Futbol Americas: Inter Miami Loss Fallout + The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly + USMNT #9s Making News + Concern for Pulisic's Form

11:05Alexis Nunes:And Dane Sinclair did that for Buanga. He did him a favor. When Buanga sees this ball bounce and he looks up corner of his eye and he's running full speed, defender's coming this way, and he sees the goalkeeper just standing there and he's not coming your way and he's not far back, now you have all sorts of possibilities. You can just loop it over the top of him or do what he did. He had all the momentum, play a header above Dane Sinclair. Sinclair was out of the play, and by then the defender was never going to catch up with you. Dane Sinclair did the worst thing that you could do, which is nothing.

11:36Alexis Nunes:He didn't come out. He didn't stay in his goal or somewhere inside his 18-yard box. He went into a land of death. There's nothing to achieve there. Darkness is what exists in that place. And Denis Buanga was able to take advantage of it.

11:54Alejandro Moreno:He thrived in that darkness. Let's hope Jesse Marsh wasn't watching that one a little too close. It was shakastrophic.

11:59Alexis Nunes:It was shakastrophic.

12:00Alejandro Moreno:Let's hear from Javier Mascherano in terms of what he thought of this game. Now, he said this, the reality is that they beat us fair and square. That's the truth. I think it's often difficult to explain when you lose 3-0, three goals in a match. But my initial analysis gives me the feeling that the result was somewhat misleading. The game, as it unfolded, there wasn't that much of a difference. Oh, hey.

12:29Alexis Nunes:Is he just trying to do some damage control? Didn't the first part of that quote say they beat us fair and square?

12:38Alejandro Moreno:But maybe he's trying to say it didn't look like that much of a beatdown.

12:42Alexis Nunes:Right. Well, let me just say to Javier Macerano, I wholeheartedly disagree. No estamos de acuerdo. Absolutely 100 % got beat and should have gotten beat. LAFC were far better than Inter Miami. And if I want to take a step further If Machirano really wants to talk facts this weekend talk facts. Yeah, of course. I'm all about facts First half should have been through nothing already You think about son and how he went on a 1v1 situation with the goalkeeper He just couldn't swap quite sort out his feet and so sort of having to cut the ball back and Buanga his shot gets clear off the line That should have been a goal David Martinez, he scored a goal and also had yet another opportunity where he was 1v1 against Dane Sinclair and hit it wide.

13:33Alexis Nunes:I'm talking these are 100 % opportunities. These are not half chances. This is not maybe could be perhaps. No, this were 100 % chances. And what I would suggest to Javier Macerano, instead of trying to dress this up, which you shouldn't, we don't have to sugarcoat this thing. It's not his job to do it, but I suppose he wants to do it early on in the season to kind of deflect attention away from what was a poor performance, I would be concerned about, I can't believe I'm saying this about Inter Miami, Javier Macerano, former Barcelona player, along the lines of what's going on currently with Barcelona.

14:08Alexis Nunes:The high line of Inter Miami, my Lord have mercy. And they're turning the ball over in bad areas. And of course, no pressure on the ball means that you can play the ball in behind. And Son was running free. And David Martinez was running free. And Blanga was running free. So please spare me. If anybody that knows the game, watch this game, knows that LAFC were significantly better than Inter Miami in this particular match. It doesn't mean, because we're still in February, did I tell you that? Yeah, I was going to get excited again. We're still in February, but maybe as the season goes along, we'll see a better version of Inter Miami.

14:44Alexis Nunes:But as it pertains to this past weekend, LAFC much better.

14:47Alejandro Moreno:Well, as you say, it's interesting that obviously as the season goes on, we will probably see a better version of Inter Miami. Is there anything to be said about potentially missing the likes of Busquets and Jordi Alba who were, I mean, such a crucial part of the team last season?

15:00Alexis Nunes:But that's...

15:01Alejandro Moreno:That happens everywhere.

15:03Alexis Nunes:Right. I'm not concerned about if I'm Javier Macerano. If I were Javier Macerano, I would not be concerned about who's not here. I'm far more concerned about who's here. I cannot, as a manager, be concerned about, well, if Setio were here, he would just be able to turn this ball and find that pass. If Jordi Alba were here, then we would have a natural outlet on the left-hand side. Well, that's not the case. That's gone. So I suppose we can talk about it if we want to make some sort of point of discussion about Inter-Miami. But I remind you, it is the first game of the season, and it's February.

15:41Alexis Nunes:Calm down.

15:42Alejandro Moreno:But still big shoes to fill. If we're to have a discussion, because that's what we're here for. That's why we braved the snowstorm, Alex.

15:50Alexis Nunes:Well, we braved the storm because we apparently are essential workers.

15:58Sergio Busquets, as important as he was for Inter Miami,

16:02Alexis Nunes:I don't think they're going to miss his lack of legs in the midfield.

16:06Alejandro Moreno:But still the experience.

16:07Alexis Nunes:What they're going to need. All right. I am giving you the analysis. you can go ahead and then just analyze it yourself then. No, no. Okay. You call it experience, I'm calling all legs. And he knew they were all legs because he was not in a position where he could run people down. What they're going to need is for Rodrigo De Paul to stop turning the ball over. He's not the same kind of player as Sergio Busquets. They're going to need De Paul to stop turning the ball over and actually take more of a leadership role in that midfield.

16:35Alejandro Moreno:All right. Great analysis.

16:38Alexis Nunes:I don't know. You tell me. You go ahead.

16:39Alejandro Moreno:Shall we talk a bit more about Lionel Messi? What? After the game, he was making headlines for different reasons because some video emerged of Messi appearing to enter the referee's locker room. Now, we know he does not like to lose, especially 3-0, so he was understandably heated after the game. It looked like he was trying to enter just right here with Luis Suarez holding him back now. A review of those allegations were launched, and Major League Soccer found that the player did not violate league policy because that door that he entered was not to the ref's locker room or any restricted area by the league.

17:18Alejandro Moreno:Ale's having a chuckle. So is this a non-story, Ale? Am I just going to make a big deal out of...

17:21Alexis Nunes:No, no, no. Actually, let's not ignore the irony of it all. The irony of Luis Suarez being the voice of reason, talking people off the ledge, pulling Lionel Messi back and saying, No, no, no. Calmate. Tranquilo. Hey, Leo, Leo, Leo. No. No, Leo, ven acá.

17:45Alejandro Moreno:You know, maybe after his ban last season.

17:47Alexis Nunes:The irony is just rich here with Luis Suarez. In fact, I have to imagine, I don't know this for certain, but I have to imagine as Messi is, he has now decided that he's going to go and confront the referees. When he hears the voice of Luis Suarez and he sees who's grabbing him, he probably looked back and like, what?

18:06Alejandro Moreno:He had to do a double take. What? What?

18:08Alexis Nunes:You're usually with me in this. You're usually at the forefront of this. You're leading me. You're holding me back. As it pertains to Lionel Messi, I do believe that, and a surprise, there's preferential treatment in Major League Soccer. There always has been, and there will always be preferential treatment. For them to hide in the loophole of saying, well, that wasn't technically the referee's room. Okay, it might not have been the referee's room. You enter that door, and then there's another door that is the referee's room. Right? For them to say, well, it's not an area in which players are prohibited or restricted to the players, so therefore there's nothing wrong with this.

18:55Alexis Nunes:It's nonsense. The spirit of it is, Lionel Messi was talking to the referees all the way down the tunnel, And then, when there was a time for him to continue to keep walking, he decided to come back around and enter through the threshold of the door. A door that leads, eventually, to a referee's room. So, in essence, he was chasing down referees to go and complain about this, that, on the other. So, look, if MLS, I suppose, by the letter of the law, they can hide in this loophole and they're very comfortable and they don't want to create a situation with Messi so early on in the season. And so nothing to see here.

19:35Alexis Nunes:I'm fine. I don't care. Nothing to see here. But let's not let's not pretend that this is not preferential treatment. And had it been I'll turn it right back around. Had it been Luis Suarez would be seeing a different story going into through the threshold of the door and going right in there. You think he's getting the same treatment?

19:55Alejandro Moreno:I don't think so. I doubt it. He is a repeat offender, though.

19:59Alexis Nunes:It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if you're a repeat offender or not. Was there an offense or not? MLS would suggest no. Was Lionel Messi chasing the referee down or not? Yes. I mean, and so in the spirit of the law or in the spirit of the rule or whatever it may be, he was chasing the referees down. And what, does he need to enter the referee's room in order for him to be then suspended? I guess he entered one door and he sure as he wanted to go through the other door. And then Luis Suarez brings him back, which again brings him back to the irony of it all.

20:36Alejandro Moreno:He said it's February.

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22:01Alejandro Moreno:MLS came back for one weekend and so much to talk about. So now we're going to look at the good, the bad, Ale, and the ugly. There was some plain ugly. Let's talk about the good first, of course, always, because that game, as we were talking about, LAFC got that big result over Inter Miami in front of a record-breaking crowd of over 75 ,000 at the Coliseum. It's a new attendance record for an MLS opening match and the second largest crowd in league history. Love to see it, Ale.

22:32Alexis Nunes:Yeah, and you think this is about LAFC?

22:35Alejandro Moreno:I mean, it may have to do with the other guy in the pink shirt. What's that?

22:43Alexis Nunes:Do you think this is about LAFC?

22:46Alejandro Moreno:It's about Messi, yeah. Fair play. Fair play.

22:48Alexis Nunes:So it was like that. It was like that when Beckham was in the league as well. Let's just, let's not kid each other here.

22:55Alejandro Moreno:Let's talk about the bad, though. And San Diego Wave absolutely thrashed Montreal by not one, not two, not three, not four, but five.

23:05Alexis Nunes:Okay, but why is that bad?

23:07Alejandro Moreno:San Diego FC, rather.

23:10Alexis Nunes:It's good for San Diego FC. I mean, it's bad for Montreal.

23:15Alejandro Moreno:That's what I'm saying. You want to see this level of thrashing. Or, again, calma is week one.

23:20Alexis Nunes:No, I mean, look, there is a difference between Montreal conceding five goals and Inter-Miami losing 3-0. We evaluate them on a different standard altogether. So, yeah, losing 5-0 in your first game of season is less than ideal.

23:37Alejandro Moreno:All right. Let's talk about the ugly now because Philadelphia Union's new striker, Ezekiel Alado made his debut very sour after he was shown a straight red card, not for his tackle that we just saw, but for what was labeled that obscene reaction and having some naughty words with the official later. That's not the type of debut you want.

23:58Alexis Nunes:Absolutely not. We also are not privy to the information as to what he did say to the referee.

24:05Alejandro Moreno:No, but it definitely can't have been good.

24:07Alexis Nunes:But clearly, there must have been flavor to what he said.

24:15Alejandro Moreno:A little bit of sazon. A little bit of sazon. All right. Well, Philadelphia Union went on to lose that game, so it definitely was not a good night for them against DC United. Well, ESPN FC is on seven days a week. You can join us as well over there for more reaction from the Premier League, La Liga, and the rest of Europe. Hola, over on ESPN+.

24:42Alejandro Moreno:All right, in some breaking news, as first reported by The Athletic, just moments ago, Orlando City seemed to be in talks to sign Antoine Griezmann from Atletico de Madrid. He is under contract at the La Liga Club until 2027, but that's apparently still not stopped the chats from happening. Now, no agreement has been made yet, but no surprise, really, Ale, because Antoine Griezmann has shown interest in moving to this side of the pond and playing in MLS before.

25:12Alexis Nunes:Yeah, there's been open flirtation going on for a while.

25:16Alejandro Moreno:Must be nice.

25:17Alexis Nunes:All right.

25:21Alejandro Moreno:It's good to feel wanted. Well, I know.

25:23Alexis Nunes:I hear you. You feel wanted, right? I get it. And what I think is surprising is that Antoine Griezmann is actually playing really well for Atlético Madrid right now. We saw him in the first leg of Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona and how important he was in that match and how decisive he was in terms of his movement, his vision, his finishing. So he still has a lot of game about him and that's what I think would be very appealing for Orlando City or any team in Major League Soccer for that matter. It's interesting from Antoine Griezmann's perspective as to how open he has been about coming to Major League Soccer.

25:59Alexis Nunes:So obviously those things seem to come together quite nicely. I just, if you're Atletico Madrid, you're kind of saying, wait, wait. Yeah. He's still, he's, and I think surprisingly so, he's still very good for them. And they need him more than I think they thought they would. By now, I believe Diego Simone and Atletico Madrid would have thought that between Zorloth and Julian Alvarez, you bring this play, you bring that play, you bring this guy over here, you bring that guy over there, Aremola Lukman now, as well as an attacking player, that you would have been able to sort of put Griezmann to the side and just kind of go, it's been great.

26:48Alexis Nunes:We can move on. it's been one heck of an experience. Yeah. It's been a great ride, but it's time to move on. And then let's depend on these other guys. And that just hasn't been the case. And because of it, Antoine Griezmann has now had much more of a role, much more of an important role. And so it is surprising that Atletico Madrid would just allow this to happen. From Orlando City perspective, well, you have to be all for it. From Anton Griezmann's perspective, it's interesting because the market for him in MLS would be around even after this season was over in Europe. There would be a market for him in the summer too.

27:32Alexis Nunes:But I suppose it's been well reported that Anton Griezmann just wants this. And I think that's what's encouraging for Major League Soccer is that you have a player that's still productive at a high level. not as productive as he once was, but still a productive player, and he wants this experience. He wants to be part of Major League Soccer. It would seem to be almost too good to be true, but it would seem to be something that makes a whole lot of sense for Orlando City and Major League Soccer.

27:59Alejandro Moreno:With everything you just said about Antoine Griezmann, because, of course, how closely we cover La Liga, I mean, as you said, he's enjoying still a great season, whether he's starting, whether he's coming off the bench. It seems like you just need to wait five, ten minutes, and he's going to be like a super sub and score a goal and help rack up Atleti's tally. So I see why, obviously, Cholo Simeone would want to hang on to him. But because of that, should Orlando City then throw the kitchen sink now to get him maybe this summer or something? Because while he's still in this fine form.

28:28Alexis Nunes:Yeah, I don't know how big the kitchen sink is.

28:32Alejandro Moreno:Find a big one.

28:33Alexis Nunes:You know, if it is a farmhouse sink, I don't know that I would throw that size of sink.

28:40Alejandro Moreno:Yeah.

28:40Alexis Nunes:And the reason I wouldn't do it is because I still think that Anton Griezmann will be available for you in the summer. And I also think that if you're Orlando City, you have to think about what the marketing of Anton Griezmann would be in MLS and how big of a signing he really is. How much attention does he really command? This is not Lionel Messi and he doesn't have that kind of market. And he's somewhere in the Hume Min Song category. How much attraction does that entail? Well, maybe locally with LAFC, but I don't know that you're filling up stadiums everywhere in Major League Soccer because Song is playing for you, as good a player as he may be.

29:31Alexis Nunes:I don't think he has that sort of level of attraction. Neither does Antoine Griezmann. A popular player, a good player, but the league is not changing. Or you're not filling stadiums because Anton Griezmann is coming to town. That's all I would say.

29:47Alejandro Moreno:Yeah, I don't know if Antoine Griezmann wants to hang out with Messi anytime soon. After we know what went down at Barcelona.

29:53Alexis Nunes:It would also be interesting as to whether there have been conversations between Anton Griezmann, his former teammate at Atlético Madrid, Rodrigo de Pol. How's your experience in MLS? What do you like? What don't you like? What can be better? What do you think I'm going to like? I don't know if those conversations exist, but you have to imagine there would have been a message here and there and say, tell me more. I want to know more, and is this something that I should do midseason? Is this something that I should do right away so that I can be with Orlando City as soon as possible?

30:25Alejandro Moreno:Well, we know he's a huge NBA fan, huge NFL fan as well.

30:29Alexis Nunes:The Orlando Magic are no good.

30:31Alejandro Moreno:Oh, and we'll see what's his closest NFL team.

30:35Alexis Nunes:Well, Tampa Bay. Oh, Tampa Bay.

30:37Alejandro Moreno:All right, there you go. And you'll be closer to Disney. Okay.

30:41Alexis Nunes:I mean, I'm all for Disney.

30:43Alejandro Moreno:Don't get me wrong. The mouse. The mouse. All right, well, that's going to be an exciting one if it does indeed happen. But someone who is already seems to be on his way to MLS, Josh Sargent. He's set to complete a move to Toronto FC from Norwich City for around$22 million with add-ons. The U.S. international hasn't featured for the Canaries since making himself unavailable, remember that, by text message, last month for their FA Cup tie versus Walsall. Now, Ale, this just had to happen because we've heard from the coach, we've heard from some of the teammates as well, from Josh Sargent, and simply the relationship has soured.

31:22Alejandro Moreno:And remember what I said, I know exactly a thing or two about relationships souring. But$22 million, wow, Ale, I mean, whew, worth it though? All right, Toronto. Flex the power.

31:34Alexis Nunes:I mean, it'd be worth it if I'm Norwich. I'm like, yeah. Go ahead. Bring it on. Yes. Yes. Yes. Is that going to be direct deposit? Direct deposit.

31:44Alejandro Moreno:Is that a farm kitchen sink? That is a farm kitchen sink.

31:49Alexis Nunes:I mean, that's a whole kitchen they're throwing. And I'm not quite sure as to what Toronto FC is expecting out of this. I suppose that they're looking for the same sort of success that they had when Josie Altidore came back and played for Toronto. At that time, Michael Bradley was also part of the picture there. It was a time in which Toronto was a dominant team in Major League Soccer.

32:17Alexis Nunes:Jos Sargent, I was neither here nor there with Jos Sargent in terms of the kind of player that he is. that there were times in which he was impressive and other times in which he wasn't. The lack of success with the national team has been something that I think has held him back, I think, in the evaluation of his talent. But this text message situation really took me to the other side, to the dark side.

32:43Alejandro Moreno:This is not how you end it.

32:45Alexis Nunes:No, no, no, it is not. And it sends, no pun intended here, but it really sends the wrong message about the player. So in that case, had I been Toronto, I probably would have thought about this long and hard, but some of the reports were that Toronto was actually behind kind of pushing this move and do something that pushes this move. So this is a lot of money to send for Joe Sargent. It's not my money, so you go ahead and do whatever you want, Toronto. I think that Toronto needs not just Joe Sargent. They need more in that team in order for them to be truly competitive in the Eastern Conference and in Major League Soccer as a whole.

33:26Alejandro Moreno:And I mean, this is a conversation that we have, especially over the last couple of months when we have seen players who have been playing their trade in Europe then make their way back to North America, probably in a last-ditch effort to get some valuable minutes, Alec, because the World Cup is around the corner. You do have to ask, of course, he's still relatively young in footballing terms. Would this feel like a step back from him?

33:49Alexis Nunes:No, I'm going to, and please, to the director, Do not follow me in this particular sequence. I'm going to show you where Joe Sargent is in the picture of the national team right now as it comes to the strikers. I'm going to show you. Oh. You know what this is? So not there. Yeah. Not in the picture.

34:11Alejandro Moreno:Not in the picture. Okay.

34:13Alexis Nunes:That's where Joe Sargent is. Not in the picture.

34:15Alejandro Moreno:Does this then put him in the picture now? A move to...

34:18Alexis Nunes:Look, in some ways, he puts him at least accessible to Mauricio Pochettino and his staff to watch him on a weekly basis. So in that sense, I guess we're back in the picture. But he has a lot of ground to cover. And he's going to depend not only on himself being hot, and he's got to get hot quick. And I mean quick. He also depends upon the failures of others. He's going to have to depend on injuries to other players so that he gets back into some sort of rotation, which he really under Pochettino was never a part of. So look, it's not a good time to be a striker who's struggling or hasn't gotten playing time because you sent a text message and you wanted to push a move through.

35:04Alexis Nunes:Because in the meantime, what you have had is Balogun scoring goals, separating himself from the rest of the crowd of strikers. Hide your right and not stop scoring. I mean, I've never been so interested in Coventry City. Hey!

35:17Alejandro Moreno:I tell you, don't sleep on Coventry.

35:19Alexis Nunes:Well, I'm just saying, Haji, right, scoring goals is about every weekend seemingly. Ricardo Pepe, and we'll talk about it, came back with his mangled arm and scored a goal. Not the mangled arm. I'm just, look, I'm just painting the picture. And so where, so to your question, where does he fit in, Joe Sargent? Well, nowhere right now. So he's going to have to be hot right away. Really, really hot.

35:45Alejandro Moreno:I love that Alec gave us that visual representation in terms of that number nine role for the U.S. Men's National.

35:50Alexis Nunes:I should have kept going through the doors, to be honest with you.

35:53Alejandro Moreno:One more question about Josh Sargent, because Kevin McLean, Norwich City's captain, recently spoke about this situation. And he said it's wild because for Norwich, at least, a couple months ago, they were referring to Josh Sargent as the best player in the championship. They felt like they had the best player in the championship. Now, you can compare MLS level to the championship all you want, whether it's a bit better or whether it's not. But now, Josh Sargent, moving to Toronto, does this change expectations for Toronto, having a player that so or was so highly regarded overseas?

36:24Alexis Nunes:Like I said, you know, I have no issue. I think Josh Sargent can bring a lot of things. And there is a lot of work rate. And there's a guy that can be active inside the 18-yard box. At times can be a good dribbler, can take shots from distance. and I think he's a good striker. Don't get me wrong. I do believe that Joe Sargent has something about him. But when he's been given opportunities with the national team, people are expecting that sort of performance that you're talking about, where he has been the best player in the championship. Well, let's see that. And that just hasn't happened. And really, full disclosure, it's not like we're sitting around and watching Norwich play every weekend.

37:01Alexis Nunes:So most of the time, when Joe Sargent comes over and plays with the national team, that's when we get an opportunity to see him up close and personal, and he has not impressed. So it's hard to sort of put those things together. Well, what version of Joe Sargent is Toronto FC getting, and is he consistently good enough of a player, difference maker enough of a player, to elevate Toronto FC to an entirely different level? That's a big question. Because he's not been able to do that with the national team, but we have to imagine that if you put players around him in Toronto FC, that they become a better team, a more competitive team.

37:40Alexis Nunes:I just think that they need more than just Sargent. They need more around him in North for this team to truly be talking about potentially Eastern Conference and winning the Eastern Conference and making a deep run in the playoffs. I just don't think they're there just yet. Just Sargent helps. But I don't know that Joe Sargent is making this move because of that. He's making this move because he believes, I think, and I could be wrong. I'm going to put myself in front of the eyes of Mauricio Pochettino. This is what gives me the best chance to make the World Cup squad.

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40:06Alejandro Moreno:Well, the competition's looking very stiff because you just have to have a look at what some other U.S. players are doing. Like Flo Balogun, it was quite the week for him. Two goals against PSG last Tuesday. Then a second half goal that helped Monaco shock league on leaders' lawns as they won that game 3-2. That's now 11 goals in all competitions this season and five in the Champions League.

40:32Alexis Nunes:This goal in particular was very impressive. The hold of play, then the movement, the timing of the run, and then the finish holding on Marquinhos as he's coming off to try to make a challenge on the play. I thought for a while now, really, that following Balogun has separated himself. Well, that's shakastrophic. I'd say we didn't need to show that. That's far more about the goalkeeper than it is about Balogun.

40:55Alejandro Moreno:But regardless, I digress.

40:57Alexis Nunes:He has separated himself. He is option one, two, and three right now as it pertains to the number nine position. And then there is the rest of the group of the guys that we're talking about, Haji Wright and Ricardo Pepe and so on and so forth.

41:11Alejandro Moreno:So he's looking undroppable.

41:13Alexis Nunes:I think so. I don't think the other guys are in the race right now with him. And if he continues to play this way, not only does he continue to play this way, he continues to separate himself, but what we saw from him over the last few matches of the national team, you're seeing a player that I think offers many more alternatives to Mauricio Pochettino in the attack than the other guys do. He gives, and the goal that we saw there against PSG, hold up play, and in some ways it's old school striker with new school striker. Hold up play, the spin, the timing of the run, getting in behind, finishing the play, the speed, the change of pace.

41:59Alexis Nunes:There are a lot of things to like about Balogun. And I think he is a more complete player than some of the other alternatives is that Pochettino may have in that position. And so the separation is there, and he continues to convince, not just me, nobody cares about what I have to say, but Pochettino.

42:18Alejandro Moreno:We care.

42:20Alexis Nunes:Slightly. We are essential workers. We are. But Pochettino does care. And I think Pochettino, I believe, has made it very clear that Balogun is this guy.

42:32Alejandro Moreno:All right. Well, remember you did tease that there's somebody else in this race as well. and you said his mangled arm. Well, the point is he has recovered, and that's Ricardo Pepe. Yes, back in action, finally for PSV, after recovering from what was a fractured forearm. He came on as a second-half substitute for PSV as they picked up yet another win in the Erie Divisie. Look at that. He still has it wrapped up, though, so it's not as mangled.

42:59Alexis Nunes:Let me just tell you. This is exactly what I see for Ricardo Pepe, and the national team coming off the bench and scoring a goal. He is capable of doing that time and time and time again.

43:14Alejandro Moreno:That's coming from confidence because he was on a nice run before.

43:17Alexis Nunes:Absolutely. Absolutely. He feels good about it, I'm sure.

43:20Alejandro Moreno:All right. Well, let's hear from the man himself after that game. Ricardo, what's it like to be back here?

43:27Alexis Nunes:It's amazing, man. You know, it's special always, of course, you know, being out for an injury like this. It's unfortunate, but at the end of the day, very happy to be back.

43:34Alejandro Moreno:Yeah. How frustrated was it sitting from the sidelines?

43:37Alexis Nunes:Yeah, it's frustrating, especially because it's not the first time this year. It's like the second, third time. So a little bit frustrating, but it's always important to come back stronger. And I think that's what I'm doing at the moment.

43:49Alejandro Moreno:But you're back earlier than expected. How is that possible? Does it have to do with your mindset, your own mindset?

43:54Alexis Nunes:Yeah, it could be, of course. I think I'm a person who has a very good mindset. I like to work for what I want. And it could be a mindset thing. But, you know, also speaking medically to the team, I think that they felt that I was ready and I felt ready as well. So I think it's a decision that we all made.

44:13Alejandro Moreno:Good stuff there from Ricardo Pepe. Again, it's not the first time he's had to grapple with injury. That's why when we got this, when we saw this latest one, we were like, oh, no, it's happened at the worst time because he was on such a nice streak before building confidence in that race. Then we felt like it was a setback. He came back early, come straight off the bench, instant impact. If you're Mauricio Pochettino, what are you thinking after we just see that? As I mentioned just a few seconds ago, that I think is going to be his role with this national team.

44:43Alexis Nunes:I cannot imagine that Mauricio Pochettino is not seeing what most of us see when it comes to Ricardo Pepi. And that is whatever you think of his skill set, whatever you may think of his talent level, whatever you may think of his ceiling, What we know for certain is that goals find Ricardo Pepe. Balls find Ricardo Pepe. Now, this particular goal is not an example of that. This is just a great goal. He gets himself in a position where he's allowed to turn and hits it as well as he did. But it's not a typical Ricardo Pepe goal. If I'm Pochettino, I have a built-in option with Ricardo Pepe of a guy that can come off the bench and will get a chance here, there, and everywhere.

45:32Alexis Nunes:And with 15, 20 minutes to go in a World Cup match where you may need a goal, just throw this guy out there. He will get a chance. Whether he takes advantage of that opportunity or not, that's a different question. But the ball finds him, and you can't teach that. That's instinct. This is not the sort of thing that you put in a video and people can just learn it. No, no. He has a tendency of being able to get on the end of things. That's useful for a national team and that's useful for a team that may need to score that important goal and maybe the difference between advancing or not, Ricardo Pepe I think can provide that for you.

46:11Alejandro Moreno:So is Balogun and then Pepe directly coming off the bench for you? Where does that leave a Haji?

46:16Alexis Nunes:No, no, I think the performances of Haji Wright have catapulted him above Ricardo Pepe. Oh! But not necessarily in the same role. Okay. I'm saying Pepe comes off the bench regardless and can score that big goal for you. If something were to happen to Balogun, then I don't think you start Ricardo Pepe. I think you start Hadji Wright. You see what I'm saying? Yeah. This is not musical chairs here that because one gets up, the other one can sit down. It's more of what I think the role of one player will be over the other. I think that Cardo Pepe has, and he's not going to enjoy me saying this, but has this super sub thing about him.

47:02Alexis Nunes:Nobody wants to be that. But if you got it, you got it, bro. And if that means that you're going to score a big goal in the World Cup, hey, so be it. There are worse things in the world. Had you right, I think you start him if Balogun is not available for whatever the reason is. Because I think he can withstand, it's a big size, he can withstand some of the physicality. for the first 60, 70 minutes or so. You see how the game goes. He's a big body that can maybe get on the end or something as it pertains to a set piece or whatever the case. He can run at defenders. He's just a handful. It's annoying to play against a guy like this because he's rangy and what have you.

47:41Alexis Nunes:And so now you bring Ricardo Pepe off the bench and he will find a chance. Now, I am very far from Pochettino. I'm very far from the national team.

47:50Alejandro Moreno:I feel like we just solved the number nine debate that we've been having for years now.

47:54Alexis Nunes:Just call me. Call me. Hey, Mauricio, call me.

47:56Alejandro Moreno:It's almost as if that was Ale's area.

47:58Alexis Nunes:Llámame y tranquilo y hablamos. No problem.

48:00Alejandro Moreno:Oh, look at that.

48:03Alexis Nunes:Nobody has to know.

48:04Alejandro Moreno:I think we really just solved it. Brilliant. That's what I'm here for. One Ale Moreno. Hope you get an additional 10%. That's why you're essential. Do you know what the scariest sound to hear on a factory floor is? Silence. That means something somewhere broke. Production has stopped, and now you're paying workers to wait while the team troubleshoots and fixes the problem. Finally, there's a proactive way to reduce equipment downtime thanks to MaintainX. MaintainX is the AI-powered maintenance and asset management system that brings your unplanned maintenance downtime to zero. MaintainX lets you build preventative maintenance schedules, manage work orders in real time, and access the data you need to make better decisions.

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50:07Alejandro Moreno:In as little as 10 minutes, you can get your free quote and up to$3 million in coverage at ethos.com slash sports. That's ethos.com slash sports. Ethos.com slash sports. Application times and rates may vary. All right, well, at the weekend, Ale Moreno had to double, triple shift. We were here early for Bundesliga, and then Ale was watching this match closely. Atletico de Madrid up against Espanyol, and Johnny Cardoso played a full 90 minutes in what was a 4-2 win over the Catalan club in La Liga this Saturday. So, Atleti have been doing a lot wrong, too, but a lot right. And especially in this game, Ale, you watched it closely.

50:54Alejandro Moreno:A full 90 for Johnny Cardoso is not something we have seen in a while. Was this his best outing so far, and what did you notice?

51:01Alexis Nunes:Well, I think what was important for Johnny Cardoso is that he makes it through 90 minutes. No! No injuries, no concerns, no stress, no... The best way I could describe his performance was uneventful, professional, mature. Nothing about it was like, oh no, here we go again. You didn't have that kind of reaction with him. And he was the closest in this match, the closest he has been with Atletico Madrid to being the player that he was with Betis. And the player that he was with Betis not only was a guy that could complete passes, but also a guy that would go and win challenges, that would command a certain presence in the midfield, that would be box to box and would have a presence both in the defensive half and the attacking half.

51:54Alexis Nunes:And you saw it in the heat map. He was all over the place, covering a whole lot of grounds. And when you find Johnny Cardoso covering a lot of ground and being a presence, sort of a box-to-box player and winning challenges and completing passes, you're getting close to his best. I don't think he's a tempo setter. I don't think he's a guy that is just going to complete passes and really put the foot on the ball and he's the one that is going to distribute play. He's a guy that wants to be on the move, wants to get involved in a challenge, wants to get involved in joining in the attack if need be, wants to be in the defensive third as well if that's what the game calls for.

52:34Alexis Nunes:I think this was as consistent as performance as we have seen from Johnny Cardoso, and they needed it. Atletico Madrid needed it because they needed consistency from somewhere. This team has been so up and down and up and down and up and down and down and up and up. and it's difficult to figure out what this team is going to be, just like it's been difficult to figure out what Johnny Cardoso can be for Atletico Madrid. But he gave us, I think, a glimpse of if he's able to reproduce performances like this, then you gain the trust of Diego Simeone. And in gaining the trust of Diego Simeone, you will find more consistent opportunities.

53:11Alejandro Moreno:All right. Well, that's all the good stuff. I suppose the positive, and we know Ale is very positive, A beacon of positivity. All right, well, let me see how positive you're going to be about this one now because Christian Pulisic, ooh. Well, he played just over an hour in AC Milan's 1-0 loss to Parma at home. Still no goal contributions for the American. That means no goal contributions now in eight games, Ale. So the drought continues. And you know I like to be dramatic, so calm or alarm?

53:43Alexis Nunes:Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't. I wouldn't be alarmed. I'm seeing a player with a lack of confidence, and that comes from the fact that you're not impacting the game in the manner in which you should. I don't think it's time to be alarmed just yet, but it is noticeable that he got himself in good positions, and I think that's encouraging. You get yourself in good positions, the execution wasn't quite there, and that's where the confidence level, I believe, is where Christian Pulisic is missing out. I am not seeing the same sort of bubbly, excitable kind of change of pace that we saw from him early on in the season.

54:29Alexis Nunes:I am not seeing the same enjoyment, nor should you for that matter. You're missing chances. You're not playing well. You know you're not having an impact. There have been some injury concerns as well. you kind of go, oh no, I've seen this picture before and I don't like it. But the only person that can change this is Christian Pulisic himself. And what you have to trust is that if you continue to get yourself in good positions, eventually one of these shots is going to drop for you. Like I said, the one that is coming to the top of the penalty box or the penalty spot is one that that has to be not only on target, but it's one that should be in the back of the net.

55:12Alexis Nunes:And he hits it straight into the ground. And I'm trying to put myself as a striker in that sort of position. I'm trying to think as to what the thought process is. And because you've already missed a couple of chances, because you haven't had the impact you've had before, now you're trying to make sure that you put it on target. You're trying to be very sort of careful and instead of just letting it go. and trusting that your skill set is good enough that if you just let it go, if instinctively you're not thinking about it, if you just allow your natural talent to take over, this ball is going to go in the back of the net.

55:48Alexis Nunes:But if you haven't done it for a while, then of course you're going to think about it.

55:52Alejandro Moreno:I mean, speaking of, it has been a bit of a while because we kind of saw this little decline, at least in form, since that friendly against Australia where they were just absolutely bullying him on the park. He had to come off. Then Chris Richards stepped in, had to galvanize the team again to say, hey, you can't just be picking on our Christian Pulisic. He's our Messi. Yes, I did make that comparison. Not exactly that. But a player of Christian Pulisic's quality. Is it just one goal, one assist that now changes it all?

56:20Alexis Nunes:That's what I would hope, that he has enough equity in his mind that one goal contribution, one shot on target that actually goes into the back of the net or one big play that ends up being a big goal for Milan that wins the game for them, that then you begin to tap into that equity and say, yeah, that's who I am. And I think earlier in his career, and I'm not talking about the time at Dortmund, I'm talking more like in the Chelsea days, he must have felt like, you know, you go into one of the stretches, you don't know when you're going to see the field again. I think he has enough or has done enough with Milan that even if he's going through this sort of droughts, if you will, that he's going to get a chance.

57:08Alexis Nunes:Yeah. Because they depend on him doing a lot of good things in the final third. And they depend on him being a difference maker. So the chances will come. The opportunities will come. And you just have to trust that you have it in you. You've done it before. And it's not, it wasn't 10 years ago. It was just a couple months in which you were hot. Yeah. And nobody in Milan could have loved Christian Pulisic more than they did at that time. That love hasn't disappeared, you know, but they need a little reminder. And that's when I think he can help himself with a thorough performance that rewards him for all the work that he's putting in.

57:49Alexis Nunes:And then in rewarding himself, not only with a performance or with a goal and a goal contribution, I think will go a long way. All right.

57:56Alejandro Moreno:So no.

57:56Alexis Nunes:I mean, I'm not alarmed just yet.

57:58Alejandro Moreno:I was going to say, you're very calm.

58:00Alexis Nunes:Well, that's usually what I am.

58:02Alejandro Moreno:He's very calm.

58:03Alexis Nunes:Calmness is...

58:03Alejandro Moreno:Beacon of positivity. I'm glad we ended that on a positivity.

58:06Alexis Nunes:Well, I'm trying to be. You're trying to... You've started... We started the show, it's a time to panic with Inter Miami. What is this and that and the other? I mean, every conversation, you've tried to take me to a negative place, and I'm just not going to go there.

58:23Alejandro Moreno:I love that for you. I love that. Ale, we grew up watching novellas. We have to be dramatic. Come on. You're bringing it today. Speaking of novelas, some of the best novelas come from Mexico. And guess who else comes from Mexico as we run it back? Raul Jimenez doing what he does best, baby. And that is putting the ball in the back of the net with a little baile after. Now, this time he scored a brace for Fulham away to Sunderland, which is no easy place to go. And that brace included, you know what, Ale? A penalty. A penalty. So what are we?

58:54Alexis Nunes:13 for 13 now? Is that what that is? Can somebody put the stat up? Because we're going to get there. It's 13 for 13.

59:03Alejandro Moreno:Is it 13 for 13? It is 13 for 13.

59:07Alexis Nunes:See, nobody knows Raul Jimenez penalty kicks in the Premier League like I do. Like you do. Football Americas.

59:13Alejandro Moreno:Oh, my days. Hashtag.

59:15Alexis Nunes:Football America.

59:16Alejandro Moreno:Hashtag football. There we go, Ale. Look at that. Look at that. I love how he doesn't just lean to one side, Ale. Well. Like you did.

59:28Alexis Nunes:You know what it tells me. What? He's able to do something that it takes a lot of calmness to be able to do, which is to stare at the goalkeeper. And that's the technique. All in the eyes. He does the hippity hub, you know, hesitation sort of thing. And every time that I see that done as well as he does it, I say, look, more power to you. I would never have tried to do that as a player. And he's able to do it in a way that he just stares into the souls of the goalkeepers. They go left or right and he'll go the opposite way. And that's why we find ourselves with this sort of spread of direction in terms of where he takes his penalties.

1:00:18Alexis Nunes:Because he's just waiting for the goalkeeper to move. But whatever you're doing, Raul, continue to do it. Continue, indeed. Perfection is just about as good as it gets.

1:00:29Alejandro Moreno:Exactly. Oh, my days. We love us some Raul Jimenez. All right, well, Raul will be in action for Fulham on the fifth round of the FA Cup. All these games are on ESPN+. In just about two Sundays from now, Fulham will be hosting Southampton.

1:00:49Alexis Nunes:This league is hard. There are good players.

1:00:53Alejandro Moreno:There's beef. What the hell is that?

1:00:56Alexis Nunes:It is the greatest league of chaos in football.

1:00:58Alejandro Moreno:You think I helped build this to leave now? I want to win a championship. You need to be very hungry to score. I'm serious. I'm walking in.

1:01:09Alexis Nunes:It's do or die. You don't want to die.

1:01:20Alejandro Moreno:All right, well, make sure to tune in to the next edition of Football W coming your way on Tuesday with some big-name guests joining the show and joining the likes of Christine Alexander and Ali Krieger. Look at that. The Barbara Banda, Olivia Moultrie, and Riley Tiernan will be all on 8.30 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN+. All right. Well, that's it for this very positive edition of Football Americas. Make sure to join us as well on Thursday. We'll be looking back at what will be some tasty Champions League action.

1:01:54Alexis Nunes:Are the people that are supposed to be here, are they going to be here?

1:01:57Alejandro Moreno:No, Ale, we will be here. We are essential. We are essential. Plus.

1:02:01Alexis Nunes:I don't think I'll be here.

1:02:02Alejandro Moreno:You're not here on Thursday? I am not. Who's on on Thursday? Are we both on?

1:02:07Alexis Nunes:No, it's not me.

1:02:09Alejandro Moreno:We'll find out. You know what? Let's leave it as a surprise. Okay. Let's leave it as a surprise. And a reminder, it's February, so calm down. It's February, so still a lot of meaningful things to talk about and storylines to read into right here on Football Americas. Thank you so much for hanging with us today, everyone, and we will see you again on Thursday.

1:02:43Alexis Nunes:It's a season two playoff race with TGL presented by SoFi. Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern, Jupiter Lynx versus Boston Common Golf. Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern, Los Angeles Golf Club versus New York Golf Club. Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern, the Bay Golf Club versus Jupiter Lynx. Keep up, it's golf. Watch on ESPN, ESPN2, and the ESPN app.