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WCAD 3-25: Time to See if You're for Real
69 Plays8 months ago
Austin and Amit get together to preview a high-stakes October World Cup Qualifying window. The guys open with the storylines from Asia, including a new manager for Australia, big questions for South Korea, and pressure on Qatar. Then the guys look at the 10 CONMEBOL sides, from the brewing drama in Uruguay to the tightening fight for 6th. Then, the guys ask if anyone can beat New Zealand in Oceana.
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Transcript
Introduction to World Cup Qualifiers
00:00:01
Speaker
We told you in September that we were getting to the exciting part of World Cup qualifying and that we are, this is the World Cup After Dark podcast. My name is Austin Miller. He is Amit Malik. Amit, we're at the middle point of our three straight months of international football.
High Stakes and Impact of Club Seasons
00:00:17
Speaker
And this is when things get interesting because We're getting closer to World Cup qualifying happening. you know These matches are were later on in the process. There's more at stake. Players are getting into their European club season, which also comes with its own things and and whistles because players are starting to get hurt and not show up for international because, oh man, I just went on international duty. Now it's October, you tell me I gotta go on international duty again. This I think is ah is a very intriguing window that I think we'll look back on and there will be some big moments as always that will play a huge role in who goes to the World Cup.
Insights on September's Chaos and Player Fatigue
00:00:52
Speaker
100% Austin, this is, yeah you'll blink and you'll miss these three windows. As you've highlighted many times, they come very fast. And what we saw in September with these club seasons, there's there's just so much more chaos than what we were getting up to this point in international qualifying.
00:01:08
Speaker
And I think you're spot on. We're going to look back. I bet you there's going to be some wild results we're not expecting. you know we We feel like we have a good handle on a lot of these groups and a lot of these teams. But I feel that things will surprise us. We'll do our best to to you know give you our our opinions and and what we know and think we know what's going to happen. But ah this this is all getting a little wild now.
00:01:31
Speaker
and Yeah the players, players got to be tired right like yeah off the bat like it's tough they these are big matches to qualify. um But it's it's a slog for sure right there how else would you can you describe this the second window another one coming right. Yeah and also the the the confederations that we're going to focus in on today are confederations that are.
00:01:52
Speaker
very far away from the base of what is worldwide. World football is based in Europe. there's There's no getting around that. And so when you're sending players to play matches in Southeast Asia and the Far East and South America, that's a long ways away.
Building Momentum in World Cup Qualifying
00:02:06
Speaker
There's there's a lot to deal with. And I think this is the the time in the calendar when you get the closest thing resembling momentum in international football because you're playing games that are relatively closely stacked together and this is a big window because just about anybody can put a window together, right? You get a bounce here or there, you get a good performance. Oh look, we had a four point window. Bolivia got six points in September, right? putting Stacking windows, good window followed by another good window, that's what separates
00:02:40
Speaker
you know, good teams from teams that are just kind of there and and making up the number. So I think that's, that's kind of the big overarching takeaway here is, all right, we saw a lot in September. What of what we saw in September is for real and what was kind of this September early club season Mirage. And I think that's what's, what's at stake here in, in, in these matches that we're going to see over the, over the coming week.
00:03:03
Speaker
Yeah, that's a perfect, perfect way to describe it. And there's a lot of interesting cases. So um that's why we do what we do. It's it's hard to parse, but um we're going to find out a lot of fun things.
Asian World Cup Qualifying Breakdown
00:03:16
Speaker
So on the agenda for this October window, we have match days three in four in the, well, I think it's a third round now of Asian World Cup qualifying. These are match days three and four of 10. And again, that I think is the prime spot where, all right, we got two matches in the books. Let's see who can build on what they did, who can turn around what they didn't do, that sort of thing. So that's on the books. We're going to start there.
Challenges and Performances in Asian Qualifiers
00:03:38
Speaker
Match days 9 and 10 in Conewell. We're at the halfway point in Conewell World Cup qualifying following the first set of matches in this international break. And we're kicking off Oceanic qualifying in earnest. We'll get into that format and what to watch for at the end of the show. But let's start in Asia a minute. Let's go group by group here. And I think as we're probably going to do from now until the end of Asian qualifying, we're going to flip the groups on their head and we're going to start with group C. It was the group that we were most intrigued by coming in. And after what we saw in September, I think it's assuredly the group that we're most intrigued by in this window. And I think the most intriguing team of everybody in Asia right now is Australia. I think they're the headline of this window of Asian qualifying. Graham Arnold, who has been a successful manager at Australia for quite some time is out after a disappointing performance in September. which had followed a relatively easy run through the early stages of Asian qualifying. He's out. Tony Popovic is in. He is a run of the mill manager from what we can tell, right? He's got very little experience outside of Australia. This feels like Australia are going a bit for a safe pair of hands, a get the job done kind of guy, and then
00:04:46
Speaker
We can if we need to adjust at the World Cup, we'll get to that point when we get there. But to make an adjustment for the World Cup, you got to get to the World Cup and to get to the World Cup, you have to put in the performances right now. Yeah, I think starting off with with Australia is good. And they just kind of had two bad results right in their in their first ah start of this round. um Is Australia really at risk of not getting to this World Cup? but I think certainly right. It's hard.
00:05:16
Speaker
But was the manager of the issue yeah is is my is my first like big question here. And to talk about Popovic is... he's only played in us He's only managed in Australia, as you said. He played on the team in 2006. You go kind of look at what they're saying about him. I don't think anyone in Australia is like particularly excited. His whole thing is you've got to be proud to play for Australia. We have to fix the style. you know There are certain aesthetic qualities. But at the same time, he's also saying qualifying is very hard. If you look back at qualifying for Australia, you think it's easy. It's not. We've had some ugly scraps. It's about getting the job done.
00:05:51
Speaker
look at the football his teams have played. It's ah very defensive stuff. That's how we won titles in the Australian A League. ah They posted very good stats, but basically it's it's very defensive football. And they don't give up a lot. And then they go kind of smash the ball in the box and do things. And then he also says, you know, we're going to fix the style, which that's what Australia has already done is do that. And I think Whatever he's saying, Australia is just doubling down on on doing what they do well, which is being really solid, not making any mistakes. The issue for them is scoring goals in open play, right? we We've we seen that. We saw that ah in qualifying. We saw that in the summer. um And they struggle against these teams in Asia. that
00:06:31
Speaker
prevent very tricky tests. I don't think this guy is gonna do anything differently. They're literally just hoping he's gonna fix the vibes. That is my that is my assessment of what he can tell you. Yeah, it feels like it's like Graham Arnold had been the manager of Australia for a really long time, right? It's almost like let's just get a new voice in and kind of change the overall feeling in vibes. It's gonna be different regardless. He can come out and he can play the exact same players and play the exact same style. Whenever you change the manager, theres always going to be some sort of change. and And Australia don't have any complicated tactics, in my opinion. Yeah. But we we see this at all levels, right? If you're just more intense at your bog standard, Route 1, 442, or 541, what Australia like to do, like
00:07:19
Speaker
You could still have success. let's Let's think about where we're crossing from. Let's be fairly opportunistic using our strikers um to to get in good positions. We got big guys. Let's put them forward on set pieces, right? like yeah Let's work on set piece delivery. Yeah. and so like I just think, I think we're on the same page. like I don't think this is going to be a different Australia. But if everything is just 5% to 10% more intense, yeah, that's which that's that's the margin in in a group like this, in a format like this. um I think it was kind of a fluky two games. yeah I don't like get the move, but I get the idea that, OK, we're Australia. We need to take this very, very seriously. And in this group, you do, right? So I i get that.
00:08:04
Speaker
Yeah, and also, I think you'd rather make a move too soon than a move too late, right? And so, yeah. All right, let's just change the vibes right now. Let's get a new voice in and let's make sure we get this done because if we wait until after November, oh look, there's only four matches left and then you're really under pressure to get the job done. So what else do ill show you have in this window? They got China at home on Thursday. They go play Japan away on Tuesday. Peace and advice of it.
00:08:26
Speaker
don't lose to china at home on thursday that is the number one goal for australia you have to get three points from that game that's got to be three points then you see what you can do against japan who has been the best team in this group japan were remarkable i think it's fair to say on match one and two they have a plus twelve goal differential after two match days and that's not playing against like round one Asian qualifying teams, right? Like these are legitimate mid-tier Asian teams that they put 12 goals past. We're going to get a lot more ah data on Japan here in this window because they play Saudi Arabia away on Thursday and then Australia at home. This is going to be a good chance to see if Japan are really that much better than everybody in Asia or if they're that much better than the middle tier teams in Asia. Yeah, well put. We'll be interested to see how they look. We we both think they're very good and
00:09:14
Speaker
will probably lean towards them being that much better than everyone. But um two tough games, I think, for sure. And you know Saudi Arabia are very good with the ball in a way that they could talk themselves into trying to play through Japan's press you know enough to give themselves chances. I think that'd be silly, but we're going to see. And then we just talked about Australia. We know how they're going to play Japan. um yeah it's ah It's an effort defensive game, right an opportunistic game.
00:09:41
Speaker
um You know, Japan have been so good that that doesn't really faze them. But can that game be tough, make it hard for Japan, make them, you know, have to get through their their paces? OK, let's see. I'm i'm i'm intrigued. way We're both intrigued.
Australia vs Japan Tactical Preview
00:09:56
Speaker
Those I think are two really stylistically interesting matches because Japan, Saudi Arabia are two teams that like to have the ball, like to do things with the ball. Japan, obviously, I think press higher and they're just simply better in every facet of the game than Saudi Arabia are. But that Japan Australia matchup, that's the one chance really that I'll show you get where they can play to their strengths a bit more, right? When Australia play Bahrain, when Australia play you know whoever it is, they have to have the ball because they're that much better than the team they play. But this is their chance to to kind of turn that on its head and play their low block and look to hit on their counter, which is was their issue in the first two match days. So those are two two very interesting matches. The rest of this group, ah we talked about Saudi Arabia a bit. They have a gap to Australia. I think they need to consolidate that. At home against Japan is a tricky task. A point there is, I think, a really good result.
00:10:43
Speaker
at home against Bahrain on the second of these two matches, that's gotta be three points there, particularly considering that Australia didn't get a positive result from from their equal match against Bahrain. And then the rest of this group, Bahrain, Indonesia is is interesting on Thursday, right? There's four spots to go through, if you say Japan, Australia, and and and Saudi Arabia are one of those three teams. There's somebody that's gotta go through in fourth place here. Indonesia were really good in those first two match days. They have two tricky road ties here. They're playing at Bahrain on Thursday and then they have to travel all the way across to play China on Tuesday. That's not easy. I mean, I'm not giving China any credit. We're not even talking about them.
00:11:20
Speaker
that's that's fine ah they could sneak it forth to no stop no no no don't do it oh well let's see how this Bahrain Indonesia go game goes I think as you said actually a little fascinating contest between the two teams I I'm interested to see if Indonesia have even more than they've this they've kept surprising us. But this is 100% winnable. so um Yeah, this is where it's interesting because they were so big of underdogs in their first two matches that you take those results and you just run. And now it's like, all right, there's almost a little bit of expectation, right? Like buying away in China way aren't incredibly difficult matches. Can you do something and and
00:11:58
Speaker
continue to to to stack results. So all right, that's Group C. Let's switch now to Group B. i Three teams at tied atop the standings here with four points. This is a fascinating window because South Korea, who I think we are both in agreement, is the best of those three teams, even if they didn't have great performances in the first two match days. We've got Saudi Arabia against Jordan on Thursday, and then at home against Iraq on Tuesday. Those are your pressure points in this group. Those are the matches that matter. And Saudi Arabia and South Korea, excuse me, amit are without their best players. South Korea is hurt, not with the squad. These are tricky little tests, and this is, I think, where we're gonna find out how much Jordan and Iraq can trouble South Korea.
00:12:41
Speaker
Yeah, I'm a little concerned for South Korea in this window specifically. I do think they should be fine to get through top two if things went really well. The vibes are bad. That's what I was going to say. The Federation vibes are bad. The player vibes are kind of bad. They don't have their best player. Yeah, you don't feel great about it.
00:13:02
Speaker
Yeah, that was exactly what I was going to was get to next is like the kind of the talk coming out of there is no one's really happy with this new manager. ah He was kind of booed or or and faced a lot of negative press after the first window and kind of Sun-Hin Ming's having to say, like, we have to trust this guy, you know, we have to trust new manager. And they're relying a lot on on Sun too. And, you know, he's past his prime. i He's not as good. He's still a great international player. Don't get me wrong. but like He's just not the same. And so Korea have plenty of other players that even if you take out Sun Hun, Sun, like they're still the best team in this group, but
00:13:40
Speaker
It's not far and away. And again, we've seen that these teams know how to play them. They're not like physically overwhelming. They're very technical. um I don't think jordan like Jordan is honestly having seen them. They're also more of a technical passing team. But yeah these are and these are games you get up for. Things are a little concerning right now for Korea. And I wouldn't be surprised if they come out of this with maybe one point or two points.
00:14:06
Speaker
And it's a frustrating window. And I think these two other teams, both both of them have to really you know believe that they can really upend the the the the status the status quo here. These are big games. I'm worried for Korea.
00:14:22
Speaker
Yeah, and and it's interesting because obviously the two challengers, if you will, in this group, if if you want to look at it this way in Iraq and Jordan, one of them theoretically should go to the World Cup, right? like That's the that's the the the point here. One of them should finish in second.
00:14:37
Speaker
um if both of them could could even get ahead of South Korea. But in this window, they're both they both also have home matches against lesser teams, right? Iraq opened up with a home match against Palestine. We know exactly how that match is gonna go. Jordan closed with a home match against Oman. And then Jordan also have the home match against South south Korea. Iraq have to travel to South Korea. So there's there's two different challenges for those teams in this window, right? There is the playing against South Korea challenge, which is a challenge in and of its own right. And then there's the taking care of business challenge, which an international football is sometimes a lot harder and a lot easier said than done.
00:15:08
Speaker
Yeah, well said. I think the you know ah pressure is on Jordan here. can they Can they get six points out of this? That would be big. um Really, really big to to getting one ah just a straight up spot. Yeah, Iraq, it's a tough trip. It's a tough trip um to to come out to South Korea, even despite the vibes.
00:15:27
Speaker
well We'll see, I do think Oman is horrible at either or go ahead. It's an easier trip if you bag three points against Palestine at home in the first game, right? You're playing with Palestine at that point. Neither Palestine nor Oman are horrible or bad even. They're they they're not easy games. They're not horrible, but they're bad, yes.
00:15:49
Speaker
Yeah, I can i could see both of those games requiring some second half efforting. Yeah, huffing and puffing. Yeah, which again, that's how that's how this stuff goes. But listen, if you're like, but we're coming in like, yeah, take your easy three points, then go get South Korea. And then one of these teams is going to come out with something horrible having gone wrong.
00:16:11
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, look, Palestine got a point away against South Korea in the last window. um we We mentioned the other three teams in this group, Palestine, Oman, and Kuwait. I think we're of the opinion that those are the three teams that are going to be fighting out for fourth here.
Uzbekistan's Matches in Asian Qualifiers
00:16:23
Speaker
ah interestingly um Oman play Kuwait at home and then away against Jordan, Kuwait play Palestine away in Oman away. So Kuwait have the non favorite window, if you will. Let's see what happens between those teams. I think they're all pretty even and there's going to be some scraps between those teams to to try and figure out who's going to be finishing in fourth at the end. All right. Let's close out the Asian preview here. a minute and Let's move up to group.
00:16:47
Speaker
A, we talked about Uzbekistan hitting into the last window. We said they had a big opportunity. They took advantage of it. They are kind of the prime team here a bit of, all right, we saw what you did. Now let's see if you're for real. You got the six points. You put those in your back pocket. Now you play home against the round on Thursday. That's a very good game, a very intriguing game. And then for Uzbekistan, they'll play at home against the UAE on the second match day. So you've got two home matches to consolidate what you did on the first day.
00:17:15
Speaker
Uzbekistan are on their familiar foes. i mean They shared a group in the last round. It was not a very competitive group. They both went through easily. They drew the two matches between them. I think these matches are a whole different animal because I think there's a lot more at stake in in the matches that these two teams will play. But I think that's very interesting if you look at that. um Iran meanwhile, we went to have the match against Uzbekistan and then they have a match against the Qatar team that we'll get to in a second. We'll probably be pretty desperate. Intriguing little group here with some some interesting matches.
00:17:45
Speaker
at play. Yeah. These are high stakes matches for a desperate q guitar team. Iran has to play the two good teams. So and yeahp we know Iran's good, but those are tough and and really the whole, you know, we love to talk about Uzbekistan on this podcast. This is one of the matches of their entire journey to see what see what they can get.
00:18:07
Speaker
you know if they don't get the three points or a point here is that go to mean their their their windows not no they've got other matches but like ye the pressure's on the onus is on i'm a hundred percent with you this is not the same as the last round where there was kind of
00:18:23
Speaker
really, really good game. um We know Iran's a little bit better, but Uzbekistan's got players. These two teams are are smart. I think it's going to be pretty grimy stuff. They're both defensive and trying to get their playmakers just any moment of space where where they can find some in a tough game.
Critical Nature of Upcoming Asian Qualifiers
00:18:43
Speaker
But Uzbekistan is going to turn some screws. So it's dangerous yeah dangerous to do that against Iran. Yeah, we we kind of know how this game is going to look. It's going to be super intense, super physical set pieces for sure. But I think you want to see this game. You want to see if Uzbekistan i can can throw everything they have to to get point or three points here. This is good stuff.
00:19:09
Speaker
It is good stuff. And then the other pressure point in this group is the other team kind of along with Australia that put themselves in a hole after the first two match days is Qatar, the host of the last World Cup. They are sitting on one point in this group, not very good results. And they have a window here where kind of like Australia, they have a must win match at home.
00:19:30
Speaker
You cannot drop points against Kyrgyzstan in this group, particularly when you've spotted the opposition five-point leads, and then they have a very tricky match against Iran that, from what I can tell, is gonna be played at a neutral venue due to everything that's happening in the Middle East. That's probably a break for Qatar, because tricky atmosphere away. Iran are still apparently trying to get the match to be played in Iran, so TBD will see what actually happens on Tuesday. But this is a a pressure-packed window for Qatar, and they kind of have to do things at this point, right? You can't back a bad window up with another bad window. Yeah, Kyrgyzstan at home must win, as you said. um I think for me, the the thing with ah Qatar and that we we looked at in the last window is how did that result happen? And it just kind of spiraled on them. And so, you know, cliche, but I i mean this, like,
00:20:21
Speaker
Let's see the intensity against how you know how how much so they want to come out and put Kyrgyzstan away. you know we don't want I don't want to see a second half huff and puff like I was talking about with you're facing the Oman's the ah of the world. You're facing the Palestine's. OK.
00:20:36
Speaker
You got to hop up the second half maybe because they're tough. Qatar should not be doing that. let's Let's lock in. Let's get three points easy. And then let's go be ready for a tough game against Iran. you know Do they need the three points there? No, but it would help a lot. They're chasing. Doesn't have to be made up this window. but like Let's see some professional displays from these guys. Because we know we know Qatar is good. And we we've talked all the time about how they've basically set themselves up as a federation to beat up on the these bad teams. That's why that result was so shocking the last time. All right. Let's see it, right? that It's pressure. And um more so than Australia, in my opinion.
00:21:15
Speaker
Um, just because of the way the group is and because Qatar is better than in Australia at this point. Is that crazy to say? So the no the yeah the pressure is fully on. Yeah. It's the type of game where like you want a thief and Ali, the guys who have have been with Qatar and doing things for such a long time. Like, like you said, you want this to be two to 25 minutes in and then you can just coast and you can go score more goals and a thief can do whatever he wants to do and pull cards out of where he wants to pull cards out. Right? Like that's, I think, that That's what Qatar are looking for UAE another interesting team I think in this group in this window They get North Korea at home on the first match day and then they have that match that we mentioned earlier away against Uzbekistan They've got three points in the bank. They're in a position to kind of challenge and then we haven't talked about North Korea They got two away matches here. They're just kind of the I don't know what's going on in this group But they've got two away matches and if they can build some points, we'll see what happens, right? I Yeah. I mean, they're they're one of the toughest teams to see in your group just because they're overvalued. We say that all the time. I don't know. You could tell me any outcomes are in play here. for Sure. Sure. Sure. I'll buy it. All right. So that is Asian Qualified. That first set of matches will come on Thursday. Second set of matches on Tuesday. Just to kind of repeat what we talked about. On Thursday, I think the most interesting matches are Australia at home against China to start off the morning.
00:22:32
Speaker
Uzbekistan, Iran later on in the late boarding window. You've got Qatar, Kyrgyzstan and then Saudi Arabia, Japan to wrap it up. I think those are the most interesting matches on the Thursday. Then on Tuesday, Japan, Australia to open up the day. And that's ah a great match. Korea, Iraq right after that is very good as well. And then Iran, Qatar in the afternoon, I think is going to be one of the matches that you will want to watch. All right. a minute Let's shift gears and let's move on to Conable. The old reliable Conable.
00:22:59
Speaker
World Cup qualification continues to March on. We're heading to match days nine and 10. We're going to hit the halfway point. Let's kind of check in around kind of bull a bit. We're going to go through all 10 teams in order of how they sit in the standings. We're going to do this lightning round style. We're going to spend a lot of time on some teams. We're going to spend not a lot of time on some teams. As we get later in the standings, we'll probably spend more times on the team because there is objectively more as take let's start at the top with Argentina.
00:23:24
Speaker
Lionel Messi is back. They're trading in Miami at their new headquarters in Miami. No Diva Martinez. He's suspended. Other guys are hurt. They should get six points from this window. Maybe they'll only get four points. None of it really matters. Like we'll see you in the U S in 2026, right? That's been kind of our theme with Argentina from the start here.
00:23:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think they're we're going to talk about Venezuela. Their first game is at Venezuela. um so you know Venezuela has a lot of ah urgency, desperation, and I think they're going to come out, be pretty hyped for it. And as always, with this point of Argentina, we kind of see where the motivation is. Might not might be there, might not be there.
00:24:03
Speaker
Even all of that, right? This this group should should still just be a very tough knot to crack for Venezuela for how good they are in any amount of space. So that's a very interesting game. I think it could be better than maybe we're expecting. um But what is there to say about the tortoises that hasn't been said? Like, yeah as you said, see you in 2026. The group is the group. um They have feasted on beating teams like this Venezuela team.
00:24:29
Speaker
and Their second game is Bolivia, which at home goes even more the way you think it goes. um They they just ring you out of the game and they play at a speed you can't match. um Venezuela ah are super, super intense. They get far. But I don't know that it may not give it enough credit. I give them more credit than anyone. That's a tough ask. Yeah. Argentina have to match Venezuela's intensity. I think that's the biggest key for that first game, right? Like You don't really want to be making a trip to play Venezuela away, especially when you've just been training in Miami, right? like I imagine things are fairly laid back with the Argentine national team at this point. You've got the Bolivian goal fest to come. If they don't match Venezuela's intensity, I think that could be interesting. If they match Venezuela's intensity, they will find a way to win that match. All right, second in the standings right now a bit is Colombia. They have an insanely long unbeaten run that was only broken up by what happened in the Copo America final, which technically goes down as a draw because of the 90 minutes, et cetera, et cetera. They're gonna put that run to the test in El Alto on Thursday against Bolivia. ah Some of these Colombian legs of it were not made to run in the altitude. That's an interesting match in a vacuum that will have no bearing on what Colombia actually do in the long term, but it's fun.
00:25:43
Speaker
It's totally fun because we're going to talk about Bolivia at the bottom of the standings. They've got to think like, you know, Colombia is sitting on their laurels. They're ripe for the pickings. They don't want to be here. They're just happy to like, they're fine. Same thing with the intensity, but it's one thing to match the intensity when you you know your Argentina and Venezuela. It's another thing at Al Alto. So this is a very ah tricky test. I mean, there's certainly pride. I'm putting air quotes on the unbeaten run, but at a certain level, like.
00:26:17
Speaker
Yeah. How much are you willing to suffer? Yes. You got to suffer to beat Bolivia and Bolivia a little bit or you've got to hit a thunderbolt. Five minutes hit. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, which this go yeah go ahead. I mean, see how Columbia approached that match. Like what lineup do they throw out ah teams in the past take.
00:26:38
Speaker
million different approaches to playing Bolivia in Bolivia. There are teams that just literally just don't send a team to fight. They just send whoever to go play Bolivia in Bolivia. So let's see with that. I'm intrigued by that. Second match at home against Chile is back to business as usual, right? You're playing a low block physical team. Guess what? Set pieces. Guess who's really good at set pieces? It's Colombia.
00:26:57
Speaker
um Again, none of this will have a bearing on on their long-term future. They are in a very safe spot, but it's intriguing because you you get a nice little look into, like you said, their mentality and and that that willingness to to suffer. ah We get to the third spot in the table in a minute. Things should be good with Uruguay, right? They're on 15 points. They're six clear of the cut line. They had a very solid Copa America performance, but things are not super good with Uruguay because we've had some friction in the last week. Luis Suarez recently retired from the national team, has said that but Marcelo Bielsa came out against Marcelo Bielsa, Agustín Canobio, who had been in the squad recently, did the same. There's some some fault that they had respecto quotes floating around. We've got team captains defending Marcelo Bielsa. We've got other members of the team saying everything that's been said has been true. ah This is kind of standard fare for Marcelo Bielsa. Generally get to this point at every point in his managerial turn. You're buying or selling the friction.
00:27:55
Speaker
what's the What's the context of these these quotes um that from Suarez and Canobio? Are they just they disgruntled? What are they unhappy about? That he's kind of upset things and cut them out of the squad or what? like Yeah, i think there's like a I think there's a general... feeling that Bielsa's tough, you know, like he's not gonna like call you, he's gonna tell you like it is. If you screw up, he's gonna tell you you screwed up, and he's gonna tell everybody else that you screwed up. And I think that has kind of been lacking maybe a bit with Uruguay. Luis Suarez loves to talk, like Luis Suarez is gonna talk. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And somebody just stuck a microphone in front of Luis Suarez, and he was just like, yeah, I'm gonna go against Bielsa, because this is what he does. oh Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's great for this to be happening.
00:28:40
Speaker
I agree with you. It's not great. You want more harmony. I think this, as you said, is what happens with Bill. So like he's a hard nose guy. He's intense. yeah He's intense. Also like, yeah, there's probably players in the squad that didn't respond well to his style. Sure. Got cut out. I mean, Suarez could have probably done this whole stick for maybe till 2026 with a different manager.
00:29:07
Speaker
But Uruguay wouldn't be better off for it. And um yeah, it's a merit-based thing a little bit. You know, Canobio's a good player. I'm not saying like he should or shouldn't be in, but like he probably was he probably like wasn't in Bielsa's eyes going to do what Bielsa needed.
00:29:24
Speaker
um Listen, as long as the team that he selects is willing to run for him and like believes in him, you have to buy the style. The second there's no buy-in in Beelzeball, it's over already yeah when you walk on the field.
00:29:38
Speaker
But like we've said in the past, what works is that his intensity and hard nosedness matches the the warrior mentality that you always associate with Uruguay. So like listen, are a bunch of warrior dudes going to have a little butting heads? I'll say that's what it is. you know Of course, I'm not buying any of this friction.
00:30:00
Speaker
but like Yeah, if the results stop going well, okay. Yeah, that's always been the issue for Bielsa. He runs out of rope everywhere. But like internationally, it's so different. He's bought himself so much time. what is there In the in the the decision tree or the reality tree of branches, how many of them or do you have in your mind where Bielsa is the manager in 2026?
00:30:25
Speaker
I mean, the only way it happens if he loses the team, right? And he he has to lose the majority of the team. Because look, it's not like it would have why I have a super deep pool where you can just go call other players. Like, not a lot to pick from here. So, if be like you said, it's a matter of the people he puts on the pitch have to be willing to run for him.
00:30:41
Speaker
And if they aren't willing to run for him, there's going to be a big problem. So I think this is kind of, I'm just going to file this away and see what happens. This could just be sour grapes being sour grapes, right? Like Augustine Kenobi was player, you know, 27 in the Uruguay player pool. Luis Suarez is old and perhaps kind of washed and doesn't want to run anyway.
00:31:01
Speaker
So like all right let's let's let's give this a little bit of time, but again, it's not a super great signal. That said, Peru Away, Ecuador at home, that should be relatively straightforward. you play like You know how they can play, and that should be good. So if it's not straightforward, I think we can kind of raise the red flag a bit here. Yeah. Uruguay, Ecuador is a great game, and we know Ecuador are always up for it. So like that'll be really good for for us to see what's up with the running, what's up with the intensity and Ecuador aren't really in danger of stuff, but they're still, they're still playing hard. Um, so that's a, that's a very good game. And yeah, I mean, if you can't take care of Peru, then, then we're, then we're having then there's no that there's some real big issues. So like, we're not going to say pressure, but like take care of business. Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:50
Speaker
Let's take this perfectly into Ecuador mid to the next team on the standings. They're 11 points. They're only two points clear of the drop. Ecuador has kind of just been a game better than everybody else at every single point. And that kind of feels like it's going to continue. So, all right, they've got big one with Paraguay on Thursday and Quito, then they have that Uruguay match.
00:32:08
Speaker
You just got to keep picking up points, right? Like, it might not be linear in that they always win the matches they should win. They always lose the matches. But like, all right, you've got two opportunities here. You need multiple points. So I don't know if it's three at home against Paraguay and zero in Montevideo. I don't know if it's one in each. I don't know. it's yeah you know Just keep chugging along, and and you'll get there because you're better than teams you're playing against. I agree 100%. Not a lot to add on Ecuador. um They're a solid team, as you said. that They keep doing their job. and um Listen, we we know Powerwise is not very good defensively. I know Ecuador aren't like world beaters in attack, but let's see you create a bunch of quality chances. And okay, result, result. But attacking performances, I'd like to see two good ones from Ecuador.
00:32:56
Speaker
Yeah, and look, Paraguay, they're going to bunker. They're going to make life hard. They're going to look to hit on the counter. Nail-nail is a good result for Paraguay, so that's that's interesting there. All right, you want to do the Brazil bit, or you want me to do the Brazil bit? No, by all means, it's yours.
00:33:10
Speaker
I mean, look, you know what we're going to say about Brazil. ah They're sitting in fifth place on 10 points in the standings. They're one point clear of the drop. They're one point clear of missing everything out altogether. You know what we think about this team. We've done this conversation on to every podcast, what they've done. They've got Chile away and Peru at home. That's a really good chance of it. Just bag the six points and we can just like stop doing this charade every single time, but they haven't been able to do that.
00:33:35
Speaker
ah They've already had five guys drop out of this squad with injury. That's not great. Vinicius Jr. and Allison are among that. um If you thought Brazil were bad with Vinicius Jr., i mean things aren't gonna get better without him, right?
00:33:49
Speaker
No, this is, see like both of us have been on the record, like Brazil's probably going to be fine, but if things weren't going to be fine, and i missing Vinny, missing five players, these two games, but Brazil can't, can't lose these two games. You can't, no. You can't, yeah you can't, but Ah, this is fun stuff um for everyone that's not a Brazil fan. If you're a Brazil fan, you're having a miserable time. um These are not going to be easy wins. They simply have to do it. um I can see this going a few ways. I think that the way Brazil would like to happen, or you maybe everyone would hope would happen, is Brazil go, we just need to put six points in, and even the rest of this cycle will be miserable. We can limp, muddle, stumble our way through it. We'll be fine.
00:34:41
Speaker
Or it could be, man, we're having such a bad time. We don't have any. This is just brutal. We don't want to be here. And you just get in a really, really bad spot.
00:34:53
Speaker
like this is This is hard. Am I crazy? Like last window on our last podcast, I said, Oh, they're fine. They'll be fine. And I'm here today to be like, they're not so fine. I'm a little worried. Yeah. Well, so what they didn't, what they didn't worry about anything is they picked up the least
Challenges in South American Qualifiers
00:35:11
Speaker
impressive three points in the history of three points, right? Like they were utterly outplayed in the match that they won and they got beat by a pretty limited Paraguay side, like not great. And what did they change from that? They've gotten worse. They took their best player out of the equation. And the the other injuries aren't insignificant, right? yeah These are backups, Brazil backups and not elite players on the back line, right? In the front line. Yeah. um I'm looking at the these guys they've called in like.
00:35:39
Speaker
you I mean, you, you know, these players honestly better than I do. Like these aren't elite players. They're, they're better than the teams are playing, but not like, oh this isn't easy. Like Brazil is going to create a bunch of chances. They're really going to have to labor labor in these games. So yeah, it's like, who is the difference maker in this team, right? Like they're running out of the field of like pocket talking about ice. Like Andreas Paredo might be in the conversation and he maybe he,
00:36:03
Speaker
Maybe he's the guy that makes a difference because he we've seen on there is prayer like make things happen Just like it's tough Yeah, like Rodrigo, Raffina, Gabrielle, Martelly, like, I don't think, you know, I don't think Chile are quaking in their boots at the site. Like Chile are a whole different equation because like, I don't know where their vibes are at either. But if Chile are up for this, they can make life hard. And then, you know, you've got the Peru thing, which like they're playing for their lives. Again, they're playing two bad teams. They're playing the two worst teams in the table. If this isn't easy, nothing is going to be easy for Brazil. So get the six points and then we can just stop doing this every single time we do this podcast.
00:36:38
Speaker
All right, we move a bit further down in it to Venezuela, who are level on points of Brazil. They're behind on goal differential. um They're trending down. They didn't have a great September window. This is a tricky window coming up. There's probably not a bigger match incongruable this window than Venezuela Parkway on Tuesday in Asunción. Yeah, I mean, 100 percent. It is the match for, you know, who gets in, who's not six, seven. Like it's all you know, all the marbles are in.
00:37:06
Speaker
And given how things have gone for Venezuela, um you know I've expressed a lot of belief. and Belief is belief. I mean, this is the game where you have to show, not me, you have to show yourself and everyone that you can do it. And it's a really tough match on the road. And I think Venezuela are better than Paraguay, but I don't think it's easy or overwhelming at all. I think it's really, really tough. they're going to have to have their best players step up and break down what we know Paraguay are going to do. um So really, really tough match. And I have some optimism they could catch a sleepy Argentina. But even then, like you're just trying to intensity them to a point. right like There might be a point there for Venezuela to get. I think my concern with Venezuela is kind of the opposite of what we talked about at the start of the show. that this is these you know These close windows together is a chance to build momentum. I also think it's a chance to spiral a little bit. right like
00:38:04
Speaker
Didn't have a great window of September. Okay, you got a good point against Uruguay. You got smashed it at an Al-Alto. Like if Venezuela come out of this, you know, they get beat by Argentina who are just better than them. They go to the smash of Succion and you kind of start to get to like, man, gosh, we're in this again. We're in the same spot we're always in. We're like, that's not a great place for them to be. So this is a really big window for them because they need to inject a little bit of positivity here because, you know, this is going to circle right back around. And in November, they're going to be right back at it and they have Brazil at home in Chile away and those aren't going to be easy. There's just not easy matches floating around in Conville. No, they're not. That's the whole like you know thesis of this region. and so This is really, really tough. um i They have to know that. and It kind of goes to, like I think you start getting the years and generations
00:38:54
Speaker
of historical pressure, seriously from Venezuela. So let's see what they're made of. And, you know, specifically Rondon. Yeah, for Rondon and Rincon, right? Like ring co yeah like two veteran players to just step up and be like, all right, we're doing something.
00:39:10
Speaker
I know, we know Venezuela isn't so much better than Paraguay, but they have three, maybe four difference makers in attack. Paraguay have one and Paraguay have no interest in doing anything. So like, listen, I know you're on the, you're on the road in a sense on, but like.
00:39:27
Speaker
This is the whole point of everything you do is that you're your difference makers are going to get you a match winning moment. And that's what that's what it comes down to. So really, really ah fun, exciting, tense, dramatic game that ah we'll see what Venezuela can do.
00:39:41
Speaker
We talked a lot about Paraguay. They're the next team in the standings. They're on nine points. They're a point back of Venezuela equal on goal differential. ah We talked about that Paraguay Venezuela game that comes on Tuesday. There's also that Paraguay Ecuador game that we mentioned earlier on Thursday, a little bit of revenge maybe for Gustavo Faro, the former Ecuador manager.
00:39:58
Speaker
ah Paraguay just needs to keep putting points together. They're a team that kind of feels like they're trending a little bit upwards. They had, in contrast to some of these other teams, a really good September window, and that can be vital for them because they can stack a little bit of that momentum. You know, in September, they picked up a point away to Uruguay. They beat Brazil at home. Those are four good points. Four-point windows are very good in Conville, particularly when we get this far down in the table. So if they can do something similar again, they're in good shape. We know the recipe. We know the names.
00:40:27
Speaker
set pieces or it's, or it's, you know, on their own trying to do something from the midfield. They're going to be compact. They're going to be hard to break down. They're going to try to defend. They're going to like make life hard. Like there's, we know the story here. Let's see what they do.
00:40:41
Speaker
We've talked about Paraguay in the other matches you just highlighted. There's nothing to add. Also, remember remembering their win against Brazil was a 25-yard volley, and then they sat on that 1-0 lead the rest of the way. Do they have designs to score in these two games? No, not at all. It's like, if we get something, that would be nice.
00:41:03
Speaker
Some pieces are screamers, right? Like, that's how they're going to score. Yeah. Can they get, you know, a point, a match on the way to to to the magic number? Is there a plan? um Yeah. I like so despise this the way this team plays. But like if you're in the Paraguay camp, like things have just kind of set up for you here to catch to catch Venezuela.
00:41:28
Speaker
um And I think they you know they're they're a bit more experienced at this whole thing, managerial-y, player-wise. I believe they're worse. I truly do than Venezuela. But like they they've got savvy. They obviously can defend. um Let's see. this This could happen. This could happen. And also, I think The mentality shift of getting ahead of Venezuela in the table, however they do it. but That's massive. Yeah, because now Venezuela is chasing you and you're the team that can sit and bank points and play ugly. So it's a big match. We said it. There's no doubt about it. Another big match of it is Bolivia, Colombia on Thursday. Bolivia have their away points for the cycle. They got three points in Chile. They're not doing anything more than that. They know they're not doing anything more than that.
00:42:15
Speaker
ah They have to keep putting pressure on the teams above them. Columbia on Thursday is probably a must win. We talked about the Colombian side of it with the motivation. Bolivia need to come out. They need to play like gangbusters. They need to run as hard as they can. They need to run for as long as they can. And they need to pick up three points in that game because they're certainly not getting anything against Argentina on Tuesday.
00:42:35
Speaker
Yeah, the the Paraguay thing was, can they get a point in every game on their way to the line? And Bolivia is the opposite. What if we punted half of our matches? yeah And it just went all in. No, we don't we know what Bolivia does. um Is it must win? Like, yeah, Colombia, you might be able to slide. But I don't know, right? Like, this is as ripe as you're going to get them. And your feeling is good. And I think the match is in succession here part of it.
00:43:01
Speaker
like the momentum thing, especially applies to this, this Bolivia run. Like, um, I think they just want, they want to keep momentum, like they have a bit of momentum. They got six points in the last window. You want to keep that going because okay. Yeah. Can you drop scenarios in which Bolivia gets through in seventh or six without beating Columbia home? Of course, even without giving them, you know, random miracle away points, but it just is so much easier if you keep the whole momentum going and you make teams scared because like,
00:43:28
Speaker
Altitude is, you know, 75% is physical and the other 25% is mental and you just get in teams head. And so now you've got a whole other thing. We're like, Oh, you thought it was hard. We were used to play. We're even higher now. And you just mess with teams heads and you get in that. And so if you can bag another three points and you, and you get into those teams head, I think that could go a long way for them. Yeah. I'm with you a hundred percent. Like, look, when we start this thing, anything like is Bolivia in the seven that they're never in the seven. They're never close to the seven.
00:43:58
Speaker
But as things stand, right this is their chance. So i expect gangbusters is the word. Expect all hands up. This is this is their game of of the whole darn window as of now until they get another one, if they can. yeah So let's see it.
00:44:13
Speaker
So here, the the the home games left for Bolivia in this cycle. They've got Colombia coming up here in October. In November, they have a whole match against Paraguay. That's a huge opportunity. That obviously has to be three points. Then you look at next year, they play Uruguay, Chile, and Brazil at home to close out their home site.
00:44:30
Speaker
Let's be kind and say that there's maybe a point for them to get somewhere along the way in the in what's left here, whether it's Ecuador away in November, whether it's Venezuela away next June, whether it's Peru away in March, maybe there's a point or two to get. I think they need to win all but one of those home matches. I think of the five home matches left, you've got to be sure and probably need a point in the other one.
00:44:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you're counting it like that. it's It's not great. But if Brazil are already comfy on last day, you can talk yourself into that. But then you really need this one. You have to be chilling in Paraguay. You need this one. Or would you say Uruguay was the other? Uruguay, yep. Yeah. So this one or Uruguay, you've got to have. And that's banking on sleepy Brazil, which, yeah. And i'dt like to have the I'd like to have the one first. I'd like to keep my mulligan for later on, right? Right, right, right. So no, I mean, that's why we just you just heard both of us say it. Like, this is this is as big as it gets for a team that doesn't get this close usually. All right, we've talked about eight of the 10 carnival sides. i think
00:45:30
Speaker
Those eight teams, I think, are realistically still in the fight here. Now we get to the very bottom of the table. We've got two teams that are in trouble. We'll start with ninth place. Chile admit, Ricardo Garreca is still in charge, which feels like it's kind of a story. And I've got my theory on this. You want you want to hear my Ricardo Garreca theory? Oh, gosh, yeah. well You know where Ricardo Garica is still in charge? Because Chile have to play Brazil and Colombia in this window. New manager bounce isn't going to help you against Brazil and Colombia. You know who's coming in November? Peru, Venezuela. So I think this is a calculated gamble here. We're going to let Ricardo Garica play out his contract here in October. It's going to be bad. We're probably going to lose. But when we get those six points from the new manager bounce in November,
00:46:13
Speaker
It's all on the cards. The vibes are impeccably bad with Chile. They just lost at home against Bolivia. Arturo Vidal is outside of the national team, just lobbing grenades at everything and everyone that will listen. It's not good, right? No, it's quite bad. I mean, I was going to say, like what's the precedent for these you know bottom half of the table teams doing multiple manager changes in a cycle? Yeah. does that how How often does it happen? A little bit?
00:46:39
Speaker
I mean, like Chile are going to need to do it. like Ricardo Garica is not going to be their manager at the end of October, I don't think, unless they somehow get points. And I just can't imagine that. The team is just not very good. i mean it's everything you said about It's everything we've said about Chile from the start. It's pretty poor. And I think that result last window kind of did them in. yeah Because even but bounce, new manager, no bounce, even six points against Peru and Venezuela, which assuredly they won't get. I'm sorry. it to Lucky to get six that's still like probably not even enough to get all the way where they need to go So it's it's tough out here. I don't know. They're not good. What's your number in your head 21? I think you need to get to 20. Yeah, I think it's a 20. Yeah, and they're at five They're still nine. They're still nine short against non-prove, Venezuela. So like They probably did themselves in last window. um I don't know. let's
00:47:35
Speaker
Yeah, they're bad. Like we've written them off. I comfort. You don't want to write anyone off, but we've written them off. Yeah. Speaking of written off a bit. Let's close with 10th place crew. They're on three points. They're six points back.
00:47:47
Speaker
with 10 to play, and they now have to play Uruguay at home on Friday and Brazil away on Tuesday. At some point, it's got to happen, and if it doesn't happen, it's not going to happen. like These are hard matches, but when you're six points back, you just you have to do something here because you you don't have enough easy matches left to make up that gap. Yeah. In the same sense that we say there are no easy matches, like it goes to the credit of the teams at the bottom that they're not easy to pick up points against in Peru, like play perfectly hard. um Like, is there ah that much of a talent gap between Paraguay and Peru? ah No, but no, we're bad. But Peru, but no, no, but like talent capture. But like Peru are bad. and Yeah. Paraguay are like serviceable.
00:48:35
Speaker
trying to get in the sixth or seventh, right? And like that's the difference here. Peru are done. ah They're written off. They're not getting they're they're on three points. and Yeah, I mean, I'm willing to give this window to pull off a miracle. like Show me some signs of life. Get four points here, and we can talk. But when they don't, like the math is just not going to be there for Peru at that point. so All right, that closes out what we've got here on Conable. Again, we highlighted that Paraguay Venezuela match on Tuesday. I think that's one we're definitely going to want to watch. I think Bolivia, Colombia, it's just a great way to kick off the Conable site, all right? Like Thursday afternoon, sun's shining in El Alto. There's no air.
00:49:14
Speaker
Bolivia are just banging in shots from 40 yards. Thomas Rodriguez is like, what am I doing with my life at this point? I hope they don't put him in the 11, but if they do, that's going to be his reaction. It's a great way to start it off. And then, um, Venezuela, Argentina is interesting. Ecuador, Paraguay is a big match on Thursday. So top to bottom, great matches to come in. conableol All right. a minute Let's close out the show.
00:49:32
Speaker
Ted to Oceana, we've got two major questions as we kick off Oceana qualifying
Oceania's Path to the World Cup
00:49:37
Speaker
in earnest. We, of course, had the play in round to come. Here's what we've got. We've got eight teams in Oceana. They are, for the first time ever, competing for a direct spot to the World Cup. That is a big deal. It has been a long time since an Oceana team made the World Cup. 2010 was the last time a team from Oceana was at the World Cup. That will change in 2026.
00:49:57
Speaker
eight teams playing in Oceania qualifying they're split into two groups of four they will play one match this window here in October then they will play the other two group stage matches in November and then in March the top two teams from those groups will go to the semi-finals and in the semi-finals The winners will play a final where the winner will go to the World Cup and the loser will go to the intercontinental playoff. So there's two big questions in Oceania. The number one question is, can anybody beat New Zealand? The answer is probably not. And here's the data to back it up. New Zealand have been the taste of a town in Oceania for quite some time. They've qualified for the playoff in every World Cup cycle. They were the last Oceanic team to qualify for the World Cup.
00:50:40
Speaker
And you and I, we're big fans of the FIFA World Rankings, particularly for teams that we don't know a whole lot about. They're a good way to kind of separate teams and put teams in where they generally lie internationally. New Zealand and there are 47 spots ahead of the second place team in Oceania. That's the Solomon Islands, who are at 141. New Zealand is currently ranked 94th. Behind the Solomon Islands, there are 27 spots between the Solomon Islands and seventh place Papua New Guinea, who are at 168.
00:51:04
Speaker
Samoa are way far behind, they're the 18. So New Zealand also of have more players playing in the Europe's top leagues. There's probably about six of them, depending on your opinion on what league one counts as a top league in Europe or not. I don't know, mileage may vary. ah That's more than the one combined for the rest of Oceania. This whole qualification cycle is, can anybody topple New Zealand? That's question one. Then question two is, who's gonna finish in second? And I think it's gonna be a really interesting battle.
00:51:29
Speaker
Well, I just get straight to the second question there. There's not a lot to add. and Can anyone beat New Zealand? Look, in in a final, when we get to the you know last, last game, sure, things can happen. And you play a one-off match 100%. You try your best. It's stealing a line from you that you're going to say later.
00:51:47
Speaker
but um Yeah, no, New Zealand are going to be fine here. this is The rest of it, though, is like bumper cars. It's three matches to get four teams ah into one-off playoffs. like That's awesome.
00:51:59
Speaker
ums Yeah, I don't know. like Fiji and Solomon Islands. the Fiji are probably the favorites, right? and the other In the other ah group. Yeah, they they get a whole match. Again, they get that match against the Solomon Islands at home here in October. That might be a big help. Papoonu getting host to the two matches in November. These matches are played at at central sites so that they're not hopping around the islands all the time.
00:52:22
Speaker
Vanuatu hosts the matches in the other group in October, while New Zealand will host in November, and then the the matches in March are going to be played in New Zealand. That's a big help for New Zealand too, right? Every important match you play is also going to be at home. like i think we're kind of New Zealand is also the team in Oceania that if anybody's going to make noise at the World Cup, it's them, so this qualification cycle has kind of been been built to to help them, I think.
00:52:43
Speaker
Look, I can't differentiate between the 16. What I can tell you is Sabo are not going to do very well. And I can't tell you pretty much anything else. I need to see these teams play. out I need to see what's going to happen. But I think it's going to be exciting because there's a ton at stake. And then my kind of counter second question here is, if you are the team that finishes in second, right you get to that final, you should probably just beat New Zealand. right like The easiest way to make the World Cup is to beat New Zealand in that final because I don't think the team from Oceania is going to go to the Intercontinental playoff and do anything.
00:53:14
Speaker
Yeah, that's the line I stole. You have to do your best to do it. I don't know what your odds are, what your chances are on beating New Zealand in a one-off game. They're certainly higher to beat. Like, if you're going to say, path A is beat New Zealand in a one-off match in New Zealand, path B is beat two legitimate national teams from outside Oceana. Like, let's just, I don't know. I just throw names out here. Like, UAE and Paraguay. Like, Song Islands aren't beating the UAE and Paraguay. Right? So like, if you're going to make the World Cup, you should just beat New Zealand.
00:53:44
Speaker
Yeah, and we know what the game looks like. And New Zealand, yeah, are probably worse than those other teams. So yeah, let's and let's see what happens. we'll We'll have a better idea after watching these teams for three, four games before they have to try it.
00:53:58
Speaker
Love that New Zealand are trotting out Chris Wood and Costa Barbarossa's 32 and 34 as their top two attacking players. Like, look man, New Zealand aren't gonna make things difficult for themselves, right? They're gonna say, we are more skilled than you, we are better. We're gonna lump it long. We're gonna trust that we can technically bring the ball down, play it into space and put it in the back of the net. That's the game plan, right? Yeah, no, chris Chris Wood's miles, miles better than anyone else in this region. So there you go.
00:54:26
Speaker
Yeah, I also like the bumper cars analogy for everything else. Like, it's not going to follow any sort of logic. They're just going to kind of be spinning around, banging into each other, running into the wall. Like, at the end of the day, somebody's going to dance. I don't know. how you How do you win? You don't actually win bumper cars, right? Like, you just go bang around for 10 minutes, right? Like, there's no actual winners, are there? Not in, like, a an event sense of, oh, we went and did bumper cars. You just knocked people around. If you said, like, Mario Kart or something was like that, then, yeah, that's different. but ah Who's getting the blue shell, right? Keep the Mario Kart analogy going. All right, that's it for us on this edition of the World Cup After Dark. If we're getting the Mario Kart, we've gone on for way too long. Amit and I will be back next week to recap what we saw here in World Cup qualifying. Enjoy the matches, and as always, if you are not yet, you can become one of our patrons. Patreon.com slash WCAD.
00:55:18
Speaker
access to exclusive shows and access to the very helpful World Cup master qualification spreadsheet where you can get the full schedule for all of the matches as well as where to stream in both the US and Argentina if you're living in the same country that I am. So be sure to check that out. $3 a month gets you access to all that. Patreon dot.com slash WCAD. Amit and I will be back ah next week to recap what we've seen from this window.
00:55:43
Speaker
ah 2 a.m. Central Time Solomon Islands Fiji on a Wednesday into Thursday morning a minute. Can I interest you? No, no, I will be asleep. I can't I can't do that one. But some of the Asian matches, you know, might have to see what we can do to get Australia a little screen time. Yeah, there there we go. morning But but six. And I don't know the number you said are different propositions.
00:56:06
Speaker
2 a.m. was the number that I said. Not a great not a great time. 2 a.m. is easy to do, but the 4 a.m. finishes will really get you with those ones, right? You can stay up to two, but it's the two hours in there. All right, that's it from us. We will chat to you guys next week. Thanks as always for listening.