Brazil Samba Past Haiti

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0:35These were the scenes in Rio de Janeiro as Brazil registered their first victory in the World Cup. It was expected a 3-0 win over Haiti. Gives them one step into the knockout stages. Welcome into the ESPN FC studios. I'm Dan Thomas. Nadam, Craig and Stevie. That's desperate, isn't it? What's that? That's desperate. What? Brazilian fans acting like that. They're allowed to celebrate. They just beat Haiti, for God's sake. It's when the second Cunha goal went in. They were excited. That's how desperate they're getting. I think you're allowed to be happy, aren't you? No, no, no. What do you want them to do?

1:09Very good. Well done, everybody. Well, let's see what happens. When last did Brazil celebrate? Shut up. Right, Brazil beat Haiti by three goals to nil. Cunha with a brace. Vinicius Jr. getting in on the act as well. Not quite as dominant as maybe we're expecting it to be, considering the way Brazil started the game. There were flashes of brilliance. but overall still questions about this Brazilian side and about how deep they can go what do you make of it Nathan the first half looks all right second half kind of happened wasn't too exciting I think Brazil allowed Haiti to have a bit more possession so the game turned into a game where like Haiti are the protagonist which wasn't great but I think for Brazil the biggest concern really I think is the fact that Rafinha had to go off injured so you wonder what that's going to be like for the third game how long it's going to be out for if it's going to be for the rest of the tournament and ultimately it was a bit better than the morocco game but i'm with craig in some ways like i'm glad that they're celebrating but it's not really a result that will be remembered for a very very long time no it's just an important three points i think yeah that's it isn't it i suppose you look at positives for brazil we saw igor tudor start in that game against morocco he didn't really know impact kunya started today you say you got to do you say oh do you say Thiago Tudor it's my Portuguese sorry I thought you were talking about the manager countries people just changing names hold on we're on the right shelf crazy shelf well it didn't to be fair though it didn't go very well from at Tottenham oh that was that was a couple of months ago yeah he looked happy enough for his teammates though Thiago Thiago yeah so he's taking it quite well because he started obviously and he didn't today, but Cunha is a quality player.

2:52Right. You know, he's got, you wouldn't call him a natural striker, although he took his finishes pretty good. But yeah, I think like every other team, every other major team we're going to get to the US a little bit later on. The big question that's going to come for them is when we get to the knockout. I mean, Brazil are playing Scotland next. They're already through. It's whether they'll go through as winners of the group or not. And, again, it's the knockout stages for these teams where we're going to learn if the little holes in the side are going to be able to be plugged by Ancelotti or whether some of the bigger nations are just going to be better than this current Brazil side.

3:30So we'll find that out when we get to the knockout, simple as that. What do we learn, Stevie? I don't think we learned anything. Right. We expected Brazil to probably win three, maybe four. They did take their foot off the gas in the second half. So I don't really think we've learned anything. I think we've probably learned more in the first game that in the middle of the park, Brazil, in my opinion, that's probably the weakest part of this side. I think going forward, we saw tonight, they got pace in behind. That's where they brought the games from, where they got the goals from. Defensively, look, Marquinhos and Gabriel is a solid pair, and they weren't particularly brilliant against Morocco.

4:14The goal they lost, they were poor, but generally you're going to put your money on the two of them. So, yeah, I don't think we'll earn anything tonight whatsoever. The question is, is the middle of the park going to be a problem for them going forward? How big a loss is Rafinha still waiting for reports? I think it's huge. I think Ryan who came on, I thought he did well, but it wasn't the same as Rafinha. I think we've seen Rafinha and the sort of strengths that he has. And I think as well today, looking at Kunia, Kunia played it very differently to, you'd say Igor Tudor or Igor Tiago. I think we'll go with Thiago.

4:47OK, you've got Thiago. Yeah. Because he was more so dropping in at times like a false nine. And as a consequence, you had Vinicius Junior and you had Rafinha running behind. And I think if you're going to play with Kunio again, you need that profile of player. And I don't know if Ryan's going to be essentially capable to do it the same way that, say, Rafinha has done. So I think for somebody that experienced, someone who's been the captain of Barcelona for a spell as well, you know, if you picture the best version of Brazil, it's with him in it. So it will be a blow. And I think he looks a little bit devastated, to be honest, to be coming off.

5:14so maybe he knows the severity of it right now. If you had France, you could probably take one of your front four if they got injured, maybe cover for it. I mean, Brazil can cover, but can they cover with enough quality and enough experience and enough threat that Rafinha brings? I'm not sure they can. I think that's the problem for Brazil, that they're a little thin on the ground in terms of what their squad is. When you look at some of the others, even Portugal, who didn't play well, but they can still go at their bench for some very talented and experienced players, as can Spain, as can France.

5:49I don't think Brazil quite have that. And so, as Natham said, that's a big blow for them, depending on what the severity of it is. I mean, if it's a couple of weeks, it's maybe not a disaster any longer than that, then it's going to be tough. Will they regret at all not running up the score, Stevie, considering it could come down to goal difference? I think in an ideal world, you always want to do that. but at the end of the day you know sometimes you've just got to take you've got to take what you're given and a 3-0 win in a World Cup game isn't to be sniffed at you always want more but sometimes you can't always get what you want I think that's fair I don't know if the Morocco team that we've seen so far is going to be capable of scoring quite a few goals in this next game so I think Brazil with a win against Scotland I think whether it's 1-0, 10 or whatever I don't think it makes a difference.

6:43I think it wins a win. Shall we show the odds to win the World Cup? Yeah, go on. Shall we have that discussion? Out of this group? Brazil are fifth favourites, I imagine. I doubt that's changed. Have we got those? No. There we go. Brazil have been dropped. Dropped. Look at that. It's a sick favourites. Portugal are up. Portugal have gone up after that impressive 1-1 draw. Does that work? I don't know how that's worked. In Spain. Spain remains second. Is that about right where Brazil are? do you feel, Nadam? Kind of, but I don't know. I think the teams around them say, it's weird that Norway are also on the same page as Brazil.

7:23That feels off. Yeah, there's a big gap. Yeah, but it still feels off. I think France, for me, they're number one. I think the Spain side of things, I'll be interested to see what their second game's like. But then going past that, I don't think Portugal did anything to be ahead of Brazil, in my opinion i'm very surprised that that especially because of the questions being asked about like can ronaldo play should he play and so on and so forth so yeah maybe like fifth or six but i'm surprised portugal ahead of them about right i think so yeah stevie well considering you know we can only go on what we've seen so far in the tournament and considering what we've seen they don't deserve to be any higher okay yeah fair enough just a reminder espn afc with you every single day, not only our nightly show, but in the morning as well.

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9:34I see the spot when they catch my stare. Don't waste time with a cautious act. One chance, one shot. No, look at my hands. These are the scenes in Harford. Just down the road from us, the US fans thoroughly impressed with what they saw once again from their home team. In the end, it was pretty straightforward. A 2-0 victory against Australia, leaving them top of the group. And they have guaranteed qualification. It's all about now who will join them and whether or not the U.S. can go through top of the table. Let's get some reactions, shall we, from our ESPN FC special show earlier, just after the game.

10:17Job has been done. No Christian Pulisic, no problem for the USA. We dictated the tempo and really it was just us in control all night. A really smart, important performance from the U.S. to get out of that with three points. All around a great performance. They grinded it out and it was a rough one, but it was awesome to watch. We can talk about luck that the other teams just scored their own goals. I would say that's not luck, that's the situation of the teams pushing the people. I mean, this is a big deal now. Australia never gave you a feeling that they can really score a goal or even two because the US didn't allow them, didn't allow them the circumstances and this is fantastic.

10:56Jurgen always said this as a coach, the ability to suffer and that's what the US Men's National Team did and it was a good hard spot three points. I see clear advantages that this US Men's National Team has to a lot of teams in this tournament. I saw the belief, the guys stepping in working together as one. I think the believing part is huge, you know? I mean, who would have said that you start in this World Cup with two wins right away? Convincing wins right away. I mean, this is already fantastic, but now it can only get better. Anything, absolutely anything is possible. That confidence, that belief, hey, we can dream and we're hosting the World Cup, so let's dream big.

11:39Let's take a look at some of the records that have been made with that victory. It's the first time the US advanced out of the group stage with a game to spare. They won consecutive games at a World Cup for the first time since 1930. Both wins by multiple goals prior to 2006. The US had three such wins in its entire World Cup history. They were good. Again, similar to what we saw from Paris. Great start. Took control of the game. and it was pretty much done and busted. They were good early on and Balogun's pace was excellent in behind. They played two up front with Pepe because Pulisic's without.

12:14So they made a couple of little changes, little tweaks. And they were dominant in terms of possession, as were Turkey against Australia, but lost. They got caught in the counter-attack. So yeah, two games in. First performance was really good. This was not as flamboyant, but it was a much better organised Australian side and Paraguay were all over the shop. You can't ask for any more. If you want to get the casual fan interested, if you want to get people to watch, if you want to get more people to talk about it, then this is what it's all about. That being said, again, we're really going to...

12:52Whatever happens with the Turkey game tonight is going to mean that the US play Turkey next week, a turkey, if they win tonight it's a head-to-head who's going to top the table. That's going to determine your bracket and your pathway through the knockouts. So that potentially could be big next week. What I would say though, Australia are, and I'm being nice here, they are limited in terms of, they're very pedestrian, they've got big old-fashioned centre-backs, they play three at the back, they didn't have much pace in the wide areas, they didn't have much legs in the middle of the park, and so it was relatively comfortable but there's a lot there's a lot tougher tests to come but the good news is you go into those tougher tests well you certainly do at the moment in a great mindset right and that's when you're in a major tournament the first things first is you win your games you get your confidence up and then you roll from there because the opposite side of the coin is a horror show when you're not playing well and you're getting your third game and you're scratching and worrying about what other teams are doing.

14:00The United States are not in that position and they deserve to be in the position that they're in. What did you like about today, Stevie? I liked the fact that they came out in the first half and won the game and put the game away and in the second half they kind of cruised a little bit. There's always going to be somebody who's going to have a problem with it. Well, if Australia had got one. But at the end of the day, I'm with what Jürgen said, at no stage did I think that Australia were going to get a goal. and quite frankly I think the US went about it the right way go win the game and then calm down, make some substitutions and then march on to the next game and at the end of the day the way we were talking coming into this tournament and the way that they were so good against Paraguay I think we just got to sit back a little bit and just remember where they were and where they've come to and not start complaining about small things that really don't matter in terms of the second half they looked in total control never never second half they went out of second gear and still didn't look as though they were going to lose a goal so yeah in a perfect spot what did you like who did you like from today what did I like who did I like so I like Balogun I think he leads the line really really well but what I like is the fact that for this game here and in fact you could link this to both the games so far the Paraguay game you mentioned second gear for the second half today they were like high gear you could see the best version of them this time they were ready for the battle but they still managed to play their own football and at that point you need the right people in the right areas to be able to go toe-to-toe with them because as Craig said like Australia for the most part relatively speaking were limited so they were going to fight all the words have been said beforehand this is a battle you know we're going to step up we're going to do this we're going to do that but they met the match because USA could back it and they could still play the better football so I did like Balogun I thought I thought Tyler Adams in midfield was really good again and I just love the They're competing just all around the field.

15:55Because if one or two of them would have shirked it, then they probably would have struggled. But instead, they got the lead. They fought through. They got to halftime. And the second half is a type of football that, say, maybe some casual fans in the USA aren't too interested in. But I think for the football purist, it's understanding of a team that's in control, dominating the game in different ways, which aren't really obvious to the eye. You think of the discussions that Football America has had over the years, who's going to lead the line for this World Cup? Josh Sargent. We saw Pepe today.

16:21but as Nade mentioned, these last two games Balogun's been the best player I think Balogun would be better off and I think today was because of the injury to Pulisic but I think Pepe looks like to me he's going to be a player coming off the bench I think Balogun's got much more finesse about him he makes better runs he's much quicker I thought he's been excellent at stretching the defences and he has looked really sharp don't forget he had a good season in France so he's played at a really good level but it looks like the US boys are actually enjoying what a World Cup is, and it's even bigger for them because it's on their home soil, which is the expectation and the pressure and the full stadiums and all the TV and all that goes with it, but they actually look as if they're enjoying it.

17:06Yeah, Tim Ream said that. He said, out of all of the US teams I've been with, this is the team that has the most fun. And they're playing like it, and they're not playing... Look, I think particularly Serginio Dest on the right-hand side, he did have a little bit of arrogance about him the way he was flicking it about, but but he's playing well. And McKinney was going out on that side. And then you had Freeman, the full-back, going down. So it was really working well. Tillman was coming inside on the left and allowing Robinson to bomb down that side. And Balogun's runs were brilliant. But they all look as if they want the ball.

17:39And now, look, they're going to play better teams when they don't see as much of the ball and they're not able to dominate games like this. And that's going to be their test. Because you mentioned Reem. at East 38 but he hasn't really been put under much pressure at the moment that's going to come but they look as if they're having a blast and that's great Stephen? You know a team that enjoys playing football is always going to do well you know if you've got pressure on you, if you're not sure what your job is, if everybody's thinking the same way everything becomes a struggle but when you're enjoying it you know exactly what you're trying to do and you see around you the other 10 in your team who are doing exactly that, that what you're doing, it just makes everything so much easier and more enjoyable.

18:31What do we read into the fact, obviously no one's doctors, we haven't got any inside information, that the fact this was supposed to be a bruised calf for Christian Pulisic, came off at the half. He had it before. He picked it up in training, apparently, before the Paraguay game. Right. How much of a concern is that, that this is a player that still can't start this game? Well, it is a concern because it's okay when you're playing Paraguay, it's okay against Australia, but if you want to go deep in the tournament, you need your best players. Yeah. And you need them fit. And we saw against Paraguay that he's their main striker.

19:03You know, as good as Balagan's been in these two games, they're all, everybody's looking to him to be the spark. So, yeah, it's huge that he's fit. Yeah, we talk about depth in squad. There isn't that depth with the US when it comes to replacing someone like Pulisic. To be honest, I think with people like that, it shouldn't be that deep to replace someone if somebody's your superstar on your team then putting someone else in that just happens to be a superstar means that maybe that first person isn't probably a superstar you know what i mean but i think the way that they adapted today was good i was wondering if maybe they played peppy because australia are going to play a back two so going with two strikers is one way to sort of pin them back as such but yeah if pulisic comes back in then great i think throughout this last week there's been all this like oh he's going to be fit don't worry about christian and so on and so forth and obviously it came a little bit too soon we'd like to think that he will be available for the next game and from his perspective as well if he's got the same sort of driving desires everybody else watching the team be successful without you in it tends to be a little motivation to get you back into the side going forward let's say from chris richards this is what he had to say after the game asked about how far they can go in the tournament he said i don't think it's ridiculous to say that we want to win it obviously we have a lot more gains before we get to that moment but you know we take it one game at a time we want to lift a trophy by the end of it that's okay to say as a player that's Okay, initially when I thought you'd said something, I thought you said he thought they were going to win it.

20:22Yeah, that's Mike's producing. Not conveying, not communicating. That's like rage bait or something like that. Exactly, yes. That's exactly it. You'd know that. No, no. But that's fine. I'm at peace with that because he said it, but then kind of like backed it up a little bit. You know, this is what we want to do. In fairness, it's what everybody wants to do. And I think he understands that they're in a good position. And he can say that type of thing after winning two games. You know, making history, like winning their first two matches, qualifying and so on. so that's fine I'm okay with it I don't know if you guys are the same but I'm okay with it I just wonder what the understanding what the understanding would be here in America for maybe an average soccer fan who's watched the first couple of games and wonders why the US couldn't win it but there's so many hurdles that over the all World Cups that teams have had to try and get over and that's why there's only ever been eight winners is because sometimes it gives you that false hope.

21:20Not that Stevie and I would know anything about that going to the World Cup with Scotland. But yeah, I think some people just don't understand that the fine line between getting to the knockout stages and playing much better sides, that it's a little mistake here, it's a bad game here, whatever it is, and you're out of the tournament. So yeah, I think it's alright to say, look, I'd love to win this thing, but I think we live in a realistic world. If this US side got to the quarterfinals, I think that would be a really, really good tournament. Now, if they got an easier pathway through there, you never know what might happen.

21:58But I think ultimately, when you look at some of the other sides that they're going to probably come up against around that period if they get there, then I think it's going to be tough for them. As Pochettino, do you mind that sentiment from your players? Well, I don't if they put it properly. and I think Richard actually explained it properly when he started with, I don't think it's ridiculous. So he's kind of covered himself, as opposed to, oh yeah, we're going to win it and you're going to hold on us. What are you doing? You idiot. But no, I think he's... Are people asking him that question already?

22:30Of course. As you say, if you're not into the sport and you're a journalist that's got questions to ask, it's an easy question to ask, isn't it? Yeah. And he's addressed it with the way that he asks. Speaking of questions, more of them answered over on our YouTube channel. Go to ESPN FC and subscribe. So much content for you every single day reflecting on what's been going on in the World Cup. If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple ShopPay button you see at checkout? The one that makes buying so incredibly easy? That's Shopify.

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24:46Scotland would lose against Morocco by one goal to nil, leaving them third in the table. Still a big chance of them advancing. They need other things to go their way, of course, in the other groups, with eight teams advancing in third place out of the 12. Haiti are done. They cannot qualify. They are the first team that have faced that so far in this tournament. I think it's time for extra time, isn't it? Run, run. There's no need. There's absolutely no need to have this discussion. I want to talk about Morocco a little bit before we get to the Scots. They were disappointing, I thought, today, in a sense that once they opened the scoring really early on, they just kind of stopped playing.

25:26Yeah, they did. and when that goal went in I was thinking as I'm sure everyone else was that this could get quite nasty. Stevie said it could be seven or eight. Yeah, oh wow. That was five or six the last time you spoke to. It's nine or ten now. But then in the end like they didn't really create that much. The fact they didn't have that much possession in the game itself it was almost like they were sleepwalking their way towards potentially like a Scotland comeback. Yeah. But then we saw Scotland's limitations and as a consequence Morocco end up like having the victory but it's not the most glamorous of victories and as you look at their last two games like is this a team that is going to make it to as far as they did last time in the semi-final probably not but they do have the star power but for some reason it's just it's not been there i think in some ways this group's been a little bit underwhelming oh this game was so and and and you didn't expect that before the no because i'm leaning no because i'm leaning more into like um rocco and brazil yeah it's been a little bit you wanted some sparks and flair something yeah there hasn't been much at all See, I don't get disappointed with watching this because I don't expect much more from Scotland.

26:29Now, you might say, well, I should have done that, should have played him, should have played him, should have got the ball in the box, all that sort of stuff. I think he was a little worried, the Scotland manager, about getting walloped. And he was playing for a point. Stevie was saying that as soon as we saw the side, he said he's playing for a point. And that's kind of where Scotland are. They got outplayed. and I don't think people realise this because nobody would watch unless you have a Scottish persuasion you probably didn't watch the qualifying campaign why would you? Did you watch the qualifying campaign?

27:02Watch the Denmark game the last 20 minutes of the Denmark game they got outplayed in a bunch of the games outplayed by Greece by Denmark and others but they got they got the results wasn't performance for the most part it was results and it was great goals, particularly the game at Hampden. McTominay, McLean and Tierney. Was it Tierney with that goal? And then Shanklin hoof one in from half a yard. So this isn't a surprise. And there'll be a bit of a pile on, I would imagine, back home in Scotland about the way Stevie Clark's gone about it. And that's normal. But that's where they are. They are very pedestrian.

27:44They play on the back foot. And there's hardly a team in this world Cup that Scotland are going to outplay. We saw that against Haiti. I feel bad for Steve Clark because I think you and I, we're realistic about what Scotland are. And the one thing we're not is this silky soccer type team that knocks the ball around, plays out the back, all the way up to the front, creates chat. We're not that. We don't have the players that are capable of playing that sort of football. And so for Steve Clarke to be getting the stick he has been getting and will get, it's just wrong. What surprised me, speaking to you after this game, is about how sad you were, considering what were your real expectations going into this.

28:33The only thing I could say, the reason I was so disappointed was that, you know, if you're going to lose a game or whatever happens in a game, go down fighting. and if there's one thing that we need to do is make every game we play in a fight because of what I said previously we're not great when the ball we don't keep the ball well we don't create an awful lot of chances so we rely on fighting determination and getting in the opposition's face and I guess there was one thing that summed up why I was disappointed at no stage did we get in the face and that for me is why I was so disappointed what about the argument Oh, look, but it was only one.