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00:00:01
The Great Seattle Fire Extinguished - Ep. 47
51 Plays4 months ago
It’s another Dub Pod as the Seattle Sounders emerged victorious over the Chicago Fire at Lumen Field in Matchday 23. We recap the latest come-from-behind result, which affected multiple agendas, and give our thoughts on Paul Rothrock’s omission from the starting XI.
Elsewhere in MLS, Atlanta United scored one of the craziest goals of the season, while the LA Galaxy and Philadelphia Union find themselves on differing trajectories. Finally, we check in on the US men’s national team’s Copa America campaign, which we regret to report is not going all that well following their group stage defeat to Panama.
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Transcript
Sounders' Comeback Victory
00:00:09
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome into episode 47 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillian Wall. I got producer Noah here with me. And Noah, we got another dub pod today. How are you feeling, man? Are the sounders back?
00:00:25
Speaker
I mean, we're going to talk about that. That's right. The Seattle Sounders have notched another comeback victory, this time topping the Chicago Fire 2-1 at Loom & Field on an Albert Rusnak penalty kick brace. Their record is now 7-7 and 7-7s all across the board. And they're right in the mix in the playoff race in the Western Conference, so we'll talk about our reactions to the game and what it all means and take your questions and reactions.
MLS Extraordinary Goals
00:00:49
Speaker
And after that, elsewhere in MLS, we had one of the craziest goals I've ever seen in MLS. I'm excited to talk about that one. That was kind of a once in a lifetime sort of occurrence that we saw there in the Atlanta United game, the game winner that they scored in their match against Toronto FC.
00:01:06
Speaker
And then we're also going to dive into some U.S. men's national team pundentry. The U.S. men's national team know it took the worst L of the Greg Berhalter era, I think, in couple America. The bots are not happy about it. I mean, we'll dive more into it, but it was bad. I don't know how many how many you could rightfully put above it.
Podcast Transition Announcement
00:01:25
Speaker
so yeah we got a jam-packed show here for episode 47 and I'm excited to dive into it but before we get into all that as always like to thank all our paid subs I'm not going to read the list today because we have a little change in protocol Noah that
00:01:43
Speaker
wanted to make everyone aware of. If you are one of our paid subs, you should have gotten an email about what this new protocol is going to be. But with our switch and platform to Sounder at Heart, we're essentially moving everything over to Sounder at Heart. So if you want to keep supporting us and the show, the best way to do it is subscribe to Sounder at Heart, and we get a cut of that revenue.
00:02:03
Speaker
So that's mean that's a good time to mention that lobbing scorchers is a part of the sounder at heart podcast network now. So if you want to get the best independent Seattle soccer coverage, consider supporting us by going to sounder at heart.com slash LS scroll down to subscribe and support to get 30 days completely free.
00:02:19
Speaker
Every sign up through our link helps grow and support the show. So wanted to make everyone aware of that migration. And if you have any questions about what that's going to look like, you can hit me or Noah up on Twitter or send us an email. But yeah, Noah, did you have anything else you wanted to add on that? No, that's perfect. You should be getting an email. You would have already gotten it by the time you're listening to this. And check your spam, you know, I don't know.
00:02:45
Speaker
sounderatheart.com slash LS. If you want to support the show, that's where to go. Also, if you haven't done so yet, you're listening to this, subscribe to the Logging Scorchers YouTube. We're closing in on the 200 goal. Yeah, I didn't even check it today. Yeah, I haven't looked at it either, but last time I checked, we were hard charging towards 200 subs on there. Oh yeah, 185. 185, we're getting there. So thank you to everyone who's supporting us on there as we try to grow our presence.
00:03:13
Speaker
and go ahead and just search Lovinskorcher's YouTube, mash that subscribe button. I'd also like to thank Kenneth Wade, our first Sounder at Heart subscriber. We're trying to stack more on there,
Subscriber Acknowledgments
00:03:29
Speaker
so...
00:03:29
Speaker
If you haven't done so yet and you want to support the show, go ahead and go to soundredheart.com slash LS. And Joey Pascinelli as well. We don't want to forget Joey. We didn't want to forget Joey. Kenneth and Joey, thank you. Appreciate you guys. You guys are going to help start the momentum as we execute this switch. We were doing too well. We had to start over. Yeah, exactly, exactly. But I mean, ultimately, neither of us are math guys. But this was the best path for us as we try.
00:03:59
Speaker
and grow the show. And we appreciate, as always, all the support that we've gotten so far to get us to this point. And everyone who has supported us and who will support us in the future.
Sounders' Lineup Changes
00:04:12
Speaker
Unless you had anything else, no? Let's dive into this Sounders game. Let's go.
00:04:16
Speaker
There's a lot to talk about with this one. Before we do that, though, I did have a quick correction segment from the last show. I haven't had to do a correction segment in a long time, but this got pointed out by Hat Tip to Sounder Naves for pointing this one out. When we were talking about Zero Down Shakira on the last show, I said that he played for Arsenal at one point. He did not play for Arsenal. I meant to say Liverpool. Got my red-kitted EPL teams mixed up. Said the wrong club.
00:04:44
Speaker
What that error did get me thinking about is, Zurnow Shakiri has played for too many clubs that have redkits. If you look at his career history, they're all redkits. And Switzerland is also a redkitted team. So it's just, it's confusing. You gotta think about that. I know. But yeah, Zurnow Shakiri, he never played for Arsenal, but he did play for Liverpool. He still could though.
00:05:09
Speaker
Yeah, you never know. Hokayo Saka, you're cooked, buddy. Okay, let's talk about, let's do our lineup reaction like we always do before we talk about this game. No Rui Diaz, obviously, and no Nu Who as they both famously got suspended for the week of training and for this game after their conduct following the 3-2 comeback victory over FC Dallas.
Rothrock's Impact
00:05:31
Speaker
So you had pretty much, it was, they lined up the 11, how you would normally expect except RBW, slotted in at left back.
00:05:38
Speaker
And then you also had Alex rolled on returning to the starting lineup at right back as he came back from his concussion. But other than that, it was pretty much what they've been running, which I think there's not that much controversial about that other than I asked it last week and there was a valid explanation for it.
00:05:57
Speaker
But why was Paul Rothrock not starting this game? I can't defend Brian. I can't. I don't have any defense for it. In all seriousness, I get why he didn't start the FC Dallas game, because when your best player has been carrying that much of the load, sometimes it's load management. You have to manage their minutes. But in theory, he would have been 90-fit, ready to go for this game. And he was not in the starting lineup, which
00:06:25
Speaker
I feel I just feel like there's enough evidence at this point that The way that the team and specifically the attack performs when he's on the field. There's such a stark contrast and frankly like a Difference in statistical production to where like it's not a bit. He should have been starting this game Yeah, and that's you know, that's not just agenda pushing I think that's like honestly what the best thing for the team would be right now But needless to say he was not in the starting 11
00:06:55
Speaker
And I don't know if this is really the reason why, but the first half of this game might have been the worst half that Seattle has played this season. We keep saying that, but it was really bad. Arguably one of the worst halves of soccer that's ever been played. That might seem hyperbolic to some of you.
00:07:19
Speaker
It was really bad, honestly, on both sides. But I don't ever know what to make of the Apple XG numbers, but they had Seattle's XG in the first half at 0.11. When you're playing one of the worst teams in the league at home, that's not necessarily the number that you want to see. But
00:07:43
Speaker
Chicago ended up scoring first right on the half hour mark. Marin Haile Selassie got the goal. And it was a terrible goal to concede. No one covered themselves in glory on the play. There was a bad giveaway. There was a breakdown where a pass got sliced through there that
Player Performances Analyzed
00:08:01
Speaker
shouldn't have been able to. And then Jackson Reagan got, he got mossed by the attacker.
00:08:08
Speaker
just kind of way over committed to his challenge on the ball and the guy got by him and was just wide open. I don't think really all that much Stephen Fry could have done. I mean the guy's wide ass open for an uncontested shot from inside the box.
00:08:24
Speaker
That's that's not what you want on defense So Chicago takes the 1-0 lead and it was bad enough in the first half that Schmetz made a halftime sub Which he doesn't really do all that often. He's done it
00:08:39
Speaker
a couple times this season when it's going really poorly or he's trying to get guys rotated but like typically you're not going to see schnitz do that but Paul Rothrock came on at the half Alex Roldon was subbed out
00:08:55
Speaker
And the second half played out the exact opposite as the first half. Seattle was all over Chicago for pretty much the entire half, looking like Real Madrid. Folks, it's the Paul Rothrock effect. He comes on the field. He immediately
00:09:11
Speaker
what, 10 minutes into the half, immediately wins the penalty that cuts the lead to 2-1. Jordan Morris sends in a perfect ball from out wide on the left side, while Rothrock is crashing in on goal. And you have the defender clearly tug the back of the jersey and yank him down for, I think that's a pretty stone cold penalty that Video Review caught. And it was awarded. And Albert Rusnak converts to make it 2-1. So once again,
00:09:39
Speaker
Paul Rothrock's infusion into the game completely changed the game, right? And Seattle kept swarming Chicago for the rest of the half. Rothrock actually almost won another PK that got called on the field and then was reversed on VAR. But he put another shot that probably would have gone on target and the defender blocked it and the ref originally ruled that he had his arm out and blocked the ball with his hand.
00:10:04
Speaker
But then if you look at the replay, I think that was correctly overturned. He's got his arms tucked in like you're supposed to.
Sounders' Recent Form
00:10:13
Speaker
So I think that was the right call to overturn that one. But it was still like another it was another play where Paul Rothrock, you know, was impacting the game and he almost won another PK on that.
00:10:27
Speaker
And it looks like, though, that this was going to end 1-1. Seattle was dominating play but couldn't quite score the winner. But then right at the end, 93rd minute, Jordan wins another PK after getting taken down by Mauricio Pineda, who was actually also the guilty party on the first penalty that Chicago conceded.
00:10:45
Speaker
And then Rusnak converts again on Chris Brady to make it 2-1 and Seattle sees it out from there for for all three points and another dub I think their first winning streak of the season if I'm not mistaken. So
00:11:00
Speaker
That's good news. And also, you know, if you look at the Western Conference table, they're working their way up there. So no, I'm just going to lift a list off the takeaways that I put down and then you can jump in and tell me what you thought of everything. But number one, I did call it on the last show. I said that if the Chicago Fire take the lead, you honestly don't really need to sweat it.
00:11:23
Speaker
So, you know, I'm not really a I called it type of guy, but in this scenario, I did call it. And, you know, I appreciate everyone who blew up my mentions when, when it happened, because, I mean, I do think it's funny that I watched that much MLS to be able to dead I predict something like that. But I mean,
00:11:43
Speaker
It's really, it's not that, it's not that hard to predict the Chicago fire do that pretty much every week, which is what I was saying. We're going to play the audio actually right here to just a victory lap. We're going to victory lap to take. So here was what I said going into the game.
00:11:59
Speaker
What I can tell you about the Chicago Fire is that their patented move is to get... Honestly, man, I'm telling you. I'm telling you, and I don't say this to Jinx anything. If they get the lead in this game, do not even worry about it even a little bit. They could be up two goals. I'm telling you. I'm telling you it doesn't matter. It does not matter.
00:12:19
Speaker
They this team loves to give up the lead It's their greatest passion in life and in sport is to they actually Quite frequently score the first goal and they sometimes even go up to zero never win the game And yeah, so that's pretty much that is that not exactly how it played out. I mean so Good prognostication by me, even though like I said really not a hard prediction to make my other takeaway
00:12:48
Speaker
If De La Vega isn't 90-fit or can't play, which he's not 90-fit right now, we're going to talk about his cameo at the end in a minute, but if he is not 90-fit or can't play for whatever reason, Paul Rothrock should be starting and Leo Chu should be the super sub. That's it. That's the end of the story. Period. If there was any question about that,
00:13:11
Speaker
going into this game which personally I don't think that there was but you know maybe in the minds of the coaching staff based on what they've seen in training from Leo Chu or whatever maybe they still feel like Leo Chu is the first choice there. To me it's pretty clear that Paul Rothrock should be starting. Let's talk about the Pedro de la Vega cameo because he played 15 minutes or so right at the end of the game. So I figured yeah we should talk about how we thought he looked
00:13:40
Speaker
I would say I thought he looked a little rusty like he wasn't his final product wasn't necessarily what You would hope it would be ultimately, but I think you know you can probably attribute that to The fact that he hasn't been playing for the most part so I did think there was a little bit of rust involved But you know I did see
00:14:04
Speaker
A couple things that I think kind of highlighted the type of stuff that he can bring to the table that this team doesn't really have right now, which is number one, like when he's isolated against a defender
Chu vs. Rothrock Debate
00:14:18
Speaker
1v1 in space, the ability to eliminate that defender and get around him and take advantage
00:14:24
Speaker
that space he had one play in particular where he's isolated out wide and he completely Mossed the guy got around him and had a dangerous opportunity Leo Chu He doesn't really do that. He doesn't he there's been individual times where he's done that but as far as like consistently being able to eliminate defenders 1v1 and
00:14:50
Speaker
we just haven't seen it from him on a consistent basis. De La Vega, every time I've watched him play for Seattle, he's had a couple of moments like that. He did it again in this game. That is something that Seattle has not had enough of consistently. If he can provide that consistently, I think that is going to be a huge boost.
00:15:08
Speaker
for this attack so that was good to see and then he also almost scored a goal on the play at the end where Christian Roldan had the shot that Chris Brady saved and it fell towards De La Vega and he was crashing on goal for the rebound the defender cleared it just before he could get to it but that was pretty close to being a goal for him and it showed I think you know that
00:15:31
Speaker
He has a good understanding of positioning and where to be to ideally get in goal dangerous situations. He could have had a goal there. So those are my two positive takeaways from that cameo. The attribute of eliminating defenders 1v1 and the fact that he got pretty close to scoring a goal. Noah, what did you think of De La Vega in this game?
00:15:54
Speaker
I saw people freaking out because he didn't like look like the savior of the team but he's playing his first minutes in months that like he looked like a player who was playing his first minutes in months and that's gonna happen like
00:16:11
Speaker
I was expecting to be more surprised at his fitness considering they've held him out for so much longer. But you could tell that he was still getting back to it mentally and physically. But yeah, the run where he cut in on the end line
00:16:32
Speaker
And almost drew a penalty. I honestly thought it was a penalty shout, too. Yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, that was my like, oh, wow. Like, I don't think I've ever seen a Sounders player play on the like end line, like not in a long time, like utilizing literally every piece of space. You know, he was everywhere last night. So, yeah, I mean, encouraging stuff. I'm excited to see when he's like actually fully fully fit and like a real player.
00:16:59
Speaker
Yeah, I know. I definitely think there was some encouraging signs from the cameo. And let's just hope he can stay healthy and regain his full fitness. And it would be fun down the stretch run of the season here if we actually got an opportunity to see what this guy can do. My other takeaway, Jackson Reagan, Noah, I'm officially
00:17:18
Speaker
Concerned yeah, I'm concerned. I'm not casting any judgments about him as a player and I do really think that in his time as a starter for this team which goes back to to Champions Cup or Champions League at the time. He's shown a lot of really good things. He's very physically gifted He's a huge presence in the box with his height. He's six foot six He's really good at getting headers
00:17:45
Speaker
out of the box and clearances. He's a very good long passer. So I think all those things are still true. But there's been too many individual errors this year. There's been red cards. There's been penalties. There's been giveaways. And in this game,
00:18:03
Speaker
He ended up getting beat by his man on the goal that Chicago scored and then he also there there's these giveaways where he's under pressure in his own end and the
Tactical Analysis
00:18:15
Speaker
other team gets the ball off him and it invariably leads to a dangerous opportunity.
00:18:20
Speaker
He's really slow on the turn. Yeah. And I just think there's been like the kind of the couple of individual errors that we saw last night. It's kind of been a theme throughout the year. And my my concern-o-meter is ticking a little bit.
00:18:36
Speaker
Yeah, I agree, especially with having Reed out on his left. Reed is an attacking-minded wingback. And so he's not really going to help you out and recover super fast if you're beat. So he has to do even more when Reed's playing. And that's not a bad thing. That's originally how this team played for the longest time. But yeah, it is concerning to see that
00:19:04
Speaker
he there has been a decline i don't think that it's like i think it's a classic defender bump like it's it's not the end of the world but i definitely am not liking what i'm seeing he's not playing well like he's not playing terribly but he's not he's not playing to the standard we know that he can play which like
00:19:24
Speaker
Really can't do when I mean it gives the teams less anemic on offense But like when it was literally couldn't score a goal and you're shipping goals on stupid ass giveaways Yeah, I mean we saw how much it shrunk their margin of error a lot earlier this season and you know
00:19:41
Speaker
Yeah, I'm certainly not writing them off as a player or anything. I'm just voicing my concerns. Agreed. My last takeaway here that I had written down is I feel like just in general things are evening out a little bit. So per Jeremiah O'Shan of Sounder at Heart, great website, you should subscribe to it. SounderHeart.com slash LOS. Across all competitions, the Sounders are seven, two, and five in their last 14 matches.
00:20:07
Speaker
So that's including the US Open Cup games. 1.86 points per game, which is if you average that for a whole season, you would be contending for the shield. That includes a record of 6-2 and 4 1.83 points per game in MLS play. So if you're taking out the Open Cup games,
00:20:24
Speaker
They're still playing at 1.83. So like we talked a lot about earlier this season and honestly dating back to last season how The type of ball that they're playing is arguably not necessarily reflective of their record which you know that doesn't get you anything but it's something that I pointed out a lot just as far as having predictive value for if You could reasonably hope or expect the results to even out in the tides to turn a little bit. Yeah, I think that's
00:20:54
Speaker
that's what you're seeing. Their luck is turning around a little bit and the good performances that they're putting in are resulting in more goals and more wins and they're stacking more
Sounders' Playoff Potential
00:21:09
Speaker
points. If they play at 1.86 for the rest of the season, don't make the playoffs
00:21:15
Speaker
pretty easily. And, you know, we'll just have to see where they stack up against the elite teams in the West right now, which is the L.A. teams and Rial Salt Lake. Thank you for listening to the Soundwork Heart podcast network, which now includes no sunny at this lobbing scorchers and the cooler guild. We've been independent since August of twenty twenty three.
00:21:44
Speaker
but need your support to make sure it continues. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible by your continued support. Memberships start as low as $25 a year, which not only helps make podcasts like this one happen, but also gets you access to everything we produce.
00:22:00
Speaker
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00:22:30
Speaker
Yeah, if they can keep this form, they can put themselves in a position to make a run at the Cup, like a 2016 run. That said, there's still a lot of work to be done in the offseason. There's still like the holes that are on this team are still pretty like glaring. And now you're getting Pedro de la Vega back. That feels that not only fills a hole, but it builds a lot of depth, which is really helpful when
00:22:55
Speaker
You have to sustain this for a longer period of time, but also like you have Albert Rusnak coming into his own. He's become one of the best players over the last three weeks across MLS period. And I don't know, it looks good.
00:23:11
Speaker
I'm happy. Yeah. I mean, three dubs. I think, you know, like you said, there's a lot of important storylines and decisions to be made over this off season with Raul Rui Diaz's future. That's going to be a storyline for the rest of this season and into this upcoming transfer window. What's going to happen there? You know, so they're going to.
00:23:33
Speaker
all likelihood have to sign a new DP number nine and Albert Rusnak status on the roster I mean that's gonna be a good debate that's gonna keep happening I think those are the two main ones but yeah it's definitely not to say that those things are not going to remain issues and storylines but I do think the
00:23:55
Speaker
The turning of the tides, so to speak, has now taken place over a decently large sample size, and I'm interested to see if they can sustain it for the rest of the season here. Let's get into the agenda check, Nolan. Does that sound good? Let's do it. I've got four written down here, so let's just dive right into it.
00:24:15
Speaker
Let's start with a player that we don't really talk about all that much on this show, Paul Rothrock. Agenda strengthened, again. I mean, it's not a coincidence that in the first half, with him not on the field, you put in one of the worst tabs that you've played all season, and then as soon as you put Paul Rothrock in, you look like one of the best teams in the league, you know? Like, there is... I'm pretty sure that there's a correlation
00:24:44
Speaker
there and he wins the first penalty that gets Seattle his first goal almost wins another penalty and just in general once again brought energy juice and swagger that completely changed the game he's doing it every week like it's
MLS Moments Review
00:24:59
Speaker
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills a little bit sometimes when when he plays like this and then he's not not in the lineup
00:25:08
Speaker
It doesn't make any sense. The agenda is... I didn't think it could get more strengthened, but he managed to do... He did it again. It's first team. It's first XI strengthened. It's crazy. He is a dynamic player. He is a player who crashes into the box, which apparently no other sounder wants to do. The run he made on the penalty that he won, like...
00:25:30
Speaker
I like when was the last time you really does got that close to the goal like that's well he did back like four years ago but like yeah it's insane I don't get it and I don't even mean to like single out really ideas there it's just like pretty much any any forward like
00:25:47
Speaker
Moose even Jordan's not scoring for me that in close there if if if the guy doesn't tug him down he scores he gets another goal and like winning a penalty there you know you don't get a goal contribution on the stat sheet but I think like you can say that like Paul Rothrock gets like partial credit for that goal he made the run that forced the guy to foul him in the box and won the penalty he basically got the team a goal
00:26:15
Speaker
Which is why I think Brian loves him because that's the type of player he is. He's not going to be a 10 million dollar flashy striker nine or winger or anything like that. He is a day in, day out player, a guy who like will get down the field, make a run, run on empty, run back and defend. He's where he needs to be. He does his thing like he is the antithesis of a Seattle Sounders player.
00:26:42
Speaker
Like I'm not even joking. He is the perfect Seattle Sounders player. And yeah, he is, he is whatever's above heaven. That's where his agenda is right now. Yeah.
USMNT Challenges
00:26:51
Speaker
I mean, he's got, he has to start against the revs. Like I, yeah, if he's not starting, why are we playing Leo Chu? I mean, so, uh, that's, that's sort of, yeah, it gets to another issue. We're getting, uh, on a tangent here, but we'll get into it in questions. Let's, let's keep it moving. Yeah. All right. Um, next agenda. Rusnak is terrible agenda.
00:27:12
Speaker
Diminished again, I'm sorry. All right, like I know that there's going to be a Contingent of people like I was already seeing it that were contending that because the two goals that he scored were Penalties so they don't count or they're not like real goals which a merchant Yeah, which first of all, that's not how it works Like you do get credit both on the scoreboard and on your individual stat sheet for scoring penalty kicks But the other thing is like those
00:27:37
Speaker
These penalty kicks are not necessarily gimmes like everyone thinks of them as auto goals But they're not and especially the level of pressure that was on both of those penalty kicks last night was Unbelievably high. Yeah, unbelievably high He had to make those Otherwise Seattle would have been in danger of not getting
00:27:58
Speaker
not getting the result. He stepped up and he really came through in a pressure moment and like you said honestly he's been if you just look across the leagues he's been one of the best attacking players in the league for the last few weeks here. He's really cooking again on his set piece delivery and just his free kicks in general like I'm glad to see
00:28:21
Speaker
I'm glad to see his dad, his play on dead balls, like getting back to what I saw during his real salt Lake years. I feel like we haven't, I feel like, you know, uh, like, you know, finally, finally that's when, when they signed him, that's what I thought they were getting. We just haven't really seen it consistently, but we're, you were, we're seeing that. And, um, the penalties that he hit last night were huge. Yeah, dude. Four assists in two goals in the last four games.
00:28:49
Speaker
That's a DP. Yeah, I'm sorry. That's what you want. Like maybe maybe he's not a forever DP But gotta say I was wrong. I was wrong. I would say like He does have to sustain it. Yeah, but like if we're just looking at the last few weeks he is producing how you want and need your DP number 10 to produce and
00:29:13
Speaker
So, once again, the vocal anti-rustnetic majority, a tough week for them. RBW Agenda, I have unchanged. I thought he was solid if unspectacular. I want to see him use that kind of propensity for getting forward and creating danger. I want to see him use that.
00:29:36
Speaker
a little more. We've talked a few times, Noah, about the effect that the lack of a Jovan Jones slash Brad Smith type player, like how this team could kind of use that. I think if there's anyone on the roster that has the potential to provide those types of attributes, it's RBW, right?
00:29:56
Speaker
Just want to I want to see him do that more and I think he has the ability to be That type of player, you know, I don't know if he's gonna be remember the year where Jovan Jones had like 11 assists Yeah, I don't know if RBW will I think but that's like if he hits his ceiling at that position I think that's sort of the type of player and the type of output that you want him to get to yeah, so
00:30:22
Speaker
I want to see more of that from him, but he did. I thought he was pretty solid in this game. I don't want to like compare him to another young prospect because it's completely different situations. But like if you look at Obed, you can kind of slot Obed in with any group of players and he's going to perform well. I think with Reed, he didn't really play well off Leo Chu at all.
00:30:45
Speaker
So I think Reed is still in the stage of development where he is relying on the players around him more than his own individual ability, which is totally fine. Like I think that that's completely normal, especially for a wing back position as well. Like you're going to rely on your winger for overlaps and like, you know, that, that fluidity is important. So I'm excited to see how he develops. I still think you look better with Paul Rothrock. So.
00:31:12
Speaker
Or Pedro de la Vega, I guess, was out there, sub moved out there. Obed Agenda, strong as ever, in my opinion. Definitely nothing done to diminish it. He almost scored a goal in this game. Chris Brady got him with a pretty good save. But I thought, once again, I thought he looked great on the ball. I thought he generated danger. I thought he, I mean, he got really close to finding the score sheet.
00:31:36
Speaker
again so yeah I mean he's not gonna be here much longer I yeah he's probably gonna get sold for a huge bag that's the type of trajectory that he's on right now and this game did nothing to dissuade me of that notion
00:31:52
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. Hands down. Love, Obed. Keep cooking, kid. Let's get into questions, Noah. Thank you, as always, to everyone who submitted when I crowdsourced them after the game last night. Got a bunch of replies. So we won't get to all of them, but we've picked out a few here that we're going to talk about and always appreciate you all getting the discourse flowing. So let's get into it.
00:32:15
Speaker
Thanks for your questions. We're going to start off with Twitter user at Noah Rife asks, why is Leo Chu playing over Paul Rothrock? Are you? Yeah, I mean, I feel like we've hammered home that point in this episode, but.
00:32:31
Speaker
It was once again the not good version of Leo Chu. The decision making and final product in those attacking moments was not there and product didn't come off at all. He threw another little tantrum when he got subbed off.
00:32:53
Speaker
I mean, I think at this point you have to try starting Paul Rothrock and Leo Chu's skill set honestly is not bad for a super sub. Like I know that's not ideal because you brought him in with the idea that he was going to be a carry the load type player, which just hasn't really happened yet, but he's been on the team for a long time now. And I think, you know, with his pace,
00:33:16
Speaker
The Super Sub is not a bad role for him. And with Paul Rothrock out playing and out producing him, I don't see the argument against it right now. Yeah, I feel like, and this is conspiracy theory, Tinfoil, Hat, Noah, they're trying to get him as many minutes as possible so they can ship him off. I think they've kind of figured out that his road is, it's just not going to be successful on this team. And I think if they can get a bag for him, they're trying to get a bag for him, especially with some interest.
00:33:46
Speaker
Um, in the past, you know, there had been rumored interest, but according to Tom Bogart and the soccer wise podcast, shout out to the homies, um, there was never like an official solid offer for him. So maybe that's the case. Maybe they're trying to get a minutes to push his, to push his agenda, to push his
00:34:04
Speaker
Transfer value yeah, so I don't know that's my that's my like why he's starting over him, but I don't know yeah I mean you know you run a risk when you try something like that which is that if they if you're playing them to Try and up their value, and they're not producing it could have the opposite effect so you know
00:34:24
Speaker
Yeah, this one comes from Daniel Peavado when Rusnak is good. The Sounders win. He might be the second most important player behind Rothrock likely lately. He has been outstanding. What led to his change in form? Are you?
00:34:40
Speaker
I think it's just the fact that he's a pretty good player. He's been a good player in this league for a long time. That's why I was so excited about the signing. I think when he first got here, remember they were playing him out of position. I think he took one for the team in that scenario to help the team win CONCACAF Champions League.
00:34:59
Speaker
He really did not get very much consistent run as a number 10 until the very end of last year. I think for the first part of this year, the whole offense was struggling. It wasn't just him, but I think as things have evened out and the whole rest of the attack has started playing better, you are seeing the type of player that he is and has been in this league for a long time. And it's resulted in him
00:35:29
Speaker
you know, finally putting up the numbers on the stat sheet to reflect that. I mean, I really like his set pieces the last few weeks. I think, you know, I watched a whole lot of the league a lot and his set pieces the last few weeks have been the best in the league.
00:35:43
Speaker
he locked in yeah he locked in I mean I'm not sure what it was but I'm glad that he did because he does he does look really good and that might have just been shaking off rust in his new position I don't know I have no clue I'm not I'm not a coach I'm just a fucking idiot with a microphone
00:36:00
Speaker
808 sounders fan asks Chicago in the first half held on to the ball and really hammered Seattle's offense in the second half It really switched what tactics changed personnel changed and half was it the halftime talk, etc I mean, I I don't I don't know what changed on the Seattle end, but it is funny like I
00:36:21
Speaker
how, like I was kind of watching how Chicago played after they took the lead because honestly, when they scored the first goal, I was like, okay, like I already know that they're gonna concede the equalizer, but I'm gonna try and pay attention to like why that's gonna happen. And I mean, in the second half, they just,
00:36:39
Speaker
They just lost complete control of the game, which is what they do every time they're up a goal. And I don't know. It's a very interesting phenomenon. And I do think there's an element, you have to give Seattle credit for causing that and playing better.
00:36:59
Speaker
But they were really they were just capitalizing on a Chicago team that they melt down when they're ahead. It's I've never seen anything like it to the extent that they do it. Yeah, it's pretty incredible. I'm honestly it should be there should be a whole tactics book around what not to do a Chicago fire study. Gianni asks, is Alex Roldan going to be on this team next year?
00:37:25
Speaker
I don't know. That's a good question. He was the one that was subbed off last night, which I think Schmetzer said after the game that he was making it sound like it wasn't necessarily any one guy getting singled out. He said there was a few players in the first half that he could have made the switch with. And, you know, Alex is coming back from a concussion. So I think he's probably he's still getting his fitness back and all that. But I don't like
00:37:54
Speaker
He's not had the type of year that made him a really good starting right back in the past, which is a really good 1v1 defender who works really hard on defense, but is also, I mean, Alex was a good two way fullback, which is why he won the starting job and he created a lot of danger at one time. So I think that is a storyline to pay attention to going into the off season and next season.
00:38:22
Speaker
Do you think that has anything to do with the shift in Christian Roldan and them not really playing off each other as much? Well, I mean.
00:38:31
Speaker
I don't know, it's a good question. The combination that we talked about a lot last season on the right side with them combining and doing that sibling interplay and playing off each other, I feel like that hasn't been as big of a factor this season. And a lot of that probably contributed to the attacking struggles that we saw earlier in the season.
00:38:54
Speaker
Yeah, I'm Christian has looked really good at that's what I'm saying. Yeah, like it's it's honestly funny because I feel like Christian should be taking his starting position at right back, especially with the way that things are shaking out in terms of lineup and and you know who's getting healthy and whatnot. That was something that I was advocating for a couple of shows ago, but
00:39:15
Speaker
It's tough to see him not play well though. Like, cause I really, he was so good the last few seasons and it's. Yeah. All right. We're going to finish it up here. You guys loved so many, but we have so much to get to today. This one comes from beer is proof FC is Steph going to finish the season as the starter.
00:39:35
Speaker
I thought Steph was fine in this game. He had one really good save on a shot that could have been a goal, honestly. It was definitely bound for goal, and he got to it. And then I didn't think there was anything he could have done to stop that first goal. I mean, like I said, the dude was wide open. So again, I'm just not as wrapped up in this issue as some people are, I guess. I definitely think there's been
00:40:05
Speaker
more like savable shots that have resulted in goals than usual this year. But like in general, I don't think the goalkeeping has been the reason for some of the struggles that we've seen and just like the defense in general, like I very much attribute most of this team's struggles to their shortcomings on the attacking end rather than the defense and the goalkeeping.
00:40:30
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, he's no Brad Busan. So I think we'll be all right. Whoever starts. But I feel like, yeah, I mean, Brian was pretty clear that he was the number one through the end of this season unless something happens. And I don't think anything's happened. So I think I think an entity has played well this year. But listen, he can go win an open cup and Andy T can slot right in next year. Like, you know what I mean? Yeah.
00:40:55
Speaker
Thank you all for your questions. We appreciate you allowing them in our suspensions. I know we didn't do that many this week, but we have so much to talk about. Yeah. Well, this around the league section is going to be popping. So, um, but yeah, appreciate everyone who, uh, who submitted those questions as always. Um, okay. Before we do winners and losers, I had just a couple of things that I wanted to hit.
00:41:16
Speaker
No, did you see this Jamal Tiari game winner for Atlanta United? Yeah, I've been arguing with people on Twitter about it. Okay, this was the this was the goal of the week in MLS and honestly like it went viral kind of around the world because you just really you really
00:41:31
Speaker
I've never seen this work. I'm sure there's examples of it having worked in the past, but just the way that this was executed was really incredible. So basically what happened was it was tied 1-1 in the very last few seconds of the game. Toronto FC got a goal kick where if the guy kicked it long, the ref was going to blow the whistle and the game was going to be over and it was going to be another disappointing home result for Atlanta. It was going to be 1-1.
00:41:57
Speaker
But Jamal Thiari did the thing where he just stayed behind the goalkeeper as everyone else was jogging back to the other end of the field. And he kind of sauntered over to where the goalkeeper's water bottle was, went over, took a little drink of the water.
00:42:16
Speaker
kind of slowly walked up behind the goalkeeper and meanwhile the goalkeeper has no idea that he's back there and not only did the goalkeeper have no idea that he was back there but all of Toronto FC's players were faced the other direction and they didn't see that Jamal Tiare was just hanging back there
00:42:32
Speaker
The goalkeeper is telling every, you know, he's waving everyone down the field and he puts the ball down to take the goal kick and Jamal Tiari is right there, pounces on him, wins the ball off him and just has a completely open net and scores the winner in the 90 whatever minute, like deep into second half stoppage time, game over, an incredible play. I mean, the, he really,
00:42:55
Speaker
The level of deception there and how well he executed it was pretty incredible. And like I said, like I've seen that people I've seen guys try that a fair amount of times. But the thing is, usually they get they get caught because the other team looks back and and they see what they're trying to do and they tell the goalkeeper man on. And if you watch the replay,
00:43:17
Speaker
You can see right before the goalkeeper throws the ball down, Toronto player looks back and he sees it and he tries to point and he tries to say, man on, but it's too late. By the time he realized it, the ball had already been thrown down and Tiari had won it off of him.
00:43:35
Speaker
I mean, there's a lot of novelty to that. And also just the time in the game, like second half stoppage time right before the game ends. We're not going to see another goal like that for a long time. No, that was so sick. And it was just funny. I don't understand. There's tons of people on Twitter freaking out about it. I understand that a lot of people don't understand the rules of soccer and whatever. That's fine. There's like way too many of them.
00:44:03
Speaker
But that's totally allowed. That's totally allowed. And people are like, well, he stepped off the field. Guys, you can step out of the field of play and come back in. That is completely allowed. And there's no offside. There's no offside on a good kick. Or when the other team has the ball there. That's not in consideration. And really, I think
00:44:26
Speaker
It's one of those things where if you can pull it off, like more power to you, it pretty much never works because either the goalkeeper realizes that you're there or one of his teammates sees you and points it out. So just the sequence of events that had to take place for that to work is just...
00:44:47
Speaker
Defying the odds it was so sick Jordy Alba scored an incredible Galazzo for inner Miami and there to one win at Nashville SC and my takeaway from that was you know inner Miami they've been playing without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and Matias Rojas as they're all on Copa, America Duty so Jordy Alba and Sergio Busquets have been helping hold it down for inner Miami and they've still been taking wins even playing without all those guys, but really
00:45:17
Speaker
I was just thinking about how it's been fun to watch Jordy Alba and boost gets because I think I've mentioned this before but you know when those prime Barcelona teams were all these guys were on the team I know I never really watched those games live like I would see the highlights, but I feel like I didn't get like a really good idea of what made them some of the greatest teams of all time because I wasn't really watching the full
00:45:41
Speaker
Games and I think watching them when they're all playing for inner Miami like it's kind of the first time I've really gotten a true appreciation For just like the type of soccer that can be played when you put all these guys on the same team Yeah field at the same time, but really Geordi Alba and Busquets like getting to watch them play I mean it's been a pleasure to watch like they really are two of the best players of all time at their position and like this goal that Geordi Alba scored where he chested down and just rips it top corner like
00:46:11
Speaker
world-class finish from pretty like an iconic world-class player like he's insanely good him and Busquets yeah it's so sick to see listen okay I get it everyone's tired of the inner Miami dish inner Miami that
00:46:27
Speaker
how were they able to cook with this this team like i you know they're they're not supposed to be able to that's not to say that they don't have like julian gresso who's insane gomez who's insane karmashi who's insane and campana who like put him on the sounders right now but man like it's so sick because they're honestly it's their entire league it's everyone it's their league someone has to beat them at some point but like
00:46:54
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, they're doing this without half the Barca boys right now. They got Ian Frey, their home grown CB, scored another goal in this game. So, you know, Nashville is down bad in general, but it's, I mean, it's the second week in a row that have won without Messi and without Suarez and without Rojas, who I think is,
00:47:16
Speaker
I mean, he looks scary good too. So when they're back at full strength, that's, I mean, they're still my pick to pretty much win anything that they're competing for unless injuries happen. The other best goal I thought of the match day 23 was Vancouver's Brian White in their 43 victory over St. Louis city.
00:47:36
Speaker
at BC Place. Scorpion kicked it and scored, which is another thing that you don't see all that often. He was just... It was crazy. He was just trying something and it went in. But if you haven't seen the Brian White Scorpion kick highlight, there's a video up on MLSSoccer.com.
00:47:58
Speaker
that was like if Jordy Alba hadn't scored the goal that he scored and Jamal Thiari hadn't done what he did which is getting a lot of a lot of attention like global globally to be honest um Brian White's goal would have been goal of the match day for sure I still feel like his is for me at least is goal of the match day because it's like I love the deception but like
00:48:19
Speaker
I'd prefer a Galazzo man. That's crazy. Well, and also he did it intentionally too. Like people were like, Oh, he just like caught the ball. No, he's like looking back at the ball. And yeah, that's sick. And Jordi, Jordi Abba's goal was a great Galazzo, but you see like those long distance, long range finishes fairly frequently. Whereas the scorpion kick finish you, I'm, you don't see that hardly. I don't think I've ever seen. I don't know. That's crazy.
00:48:46
Speaker
Alright, let's get into winners and losers and then we'll do a little bit of US men's national team plundentry and then get out of here for episode 47. For the winners section LA Galaxy, man, 3-0 on the San Jose Earthquakes and the Cali Classico. Their first goal in this game was one of the fastest transition goals I have ever seen.
00:49:07
Speaker
Six touches total in 10 seconds to make it from their own 18 to San Jose's and then Joey paints bam The galaxy are back and like I think that first goal that first transition goal that is there
00:49:24
Speaker
Like the best transition team in the league factoring Indoor Miami out of it, like I think by far, like they just have this gear, man, that is, it's scary. And it was on full display on that first goal. And they ran all over San Jose in this game.
00:49:41
Speaker
Yeah, it was I just saw the Joey Payne school cuz I was working but that oh my god counter was I was I'm like I don't want the sounders to ever play the galaxy because Ten seconds to make it up from the 18. Yeah to just bam like that. I mean they carved them listen Okay, it was San Jose. I know I know but they do that like they've done a lot this year Yeah, they're fucking nice. Yeah, it's
00:50:07
Speaker
They're still, I know they had a bit of a downturn recently and now they're kind of coming back, but I think they're still one of, if not my favorite team in the league to watch just from an entertainment standpoint. My next winner is the Columbus Crew. Reports of their demise were exaggerated by many people, but also by us on this show. 5-1 on the recently resurgent New England Revolution on the road, and they pretty much look like the crew again.
00:50:36
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not happy, Ari. I'm not. I'm not happy. Listen, our whole bit is CCL hangover. When is it going to hit the crew? I'm tired of them. I thought it looked like it was, and we talked about that a little bit, but I mean, you watched it. I mean, yeah, they were on the road at Gillette against a ref's team that has been bad this year, but had won four straight.
00:50:59
Speaker
They shredded them, Cuccio scored, Diego Rossi scored. So whatever champions kept hanging over, there might have been, does not appear to be a factor right now. It makes me believe the shit allegations.
00:51:14
Speaker
The poison allegations. It actually makes me believe that. What if they could have played like that in the final? Last winter for the week, LAFC, I'm sorry to report that they might be the best non-Inner Miami team in the league. We haven't been talking about them that much lately, but they've been blazing hot and they demolished a Colorado Rapids team that has been pretty good recently.
00:51:39
Speaker
and really been a lot better than people expected this year. And Matias Bogus is one of the hottest players in the league right now. He had a hat trick for all three of their goals. And really, they could have scored four, five, or six goals in this game. They have that LA Galaxy type of gear that really, LA FC has had that type of gear for a lot of their teams in recent years. And their buzz song right now, again, which, like I said, I take no pleasure in that.
00:52:10
Speaker
they are I mean they're a shield contender if not favorite yeah I hate them period okay move on loser section got three of them the Philly Union another just hilariously bad L they were playing at CF Montreal wasn't going all that well for them but they had it 2-2
00:52:30
Speaker
Approaching and into second half stoppage time they get bammed on twice by Montreal at the very end And they're just they're so cooked you know they're over there over and on like I've been Saying that I don't think Jim C is on the the hot seat, but he is on the seat of heat right now He's got to be he's got to be they it's it's a
00:52:52
Speaker
one of the most unexpected tailspins in the league and it's like it's like every week they find a way to outdo themselves they take what you think is going to be the worst L that they're going to take all season and that it can't get worse and then they top it so it's pretty remarkable to watch and they also just sold it was announced uh julian koranza to the air divisa so they're losing um their most productive number nine so
00:53:21
Speaker
That's really what you want to do when you're floundering. That's like the best bet. I don't know. I don't, I don't know. It's just, I didn't expect this, but once again, tough week for Philly.
00:53:31
Speaker
It's a tough year for them. It's just a tough year Nashville SC lost to one to shorthand and enter Miami, which we were just talking about how enter Miami there I mean their depth is keeping them afloat and you know, you're still dealing with Jordy Alba and boost gets but it's just like Yeah, Nashville just they it's they haven't gotten the new coaching bump and they really they just haven't They haven't found a way to get beyond this like Haney Mukhtar or bust reputation that they fostered
00:54:01
Speaker
And this, I mean, this is a bad L for them. You need to at least at least take a point against center Miami there. Yeah. It's embarrassing, man. What like they haven't even, haven't even had one week of a new coach bump. Like have they even played convincingly? I think the very first game after the first firing they won and historically short, it was like realistically, they haven't really gotten much of one. Yeah. Okay. So they got, they got another chance.
00:54:29
Speaker
Yeah. And then FC Dallas, they lost 1-0 to FC Cincinnati at home a week after they let Seattle come back from 2-0 and win the game in second half stoppage time. So that was just the last really bad result that I saw. They're in 11th place, averaging a solid one point per game. That's so bad. They don't have a new coach bump so far either. No.
00:54:58
Speaker
Feel bad for my former club. I feel bad like they're They have the pieces to be good. I don't understand Like I don't understand in my or am I crazy? Well, they've had a ton of injuries this year They don't have out of Alaska. They don't have packs and pomacal They've had even more injuries than that. Those are just the two main ones off the top of my head but like
00:55:22
Speaker
Jesus Ferreira is back. They've got Paul Ariola, who you know, whatever you think of him, he's been a pretty solid MLS player. And Peter Musa is like been heating up, you know, so I don't know, we'll, we'll see. But like I said, no new coach bump really for them so far.
00:55:41
Speaker
Alright, let's talk about this US Men's National Team game. Oh, thank God. Is this what I've been waiting for, Ari? Oh, yeah, the bots are not happy, Noah. It's tough. So, US is playing in Cup America right now, obviously, and they won their first group stage game 2-0 against Bolivia. It looked pretty good. Probably could have won the game by more.
00:56:01
Speaker
looked like a pretty one-sided game to me. Had Panama next, which is, Panama is like a mid-level CONCACAF team that the US has played a lot of times. And you know, anytime you're playing a CONCACAF opponent, nothing is ever a given. But with the level of talent that we have now on this team, you would expect the US to be able to handle Panama. Not the case.
00:56:25
Speaker
Not only did they not tie the game, a 2-1 L to Panama in the group stage of Copa America, and now everything is on the ropes. Basically, Panama is expected to beat Bolivia, who Bolivia looked pretty overmatched so far in the Copa. So I think you have to assume that Panama is going to beat Bolivia. And if that happens, then correct me if I'm wrong, but then we have to beat Uruguay. We can't tie. We need to beat Uruguay, which
00:56:52
Speaker
they're one of the best teams in the world so everything just feels like it's teetering right now and let's I mean let's talk about the game real quick like how this L happened so the US came out on the front foot they had
00:57:08
Speaker
They had a goal get taken off by VAR, but like that was like a Tim Reem was just barely offside. And it was that we were playing pretty well. Okay. And then Tim Waya really early in the game in like the 21st minute or whatever gets one of the dumbest fucking red cards that you can possibly get.
00:57:30
Speaker
He got baited into it, the guy was messing with him, and he basically punched him in the head, which he correctly got sent off, and also suspended two additional games, rightfully, for that. Dude, you can't do it, man. You can't do it. You have to be able to maintain your composure and not take the bait in that scenario.
00:57:56
Speaker
that is it's it's inexcusable and um You know, I guess it got me thinking about another question, which is that is is tim waya good? Oh Like I don't know I don't know i'm not saying he's necessarily Not good, but you know when I look at it like I feel like he's been a pretty mid player at the club level and when I look at what he's done for the us he's been
00:58:21
Speaker
he's been pretty good at times I would say but he's definitely not been like super amazing and he just he pissed me off so bad with this like you're they we probably win that game I think if it keeps going how it had been going if he doesn't get that red card we still almost pulled off the tie and then they scored the game winner like right at the end and like the 83rd minute or whatever
00:58:44
Speaker
But it's just like the principle of it, you know, like, you know, like I said, you need to be able to keep your head in that situation. I want to talk about, you know, what this means for Greg Berhalter, because I think that's obviously always a hot button issue. But really, like, so I think there's
00:59:02
Speaker
I mostly blame the player in that situation, but I think there is a percentage of the blame that does go on the coach. I don't know what he told the team before the game, but if you're the coach in this situation, one of the main things that you need to be hammering into these guys' heads,
00:59:22
Speaker
They are going to try and mess with you. They're going to try and bait you into Doing something stupid that will get you sent off. That is one of their main objectives in this game You cannot by any stretch of the imagination Take that bait and get yourself sent off and put us down a man for any part of this game like that is one of the number one things that you need to be cognizant of and aware of so I don't know if he
00:59:50
Speaker
He did that messaging and Tim way I just ignored it which you know if that's the case then good luck buddy and you know, it's I do think it's mostly the players fault but If the players are disregarding what you're saying, that's not good either. So I really I do I do blame both of them and
01:00:11
Speaker
You know, we're in real danger right now of crashing out in the group stage of this tournament. And a lot of pundits have said if that happens, Berhalter is probably getting fired. I think that's decently likely that that would actually happen, especially when you factor in just the circumstances of it with just a terrible lack of discipline.
01:00:38
Speaker
Really you would be blowing one of your biggest your biggest opportunity to Play a play high-level games in a high-level tournament before you host the World Cup I mean, I think I think it's it's real. It's on the table Yeah, I mean I saw a report that said that US soccer is not gonna let him go even if they do bomb out Which I think is even funnier to me. I'm in it. I'm in this tournament for the most chaos I think I'm just like at this point man
01:01:07
Speaker
Can't take the bots I can't but what what a dumb play I'm sorry like I understand that he is Retaliating because of the play on Matt Turner and I understand that like the guy was was messing with him But but yeah, it's like dude
01:01:24
Speaker
We created this country. You know that they're gonna fuck with you. Like, yeah, it's like, I actually agree with you. I think that Greg Berhalter did a terrible job at actually preparing them for this game. Also, how many times have they played Panama? Like, they're in CONCACAM. You know how this goes, man.
01:01:43
Speaker
Yeah, and it's happened before with this team. Yeah, like they there's like remember the Sergino desk red card in nations league same idea like you just you have to be able to Like keep your cool in those situations That's part of the job when you're playing these CONCACAB teams like the fact that this has happened multiple times and that it happened in a Copa game and
01:02:09
Speaker
It's ridiculous, man. It's not acceptable. I don't really know what else to say about it. It's crazy. I'm going to say something super controversial, but Jordan Morris doesn't get set off there.
01:02:21
Speaker
But no, but on a serious note, these players are playing at a really high level or they're playing in leagues that are honestly just less physical than any of the CONCACAF nations, MLS included. We're just less like, less chit-housery. Chit-housery, yeah. Like I understand that like this team against fucking England, which actually not, but like this team theoretically on paper against England is, that's like the type of soccer you want to compete, you know, it's real soccer. Buddy, you play in CONCACAF,
01:02:49
Speaker
Like what do you expect to happen? You're playing call me ball teams, too Like there's shit house aree there too. Like I think it's funny that there's like literally no MLS players on this roster when Sometimes you need that sometimes you need someone who's like, oh, yeah, I played in CCO like I had to go down to Mexico and like I got a bottle thrown in my head and my entire ankle got ripped off by a stud like But I'm still up here playing, you know, I don't know. That's that's my hot take like I think that
01:03:19
Speaker
I'm sure some stupid bot would call them soft or something, which I don't think is the case I just think that this is a different level of soccer than they're used to playing at but for better or for worse Yeah, I mean it's one of it's one of the worst red cards I've ever seen we play Uruguay on July 1st So I guess the last question I wanted to talk about was do you think that we can beat Uruguay if it comes to it? I don't know like I know I think
01:03:47
Speaker
Like I don't trust this team at all to pull that off. I mean, Uruguay is so good. And it's just, I don't know, man. Sometimes, like I still think that this team has a lot of talent, more talent than it's ever had in the player pool. And I still really believe in the upside of a lot of these guys. But sometimes it's just like, with a moment like that and a game like that, it's like, where's your head at?
01:04:17
Speaker
it makes no sense are you thinking like are you present in this moment like what is going on also calm down bro you're in Arlington Texas like I don't know you know what I mean it's like you're at home you have all of your fans behind you yes they took a shot at your keeper yes they injured him alright
01:04:37
Speaker
them off the field you have the opportunity to actually do what you're there to do embarrass them and They just still couldn't even do I just don't I don't understand. I don't I don't get it. I don't get it Ari It's crazy, man. All right, I think we can call it a wrap on the US men's national team punditry We'll be back at it after the Uruguay game for better or for worse But uh, like you said, honestly, like I think it's sort of a win-win for us Because we get content out of it. Correct either way
01:05:09
Speaker
So let's call it right there for episode 47. As always, thank you to everyone for listening and tuning in. We really appreciate the support and the increased listenership that we've seen over the last few weeks here since we've launched this partnership with Sounder Art. If you want to support the show, like I said at the top of the show,
01:05:29
Speaker
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