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WCAD 4-17: Oh Hello There Sweden
866 Plays2 days ago
Austin is joined by WCAD Day-one Parker Johnson to break down day 4 of the World Cup Group Stage, starting with an intriguing draw between the Netherlands and Japan. The guys then discuss Ivory Coast's late winner against Ecuador before pivoting to a pair of blowouts, one more surprising than the other. Plus, Parker has thoughts about the Trionda.
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Transcript
Introduction of Hosts and Guests
00:00:01
Speaker
Don't worry, my fair listener. We are one show away from Evint Malik's big return. you probably think that you were excited for it. Trust me. I myself am very, very excited to have my co-host back. But we've got one more World Cup After Dark to get in before that happens. A big day of action to break down on day four the tournament.
00:00:20
Speaker
My name is Austin Miller. And joining me on the other side of the microphone... If such a thing as a World Cup after dark day one exists, particularly outside of my immediate family, you might be the man on the other end of the microphone here. It is Parker Johnson, former Northwestern student with myself and Amit.
00:00:39
Speaker
We go all the way back to the Medill School edit bays, my man. You've been a fan since the World Cup in Russia in 2018. It's so good to finally have you on the show. I'm so happy you made the time.
00:00:51
Speaker
Yeah, dude. I remember listening to the first episode when i was in Los Angeles at at the World Cup. And ah yeah, we've come a long, long way from there. But that was around the time it was announced that the World Cup was coming to North America. So um it's a dream realized in many ways.
00:01:08
Speaker
As I said, very happy to have you on the show today, Parker. I think we've got a lot of good action to
World Cup Schedule Challenges
00:01:13
Speaker
break down. But before we do, I think it it always helps. And it it can be hard in the World Cup to do this, right? To kind of step back and take a bigger picture view. Because once these matches start, man, it just come thick and fast. And and you finish one and you've got 30 minutes. And then, boom, you're right into the next one. you're You're taking in the lineups. You're trying to figure out everything. And the the night ends and you're recording a podcast. Then, boom, you're right back into it the next day.
00:01:38
Speaker
Through the first week in the World Cup, we've had four full days. We haven't seen all of the groups, but we've seen some of the groups.
Top Performing Teams Overview
00:01:44
Speaker
Who's the happiest team at this World Cup? It's probably the US, right? I think the U S jumps off immediately for all the reasons that I'm sure our listeners be very familiar with. um I would throw Australia into the mix.
00:01:57
Speaker
Yeah. I think both for their own result and for what it means for the group from what we saw. And then, I mean, I think there's some teams today who could definitely make a case from the games that we just saw, whether you're talking about Sweden pretty much off to a perfect start.
00:02:11
Speaker
um We will talk about that later. And then also, Ivory Coast. I mean, that was a high leverage game against Ecuador and they pulled it out right at the end in terms of pure joy and happiness. I think that has to be up there as well.
00:02:26
Speaker
It's always good to to see the big winners at the start of the World Cup. What I love most about the World Cup is one match does not a World Cup make. So even for the teams that are a bit down, we got time to to react. You got time to get back.
Netherlands vs Japan Match Analysis
00:02:37
Speaker
We had four matches today. As you said, Parker, I think we should start with what was probably the best match on paper coming in. And at least in the second half was maybe the best action that we saw today. A 2-2 draw between the Netherlands and Japan. This game was very interesting because the first half felt very...
00:02:54
Speaker
Nobody wanted to make a mistake. Everybody wanted to be kind of tactical. Japan set their two lines within like a 10 to 15 yard of space and challenged the Netherlands to make a pass through it. There were some moments when Japan had the ball and the Netherlands basically did the same thing.
00:03:08
Speaker
The first half didn't give away a lot. And then this game came to life in the second half. And we had really good action for 45 minutes between two teams that I think are pretty good. It felt almost like a knockout game ah just in terms of that. Like you said, that feeling out phase and teams kind of reacting to one another and and what they were doing, especially Japan, I would say, waiting to really show their hand until they had gone down a goal and and started to actually push numbers forward a little more.
00:03:37
Speaker
ferociously. And quite frankly, Netherlands did not deal with that very well. I mean, we talked about teams kind of having like plan A, plan B. I know that's something you guys talk about a lot with this international soccer podcast. And i think that narrative is so important with two teams that are not only thinking about this group, but also to me, this felt like a game with two teams who fancy themselves as teams who will get through knowing that this game, if it did finish as a draw, wasn't a bad result for either team. And they're looking forward and looking to how they can handle a similar type of knockout match. um It struck me as a Netherlands team or sorry, a Japan team that...
00:04:19
Speaker
has been here and done this before. They've gotten out of groups at the last two World Cups and gotten to the knockout phases. And how do they handle this game? i feel like they preserve their energy really well.
00:04:29
Speaker
They waited to the second half and they saw the moments where Netherlands were weak and they went at them. I think it's interesting because this is something we've talked about a lot with this group. This group is paired off with that Brazil-Morocco group. And so finishing first or second here is probably a high stakes round of 32 match against a really good team in Brazil or Morocco.
00:04:48
Speaker
Getting those sort of high level reps can be significant. the The way that you talk about Japan, I think is really interesting because it felt like they didn't put the press dial up to 10 or 11 or 12 because they knew that if they gave this Netherlands attack, particularly starting Netherlands attack space, they would be taken advantage of. And I think they did a really good job of of managing this game well.
00:05:13
Speaker
I don't think there's a ton that we need to to talk about about that first half. Again, as you said, it felt very tactical. It felt very knockout matchy. But what's the number one rule of international football? Goals change games, right? And that's what happened here. So the Netherlands get the first goal in the second half. It's some secondary set piece action. A Tanaguchi, the Japanese defender is kind of in a bad position and plays everybody for Netherlands onside. Graven Burch plays a great ball. and It's Virgil van Dijk with a perfectly placed header.
00:05:37
Speaker
This is kind of we asked going into the tournament. Okay, where are the goals coming from the Netherlands? This is number one circlet set piece and secondary set piece action. I mean, and and not to fold in the second goal too early here, but two shots that went off the post and in, it took that level of precision to actually create a breakthrough in this game for Netherlands. And they were two excellent goals. I think Van Dyke just doing the very smart in the box thing of getting that that little shelf off on the defender, but that you're not ever really going to call. And then to maintain his... You can tell that there was protest, right? The Japanese are pointed for the post. You see the replay. Yeah, he was... he was that call
00:06:15
Speaker
He was put off. He was put off the the guy trying to defend Van Dyke there. But to then maintain the balance and like said, guide that into the far post. Definitely, definitely strong and and secondary set pieces. I mean, you can defend the set piece as well as as you want, but you got to stay switched on for that second part. And I think Japanese response to the first goal was really good because they, the second they were kind of forced to play, I i think they were able to play and and they played really well and and they found an answer pretty quickly. was Nakamura who was in the box. You just, it just kind of felt like he persisted with this move. There wasn't a ton of space. He was kind of like going in the wrong direction and kind of just Saw that there was a window to get a shot off. There's traffic in front of the net to to steal a term from hockey. If you can tell I'm in i'm in a little hockey mood here. And Maeda maybe gets a touch on it, but it's it's a good response from Japan to going a goal down. And it's a response that we then saw again when they were 2-1 down.
00:07:09
Speaker
I mean, and just thinking about Nakamura, I thought he was one of the most impressive players for yeah for Japan in this match. And the difference in the two guys essentially at the left back spots with Nakamura playing left wing back and then Van de Ven being the player who plays on the goal scorer for Japan who gets the touch on Nakamura's shot. As you said, it was that kind of like hockey interference with the goalie. Like we're all watching and we're like, oh, if he touched it, that guy's got to be offside.
00:07:36
Speaker
And then you see the replay and Van de Ven is three yards behind him, not even marking anybody playing slightly out of position to where he is used to playing at club level.
00:07:47
Speaker
um And that clearly made a difference. um And also I think just on a, on a bigger picture for Japan, the times they look the most dangerous, I think was getting that extra man playing in the three, four, three and having those wingbacks get forward against the Dutch. um And, you know, we saw it also at the end when eventually once it was two, one Netherlands bring on the extra center back.
00:08:11
Speaker
And you're like, Kuman, I think I think overthought that one a little bit, um probably went a little early. And again, this is where I was like, do you think this is a knockout match that like your only option here is like we have to hang on for dear life?
00:08:26
Speaker
um And I just I just felt like that really didn't help them a lot. It almost played into Japan's hands um and and they, you know, they took the opportunity. Let's let's talk about these Dutch changes, right? So you mentioned it at one point they they bring in the extra center back and then they end up conceding from a quarter. We'll put a pin in that. we'll We'll get to that in a second.
00:08:46
Speaker
But the attacking changes here made the Netherlands kind of significantly worse. And I thought their starting attacking players were pretty fluid. I thought they did a lot of things. And then we kind of get to Memphis Depay, who's rocking a number 10 headband and living in a five-star hotel in Brazil and kind of looks like he's rocking a 10 headband and playing in a five-star Brazil, living in a five-star hotel in Brazil. I didn't think he was very good in this game. You've got Brian Brawby, Coop Miners.
00:09:14
Speaker
The Netherlands attack went down a level. And then when this game ended up being equal in the last few minutes, they didn't have anything to chase it. There was no way for them to get anything back from it. Kind of felt like Ronald Cohen maybe didn't get his changes right or he went to the changes too soon.
00:09:29
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think a combination of both, really. um And yeah, Memphis and Proby were just not going to save them ah once they were in it, unable to hold on to that lead. And and also in that process, they took off Somerville. And I mean, for me, he was their best player on the day. And the goal he scored was beautiful. Kissing it off the post with the left foot.
00:09:52
Speaker
He was all over the pitch. And even... Before that, he was doing great defensive work for them as well. He made like a recovery run all the way back across the field ah to to stop a play. I think he got it yellow, but you know he took it for the team um just before that had happened as well, before he got taken off and before he scored the goal.
00:10:09
Speaker
um So yeah, I think there was a huge drop-off there and maybe that's not the spot you would have been looking at the Netherlands coming into this thinking like, oh, that's actually where they they really could take advantage.
00:10:20
Speaker
um But yeah, the guys who came on just... They didn't ultimately get the job done. And I think they're going to be really disappointed with the way that that played out because that's so easily could have been three points for them as well as Japan did play. And I think if they had played their cards a little differently, honestly, I just, I think if they had stuck to ah ah just not bunkering their entire team behind and inviting all the pressure from Japan um eventually it paid off. And, and yeah, I think, I think he'll have some regrets about that. Let's talk about the Japanese equalizer. Then towards the end of this game, they put the pressure they get the Dutch pinned in they win some set pieces. And in a game where look, they're not the bigger, more physical team. It's a set piece goal here for Japan that ends up equalizing this. it's It's a well-placed quarter. Kamata is the one I think who gets credit for the goal. It's a really good header falling away. Again, you look at this Dutch defense, you've got three center backs on the pitch. You really shouldn't be getting beat by a set piece in this situation at this point in the match.
00:11:19
Speaker
When you say you've got three center backs, they also had Vannevin playing wing back. It's like you basically got got four in there. Coop Miners is at center mid in there to win headers. um And Virgil van Dyke gets out jumped on a corner, um which, you know, if you want to big them up for being able to score a goal in that way, you also have to be honest about where the goal comes from. defensively on that. I also think that the goalkeeper didn't exactly cover himself in glory on that play either. um It seemed like there was enough time to react from that kind of range to the header.
00:11:50
Speaker
Yeah. So, I mean, credit to Japan for, for keep fighting, but like definitely the way I look at this is it was points thrown away by the Netherlands. um And I think Japan will be extremely happy with this result. Yeah.
00:12:03
Speaker
I do think that in a sense, they, the way they approach the match kind of conserving the energy, waiting to really press a little bit higher and open it up. I think it was very calculated. And so I don't want to say that, you know,
00:12:18
Speaker
this was completely a failure on Netherlands part. I do think that the experience and the consistency of them making runs over the last few tournaments played into this. Like they just, they saw the final phase of the match before it happened. And I don't feel like, I feel like Netherlands got into that point and almost started
Cote d'Ivoire vs Ecuador Match Highlights
00:12:37
Speaker
freaking out.
00:12:38
Speaker
And that experience paid off for Japan. And that's what makes me, I think, feel confident in them moving forward is they look like they have a plan. They look like they have plan and C. And especially in a world cup with more stoppages, more breaks, we're playing four quarters now.
00:12:54
Speaker
That's going to be really important moving forward. Yeah, and it's something we've talked about a lot with Japan. This team is is super well prepped. Moriasu is a manager who's been there for a very long time. He's built a very good system.
00:13:05
Speaker
Look, even without some of the attacking players who we've talked about so much coming into this tournament, this is a good result for them. It's a good point. I think, yeah, it feels like a point one for for Japan. It's not a complete disaster for the Netherlands. Yes, it's two last points than they could have had in this situation, but they'll go on and they'll see what happens in these last two group games against Sweden first and then Tunisia. Before we close on this game, Parker, you have thoughts on the World Cup ball?
00:13:30
Speaker
Oh, well, you're you're probably going to hear this from me in every game that we talk about. And this just happened to be one of the many circumstances that it popped into my head is that.
00:13:42
Speaker
i have noticed throughout every single game, so many of the goals that are scored. this ball just seems to be flying off of people's feet. Like it in the past, people have made a big deal about like the Jabalani, the way that it yeah wobbled around in the air. Right. And, and you know, people, people love to make probably a bigger deal than they need to about, uh, the ball feeling a little different this time or whatever. Um,
00:14:07
Speaker
I'm the guy making the big deal about it right now. I'm telling all my friends. i think every game I've seen, there's been so many shots where I just felt like the ball is traveling faster than it should be based on the way that the guy shot it. And it has provided some scenarios where I feel like players, ah goalkeepers have gotten stuck in so sticky situations.
00:14:24
Speaker
They haven't been able to... I guess, make the same stops and guys have been able to, I think, focus on the precision of the finishes a little more than like kicking the ball hard, um which is like a small detail. But if you look at some of the goals and just like the speed that the ball was traveling, I'm trying to remember which goal in this game actually made me think of that because I know it was one of them. I think it was the the header from Van Dyke as he's falling away. I just didn't feel like there was that much power on it naturally, ah but it just kind of like blew it off the post. So yeah, Perhaps that's where my head was at with that. Nope. I don't know. We watched a lot of soccer today. Awesome. We did. We did. oh all right. We'll follow that away. found that away. it's a good point. Always good to get ah the opinions on such things like that. I think in this group stage for me, the games that I was particularly looking forward to on this first match, I was looking forward to Brazil, Morocco yesterday. I think that really delivered. It got a lot of data, really enjoyed that. And I was looking forward to Ecuador Cote d'Ivoire today. today because those were two teams that I had circled as teams that could potentially make a run in this tournament. And this match, Parker finishes a one nil win for Cote d'Ivoire.
00:15:29
Speaker
They won this game at the end. It's a massive three points for them. What are your big picture takeaways from this? How do you feel about either of these teams? Have you changed your priors on either of them?
00:15:42
Speaker
Yeah, I think slightly. Yes. um i I feel like Ecuador, I i thought, would be um a little more prepared to take control towards the end of this match. And it really felt to me like Ivory Coast outplayed them significantly in the second half. um What I will say is that i I think not to get overly driven by the result.
00:16:05
Speaker
Ecuador also hit the crossbar, what, three times and hit the post? Yes, but that was our big question coming in for this team, right? Okay, they can be organized defensively. I think they were very good defensively for the majority of this match. We'll talk about what happened on the goal at the end. They dove into challenges. They made some late clearances. i thought they checked the boxes that they needed to check defensively, but the question was, can they score enough goals to make that count? And yeah, okay, they hit the crossbar three times, but guess what? You don't get points for hitting the crossbar. You got to put it in the back of the net. And I think that question, i didn't get the answer that I was looking for for Ecuador. that leaves me slightly concerned.
00:16:43
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, the chances are going to run out, obviously, to to to convert on those chances. i tend to be a believer that the um the types of chances they were creating, I do i do feel like were replicable. And, you know, are they going to get more chances to create those? Against Germany, I still think that's a reality. I could see this team absolutely beating Germany. um You know, I don't think we necessarily learned anything.
00:17:07
Speaker
super new about Germany, but I just, I feel like if you replayed this game several times, Ecuador comes out on top, um, at least a few of them. That being said, I, I do feel a lot better about, uh, Ivory coast. And in particular,
00:17:22
Speaker
The way that they were able to use the subs to change the game, um I think, you know, kind of an inverse of what we just spoke about with the Netherlands, it feels like they were prepared for the final stage of this match. um And they were able to take over and, you know, bringing on Ahmad, obviously, who gets the the winner and and kind of gets the headlines there.
00:17:41
Speaker
um But just every attacking switch that they made, they brought they had so many extra dudes to just run it down. Super hot one in Philly as well. I mean, we were talking about... kind of these like middle kickoff times. um A lot of these on the Eastern East coast where they're thinking like, okay, we don't have to set this game aside as it has to be a nighttime kickoff or it's not the indoor stadiums where, you know, we're going to save those for the 12 and the three o'clock kickoffs. But it's like five or six and it's still really hot out and it's muggy on the East coast. um And I think you could see that coming into play, especially in, i guess what I would call the fourth quarter.
00:18:17
Speaker
of this game and Ivory Coast subs were a lot better, a lot fresher. um And i do think that that ultimately made the difference. Well, and it's interesting because there's just so much attacking talent for this Ivory Coast team. but really Like you look at what they had in the starting lineup. You're like, Oh, that's pretty good. And then you look at what they're bringing off the bench, right? Uh, I'm John Bonnie is a player that we talked about just switched to to play for coat to wall, right? Making his first caps for this country. He's ah a threatening player.
00:18:46
Speaker
Diallo who we'll get to is the guy who scored the goal. He's coming off the bench and running at defenses. Um, Yeah, this team has has runners that they can bring in. Ibrahim Sangare is another guy that they brought in who I think had a pretty good impact here. And then the starting players, Yandio Mande was great. The Yandio Mande, Piero Incapié one-on-one battles in this game, they were really, really good. It was exactly kind of what I expected from this game, where it was going to be physical. It was going to be athletic. And those two guys just kind of traded body blows, it felt like, for the entirety of the 90 minutes.
00:19:18
Speaker
Yeah, every time you went at them, I remember there being one in the first half where you looked at it and Diamande in behind Incapia, he was on a complete island. Like there was like 30 yards of space between him and the goal and no players between. And any winger in the world, their first thought would be,
00:19:35
Speaker
open space, attack it, get a touch past him and let's go. And there was a moment of hesitation. And then eventually he does try to go past Incopier. And I think he was able to, to, to get across him, but, but Incopier recovered and it didn't come to much. But I think that that sequence in particular spoke pretty highly to that individual matchup. It was Ecuador saying, yeah, no, we'll leave him on an Island here against your best player. And it was the best player saying, yeah,
00:19:59
Speaker
I'm thinking twice about this, but also I still back myself. Let's go. um And that was kind of the energy there. It was like the two dudes who, you know, play a great game and slap hands afterwards. You're like, that was a fun one. We should do that again. um But definitely as a neutral, that was super exciting. I mean, I say neutral. I'm an Arsenal fan. So, you know, sir I'm backing a copy there, but Diamante had a great game.
00:20:21
Speaker
um and ah And yeah, but i I mean, for all the dazzling runs he made, A few, you know, final passes that didn't quite work out. the I think the best run of the match came from Wilfred Singo, just bombing up the right wing to provide the assist for Diallo on the game winning goal. ah That was so incredible. And one of those moments where you're kind of watching him run and you're like, no, no, no, don't take that big touch. Oh, don't get too excited here. He had just won like a big tackle on the other end too. So it was that like, it was that center back that has like the extra, you know, energy and like confidence to move forward. But it was the perfect thing in that moment cause there were so many tired players on the pitch. And this was really a like fun endto end to end matchup, even though it finished one nil.
00:21:10
Speaker
um And, and to be able to provide the decisive moment as the outside of the three center backs, I think, you know, kind of shows you the extra layer that the team can have as well. Look, when you're that outside center back, you start that run forward, you get far enough. You're like, all right, we just got to finish this off because I'm so far out of position. The only way I'm getting back in position is for there's a kickoff at midfield. And that's what they did. And look, this is an Ahmad Diallo finish.
00:21:33
Speaker
This is just a high class finish, right? It's it's just the the ball comes in and it's just kind of one time taken, boom, corner of the net. It's like, Yeah, that's what good players do in that type of situation. And that's exactly what coach Dubois need. And yeah, that's why we're so excited about this player in this team.
00:21:51
Speaker
And he could do it because the ball was flying off his foot. He barely touched it. It was a good man. It just moves off his foot in the corner. oh Yeah, it was. It was a really, really, really top finish um ah to have the composure in that moment as well, just to stop his run and sit at the top of the box, knowing that The guy making the run is the center back. He's just gone 80 yards. He's probably not going to take the extra touch to try to beat the guy on the end line.
00:22:17
Speaker
He's about done there and he needs the cut back. And he so he shows for it. And that and that was excellent. It is a deserving game winning and goal, I think. um And just for also the way that they hung in that match, even though they were giving up some of those chances to Ecuador. I was very impressed with the fact that after two first half yellow cards to their starting midfielders and their two most important players off the ball in terms of Fofana and Kessier, to play with them and leave them in there on yellow cards took some serious stones. um And, you know, ah it paid off towards the end as well. I think they managed the match really well. And that's something that we've seen from Emerson Fah, the Ivory Coast manager, who, again, it's so crazy to think about. All of this started because they got waxed 4-0 by Equatorial Gane at that AFCON so long ago that then then went on and won. And he's been a really good manager. And I thought, like you said, that the changes that were made here were very productive.
00:23:13
Speaker
The trust that he shows in Fafana and Kassier to say, all right, you're on a yellow card. you're just to have to play through it because you're the guys that we need in the midfield. That's really good. This sets up a really, really good Cote d'Ivoire Germany game in the second match day. That I think is going to be a really good test, not only for Germany, but also for this Ivory Coast side, because think those teams are maybe a bit more equal than you would think on first glance. Yes. And it's going to set up, I think, a pretty sticky situation for Ecuador where, all right, we have finishing questions. Now you're going to have to go put the ball in the back of the net against Curacao. Yeah, the Ecuadorian defense is probably going to be able to limit Curacao in that second game.
00:23:51
Speaker
But until that ball goes in and they get a lead... I think it's going to be a kind of tense atmosphere. Look, the Ecuadorian fans in Philadelphia were great. That stadium was yellow. was exactly what we expected from the Ecuadorian fans.
00:24:03
Speaker
But I think you're goingnna start to feel some of that tension because you also remember what they did in Qatar. They didn't have a great group stage in the World Cup in Qatar. They're starting to, some of that tension is starting to build. There's going to be a big release if they can score against Curacao. But that question is still kind of there for me that I had coming into this tournament.
00:24:20
Speaker
haven't quite got it solved yet. Well, and as as you've mentioned a couple times, it's the same guy that's there missing all the chances. ums yeah It's the same question. And so far, we've tried to answer it a lot of times and haven't gotten the answer that we were hoping for. I do agree. That's going to be a pressure-packed match. It already was going to be with the shape that that match will presumably take against Curacao. Kind of one of those where until you score the first goal, it's going to be it's gonna be stressful.
00:24:51
Speaker
And so to build in the fact that you didn't get any points out of your first match, i don't know, man. Yeah. Deep breath, right? yes Yeah. Deep breath. yeah i thought I did think John Yeboah was good here for Ecuador. I think he's a player who's kind of come on and found a role for them. He was one of the players who who ended up hitting the crossbar. and We saw a little bit of Kevin Rodriguez. I didn't think he gave him a whole lot.
00:25:11
Speaker
Gonzalo Plata was kind of in and out of this game with his contributions for them. um Look, the midfield solidity, the defensive solidity is there, but they got beat in one moment and that ended up costing them the...
00:25:22
Speaker
you know, a point here in this game as it were in that situation. So let's see, this was a really good game. Really, really good for from a neutral perspective. right. The late night game tonight, Parker, ah Tunisia fall to Sweden by a score of five to one. Yes, that's right. Five to one. We said, yeah, we, we said on the preview podcast that Sweden's approach to this turn, it was going to try to be to get three points by three nil nil draws. That approach lasted all of seven minutes in this game.
00:25:54
Speaker
The Sweden team came out firing on all the cylinders. They put pressure on the Tunisian defense and they didn't really stop at any point in this game.
Sweden vs Tunisia Match Performance
00:26:01
Speaker
Yeah, no, no. I, um you know, admittedly, I'm not overly familiar with the Tunisian team. And so I had taken a lot of y'all's great talking points from the preview pods and been sharing them with my friends as we all sat around the screen and watched the Tunisia Sweden game this evening.
00:26:18
Speaker
And I quickly realized that this whole strategy of going for three nil nils hypothetically ah ah will rely on a competent goalkeeper. And that was clearly an issue from the beginning. The first two goals that they allowed um one was pretty much just straight up all over the top.
00:26:36
Speaker
The Ezek, he messes up the initial decision. And then as he saves the second ball, the rebound spills out ah to Iari who is I mean, absolutely smoked that shot past him. Insane, insane shot.
00:26:51
Speaker
That was ridiculous um and would not be his last great contribution to the match either. But and and then the second goal, um I mean, it's ah It's a great direct run from Isak as we've become accustomed to seeing, but you kind of know where he's going with that.
00:27:07
Speaker
And he just thinks, I'm going to beat you to that corner. And the Tunisian goalkeeper should absolutely be making that save. Shamak, I think there's going to be some questions asked.
00:27:20
Speaker
Yeah, and it's really interesting. And this is something that we talked about with Sabri Lamucci, who is the Tunisian manager. He's kind of tried to bring younger players into the fold. And so he's got Ayman Daman, who's got a lot of caps for Tunisia, right? He's got 37 caps. He's a guy who played a lot for them in African qualifying. But he chooses to go with Shamak in this game, and it kind of felt like that backfired. But this... didn't come down to the Tunisian goalkeeper, not making a couple saves. This came down to the fact that this Swedish attack, which is so good in theory and on paper looks so threatening played to their potential, which is something we haven't seen a ton. We saw it a little bit, I think against Poland in the European playoffs. We saw it a little bit in March. Didn't see it a lot in the pre-World cup friendlies. They were really good today. They were fluid. They were incisive and it's Alexander Isak.
00:28:05
Speaker
It's Yacharez. It's Niagara and Iyari and behind, I think Iyari had a really, really good game. He was a player that i didn't really have a ton on my radar. Obviously a really interesting story has Tunisian heritage.
00:28:16
Speaker
Didn't celebrate the first goal, but then as we'll get to does celebrate the second goal. All right, you get the second goal. and It's like, all right, I already already asked for forgiveness. um This Swedish attack looked really good. And yes, I think there's caveats to this, that this is Tunisia, but if I'm Netherlands watching this game, I think it piques your interest, right? Like this Swedish attack looks like they finally found some form and something that'll work.
00:28:41
Speaker
My thoughts exactly. And when I was watching the Netherlands Japan match, it struck me as a match where those two teams fancy themselves as the top two in the group, having extensively scouted, obviously all their opponents and kind of drawn out their plan for how they think this thing is going to go. um They looked like two teams who were comfortable with the draw and confident that they could pick up points, not only against Tunisia, but also against Sweden as a third team in this group.
00:29:08
Speaker
And they may be reassessing that slightly after this match. The one thing I will say is that Sweden's back line wasn't overly tested, which I think is the big question mark that we have about this team. The goal they did give up was pretty sloppy. It was from a long throw. It was a second ball on a long throw, as we saw with, you know, ah the the first goal that Japan conceded. yeah.
00:29:31
Speaker
That question is still going to exist despite the scoreline. And of course, there will be games where the offense can carry them through that. Tunisia was not overly impressive, but there was kind of a phase early in the second half where Tunisia came out of halftime, stepped up their pressure quite a bit, and it did feel like it could get...
00:29:51
Speaker
Nervy because that backline from Sweden. ah Yeah, when they're under pressure, they do look a little bit shaky, but having the outlet to just lump it up there and you know that Yoko Rez and Isak are over there somewhere.
00:30:03
Speaker
ah Pretty good bailout option. that's And look, if you're going to score five goals, you're generally going be in good position. But I did agree with that point. I thought when the Swedish defense was tested in this game, didn't necessarily come away unscathed. And again, that is very on brand for this side. How'd they get to the world cup? They meet Poland three, two, right?
00:30:21
Speaker
They're a team that are going to have to outscore you. That's going to be their best success. I'm a huge Hannibal Mezri fan. I know that he just came off a five, one loss, but I just, just the dude just oozes class. Very, very enjoyable player to watch. I like the Tunisia goal. And then this is very interesting, Parker, because you mentioned it. Tunisia kind of come out of the break and they have a little bit of the game.
00:30:41
Speaker
And then that goes away and Yacra scores the goal and it gets the 3-1. And at that point, I think you kind of just need to say, all right, this wasn't our day. We're going to need to find something in one of these other matches, but we're going to need to protect this two goal loss, right? Like three, one would have been a poor result. Five, one is a really, really poor result for Tunisia because now they're looking at probably having to get four points to have any chance of getting out of this group. It's just spiraled in that Swedish attack. They just did not have any answers to slow them down.
00:31:11
Speaker
Yeah, and I don't really see where four points are coming from. no If Tunisia play as they did today, um i think the other teams are going to be licking their lips for for that matchup.
00:31:22
Speaker
What did you make of the last couple of goals for Sweden here? Walk me through what what we saw down the end of this game, because it just kind of felt like they were out and having some fun with Svanberg and then a second goal for Mayari.
00:31:33
Speaker
Yeah, basically, I mean, Svonberg actually scored with his first touch on as a substitute. It was a weird one. um I will say it highlighted one of the firsts, I think, in the World Cup to my recollection of the games I've seen, which is the chip tracking technology inside the ball.
00:31:49
Speaker
They actually used it on the VAR review to figure out that Isak had glanced the first ah kick from the free kick, which left Svonberg onside instead of clearly offside as he was on the on the ah first ball in.
00:32:04
Speaker
So that was kind of cool. I mean, honestly, it's like, hey, 2026. We got the technology. It actually helped us out one time. um So that was cool. And ah the last goal from my Ari was just the cherry on top, if you will. um I think, yeah, like you said, the fact that he didn't celebrate the first one,
00:32:25
Speaker
But that one, he was like, no, I'm having a bit of that afterwards. um So, ah no, it was a beautiful strike. And um and again, both of these are coming off situations that I think were pretty avoidable from Tunisia. yeah So, you know, yes. Sweden looked very dangerous when they had open fields to run into. That's how East X goal was created.
00:32:47
Speaker
Um, you'll cross costs a whole lot of problems himself, but I mean, the third goal that Sweden scored was really just to give away out of the back from Tunisia at a time where otherwise they were playing pretty well, um, kind of shoot themselves in the foot there. And knowing that you have a very good finishers on the other side, you just can't give them opportunities like that. And then you're talking about a set piece and yeah, another quick turnover once it's for one. So Sweden Netherlands is a really interesting game on the second match day, isn't it? Now that we've seen can't wait this Swedish attack, like, okay, I think there's something there.
00:33:17
Speaker
And look, the Netherlands are probably looking at the Swedish backline and say, all right, there's something there. It feels like it should be a pretty high scoring back and forth type games. Look, for all that I've ragged on Sweden in this tournament, they are fun from the aspect that the only way that they're going to win games is by scoring. And that leads to open matches and that at the World Cup can be fun. right, our last game to break down here, Parker, a 7-1 win for Germany against Curacao.
Germany vs Curacao Match Recap
00:33:39
Speaker
It was our first blowout of the World Cup. Let's be honest, it wasn't exactly a surprise.
00:33:44
Speaker
But amongst all of that, there was still a moment for Curacao. Look, no, there were actually two moments for Curacao because the Curacao National Anthem absolutely slapped. in this game. And you can see what it meant to every single player who is lined up for that anthem. You can see what it meant for the people in the crowd.
00:34:00
Speaker
They were quickly a goal down after that moment of the national anthem, but they built something after that. They got back into this game and they scored a goal and they got it to one, one. And for 25 to 30 minutes, Curacao kind of hung around in this contest.
00:34:15
Speaker
They did. We'll always have that moment that it was one to one and then the water break happened, um which really kind of kind of killed the vibe for me personally. of i know you you mentioned that as well, but I get it.
00:34:30
Speaker
Um, and it's just something we have to live with now, but I really do feel like, uh, that, that just came in such an inopportune moment in the match. It really did because they had the momentum and it was like, right, you know, so much of soccer is building on those momentum type moments and then it gets broken and a team like Germany gets to regroup and then all their talented players get to come and do everything. Yeah. the first quarter curacao we're in this game the first goal from germany what about there from net just to just open this up it's like ah not a lot we can do to stop it i thought curacao like at points had some defensive effort here they were diving in and blocking shots he made a couple saves and look at seven minutes in and a dude just pulls that out of the bag it's like oh it might not be our day they get back into it with the moment that you mentioned parker uh comencia gets the curacao goal look it was a bit of a deflection
00:35:18
Speaker
Interesting here, Manuel Neuer got the start for Germany, didn't cover himself in glory in the one chance that he had here. Is there maybe a bit of controversy? I also think you could maybe make the point that Julian Nagelsmann decided that this would be their easiest group stage match and he wanted to give Neuer a game just to give him a game. What are Germany going to do in goal going forward, do you think?
00:35:39
Speaker
I mean, I think they're rolling with Neuer. I myself, I, I grew up playing goalkeeper and Neuer was always ah kind of one of my favorites.
00:35:50
Speaker
I do feel like he has definitely lost a level in terms of his pure shot stopping ability. Hmm. His reflexes, um his just instincts for getting in front of the ball are not clearly not where they used to be. You saw it on the goal, um which did take a little bit of a deflection in his defense, but I would say was a shot he would have felt he should be saving.
00:36:12
Speaker
I think that what Neuer adds so much is more intangible, which is a huge part of what makes a quality goalkeeper, especially in tournament football. um His calmness under pressure, his ability to play out of the back, um his leadership and his experience with some of these teammates, I think makes him a pretty easy choice actually for Nagelsmann, even though Yeah, he won't like looking back at the clip of that goal.
00:36:37
Speaker
I think it's I think it's forgivable in the big grand scheme of things. And I don't think they would have brought him in if they didn't have the intention of continuing to play him. through the journey Yeah, I think you're right. But I also think it's kind of interesting because Oliver Baumann started the two friendlies for Germany. But. we'll see what they end up choosing to do there. The second goal here for the Germans is a set piece move where Nico Schlaudebeck is just getting into space and scoring. And let's just be completely honest about this.
00:36:59
Speaker
Curious are not seeing those types of set piece runs when they're playing cock a cap opposition. Like this is just big team set piece ball. I'd like, yeah, there's a gap in talent here.
00:37:10
Speaker
Okay. Also let me, let me take issue with Schlaudebeck. Uh, rolling up his sleeve and flexing on the celebration as if he did not score an open header in which the only physical battle that was won was a pick set for him by somebody else. He didn't even use those big muscles to set the pick.
00:37:31
Speaker
I was like, bro, you you you have to have something else in your bag for the celebration other than that. Also, he was a very big part of giving away that goal to Curacao just moments before, um which also did not inspire ah guns flexing in my mind. But, ah you know, you get to paint your own picture, I suppose.
00:37:52
Speaker
Kai Havertz scored a penalty for the third and then the second half. Again, I think the Curacao like just went a little bit and this just started to to pile up for Germany. I was intrigued to see Dennis Undav get on and get a goal. He impressed me in some of Germany's pre-World Cup friendlies. I think he's a player who's probably got a role to play here for the Germans. Kai Havertz played pretty much all, if not all of this game. That's a decision for Germany to make in what could be a very long World Cup run. But like I don't think we're coming away from this having learned a ton about Germany. I think it's a box check. They took care of business and they took care of business in a very positive way.
00:38:27
Speaker
They did. I was disappointed in the second half on one thing from Julian Nagelsmann, which is changing his shirt and not. This is apparently a thing. This is apparently a thing because he did this in the friendly against the U.S. as well. He made a halftime shirt change. So I do remember that. I also do remember that he was rocking just a white T-shirt and then he changed. So this is apparently something we're going to have to keep an eye with Nagelsmann going forward. Some outfit changes at halftime.
00:38:49
Speaker
I had a coach in high school who ah he brought an extra pair of shoes to every single match. And if that something was off, those shoes were getting changed at halftime. um And there was one match in particular where the second pair of shoes did not make it to the match. And I have never seen a man in such a fearful position ever. So, I mean, listen, a coaches have their things. I get it. But.
00:39:17
Speaker
It's funny. I forgot about it happening during the US game because he went from like a white t-shirt to a black t-shirt. Yeah. When you come out with a bold statement of a striped tee out there on the touchline the first half, I just I want to see you commit.
00:39:32
Speaker
You know, I want to see you commit to the system. Let's see. Let's see if it's something that's going to change. Look, if we're breaking down Julian Nagelsmann's outfit choice as far as the German analysis, yeah that's pretty much everything you need to know from this game. Curacao could have maybe tried to keep the goal differential down a little bit, but it's just hard in this situation and Germany are just that good.
00:39:51
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's not for lack of trying for giving up because we saw they had plenty of fight in the first half. um But yeah, these are dudes who are just not quite used to playing at this level for this long against those kind of opposition and the subs that Germany brought on, as you mentioned, like Undov and Goretzka barreling through your midfields ah when you know you're you're out there in the 80th minute. It's it's a tough a tough scene for Curacao.
00:40:18
Speaker
um This did spark one of the most... like asinine conversations that feels like it happens at every major tournament at this point, which is, Oh, has the expansion gone too far? And it's like, please stop that and enjoy what we're witnessing.
00:40:36
Speaker
It's not as if we don't see lopsided scorelines in every tournament. um This is a pretty famous scoreline, as a matter of fact, that happened in a World Cup semifinal. um Not to mention um any other number of reasons that this is ah a dumb argument, but you knew that was going to come at some point during this World Cup. And it's unfortunate that this was the easy pickings for some people. Look, we got all the way to Sunday before we got there. So I think it's pretty good record. And look, we've had two blowouts out of these matches. And one of them was kind of an even sided blowout between Sweden and Tunisia. and And then this. So I think we're in an OK spot. And look, Curacao making it this far was just what a moment for them. And the goal that they scored, the celebrations were so cool. that the The emotion that you saw from Dick Advocate, both the national anthem and and then here.
00:41:22
Speaker
Look, it's what this is all about. And I think I come away from this game feeling that there's a chance for Curacao to get a foot in against Ecuador and Cote d'Avole. It's going to be difficult. There's a lot of physicality from those two teams. But Curacao showed that in moments they can play. mean, this is a really long time.
00:41:38
Speaker
I don't think I come away from this feeling that Germany is a far level above everybody else in this group. I think they took care of business. They deserve credit for that. And and let's see what happens. I mean, at the end of the day, crazy things have happened. um Then Curacao winning a match and potentially getting out even with a rough goal difference. um yeahp In my mind, this doesn't actually change the calculus for them all that much. So, as you said, maybe we didn't learn a whole lot in this match, but...
00:42:04
Speaker
I loved watching Curacao. All the people I was watching with were absolutely taken away. um And I think to me, that's what the world cup is all about. And I'm glad they're here. I'm, uh, it was actually probably one of my favorite, favorite watches. I know we had some really high level games today, but,
00:42:20
Speaker
Games like this fill me up kind of in a different way. And you only get that in the group stage every four years. And so to me, this game still meant a lot, even though it's, you know, tagged on here at the end. And I think people who are listening at this point probably feel the same way.
00:42:32
Speaker
um So it's good to be around those people. ah Great kit match up to just a great kid. batchup bat i've no like I really like this. This white edition that Germany have and the Curacao Blue was was good, good stuff. All right, Parker, let's close it out by looking ahead to what we have
Upcoming Matches Preview
00:42:47
Speaker
tomorrow. Another four matches on the slate. We've got Spain, Cabo Verde kicking things off.
00:42:51
Speaker
Then Belgium, Egypt, Uruguay will play Saudi Arabia. And our nightcap is an earlier nightcap at 9 p.m. Eastern, 10 for me here in Argentina. It's Iran, New Zealand. What's one thing that you're kind of looking for with these sets of games? Any game in particular? Any theme that you want to point out here?
00:43:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think the ah for me, the the game that I'm most interested in is the Belgium and Egypt match. You guys did a great job highlighting that in the previews. But I think this is the team that has the the most tools to be able to test Belgium in the group stage.
00:43:25
Speaker
And this is a team that we have seen come out extremely flat, um especially at the last World Cup. So I'm very curious to see how they handle that. And, you know, Austin, I know you got I know you got the Dark Horse vibes for Egypt. So given how our other hosts, uh, dark horse, I know we got to respond. Exactly. Exactly. I'm hoping the boys saw what the U S put up it's like, right, we got to answer.
00:43:50
Speaker
we got, we got to keep the vibes high there. Um, but, but yeah, so in terms of the game, that's definitely one that I'm, I'm looking forward to. And I think also just sort of going back to how we actually started this podcast with, you know, who is the happiest right now? I think that,
00:44:05
Speaker
We have not seen, i think probably the, what the five biggest favorites play yet. If you look at Spain, England, France, uh, and, and Portugal and Argentina.
00:44:17
Speaker
Right. And I think all five of those teams at this point are not going to be, um, overly sweating what they've seen so far. I think they're all still going to feel in a very good position based on what we've seen. Mm-hmm. And I've kind of loved this slow incline that we've gotten into the World Cup over the weekend, the way that it started. ah The expanded field, it feels overwhelming at times. The number of games, the amount of time it takes up throughout your day.
00:44:43
Speaker
um i think for me and probably the other American base, whether that's North, South America listeners, We haven't had a ah World Cup in this time zone in quite a while. So literally the amount of your day that this is consuming has been overwhelming. But the way that we've kind of been eased into it with the host countries um and then into the bigger sets of games. And it feels like we're getting these new little presents to unwrap each day. These new and, as I said, kind of like stronger teams as we move into these um elite kind of favorite type teams. over the next couple of days. That is something that I'm really excited to see. Just kind of getting these data points on each squad um and and, you know, kind of reassessing that question every day of like, who's feeling the best after this first round of group stage matches.
00:45:28
Speaker
I obviously like you. I'm very excited for Belgium. egypt but I think it's a really good game on paper. I think Egypt can pose a threat to Belgium. I think there's a lot riding on this World Cup for Egypt. As you said, they didn't have a great World Cup performance the last time they were here. Let's see what they can do. Uruguay is is really interesting because I want to see where that team's at. they didn't They're the only team that didn't play a pre-World Cup friendly, which is just peak Marcelo Bielsa, right? So i'm I'm intrigued to see what they have in their bag. Let's see what Saudi Arabia can do.
00:45:56
Speaker
Spain is interesting because, as you said, they're the first of the big, big favorites to take the pitch. This is a Spain team that you would expect should be able to pass their way through Cabo Verde pretty easily. But there have been games that you expect Spain to pass their way through that they haven't been able to pass their way through. So let's see. And then the nightcap. um Look, Iran are one of the stories of this World Cup, more for the off the pitch stuff than the on the pitch stuff. But now it's time to be on the pitch. Right. And we're going to see that. And New Zealand going to ask some questions of them. And it's an interesting match in a group that that is just screaming of opportunity. So look. It's four more good games and it's another day of world cup action.
00:46:30
Speaker
The plan is to be back again in this kind of late night window tomorrow night with admit. If that changes, it'll be on Tuesday morning. Don't worry. There'll be a show recapping tomorrow's action. Parker, thank you so much for coming on the show. it was a pleasure to have you. do you have any one big world cup prediction you want to leave us with before you take your leave?
Bold Predictions and Conclusion
00:46:48
Speaker
Uh, France is going to crash out in the round of 32. Wow. He came big with the big prediction to close out the show. I very much appreciate it. Thank you once again to Parker Johnson for joining us a day one fan of world cup after the dark after dark. Wow. It's late getting his moment. We did it. Look, we're, we're, we're, we're playing by the podcast name here. It's been a pleasure.
00:47:10
Speaker
but If you like what we do here on World Cup After Dark and would like to support us, you can do so at patreon.com slash WCAD. Three bucks a month, access to subscriber-only content. You can also support us by subscribing on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts, and rating, reviewing, and clicking all of the very nice buttons. That is all for us. I hope you enjoyed your double dose of World Cup After Dark today.
00:47:31
Speaker
Uh, we had a a show earlier this morning with with Jack Collins recapping yesterday's action. So there's plenty of world cup after dark action to get you through until the matches kick off tomorrow. All that is left for me to say is thanks for listening and good night.