal, who are the three players involved, right? It's Rice with a crossing angle. It's Gordon at the far post within a second cross.
00:40:05
Speaker
And then obviously it has to be H dot Kane himself. Who's in the box with just a very classic Harry Kane beating Twan Xabi and making a great header.
00:40:17
Speaker
This is his superpower, is his literal nose for goal. And we talk about Mbappe, Holland, I think the best nines in the world right now. And what they're doing is electric. Kane is old school, man. This is a guy that just feels space in the box and he can lose defenders by...
00:40:37
Speaker
just timing and knowledge of runs. He starts off kind of on Twanzebe here and he sees this thing recycled and he like fakes like he's going one way and then just he kind of fades to the other and the balls in the air like why is he open? Why is he open? You say this about him all the time in the box. Same thing on the corner kicks and it's ah it's a good header, right? And Posse maybe, maybe can have a hand on this one but you can't really fault him for all the great hands he's had on ah on the ball all game and It's just such a classic Harry Kane goal, like what he does. And it's the angle changing multiple times here, right? So the ball from Rice coming in one way, all the way across the goal to Gordon and then coming back. And that's just too many shifts for a defense. And in those shifts, you can play Harry Kane great for 70 minutes, right? You've got him on lockdown. You've got him covered.
00:41:29
Speaker
All it takes is one, right? All it takes is one. And this was the one. A hundred percent. And he's so much more effective when England can pin you in, right? When he's having to defend and run, like he looks uncomfortable. He does this thing where he kind of just trots around the field. And i think his movement all game was like so-so. He wasn't really getting loose to the center backs, but he he kind of just, he's waiting. Like it's, I'm not saying he gets better as the game goes on, but he's just like loading his brain for that chance to see it, right?
00:42:03
Speaker
So DR Congo, after the goal, makes some proactive changes. They bring on Kayembe, they bring on Bangonda. They'd already brought on Meshak Elia on the wing. They've got the legs here. It kind of feels like this game might be heading towards the freeze point, but England, to their credit, I think pressed their advantage here a little bit. And I think they make a conscious decision. Maybe it wasn't even a conscious decision to admit,
00:42:25
Speaker
they didn't really want to take this thing to extra time. They didn't want to bring in the possibility of penalties. They didn't want to give DR Congo any more hope. And so they just kind of keep pressing DR Congo. And again, at this point, DR Congo have expended so much energy to stay in this game, to to to stay in the lead, to keep it at 1-1. And it just kind of all breaks down in a lot of little ways. I don't think there's any one major mistake on the second England goal, but it just kind of all adds up. And so Jude Bellingham gets in behind forces a save from him posse and DR Congo are trying to kind of keep possession and they don't necessarily play to clear the ball.
00:43:04
Speaker
And it's Gordon again with a great recovery play in a situation where maybe DR Congo just need to first touch Yannick long and recover and set up and defend again. They don't do that.
00:43:15
Speaker
Gordon gets the good recovery and guess who it is again. It's Harry Kane himself. And when the ball gets to him in this position, he's not missing. It's such a good finish. It's a really good ball from Gordon too, right? Cause he does like dribble in just like five yards, make you think he's going to shoot. And then he slips in that reverse and Kane's on the turn. When he has this ball, he receives it back to goal. And this is again, old school striker stuff.
00:43:40
Speaker
Holland, does not do this kind of finish. Holland is a, I'm running towards goal and I stick out limbs to finish. Mbappe faces you up, shifts, takes a really hard shot. This is old school. Like you practice turning one touch and shooting because you know, like when you take that touch, you're past the defender's cone of tackle and then you get off a shot.
00:44:00
Speaker
And to have that shot power when he, takes it maybe even an extra yard too far, but he knows he's getting his foot around and it's just a rocket in the near post because you don't think from that angle he's getting it near post at that power.
00:44:13
Speaker
But Kane knows the spot in his head as soon as he touches the ball where he wants the shot to be. He just needs to get it out of the path of Twanzebe. the the poor Congo defenders are kind of in disbelief. Like you can see on their faces as soon as this play happens. they're like, what just happened?
00:44:28
Speaker
We had that guy in our pocket all game. Like he's been slow. He hasn't been loose of us. And he, in a blink of an eye, found ah an ounce of separation. Like, yeah talk about the brain processing speed to see the play before it happens like kane the good strikers do this but like at a very very high level no one does this like back to goal thing like you you know who else did this in this tournament was den denise undov did this really well on that one goal uh to burn ivory coast this was excellent here And this was the high level performance that England needed to survive this game because they were tested, right? DR Congo played their game, they got the early lead. They were defending it well.
00:45:09
Speaker
And it's a couple of role players making big plays. I think Gordon in particular, but then it is the star for England. And I think you you said it well, this team is built around what Harry Kane can do. And That's why Tuchel felt like he could leave the guys out that he left out. And look, we can't make a verdict on that yet. There's only, you know, there's going to be 16 teams left in this tournament and England are going be one of them.
00:45:33
Speaker
But it's clear that Thomas Tuchel wants this team built around Kane in his, I think it's fair to say, unique abilities. And in this game in particular, it came through, it showed, and it got England over the line.
00:45:46
Speaker
DR Congo were really tough team to beat. like i That's why I think in the 60th minute, you feel like you're not beating them because they're a very high level block. And the one criticism we have of them is they have one gear, but they are very, very good at this gear.
00:46:02
Speaker
Think about the difference, and this is not to rag on Ronaldo, but think about the difference between Ronaldo's nine and Kane's nine in how to beat the DR Congo low block. Yeah. And everything the Portugal players did in that game and the the things the England players did in that game, was there that much of a difference between all the hard work and huffing and puffing and transgression they did?
00:46:24
Speaker
And the the difference was the movement on two plays to to beat a very good blocked team. And so... As we talk about England going forward, they're going to have a really, really fantastical game we're going to talk about later in the week.
00:46:37
Speaker
England, Mexico, Azteca, everyone's excited. I'm excited. Just thinking about it. Even Thomas Tuchel's excited. I read the Thomas Tuchel postgame quotes like he's even bringing it up. He's like, I don't even care what happens. I'm here for it. Yeah. And so that's like almost bigger than sport. And the altitude is going to suck. England's going to suffer. But you know what the next go center backs are going to deal with that they have not dealt with is that kind of movement. And so it's a fascinating thing. I think you said it really right.
00:47:03
Speaker
This team is built around that exact thing that he does. So it's a fascinating, fascinating case for England. They survive a test today. They end up on the day putting up 2XG. Like, second time they've done that when they've had to. And it's like, yes, the Panama and Ghana games were frustrating, but they didn't really give up that much. And then you circle back to...
00:47:24
Speaker
man, the WESA chance, that was that was it. You go up two and this whole thing is different. I think without that, and people were saying this in some of the chats I was in, one goal was never enough for for DR Congo. It just wasn't going to be enough.
00:47:37
Speaker
And maybe it could have been, but two would have certainly been a lot more comfortable, right? Two gives you a mulligan. Like it gives you one of these cane plays, right? It just does. And so DR Congo will get one more chance in this game right at the death.
00:47:50
Speaker
They get a fairly dangerous free kick for Wiesa after Bellingham fouls him. It's a poor foul from Bellingham, but Wiesa doesn't do a bunch here. And this is kind of speaks to the one gear of DR Congo.
00:48:01
Speaker
They get this free kick. It's in a dangerous spot. and you're just like, I don't think they have a guy that can take this. And they didn't. No, Wiese, it's not really his bag. He's not like ah an expert free kick taker. And so no one else was either. And you feel for D.R. Congo. I think they like but this was their this was an A-plus game for them or close to it. And they missed Bakumbu, right? I don't know. We don't know exactly the case here. I think there's scenarios where they could have put England under pressure. but I think outside of that opening goal and the Wiese chance, like England's strangle ball works for on the whole.
00:48:38
Speaker
Adir Akango had a great tournament, right? and They took a point off Portugal. They advanced. They're at the World Cup for the first time since 1974. I think they can go home holding their heads high, but I think they will be thinking about what could have been because they were that close to to pulling off another stunner here.
00:48:53
Speaker
Speaking of stunners, Amit, the last game that we have to break down is our middle game of the day. And for 85 minutes, our narrative of this game was one thing. And it was Senegal dominate a Belgium team that is well past their expiration date. Good riddance, Belgium. We'll see you later.
00:49:09
Speaker
Well done, Senegal. And that was the storyline that we had written. That was the story that you and I were looking forward to talking about. That was the story that, frankly, we should be talking about.
00:49:20
Speaker
So how the hell did we get to Belgium 3, Senegal 2? This game breaks all the rules. you go up You're supposed to go up 2. You're supposed to see out the game. You're supposed to make the subs. You you killed them.
00:49:34
Speaker
They were fighting with each other at the the the second half hydration break. I mean, we said it on the preview pod. Senegal is flat out better than Belgium. I feel pretty good about it. I still feel good about it.
00:49:48
Speaker
And at one point in the second half, it's somewhere 20 minutes ago, 15 minutes ago, Rudy Garcia is on the the sideline and he's flipping through his binder and he's like, what am I going to do? And you and I are joking like, he's got nothing on those sheets. Like, what's he, what buttons is he going to press? He has nothing left.
00:50:08
Speaker
Belgium were dead in the water. They were dead in the water. And sometimes a calf goalkeeper shows up like that is the the the dagger here for Senegal.
00:50:22
Speaker
Oh, it's so hard. Like I just, I'm thinking back on this game and I just can't believe that this is how, how it ended in that Rudy Garcia flipping through those pages, found something. I don't even know that he found anything, but they somehow got it done regardless. And it's a, it's a Lukaku goal.
00:50:38
Speaker
And it's, yeah, it's ah it's a backup calf goalkeeper put it into a situation where i think, frankly, the lights are just a bit too bright. And it's it's a bad mistake at the absolute worst time. And it's the equalizer that Belgium needs. And it gets them to extra time and they get it. So so let's talk about the, let's break this game. I think we got to break this game up and into two parts, right? We can talk about the Senegal good part for 85 minutes. Then we can talk about what happened. Senegal dominated the midfield.
00:51:04
Speaker
They started a lineup that I think you and I were very excited to see with Ilman and Dai playing alongside Sadio Mane, who was great today, and Saar. And they were far and away the better team for the majority of this game, and especially for the first part.
00:51:20
Speaker
And critically admit, that they made that advantage count. They did. Like you said, take your chances. They did in the first half. They were excellent, and they were taking advantage of the slow Belgium center backs, right?
00:51:33
Speaker
Saar was excellent getting over the top. He was excellent work rate. Mane and Indy were really good dribbling at both Belgium outside backs. And then I think the... Senegal midfield trio was exactly what we hoped for them. Kamara starts. Um, Idrissa gay starts. Uh, sorry. It was pop gay, Idrissa gay and Habib Diara. And they just bullied Kevin De Bruyne off the ball completely. Um, Belgium is left chasing shadows. Like they couldn't settle on the ball. Doku starts for Belgium. They can't get him the ball. Um, Like it's pretty one way traffic for Senegal completely. And as you said, credit to them that they made count.
00:52:15
Speaker
And so how do they make it count in the first half? It's those three good players all involved, right? So, so Ilman and Dyer recycles possession. Sadio Mane crosses it and Sarr pings the post with a header.
00:52:26
Speaker
And then it's a BDR who reacts first and and follows up into a wide open net. And the Belgian defense on this play in particular, they're just stagnant. You can't be getting beat like this to the rebound. it's hard, right? It's off the post. It almost happens faster than you think. But Diara has been a really good box crasher for Senegal in the group stage. He was today. I mean, Tita and Mekele are, are really just not having a great game at this point. Like they, they can't stop anything. And
00:52:57
Speaker
I thought it was a really good setup and belief from Poptiao. You could see him on the sideline. He was like oozing confidence. His players were oozing confidence. like They were beating Belgium at every 50-50. The other thing is that the center backs were good too. De Quetelare, his stock has really fallen this tournament. He's been quite poor. He doesn't do a lot for Belgium. so Again, cannot emphasize how one-way this feels.
00:53:24
Speaker
And and they they then do what you have to do and and they add to their lead, right? And so at halftime, Rudy Garcia brings on Romelu Lukaku, which I guess file away for later. But until that point, he's not really doing anything.
00:53:37
Speaker
And seconds after Diara had flashed one way wide after a great setup by Mane, Senegal scored their a second and it's a long ball to Saar and it's a perfect ball for from from Moussa Niacate who's a center who's one of the fullbacks for Senegal and Mekele is in a bad position here he placed Sara way on side and wow is this a good finish from saw right chest strike bang two nil It's excellent. And this is why said Sarr could play the nine. You didn't have to to play Nico Jackson here. Sarr was at right wing.
00:54:11
Speaker
Why was this guy at right wing? Not actually, but like that's a real striker's finish to bring that down, feel the defender on your left shoulder and hammer it home. And You could see when when he starts this run, how much space he has. like That's just pure pace rinsing the Belgium center backs who had been beaten for pace multiple times in in the group stage. Nathan Ngoi wasn't here.
00:54:33
Speaker
So, like, Necla has been poor all all game. And so it was really alarming for Belgium also where this ball gets played. Like, this is out of nothing, right? Senegal had to work it methodically, and then they open up once and hit it over the top. And you can't get beat both ways.
00:54:49
Speaker
So with Senegal two goals up, Rudy Garcia has to make a change. And interestingly, I admit he takes off Kevin De Bruyne and brings on Raskin and he takes off Doku and brings on Luca Bacchio. I don't know if there's a minutes restriction with Doku, but but it felt very odd to take what is probably your best attacking player off in a situation where you're down two goals with still 40 minutes to go.
00:55:12
Speaker
It was really, really weird. I don't understand the Doku thing. He had been fine. Maybe it is, as you said, a minutes restriction. we We don't know. But the offshoot of this is that Yuri Tielemans, who had been at the base of midfield, where he was chasing Senegal all for the first half, gets moved into the 10. And now there's guys behind him to to kind of do the running for him.
00:55:32
Speaker
And somehow he's a lot better than De Bruyne on the day. And it's not just what happens at the end. Like he's able to get in more advanced positions and just get Belgium a foothold on the ball a little bit. They're just hanging around a little bit. Senegal still have a bunch of chances to make this 3-0. Nothing clear cut, but like Belgium are just hanging on by a thread in in the second half. And it goes to to the water break. It goes to the hydration break. And there's this image of Trossard and Telemans. And they're just going at each other. I don't know what it was about. I don't know what what the issue is. But it just is screaming. This team is falling apart. This team is done.
00:56:11
Speaker
in three hours, we're going to get all the dirty laundry aired. right We're going to get to find out what exactly has been going on in this dressing room, why none of this has worked. Belgium were deader than dead. mean, so, so dead. And Senegal have a couple of chances for 3-0. Like you said, I don't think there's anything super clear cut.
00:56:29
Speaker
I don't know that there's any one chance that they should have taken. But this game is over. Rudy Garcia is looking in his his pages and he's not finding anything. But then right at the death, in the 86th minute, Romelu Lukaku gives them a lifeline. It's a good fight, I think, from Moreira, one of the the other substitutes for Belgium.
00:56:48
Speaker
It's a pass for Mounier, and it's just Lukaku, near post, quick off his foot, and in, reacting before anybody else could. It's a real number nine thing that he does. He's a better number nine than De Quetelare, and it's just that secret power to get across his defender first, right? and see it And it's an ugly finish, isn't it? Like he kind of chops it into the ground, but it's across the goalkeeper, it's across his defender, and this is a good pattern of play that Belgium...
00:57:16
Speaker
You knew it was kind of in there. I thought Moreira was another key, key substitution for them. And so was Raskin because Raskin is kind of the guy that's enabling T. Le Mans and Moreira and Trossard and Lukaku to feel like they can can range forward. And I don't know, like, I don't think this play in particular was bad defending on Senegal. This was like Belgium actually having some class in the final third.
00:57:41
Speaker
Yeah, but I think it's a good point you make about Rask and Morita. They're kind of legs in the midfield, and like they I think helped Belgium lose the midfield battle by less at this point in the game. And I think that kind of stabilizes things a little bit and allows for this kind of half chance to come.
00:57:56
Speaker
And all of a sudden, all right, it's a lifeline. And now you're chucking everything you have forward, and and you're looking and seeing what you can get. And it's of course, because it had to be, what's the narrative here? The two guys who are fighting going into the hydration break. Of course, it's the two of them who combined for the goal for Belgium to make it two, two.
00:58:12
Speaker
And I think it it's credit to Trossard who plays just this great teasing cross and he just puts it at exactly the kind of spot where a goalkeeper doesn't know what he should do. Should he sit back and wait and make a save on an eventual chance? Should he trust that his defenders can take advantage of the opportunity?
00:58:31
Speaker
Or should he come charging off his line in an attempt to play the ball? This being a calf goalkeeper in Maury Diaw and being a backup calf goalkeeper, there's always one button that the calf goalkeeper present. i meant That is charge off my line and try to make a play.
00:58:46
Speaker
and Unfortunately for Maury Diaw, he does not make play. Tries to punch this teasing cross and just whips and misses. And it is Trossard who makes the ball and it's Tealman's on the end of it.
00:58:57
Speaker
And his header, a kind of just wins a battle and gets ahead to it. And he knows, Chaw's not in the net. I just had to put it on target. There's nobody there to stop it. Goes in the back of the k net. And it just like that, out of nowhere, from the ashes, it's 2-2.
00:59:13
Speaker
This one of the most unbelievable plays in World Cup history. Like, then there's a long line of it, but to be up 2-1, to have this nothing burger of a cross, it's a good teasing ball, but...
00:59:25
Speaker
It's inexplicable. And this is the one thing we had said for Senegal. Maybe goalkeeper is an issue, right? Mendy can have an issue. And I said in the preview pod, Mendy's out. We're fine. We're fine. It's never so simple, right? Goalkeeping is extremely hard. And Diaz, as you said, is a backup calf goalkeeper. And you've been fine on this day. But...
00:59:44
Speaker
Yuri Tielemans is like five ten I think, five nine like Is he beating you on this header if you don't go? i You're scared. If you're going to go, get the ball. He doesn't read it right off the cross. He doesn't read it fast enough, and that's...
01:00:00
Speaker
it's funny like what you figure out the margins are after the fact, right? Yeah. Like we we keep learning like, oh no, that's the back of goalkeeper. Like it shows up in these weird ways. Like just, I just, this play is such a, such a dagger. And it's not even like two Oh is the most dangerous lead. It's not even that Rudy Garcia had any buttons. Like this is just a desperation ball in the box to your five, 10, 10. Like that shouldn't work. It should never work. Yeah.
01:00:29
Speaker
Oh my gosh. i it just all cons It just all conspires to work. Yeah. This is why you press all the buttons you have. This is why you send Yuri Tlemans into the box and you cross to him. Then maybe the sheet said, backup goalkeeper.
01:00:45
Speaker
Like, I...
01:00:49
Speaker
I don't even want to give credit to Belgium, man, but like, it looked like they were dead in the water. I i thought like no one on the field looked like they wanted to make the comeback, right? It did feel that way. But the the thing that Big Rom did give him credit, he kept going. He kept making his runs. And then after the first one, like, it's the tactics free zone. And like Senegal, whose midfield had denied Belgium any comfort on the ball all game. Doesn't matter. You're down one. You're just like...
01:01:19
Speaker
Get everyone in the box, defend the box. And Belgium are like, cool, everyone's in the box, we're hitting the box. And it's like, you didn't have to let that happen at any point, but it just happens when you're down one in the 90th minute. It just does. And so you just can't let it get there.
01:01:33
Speaker
it's a panic reaction, right? Because you'd been so comfortable and all of a sudden now you're not comfortable, but there's not a whole lot of time left and we should be okay. Cause we'll just see this out. And they didn't. So then this match goes to extra time and you can see, right. The emotion, like Belgium, they've got belief. Now Rudy Garcia is firing the guys up that the guys he has on the pitch are, are bought in obviously.
01:01:53
Speaker
And pop jaw is trying to like bring a Senegal guys back. he's like It's like, okay, we're fine. Look, we're still the better team here. Like, look at what we did for 85 minutes. Don't worry about what we did for five and extra time starts. I think fairly slowly, right? Senegal make a couple of changes and they take money off. They take Jacobs off.
01:02:10
Speaker
They bring on Nico Jackson. They bring on Malik Jouf. They eventually bring on bar NDI for Ghana gay. And there's a good chance for, for him by, think who had come on it as a substitute in the second half where Bardsley, I pulls it back for him, but he flashes his chance just wide. This another one of those margins play, right?
01:02:29
Speaker
he He uses his left foot. It comes across him and he like lets it hit off his foot and just like put your foot through it. right and You're right in that second half. It wasn't there anything Senegal did wrong necessarily, but they kept getting rushes at Belgium. and then Even in this period right of extra time, like it's a bit slower. It's not as clear cut that Senegal are the better team, but they still are the team doing more of the things on the ball. Yeah.
01:02:56
Speaker
The XG ends up at 3.6 for Senegal. And it's justst like a it's just like a snake-bitten day at a certain point, right? Because I'm with you. like Pop Tiaw is like, guys, just go keep doing what you're doing. They kind of keep doing what they're doing, but it's an extra time. You don't have the legs to like do it. They kind of get the chances you'd expect them to get.
01:03:19
Speaker
this This was the best one. Yeah.
01:03:23
Speaker
How? How? How? We're still asking that question. And then in 117th minute is is the decisive moment of the game, right? So so after a deflection, Luka Bakio skies a clear chance. And you're watching this ball go across. You're just like oh, no, no, no, no.
01:03:40
Speaker
And Luka Bakio misses it. You're like oh. They survive. They're okay. They got away with it. But unfortunately, i admit they did not get away with it because Telemans was the first guy to try and get to this low ball before it gets deflected. And he goes down looking for a call from, I believe it's Kamara, the substitute midfielder, right? And so we go to the VAR and we look and it's Kamara who's coming low.
01:04:06
Speaker
There's contact. It's slight, but it's there. Is it a penalty? we look at it forever and it's a penalty. Spiritually horrible, soft call, but it is contact, right? If he doesn't make the contact is Trossard available to, or is Thielamond's able to do something on this play? Maybe, right? Like he is taken, he's impeded by the contacts. Like I understand it, but.
01:04:36
Speaker
what a what a What a bailout. What a bailout. And just, I mean, there's no justice in football. like this is This is a pen. like Unfortunately, it is a pen. I can't sit here and say it's not a pen. So then you just have to pivot to the the next trench of those just accursed from the football gods.
01:04:55
Speaker
And so at this point, I mean, I'm asking myself, are we about to witness a ah second walk off from Senegal in the span of six months after what happened at the AFCON final? We don't get that. We do get some scenes, of course, right? We're all immediately crowding around the penalty spot. We're trying to muck it up out of nowhere. Sis goes down after he's touched by an elbow from Pereira. And wouldn't you know what a minute goes down exactly on top of the penalty spot. Wow. How did such a thing work like that?
01:05:22
Speaker
Belgium, I think to their credit, handled this pretty well. ah They've got Romelu Lukaku in like a very pensive, like Rodon thinker mode off to the side. Like, ah, he's the one who's going to take the penalty. We should try to be messing with him, but we're not there.
Belgium's Controversial Comeback
01:05:35
Speaker
Tillmans is all around it and and he's the one who's mixing it up. So is Luca Bakio.
01:05:39
Speaker
But then through it all, it's actually Tillmans who takes the penalty and credit where credit's due. Tip of the cap here, Amit. This is a perfect penalty from Tillmans. Yeah, we love the talk about good and bad pens on this podcast all the time.
01:05:53
Speaker
a plus penalty from your Tilemans. Gets it high, gets in the corner, takes with conviction. Diaw goes the right way, he he's probably not getting it either. So look, Tilemans is a player that I've ragged on a lot for Belgium, and I will rag on him again if he plays in the pivot of the midfield against the United States. But He's, you know, there is something and this is maybe projecting, maybe dumb generalizing, but like there's something to an experienced, like irritating player in this game that like just did enough of his little irritating things that worked against Senegal.
01:06:26
Speaker
He's also a class player. Like the class doesn't leave you even when you're old and slow. And this penalty was so, so good. And he sends you all the wrong way, but but I like the way you put it. Even if Diago is the right way, he's not getting to this and you just send him the wrong way because it was that good of a penalty.
01:06:40
Speaker
Senegal then I think are kind of just slow to get to the, like, come on, like we got to go here guys. it And then I know the the call was harsh, And they're, they're just their whole pattern and passing is just slower than it should be. They don't get enough balls in the mixer here.
01:06:54
Speaker
They never really test the Belgium defense, but even still they get a free kick in a, I'm checking my notes, the 120th plus 11th minute. This would have been by far the latest goal. I think in world cup history, they have a free kick. It's in a dangerous spot and it's pop star who steps up to take it.
01:07:11
Speaker
I like Pops are a Tottenham guy, and he just did not feel like he was going to score it. I've seen him at Tottenham. He does not have that in his bag. I'm surprised he was the one taking for Senegal. But as we said with Dear Congo, like sometimes you you know, the guys on the team, i i was hoping would be one of the wingers or maybe another guy with better ball striking. Like, again, Pops are just not that player and he doesn't really do anything good with it.
01:07:35
Speaker
Nah, it's up and over and it's not particularly close. Should they have tried some kinky set piece play move here? Like, I don't think that would have worked either. I don't think so. I mean, maybe you're just getting a different shot from distance. And if you didn't like someone to hit that one you're not going to like someone to hit the next one. This was... This was... I was feeling really bad for Sadio Mane because he yeah came off at the 90 and he came off and Poptiao was just like, you did your best, man. And he he played a great game worthy of getting Senegal through the next round. And he's a player that
01:08:09
Speaker
You know, went to Saudi Arabia. i'm not going to say I like enjoyed that move for his career, me personally, but like he showed this tournament at the AFCON that like he's still a really good talismanic player. And like on his day, he he really had a good day on the back line. And.
01:08:26
Speaker
for all those players that did the right things for Senegal, like their agency is stripped away by the the way this game goes, but it's a team sport and goalkeeper back line. Like they just, they make a few tiny, tiny mistakes here. and And Belgium, it felt like made much bigger and more frequent mistakes, but it's sometimes not how it goes. Like you, you probably should have gotten three it and you probably shouldn't have went for a walk in the ninetieth minute.
01:08:56
Speaker
And it's so hard because like, yes, okay. There's a goalkeeping error on the two, two goal. There's, there's no way around it. It absolutely is. But it's still, even then it just doesn't feel like Belgium did enough to deserve this. And like you, you, you, like you, you groundhog day this, right. You press, you you go back, you rewind it to nil and you press play.
01:09:18
Speaker
And like, 99 times 98 times out of 100 Senegals see this out even if they do give one up just like it it's it's unfathomable that they lost this game it just is It's a win probability chart nightmare. It just is. The thing's all the way up. And yeah, the XG ends up as 3.6 to 1.7. They're almost 2XG better than Belgium. And that's with a penalty kick. So without that penalty kick, it's like 3.5 to 1.
01:09:49
Speaker
And do you know how many times like for that to be a 2.5 XG plus to end up in a one-goal loss? If this was me a few years ago in FIFA, my controller is spiked. and I'm done. I'm done. I'm out. I'm about to touch the controller again. Rudy Garcia, man, he just, he, he, he, he flipped the sheets and it said bogus pen, five, 10 guy heads the ball. Every week we make them think we're going to Cancun, but we don't,
01:10:19
Speaker
Big Rob. but it it worked and like I think like I don't feel any better about Belgium because I don't view this as like some galvanizing result. like like I think you can take from the England performance. you like right It was good. They were tested. like That might bring them together. Belgium, I don't think they're gonna play any better because of this. They got a lifeline, but I don't think anything's going to change. I don't think they learned anything. like Maybe they'll put Seelmans at the 10. I don't think there's any major change they can make. I think they just somehow pulled this out.
01:10:51
Speaker
Pretty much. Pretty much. And like, hope no one here is a Belgium fan. And if you are, you probably stopped listening to us like 10 minutes ago. But if you are like, it's not like we like hate Belgium or like want come here to rag on them. Like they are an old and slow team. They played like an old and slow team. They deserve to lose this game, but they didn't. And that is the beauty of football yeah in a way. And that is the beauty of the World Cup in a way.
01:11:17
Speaker
um It's not really repeatable, but like, belief is out or the belief could be there because like Flo Balogun is hurt and like this stuff just works in mysterious ways it just does and this for Senegal I mean it's hard to get over the absolute sucker gut punch that then this is for Papjian Senegal I mean just immediately put his his head in his hands there folks Yeah, I'm, you know, I really like Senegal. I really like Ivory Coast. I really like CAF. We watch a lot of CAF here on this podcast. We slog through a lot of CAF qualifying. We've gotten to watch two AFCONs in the last two years. And at times, both of those teams were two of the best teams in Africa. And they just, and to implode like this is such a brutal way. Like Ivory Coast, yeah, that that one's stung, but you're just like, kind of like, yeah.
01:12:11
Speaker
Norway kind of got you. They did. it was a good game. This one, you're like losing sleep for years over. like Generational generational loss that... like You know, the nowhere of Pinal, there's that aspect of it. There's the header aspect of it. You've lost this game in like three distinct gut wrenching ways.
01:12:29
Speaker
um And all I can say is, you know, at least they have that AFCON. I know it goes down in the books as a Morocco AFCON, but like they can't take away what what what they did for you. Perhaps this was the karmic payment for that.
01:12:42
Speaker
Maybe, maybe. I think the proper verb looking for is they that AFCON and maybe they'll have it again. They currently do not have it. Baraka currently has it, but it might get taken back. They got their celebration. No one can
Preview: Belgium vs. USA Showdown
01:12:53
Speaker
take that away. I think the thing that is like the worst about this is Belgium are like a no-aura team. Like, this wasn't even...
01:13:01
Speaker
This wasn't even like a Gustavo Alfaro, like good magician thing where you're just like, we just got God. you tip your like We're to be thinking about this one for a long time, trying to figure out how this happened and what went wrong here.
01:13:15
Speaker
Belgium are now a perfect, perfect foil for the United States. You just said it. like No aura team. Monday night, United States just coming off of like a program altering. What's the word I said?
01:13:27
Speaker
Water landmark. I don't know if you listen all the way from this. I think you went land shed. I think it land shed. Yeah. From their land shed win. And here comes in the, this Belgium, no, or a team that just doesn't care. And so that makes for a fascinating, fascinating game on Monday night. And look, not everyone, not every narrative gets to go the fun way in the world cup. Like you need moments like this. This is a all time classic, great world cup moment. And part of it is the heartbreak. And part of it is a team like Belgium, just be in the team standing. And
01:14:03
Speaker
and It was a great day. It was a great day. It's a, it's an all time classic historic world cup moment and a world cup that has given us already a lot of all time classic historic world cup moments. There'll be more of them to come as well. I am sure a bit and I will be back recapping Thursday's action on Friday morning. There's a late game Thursday night, little Switzerland Algeria matchup in Vancouver. So we'll push the pod until Friday morning, but we'll have a Friday morning reaction following the Thursday stuff.
01:14:32
Speaker
We will then have a big round of 16 preview where we'll talk about that USA Belgium game. We'll talk about England at the Azteca. Oh, my mouth's already watering thinking about some of these round of 16 matches that we'll get. So we'll break all of that down ahead of the weekend as well. So be on the lookout for that.
01:14:48
Speaker
Of course, you can find all of that on our feed, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, we are
Supporting the Podcast and Upcoming Matches
01:14:54
Speaker
there. And to close, if you would like to support us directly for $3 a month, you can do so at patreon.com slash WCAD and get access to subscriber only benefits and directly help us do what we do here.
01:15:07
Speaker
Another full slate of games tomorrow. very European feel to it. We've got Spain, Austria, we've got Portugal, Croatia, and then of course that previously mentioned Switzerland, Algeria game to wrap it all up. And as said, we'll be back on Friday morning to recap that. So all that's left is a big thank you to Amit for joining me as always.
01:15:25
Speaker
And a big thank you to the listeners for making us part of your World Cup routine. We will see you on Friday morning. Enjoy the games until then. We'll talk soon.