Futbol Americas: Will Pochettino field his best USMNT XI vs. Belgium?

17:30Herc Gomez:Now come June, I have to know who I am taking. I have to know who impressed me in this final camp. So what he's talking about for a guy like Tim Ream, it may sound easy because Tim Ream is probably one of the more secure guys on this national team, bearing injury, bearing some crazy thing that we see, as Ali had mentioned about Tim Ream showing physical attributes where players can easily go by him one-on-one. Bearing something crazy, he's going to be there. But the guy next to him, Patrick Gajiman, he's banking on a good camp. He's banking on a good set of games to put that seed of doubt into Mariso Pochettino's head.

18:04Herc Gomez:So I agree. It is the most important camp right now because there is no second chance for these players.

18:10Alexis Nunes:It's the most important camp for the players that are not in this camp. If you're not in this camp, and it's not because of injury in the case of Tyler Adams, for example, who we, I think, we can all agree that if he's healthy, fit, and ready to go, he'll be in the World Cup. If you are not in this camp and you were sort of on the outside looking in to begin with, might as well make your summer vacation plans because the World Cup will not be the case for you. For those that are in this camp, to your point, it's an opportunity. and it's an opportunity that they have had in the past as well and if you haven't taken that opportunity in the past then this becomes increasingly more important and the name that sort of comes naturally when I think of that is Johnny Cardoso but as we mentioned earlier Johnny Cardoso I think impressed Mauricio Pochettino live and so that takes him out of that conversation people that are not here players that are not in this camp they cannot make a case for themselves any longer their case has already been made one way or another and it becomes the most important camp for them because they're absent and they cannot do anything to affect the relate the decision making process and some will say well what about if you get hot and score a bunch of goals and this that or the other and maybe there's some injuries okay those things can happen but you You cannot make the impression that you want live in training, how you carry yourself with the national team, how you carry yourself in meetings, how you handle the interaction with other players, the environment of the national team.

19:58Alexis Nunes:What do you bring to this group? Because when it comes to the back end of rosters in this sort of competitions and the coaches are making decisions on the back end, it's not only what you do in the field, is what can you bring to this group, to the dynamics of this group, to the dynamics of training? What can you add? How can you add value? Well, if you're not in this camp, you can't add any of that, and you cannot show any of that. So, again, it's the most important camp for the players that are not here because they cannot do anything about it.

20:27Herc Gomez:Yeah, it's difficult because as a footballer, I'm sure I'll attest to this, you want to compete. You want it to be something that you lost out on because you couldn't do it, not because you weren't given the opportunity, So the players who aren't here, as Ali mentioned, they're banking on somebody letting the opportunity go. It's no longer in their hands. And that is an uneasy feeling as a competitor. You want it to be on you. It's no longer on them. So if you're an Alejandro Sendejas, if you're a Diego Luna, if you're one of these players who was maybe you thought on the in or on the bubble, just on the fence.

21:01Herc Gomez:Now it's no longer up to you. That decision has been taken away. You have to sit, hope, pray that something happens for you to come back through, not even the door, a window. In terms of expectations now, what are we thinking? Because as we said, this is some heavy opponents that they're going to play. This is a perfect measuring stick before you head into the World Cup. We talked about this a number of times that these are the teams that the U.S. should be competitive against. And if not, then at least beating if they want to get past where they have been. So at least for Belgium, expectations for that game, Herc?

21:32Herc Gomez:So I wasn't big on the results of the last five, six friendlies because of who they played and when they played them and how they were. I more put the system, the tactic. I more put the emergence of certain players. More stock into that. Oh, boy. You're going down the path of culture again. No, no. Oh, no. But Ali, hear me out. No. So I can't sit here and say if they lose to Portugal, lose to Belgium. Whoa, that's an extreme panic station. No, no, no. But I want to see this team take a step. I want to see them compete because Portugal, Belgium, they're thinking this is our last chance to impress as well.

22:09Herc Gomez:Those players are thinking this is my last chance to make a name for myself. If tomorrow was a World Cup, this is who your team would be. These are who your starters would be. So I want to see a little bit of that urgency. I want to see more of that identity, more of that tactical know-how. And to an extent, as Ali said, the culture. I want to see if he's still a player. There it is. There it is. Well, Ali, I want to see if it still applies. It's very easy to puff out the chest at Australia's B team or Paraguay's B team. I want to see if it's the same thing when you're going against Roberto Martinez's Portugal pool, a pool that's one of the best in the world.

22:43Herc Gomez:I want to see if it's the same when you face Belgium, who could be a potential next-round rival, if it's still the same confidence, if it's still the same belief. I want to see those things. Ali?

22:55Alexis Nunes:If I were a fan of this United States men's national team, you know, I mean, my team is not involved. I don't know if you knew this. Oh, stop. We won't go down that route. But New Caledonia. Look, if I'm a fan of the United States men's national team, what I would want to see from these games is that these games are close. Yeah. They're competitive. I would want to see that my team is not so far off. worst case scenario is that they get housed back to back against Belgium and Portugal and you're kind of going oh okay and this uh so where do we go from here because now we can no longer have the conversation about well they're going to have a camp here and a camp there and then no no no those opportunities are now gone yeah we're gonna no no it's it's it's upon us the World Cup is upon us and so there is no more wiggle room there is no more sort of time to talk about culture and building and we're doing this and relationships.

23:55Alexis Nunes:No, it's now sort of getting to that point to where it's put up or shut up. And so from that sense, I would have realistic expectations as to what this team can be in the World Cup and seeing where they measure against teams that are the sort of teams and caliber of teams that they're going to have to play against once they get into the knockout stage. These are the sort of teams that you're going to have to get through. And this is the sort of talent level that you're going to have to get through. So I would like for these games to be close. I don't need the U.S. to win these matches. It'd be great if they did, but I don't need to.

24:30Alexis Nunes:I want to see that these games are not a mismatch. Yeah. Because if they're a mismatch, then it sends a real, real cold, chilling message down to the fan base, but also to the players that have been in this camp and the ones that are not in this camp and it's going like, oh, we are not as close as we thought we were. In fact, we may be further than we thought we were. That is not the way that you want to go into a World Cup thinking we have a lot of work to do. Do you know what the scariest sound to hear on the factory floor is? Silence. That means something somewhere broke. Production has stopped and now you're paying workers to wait while the team troubleshoots and fixes the problem.

25:13Alexis Nunes:Finally, there's a proactive way to reduce equipment downtime thanks to MaintainX. MaintainX is the AI-powered maintenance and asset management system that brings your unplanned maintenance downtime to zero. MaintainX lets you build preventative maintenance schedules, manage work orders in real time, and access the data you need to make better decisions. Try MaintainX for free, control the daily operations of your business, and transform your maintenance program. Go to maintainx.com slash sports. That's maintain and the letter x dot com slash sports. This college basketball tournament moment is brought to you by Marriott Bonvoy.

25:49You just got to take one game at a time, hang and go up there and try to play our best and hopefully get a win. In the 2003 NCAA tournament, junior guard Dwayne Wade led third-seeded Marquette on a magical run to the Final Four. In the Elite Eight, Wade scored 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists as he carried the Golden Eagles to the upset win over one-seeded Kentucky.

26:09Herc Gomez:Marriott Bonvoy, where game day checks in.

26:39Alexis Nunes:and after the game. Marriott Bonvoy, where Game Day checks in. Alright, well I know it's a big international week, but let's talk a little bit club football, shall we? Because remember what I said about Ricardo Pepe earlier on? Oh my days. Over the weekend, PSV said that Ricardo Pepe's move to Fulham this summer is now off after both clubs couldn't agree on a bit of a key issue on when the deal... A bit of a key issue? It's a major issue then, but you will see what I mean when the deal would officially be made official. Now, PSV's director of football, Ernest Stewart, managed to weigh in on the situation, and he had this to say.

27:17In the end, no agreement was reached on the moment when responsibility for the player would be transferred. That was a very important detail throughout. We did get a bit closer on it, but in the end, we were still too far apart. Ricciardo really wanted this move. It's mainly a frustrating situation for Ricciardo. Of course, we're happy to keep a good striker at the club knowing ricardo it won't affect him he doesn't hold any grudges against psv now the little caveat is that fulham wanted to retain their option to pull out of the move if ricardo pepe got injured before it could be made official in the summer transfer window and knowing his recent injury history you can't really blame fulham there but ale and herk i mean we'll weigh in on this one let me start with you herk just your thoughts on how this has all panned out

28:05Herc Gomez:this is the fourth time I've done this segment on Football Americas to no fault of production it keeps on changing it's the same thing that we're going to do every single time and at this point you just move on I don't see how you can go back if you're Ricardo Pepe if you're PSV he may say Ricardo holds no grudges to you to your face I guarantee Ricardo right now is spiting PSV is spiting full on he's lamenting the fact that this move didn't transpire, this move didn't go down, a dream scenario for the player. And one that we mentioned many times, that PSV was the team that was going to win out on this move.

28:44Herc Gomez:Yeah. It was one of the record transfers in Fulham's history. Forgive Fulham for wanting a little bit of guarantee that the player gets injured before you actually receive him. They'd want to opt out on that. I mean, who would want to do that? Who would want smart business, smart money? I feel like we've done this segment and I feel like we're going to do it again. I really do. Okay, well, I will fold production.

29:07Alexis Nunes:Let me talk to production for a second. I'm going to have a conversation directly with production right here. Beto, we're not doing this anymore. Okay, we are not doing this anymore. Please, up until we have certainty that this is about to happen, I do not want to see a picture of Ricardo Pepe and his mangled arm, whether he's going to Fulham or not. So unless he's going somewhere else, I, I, Alejandro Enrique Moreno Riera, will not speak on the subject again. We cannot continue to play and pander to whatever PSV and Ernie Seward want to happen when they want it to happen or not in this case. Now, they did say, though, that they don't believe that, you know, the window is still open.

29:51There's still an open window there. Is this the kind of move that Fulham should keep pushing for?

29:56Herc Gomez:at least in this summer in terms of the quality of play that they're getting listen it's very evident that it hasn't happened for a reason and the universe is trying to tell you something I think this goes for Ricardo Pepe as well don't get so hung up on this move that it consumes you, that it eats you up and there's a reason Ernie Stewart spoke about grudges because he was a player he knows how players would react if I'm in Ricardo Pepe's shoes in the Premier League is my dream and it was already taken away from me once and then dangled in front of me again and then taken away again. I'm not going down the same tunnel twice.

30:35Herc Gomez:I'm not doing it. Or three times. It's not healthy and if I'm Ricardo Pepe, don't hold the grudge but also don't forget.

30:45Alexis Nunes:Yeah, also don't forget your current club either. Yeah. You have a job to do. It's been going well. You have a contract in place, about your focus on doing your work, about your focus on being a starter, no doubt starter in this team, actually getting regular playing time, scoring goals regularly, which he does, but usually off the bench. Do all those things. Do all those things. But when it's time to go, you go. Because they haven't worked with you either. They say they have, but they really haven't. In all honesty, if I'm Ricardo Pepe, I'm looking as an opportunity for the World Cup as well.

31:22Alexis Nunes:I'm looking for all the things that I can do to further my career, but I no longer want to have the same conversation over and over and over again. Not with PSV in the middle.

31:33Herc Gomez:No. On your terms, because he could blow up this World Cup this summer. He could score two to three goals, and maybe they are off the bench. Maybe one of them is to start, whatever the case may be, but you increase your value. And then, maybe PSV is not in the equation. Maybe it's a bigger team. You know what?

31:50Alexis Nunes:I understand that PSV is trying to protect their assets. I get that. I right and and Ernie Stewart is trying to protect PSV But in this idea of protecting PSV you're missing out on a tremendous fee that wasn't coming from anywhere That wasn't coming from anywhere else. And so Okay It's I if I'm PSV is a risk worth taking in the sense that listen. Yeah, okay if he's injured we understand that you want to pull out of the deal. We get that. We'll give you that much. And you know what I do if I'm PSP? Ricardo, come and sit right here next to me, bud. Right here. We'll protect you. And that check will clear.

32:28Alexis Nunes:And then we can move on with our lives. It's just it's such a missed opportunity for everybody involved. The transfer window is kind of like the dating life. Sometimes you sit down and you say, Lord, if he's not for me, just show me some red flags. And you know, the sky is red. I feel like this guy, Ricardo, is looking really red if Fulham could look red. He's going to have a sore throat as well. Yeah, exactly. He's going to lose his voice as well. He's already in a red shirt. I guess it was a good trip to Nashville. Don't take any dazing advice from me. Alright, but I will give you a good piece of advice.

33:01Make sure to check out our other show, ESPN FC. We are on seven days a week over on ESPN+.

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34:27All right, well, Jamaica's reggae boys head to Mexico in a last chance effort to qualify for the World Cup in the playoffs. Up first, they will be playing New Caledonia. Now it's no secret that it was a massive failure, that they didn't directly qualify to repeat what they managed to do back in 1998. Now under new management, I got to catch up with Jamaica and Philadelphia Union captain Andre Blake, ahead of what's going to be one of the biggest weeks of his life.

34:56My boy Andre, always good to catch up with you. Don't mind that I sound a little hoarse, a baffling a cold, but anything for you. Obviously we want to start with MLS New season upon us I know it's been a bit of a rough time now For the union What do you put this kind of streak down to? Does it feel like a one-off? Or do you feel like there may be some deeper problems there? I'm trying to figure it out Personally We're not the same team that we were Last year If I'm to be completely honest You know, when you lose like four players all at once that played a very important role in a team, I think any team, you know, in the world would struggle a little bit.

35:45And I think that's what we're going through right now. We have lost some valuable pieces and we have to kind of learn how to to live without those pieces, you know. So it's just an unfortunate situation right now, but we have to figure it out. And again, as you as a leader, how much pressure do you feel to have to sort everything out now? Or do you just kind of say, look, it's still early on in the season? A lot of pressure because I want to win. You know, I want to win. And every time we don't win, I take it personal. You know, why are we not winning? What can I do? Because I'm a person that I always look in the mirror first.

36:24You know, before I look at anybody else, I want to know what I am doing or what am I not doing that I'm supposed to do. So I put additional pressure on myself sometimes too much, but that's just that's just who I am. You know, so I have pressure. I feel pressure. But also as a pro and as a leader, you have to be able to cope with those pressure. So for me, you know, it's I don't want to say it's nothing new because I don't think I've been in a, you know, like a rough patch as bad as this one. But I've had to deal with pressure before. And, you know, pressure, pressure can either break you or it make you stronger.

37:05And I always, you know, not allow it to break me. So I know that at the end of the day, you know, I'm going to become stronger. And as a team, we have to become stronger as well. So, yeah. Well, I want to talk to you about one of the good things that we have noticed this season. And that is one of the local boys, the youngsters in Kevin Sullivan. You, especially as a leader, what impresses you the most about him and why you feel like there's so much promise and potential people see in him? He's fearless. Yeah. You know, and for his age, I always say if you're going to be 15 or 16 and you're going to walk into a men's locker room, There's got to be something that's going to keep you going.

37:46Otherwise, you're going to be intimidated. You're not going to perform. So he's got this confidence about him. He's fearless, and he fits right in. But I think that for him, that's what makes him who he is. Because without that confidence, without that fearlessness, I think he would just not be able to be himself, and then there would be nothing to talk about. And of course, you know, Jamaica's home. Connecticut has been a home for you too. But Philadelphia definitely is a home for you. And now we're just a couple months away from a World Cup. Philadelphia will be hosting a couple of games that includes, you know, countries like France.

38:28So tell me what the vibe has been like in Philly. Do you feel the World Cup vibe, the World Cup finally coming to the US? Yeah, definitely. Sometimes it feels so surreal. Like, you know, I'm asking myself, like, is this really going to happen? You know, it's a big deal. and the entire Philadelphia, you know, looking forward to it. And there's a lot of excitement, even with what, I mean, it's probably like 90, 80 days still to go, but you can feel that excitement starting to build day by day. And well, with that excitement, we have to say, we hope that you're definitely part of that excitement.

39:02We know that now it's the international break, World Cup playoffs. So come, let's talk about Jamaica. Obviously, World Cup playoffs wasn't the plan. you know when you looked at the group and whatnot so you understand of course there would have been some disappointment there but now that you've had you know time a couple of months to kind of just reflect what do you feel just didn't click or or went wrong in that sense it um it just i'm never concerned about the names because with names and paper we have a lot of have a lot of quality we have a lot of talent in the room but you know i just i always say that you know sometimes you don't need you know you don't need the best players you need the right players and you know like for anything to work you know you you need that chemistry you need you need things to be clicking in the right moments and um i've still been trying to figure it out but for just for whatever reason you know we just couldn't really put the pieces together for it to click as all we know it can click or as all we know that based on the names that we have on the field we know that the level that we're performing is way below what we should you know should be performing at so it's just it's just something along those lines where you know um yeah um or leaders or coaches have to have to figure out like what's our best you know um what are the right players to fit the system that we're trying to play because again for anything to work you know the pieces have to add up so i i think once we can get those pieces together the right pieces in the right places we can be a force for sure no doubt so what is jamaica's identity now I thought at first we had it figured out, but as time goes on, we realized that we didn't, you know, but Jamaicans, you know, we're fast, you know, we're athletic, we're strong, you know, that's, that's our game, you know, and again, if we want to slightly change identity, which is okay, but again, you have to have players that matches your identity for it to work, you know, so whatever identity we want to have, to move forward with whatever system of play we want to use whatever it is then I think it is for it to work we have to find the players that that that fits the system because it's kind of difficult when you try to fit a system around players you know if you find your system and then you you bring the players in I think you you have a better chance of of things clicking and being more successful and then obviously there's been a change in management now at such a crucial time just came into into the locker room into the camp how is everyone feeling in terms of confidence is there still a little bit of uncertainty I know everybody of course once they put on that shirt they're going fight for the flag but but what's the vibes been like does everyone still feel like you know what this is the team that still has everything that can take Jamaica back to another World Cup since 98 it's just it's been one day um we haven't fully gotten together yet everybody's still not here but the the vibe the vibe so far i like the vibe you know i feel like everybody know what's at stake you know we all know what we got to do obviously you know um this is not where we would want to be you know but this is where we are and um i think everybody's still confident you know we have a chance the football is round you know and um yeah, I think that we're all looking forward to it.

42:51We're all excited. And I know that everybody's going to go out there and give their best. And sometimes we, we, we as Jamaicans tend to operate better when our box are against the wall. So let's see. Exactly. Final question for me now, because of course, the opposition that you're expecting to face in the playoffs is at least starting with New Caledonia is, is unfamiliar opposition. You know, I think they themselves are also trying to write their name into the history books. And sometimes I say that unfamiliar opposition tends to be trickier. So how do you guys prepare for this one? What are you expecting?

43:26Yeah, we have one final to play and then another final. That's how we have to approach it. Football has changed so much where you don't just show up with names and win games anymore. So you have to go out there and perform. So I'm pretty sure all the players know what's at stake. and we all know that without winning the first game, there's no second game. So the approach is going to be one game at a time. We don't know much about our opponent, but we're going to have to approach it as it's a finals and it's a must-win game, and we take it from there.

44:01Always great to catch up with Andre Blake. Well, here is what's on the line for Jamaica as they get ready to head into this playoff tournament. First opponent, New Caledonia. These two sides have never faced each other in international football. Jamaica is hoping to get past New Caledonia to then set up a match with the Democratic Republic of Congo that could then, if they win that, take Jamaica to what will be our second World Cup. First one being in 1998. So Jamaica, of course, not there because they finished second in the group behind the mighty Curaçao. Indeed, it's something that still burns me.

44:34I'm not going to lie, something that still burns, Ale. But I mean, I know it burns you because you're wondering why Venezuela is not in this and why New Caledonia is.

44:43Alexis Nunes:Well, can I just say that the first thing that Jamaica has to do besides beat New Caledonia, but in order to do that, they have to get over the feeling of embarrassment that they are in this position. Yeah. And they should be embarrassed. If you're a player for Jamaica, you have to be embarrassed. But you have to use that embarrassment to power you, to strengthen you, to push you, to inspire you, to do whatever it is that you need to do to get something going within you to make a true case for yourself in being in New Caledonia and then going on to be the DRC. For me, the fact that we're actually having this discussion, it's actually a referendum about this extended World Cup in which it's open mic night and everybody gets a chance.

45:38Alexis Nunes:And it's disappointing that I have to frame it like that because my country didn't even make it to the chance of actually being part of this second chance after second chance after second chance. And here's another playoff and another playoff so that you can find yourself in this expanded version of the World Cup. So it's embarrassing for me and I don't even play. It's embarrassing that my country is not here. And so Jamaica should be embarrassed, but they should get over that or use that to fuel some sort of passion. Some sort of if there is anything about this Jamaican team, this is the time to show it.

46:14So it's their moment. It has to be.

46:16Herc Gomez:Well, if it wasn't their moment, a world qualifying round without Mexico, the United States Men's National Team and Canada. I don't know what it'll ever be. If they end up advancing past New Caledonia, Congo awaits. awaits and conga knocked out a very good nigerian team like it's not like it's a guarantee there's still the potential for even more embarrassment more failure in what i've always said is the pool with the most potential in all conga calf kursao made it directly yeah kursao leapfrogged jamaica Suriname could make it to the World Cup. And here's Jamaica, by far the Caribbean nation with more resources than any other Caribbean nation.

47:06Herc Gomez:More name, more prestige, more opportunity when it comes to dual nationals. If you look at the English pyramid, you have everything at your disposal, and yet they keep getting in their way. And out goes Steve McLaren, who comes in, Ruaf Speed? Yeah. Why? On the interim. He's there. He's on the board. Because he wants it. It just feels like Jamaica's worst enemy. Well, I feel fabulous now. Well, how do you feel? I don't feel good. I don't feel good. I felt a lot more ease watching us go through the group stages, thinking we had more of a chance there than to go up against the DRC, as we know. We have seen what they could do.

47:44We saw what they could do in AFCON. I think they're just as physical. I think they also can be pacey, too. And I think Andre hit the nail on the head, I think, for too long. we were in love with the idea of having Jamaica try and play a certain style of football, as Andre said, maybe the nice, sexy way of football. Play up from the back. Be a little bit of Spain. Have a goalkeeper good with the feet, et cetera. That's not us. You need to have horses for courses. Look at what the strength of your team is. We're pacey. We're physical. He said it. We never used to have problems not having the ball.

48:11Waiting for teams to kind of go at us and then probably get them on the counter. Go back to those days.

48:16Herc Gomez:But Alexis, it's the Trinidad and Tobacos of the world that you drop points against. Yes. It's the teams that you should have handled. The Shakas. They're the reason you're not here. I'm sorry, but for Jamaica, that's unacceptable. Say what you will about every— And to Curacao. You can't be losing by four goals to Curacao. You had it in your hands. And I repeat, in a qualification process without the U.S. men's national team, without Canada, and without Mexico, you couldn't be one of the six.

48:46Alexis Nunes:See and and I think while I appreciate and your play taking the time I I think the conversation about whether players match a system or a system matches the players It's all wasted energy because at this point. I don't think it comes down to that Just go out and fight at this point. It's grinding. It's showing some character showing some personalities showing some will Yeah, you want to have a certain tactical approach and yeah, you have you want to be disciplined in the way that you play But you need to show me something it's it's that sort of stage is a show me something right now Jamaica has to show something to themselves to their people to their fans and it's about personality character The things that they did not show during that group stage.

49:33Alexis Nunes:Yeah, they have to show it now because this is it this Believe me. This is the last chance This is the last opportunity. You don't get any more do-overs. They got a do-over to begin with in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. We're not involved. That was the initial do-over. Then get another do-over in that Curaçao is the one that advances. And here we go. You get a chance. It's a third do-over. You get an opportunity. For me, it goes further than the talent level, than the tactical approach, than whether the players match this or the coach matches that. At some point, you as a player, you have to take it upon yourself and as a group to say, this is our moment.

50:13Herc Gomez:And I feel bad for a guy like Andre Blake. At one time, he was arguably the best goalkeeper in the region. He's 35 years old now. This is his last shot at a World Cup. And quite frankly, Jamaica may never have another generation like this. We talk about the U.S. Minsk National Team's golden generation, what they squandered. This is it. I have said it. I've said it time by time again on the show. I don't think I've seen more potential or having a golden generation at Jamaica quite like this current crop of players. But it's not just that you lose. It's how you lose. And, well, I was actually hoping that these guys would make me feel better.

50:49But now I somehow feel even worse. Anyways, but you guys are going to make you feel better.

50:54Alexis Nunes:Maybe it's a cold that you have. Stuart Robson on the latest edition of the Gab and Jewel show a fresh episode dropped today. You can catch it.

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51:43Stock up and save on Rag & Bone, Madewell, Vince, All Saints, and more of your favorites.

51:48Herc Gomez:How did I not know Rack has Adidas? Why do we rack? For the hottest deals. Just so many good brands. Join the Nordic Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite Rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. All right, guys, let's talk about the CONCACAF Champions Cup, shall we? Tigres went up against FC Cincinnati. Cincinnati were up 3-0 after the win in the first leg, so we picked things up in the fifth minute, and Tigres managed to pull one back. Game on. El Bufalo Aguirre with the first, and Tigres, the race is on.

52:27Just about the tenth minute, Tigres will double their lead. Nice finish.

52:32Alexis Nunes:You said the race is on. They're winning the race is what they're doing right now. Well, this would be the goal that would make all the difference in the 46th minute. Ooh, Herrera.

52:44Herc Gomez:Ocel Herrera is so talented. He's a player that has all the intangibles, all the skills, but sometimes just can't put it together. You're going to see why later, but this is a golazo.

52:54Alexis Nunes:Goalkeeper should get there.

52:55Herc Gomez:He got there. Two hands on it. Yeah, two hands on it. Two hands on it. All right, well, we're level at three apiece now. Cincinnati is some deep trouble and it would get worse for them because Tigres take the lead now in the tie.

53:09Alexis Nunes:It's good service, but it really is all about the finish. Aguirre once again, clean contact. He knows how special a goal that was. Special in the 60th minute now.

53:23Herc Gomez:Yeah, it's getting testy right there. It's 43 aggregate. Tigres are winning. Remember, there is a way goal. Oh, Miazga! Is he doing it again with Linus? Miazga! Ah, no, no. We're friends now. We're friends.

53:3965th minute now. Denki will score ahead of right here.

53:43Herc Gomez:4-4. You got nervous at this point, Hurt. Oh, my goodness. They get nervous. That was it. That was it. You're going home. You're going home. It's 78. Look at 90. No, it's a golazo.

53:53Alexis Nunes:You're staying home, really. Staying home. Woo! Absolute scenes. Kids off.

53:59Herc Gomez:Can you for a second admire? Look at this. Nice little layoff. Take that. It's a good one-hop finish right there. Ah, you feel it. Feel it, Ale. Look at that. Ale, you not feeling it?

54:10Alexis Nunes:Yellow card. Yeah. For the kid? I swell. All right. We'll have a look at the brackets now for the quarterfinals. It's Ole Game. He's up against MLS, a rivalry that we know all very, very well. Look at Nashville getting their way in there. Okay. Managed to go to their game, but in MLS, guys. That's where I left half of my voice. No, no.

54:32Herc Gomez:It's in some cantina on Broadway.

54:36Alexis Nunes:What happens in Nashville stays in Nashville. Well, not everything. All right. So something. The cold will come back with you. The cold will come back with you. But it's because I was cheering so vigorously for Nashville in their MLS game against Orlando City. That was a brilliant game. Indeed. Unless you like defending, then it wasn't. All right. But let's talk about this. Can't get our Champions Cup. Something, nothing or everything, especially when it comes to Liga MX teams and their progression.

54:59Herc Gomez:Everything that we already know when it comes to this competition at this time of the year for Major League Soccer clubs where they're initiating their regular season, when they get to play away from home, away from the comfortable confines of Major League Soccer stadiums with their fan bases who are very supportive and nice into a hostile environment where it's do or die, win or go home. It becomes something where, quite frankly, major league soccer teams have buckled but if you're fc cincinnati because i keep hearing this after the cincinnati debacle of roster limitations and dps and salary cap ali for the love of god you had a you had four goals you were allowed to give up and you scored a crucial away goal.

55:46You, my friend, at the worst possible time, buckled.

55:52Herc Gomez:This has nothing to do with money, this situation, this type of situation, and more to do with how emotionally powerless you were in that moment. And I feel there aren't enough competitors sometimes on these teams that have been and have played in these type of hostile environments enough to deal with it. And the big players that they do have in these moments, for whatever reason, did not show up. And you know who did? Tigres' players. You know who did? Toluca's players. You may not be deep. San Diego may not be deep enough to lose their starting nine, lose their starting center back, have to rotate because you played three days ago, leave Chucky Lozano out because he's surplused and we want to pay him 20-something million to not play and get away with it, what they depleted to Luka's side in altitude on that field.

56:48Herc Gomez:At some point, you have to look at yourself and say, why is it at home we are good enough? But in Mexico, we are not.

56:57Alexis Nunes:I feel like we have this conversation every year. Yeah. And it just hasn't improved. This is honestly some of this collapses by MLS teams in having had a lead going back to Mexico and a substantial lead in some of these cases and Not being able to actually come up with the result or the performance that is required to advance. I feel like this is something that was happening 10 years ago that was happening 20 years ago and What's frustrating is that you would think that by now these things could happen, but not nearly as often as they do. It's to the point to where we sort of expect that these things are going to happen.

57:36Alexis Nunes:They're like, you know, 3-0, it's a lead, but we're not sure. Instead of talking about how great the performance may have been at home by some of these MLS teams, we're talking about, it's not enough, I don't think so, no es suficiente. and so then the outlier is the team that actually is able to do it. We highlight that because it's the exception to the rule. And at some point, if MLS is going to continue to take the steps that they think they're taking, this sort of thing cannot happen. What needs to be commonplace is that more times than not, if you get a big lead at home, that you're able to see it through away from home.

58:18Alexis Nunes:Even if it is against teams that have deeper pockets or deeper teams or whatever the case may be in specific circumstances. If you build a big league, there has to be a certain personality about a group that is able to go away from home and sort out the result that you need to get in order to advance. That maturity of MLS team hasn't quite developed in the same way that the whole league has developed. We're talking about soccer-specific stadiums. We're talking about expansion. We're talking about this. We're talking about that. Resources. players are getting better uh players are getting paid better all of these things seem to have improved private planes charters imagine that imagine you and i traveling in a charter flight not not the old 22b special like this in the middle seat like hey how's it going how are you um all those things show growth for mls right but what's most important than anything else is that with all that growth comes consistency of results and performances in instances like this that show proof positive that indeed you're getting past Liga and Mekis and that hasn't been the case just yet

59:29Herc Gomez:yeah Ali says we've been having this discussion it feels like forever I mean I played this sport 10 years ago in the same competition and I was on a Liga and Mekis club playing against MLS opposition and the look on the eyes of the players because there's an away goal here And those rules matter. And the emotional paralysis that it causes, back then, I saw in Cincinnati's eyes against Degas. When one of those goals comes in, and it's... Panic station. White knuckle time. It's squeaky bum time. And you start looking at each other, and you start wanting to point the finger. But emotionally, you can't talk.

1:00:03Herc Gomez:It feels like physically, you can't move. You see them coming into their shell, and that's when you see the League of Mekis clubs growing. It feels like the same thing happens to Major League Soccer clubs because what you have is great in Major League Soccer. And you can play in the confines of your stadium. You can maybe go across country and play in the confines that are comfy of another team in Major League Soccer. But when you're getting yelled at, when you're getting berated, when you're playing in heat or certain conditions like altitude, when you're playing against not pristine fields where the field isn't wet, when you're playing against opposition and refereeing that you're not used to, why is it always Major League Soccer doesn't know how to react?

1:00:42Herc Gomez:It's something I don't understand.

1:00:45Alexis Nunes:I mean, actually, you may not understand it, but I think we all know the reason. It's fear. It's fear. It's fear that creeps into players because they haven't felt that sort of pressure and that sort of environment. And when you have fear, it freezes you, and you stop playing. You stop moving. You stop showing in spaces. You stop possessing the ball in a manner in which you usually do. And the same things that you were doing at home, you're unable to do away from home. The concerning part is that this same thing was happening 20 years ago. And it was happening with us as players. And we went through it and we saw those looks on the faces of teammates.

1:01:26Alexis Nunes:And as I'm sure they would say that they saw that face, that look on my face. Look, I have been a member of teams that has beaten Mexican teams here and then went to Mexico and got dispatched. The difference is this was 20 years ago. And 20 years ago, the difference in terms of the power to acquire players for MLS was not nearly what it is now. And so when when there was more depth and resources for Mexican teams and it was clear to see it was really us hanging on. Yeah, it was hanging on because you couldn't make an argument that we that one through 11 we could compete. Maybe one through eight we could compete.

1:02:12Alexis Nunes:But one through 11, you start you start seeing some some flaws here and there. And you can't cover every single flaw 20 years ago, 20 years later, with all the growth, you think that all those holes will be covered. and that hasn't been the case. The other thing is the pressure of playing and winning and losing. MLS is a great family product. So if you have a family, you're in Nashville, I'm sure you went to the stadium, you would have seen a lot of kids and it's family and it's family friendly. You want some popcorn? Great. You want some nachos? And I'm like, hey, how about you sit down and watch the game?

1:02:51Alexis Nunes:No, no, we will hot dogs and everybody's walking around And actually you're not even watching the game you have people in the suites. They're not even watching the game You're right. It's it's all like hey, this is great. It's a it's a great experience. Let's take out the family wonderful. Oh, yeah That's not the same case in Mexico. Oh, no no, and so what why do they call a stadium to look at the infierno because it is hell to play there What why why when you go to Tigres you feel like the stadium is a Volcan because it's hot in there And so you don't have that same environment here in MLS. And your own fans don't demand that from you.

1:03:27Alexis Nunes:And so when you go and feel it somewhere else and you haven't been an international player and you haven't felt it in other places, your first reaction is, I am frozen and I do not know what to do. And you stop running, you stop moving, you stop possessing the ball, you end up losing the game.

1:03:43Herc Gomez:I think what Ali is saying is very important because it's very easy and you see fans, you see other pundits who are like, They want to blame Don Garber. They want to blame the salary cap. They want, at some point, the players need to realize what the game is like in other countries. What it feels like to play in other venues. Because Major League, there's nothing wrong with what Ali is saying about Major League Soccer. That's what makes Major Soccer a very good product within the United States, within North America, to consume as a family.

1:04:10Alexis Nunes:Yeah, but people could watch the game instead of eating popcorn and nachos. I'm just saying. Oh, I was watching it again. Excuse me, excuse me. What do you mean, excuse me? The game is going over there. Where are you going? This is only, it's only last an hour and a half. Sorry, I digress. It has caused before the 7th of the day. Ale, I feel like, wants to change the culture. Oh, do I? I think Ale Moreno for commissioner. Ale Moreno for commissioner. Anyways, I'm sure there's a lot more talk about this. You're going to bring up Pochettino. En Español. It's available weekdays. Just check it out on YouTube.

1:04:46All right, let's run it back, but this time the Mexico edition. We're going to start off with this. Talk about the site for sore eyes. Santi Jimenez returning to the pitch for Milan after five months on the sidelines.

1:05:01Herc Gomez:Yeah. Comes in for Christian Pulisic. This is a great site if you're a Mexico fan. Good site if you're a Milan fan. An important strike you paid important money for back on the pitch. Minutes on the pitch, Ale. Remember what I told you. minutes on the pitch important anyone you can get Cesar Montes he also returned from a lengthy

1:05:21Alexis Nunes:injury and so we think this is significant is what you're telling me I let any that's a center back alley no I'm just I let any return from injury and we've just been talking that's a go lasso okay I'm sure I'm sure it is and no it is a great goal I don't know if I like the uniforms but it's a good it is a great goal this is not dripping or tripping yet not yet sorry my bad All right, well, this was an emotional moment as well over the weekend as Raul Jimenez extended his penalty record in the Premier League. But most importantly, he did it just the week after his father passed away. So it was definitely a big moment for him and for his family.

1:06:00Herc Gomez:Yeah, it keeps the penalty kick streak going. Best in Premier League history, but definitely an emotional moment for him.

1:06:11Bormiga Gonzalez now. Oh, my absolute days. He just absolutely cannot stop scoring. What are they feeding him?

1:06:18Herc Gomez:Whatever they're feeding him, keep it up. This man cannot stop scoring. It's left foot to touch, right foot to finish. Very cool, calm, collected. He knows exactly what he's doing. Doesn't even look at the goalkeeper, just puts it in. Ale Moreno range. No. Further back. I was trying to give you a bit more like. You know, swag, Ale. All right, well, we have a lot of Shakastrophic moments, but this is a Shak-tastic moment. See what I did there? Rangel in stoppage time.

1:06:47Alexis Nunes:It's been done before, by the way. Comes up to save a club's copywriting infringement for Chivas to win. I know. Ale, I'm just... But Shak-tastic, that's great. No, it is. It is Shak-tastic. Where is Shaka Hislop these days, by the way? When is he doing good, American? Shaka will be off for good, American. It feels like I've been doing this one too many times. Shaka's back on Thursday. All right, so a lot of stories then. for Mexico in this running back. I want to know which one do you think was the best news of the week?

1:07:13Herc Gomez:I am going to go with Tala Rangel. Listen, you just saw the walk-off penalty kick save. Chivas was up 3-0, and in the 88th minute gave it the 3-1. In the 93rd minute, they gave up the 3-2. In the 98th minute, they had a penalty kick against. Tala Rangel doesn't stop this penalty kick. They end up not winning this game. They drop crucial points, in a game that they were thoroughly in control of. And Tal Arangel this week got some news that I think is weighing heavily on him. Memo Cho is back with the national team. It's the worst kept secret in all of CONCACAF. Everybody knew Memo Cho would be here.

1:07:51Herc Gomez:Everybody knew Memo Cho would be at this camp, would get an opportunity. There is no Luis Angel Malagón. So if there was ever a time for him to build up that confidence, if there was ever a time for him to remind people that the moment is his and he is here now, you don't have to look back. You don't have to look at the past. It's not Memo Choa's time. It's my time. It wasn't his penalty kick. That's a massive moment. It's great news if you're the Mexican national team. Because, Ali, we spoke about this last week. It's not good news that you keep going back to the Memo Choa well. It's not good news that he's going for his sixth World Cup.

1:08:21Herc Gomez:It's a ridiculous feat, a personal achievement for Memo Choa that should be celebrated. But collectively, it's bad news for Mexico. It means no young goalkeeper has pushed Memo Choa out in six World Cups. Nobody has competed enough to get Memo Choa out of there. Well, here's Tal Arangel, a position of need, playing well, and gets a big moment right before a crucial camp.

1:08:46Alexis Nunes:Ale, what's your best news? I was Santi Jimenez being back on the field. Just being back on the field, it's good news, but there is an opportunity here for him to get himself right, to get himself physically in a level in which he can make a case and say to Javier Aguirre, I can be your guy. Yeah, I look I've been out. I haven't been all that convincing, but I'm fit. I'm healthy. I'm confident So this next I'm gonna go with six weeks or so for Santi Jimenez are gonna be really really important And in that conversation then you need to ask well And I'll ask Hercules given that he is the expert in all things, Mexico Uh, no, yeah, well that too I noticed the pants are a little baggy

1:09:37Alexis Nunes:Look, that's neither here nor there. If you had to pick Santi or Miga, who do you go? If it came down to you and those are the two players that you needed to pick in order to go to the World Cup, who do you take? Right now I take La Hormiga. Okay. Hence why I'm saying that the next six weeks are critically important for Santi Jimenez to say I'm here. I'm still here. And you can only do that by scoring. Well, that too. That helps. So that's like a double thing. Minutes plus scoring. Yeah. Only the special ones can do that. Only the special ones can do it. Like Ale. Right? No. No? I'm so loved. All right.

1:10:18Well, there was some pretty.

1:10:19Alexis Nunes:That was a fake laughter, but that's all right. That too was a fake laugh. Because if I don't fake laugh, I'm going to cough. Well, there was some messy magic over the weekend. He scored a free kick goal against NYCFC. his fourth goal already of the New York Times. We can't call this Messi magic.

1:10:35Herc Gomez:Can I ask a question? Is this deflected?

1:10:37Alexis Nunes:It is deflected.

1:10:39Herc Gomez:Okay. Yes, it is. Yes. It's absolutely deflected. I was at the game, and I couldn't tell. I didn't exactly, you know, put up an angle where you could see it. I recorded it, actually. Ooh.

1:10:49Alexis Nunes:Well, thank you for letting us know and actually not having factual information. Yes, it got deflected. Well, it was, you know, only Messi can cause a wonderful defect. Yes, yes. I'm trying to spin it, Tali. Well, you're spinning it a lot unnecessarily. We saw a little bit of messy magic then, but Herc got a front row seat to that, Herc. All right. You can tell us your little tail.

1:11:09Herc Gomez:You know, it's funny because I was listening to Ale Moreno here talk about Major League Soccer and the family product and how it's not exactly hostile. I have to agree 100%. There's two sides of this coin. I took my family, thank you to the good people in New York City FC, took my family to New York, drove up that day, had a great family moment. I paid for my last one. At Yankee Stadium, the setup, the game day experience, everything before and post the game, logistics was amazing. The actual game. There's a reason it's a baseball field. Yeah. So they can play baseball on it. It was very difficult to keep track of the actual game and what was going on.

1:11:59Herc Gomez:But I still had a great time. I enjoyed myself. And it's funny because I've seen Messi play one other time at Inter-Miami Stadium. And when I was here, you see a split of 50-60 % Messi fans. Inter-Miami jerseys, Argentina jerseys, Barcelona jerseys, and the rest of New York City. And New York City made themselves present with, you know, how they were doing in the stands. But it was very much a pro-Messi crowd, if you will, even the New York City. And every time Messi got the ball, I see people getting up and standing up. I'm like, sit down. He's just touching the ball. But I'm watching Messi. And the more I watch Messi, the more I'm standing up.

1:12:38Herc Gomez:And the more I'm getting out of my seat. And if you watch this game, Messi hits the post about three times. and Messi had about five or six shots in the first half alone. And it seems like every time Messi got the ball, you're on the edge of your seat because Messi has the opportunity and the capability of creating magic like that. Taking three, four players on and he's going to put it in the upper V. Taking three, four players on and he hits the crossbar every single time. And I just kept thinking, we're in a baseball stadium and there may be something folklore or nostalgic like we saw David Beckham play at one-time Community America Ballpark when Major League Soccer was in its 1.0, if you will, maybe going on 2.0.

1:13:20Herc Gomez:But you're not there anymore. And I understand it's Yankee Stadium. I understand it's where New York City has played. But you cannot offer that experience to see or to sell a marquee event like Lionel Messi. And maybe something 20 years from now, I'll tell my family, I saw Messi play at Yankee Stadium. But it just felt like everything that was so great about the experience that New York City did lacked on the field because of the field dimensions and because how far you were actually away from the action. And it just didn't feel like a messy experience.

1:13:52Alexis Nunes:All I heard there is that this guy got a freebie from NYCFC and he's complaining. Oh, no. That's all I heard there. So NYCFC, just make sure you pay attention to that. You need to give me some free tickets, I won't complain. I never said I got a freebie.

1:14:06Herc Gomez:I said thank you to the people in New York City FC. It sounds like a freebie. We would never complain. I never would never complain. Absolutely not. Beautiful venue, though. I'll tell you that much. Yeah, we got vibe. Logistics were great. Never been. Never been. Just saying that I paid for my tickets. Yes. To see Nashville. I paid for my tickets. Yep. I just said thank you to the people in New York City FC. Duh. Thank you. Whatever. All right, that's it for this edition of The Golden United Fans.

1:14:29Alexis Nunes:Are they going to miss you in Nashville? I hope so. They better. We're going to be back on Thursday live from Foxborough right after Brazil take on France. make sure to join us. Shaka will be back too, so I guess he'll break. I'm gonna go sit in silence for 24 hours.

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