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WCAD 3-48: Jack Collins Joins to Preview the European Playoffs
97 Plays2 days ago
Austin & Amit are joined by Jack Collins of Sirius XM FC's The Football Show to preview the 16-team UEFA Playoff Thunderdome. The guys talk Italy, who are under immense pressure and looking for a World Cup return, Turkey, who may or may not be properly rated, and of course, Jack's beloved Ireland, plus much much more.
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Transcript
World Cup Overview and Excitement
00:00:01
Speaker
Three months to go until the World Cup. Six spots remain and they are all set to be handed out over the stretch of just a week. This is the World Cup After Dark Podcast. My name is Austin Miller. On the other end is Amit Malik.
00:00:15
Speaker
I mean, it has been a long, long journey, but we are finally here. We're going to set a field by Tuesday. This is the last leg of our World Cup After Dark journey for years.
00:00:26
Speaker
This is so exciting and these games are so high stakes. And I think
European Playoffs and Guest Introduction
00:00:30
Speaker
this particular round of games is like what we, this podcast specifically, has been waiting for the most is these one-off playoff rounds for spots.
00:00:39
Speaker
I think the chaos style has turned all the way up. The chaos dial is turned all the way up. The like general star power dial is turned generally all the way down if you don't consider Italy and get into all that. On today's show, we're going to talk about the European playoffs for the World Cup, those final four World Cup spots. We have a special guest coming up in just a minute.
00:00:59
Speaker
On a later show, Amit and I will talk about the ah the belovedly named World Cup After Dark Invitational that is the Inter-Confederation playoff to be held in Mexico. over this week But today we're going to focus in on the European
Guest Insights and European Teams Analysis
00:01:11
Speaker
teams. And to do that, Amit, I am very, very pleased to introduce a brand new friend of the show to our rotation here.
00:01:18
Speaker
As you know, Amit, I'm to toot my own horn a little bit here. I've had the pleasure of of going on a lot of different places to to share my footballing wares, if you will. And generally my experience is is positive.
00:01:31
Speaker
But I run into a lot of people who, let's just say they're not quite ready to to be preached the the good gospel of El Alto. Right? Like, it's a tug of war when I go on these shows, whether I'm on the the BBC or TalkSport or whatever it is.
00:01:45
Speaker
It's a tug of war between me and the host because the host wants to ask me about Neymar. They want to ask me about Messi. And oh, maybe they'll get a little bit off the beaten path and ask about Colombia.
00:01:55
Speaker
And my goal when I go on the show, I have one goal, right? I just want to get Bolivia in there. I just want to shoehorn him into the conversation however and whenever I can. And much to my delight, I mean, I've been on the the football show on SiriusXMFC for a good number of years now, talking World Cup qualifying. And the host there I would categorize as well above replacement level football punditry. And the man that's joining us today is perhaps my favorite Sirius XM FC host. It is Jack Collins. Because, Amit, Jack Collins, who joins us today, he doesn't play that tug of war with me because Jack is just as interested in the good gospel of El Alto as I am. Jack, it's so good to finally have you on the show. Thank you for returning the favor. think it's fair to say you might owe me one.
00:02:36
Speaker
Yeah, I definitely do. are you are us in like it was It's such a delight right when you get a guest and that they're willing to to go down the rabbit holes. And the moment Austin came on for the first time, I was like, oh, we can rabbit hole here. We can rabbit hole hard here. So I'm a huge fan of this podcast. I love the work that the two of you do. I'm delighted to be alongside you today. So thank you for having me.
00:02:58
Speaker
And Amit, you obviously can cover up my cracks with the European stuff. The European stuff isn't isn't really what what drives me here. Jack is also very good for that. All of that said, Amit, I think this is a very, very interesting window because we have such an eclectic mix of European teams here. And as you mentioned earlier, the stakes are as high as they could possibly be.
00:03:19
Speaker
Yeah, this is the nice thing about the European qualifying format is that you get a good team in here like Italy and a lot of teams that belong in here. And so that's also I think we've gotten a very good mix of teams across. And there's a few Cinderella's as well.
00:03:36
Speaker
um This is very, very intriguing. And I think also exciting reason we have Jack here is um there's a really great story in Ireland having just gotten here. And I'm excited to talk about that.
00:03:49
Speaker
I don't know where you want to start, Austin, but um I'm just excited for for the the knockout games on the the second leg. And I don't know.
00:04:00
Speaker
that but Let's do it. Yeah, let's do it. Let's get into it.
Italy and Other European Teams' Challenges
00:04:03
Speaker
And I think the the best way to do this, Jack, is let's start from 30,000 feet, right? Let's look at what we have. Sweep and soul. Yeah, exactly. Let's look at what we have in these European teams. So I think the thing that is most interesting about this, and I alluded it to it Amit touched on it, we have one team, of the 16 European teams here that really should not be missing a World Cup, and that's Italy.
00:04:23
Speaker
That said, they've also missed the last two World Cups. So they are right up against it. The pressure and the stakes are as high as they could possibly be for Italy. And then you have a couple of mid-tier European teams that have World Cup pedigree and that I think can kindly be described as there.
00:04:40
Speaker
Right. Denmark and Poland. If they're at the World Cup, great. If they're not, is anybody really going to miss Denmark and Poland at the World Cup? This show certainly wouldn't. Beyond those three teams, you have, I think, a very good representation of the mucky middle of Europe.
00:04:55
Speaker
Right. You have the upper side of that mucky middle in Turkey, in Ukraine, in Wales, in Czechia, Slovakia, Romania. And then you just kind of go down that mucky middle and you get to Ireland and Albania and and Bosnia. And then you've got Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland are there.
00:05:11
Speaker
That, Amit and Jack, that's 15 of the 16 In the 16th case is Sweden. And we'll get into them in a minute because I don't really know where I should put Sweden. But Jack, what makes this most interesting is I think maybe outside of Kosovo and probably North Macedonia, any other team making the World Cup wouldn't be that massive of a surprise.
00:05:32
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. And and and when you call this the mucky middle, I think it's spot on because there doesn't like you you look at that and you're thinking, okay, you know, yes, there are teams who are stronger and weaker in there. And we've had representation, as you say, in in other tournaments, but like, is anyone, you know, if you were just to pick two of these right teams at random, I'm not picking the actual games because we'll get to them, but like, If Northern Ireland beat Turkey next week, would anyone be like super shocked about it? I think you'd be a bit like, whoa, okay, that's a good result for Northern Ireland. But you're not looking at and thinking, this is Scotland beating Denmark in the way that you know it was ah at the time. and And that's the other thing about this. There's so many of these teams who are, you know, either trying to get to their first World Cup or haven't been to a World Cup for 20 years. or And when you get those kinds of things into it, know, having seen Norway and Scotland qualify for their first World Cups since 1998,
00:06:21
Speaker
the The build of that kind of tension and excitement, I think kind of plays into this as a whole. So I think that you're absolutely right. i think you can kind of almost take Italy and Sweden out of there as as kind of their own little outliers. And I'm sure we'll kind of dive into both of them in their own right. And the rest of it is just a dogfight. And it is just going to be, I think, a gunfight for these next couple of weeks and and kind of looking or next couple of days, I should say, but looking at it and thinking, okay, you know, these games coming up with a few exceptions, I don't think you'd be absolutely stunned to see results go one way or the other. And I think that usually leads to a pretty good series of games that we've got coming up ahead of us.
00:06:59
Speaker
And I admit, These are the types of games that we talk about this all the time on this show. Stakes are what makes international football so good. If... Kosovo lineup against Bosnia in a UEFA Nations League game with no stakes. You and I are passing 10 times out of 10. But you put me in a World Cup qualifier and I'm intrigued because of what Jack talked about. Teams looking to get back to the World Cup or to the World Cup. These are massive moments and this would be an achievement for all 16 of these teams, especially considering Italy have missed two World Cup, right? The achievement that is making the World Cup is what makes these sets of games so good.
00:07:37
Speaker
It does. And I think we've framed the the stakes nicely. And I think on the field-wise, what is going to result from that is going to be some very sweaty, grimy yeah ah butts and hang-on-to-your-seats football, um which is going to be really fun. And I think as as described...
00:07:55
Speaker
The stakes are good. what I'm worried about that it's going to be too grimy, but I think you're just gonna have you can't look away. And it's said that any game outside of what, maybe two, we're going to talk about, you're not going to be surprised at any result.
00:08:08
Speaker
And also, I think going up a goal for any team... and No one's good enough to see out the result here. So I think you're getting 90 minutes, maybe 120 minutes of just very, very engrossing stuff on the field. So let's see what happens. And I think also the the other thing before we get into it is sometimes it devolves into who makes the least mistakes kind of football, which is a little ugly, but that's kind of what's required, right? This is about mental fortitude at this point.
00:08:35
Speaker
Tactics matter, but it's kind of just... can you lock in for two games? Like, ah like Jack said, it's like a, you know, a bunch of battles for, for a week. So this is, it's slimy stuff, but, uh, locked in stuff. And I think what's super interesting as as we close kind of the the big look here is the draw has also been really good to us because the three of the four seeded teams, Italy, Poland, and Denmark will have to play their second game away from home. And the fourth seeded team is Ukraine, which hasn't played a home match throughout the entire qualification cycle. That, Jack, I think also makes this really interesting. You can't just hold serve on home soil twice to make the World Cup. These teams are going to have to go and do it away from home in a harsh environment.
00:09:17
Speaker
That, I think, adds the injury here. Yeah. and And also the other thing with that is that Sweden probably do have the safe path, right? They play on a neutral menu and then they get the home advantage in in the second game if if they were to win that. So you're actually looking at them and and coming back to that weird Nations League extra qualification spots and and and all of the kind of chaos that envelops that element of it and thinking, OK, you someone's going to have to to turn up and do it And look, you know, as you said, I'm off to Prague to to go and watch Ireland there. And the second leg is in Dublin if if we if we get to that point. But you're kind of looking at it and thinking, okay, if you'd offered me two games, one against the Czechs, and then potentially Denmark, who I think are better than Ireland and a better side, but in Dublin, like that's about as, it's a challenging path, but it's also a doable path. And I think you could look at, you know, as you say, 14 of these teams and say, you know what?
00:10:09
Speaker
Yeah, actually, if you'd offered us these two games to get to a World Cup, we're taking that every time. Maybe Wales are like, really? You're going to throw the Italians in our part if we get to the first one? but they've got an incredible record in Cardiff. So even still, you'd be looking at it and saying, well, if you're Wales and you say you've got a win in Cardiff against Italy to get to the World Cup.
00:10:28
Speaker
And look, they might win. They might lose the first game. But like the the point being that when you're looking it from that perspective, two games at home to get to a World Cup when you've been so good in that stadium, like almost every single one of these teams would take the path that they've been given. You know, if it was just a, if it was just like right at the start qualification, sure someone two games to get the World Cup, these are who you're playing. This is where they'll be. I think maybe 14 of these teams, maybe Italy italy are slightly different, but I think 14 of these teams minimum are shaking your hand and going, yeah, all right, I'll take that. And that's a really cool place to be.
00:10:57
Speaker
That's the window of opportunity, I think it's fair to say. So let's dive into these matches. We'll go alphabetically here. We'll start with... these are Yes, these are letters. So the FIFA qualification are our numbers, path one and two, and the European are letters, path A, B, C. Come on, guys. just Everybody do the same thing. Makes so much more sense. But let's start in path A. And a minute let's start with Italy and Northern Ireland. Wales and Bosnia, the other game, as Jack mentioned. The winner of Wales and Bosnia will host the final...
00:11:23
Speaker
This match for Italy a bit has felt inevitable, really, since Italy got run by Norway in their first qualification match last June. Since then, this kind of felt like what Italy was going to be. I think it was so inevitable that we kind of let them drop off our radar outside of that still unbelievable 5-4 game against Israel.
00:11:41
Speaker
There is a lot of pressure on Italy. They've missed the last two World Cups. They are Italy. This is a massive footballing nation. This is one of the the names in international football. They've won the World Cup in the past.
00:11:54
Speaker
Could they actually miss the World Cup three straight times? on the On the size of two games being a small sample size, the answer is yes, they can. um And I think the vibes were very bad. And I think what hurt them is the quirks of the the format giving them Norway and Norway being such a surprise that they were kind of playing behind playing from behind in the whole group stage from early. And that kind of colored the whole vibes and soured the whole vibes. And they knew they were going to get here.
00:12:26
Speaker
And I think there are a lot of fair questions. That being said, these three teams, no one should be able to hurt them. Really no one should be able to hurt them. No one's able to score on their defense, which is very, very good.
00:12:39
Speaker
Are there enough goals is the question that you have asked, that I have asked, that we're all going to ask. And I'm just going to start before we as we get into it, I think the squad is a little bit better and I think the answers are there.
00:12:51
Speaker
Will they do it? Let's see. I think what you have to see is, does the mental side get to them? You know how all of these three teams, Northern Ireland, whoever wins, Wales, Bosnia, are going to play them. They're to ask them to make the to make that goal.
00:13:04
Speaker
But i I am convinced that they should just be able to to push through. i would I would be very, very shocked if they struggle here. um I think they got a pretty kind draw.
00:13:17
Speaker
Jack, you're going to be able to cut the tension with a knife on Thursday night at that Italian home match, right? I think they are maybe the team that aren't super benefited from having to play this first match at home because if things start to spiral, the tension's going to be there.
00:13:30
Speaker
I think what's really interesting is where they've moved the game to, right? So it's going take place in Bergamo at the New Balance Arena, which is what? 25,000, 28,000 seater? Like you're thinking about it, where Italy's big games have come on an international standpoint has been San Siro. And we're coming to the end of San Siro, right? You want as many games there as possible in this kind of cathedral of football.
00:13:50
Speaker
But I think there's the fear. Like, I think the whole fear of having 70,000 people there. And I was listening to Michael O'Neill, the Northern Ireland manager, speaking about this. and he was like, we're delighted that it's in a smaller stadium. All of our players are used to playing in like, you know, the championship and league one, know, they play in these stadiums on a regular basis. that New Balance Arena is about the same size as Windsor Park. Like they are delighted that this has become a smaller venue. I think from an Italy perspective, obviously we know how football mad Bergamo is, right? and And we can understand that. And so that there is that sense of maybe in a bit more of a cauldron where there's more people invested and who don't get to see the national team quite as much as that they might have. I think this is the first game, or there's been one other game in Bergamo in front of fans in the last like 25 years, which is a bit nuts, but you're you're kind of banking on the fact that people are going to buy into the national team and maybe a fan base such as Atalanthas, whose rise up the table has been quite meteoric and who have kind of enjoyed this incredible period of success are slightly more invested than perhaps those who get to watch their club sides in huge venues every single week. And maybe they're just sort like, okay, this is ah this is a novelty. We'll be there and we'll right behind them. I think it's a risk. So yeah I think that's interesting.
00:15:02
Speaker
And I think that Amit's point right there about the the kind of striking options is is the interesting one, right? Because when you're looking at this defense, effectively, MVP of Serie A, by my book anyway, this season has been Fede Di Marco, right? like And i don't think there's huge debates about that.
00:15:17
Speaker
So what do you do? i think you play and you play with wingbacks to get Fede Di Marco into positions where he can continue that kind of form. And Look, the the squad probably lends itself to that a little bit more. There's a lot of defenders who work in a three at the back here, et cetera. And, you know, buying, fighting off the kind of Inter model when Inter have been the most successful team in the country for the last five years doesn't seem like a particularly poor ploy. But I also do wonder when you look at this lineup and you're thinking, you know, where is it all going to come from now?
00:15:46
Speaker
I think that, you know, it'll probably be Rategi and Moise Kent. Moise Kent's having a bit of a weird season at Fiorentina. But Rategi has gone off to Saudi Arabia. He's scored something like 18 goals in 30-odd matches. He's done fine, but also it's slightly different in terms of of what it is and and and how it all balances.
00:16:02
Speaker
But I think it's good that Pio Esposito is in here because you watch him play and even an inter side who are a little bit all over the place right now. Like he seems to be the one that's like, yeah, this is cool. I'm 20 knocking about having a great time scoring ahead a header, you know, first minute that game against Fiorentina last minute shot, which was well saved by the hair, but could have kind of made the break. And I do think it's probably a good thing that we are seeing a little bit of churn in this squad as the players who didn't suffer through those, you know, those difficult years or they didn't make world cups or, you know, they didn't make major tournaments.
00:16:32
Speaker
how they kind of balance that with this kind of sense, I think of impending doom that seems to take over Calcio whenever the Azzurri are playing. That I think is the balance here. And and look, if you're, as you said before, like if you are Northern Ireland, what's the game plan? The ge game plan is just hold them at bay, wait till everyone gets really angry and hope for the best. And if that goes all the way to penalties,
00:16:54
Speaker
You know, yes, Donnarumma's in goal and Donnarumma's excellent at penalties, but do they want that pressure? They want this done and dusted in 90 minutes. They don't want to go long on these games. I think that's the way that this will be approached by Northern Ireland. If Wales get to the, you know, and we'll talk about them in a second, if Wales get to the final and it's in Cardiff, I think that might be a little bit different. But from Northern Ireland's perspective, I think they'll be delighted with how this is playing out.
00:17:16
Speaker
Yeah, I think you nailed the game plan for Northern Ireland. There's not a lot to threaten the the defenders there. And it is kind of hold on as long as you can. Maybe you get maybe you get a set piece bounce and then you're really trying to to hang on. But it is the type of game where you're playing for penalties. You know i really like that you highlighted Pio at Inter.
00:17:34
Speaker
He is kind of the the guy that hasn't been a part of this, and he's a really good header header option in the box, like you said. And I i think spot on with DeMarco trying to get crosses in. i think that's what this is going to look like. Is it ah Italy kind of cycling the ball around, getting a good crossing look, and trying to get...
00:17:52
Speaker
three, four numbers in the box and kind of just brute forcing it, right? This isn't a team that's built to be creative through the middle, kind of. It's a wingback team. It's a heavy cross team. We've got a lot of big big guys in the box, right? And, you know, you can... All the options that weren't working for Italy before, right? Raspidori, Scamaca, Rategi.
00:18:14
Speaker
You know, at any point, one of them could could be in. But you've got a few other ones. I think the other kind of vibes addition to the squad that could help is Chiesa from Liverpool. I'm not sure he's starting. or Go ahead.
00:18:27
Speaker
He's just pulled out. Oh, really? Oh, man. Okay, good. Good to know. This is this is why we do it. mac um Mac is on the edge as well. They're not sure, but he's still in for the moment. But Chiesa is definitely pulled out.
00:18:38
Speaker
That hurts a little bit. I think he would have been a good super sub in case, you know, things were tied late and you needed just ah a guy to throw on and make stuff happen. I think the other thing that will help them just a little bit is that the midfield here...
00:18:50
Speaker
maybe less in the Northern Island game, but in the next game, you know, getting Tenali in who just finished the champions league. I know he's had a lot of minutes and Newcastle along with it enters Barea.
00:19:04
Speaker
they're going to be really hard to take control of the midfield against. Like, again, i know teams don't really care. They're just going to play long balls and make the backline defend. Italy should not really be getting countered in any of these two games. So I do think the the biggest thing here is, as you listen to us talk is that will the pressure amount to them? And that is very real, but they should kind of just be in one way traffic the whole time. And it should just be a matter of if we hit the door enough times with the hammer, it should break. Yeah.
00:19:32
Speaker
I don't see another way this goes. I'm not saying it will break, but let's see how, let's see. How beneficial would a first 15 minute goal be for Italy, right? Like just completely changes the whole complexity of this. You guys both talked about it.
00:19:46
Speaker
Northern Ireland's entire game plan here is we're just going to hope that Italy kind of cracks. right? They're not going to be able to ask a ton of questions. They'll take advantage of set pieces, look for a moment, that sort of thing. It's a very intriguing subplot. And I think the thing that gets most interesting is the longer this goes, the higher the pressure ratchets up on Italy, the more comfortable Northern Ireland will be doing what they're looking to do. And that's what I think makes this so good. Wales, Bosnia in the other semifinal here.
00:20:14
Speaker
Wales are probably favored among these two sides. Jack talked about it. They have two home matches here. Wales had a have pretty interesting qualification campaign. Some wild matches with Belgium. Bosnia, on the other hand, they held their own against Austria, but they weren't able to pip them the first place. This is a very experienced Wales team. There's some big absences here. Ben Davies, Kiefer Moore, not being in the squad. I think that's going to really hurt Wales. And then you look at the Bosnia squad. a bit We're in the year 2026. The Bosnia squad has 90 total international goals and 72 of them come from Edin Dzeko.
00:20:46
Speaker
Still got it. Still probably their best hope to get back to the World Cup. This Bosnia squad is, as things go in Europe, very pedestrian. And we saw them play, and really they do not have a lot of athleticism. They are very good at using the ball and slowly working their the field and trying to feed chances centrally to Dzeko. And he still got it.
00:21:09
Speaker
But you ask this team to play anything more than second or third gear, and they they look very, very slow. And so then you look at this Wales team and think... You really should be able to physically take the game to them. And that's the way whales play. They are a very aggressive team in getting the ball downfield, winning duels, getting the ball in the box, and just doing that at a high volume. So this is the type of game that is set up well for whales.
00:21:35
Speaker
Unfortunately, whales are not so good that it will be easy. So I think you'll see Bosnia will have enough with the ball when when the the game slows down a little bit to make it interesting. I think this is a very good whale squad.
00:21:48
Speaker
Jack, it seemed like you were you' were backing Wales early in what we were talking about. you You like this. I know you like the aspect of the two home games. Yeah, I like the aspect the two home games and they have been genuinely very, very good in Cardiff. I think the other thing, and and you kind of touched on it a little bit in terms of of what you were saying there, Austin, but there is there's a real sense of consistency, I think, with this Wales squad. you actually look at you know how many of these players have spent three, four, five years playing together. And look, is it the most talented squad in the world? No, it's not. But if you actually look at it and you're like how often have we seen, you know, a front three of of Harry Wilson and Brennan Johnson and Daniel James playing together? And, you know, David Brooks in that conversation. there's a few others who have all played their trade you know, a good level. Look, Harry Wilson, I've been lucky enough to watch in the flesh most weeks this this season as a Fulham season ticket holder. And he's having like a a career season, right? Like he he's having one of those campaigns where he just looks at everything he touches turns to gold. And but fingers crossed that he comes back for that end of the season period in a good mood, having taken Wales to World Cup and can continue Fulham's charge up the table. But like in terms of of of what he's put together and the way that he's just found that comfort and we've had a season not blighted by injury and that consistency has allowed him to kind of take control.
00:23:02
Speaker
you know, we we talked about talismanic players for Wales down the years and, you know, you think of what Gareth Bale did for them. Obviously, Harry Wilson is not as good as Gareth Bale, let's be you know very honest about things, but what he's actually bringing to them and and the fact that they're able to lean on a right-sided attacker who likes to play on on that left foot and make things happen, I think is something that feels familiar to, to kind of Wales fan base and world's crowd. And I think that when we're seeing this team, you know, Bellamy took over a couple of years ago now, and that change didn't feel like it was a massive shift in the way that they were playing or it didn't feel like it was okay. We're ripping up the book because we didn't get to one tournament and we're starting again. It was consistency. And then that model, I think that puts them in a good spot. I look, I think you're absolutely right about, about this Bosnia side. Like they, they're just a little bit slow for my liking in terms of what they're doing in it. But I am intrigued by Alebekowicz, the, the Red Bull Southsport youngster who's having a really good campaign in Austria. I think he's a very, very interesting footballer. If you can get him, you know, behind Dzeko buzzing around, making things happen, then perhaps it's time for someone else to to kind of step up and take the mantle. But yeah, I feel like with Wales at home, they should have enough at the very least for this first game.
00:24:15
Speaker
I mean, it it kind of feels like there might be one moment of magic for Bosnia, but asking them to come up with two moments of magic in two games might be a bit of a stretch. I think that's a good way to put it. And I think the way you see this Wales team and you talk about the front three and you talk about specifically Harry Wilson and Bretton Johnson, then you look at the fullbacks as well in Padu at Leeds and ah Nico Williams at Nottingham Forest. These are really high-level athletes that Wales has. So I think you're talking about the speed, you're talking about the physicality. They're going to put Bosnia in a lot of trouble. The thing Wales, to get this game, plays really up and down. And that's where you're saying...
00:24:55
Speaker
in an up and down game, if Bosnia gets three or four chances and scores two of them opportunistically and Wales gets maybe 10 chances or half lesser chances and only gets one, and maybe they have a bad finishing day, you know, then you're, then you're in a difficult game. And I think that's where Bosnia could do it. um And there is that, you know, if Wales struggles to break down Bosnia,
00:25:23
Speaker
They'll throw bodies forward and leave bodies, less bodies behind. And that's where, you know, things can open up. I just think at home, the the first 15 minutes from Wales, they're going to really be pushing really, really hard to score. It's going to be a very, very energetic effort.
00:25:39
Speaker
I'm feeling very good, but if Bosnia survives, the longer this goes in the second half, they will be threatening on the counterattack just because they're they're smart enough to play long balls. Dzeko can hold up too.
00:25:49
Speaker
This is pretty finely poised, you know, cat and mouse game. um I think I like Wales a little bit more, but let's see. Jack, look ahead to a potential Wales-Italy match for a spot in the World Cup in Cardiff. That's the stuff dreams are made of, right? Like that's just a really, really intriguing possibility.
00:26:07
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. And I think that the thing is that Wales quite like being underdogs. And that's the only bit of this kind of first game that I'm a little bit wary of from from their perspective, because they probably do go in as favourites when they're playing Bosnia. And that's not to kind of talk down about about Bosnia's chances, just that at home and having had the recent international record, obviously made the last World Cup, have been you know on a good train of of European championships in the last sort decade or so as well.
00:26:35
Speaker
you're You're then looking at that and thinking, okay, how do you deal with the tag of being favorites? How do you deal with the tag of not having, not being able to perhaps play on the counter in the way that they might like? You know you have someone like a Daniel James able to kind of lead it. Brennan Johnson, as he's pointed out here, you know you want to get them into space. How much space is there going to be behind this Bosnian team? Not loads. But if Italy come to town, they're expected to come in and be favorites, They're expected to dominate the ball. They're expected to to find those spaces. They're going to fly the wing backs forward, as we say, because Fedi DiMarco is probably critical creative player that then becomes interesting I think from a world's perspective because they can then revert to almost tight and playing on the counter or playing sort back foot football and and utilizing that physicality that Amit points out there so yeah I think it'll be a very very interesting final if it does get to that point but uh both gotta get through these first ones first let's uh let's not count any chickens we know how these we know how these qualifies can go
00:27:28
Speaker
we've ah We've previewed one of the four paths of it, and my mouth's just already watering. Just put me on a couch on on Thursday. Seven games at the same time Tuesday. I'm locked in. I'm ready for this. ah Path B. Ukraine and Sweden will play in Valencia. The winner of that match will then host the final. Poland, Albania in the other semifinal.
00:27:46
Speaker
All right, Jack, Sweden got their own category earlier in the show. We said they didn't fit with anything else because they're not good enough for the mucky middle, but they're too talented to be an outlier. The talent is is simply there to be a top 16 European team, right? The top 16 European teams make the the World Cup here. The results have been just not that.
00:28:04
Speaker
In their sixth qualifying matches, they got two draws against Slovenia and collected four losses to Switzerland and Kosovo. This is Graham Potter's show now. He took over ahead of their last two qualifying matches. He's got a long-term contract through 2030, which feels a bit premature, but sure, we're buying in the Graham Potter project.
00:28:22
Speaker
There's no alex Alexander Isak in the Sweden squad, but the attacking talent here really is a cut above just about everybody else in these qualifying playoffs. And as you alluded to earlier, Jack, at the end of the day,
00:28:33
Speaker
for a team with Sweden's talent, beat Ukraine on a neutral pitch and win a home match to make the World Cup is pretty forgiving for a team that has been objectively terrible throughout World Cup qualification so far.
00:28:45
Speaker
What do you think of Sweden? mean, it's a really difficult one. So I was speaking to a Swedish friend of mine earlier this weekend. I mean, like, you know, how do you feel about the fact that Graham Potter's just been given a new contract before these massive games? I like that feels a bit of a strange thing to do because if this team doesn't qualify for the World Cup, surely this is going down as a failure, but he was quite happy about it. um and And I thought it was interesting kind of hearing what he had to say and some of the elements that, you know, maybe we hadn't considered in that, you know, he's answering questions in press conferences in Swedish.
00:29:15
Speaker
Something that John Dal Thomason just wouldn't do. And bear in mind, you know, Danes and the Swedes can understand each other to an extent. No, they're not the same language, but like there is an extent of crossover there, something that never really worked. And there was that feeling of kind of ill will around that period. I think Graham Potter has come in and I'm sure that plenty of people have opinions on on Graham Potter as a manager, um you know, what he kind of brings to the table.
00:29:35
Speaker
But I think that this feels like a ah nice fit in terms of his personality and and where he's had success within his kind of managerial career. So I think it's interesting they've given him that contract.
00:29:46
Speaker
and look There are so many wonderful players in this squad, as you say, you know, going forward, there is an absurd amount of talent, you know, even with Isaac out at the moment. I'm just really wary that this team can't defend. And like I look at the actual lineups and and you look at the kind of three keepers. So Robin Olsen, who's been there for ages, has retired from international football now. You're looking at the rest of them and going, okay, Nordfeld, he plays for AIK in Sweden. He's made about 15 caps, I think, if i if I remember correctly. And then they've called up Mel Karelborg from Sunderland, who's done well in his last three games, but played three games for Sunderland since that move in January. And Tongvist at Como, who's barely played at all this season. So you're looking at...
00:30:25
Speaker
Three goalkeepers there, one of whom, you know, is is kind of uncapped, but like an elder statesman, ah a kind of veteran goalkeeper, but has only kind of made 15 appearances in the 15 odd years that he's been knocking around at this point. And then two keepers without any caps on the national team whatsoever. You look at the back line and look, I love Isakian at Atlanta. I think he's a defender who's really come on leaps and bounces, making that step up to be playing sort of Champions League, Europa League football.
00:30:51
Speaker
But then you kind of like, you're doubled down on let good left backs in Goodmanson and Svensson. And you're like, okay, who's going to play a right back? I don't understand. There's no natural right backs whatsoever in this defensive side. And then the kind of players that have been kind of drafted in from elsewhere, Stroud, Johansen,
00:31:07
Speaker
They're midfielders, as far as I'm concerned, who've kind of been drafted up and you see where they've got put them in the squad list. You're thinking, sure about that. If that's your defensive call. And look, so like you're kind of sticking with it. Lindelof, bit part player at that Aston Villa this season.
00:31:20
Speaker
It just doesn't strike me as a particularly sound defensive call. And that for me is the worry here because yes, they can score goals, although that has remained a problem despite the talent. And the midfield has and kind of this incredible movement. mix of of different players. I love Hugo Larsson. I think he's been doing a wonderful job in the Bundesliga. Whether Bergvall is actually fit for this is is is a question, but Karl Ström and Ayari and Svampo, there's loads of really genuinely excellent players here.
00:31:45
Speaker
I'm just unsure about the balance is probably how i I would leave it. And it does feel to me that there's a fragility now with this Swedish side because there was so much expectation around this group of players to be the ones to be like, okay, let's get back to the table here. Let's let's get back in the competition. Obviously, 2018 World Cup, was it? The last time we, you know kind of saw them at this level.
00:32:07
Speaker
and you're just wondering if that step up is going to be something that this this squad is a little bit fearful of. And like Italy, we're talking about a fear that maybe shouldn't be setting into such a talented group. But I just don't feel like the balance is right. And I think that that leaves them susceptible and open. And it's going to be very interesting to see how they respond after what was a disappointing campaign.
00:32:26
Speaker
And what we've seen from the results, again, as you said, has not been good, right? They lost to Kosovo twice. How is a team this talented losing to Kosovo? On the other side a bit, we have Ukraine. We've talked about them a lot, this qualification campaign. There's some big absences here. No Zinchenko, no Dolby, some key defenders missing. No home field advantage, as has been the case throughout qualification.
00:32:45
Speaker
This feels wide open. It feels like an opportunity for Ukraine. But as a seeded team, and we talked about this ahead of the draw, having Sweden be the team that came out of that UEFA Nations League bailout pot was probably a pretty big disappointment for Ukraine.
00:33:00
Speaker
I think so. The Swedish attack, as Jack mentioned, is very talented. ah And, you know, either Poland or Bain is a tough game. they could have They could have seen an easier draw here. So that's tough for them. I think those absences are are really, really big for them. Dobvik is, you know, kind of their their best attacking threat. And Zinchenko is, you know, their best ball player. And even as a defender, um I think are just progressing. So this is going to be a tricky challenge. However...
00:33:26
Speaker
As Jack highlighted, the Swedish construction, roster construction is so out of whack. And I think Ukraine, you know, I'm i'm not loving their attacking talent here. You look at the front line, you've got Vanada, Jorona and Jeremczek, who is okay. He's an okay player.
00:33:42
Speaker
the midfield is not really stacked with creative talent. However, the defense is very good. I think Zabarnia at PSG, guy from Bournemouth, really, really strong central back. Mikalenko at Everton, really strong player.
00:33:57
Speaker
And I think, you know, i think Ukraine, even though they're they're not at home, it's a neutral site, they're going be playing on the back foot. They're going to try to absorb Sweden's pressure. And I think they'll have a, try to find a lot of joy in the counterattack.
00:34:10
Speaker
Very, you know, game pattern you've seen before. But I think you're thinking with Sweden, that defense is bad if we hit a lot of long balls, if we counter often and run hard, there's a lot of joy to be had in this game. And I think the other thing you're seeing with Sweden when you describe their attack The midfield is weird. There's not a lot of good passing.
00:34:31
Speaker
I think if you kind of get that block a little bit high and press them a little bit defensively, it's going to be very uneasy for Sweden. I'm not sure Sweden can defend for 90 minutes. and the The thing we're all saying. Can Ukraine create?
00:34:43
Speaker
Maybe not, but they just have to survive and wait for their moment. And I do think they are... good enough to do that. So this is a very finely poised game. And I think the the other thing that we've seen with Sweden is it's going to be high event.
00:34:56
Speaker
That plays in Ukraine's favor. So I think there's there's there's openings here. You have to talk yourself into them. And certainly a lot of these players um have been playing at Kiev or Donetsk, and I haven't seen a lot of them. So it's been a while. So we'll see what they look like. I think they're very, very motivated. Of course, they're motivated. This is a playoff. But we're going to see an inspired effort. I think...
00:35:17
Speaker
I would put Sweden in in the lead a little bit. The other thing I just wanted to add on them, you know, Gjokor has a long, uh, these guys have a lot of minutes. They're the two best players on the field. They kind of thrive in that space game state.
00:35:32
Speaker
when when When Ukraine shuts this down and you know plays a very deep block, can Sweden create? And if the answer is no, then you find this could get interesting. yeah The worst thing would be Sweden going up one early and giving Ukraine the ball. Yes, I don't think Sweden could defend, but that's not a game that Ukraine wants to play. They want to keep the 0-0 as long as possible.
00:35:53
Speaker
Personally, as as the protagonist of this situation, I would be quite insulted if Sweden ended up making the World Cup through a UEFA Nations League bailout. plan it would just It would just frustrate me because they were so bad in in their group stage matches. But i understand that's the format. It's the format for everybody. it wasn't I guess the format was built to give these bigger teams a bailout. But anyway, the other semifinal... I think there's a lot of pressure on Sudakov here with Zinchenko out. And I think Zinchenko would have probably played in the midfield. I think there's a lot of pressure on Sudakov to be that creative force. He's having a pretty good campaign, I think, at Benfica. There's a lot of players in this Ukraine side who aren't necessarily all that old. So 27, 28, he's a bit younger than that. But he's already kind of racked up 30-year caps. for this team. And you're looking at it and thinking there's a lot of players here with sort of 30, 40, 50 caps for this team who aren't kind of on the wrong side of 30 at this point. And I was lucky enough to see Ukraine play in the, in the last Euros and the groundswell of support for them in Germany, naturally, obviously given the situation. But I think that there is also an element of that, that kind of talk to Amit's point there, about the fact that they are so motivated, not just because this is a playoff, but getting to the World Cup gives them another chance to raise the banner and be like, yo, we haven't gone away. There are other things going on now. And our, you know, our conflict isn't necessarily the the headline news that it was a couple of years ago, but it hasn't stopped. We're still here. We're still kind of fighting for this. I think that that's ah that's a very, very powerful motivational tool for this group of players. Now it doesn't just mean that they'll win because...
00:37:24
Speaker
football isn't played like that. but I think that you're looking at this team and and and kind of like a Sudakov and I think the Yarmolioch who's had a brilliant campaign at Brentford and I think he's going to be a superstar. You're starting to see a new midfield start to take shape, kind of replacing the Malinovskys and Chaparenkos who have been around for for so much time at this point. I'm interested to see how far Ukraine lean into the kind of younger generation coming through and having good seasons at club level or in a big game like this. So they lean into the experience they have, you with those slightly older players as well. So I think they're a really, really interesting. And this, I think of all the paths, this one to me feels the most even across all four teams. And that leads this to be, this is the hardest one to predict, I think.
00:38:07
Speaker
The other match in this path, Poland against Albania. Look, a bit. Poland have been the the object of our ire for a long time on this show. You want me to put it nicely or meanly?
00:38:20
Speaker
You could start nice. Okay. Poland have experience. Right. They've got three players with 100 plus caps. Robert Lewandowski won his power struggle earlier on in qualification. To put it meanly, they remain brutally dull and uninspiring.
00:38:34
Speaker
And Poland at the World Cup is just not a movie that I need to see because I've seen it again and I know how it ends. On the other side, we have Albania. They used a couple of big 1-0 away wins against Serbia and Andorra to pip Serbia to second place in that group. That's how they got their spot here.
00:38:49
Speaker
They're managed to the Brazilian, Silvino. He's had some time. He's built a project. He's got a good group of fairly experienced players that aren't ancient, kind of in that group that Jack was maybe alluding to in your Ukraine. a lot of caps, but not necessarily high up there in age.
00:39:02
Speaker
That said, a first World Cup might be a step too far. What do you make of this one, Amit? And should I watch it? Should I watch it is ah is a question only you can answer. I think this is a very dull kind of game, not just because of Poland-Albania's squad construction or experienced sides, but also the way they play. like Poland do not try to do too much. They're a very simple team and they want to just slowly work their way up the field and funnel chances in the middle. Albania are perhaps the lowest block that we're going to see here. I mean...
00:39:39
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you you'll see Northern Ireland and and North Macedonia like play defensively, but Albania just want to play that way because they they don't really have any other options. So you have Poland trying to do something against a low block when they're very disincentivized to do so.
00:39:55
Speaker
That's what you want to watch. But... Because I think Albania have a foothold. And as we've both said, this is pretty even. This is the type of game Albania can win. Think about Serbia and Poland. Is there that much a difference? Yes, Poland's a little better.
00:40:09
Speaker
i think that game plan could be replicated for Albania. So I think what you're you're trying to hope for is to frustrate Poland and Poland might be very easily frustrated. So I think Albania has a good shout here. the The thing is that we've seen with Albania when it when it comes to the Euros and it comes to the best teams, outside of Broha's hold-up play, there is not a lot going forward. And the guy runs so hard and does so much work for Albania. But he, doing all that work, can't be the guy in the box to get the shot. And they don't have a lot of other guys that are generating shots. He needs to be able to hold it up and pass it to himself. And that just doesn't work. Yeah. So when you're asking for that, I think it's not great. I think Jasir Asani is a player before I've said, oh this guy could be a really creative threat for Albania. And sure, but when you watch them play, he's just not getting a lot of time. So if you know they can find a ah two-man game and link up...
00:41:03
Speaker
Sure. I think this is going to just be very opportunistic for Albania. Hang on as long as I can. I think this is the type of game that you could see 0-0 and then maybe it goes to to extra time and maybe things happen. But of all the games that we've talked about, yes, there are teams that are playing defensively, but even in their game plans, they need goals. Albania is the most likely team that could plausibly get through without having to score because as good as Lewandowski is, when you watch him now, he he's just a finisher he stands in the box the ball has to come to his feet and if it does you give him time you're in trouble but if you can kind of just frustrate Poland and say go ahead pass it sideways 30 yards from goal they'll do that so I think you've we've stumbled into a a fascinating if not frustrating game Jack what do you make of this one
00:41:54
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I can't disagree with almost any of that, right? I think the of all the games, this has the potential to be one of the tightest, but also one of the least enthralling. And that's also fine, right? Like, that's totally fine. Both these teams probably do not want this to be high octane. And sometimes you've just got to accept that that these games are going to happen. The fact that it actually is buttdoor at boring boring and dull feels like the kind of element of, like, both these teams want that. And then when it gets to a final, if you know whoever gets there of these two, they're going to want it to be boring in the end. right like no ninth Their best shot of getting to the World Cup is keeping these games dull. And so therefore you can't knock it because it's their best opportunity. But I don't think it's going to be absolutely compelling viewing for the neutral. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's 4-3. You're not wrong. Jack, I've watched Poland.
00:42:41
Speaker
I've watched Poland. You're not wrong. i i just move it yeah If Armando Breuer is your biggest goal straight, you're in trouble. I think you're just look kind a kind general rule of thumb. ah Let's just move on. I feel like we've've we've touched enough on this path. Let's move to path C. We've got Slovakia and Kosovo facing off. The winner of that will host the final. In the other, we've got Turkey-Romania.
00:43:01
Speaker
This path, Amit, obviously, of important interest to our U.S. men's national team fans because the winner of this path will spill into that group with the U.S. men's national team. Let's talk Slovakia-Kosovo. kosovoslovakia haven't made a World Cup since South Africa in 2010. They've been a fairly consistent presence at the Expanded Euro.
00:43:18
Speaker
Had a big shock 2-0 home win over Germany in qualification. That went a long way towards getting them here. There is experience up and down the lineup, which is one way to put it. The other way to put it is they are old. Kosovo, on the other hand, are far and away the smallest team in these playoffs.
00:43:33
Speaker
They got stomped 4-0 by Switzerland to open qualification. it felt like, all right we know what we're getting from Kosovo. And then they turned around and in their next five games, they went unbeaten. They got out of a pretty tough group on paper with Slovenia and Sweden. They are a fascinating story. I said earlier that them making the World Cup would be a genuine surprise. I stand by that.
00:43:52
Speaker
But this draw, there's some opportunities here for Kozumbo to play the style that they want to play. I think they've been more impressive than we maybe would have expected offensively.
00:44:03
Speaker
Slovakia, Jack are kind of right in that middle tier of middle tier European teams, right? They are the 20th ish best team in Europe. They can make a Euro every so often. They can maybe make a world cup.
00:44:16
Speaker
They will never inspire you with confidence that they're going to do that. What do you make of this one? yeah I mean, look, I think it's a really interesting story. It's kind of wild that, we you know, Kosovo are here in these conversations, given that they've only really existed as a football team for about, you know, eight years, which is kind of nuts within itself, right? That, you know, we're talking about a team that became a UEFA member 10, less than 10 years ago, as we record this, which is, is wild. And look they kind of exploded onto the scene, right? Like when they, when they were given that 2018 World Cup qualification path and suddenly was like, this lot might make it, This is really interesting. Since then, I think that it's probably gone backwards a touch. And there's no real complaint. They they were overperforming at that point. And it just felt like maybe things reverted a little bit to the mean. But I do find them a really interesting story. And there's some really talented footballers in this squad. We've seen them kind of... This has kind of been the... This has been the squad for... the whole time, right? Like, because because they're only 10 years old, like most of these players have been there since it almost began. And, you know, you're seeing someone like Valon Bariccio played in their first ever international door on a kind of senior stage to to still be part of this unit and still making things happen. In Maurici, they have, ah you know, a striker who is capable of of winning those aerial battles, who's having another really good campaign, I think, in La Liga or in Mallorca, and who you kind of look at and go, okay, you can talisman this. You you're the captain but actually as well they're going to look to play to your strengths which gives them you know a puncher's chance.
00:45:42
Speaker
Slovakia are a very very difficult side to kind of get a handle on and like we've seen so many players like come through and be like oh they have a wonderful person you know in one position and they'd be like wow we've got like a world beater in one position and then kind of no one else and we've seen it for a number of years and you know Slovenia have something really similar with like He just really good at producing goalkeepers for a while. and they were like, we don't need this many good goalkeepers. Can we just please produce Stryker? And now Cesc has come along. I don't know, the goalkeepers play anymore. And you're like, oh well, you know, it is what is. But when in terms of the back year, you're kind of looking at Dubravka is still there and still doing it. watched Marek Rodak for many a long year at Fulham and was kind of always kind of working out if he was quite good enough or not. I love Hansko and Skriniar still being there and still making things happen. Gives them a really good defensive set, you know, to to kind of work from. If you can put those two in the centre-back and have a Dubravka behind them, they're going to be, you know, hard to hard to break down, hard to beat. I think that probably does get them through the Kosovo a game.
00:46:40
Speaker
I'm not sure it takes them all the way to the World Cup. I think maybe just that little bit of experience there in that back line and just being able to potentially keep a clean sheet might be the difference here. You know, the spine of this team feels pretty strong and that Lubotka is obviously going to anchor the midfield in front of Skriniar and Hansko and then with Dubravka there. That's a lot of experience. it's a lot top level experience. I think that that should be enough to get them to the final.
00:47:04
Speaker
Where it goes from there, I think it's kind of anybody's guess. Yeah, the question for Slovakia, is that experience, is that spine enough to limit potentially a team like Turkey, who we'll talk about in a second, who are tremendously talented in the attack?
00:47:16
Speaker
Yeah, I think the the thing with Kosovo, just before we get there, is that there's a little bit of benefit, I think, to have you know surprising Sweden a little bit, whose defense is is pretty bad. yeah um So I think that might have helped them. I'm not saying they you know they had to get some bounces to get here. And then you look specifically about the Slovakia team, which I think was described well.
00:47:37
Speaker
Not a lot of difference makers up top. But very solid. And they're just generally good athletes. What we saw against Germany was they were able to absorb some of that pressure. And Germany commits way too many numbers forward. They hit them on the counter.
00:47:51
Speaker
So I think it's not going to be pretty. That game is fine. it's going to be very difficult against Turkey. um But if they could kind of hit Germany on the counter, why not hit Turkey on the counter? Right. And Turkey's defense is where the problem is. I think it's going to be, yeah i tip it advantage Turkey just because the attacking talent there is so good.
00:48:12
Speaker
Kenan Yildiz has been really excellent this season. Artigulaire, you know, his Madrid campaign has been up and down. But when you watch him, he just tries bits. He gets the ball and he's one of the most electric dribblers in La Liga and in the world right now. And that's kind of their whole team, which is a Madrid problem. But I think you start seeing two really creative playmaking guys.
00:48:34
Speaker
Turkey can can kind of... can kind of pressure you in and then they have the answers to unlock you. The thing for Slovakia and Turkey, it'd be a really good matchup of styles because Slovakia are not elite athletes, but they run. They run really hard. They can handle the press. They can press themselves.
00:48:51
Speaker
If you press the Turkey back line, do you get any gifts? You might. So I think that's a very, very fun game. Again, I tip it Turkey. We've kind of ignored Romania for a little bit.
00:49:02
Speaker
Romania, their best player perhaps has been Radu Dragosin, who don't think about what he's done all year at Tottenham. He's maybe gone backwards in his career arc, which is really painful. um Romania's kind of whole thing is they defend really deep and then take pot shots from 25 yards.
00:49:19
Speaker
Can that work against Turkey? It might, but I think Turkey are set up very well here. I'd be very fascinated by a Turkey-Slovakia game. Jack, we'll get to Turkey in a second. Romania, they weren't great in qualifying. They lost twice to Bosnia. They got a win over Austria at home that didn't end up helping them out much in qualifying. They're here on a Nations League bailout. Denis Dragos is suspended. He got a red card against Bosnia. A bit kind of broke down the Romanian game plan. It's sit back and have hits and maybe it'll work.
00:49:47
Speaker
Turkey could be the opposition that that'll work against, but there's not a lot of reason to believe, is there? I don't think so. I think this Romania side are quite fun. They were great fun at the Euros. We we enjoyed watching them. And I think if you if you score loads of goals from 25 yards, then obviously people are going to enjoy watching you. It does feel a a little bit with Dragush out that it's going to stick on Benesman and Giannis Hadjic to try and create it in those middle areas and and try and make things happen. Because I don't think there's a load of faith in any of these strikers leading the line to to really be the guy to put the ball in the back of the net. They obviously kind of rucked up a score on San Marino in their last game of qualification, which obviously is kind of par for the course, fine. But like at least they're coming into this off the back of actually being able to ah rack up a few goals and thinking, okay, that was better than perhaps we've expected and um um what we've seen. And they was so you know is that there was no goal, but there were six different scorers in that game. So that there there are goals from different areas.
00:50:41
Speaker
I just think Turkey are going to be too strong. like I just think that when you're kind of looking at these two teams and the fact that it's in as Istanbul, I would be absolutely stunned if Turkey aren't in that last game you know against one of Slovakia or Kozma. And we talked about it, the potential matchup with Slovakia.
00:50:58
Speaker
i I feel like I was kind of sleeping on Turkey a little bit because Vincenzo Montella's side, they've been scoring goals for fun in qualification. They also gave up goals for fun in that game against Spain, but that's okay because Spain's not in this guve in this playoff semifinal.
00:51:10
Speaker
Are we maybe, and i don't know we're underrating them a little bit. I think the biggest thing for me is you guys talked about all the attacking talent that's there. I think that will definitely work in their favor.
00:51:21
Speaker
Their biggest concern is they are not particularly good defensively. they are not stable. You can't really trust them to play with the ball. They will give mistakes. But I don't know that I'm buying that some combination of Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo are going to be enough to trouble that defense so much that the attacking talent can't overpower it. Am I fair in thinking that a bit?
00:51:43
Speaker
i think I think you're very fair. I think this this little run of the Turkey team is ah actually a very good game model to play in Europe. You just don't see it a lot. They want to play a games with three, four goals in it, and they're going to get three of them or two of them in a three-goal game or three or four in a five-goal game. It works because their attack is so good. It's very rare at the international level to kind of see ah this open of a game state, but...
00:52:10
Speaker
you You play with them. Yes, they might ship you one. You cannot keep their attackers down. Also because they have different ways to beat you. They've got dribbling. They've got passing in Kalhanoglu. And they've also got set pieces. They've also got, you know, okay, we can shoot from distance, but Boris Yilmaz is a very just textbook number nine. So if you're going to sit back and defend, they can cross and get good headers. They kind of have all the answers. And then if you give them space...
00:52:37
Speaker
go back to that dribbling, they're going to kind of roast you one-on-one. So there's not a lot of ways to defend them. The issue is when you get to the highest levels and you start looking at your your' big fish and in Europe, the physicality limits them. And then you can defend and counter. And then when you have better athletes, but you're looking at these teams, the best team here in terms of athletes and running, and it's going to take it the other way is Slovakia. But we just looked at their front line. It's not great.
00:53:02
Speaker
So I think, yes, that's a game, but the level of quality, technical quality and athleticism needed to beat this Turkey games game plan more often than not.
00:53:16
Speaker
Those are the teams that are already there. um I think Italy would have been if and I don't think they could have played, but that would have been the type of game they could have been scared about. Sweden would have been interesting, but I think Turkey are are kind of set up well here. Um,
00:53:31
Speaker
This is a good team. I think you're 100% right to kind of flag it. It's so early. They could they could crash out. their a team you The type of team you don't want to see in knockout plays because of their variance is dangerous.
00:53:42
Speaker
Jack, earlier on in the show, I very politely described you as a a well above replacement level football pundit. And so as we kind of shift towards looking towards the World Cup, Turkey have that replacement level football pundit dark horse air about them, right? They get to the World Cup. They're in a group with the US.
00:54:00
Speaker
We're going get to May. Everybody's going to be buying in on Turkey. And then the defense is probably going to crumble. But am i am I right in kind of maybe putting my flag there a bit before everybody else? No, no, no. I think you're absolutely spot on. Like there is a level. And I think also the reason that I'm not maybe as bullish about Turkey, and you know, as we have been in recent years is because we've all been burned by, you know, unbelievable football team. Look at the talent that's like available to them. And look, we've had some really fun times watching this team kind of work out together. And, you know, you remember at the Euros, they played that sort of front three of Yildiz and Gouler and Baris Yulmaz.
00:54:34
Speaker
And they just effectively didn't play in any positions. They played positionless football with these three running around up top and it was great fun. Like it was loads of fun, but also it didn't take them, you know, to the stage of the tournament that perhaps we would want them to, if you're actually going to legitimately call them a dark horse. So I think that, you know, there's a little bit of of reticence in that regard. I think part of the issue with, with this as a kind of defensive unit is that half of these defenders don't think themselves defenders. Right? Like, Dioglu doesn't want to play at fullback. Mulder doesn't really want to play at fullback. Zeke Celleck doesn't really want to play at fullback. Demerale loved just like wandering forward. So did Erzeng Kabak. All of these players just but like find themselves in the middle of midfield. You're like, what are you doing?
00:55:14
Speaker
You're bucking your position, you nutter. So like... I think that that's part of the issue here. But I do think that like on you know unless something mad happens in these games, that it would take something pretty spectacular, I think, for one of these sides to stop how how much quality Turkey have in that final third. That should be enough. As Amit points out, right like that can come unstuck when you play up against some of the best teams in Europe. It shouldn't come unstuck against these game plans that they're going to come up against here.
00:55:40
Speaker
I mean, I also watched Turkey nil Spain six. So like right like yeah I've seen when this all goes up in flames. i've I've seen I've seen that happen. All right. Let's move on to our last path here. Check. It's been 55 minutes of the show. We have made you wait. You have waited patiently. You have participated beautifully.
00:55:56
Speaker
Let's get into what you really hear about. It's Ireland and Czechia, Denmark, North Macedonia. The winner of Ireland Czechia will host the final. Three wins in a row for Ireland. They topped Hungary for second to make the playoff. They did so in dramatic fashion. We will never forget the that's Troy Parrott moment.
00:56:13
Speaker
No Evo Sili, no scales due to suspensions. There's no Eben Ferguson. How are we feeling about the Irish chances going into Prague and then going into a potential final with Denmark or North Macedonia? I think the thing is that like Ireland have actually been quite bad for quite some time, right? I'm a Fulham and Ireland and Jets and Mets fan, right? Like I literally exist on the on the axis of misery. none of my None of my sports teams are any good at anything. So that's like, that's the entire, that's the entire shtick.
00:56:42
Speaker
But it's quite interesting seeing when Hal Grimson took over, there were some really bad performances, right? And like the the Stephen Kenny era was like a difficult thing to kind of get on board with because i wanted him to succeed as someone coming from the League of Ireland and kind of being the someone who was kind of bought into the idea of bringing through a young group of players because Ireland had been the same under Martin O'Neill for so many years. And it was like, defend with all your hearts and hope you score from a set piece. And I think that there was ah you know an attempt to kind of change that to make Ireland into a more ball playing unit without the players to actually pull that off. And so there has been a level of going back to the kind of agricultural, to the attritional, to the industrial that has come along there. It does feel like there is, you know, a talented core of players in this. Now, Ireland have usually had good good goalkeepers. It's been a kind of longstanding thing. And Quivin Keller has stepped into that spot beautifully. He's in another wonderful campaign with Brentford, I think. And I think only David Ryer has ever picked up more clean sheets in a Premier League season for Brentford. So we're looking at ah a decent base.
00:57:43
Speaker
There probably is going to be, you know, at that kind of level of, we're gonna We're going to see a defensive line that is focused on defending first. You know, Nathan Collins is going to be at the heart of that as as the captain. But this is a a team that knows how to to put its back into defending. Jacob Bryan, who's kind of played right back and centre-back for Everton this season, that's good enough.
00:58:04
Speaker
I think in in in terms of having the defensive nous to be able to kind of put Ireland into a position, that doesn't mean they won't concede. We've seen them concede in Portugal games, in the Hungary games, but there is a level of of kind of understanding of what that defensive unit is going to have to do. And it's made, you know kind of even more so by a relatively industrial midfielder. The likes of Jason Knight and Brown and Malumby are all players who are going to sit in there.
00:58:28
Speaker
Where I think Ireland become interesting is is not just Troy Parra, but also Fina Zaz, who's having a really interesting season with Southampton in the championship, has put in some good performances. For a number 10, he's part of that kind of new 10 mold, like the Kai Havertz, he kind of really tall, Nico Paz kind of mold of player who doesn't really look like they should be a number 10. And he's not as good as either of those players, that should be very clear. but Like in terms of of that mode of player and his kind of build, he's having ah a very interesting season and is capable of the spectacular. couple of new faces and both in Boston, the Wild, who's been in a squad before, but never made a cap. And Harvey Vale as well, who's just declared for the Republic, having come through the England youth set up and is now QPR in in the championship as well.
00:59:10
Speaker
I think that we probably aren't going to see those new players, youth, in this international break. I'll be very surprised if suddenly we get debutantes coming out in in Prague for that for their first time. But I think look that there is a level of, with this island side, that it's not necessarily going to be pretty. Look, it's something we've said about a a lot of these teams, right? When we we're talking about teams at this point, that's okay, I think, with this island side. If they try and outplay people,
00:59:35
Speaker
they will probably lose. But Parrott's on an incredible run of form, both for club and for country. I think whoever you play alongside him, whether that's a Zaz, slightly more withdrawn, or whether it's like a Schmodix, or whether that's an Adam Eder who's just going to stretch and run the channels, there's nothing particularly pretty about the way that Ireland play. But I think that they've rediscovered a little bit of their effectiveness. And given that the Czechs are effectively at war with their own football team, this is probably a good time to that good time to be playing them. I was talking to a couple of friends in Czechia and was asking them and they were like, we'd actually rather you went through than us. hate this manager. We actually don't want them to go to a world cup because it would be embarrassing for us. i was like, wow, okay, cool. This is a, this is a slightly different angle to what I was expecting. Look, I'm sure it won't be like that on the night. I'm sure when it actually comes to it and the the whistle blows, there's going to be ah a groundswell of support naturally for the team that you want to be there.
01:00:29
Speaker
But I think there is a real frustration around Czechia and the question for Ireland is, can they take advantage of that? And Jack, as an avid listener of this show, you know, international football at its core generally comes down to vibes, right? And I kind of have the vibes here with the Troy Parrott moment, with the momentum. Sure, that November was a long time ago, but that seems to maybe be working in their favor. And I think that maybe builds to some of the buy-in.
01:00:56
Speaker
Look, Ireland fans always travel well, right? But but the fact is that there's 800 tickets in the away end for this fixture and there's 12,000 of us going over to Prague. So I think that probably told tells you about the kind of burning desire to see Ireland back at a World Cup for the first time since 2002. I think that does speak to the vibe. Like, they will travel well, sure, but that feels like ah a real swell, right, of people going over sans tickets. And look, it helps that, you know, Prague has the best the biggest Irish bar in in in Europe on the continent, etc., But like I do think that that vibe is is there at the moment. Now, again, you know, we know these things don't always carry over and the fact that Ireland are quite attritional and it's not going to be particularly pretty might suit Czechia more than some of the sides that have come and and outplayed them in in recent games and in their own qualification campaign. But I think that when we talk about where the two fan bases are and at the way that Ireland did it from the complete unexpected, like, you know, that point where you lose that game to Armenia and it's like, well, what's the point? Why are we even here? Like, Like, there is no point in us doing this. Half of us are taking the day off work to go down to the pub and then all of these things. And it's like, what a waste of a day to go from that to then the Portugal game and then the Hungary game and to come back from behind and do it in the last minute. I think you're right in terms of for the first time in a long while, it feels like there's something to grab onto with Ireland. And and and that's a nice place to be.
01:02:15
Speaker
Amit, the other side, you've got a Czechia team that I think can genuinely be described as another one of those mucky middle European teams, right? They are ranked 16th to 24th among European teams. You'd expect them to make the bottom end of a Euro. They might make a World Cup now and again. They also had a pretty nondescript qualification campaign.
01:02:33
Speaker
They were destined for second after they got smoked 5-1 by Croatia. They threw in a loss against the Faroe Islands for good measure, which is generally never a good thing. Although great campaign for the Faroe Islands. They had me buying in for for a second there down the stretch. ah There's Tomic Tusek. There's Patrick Schick.
01:02:48
Speaker
This is a pretty familiar side. Jack mentioned it. It's not a tremendously inspiring one. It's not one that has been in high form. It is also a bit one that is two wins away from the World Cup and everything that that brings.
01:03:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think watching them in qualification, they are just OK. And exactly as you said, ahead. We're also in a group,
Czechia vs Ireland: Match Dynamics
01:03:09
Speaker
right? Like Croatia were clearly better than them and everybody beyond them was clearly worse than them. And we didn't really get a feel of what Czechia are, except capable of losing to Faroe Islands, which is probably not a good thing going down line.
01:03:21
Speaker
Yeah, they were kind of, they could just go through their motions to get to this playoff, see what the playoffs spat them. I do think, um you know, levels wise, Ireland is maybe an easy opening game, but I think vibes wise is the the worst kind of team they could want to see. I think described perfectly by Jack and that...
01:03:41
Speaker
The way Ireland qualified and the way their team is, there is nothing special special about the players on the field's talent, but the industriousness and the fact that they never stop is a very, very difficult challenge. And I think they're just going to keep running and keep coming. And that is a problem for Czechia.
01:04:00
Speaker
um The type of team that gave Czechia problems was when Croatia has all their silky ball players and they make you chase the ball. And when Czechia chases the ball, They don't want to chase the ball. They're a ah step slow in the midfield.
01:04:13
Speaker
Ireland cannot do that. So I think what you're just going to see is a very, very physical, duelsy game. Ireland are going to challenge every ball, and that is a good thing. And the question is, yes, if you play this game enough times and the ball falls to Thomas Susek in the box, who is an underratedly very good header, like ranges into the box attacker...
01:04:35
Speaker
Patrick Schick has not had a great season at Leverkusen. He has been kind of passed over by younger attackers. um He's still a quality player, but he's similar to the Lewandowski of the ball has to come to his feet.
01:04:47
Speaker
So if Ireland works really hard to to mark him, he should not get anything. Easier said than done. It's very easy to lose a good striker in the box. The Czech defense is solid. They've got some good crossers. They've got some good backs. Vladimir Kufal at Hoffenheim is a nice player.
01:05:03
Speaker
I like a lot. Pavel Buka at Cincinnati, also an underrated MLS guy, I think. He's he's actually quite a good creative player. The thing is... This is the type of game where the more Ireland hangs on and the more Ireland runs at Czechia and forces them to defend and make someone comfortable.
01:05:20
Speaker
You start asking the question, how bad do you want it? I think not just because of the the vo well all and also is the better way to put it. Ireland's vibes, because of everything Jack talked about, are really, really high right now. The way they qualified, the the number of fans traveling, just the general swell around international support we see for them in soccer, and the bad vibes of Czechia, of them almost not wanting them, is all that. On top of that is the game Ireland are going to play.
01:05:48
Speaker
They're just going to ask the question of you, do you really want to to go 90, 100 minutes with us at the the intensity we are? Are they the best? No, but that Hunger Game just is the encapsulation of why you know they're tough out.
01:06:03
Speaker
I don't know. like Can Cechia do it? I think it's a tough it's a tough ask. This is going to be really, really fun. And the other thing that you just just have to consider is that Cechia probably need two.
01:06:14
Speaker
One is not going to be safe enough. Ireland will put all 11 guys into the box and make you defend long balls. Cechia are not like necessarily suited to that. So can they get two in open play? It's going to be tough.
01:06:27
Speaker
This is the type of game that should be within one in the last 10 minutes, and it should be... must watch back and forth stuff. That's the other thing. island ah Island will run for 90 minutes and chase those counters. So I don't think Czech is good enough to kill it off. I think this should be a very, very interesting game. The thing you just want is not is to burn up all your legs early and then not have any left. That could be that could be the one issue if you don't get anything out of it.
01:06:51
Speaker
Jack, I was slightly concerned for the wall behind you there where you're recording. You look like you're ready to run through it for this Ireland team. It's that kind of feeling, right? Yeah, like that's exactly what it is. And and look, to you to kind of like double down on that point that it makes there, is that...
01:07:04
Speaker
Think about, know, when your team's doing badly or you're in a stadium and, you know, we've had this recently when I've been, know, talking about Fulham playing Spurs, for example, in the Premier League, right? And it's like, what you need to do is just not let them find any joy because that fan base will turn yeah if you remove joy from it. If they're already on the brink and, you know, there's already these kind of big signs of being like, this team aren't good enough, they don't reent resent us. And then you get that kind of resentment. If you build that in a stadium, it will turn. Like it will turn. So it's a question now for Ireland of being like, okay, can you frustrate them for 25 minutes? Just don't let anything sort of open up in those first 25. Don't go chasing this game. Wait for them and wait for the crowd to become frustrated because they will look at this team and they will look at this Ireland side and say, we are on paper a better team than Ireland are. But, you know, when that mood goes and when, you know, you start to feel that frustration around it, like it's very, very difficult to win a crowd back unless you go on and, you know, get that first goal and and make sure that you're kind of in the ascendancy. i think that leaves them potentially exposed to counters. And I think it leaves them in a position where people are going to be fed up if it doesn't go their way.
01:08:11
Speaker
We're not like a relatively quick basis. That I think is the thing that's super interesting about about this game and about this Czechia side, because, know, Yeah, they're not the best team in Europe, obviously. we kind of They wouldn't be here if they were.
01:08:23
Speaker
But also, they have not theyre they're not as bad as they were in qualification either. And something just isn't right. Can you play on that? Can you feed off that emotion and get that crowd into a position that they don't want to be in? Because if it does turn, I think this crowd this this team probably doesn't have that kind of fight that they've had in years before to go and change it I'm not sure Ireland has enough to win in open play over 90 minutes, but I think this is a very shootout-y type game. it' just You can kind of smell the vibes over this one, right? And and just the way we're building it up.
01:08:58
Speaker
I think Czechia also, while they are better... I'm not sure they have it in them to like, to really go for it without they're, they're gonna i'm not saying they're going to play scared, but to like open themselves up.
01:09:09
Speaker
So I think this is
Denmark's Playoff Journey
01:09:10
Speaker
the type of game that you could also see seems very finely poised towards, towards going towards a shootout and then all bets are off. Are those sweat beads I see on your forehead already, Jack, ahead of Thursday?
01:09:20
Speaker
i am i like that i don't know if I could cope emotionally with the planet issue. out like each Let me put it that way. I'm hoping that you're absolutely right, but it's a set piece in the 93rd minute for us. That would do me just fine.
01:09:33
Speaker
The other semifinal in this path is Denmark and North Macedonia. I think Denmark is probably the most surprising team that is taking part in this playoff, even more so than Italy, because they looked to be headed to the World Cup. They had gotten a significant advantage on Scotland, but a pretty inexplicable November that saw them draw against hapless Belarus and then lose to Scotland in Glasgow sends them to the playoff semifinal. No cash for Schmeichel for Denmark. The rest of the squad is pretty much what we're accustomed to. We've talked a lot about momentum. November was a long time ago, but the momentum hasn't been with Denmark. On the other side, it's North Macedonia.
01:10:10
Speaker
They are probably closer than anybody else to the Kosovo tier. They've never made the World Cup. They've made just one Euro appearance. They only had three wins in 10 in qualifying. That came one win against Kazakhstan and two against Liechtenstein.
01:10:23
Speaker
They drew Belgium twice. They're here on UEFA Nations League bailout. Amit, to put it kindly, North Macedonia muckers gonna muck. Yeah, you know what this game looks like. They're just going to sit back, defend as deep as possible. Not really a lot going forward. Just going to force Denmark to come up with something.
01:10:40
Speaker
um We'll see. I think to answer the the Denmark question, yeah, it's been so long. This Denmark team is so good. like They're almost the most well-rounded team here. like We say Italy have an attack question. Sweden have a defense question. Turkey have a defense question. Out of all the other best teams here,
01:11:01
Speaker
Denmark are very good in all three sides. The question is why why are they here? And it was kind of a loss of concentration. so I don't know. I think they also, what's hard is that if they win this game, the second one is away against North of Macedonia. And that's kind of the the the roadblock you can envision.
01:11:20
Speaker
i think what you're thinking of of Denmark is, look, that other game, Czechia-Ireland, is going to be ah a battle of attrition. It's going to be very draining. We should take care of North Macedonia as soon as possible and just run that team into the ground when we see them on Tuesday. This midfield here is going to be very, very dangerous, right? I know Erickson and Hoiberg aren't necessarily at the point of their career where they're running a lot. Maybe they're not starting. But Mikel Delmsgaard at Brentford has had a great season. He's part of the reason why Brentford's whole game model works. Just the running he does, the pressing he does. um You look at that back line. Joakim Anderson at Fulham has also been great.
01:11:58
Speaker
um Bob Benfica is a very good defender. Yes, I know the goalkeeper is the one area, but in all three phases of the field, they should be better than either Czech or Ireland. That's a problem. and So when if that game happens, is there kind of whoever wins that game, their mindset is going to be, we just have to to to fight for 90 minutes, try to survive as long as we can.
01:12:21
Speaker
I'm really struggling to see how it goes wrong for this Denmark team other than... We lose focus. just saw it go wrong, right? like Yeah, that's the... You're like, it can't go wrong for Denmark. You mentioned it. They're good here. They're good here. They're good here. But also, Jack, I just watched Denmark draw 2-2 with Belarus, who are significantly worse than any other team in this playoff.
01:12:40
Speaker
What should I buy with Denmark? I don't know. Like, and this is, this is the incredibly weird thing about it. Like I was absolutely spot on. This team has this incredible group of young midfielders coming through to replace an old guard that have been there and done it before. Right? So like, yes, you can talk about Ericsson and Hoiberg and even Norgaard to an extent. you know, at that point in their careers that maybe they're on the wrong side of it now. Maybe these are the the twilight years. Fine. But like also then you've got Kielmund and Dammsgård and Victor Froho, who I'm absolutely convinced is going to be a superstar. Having watched him, you know, quite a lot Porto this season, there's nothing he can't do. And obviously he's got that wonderful goal in the Europa League against Stuttgart, where he like loses the ball on purpose so he can win it back and score. Like he's taking the mick. at this point with how good he is. So, like, you're looking at it and thinking, don't understand how even if the old guard are slightly too old and don't have the legs and don't have the energy and don't have the, you know, obviously, Norga's not played very much for Arsenal this season, for example, but then that group behind them should be more than capable of stepping up. I think if they're there is a weakness, you know, obviously the fact that the goalkeeper situation is a little bit all over the place. Runner or Hermansen probably going to play in this one. Both of them are perfectly capable goalkeepers, but just a little bit of inexperience when it comes to, you know, international level. Yeah, sure.
01:13:57
Speaker
I suppose the defense... hasn't changed all that much from when they were exceptional, right? And I've seen this Ireland-Denmark game before in ah in a playoff and we lost 5-0 and they absolutely ran us into the ground in Dublin. And just stay watching it and going, please not that again. Like, please not that again. Equally, I've seen us beat Denmark to go to a Euros. And it's like one of those kind of strange games where it just feels like they obviously should win this. But I thought that about Scotland and actually to kind of use your point from earlier, Austin, you talk about vibes.
01:14:28
Speaker
Well, Scotland and Ireland have quite a similar vibe, I think, the moment. And look, there's obviously ah a long twin history with those two nations, etc. And I was delighted for all my my Scots pals. And when when they got through this, mostly because I was like, I don't want to play you in a final to get to that stuff.
01:14:43
Speaker
I don't think I can deal with it. But like in terms of, know, the vibe around that Scotland team felt quite similar to the vibe around Ireland with the late playoffs, with the late goals, a couple of talismanic figures in a squad that is decidedly a fair bit average, right? Like so that's okay. I'm just not quite sure what happened to this Denmark tie in that period, they should be there. And whether the fact that they know they should be there already plays on their minds going into these two games, I suppose that's all you pray for is someone in the same path.
01:15:12
Speaker
Yeah, I think, Amit, it almost feels like there is a very wide path for Denmark, which is we are better than the teams we are playing against. We will show that we are better than the teams that we are playing against. We will go to the World Cup.
01:15:25
Speaker
Done. Dusted. See you in June. And then there's also the other narrow path that this could still go down, which is... Everything from November, even as long ago as it was, just spirals and they get into a situation, whether it's against North Macedonia or whether it's against Ireland or whether it's against Czechia, whoever it may be, that like Jack just said, and we should be there by now. We should be playing, you know, Angola right now in a friendly ahead of the World Cup to get ready for our African opponent in the group stage, which we're not doing.
01:15:54
Speaker
Which of those two things is going to weigh heavier? And and that's the the key question that I think determines how this path goes. Yeah, and I think I'm more inclined to believe the first path because of the talent, but bringing up the Scotland game in that example is very illustrative of how things can go and the way energy can can work and the way Scotland just kept coming. That was the other thing, similar to we talked about Ireland-Hungary, where I think Denmark were almost...
01:16:21
Speaker
put on their behind a little bit. Like what, like, how is this happening? And then exactly as you said, the doubt creeps in. You're like, why are we, are the bounces just going against us? You make them doubt it. So I think there is energy for the Czechia Ireland winner to, to, to ask that question. I think the other thing just on, you know, Denmark that I didn't mention is their forward line. Got to give a shout out to Casper Hoff at a Bodo Glimp this year.
01:16:45
Speaker
an insane season in the champions league. Their run just went short. They have a lot of options on the front line. Um, I have not been watching a lot of ha Hoyland at Napoli. I don't know if he's been having a great season, but another runner there. one He's done fine. Yeah. He's done fine. Yeah. He's done well enough. I think Anders Dreyer is the one that I'm super interested in. Obviously, he had a year and a half of excellence at ah San Diego now, and we're starting to see that call up and whether he gets to go. like There's a lot of talent. Gustav Isiksen at Lazio has been phenomenal. So the talent's there. like I don't think there's real question about that.
01:17:20
Speaker
the the The thing is, like they also have so many options, they really shouldn't be getting beaten on legs either, right? Over to two games where they should have that depth advantage.
01:17:31
Speaker
So really, if they're locked in, they should be able to... take a really hard punch in the second leg from a team really motivated in a winner-takes-all game, and then just kind of grime it out.
01:17:42
Speaker
The other thing, lastly, for Denmark that, again, protects them, I'm not saying they're going to do it, but protects them from getting got, the set pieces. I think this is the type of team, just in their DNA, is going to be invested in set pieces more than anyone else at a World Cup if they get there, and is going to be very hard to defend on set pieces. And I think when you're Being mean to Denmark when we watch them play, it's, oh, they just kind of kick the ball around to play for set pieces in a very like Brentford or Arsenal way in the Premier League. And it's a little boring, but boy, are they good at them. And they've got some very good deliverers. um And even if Eriksen's not so starting, if he's in as a sub, um the other players they have, I'm sure you could use Norgaard in this way.
01:18:25
Speaker
you're going to they're going to put numbers in your six more than anyone else and be very, very hard to defend. So this is just a lot of hurdles to overcome. Can it be done? Yes. But i and maybe it's the, maybe it's you look on paper, the game's not played on paper. We're going to have to see. And, you know, what if someone scores early on them and then they're really sweating, then we're going to find out what they're made of.
01:18:48
Speaker
It's, it's a good team. It's hard to imagine the ways a good team can get bounced, but it's possible. Jack, could Denmark also maybe benefit here from just a four five nil dropping of North Macedonia in the first game to just, all right, November's done. We're back. We've got everything. We're scoring again and just kind of get everything back on track.
01:19:07
Speaker
Yeah, it feels like it feels like they need it almost. like Maybe more than anybody else. Like almost everyone else, it doesn't really matter how you get through the first game. You just get through it. I like you you wear your away i think for Denmark, it's like, ah can we reset in Copenhagen before we have to go away to either Prague or Dublin? And if we can get that and make it happen. And look, there's a couple of dangerous players in this North Macedonia side, right? Like we know that Tchaikovsky is a good player. Miofsky's kind bounced back at Rangers after that weird period in La Liga. There's a few talented players who've been around for a while in that North Macedonia attack, but like, have they got enough to genuinely hurt this Denmark team? I don't think so. I mean, I hope they do. Like for what's the worst, I hope they bounce them. And good far I just, I look at it and think that maybe more than anybody else, Denmark really needed a reset win, a hard win, like an absolute hammering. One, because
Playoff Excitement and Closing Remarks
01:19:54
Speaker
they'd be able to kind of take their foot off the gas with 30 minutes to play. And two, because I think it would just reset the mentality. And if you come off the back of that and I'm celebrating, you know, as we say, a 93rd minute Nathan Collins header to send us through. And I look at the score in the other game and it's 7-0 to Denmark against North Macedonia. Those celebrations are going to be curtailed a little bit. I think it's probably fair to say.
01:20:13
Speaker
They want to get to the second game with as much in the legs as possible to make that advantage last. Wow. 80 minutes of absolute thrilling. And we're 10 minutes short of what a an actual match will be. a bit But man, if this is if the preview is half as good as the action that we get...
01:20:30
Speaker
on ah On Thursday and Tuesday, I think we're going to have a very, very enjoyable time. Jack, a massive, massive thank you to you. I've been wanting to have you on the show for quite some time. This felt like the perfect moment because, again, you could paper over the European football cracks. I didn't have enough time to ask you about George Gope Fenepej in New Caledonia, but I know you'll be listening to the other show for the Intercontinental Playoff Preview. I'll be locked in. Absolutely. I love what you two do. So thank you for having me. It's been a real pleasure to be on.
01:20:56
Speaker
For our listeners, if you want more of Jack and all of his friends on the Sirius XMFC football show, you should absolutely make that part of your morning routine. And look, every international break, I generally pop up on there. They don't ask me about my club football takings, but when the international break comes around, the call always comes in and I'm always one to answer it. Amit and i will be back to preview the Intercontinental Playoff later on. As always, if you like what we do, if you are new around here and you want to support what we do at the World Cup After Dark, you can do so at patreon.com slash WCAD. For $3 a month, you can monetarily support this love project of ours. You get access to subscriber-only content. get access to the World Cup qualification master spreadsheet, which is very helpful when there's a lot of matches going on, like the seven that will be taking place at the same place on Thursday. Do that.
01:21:44
Speaker
we would be much appreciative of it. Or just simply rate, review, click all of the thumbs up buttons you can find for us and help spread the word. International football, never been better. And we are here to break it all down. We will see you guys on another show. Once again, a massive thank you to Jack.
01:21:59
Speaker
Massive thank you to you, our listeners. And we will chat soon.