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World Cup Bracket Is Set! Favorites, Dark Horses & USMNT vs Bosnia
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The World Cup knockout stage is officially here and the Round of 32 bracket is set. On this episode, we're reacting to the biggest matchups in the bracket, discussing our favorites and dark horses to lift the trophy, and discussing whether anyone can stop Lionel Messi after his dominant six-goal group stage.
We'll also revisit one of the tournament's most dramatic matches, Egypt vs. Iran, break down the controversial VAR moment that left Iranian supporters fuming, and share some thoughts from an unforgettable atmosphere in Seattle.
Then we'll turn our attention to the USMNT, discussing whether the loss to Turkey matters at all in the grand scheme of the tournament before previewing the Americans' Round of 32 showdown against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsorship Announcements
00:00:00
Speaker
As you know, we're huge fans of supporting local business. We've partnered with Seattle coffee roaster, Huey D Coffee, to bring a full spectrum of coffees to our listeners. Matt, the owner, is a diehard Sounders fan and inaugural season ticket holder who can often be overheard talking about the latest match while he works behind the bar. Thankfully, you don't have to live in Seattle to get great coffee.
00:00:20
Speaker
Huey D's high quality coffee subscription service offers our favorite blends right to your door. at lobbing scorchers.com slash coffee. First time subscribers can get 25% off your order.
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Speaker
Additionally, QED is offering Lobbing Scorcher supporters 25% off site-wide with the code LS74. What are you waiting for? Visit one of their three locations in Mount Baker, West Seattle, and Three Tree Point, or go to lobbing scorchers.com slash coffee and use code LS74 at checkout.
00:00:49
Speaker
I want you to think about what's actually happening here for a second. The World Cup. In Seattle? With Christian Roldan? Yes, the same Christian Roldan once referred to by Mauricio Pochettino himself as the perfect player. Christian Roldan is an example of... if you want to build your perfect player. Well, now you can get the perfect kit for the perfect player. The official U.S. soccer store has jerseys, scarves, and all the gear. It's a full circle moment for Seattle soccer fans, and you need to be dressed properly for the return of our GOAT. Go to lobingscorchers.com slash USA and use code SCORCHERS for 10% off most items.
00:01:29
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or lobbingscorchers.com slash YouTube.
2026 FIFA World Cup Group Stage Recap
00:01:51
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be a scorcher.
00:02:12
Speaker
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff presented by QED Coffee. I'm Ari, that's Nico, and we have got a big show for you all here this morning. We are continuing our 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage. We have officially reached the knockout round, so today...
00:02:31
Speaker
We're going to take a step back. We're going look at everything we learned from the now concluded group stage. We're going to preview the knockout round bracket, talk about the best matchups, maybe some favorites, maybe some dark horses. And then we're going to get into some USMNT. We're going to talk a little bit, not too much, but a little bit about the loss against Turkey, discuss whether it actually matters in the grand scheme of things and start looking ahead to the round of 32 matches.
00:02:56
Speaker
Big time matchup. Is it the biggest game in the history of U.S. soccer? It just might be Wednesday against bosnian Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Yanks begin their knockout stage journey. Are we going to win the World Cup? I don't know. We're going to talk about it. Let's find out. But Nico, welcome in, man. Excited to talk some more World Cup with you. It's getting real now. How are you doing? How you feeling?
00:03:17
Speaker
What's going on Ari? I'm feeling alright man. I took Friday off from World Cup coverage so I feel rejuvenated, recharged and ready for the last two games here in Seattle and...
00:03:31
Speaker
to get into the real World Cup, right? we the The group stage is just the appetizer. It's just the first course. Now we get to to the real meaty, the the the main entrance, if you will, you get into the World Cup. So I'm excited. You know, Colombia had a ah very good performance against Portugal that that ended there on some controversy, maybe, not so much, perhaps. But, yeah, man, it's been it's been fun Yeah, no, exactly. I feel like this this group stage, we're just getting we've just been getting warmed up. We've just been getting warmed up, and now it's getting real. And that that kind of sunk in as I was watching that Canada match. The Canadians, shout out to Canada, they got us underway yesterday, beat South Africa. So they're already through. I'm kind of jealous that they played their game just off rip, and now they don't even have to think about it. It's just over. Now us as U.S. s fans, or at least me as a ah United States citizen, I got to wait –
00:04:30
Speaker
Until Wednesday to find out if we move on like it's just the the anxiety the anticipation, but ah it's exciting in all seriousness like this is ah this is a huge game for the US but it's also you know, we're we're gonna actually find out who's got it as we ah dive into the knockout stage journey here.
00:04:48
Speaker
But ah before we get into it, I do have to let you all know, make sure to sub to the channel, like the video, but mainly check out our title sponsor, QED Coffee. You can support the show, get some great coffee at lobingscorchers.com slash coffee, get 25% off anything site-wide with the code LS74, but also toss them a sub while you're at it, support the show, support a local business. And while I'm on this topic, we are doing, by popular demand, another Panini sticker trading event on July 11th at the same QED coffee location in West Seattle. The first one was such a smashing success. We got such great turnout from all of you that ah we got bombarded with requests to do another one. you know i think it's mainly parents trying to get their kids out of the house, but we're happy.
00:05:33
Speaker
We're happy to do that. So we are hosting another one. Come on by this time. If you missed it last time, it was a lot of fun. If you got your cards, there'll be a lot of other people there with, ah with spreadsheets and binders and the whole nine yards. It's, it's a whole lone scene. So definitely stop on by. We'll be there. Say what's up and trade some cards, but ah all right, Nico, let's get into this round of 32. Yeah.
00:06:01
Speaker
brackets preview coverage. And I guess I want to start by let's, ah let's just pull up the bracket and see how it's shaped out after the
World Cup Knockout Round Analysis
00:06:10
Speaker
group stage. And we can talk about our favorite and best matchups, the games we're looking the most forward to obviously Canada already played, but everyone else is still on the docket. So I got it pulled up right here. Let's pull it up right now. so And just let, let's just take a quick preliminary glance, Nico, at what we are looking at here, and we can talk about what stands out and how we're feeling going into the round of 32. You can see up at the top here, you got a couple of your perennial powers. Germany's got a matchup with Paraguay, who actually ended up making it through. you got France, Sweden. Shout out to MyHeritage, the Swedes. They're probably not going to come out of that looking too good. ah
00:06:50
Speaker
And then, of course, Canada played last night with... South Africa and they get the one zero win game winner from Steven Ustakio dramatic game winner in second half stoppage time. So congrats to the Canadians. But this is where I wanted to start Nico because I feel like you got some real juicy ones once you get down to here. Netherlands, Morocco, Portugal, Croatia, and then Spain, Austria.
00:07:13
Speaker
But ah Netherlands, Morocco, I think that's probably the juiciest matchup that I'm looking at here so far. I'm really looking forward to that game. You know, I've been talking up Morocco as ah not really a dark horse. I don't think they really qualify as a dark horse ah anymore. Most people know what's up with Morocco. But like the fact that they get the Dutch in this round, something's got to give there. Those are two two teams that were expected to make it deeper than this. And one of them is going to be going home. I guess let's start with that, Nico. How are you sizing up that game? And then we can get into whatever else is catching your eye here.
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah, mean, I want to talk about Canada a little bit, but in terms of this matchup specifically, look, I still think Morocco is a dark horse, right? I mean, they have never won. They're a smaller nation in terms of soccer. Yes, they have a phenomenal youth system. They honestly beat the U.S. in all of the other tournaments over the the last year in in in youth play, and and they have superstar players in in in various lines of of that grouping. But I still think that they could be a a dark horse or they still fit the category of dark horse.
00:08:21
Speaker
ah Do I think they have enough to be the Netherlands? I don't know. i really like the way that the Netherlands is is finding ways to reignite or re- revamp guys like the John I like a Poe I think that they have a really interesting way of of attacking lines um they had a difficult game against against Japan but I think that was more credit to Japan than anything does Morocco have enough um
00:08:56
Speaker
No, I'm personally going stick with with the Netherlands. I'm going to go with maybe a team that is recapturing a little bit of that total soccer. And, you know, they have looked pretty good over the tournament.
00:09:12
Speaker
So, yeah, i I'm going to stick with the Netherlands in this one. Yeah, I think you're probably right. As high as I have been on Morocco, it feels like they haven't hit like their top attacking level. They're playing really good footy, but maybe not with the the end product that you would need from a tournament favorite. And the Dutch, you know, they're just always so good. So, I mean, they're going to be the favorite in that matchup, but that's going to be a good game. I'm really looking forward to watching that one. And and that's ah that's today. That's 6 p.m. Pacific, it looks like. So, that's ah that's exciting. What do you think of Portugal?
00:09:45
Speaker
right now because it feels like, you know, they're ranked the top five team in the world, but ah there's kind of this talk about how they're potentially hamstringing themselves by continuing to bell cow 42 year old or whatever, Cristiano Ronaldo. But I mean, look, they, I think there might be something to that because they have not looked maybe as good as people thought they would have. And ah you know, Cristiano, God love him. It's not like he's, ah he's contributing much,
00:10:15
Speaker
from an all around standpoint at this point in his career, it just seems so obvious to me that like he, uh, age 40 is more suited to be a super sub. Obviously he would never accept that. And, you know, he does have a goal in this tournament, but I feel, I don't know. I feel like it's like almost self sabotage going on with them. Am I off base with that? Or do you, uh, do you see that similarly?
00:10:38
Speaker
I don't know if it's as simple as just one player. i Going into this tournament, we looked at Portugal as arguably the best midfield in in in the tournament. I mean, you have um such a a grouping of players really good players at their position, right? Neves, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes. I mean, these are guys that are all top leagues, top quality, top players in their teams. They all have a a specific role that they take to a holiday level at the club level, but they haven't really done it with Portugal. So I don't know what it is that Roberto Martinez has to do to
00:11:27
Speaker
unlock this midfield to be as good as it can be. Cause look, they just play Columbia. And I know that they clearly were playing to win that group and Columbia. They they maybe, i don't know if I want to call it dominant, but they were the protagonist for the majority of the game. They really pushed back that ah Portugal team and they minimized what this team could do. out Why? Look, I'm not,
00:11:56
Speaker
Mendes is a Ballon d'Or nominee, and he was um contained, maybe not stopped. He still had moments, but I think that Colombia did a great job at...
00:12:11
Speaker
not allowing this team to get free flow, and they actually out-possess, and that's something they're going to see in in this World Cup. So um I have question marks.
00:12:23
Speaker
I don't think it's just Cristiano who he has looked not himself, and and he has looked 41, 42. I mean, that that's the reality. He had a phenomenal game before that, right, but it was against lesser competition without a doubt. But I think that this team's,
00:12:41
Speaker
Problems are more about their principles and their lack of collective play than just one player. You think Croatia can can spring this upset? It's kind of hard for me. I feel like Croatia is not looking that hot. And Portugal, even if they haven't been quite at the level that people expected, I'd like them to beat Croatia pretty comfortably. But ah how are you seeing that?
00:13:08
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think that... Portugal has enough individual talent to get through um the the this stage of elimination, right? Colombia goes 0-0 because they end up ah calling back a goal that was pretty...
00:13:31
Speaker
um that was very controversial on an offside call for Davidson Sanchez. But if that goal, if that game goes to overtime and you have a team that is feeling pretty frustrated about the goal that just got taken away and Portugal gets some ground, you know, you don't know what happens after that. And and so I think that this team has enough gears and enough talent that,
00:13:57
Speaker
when it comes to the elimination round, they are just too good and too superior to Croatia that has not gotten their generational change. And we're seeing the end of of ah of a very good, excellent matchup group of players and their golden generation, perhaps, but there just isn't those new guys coming in. They don't have enough of that replenishment of talent. So I think that Portugal is not to be easy, but I think that they will outplay Croatia in the elimination round.
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, this is going to be the old man derby between Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric. What do we got there? a Combined age of ah about 81, 82 between those two guys. I mean, like they're they're both still good. Don't get me wrong. like i'm not trying to I'm not sitting here saying that Ronaldo is turbo cooked. But I think, like you said, he does look 40.
00:14:57
Speaker
forty I don't think that's a controversial statement at this point. uh as we go down the bracket here we got the u.s and bosnia we're going to preview that in depth later so uh we'll table that for now but then uh nico the the seattle matchup is set it is belgium versus uh senegal in uh in seattle at seattle stadium so that's pretty exciting we get belgium back here senegal will be a good matchup uh know kdb playing at seattle stadium again sadio mane uh so uh How are you feeling about that one? I'm looking forward to hopefully going to it. I think I'm going to be able to get my cred sorted away for that, you know, knock on wood. But ah that'll be that'll be a fun one for the fans. That'll be a good atmosphere. What are you expecting from Belgium-Senegal back at Seattle Stadium?
00:15:43
Speaker
I think it's going to be a tougher matchup than people realize. I keep hearing Belgium is just going to have an easy game. They're the clear favorite. and it's just they don't They don't look that good. They don't look that good. like I don't think they've had that great a tournament so far.
00:15:58
Speaker
They do not. And and ah you know you look at the group that Senegal had. It's a difficult group, right? Yeah. But I feel like they've really kept up. i thought they kept up with Norway for the majority of the game. I feel like ah they were able to, in the first half, you look you look at the France game, it's a scoreline. But if you go back to that game, that first half, Senegal has several opportunities. I remember an MVP turnover in a bad area of the field. And Senegal just gets forward and it's two passes playing direct play. They're behind the back line. And unfortunately, they're unable to capitalize. But this team is very good against the run of play. They have a lot of athleticism. They have some very experienced, quality players.
00:16:48
Speaker
Do I still think that Belgium is going to take it? I'm having a really hard time with this one, Ari. ah Belgium has been a disappointment to watch. I know that Jeremy Doku has some family matters that have hindered his impact it within this team.
00:17:08
Speaker
So I really do think that I'm going go with Senegal. I'm going to go for the upset. I saw a, even with Jeremy Doku, even with um a team that started off pretty well um against Egypt, but then got behind the scoreline and they had to fight back to get into that game.
00:17:33
Speaker
I see a very vulnerable defensive side, and I think that Senegal has had higher level of competition. And to me, that's dangerous in this stage of tournament. The first round is when you're still kind of not completely at your best, but you have had some games. So it really takes that group stage to prepare you for the next round. So I'm going to take Senegal in in that first game. Yeah, no, I think it's a great upset pick if you're trying to scope out the results that people might not be expecting based on name value and all that stuff. But i like you said, everything you said about Senegal was true about how they played in the group stage. And of course, they get that big 5-0 win that ends up sending them through over Iraq.
00:18:21
Speaker
But ah this Belgium team just doesn't seem like it has the juice of Belgium teams of years past. You know, KDB is still doing it at a decently high level, but Lukaku, it looks like they've got him in a super sub role at this point, which he's been doing very well at, you know, he got, he creates the own goal in the Egypt game in Seattle. And then in their, like in their game in Vancouver, he gets a headed goal right after coming on as well. So Lukaku, like you were talking about before the tournament, he can still put it away. Yeah. But they just they they don't have that crazy dynamic attacking kind of presence that these teams used to have. And as far as Doku goes, I mean, the guy is as about as he is as physically gifted as it gets. Honestly, like watching him sometimes I'm like, this looks like Vinny Jr. out there. like genuinely just in terms of his, pay just his pure pace and sure dynamism. But, but like, you know, what I thought was interesting was kind of how ah Egypt was defending him because I think in, in, at that guy was at that game and it became clear that ah Egypt kind of realized, all right, they really, their, their plan is to try and create havoc with Doku out wide. And if that's not working, if that's not cooking,
00:19:38
Speaker
then what do they really have? What are they going to go to? And it turns out the answer so far is like, I don't really think their team has a good answer to that. And if you watched how Egypt was defending them, I thought Egypt did a great job in that game of just making sure they had that cover. Whenever Doku was isolated against somebody, one v one out wide, and he was trying to do his thing where he just absolutely mosses the defender and gets around them and gets into the box and sends in those like prime assist zone crosses and all that stuff that he does. So, well, Egypt always had a guy who was there ready to cover that space for if he did get by the defender, they are they had at least one guy there and it limited Doku's effectiveness. And when you have a team that is their defense is honing in on one guy like that, you need to be able to I don't know, do
00:20:24
Speaker
find some other way to hurt them, you know, switch the point of attack, maybe spam it down the other flank for a couple sequences or whatever the case may be. But Belgium, it just doesn't seem like they have all that many ideas right now. So that's not necessarily going to hold true for the rest of the tournament. They still do have a lot of top end talent. And KDB, I think, has looked like prime KDB at points. But I definitely expect that one to be a really good, really tight competitive game. And I yeah think Senegal has got a good chance. I think this team, but speaking about Belgium, needs a lot more from Leandro Troussard, who got some confidence there against New Zealand. But I think he is a player that when he does come in those inside channels and he does become another guy in the box,
00:21:12
Speaker
can elevate this team that has lacked goal from that ninth position, as you kind of mentioned already, but or obviously Lukaku coming in. ah But Ketelare has been such a disappointment that whenever you do have Trosser at his best, I think he could elevate this team. But I think that the double pivots, both in distribution and defensively, just haven't been as good as Ketelare.
00:21:38
Speaker
you expect for ah this this Belgium team. And I think that's where this Senegal team off of counters and off of transition moments is really going to expose um this Belgium team and and put them under the gun, ah really make them...
00:21:59
Speaker
suffer That team is what Egypt did so well in the first game is that they put the fear on this Belgium team. And i remember even Courtois had a couple of really bad moments where he was feeling the pressure. Now, I know that's the first game of the World Cup and that it's different, that elevates nerves. But I do think that Senegal can physically put some fear into this Belgium team.
00:22:24
Speaker
What do you think of Brazil, Japan? Brazil, obviously, always kind of considered among the upper-tier frontrunners. But this Japan team, i I think, has been very impressive pretty much the the whole tournament. And definitely, they've had they've had sequences of their games where I feel like they're you know they're not just kind of upstart grinders. like They look like they're ready to kind of...
00:22:51
Speaker
go head to head with some of these global powers and they're going to get their chance right off rip in the round of 32. And Brazil is an interesting one because, ah you know, their top end talent is as good as anybody. Vinny jr. Is probably a top two to three player in the world right now. But, uh,
00:23:08
Speaker
Like, is there depth enough to make a a run and like really hang with the France or an Argentina when it comes down to it? I don't know. But I also think that this matchup against Japan is not necessarily a gimme for them, even if they're the favorite. Do you think how good of a chance do you think Japan has in this ah in this situation? I'm having a hard time gauging it.
00:23:27
Speaker
Me too. I think that. after some of the ah resilience and some of the combination play that they showed in the group stage and how inconsistent Brazil has looked in a group that they were able to get through because they were just the the top end talent and and they didn't really get tested as much
Match Previews and Team Insights
00:23:57
Speaker
as you would have thought other than that first Morocco game.
00:24:01
Speaker
It's a different Brazil. and they They almost play a lot better without possession, without the ball. And Vinny Jr., they're Vinny Jr. dependent, which yeah is concerning for a Brazilian team that used to have three or four players that used to be able to beat you, whether it was from the left-back position or down from center midfield all the way to the striker. So so there isn't that level of of confidence for me.
00:24:31
Speaker
Do I think that Japan can push this game to overtime? Perhaps. But I'm going to stick with Brazil. not not not as confident as I would with with this sort of matchup. You know, back in the day, you'd be like, of course, Brazil's going to win. But I think that Japan can really push and and take the ball away from Brazil, defend themselves with with with the ball, control some of the tempo and possession.
00:24:59
Speaker
But I think that at the end, Brazil will find a way for those individualities to... in a moment of brilliance, in a moment of magic, get a goal, and that might be just good enough to get through Japan. Yeah, Brazil is Vidi Jr. dependent, but that is – if I could pick one guy to depend on, he would be up there on my list. I mean, I think you you saw it in the Morocco game, some of the goals that he can just pull out of nowhere. It's just ridiculous, and i think, like – In a situation like this where it's going to be a tough competitive game, theoretically, ah you know, who has the best match win winners? That tends to be who wins out more times than not. And he's the best match winner on either squad. So I still do like Brazil in that matchup.
00:25:48
Speaker
But I honestly, I would not be, it would not be the big, most shocking thing of all time for me if Japan sprung that upset. Let's keep working down the list here, Nico. We got Ivory Coast, Norway, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil. in England versus DR Congo.
00:26:03
Speaker
ah Norway rested all their guys in their last game. Erling Holland didn't play. They lost. They're through anyway. But ah i don't I don't know, man. that This is another – oh, man, these are all so good. ah I think Ivory Coast has a great chance here. I think, you know, we talk about Vinny Jr. dependent. Norway's probably a little, they're not like totally Holland reliant. They but have a more well-rounded squad than I think people probably thought or gave them credit for, or at least they're playing like it. ah But Erling Holland is clearly, you know, one of the biggest stars in the world as well.
00:26:38
Speaker
let's ah Let's just go through these these three right here. what are you What are you sizing up with Ivory Coast, Norway, and then we can do Mexico, Ecuador, England, Congo real quick. ah I'm a little um heartbroken. ah not not heartbroken. I'm a little bit – I have mixed feelings about um Ivory Coast because they were the team that I thought was going to be – the biggest surprise out of ah that specific group. ah And they have done a great job. And I feel like they were unlucky to
00:27:12
Speaker
get beaten by Germany late in the game. that They at the very least deserve that draw. And you could just tell um that ah the head coach, Marce Fasso, was just like, oh, I cannot believe that goal just went through in the, i don't know, it was like 96th minute or something of that nature. But they are a very good team.
00:27:35
Speaker
This is what I like about them. It's not just the size, the physicality, how good their center backs have been, but is how comfortable they are in adapting to the game. And I feel like that is important, right? they they're They're a team that wants the ball, that they they want to play direct because they have a lot of speed out wide. They have a very good striker that understands the system that the the the ah the team wants to play. But whenever they have to absorb pressure and they and they have to grind it out, they they can do that as well. um
00:28:11
Speaker
In Norway, to me, I don't know. i i like Haaland and I think that, yes, of course, it's a team that's going to depend on what their superstar does. You could just see it in in the production of goals from one individual player.
00:28:28
Speaker
I don't know if the depth of the bench has been stellar or as influential as you need it to be maybe to push a team like Ivory Coast.
00:28:42
Speaker
So i'm I'm having a hard time, Ari. I want to hear what you got to say before I pick. I'm um i'm having ah a real difficult time because I like Dewey. I like Pepe. um I think that they're a a team that's going to give Norway some issues.
00:28:58
Speaker
but it's kind of hard to leave the the Viking striker Holland out of the the tournament so early. So so I don't know. What what are your thoughts? i think that I think that Norway has looked a lot better than most people expected. i think most people or a lot of people, myself included, my perception of their team was, you know, they have Erling Holland,
00:29:25
Speaker
And obviously they have a few other good players other than that. But when if you look at them compared to like the global powers, that's just, they're not on that level, or at least they were not considered to be on that level. But if you look at how they played in the group stage, just aside from the last game where they rested all their players, they vastly, I think they, it's fair to say they comfortably outperformed the expectations. They're better all around side that than people thought.
00:29:51
Speaker
ah But I don't know, like we're talking about Ivory coast, equally impressive man like that they I was very impressed watching their game against ah Germany like you said and if they if they can if they are if that is reflective of their level if they're that even with Germany then I think they can give Norway a run for their money and uh I don't know. it got it' so it's so hard to It's so hard to pick this one. I think I probably am going to go Norway just kind of based on the rule, the Vinny Jr. thing I was talking about with, you know, you go with who has the best match winner. i think Erling Haaland is clearly that. And honestly, like, he has looked like a god so far in this tournament. Like, he looks like Manchester City peak, like, can't stop him, Erling Haaland. I think that's going to be tough for anyone to to stop. So I'm probably taking Norway here. What do you think?
00:30:44
Speaker
Yeah, I'm going to go with Norway. I'm going to go as far as PKs even. i think that it's going to be ah a real tough matchup, but I do think that at the end of the day, maybe Sordloff finally has a the game that he's been wanting for ah Norway and helps out Holland a little bit. So yeah, I'll go with Norway.
00:31:05
Speaker
That one was difficult. No, some of these are really hard to pick. I was filling out my bracket yesterday and I was like, dude, I don't know. I'll just pick whatever. Yeah. Mexico, Ecuador. This is an interesting one. Mexico has looked incredible so far. Ecuador started off not incredible at all, but in their last game, they they beat Germany. They beat Germany 2-1. Germany was ah resting a lot of their guys, were they not? so it was a little bit They were already through. They were in the kind of that situation that the U.S. and a few other teams were in where they clinched it after two games. So ah maybe not entirely reflective of the German side that we're going to see in these ah in these knockout rounds.
00:31:45
Speaker
But I don't know. I kind of feel like Mexico's got a pretty clear upper hand here. All things considered like El Tree. They look good right now. I mean, they had a they had a fantastic group stage. They did it up hosting. They played really well. They won all their games. So I think Mexico is actually a pretty clear favorite here. But Ecuador was a darling pick.
00:32:05
Speaker
going into the tournament for a reason, and they have a lot of talent, and they did play a lot better in their last game. This is going to be a hell of a match, Nico. what do you think of this one?
00:32:16
Speaker
Another difficult one for me because I kind of got to go with the – home pick because, you know, my wife, the kids are my wife, full Mexican kids are half Mexican. um But if I have to be objective, I think that this is a very difficult matchup for Mexico. I think that they were unlucky to win the group and get stuck playing the second best team in South America.
00:32:44
Speaker
A team that just came from a historic win against Germany. Germany had never lost to a South American um team um in the group stage. And that that was huge. ah That team has...
00:33:03
Speaker
top league quality in every single line with the exception of the nine position. And I think that's where their Achilles heel has been is the lack of goals. um I think that Valencia is a,
00:33:20
Speaker
Historic player, but but he is not the Ender Valencia of four or eight years ago. He's still doing well in Liga MX, but you have seen him not be clinical in front of goal. But they are a team that can control tempo. With Caicedo, I think that they have a very good...
00:33:40
Speaker
Defensive line with Inca, Pia, and Pacho. And again, there's quality in every single line for this yeah Ecuador team. I would say that they're a more talented team than Mexico. So I have not been impressed with Mexico.
00:33:56
Speaker
I think that they've they've done the job. They've had some professional wins. They obviously have a historic run of nine points in a group stage. They've never done that either.
00:34:09
Speaker
But chance creation has not been great for Mexico. You saw it against South Korea where they win that game off of a mistake from the goalkeeper. I mean, should have been a 0-0 game. But the goalkeeper, I don't know what happens, and he just drops the ball and Romo puts it away. So I'm not convinced that this Mexican team is better than um Ecuador.
00:34:38
Speaker
But I'm going to go with the home pick. i' I'm going to go with the home pick. And I think that this game will we'll go to the very last minute. But Mexico wins it in 90, and they win it with a one zero ah so So minimal scoring, ah very fought and and disrupted in the midfield. But I think Julian Quinones, who is, in my opinion, the most dangerous and the best player Mexico currently has, will finally give give Mexico the the the goal, that the leads the goal and that finalizes Ecuador's chances.
00:35:18
Speaker
We've got two pretty clear favorites in these next matchups with England versus DR Congo and Argentina versus Capo Verde.
00:35:29
Speaker
ah But let's talk about, I mean, I think, you know, England is obviously going to be the favorite there. I think we'd all be surprised if they lost that game. I'm definitely rooting for DR Congo because i think with England, like anyone, anyone who's... anyone who's not an england fan is kind of rooting for the whole bit of england uh just finding some way to screw it up and crash out because that's their bit that's what they do that's what they do every time and every time it happens everyone else in the world gets a big nice kick out of it so i would love for that to happen against dr r congo and see them keep their cinderella run going at the expense of england i'd be pretty surprised if that happens though but let's uh Let's hit some messy talk real quick and then let's, ah we can start to wrap this up and get onto some USMNT. But I mean, yes, matt messy looks ah absolutely.
00:36:20
Speaker
ah He's in the flow state. He's in the flow state right now. I mean, that free kick he hits in the last game, seven ah record. He's now set the record seven consecutive world cup games with a goal. He already had his first world cup hat trick earlier in the tournament. Uh, I mean, this guy is not only not declining, but he looks just as good, if not better than he ever has. Like, I don't know what to say. Like, and that's why when I was filling out my bracket last night, I just picked Argentina because, ah when, when he's in this type of zone, there's kind of nothing like it. And there's sort of nothing that anyone can do about it. There's no recourse for anyone else. You kind of just got to let him do his thing. I don't know. But like, obviously this game, they're the 99% likely to win this extremely easily. ah no disrespect to the Capo Verde Cinderella. That's been one of the best stories of the tournament. And it's one of the better stories of the tournament that I can remember.
00:37:17
Speaker
But ah you are running up against the goat and he looks possessed. He looks like a demon. And he does not look like he's going to stop scoring goals anytime soon. So, ah i mean, I don't know. Do you think anyone can stop Messi? Do you think any, are you picking anyone other than Argentina to win?
00:37:35
Speaker
I guess is the question.
00:37:39
Speaker
I mean, in this particular game or the whole thing? that I meant the whole tournament for for that. part No, argentina Argentina is my pick. And simply because they have the easiest pathway to the semifinal. I think Colombia is the one team that can potentially stop them. However, we have not been very successful against them when it comes to big tournaments. Can this Colombian team do it?
00:38:05
Speaker
Maybe. um But I just think that Argentina has a very easy pathway. i think that Messi is on a mission. I do believe that that's a team that's truly playing for Lionel Messi and Latour and some of these other guys that haven't quite been as good as they are for the club team. I feel like they're going to have one or two games in this run where they they do blow up. I like the midfield. I think they're solid defensively. yeah.
00:38:33
Speaker
Yeah, I think Argentina is is the the the team that so far, even against my own bias of Colombia, they seem like the the pick to to win this tournament. ah To close it out here, i mean, we got Australia, Egypt, Switzerland, ah Algeria. I like Egypt over Australia. switzerre Switzerland low-key has been one of the more impressive teams, I think. they're kind of that's That's one we want to talk about, like dark horses or teams that are flying under the radar. No one's really talking about Switzerland. Switzerland is balling. I didn't know Switzerland. i didn't know the Swiss were like this. I watched that team play, and I'm like, yo, what the when did Switzerland –
00:39:11
Speaker
When did Switzerland get like that? I mean, maybe maybe I'm just out of the loop on that and they they've been been like this, but I feel like, doesn't it feel like they're kind of, ah they're they're playing at a level right now that,
00:39:23
Speaker
ah I didn't, people didn't expect. I don't know. What do you think? what do you make of Switzerland real quick? And then give us your Columbia take to to close it out. I really liked Switzerland. I had them winning the group. ah I had Canada obviously getting grouped. That didn't quite happen, but i thought that Switzerland was a clear favorite. liked the midfield is extremely, um,
00:39:46
Speaker
experience and talented. I think Saka at what, 33, 34, he's still a phenomenal player. He runs that team from those central channels. I love what ah Johan Masambi did off of the bench, um the game before the the Canada game. And then what he did starting against Canada, uh, uh,
00:40:08
Speaker
I enjoy them. I think that they have an excellent goalkeeper and they're a very interesting team. So in this one, I think that they'll take that game easily. What do you think of your boys, Colombia, Ghana? You think the boys are going to make it on to the round of 16, or how are you feeling about this one? at This is difficult match. you know that Ghana has proven that they can play very pragmatically, that they can win off of just set pieces. They are a very good um ah team when it comes to exploding space. So Colombia's issue so far, in my opinion, although they have been very good,
00:40:50
Speaker
they They play a little slow. And and i mean when Hamas is running the show, I guess you ought to wait for that. You ought to have that ah where the team just has not been quick enough on the ball. It's not dynamic at times. And it takes them all the way to that second half to really get going. So I'm hoping that Nestor...
00:41:10
Speaker
Lorenzo sees that he needs to make some changes to the starting lineup and provide a little bit more explosiveness. I was very disappointed with Lucho Diaz in the last game against Portugal. I thought he had a horrendous game. And although Colombia did dominate that game and they should have won that game and they had every opportunity in front of goal to do so, you need your top players to perform at a higher level. And and I don't know what was wrong with Lucho Diaz. If he he had a flu or if he stubbed his toe or I don't know what was going on with Lucho Diaz, but he did not look like himself. James, on the other hand, had the best game of his tournament so far of the World Cup. So I think that this team has enough to get to the semifinals, but they will have to be a perfect game to beat a team like Argentina. So I think that they don't get past the semifinals.
00:42:02
Speaker
All right. Well, there you have it, folks. We just previewed pretty much the entire round of 32 of the World Cup. Good stuff. Nico, let's move on to, well, okay. Real quick, before we get to USMNT, did have a couple of things that I wanted to hit just purely regarding the World Cup in Seattle. But before we dive into the home stretch of the show here everyone please you've not done so yet toss a like on the video pump us into that algorithm sub to the channel if you have not we are on the road to 4k subs and welcome to all our new subs by the way appreciate everyone who's been jumping on and following for the world cup all of our stuff on socials have been doing really well and we got a lot of new followers and not a lot of new subscribers so we appreciate that and Hopefully, ah hopefully a lot of you stick around, but ah help us on the road to 4k. That's our next big milestone. And we are on the way there.
00:42:52
Speaker
ah But Nico, I did want to, I did want to talk about this Egypt Iran game really quick before we get into
Controversial World Cup Match Recap
00:42:58
Speaker
USMNT. i had that one written down because that one was hosted here in, in Seattle. And that turned out to be one of the best matches of the tournament from like a drama and intrigue perspective. And yeah,
00:43:13
Speaker
You know, it all happened right here at Seattle Stadium. But I wanted to talk about like, like let's talk about this controversial VAR moment at the end of the game. That's what everyone has been talking about globally. You know, it's one to one in the in second half.
00:43:30
Speaker
Stoppage time. It was an incredible game. I was there the environment the atmosphere at which they have been every single atmosphere and environment at Seattle Stadium has been awesome. There has not been an empty seat in the house for any of these games. So Seattle brought it great job hosting And the environment at this one was a little bit different, though, even than the ah than the other ones.
00:43:51
Speaker
And ah Iran, of course, we all know what's been going on with them this tournament. And, like, I don't even think that it is controversial to say that they are being treated completely, egregiously, unfairly. It's just fact. It's just a fact. And I don't, I don't think anyone would contest that. yeah i don't see how you could contest that. And i think there, there is, there's a problem with that first and foremost, because, you know, we talk so much, FIFA talks so much about, you know, competitive balance.
00:44:19
Speaker
equity and competition. Well, we're rigging the the tournament essentially against one of the teams. And, you know, you can point to the obvious reasons why that's happening, but that doesn't make it any, I don't know, doesn't sit right with me. They should be, they,
00:44:35
Speaker
it's It should not be controversial to say that they should be treated just like any other team in this tournament. If you actually care about competitive balance, making them stay in Mexico and hop across the border for all of their games and doing these Homeland Security customs checks that are just clearly designed to mess with them and make their lives more difficult. Like, you know, we so it's bullshit to begin with. We all know that. And if you're denying that, then I like you're just not living in reality. And I don't think anyone even is denying that to the extent that anyone is denying it. They're saying, well, you know, their team deserves it because of this, this, and this, but the the whole thing is rigged against them to begin with. It was from the beginning for a fact. But then you look at what happened in this game. Let's just talk about the call itself because it's a border. The Iran scores a game winning goal in second half stoppage time ah that would have put them through. They would have advanced. They would be in these knockout phases right now. And first of all, I will just say, like, you know, Talking about the atmosphere at the stadium.
00:45:35
Speaker
I've never seen a stadium descend into just all out chaos as it did after he scored that goal because you had the Iranian fans going absolutely crazy. You had the Egyptian fans going absolutely crazy, but like in a negative way. ah You had the Egyptian media in the press box going absolutely crazy, like in despair, but then immediately starting to call for the offside. You have the Iranian players dogpiling and celebrating on ah on the field. And then you had a pitch invader jump over jump onto the field and try to go celebrate with the Iranian players and immediately get tackled by five cops. And they finally are able to get him to the ground. But then he's able to stand up and he just starts like fighting them. So it's like one V five, five cops versus one pitch invader right next to the celebrating Iranian players. Meanwhile, VAR is parachuting in to review the goal. And it takes a second for the whole stadium to realize what's going on with that. So it was just an absolute scene at Seattle stadium there. But then you have this offside call, man, which
00:46:46
Speaker
look, man, look,
00:46:50
Speaker
I'm pro VAR. All right. I, and this does not change my stance on that at all. I will never change my stance on that. I think you absolutely have them have to have a mechanism to get these calls. Right. And I will say this too. I will say this too, by the letter of how VAR is supposed to operate. That is the right call. It is the right call. I get, although I will say this too, man, like,
00:47:14
Speaker
Someone made the good point that those those screen grabs and those standstill images that you get, that's based on where you pause the image. If you pull that back by literally 0.1 to 0.2 frames, then you could make the case that he was onside. And that's why it brings me, i think the problem in this situation, it's not with VAR. It's not with VAR. And people are going to call me a dumb American for saying this. I don't give a shit.
00:47:39
Speaker
you can You do not need to be calling offside that tightly. You don't. you you You really do not need to be micro-millimeter-ing each offside call to that extent. And if it gets left on the field and you see that it might be on the image that you have or whatever, that it's this far offside, if it's that tight, you don't have you don't have to change it. You don't have to change it based on that millimeter technicality ah because it's just – The spirit of the rule is to prevent cherry picking.
00:48:09
Speaker
Right. And you don't want attackers to get an unfair advantage on the defense. Someone tell me what advantage the Iranian player has. What competitive advantage does he have from being 0.0012 millimeters offside? There is no competitive advantage he's getting from that. That's that is a good goal for me, man. Like just because you slow it down and it's.
00:48:30
Speaker
like, you know, this much. you don't You don't have to change the call. You don't need to call it that tightly. You can just leave goals like that. I think, you know, people would rather see goals like that in moments like that than they would have him get waved off. So I don't know. That whole thing didn't sit right with me. And I also, I i don't know. Maybe I got the tinfoil hat on. I don't know if I believe that he was actually...
00:48:50
Speaker
conclusively offside on that play. Like, yeah, if you pause it at the exact frame that they paused it at, he was 0.12 millimeters offside. But like I said, you could bring it back those same 0.1 to 0.2 seconds and be like, Oh look, see, he was onside. So if they call it onside on the field, I don't know. I think you got to leave it. And it doesn't sit right with me that they waved that goal off. What do you think?
00:49:11
Speaker
ah Yeah. I mean, you you said it all and I, uh, co-signed, uh, everything that you said,
00:49:20
Speaker
I believe that the issue, and this is not going to be a popular take, by the way, but I think that you have to adjust the rule itself to the point where you add some sort of, and again, going to get murdered for this, by the way. I think that you have to add some sort of language where if the the breakthrough that offside line is de minimis or is ah uninfluential to the point where it's like the toe. And I'm guessing you didn't see the Columbia Portugal game because it was the exact same thing where Davinson Sanchez gets called offside by the the toe of the foot. Like it's, it's the toe and the,
00:50:06
Speaker
as you've mentioned already, it depends where you set that line. There's different width of the line, depending on, ah you know, the league that you do it on. I mean, if that's the case and you are not in an advantageous possession which position, which is, as you mentioned, the whole point of the offside rule, then you should let it go. So if you go to VAR and you...
00:50:29
Speaker
put that line through, and it's an inches sort of situation where a foot is an inch through that line, then you should just allow the goal.
00:50:39
Speaker
But you're always going to have the other team say, well, that's not the way it's called or whatever it may be. But in my opinion, when we are surgically looking at this standstill moments, you are ruining a lot of the – essence of a soccer and and and a lot of the the moments. It's already hard enough to score in soccer. Now you're going to go the extra mile try to disallow them.
00:51:08
Speaker
I don't love it. I think that it if now I do get that, like in Columbia, the call on the field was an offside. So if you want to go back to now, you got to try to overturn it.
00:51:20
Speaker
Maybe that's the way it's got to be left alone. Against Iran, it was the opposite, right? the The goal was allowed and then it was overturned. But I do think that there's got to be some sort of adjustment to the rules.
00:51:32
Speaker
Yeah. And I'll be clear too, you know, a lot of people have used this as evidence of why they think VAR should be abolished or doesn't belong in the game or it's ruining the game or whatever. And I'm sorry, like I, you know, everyone's entitled to their own takes on that. I i just can't get on board.
00:51:50
Speaker
with that and the the counterpoint I would give to like, oh, this is why we should eliminate VAR because it's taking the the beauty of the, the beauty of the game is in mistakes. That's what, you know, that's the argument some people make. And I just, I think that people are really out to lunch with that logic, but like, You got to be clear about what ah what you're arguing, I think, when when you say that, because to me, that's a take. It's really easy to say that when you see a play like this one that we're talking about in the Iran game or the one you referenced with Columbia. It's easy to to say that when you're watching a game, maybe as a neutral and you have no skin in it and it's not your team and you're like, man, they got robbed. VAR is ruining the game. But then when it comes down to it and it's your team that is that has their World Cup hopes or their hopes in a tournament on the line with a blatantly obviously missed call and there's actually no mechanism to overturn it when you can see everyone can see that it was a referee error.
00:52:48
Speaker
the beauty of the game, you're not going to be thinking about the beauty of the game in that situation. You can say that you would, that you would, ah that you would be loyal to the beauty of the game in that situation, but no, you wouldn't. You would be very, very upset and you would be very, very frustrated. And the, what the example that I would give is that if you're arguing that they should eliminate VAR for calls like this, you're arguing that the Alex Freeman goal against Australia, that it's better for the game that that goal got waved off.
00:53:17
Speaker
And that's not, I can't, I can't get on board with that. I can't agree with that. That the Alex Freeman goal against Australia, that needs to be a goal. It has to be a hundred times out of 10, man. Like you cannot have a system in place when we have the technology that we do where a goal like that would be, would get waved off. He is onside all day easily. It's not a debate. It's not even close.
00:53:39
Speaker
You have to have a mechanism to ah to change that. and if you're And if you're saying, like, no, like, they should have left the Alex Freeman goal waved off because of the beauty of the game. Like, I will never be able to wrap my mind around that logic. That's just me. You know, I know everyone's got their own personal preferences for for the game. But, like, I think we also – we got to just be, like, clear-eyed about what we're actually, like – Saying here and like realize how that would apply to the rest of the sport and not just this call in the Iran game. So it it's I think you have to have VAR, but they also need to ah they need to fine tune it. they need and They need to get the protocol better. And I think there's ways like we're talking about where.
00:54:18
Speaker
You can both have VAR and have that ah these plays like the Iran goal stand and have it both ways. You can definitely do that. They just actually they have to get the system there to where it operates like that, because I don't think I don't think it is good for the game to have goals like this Iran goal.
00:54:36
Speaker
waved off and i think with the context of everything else with their team in this tournament it just doesn't uh it doesn't sit right doesn't feel right yeah and there's always going to be that skepticism as you mentioned the uh tinfoil hat i mean you can go to this one and be like oh they don't want to run win and i can go to the colombia one and say oh they don't want cristiano ronaldo to lose that game although i mean they were still second in the group but it was a draw and not a not ah not a loss um which I believe if Portugal would have lost, I think Congo would have gone through as second and and Portugal might have been third. But, you know, there are skeptics about the reasoning behind that goal. So it it really does baffle me when when it happens like that.
00:55:20
Speaker
All right, Nico, we are entering the home stretch of the show here. Let's ah let's talk some USMNT.
USMNT Performance and Lineup Discussions
00:55:27
Speaker
Obviously through to the knockout rounds after their first two games of the group stage.
00:55:34
Speaker
ah Got this matchup with Bosnia coming up on Wednesday. One of the biggest games, if not the biggest game. I think this is probably the biggest game in US soccer history when you kind of factor in the totality of everything that's on the line. with this. ah You know, if you win this game and you go through,
00:55:56
Speaker
Everything that you have been talking about for the last, you know, five plus years, pushing a decade about trying to be the, ah the group that changes the way people perceive American soccer. If you win this game, all of that stuff is still on the table. If you lose, if you lose this game, then you're just, i mean, we're completely back open to the, everyone saying that this is sort of not that different USMNT than all the other ones. Although I'll say for my part, uh,
00:56:26
Speaker
based on the Based on the first two games of the group stage when the starters were playing, I do genuinely think regardless of what happens in this Bosnia game, some of the level of footy that we've seen from this team is definitely at a higher level than we're used to seeing from the USMNT. But it would be such a letdown. If if we lose this game, Nico, it would be bad. But let's let's talk about the ah the Turkey match first, just to set it up, because the U.S. s did lose their last game of the group stage to Turkey 3-2, got bammed on in the 90-whatever minute ah to lose the game at the very end. So I think that kind of, ah it definitely did not tank the vibes I think everyone was still cloud nine and off how the group stage started. And I think most people understand that that was the rotated lineup. Fuller and Balagan was not out there. Tyler Adams was not out there. Chris Richards, which apparently that's the most important man in the country.
00:57:22
Speaker
He was not out there. So it was, it was very, it was 10 11 spots in the starting lineup were changed. Okay. So this was not the team that we've been playing with at all. So ah that was,
00:57:34
Speaker
Mike Hope at the time and a couple days removed, removed from it. I'm still kind of on that page that I got to the point where i was like, it really, it didn't, it didn't matter though. The reason, the reason that it happened like that, the reason that it went down like that, or at least a big reason was because the lineup we were throwing out there was indeed the, ah the backups and the reserves and like the, the back line in the, in the Turkey game was just, yeah,
00:58:01
Speaker
I mean, it it was so bad that like I almost can't take it seriously, Nico. In the sense that, like yes, if our back line plays like that, the starters, the backups, or whoever, then nothing matters. like If you're conceding, every single one of the goals that we conceded in that game was horrendous. like It was...
00:58:21
Speaker
It looked like ah this how I've been explaining it to people, because I think ah there's a lot of people kind of coming in new to the USMNT and don't follow this team or haven't been following this team as closely as ah you and I have or certainly as I have over the last few years. That that game, that game, that turkey game, that's pretty much what it's like.
00:58:42
Speaker
being a fan of this team. Like most, like the Paraguay game and the Australia game, those are not those are not usually what it's like at all, being a fan of this team. The Turkey game was much more reminiscent. It really, it took me back. took me back to 2018 and 2022. I was like, hell yeah, this is the team, the bad news bears ass defense that I've grown to know and love over the last five to six years.
00:59:06
Speaker
ah But that was ah also not the first choice side. So I have completely moved on from the Turkey game. I'm coping by attributing it purely to the squad rotation. That was not our actual team. ah So that's where I'm at. As far as that goes, Nico, did you see any cause for concern beyond the fact that ah the rotated back line performed like the bad news bears or how how are you sizing it up?
00:59:31
Speaker
Yeah, look, obviously it's been really hard to decipher what Pochettino wants to do. ah And every time I think he's going to say he zags in this one, I thought maybe he was going to leave one guy to try to hold out that midfield. um I didn't think he was going to make as many changes, including the goalkeeper. i mean, that yeah you never see. why But he decided to just change the whole thing up. So anytime that you have that many changes to a team, the level of play is going to drop drastically. And I'm glad I said that in 93.3 KJR going into this game. I said, look, you're going to see so many changes that that the level of play is going to drop. Now, I wasn't expecting that many changes, but that alone should tell you that as a...
01:00:21
Speaker
As a collective, you should not be concerned or that this team is any less of a contender ah in the dark or race to get far in this tournament. that That is still the case. that That doesn't change anything. Now, are there things to be concerned about?
01:00:37
Speaker
I think there are. I think that there' are small things like how poor and how bad. Timothy Whale looked like. I thought that he had arguably his worst game with the USMNT. I thought that he was bad on his first touch. I thought that he had a hard time getting forward. where People kept talking about him being played at a position. He was not played at a position, maybe for this team, but he's played in that position before um at the club level. So that's not an excuse. I think that you saw a player that perhaps...
01:01:08
Speaker
understood that he needed to show up in order to get the starting position that he's been craving and wanting, and it went the other way on him. And so he was not good. I also think that the center backs were so bad. I mean, I've said a thousand times that Miles Robinson did not deserve a a roster spot with this national team that instead you should have brought in an Aidan Morris or a Tanner Tessman or somebody else in that center referred to role, but you decided to go on Robinson.
01:01:41
Speaker
Jackson Reagan. Sorry, I had to worry. Jackson Reagan is fine. I mean, it's just that the center back were a problem to the point where I always look at what if. and So if Chris Richards goes down, then is it over for Team USA? I mean, that that that sucks. That's not what you want to see. So those are the things that are were mildly concerning, but not to the point where nobody should hit the panic button or they should be overly, you know, hyper sensitive about it. But but it is it is a small concern for me is the depth.
01:02:16
Speaker
Chris Richards is the most important American in the country right now. We need to protect this man at all costs. He needs to be in bubble wrap. Okay. I don't even, i want him doing 15 minute warmups at training, but if he, if he even slightly tweaks a hamstring, the hopes of our entire nation are apparently dashed in one fell swoop. I, you know, I knew he was good and a starting center back. I didn't realize he was apparently the key to the entire defense and the entire system because without, mean, like in all seriousness, like without him out there, it looks like the bad news bears. It looks like the bad news bears, the miles Robinson, Mark McKenzie pairing was not it left back. Trusty was, was not it. Uh,
01:03:02
Speaker
I could do without seeing that back line ever again. I'm so excited to get the starters back in there and see what they can do. You you had another... point on uh on that ah no i just i have a situation here which is going to force me to i have to leave you uh here in the next couple of minutes um so i just wanted to throw that out for you um oh you're good i mean we're nearing the end anyway yeah so i just wanted to give my take on uh this moss and so govina game i have a lot of respect for what they've done so far uh there were actually
01:03:36
Speaker
They actually played below my expectation. I thought that they were going to be second in the group, right, ah under Switzerland. um That's a tough team. That's a that's a quality team.
01:03:49
Speaker
collective team. ah They have a lot of experience. They're not the most dynamic. They lack a lot of speed. And I think that's where this USMNT team is going to have the edge is um being able to exploit the spaces that they leave when they push high with their fullbacks. Malisic and Bayaraktovich, the ah former ah New England Revolution player and former U.S. team ah player. They push them high. They try to do a lot of overloads. But there isn't a lot of speed. And both of the strikers are quality, but they're older and they're also not very quick. So I think that as long as the back line understands that they have to
01:04:34
Speaker
ah Keep a certain level of a Physical play against them because look Aaron Dzeko is a Dzeko is a phenomenal player he's a Former Ballon d'Or nominee he He's done it at the highest level He's 40 plus obviously but he can still Pull the ball in the back of the net so you're gonna Have to hold down that 4-4-2
01:04:56
Speaker
But I see it a lot like Paraguay where this team is going to play more in a mid block. ah They're going to allow you to have the ball. They're not as talented as Paraguay. Let me say that right off the bat.
01:05:09
Speaker
ah Don't hide away or don't shy away from understanding that this U.S. s national team is better than Bosnia and they should win this game. Now, you have to prove it. You got to do it on the field. But this U.S. national team is better than Bosnia. But they got to be able to keep those two guys at bay. um I think that Ivan Vasek is a guy that centrally runs this team at the best of his ability. And I think that he's the one that kind of controls tempo. He's going to be a guy to watch. But I do think that with what we've seen out of this USMNT team, with the ability to push forward your wingbacks and the width that you've been able to provide and the talent level that you have, ah both at the pivot positions as well as up top with a Lauren Balligan that hopefully has just as a good game as he did against Paraguay. I think that this team should should win and it should be a...
01:06:03
Speaker
if not dominating, at least a a very confident win for for this team. They should be able to control most of the game, the ebbs and flows of it. Maybe there are times where this team is going to come and and try to push the line of confrontation. But I think that when it comes to the press, when it comes to the possession and transition moments, um Those are going to be where Bosnia is more vulnerable. And I think this matches up well with what we've seen out of Mauricio Pochettino's team. And I expect a a win for USA.
01:06:37
Speaker
Well, I hope you are correct on that, Nico. We'll let you go on that. I'll hang around for a couple more minutes here and close it out with the people Thank you, guys. Yeah, thanks for tapping in, my guy. Appreciate you. And we'll catch you on the next one.
01:06:51
Speaker
All right. Shout out to Nico there. ah I'm good to hang out for probably we were, I was going to, going wrap it up in the next probably five to 10 minutes anyway, but I can hang out for a few more minutes. If you guys have any takes questions, observations, agendas, grievances, go ahead and drop them in chat. Can get to as many as you can.
01:07:10
Speaker
I can before we get out of here. I'll take a look at chat right here. We got Magno asking, ah did CR 15 Christian Roldan go down on the depth chart with Burr Halter's performance against Turkey? Yeah, let's talk about that because ah unfortunately Christian still has yet to make the debut. And in that that last game against Turkey, he would have been he would have been playing, I feel confident, in some capacity if he had been healthy. But he did tweak his it was his calf, I think, in training. So he missed that game. And now, man, I don't know. It's just hard to know at this point. Berhalter
01:07:50
Speaker
berholder had an incredible statistical game in in the Turkey game. He scored an incredible goal. I kind of... Like he was good. Don't get me wrong. Like i have no arguments with him getting man of the match, but I just, I felt like i was very, I was very frustrated that whole game watching both the midfield, but the backline mostly, but I, the midfield too, the midfield too.
01:08:14
Speaker
It was too much. Like, and this was not just Burr Halter. was not just one guy. ah it was a collective thing I felt like, but there, there was just too much kind of getting pulled out of position, getting caught out of position, getting caught too far, advanced up the field, leaving space in behind, leaving yourself susceptible to these counters, losing control of the game state. I didn't think the midfield managed that very well in that game.
01:08:44
Speaker
ah And then, you know, and then the back line, again, the back line was just ridiculous again. Like I can't take it. I can't take that seriously as something to even be concerned about because if that's how our defense plays in the knockout stage in any of these games, we are chalked. But I will say that, ah like I was getting at, Chris Richards, when he's out there, he it's it just seems like so much is just settled and he's just much...
01:09:18
Speaker
I don't know. It's much less like he's having a panic attack. it felt I felt like Mark McKenzie and Miles Robinson, it looked like they were having an anxiety attack on the field. Chris Richards is just a cool customer.
01:09:31
Speaker
That doesn't really happen when he's in the game. And, you know, Tim Ream... as much as i kind of wish that we weren't in a situation where we were still bell cow and 37 year old Tim Ream, he's been good in the tournament so far. He and Chris Richards have been good. I think if I have one concern about this team, it's that
01:09:55
Speaker
when it comes, when if if we get to a point where you have to, where we have to play Argentina or Spain or Germany or, you know, whoever it is, How is Tim Ream going to hold up if, you know, Killian Mbappe is running at him? I don't know.
01:10:11
Speaker
i have my concerns about that. You could say that for most center backs in the world, to be fair. There's not many who I think we could put in there who I'd be like, yeah, that's a guy who's going to stop Mbappe.
01:10:26
Speaker
So I don't know if it matters from that perspective. But I just, doesn't the CB pool in general feel just not where it should be right now relative to the rest of the roster? The fact that we're starting Tim Ream, like, we need another Chris Richards. is what Chris Richards, is the he is what we need.
01:10:45
Speaker
you want to call Christian Pulisic Captain America? The real Captain America is apparently Chris Richards because the team can't function, the back line can't function without him.
01:10:55
Speaker
Timbo coming in with the first super chat of the stream. Thank you for the five Timbo. Appreciate you, man. Says unpopular take. Can we talk about how well the pro refs are officiating at this world cup? Tori Penso with the Ecuador VAR call El Fath with the Uruguay shenanigans. Yeah, no, it's, it's a good shout.
01:11:12
Speaker
Uh, Tori Penso took ah some criticism for the goal that stood in the Germany game, but was that not a, like a,
01:11:21
Speaker
Someone, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Was that not like a VAR call? Not her call. I don't know. But either way, I thought she, I think she, she's just a good ref. She's the best ref in MLS. She's the best ref in MLS.
01:11:33
Speaker
Like it's not even like that close. Really? I don't know. Who else would you even put up there? She's the best ref in MLS and L fat did good. But what I would add to that is I feel like the officiating in general at the world cup has been good.
01:11:50
Speaker
Like I haven't had that many issues with it. We talked about the Iran call, but,
01:11:57
Speaker
I do think like by the spirit of how they want it called and how it's supposed to be called, I can see why they called it. That's not my issue. My, my issue is more with, I think that like the offside rule.
01:12:10
Speaker
And again, I know people call this like dumb American takes when people say this, there needs to be a discussion about this, man. I just, you don't, you, I don't think anyone can tell me that it's good for the game or that it's,
01:12:25
Speaker
even in the spirit of the game at all for a goal like that Iran goal to be waved off. That's just, it just seems like common sense should be a good goal. Would it be crazy to like give referee discretion to be like, all right, was there an actual advantage gained Was there an unfair advantage gained by the attacker on, is that too subjective for the ref to just look at that Iran goal and be like, he's not, he doesn't have an unfair advantage on the defense right there. He doesn't, he literally just doesn't. I'm going to leave that goal. Is that, is that crazy?
01:12:57
Speaker
Is that a dumb American take? Maybe it is, but to me, it seems like common sense to, to just change that. But,
01:13:11
Speaker
Penzo should have probably seen the Kung Fu kick to the face, but there's no excuse for VAR missing it. Exactly though. But that's why VAR is there for a situation. That was crazy. That was crazy. I don't think that was her fault though.
01:13:24
Speaker
Sometimes refs are going to miss stuff like that. And VAR needs to be able to, you know, there's certain things like, again, going back to the example of the Alex Freeman goal, there's no way VAR could,
01:13:39
Speaker
or NAR can be missing that call in a, in a world cup. The only reason that it didn't matter. The only reason that it's acceptable is because VAR caught that easily and they awarded the goal and it was fine.
01:13:52
Speaker
But if you're going to have ARs missing calls like that, like you got to have the mechanism to overturn it, but also like, yeah, VAR in the case of the Torrey Penso call, VAR needs to, needs to help her out there.
01:14:10
Speaker
I guess I'll give my, ah my takes on the Bosnia game to close it out, ah which is, you know, I pretty much agree with what Nico was saying. which is that like i don't I don't think it's ah it's hubris or being cocky or overconfident to say that we are the favorite in this game. like if you just go If you go through the starting 11s and just do do the thought exercise, is this guy more talented than that guy?
01:14:38
Speaker
Pretty much our entire lineup is more talented than theirs. ah you know Eden Dzeko is obviously a generational world-class player, but he's 40. Okay? and okay Tim Ream is also, he's he's older than Tim Ream, significantly, by multiple years.
01:14:56
Speaker
Okay, so that's not a striker that Tim Ream should, like, you i would I'm worried about Tim Ream in situations where you're going against strikers and wingers that are super fast and athletic.
01:15:07
Speaker
And Tim Ream, he moves well for an old guy, but, you know, there's levels to this. If he has to play against Vinny Jr. or Kylian Mbappe, I'm concerned about that.
01:15:20
Speaker
A center back duo of Chris Richards and Tim Ream tasked with neutralizing Eden Dzeko. They should be able to do that, man, at least to a degree to give us a chance to win the game. If our back line gets dunked on by Eden Dzeko and Esmir Barak Tarevich, then we deserve to lose. We should, we, I would accept us getting knocked out in that circumstance.
01:15:45
Speaker
Uh, But I'm mainly excited to get this the ah first choice back line back out there. You know, it's funny. I was i was watching the – we did a watch-along for the turkey game, and I was watching it back because I like to self-critique, you know. And when I was talking about the back line starters, I was referring to the fullbacks as Jedi Robinson and Serginio Dest because I'm so used to that. That's been our setup for a while is Serginio Dest at right back and Jedi at left back. ah But like you know as I was watching it, I was like, ah that's not how we've been lining it up. We've been lining it up with Alex Freeman, obviously, at right back, and Serginio Dest playing up in that more advanced role on the wing. So it's going to be Alex Freeman back there with Jedi, but it got me thinking, like man, I really like that the the way that's set up because when Serginio Dest is playing right back,
01:16:38
Speaker
He has, he, he's gotten good at it. He's better at it than he used to be as far as the defensive responsibilities of it, but he's not, ah he's not a defensive player really by trade, at least how I consider him. He's very fast. He's very athletic and his one of you one defending is, is not it's, I don't think he's like a liability, but Alex Freeman, I think offers more defensively than Serginio Dest and Serginio Dest is such a talented wide attacker that playing him up a line more,
01:17:08
Speaker
ah like we've been doing has been, I think, very effective. It's a better use of his skillset. It allows you to get Alex Freeman on the field. And, and Alex Freeman is just as athletic and has just as much pace in that spot as for Gino desk, but he's more, he's, I think he's big, like taller, at least he's more aerial, more of an aerial threat, more physically,
01:17:31
Speaker
than Serginio Dest, at least I would consider him to be. But what I think is kind of cool about it is like, you know, I was talking about Serginio Dest as the right back when he's actually the winger, but really what you have is this kind of interchangeable way that they can operate and play off each other where there are times where Serginio Dest is kind of dropping back to cover when Alex Freeman is getting more advanced. And so they're kind of both playing that right mid spot and that right fullback spot. interchangeably at the at the same time, at least the way i'm I'm kind of seeing it. And I just think that is a mean duo, attacking duo on the right side. And then Alex Freeman is just like an all-around beast, man. Like his 1v1 defending is excellent. Like I genuinely, in these situations where –
01:18:18
Speaker
we're going to have to be playing against these world-class attackers as we hopefully get deeper in this tournament. Alex Freeman is a guy who just from a purely physical standpoint, I think is up to that level. When you look at how much ground that he's able to cover, it's really like, he he kind of reminds me of, ah of new who honestly, in, in that, like his speed allows him to just cover more areas ah than he, than your typical fullback can, can cover. Or if there are situations where the other team springs a counter and they're going down that side, Alex Freeman can bust it back and cover that ground and ah snuff out those counters in a way that like Dest,
01:19:05
Speaker
Again, I think Death can do that stuff, but he and he and Freeman together been has been
USMNT vs Bosnia Match Preview and Expectations
01:19:10
Speaker
working really well. And i'm just I'm excited to see Freeman back out there and excited to see the CBs back out there, excited to see Jedi back out there. I really think like the situation is that when we have the first choice back line out there,
01:19:26
Speaker
We definitely, we can we can hang against most of these teams, like our a team like Bosnia, at least, you know, we'll see, we'll see what happens if we make it further and end up having to play in Argentina or a France or, you know, Spain, a team like that. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. And then we'll see how we actually stack up. I'll be, I'll be very curious to see how that goes. My gut instinct would be that it's probably not going to go particularly well, but This team has shown a level. They have shown a level that is higher than I think like Bruce arena, even said it like a week or two ago. He said this U S team, they the the level of footy that they're playing is better than any U S team I've ever seen. And that's a guy who would know. He's not going to just say that Bruce has coached this team twice.
01:20:17
Speaker
And to hear him, to hear him say that, I think that confirms what the rest of us are seeing, which is that, uh, This team, when when they're when they're locked in, when the starters are in and they're on their stuff, they can play the game at an extremely high level. And I have no doubt, I have full confidence that they can tap into a high enough level to win this Bosnia game. Obviously, you never know what can happen in an individual game. And I'll say i'll say this about Bosnia as well.
01:20:45
Speaker
ah they're not They're not going to just roll over and die. They're not. That's not in their DNA. they're going to be trying to kill us out there. Like they're going to be, they're going to be running at us. They're going pressing. They're going to, they're, they have, they have interesting, they have an interesting play style because they are built, I would say on their defense and trying to control the game and staying solid at the back. And, uh,
01:21:14
Speaker
not getting not allowing counterattacks, making sure they got numbers behind the ball. But they also, you'll see, I mean, maybe they'll change their tactics for this game, but they they press hard. They run a lot. Like, they play extremely hard. That's the biggest thing I think that you'll see about this Bosnia team is... ah they have They have this Team of Destiny kind of vibe in their in their camp, in their locker room right now. They have that kind of belief amongst themselves. I can tell you that from being around them a little bit in the mix zone after that game.
01:21:48
Speaker
so And also, their fans are incredible. Like, the atmosphere that they created at Seattle Stadium was, i mean, it was one of the best games I've ever been to. All these games are the best games I've ever been to.
01:22:04
Speaker
So I say that about every every one of the games. But the Bosnia game in particular, just the atmosphere that their fans created and kind of just the belief that their whole fan base and their whole country has in their team right now, that stuff is real.
01:22:17
Speaker
ah But it also, there's it should not be controversial to say that we have a clear talent advantage in this game. Think about like, you know, even Eden Dzeko at age 40. Eden Dzeko, when I was in college, shout out FIFA 10 with the chip, that Eden Dzeko was a god.
01:22:40
Speaker
This is 40 year old Eden Dzeko who was once a god, but is 40 and not that he's not good. He created an own goal.
01:22:51
Speaker
Okay, he's still ah he's still a big physical load, great player. But it's not like I, if you were asking me who I would want on my team right now between Dzeko and Balogun, I'd take Balogun easily.
01:23:05
Speaker
Esmir Baraktarevic, like Nico mentioned, former New England Revolution player. Good player. Plays for PSV Eindhoven with Serginio Dest. ah I would take Serginio Dest over him at this point. The kid's 20. He's 21 years old. All right.
01:23:22
Speaker
Like you can go up and down the lineup play
01:23:26
Speaker
We have the talent advantage. We're hosting. There's no reason why we shouldn't win this game.
Conclusion and Future Coverage Plans
01:23:32
Speaker
So that being said, we'll see what happens. I got to get out of here. So I'm going to take off on that.
01:23:39
Speaker
Uh, But thank you all so much, as always, for tuning in. Sorry if I didn't get to anything in chat at the end there, but I do have to run at 930. But we'll be back at it this week with our World Cup coverage. We are not going anywhere. ah TBD, exactly what our coverage is going to look like for the U.S. s game.
01:23:57
Speaker
We might do um ah another watch along, or maybe maybe it'll be more like a post-game show based on our schedules and our other responsibilities. I'm goingnna be working it you know for my...
01:24:08
Speaker
day job as well so we're gonna have to figure that out planning on touching dates with noah about that today or tomorrow we'll let you guys know but there will be coverage rest assured of the world cup this week and we're gonna be grinding usmnt like we have been all tournament as well so love y'all appreciate the support and we'll catch you this week have a good one