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The World Cup Just Got Weird · Football is Life

• 0:00
  From North London lights to the mercy rain To
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  sky blue nights when the champions reign Three
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  voices arise when the whistle blows Same beautiful
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  game, different colors we chose Football is life
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  We're losing on you all night From the terrace
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  to the mic Football is life Hey folks, welcome
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  to our latest episode of Football is Life. We're
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  back. Let's get on. Mike's excited. He can tell.
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  USA, USA, USA. Free Bala. Yeah, listen, we'll
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  get to that, mate. Yes, how are we, boys? All
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  good? Doing all right. Yeah, all off the heels
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  of the best game of the tournament last night.
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  Portugal -Croatia really had it all. What a game.
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  What a game of football. Yeah, tough if you're
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  a Croatian fan, but great entertainment for people
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  that were. more neutral in that game um yeah
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  and all the all the cr9 fans um you scumbags
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  will be happy um so yeah um anyway um cool well
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  listen we're we're feels like we're right in
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  bang in the middle of this world cup right we've
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  had enough we've had enough Exactly. We're getting
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  down to business now. So I think we're going
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  to start. I missed the last one. I was out traveling.
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  I was out in the U .S. for work. Spent a weekend
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  with the boys in Nashville. The boys were in
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  Miami at the Brazil game. Wow. Yeah. Our managers
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  since departed. But listen, the Tartan Army have
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  made their mark. Right. So because we suck on
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  the pitch, we make up for it off the field. Right.
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  You know that. Now every American knows. Right.
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  They know. We had the whole of a honky -tonk
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  in Nashville and Broadway singing, no Scotland,
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  no party. No Scotland, no party. What a time
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  to be alive, being Scottish, very proud. Listen,
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  the team, my only thing I can say about the team
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  is if the team played with the same freedom that
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  the fans and energy the fans brought, we would
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  have got through, right? I'm going to leave that
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  out there. We would have beaten Haiti by more
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  goals. I think we get something out of one of
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  those Brazil or Morocco games because I don't
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  think either of those teams were particularly
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  good against us. We just didn't really have that
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  belief. I'm glad the manager's gone. Thank you,
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  Steve, for getting us there. But we've been to
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  three tournaments and done nothing, right? We've
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  literally not showed up. So it's time for a change.
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  Get big, Ange in. Ange ball. Here we go. Ange
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  does. Ange will have that same Tartan Army vibe
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  on the pitch, right? It's going to be fun. We
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  might be down to seven men. He'll say, don't
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  abandon the game. And still high press with seven
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  men. Yeah, we'll still high press. We'll just
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  throw six up front. We'll play one at the back,
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  right? And I think, you know, this is what I'm
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  here for. So I think, look, we just want, we're
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  only there for a good time. Let's get this managerial
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  appointment right. Imagine, can you imagine boys,
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  right? American fans, imagine that Scotland had
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  got it right on the pitch. Could you imagine
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  that if you think what you witnessed in the knockouts,
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  in the group stages, right? Where, okay, we won
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  one game, but we didn't really play well. It
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  wasn't much excitement in the games. Could you
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  imagine if we played, look at what the US are
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  doing, see if that was happening with Scotland
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  or what Canada's done, all these teams that were
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  at least as good. All the host nations, yeah.
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  Well, we're at least as good, we're at least
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  as good as some of these teams, right? If Scotland
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  had done those things, if you think that we can
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  drink, my God, I swear, you would have been importing
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  booze from anywhere you could get it from, right?
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  Because it would have been. And I tell you what,
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  you think a lot of Scots, there'd have been waves
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  more coming over if we got through and they thought
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  we have a chance here. So look, if we can get
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  it right on the pitch, just watch out for the
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  tartan army, because this thing is going to get,
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  you haven't seen, seen nothing yet, America.
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  You ain't seen nothing yet. Okay. So anyway,
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  and I think every neutral fan, you know, is rooting
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  for us, but anyway, that's my update in the tartan
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  army. Get big engine. We'll do well on the pitch.
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  We'll take it to the next level. Let's go. Sounds
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  like he's the front runner. Well, I mean, he
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  is because all the fans want him. Because Steve
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  Clark's the antithesis of Ange, right? So there
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  is a bit of extremes here. My Warriors will land
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  somewhere in the middle with something a bit,
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  like, underwhelming. David Moyes is out there,
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  too, as a name. Well, he's not going to. The
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  problem is these guys are on too much money.
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  Like, Moyes, he ever, and he's going to see that
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  out until, look, maybe when he finishes. I've
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  always said I would like Moyes, but I think you've
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  got to get him at the, it'll be his last job.
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  Like Klopp, it's like he's going to Germany,
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  like probably his last. So, like, you know, I'm
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  feeling like Ange is at that point or close to
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  it. And I feel his stock is so low now, I don't
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  see him getting a club job that he's going to
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  be happy taking. I don't think a Premier League
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  team touches him. Nobody's going to touch him
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  in the Premier League, yeah. The only concern
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  is with some of these managerial vacancies as
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  the World Cup material moves on, would somebody
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  look at him? I hope Scotland might be the preferred
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  destination because there's connection to us
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  with being manager of Celtic. And he could obviously
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  spend half the year. in greece or australia wherever
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  he wants to be um so you know australia mine
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  um but yeah um love my accents um no i mean it's
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  good i just i got it from dumb and dumb we're
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  gonna throw another shrimp on the barbie it's
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  a great scene great scene in that movie if you've
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  seen it uh but yeah i would love it let's get
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  angin he will then create the energy on the field
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  that we have off the field we will be an irresistible
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  force and we will just yeah the world will be
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  a better place if that happens we know that ask
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  ask anyone billy you're in massachusetts you're
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  in boston right you still there yeah everyone
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  now is everyone's like oh life is worth living
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  again because these scottish people came and
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  reminded us of that what a wonderful gift i mean
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  honestly the nobel peace prize i think we know
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  where it's going this year front runner front
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  runner in in a country that's torn up just now
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  divided no we can unite anyone don't worry send
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  us in Make sure you don't run out. If you run
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  out of booze, there could have been a fucking
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  war. We did. We did run out of booze. Except
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  for the Bud Light, which was great. They wouldn't
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  drink the Bud Light. Except for the watered down
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  piss water that is Bud Light. So you can't fob
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  us off. We'd still take a sponsorship. But still,
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  yeah. Yeah, I mean, sure, yeah. You can't fob
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  us off with this show. I mean, if Bud Light were
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  smart, they would sponsor Scotland now just for
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  the crack. That would be the best thing Bud Light
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  could do. But it's basically anything watered
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  down, like seltzers, hard seltzers, not for the
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  Tartan Army. That's not the vibe. That's not
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  the vibe, right? But anyway, there we are. So
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  that's my... Look, peace out. That's probably
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  the last bit in Scotland. We'll do this World
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  Cup. We are out now. We have to be humble in
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  defeat. And yeah, we get to enjoy the tournament
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  now and just... support everyone that plays England
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  so I'm going to buy my Mexico shirt tomorrow
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  and then let's hope that the altitude just means
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  they end up they can't run even though they've
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  been totally shite anyway so yeah let's hope
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  that continues yeah we'll cover that later there's
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  an interesting stat about the last time Mexico
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  is lost in that stadium and it's been a while
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  it's been a minute but yeah I am a little bit
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  worried because I don't think Mexico are a particularly
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  good team to be honest I don't I just don't think
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  they're that good The same way I don't think
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  the US are that good or Canada. That's what it
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  is. I just say it as I see it. I don't think
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  they're good teams. I think that they've had
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  easy runs and that things will sort themselves
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  out soon. For example, France and Spain. Let's
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  talk about them. On a scale of 1 to 10, how scary
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  are those two teams? France look miles better
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  than anyone. Terrifying. They found another gear
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  and just said, you know what? Enough. We're going
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  to score at will, and their depth is ridiculous.
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  Mbappe is out of control. Yeah, I mean. Yeah,
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  I'm pretty sure. I was going to say, did I not
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  call Germany as my team to go out early? I'm
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  pretty sure I did say they were my slip -up team.
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  Yeah, that was their dark place. That was right.
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  Where is that wee dick? Waza, you wee dick, right?
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  Look, look. My, my, my, like the Jack really
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  spit. Ross goes right again, right? You're talking
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  out your arse, okay? Germany will go far. They're
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  pissed, right? Although I would say that that's
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  one decision that Jonathan Tagle felt a bit like.
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  Did you not enjoy, boys, Jurgen Klopp having
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  a pop at Arsenal? Loved it. Which was ridiculous.
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  Those two things aren't even the same, but whatever,
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  Jurgen. I love it. Big Jurgen bringing the sizzle,
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  Billy. You got to love it. Where is he? He's
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  right here in my den. I see him. He's playing
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  with Jurgen back there. I have my wee, Jürgen.
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  Yes, Jürgen. We love you, Jürgen. We love you.
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  Yeah, having a wee dig at Arsenal, loved it.
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  But yes, Germany are out, as predicted. I said
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  that. Too many players, bang out of form. Shite
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  team, gone. But yeah, France and Spain looking
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  good. Spain, I'm not as high on Spain. I know
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  you boys. They just don't allow anyone to score,
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  though. That's the problem. Mike, Billy, Billy,
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  Mike, Billy. David Raya can't get a game for
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  them. Which is ridiculous. Talk me through that.
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  Literally talk me through it. But they're not
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  conceding goals. Well, I saw a really funny clip.
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  I think it was the last group stage match, but
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  you had Raya and John Garcia sitting on the bench
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  looking like they're taking a bet with each other
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  on how many goals... I don't know, what the hell
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  is his name? Simone was going to let in. It's
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  a joke. Both of them, they're like the first
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  and second best keepers in the world. But the
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  thing is, Unai Simon, his record for Spain, I
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  actually don't... It doesn't matter. It doesn't
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  matter. Billy, if it was my decision, I'd be
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  playing David Raya in the form that he's been
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  in, 100%. But you can't get... It's one of the
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  most bizarre situations where it's like, you
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  understood the Ederson -Allison, there was a
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  point there where they were really close, right?
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  Where you could probably argue either way, Ederson
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  a little bit better with his feet. I think Allison,
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  overall, has proven out he is... I do think he's
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  quite a bit above. ederson overall but it feels
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  like david raya he must be sitting there thinking
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  what the fuck have i got to do to get in this
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  team like honest to god like that's mad but anyway
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  look spain are not conceding goals it looks like
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  they're the thing about spain the word is it
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  looks like they might be just getting into form
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  at the right time. That's what happens in these
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  tournaments, right? It does. It's not how good
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  you are in the group stage. You get out, and
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  then you find your form. Most teams smoke in
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  the group stages, then you see that often tail
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  off. But again, France looks scary. What about
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  Argentina? They play Cape Verde tonight in Miami.
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  Pat, who used to be in this podcast, my good
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  friend Pat, his girlfriend, Bally, shout out
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  to them both. I watched the Argentina game, the
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  last one in Nashville with them, which was fun.
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  And they're on their way. They've got tickets
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  for the game today. They will be in Miami having
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  a great time. What do we think about Argentina?
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  Looking at the side of the draw they're in, really
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  the hardest teams they have, it looks like would
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  be England. Brazil. Yeah. It's not as loaded
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  that side in terms of some of the teams. So yeah,
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  we think there's a real chance. Look, if they
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  get to the final, look, they've got, they've
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  just, they've just done it. It's really hard
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  to repeat, but what, what do we think they've
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  got a real chance to repeat with the form that
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  they're in? I think they've got a real chance
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  to repeat to the final because of the road that
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  they're in. But I mean, sadly, I think the real
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  final of this tournament is Spain and France,
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  and that would be the semis. But do you think,
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  There's not a risk that France don't get past
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  Morocco. I think France kill Morocco. I don't
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  think there's any... Like, it's going to be a
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  high -scoring game, but... But Spain -Portugal,
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  like Spain -Portugal, that's not a... To me,
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  I know Portugal aren't great, but Portugal could
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  beat Spain. No? Not the way they played last
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  night. No. Okay, we don't think so. I know, I
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  just think that side of the... I think that there's
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  so much jeopardy, whereas I look at... I think
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  England is a tough game because I think I actually
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  worry about England. I think they'll be better
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  against better teams. They'll sit in and their
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  counter -attacking threat, obviously their quality
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  is up front. I do think England might, because
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  the way Tuchel, you think about the way he won
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  the Champions League with Chelsea against City,
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  they were dreadful to watch, but they just picked,
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  you know, so I do worry a little bit. They've
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  got to start better. Yeah, well, look, it doesn't
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  matter, though, Mike. The thing is, Tuchel, he's
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  the classic tournament manager. He'll just...
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  It's about getting to the next round. And I think
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  if they play better teams, it probably suits
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  the way, I think they actually struggle just
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  now against teams they should be beating. They've
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  been very, very poor, apart from maybe 20 minutes
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  against Croatia where they look good. But yeah,
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  I do worry a little bit. I just think that if
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  the same thing were to happen and they were to
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  concede first against Mexico in the Azteca. That's
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  the problem. See if they don't get through the
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  first 20 minutes unscathed. They're in trouble.
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  If they get through the first 20 minutes, it's
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  0 -0. I think they win the game. I think if Mexico
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  go up early, I think they could be in real trouble
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  because that place is suffocating. It is nuts.
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  Absolutely insane. Mexico in a competitive match
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  where it mattered hasn't lost there since 2013.
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  It's crazy. you know what let's let's hope and
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  pray that the same thing happens that england
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  get put out i can enjoy the meltdown we'll all
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  rest easy i mean it'll be a meltdown of epic
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  proportion i yeah i mean i still don't think
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  it's coming home regardless but uh but i just
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  that the atmosphere for that one should be crazy
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  absolutely insane yeah well on argentina though
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  i will say so i put a I didn't do a top goalscorer
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  bet. I was humming and hawing. I didn't get it
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  on in time. I made two bets before the tournament.
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  I always like to try and look at possibilities.
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  I did it for the Super Bowl last year. I had
• 13:46
  a bet on the Patriots and the Seahawks. I want
• 13:50
  to look at the good things about that. I know
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  what side of the draw they're going to be in.
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  I have to try and work out where I think people
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  are going to. The two teams I bet on were Argentina
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  because they were 12 -1. Brazil were 11 -1. I
• 14:03
  was like, it just felt too generous to me. So
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  I was like, that's the valid. My head said France,
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  but they were the favorites, right? And Spain,
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  I was like, but England were like seven to one.
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  I was like, Argentina, I think when their group
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  and I, I, I believe their path might be easier.
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  Yeah. I also put a bit of Morocco. So that's
• 14:22
  the two things I'm writing on now. So obviously
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  Morocco, when I went a lot more money, but, but
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  yeah, so I feel they should have no problem with
• 14:29
  Canada, but I just don't think that they get
• 14:31
  past France. Look, I, But they are a team that
• 14:34
  could, if somebody said, what sort of team could
• 14:36
  beat France? There's not many teams in this tournament.
• 14:38
  They're one that you can maybe go, maybe. I think
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  you're right. France, to me, are... They're just
• 14:42
  terrifying right now. If they don't win it, it's
• 14:44
  like, you need to fire Deschamps. I'm sorry,
• 14:47
  you have to fire them. Which is, yeah, 100%.
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  You have to. They are the best team by, not just
• 14:52
  in terms of depth and quality, but just even
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  as they are... The only team I do think Argentina
• 14:56
  are so together as a group... I think we've yet
• 15:01
  to see that from Spain, but I think Argentina,
• 15:03
  you know, the final right now for me should be
• 15:05
  France -Argentina. I know it's a repeat. It was
• 15:06
  one of the best World Cup final I've seen. That
• 15:10
  wouldn't suck, but let's see what happens. Okay,
• 15:13
  let's go on. Mike, you've got your top on. USA.
• 15:15
  We talked before this World Cup, right? Interesting.
• 15:18
  A bit of a... Yeah. Remember, a bit of a, like,
• 15:20
  not much, like, wasn't much excitement. Obviously,
• 15:23
  the Tartan Army can do their bit, but also the
• 15:25
  US national team have done their bit. Now, look,
• 15:28
  a very easy group. The Paraguay result looks
• 15:31
  very different now when you look at what they
• 15:33
  did. They didn't play well in that game, but
• 15:36
  Poch has got them pointing in the right direction.
• 15:40
  I do think host nations tend to do better than
• 15:42
  expected normally, which is good, and all three
• 15:44
  have, which I think is good for the tournament.
• 15:46
  It is good for the tournament, for sure. We obviously
• 15:50
  have a Balogun probably the most... one of the
• 15:53
  most ridiculous red card. I don't even like the
• 15:56
  comparison to Messi because I think the Messi
• 15:57
  one was just refereed appropriately where there
• 15:59
  was no intent, there was no malice, it was so
• 16:02
  obvious that it wasn't a red card. And the Balogun
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  one, yeah, if you showed the still and you had
• 16:07
  no other context, you'd be like, that could be
• 16:10
  red. But if you showed the still of the Messi,
• 16:12
  he's behind him. No, no, no. My point is, Mike,
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  is that they didn't, to me, the same protocol
• 16:17
  wasn't, if they'd showed. Correct. That's the
• 16:19
  problem is the inconsistency. Neither. Look at
• 16:22
  the still with Messi. I think the same outcome
• 16:24
  has arrived too, but I think the common sense
• 16:26
  was applied. And I know I go on this a lot. If
• 16:29
  you've played the game, you know, like the battleground
• 16:31
  one is just two guys got up. He's looking at
• 16:32
  the ball the whole time. Yeah. I mean, that's
• 16:34
  the thing. He's not. He's not looking at that
• 16:36
  player. The player's coming in from behind. He's
• 16:39
  looking to receive the ball and turning. And
• 16:42
  then you've got to put your foot down somewhere.
• 16:43
  Where's he going to put his foot? And the problem
• 16:45
  is, if you're not looking, it's, of course, I
• 16:47
  can stand on your leg. It's a complete accident.
• 16:49
  It's the opposite of what happens. It's a coming
• 16:51
  together of two players with zero intent. And
• 16:53
  to me, this idea, because it's a one -game ban,
• 16:56
  they can't appeal it. I'm like, look, this is
• 16:57
  what you don't want in a tournament. It is. Correct.
• 17:00
  Allegan has been one of the shining lights, an
• 17:01
  exciting player to watch. 100%. And now he's
• 17:03
  going to miss. A massive game against Belgium.
• 17:07
  A huge game, and a game in which, to me, is a
• 17:09
  pretty even game. I think it's quite evenly matched.
• 17:12
  I know Belgium... Belgium are absolutely fallible.
• 17:17
  Yeah, and they're not together as a group, I
• 17:18
  don't think. On paper, they look better. Yes,
• 17:21
  I agree. So, yeah, I think that was a terrible
• 17:24
  decision. But what do you think? What's the US
• 17:26
  chances against Belgium? How do you feel now
• 17:27
  with Balogun being out? That's not going to change.
• 17:30
  So is it Timothy Ware that comes in? What do
• 17:33
  we think is going to happen? And do we think
• 17:36
  this is a nail in the coffin for the US? Or can
• 17:38
  they still do it? I mean, I think they can still
• 17:42
  do it only because Belgium is not in Argentina
• 17:46
  or something like that. They're not as good a
• 17:50
  side as some of those others. But losing your
• 17:53
  top scorer, who has just been an absolute energizer
• 17:57
  bunny and just... something to rally around,
• 18:00
  especially with Pulisic kind of dealing with
• 18:02
  some injury stuff and hasn't been able to play.
• 18:05
  There's a lot around that that is problematic.
• 18:08
  So I don't think it's a nail in the coffin, but
• 18:11
  it certainly doesn't help. Billy Boy? I mean,
• 18:15
  ever the pessimist, I do think it's a nail in
• 18:17
  the coffin. Yes. You also said that Arsenal had
• 18:21
  lost the title. Billy's like, we're cooked. We
• 18:26
  have no striker. Timothy Weah. No. I could see
• 18:32
  maybe Reyna coming in and playing like a false
• 18:34
  nine. I like Reyna. Good player. But I even think
• 18:39
  like, I know we didn't start our starting 11,
• 18:42
  but we played Belgium right before the tournament
• 18:44
  in one of the warm -up matches and got killed.
• 18:47
  We looked miles off it. And we've been better
• 18:49
  in the group stage. We've been better, you know,
• 18:52
  so far. But I don't. I don't like our chances
• 18:55
  without our striker, without this player that's
• 18:58
  meant so much to the team. It doesn't feel good.
• 19:03
  Two questions. One more objective and one a bit
• 19:09
  naughty. Yeah, yeah. One observation. I feel
• 19:15
  like this US team is built around the speed they
• 19:17
  have in the wide areas, right? On the flanks,
• 19:20
  as you Americans call it, on the flanks, right?
• 19:24
  And I think if you look at Belgium, I think they
• 19:27
  potentially have some people wide, like Docu,
• 19:29
  that can nullify. So I think my concern is if
• 19:32
  the US are forced to play a game through midfield,
• 19:34
  that could be tough, especially without Balogun,
• 19:38
  without that focal point. I feel if they remove
• 19:42
  that elimination of that pace, if they can handle
• 19:44
  the pace in the wide areas from America, I think
• 19:46
  America are really average all of a sudden. So
• 19:50
  that's my concern. The question I had to ask
• 19:53
  is, Is Balogun better than Jokeres? I mean, I'm
• 19:59
  just asking. Is he, though? Is he, though? He's
• 20:06
  more dynamic than Jokeres. So that's a yes from
• 20:09
  Billy. Mike? I wouldn't say he's better than
• 20:12
  Jokeres. You said yes. He said yes. Billy said
• 20:14
  yes. Mike? I think Billy's assessment is fair.
• 20:17
  I think that they are different players. So that's
• 20:20
  two yeses. Okay. Thank you. That's two yeses.
• 20:23
  That's two yeses, right? So that's fine. Good,
• 20:26
  I love it. We just want to just anchor on that
• 20:28
  for Arsenal fans. Yeah, you spent $190 million
• 20:31
  on a guy that... That's right, Morgan Rodgers.
• 20:33
  Yeah, we're going to send him away for Julian
• 20:35
  Alvarez. It's fine. Yeah, we'll see. We'll see
• 20:37
  what happens. We'll see. I don't think that move
• 20:40
  is happening. No. Why? Why? He's not going to
• 20:43
  Barca and he's not going to Real Madrid. He's
• 20:46
  not going to either one. Yeah, well, we'll see.
• 20:48
  I just don't think that Arsenal is going to sign
• 20:50
  him and Morgan Rodgers. Just send Balogun back
• 20:54
  and just do a swap deal for Yorker as it's simple,
• 20:55
  right? There you go. I just don't think that
• 20:58
  they're going to make that move plus the reported
• 21:01
  $130 million that's being asked for from Morgan
• 21:03
  Rodgers. Okay, all I heard from David Orenstein
• 21:07
  is he said we're spending a bag. Well, you have
• 21:10
  a bag to spend. Do you know what? I'm looking
• 21:12
  forward to Morgan Rogers going to Arsenal and
• 21:14
  just losing all of his attacking ability. I don't
• 21:18
  disagree with you. I think that will happen unless
• 21:20
  we get a left winger who can actually do something.
• 21:22
  Yeah, you'll just turn him in at center half.
• 21:23
  Like, Morgan, you're playing center half. All
• 21:24
  right, all right, all right. That's the kind
• 21:27
  of football we like. World Cup edition. World
• 21:29
  Cup edition. Calm down. I said it was naughty.
• 21:32
  I said it was naughty. I did it on purpose. Okay.
• 21:35
  Well, we talked about US chances. I think, well,
• 21:37
  let's talk about Canada and Mexico's chances.
• 21:39
  So Mexico play England. Yeah, I think Canada
• 21:43
  have got the toughest task, right? Yes. Are they
• 21:47
  out? I think they're out. Morocco's too much
• 21:52
  of a team. I agree. yeah canada similarly you
• 21:56
  know wasn't a particularly horrific group that
• 22:00
  they had to try to navigate and so i think that
• 22:03
  it's great that all host nations made it to you
• 22:05
  know made it out of the group stage and all that
• 22:07
  but uh i do not see them making it to the round
• 22:11
  of 16 yeah i don't think so i mean jonathan david
• 22:13
  i like him but alfonso davis is back he's just
• 22:16
  back though so he's not fully fit that's a problem
• 22:18
  um Mexico, can they beat England in the Aztec?
• 22:21
  It sounds like, Mike, you think they can. Billy,
• 22:23
  oh, wow. Billy is like, yeah. Yeah, see, I'm
• 22:25
  really worried that took, I don't know. I hope
• 22:28
  it's an entertaining game. And I've said that,
• 22:32
  you know, for childhood reasons, that there is
• 22:35
  still a little tiny soft spot for that team.
• 22:38
  But I just think that that stadium, this matchup,
• 22:42
  there's a lot going against England here. And
• 22:48
  then you've got Harry Kane, who seems to find
• 22:51
  a way all the time. I don't know. I just think
• 22:53
  Mexico is going to win that. I've seen a crazy
• 22:57
  hot take on talk sport to combat the altitude.
• 23:04
  They want Kane, Bellingham, and Rice to all start
• 23:09
  on the bench, contain for 60 minutes, and then
• 23:12
  bring them on. And have them just run. relentlessly
• 23:16
  for 30 minutes. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I
• 23:19
  wouldn't put past Tuchel to do something mental.
• 23:21
  He's a bit of a mental guy. Yeah, I don't know.
• 23:24
  Look, boys, I hope you're right. I hope England
• 23:27
  don't get any further. We will see. I have a
• 23:30
  sneaking suspicion, though, I think they might,
• 23:32
  I don't think it'll be pretty, but I think they
• 23:33
  might find it. I just think their quality, they've
• 23:36
  been able to rely on that so far. I think after
• 23:38
  that, that's where that reliance will end because
• 23:41
  I think Mexico are a pretty bang average team.
• 23:44
  But I do not, discount the home advantage at
• 23:47
  altitude, that does make a much more even game,
• 23:52
  a much more even game than it should be. But
• 23:55
  let's see. Okay, we'll talk a little bit about
• 23:58
  VAR. Yeah, there's that. And then before we jump
• 24:02
  into that, we only covered it briefly, but that
• 24:07
  Portugal -Croatia game. Which I think leans into
• 24:10
  the VAR stuff. Let's talk about that game and
• 24:12
  then we'll transition to VAR. It's a good shout
• 24:14
  back. So, I mean, what a game of football. Croatia
• 24:18
  looked like a different team than it played in
• 24:21
  the previous games. Probably deserved to win
• 24:24
  it. Yes. Am I wrong on that? No, not at all.
• 24:28
  And what a story, too, with an aging side. Yeah,
• 24:32
  Pedisic. Pedisic looked fantastic, right? Yeah,
• 24:36
  absolutely incredible and absolutely deserved
• 24:38
  to win that game. Hard done by officiating, and
• 24:43
  it's really... Do you think so? How is it hard
• 24:46
  done by? Look, that ball came off the back of
• 24:51
  a defender's head. It was deflected. That was
• 24:53
  not an offside. no that doesn't mean anything
• 24:55
  that's not the letter of the law he's got to
• 24:58
  play it with intention he hasn't skimmed off
• 25:00
  him yeah now i'd like to see i i i don't know
• 25:04
  if you guys had the same broadcast i did but
• 25:06
  they showed like a little pit map to like yeah
• 25:09
  when the ball so like i wish that showed two
• 25:13
  pips like one when it hit uh the offensive player
• 25:16
  and one when i hit the defensive player uh because
• 25:19
  it left me feeling confused but I mean, I'm going
• 25:23
  to trust the technology. I think I think really
• 25:26
  as much as, look, I hate seeing the Croatian
• 25:31
  celebrations that when you go from that level
• 25:33
  of police, that just feels, but the problem is
• 25:37
  you kind of reap what you sow, right? So this
• 25:40
  is, this is probably my issue with this whole
• 25:41
  thing is that look, this, this was a factually
• 25:43
  correct decision because the baby, the main crux
• 25:46
  of it was if it, if the Croatian player touched
• 25:48
  it, the guy headed it or not, did it touch him
• 25:50
  to the naked eye? It was, to me, it looked like
• 25:53
  it maybe brushed his hair at best. It didn't
• 25:55
  seem like a touch, right? But these balls have
• 25:59
  microchips and sensors for exactly this purpose.
• 26:01
  And it shows a touch at that point with the balls
• 26:04
  at the defender's head. Now look, only that guy
• 26:06
  knows, right? So factually, it's the same as
• 26:10
  goal line technology. And the problem is, look,
• 26:13
  there is this, look, I'm not a big VAR fan. I
• 26:16
  wasn't calling for VAR to be implemented, right?
• 26:18
  I think that what I did want is just, Just somebody,
• 26:22
  a referee, even a side line looking at a monitor
• 26:24
  going, Mike, you've sent off the wrong guy. Just
• 26:26
  those egregious ones. So this is not what I wanted.
• 26:29
  But I think now people moan and go, these are
• 26:32
  the same people that are moaning every week when
• 26:33
  referees got it wrong. So it's like they'd be
• 26:35
  moaning going, again, imagine that with Novar,
• 26:37
  the Portuguese fans would all be moaning that
• 26:39
  that guy touched the ball. So look, at the end
• 26:41
  of the day, if we can have technology, to your
• 26:43
  point, Billy, we've got to trust it. Same as
• 26:44
  goal line technology. None of us question it.
• 26:46
  If the ball is over the line, it's over because
• 26:48
  the ball has got the chip in it. So this is one
• 26:50
  of those where it's not subjective. It's like
• 26:52
  the technology is better at detecting a touch
• 26:54
  than we are because we can't see it, right? It's
• 26:57
  impossible with the naked eye to see clearly.
• 26:59
  Now, look, that could have been a bit of his
• 27:01
  hair. I don't know how sensitive it is. I just
• 27:04
  have to trust that, look, it's signal to touch,
• 27:06
  which means it is offside. I hate it because
• 27:09
  for the spectacle that that game deserved, I
• 27:14
  would have loved that to go in and we go to extra
• 27:16
  time and let's see what happens. I think it's
• 27:19
  one of those, like the Balogun red card, subjective
• 27:22
  and horrendous, right? That to me is what VAR
• 27:24
  shouldn't be used for. For stuff like this, where
• 27:27
  it's like, if you can make it factual and quick
• 27:28
  and easy, where you go, look, the referee, it's
• 27:30
  not his decision. He goes, look, if he's touched
• 27:32
  it, the ball will tell me. And it goes, yeah,
• 27:34
  he's touched it. It's tough to take, but it's,
• 27:37
  if I trust the technology, it's the right call.
• 27:39
  Even though I can't see that with the naked eye.
• 27:43
  Is that fair? Mike, you don't look convinced.
• 27:45
  Mike's like, it's a beautiful game. Yeah. I know,
• 27:49
  I know, I know. We go down this, you know, look
• 27:51
  at Wimbledon and stuff now with Hawkeye. Like,
• 27:53
  you know, it's like, I do think you have to embrace
• 27:55
  technology to a point. I think, I mean, if you
• 27:58
  think about VAR in this World Cup, right? So,
• 28:00
  I mean, I think that's factually correct. I think
• 28:02
  it's hard to argue. And I think they were told
• 28:03
  beforehand. By the way, Harry Kane is a diving
• 28:07
  little fucker. I cannot believe. The coldest
• 28:13
  hot take in the history of football. Boys, is
• 28:17
  this just me? The pundits on the broadcast I
• 28:22
  was watching here, and they're all English, which
• 28:24
  is fine because it's England they're playing.
• 28:26
  They all were like that. Joe Hart saying, I'd
• 28:29
  expect to give a pick. I was like, guys, if you
• 28:31
  look at it from behind, the referee was bang
• 28:33
  on. He literally brought his two feet together
• 28:36
  deliberately. Like it was like, it's like, it's
• 28:39
  like he's doing the kind of diving in the blooming
• 28:42
  Olympics. It's like, like, am I wrong in that?
• 28:45
  It was one of the most blatant dives you'll ever
• 28:47
  see in your life where it's like the contact
• 28:49
  had no, did not bring him down. It wasn't even
• 28:52
  enough contact to remotely bring him down. He
• 28:54
  saw the goalkeeper's hands and decided I'm going
• 28:56
  to stick my foot there, bring my other foot together
• 28:58
  and then hurdle over him. Like the referee and
• 29:01
  I, by the way, I love, and what I do like is
• 29:02
  it's been pretty consistent. I mean, the Mbappe
• 29:04
  one, I do think they got wrong. But they've been
• 29:07
  pretty consistent in going, do you know what,
• 29:08
  guys? Stuff like that. I think the referee was
• 29:11
  phenomenal, right? Honestly, he should have been
• 29:14
  booked for that. Well, that's the thing. What
• 29:17
  happened to simulation? Mike, the fact that all
• 29:22
  these ex -pros can look at that and tell me,
• 29:24
  like Shearer saying it's not Harry Kane's job
• 29:27
  to move. No, but it's also he's not allowed to
• 29:29
  just put his foot into it. He's chosen to do
• 29:31
  that. That's simulation, right? Again, the key
• 29:35
  is you should be running to get the ball, Harry.
• 29:37
  If you focus on doing that, you would have stayed
• 29:39
  upright and kept running. But you didn't because
• 29:41
  you wanted to try and win a penalty. That's simulation.
• 29:43
  I'm sorry, right? So, yeah, I mean, Alan Shearer
• 29:47
  is a donkey. He's one of the worst pundits I've
• 29:49
  ever seen. But, I mean, Joe Hart, to be fair,
• 29:51
  also pretty horrendous as a pundit, to be honest.
• 29:53
  Like, dumb as a stump. You know, I mean, honestly,
• 29:58
  imagine getting those two on with Alexi Lalas,
• 29:59
  right? Imagine that. I mean, it'd be absolutely
• 30:01
  like, hey, you guys! Don't talk to me about Alexi
• 30:05
  Lalas. But honestly, Billy, in terms of like,
• 30:08
  why would they give these guys, like, there are
• 30:12
  so many pundits that are like, I know I'm a big
• 30:15
  Gary Neville fan, right? Even Jamie Carragher,
• 30:16
  they speak with a level of insight and intelligence.
• 30:19
  Why would you put these, like, I understand why
• 30:21
  you have the Zlatans for the kind of bravado
• 30:24
  and, you know, I understand there's roles, but
• 30:26
  just don't have morons on. Like, these guys are
• 30:30
  just, there's zero insight, zero comments. And
• 30:32
  I'm like, guys, you as ex -pros can't see. The
• 30:36
  first angle you get, I go, maybe it's subjective.
• 30:39
  When you see it from behind, it's not even debatable.
• 30:41
  It's not even debatable. So I think, what I was
• 30:44
  going to say, in this World Cup, mate, I think,
• 30:45
  Billy, that I think they've got it really right
• 30:49
  in most circumstances. I think the Balogun one
• 30:51
  is the most egregious one. The Germany one that
• 30:54
  was referenced at Arsenal, I understand the comparison
• 30:56
  that Klopp made because it was like, look, this
• 30:59
  has been a trend all year in world football,
• 31:01
  and now we're giving it, and it was very, it
• 31:04
  was not, it was barely, to me, that should have
• 31:07
  been a goal, right? That was not enough. It's
• 31:10
  a contact sport, right? It's a contact sport.
• 31:13
  And see if he'd hugged him and blocked us, but
• 31:15
  like, sure, give a penalty. I think that should
• 31:18
  have been a goal. I agree. It was horrible. Apart
• 31:22
  from those two, the Scotland penalty decisions
• 31:25
  against Morocco, they were debatable, but they
• 31:28
  were subjective. So I can't be that. I'm not
• 31:30
  that. They were similar at the Cayman when they
• 31:32
  were let, but I do think both McTominay and McGinn
• 31:35
  were trying to win penalties. And I'm honest,
• 31:37
  as a Scotland fan, they at least made it look
• 31:39
  less like that. So it made it a bit, some people
• 31:41
  think those were penalties, some don't. But I
• 31:43
  do think in both instances, I think the McGinn
• 31:46
  one was probably more of a penalty because actually
• 31:48
  the guy egregiously caught him. but I can understand
• 31:52
  why it's subjective. But I think about the whole
• 31:55
  World Cup, I go, there's not been the Balogun
• 31:57
  one and the Germany Jonathan Tagel. There might
• 32:00
  be one or two I've missed that may be games I
• 32:01
  didn't watch the whole game. But what do you
• 32:04
  think net -net in this World Cup of the use of
• 32:06
  VAR? They are inserting themselves like they
• 32:10
  have a quota. Oh, really? You think so? It's...
• 32:14
  And I just think because some of the decisions
• 32:19
  that have been made have been so... bad that
• 32:22
  it's, uh, I just never been a fan, but, but they
• 32:28
  are, they're, they're trying to earn their money
• 32:30
  right now. I just not, not pleased at all. Okay.
• 32:34
  Billy, you see the same way. I feel like when
• 32:36
  they've gotten it wrong, they've gotten it really
• 32:38
  wrong. And the inconsistency, but I remember,
• 32:43
  I can't remember what team it was. It might've
• 32:46
  been Morocco. But it was a super early match.
• 32:49
  It might have been Morocco -Brazil, actually.
• 32:52
  But the referee stood by his decision after going
• 32:55
  to the monitor, and I thought it would be different.
• 32:57
  It felt like they were going to do that more,
• 33:00
  and I feel like I haven't seen it since. And
• 33:02
  there were a lot of opportunities to keep it
• 33:05
  the way that they had it, where it was like a
• 33:06
  fringy kind of call. And I guess at the end of
• 33:10
  the day, I'm not infuriated that either decision
• 33:12
  was made, but I would have liked to see the referee
• 33:15
  just stick to it. And I don't know. It's not
• 33:22
  as bad as I've seen other leagues or other games
• 33:25
  in the past, but it's not without its faults.
• 33:30
  Yeah. Weird enough, I think it's been okay. Again,
• 33:34
  I don't know. Maybe I've missed some games. I
• 33:36
  can't think apart from those two decisions of
• 33:38
  ones I go. And look, even the Jonathan Ta one,
• 33:42
  I can kind of go. If the referee, you know, certainly,
• 33:46
  again, the referee in the Scotland -Morocco game
• 33:48
  let everything, he was letting blatant fouls
• 33:50
  go, right? And I think in those ones, you get
• 33:52
  some referees, any contact, depending on what
• 33:54
  country the referee is in, they just give fouls.
• 33:57
  So you get a bit of that in the World Cup by
• 33:58
  the nature of these referees, they are different.
• 34:01
  I think that the Balogun one is the one, it's
• 34:04
  the only decision I can think. I mean, the Mbappe
• 34:07
  penalty, but yeah, I mean, it was... small margins
• 34:11
  and that there's a slight you know it wasn't
• 34:13
  super easy but the Balogun one to me was just
• 34:15
  like that's the one that I just think was to
• 34:18
  me is like properly negatively impacted a team
• 34:22
  that I think was egregious I don't think there's
• 34:26
  any other one that's been so egregious as that
• 34:28
  so I think it's actually been quite good I can't
• 34:34
  think of another one where I go that really changed
• 34:37
  I mean you know like I mean the Balogun one is
• 34:40
  The Baligan one was horrendous. I think the Ta
• 34:43
  one personally was horrendous. And I don't know.
• 34:47
  I guess the right decision was made that Messi
• 34:50
  wasn't sent off. But I think it's egregious that
• 34:53
  they didn't check it. That's exactly. It's the
• 34:56
  inconsistency for similar things. I don't know.
• 35:00
  I didn't see the reason. And I was at the bar
• 35:03
  watching the U .S. match the other night. I didn't
• 35:05
  see any reason for them to go look at. VAR. And
• 35:09
  if you're going to go look at VAR for that, how
• 35:11
  you're not going to look at Messi, what he did
• 35:14
  in the group stage, I don't understand. Yeah,
• 35:18
  I think the Taiwan, I mean, to be fair with that,
• 35:20
  that was a pretty big call given where they obviously,
• 35:24
  the thing is, my point is they didn't lose the
• 35:27
  game. They still could have won it. By the way,
• 35:29
  some of the penalties in those games. Can we
• 35:33
  cover that? The worst penalties I've ever seen
• 35:35
  as a football fan. By the way, shocking. And
• 35:38
  I told you, Ross and Wazo, wherever you are with
• 35:42
  what's going on today, that don't eat breakfast
• 35:45
  before you watch the penalties from that. Mike,
• 35:49
  it's probably... Unbelievable. The Germans are
• 35:53
  known for being like... Clinically. If you got
• 35:57
  to penalties against Germany, you were cooked.
• 35:59
  You lost. They were so clinical. Yeah, they were
• 36:01
  almost like just surgical with their penalties.
• 36:04
  Do you know what? I can't stand. And look, by
• 36:06
  the way, Kai Havertz is a shite guy. Let's just
• 36:08
  put it out there. He is a terrible guy. Shite
• 36:11
  guy. And of course he does the stutter step.
• 36:14
  It's like, look, there's only a few players.
• 36:16
  Like, see Mario Balotelli. I don't think he ever
• 36:18
  missed one. I remember anyway. He had a way of
• 36:21
  just, he wouldn't even look at the ball. He just
• 36:22
  watched the goalie. I have no problem with that,
• 36:25
  right? Because you've practiced it. You're really
• 36:27
  good. That's fine. And he always scored. See
• 36:29
  these guys that do this thing in Vogue. It's
• 36:31
  like, you see if you go up and hit the ball.
• 36:33
  and hit it true, anywhere near the corner of
• 36:37
  the goal, from that distance, you will score.
• 36:40
  That's the thing. The number of people that do
• 36:44
  this stutter step, and keepers are wise to it
• 36:48
  now. They just don't move. Don't move. Just wait.
• 36:50
  I'm just going to stand here and watch you get
• 36:53
  to two inches from the ball before you strike
• 36:55
  it. The problem is you can't generate enough
• 36:56
  power. You can't generate enough power because
• 36:58
  you're basically at a standing start to try and
• 37:01
  hit the ball. So if the goalie doesn't move,
• 37:03
  And I'm like, look, again, I know I'm picking
• 37:05
  on Havertz here because I just, I think he is
• 37:06
  shite. But, like, the amount of people you go,
• 37:09
  like, you think you saw it once. Don't, like,
• 37:11
  change it. Just go look. Just go up and pick
• 37:13
  your spot. Hit the ball. Like, Robin Van Persie,
• 37:15
  one of the best penalties. He went the same place
• 37:17
  every time, but he just put it in the corner
• 37:18
  so hard. Yeah, put it someplace where they can't
• 37:20
  get to it. It doesn't matter if you know where
• 37:21
  I'm going. It doesn't. So, that, and look, I
• 37:24
  know that not everyone's got the quality of the
• 37:25
  actors. You're not all strikers. But, again,
• 37:27
  I just think if you just pick your spot, hit
• 37:29
  the ball true, right? And this, again, there's
• 37:32
  only certain players, I think, have got that
• 37:35
  down. It's where they don't have to look at the
• 37:37
  ball and they're just so quick with their foot
• 37:40
  that the goalie doesn't even have time to react.
• 37:42
  There's so much that goes into being able to
• 37:43
  do that. It's just, listen, I mean, honestly,
• 37:46
  in the Netherlands, absolutely pathetic. That,
• 37:50
  I mean, 50 % of them missed. It's crazy. Just
• 37:57
  pushing it wide. Put it on frame. You can't miss
• 38:03
  the target from that rate. You should not miss
• 38:05
  the target. it's crazy. It's crazy. But yeah,
• 38:10
  I mean, they, they, they got what they deserve
• 38:11
  in the end. I mean, just, yeah, terrible penalty
• 38:13
  shootouts. Yeah. But dramatic. So, you know,
• 38:16
  fun for, you know, if you're not a fan of those
• 38:17
  countries, cause you're like, for the entertainment
• 38:19
  factor, it was crazy. Cause it was like both.
• 38:21
  It's like after a miss, you're like, Oh, it's
• 38:23
  over. And then they'd miss. And it just, it was
• 38:26
  like the emotional swings for a neutral. And
• 38:28
  those was crazy, but yeah. I don't know if you
• 38:31
  guys saw the, the replay of Kimmich at half field.
• 38:36
  trying to convince somebody to take the sixth
• 38:39
  penalty? No. So he's gone up to four guys and
• 38:44
  all of them had said they wouldn't take it. Honestly,
• 38:47
  they should never play for the country again.
• 38:50
  As bad as what Havertz did. Personally, I would
• 38:55
  love to see FIFA ban this shit -ass run -up.
• 38:59
  You have to go and you cannot stop. Whatever
• 39:01
  speed you go at, you have to go. I feel like
• 39:07
  in the recent years, they've weighted it more
• 39:10
  and more towards the attacking player on the
• 39:12
  penalty. Fucking level the playing field. You
• 39:15
  have to go hit the ball. You can't do all this
• 39:18
  stop -start shit. I've seen a couple where the
• 39:21
  player's gone backwards. Which is crazy. If you
• 39:24
  reverse gear, kick's done. That's how we're in
• 39:27
  the NHL for a penalty shot. As soon as the puck
• 39:29
  goes backwards, it's over. But yeah, as bad as
• 39:36
  what Havertz has done and what any of the other
• 39:38
  players that have missed the penalty have done,
• 39:41
  at least they took it and they accepted taking
• 39:43
  it. Goretzka was one of them. You can't say no
• 39:50
  like that. That's Jonathan Tau's first professional
• 39:54
  penalty ever. His first professional penalty
• 39:57
  ever. Inexcusable. It's unforgivable. And again,
• 40:01
  shouldn't play for the cut. Take responsibility,
• 40:04
  lads. Like you're all in this together. It's
• 40:06
  like, you know, that's just, yeah, I think that's
• 40:07
  totally unacceptable. And if you, and I didn't
• 40:11
  see that, you know, if he's doing that, there's
• 40:14
  like, what are the chances of scoring? If you're
• 40:17
  in your head saying, I can't do this, give it,
• 40:19
  give it off to somebody else. Never going to
• 40:21
  happen. Yeah, exactly. Well, they got what they
• 40:23
  deserved. They're on a plane. It looks like they're
• 40:24
  going to get Jurgen Klopp though as a present,
• 40:26
  which is a pretty good present to get if that
• 40:27
  happens. Cause I'm also not an Eaglesman fan.
• 40:30
  I think he's, I think he's one of those managers
• 40:32
  just somehow got. a reputation without really
• 40:34
  earning it. Yeah. Not a huge fan of his either.
• 40:38
  So yeah. I mean, love to see Jürgen back in the
• 40:40
  game. Yeah. And that would be an interesting,
• 40:43
  like that's the right place for him too, right?
• 40:45
  Like he's not going to, he's not going to do
• 40:47
  another club. Exactly. I totally agree. So it's
• 40:49
  a perfect, I'm going to go out with Germany and
• 40:52
  be done. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. We'll see what
• 40:54
  happens. Okay. We've got some, say Argentina
• 40:58
  play tonight. What's the other game? Who plays
• 41:00
  today? Argentina play later. There's a game before
• 41:03
  that. Where's my phone? You've got Australia
• 41:05
  and Egypt. That's right. And Colombia and Ghana.
• 41:09
  Oh, yeah. Okay. So what do we think of those
• 41:10
  games, boys? What are we thinking? I think the
• 41:13
  Socceroos are all done. Yes. Yeah. Egypt should
• 41:17
  win that game. And surely Colombia. Surely Colombia.
• 41:20
  But Ghana are very defensive. They could be quite
• 41:23
  tricky. But Colombia should win that game. I
• 41:25
  think the winners are Colombia, Egypt, and Argentina
• 41:28
  today. I don't think those are hot takes. You
• 41:31
  guys aren't backing Cabo Verde? Come on. I've
• 41:36
  seen some African commentators saying don't underestimate
• 41:38
  them, but we'll see what happens. But what do
• 41:41
  you think, Columbia? Are they dangerous? No?
• 41:45
  Not convinced? They will make a decent game with
• 41:51
  Argentina in a few matches here. But I don't
• 41:58
  think they have it. in the locker to beat to
• 42:02
  beat Argentina okay and then finally I want to
• 42:06
  talk about what do you think about Brazil Ross
• 42:07
  okay yeah so we'll do that and I've got one for
• 42:10
  you so Brazil have got a very experienced manager
• 42:13
  that I think got them through that game I think
• 42:17
  they were they were terrible first half Japan
• 42:19
  should have been up by more I feel I feel Japan
• 42:21
  could have gone for the more and maybe just tried
• 42:23
  to finish the game we'll regret not doing that
• 42:25
  Brazil are They feel to me like a team very much
• 42:31
  of individuals. You look at Marquinhos and Gabriel
• 42:34
  Magalhaes, you would look at that and go, I believe
• 42:37
  they're two of the best centre -halves on planet
• 42:39
  Earth. Genuinely. I think Marquinhos plays a
• 42:44
  very similar role than Gabriel does for Arsenal.
• 42:45
  Two of the best teams. They are two best teams
• 42:48
  in Europe, right? So you would think, wow, that's
• 42:52
  going to be tough. They've looked really ropey.
• 42:55
  It just shows you, it's about partnerships, right?
• 42:59
  So there's nothing, obviously they've got Alisson
• 43:01
  and Goals, you're going, they should be, I think
• 43:03
  they're very easy to score against. Look, I think
• 43:06
  that they have, they've got Vinicius, they've
• 43:08
  got Kunja, I think Rafinha's out injured now,
• 43:11
  but they've got Hendrik, they've got Gimaraes.
• 43:13
  I mean, Ryan, yeah, I mean, I know Thiago's been
• 43:17
  in and out. They played Cunha up front. I think,
• 43:19
  again, they just have these individual players.
• 43:22
  I think Pacas has been terrible. I don't know
• 43:24
  why he gets games. I just think, like, if I look
• 43:28
  to, like, England's midfield against Brazil,
• 43:30
  I don't think there's even a contact. I think
• 43:32
  they are so superior in midfield. But I think
• 43:37
  the Ancelotti factor, just, again, it's like
• 43:39
  Tuchel. makes them dangerous. It just makes them
• 43:42
  dangerous because Ancelotti doesn't care whether
• 43:44
  it's beautiful. He will find a way. So I think
• 43:47
  that makes them better than they actually are
• 43:50
  without being a great team that's very fluid.
• 43:52
  Same as England. So I have them in a similar
• 43:55
  bracket to England. I think England obviously
• 43:56
  have more depth than Brazil, but I think that
• 43:59
  would be a very even game where, again, England's
• 44:04
  defence looks shocking. Like, so, you know, I
• 44:06
  think it's, you know, that could be a really
• 44:08
  compelling watch if it gets to that game. But
• 44:11
  that's how I see Brazil at the moment. I think,
• 44:13
  yeah, I think their manager gives them a chance
• 44:15
  of, I don't think they can win it, but I think
• 44:17
  they could go like to the semifinals. Yeah. Are
• 44:21
  you guys writing off Norway entirely? That was
• 44:25
  my next question, Billy. So Norway are a team
• 44:27
  I didn't think they would get. They were in a
• 44:28
  tough group. Yeah, you said they wouldn't even
• 44:29
  get out of the group. I don't think they would
• 44:31
  get out of the group, right? I really didn't
• 44:33
  think that. I don't think they are a great team
• 44:37
  either. I think they're very beatable. Who have
• 44:40
  they got now? They've got... They have Brazil.
• 44:41
  So Norway plays Brazil. That's right. Okay, so
• 44:44
  that's going to be an interesting game of football.
• 44:47
  I still expect Brazil to come out on top. But,
• 44:51
  again, Brazil can be got at, for sure. But, yeah,
• 44:56
  I just don't think... I think Norway have...
• 44:58
  again, overachieved a little bit. Erling Haaland
• 45:02
  doing Erling Haaland things. I mean, to a degree,
• 45:05
  but I think Brazil can manage him. Gabriel's
• 45:08
  very familiar with him, obviously. Obviously.
• 45:12
  And yeah, I don't know. I just don't see enough
• 45:16
  quality there. I have them in a bracket below
• 45:20
  Brazil. Probably in there with Mexico. you know,
• 45:25
  like maybe even Columbia, like in that, I don't
• 45:28
  think they're, I think Columbia would beat them,
• 45:30
  but certainly in that bracket, I don't think,
• 45:33
  I think again, they've got a handful of good
• 45:35
  players, like really good players, but I just
• 45:38
  think when you play the bigger teams, but look,
• 45:40
  could they beat Brazil? A hundred percent. In
• 45:43
  the side of the draw they're in, I don't think
• 45:45
  they face Argentina till the semis. That's right.
• 45:49
  They would face the winner of England and Mexico.
• 45:52
  So if you look at that, Brazil, Mexico, England,
• 45:56
  and Norway, again, yeah, England and Brazil are
• 46:01
  maybe one tier, but they're one tier apart. There's
• 46:05
  not a huge difference there. Mexico have the
• 46:08
  home advantage. That levels that. I expect Brazil
• 46:12
  to beat Norway. But listen, Norway could, again,
• 46:15
  part of it is the luck of the draw. that's not
• 46:18
  a terrifying path. But again, even Norway against
• 46:22
  England, I wouldn't write them off because, again,
• 46:24
  a lot of their players play in the Premier League.
• 46:26
  Like, yeah, that would be interesting. I have
• 46:30
  to say, for the round of 16, bar the Morocco
• 46:32
  -Canada match, there's the potential for some
• 46:36
  exciting football. Yeah, there is. To be honest,
• 46:39
  when you've got this many teams, it was always
• 46:41
  going to be this way. There wasn't going to be
• 46:44
  that many blockbuster matches until... now until
• 46:46
  you got to this round yeah yeah i mean obviously
• 46:48
  portugal croatia probably achieved over our expectations
• 46:51
  morocco netherlands was below expectations like
• 46:54
  it didn't it was a pretty poor watch i thought
• 46:56
  um i think now you're going to get the you're
• 46:59
  going to start in the next right once we get
• 47:01
  past like you know these just a few more couple
• 47:03
  of days of games and we get into that that last
• 47:05
  16 you start to i expect the canadas to be rooted
• 47:08
  out you know look i think usa but you're still
• 47:11
  going to have teams like that and i think aren't
• 47:12
  particularly good um I think they start to get
• 47:15
  smoked. I think you'll find it... Again, the
• 47:18
  US had a great draw. Belgium is a very winnable
• 47:21
  game. I think after that, you're just going to
• 47:24
  be in all ends of trouble because you're playing...
• 47:27
  Spain or Portugal. There's just levels to the
• 47:32
  game. If it's Spain, you have literally no chance.
• 47:35
  I think the general consensus for... going into
• 47:40
  the tournament and the way it went was the expectation
• 47:42
  was the u .s should probably get to the quarters
• 47:45
  anything beyond that was overachieved i i would
• 47:49
  agree with that the way the draws worked out
• 47:50
  100 yeah you should be getting so you're doing
• 47:52
  what you should be doing look if you lose to
• 47:54
  belgium again that's a game you can lose sadly
• 47:57
  we've got no tim howard this time to yeah yeah
• 48:00
  that's two million saves but uh exactly but you
• 48:02
  know but but if you lose to belgium there's no
• 48:04
  shame in that either because again they're a
• 48:06
  team that i would say are A similar level, arguably
• 48:09
  maybe a little bit better than you on paper.
• 48:12
  But there's no shame in that. But it's a game,
• 48:15
  I think, not having Balogun just for the tournament.
• 48:18
  It just really does water it down. Because he's
• 48:21
  been your go -to. With Pulisic, he's been the
• 48:25
  bright spark. Not to say there's not been others.
• 48:27
  Other players have played well. But he's been
• 48:28
  the guy that's had the moments of quality that
• 48:30
  you needed. Without him, it's next man up. So
• 48:34
  who's it going to be? I think they have to figure
• 48:36
  that out. But I actually think that could be
• 48:39
  a really entertaining game because Belgium play
• 48:41
  quite open. So I do expect goals. My worry is
• 48:44
  they may have more quality than you at the sharp
• 48:47
  end of the pitch, even though they're aging.
• 48:49
  I look at Doku, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Trossard.
• 48:52
  I'm going, like, now the only good thing is you're
• 48:55
  way more together as a team than they are. So
• 48:59
  I think it is even for that. But I think without
• 49:01
  Balogun, I'd probably lean slightly towards Belgium.
• 49:04
  Like you, Billy, just I think that can't be...
• 49:06
  Again, it's like you take your talisman out of
• 49:09
  any team. It's really difficult, right? I think
• 49:14
  it's really difficult. So it's a real shame.
• 49:15
  They should obviously review that to me and rescind
• 49:18
  it. um i don't care about i don't know why that
• 49:20
  would be a rule you can i think that's just stupid
• 49:22
  it's like if something's been doing fifa things
• 49:24
  yeah um but yeah anyway we'll see what happens
• 49:27
  but yeah and i think i think after that the us
• 49:29
  will come to a grinding halt um yeah i expect
• 49:32
  that to happen and i think it's the same with
• 49:34
  like you know i think i mean look mexico maybe
• 49:37
  i just don't think they're that good a team but
• 49:39
  if they can keep playing in that stadium this
• 49:41
  would be the last match but that's the other
• 49:44
  thing is they've had i mean i get it they're
• 49:46
  a host nation but there's more than one facility
• 49:49
  in that country. Like just continuing to play
• 49:51
  there is just. Yeah, it gives them a huge advantage.
• 49:55
  So yeah, I expect them to go out. If they get
• 49:58
  past England, I expect them to go out the round
• 49:59
  after. So I think those teams get weeded out
• 50:02
  in that. When you get to the court, you're going
• 50:04
  to start. That's when these teams just get, they'll
• 50:06
  be shown up for the lack of quality because you're
• 50:09
  talking, you know, and look, there's always going
• 50:11
  to be one team that will just. Who do you think
• 50:15
  that might be? Give me a team that's left that
• 50:18
  can get to the semifinals that isn't expected
• 50:20
  to get to the semifinals. I'll give you a little
• 50:24
  bit of time to think about it. I'm going to have
• 50:25
  a look too. But I want your opinion on a team
• 50:27
  that you think, knowing what we know now, who's
• 50:31
  going to get there? You go, they probably shouldn't
• 50:33
  get there. Who's? No. Like, could it be Switzerland?
• 50:45
  they play the winner of columbia ghana no yeah
• 50:50
  i just think columbia will i i don't think i
• 50:55
  don't know i it's a good question i i mean there's
• 50:59
  three that jump out to me three okay myself switzerland
• 51:04
  is one all right the other one would be norway
• 51:09
  i know i'm totally 180 on that but i'm like based
• 51:13
  on the draw That's not impossible. And the other
• 51:17
  one would be Portugal. Yeah, Portugal was mine.
• 51:21
  If they could find a miracle against Spain, then
• 51:26
  I don't disagree. But the big if is can they
• 51:30
  find a miracle against Spain? Yeah. What do you
• 51:33
  think, Billy? Who do you like out of those? You're
• 51:36
  going Portugal, Mike, yeah? Billy, who do you
• 51:38
  like? I mean, my realistic one is Norway. I think
• 51:41
  they just actually might do that. Okay. And then
• 51:45
  I'll go with a little bit of home field advantage.
• 51:50
  Say the U .S. If they can get past Belgium without
• 51:54
  Balogun, I like the chances on the counter against
• 51:58
  either of these possessing teams. Balogun would
• 52:03
  be well -rested if that happened. It's good to
• 52:08
  see Billy still in the crack. No, I'm going to
• 52:12
  go. I'm not all in on Spain. Mexico or another
• 52:16
  outsider. If they got past England, it'd be Brazil
• 52:19
  or Norway. I know the Azteca comes out. I think
• 52:22
  they may get found out. But I'm going to go Switzerland.
• 52:24
  I think Switzerland could... Switzerland have
• 52:25
  some... They're not... And I think Colombia got...
• 52:29
  Yeah, I think those games are closer than people
• 52:32
  might realize. That would mean for them to get
• 52:35
  to the semis, they would have to beat your Argentina.
• 52:39
  Oh. Yeah. Not impossible. Just not probable.
• 52:49
  Just not probable. But you never know. You never
• 52:51
  know. But, yeah, I think they've got a chance.
• 52:53
  I mean, would Colombia be a shock? Colombia?
• 52:56
  I think Colombia have a better chance than Switzerland.
• 53:00
  Probably given the fact it's in North America.
• 53:03
  They could beat Argentina. Yeah. I think, yeah,
• 53:06
  the winner of that Switzerland -Colombia game,
• 53:08
  I think, could. could upset the reigning champions.
• 53:12
  I hope for my bet that doesn't happen. And obviously
• 53:14
  for my good friend Pat and Valle, they want Argentina
• 53:16
  to go all the way. So yeah, I'm rooting for them.
• 53:18
  So in terms of the rule changes for speeding
• 53:23
  up the game, what do you think? I think it's
• 53:26
  always the players find ways around it. They
• 53:28
  just don't pick the football up now for longer.
• 53:30
  So I think it's worked somewhat in terms of a
• 53:33
  mindset of getting on with the game a little
• 53:35
  bit. So it's definitely helped a little bit.
• 53:36
  I don't think it's... yeah I would like to see
• 53:39
  it being a bit more aggressive because of how
• 53:42
  bad it's become in terms of no you've got like
• 53:45
  you know give them 10 seconds like because it's
• 53:47
  the whole you can still I'll leave it to you
• 53:49
  to get it you'll walk to the ball I mean I do
• 53:52
  think a rule of like you know a harder rule I
• 53:54
  think makes the game more The hydration breaks
• 53:58
  are the worst thing ever to happen in football.
• 54:01
  I hate them. They're just so disruptive, and
• 54:03
  it just makes the game not feel like the game.
• 54:05
  That needs to be completely destroyed after this
• 54:08
  World Cup. It's like, look, when it's in America,
• 54:10
  you want to do your ads? Fine. But we're not
• 54:13
  doing this anywhere else. This is wrong. They
• 54:15
  do them in the Premier League, though, Ross.
• 54:18
  Occasionally. Only when required. That's the
• 54:21
  thing. The narrative that the United States implemented
• 54:24
  hydration breaks is a little... When it's like
• 54:28
  85 plus degrees out, I totally... It's hot. But
• 54:33
  when it's cold, when it's raining, there's no
• 54:36
  reason to do it. Billy, two things. Okay, one.
• 54:39
  He's got me riled up, which I love it. Two things,
• 54:41
  mate. One, we do have... They have been used
• 54:45
  before. when the temperatures got hot. But you
• 54:48
  know what? It hasn't been. Why is it three minutes?
• 54:50
  I wonder why. Oh, that's how long the ad breaks
• 54:52
  take. How long are they in the Premier League?
• 54:56
  In the Premier League, it was just get a drink
• 54:59
  of water and get on with the game. It was less
• 55:00
  than a minute. It's not less than a minute. It
• 55:02
  was less than a minute. You didn't have these
• 55:05
  tactical huddles and all this nonsense. That
• 55:07
  shouldn't be allowed. Arteta would do that. I
• 55:10
  don't necessarily support it, but Arteta would
• 55:11
  do it. You could tell the players they're not
• 55:13
  allowed off the pitch. You could tell Madrid's
• 55:15
  not allowed on the pitch. Yeah, 100%. Just go,
• 55:17
  guys, look, if this is to hydrate players, it
• 55:20
  doesn't take three minutes to hydrate, right?
• 55:21
  It takes you literally 30 to 60 seconds maximum.
• 55:25
  Also, point number two, more importantly, I might
• 55:28
  be wrong, but are they not professional athletes?
• 55:32
  Am I wrong in that? Am I misreading that situation?
• 55:34
  You're professional. I mean, they're professional
• 55:36
  athletes. Are they professional athletes? Good
• 55:38
  job. Better than anyone else on the planet, they
• 55:41
  can play for 90 minutes, but also it's 95 degrees
• 55:45
  out and their regular season takes place when
• 55:47
  it's way colder. Tough titties, right? I played
• 55:50
  a game with Michael Koh, our ex -colleague in
• 55:52
  Singapore, and it was the most humid environment
• 55:54
  I played in. I still played. I'm not a professional
• 55:57
  athlete. I got through it. At the end of the
• 55:59
  day, I wasn't stopping for hydration breaks.
• 56:00
  Guys, I'm sorry. Do you know what these athletes
• 56:02
  do now? They've got all their hydration. Everything's
• 56:05
  measured and perfect. Sports science would indicate
• 56:09
  that if they are adhering to that, that it's
• 56:11
  probably... Not required. Not something that's
• 56:15
  required. But I just, I do want to say that this
• 56:18
  is not a United States manufactured thing. Fuck
• 56:22
  off with that. No, it is not. 100%. No, it is
• 56:24
  not. Because they existed before, this is not
• 56:28
  a US thing. This tournament is being held in
• 56:31
  three fucking countries and the United States
• 56:34
  did not implement this. This is a FIFA thing,
• 56:36
  not a United States thing. So I take offense
• 56:40
  to that. Good, good. I hope you take offense
• 56:42
  because I believe Donald Trump is cozied up to
• 56:45
  him. Oh, fuck off. He said, look, you're a fucking
• 56:48
  donut, Ross. He needs, I love it, I love it.
• 56:50
  He needs these commercial, he wants commercial
• 56:52
  revenue. They're aligned on that. He's just as
• 56:55
  bad, the FIFA guy, whatever, Infantino, whatever
• 56:57
  it is. I mean, he's a prick. I totally agree,
• 57:00
  he's a prick. So you get two of those guys together
• 57:02
  that all they care about is money. This is what's
• 57:04
  going to happen. That's why they're doing it.
• 57:06
  I'll say they can be shorter. You can dictate
• 57:09
  that managers shouldn't be allowed to talk to
• 57:11
  the players or something. They're not even needed.
• 57:13
  Whatever you want. But I am not opposed to giving
• 57:18
  a 60 to 90 second break to go get a little bit
• 57:23
  of hydration in you when it's 95 degrees out.
• 57:26
  Because it's fucking hot here in the US, Ross.
• 57:28
  I don't know if you've been over here. You have.
• 57:31
  It's fucking hot. You don't want to be out in
• 57:34
  that weather, man. I'm not a professional athlete.
• 57:36
  I don't need a hydration break. I can play. I've
• 57:37
  played in that heat before. Can you play to the
• 57:39
  level that they're playing at, Ross? What's that?
• 57:41
  Can you play to the level that they're playing
• 57:43
  at? My point is that's their fucking job. If
• 57:45
  they go 60 seconds to go refresh and you'd get
• 57:48
  better football out of it for the next 25 minutes,
• 57:51
  I'll take it. I just think that's bullshit. I
• 57:53
  think that's absolutely bullshit. I can understand
• 57:55
  them not wanting a repeat of a Christian Eriksson
• 57:59
  heat stroke level heart issue. I get that. I
• 58:04
  get that as a legitimate concern of not wanting
• 58:09
  a player to pass out or die from heat stroke.
• 58:11
  I get that. I also agree that sports science
• 58:16
  has come a long way and that it is highly preventable.
• 58:20
  So I'm not saying - 100 % Mike. And you know
• 58:23
  what they've done before? Here's a solution.
• 58:24
  You know what they've done before? We've done
• 58:25
  for years. Is there's just water bottles that
• 58:27
  the goalie has it placed around. So you take
• 58:29
  it and quickly take it. Sure. My point is, you
• 58:32
  get a 15 -minute break after 45 minutes. You
• 58:35
  also notice that there's a fair amount of cramping
• 58:37
  going on, right? Because, to Billy's point, it
• 58:39
  is fucking hot out. Again, people can throw when
• 58:41
  there's an injury. Guess what people did? Go
• 58:43
  and get a drink. Organically, you're going to
• 58:46
  have these days. To say after 20 minutes, you
• 58:49
  need a hydration break and you're perfect, where
• 58:50
  you can be completely hydrated. I have played
• 58:53
  football. It's not true. It's not required. It's
• 58:56
  over the top. It ruins the game. The three minutes
• 58:59
  is egregious. Like, even the shorter ones. I
• 59:02
  was like, look, see, the only time I would agree
• 59:04
  with it, you see if there are conditions where
• 59:06
  you go, we're playing, and it's like 110, it's
• 59:08
  almost like, the question would be, should you
• 59:10
  even be playing in those conditions if it's dangerous
• 59:12
  to the players? To me, that's my point. It's
• 59:14
  like, it's 45 minutes. And guess what? The ball
• 59:16
  is in play for probably, what, 30 minutes of
• 59:19
  that at best. So, come on, guys. Like, you're
• 59:22
  professional athletes and you can't hydrate yourself
• 59:24
  properly before a game of football when you know
• 59:26
  you're playing a game of football. It's not right.
• 59:29
  I don't have an issue with doing it for player
• 59:33
  safety. What I have an issue with in this tournament
• 59:36
  is that matches with a roof and air conditioning
• 59:39
  have it. That's what's stupid. It shouldn't be
• 59:43
  in every match. I think I've heard Infantino
• 59:46
  say it's for consistency. Every match is going
• 59:50
  to have this thing. That's bullshit. It should
• 59:52
  be when the conditions... dictate that there
• 59:57
  should be some kind of player safety considered.
• 1:00:01
  Yeah, I agree. I don't know what the threshold
• 1:00:05
  is. If it's 90 degrees, if it's 85 degrees, if
• 1:00:08
  it's a hundred degrees, that's like 30 something
• 1:00:10
  for you weirdos in England. But like, go fuck
• 1:00:14
  yourself. Like when the conditions dictate that
• 1:00:20
  you should have player safety considered. fucking
• 1:00:22
  give the player safety now we can we can argue
• 1:00:25
  about how long it should be and and the regulations
• 1:00:28
  around what should be allowed 30 seconds 30 seconds
• 1:00:32
  you can hydrate that's it's like that's that's
• 1:00:35
  not an argument like you you don't mean that's
• 1:00:37
  pointless because you're just gonna have them
• 1:00:38
  run over to go get the water and then they have
• 1:00:39
  to go run back it's supposed to be like it's
• 1:00:42
  30 seconds to take your fluids on and you're
• 1:00:44
  done so maybe it's 60 seconds total to get there
• 1:00:46
  and do it like yeah all right yeah fine 60 whatever
• 1:00:48
  It can be shorter. I'm not saying it needs to
• 1:00:50
  be three minutes. It's for hydration. It's not
• 1:00:53
  for tactical huddles. And it's not for like,
• 1:00:55
  you know, if it's a player safety concern, like
• 1:00:57
  you say, look, it's all about money, right? That's
• 1:00:59
  what it's all about. And it's all about, look,
• 1:01:01
  when we watch the coverage over here on the BBC,
• 1:01:03
  like they don't go to ads. So they don't go to
• 1:01:05
  ads here in the US and you don't know that. And
• 1:01:07
  that's the point. I do. I do. You're wrong. They
• 1:01:10
  do go to ads. You do. I watched it live. Are
• 1:01:12
  you watching Telemundo? Because on Telemundo,
• 1:01:14
  they don't go to ads. Split screen is still an
• 1:01:18
  ad. It is not commercial. They did for the entirety
• 1:01:22
  of the group stage. They went to straight ads
• 1:01:23
  and then they got a kickback from every single
• 1:01:26
  fan under the sun saying, this is the dumbest
• 1:01:28
  shit ever. Thank you. And they've done picture
• 1:01:31
  in picture. They did that yesterday and I was
• 1:01:33
  surprised. I was surprised to see. I saw it with
• 1:01:35
  my own eyes. I was in the US. It's stupid. I
• 1:01:39
  love the Telemundo ads that are like advertising.
• 1:01:42
  We don't have ads. So come watch us. Yeah. And
• 1:01:46
  it's like, and I think it's, it's not even, look,
• 1:01:47
  I don't, you see what they do now. Like if America's
• 1:01:50
  want to do that, knock yourselves out. Like you
• 1:01:52
  can do at any point in the game. What does it
• 1:01:53
  matter? Right. Just, but that, that is a big
• 1:01:55
  part of this. It's about money. It's about commercializing
• 1:01:57
  it. And it is what it is. Right. And it's a FIFA
• 1:02:01
  in cahoots a hundred percent, but I promise you
• 1:02:03
  it's driven by where it is because of the way
• 1:02:05
  that you guys, I watch all the American sports
• 1:02:07
  and it's just, and they look at it as a lost
• 1:02:10
  opportunity because, and I understand that if
• 1:02:12
  you, if you care about. making money i understand
• 1:02:16
  why you make the decision if you care about the
• 1:02:18
  game and the spectacle you don't make that call
• 1:02:20
  right the call they've made you don't make it
• 1:02:21
  three minutes you don't make it the way that
• 1:02:23
  it is and yeah i just think it's it just it's
• 1:02:27
  basically you've got now four quarters this isn't
• 1:02:31
  even like the worst rule change though i'm pissed
• 1:02:32
  more about the the corner thing because i haven't
• 1:02:36
  seen a single referee take advantage of it Which
• 1:02:38
  one? Both corners and second yellow cards are
• 1:02:43
  reviewable now. But the corners are only reviewable
• 1:02:46
  if they call it as a corner first. Oh. Okay.
• 1:02:50
  So if they don't call it as a corner, you can't
• 1:02:52
  overturn it. So I don't understand why I haven't
• 1:02:55
  seen a single ref call a corner for the VAR to
• 1:02:58
  go overturn it. Because that's something that
• 1:02:59
  you can, like that, fix it. It's a factual thing.
• 1:03:03
  You should get it right. Yeah, I agree. And then
• 1:03:05
  the other one is... Well, there's two, actually.
• 1:03:09
  The throw -in timer. Why is there not a fucking
• 1:03:13
  number counting down on the big -ass screens
• 1:03:16
  that are everywhere? The referee just goes, like,
• 1:03:19
  yeah, yeah, I agree. And then the covering your
• 1:03:23
  mouth when you're talking. That is crazy. Mental.
• 1:03:26
  Mental. That's a straight red card. I actually
• 1:03:29
  like that rule. Why do you like that rule? Tell
• 1:03:32
  me. What does that have to do with the match?
• 1:03:34
  So let me hear this. You're going to take a player
• 1:03:36
  off because they're talking to somebody and not
• 1:03:38
  showing their mouth? Why would you hide your
• 1:03:41
  mouth? I mean, I think it's dumb that you're
• 1:03:43
  covering your mouth. So what would be the purpose
• 1:03:46
  of hiding your mouth, do you think? It's something
• 1:03:49
  that's been done forever. Now, certainly, there
• 1:03:52
  could be offensive things that are racist, that
• 1:03:56
  are whatever. Which is what's happened. Which
• 1:03:58
  has happened, for sure. So you eliminate it.
• 1:04:01
  But if I'm talking to another player on my team
• 1:04:04
  and I'm talking about tactics and I don't want
• 1:04:07
  someone else to see that, that's a different
• 1:04:09
  matter. But why not just go up in your ear? My
• 1:04:12
  point is, Mike, the reason I like this - Because
• 1:04:14
  there's 700 camera angles. You can't not have
• 1:04:16
  your mouth visible. So if you want to do that,
• 1:04:19
  Ross, like yesterday, at least one Portuguese
• 1:04:21
  player on the bench did it and they should have
• 1:04:24
  been sent off and they weren't. So I'm going
• 1:04:26
  to ask for your consistency now. So if you're
• 1:04:27
  going to want to do it and you want it to be
• 1:04:29
  a thing - I hate this. It should be called at
• 1:04:32
  any time. To me, I don't care. What would I be
• 1:04:35
  saying? I feel like you go like, unless I'm saying
• 1:04:37
  something that is abusive, racist or whatever,
• 1:04:40
  there is no like, look, okay. The cameras see
• 1:04:44
  what I said to Mike. I'm like, Mike, you need
• 1:04:45
  to drop five yards because the winger is causing
• 1:04:48
  you problems. So what? Look, the thing is, to
• 1:04:52
  me, it's worth it to get rid of, because the
• 1:04:54
  main purpose for doing it is people want to be
• 1:04:56
  able to get away. And then it can be, oh, he
• 1:04:58
  said, she said. It's like, no, no, no. We can
• 1:04:59
  see exactly what you said. And if you're covering
• 1:05:02
  your mouth, it's because you're probably saying
• 1:05:03
  something that you shouldn't be saying, right?
• 1:05:06
  There's no other reason. There's no tactical
• 1:05:07
  advantage to not covering your mouth. Again,
• 1:05:10
  I can go up and just go to your ear. You can't
• 1:05:11
  see what I'm saying if I go right up to your
• 1:05:12
  ear and whisper something in your ear, right?
• 1:05:14
  You can't see what I'm saying. I just don't buy
• 1:05:17
  into this. I actually think it's a good rule.
• 1:05:19
  I know it seems harsh in terms of the punishment,
• 1:05:22
  right? And I don't know what Al Moran was saying.
• 1:05:25
  Again, I don't know why players in the habit
• 1:05:26
  of doing it. I just, I've never liked it, this
• 1:05:29
  whole covering the mouth nonsense. I'm like,
• 1:05:32
  look, at the end of the day, if you don't want
• 1:05:33
  to say something like that, wait till you're
• 1:05:35
  in the dressing room, right? If you want to have
• 1:05:37
  a Barney where the managers don't want to see
• 1:05:38
  what they're saying to their players, wait till
• 1:05:40
  you're in the dressing room, guys, right? I don't
• 1:05:42
  have a major problem with it because I do think
• 1:05:44
  it just snuffs out any of this stuff that goes
• 1:05:48
  on where the problem is, oh, Billy said that
• 1:05:50
  I said this thing. I'm saying that I didn't.
• 1:05:52
  Now, I did say it, but you can't prove it, right?
• 1:05:54
  And that's a problem to me. That's a bigger problem
• 1:05:56
  to solve where you want to get that out of the
• 1:05:58
  game. And there's no point in me and Billy going
• 1:06:00
  to war and having tackles and whatever and slaying
• 1:06:04
  each other off to a degree. But if I go over
• 1:06:06
  the line in terms of abuse, there should be no
• 1:06:09
  place for me to hide. I'm okay with it. I just
• 1:06:15
  don't like it. I don't think it's necessary.
• 1:06:16
  It's stupid. I've never done it in my life because
• 1:06:18
  I've never said anything that I'd be like...
• 1:06:20
  You're not televised. No, but even if I was,
• 1:06:22
  I wouldn't care because I'm like, what am I going
• 1:06:25
  to be saying in a game? There's nothing I've
• 1:06:27
  said in a game in my life that I wouldn't care
• 1:06:29
  if it's televised or recorded or people could
• 1:06:30
  see it. That's why they do it. It's because it's
• 1:06:33
  televised. If there was no camera, they wouldn't
• 1:06:35
  be doing it. Yeah, but I'm not, because I'm not
• 1:06:37
  abusive, I'm not racist. I don't say things like
• 1:06:39
  that to people, right? I don't do that. So I
• 1:06:40
  have no issue. Anything I say, I can defend and
• 1:06:42
  go like, I have no problem, right? So why should
• 1:06:44
  you do it? You don't need to do it. You know,
• 1:06:47
  and if you're making an injunction, you can leave
• 1:06:49
  that to last the game. There's no, like, I just
• 1:06:51
  think that the, yeah, I think the benefits outweigh
• 1:06:54
  the downsides and players just, I like, it's
• 1:06:57
  the same as just eradicate the behavior. If there's
• 1:06:58
  a behavior we don't like, eradicate it, right?
• 1:07:01
  Same with the throw -ins. Guys, 10 seconds, like
• 1:07:02
  you say, Billy, big timer goes up on the screen.
• 1:07:04
  You can all see it. It's the same in NFL with
• 1:07:06
  a quarterback. You've got so many seconds to
• 1:07:08
  take a snap. If you don't beat that buzzer, it's
• 1:07:11
  your new. And you can mark it on the ref. The
• 1:07:13
  ref puts their hand up, timer starts. I think
• 1:07:15
  that that's fine. As soon as the ball was out
• 1:07:18
  of play, start a timer, guys. Hurry up. You've
• 1:07:20
  got to get to the ball. And that means we're
• 1:07:22
  going to get Mike up to take the throw in. No,
• 1:07:23
  no, no. Closest player should take it. Get the
• 1:07:26
  game going again. I'm more aggressive in that
• 1:07:30
  stuff because I think the game has gone so far
• 1:07:32
  the other way. I think it's gone way too far
• 1:07:33
  the other way. But yeah, anyway, that's why I
• 1:07:37
  think so. We got into a lot today, boys, didn't
• 1:07:38
  we? We did. We did. That's what happens when
• 1:07:41
  I take a week off, right? I come back in all
• 1:07:42
  spiky. But yeah, look, looking forward to the
• 1:07:45
  games tonight. When do the U .S. play again?
• 1:07:48
  Is it Monday? It is Monday the 6th at 8 p .m.
• 1:07:51
  local time on the East Coast. The times are killing
• 1:07:54
  us over here, boys. I know, it's brutal. Anything
• 1:07:56
  after 8 o 'clock. Yeah, that's it. He's like,
• 1:08:00
  don't care. Listen, we're out now, so it doesn't
• 1:08:01
  matter so much. But yeah, I don't need to stay
• 1:08:03
  up for, unless it was a blockbuster game, I would
• 1:08:05
  stay up. But listen, best of luck. Sincerely,
• 1:08:08
  I would probably like the US to beat Belgium.
• 1:08:11
  I'm fine with that. Listen, big Mexico fan now.
• 1:08:14
  We'll see how that game goes. But I hope you
• 1:08:17
  enjoy the game, boys. Always a pleasure, never
• 1:08:19
  a chore. And yeah, it's not going to be the same
• 1:08:22
  without the Tartan Army, but... We'll live on
• 1:08:24
  in spirit and we'll be cheering anyone that plays
• 1:08:27
  England. So let's see what happens. Have a good
• 1:08:30
  weekend, boys. All right. Take care. Thanks,
• 1:08:32
  everyone. Cheers.