Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
USMNT Keeps Rolling, Seattle Shows OUT for World Cup!
1k Plays4 days ago
The United States is through to the knockout stage after an impressive 2-0 victory over Australia, and we're breaking down everything we learned from the USMNT's latest World Cup performance. From Mauricio Pochettino's tactical adjustments following Christian Pulisic's absence to Folarin Balogun's standout display, we'll discuss how the Americans found another way to win and why their depth continues to be one of the tournament's biggest storylines. We'll also share our experiences covering USA-Australia in Seattle, including the atmosphere around the city, the scene inside the stadium and some of the most interesting takeaways from the postgame mixed zone. Plus, we'll discuss Canada's statement win over Qatar, Seattle's emergence as one of the tournament's standout host cities and some of the biggest storylines from around the World Cup as the group stage rolls on.
Follow Lobbing Scorchers:
SPONSORS
QED Coffee - a Seattle based roaster, coffee shop and coffee subscription service. Visit them in person at one of the three Seattle locations or online and use code ‘LS74’ for 25% off across the site.
Haxan Ferments - Specializing in unique, small-batch fermented hot sauces and vinegars, Haxan Ferments is handcrafted in Georgetown and made with the best local ingredients from across the Pacific Northwest. Use Code LS for a FREE Hot Sauce w/ purchase!
Sounder at Heart - Our network host and biggest supporter, Sounder at Heart covers the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Reign, and MUCH MORE! Subscribe and Support to the BEST independent Seattle Soccer coverage.
Podium Edmonds - Located at 114 4th Ave N, just off Main Street in the heart of Downtown Edmonds, come shop and explore the best menswear in the Pacific Northwest. Tell them Lobbing Scorchers sent you!
Full Pull Wines - Founded in 2009, they the best boutique wines of the world to members, with special focus on our home, the Pacific Northwest.
MLS Store - New year, new gear! The 2026 MLS jerseys are here, and MLSStore is the ultimate destination for every fan. Every purchase helps support our show!
Lobbing Scorchers is a production of Just Once Media.
Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
Contact: lobbingscorchers@justoncemedia.com
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Partnerships
00:00:00
Speaker
As you know, we're huge fans of supporting local business. We've partnered with Seattle coffee roaster, Huey D Coffee, to bring a full spectrum of coffees to our listeners. Matt, the owner, is a diehard Sounders fan and inaugural season ticket holder who can often be overheard talking about the latest match while he works behind the bar. Thankfully, you don't have to live in Seattle to get great coffee.
00:00:20
Speaker
Huey D's high quality coffee subscription service offers our favorite blends right to your door. at lobbing scorchers.com slash coffee. First time subscribers can get 25% off your order.
00:00:32
Speaker
Additionally, QED is offering Lobbing Scorcher supporters 25% off site-wide with the code LS74. What are you waiting for? Visit one of their three locations in Mount Baker, West Seattle, and Three Tree Point, or go to lobbing scorchers.com slash coffee and use code LS74 at checkout.
Live Episode Promotion
00:00:49
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to youtube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or lobbingscorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:01:11
Speaker
Well, sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be a real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well, it's gonna be a scorcher.
USMNT Victory and Performance
00:01:32
Speaker
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff World Cup Edition presented by QED Coffee. I'm Ari, that's Nico, and we have got a big show here this morning. We are continuing our 2026 show. World Cup coverage with more talk about the United States men's national team who are coming off another impressive win over Australia. This time a 2-0 win in the city of Seattle at Seattle Stadium. A lot to talk about with that, folks. The USMNT.
00:02:04
Speaker
is kind of balling, not kind of the USMNT is balling. They're looking like one of the better teams in the group stage, to be honest with you. So really looking forward to talking about this game and where this team is at as a whole, as we continue this tournament, we're going to dive into what it was like to be in Seattle for this match.
00:02:22
Speaker
Why the atmosphere, energy and buzz around the city felt every bit like the world cup moment. So many people here have been waiting for And then we're also going to jump around the tournament, take a look at some of the other group stage results, and discuss where things stand in the overall standings as well. So, Nico, welcome in. What's up, man? Thanks for tapping in. As always, the World Cup continues. The USMNT looks good. Colombia looks pretty good.
00:02:46
Speaker
How you doing? How you feeling? What's going on, Ari? What's up? Lobby Scorchers family. We are back, of course. Happy to be on. Happy to...
00:02:57
Speaker
Gauge our audience and see if they are feeling as optimistic, as excited as I am, at least on this U.S. Men's 17. mean, this this U.S. Men's National team has been just as good as we thought it was going to be going into this World Cup, I think. I was excited to see them play.
00:03:18
Speaker
The fans have shown up. i thought that the city has shown out and everybody's talking about it. Pochettino talked about it. So, I mean, I'm just excited and I'm ready to hear what what everyone has to say. I want to hear thoughts. I want to hear comments. So make sure that you're engaging right there in the chat, baby.
00:03:34
Speaker
Yeah, let's get the discourse flowing in the chat. Lots to talk about with the World Cup. And, you know, for me, Nico, I would say ah the USMNT has been significantly better than I thought we would be. So that is definitely exciting. But it's also exciting that ah Seattle and the city and everyone here got to play such kind of a central role in this latest result.
00:03:54
Speaker
And the atmosphere around the stadium and at the stadium, I mean, it was incredible. You know, we were both there. And there was a couple moments during that game where it really hit me, like the scale of what we were talking about and what was happening. It ah it feels like, ah you know, yeah we you and I have both been around Sounders teams that have done special things and made big runs and stuff.
00:04:14
Speaker
And when when there's a team doing something special or different,
Seattle's Soccer Atmosphere
00:04:18
Speaker
ah You can kind of feel the energy sort of festering beforehand. And I don't, you know, I don't want to overstate things, but this USMNT, their vibes right now are just so much better than they have been leading up to this tournament. And then I thought they would be. So it it definitely makes for an exciting show for us to talk about, which I can appreciate. So yeah, as always,
00:04:41
Speaker
Jump in chat, give your questions, takes, thoughts, observations, and agendas, the whole nine yards, and we'll get it going here this morning. We got Bad Sequels, who's been a member for 16 months. Thank you for the support, as always. He says, those weekend confirmed Seattle is the best city of the whole lot. I don't even know if there's much dispute in that. You know, everyone, we're biased here, obviously. You're not going to get him but an objective take from me on that. But when I look at ah the actual evidence, I don't see who's doing it up better than us, man. I really don't. like The city went absolutely off for that game. It felt like ah like a college game day atmosphere, you know, with the fans like behind the broadcast and stuff. like It's just the the whole scene was incredible. So, yeah, let's let's stop beating around it and get into it. But I do have to let you all know before we...
00:05:29
Speaker
Dive into the show this morning that lobby Scorchers kickoff is brought to you by QED coffee, our favorite Seattle coffee shop and roaster go to lobby Scorchers calm slash coffee to get your subscription today use code LS 74 for 25% off anything site wide, including your merch like your mug like I got as you can see right here. 74 25% off. And on that note, I do have to say as well, shout out to everyone who showed up to our Panini sticker trading event in West
Community Engagement Events
00:05:59
Speaker
Seattle. You want to talk about things that exceeded my expectations. I kind of can't believe how many people we had show up to QED for it. And what was cool about it was a lot of people that were there actually had no idea about Lobbing Scorchers or the show. They were passionate about Panini stickers. Which, Nico, I don't know if your kids are into this or anything, but like, okay, yeah, obviously, you know what's up. Like, these things are all the rage right now. We had, I don't know, we must have had like 100 people at least, like, by the time it was all said and done, people coming in and out. And all walk walks of life were represented. You know, you had every age group from 10 to 50 that were just locked in. we had We had one guy had a spreadsheet. He had an Excel spreadsheet that had his whole Panini sticker collection laid out and all the ones that he had and all the ones that he needed and all the ones that he could trade. It was elaborate, man. Like it. The people were locked in. I learned a lot, but it was a lot of fun. And we had a lot of people come up to us and say, you guys got to do another one of these. My favorite interactions we had were the parents who were saying, this is the first time my kid has put down the iPad in like two weeks and he is locked in. You guys need to keep ah doing the Panini sticker thing. So we're to keep doing it. And we're also going to keep doing events at ah QED, our title sponsor. So we love and appreciate them for hosting that as well. But ah Nico, all right, let's talk some World Cup.
USMNT Tactical Adaptations
00:07:20
Speaker
And I just want to start with some USMNT, man. I got to talk about some USMNT because, you know, like we were talking about at the top of the show, ah this team is exceeding expectations and they're doing it in a way that it's impossible to ignore or deny or downplay. And so I'm definitely not going to attempt to downplay what we're seeing from this team so far, because i guess the first thing I'll say is like, you know, I was watching the, uh, they're putting out the, uh, HBO four years with the USMNT documentary behind the scenes thing. Have you, have you seen this Nico? Like, and I actually kind of made fun of them for making that doc before this tournament started, because for me, it's like, I mean, a a behind the scenes doc doesn't have to be about something, uh, compelling you know and I didn't think there was a lot that was compelling but right now now that they have this content to sort of add to that the doc is going to be insane but I was watching it and it starts in 2022 and you just go back to how the 2022 tournament started and it was like we were fighting for our absolute lives to get out of that group it came down to the absolute last day and we ended up doing it barely But it was just not it's not the same thing as what's going on right now where you have two games where the USMNT has totally taken it to the opposition. So ah what I want to get into is how they did it in this Australia game specifically. But real quick, before we get into the game itself, Nico, did you have any thoughts around about the just the vibe and the atmosphere around Seattle?
00:08:46
Speaker
before the game and during the game, the scene was crazy. You had U S supporters taken over in full force. You know, you had the fly over, you had the crowd energy. Did the city live up to expectations? I mean, I think absolutely. It's a,
00:09:02
Speaker
we are doing it up the best of anybody right now. No questions asked in my opinion, but Nico, what stood out to you as you kind of just took in the scene around the stadium and then at the, ah at the game itself, which again, there's a couple of moments there where I was like, this is about as loud and crazy as I've ever heard this, this stadium.
00:09:23
Speaker
It not just um met my expectation. It exceeded it. And and it was, Everything. It was the atmosphere outside outside of the stadium. It was the watch parties. It was the march from the supporters all the way down to the stadium. It was, you know, Marshawn Lynch leading horses and lime scooters and the whole thing. It was the, as you mentioned, the show right in front of the north side of the stadium that it felt like a game day, like a college game day situation there. with Alexi Lalas and Clint Dempsey and and and the whole thing, all the way to game time and just getting absolute chills hearing the entire, the majority of those 67,000 that were at Seattle Stadium synchronizing in perfect harmony, the national anthem, the flyover of the helicopters,
00:10:19
Speaker
just absolutely insane. The support throughout the game, the country roads being sung to the the team. That was great. And to be finalized, to be concluded by a Pochettino that said he was emotional ah of how the crowd supported the team and the reception he got here in Seattle. So to me, it's 11 out of 10. And bravo, Seattle. you You came out, you showed them that this could absolutely be a
00:10:51
Speaker
home for the US national team for the future. And then they're going to have home field advantage. They're going to have the support of the people. The stadium was unreal. The weather was incredible. I mean, absolutely everything about what we saw against this Australia team encapsulates what this community is about, what this city is about. It's no longer a secret that this stadium, this fan base here in Seattle is one of the best in the country.
00:11:18
Speaker
Yeah, the thing I keep coming back to is how much I kind of underestimated how big of a home field advantage hosting this tournament actually has turned out to be. I mean, you could see it in L.A. for sure. Like, I don't want to downplay that. But this kind of this atmosphere in this environment, it felt like a different level. And I was saying before the game that. ah you know, Australia, i knew what they were going to come in the game and try and do, but when you're actually out there in an environment like that, in front of a crowd like that, with stakes like that, it's sort of a different animal. And I think you can kind of start to see that come to life in this tournament. And this team is definitely doing a great job taking advantage of it right now. I do want to say, you know, I know we're all on cloud nine right now as we rightfully should be, ah but you know, There's a long way to go. The U.S. has already won the group, so we're going to talk about the implications of that.
00:12:12
Speaker
But now ah they have laid they couldn't have done a much better job at laying a foundation for a run that's going to give them a chance. All these things that they talked about under Berhalter, changing the way that people view American soccer and all that, all these things they talked about but they have not been able to do yet, they have actually – now they have to go out there and do it. But in order to go out there and do it, You have to lay the foundation to go out there and do it. And I can't really think of a better foundation to build from than what they have right now with the results they've taken and just the kind of vibes that they have ah created. So we'll see if they can sustain it.
00:12:45
Speaker
But Nico, let's talk about this Australia game itself, because there's a there's a lot I want to get into with this, because this result was not necessarily a given. You know, you had an Australia team that looked really good in their first game, but.
00:13:00
Speaker
I think the big talking point going into this game, Nico, was ah the U.S. lineup. So let's let's start there because the big storyline was the the U.S. didn't have their best player, their talisman for this game. Christian Pulisic was ruled out. He's got a calf knock. It seemed like they were trying to see if they could get him ready for this game, and he could he was not quite ready to go.
00:13:20
Speaker
So that came out, I think, you know, the morning of the game that Pulisic wasn't going to be starting. He wasn't going be playing at all. And i'll I'll tell you my first reaction to that, Nico, which was, you know, I had like, i had three or four of my buddies who are not like big soccer fans text me and be like, oh, Pulisic is out. Like, are are we, what is this bad? Are we chalked? Is what's, what's, what does this mean? And every single one of them, I replied,
00:13:46
Speaker
you do not need to be that worried at all. Like it's fine. This team is deep. This team is versatile. Like we're, we're chilling. Like I was, i was telling them ah like, I personally am not worried at all. So that was my first reaction. But then Nico, I looked at the, ah at the lineup graphic just to see, you know, how it was, ah how it was all laid out. And I'm looking at it. I'm like, you know what?
00:14:10
Speaker
I actually am a little, concerned about this because you know with no diego luna on the roster no pulisic in the lineup and then with how this was lined up i'm looking at it i'm like where's the midfield creativity where's the juice where's the chance creation gonna come from without pulisic there's no real like for like in this situation uh ricardo pepe gets the start but That kind of felt like more of like Pepe and Balogun as a dual striker situation playing off each other. And where's the creativity in the, in the midfield? I wasn't seeing it. So then I'm thinking to myself, all right, so what's Pochettino's plan here with this lineup? What is, what is he, where is the, creativity going to come from and the thing that I thought of was like all right the plan off the plan must be to just spam the hell out of Jedi Robinson and Serginio Dest up the flanks and have that be the creativity from out wide and they're gonna try and find Balogun and Pepe centrally and that just must be what the plan is and you know I'm not so I feel like you need more juice in midfield but
00:15:14
Speaker
I get, ah you know, trust in Pochettino, I guess that's what I thought was going on. But then if you look at how the actual game played out, that's not, ah that was not Pochettino's tactics. ah Basically what I read of what he did was he essentially reshaped the attack to put Balogun in the Pulisic rule. So what you saw was Balogun had all this freedom to drift out wide in that role and create rather than operating as that central number nine, like he has been when Pulisic is on the field. He was basically this kind of quasi winger with Pepe playing in his previous role as the number nine role. And it worked.
00:15:56
Speaker
swimmingly Balogun I thought looked incredible out there honestly and if you look at the sequence on the first goal that comes from Balogun attacking from a wide area that's Jedi springing him down the left and Balogun morphs into a winger or basically you know that could have been Pulisic on that play that's the type of stuff that Pulisic does for our team but ah instead Pochettino put Balogun in this different role and it it worked that whole sequence where he ah Attacks from out wide and sends that ball in. Pepe makes a great run on that play as well. The reason that the center backs are pulling towards goal for that ball to be hit for an own goal is because Pepe is making the right run and Balogun is putting that ball in to find him. It's a dangerous ball. You get the own goal. So my biggest takeaway from that is, ah I mean, that is that is just excellent. from the manager that's adaptability that's ball knowledge that's knowing your personnel that's having a plan if something goes wrong if your star player is out that's putting your players in the best position to go out and execute that plan and it got the exact outcome that he was looking for so that's my first takeaway Nico is I just continue to be impressed with Pochettino I think this this guy is he's this is just clearly ah a brilliant guy that really cooked on his tactics in the in this game which What did you think of what did you think when you heard that Pulisic wasn't going to play? And then what did you think of how Pochettino and the team handled it?
00:17:22
Speaker
Look, I was never concerned. I never ah shifted away from my 3-0 prediction for this game. I thought that this team is well covered at the...
00:17:34
Speaker
Inverted winger group of players. I thought that Sandejas could have gone in and done his job. thought that Gio Reyna could have given you 45 there. I thought that the easiest way you were going to be able to continue to have this exact same fluidity and movement and and cohesiveness was by pushing up Tillman and either playing Bearhalter Christian Roldan right next to ah Tyler Adams.
00:18:00
Speaker
However, That was not the case. and And again, as I continue to preach, I don't believe that Pulisic elevates your your level. It puts you at a whole other point when he comes to continuing in this World Cup, right? He's going to amplify your game. He's absolutely a key component of this team. But the drop off to the substitution or the person that's going to take over for the job is not as significant as a Tyler Adams, as a Chris Richards, as even as a J.R. Robinson, right? i think to me, those are the three guys that you cannot lose at any point of this tournament. So going into this game, feel pretty confident. But what I did not know, what what I did not calculate, was that Pochettino, in a very savvy way, i think the whole time he knew what he was going to do against this Australia team, and as we heard from Balgan after the game,
00:19:07
Speaker
this wasn't a plan B. This is just another way they can attack a team like this by putting two strikers against a three or a five-man back line to get him deep, to wear him down, to push him around. So to me, and this might not hit as hard because we don't have as much of a of a football fan base in in our audience, but when I was talking about it during a couple of things I did with Fox was this is their eye formation This is the power I. This is when they're going to have to go head-to-head and out physical an opponent and push back against against size. And when you know you have a a deep block and maybe you have the necessity to occupy more space. And and you saw it throughout this game where, you know, it it wasn't as flashy. it wasn't as brilliant as that that first game against Paraguay. You lost some dynamism. You lost a little finesse. You didn't have top shelf finishes.
00:20:10
Speaker
But what you did do, and I love that you did it, You imposed your will and you beat this Australia team into submission. And that's a gear that i didn't know this team had and that now you can shift into if you need to. Look, I've said it before this tournament. There's going to be times where if this U.S. men's national team is going to go far, they're going to have to be bullies. And that's what they did. They bullied the Aussies for the majority of that game.
00:20:41
Speaker
So to me, it was brilliant. I thought that the two-striker formation was great. I thought that you pushed around Sutter. I thought that you really wore down that the defense.
00:20:55
Speaker
ah The goals that you did get were out of a second effort, a second shift. They're pushing numbers forward. I thought that at times, right, when they were in possession, it was like a 3-5-2 with an inverted triangle in the middle where Adams would stay. And you'd have two cams still. And you had that creativity come up.
00:21:15
Speaker
I thought Tillman was ah phenomenal in this game. McKinney, ah same way. He added some of that, not just creativity, but the way he makes runs into space, the way he opens up lanes for for his team. I thought Jetta was good. Des wasn't as good as ah he's been in other times, but all of it, it was more of a collective unit performance.
00:21:37
Speaker
And was led by my men of the match, which, ends up being Alex
Player Highlights and VAR Impact
00:21:42
Speaker
Freeman, right? He basically embodies this sort of package. He bullied the hell out of everybody in that in that field. Even at the end of the first half, he just looks down on a player, he shoves them off, and there's like a little scrum there where you know players try to come up because he he was just bullying this Australian team. So I love...
00:22:04
Speaker
What Pochettino did, I think he surprised all of us. I thought that he always knew what he was going to do. The team knew what he was going to do. And he kept dangling Pulisic around to make us think that he was going to continue to use the exam exact same tactics that he used against Paraguay. And then he didn't. And by the time this Australian team knew what hit him, they were down 2-0 at half. and And the game was over after that, right?
00:22:29
Speaker
Obviously, we can talk about that a little bit later. You know, there was some questionable calls there. from the Australia team in terms of their starting lineup. But overall, I thought that Pochettino was great, and that the two-striker setup worked perfectly.
00:22:43
Speaker
Yeah, no, Pochettino is just absolutely cooking right now. Reese says he would have thought Poch was a good manager. Not really me at the start of his tenure. ah You know, I had a lot to say about Pochettino when the results weren't going well. So when I'm looking at it like ah like this, and he's – He's doing stuff like this. I got to give him credit. Like, that was that was great game planning. That was great managing. On the topic of Balogun, I mean, the way that he continues to elevate this attack is very impressive, but it's also, it's just very clearly been the type of game changer for this team. Like, we all thought that a really, really good high-level striker attacking player like this could be. He's having that impact. But the thing I want to say about Balogun is, you know, the fact that he plays for this team at all is...
00:23:28
Speaker
I kind of can't believe we have a player like this and it just feels so kind of fortuitous. And, the you know, the actual story behind it is even crazier than I thought. Like, I think we all know the detail of he was technically born in Brooklyn, but then went to London a month later. And that's the only reason that he's able to play for our team. It's not like he grew up here. He was just technically born here. But it's even crazier than that. If you read the actual full story, which I did of what happened, which is that You know, I thought his parents like either lived here or here long term and then were going back to London, but they were really just on vacation while his mom was pregnant with him. And then she was so close to having the baby that when she went, they went to the airport to get on their flight to go back to London. And the airport security was like,
00:24:15
Speaker
you you can't you're when you can't get on this plane. going have to have the baby. And then then you can fly back to London. And they're like, okay. So they stayed in New York and they had Fuller and Balogun and then went back to London. but But my point with that is I just want to say shout out to the airport staff that day because they changed the history of us soccer forever.
00:24:35
Speaker
Because if you just think about the butterfly effect with that decision that they made at the airport, that really our team, I don't think would be playing this well if they had not done that. So it's just, it's kind of crazy. The the sort of fork in the road moments with this stuff sometimes, because now this man is leading our country to potential world cup, Glory when really it's just it's a one in a million chance that he would even be playing for this team So I just think that's kind of crazy. Uh, Nico moment of the match. You met you mentioned ah Alex Freeman as your man of the match I can't argue with that pick ah but my the I think the craziest moment of the match was ah When they announced the var overturn of his goal And the whole crowd went crazy and the team celebration was even more I think
00:25:23
Speaker
euphoric than your usual World Cup goal celebration because you could tell I think anytime a defender it's it's a soccer player thing that anytime a defender who doesn't necessarily score a lot of goals scores a goal you got to celebrate like remember how ah they used to celebrate Roman Torres is goals yeah even just rowdier than the, anytime a defender scores, you've got to do it up. But the combination of the VAR overturn with the fact that it was Alex Freeman who doesn't score that much and who all the guys on the team, they clearly have like a special affinity for, for them to celebrate that moment with him in the way that they did.
00:25:55
Speaker
It was awesome. But also just the pop of the crowd noise when the ref made that announcement, that was one of the loudest I've ever heard Lumen Field for sure. It was insane. And it also... ah That was a point for the pro VAR crowd, I think, Nico, because look, i we've been i think we've all been frustrated with how VAR has been deployed and implemented at times in MLS this season. And there's been these delays that I've been complaining about that we've all been complaining about. And there is also the element of
00:26:25
Speaker
you don't get to celebrate a goal in the moment as much as you used to, because you're always looking for, okay, is it going to get waved off? Do we have to do a 27 minute delay? But in this case, number one, he is so incredibly egregiously, unbelievably on side on that play. There's just no way anyone can tell me that we don't need a system where When you have a situation like that where it's a clearly good goal and the ref just missed the call, to me it's just beyond obvious, not even debatable that you have to you have to have a mechanism to reverse that call. That is a good goal all day long. It is not even close to offside. What clearly happened is the ref mistook Freeman for Balogun on that play because Balogun was slightly offside. He raised the flag on Balogun, but it wasn't Balogun who scored the goal. It was Freeman who was onside. So that's ah that's one point. But then also just the, that moment, honestly, i think the crowd popped harder with the VAR overturn than it might've even if the, if the AR hadn't raised the flag on that play. I think it almost added to the moment that everyone was, there was the, oh, he scored. Oh, it's offside. Wait a minute. No, he's not.
00:27:32
Speaker
Yeah, it's a goal. It was just a great sequence and it was a lot of fun. Nico, anything else on the Freeman goal or just the USMNT's performance in general? And then we can talk about some Christian Roldahan.
00:27:45
Speaker
All I want to say is Alex Freeman, take a bow, young man, because you were absolutely lights out. And it wasn't just the savviness, the effort of chasing down a deflected shot from Serginio Dest, putting your body on the line and getting in a header.
00:28:06
Speaker
staying on site prior to that shot, getting the goal, but it was his overall performance, man. I mean, 11 defensive contributions, 91 touches on the ball, positive dribbling. The guy won ah one the percentage on all his duels, both aerial and and on on the ball. I thought that he truly was that that the...
00:28:32
Speaker
Chris Richel was the anchor, but the the enforcer in the game was Freeman. And he did it with the ball. He did it without the ball. He's not going to be a Villarreal long. I mean, he is one of the best players in this tournament, one of the best young players.
00:28:48
Speaker
And it's insane that we're talking about that. a player that just arrived in La Liga that wasn't necessarily a guy that in Orlando was getting a whole bunch of plays. Prior to him finally having his breakout year, ah thought it was phenomenal that Pochettino gave Oscar Pereja his flowers for developing some of the attributes of this player.
00:29:10
Speaker
i mean, he was talked out by Pochettino. Rightfully so, as one of the best defenders in the world, potentially that he could be, he could become that. And I absolutely agree. ah He gives this U.S. national team so many different aspects. And and ah from his position as that right center back in this formation, he he just pushes.
00:29:32
Speaker
the limitations ah of of that position. And he really puts ah the opposition into some difficult predicaments. Cause if you, if you don't push, if you don't press, or if if you don't press them, he's going continue to bring the ball He's going to push it. He has great vision. He could put the ball in a dime. I mean, he he could just do everything, get a little bit higher. He's good on set pieces. I mean, my God, ah absolutely phenomenal. What, what I've seen from, from Alex Freeman and,
00:30:00
Speaker
I don't know. ah This could potentially be the the the most talented defender that ah U.S. men's national team has ever had. so I just continue to be impressed by it. And I don't want to take anything away from Chris Richards because Richards has been in Europe ever since he was like, I don't know, 17 or something like that. I mean, the kid was basically raised in in that the cradle of the best soccer in the planet. But what Freeman has been able to do in such little time, I mean, it was unreal, right? I love that he talked about his dad afterwards as well. And, you know, he is son of a super bold champ, Antonio Freeman. And he talked about, you know, just being in the big stage and being ready for things like that because of what he's lived with his dad. Just absolutely everything about this kid is, is amazing.
00:30:51
Speaker
Yeah, shout out Alex Freeman, shout out Orlando City for developing him, to shout out Antonio Freeman, like you said. i mean, Alex Freeman was a you know young player of the year in MLS very clearly. Like you said, ah I think everyone knew his level was you know going overseas and going to Europe, but I think what he's showing is that, yeah, this guy might be headed to like a big six club or something real like that real soon. you know With any World Cup, you're going to get your breakout stars. And he certainly he is laying the foundation to be considered among those kind of breakout stars. I mean, what is he 20, 21 years old? And he's already scoring goals at the World Cup and really like kind of leaving no doubt that he's a starter on this team. It's ah it's definitely impressive to watch. Nico, let's talk about Christian Roldan and this last group stage game against Turkey a
Player Sentiments and Strategy
00:31:41
Speaker
little bit.
00:31:41
Speaker
Before we jump into that, please, everyone watching right now, we got ah we got a good healthy amount of you in here right now. Everyone, like the video, sub to the channel, follow us on all socials. Our socials are going off right now. We're grinding this World Cup coverage, so toss us a follow.
00:31:57
Speaker
ah But mainly right now, a big important thing you can do is like the video and pump us into that algorithm. yeah And we saw a lot of fans, man, at this U.S. versus Australia game, man. I saw a whole lot, and and I didn't write enough names, man. But, you know, there was a a dad and son duo that ah talked to us right before the game, to me and Jeremiah, said that they loved the coverage, loves sand our hard loved Hart, loved Lovin Scorchers.
00:32:24
Speaker
ah There was a couple of... friends that I met in the 300 level because I was I got to sit outside in the in the media tribune that they you know designed up there at the 300 levels so when he came to halftime I went to have me a little clam chowder because love me a little clam chowder and I got to just talk to a couple of people that just love the show after the game at fast fashion a bunch of audience and and and fans ah of the show so all of you all of you I I
00:32:57
Speaker
I don't have all the names. You know who you are. Thank you for following and thank you for showing up for that USA game. Yeah, Fast Fashion afterwards was ah was a lot of fun, hanging out with some of ah the other journos and media people. And like you said, having some fans come up to us. And we appreciate all you guys for for tuning in and all the support that you give us in the show every single day, every single week. All right, Nico, let's talk about Christian Roldan, our boy. ah he has yet to feature so far through these first two games, which is really – This is my this my only Pochettino complaint, all right? Pochettino, your tactics are excellent. You're a world-class manager. Brilliant. ah
00:33:41
Speaker
Fuller and Balogun, quasi-winger deployment. Oh, my God. You're a genius. But can we get Christian Roldan a minute or two? Goddamn. You got two World Cup matches that you both won pretty handily, one in his actual hometown of L.A., another in his adopted hometown of Seattle, and you don't play him on either one. You're bringing on Joe Scali or whatever on 89 minutes and and you're not giving Christian Roldan the Seattle moment. And, you know, ah it's not...
00:34:08
Speaker
in all seriousness, it's not Pochettino's job to give Christian Roldan his sentimental moment. I do think the fact that he hasn't been, it kind of shows me how sort of cutthroat Pochettino is about this stuff. You know, if Brian Schmetzer was managing this team, or if literally Berhalter, if literally anyone else was managing this team, they, I think some managers kind of see it as part of their job when you have an opportunity to,
00:34:30
Speaker
give a guy a moment he's worked for like that type situation and the game's in hand and you can feel like you can pretty comfortably comfortably do it. A lot of managers do do that. Pochettino clearly is not, he doesn't have that sentimental gene in him, which I can appreciate to one extent, but as, you know, as Seattle people, we want to see our boy get some minutes. And also ah someone made the good point of like, there was a a juncture in that game in the second half where the crowd was dragging a little bit, ah The team wasn't looking as good in possession Australia brought your and Kunda on and they were looking a little better in attack they had a couple sequences where their chance generation was actually looking like something was going on.
00:35:07
Speaker
Genuinely there could have been a strategic utility to bringing in Christian on even in the 75th or 80th minute and just juice in the can you imagine. what that crowd would have reacted like if Christian had gotten on in that game. So, you know, that's not necessarily a reason to do it. I get it. If he, if he didn't feel like it was the time to bring Christian on from a tactical perspective or whatever, I'm not going to argue with it too much, especially because he's crushing it so hard at the tournament so far, but it would be nice to Christian's got to get in a game at some point. And, you know, we were I was down at the mix zone after the game and Christian very graciously came off to the side with a few of us local people and gave a few quotes. And he was great and professional and gave us awesome quotes as always. But you could tell, man, you could tell he was a little down like he really he wanted to play in that game really badly. And I just wish he had gotten that chance, but you know, credit to him for handling it professionally and staying ready. That was his big thing was like, look, in a situation like this, it's not just me who's fighting for minutes. It's not just one person. it's not like everyone else is playing except for me. It's just, we're a lot of us are in this situation where if your number's called, you gotta just be ready. And guys already know me. I'm staying ready. I'll be ready. And I'm going to get my chance. And when I get my chance, I'm going be ready to capitalize on it. So that's everything that you want to hear.
00:36:34
Speaker
But ah it leads me to kind of the next topic, Nico, which is ah you're in a situation where as the USMNT, you've already won the group. Like you're on, you're through. ah You've got this Turkey game, which we all thought that was going to be the toughest game. And a lot was going to come down to that game. They were supposed to be the best team. They've genuinely been, have they been the most disappointing team in the entire tournament? I mean, if they're not the most disappointing team in the entire tournament, they're in the top two or three. think Ecuador for me, but yeah, i think they're up there.
00:37:05
Speaker
I think Turkey, because if you look like Turkey, yeah they they have a guy who's like on Real Madrid. They have like all these guys who are like, you would think we were talking about before the tournament. Like if you're looking at this group who has the most individual talent, the players that are playing at the highest level, their roster has just as many as the USMNT, if not more. And so the fact that, I mean, they've had kind of funny, as someone who's not invested in Turkey's success at all, they've had a pretty funny tournament. I think the stat was they pumped 60 shots. Yeah. 60 shots in two games without a goal. And then, so when you take that stat into account with just... ah
00:37:43
Speaker
Like, especially in their last game, you could see how deep it was getting into their heads and their body language was going off the rails. You had guys just screaming and pounding the grass, just like losing their minds. So they are down horrendously bad. So you're playing a team that's already considered the biggest disappointment or one of the biggest disappointments of the tournament. You've already moved on. You can afford to, you can afford to rotate a lot here. So I'll kick the question to you.
00:38:14
Speaker
How do you approach this now? If you're Pochettino, do you empty the bench entirely? Do you play a first choice 11, but then get them off earlier than you normally would just to keep everyone sharp and fit ah where we'll talk about Tyler Adams and his yellow card considerations as well. Cause there's that, you got to take that into account too. Tyler Adams is on a yellow. I mean, I would start there. i don't think Tyler should play at all in this game. Like,
00:38:38
Speaker
why would why would you play him? Like, if he gets a yellow, then he's suspended for the next game, is he not? So, like, it resets if he if he's able to make it through this. And i was at Tyler Adams McZone interview after the game, and someone asked him, like, do do you want to play in this game ah knowing that you're on this yellow card? And he was like, you're asking the wrong guy. Like, I want to play in every single game. And then they were like, well, I mean, do you think you can hold up for another game? And he was like, well, I held up today. did I not? Yeah. And they were like, well, and they were like, well, yeah, but there was a couple instances where maybe you were on the edge there. And he was like, I actually was peacemaker today. Okay. Which I thought was funny because ah how do I put this? Tyler Adams is not known for being...
00:39:24
Speaker
quiet he's not known for being a a peacemaker type and I thought it was a little funny that he called himself the peacemaker because there was a couple fouls that he committed where he was decidedly not the peacemaker but he was trying to he was trying to say like no no I'm I'm good I made it through today I can make it through another game he's campaigning to play he should not play like I don't think he should play and that opens up a door for a one Christian rolled on to not just get some minutes but maybe even start this game I don't know what do you think Nico Well, let me start ch chronologically and give you my take real quick about ah Christian not getting in. i thought that there was absolutely an opportunity for Christian to come in instead of Sebas Berhalter in that 74th minute. I agree with you. I think that there was between the 60th minute, it wasn't just a raccoon, but ah Volpato, when he came on, I thought that Australia really got some
00:40:21
Speaker
of their groove back. They were able to get the ball wider. They were able to stretch out this, ah this defense at times. They got a raccoon behind back line a couple of times. Chris Richards was great at, you know, emergency defense and didn't allow anything to happen. However, that it did kind of feel like you lost some air out of that stadium. If you,
00:40:44
Speaker
decide to go with Christian Roldan in the 74th minutes, that would have been a shot of a journalist right into the heart of that stadium. And it absolutely blows up and you regain the crowd.
00:40:56
Speaker
Not just that, but I think that if I'm up 2-0, there is no better player to come in and help you lock it down than Christian Rodin that's also defensively savvy. However, I understand that Pochettino was playing a little bit different where, as I mentioned, there was that kind of inverted triangle there with Adams staying back and both of the other, whether it was Tillman and McKinney, pushing a little bit higher. So maybe that's where you go with Berhalter.
00:41:21
Speaker
But it didn't work. Berhalter came in. He was cold. He was inconsequential. He had a bad pass. the He telegraphed and not just telegraphed, but had no pace in it. He gets intercepted for a bad turnover. So, yes, I thought that um opportunity was missed. I would have loved to see k Christian Roldan go in. We talked to him prior to the game as well. And, and you know, I asked him,
00:41:44
Speaker
how How would he fight that battle of, I want to play because I'm at home, but then I also know that I'm a team first guy. And he's like, look, I'm a winner. I want to win. So if winning a game means that I'm not going to go in, then I'm fine with it. And I thought that that was a phenomenal answer. So...
00:42:01
Speaker
it's human nature to feel down because you wanted to be there for the 20 people that apparently he got into that game, 20 tickets. He said he purchased for friends and family. So, you know, I'm sure that he wanted them to see him get into that, that field. ah But I didn't love that from Pochettino. We, like you said, it's kind of hard to harp on that when he had such a good successful strategy throughout the game. Um,
00:42:30
Speaker
Now, how do you handle the next game? It's a little bit more complicated than in previous World Cups because you have almost almost two weeks or or or a week and a little bit. yeah yeah I think it's like ah it's almost like a week, week and a little bit between games. So if you decide not to play a player,
00:42:53
Speaker
you know he's going to have a a significant amount of time off, really competitive minutes. And I know that Pochettino likes repetition. He is trying to continue to build this team to not lose the momentum that they have and be important to him. But to me, tim me it is more important to make sure that regardless of the of the third place team that you get in the knockout state, you have Tyler Adams and you have, I think Anthony Robinson is another player that has, ah that is close in yellows. And I think Chris Richards is the other player. So those guys, you need to figure out a way to either rotate them and you trust some of that depth or you playing 45 with some real good guidance and say, look, man,
00:43:45
Speaker
If you got to let a go-go, let a go-go. I don't know. I don't know how you tell a player. I mean, it's just difficult to play with fire because if you do get that yellow and there's no Chris Richards for that playoff stage, I mean, i would not feel good about that at
USMNT Group Stage Success
00:43:59
Speaker
all. At all.
00:44:00
Speaker
So... It's going to be of a risk reward for this team and what Pochettino decides to do. But in terms of at least Tyler Adams, he's been so good. he I think he leads all midfielders in um recoveries and defensive contributions and things of that nature. Statistically, he's been excellent. So I would absolutely take him off in a specific game. And, you know, trust your guys. I mean, you could play ah Tillman and and and Christian there that who, you know, he's got no minutes. He's rested. He could do well. And look, Berhalter has not looked good. So I would be more comfortable with with Rodan just being the only other six that you have in this grouping. So he'd be the natural rotating player for Tyler Adams. So, yes, I would absolutely do that and and hope that they can hold on. And
00:44:55
Speaker
Pochettino has had trust in this team and those players. So this is a time to show it. All the guys on yellows, Tyler, Jedi, Chris Richards, I just think you got to be you got you got to be smart about this man like you because to be clear like if you reach the accumulation amount in the group stage you are suspended for the first knockout round game it's not like a it's not like a reset where if you get the last yellow in the last game it resets and you're good now like if Tyler Adams gets a yellow card in this game. He is out for the game after that. So I understand like he's going to be, ah he's going to be given a stump speech in Pochettino's office.
00:45:36
Speaker
He's going to be campaigning. Sometimes you got to save a player from themselves. And you know, I'm proud of Tyler Adams for making it through this Australia game without getting that yellow. He did a great job doing that. Can he do that for another 90 minutes?
00:45:50
Speaker
i You know, God love him. I'm just not sure that he's capable of doing that. So it's just ah like this is this is the benefit of winning your group after two games is you can have a little more flexibility with stuff like this. If it was like 22 where you're fighting for your life, trying to get out of the group on the last day, you wouldn't have that luxury. They would all have to be out there no matter what. And then you have to let the chips fall where they may. In this situation, you really don't have to do that. You can be tactical about it. And yeah, do you run the risk of uh sapping your momentum a little bit if say you put out a kind of reserve heavy lineup and it doesn't perform as well and then you get this disappointing turkey team that's already out of it pretty much and then they put a 3-1 on yours on your backups and you're going through but it's a little bit of a more sour result than like the vibes which are incredible right now yeah you do run that risk but uh it's a hard decision but i think you just
00:46:43
Speaker
Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, and Jedi, all three of those guys are so important to this team. I think you just, you gotta be smart about it. One um one one more nugget, Nico, from the mix zone with Christian. Did you catch this? He said that several of his USMNT teammates actually enjoyed Seattle so much that he was basically, you know, the Seattle guy, all everyone on the team was like, Hey, tell us what's up with this. where So like he was basically the liaison. And he said that several USMNT teammates spoke to him about potentially playing in Seattle one day, which when he said that I went,
00:47:20
Speaker
Okay. You have my attention. You have my attention, Christian. I don't know. You're breaking news right now. Fab's Romano on the mic in the mix zone. But so real quick though, we can just, who are the obvious candidates for you who you think was talking to him about playing in Seattle? Like who do you think it was? And then who, who do you want it to be? Like who would be the dream guy on this roster ah to come play in Seattle either after the world cup or just like later in their careers?
00:47:48
Speaker
Ooh, that's a tough question ah with how their, you know, careers are kind of shifting and maybe the age component. ah i want to go McKinney. ah You know, I would love that.
00:48:02
Speaker
God, i would love that. Yeah, McKinney could be a guy that he could be your tenure. I mean, he could go ahead and and take over that that that role. Obviously, everybody would want like a Bolligan or a Ricardo Pepe, but I just don't think that right now. I like to dream, but I like to keep it you know somewhat realistic in terms of where they are in their career. So, yeah, I'll stick with McKinney.
00:48:26
Speaker
I think that's a great shout. And, you know we haven't really talked about Weston that much on this show, but he's another guy who's really been showing out in this tournament. His versatility, man is so impressive. He genuinely plays every position on the entire field. Like actually i and he's been doing that for this team for pretty much the entire time he's been getting capped. And so there's a reason why he's considered one of our best players. But if you just look at how he's playing in this tournament, I mean, you, you see him pop up everywhere. You see him popping out wide. You see him popping up as a 10. He's playing as a six and eight at the same time, both sides of the field. Like he's just, he's killing it. And he like, he definitely feels like he's got that, like Brian Schmetzer would freaking love West Yes. oh i Can you imagine Schmetz getting that kind of Swiss army knife to deploy in this system? Because ah what Weston's like, he reminds me of Christian a little bit in that way, but he's like little more physically dynamic, maybe a little more like... More attacking minded. More attacking minded. Yeah. So that would be a hell of a ah double pivot or really. I mean, that's the that's kind of the beauty of Weston is you can kind of put him anywhere. So that would be sick. Serginio Dest is another one. I would take that guy on my team any day. Really either of the fullbacks. I think the fullbacks on our team are incredible. So but that was just the fact that.
00:49:52
Speaker
even if none of these guys ever come to Seattle, the fact that they were, there were multiple guys on the team that were saying that to Christian, like, damn, you play here every year. Like, oh man, that sounds nice, man. I might want to do that one day. I think that that says a lot that speaks to the, ah the vibes, but also the soccer scene. And just like the fact that it's not kind of just us as fans, who see it, but it rubbed off on the players as well. It left an imprint on them. And I actually, you know, those mixed zones are crazy. You're fighting to get your questions in. But I was able to, my postgame story was about the Seattle atmosphere. And I was able to ask Tyler Adams about, know,
00:50:30
Speaker
ah the atmosphere at the stadium and he's he was he couldn't rave enough about it he said it was incredible and all the players talked about how that kind of energy and that crowd noise and that environment it genuinely it makes a difference in the game and again I think you are really you're really seeing that home field advantage pay off in a situation like this like even more than I thought it would but uh Nico anything else on uh on Christian or the USMNT before we talk some other World Cup storylines to uh hit the home stretch of the show here this morning?
00:51:02
Speaker
No, I think that's that's about it. i Maybe just a couple of the things that I do hope that um these things can do better and it's just being more clinical, man. I mean, I thought that this one should have been a 4-0 affair at the very least. You know, Balligan, as good as he was, he gets that breakaway, you know, 10 minutes into the second half and is unable to finish. I thought Hadjirai came in and had the right idea. But, you know, he wasn't as clinical as I wanted him to be. So, you know, some of the substitutions, I hope, that coming off the bench, they could be ah more impactful going into games, close him down a lot more. um and And the final thing, that there's been a lot of
00:51:50
Speaker
a lot of time spent talking about, you know, that half of the second half where, Australia kind of came back on you and and they took the ball away from you and they really pinned you down for, i don't know, eight, nine, 10 minutes.
00:52:07
Speaker
I think that's good that that that you're you're able to, whenever the, you know, we hear from Brian's metal at the end of the ebbs and flows of a game, when when things kind of fall apart and you made some substitutions and that it it wasn't quite feeling the same and you got a little bit disorganized and Australia brought on their, their quick guys. And maybe that's the way that, um,
00:52:31
Speaker
Popovic side come in in in a way that he was going to be able to bring these two guys on tire legs and be able to kind of break down the game that way. And that you were able to defend and observe pressure. And look, ah Matt Freeze was never really challenged necessarily. Yes, they put some pressure on you. Yeah, they pin you back. But I think that those sort of things when at times you're going to have to rub a dope in in in this tournament and having that ability, that character to defend. And, and you know, Chris Richards was just unbelievable all over the field. did Just with his size, just being able to,
00:53:08
Speaker
clear chances and and and all of these things that that really came through in those 10 minutes, I think that that's great. All those things are battle testing moments that this year's national team is going to need. So for all of those who were talking mess, for lack of a better word, and, you know, we like why is Nico saying that, you know, maybe semifinals should be the objective for this team? And, you know, why is he so sure that they're to go so deep?
00:53:35
Speaker
This is why. This is exactly why being at home with your golden generation, being able to get in, starting off the the tournament with that big win. I mean, you have to dream. You have to push this team to hopefully get that far. It's anyone's game in this World Cup. We've seen...
00:53:55
Speaker
Time and time again, Uruguay drawing in Spain. Obviously, they came back there in the second game against the Leicester team. Belgium doesn't look great. yeah I mean, at this point, you might play Egypt out of all the teams. They might take the group. Egypt might take that that group, and and maybe you face Egypt ah instead of Belgium at some point in this tournament. So, look, I just think that this is – the the The bottom line is at least getting to the round of 16. I think that you should get beyond that, of course. And the semifinals, to me, are in the crosshairs. I mean, I see it.
00:54:35
Speaker
Everybody in chats saying that the Sounders are too broke to get anyone from the USMNT. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know that. All right. It's about it's about dreaming. OK, it's about hoping and dreaming. We all know what the situation is. I got a good nine dollars in my wallet. ah oh yeah I'll pitch in.
00:54:54
Speaker
Low Tam Weston McKinney on low Tam. Come on now. Like you, you make the pitch, you get to come play here. You'll get endorsements. It's fine. Yeah. You can be broken and make the pitch. So ah James coming in with the $2. Thank you, James. Appreciate the support as always, man. I think this is for you, Nico. Cause I'm not quite sure what he's talking about. He says truth to the Kami Devlin rumor. Any other rumors? We're talking Seattle transfer rumors here, I believe.
00:55:18
Speaker
ah Could you repeat that? Cammy Devlin rumor is... ah I have not heard of that. okay I have not heard of that rumor at all. I do have some names and that doesn't ring a bell. So it looks like he's a a defensive midfielder for Scottish Premiership Club. heart Oh, yes, I did hear that one. ah i Again, i ah First, I responded to that rumor and I said that I had not made any calls and it didn't seem to fit what the team was looking for. I ah did make some calls and I did not hear a positive respond on it. They just they thought he was an interesting guy, but i I did not find any information that would lead me to believe that they're really going after this guy. So, yeah.
00:56:02
Speaker
There are some fun things, though, that I'm working on. Oh, not fun. Interesting, depending on how they play out. So I'm out there. I'm out there. i i'm um I'm getting some stuff on on the background.
00:56:13
Speaker
Came from the Daily Record in Scotland. Oh, OK. OK. Yeah. God, God, I can't wait to get back to the to the Craig Weibel transfer rumor discourse and in full force. You know, we're only a few weeks away. We're in we're in a World Cup fantasy land right now, but rest assured there will be there'll be plenty of that as we get closer to the resumption of the Major League Soccer season. All right, Nico, let's let's keep it pushing. We got a about 15, 20 minutes show of show left here – This edition of Lobbing
International Team Performances
00:56:44
Speaker
Scorchers kickoff. Thank you all, as always, for tuning in. If you have not done so yet, please like the video, sub to the channel, like, comment, subscribe, rate five stars, follow us on all socials and get your subscription to QED Coffee, lobbingscorchers.com slash coffee. All right, Nico, let's ah let's talk about the rest of the World Cup a little bit, where things stand. The first topic I had written down here was just Canada's.
00:57:07
Speaker
turn around So we can start with that and go from there. i mean, ah so after Canada's first game, one one against Bosnia, i was ah I was looking at the Canadians and Jesse Marsh, and ah you know I didn't think that they were chalked or anything based off a 1-1 against Bosnia. i've been I've been the Bosnia guy, so I wasn't surprised that those guys managed to take a result in that situation. But it just felt like they didn't really have it going on on offense at all. Like, they get a pretty lucky goal from Kyle Lahren. No, okay. All right.
00:57:39
Speaker
Wasn't a lucky goal. it was very nice goal, but it was not like it was not like they were on top of Bosnia pumping crazy chances and ratcheting up the XG. And then they got one to break through. It kind of felt like it came from nowhere is what I'm saying. So I thought, i mean, you and I both, we were talking about it. We were not very high on on Canada after that first game, but then they come out and they big.
00:58:00
Speaker
beat the absolute daylights out of Qatar six zero at BC place. And it did feel like a little bit of a statement like, no, that first game was not it. That was not us. This is, this is the Canada that we are now. And, uh, they really, uh, they, they took it to Qatar. Uh, but they also did, they were dealt a huge injury blow with Ismael Kone,
00:58:25
Speaker
gruesome, horrible leg injury. We wish him all the best. Obviously that was, uh, that was tough to watch this bit. Like he had, he was really looking like he could be on a breakout trajectory as well. So you just feel for him, but it really, that, that kind of shocks the stadium. And it really it felt like it was going to take the luster off a big result for them. But then credit credit to the Canadians, because they kind of turned it into a galvanizing moment where they rallied around Kone. They get after their fourth goal. I believe, you know, you have ah Nathan Saliba holding up the jersey and everything. And now after the game, all the players are talking about, we're going to do it for Ismael Kone. The prime minister came back there and gave him a speech about that.
00:59:06
Speaker
So they looked a lot better. And I think I, you know, I feel better for Canada's stock after it. i will say, though, that Qatar's performance in that game was one of the clowningest showings that any team has had so far. They get two red cards, including on the one where Kone breaks his leg. And I'm not, the guy did clear. He didn't do it on purpose. You could tell he, he felt horrible. he felt genuinely bad. You can't really fake a reaction like he had. So I fully believe that he did not mean to do that. But it's also the kind of challenge that you make when you're just the frustration of you getting the your the brakes beaten off you. Once that sets in, that frustration sets in, that's when you make dumb challenges like that. And in this case, he ends up breaking the guy's leg. So fully more than deserved.
00:59:57
Speaker
Red card. And it's just like, you had already gotten a red card earlier in the game. You're melting down entirely. Like, what are we, what are we doing out here, boys? We're finishing this match with nine men and causing major leg injuries. And then Jesse Marsh after the game was really pissed because,
01:00:14
Speaker
The Qatar bench was like coming at the Canadian players. And it's like, you guys just broke a man's leg. So why are you the ones who are heated in this situation? I don't know. I just thought that whole showing from Qatar was like, can we get these guys off the field right now? This is just like, this is giving me inner Miami post leagues cup final vibes right now. with the type of stuff that's going on except in this case they actually snapped cone's leg in half so uh real quick nico what do you think about canada do you do think the 6-0 on qatar is like a big turnaround and they're they're back and they're ready to make a run or do you think that was more they caught in opposition that was just low key high key melting down yeah no i'm i'm not hiring them at all uh and there's just no hate because this six zero completely kills my hot take of them getting grouped
01:01:00
Speaker
But I really do think that soccer is very circumstantial. ah They lost their first guy in the 33rd minute. then later in the 50-plus minute.
01:01:12
Speaker
And in South America, we have a saying, typically for the 5-0, but it's, I'd rather my team win five games 1-0 than one game 5-0. And that's because a lot of times you would kind of get really high off of a victory of this degree. And then the next game, you can't score anything. I think that Qatar was already a limited team. I thought that they were...
01:01:37
Speaker
Not lucky, but they they work hard to equalize the game against Switzerland in the final minute of of a set piece. So I never really saw much from them. So when you add their limitations, plus two guys off the field, and some of the more fortunate plays that Canada had, i think that it's very easy to just...
01:02:02
Speaker
Gain a whole lot of goals on the team that's down and and and the the game's already over with. So I'm i'm not huge on it. I think strikers need confidence. And I think Kyle Lahren is a guy that um
01:02:19
Speaker
does give this team a lot more gold than they had before. You saw him not starting the first game and the difference he made as soon as he he got on the field. But I'm still not...
01:02:31
Speaker
and in you know high on this team. I think they have their toughest game against Switzerland coming up. how How that plays out, I think Switzerland is going to be the the better squad. um Collectively, to me, they're just very predictable. And I think that they do lack a lot of um recovery in their midfield. So,
01:02:54
Speaker
so All that to say, six zero is good. You get four points, and that basically puts you in the next round. How far will this team get?
01:03:05
Speaker
i don't think that they'll get beyond the the the next stage of of the tournament. And, yes, I think that the Ismael Kone injury, it's pretty devastating, not just for him as a player, but for what Deshimars pretends to do with his lineup and Dixie.
01:03:23
Speaker
ah As I've already mentioned, I think midfield is real light, real thin for this Canadian team. So all that to say, i don't think they're going to go very far. Nico, let's hit a couple things from chat here. We got some good points. Reese brings up, we forgot to mention this. Obed Vargas, World Cup appearance. Gets on the field for Mexico.
01:03:42
Speaker
Congrats to Obed. Nico, I saw that it happened and i I watched a little bit of it, but I admittedly wasn't like super, super locked in. How much of the Obed cameo were you able to catch in? Is there anything you can tell us about how he actually played? Aside from that, he is now a World Cup capped player.
01:04:01
Speaker
I thought he brought a lot of energy. I thought that he should have came on sooner. El Vasco Aguirre has been... heavily criticized for the lack of minutes that Mora and Obed have, have gotten mainly Mora. Cause he's like the golden kid from yeah the media standpoint. But I think that Obed is a lot more ready to actually make a difference on the field. Mexico gets lucky to be quite frank on, on a goal that the Korean goalkeeper just drops in front of Romo and he puts it in the back of the net.
01:04:38
Speaker
As expected, this Mexican team is not visually pleasing. They are very defensive. They're pragmatic. ah They don't create a lot of chances. There was a point in the game where Korea just kind of took the ball from them, to be quite honest. Not very purposeful with possession, but Mexico was more than fine playing against Serrano play. So um I thought that...
01:05:04
Speaker
Ovid Vargas gave you that dual threat on midfield that right now is not very evident from this um Mexican team. This Mexican team had to play with Edson Alvarez at center back because... um and Cesar Huerta?
01:05:24
Speaker
No, no. El Cachorro, the defender, ended up getting ah sent off in in the first game against South Africa. So I think that should have given an opening for a guy like Obed to get in the field a lot sooner. But I thought he played great.
01:05:42
Speaker
Chip says, Obed nearly scored a Galazzo. Keeper made a great save. its like let's let's Let's keep getting ah getting him out there. let's Let's keep getting Obed out there. Let's give Christian Rodon some minutes. Let's placate us Seattle people out here. all right we're We're working hard hosting the damn tournament. all right propelling Propelling the Yanks to World Cup glory. so The least you can do is Mexico, give Obed Vargas some minutes. and Poach, you're doing a great job. No notes except Let's get Christian Roldan some run. You won the group already. Let's ah throw us a bone, man. Come on. Yeah. And it was Cesar Montes, the center back.
01:06:20
Speaker
My apologies. is I have so many games all in one. Yeah. brain They're starting. They're starting to cross. But yes, it's Cesar Montes who had the red card against South Africa. And that's what that's an office had to play their center back. But yeah, Ovid did have that opportunity. i thought that he was great, man. I mean, I really do think he's a guy that should get more minutes.
01:06:39
Speaker
ah Here's a good ah would you rather from Seamus Nolan. Who would you rather have, Jonathan David or Fuller in Baligan? That's kind of a tough one, but ah man. Baligan, no doubt for me.
01:06:51
Speaker
Yeah, actually, i'm pretty clear Baligan there. i know Jonathan David looked really good in ah in this Qatar game against the ah Crash Out Red Card boys, but he was actually really, really bad against Bosnia. Yeah.
01:07:05
Speaker
bad he had a He hasn't been great for his club either. so no no he he was bad against bosnia in a way that was like i haven't seen ballogan have a honker like that in
01:07:20
Speaker
Nico, I got the World Cup group stage stage standings up in front of me right now. Anything else stand out to you? I mean, you got Mexico and South Korea atop Group a Canada and Switzerland are duking it out at the top of Group B, but you got Bosnia in there that they're going to try and make a a push when they play guitar in Seattle coming up on Wednesday, actually. So that's that's coming right up. ah Brazil and Morocco look pretty good in Group C. The U.S. has already won Group D.
01:07:50
Speaker
yeah You got Germany and the Ivory Coast. I think Group E is pretty interesting because ah Ecuador, like you mentioned earlier, Ecuador was considered a team that could make noise in this tournament. You know, they got Saicedo. They got some guys. They're considered an up-and-coming team. And they've they've been really disappointing. When I when i like think about the biggest disappointments, Turkey, Ecuador, Tunisia has obviously been horrible. Belgium has been a pretty big disappointment. Yeah.
01:08:18
Speaker
I think those are the big ones that come to mind to me. But is ah anything Croatia has been pretty disappointing? Uruguay has been disappointing, man. I mean, the Uruguayan fans are having meltdowns calling for Maestro Bielsa's head ah because of how poor they have been. And look, Cabo Berte, man, that that is the...
01:08:39
Speaker
the story of of this tournament, man, they have been so good. That 2-2 draw was, was a real 2-2 draw. It wasn't like the first game where you just held on for the other life. They took it to him. Now, yes, there was mistakes made on that free kick, poorly set up um wall, whatever you want. that There's also a mistake on on the goalkeeper side for that equalizer, buck however the but come on, man, just taking it to Uruguay, uh, uh,
01:09:07
Speaker
you know legendary nation of soccer. It's it's incredible, man. So that that group is is fascinating to me because Cabo Verde could very well get in a second place. you know Spain, they're not going to take it easy on Uruguay. They're going to want to put it down. And and if Uruguay loses big, man, and Cabo Verde wins, man, it's wrap.
01:09:32
Speaker
Cabo Verde is definitely the, ah I think, ah that's how I've been pronouncing it. i don't I'm not actually sure on that. Cabo Verde has been ah that definitely the underdog Cinderella story of the tournament. And like you mentioned, the the first game against Spain, you could say, all right, they were Ramsey-ing their brains out, and then Vozinha had the most... least genuinely the most legendary goalkeeping performance maybe in the history of the game. Like, I don't know that when they're, when they're looking back on this sport, like the era of this sport, a hundred years from now, that was union game is going to be watched back as like,
01:10:05
Speaker
the all time clinic of just standing on your head, dominant goalkeeping, considering the stakes and the opponent and all that. But this, this, ah this last game against Uruguay, they scored two goals. They played them straight up for portions of that game.
01:10:22
Speaker
And man, I really hope that they make it out of the group just because you you need a fun Cinderella in tournaments like this. But also the just the Vosinha storyline is so good how his mom was not able to go to the to the first game because she couldn't get the visa or the passport or whatever. But there was all this like.
01:10:40
Speaker
fan support and government intervention to actually get her to the game in Miami. So she actually got to watch them tie Uruguay and see Bozina do his thing. He's up 15 million plus whatever Instagram follows. So the whole world's getting in on this Cinderella run. And that's it's just one of those things like there's so much about the World Cup outside of just getting to watch the best players in the world. It's it's storylines like this. It's games like this that come out of absolute nowhere. Did anyone did anyone on on this side of the world know who Vosinha was before this tournament?
01:11:16
Speaker
No. there was I didn't. you know I mean, he's been grinding in Cyprus for like six years. He's playing in the Portuguese second division, and now he's like one of the faces of the tournament so far. So, yeah, legacy matches, man. It's ah it's a lot of fun. Yeah, I think if I had to rank him, I think I'd go – I go Belgium as the the biggest disappointment just because this was supposed to be the passing of the torch, you know, to Jeremy Doku, to Ketelare. You know, Trosser was supposed to be better than he has been. ah Obviously, Courtois in the back. I mean, you this team was pretty solid. You thought that they were going to maybe not go as far as they've been in prior World Cups, but they were going to get pretty far and that they were going to be the the the lead of the group without a doubt. Now, after the first game, and I said this, you know, on live TV, I thought that Egypt showed me that they could win this group and it might've sounded hyperbolic at the time, but man, this Egypt team is, they just showed so much grit and and they have, you know,
01:12:22
Speaker
a lot of cohesiveness in their play. So, man, that's been my biggest one. And second to Belgium to me is Ecuador. And and that's only because Ecuador was second in Comebol. I mean, that they were above Brazil, above Colombia. I mean, they have a guy like Pacho from PSG. They have Caicedo. I mean, there is premier talent in every single line. Incapié, I mean, Stupillan, there are just so many really good players in this team that it's hard to watch them not score at all.
01:12:54
Speaker
And against Curacao, you can't score against Curacao. And not just with Curacao, because Curacao, they really brought it, but the expectation was extremely high. And yes, I know that Ecuador wasn't the most stellar team up top, at least, but that's been a disappointment for me. So for me, Belgium won, Ecuador too.
01:13:14
Speaker
There's really only a handful of teams that I could point to that look like noticeably starkly better than the U S so far. I think the Dutch have looked really good. I think Japan looked, has looked really good, especially in their last game. Like you mentioned, Egypt is having a solid run, but I don't know if they're, they've looked, I don't look at Egypt and i'm like, Oh, there's so much better than the U S I think when you, when you're looking at Spain, ah they I mean, they got shut out by Vozinha. So, they yes, they went off in their last game. Yamal found the score sheet. But it's not like they looked like the biggest world beater of all time, like Spain sometimes does. I i tend to think that the shutout against Vozinha and Capovard was...
01:13:56
Speaker
Probably kind of an outlier type of situation, you know, where a goalkeeper was just going crazy. But still, like that is, I think, of note that they had a performance like that.
01:14:06
Speaker
ah Norway and France in Group I both look really good. Holland looks possessed and Mbappe looks possessed. So I would say either of those two games, if they say the U.S. was playing them, I'd be like, OK, and that's how how is Tim Ream going to do against Erling Holland? I'm not sure about that. You know, maybe maybe better than I would think. but it's at least something to think about. And then, you know, as you get down into it, ah Argentina, well we'll see what they do. They're playing in a little bit here, but Messi looks, he's in one, he's in his flow state right now, which is just not good for everyone else.
01:14:42
Speaker
That would be a tough matchup, needless to say. ah And then, you know, you got, ah well, let's let's talk about Colombia, but you got England and Ghana in group L who, you England looked really good, but yeah it's it's England, man. you know they're go they We know that England is going to find some way to mess this up. They are going to find some way to mess this up, and it could be against the United States if it comes to it. We'll see. But ah Nico, nikco give us the your Columbia takes on that 3-1 because that was
01:15:13
Speaker
I felt like maybe not as convincing of a performance or result as the scoreline, but it was a three one and it looked like a lot of fun for the fans that were there. yeah USA England will be glorious in America. And with this current teams, I mean, it'd be phenomenal. um Columbia.
01:15:35
Speaker
Columbia started off the game little nerve-wracked. I think that the the that the team was a little bit cold. I think that Uzbekistan, for as limited as they are on the attacking end, thought that we all knew that they were going to have the Cannavaro style of play. They played with a deep block. They were going to make things difficult for Columbia. After Columbia was too passive and not enough movement, they ah Very flat-footed, at least in in in the first half. I thought James Rodriguez did not have a good game at all. ah
01:16:09
Speaker
We've all said that once James puts that... Kid, that Colombian kid, he just turns into a whole other man. He did not necessarily look it in this particular game. So i'm a little bit concerned. Suarez had a phenomenal season in Portugal, but he also didn't look great. I thought that the changes that came on were excellent. Kucho Hernandez was just so good. That third goal encapsulates the way he came on to that game and just gritty and on the ball and
01:16:40
Speaker
the size difference of a guy that's like 5'9 to, you know, the defender that he takes the ball away from. at thought Campas was phenomenal, man. This 21-year-old, you know, winger, he's just so good on the ball. He gets that that that last goal. So, Colombia definitely.
01:16:57
Speaker
The scoreline does not necessarily reflect any sort of dominance from Colombia because I thought that they struggled to start off the game. ah They allow a very naive defending goal ah for that equalizer or the the two Yeah, the equalizer. And then finally, Colombia gets on that that that. They get the 2-1 lead and eventually the 3-1 lead. But it was more difficult that than you would have thought. So Néstor Lorenzo has a lot of thinking to do and trying to figure out how to start differently. with the high intensity that let's say a U.S. Miss national team has started with, that is important for these games. They're going to play a Congo team that just drew Portugal and that, you know, they put Portugal into some predicaments. They did not allow a, you know, Cristiano Ronaldo that looked very poor in in that game. why he did look he he did not look good at all, at all. And I'm i'm not a Cristiano Ronaldo guy, but still it's kind of hard to watch him play like this. So,
01:17:59
Speaker
What happens Tuesday tomorrow against Congo is really going to reflect what adjustments Colombia was able to make. I think that they have a very good midfield. I think that they can create a lot of chances. You have to get Luis Diaz more involved. He's your best player. But yeah, Colombia looked a little shaky, but you know they get that the 3-1 win. They get the scoreline, and hopefully they get some confidence and some of those nerves off.
World Cup Coverage Enthusiasm
01:18:23
Speaker
All right, Nico, we are just about out of time for this episode of Lobbing Scorchers kickoff here this morning. i got to run. So let's call it right there. But ah thank you all, as always, so much for tuning in. We appreciate the support as always. And I'm not going to lie to you guys.
01:18:37
Speaker
I wasn't really sure what to expect from ah covering the World Cup. It's the first time I've ever actually gotten to cover a World Cup. And I'm having the time of my freaking life. covering this thing, getting to go to all the games and having the creds and all that. It's just been a great experience and it would not be as great in of an experience without ah without our audience, without all you guys tuning in, engaging with the content. And we're going to keep grinding our asses off on this content. We're seeing a lot of, ah it's kind of crazy, honestly. um It's starting to hit me how much of a broader audience we're able to hit
01:19:17
Speaker
covering the World Cup compared to our normal niche. I mean, when you look at our analytics and the numbers that we're putting up on some of our social posts, it's just a different ballgame. So but that that's got ah that's got us all motivated, I think, to keep sweating this thing, keep covering it as much as we can. So we'll be back at it this week. I'm going to be at the Bosnia game.
01:19:35
Speaker
On Wednesday, I'll let you guys know what's going on with that. I think Noah and I will probably lay down a podcast later in the week. And if if it's appropriate or I'm really fiending, maybe fire up a live stream as well. So the grind don't stop. We're going to keep doing it.
01:19:52
Speaker
And hopefully you guys are enjoying it. I mean, it's been fun having this event in the city and obviously hosting the USMNT was legendary. And USMNT could very well end up back here if if we win in the round of 32.
01:20:08
Speaker
Round 16 is back here, and that's going to go freaking crazy. So can't wait to keep rolling. ah Appreciate y'all. Love y'all. Hey, make sure that you get, you know, talking about World Cup, get your ah copy of IV4 right there for the Sound of Our Heart magazine. It's amazing. has whole lot of cool stuff there for the World Cup.
01:20:30
Speaker
It's definitely one that you want to keep. So go ahead and get that through Sound Our Heart, of course. And that's it. That was the only thing. Great plug. All right. Nico's dog is barking, so we're going to get out of here. Appreciate y'all. Love y'all. See you next time. Peace.