Futbol Americas: USMNT's Big Win + Tri Questions + CCC Recap

22:59How much of a question has he given Mauricio Pochettino?

23:03Herc Gomez:Well, I think he's given Mauricio Pochettino a bit of a headache here. He didn't score a goal in this game. Yeah. But he had a man-of-the-match performance for me in 45 minutes. They've always told me that when you're not scoring goals, what can you do to help the team? And the way he runs players down, the way he brings in midfielders, attacking players into play with his link of play, The way he played back to goal, the way he was dragging the Senegal players and opening up and creating space for himself and for others, I thought was a demonstration of how to play as a nine at an elite level.

23:39Herc Gomez:This team is at its best when they are dynamic. And that not only means in transition, that means in how you defend and how you recover the ball and then how you go about the buildup. He was excellent in that 45 minute cameo that he had. If I'm Marisa Pujetino, I'm looking down at Farland Balogun and Haji Wright, and I'm saying, you guys may score goals, but this is what I need when you don't score goals. He did everything but the goal. He was that good. I think both goals were products of Ricardo Pepe and his set-up play. Chaka, Ricardo Pepe, the floor is yours. Because Flo Balogun got the goals.

24:12Herc Gomez:Yeah. And he may be the ninth floor. I don't think anybody's taken that from him. Had you come to me on Saturday and asked who starts for the U.S. men's national team, straight away, I tell you, Flo Balogun. I didn't think there was any question to it. And then the question was about Hadjir Wright, about Ricardo Pepe and the supporting roles that they can play. Balogun showed himself to be a very different striker from Ricardo Pepe. An in-the-box striker who holds the ball up, who's in and around the 18-yard box, who has that instinct for goal. And there may very well be a huge need for that skill set, that talent, that finishing power of Flau Barragan, especially when you consider Paraguay and you expect Australia as defensively-minded teams in the group stage.

25:03Where Ricardo Pepe gives Pochettino a lot to think about, questions to answer, is against more attack-minded teams. different. Again, if we're talking group stages, you're thinking Turkey, who may want to press a little bit higher up, Ricardo Pepe, able to drop into those spaces, engage defenders, draw them out of position when sitting in those spaces, no half spaces between midfield and defence. And that allows the likes of Reina and Pulisic, that allows the likes of Anthony Robinson and Sergino Dest, two outstanding runners on the flanks, to find space in behind. Now, that's always a challenge of a workup, those different styles and how you can cope or counter them.

25:50And I think Ricardo Pepe has given Pochettino an extra trump card in his deck here that I did not see coming two weeks ago. Well, one thing I don't think many of us saw coming, probably, was the fact that Matt Turner got the nod to start in this game. And then it was Chris Brady that was brought on, not Matt Freeze, who seems to have been the pick for Mauricio Pochettino going into this one. Shaq, while this is definitely your area of the pitch and you have the floor, let me start with you. What did we learn? Because Mauricio Pochettino basically said he didn't want Chris Brady debuting at the World Cup, so you have to give him some minutes.

26:22Yeah, understandably, Brady comes on at halftime and sees 45 minutes. I don't think he can be blamed for the goal. Matt Turner, who's wanted a good performance for the US Men's National Team and Pochettino, I think you got that from Matt Turner. Again, could not be at all blamed for the goal that he conceded. With one game to go against Germany before they started the World Cup, I would be extraordinarily surprised if Frisch doesn't just start but play the full 90 minutes. I think he showed himself to be Pochettino's preferred number one. You understand Pochettino giving both players, Turner and Brady, 45 minutes in this one ahead of a World Cup because you want them getting their gloves on the ball, getting that experience.

27:12What happens if Freese pulls a hamstring 30 minutes into the first game, knock on wood, whatever. You want those players to have those minutes, to have that experience, and I think they both did themselves justice with the minutes that they got.

27:26Herc Gomez:I mean, it'd be pretty crazy if 15 of the games that Pochettino has coached, Freese started 14 of them under him. This is going back to a few games ago, this number. And all of a sudden, the World Cup rolls around and he gives it to Matt Turner. I mean, we don't know what's going on in the training sessions, but you just invested so much time and energy in making this guy your number one. You let the world know he's your number one. I'm with Shaq. I don't think that's changing at all. And he could say what he wants about giving Chris Brady an appearance. Give him the appearance, but to say that you don't want him debuting in the World Cup.

28:02Herc Gomez:He's the third goalkeeper. I don't recall a third goalkeeper getting time at a World Cup. Jack? I get that point. I fully support him getting it. Yes. It's the right thing to do. All right. Jack is sticking up for his goal. All right. Well, another highlight of the game that suddenly became a meme as well is what happened in one of the cooling breaks because Mauricio Pochettino managed to whip out the laptop and was talking tactics, showing the players' videos. Well, it left us with a couple of questions, and this is what he had to say about it. Mentioned the water break, and they showed on the television broadcast, you have the computer, you have the players all around the computer.

28:44Herc Gomez:What did you want to do in that moment that's very unusual in a football match? What was it like for you to do that, and what did you want to do? It's unusual, but I want to tell you one thing. I was the first to start doing this. In the half-time. Yes, when I started in Espanol in 2009. I think it's very helpful for the player to see actions. It's not only to tell what you want to improve or what they need to do. When they see the image, I think it's really important. Now we have the chance because we have an amazing federation that you already saw in our national training. We have a big screen with the possibility every day to show different side-by-side scenes.

29:38The players need to feel but also need to see very visual. I think we have the possibility to do three or four actions and how we need to improve in offensive and defensive in the two phases of the game. I think it's really helpful. This water break is important if we can do this. It's true that the players can not go out. We see now in the World Cup if they can allow them how we are going to do that. But I think it's really helpful. I don't like. But I use the water break to try to help my players. But still I don't like. I prefer, of course, if it's too hot. I think the water break is important because the health of the players are the first.

30:28But if it's not too hot and we are going to play in a stadium that is 21, 22, 23 degrees, I think it's not necessary to stop. I think the players are prepared and ready to compete during 45 minutes. But it's like plenty of rules to try today, but at the end the referee I didn't try because it was a non-official game, but after it's going to happen, this type of thing during the World Cup. Rules that for sure I don't like, they say that they are going to help to the spectacle,

31:09but we are going in a direction that we are going to change. because if we add the rules, then the soccer or the football that we know is going to stop to exist and is going to become another sport. But in your question, I still don't like.

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32:53Try Gusto today at gusto.com slash football and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash football. One more time, gusto.com slash football. All right, so Mauricio Pochettino, not the biggest fan of the cooling breaks that I'm sure we're going to see a lot of this summer at the World Cup, but at least with the ones he's given, he's trying to make the most of them. He says you got to see it before you can do it. And I get that. I'm a visual learner too. Herc, what did you make of what he had to say?

33:27Herc Gomez:He's not cool with it. I see what you did there. See what I did there? Listen, it is what it is, Shaq. The joke and the cooling breaks, they're not going to change. This is part of the modern game for this World Cup. It could be a way of FIFA doing advertisements and certainly will sell it to some sort of fancy sports drink and they'll go from there. But in terms of football, we saw Marisa Pochettino. It became a meme. He breaks out the laptop and he was talking about the defensive and offensive phases of the game and what they could improve on. He could now use that to show his players exactly as Alexis is saying.

34:02Herc Gomez:Some of them are visual what he is thinking and what he wants them to do. I have no issue with it, with the cooling break or with the way Mauricio Pochettino used it against Senegal. Certainly in this game of friendly makes complete sense. Now, there are critics of the cooling break. Having played soccer here in the U.S., I think it's a good idea. Some of the conditions warrant exactly that. Now, I expect there to be some FIFA regulation around how it's managed by players and head coaches, whether it's the players can't come off the field, the head coaches can't come out of their coaching box, whatever it is, because it's still a part of the game, of the first half.

34:39So those rules still should apply. Maybe that's what will come down the pipeline before you start the workup, and how teams and head coaches manage that, we wait to be seen. But I certainly don't have an issue with the cooling break, either in friendlies or in tournament itself.

34:57Herc Gomez:Yeah, the problem is when it's actually warranted, when it's hot, when you need to cool down. FIFA's just doing this as a fancy way of getting more advertisements in. Oh, you're cynic. You are so cynical. It's not a weather thing. Every single game will happen. All right, well, he's not too cynical about the fact that we did see a lot of positives, maybe a couple of negatives as we talked about from the U.S. men's national team in this game against Senegal. Let's break it down based on the halves because we did see two very different players as well in each half. First and foremost, Herc, in the first half, what did you like?

35:27Herc Gomez:Well, the partnerships. and Marisa Pochettino was commenting on the partnerships that he wanted to see. There are clear patterns of play. There are clear familiarity between players. Tim Ream, in the way he is familiar with an Anthony Robinson, Anthony Robinson, the way he's familiar with the Pulisic, and Dest with Pepe, those sort of things. We're going to get to it, but there are some clear patterns that we saw, at least in the first half. So many changes came up next. It was very difficult to keep up in the second half. But look, this is going to start off right here. We're going to get the ball.

35:57Herc Gomez:This is the 19th minute. This is the second goal right here. Pause. This is a line of five that they're playing in. The way they were out, it's three center backs. You've got McKenzie, Ream, Alex Freeman. You got Anthony Robinson on the left, and you got Serginio Dest on the right. Now, Freeman, and we're going to see him. Freeman's going to tell Dest exactly where he wants the ball. First, he's going to say, hey, to my left. And then he's going to say, no, play to my right. You're going to see right there. creates the space and as he creates it he now has free space and instead of picking his head up and finding a player he needs to confront players he needs to draw attackers to him so he's gonna come into this space which is brilliant and ricardo pepe recognizes that he's going to check two and realize and he's going to go away and who bites the center back and you're going to see the center back bite right here with him and as he bites our man is gone and he is gone for the good one here off to the races off to the races and who's going to be off to the races with them christian pulisic and as christian pulisic recognizes that he has ricardo pepe with the ball he's going to make his run and it's a beautifully weighted pass and it's around the goalkeeper and look at the way christian pulisic celebrates the goal it's a beautiful ball in between.

37:16Herc Gomez:Ricardo Pepe recognizes, but this does not happen without Alex Freeman recognizing the situation and attacking the space. That is your center back attacking the space outside of the foot dink to Ricardo Pepe outside of the foot dink. And then it's outside of the foot dink and put away. And the way he celebrates, he can say whatever he wants. He can say, now you won't start talking about it anymore. Leave it alone. But this is a player that desperately needed that play, that goal. All right. Well, you've got a couple more plays as well that you want to highlight to Herc. Yes. Let's go really quick with the first goal.

37:47Herc Gomez:It's very important that we highlight the partnerships. Tim Ream knows exactly what Anthony Robinson is about. They played in the championship for many years together. It's to Anthony Robinson. Anthony Robinson is going to get the ball, head up, and I want you to see something very quickly. Highlight two things. We're going to highlight Ricardo Pepe and his awareness. He's going to draw players into He's gonna come and attack. And then I want you to see Christian Pulisic, the space that is left. Ricardo Pepe comes in. There's a space that is left, but watch this. This is so difficult. He's got two players on his back.

38:24Herc Gomez:This is a controlled situation for Senegal. You got one, two, three, four, five players. Six players taking care of two. It should be a very controlled situation for Senegal. And what does Senegal do? There's a little space in between those two players and a moment of brilliance from Ricardo Pepe. In between, boom! Now watch this. What does this player, Sergino Destu? He sees that the center back has to come and confront. So what does he do? He attacks the space and he's gonna explode into it and it's gonna be a one-v-one situation. Who's faster into the space? And Christian Pulisic, who is so good at recognizing the situation, picks his head up and very easily puts it to Sergino Dest.

39:11Herc Gomez:And very quickly, you're going to see right here the amount of U.S. Men's National Team players that I think is important that are going to come crashing the box. Numbers! You had no numbers, you get out, you create numbers. Look at, watch how many players here actually end up in the box. You have one, two, three, four, five U.S. Men's National Team players on the Sergino Dest goal. It's very nicely done, important by Ricardo Pepe. The hold-up play was brilliant. but look at them crashing the box and look at the Senegalese players looking at who to blame. It's a beautiful run by Christian Pulisic, very nicely set up by Ricardo Pepe, and it's something to celebrate.

39:45Yeah, I know there was a lot made about Christian Pulisic's goal, but that probably was my favorite play of the day. I love it when Serginio is up there playing like a center forward, but there's another play too, Herc, that you want to highlight.

39:55Herc Gomez:Yeah, it's not just positive. There's a lot of good things, okay? And one of the things that I need to highlight with this U.S. men's national team, It's not tactical. Tactically, they were good defensively. They defended in numbers. They were very good in how they pressed. It was very intense. But there are individual mistakes that have done this team in, from the Greg Verhalter years, now to Marisa Pochettino. And there's a few individual mistakes in this one. And I mentioned that Tim Rehm knows Anthony Robinson. Shaq, where is he pointing? He's pointing back. He's pointing back. He gives it to him in front.

40:29Herc Gomez:Now, this player, Anthony Robinson, makes a meal of it. He goes right into the player. He's caught in between two mines, and he loses the ball in a place you cannot lose it. You lose this ball right here. Now look at the numbers. You have these players who are caught out of position. You've got one, two, three, four, five, six players caught out of position. And you're leaving Tyler Adams with two over here. And what happens? it gets picked off and you're gonna go boom opponent is gonna come with so much space he's off to the races you could put this fire out you could put this fire out okay very easily stop this right here is your center back tim ream you have one two for what you have three players for one player.

41:23Herc Gomez:This player, Tim Ream, can go and engage. Right there. He can go and engage, but he does not. And in backpedaling, all you're doing is giving Diara more time and space to think about where he wants to put it. He keeps backpedaling. Anthony Robinson's chasing. Sebastian Berhalter is chasing. Now, this player, which is Tyler Adams, is forced to make a decision, but it's a little too late. And right there, you're going to see in the next angle that he He goes to his right, to his left. He never understands that he has to engage that attacker. And by the time he realizes it's too late, and you're gonna see this player slip the ball in to Sadio Mane, who's gonna come in 1v1 with Matt Turner.

42:04Herc Gomez:And it's all she wrote in that play. And look at the minute. It is minute 43 going on 44. You have to engage the defender. You cannot give up this goal. Tim Ream does not engage. And look, there is Sadio Mane, puts it away, and it's a little too late. And then this is Mild Robinson. This is just a very simple error. You cannot play that ball blindly. And I don't know, Shaq, but I don't think this is on Chris Brady. It's very difficult. I don't. Bouncing ball, you have to commit. You know you're probably going to come up a little bit short. And if you don't and you make that foul, you're giving away a penalty, probably a red card.

42:40I have got no issue with Brady kind of pulling out of that challenge.

42:44Herc Gomez:So what was a positive 45 minutes, you give up the last-minute goal. And what should have been a positive start to the second half, you give up that type of play. It's individual errors that have done this team in, Shaq. It really has. And I thought throughout it was a good performance by the U.S. Mets national team. A lot for Pochettino to be pleased about. Maybe some to work on. But given where we are, how close we are to the tournament, I thought this was a good outing for the U.S. Right. Well, of course, we know after the first half happened, we saw Mauricio Pochettino make a number of changes, which is expected as well.

43:16But what, Herc, for you, is the biggest question for the starting XI?

43:21Herc Gomez:Well, it's the center midfield duo. You know it's Tyler Adams and somebody else. And you always knew that you were one injury away from being, oh, what now? And that's Tyler Adams. But the drop off before was less. You had a Johnny Cardoso that may have been unproven at the CONCACAF level. And that sounds funny to say, but he was thriving at Atletico. You had a Tanner Tessman who was doing well at Olympique. You don't know who that partner is. I assume it's Weston McKinney. But if it's not Weston McKinney, is it really going to be Sebastian Berhalter? Is it going to be a Christian Roldan? Is it going to be, like Marisa Pochettino said, a Malik Tillman or a Giovanni Reina lying deep there alongside Tyler Adams?

43:59Herc Gomez:I don't think so. That's still a question mark. I'd like to think it's Weston McKinney, but I'm not so sure that Pochettino is sold there. Shaq, what about you? What's your biggest question of the starting 11? Well, it's a good question for Mauricio Pochettino. If you asked me on Saturday who would be starting up front for the USMS National team, it's Balogun. No questions. He's got that position locked in. I think Ricardo Pepe came in and put down a performance that gives Pochettino food for thought. In that, Pepe dropping off into spaces, linking up with Christian Pulisic for the first goal, allowing Gio Reyna and Dest out on the right-hand side space to run into pockets, it almost reminded me of the role that Harry Kane plays for Bayern Munich, where he's dropping off of centre-backs into space, giving those centre-backs a lot to think about, and allowing those wide men.

44:48I mentioned Reyna and Dest, Robinson and Pulisic, incredible runners down either flank. When Pepe drops into those holes, defences aren't quite sure what to do. You see Balogun come on later on, and the striker's instinct, in-box instinct. So very different performance from Baligan and from Pepe, which maybe serves better for this format of tournament where you will have teams who will drop off deep and you need that in-box instinct or you have teams that will press higher. And that's where I think Ricardo Pepe will be a true asset.

45:21Herc Gomez:I was very impressed in the first half with the U.S. Men's National League's ability to chase down and press. And Ricardo Pepe was a massive part of that. There's a player who had a DNP, did not play here, and that is Haji Wright. If I'm Haji Wright, I've got to be thinking to myself, seriously? Today? Seriously? Because both nines did very well. And Haji Wright, a very good forward in his own right with the World Cup goal, who's still looking for his time. Yeah, we'll see if they can do the same thing against the likes of Germany. That's who the U.S. have next. But Harry Kane or Ricardo Pepe giving shades of Harry Kane.

45:51You heard it from Shaka Hislop. All right, well, something else that was dripping, And I thought the U.S. won with this before they even stepped foot on the pitch. The Virgil Abloh Archive and Nike have collaborated for this pre-match kit for the USA. And I mean, I mean.

46:08Herc Gomez:I mean, I'm a medium. I mean, and that was dripping. I mean, medium. I mean, I'm not even American, but I'm a small, in case anyone wants to send to. Shaka, since you are clearly our fashion guru, because you never like when things are too out of the box. No, no. A different way to phrase that, I've got the highest bar in terms of fashion iconism. Oh, okay. I hear at Football America. That's true, that's true. We saw your Newcastle kits back in the day. This is dripping. Oh, yes. Somebody's got to correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the rugby kits? Is that what it is? It's mine. Oh, it is. Give me a week and it'll be mine.

46:47Don't worry. Oh, my day. It's very nice. This is really, really nice. Exactly. We do know exactly the type of talent that Virgil Abloh was known to have. And anything that Archive puts out, especially with Nike, is a straight drip in. So we are finally all agreeing on something. We got Shaka to agree on something. On Alphazen from 2020. The bar is high. What can I tell you? The bar is high. The bar is high. All right. Well, don't forget that ESPN FC is on seven days a week. There's plenty more World Cup preview talk over on there. A fresh episode dropped today. on ESPN+.

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48:28All right, from the U.S. we go to Mexico. The other co-host, they went up against Australia 15 minutes in, Jackson Irvine with a chance, but he misses.

48:37Herc Gomez:Yeah, Irvine with a little half chance right there. He's going to get a little swing on it and just goes wide. Great stash, great stash. 25th minute now, Alexis Vega. His header saved following a cross. Yeah, nice ball in by Luis Chavez. Vega gets wrong side of the defense. Just not an overly convincing header, but good save. Matty Ryan still got it. 27th minute now. Just two minutes later, Mexico will take the lead. It's a good ball by Alexis Vega and a better header by Johan Vasquez. Off the post and in. A good finish for the center back. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Oh, we're about to miss a right.

49:17Oh, boy. And that you got to think that man and he knows it. On the goalkeeper check? No, I never blame the goalkeeper. He said that right now.

49:29Ah, 47th minute now.

49:32Herc Gomez:Guess who's in the game. It's on Memo. Oh, yeah, in the game. And there's Memo. It's World Cup time. Every four years this man shows up. That's right. The big man. Cometh the hour, cometh the legend. That is Memo Ochoa. But Mexico managed to win this one 1-0. And here's a look at who Javier Aguirre has called up his warriors for this 2026 FIFA World Cup. Of course, one of the biggest headlines is the fact that, yes, we have seen the return of Memo Ochoa, who is getting ready to play in what will be a record sixth World Cup. Absolute legend indeed. All right, well, we still have a couple of questions about El Tri before we head into this World Cup.

50:17So we had to bring in an expert. Mauricio El Mentiroso Pedrosa is joining us back here on the desk. Oh, you said absolute legend. That's the way you were going to introduce me. Legend if you finally give me my Club America shirt. But anyways, Mau, we just had a look at the roster. Where's the strength in this roster? The back line. That's the more stable part of the field for the Mexican national team. We know exactly who's going to start the center back pair with Cesar Montes, Johan Vázquez. Johan Vázquez is actually, to me, the best player that Mexico will present in the World Cup. Jesús Gallardo, this is going to be his third World Cup, and he's also been playing at a high, high level.

51:00There's a tiny question mark who's going to start on the right-hand side. If it's Israel Reyes, to me, that would be the best option for Mexico. If it's Jorge Sanchez, then maybe we'll see some tweaks in the midfield. But absolutely, the backline for Mexico is one of the few certainties that Javier Aguirre has to start a World Cup. It's rare that we ever celebrate a backline as being the strength of a squad going into a World Cup. Herc, do you agree?

51:28Herc Gomez:I do. And there's a reason. If you look at all the lines, their goalkeeper is unproven at the international level. and the guy behind him is looking to play in his sixth World Cup or looking to be in his sixth World Cup. But that shouldn't be the case if you had younger goalkeepers pushing him out. And you look at the midfield, it could be a trio of debutantes, not only in this World Cup, but very fairly new to the international level. Up top, well, your talisman has been to three different World Cups. In all three World Cups, he wasn't a prime factor, didn't score a goal in those World Cups. He's looking to start his first game in his fourth World Cup.

52:02Herc Gomez:So if you look at the lines, that is the strongest line. So, yes. Shaka, you chuckled when I said it's rare that we ever celebrate a strong back line as the strength of a roster, especially when you're hosting a World Cup. If you're a Mexico fan, is this a concern to you? Yes, it is. Bulls win games. Without questions, you're looking at where those are going to come from from Mexico. There are still a lot of questions about Mexico in an attacking sense. And while you can celebrate your back line, Rangel, unproven at this level. We saw a mistake in this game against Australia. And Memo Ochoa, as great as he is, as Eric points out, sixth tournament.

52:39That's a lot of mileage. So there are so many questions about this Mexican national team that I'm not sure are answered by just having a good back four. The one reason why I wouldn't be that concerned if I was a Mexican national team fan, I am, is that it probably fits the manager. Javier Aguirre is a very practical manager. We've never known Javier Aguirre for his attacking tactics, for the way he pushes forward. Completely opposite. So if defending, exactly, if defending is Javier Aguirre's strength as a manager and his best line is the back line, that fits. That being said, Shaq is absolutely right.

53:29All the question marks on different spots in the field should warn us, should concern the fans, that what they will see is not what you would usually expect from a host nation. And we know the Estadio Azteca crowd. We know the Mexican crowd. If this team is going to defend and we get to the 70th minute against South Africa in the opener, then it's going to be nerve-wracking for that team if they don't have those options in attack. All right, next question now, Mau. Who needs to find form fast? We talked a lot about Christian Pulisic needing to find form fast for the U.S. men's national team. He seems to have found it.

54:11For L3, who is it? To me, it's Cesar El Chino Huerta. And here's why. He might be the only game-changer that this team has when they need to attack. And he has barely played. He's barely completed 300 minutes in this calendar year 2026. And every World Cup, Mexico's trying to find their new Cabrito Arellano. For those who don't know Cabrito Arellano, we go all the way back to 1998. He was probably one of the best subs in the whole tournament. He changed the game with his pace, his ability on 1v1 situations, with his crosses. He delivered a couple of assists when Mexico needed him the most. This is exactly the kind of role that Cesar Huerta has to play for the national team.

55:00I don't necessarily see him as a starter, but he might be one of those players. I go back to that situation. Scoreless after 70th minute, and you need someone to win on those 1v1 situations to show ability on the wing, that's Cesar Huerta. And he has to step up his game if he's going to be that game changer. Checking you exactly what that meant. Herc, do you agree with Mo?

55:24Herc Gomez:No, I don't agree because you're asking a player who's never been an international figure to become an international figure at the World Cup level. It's always been Raul Jimenez y Diez Mas. This is Raul Jimenez's final go, his fourth World Cup, where he's never been a starter, where he's played a few minutes and he's never scored a goal. If it is Raul Jimenez y Diez Mas, Raul and 10 more, he's got to do it this World Cup. Mexico has to win one game. That's it. The most important game of the group phase is South Africa. You win that game, you're practically on to the next round. After that, you figure it out.

55:54Herc Gomez:But you need to score goals. And Raul Jimenez, he's a guarantee from the spot. From the penalty spot, 12 steps in, nobody better. Probably in this whole World Cup. But you've got to get him going. He's got one goal that's not a penalty kick in 2026. You've got to get him going in his final World Cup in what could be his only real World Cup appearance. For him, this is everything. For the Mexican national team, it's even more. Chaka, it's got to be Raul Jimenez. Put Memocho aside. Raul Jimenez is definitely the biggest name on there. Without question. And for all the reasons that the guy just pointed out, kind of given his experience, given his progression, given his performances for Fulham at that level, it is a big ask for a player playing in his third World Cup, who I think is on the other side of that peak.

56:44So it's a big ask in a big tournament for Raul Jimenez in Mexico. Final question now, Mau. It's an easy one. Maybe. South Africa. It's all going down then. Give me your starting 11. Ooh, okay. We'll pay you as much as El Vasco. Okay. You'll be the starting 11. I'm going to go back to my notes. I'll pay you that much in Jamaican dollars. So I will start El Tal Arangel. He's been the starter for Javier Aguirre in friendly matches. And as of reason, it looks like it's his job to lose. So I would start with Tal Arangel. As I said before, if you play Israel Reyes on the right, that can morph into a back three with Jesus Gallardo and Piojo Alvarado being those wingers that go box to box in a sense.

57:36Johan Almontes, that's certain for the Mexican national team against Johan Vázquez playing as a left center back and the best player in form, at least, coming up to the World Cup. Lira will play in the center of the midfield as the number six. I would start Álvaro Fidalgo just because of the way he played for Club America. He wasn't as consistent when he made the jump in January to play in Spain for Real Betis. And then I have Gilberto Mora starting, even though he's just 17 years old. But when you see quality, you got to play quality. And this guy has not only the quality, he plays like he's a 27-year-old and not a 17-year-old.

58:24On the right, I would start Piojo Alvarado just because there's not much else to start. I'm not the biggest fan of Piojo Alvarado. But again, given that Israel Reyes can give you that back three shape, you play two fast players on the wings, Alvarado and Gallardo. Javier Aguirre has played like that in the past. And then up front, Raul Jimenez. When Shaq and Herk were talking about that he has to step up his form, I certainly don't think at 35-year-old there's much room for him to grow. And then Julián Quiñones. Julián Quiñones scored 33 goals in 31 games in the Saudi League. Golden boot had a fantastic season, just got his contract extended.

59:06And he can play in several spots on the attack for Mexico. He most likely will start on the left wing, but can come closer to Raul Jimenez as a second number nine. We'll see if Javier Aguirre agrees with me that he has to start over Alexis Vega, whose form was heavily questioned in the past weeks. That would be my starting 11. Eric, what do you mean by miles 11?

59:29Herc Gomez:So there are two things in miles 11. I agree with the majority, if not all. There are two things that jump out. The first and obvious one is there's no Edson Alvarez. He's the captain of this team. So one would most likely ask Mauricio Pedrosa, why don't you have the captain of this team playing, starting in this game? Yeah, I don't see him being right now at a higher level than Eric Lira. Eric Lira had top season. He was probably one of the best players in Liga MX for that Cruz Azul that ended up winning the title. And the other spot where you could place Edson Alvarez is a safe center back. And I actually see Edson Alvarez as a center back for this version of the Mexican national team.

1:00:13He's right now not better than Cesar Montes and in no way better than Johan Vasquez. That would be my reasoning why. He barely played. He was hurt for a long time. And when he was healthy, his manager in Fenerbahce decided that he was just not good enough to play for them.

1:00:29Herc Gomez:So I actually agree with almost everything he just said. I don't think he's good enough to play over Eric Lira. I think the only way he has a chance of actually playing on this team is as a center back. And I honestly think it's a toss up right now between Cesar Montes and Edson Alvarez in the center back position, but not in a good way. I think it's a pick your poison type of battle. So I agree with Mao saying there. And the second one is Mao has taken away the most informed player that Mexico has on the Mexican national team. And that is Brian Gutierrez, a Mexican-American. This player in four games that he's played, he's got two goals and he's got already an assist as well as that.

1:01:03Herc Gomez:He's a player that's changed the way this Mexican national team plays in the center, and he's in form, and he right now is the darling of the media and the fan base, and he's not going to start this game. That's the only thing I would, if I'm being nitpicky, I would say, why isn't this game? Now let me ask you a question. Yes, sir. I agree with you. I love Brian Gutierrez. I love him. And I hesitated between starting Brian Gutierrez instead of Gilberto Mora. Because in my head, and you guys as professional players help me out with this, as a 17-year-old, to start in a World Cup in your own country, that's a lot of pressure.

1:01:41Maybe you'd rather play Brian Gutierrez, and if things don't go well for him, then you play Gilberto Mora. But who would you play Brian Gutierrez instead of? Alberto Fidalgo. So you play with Gutierrez, Mora, and Lira. Yeah, which is the way that he's been playing. Very young midfield. Very inexperienced midfield.

1:01:59Herc Gomez:It's going to be an experience anyway because Alvaro Fidalgo doesn't have international experience. He's more of a senior player in terms of just everything he's been through in his career. But if you're asking me if I'd rather see more of a senior player or the potential of a ceiling with a player like Gilberto Mora in a home World Cup, give me the 17-year-old. The brief moments that I've seen from him. If he's physically fit, I'm not moving him. As Mao said, he's 17, but he plays like he's 27. Yeah, oh my God. Much like our Shaka himself back in his day. All right, well, the warm-up games will continue, and they will be on our networks.

1:02:32Argentina up against Honduras Saturday, June 6th, 8 p.m. Eastern time is when it kicks off on ESPN.

1:02:46All right, let's go to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final and strap yourselves in because this was a blockbuster of a final with the perfect start. Look at all of that. Zinha and Jesus Ayala, Eric's former teammate. Look at the Tifos. Absolute fan of those. 79th minute is where we pick things up here.

1:03:07Herc Gomez:I mean, Romelu right there. This is one. You're going to hear this often, but Luis Garcia was the player of the match for Toluca. He had some massive saves. Look at Gignac. He was 30 seconds in and almost had the game winner. That was an Ale Moreno range, but Xhaka, that was a brilliant save as well. It really was. of the deflection here gets caught out and fingertips to it. That is incredible reaction. Luis Garcia likes his sangria. Into extra time we go now. I mean, it's Corea with the outside of the foot, and that's a brilliant save. 104 minutes in. Jorge Diaz will open the scoring to give Toluca the lead.

1:03:47And that's the younger players for Toluca. The most experienced players were exhausted, and the younglings leading the way. A couple minutes later, though, Joaquin, he will rise the highest and get a much-needed equalizer for you.

1:04:04Herc Gomez:Yeah, two Toluca players coming together, and they lose their mark, and Joaquin just dunks on them. We're going to penalty kicks. Penalty kicks indeed. Toluca with the advantage here in the shootout, 6-5. And Xhaka, this may be a moment for the goalkeeper, Luis Garcia, who comes up strong. Rightly sure. Absolutely outstanding for 120 minutes. Is a hero in the penalty shootout. Fika Baro, Luis Garcia. Get some sangria. See what I did there, guys? All right, so Toluca lift this one as they are the winners of this CONCACAF Champions Cup. Toluca defeating Tigres 6-5 on the penalties after the 1-1 draw.

1:04:45This is the third CONCACAF Champions Cup title in the team history and the first since 2003. That's actually the fifth most in tournament history. And now they qualify for the 2026 Intercontinental Cup and the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. That's the 18th to qualify from Mexico. There's too many cups going on right now. So we're just going to park those aside. But let's get thoughts now from the boys. Mau, deserving winners. Yes. Oh, I can tell it burns you to say this. So, the way, I mean, I say it this way because Tigres was actually the better team, especially during the extra time. They had the better chances.

1:05:28When you have the penalties, it's a rough. Now, you also need a great goalkeeper, and he's also part of the team. So, if your keeper plays well, that makes the rest of the team feel like they've been playing well. And you get to the penalty kicks to the side, the champ, and Garcia Palomera, who had some crucial saves. He repeats the same story as it happened a year ago when they played the Final Four Liga MX. And some of Nahuels, he guessed right, but it's unbelievable how he was not able to make the shots. Jumps over it. Yeah. And this happened a couple of times. Then he started talking to his own players.

1:06:06Why would you do that? Leave them alone. And yes, someone like Angel Correa, world champ, can take it. some of the players can't. Look at Purata. He's probably going, shut up. Let me do my own thing. And he missed the crucial penalty. In the end, it was a very even final. Toluca, deserving champs. And for Antonio Mohamed, that's full circle. It did what Andre Jardine couldn't do with America. He went back to back in the league, but America failed to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Toluca did it. And we have to start talking about Antonio Mohamed as one of the The top five, three managers in recent history of Mexican soccer.

1:06:49I don't know what America's got to do with this, but sure. It's Mao. He has to insert it somehow.

1:06:54Herc Gomez:You know that well. I know. I don't know until I get my shirt, Mao. There's so many narratives in this game, but the biggest narrative is that while Toluca is deserving, very deserving, Tigres lost this final. Yeah. Tigres, they were the better team for long stretches of this game. You've got to end this game a situation where now, deep into the second half, you've got Alexis Vega with the national team. You have Jesus Gallardo with the national team. You've got Paulinho, your leading goal scorer of this competition, and the last almost two and a half years with Toluca out of the field. He's exhausted.

1:07:28Herc Gomez:You've got Ilinho exhausted. You've got Castro exhausted. You've got Marcel Ruiz. Marcel Ruiz comes out in the 60th minute. You have everything in your favor if you are Tigres. And then you make moves. everything was going the way you wanted. You bring in your all-time leading goal scorer. And what is his last dance? Andre Pierre Gignac. And within seconds, he's got two bites of the apple from close range where Luis Garcia comes up big and it doesn't go in. And then you bring in a game changer like Marcelo Flores and he's doing well for five minutes. Dyson players up. And then he does this move where he completely gets taken out by the turf.

1:08:05Herc Gomez:And there goes his knee. and then you take the game to penalty kicks. It's just one after the other. You had them there. You had them where you wanted. And you have a team that wasn't playing very well. Not in this game. In their last stretch of 10 games. Against Mexican opposition, they had one win in the last nine games. This was there for you. And you couldn't do it. And it ends in the same way that it ended last go-around in the final versus the very same team. Yeah, all credit to Toluca and Mohamed, who's an amazing manager. but this is a game that Tigres lost. You can tell this one still stings Herc, doesn't it, man?

1:08:41No, no. Once you don't have Tigres shirt. What are you talking about? Analyze the game. I cannot take it up. But speaking of Tigres, of course, this was not the proper send-off they wanted to give the legend that is Xinyan. Yeah. Just talk to me about his legacy. Well, one of the greatest Tigres of all time. Yeah. Number one. Greatest player in franchise history. I give him a lot of credit because the moment he showed up, When these kind of European players come to the Mexican League, it's just like a retirement plan. Two years, tops, see how it goes, make a lot of money, move on with your life.

1:09:18Gignac was committed from day one. One of his first games was playing, actually, the Copa Libertadores final with Tigres against River Plate. And then it's just, again, the way he changed the culture of the franchise alongside Guido Pizarro, alongside Nahuel, alongside Tuca Ferretti. But he will be the poster child of this generation. When we talk about this era of Tigres, we will talk about Los Tigres de Gignac. That's how big he is. I'm not so sure that the way he's leaving the club fits how a club should say goodbye to a legend of that stature. It's never easy. It's not an easy way to do that.

1:10:01Apparently, there's an offer for him to stay as part of the board, as part of the managing directors. He still wants to play. But in the end, regardless of this result, regardless of the chances that he let go, he will be remembered as the best Tigre ever.

1:10:20Herc Gomez:Listen, if you don't follow Liga Mekis and all of a sudden today you are watching Liga Mekis, you see Ocampos, You see players, canales, players that have European pedigree that now are in Liga Américas. He revolutionized the way that Liga Américas now goes after players. There's a lot of money within Liga Américas, a lot of money in Mexican football, and they're opening up those pockets, those checkbooks to places like the France, like Spain, places that before weren't habitual for these players coming in. That's because of Gignac. It happens with one player. He not only changed a club, a franchise in Tigres, but he changed the trajectory, I believe, of Mexican football.

1:10:57All right. Well, from one bit of bad news, I suppose, for Giniac to worse news for another player. And that's Marcelo Flores for Canada. He has ruptured his ACL and now will officially miss the World Cup. This is where that injury happened. And Mao, if you are Jesse Marsh, you are just absolutely distraught watching this. Well, yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you're a soccer fan, you're completely heartbroken for the kid. And he's been through a lot. Four years ago, when he was breaking through the youth teams at Arsenal, Tata Martino had a conversation with him when he was part of the Mexican national team.

1:11:39And he told Marcelo Flores, if you stay at the youth level with Arsenal, I cannot take you to the World Cup in 2022. with his family that made the decision to leave Arsenal and try to go and play second division in Spain for Real Oviedo. Tata Martino did not take him to the World Cup. He was not true to his word. And from then on, he's been stumbling, trying to find the right path, had to leave European football, found his spot with Tigres, played well, struggled to see regular minutes, became an important player, made the switch to play for the Canadian national team, was called up to the World Cup.

1:12:20And to see this happening to a guy that has really been through a lot, it's heartbreaking. He's young. He's talented. Hopefully, he'll bounce back physically, mentally, because it's not easy. Wish him all the best. And I feel he has what it takes as a person, as an individual, from the character point of view to bounce back, learn from this,

1:12:44Herc Gomez:and then just look for another shot at making the World Cup? I don't know. Shaq, we covered the Copa America in which Canada actually went to the third place game. And if you remember the Canadian national team, they were very strong either up front or in the outside back position, whether it was Alphonso Davies or Alistair Johnston. They had very few players of profile that can come into a game and be a difference maker. I'm thinking about a Jacob Shuffle. That's the only one that comes to mind. This was the only dribbler that I could remember in the Canadian pool. Somebody comes in off the bench and can change the tempo of a game, could slow it up, could speed it up.

1:13:24Herc Gomez:He's the only player that I see that fits that mold. So if I'm Jesse Marshall, I'm thinking in what is already a complicated group, in what is already a complicated setting, one of the players that I convinced to do a one-time switch and join us that I had etched in there. Maybe not to start, but certainly 12th, 13th, 14th man is no longer there. It's a loss for Marcelo Flores because it's a World Cup and how could you not want to play in a World Cup and how could you not feel for somebody who has it taken away this way? But I think it's a big loss for Canadian soccer as well. It absolutely is in what I expect will be a difficult tournament for them, even as hosts.

1:14:04Listen, Canada are disciplined, a little workmanlike. They needed a talent like Marcelo Flores to come in and give that spark, especially if they go on in this tournament. And while I say it'll be a difficult tournament, it's harder to get knocked out than it is to progress, given the format. So you want to back Canada in that regard. You will need those talents if Canada are to go further in this tournament. It's a huge blow. I'm not sure that Jesse Marsh has the players to fill that void. Yeah, it's definitely a difficult one to see. Hate to see it just 10 days away from the FIFA World Cup right now.

1:14:39Well, we wish him the best. But we also wish our Emmy winner right here, Mauricio Pedrosa. Thank you. Thank you. You didn't know he has won an Emmy with ESPN FC en Español. Mau, thank you so much for hanging out with us. We are super agradecidos. I'm going home. And I'm taking my chair with me. You're taking my chair with him. All right. Well, he did win an Emmy for this show, but maybe one day. That's where you can find Herc as well as Mao over on YouTube.

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1:16:46Right, Brazil. Now, they were in action against Panama. This was a friendly at the Maracanã. That kind of rhymed. Two minutes in now, Vinny Jr. with an absolute stunner.

1:16:59Herc Gomez:What two minutes in? You mean 50 seconds in. Yeah, a minute on the clock, right? 50 seconds in. This is insane. You're not even allowed to breathe if you're Panama. Off the rocks, there you go. Off the rocks, there you go indeed. But they also managed to pull one back. Good response here as Panama equalized. Yes, Maria with a free kick. Huge reflection off of Cunha. keep her wrong footed, can't do much about it. 32nd minute now. Alisson comes up trumps here and makes a big save. Okay, okay, Panama. Okay, Panama. This isn't Brazil? Panama taking the game to them in the 39 minutes, though. This would be checked for offside off the big man, Casemiro.

1:17:39The goal eventually, though, will be given, and Brazil find themselves in the lead again. Just that trailing leg, unless it's a little advantage Brazil. Casemiro, he's one of our Oh, look at

1:17:53Herc Gomez:Ryan right there, you're not fooling me Vinny shot it just like Ryan shot it And it's an error you cannot make, you gift a goal to a team like Brazil at home you're in trouble Carlo Ancelotti making 10 changes at halftime Ryan being one of them and he of course helps them but also Paqueta Yeah, a little bit of a deflection on this effort from Paqueta Taking the first time by the way to the back of the net Well, Brazil absolutely flying at this point, 4-1 up. And then they would be awarded a penalty for this. Oh, Mosquera, did you get a penalty, Shaq? Yeah, it's a penalty. It's a penalty? Yeah.

1:18:29Yeah? All right. Well, Thiago steps up, buries it. Brazil, 5-1.

1:18:34Herc Gomez:Oh, 5-1 already. Okay. Yeah, but they wouldn't be done there either. 81st minute, though.

1:18:43Onside. Nice run. and then it's a really good control and then turn and stay about to pick him out. That's a nice goal. Yeah, good touch. I think about it. Well, Panama wasn't done there. Panama able to pull one back with this finish. From the USL

1:19:07Herc Gomez:to scoring golazos at the Maracanã. Look at the movement on that ball. All right, well, let's hear from Carlo Ancelotti after this one.

1:19:43more possibilities to show clarity. First part is a different match, a good match, something that we have to improve. Obviously, it's a nice night for us, and the future of the Brazilian selector I think is a positive future, and that's why we signed the contract 4-year-old.

1:20:15All right, well, Neymar didn't have a part to play on this one. Remember, he's still recovering from injury, and this is what Ancelotti had to say on his position. He said,

1:20:35That's the position Vinny Jr. and Rafinha played in today. So I guess Neymar's not seen any minutes then. It's a good way of, I guess, capping expectations

1:20:49Herc Gomez:because what he's pretty much telling the Brazilian people is, who would you rather have play there? Vinny Jr., Rafinha, or this guy? And most, I think, today would say, okay, I'll take Vinny Jr. and Rafinha. But if he thinks it's going to go away with just that, I don't think it's that easy. Jack? I also think you can use Vinicius Jr. and Rafinha on the wings. Vinicius likes it to play wide left. Rafinha can play wide right. You want to take Neymar inside. It gives Carlo Ancelotti options. I'm still not convinced that Neymar is ready to play 90 minutes at this level, certainly with the expectations of a Brazil national team.

1:21:32he's an option, but an option that Carlo Ancho can use in the right circumstance. Overall now, looking at the results, of course this is a very flattering result, 6-2. We did see Brazil have some defensive issues though, here and there. We do take into account that it is Panama, all due respect to you, do expect Brazil to win like this, but did we see enough, Herc? I think this is a deceiving

1:21:56Herc Gomez:scoreline. We are in World Cup preparation and we see 11 changes made by teams at halftime, this only tells me that Brazil's reserves are that much better than the Panamanian reserves. But the scoreline at half was 2-1. And this Panamanian team is very well worked. Thomas Christensen has a team who knows exactly who they are. And by the way, they were without their best player, Koko Carrasquilla, Alberto Carrasquilla right now, who went out injured in the Mexican League final. So he will try to regain fitness in time for the World Cup. And what is a very, very complicated group in England, Croatia and Ghana.

1:22:37Herc Gomez:So I wouldn't take too much stock into that. This Brazilian team, while they are top heavy. And what I mean by that is all their big players, all their star power is up top, whether in the wings or in the middle or at the nine position. They really struggle, I feel, defensively. And as much as we're going to see a more pragmatic approach from Carlo Ancelotti, you can't change who you are. The right back is who he is. The left back is who he is. And how you build out is what it is. The same team that came in, I believe, fourth, fifth in Comerable qualifying with players who are nowhere near to the level Neymar has shown on the international stage.

1:23:21Herc Gomez:Arrafinha, who's still trying to get his footing. Avini Jr., who's still trying to get his footing. And Endrick, who's still trying to grow with Brazil. It is still a very young team. internationally in that sense. So I wouldn't expect too much out of them. They could surprise, sure. But I think people know the ceiling of this Brazilian team. Jack, your thoughts on what we saw from Brazil? I agree. Listen, while beating Panama 6-2 is all well and good and you want to play some of these games and get some of the confidence up and you are able to work on things and take chances in games such as this and you win comfortably, that's all well and good.

1:23:56But we saw Brazil against France up at Foxborough two months ago. And despite the scoreline, I thought Brazil were a distant second best in that one. And that's where Brazil will be judged. Not against the Panamas of this world, but against the Francists of this world. There's still a long way for them to go to get back to that level of feel. Just a quick word then on Vinny Jr. Of course, he did shine in this one. Again, taking into account the opposition. but we keep talking about how Brazil need that spark. They need that X factor, especially with all the question marks on Neymar. Did he show some of that today?

1:24:31Herc Gomez:Yes, absolutely. The first half, I thought, forget the goal, which is spectacular, the assist. If Casemiro doesn't touch that, it's going in the back of the net. That'd be two goals for Vinny. He's a player that individually can shine, and he's learning how to do it collectively, both at Madrid and now with Brazil. But if this Brazilian national team is to do anything of worth, Vinny's going to have to be a big part of that. Yeah, well, like I said, Neymar had no part to play in this one. He's still recovering from injury, but he was present. He watched the game from the bench. And listen, forget about opposition.

1:25:03It's all love, right? Because the Panamanian players decided to take a little photo op with a big man. Let's take a cue. Cue up. See, all of y 'all criticizing Neymar. He's still a superstar. We'll all be lining up.

1:25:16Herc Gomez:My culture would have killed me if I ate six and asked for a photo.

1:25:21Look at that. The coaching staff was getting fun. The coaches get photos as well. They're not killing anybody. All right. Well, Brazil will be in action again up against Egypt. This is on June 6th, a Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern time, streaming live on ESPN.

1:25:41Oh, the entire coaching staff was getting their photo off with Neymar. And you know what? They're only human. I'd be there too. Our producer Beto would be there too. Right? Exactly. We don't know. All right, that's going to do it for this edition of Football Americas, but be sure to join us again on Thursday. We'll be looking ahead to the USA's game against Germany. We will see exactly how they fare in that one. Until then, it's bye for now.

1:26:24This is what everyone's talking about.

1:26:28Herc Gomez:Everything's on the table. This is what champions come to take. This is what everyone came to see. No do-overs. No second chances. No more Mr. Nice Guy. This is Winner Take All. and it's all happening now on the home of the NBA Finals. Don't miss it. June 3rd on ABC and the ESPN app.