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WCAD 4-32: Gustavo Alfaro's Travelling Magic Spectacular
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Austin and Amit recap a banner day of World Cup Knockout Round action, starting with Gustavo Alfaro's best trick yet: eliminating Germany on penalties. They then dig deep on a high-level matchup between Morocco and the Netherlands that was decided on penalites, and close the show by giving Carlo Ancelotti's his props as Brazil rallied for a 2-1 win over Japan.
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Transcript
The Magic of Gustavo Alfaro
00:00:01
Speaker
And for his next trick, Gustavo Alfaro will make Germany disappear. Abracadabra, alakazam. Look, if you thought you were getting anything other than upwards of 20 minutes of cornball jokes about Gustavo Alfaro cosplaying as an old-timey magician at the county fair, you've come to the wrong place. You saw in the title of the podcast. You clicked play anyway.
A Chaotic Knockout Day
00:00:25
Speaker
You're inside the World Cup after dark. I'm Austin Miller. He's Amit Malik. And on an absolutely bonkers day of World Cup knockout football, Amit, there's only one place for this show in particular to start. We could have really started anywhere.
00:00:40
Speaker
just complete carnage chaos. One of the best world cup days of all time. And there are plenty of great world cup days.
Key Knockout Strategies
00:00:49
Speaker
Knockout football is just so good when these teams are at such high levels. It's so good. i mean, there was, you know, six good teams on the field today and maybe the worst team on the field also is one of the teams that won. And so gosh, just trying to process it all is insane. they These were all really high level games and We're about to talk about some some maxims of knockout soccer. So I'll let you give your your opening ones, then I'll add one. But you can't tell, we're just buzzing from the action today.
00:01:19
Speaker
So when we recorded the big long round of 32 podcast, right, we went into the tactical chessboard on all of these games and we talked about the things that could make a difference. We talked about the matchups. We talked about the style of play. And then at some point in the show, you and I just kind of looked at each other and we said, look, we're doing all of this. We're going to ah into all of this and it's fun and it's good and it's exciting. But at the end of the day, we could just keep circling back to the same points on all these games and it's take your chances.
00:01:49
Speaker
limit your mistakes and practice your penalties. And look on the first full day of the round of 32, we got three knockout round games between five high level teams and one joker, right?
00:02:02
Speaker
And what were the three things that kept coming up in these
Elimination Due to Mistakes
00:02:05
Speaker
games? Take your chances, limit your mistakes and practice your penalties. And Oh, look, all three of the teams that are out broke one of those three rules.
00:02:14
Speaker
Yeah, it's little reductive, but it's the truth of it. And the other thing I i want to add is that the in-game changes worked. The managers really, really um were very, very important today.
Tactical Influence in Matches
00:02:27
Speaker
Having a plan B, having a credible plan B, um being able to execute it can totally change the game. It can buy you time. it's It's a battle of attrition, but all these little, like the chessboard is real. And I thought particularly in the Brazil-Japan game,
00:02:43
Speaker
manager wins his team, the game, Carlo Ancelotti, his players do it, but like that, they were, they were down ah and they really come back. And I thought, you know, the the push pull between the managers in Morocco, Netherlands is one of the highest level international tactical football games that you will see. This was a semi-final level, obviously not like top two, top four teams in the world, but at least the quarterfinal level. And to get that the round 32, it was a treat, a delight.
00:03:10
Speaker
And Man, just trying to still try to process it all. Like we we talked about set pieces. They were important, too. We talked about who's going to finish your chances, who's not going regret, finish your chances that that came down to. And yeah, I think part of the take your chances part of what you're saying is like press your advantage to like you it take your chances in the vein of the game. Like when you're in control, you can't you can't come up empty handed.
00:03:41
Speaker
so So you mentioned two of the games being these high-level tactical push and pulls with subs and switches and changes. And so naturally, this show is going to go to the third game, which was the old-timey Gustavo Alfaro magician starting
Alfaro's Tactical Mastery
00:03:56
Speaker
his show. He opens up his bag to to Julian Nagelsman. He says, look inside.
00:04:01
Speaker
There's nothing inside, right? It's empty. And then for 120 minutes, Gustavo Alvaro proceeds to just pull things out of his bag and go deep into his bag of tricks. And at the end of it all, it's the Paraguay bus parking that gets it over the line with a little help from VAR, a little help from finishing, and a penalty shootout that they dominated. And really am admit, we knew that if Paraguay were going to win, this is how they were going to do it.
00:04:29
Speaker
We shouldn't be too surprised that they actually did it, but you're still just left shaking your hand that somehow they got away with it. everything went right for them. It was his latest, greatest, most spectacular magic trick, particularly on the the disallowed VAR goal, which, you know, I don't think either of us like the ref chat.
00:04:51
Speaker
um It's an interesting place to start. Actually, it's not an interesting place to start. I hate starting there, but like that to me was his greatest trick in this game is that Germany score to go up to one.
Controversial VAR Decisions
00:05:02
Speaker
Right. And you think that they've, they've done an extra time and there's contact on Orlando Gill in the, in the penalty area and the arms are outstretched and he kind of run into the arms and he falls down. and after a big, big celebration for Germany, we come to the monitor and it's disallowed and, you know, talk about the, the, the legality or not. This is where I was like, Oh my gosh, somehow Alfaro has, has like really pulled out the deepest, deepest trick. Um, and,
00:05:32
Speaker
But, but, but, butp but, but is that his team is down his team is up by two penalty kicks in the penalty shootout. And Germany comes back and you're like, no, he's finally got all the way to to the finish line and he's just tripped. But no, that's what makes him such a great Chauvin and a magician and this team such a great like story is that they The six shot, they still get the the big miss from Ta and win. And so the roller coaster of the bus park, I think, was just top, top tier theater from from Paraguay and ah truly a team defending effort. We knew we knew this is what it was going to be. And the fact that it went to the bit exactly like with every little trick happening is just like the the World Cup after dark magic, I think, at its best. Look, you put your nickel in the bin, you go and you sit, it's half full, and you and you know what tricks are coming, you know how they're going to be performed, and yet it still works, it still draws you in, it still pulls you in, and that's what this was from Gustavo Alfaro. And on the VAR point, we can get into it but deeper as we kind of do our run-through of this game.
00:06:40
Speaker
But to me, it feels like it it's cynical, right? And so like I get that maybe there's not enough contact, that that maybe we don't necessarily want that to be a foul. But to be completely honest with you, like it's cynical from Anton, right? Like he has his hands on Gil. He knows exactly what he's doing. Like, I don't, that's not what I want the game to become. I don't want it to become these moving screens and contact
Jostling in Set Pieces
00:07:05
Speaker
on set pieces. So I'm fine with it being waved off, but I understand that it's a very controversial call because these are the type of things that particularly maybe in in big European club games you get away with.
00:07:16
Speaker
Yeah, this is the Premier League this year. This is what happens on a lot of the set pieces. This is the whole meatball discourse is that you can kind of get into players in the box and particularly the goalkeeper and get away with it. and That's why set piece jostling has been more effective. And i agree with you. I don't want to see that contact with the goalkeeper. So um I actually am fine with the call as well. So I think I think we're in agreement there. So let's take this from the top, right? So so Julian Nagelsmann, who we kind of ragged on for being a bit stubborn in the group stage, makes a change with his 11, right? He brings in Denis Undov here. He takes off Musiala. He also gets Natnall Brown back at left back after he had missed the Ecuador game. There's no surprises at all from Paraguay. It's the blockiest you've ever seen. Avalos is the only man up top. He also brings in Jose Canale for Alderete at center back. Alderete kind of got knocked there got got got a knock in the last game against Australia.
00:08:12
Speaker
And Paraguay then admit nearly get a dream start here, right? Junior Alonso gets poor contact. He has a wide open chance for a finish. I think he was maybe offside. Nor gets a paw to it. And then from there, Germany kind of just settle into their passing pattern rhythm and Pargwais settle into their block. And that's really how the first half develops.
00:08:32
Speaker
Yeah, Pargwais block is really effective exactly the way we expect it to be. And I think Nagelsmann gets some things wrong here.
00:08:42
Speaker
i think Udendorf is not a bad idea to get in this game, right? They're clearly more effective when he's in. They've shown that through the the three games of the group stage. But the issue I have is twofold. One is taking off Musiala as the player you replace him with. And I think if you're going to take off someone, it probably should have been Havertz.
00:09:01
Speaker
Havertz is at his best in space, in transition, pressing where his work rate's really good. It's not a game for him to press a team with the ball. You have your your target focal point is balls to the feet of Undov. And then Havertz just kind of gets lost in the sauce. You need someone to get on the ball and dribble into those areas to try to create a little sliver of space on the edges of the box. That's what Musiala does. Again, that's what we said in the preview. like He's going to be really useful at that. And without him, you just... Okay, you have two strikers on the field, but you're not going full box assault mode because it's the first half and you're just kind of walking your way into it. And the second thing is the clear stubbornness and attachment to Leroy Sané that...
00:09:45
Speaker
was really, really poor. I think from a managerial evaluation perspective, Leroy Sanai was bad all year at Galatasaray. Since he got his surgery, I believe it's a torn ACL. He's had no pace. And without his pace, he's a very limited player. And on top of that, okay, some players, they lose their pace and they provide a lot of quality on the ball in other ways.
00:10:05
Speaker
He was not today. I mean, you see, i don't know if you're online, not you, Austin, the listeners, I'm sure you've seen the memes of it. like He does nothing. He's extremely
Sané's Performance Critique
00:10:16
Speaker
containable. He's extremely playable on his day. They they show like what he does in his 60 minutes, and it's like one of nine on take-ons. Six times the ball is lost. He doesn't gain the ball back.
00:10:27
Speaker
And it's something we use to describe players who do this is a black hole on the field. And the entire German right side is now less effective because of this. They can't go that way. It's really frustrating to see how bad it is. And the black hole of Sané, what it does, and you just said it, it tilts everything left for Germany because Parwai don't have to worry as much about the ball going that way. And so every single German passing attack is like, we want to go right.
00:10:53
Speaker
No, we're going left. and it just keeps kind of sweeping back to the left side, that really makes the job easier for Paraguay. And in the first half, Germany pretty much do nothing, right? They just have the ball and Paraguay cut it out at spots. They don't really create anything. Undov isn't as involved as you would like. And that's where I think starting Undov made sense in a way, but it also didn't make sense in a way because that's kind of the guy you want when you're fully committed to box crashing and you're lumping it in there and you're chasing. And because you used the 60 minutes of Undov when they did, they didn't really get that effect from him. They have to go later in this game to, it's obviously big Nick. And it just kind of made it so that it just didn't work for Germany in the first half.
00:11:35
Speaker
Yeah, we'd said we wanted to see Undov play with Germany's best players, but one of them is Musiala. Like, we wanted Musiala and Wurz. And I think you see when Musiala and Wurz are on the field together, Germany are much more dangerous at that stretch in the second half. And that's even without Undov. That's with other players on the field. So...
00:11:54
Speaker
um It was a bit confounding. Even then, even then, the game still looks the way it does. And you're like, Paraguay are not really threatening, but that two man game is just enough and it's earning some corners. And then we see the first the first trick of the game.
00:12:11
Speaker
Earning some corners a bit of an overstatement. I mentioned the the first attack that they had in the first 90 seconds. Their second quarter comes in the 40th minute, and that's where Paraguay take advantage, right? And that's what this is, is they're so freaking good at taking what little opportunity you give. You give them that space, and they're pouncing, and they're in it. So it's a corner for Miguel Almiron. He takes it. It's punched out by Manuel Neuer. And this, admit, is where I think this play is made. It's Damian Bobadilla recycling the play for Paraguay, right? He makes a recovery run, kills the counter, recycles possession, and then he gets it back to Almiron. And then Auburn plays an overlap with Matias Galarza. And Julio Nciso is just wide open in the box. Gets a perfectly positioned header. Germany just lost in Ciso. Auburn played a great ball. And it's Paraguay banking going on the one chance they got in the first half.
00:13:02
Speaker
And Germany just can't lose Julian and Ciso here in the box. It makes no sense. He's the one guy that can hurt you. But it's just kind of the the perfect little sequence for Paraguay. Like, they're not doing this again. um It's a really, really smart ball from Elmiron because you know he's leveraging his left foot to think he might cross it in the box or shoot. And then you just get that runner behind him ah for Galarza. And you said, like...
00:13:29
Speaker
The Bobadilla plays everything. That's just that little like scrap half inch ah of winning the ball in an important spot. And it it just feels like Germany gets punked. Like it just feels like it's their not their day. Like they just been huffing and puffing in this what you said, the second corner. I said multiple corners. Technically multiple. Technically, right?
00:13:51
Speaker
Yeah, technically. And
Paraguay's Corner Exploits
00:13:52
Speaker
it's like. this what alfaro does part one part one we're counting i think what's so big about the bobadier recycle here is the chances for parway to get guys forward are so few in this game right they're not playing with numbers forward so the one chance that they have guys forward for the corner you want to take advantage of that and so you recycle the possession just like that you get two bites of the apple and you've got the first ball in that noyer punched out and now you get this play and you get the goal from it It's just so, so good.
00:14:20
Speaker
So then we go to halftime and Julian Nagelsmann says, I'm making a halftime change. And you know what change he makes? It's Gretzka for Mecha. Weird one too. Gretzka has been bad this year at Bayern Munich. He has struggled to get in the lineup. He's behind Pavlovich. He's behind Kimmich. He's even behind Leimer.
00:14:39
Speaker
Um, He's just kind of lost his athleticism a step and he's not getting regular minutes. Look, we're not in camp, but like i just this move is really confounding here because what Germany needed was more crossing, more creativity. Musiala is on the bench. i don't know if there's a secret minutes limit on him.
00:14:59
Speaker
And it matches one of those guys that can kind of. make that entry pass into the box. I get it. He's more of a box to box midfielder. And so like, you don't need box to box. You need one way creativity, but Gretzka is also box to box midfielder. Yeah. I think in his career, he had made a lot of success off of getting all the way into the box to finish the play. And he's just kind of a second runner into the, in, into the box here. But like,
00:15:29
Speaker
He's not helping access the players in the final third. He's not making that entry pass, not making the progressive pass or progressive carry. So really, this is a sub wasted for Nagelsmann, unless Emeka has a knock that we we we missed. And it felt like Gretzka just got lost. Like you didn't really notice him once he come on and came on. I didn't see him much in this game. And so Germany, the second half kind of just picks up with the first half.
00:15:52
Speaker
left off. So Julio Nciso nearly makes it 2-0 for Paraguay. He punks Kimmich into a soft back pass, pounces on it, but Manuel Norio, to his credit, gets a really good foot to a poke chance from Nciso. And then it just kind of looks at Germany, cross it off, it and one will go in, right? That feels like that's the sentiment here, and that's what happens.
00:16:12
Speaker
This is the one thing we had said Wurz could do. If he gets time on the ball, he could play that ball into the box. You needed a crosser, you needed a dribbler, and this is a really, really good cross from distance. And finally, you see Germany get four guys on the back post to get one-on-one somewhere, and Kai Havertz is actually very useful here. This is a really, really good header from Havertz to sneak it in the back post. And you're just kind of seeing if you could do this, why couldn't you do it more? But it was like a moment of what half transition, like they pick it up and it's just the speed at which they generate that into a chance was like maybe one of the only semi open moments Pargwai allow all game.
00:16:52
Speaker
I think it was good from Germany to play this ball quick up, right? They win possession, they get the ball, they play it quickly up. And again, as you said, it's kind of the one moment of space that Germany are are able to find here. And they get that machine whirring and then immediately they whir it again and they get two shots and they have some blocked shots from Gretzka, one of the few things he does do, and then Pavlovich. And I think at this point, Alfaro kind of senses the danger, right? He says, ah, this machine's going too fast for Germany.
00:17:19
Speaker
And he goes and he makes some changes. And so what he does... He brings on Mauricio for Inciso. He brings on Gustavo Caballero for Avalos. And for Germany, they bring on Musiala. And this kind of feels like it might be a turning point for Germany because we've been asking, where is Musiala? Where is Musiala?
00:17:36
Speaker
Well, here he is. He's on the pitch. But Paraguay have also made their changes and they have legs, but they also have no outlet and no nine. And that kind of sets the pattern for what we see for the rest of the game. Musial is pretty effective at at getting onto the ball on the right side and just kind of dribbling and s spinning and working little spots. But the rest of Germany just like can't get him help. Like Waltemont is in the game and he's kind of stuck waiting for service. I think Kimmich is now really far forward. They're leaving just two guys back.
00:18:10
Speaker
But even then, this Paraguay block is just really, really effective at defending the box, defending crosses. The You need good delivery and Wurtz on the field is the only one to kind of get the right angle and shape on the ball.
00:18:25
Speaker
Kimmich is doing the best he can to like get the ball into the final third. That's not the issue for Germany. It's just everything after that. And... Yeah, I think a big, big issue for Germany in this game is the wide service.
00:18:39
Speaker
Because Wurz is a central midfielder that's having to go into spots and do stuff. And I just think they lacked outside backs. Germany has lacked outside backs for for a while. And ro is totally missing in this game. He never comes in. We do see Valdemar Onton. We do see Nathaniel Brown. Like we see some of those wide players. We do see Amiri at some point too, but like none of these guys are like the overload wide players and cut in. They all kind of do weird little midfield roles. And think Nagelsmann just didn't have enough talent
00:19:19
Speaker
options to like be plan B's or C to attack the block. And it's a tough block to get. His best plan is to get as many big guys in there as he can and hit it to them. And that's fine. But Paraguay's box defending is excellent. I think Amiri was a guy I would have liked to see more in this game. Earlier. Yeah, I was kind of questioning why he wasn't a change earlier.
00:19:40
Speaker
Namblesman kind of keeps shifting through changes in the second half, right? So as you said, he brings Anton on it right back. That moves Kimmich actually to midfield, although he'd kind of been playing in a midfield role for most of this game anyway. And then it's big, big Nick Vultemann who comes in that they finally take Sane off.
00:19:57
Speaker
And this is kind of Germany going to, we've made the joke. It's just playing whatever letter you want it to be. Right. So this is what plan N for Germany for Nick or or plan W, whatever letter you want to use here. The plan then becomes, we've got a big guy in the box. We're looking to get those crosses. But as you said, the wide service just wasn't really there.
00:20:15
Speaker
it's It's poor in the day, and Verts needs help. I thought he did the most he could in this game to help them, but you're really staring at the players on the field, and no one else has kind of got the service there. So it's not comfortable for Paraguay. There are lots of moments where they're they're scrambled in the box, but like it's not like Germany is racking up a ton of shots and a ton of XG. Yeah. Like shots on goal here is six for Germany through 120 minutes. The XG is 1.57 at the end of 120 minutes. And I just think like you, you know, they score one goal in this game that they get on the Havertz header. You've got to try to put up two, three. And that's how hard Pargwai made it, I thought.
00:21:03
Speaker
So Paraguay, get through the 90 minutes. there There were some scary moments ah at the end of the 90. This game got a little bit more open than I think they would have liked. and They're all over the place trying to attack. and They're barely getting there for a quarter, but it comes to nothing.
00:21:15
Speaker
So then we get into extra time, and Kaigen is going to follow the same pattern, right? So both Paraguay and center backs get a block within the first two minutes, and then we get to the controversial play that we talked about at the start of this game. It is what looks to be the 2-1 goal for Germany. So it's a perfect far post hit to to Jonathan Tah. But as this is happening, and as Tah makes his header, so you've got Voltemade, who's just running a moving screen on his defender. And then you've got Anton, who puts his hand on his heel.
00:21:43
Speaker
And that's where the call comes from. It's soft. VAR gives the foul. But this was definitely the the changing the moment that this game changed because it felt like Germany had the breakthrough, and then they kind of got deflated after this gets waved off.
00:21:59
Speaker
It was a super, super emotional celebration for Ta and the team who felt like they had kind of done everything. And this is a great header from Ta. This is a good set piece. Like this is exactly what we had said Germany could find ah to unlock this block. And Ta, I thought, was a really good option in the box. He's a really, really tall, good header. And...
00:22:21
Speaker
I think to your point, like, that's where the belief just totally like, it not doesn't disappear, but it feels like it's not your day. and we said so much of what Paraguay do, and we we joke about the magic, but so much of what they do is just annoy and frustrate you and make you think that they're going to survive through it all. And they have so much experience doing it, right? Like they are professionals at this. They're professionals at playing this mental game with you. And look, to be completely frank, it's not a game that Germany see a lot in Europe, right? They go play a away to Slovakia. Slovakia aren't doing that.
00:22:58
Speaker
Slovakia aren't this committed to the bit. And yes, Germany will see a lot of low blocks in European qualifying in Eurogroup stages. But there are very few teams that are as committed to this that have staked their identity to playing this style. think that really helps Paraguay, right? And I think that's what helps them get this over the line, coupled with really some some inefficiency from Germany. so So they finally bring on Amiri. They also bring on Tia, Wurz and Rudiger go off.
00:23:24
Speaker
thought Matias Galarza was really good for Paraguay. He was up and down all day. His legs never seemed to go. And I think that was just huge for them. Other players' legs did go, right? They had to take off. Miguel Almiron. They were playing without strikers for a lot of this match before they finally they bring on Tony Sanabria and the midfield becomes complete chaos at the end of this game. But again, Parg might see it through. Amiri hits ah a free kick off the side netting that he didn't get all that close after Galarza had fouled Havertz. Gustavo Alfaro, I think this is key amid he makes his final change. He brings on Fabian Balbuena for Alonso. That's defender for defender. Not as exciting as it could have been, but that's going to play a role here, right?
00:24:03
Speaker
Yeah, Sanabria too, at some point in extra time is very helpful for this kind of shootout. And I do think like at some point Alfaro is probably like just sitting and hoping because he's out of changes and he's got nothing going forward. The legs are super gone, but Germany's legs are are tired too. And even in this Amiri free kick, like...
00:24:25
Speaker
I think you, I'm not going to say Amiri shouldn't have taken it, but like it could have been a better effort. I don't think it's the right spin from there. And i you maybe want the opposite spin in that situation. Yeah, and I think when this game finally opened up in the last few minutes, i think it's a good point that you make. The German legs weren't there to really take advantage of it. They'd kind of spent so much trying to break this down that when it finally opens up, they're lacking a bit of that that clinicalness that they needed to to see this out. So we go to penalties, and I think, like look, we talk about this all the time. Penalties are such a big mental game, right? And part of this, it honestly felt like to me that Germany weren't expecting to take penalties today. And they go to the you know they go to the cuts of of the teams in their huddles and in their circles. And you cut to Alfaro and Paraguay. And it's very raw, raw. It's very emotional. It's very up. It's it's very big. And they cut to Germany. And it's kind of like, oh, man, we're really doing this?
00:25:16
Speaker
We're taking penalties? And that felt like the mentality that they got. They looked like they were kind of shocked to be there. And Paraguay weren't. Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to say Germany didn't practice penalties. They probably did.
00:25:29
Speaker
But I think you're spot on about about the body language. Like, it it really felt that way. And, you know, Germany kind of have a calmness about them, which is a good thing when they, you know, kind of come back and they play their patterns. And sometimes it's a frustrating thing where...
00:25:47
Speaker
It feels like they can, you know, you want to match the moment. And that's maybe a bit too unfair and overgeneralizing the emotions a little bit. But like, did did did you think they were thinking about their and their own inevitability here? Like, I don't know. They just kind of, maybe it's the shell shock. Like, it's a truly, it's ah it's a very, very weird scene. It certainly felt like Paraguay penalties were always in the cards for them, right? Like that was always a goal of them was to get there. And so when they get there, it's kind of like, we're ready for this. We're built for this. We're going to take advantage of this. And they do. And it is a shootout.
00:26:27
Speaker
That is just wild and crazy from the start. So the very first penalty is Kai Hobart's. It's a saveable height and Orlando Hill just eats it up with a strong right hand. And right from there, Parwai take the advantage and Mauricio puts it in the side net, even with Neuer going the right way. A perfect first set of penalties for Parwai. They get the save, they get the make. Havertz doesn't take a good pen. It's kind of frustrating. he's ah you know ted there's I'm sure there's memes out there too about him tapping into a pen that looks exactly like a pen one of his teammates took in the Champions League final ah less than a month ago. But... um
00:27:03
Speaker
I mean, I'm i'm putting Havertz in first, too. Like, it's just, it's a really good save from Gil. And I think the other thing is Gil's confidence is radiating off of him at the moment. And Neuer, he's kind of an aura guy. Like, he's not, like, doing a ton of tricks and head games. He's just kind of super laser-focused. And eventually, Neuer still gets his saves, too.
00:27:25
Speaker
He does. So so's there's a string of makes here for both teams, right? And then it comes to a point where Volta Mod steps up for Germany and he makes another low saveable penalty and Hill says, thank you very much. And this time with his left hand, he makes the save. So this Amit sets up three match points for Parway, right? They have two penalties of theirs and one for Germany. They need one of these three penalties to go their way and they win the match. But As any good magician, as any good showman will tell you, it's all about the show. It's all about the final flourish. And it couldn't simply be easy for Paraguay. And let me inform you that it obviously was not.
00:28:00
Speaker
Sanabria misses wide, Amiri scores. And then of course, all right, This is the big show. This is the first. What did Gustavo Alfaro do in the 120th minute? He brought on Fabian Balbuena. Why did he bring on Fabian Balbuena? To take a penalty. To take this penalty, perhaps. To the fifth penalty. The script was written minute. It was all right in front of him.
00:28:20
Speaker
But Neuer saves Balbuena's penalty. This is pure insanity. It just felt like the entire bit had come crashing down. Like you said, this was his master stroke and perhaps listener. This is where you go. You guys are so stupid. It's not a bit like there's no magic. Like he just like he got all the way here and it ran out. And i mean, yeah, I don't like sometimes you just transcend everything. Like this is pure, pure chaos. And this is why the the shootout is a coin flip.
00:28:50
Speaker
But to do, I think the the point here is that there's always another wrinkle. There's always another wrinkle. And who's coming to take the sixth penalty for Germany? Is it who it should be? It's Jonathan Ta. Is that who we had down as our sixth penalty taker?
00:29:07
Speaker
mean, he almost scores the goal, and some center backs are fine at them. But generally, like, if you profile Oaf-like, you shouldn't be taking penalty kicks. If you're an Oaf striker, I'll give it to you. Like, Voltavata's on the border. He's actually taken some very good penalties for Newcastle this past year.
00:29:29
Speaker
But Tah is just... I don't even if if you're going to be center back, that's fine. But what you can't do is coming the penalty and think I'm going to smash it high because you just are leaving such ah such the the air bar and the physical air bar, not just the statistical air bar is if you miss your spot, it's all the way up. And it looks really, really bad. Like,
00:29:54
Speaker
it's you know the goalie can get over there so pick a pick a bigger target pick a more reliable target pick a repeatable target that's not that's where you're asking for the bar or rosie and this is just a bad penalty from jonathan ta and there's the mental side of all of this right but oh my gosh that's where you just know alfaro has done it after Paraguay have let you back into the shootout, right? They let you off the hook. This was done. This was dusted. This was over. And Paraguay give Germany another chance. And they send up Taun. He just sends his penalty to Rosie.
00:30:31
Speaker
He just held down the FIFA controller and just didn't didn't take his his finger off the button, right? And the penalty just skies. And at this point, I'm literally sitting on my couch. And and you know what I do, Amit?
00:30:42
Speaker
to to To your point earlier, where you're talking to listeners saying, oh, maybe the magic isn't real. I just start waving the magic wand. because you could just feel it. It was like, all right, they're not getting away with that one. And Gustavo Alfaro waves the wand, and with a giant flourish and a bow, he sends, of course, his own center back, his second center back of the shootout up, and Jose Canale, the la loose man, fires an absolute rocket to send Paraguay through.
00:31:07
Speaker
Take a bow. Take a bow to Gustavo Alfaro. Like, i just want to add one thing for some of the listeners. If you haven't been with World Cup After Dark through like qualifying, like Paraguay did this exact thing.
00:31:22
Speaker
swear word like hokum baloney like to get through qualifying all of their goals in qualifying made no sense they just bunkered and found goals in weird weird situations they frustrated the biggest dogs in south america and we just kept going this team is like eighth or ninth in south america on talent how are they in sixth how did they leapfrog venezuela and We understand why they leapfrog Chile and Peru, who are very bad, but they're scalping better teams than them. It's not repeatable.
00:31:55
Speaker
And they get here, and we're like... um we're just going to say he's going to do it again because that's what he does. And you and I are both like kind of leaning into the bit that like this Paraguay team just is hard to quantify. There's a little bit of mystical mysticism about it. There's a little bit of it means more when you're Paraguay and you're muckers and you get under their skin. There's all these X factors and things that ah aren't tangible that show up on this team.
00:32:24
Speaker
And that they come and actually do it against Germany. And like... we are i am and I am in disbelief. I am truly disbelief. I know you kind of saw it coming, but I just think this is truly one of the more miraculous results. Paraguay beating Germany in a knockout match. And I think to your point, if you go back listen to the preview podcast, you were on it. like It's a little bit of both. Paraguay, the right team to do this, but Germany are the jey on the brick wall.
00:32:52
Speaker
It's Nagelsmann, the stubborn Nagelsmann. And he just... He lost this game in a bunch of different ways. And Germany lost this game in a bunch of different ways. And they just had the wrong player pool to play this game. And so here we are. Here we are.
00:33:05
Speaker
Saw it coming is a bit of a stretch. I think I just leaned in. Sure, sure. I think I just leaned into the bit as much as as humanly possible because I find all of this fun. I find it humorous. I find it enjoyable. I i find it, frankly, delightful. And like this should not have been a result that happens. This is the biggest scalp that Pargoy have gotten by far, obviously, right? This is Germany.
00:33:24
Speaker
at the world cup to knock them out. This is a big European giant, a three-time champion that you've just taken out of the competition. It's a national holiday tomorrow in Paraguay. I mean, no joke, literally national holiday. They take out Germany of the world cup. Gustavo Alfaro has waved his wand one more time and everybody gets a day off of work because of it. Uh,
00:33:41
Speaker
Look, I don't think this is going any further for Paraguay. I think their legs are going to be completely gassed. I know they have a long break before they're going to have to play on Saturday. They're going to have a one-day rest advantage. It's probably going to be France, and and France is probably not the team that you can low block against.
00:33:54
Speaker
But this result, it just, i don't know, it just makes you feel good. It's the the essence of World Cup of Dark. It's the essence of the World Cup. It's like why you watch it. And...
00:34:07
Speaker
Man, man, it's stunning. It's stunning for Germany. And they've now had a bunch of missteps since their win in 2014, too. And it's they haven't won a knockout game since 2014. Since they won the final in 2014, they have not won a knockout game. They also have not kept a clean sheet since that game. And like those are just things that don't scream to being a big World Cup contender. There's going lot of time for us to do the the Germany post-mortem. We'll have a bunch of that post-World Cup. We're going to do that on a lot of the teams, obviously. But let's soldier on. Let's keep going. And let's talk about another wild, this time much more high-level game that also ends in a penalty shootout. Morocco get past the Netherlands, admit. And this game was definitely the tactical chessboard, right? This wasn't one team trying to block off the other, except actually maybe it was completely against our expectations.
00:34:59
Speaker
Yeah, you you go and listen to our preview pod and we're like, Netherlands have been running rampant in pool play. They've been firing up this 4-3-3. It's Komen's system. The ball comes wide. Broby's got two guys alongside of him. They're just scoring goals for fun. They're dominating with Broby's physicality in the front line. It's all looking good. They can get away with kind of playing a high line because they have the horses for it.
00:35:21
Speaker
And how, are you know, Morocco is going to propose a threat. But if mar if Netherlands generate chances at the rate they've been doing, Morocco is the team that's going to struggle to keep up.
00:35:32
Speaker
And this game is the opposite of that. From the start, we we misled you. Ronald Koeman had other ideas. He decides to switch to five in the back, something he has not done in two years for the Netherlands. He puts in Nathan Ake at left center back, and he takes off a third midfielder to Johnny Reinders. So he's left with two central midfielders to go up against Morocco's three, which is a numbers mitchmat mismatch. And he's all he's thinking about is now I've got Ake and Van de Ven to deal with Brahim Diaz and Atraf Hakimi. And I understand it. you You think Morocco is really, really good on the ball.
00:36:10
Speaker
But what happens in this game is that the Netherlands attack has been, which has been high flying, is completely, completely blunted. And yes, they score in this game. But let's start here. They're ending XG in this game is 0.2. That is not enough to beat Morocco. That's not enough to beat anyone.
00:36:28
Speaker
I can't – it's the meme of like, who did this? The Air Conjure meme. And it's Ronald Koeman shot the gun. Like, he did this. Like, why why did he do this? It makes no sense because of how good their attack had been. They'd blown through everybody. They put two past Japan. They put five past Sweden. They weren't even trying, and they put three past Tunisia. And you're thinking this game is going to be high scoring. It's going to be who can score more. It's going to be who can put the ball in the back of the net.
00:36:54
Speaker
And that's where you and I are sitting and saying – I don't know if Morocco's finishing chops are going to be good enough to get this over the line because the Netherlands might just outscore them. And Koeman decides to change the equation. Instead of trying to outscore Morocco, he decides to lean into defending them.
00:37:10
Speaker
But in doing so, it feels like he takes away the best thing his team does. And that just doesn't make sense to me. It's a really, you know, scared of the chaos of knockout football. And I understand that, right? This has kind of been a theme of knockout football since we've been doing this podcast as you know, third world cup. We used to use the term low event football all the time. And he's trying to turn this into a low event game.
00:37:37
Speaker
that that's what it is. Five center backs. He's trying to control. He's trying to stop that. But when you have five center backs, you can't get to your front line. So much of this first half is just them passing it around, waiting for a moment.
00:37:51
Speaker
And i think at the end of the day, the simplest thing is the Netherlands is not a team that should have played a low event game against Morocco. If they play a high event game, you're probably going to score more goals, but you're afraid of the variance that comes in a high event game. I don't understand why he doesn't trust his team. It's a complete misread on the strengths of his team.
00:38:09
Speaker
And what it is, is Morocco showed you why you should play a high event game because they again struggled to finish in this game, right? They yeah get one goal and they equalize late. But in the first half, they create a couple of good chances. And who's up for it? It's Verbruggen, the Dutch goalkeeper, right? So 20 minutes in, it's a point blank header on a set piece from El Ainui that's saved by Verbruggen. Then a minute later, he saves a rocket from Akini. And that kind of, that was the first half chances. And they fell to Morocco. They didn't take them. And Netherlands didn't create anything. So would go to halftime, nil-nil. But Morocco have been the better side. Morocco controlled possession. They've won the midfield. They've gotten their players in the spots they're looking for. And you're like, all right, Koeman's going to have to change something. He should probably just go back to his old system.
00:38:53
Speaker
Yeah, for about like 10 to 15 minutes, Netherlands have the ball and they're controlling it, but not in dangerous. They're just kind of passing it around the back. And I think it's both teams figuring out the game and the shapes a little bit. But from there, Morocco's midfield dominance takes over. It's three on two. They have the ball and the Netherlands are just sitting back because, yes, they've stopped Diaz. Like they they do take Diaz out of the game. Yeah.
00:39:18
Speaker
Congrats. They can hang that their banner back in the Netherlands. Like didn't let Brahim Diaz get do anything dangerous. Didn't let Akimi hurt us in the first half. But there's just nothing going forward other than long balls to Broby, long balls over the top for Somerville.
00:39:35
Speaker
Somerville tries his best here, but he's done the math thing that Deschamps and Tuchel and all these guys do is like, I'm going to win three on five. I'm going to win three on six. And that's just, it's, it's really, really frustrating because Morocco quality on the ball. When you back off is like, they're going to make you chase. It was, it was baffling. And so you you think there's more changes he could do at halftime to come out of it, but that's not really what happens. Morocco take even more control in the second. half Yeah, so this goes to the second half, and you can tell Morocco see the tactics, and they're like, you know what we can do? Because this was something you and I pointed out. it was This is going to be really interesting to see what happens with the two fullbacks. Both of the fullbacks, where both teams love to go forward, and Morocco realized they're not posing a threat to us back the other way.
00:40:20
Speaker
Atraf Hakimi. you go, you're doing whatever you want. And he just starts marauding up the wing more so even than what he does naturally. And the first two chances of the second half fall to Hakimi. He gets loose in behind, clanks the bar, and then he makes a really good run. He's getting loose and it's a really good track back defensive play to deny him what might've been his best chance.
00:40:42
Speaker
They start, yes, exactly as you said, unleashing him as basically a a winger off-ball runner. And it's that side where they can do it. Because I think Masraoui has an excellent game on the left, dealing with Denzel Dumfries, dealing with Somerville.
00:40:56
Speaker
Both of those guys were where the Netherlands wanted to attack from. They didn't want to play on their left-hand side, on Morocco's right-hand side. And this is also where... I'll give Coleman a little bit of leeway. He has a squad construction problem.
00:41:09
Speaker
He doesn't have a left back. He trusts, right? Hato comes in later in this game, but he's playing four center backs in a back five. Like just on on all the analysis we said right there, you can understand how reactive and defensive that is. It's,
00:41:27
Speaker
John Paul Van Hecke, it's Virgil van Dijk, plus Nathan Ake, plus Mickey Van Deven, who is a center back at Tottenham, playing as a left back. And so guess what those guys are going to not do with the ball is go hurt you. And then when you've demonstrated to Morocco that you're not going to hurt them on that side, it's it's open season for Hakimi. And congrats, you've just allowed the most right advanced right back in the world to to hurt you.
00:41:54
Speaker
That's not a banner. Like, good job. but it was a really good trackback button for Ben event to deny this chance. like It shows his speed. Yeah. And I think it if you're going to deputize a center back in this position, he's probably the guy to do it because the speed that he plays with. But so we get to the the hydration break in the second half in between the third and the fourth quarter. And finally Cohen makes change. The first one is is fairly understandable. Coop miners comes into the midfield.
00:42:17
Speaker
And then the second change is in a zero, zero game plan. W Vought vague horse is coming on. This was his big wrinkle. This was his big, big wrinkle. We kept saying the Netherlands got a bunch of fun attackers to run at you. They've got Daniel Mollen. They've got Justin Klivert. Like they could, you know, they have other guys too that they've Memphis to pie. They, they, they have all these fun attackers that they could unleash.
00:42:41
Speaker
And instead it's the big O it's play. It's a six, seven striker. You can hit a long ball to him. And we saw this for them being very, very powerful tool to change up the game, completely change up the way they play in 2022. And, And then you realize he's just ripped the page out of Louis van Hall's playbook. I'm playing a back five that I'm using about veg forest. We are just old reductive control, you know, ball from four years ago. And the coup miners thing is good because he takes off. Okay. And now it's back to four, three, three, and you actually might get in the midfield and coup miners is a solid player.
00:43:17
Speaker
And Immediately, it works. Coleman's vo vindicated. He's a genius. It's Vout Vankhorst on literally his first touch of the match, right? He gets a long ball off for Bruggen, flicks onto Somerville. Somerville slides one while on the ground with a massive touch to Cody Gakpo. And Gakpo, who has gone through a really emotional week, comes through with a finish on real.
00:43:41
Speaker
He's vindicated. It worked. And... part of what we said at the top of the show is being able to mix up your tactics is good. Credibly have a plan. And sometimes that first five minutes when you make the mix is when you can get the other team. Like obviously in our heads as podcasters or as, you know, anyone on the whiteboard, you know what the change is going to be and what to look like. But,
00:44:06
Speaker
it's all about patterns. It's all about seeing it. And like the, your brain has seen one thing for 60 minutes. It does not know the the next thing. And this is a 60 yard punt from Verbruggen, right? Or a long ball off his feet. And you're just not expecting that flick from there to unleash a guy behind you. Cause you haven't seen it. That hasn't been what they've all game.
00:44:28
Speaker
Yeah, and it hasn't been what they've done all tournament, right? Broby posts up the center back and asks for the ball to the feet. And so your whole brain isn't expecting that. And credit to Komen. I do think this was a really, really good change here. And it shows you he understands attacking space and roles and ideas. And it makes everything else so baffling. It's hilarious. I almost thought they should have just taken Vekhorst out after this, right? They should have just. Yeah, almost. Bring him on, one flick on, one goal. He's off.
00:44:59
Speaker
Changing the game plan back again to play more defensive because he had it set up. So Morocco then has to counter because now they're a goal down and Wabi makes his changes, right? So he takes off Riyad. a center back brings on Salah Edie, who's more of a fullback. That moves Masraoui more central. Buwadi and Diaz come off. El Morabet and Yasin on. He's bringing on young guys. And I think this is interesting because he's trusting his players. Like it takes some guts to take off Brahim Diaz in this situation, but he realized he wants legs and he wants younger guys in this team to to kind of run at this Dutch defense and be fresh against them.
00:45:36
Speaker
I think a big, big lesson from this game is Morocco's players 13 through 16 really, really held up. and And we saw them getting rotated ah in the group stage, but it I didn't think they they they would be effective this fast. I think if you had told me who had the bench advantage of this game, I would have said the Netherlands pretty clearly. And it's not just these guys, it's the the other subs too. So The other thing about Uabi is that he was brought in for his work with youth development. Yeah. Like he had trusted these guys. He had brought in for his mental resiliency, something you had kind of touched on in our preview of this team. And it's all showing up in very, very high pressure moments. Yeah. So he makes two more changes as the time starts to run out. Morocco really don't create a lot. Sabari beats Van Hek, but then gets cut off by vi Van Dijk with a really good comeback run from Van Dijk to cut this out. So Taibi comes in el ah in for El Kanus, and Rahimi, who's kind of a more runner forward, comes in for Unahi.
00:46:36
Speaker
And the Dutch counter with their changes, you mentioned Hato earlier, he comes in, Quentin Timber comes on to small grabbing verge. And by this point, we're into the tactics free zone. And what's the the last button that Morocco can press?
00:46:48
Speaker
It's get the big guys forward. It doesn't matter where they come from. so they're putting their center backs forward. And just when it looked like the Nellans were going to get away with this, just when it looked like their smelly tactics were going to be okay because they pressed the Valkor's button and it works. It's a cross to the left that finds Issa Giop, the big towering center back who's in four on four in the box. And it's a great header from Giop. And you're just questioning what is Virgil van Dijk doing here? Because the ball from Tybee comes in and Giop just beats van Dijk to it. It's a perfect cross, but it's a great header, but it's poor defending too.
00:47:24
Speaker
It is. i think it's really hard for center backs to track other center backs. Their brains are like, I'm not expecting that movement to be something I was accounting for.
00:47:35
Speaker
And look, so much of these goals are when you can get four on four in the box. And that's kind of the math you think before you uncork the ball. Three on three, sometimes you don't even do it because there's too much space to cover. Four on four, the zones are like kind of allocated that you're more likely than not to to get ahead on the ball in the right spot.
00:47:55
Speaker
And credit to Issa Diop, who... like He's a type of player, like I think I can say this, that like doesn't really fit the rest of the Morocco profile. He's a little bit of a different pickup the way his nationality worked for them. And they just didn't necessarily have the specificity, even 2022, on the back line anywhere.
00:48:14
Speaker
this is This is such a big, big play. This is a game-saving play because it just felt like... The Netherlands had scored with the right amount of time left to sucker punch them and get their defensive subs in the game. And it just felt like Morocco had fizzled. Like they had been wasteful. Like everything we had said about them.
00:48:33
Speaker
And then the other thing you have to say, this is a ridiculous cross from 40 yards out from Taibbi. Like, i I'm not going to say you couldn't this again, but like big stroke luck. These crosses do not normally work, but like...
00:48:46
Speaker
Wurtz did it. you know He does it. like This is a real, real moment of quality from the substitute winger you have put in the game. And you have to... like the The thing about the managing, the high level back and forth in this game is that when one manager makes an adjustment, how quickly do you have an answer?
00:49:04
Speaker
How quickly do you have the game state is up against you? I've got the players to deal with it. And that's one thing here in these games that... We're going to talk about Brazil-Japan a second.
00:49:16
Speaker
Koeman makes his big, big move. And yes, like this is lucky, right? A 40-yard cross, center back finish. But also, like you press every button you have at your disposal before you go out, no matter how much time you have. Think of Ralf Ragnick, Algeria, Austria. This is planned center back. I don't know. The letters don't matter. That bit's done for us. But it's it's the last button you press, and it works.
00:49:38
Speaker
And so that sends this game to extra time with substitutes substitutions left for both sides. And Morocco have, they've got a new lease on life, right? And they create the best moment of extra time. I'm still not sure how this doesn't go in. Morocco just absolutely rinsed the entire Dutch defense.
00:49:56
Speaker
Rahimi leaves Coop Miners in the dust, who who obviously shouldn't really even be a center back at this point. And he's one-on-one point blank with their Brogan, and he doesn't find the corner. Somehow this shot goes off the Brogan's thigh It's unbelievable. And amit the number the x g number i see here, XG on this chance from open play.
00:50:17
Speaker
You almost never see an open play shot like this that gets saved. I understand the math. There is the 25%. We saw the 25%, but this is as open as you can get. What a save from Brubrogan. Rahimi just kind of looks down, and he's made up his mind he's going left, and that was the lesser side. Yeah.
00:50:38
Speaker
you got a score you just you just got to score this was morocco had undone them and the reason why netherlands are getting undone is because after komen makes his big subs he's left out of position with the 11 he has that course can't press he can't stop the ball and he goes back to five in the back because they have the lead but the issue is he subbed off ake so he's like oh who was my fifth center back it's you coop biers It's you. You are my fifth center. He is not a center back. He's a center midfielder. And he looked like someone that is not a center back trying to defend a forward on this play. And honestly, if they had gotten got here, it would have been very, very fitting, neat and tidy narratively. It's not, but like...
00:51:22
Speaker
Komen had like one stroke of genius in this game, but like really, e leaves his team so out of the things they're comfortable at. And they had been so comfortable for three games. And look, if a team's going to make you uncomfortable, it's Morocco. We understand, but put your players in positions to succeed.
00:51:45
Speaker
trust them to do what they'd been doing, right? And it feels like that's not what the Netherlands did here. There's not a ton to see after this chance. Extra time kind of fizzles a little bit. There's a big moment that we'll get to where Gakpo finally comes off. he probably should have come off a lot sooner. Kluivert comes on. It's the sixth and and final sub for the Dutch. you know He's a good runner. He's a shooter. He's a guy you're expecting to take penalties. And that's where we're going. We're going to penalties. And this felt like a true...
00:52:10
Speaker
Test because both of these goalkeepers have pedigree, right? But Brigham had been great in this game. He makes the save in extra time to get it to penalties. Bono obviously won a shootout against Spain in 2022. And then this penalty shootout andit just goes off the rails.
00:52:27
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the the comeback from Paraguay was magic trick in its own right. This wasn't a magic trick. This was just like a fever dream of Monterey, 90 degrees. It's a full moon. It's a super, super full moon. The mystical Mexican night. and and I don't know what happens here. The entire footballing world, I think, blacks out. So Coop Miners goes first, takes his penalty and scores. All right, good. We're we're off to a normal start. El Anoui goes first for the Moroccans and he puts his penalty off the bar. He stuttered it. He clanks it. Then Brueger went the wrong way. It doesn't matter. He put it off the bar. And so then Justin Kuibert, who has come on for a penalty, surely, right?
00:53:08
Speaker
He doesn't look at what he's doing. He just is focused in on the ball and he hit the post on his stutter step after he'd seen Bonu go the wrong way. It's perfect execution, but he misses it by a few inches, but he didn't need inches here. He had feet.
00:53:22
Speaker
If you're going to do the stutter, pick a big target. And it's like, the stutter is really smart. It works. But part of the issue with stuttering and short run-ups and making your decision with less time is that you then have less fine motor control and mental thinking of where to put the ball.
00:53:42
Speaker
And like... I know players want to do it, but like i just I just think we're at the point where like there are few players on a team in the world that can do this this stutter at a high level. I think you've got to be really good to do it, to think you can do at a high level. If you're like player three through anything in a squad, pick your spot before you go up there. Make it easy on yourself. Pick a spot and say, I'm going to hit that spot. And if the guy saves it, yeah, he saved it. But like...
00:54:14
Speaker
playing with fire. You're playing with fire. He's not the only guy to do it. You can't stutter and miss, right? You can't send the goalkeeper the wrong way and then have an open net to aim at and not hit that open net. So now Rahimi steps up from Rocco and this is a big moment in this shootout. They are down but they have a chance to get back level.
00:54:29
Speaker
And it's a poor penalty for Mahimi. It is. Verbruggen saves it. But somehow in the save, it gets behind him and he flails out a foot and he kicks it into his own net. I've really never seen this in a penalty shootout. And I think it is the moment of this shootout.
00:54:49
Speaker
It is. Rebruggan basically does make the save and then doesn't get it. This changes everything. This would have been momentous. And it's so tough because you want to say the body control to get all the way over the ball.
00:55:03
Speaker
But he he makes the save. But because he's diving, he can't stop his back leg from moving right. And they work. at Goalkeepers work on this. Seen goalkeepers practice. My...
00:55:13
Speaker
listening Hopefully he's listening somewhere. My nephew's a goalkeeper, and he's going through the motions, and you control your body on the dives. and I'm not comparing what my nephew does to professional goalkeepers, but my point is that Verbruggen's going to be kicking himself.
00:55:27
Speaker
He's going to kicking himself because I think he he's he shouldn't have done this. and It's not like... it sucks. It really sucks to that this happened this way. It's totally a reaction, right? And it's just that it's what like he makes so much of an effort to get to the shot and he didn't necessarily need to because he ends up kind of, he doesn't like, it's not an outstretched save and it's just sitting there and it just kicks in and it's just really rotten luck for the Netherlands if it's that. So penalty makes then for Vanquist and Talby, that gets us to 2-2 and then if things had already been a fever dream, it just gets more feverish and more dreamerous. That's not really a word, but you understand where I'm going here. Julian or Quinton Timber, sorry, steps up for the Netherlands. He doesn't look confident. He doesn't have the run up and he just misses very, very far wide with his penalty. He's disguising his hips, but he just doesn't even get it close to target.
00:56:21
Speaker
So he's not doing the stutter. He's doing the short run up because he's basically he's looking like he's just going to do a stab to the right side. And he's totally facing that way. And at the last second, he's going to swing his hips left.
00:56:35
Speaker
Again, high degree of difficulty thing to do. And I understand part of the game at this level, these goalkeepers can cover so much ground. You're better off trying to deceive them than beat them, right?
00:56:46
Speaker
But i I think we've lost the pause little bit. I just made this point a second ago, and I'm i'm doubling down in that. The goalkeeper has to guess if you're just taking spots, and then you're back on the math of 70%.
00:56:59
Speaker
If you start playing with him, you're introducing... poor execution into the process. It's not automatic that you're going to put it on frame. We cannot emphasize enough rules of penalty shootouts. Put the ball on target. There's no excuse. It's 12 yards.
00:57:15
Speaker
did a It's mental. It's mental. Like we're, someone's going to be like, these jabronis are telling professional soccer players how to take penalty kicks. Yeah. We're stupid. I know. But like, this is poor. This is poor. Put, the put the penalty on target. Cause you put it on target. And even if he saves it, it might go in. Cause we just saw that happen. Right. He might kick it in his own net. So then Hakimi steps up you think, ah, big moment, big player. He's going to convert. And he hits the post. Yeah, I mean, i've I've run out of things to say at this point because, yeah, he just misses. I credit to him. He picked his spot. He picked the corner. He missed. And there's ah there's there's such a fine margin. I'm saying pick your spot. Pick it inside the corner. I'm spoiled watching Harry Kane just snipe the inside of the corner. The man just probably sits and practices penalty kicks for an hour a day because he's a sicko. Look, sometimes sometimes you just hit the dang post.
00:58:05
Speaker
So then we're now into basically sudden death, right? It's the fifth penalty, but we're at 2-2. So it's sudden death. And Crescencio Somerville up for the Netherlands. And he he looks tired, right? He's played all 120 minutes. He's run a lot. And so he decides, I'm not going to miss. I'm not going to play around with the postage. And he decides to go center. But while he's going center, Bono basically does this whole like routine thing where he's like, kick it down the middle. He's jumping. He's going back and forth. He's like, kick it down the middle. Kick it to me, baby. Kick it to me, baby. And what Somerville does, he kicks it to Bono. And Bono doesn't even dive. And he makes like this shuffling left paw save to just slap at it. And this felt like it was a mental win for Bono.
00:58:45
Speaker
meant to win. This is a Jedi mind trick from Bonu. This is absolutely getting in the head of him. And i think to your point, like Somerville makes up his mind that he's going middle before, and I'll give him credit for that. Like, i think he had kind of decided he even lines up centrally. He's you think he might be going one way.
00:59:06
Speaker
I don't know Bonnie knew Bonnie, like just kind of saw it somehow that that's what was happening. And he didn't overcommit. And the one thing we've said, don't,
00:59:17
Speaker
in previous editions of this podcast, I don't know was a World Cup on a Maybird tournament show, is that when you shoot middle, the math is better for you. Three versus two, three versus two, 70% versus 50%, great. But the one thing the goalkeeper could do is also stay middle sometimes. And it every once in a while, right, it lines up. And that's that's smart goalkeeping from Bonu. Like, this is just a really, really heady play. He'd either done his homework or just read the moment. And... Ugh, I...
00:59:46
Speaker
I don't know. i didn't think this was a bad idea from Summerville, but he ends up looking really silly. But I think the mental thing here is really important from it because what is Bono thinking? He's thinking they've hit the post. They've missed wide. What's the next guy coming? What's his goal? What does he think? He's like, wow. I can't miss wide. I can't hit the post. I can't hit it. got to put it on frame. How do you put it on frame? I'm going to, I'm just going to put it right down the middle. I'm to try that. He dives up, put it right down the middle.
01:00:09
Speaker
And Bono, I think read that. And like you said, I think he understands the the moment that he's in. And I don't know if there's a history of some of them taking penalties like this or what it is, but I think it's just a perfect reaction from the goalkeeper to the moment.
01:00:21
Speaker
It is. It really is. And to that point, like part of the difficulty of a shootout is that you have to have the conviction to hit a tougher spot, right? If you're going to go middle, it has to be the right time where you know the goalie is really selling out, really selling out. And to bonus credit, maybe he saved this, right? He had kind of been selling out. But i think you described the thought process exactly. And so, again, just just really smart.
01:00:49
Speaker
Saibari steps up for Morocco, and thankfully the fever dream is over. He puts it in the back then and he sends Morocco through to the round of 16. This was a high-level matchup. These are two teams that would not have been out of place in a World Cup semi-final or even a World Cup final. I think the big takeaway here is that Ronald Koeman and the Netherlands were scared. They left their fates to this, and this is what happened. They really were. And sometimes the football doesn't win, but you could hear Stu Holden on the American feed of this game being like a win for football that Morocco came to play and the Netherlands didn't.
01:01:21
Speaker
And i do think Ronald Koeman tried to play this like a disgusting knockout game of of years past. And I think Morocco tried to to play it like to go to win it.
01:01:32
Speaker
Now, at the end of the day, we still ended up at penalties and the coin toss is the coin toss. And we can sit here and talk about good pens, bad pens. But You could pin it to one little thing like the Verbruggen trailing leg and the footballing gods. i guess the end of the day is you left it in their hands and and and that's what happened. So this is just a legendary game to me. This is such a super, super high level game. And i think, you know, talk about previewing this game. We said Morocco is just the top 10 team in the world right now. they mean, these guys are close to the top five. and They're better than Germany. They're better than Netherlands. Yeah.
01:02:07
Speaker
What did the you start looking around? What teams are better than Morocco could be France? And that could be a quarterfinal match, but that would be a really, really fun quarterfinal match. and i think, yeah, it kind of comes down to the Netherlands. Like you had the ability to play here. you You took away what your team did best, what you'd shown that you were really good at in this tournament. And we talked about on the preview show. The low ball across to Brian Braby had been their strength, their strong suit, and they didn't get any of that in this game. And so, yeah, I think it's just a lot of interesting, and like incorrect decisions i think were made. And this is, I think, going to stick with them for a long time because it's a big opportunity that went missing here. We still have one more game to break down in it. Believe or not, we do.
01:02:49
Speaker
And it was also a really good, interesting tactical game between Brazil and Japan. This game also didn't necessarily develop like I think I certainly thought. I thought Japan would have a lot more of the ball here. but I think you saw Moriasu decide that he's going to play a much more confined, low defensive game plan and force Brazil to break him down. He was going to ask questions of Brazil. He's got to be clinical. And in the first half, it worked perfectly for Japan It did. the The thing that he had to do one way or the other was deny space in transition for Vinicius and his running mates in Kunya and Ryan. And he does that.
01:03:27
Speaker
But the biggest thing is that you think Japan, when they get the ball, are going to be very safe at settling possession, trying to get... five minutes stretches of can we have 70% possession in this stretch? Yeah, Brazil are going to get it, but can we control the field? Can we make the midfield chase?
01:03:45
Speaker
Can we kind of calm ourselves down? And what you saw is Brazil were really good defensively in their energy in this game, but also the Japan were trying to be direct and it was much more of an old school bunker encounter.
01:03:57
Speaker
And yeah, it It worked in the first half. I do think the same kind of things you can say about Komen apply in that this isn't the game Japan are used to playing. They're used to being more more comfortable on the ball. He definitely took them out of their comfort zone.
01:04:11
Speaker
But at the same time, i think he surprised Brazil with with how much little space there was. thought Brazil in the first half were really, really struggling to get through ah ah the block. And you saw...
01:04:25
Speaker
Big, big things we've circled for Brazil are center mids and fullbacks. And the fullbacks progression was really bad. And Ryan, really good player, is not a progression player. He's a finishing player. But the ball couldn't – he couldn't get to him because there was no space. And then he couldn't do any – the progression on that side. So the entire Brazil right is a hole. And then Japan can just – block a big block on the right to to send as many guys as Vinicius as possible. And that was a really, really smart thing for Moriarty. Like, yeah, he took them out of their shell, but Brazil are frustrated in this first half. And then Japan get the reward and it's the exact two things that we'd circled, right? It's fullback and center midfield. And that's what happens on the goal. So Brazil, they're mucky coming out of the back.
Japan Takes the Lead
01:05:12
Speaker
It's one of the rare chances of Japan are going forward. Brazil win the ball and in trying to progress play forward, it's
01:05:17
Speaker
It's just a comedy of errors. And Danilo makes a bad pass. It's intercepted by Sano. And Casemiro is not in position to track him back initially. And when he starts to track him back, he's very clearly a step slow.
01:05:29
Speaker
The center backs don't step up. Sano gets a window and he picks out the corner and makes it 1-0 for Japan. It's against the run of play, but this is exactly the moment that they were hoping for in this first half. They were waiting for Brazil to make one of these mistakes. And when they did, they bounced.
01:05:43
Speaker
Exactly. the The things we circled, as you said. So good finish, too, I think, from Sano. And they needed someone to to have that moment of quality. It was him. it was great. He was really good defensively. Doan was really good defensively. Toma Yasu was good defensively. Every player that we had circled that had a big assignment lived up to the assignment in the first half. And you get to halftime and you're like, it's looking pretty dicey for Brazil. What do you do here? This team doesn't have a lot of buttons to press, right? There's not a lot of creative wingers in the hiding, which would be the first thing you think about to break down little block, right? Rodrigo's not here. Joel Pedro, a guy that can get to the balls, not in the squad.
01:06:23
Speaker
Rafinha's like, are you looking at Nygamir? Yeah, so like we're down tricky players.
Ancelotti's Halftime Adjustments
01:06:30
Speaker
How are we going to do this? And I think what you see is Carlo Ancelotti proving his really, really understated tactical chops. He gets a lot of stuff as a vibes guy. And yeah, he's not like a whiteboard warrior like Pep Guardiola or the guys that he managed against at Barcelona on the other side of the touchline. Yeah.
01:06:54
Speaker
But the guy has been in so many high-level matches. Like, I think he just pushes every right button here at halftime. And he makes the change. so he only makes one change at a halftime, but it's a massive change, and it really changes everything. So he brings Endrick on and takes Lucas Pocketa off.
01:07:10
Speaker
Pocketa looked like he kind of picked up a knock early in this game. He wasn't super effective. And so with this change, essentially, admit, Brazil are playing for the majority of the second half, particularly in possession. They're playing a 4-2-4.
01:07:23
Speaker
And Ancelotti is saying, I understand that this might lead to Japan coming back at me the other way, but I have to change the math somehow. If I keep doing what I'm doing in the first half, it's not going to have success. It's not going to work. And and like you said, we kind of...
01:07:38
Speaker
Picture Ancelotti as much more of a roll the ball out there and get it to your best player kind of guy. i think maybe he is that. But this right here showed that he can go tactical when he needs to. And the change that he made changed this game. It fundamentally changed the math. And it's what allowed Brazil to get a foothold in this game and eventually a foothold in this match and eventually win this match and even do it before extra time. Yeah, and putting four but players on the front line occupies more Japanese defenders. So the knock-on effects are when you cross into the box, guys have more runners to mark. And the big, big thing is you can't double Vinicius as easily. Because if you do, there's two or three guys next to him that are in dangerous spots. So the... Help has to come from further away if you are going to double. And then if you're the help's coming further away, you've seeded so much field. You're basically pinned on your back line.
01:08:34
Speaker
Look, the the weakness you live in here is that you have two midfielders. So if they can get the ball, they can break and transition. But at some point, you have to rely on your two superstar center backs and your superstar center midfielder, Bruno Guimaraes, center backs are Marquinhos and Gabriel that...
01:08:51
Speaker
We have to get everyone up. we can't We need the numbers. And so much of chasing a game is getting as many bodies on the back line as you can and living with it.
01:09:02
Speaker
Same thing we said about how Senegal attacked Iraq in the center half. Specifically, this put guys on the back line. And Germany tried to do this, but it's not as effective. And what happens is Japan and the Brazil in the first half do not have a physical advantage on the back line, right? The the Brazil center backs are hanging.
01:09:21
Speaker
But who does have a physical advantage when he can get into that back line? It's finally the role for Casemiro, who he said has been a box crasher. And he's unleashed because when he can go forward as the sixth guy or the fifth guy,
01:09:36
Speaker
There's too many bodies and he is a very, very good aerial threat at this point in his career. It's just something he has in his bag. um ah ah A comparison I saw, which I thought was really fun from, I think, one of the mics at the Devil Pivot podcast is he's turned into Marwan Fellaini. He is just a ah box crasher 10. That is his role and it works in this game.
Casemiro's Dual Role
01:10:02
Speaker
And it works almost immediately, right? It's the 52nd minute where the first thing that happens is it's an insane sequence. So he, Casemiro, crashes into the box, gets a header, and his header goes off the head of Tomiasu, and then it goes off of Suzuki and somehow stays out. From there, Japan almost immediately break, but they get it wrong. And this is the risk that Encelotti takes. Japan are basically one pass from three on four for the majority of the second half.
01:10:28
Speaker
But what happens is they're defending, they're defending, they're defending, and their legs just start to go, and they're not able to hit that pass. They're not able to make those runs. And and when they do, as you said, they're trusting their two center backs. They're trusting Bruno Gamer-Reiss. They're saying, those guys will figure it out. They'll keep the chance from exploding. Casemiro making that late run.
01:10:46
Speaker
He has this chance versus close, and then he's the one who gets the goal. He is. And the other thing Ancelotti is kind of banking on is that Japan are just going to go direct because they think that's the space. It's 4-2-4. Let's be direct and go. But you're just kind of running into that wood chipper of three players.
01:11:03
Speaker
Again, we keep saying Japan's strength is settled possession to set up these patterns and silky movements. And they just get away from that completely in this game. It works because they go up 1-0. Then Game State, of course, they don't want to do that. But...
01:11:18
Speaker
I think they would have been better served at trying to buy themselves time in this game. And and the knock on and the other effect is that they're almost afraid to, to to play through this counter press. It's easier to counter press with four. Yeah. You beat them with one pass, but if you don't, there's so many more bodies right when you lose the ball. So Brazil like really, really locked them in. And on top of that, the legs are gone for Japan ah pretty early in this match. They expend so much energy and,
01:11:47
Speaker
look, Brazil just could kind of attrition grind you down in that way. How good are Brazil's center backs? They're contributing to the goal as well because it's Gabriel Magalhães who gets across into Casemiro and it's a really good cross or a really good spot. And Casemiro, again, crashing the box, kind of making this late floating far post run. He's played onside by Ito by a step and it's just a banging far post header.
01:12:13
Speaker
really excellent towering stuff. Like we said, he's got this skill in him. It was really nice. Then Vinicius Jr. ah immediately off the post on a corner after he had just had one of the best ah individual runs that we've ever seen, right? He gets he gets past Tomiasu, leaves past two more defenders and forces a really, really good save from Suzuki that that goes off the post.
01:12:37
Speaker
this was electric i mean we were all rooting for this to go in like um that's what he shows you he can do the one man show like we talk about all the time that's that's it right there circle this clip this is he can win you a game by himself and you have to say suzuki was up for this suzuki did yeah he had a good game i was worried that if he had even a questionable game at all like brazil were dead in the water or japan was dead in the water and he He did everything in his power. like This save it is almost as good, if not not better, but like almost as good as that Verbruggen save from the the game later.
01:13:11
Speaker
Martinelli comes on for Cunha. Japan makes some changes as well. and I think another big part of this success for Brazil, I admit, is not only did they go to the floor, but I thought Endrick was really good. I thought he fit his role really well. I thought he held up play well. I thought he combined well. That gave them another dimension. Yeah, look, Cunha's a good player, but he's not a real number nine. He's a hybrid nine winger.
01:13:35
Speaker
I wasn't sure where Hendricks level was. And Carlo Ancelotti has a really good relationship with him um because of their Madrid connection. And i think has also trusted him to go in this moment. I thought you might've seen Igor Tiago here. I was going to say Igor Tiago is the nine to play if you're going to chase this game in the second half. Hendrick is really good, as you said. And I think it's the right decision for Ancelotti. And that nine stuff that you're talking about is very, very helpful.
01:14:03
Speaker
So then we get into this this nebulous moment of these games. And we saw it a couple of times today where the clock starts ticking and it's a tie game. And there's 75 minutes, there's 77 minutes, there's 80 minutes, but you don't know how many minutes are left, right? You don't know if you're chasing for 10,
01:14:21
Speaker
or if you're chasing for 40. You don't know if you're defending for 10 or if you're defending for 40, because extra time is a possibility, but it's obviously not a guarantee. that i think that kind of can freeze games a little bit, it can freeze managers into wanting to keep their changes in their pockets for extra time. and think that's kind of a bit what happened here.
01:14:40
Speaker
It's very tough just situation to think through, like what you should do, because if you... blow your you know powder too early you shoot your powder too early and then you don't score you're in trouble right you make this you make your saves um but if you wait you can get scored on so it's really really tricky and we think we've seen this kind of what we're calling the freeze point in all these games here right around the 75th minute um I don't know. like i need to think about this a little bit more. I'll come back to you next podcast and how I feel. like My instinct is like you have to manage the game in front of you. like Try to win, but it depends a little bit on...
01:15:21
Speaker
the momentum or the the read of the game if you think you can go get it versus if you think you should survive. But even if your question is surviving, like make a change to survive. You do get that extra sub and extra time. like And sometimes you don't these managers don't even use it. So like generally, my read is that...
01:15:41
Speaker
These 12 minutes are unnecessarily conservative in both directions, and you should just be more aggressive at trying to avoid extra time in general. But not every manager sees it that way. Some managers want that extra 30 minutes. They view it as a safety blanket. And some managers are like, playing for pens is the end goal. So there's lots of different variables here that make this very interesting.
01:16:06
Speaker
So this time kind of keeps spinning
Martinelli Seals the Win
01:16:09
Speaker
on. Casemiro goes off kind of with a knock. Fabinho comes on for him. It's a like for like change, but with less box crashing. And then right when Japan have almost got to extra time, where maybe they can make a couple of tinkers and get a couple of legs on it and go after this,
01:16:23
Speaker
Brazil strike, and they strike in the way that Japan just really couldn't afford to be struck. And they can't get out of their own end. And that's where this play starts. That's where this play develops. So Otanaka, who has come on as a substitute, gives it away under pressure. And in the end, Danilo, the player who gave away the ball on the goal that Japan scored, does just enough coming forward for Brazil here.
01:16:47
Speaker
And he forces Tanaka into the mistake. The ball goes to Endrick, gets it to Bruno Guimarães. And Bruno Guimarães plays a great ball to another one of Brazil's substitutes. It's Gabriel Martinelli. And Martinelli just slides into the perfect space onside. A great pass.
01:17:02
Speaker
He makes the shot. And Suzuki, who you said to admit, played a great game, can only push it off the post and in. He needed one more inch to push this wide. He doesn't get it. Brazil wins 2-1.
01:17:16
Speaker
It's a great fitting sequence, I think, for this game. And look, the XG ends is up at like 2.3. Brazil put up 2XG in this game. I think it's an excellent, excellent center half response from Ancelotti. And it's fitting that the subs here, that Martinelli is the guy that gets the goal. And he's the tough...
01:17:34
Speaker
year generally even though arsenal won and he's part of that team like he's not a great finisher i think that's his weakness because if he could finish he'd be like closer to vinicius but his first touch here is excellent to set up the easy finish and his body angle is right to set up the easy finish bruno gamaras superstar play like underrated quiet superstar play the ball is in his feet and out of his feet before japan can get in the right spot knows where this ball is going before it gets to him and This is the Brazil counter press. This is really, really good stuff here to make this mistake. And you go back. The reason why we said this at the top the top of the podcast, you can't make your mistakes in your own box. And yeah, it's easy to say. hey It's harder to do.
01:18:21
Speaker
But this is what it looks like. It's a sub. The speed of the press is hard. It's the 93rd minute. You think you're almost out of the woods. You're thinking, I'm just trying to free up a moment to turn and play this ball. But you're the sub on Japan in the 91st minute.
01:18:35
Speaker
Don't mess around. And I think Brazil earned this mistake, and then they take advantage of it. And it is twofold. And... Look, Brazil did not like look pretty in this game.
01:18:49
Speaker
Jogo Benita era is over. But like this is a very big, big boy performance from them in a way that they needed to get pushed by Japan, and they answered it. um It's a really strong response also to push in the 90th minute and not go to extra time. Exactly. We're talking about that freezing point because it kind of felt like we were we were going there, right? Yeah.
01:19:10
Speaker
congrats on getting it over the line in 90 like that's it ask that let's how they feel you ask morocco how they feel paraguay don't ask they're there you ah you won't see them until saturday but like this is a this is a big result for brazil because the the bracket is a little bit open for them like there's a path here for these guys It's a difficult round of 16 matchup, I think, against Ivory Coast or or Norway. But France are on the other side of the bracket.
01:19:39
Speaker
Germany were all on the other side of the bracket. They're not there anymore. Netherlands were on the other side of the bracket. They're not there anymore. spain kind of more shay Spain and Portugal are over there. Argentina are on the lower half. You wouldn't have to see them against the semifinals. And as you said, there's something to be said.
Brazil's World Cup Path Forward
01:19:55
Speaker
about surviving these types of games. And it's like, look, ask Germany, ask the Netherlands. They didn't get it done. They faced games that were very similar to this and they didn't get it over the line today.
01:20:06
Speaker
Yeah. And here's what's dangerous now for Brazil is Casemiro after the game goes, look, Carlo's making all of his changes. And I thought I was going to come out of this game because I was having a ah bad game. And Carlo leaves me on and he makes subs and immediately things go right. And I've realized you just trust Carlo and things go well. And,
01:20:28
Speaker
This is what he did at Real Madrid. A lot of those players, specifically Vinny, share that DNA. We've talked about how he's made this a Vinny team. We've talked about in this podcast how he's an underrated tactical manager despite his reputation.
01:20:41
Speaker
And then you fall back on his number one strength is the vibes of the egos of a team that has lacked that collective. You start getting this Brazil team believing in playing this like style, you're it's there for them. I, I don't love this team. Like, I think the second thing you could read the flip side of the coin is they needed a Carlo magic trick of their own to beat Japan in the round of 32. And now they have to do that four more times.
01:21:06
Speaker
But I think you've really got to consider that, like who, even though Norway, Ivory coast, a tough game, they'll be favored again. And we'll talk about Brazil, Brazil, England, if we get there, but like,
01:21:18
Speaker
Thomas Tuchel's got no vibes, no tricks. He's not doing any of that. so I think you just have to really give a lot of credit to Carlo Ancelotti. He's a manager I've liked in in some ways annoyingly, some ways not annoyingly. But like this to me is one of his his things that he's never done before. He's never done this international question before.
01:21:39
Speaker
That was awesome. You only have to look back at what he's done with Real Madrid to see how this can work, right? You can say they don't have to be the better side. They don't have to be the world beaters. They just have to buy in and get it done. And and that's what they did in this game. I think it's worth mentioning here. i think Japan really missed Matola and Minamino in this game. They could have really used an outlet going back the other way. There was a half an hour of this game where the counter was there for Japan and they just didn't have the legs, the personnel to take advantage of it.
01:22:08
Speaker
And I think that's what hurt them. That's what got them pinned in too far. That's what eventually led to to the game-changing mistake. That's a big miss for them. And I think looking forward for Japan, that could be something they get back ahead of the Asian Cup and they can maybe reestablish themselves at the top of Asia.
01:22:22
Speaker
I think that's fair. Yeah, they're going to be the guys. I think Moriasu did the best he could. It was a tough matchup today. He almost got his team to extra time. Maybe they slide to penalties. Yeah, they could have been more adventurous on the counter, but the players' legs were in a tough spot having to defend that Brazil onslaught. And one thing they're missing is kind of that center defensive mid. Like Sano, Kamada are playing the pivot and neither of these guys are like strong physical defenders. They both, as you saw on the Sano goal and Kamada's earlier goals, and the group stage are like kind of ball playing, driving players like high work rate um on the ball, possession pressing players, not like win the ball, disrupt the ball. And when you're playing a team like Brazil, there was only the three center backs that could do that in this game. And you needed just a touch more ball winning to relieve the pressure. They didn't have that.
01:23:14
Speaker
And what's the one thing that we haven't really mentioned on this show, but that's woven through all of these moments and all of these games and and maybe none more so than the Suzuki save that just goes off the post and in instead of off the post and out is its
Reflecting on Knockout Football
01:23:31
Speaker
margins. And the margins at World Cup knockout football are so, so slim.
01:23:36
Speaker
And there's so many points and in all of these moments and in all of these games where you just look at it and you just say, One bounce the other way and this completely changes. it And that's why we love the knockout round football so much.
01:23:49
Speaker
100%. It's not like a club soccer season. Even the Champions League is bouncy too, but like it just feels like everything is riding on these little things. And that's why sometimes we've we've done an hour and a half of podcasting and you could just be like, you guys are just telling us it's margins, it's bounces, it doesn't matter. But we love the margins. We could talk about the margins for days. Welcome to World Cup After Dark.
01:24:13
Speaker
Come back for more. And we will talk about the margins for days. Are you ready to do it all again tomorrow? a minute I am. i mean hopefully we get more good games, but also like, i don't know if I could handle two more games at this level, right? Like that was intense.
01:24:31
Speaker
We've got Ivory Coast, Norway, France, Sweden, and then Mexico, Ecuador to close up the night. If you want previews on those games, you're not going to get them now. Go check out the Round of 32 preview podcast. They're all there. You can listen to them. Nice thoughts on those. We will be back on Wednesday morning recapping the Tuesday games. You know where to find us.
01:24:51
Speaker
Spotify, Apple Podcasts. You can subscribe. You can comment. You can share your thoughts on what you thought of these games with us. And if you want to support us, you can do so at patreon.com slash WCAD.
01:25:02
Speaker
That is all, mercifully, for Amit and I tonight. We will be back to recap the Tuesday games. We are just a couple of steps into this knockout round, and it's already shaping up to be one for the ages. So come back and join us when we are back again. Enjoy the games until then, and we'll talk soon.