Futbol Americas: USMNT Loses Again! + Mexico Draws Against Belgium!

24:41Herc Gomez:Stay away from the lemon pepper wings. You've got to have the lemon pepper wings. All right. Well, as Jeff... I'm just saying... Jack? Lemon pepper wings, as Lisa said, but it's concerned. We're not going to go there. But where we are going to go is, as Jeff Carlisle just mentioned, Mauricio Pochettino was tinkering a little bit with his side today, especially with where he played Christian Pulisic. Let's hear him talk about that now. Christian was in a position, kind of like a false nine, I guess. No, nine, nine, striker. He played a striker in Milan. Right, right. Did you, how did you see his opportunities?

25:19And do you see him becoming a little frustrated because it's been a while since he's scored. No, I think he was very active, and I think he made a good job. I think he was involved in too many actions. Yes, I like it or ashamed a little bit that he didn't score with the opportunity that he has. It's normal. He was a little bit frustrated, but I think we were a little bit frustrated the whole game because we spend a lot of time talking about it for officials. But it's normal. Sometimes the referees respect more some big names than others. But that is not the excuse. It's only that he feels frustrated.

26:08But that is what we want, what we expect. that he was fighting, he was commitment in the phases that we demand more, and then with the ball, he's going to score because he has a quality. I am sure that he's going to come back to his club, and it's in the moment that he scores, he's going to start to score again. All right, so Mauricio Pochettino there saying that Christian Pulisic is indeed frustrated. He has been going through a bit of a goal-scoring drought. I mean, in terms of goal contributions, especially for his club AC Milan, he only has one assist so far in 2026. So it is a frustrating time for him, Herc.

26:49We know that we've discussed it a number of times on the show, but what do you make of what we saw from him today and in that position?

26:55Herc Gomez:Well, I think part of the frustration stems from not playing the position and learning that position can be dirty. Playing with your back to goal can hurt. It's very physical. And against the back line, like Portugal's, you saw them getting chippy with Christian and he lashed out. Now, Christian Pulisic has not been good for AC Milan in 2026. He's not been good for the U.S. men's national team. He does things in spurts where he makes you think about the old Christian Pulisic in transition, how he moves and glides with the ball. We see that today. We saw a few of those instances, but a few of those instances is not what you bank on with Christian Pulisic.

27:34Herc Gomez:Juergen Klinsmann gave him his first cap because he felt Christian Pulisic could be a game changer. And that's what he's been. It's been 10 years of being a game changer for the U.S. men's national team. But it's okay to say Christian Pulisic has been poor. It's okay to say he's not been good and he needs to be better. And the first game, he was part of the problem. Today, he was part of the problem. Whether he likes playing that position or not, it's a position he's played at AC Milan. In a tandem. At times we saw him as a false knight. At times we saw Weston McKinney and he both in the striker position.

28:10Herc Gomez:Like he plays at AC Milan. And it's okay to say it's not all on you. But he's been poor. And we have to recognize. It's not the same Christian Pulisic. And as Thierry famously once said. He's got to free himself. Only Christian Pulisic can help himself. Can help his cause. That's really what it's about. You were struggling with your hip during the summer. It got better. and you went on a crazy run at Milan. Now you're in a slump. If you're physically okay, go out there and prove it. If you're not, step away and get better. Yeah, Jürgen, just speaking about Christian, you know, as we were saying, what do you make of his positioning, and is he still that game-changer for you?

28:55Jurgen Klinsmann:Oh, any day he's that game-changer, absolutely. But obviously, as Herc says, rightfully, you know, not in the last couple of weeks. And the situation in Italy is not getting any easier. I mean, obviously, AC Milan is still kind of a little bit in a race for the title, even if there are quite a few points behind into Milan. He hasn't picked up there his rhythm yet. And now, you know, the disaster happened that Italy is not going to the World Cup. So the whole mood in Italy will be catastrophic the next couple of weeks for everybody, no matter where you play, what club you play for. but I mean what I hope personally just hope is that better now go through a bit of shitty period kind of prior to the World Cup than during the World Cup so you got to figure out as Huggs says you got to figure out especially as a forward player you kind of give yourself a kick in the back you know you get angry with yourself you get kind of aggressive you know you show the aggressiveness also towards your opponents which he did today and then you expect from yourself you know that you make the difference again that you give some assists that you score the one or the other goal and you you make your mark before you then come into camp for for the world cup and this is the reaction that everybody is hoping for from from christian and he's absolutely capable to do that yeah well in case anybody hasn't noticed we have two leaders of the goalkeepers union here in casey and shaka so let's talk about the goalkeeping position shall we casey i'm going to go straight to you Matt Freeze has he just easily won that now and is Matt Turner just out it looks that way it was a situation where you know Matt got this opportunity Turner in in in the match against Belgium and needed to have one of those perfect matches and and it didn't happen and so then they bring Freeze back in and he made a couple very nice saves to keep it at 2-0 No, no, no fault on either of the two goals.

30:55So, so, yeah, I think that is pretty much solidified the position. And, Shaka, what did you make of Matt Fries today? Because, of course, Casey has expressed his concern that he's probably not of that commanding presence like he was and a couple of the other strong U.S. men's national team goalkeepers we've seen in the past. But did he do himself a world of good today? Without question. Listen, I thought I thought the position before this, this is the international break was Frieses to lose. and even more so now, given his performance against Portugal. Now, let me say, if Priest had the performance that Turner did against Belgium and Turner had this performance against Portugal, maybe we're having a conversation.

31:39Maybe we're having a conversation. And that's not to say, I say that to make the point that I don't think Matinan necessarily was at four for any of the goals against Belgium, but he needed to have the kind of 90 minutes that Fris had against Portugal to get himself back in the reckoning of Mauricio Pochettino. He didn't, and then Fris produces this performance where I thought he was outstanding. Now, Casey's right, and to your point, the US have always been able to rely on these incredible goalkeepers who have a presence between the sticks. I don't quite see that presence from Fris yet. He's growing into that.

32:21I think his inclusion, when was it last year or whenever it is, Pochettino first lent on Fris, came as a little bit of a surprise. It kind of came from nowhere. He is growing to be that goalkeeper, but he is not that just yet. Maybe in the next couple of months, he grows a little bit further, and you see an even better performance come the World Cup. But even so, he's the U.S. number one. I don't think there's much debate anymore.

32:50Herc Gomez:This was his coming out party. The very first save against Bruno Fernandes was a much more difficult save than Matt Turner on the long distance shot that went through traffic and bounced about three times and got a hand on it. There were some very good moments from Matt Friese here. Good moment to solidify yourself as a number one. but those big goalkeepers that make a name for themselves, for their country, as Casey did once, as Shaka did once, they come out in the World Cup. They happen in the World Cup. Shaka did that. How old were you, Shaka? That was a long time ago. That was a long time ago.

33:24Black and white TV. Just kidding. All right, let's talk about some concerns. Juergen, of course, the position in between the sticks has been a concern for some time, but as Shaka and Casey pointed out, Matt Freeze did do himself a world of good today. But what would your biggest concern be heading into the World Cup now after what we've seen from the U.S. in this international break?

33:44Jurgen Klinsmann:Well, I don't have any concerns because I'm not on the inside of things. Oh, Jürgen, come on. I'm not going to say about anything. He's carefree of concerns. I mean, concerns are, you know, I mean, I always come from a standpoint that, you know, a group of players have this once in a lifetime opportunity to go to a World Cup. You know, obviously once he chose his 26, it's down to the 26 guys to go into this World Cup. And it's their opportunity to rock it. It's their opportunity to shine. It's their opportunity to show the top five or top ten or whatever in the world who they are and what they are capable to do.

34:28Jurgen Klinsmann:And I think there is a roster here in the United States that has the potential to really hurt big teams, big names, you know, in this tournament. But it will be very difficult. It will be very hard. It will be a nail-biter for everyone, for them, for their families, for the coaches, obviously, and for all the fans. And this only works at the end of the day when the chemistry is right between themselves. When they have a camaraderie, when they have a drive, an energy within their group of people, that is outstanding. And then they can do a lot, a lot of good stuff. And there's so much talent out there.

35:12Jurgen Klinsmann:And I hope they understand it. Because this moment, this moment to play a World Cup in your own country, you know, the biggest World Cup ever with 48 teams, this is not coming back into life anymore. And I hope just that they understand that, that they realize that. And the coaches are there to facilitate. The coaches are there to guide them through the process. But on the field, it's the players that make the difference. It's the players that decide, am I concentrated enough? Am I marking it okay? Am I making the right decisions at the right time? It's a player's game. And I really hope that they get that message.

35:46Jurgen Klinsmann:And I'm sure that Maurizio is pounding that message every day they are together. You can tell Juergen's used to dodging questions from the media right there. Slightly dodged that one. Casey, what about you in terms of biggest concerns there? Of course, I know in between the sticks that was a concern. But if we put that one aside, what else would you be concerned with? No, my big concern is that I don't see where this team is going to come together because I haven't seen any kind of consistency through anything over a long period of time. I'd love to see this is my back four. This is the starting midfield.

36:24and then maybe think, you know, to Shaka's point earlier, yes, there's going to be a little tinkering because you never know, hey, if this guy gets injured, who can step into this back four? But it's a completely different back four. So I have no idea what any kind of tendencies are of the team. You know, you were talking about tactics with Jeff Carlisle before he stepped off, and I was thinking the tactic right now is thinking and the mentality is, we're as good as Belgium. We're as good as Portugal. We're going to throw the ball in the middle of the pitch and we're going to show you that we're as good as these top 10 teams.

37:05Maybe they learned they're not and they need to play a little bit different if you want to get a result against a top 10 team. And so that's my concern is that there's just more questions than answers over these last couple matches. I thought we were getting into a good place over the last couple camps, and then this has scared me again. All right, well, Herc, in terms of stock up, stock down now, if we're going to pinpoint a few players from what we've seen in the last two games, who's raised their stock and who's stock kind of went a little bit down?

37:39Herc Gomez:Who's raised their stock? Well, Matt Freese, I think, would be the obvious winner here. Matt Freese was a question in a lot of fans and pundits' minds. and when the door was open to Matt Turner, you said, oh, there's something here. Maybe Mariso Pochettino is seeing what we see. Maybe Mariso Pochettino is thinking there is a competition. And I think tonight he closed that door. He shut those doubts. And he will start the first game of the World Cup. And bearing any, I would think, travesty, I think he's going to be the starter throughout the World Cup for the U.S. men's national team. And another player like Weston McKinney.

38:15Herc Gomez:I was one of the people who stated that with the formation that Marisa Pochettino had been playing with this national team, I didn't necessarily know where Weston McKinney would slide into. Weston McKinney is a player with the level he's at and the confidence he has can slide into multiple positions. I think it's another guy who raised his stock. Those are the two players I would say for me have raised their stock the most with the U.S. men's national team this window. I will. I will just add to that while talking about Frise again. That's a hell of a response, by the way. from Matt Freese. You see Turner get the nod in the first game against Belgium.

38:51Kind of give him Turner's history with this US Mets national team. How long he had been the number one. And then all of a sudden, he gets the nod for the first game in the window. And as a young goalkeeper, you can't help but think. You can't help but wonder, well, what is Pochettino really trying to say here at this point? And then you respond like that. I think credit to the young man for it. Well, then I suppose apart from Matt Turner, then whose stock went down or did anybody underwhelm?

39:20Herc Gomez:There's a few players who underwhelmed, but I don't think anybody underwhelmed as much as the head coach. That Marisa Pochettino, it comes with the territory. You're a six million dollar man. You love that. It's not even like we're pulling this out of thin air. The man said he was going to be in a semifinal with the U.S. men's national team. and then got stopped by Belgium by five goals and it could have been more like the audacity and at times when he addresses the U.S. media or just anybody in general just it's such a condescending manner he sets himself up for this and I could only I could only imagine what he's telling the players I could only imagine the way he's relaying the message to some of these players I understand that this can't be all on Mariso Pochettino.

40:13Herc Gomez:It's not his fault that Tyler Adams has hurt. It's not his fault Johnny Cardoso isn't here for the second game. It's not his fault Serginio Dest isn't available. Like, it wasn't his fault that Anthony Robinson hasn't been available for almost 500 days. I understand. But you have, in Father and Balligan, for the first time in a long time, a nine that is confident. scoring goals that has provided you with proof that he can link up with your most influential playmakers. And what you do is you tell him, Patrick Cajimane and Ricardo Pepe, slide over this way. I want to get Christian Pulisic closer to goal.

40:52Herc Gomez:I need him to get, per reports, I need to get him out of this slump. I played him in a different position that he's never played for the U.S. Men's National League before. Don't worry about what we're trying to achieve or your position or lack thereof in a future World Cup place. I need to do this. So he's taking those chances by himself. And when you take those risks, you assume the risk, well, it's on you. So a lot of what we saw and we've been seeing this window and before the stretch of the five runs, a five run unbeaten, because it wasn't all roses then, is on Mauricio Pochettino.

41:35I'll tell you why. I think Hurt phrased it perfectly. You asked that question, and the first thing I think is it's difficult to say anybody's stock went down when there was as much tinkering in the formation and the personnel as we saw. So it's difficult to say anybody disappointed or underperformed or their stock dropped when when they weren't playing alongside who you might usually expect, or they weren't playing in a position that you might usually expect. But then, to Herc's point, that's on the coach. So if we are talking, again, Herc phrased it perfectly. All right, I suppose we will leave it at that.

42:15We're going to continue talking about the U.S. men's national team because, like we said, we now know how their full group looks like. We're going to get to that in a bit. But first, let me remind you that our other show, ESPN FC, is on every single day of the week. Just check it out on ESPN+.

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44:03It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit VivgardMyWay.com. That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T MyWay.com. And talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hytrulo. Brought to you by Argenix. All right, into one of the other playoffs now, Kosovo. We're hosting Turkey and they did not make it easy. The Kosovo fans were giving the team hotel there for where Turkey was staying. Rude awakening as they were setting off fireworks. The 29th minute now. Big save here. This is Erkan. This really is an incredible shot. Stop. Aslani thinks he scored, but Erkan, outstanding. 53rd minute. The moment for Turkey comes.

44:49They get the breakthrough and they take the lead.

44:51Herc Gomez:Yeah, it's a scuffed shot. And I thought there may have been a sense of outside. There is no VAR. It stands, and Turkey's up 1-0. 81st minute. Kosovo close to an equalizer here. Mr. Lea, from a long way out. Hits us really well. Gets a lot of bend and dip on it. I kind of feel like the keeper had it covered, though. Into injury time right now. Kosovo with their last chance to equalize. And it does not go in. So Turkey hang on to the 1-0 win. and they are heading to the World Cup. Well, if you have a look there, these are the odds to win Group D. How interesting things will get now for the U.S.

45:30men's national team in this one. Now that we know that Turquia has come in there, familiar opponents to them, and Turkey has improved there, as you can see with the odds, to probably make it out of the group. Who knows? As we were saying, it's going to make it really interesting in this one. So, Jürgen, let me start with you. Now that we know that Turquia has qualified, we now know what the U.S. men's national team group is going to look like. How tricky is this looking for the U.S.?

45:58Jurgen Klinsmann:Well, this is a real, real tricky group because everybody literally can beat everybody in this group. There's no outsider in this group, not even Australia. Australia is very resilient. Australia has a fantastic spirit, very physical. I mean, they will give everything they have. And now with Turkey, it's probably one of the most, let's leave Italy aside, but that's the team you do not want to meet now already in the group phase. From the teams that will head still to fight for that spot. So this is what happened today. It's big news. It's big news for every U.S. soccer fan because this is a very dangerous group now.

46:44Jurgen Klinsmann:You can win this group, but you can also become fourth in that group. A very dangerous group where everyone can beat everyone. Casey, is that how you see it too? Yeah, because I think normally if you have one of the top teams in your group, you then think, okay, that team's going to pick up nine points, but they're going to also take points away from your opponent. So you then need to beat that opponent, and then that's fine. But here you could beat a team and then that team could beat the other team. And then that team could then beat the other team. And so it just could kind of throw and make everything just a very strange group.

47:24But in the end, look, it's up to you. You're at home. You've got good players. And go get the points you need to secure yourself at the top of the group. Look, if because of some strange things happen and teams are beating each other and you come in second, okay, it happens. Don't drop to third. That's all I say. Give yourself a better opportunity than in the next round. And I know this is going to be strange for everybody because, you know, with a round of 32, I mean, we've never experienced that before. So we don't exactly know how that's going to pan out. But what it does do is gives a team an opportunity that gets a slow start in the tournament and then is able to pick up the results that they need to get into the next round and pick up momentum.

48:20Herb, from what we've seen from Turquia in their qualifying as well, how dangerous of a threat do they look to the U.S.?

48:25Herc Gomez:Well, they're the most talented team in the group. in terms of players. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Gildiz anywhere else, Arda Guler, that type of talent. They have the talented players in that group. It's a team that automatically comes in and has a chance of being the best team in the group. But in this game versus Kosovo, I understand Kosovo's a home. In this game, Kosovo in the first half was immensely better. They probably deserved to be up. Turkey fought. They weathered. great save hits a crossbar Morici can't get onto the rebound that was on an empty net Turkey gave up some chances as they did when the US Men's National Team in the summer series played against Turkey the US Men's National Team struck in the first minute first minute it was the US Men's National Team being naive being silly at the back a Johnny Cardoso outside the foot across the face of the six that Arda Guller cuts off and it goes into the goal that then allows Turkey to take control of this game.

49:30Herc Gomez:And after the 20th minute, it was over. But the first 20 minutes of that game, I believe they scored in the 24th minute. The first 20 minutes of that game, the U.S. men's national team, with their pressure, caused them all types of problems. So they're a team because of their individual talent and their fight. And that muscle memory that is a World Cup and their fan base will present some problems. But I'm with Juergen. I said it during the draw. This is a trap group. And I'll double down again. Turkey's a very talented team. Paraguay is a very stingy defensive team. Tactically, under Gustavo Alfaro, this is a team that does not give up many goals.

50:09Herc Gomez:They are tough to play against. And in their World Cup qualifying, when Gustavo Alfaro took over, they were dead to rights. And he put them at one point at a second place. They beat the likes of Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina. They're a good team. And in Los Angeles, they're going to present a problem in the very first game. And then Australia, you're getting right. That's another pragmatic team. And we understand how this U.S. men's national team, they struggle breaking down a low block. This group is a trap group. They can easily win it. Sure, I could see the U.S. winning it. I can see them being third or worse.

50:47Herc Gomez:Jack, you see like that too? Yeah, I do. Listen, we sat in this very studio to do the workup draw. And the expectation was that Turkey kind of gave them the draw, would be the one that would advance into this group. And I'll say now exactly what I said then. All four teams come into this tournament thinking that they topped the group. To tell you how much of a trapped group it is, and now forgive me if I'm wrong about this, I'm not a gambling man, but according to the full screen that we just had up, Turkey were higher ranked than Paraguay, but Paraguay were shorter odds, shorter betting odds in topping the group.

51:20Now, if the bookies can't figure this out, If the bookies are unsure about how to handicap this group, it speaks to how difficult it really is to make a firm prediction. All right, well, Juergen, let's talk about Australia a little bit because that's an opponent that you know exactly what it's like to go up against in terms of teams that you coach. I believe that you have beaten them, especially with South Korea at the Asia Cup. But how much of a threat can Australia be? I know we put a lot of the trickiness on Turkey. But as Herc pointed out, Paraguay can be very stingy with their low block. But what about Australia?

51:57Jurgen Klinsmann:Well, Australia is unpredictable because Australians play, most of them are in Europe, as most of the players anyway. But they are used to play all sorts of different opponents. You know, they are able to play the East Asian ones like Japan or South Korea. They are able to play the Middle East countries. You know, when you play in an Asian Cup, you play against Jordan. You play against Bahrain. You play against Saudi Arabia. You know, their game management is completely different to what we are used to. And the Australians, they are capable to adapt. You know, they know how to play different type of systems against.

52:33Jurgen Klinsmann:They know how to kind of play with your mind. You know, they are able to play dirty. They are able to play straightforward, physical, and be honest in a certain way. But if you play with them dirty, they will answer it in a dirty way. So we had an experience in the Asian Cup. We went all the way into extra times and then finally we broke them down and won this game. But it is going to be a very, very difficult opponent. It is going to be a difficult opponent indeed. Well, we have a question that we're going to ask these boys at the desk later on in the show. But before we let Jurgen and Casey go, I want to ask it to you guys now.

53:07Casey, let me start with you. In terms of the host nations, now that we've gone through the playoffs, we know the likes of Canada have avoided Italy. So they don't have to worry about Toronto being a home game for the Italians. which of the host nations now do you feel have the better or more comfortable group?

53:26I would probably say maybe Mexico. And I kind of, I think they're maybe building a little bit momentum. I think they're recognizing that they have to be very solid defensively. They've showed that against, you know, two good countries, very top. Well, the top 10 countries that we played, you know, they, what, conceded one goal? You know, when we conceded seven. So I think Mexico has figured out kind of their identity and how they have to play. And that will give them that, I think, that confidence going forward. I think Canada will still, I think they need some key players to really get, I think, to really come through in these next couple months.

54:12I think Alfonso Davies, if he can get fit, that will really help. I mean, I know they're not just Alfonso Davies. They're very athletic. They're a good team. But I give Mexico the edge right now. All right, Casey's giving Mexico the edge with a more comfortable group of the host nations. What about you, Juergen?

54:32Jurgen Klinsmann:Well, I would agree with Casey. I think what Mexico smartly did now in this little window, So, you know, they played obviously their first game at the Atzeca Stadium after the long time kind of remodeling of the stadium. It's now ready for the opening game. But they played also, you know, tough opponents right there in Mexico where they have a different crowd of Mexican fans than if they play a couple of days later than in Chicago with a more, you know, Americanized crowd, you know, where it's more about the event, more about the entertainment, you know. But they know that when they play their games in Mexico, this team knows they have to deliver.

55:08Jurgen Klinsmann:The pressure is on them. And I think, you know, with their coaching staff, especially with Rafa Marquez also being part of that coaching staff, I mean, they are ready now to go into the tournament and to give everybody a real fight. That's a bit my feeling. So I would agree with Casey. You know, I would give them the edge at the moment. All right. Interesting enough because we're going to be talking about Mexico in just a bit. But in the meantime, let's thank Juergen for joining us. Juergen, you survived your football at America's debut. We cannot wait to have you on again so we can continue picking your brain about pretty much everything.

55:45And Casey, thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you again soon, too.

55:50Jurgen Klinsmann:Thanks, guys. All right, Juergen survived. Look at that. Whatever. All right, well, let's talk about Mexico right now. They went up against Belgium.

56:03Herc Gomez:Brian Gutierrez with the corner kick in and it finds its way to Jorge Sanchez. Brian Gutierrez in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. And this ball kind of stumbles to Jorge Sanchez, the right back. And it's 1-0 Mexico in the 19th minute. That's right. It was going all Mexico's way. That's the Ale Moreno range. A little far out for Ale? A little far out? All right. Well. A couple minutes later it would be Belgium that find the equalizer and how about that? This is a really nice finish. Tengolazo. Well outside, finds that side nothing. It could be accurate, just ridiculous range. It really is. I don't know about you Shaq, but I don't know how much you can do there.

56:51No, no, no, no, nobody's doing anything about that. No, we won't talk about the goalkeepers. Nobody's doing that. Shaq, I believe you probably could. All right, well, in the end, Mexico have to settle for this 1-1 draw against Belgium. All right, shall we talk about it? I mean, as Casey just pointed out, it didn't seem like a bad international window for Mexico. Considering all the concerns and questions we had about them, and I thought it was interesting what Casey said. He said it sounds like or it looks like Mexico know what they want to do in terms of an identity. Do you see it like that?

57:26Herc Gomez:I think the coach knows what he wants out of the group, and he plays a very pragmatic role. And this is who Javier El Vasco Aguirre is. This is the third time he's been involved with the Mexican National Team, third cycle, and all of his teams have been pragmatic, defend first, and we'll take our chances. That's not necessarily been the Mexico way. And it's not exactly been how Mexican fans want them to play. And in a game against a top five team to win the World Cup, I think Portugal has a very good shot of winning a World Cup because of that player pool. They held them to a scoreless draw in Estadio Azteca, and yet they were booed after the game.

58:04Herc Gomez:And the last 15, 20 minutes every touch of Portugal had was an ole, ole in Portugal's favor. And their goalkeeper was having the homophobic chant yelled at him by his own fans. There is a discontent right now with the fan base and the national team. And it stems from much more than what's actually going on on the field. That's part of it. They wish their team would play a different brand, although I don't understand how securing a result like that against a team that is a legitimate threat to win the World Cup is a bad thing. But this national team right now, it feels like it's them versus the world.

58:45Herc Gomez:And that's the way the players and Javier Aguirre and Rafa Marquez feel. And it's allowing them to get results. And I'm not just talking about Belgium. I'm not just talking about Portugal. I'm talking about the Nations League. I'm talking about Gold Cup. Results that they weren't getting before. Do you feel they have that grit, that bite when you compare it to the U.S.? Well, not just the grit and bite. They know who they are. Yeah. They know who they are exactly. So what is all our stress and concerns and saying this is the worst generation of Mexico players? Well, because they are the worst generation.

59:18It's going to be un fracaso. But they're still able to fight to get those rich girls. Alexis, that is the problem.

59:22Herc Gomez:They know who they are. But so do the rest of the people. They know who you are. And you're the worst generation of players that Mexico has had in the modern era. Since 1978. Help me out here. Yeah? Am I right there, Beto? 1978, where they didn't make it to the next round. That's the Argentina World Cup. In Argentina, I think I'm right there. That's the worst generation. And because of that, on home soil in their World Cup, fans and pundits are freaked out. And I think that has unified, has given these players, they've galvanized the situation, each other, and they're fighting for each other. As much as some would hate to see that, that's what they're doing, and they're getting results.

1:00:05That change mentality, I think, is an incredible motivator. When you feel it's you against you would. And that's what Huck is alluding to with this Mexican national team. And, yeah, listen, I heard all the concerns about Mexico and the build-up to this tournament. And now here we are. And, well, Belgium, you could argue that it was a Belgium B on display today. You've now got two very good results against two very good teams. And then you may look to the U.S. and see their results against that very same team. and it will certainly feel different from a fan perspective. I'm not sure the fan perspective, again, makes that much of a difference to this team, given the season mentality that Sydney's paying dividends.

1:00:47But also, while you could boo after a draw with Portugal, you draw Portugal in the tournament, that's a great result. And I think once the tournament gets going, once you start putting results together, sentiment changes. Almost regardless of the performance, of how those results come about, If you play to your strengths, the strengths of this squad, and you get results, I think the fans respond. I just think this is a kind of temporary issue that, like everything else in football, results change more than anything. Let's talk about the goalkeeping situation because that was one of the biggest concerns as well for Mexico coming into this.

1:01:30We know that Mexico for so long has been led by Memo Ochoa, but now with Talarangel, how do you feel like he did?

1:01:35Herc Gomez:I feel he did fine. Tal Arangel. Listen, his only competition was Luis Angel Malagón. He's out of the picture with a torn Achilles. And in comes Memo Ochoa. And you would have thought if Memo Ochoa was going to be a contender, he would have gotten one of these two games. He didn't get one of these two games. So all is well, right? It's going to be Tal Arangel opening day against South Africa. But I've seen this movie before. And it was in 2010 when Memo Ochoa was the young buck. Memo Ochoa was a young goalkeeper. And right before the World Cup, he had a few blunders. And right before the World Cup, it was this same coach, Tumemo Ochoa, that said, I'm going to go ahead and give this guy who's almost 40 the goalkeeping position in South Africa.

1:02:21Herc Gomez:So, Tal Arangel feels good about himself right now and is gaining that experience. But if I were a betting man, and I am, I don't think we've heard the last of this situation. All right. Listen, I had concerns about Ranga coming into this window. I thought he could himself well. And that's as a player, as a goalkeeper, as somebody who plays this game, that's all you could do. When you're given the opportunities, take them. And again, to come out of this and the one goal you've conceded in this international window is that effort from Luka Bakio. I think that's a good international window, kind of given the questions coming into it.

1:02:59All right, Tala, you've got the Shaka Hislop stamp of approval. For now. You don't get that very often. For now. Oh. For now. Too late. They don't really have that many more options now. All right. Let's go to Czechia going up against Denmark. Shaka, don't laugh at me with this one because you know I was rooting for my boy Rasmus Hojland. Three minutes in, though, is Czechia that find themselves in the lead.

1:03:19Herc Gomez:Well, that's a goal. Last of that is well struck outside the box. You cannot hit that ball any cleaner. It's through traffic, and it is a stunner. Absolute stunner there. 72nd minute now. The Danes would equalize. It's a really nice ball in. Floated in, Kipa is tempted to come. Anderson gets above him because of the trajectory of delivery. Easy hitter. Well, we're headed to extra time in this one. In the 100th minute, though, Chekya will take the lead. Yeah, it's a lot of traffic in there. It's a rebound. It's a Kresic shot that takes a deflect. You're going to see right there. It lands to his left and the player's on the ground.

1:03:58Herc Gomez:He doesn't really see much of it, doesn't know too much about it, but it's in the goal. Well about 11 minutes later it's like deja vu again because the Danes come back and they find an equalizer. Kasper Ho with the header. And this is a really good header. Going away from goal. Almost hits them in the back of the head. Really nice finish. Well you know what that means guys. We're headed to penalties. Rasmus Hojla. Oh boy. Oh come on. My voice steps up. It was going on so well at Napoli, but he misses the first penalty too, man. Anders Dreyer, the DP for San Diego FC, steps up and he misses as well.

1:04:41Matthias Henson stepping up. You know it's not a good day when you miss three of your first four. Disaster. Disaster. though. Sadilek now stepping up to bury it for Czechia and they are going to the World Cup. Absolute scenes, limbs, dancing, jumping. Denmark will have to join me and Xhaka. On the sidelines, on the outside. Come on. Looking at it. All right. Well, these are the odds to win Group A. Remember, this is Mexico's group. They are in it with South Korea, Czechia, who have just punched their name in the group, as well as South Africa. And after what we saw from Mexico in this international break, looks like their odds got a lot better.

1:05:27Herc Gomez:Yeah, I would say for good reason. Listen, Mexico won't be the home team throughout, but they'll be the home team for what is important for them, which is the group phase. Yeah. To set them up for the next phase. and two of the three games are at Estadio Azteca. They've lost twice in the modern era in Estadio Azteca in competitive matches. They've only lost seven times in their history, I believe. I mentioned this during the draw. An eventual meetup for a place in the quarterfinals in the round of 16 if Mexico goes to their trajectory and England goes through their trajectory would be in Mexico City.

1:06:13Herc Gomez:They would play in Atlanta three days before and then have to travel to Mexico City. And I recall Shaq saying that the Azteca with the daylight, with the smog and the altitude, I said that is a crazy combo. And Shaq said it best. The ultimate leveler. Yeah. Forget about England. They're going to give that to South Africa, and then they're going to give that to Czechia. This is a team that just came off. They suffered in this game, but they came off an impressive result. Maybe not the way the fans or pundits would have liked, but an impressive result against Portugal. And the Portuguese players talked about how impressive the atmosphere was.

1:07:01Herc Gomez:They talked about the air, how difficult it is to breathe. They talked about the smog. This is going to be something that affects all teams. And if it does not affect the Mexican national team, everything that encompasses Azteca, the fan base, and the climate, it's going to be a massive advantage to them and one that's going to lead them into the second round. The thing that kind of makes me chuckle, maybe that's not the right phrasing, is while Portugal will complain about the heat and the smog, it's March. Yeah. Oh, yeah. We haven't even hit summer months yet. And so you understand exactly what I mean by that.

1:07:40And the conditions that the European teams coming to North America have experienced in this international window will feel very different come June and July. Regardless of where you are, pretty much, it will totally contrast to how things are felt right now. And while you've seen some very good performances by some very good teams, those weather conditions change a lot about how people progress, how they manage in 90 minutes. So it was all doom and gloom from Mexico heading into this World Cup. We were like, oh, my goodness. This is not the most talented, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

1:08:21Herc Gomez:It could still be doom and gloom. But now we're looking, it's like, wait, you got a favorite group. I think Mexico got it. It's going to bring all this opposition to smog and whatnot. It's going to be Mexico to win the group then. Bosh, Bosh, Bosh, moving on. Yes. I say yes. Mexico wins the group. The toughest game is outside of Mexico City in Guadalajara, which is Son and Co. with South Korea. It's all about that first game against South Africa. That first game is very telling. If they come out and they play, they put on a show, this team potentially can make history and go to their quinto partido.

1:08:56Herc Gomez:Now a sexto partido. But if you have anything less, the pressure is going to mount. And this team in Mexico, they felt the pressure before. They'll be all right. They'll top the cliff. I think they'll be all right. Kirk is all cautious. I know. I can say wherever I want. My team's not there. My team's not there. Bien you, Alexis. Bien you. We can say wherever we want. Rich Eisen here. The April 15th tax deadline is coming fast. But don't worry. Hand off your taxes to a TurboTax expert today. You know how April feels. Everything speeds up. Games matter. More hoops and hockey schedules tighten. Your phone won't stop buzzing.

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1:11:31Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Another team that's certainly not going to be there. Oh, boy, oh, boy. Shots fired. Former champions as well. Bosnia and Herzogovina up against Italia, Italy, taking the lead here through Moise Ken, and it was all going the Italians' way on a very sketchy pitch. Ah, portero. Xhaka, what you doing? Xhaka's dropping. This is a hell of a finish. It's a really good finish. Really good. Sisted by the goalkeeper. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:12:04Herc Gomez:Oh, no. Yep. You know what's coming. Oh, no. And Bastoni just taking the last... your last band celebrations yeah you commit to that you you've got to get ball otherwise that's gonna be a red card is it really necessary yeah turn your feet I think that that's and Moise can again gift an opportunity covers a lot of ground here and then just overcooks the finish a little bit too much need to be just a little bit more delicate keep our advances could he have gone for the dig. That takes a massive bounce right before he hits it too. Gattuso wondering how did you not bury that my brother? Well that would definitely come back to haunt him because eventually Bosnia and Herzogovina find the equalizer.

1:12:53Nice cross again Italy outnumbered at the back there's a lot of white shades but somehow blue shade gets on it Donovan makes an incredible save. Yeah it really is and then just bond it over quite simply. That's when you're a goalkeeper you You want somebody to bail you out. Yeah, I'm happy here. Alright, well this one's extra time and then penalties and that's where Italy all came undone.

1:13:20Herc Gomez:It's your youngest player taking the penalty kick, the first penalty kick, just skies it over, he off for power. Gennaro Gattuso, he knows the feeling.

1:13:35Herc Gomez:Yep. Ristante off the crossbar. They're just opting for power. Nerves get the best of them. Bosnia in the driver's seat. And Luigi Donnarumma hoping to come up with a big save but he does not do it. He just squeezed under him. And that's heartbreak. That is absolutely heartbreak. Three World Cups in a row now easily have missed. What a great party we could have with Italy, Trinidad, Tobago and Jamaica just watching the World Cup from home. Great food. But anyways, that means that Canada avoid having Italia in their group. They're going to have to deal with the likes of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a 40-year-old Edin Dzeko.

1:14:17Imagine that. Plus the likes of Switzerland and Qatar. So how good is this for Canada then now, considering there was such a hullabaloo made of, of course, the Italian demographic in Toronto? Jesse Marsh was asked about what it was going to be like, feeling like you're at home, but you're not really at home. Now they've avoided it.

1:14:36Herc Gomez:So listen, they dodged a major bullet in terms of what they would have faced in the first game outside the field. You have to give Bosnia and Herzegovina their flowers. Give them credit. They are a team that is to contend with. You have to be aware of how dangerous they can be. But I've lived in Toronto. I've seen the amount of Italian Canadians that are in the greater Toronto area. That would have been an Italy home match. Oh, for sure. And the first game of a World Cup that is supposed to be on home soil, to feel like you're not the home team against a team that would have been heavily favored, not only against you, but in the group, automatically would have also meant you're not favored in that game, but you're the third best now in your group because Switzerland is the other team to contend with in that group.

1:15:27Herc Gomez:So now you're saying, okay, realistically, we're the third best team in this group. So they dodged a major bullet. Now with Bosnia-Herzegovina, you will take your chances and say, we could be the second best team in this group. I think Canada were fairly fortunate here, but now it's up to them because Bosnia is playing with house money I will also say three very different tests in those in those three teams Bosnia would be very physical they make it a very tough game to play Switzerland Outstanding footballing team because I think The team that that finishes bottom of the group. So now you've got to get make sure and get a good result in there But Qatar are still in there, and it will offer a very different test.

1:16:15It's a difficult one for Canada. And as you said right now, I think the best they can hope for is a second-place finish. I don't see them topping the group. I think Switzerland, as the bookies would agree, are the best team. But while you may have avoided Italy, don't sleep on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Again, they will be a very stern test. All right. Well, I know this is Football Americas, and we take it from the Americas standpoint, but we have to spare a thought for Italy, because now a third straight World Cup that the Italians will be missing. They've actually made history because no other former champion has ever failed to qualify for three straight World Cups.

1:16:54And, I mean, we all grew up in an era where Italy gifted us some of the best footballers we have ever seen. What is going on?

1:17:02Herc Gomez:I mean, I grew up in Italy was a world power in the footballing sense. And the Totties and the Pierlos. And you can go on and on and on and on and on with the amount of ridiculous players. And Serie A in the 90s and the players that played in Serie A in the 90s. And then I grew up and there are children today that won't know what it's like to see Italy play in a World Cup, but will know what it's like to see Haiti play in a World Cup. We'll know what it's like to see teams like Curaçao playing a World Cup. We'll know what it's like to see teams like Bosnia and Herzegovina playing a World Cup. Italy is not doing a lot of things right.

1:17:44Herc Gomez:It's not by coincidence. I don't care how difficult you think European qualifying is in the World Cup. It's not by coincidence you miss out on your third World Cup. And in the last two before that, you went out in the group phase. They no longer produced young players in Serie A. I can't think of a single young Italian player that comes to mind and you're like, oh, this is somebody you have to keep an eye on could be a Ballondo or winner in the future. That's Italian football has lost its way. And if you think that is not a problem, well, look what's happening with your senior national team. And I mean, he's still in his 20s, later parts of his 20s.

1:18:18But Shaq, it's almost a crime to know that Donnarumma is not going to another world. Yeah. The oddity about this Italian national team and certainly this phase that they're in, and we talk about them missing three World Cups in a row now, they managed to win a Euros in there. Yes, they did. So for all the criticism around what it means, Italian football, they're missing three World Cups, they were crowned Euro champions in 2021. So how do you square that up? I say this, I can't help but feel that there is an expectation that comes from within Italy that because of who they are, because of how many work-ups they've won, because of their footballing history, they deserve the right to be there.

1:19:05And I say that because you heard that from Gartuso after finishing second-hand, outstanding Norway team in the group phase. where Italy have to play our playoffs. How does that work? And so it speaks to, if not an arrogance, an expectation around who they are. Nobody deserves to be in a workup. You earn the right to be in a workup. Unless you're hosting, you earn the right to be in a workup. And as long as that mentality continues, I fear you will see this kind of up and down. Sydney a whole lot more down of late of Italian football. There are a lot of issues to be fixed, whether we're talking Syria and how they compete financially, whether we're talking about the development.

1:19:55But until you fix that attitude, I'm not sure things get better regardless.

1:20:00Herc Gomez:Without adding salt in the wounds to the panel here, you could not qualify in an expanded World Cup. Yeah. Yeah. The Italians, I mean. Neither could we, apparently. I'm all right with it. I'm used to it at this point. Jaka, you're not all right with it. I'm used to it at this point. We never had to worry about Mexico, USA, and Canada. Sorry, I'm not okay. All right, well, let's talk about the Mexico, USA, and Canada. Final question, just to tie a bow on it. Which of the host nations do you feel, now that all the groups have finished themselves, which of the host nations got the better shake? Mexico.

1:20:37Herc Gomez:I think Juergen explained it very well. So did Casey. I think we've already spoken about the difficulties of playing in Mexico. I thought Denmark would have posed, because of the style of play, more difficulty for the Mexican national team. I really did. And individually, some of the players that were injured who would have been available for the World Cup would have been a harder task, more difficult task on paper than Czechos. So I think it's Mexico. I agree. Listen, as we said right now, I think Mexico win the group. I stand by that. I do not think Canada win their group. And as we discussed, all four teams in the U.S.

1:21:19group go into the start of the workup thinking we've got a chance to top the group. So by virtue of that breakdown, Mexico, for me, are the happiest. Look at that. We just only spent about a year just absolutely dragging Mexico. And I was like, you know what? Timing is everything. Now it's like Mexico have the best group. They're probably going to top it. It's going to be smooth sailing. Grand. Grand. Must be nice, Mexico. Must be nice. All right, well, this international window is pretty much winding down. That means club football will be making a return this weekend, and La Liga will be back on our networks.

1:21:55Atlético de Madrid and Cholo Simeone have a big one as they host Hansi Flick and Barcelona. That's Saturday, 3 p.m. Eastern time, but join us 13 minutes before for the pre-show. All right, well, that's going to do it for us, then. We are back next week, Monday, where hopefully I would have recovered. It'll be all right. You bounce back quickly enough. You got used to it, Alexis. We bounce back quickly enough, Shaka. I tend to hang on to heartbreak. I'm fine. I am completely unfazed. You are not unfazed. I am. Trust me. I'm not all right. I'm going to go home and cry into my pillow right now and probably have a couple adult beverages.

1:22:35So that's it for us. On behalf of Herk, Shaka, and myself, thank you. Thank you for watching Fobal America. See you Monday. Hey!

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