In short
The episode is an ESPN FC World Cup warm-up recap and discussion after the USA played Germany in Chicago, plus broader talk on World Cup readiness and other football news. The key match: Germany scored early from a set piece (Kai Havertz), the USA equalized via Anthony Robinson’s long-range screamer, then Leroy Sané scored in the 58th minute for a 2-1 Germany win. The biggest USA story is an injury to Robinson; Pochettino said it’s cramps, but the panel is worried it could affect his availability for the next match vs Paraguay.
Guests
Kay Murray, Shaka Hislop, Stevie Nicol (studio analysts), plus Jürgen Klinsmann, Casey Keller, and Hercules Gomez. They argue the USA’s first half showed good character, tempo, and build-up play (more possession, more shots, seven first-half corners), but they need to avoid concentration lapses and finish chances.
Notable examples
Robinson’s goal; Germany’s set-piece opener; the substitution-driven rhythm shift after 60 minutes; and Germany’s goalkeeper/shot-stopping discussion.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOUS vs. Germany Match Overview
0:00 to 0:26
Recap of the US-China match where Germany defeated the US 2-1.
“No one goes to Hank's for his spreadsheets.”
US vs. Germany Match Overview
0:45 to 0:58
Recap of the US-China match where Germany defeated the US 2-1.
“where we got to see the US take on Germany.”
Anthony Robinson Injury Concerns
0:58 to 1:16
Discussion around Anthony Robinson's potential injury and its implications.
“Mauricio Pochettino was speaking after the game about Anthony Robinson.”
Analyzing Player Performances
1:16 to 2:52
Insights on Anthony Robinson's performance and overall team dynamics.
“What he said or what the medical staff said is cramps.”
Coaching Strategies and Team Setup
2:52 to 4:26
Analysis of the coaching strategies and potential starting lineup for the World Cup.
“men's national team desperately needs him.”
First Half Performance Analysis
4:26 to 6:20
Evaluation of the US team's first-half performance against Germany.
“lose other players as Hook said rightfully you know they congested the calendar of the clubs especially in Europe now, the amount of games they play the entire season, it's very, very tricky.”
Second Half Substitutions and Consequences
6:20 to 9:00
Discussion on the impact of substitutions and overall game flow.
“Herc, what did you make of Pochettino starting 11 today?”
Positive Signs and Future Outlook
9:00 to 11:21
Looking ahead to the World Cup and the team's potential.
“After the hour mark, I think it's a wash.”
U.S. Team Performance Insights
14:01 to 15:59
Analysis of the U.S. men's national team's performance and strategy.
“being the progressive team in possession creating things.”
Germany's World Cup Preparation
16:59 to 28:00
Discussion on Germany's performance and preparation ahead of the World Cup.
“And that's nine consecutive wins on their way into the 2026 World Cup.”
Show all 19 chapters
Injury Concerns for Young Players
28:00 to 29:10
Discusses the potential overexertion and injuries of young football talents.
“And that's what he did all year long with Bayern Munich.”
Alise's Transfer Speculation
29:11 to 30:56
Explores the rumors surrounding Michael Alise's potential transfer to Real Madrid.
“And the front cover of Diario Asa, Spanish Sports Daily, saying the Galactico is Alise.”
Bayern's Stance on Player Retention
30:57 to 32:38
Analyzes Bayern Munich's strategy regarding player transfers amidst speculation.
“as footballers, you do with speculation all the time, but right before a World Cup where you are favorite to go on and win it and one of your most important players with this kind of move.”
Liverpool's Coaching Changes
32:39 to 34:31
Discusses the recent hiring of Liverpool's new coach and the implications of the transition.
“that's what I'm doing if I'm Vincent Kompany do you think Vincent Kompany eats the same food as you?”
Liverpool's Performance and Future Plans
34:32 to 36:41
Evaluates Liverpool's recent struggles and what they need to do moving forward.
“Liverpool's new head coach taking his first tour of the training facilities and downfield after the Spaniard signed a two-year contract to take home at the club for the upcoming season.”
Player Acquisition Needs for Liverpool
36:42 to 42:00
Identifies the key areas Liverpool needs to address in the transfer market.
“But, as I said, I'm shocked at Slott's shocked.”
Liverpool's Needs for Success
42:00 to 43:10
Explore Liverpool's current squad challenges and needs for improvement.
“who's going to make sure everybody gets their jobs done and has a bit of steel and stops teams getting at them.”
Extra Time Questions and Discussions
45:14 to 56:00
Hosts answer viewer questions and discuss World Cup scenarios.
“Oh, yeah, you guys were at an event together last night.”
Discussing Tournament Predictions
56:00 to 58:36
The hosts debate potential winners of the tournament and analyze various teams' chances.
“He would get twice the amount of ball and the opposition half.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00No one goes to Hank's for his spreadsheets. They go for a darn good pizza. Lately, though, the shop's been quiet, so Hank decides to bring back the$1 slice. He asks Copilot in Microsoft Excel to look at his sales and costs to help him see if he can afford it. Copilot shows Hank where the money's going and which little extras make the$1 slice work. Now Hank's has a line out the door. Hank makes the pizza. Copilot handles the spreadsheets. Learn more at m365copilot.com.
0:34Hello and welcome in to the latest edition of ESPN FC. Kay Murray, Shaka Hislop and Stevie Nicol here in the studio with a lot more World Cup warm-up action for you. Kicking things off tonight in Chicago, where we got to see the US take on Germany. Germany would go ahead very early on. From a set-piece, Kai Havertz with the opening goal, but Anthony Robinson would score an absolute screamer to make it 1-1. However, in the 58th minute, Leroy Zane got in on the action to give Germany the 2-1 win. Mauricio Pochettino was speaking after the game about Anthony Robinson. Is Anthony okay? Was it just cramps or is it something more concerning?
1:16What he said or what the medical staff said is cramps. No cramps. I hope that it's cramps. but I cannot be sure that you know, but it's what they say but I cannot confirm nothing more Let's now welcome in Jürgen Klinsmann, Casey Keller and Hercules Gomez to start more with what we've just seen today. Let me start with you Herc on this Anthony Robinson situation What are your thoughts? Well, you're obviously worried. You see his quality. You could see it not only with the goal that he scores but his overall play and he's coming off a very difficult season in the premier league a season that saw him play very little excuse me compared to the first season where he was arguably one of the best left backs in the english premiership so you're worried about his health you're worried about his status um at halftime i tweeted out that would be it for the starters very good half and certainly keep them safe for what's to come which is a game in six days against paraguay to open up your world Cup campaign.
2:20And they go back out there. And I thought to myself, dear Lord, baby Jesus, here we go. Fingers crossed. You saw what happened last night. Julio Enciso, the Paraguayan attacker who's 22 years old, tears a muscle. He's going to be out for three weeks. You're seeing this more and more. It's a congested schedule. There's international travel. There's different surfaces. There's different types of things going on. You need to find the balance within getting players time and letting them gel together and keeping them safe. So you hope for the best for Anthony Robinson, one, because he's a fantastic player, but two, because the U.S.
2:54men's national team desperately needs him. Always the concerns, isn't it, Jürgen, before these World Cup openers, these warm-up games, that these things can happen?
3:08For the head coaches as well, you know, to give the players enough time to show or prove their points, to get a rhythm throughout your squad. I think for an hour we saw a very good game, a pretty even game, and the U.S. did well. I think they proved that they can raise the tempo, they can create chances. It was very pleasant to see it. And then from minute 60 on, when all the kind of substitutions started to come in, yeah, the game lost its rhythm, and yeah, it makes it really difficult. but you have to give players their time to prove their point, their minutes. And nowadays with the new rule now that you can actually in a friendly game or in a test game like this pretty much you can sub 10, 11 players, it makes it even more inviting for the coaches to bring everybody on the field.
4:01But then kind of the things that you want to see from your key players, from your main team, it's reduced to the 60 minutes in the beginning. and yeah and then what you definitely don't want to see is an injury and if you get that injury right now then then it's going to be tricky for that player to come back in the tournament it depends obviously on the injury Germany lost Leonard Kahl just a few days ago and other teams lose other players as Hook said rightfully you know they congested the calendar of the clubs especially in Europe now, the amount of games they play the entire season, it's very, very tricky.
4:42So hopefully Anthony Robinson is going to be okay. Hopefully it's only cramps and he's available in six days from now. Yeah, that's definitely the hope, isn't it, Casey? Because that's become the biggest story from the U.S. perspective at the end of this game. Yeah, I mean, it's a big story, but I think the other story is over these last two friendlies, I think we're starting to see a U.S. team that we were hoping to see come into a World Cup. Well, look, we knew these last two years were two years of exhibition matches, two years of preseason, of trying to figure out how to get the team ready for that first match in six days.
5:20And I think we've seen some really good things. Now, what's that next step? That next step is against a team like Germany where you had spells, arguably better than Germany had against the United States. How do you then turn that into points? How do you then go from, okay, we messed up on a free kick two minutes in, we got the equalizer. Worst case scenario, we come out of here with a point. Best case scenario, we keep this momentum going. We get the second goal. Germany pushes, we get the third. But But instead, we're still seeing these little lapses of concentration and not being able to finish things off.
6:02That's why I was really excited that they were able to win the game against Senegal, because we've seen too many times the U.S. kind of slip up and concede late. But again, so many more positives than negatives over these two friendlies. And now it's just a matter of going into the World Cup and getting the job done and getting the points needed. Herc, what did you make of Pochettino starting 11 today? Yeah, I really liked it. Casey said it. It's 20 months since the debut of Mauricio Pochettino, and we've never had an indication of what his strongest team would be, of a starting 11. They never played together.
6:41And sans Miles Robinson, because we already know that Chris Richards will be there, he confirmed to various outlets that he's going to be ready for Paraguay. This is going to be your starting 11 versus Paraguay, Assuming that Anthony Robinson is healthy, this is the 11 that will go out there with Chris Richards instead of Miles Robinson. Now, you can see, obviously, that Tillman is the deepest player. There's a lot of fluidity to Weston McKinney and to Malik Tillman and how they move. Sergino Dest, you kind of see him as a winger, but he plays as a wingback. And then sometimes he's an inverted winger, like a double 10.
7:15Alex Freeman, you see him as a centerback, and then he goes high. There is a lot of movement fluidity to this start in 11. And I was pleasantly surprised along with Casey. This is a coach who's been a club coach his whole career. And when you're a club coach, you have the Monday to Friday to work on things with players and then execute them on the weekend. As an international manager, you don't have that. Now he has the time to actually work tactically with these players. And you can see how comfortable they are. There are times in this game, in that first half, and I am with Casey. I don't know how much Matt Freese has to do on that goal.
7:53He does a line of four, excuse me, a wall of four instead of three, so he's expecting the shot. He doesn't come out. The ball placement where it's at. Miles Robinson loses the player. Other than that play, other than that play, I thought the U.S. men's national team was excellent. They were building out from the back. They put the German national team in their own box for long stretches of the first half. They had countless opportunities. You can go through the statistics. They had more possession than Germany. They outshot Germany. They had seven corner kicks in the first half. They were all over the German national team.
8:25They had tactical issues in previous editions with Mauricio Pochettino. You didn't see that now. And the mistakes that you're seeing under Mauricio Pochettino aren't on Mauricio Pochettino. They're individual mistakes. Miles Robinson versus Senegal. It's Tim Ream and Anthony Robinson versus Senegal. On this game, it's Miles Robinson losing his marker of Kai Havertz. It's maybe Matt Freese. Those aren't on Marisa Pochettino. What Marisa Pochettino is supposed to take care of, he's taking care of. And he's putting these players in some fabulous positions. I thought 45 minutes, what we saw was an excellent exhibition from the U.S.
9:01men's national team. After the hour mark, I think it's a wash. All it proves is that the German national team reserves are better than the U.S. men's national reserves. But I was pleasantly surprised with this team. Asheka, did you see some positive signs from the U.S. today? I did. to all the points that the guys just made, I thought the U.S. certainly passed the ball well in defense. At times, a little bit nervier, I will admit, that they were passing the ball out to the back and in very tight spaces. I thought the Germans could get more of, but the truth is they were never found out. They were able to keep possession and build from the back.
9:35There's a lot to be excited about in that first 45, as Hick points out. I will say though, I am more concerned about this injury to Robinson than, and I guess maybe the guys are lightning on or they're seeing. Listen, Anthony Robinson, at his best, had mentioned his injury plague season, but at his best, he was being discussed as one of the best left backs in the game. In this lineup, where out of possession, the US want to defend as a back four with Anthony Robinson tucked in as that left back, when they lose possession or when they have possession it becomes a back three and Anthony Robinson who has got an engine like few others in the game playing much higher up the park almost alongside Serginio Dest and that allows a lot for Pulisic and Tillman to do in terms of their spacing what positions they pick up and that's a huge asset now if Anthony Robinson it's more than just cramp.
10:33If it is a ninja, if it does keep him out of the opening game or more, I'm not sure how you replace that kind of running, that kind of quality down the left side. Especially down that left side of Anthony Robinson because of how many options it gives you as you get into the attacking third. That's the downside, that's the bad to this game. outside of that there's a lot of good and while you can look at the scoreline and Germany have won 2-1 you can point it to the double save by Bauman ok it was offside but I think Bauman between Fries and Bauman Bauman was certainly the more tested of the two goalkeepers so there's a lot you can come away from being happy with being proud of that you can build on You were judging on the first 45 minutes of what you saw Stevie today 100 % yeah I think for the first time ever I thought I saw a team you know and if I'm Focatino the biggest thing I'm thinking about now is the way they responded having gone down so early because it could easily have turned into a oh no here we go but they didn't flinch that's huge as a manager to sit there and see your team go behind against one of the giants in Europe Germany but don't flinch and get on with it and get after it and take over the game.
12:00That's huge. In my opinion, that's the biggest thing I'm going to take for this game. And as I said, for the first time under Pochettino today, I was thinking, this looks like a team. Stevie, picking up on the character there, Jürgen, that was shown in that first 45 minutes from the US. Yeah, I totally agree. I think the body language was very positive after the early kind of goal that they conceded. A lot of players showed personality, like Christian Pulisic, great runs. McKinney was all over the place. Balogun, he was always present. He was always close to the German goal, trying to do something damaging Germany in a certain way.
12:40Yeah, they were well-connected as a whole unit. I really enjoyed that. And the energy seems to be good, seems to be positive. And that's what you want to take with now into the first game of the World Cup, that everybody is excited, everybody is in a good spirit. And what I also liked, you know, even in the second half, after all those substitutions that were here and there, some fights going on on the field, they cared about this friendly game. You know, they wanted to score the equalizer, which they didn't, but still they wanted to show their qualities and they gave Germany a real game. And yeah, I think from Pochettinos and from U.S.
13:21perspective, this is good, it's a good sign and it's a very difficult start next week with Paraguay, very tricky and therefore there's definitely a lot of reason to be optimistic Casey, let's get your final wrap up on what we saw today what stands out to you?
13:41I love the fact that you're seeing a US side attack one of the biggest footballing countries in the world, not sit back and defend and try to hold on and look for a set piece or look for a counterattack. In fact, I would have said it was probably in that first half the opposite way around. It was Germany looking to score on a set piece, looking to hit on a counterattack. And it was the U.S. being the progressive team in possession creating things. And so, yeah, really excited to see that aspect. Now it's that putting it all together. Now it's making sure you're switched on in the first two minutes in a set piece.
14:23Making sure then when you have that run of opportunities, you take advantage of it. You get the goals when you're in the ascendancy. And then just seeing matches out. Finding ways to get results. And yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited for this thing to kick off. It's been a long time since we knew that we were going to be hosting this thing. and it's a little crazy that it's finally around the corner. Huck? Yeah, I'm definitely pleased. There are a few things I'm worried about, and it's the physical status of this team, not just injury-wise, but if it is cramp, if Anthony Robinson is suffering from cramp, it's because Mauricio Pochettino wants him to play a certain way.
15:05It's high tempo, high intensity, and I wonder if in physical battles against opponents that are physically capable and physically very confident like a Paraguay, if you get into those physical and mental battles, if you're going into their territory, can you play that way for three games, 90 minutes? I don't know if this U.S. men's national team has it. What I do know is what I saw today in that first half, if they play out of the back that way against Paraguay, if they take care of the ball that way, and if they limit these naive mistakes that they've been making, they are going to beat Paraguay.
15:39If not, they're playing into the hands of the Paraguayan national team, Gustavo Alfaro. OK, thank you so much to Hercules Gomez and Casey Keller for being with us. We'll be hearing a lot more from them throughout the World Cup and in the build up to the World Cup. And you can check them out over on our YouTube channel, ESPN FC. Grab a cotton candy five hour energy shot and get in on the sweet life. You get the classic throwback cotton candy flavor, but with zero sugar and a five hour energy boost. A tasty caffeine kick that satisfies the sweet tooth without any of the sugar guilt aftermath. Bring on the sweetness with cotton candy five-hour energy shots available online at fivehourenergy.com or Amazon.
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16:58Germany's last nine games, they have won all nine of them. And that's nine consecutive wins on their way into the 2026 World Cup. It may have been back-to-back group stage exits in the last two World Cups, but they are hitting momentum at the right time under Julian Nagelsmann. And today their 2-1 win over the USA is another one to add to the list. Jürgen Klinsmann joining us now. What to make of them today, Jürgen? Germany?
17:27Well, I think, you know, a lot of good stuff coming out of that game today. Obviously, you travel over to Chicago. You came in from Europe and you need to settle a moment into the new environment and now getting close to the opening game in the World Cup. Their situation is definitely a lot different to the U.S. situation because their first game should be a very, very easy one against Curaçao next week. So they looked at it in a different way to this game than the U.S. team. I think what was important is to see Oliver Bowman replacing again Manuel Neuer, which is expected to start then the World Cup for the German side next week.
18:08But now I think, you know, with his performance today, which was very positive, a couple of good saves, you know, it gives everybody the feeling, okay, if Manuel Neuer doesn't make it for the first game, it's no problem, because Oliver Bowman is a very, very, very good goalkeeper. Then a couple of other question marks that they have certainly is the left back with Brown. Is he the one that starts instead of Raoum, the other player? And then obviously we wanted to all see Sané on the right wing. And with Sané, this is a back and forth a bit in the German national team now for quite some time because everybody is admiring his talent and his capabilities.
18:54He's so gifted, but he never shows that really on a consistent basis. So everybody was curious and I think, you know, he started the game exactly that way. The first half an hour, you know, he had some good moments and he had some bad moments. But the fact that he then scored the second goal means obviously the world to that kid. So, you know, he hopes now to get maybe closer to a starting spot in that German side after they lost Leonard Kahl with injury. So there's a lot of good things, a couple of negative things as well. But I think the German team is well prepared. And obviously in Germany, the expectations are very high.
19:34There's no doubt, you know, after the two disasters in the two previous World Cups in Russia and in Qatar, where both times they lost in the group stage, basically, it is expected that the German side at least goes into the semifinal. Anything else than the semifinal would be a huge disappointment. And when they get to the semifinals, obviously that's the German culture, then they expect you to win the tournament. So, yeah, it's going to be a long path for that German team, but I think they have a lot of talent. Do you think this is a team, Stevie, that can make the semifinals? Oh, I don't know about that.
20:12I was really disappointed. I really was. and I kind of forgot, you know, Youngham's talking about how they've just arrived in the country and the heat and the whole thing. But at the same time, with that talent, particularly in the heat, I expected them to be way better with the ball. Against the hosts? Aye. In the home nation for the hosts? Aye, absolutely. You know, the best teams, that's what they do. In circumstances where you're against the home team and it is hot, But I expected them to keep the ball way better than they did. And certainly they didn't get the ball to Verts and Musiala enough times.
20:51I was disappointed in Sane. And the one thing I really don't like about this German team is when he plays Kimmich at right back. I'm sorry. Anybody who's running at Kimmich is going to skin him. He doesn't have the legs to play full-back. Now, if Germany are going to dominate teams possession-wise, then Kimmich is fine at right back. But when he has a one-on-one situation, I'm sorry. He looks petrified to me. So I was really disappointed in Germany. What do you think of Kimmich's position and what does Stevie say in Jürgen? No, Stevie's point is a good one because it's an ongoing discussion since years with Joshua Kimmich.
21:33The moment he gets forced into the right back position, it's not his favourite one. And he makes it also very clear in interviews. but there is no better than him in that position right now in Germany. I remember in 2014 Joachim Löw, you know, for winning the World Cup, then in Brazil he decided towards the end of the tournament to go with four centre-backs. Left-back and right-back were centre-backs. He said, you know, let's just lock it all in there. Let's make sure that nobody passes them and defend well and then we'll see what happens up front. Obviously, now they have a new way in the defensive midfield with Mecha and with Pavlovic.
22:13So they're trying to find kind of each other. They try to form a partnership in the defensive midfield because they need to basically cover the shoulders of Florian Wirth and Musiala. And today it was Sané on the right wing. and then they're playing with a floater up front, a false number nine with Kai Havertz, which turns out to be working for right now. But no, Steve has a point, you know, Joshua Kimmich on the right back is always a discussion point in Germany. He would love to play the six, just purely the six that is his favorite role. But there is no better right back at the moment. So it will be interesting to see the longer the tournament goes, how this position will be used.
23:00Is semi-finals such a push for Germany when you see this team, Shaka? I share the concerns. Not just with Joshua Kimmich at right back. But difficult day maybe to pick on Kai Havertz, given that the score is early on against the US and coming off the back of his domestic season with Arsenal. but Germany have just lacked that out and out number nine that I think a semi-finalist needs. Somebody who you can rely on, having that striker's instinct. Kai Havertz is an incredible footballer but for me, not a natural number nine. Not at the level that you expect from a World Cup semi-finalist. As a result, I still have my doubts.
23:46Jürgen, what's your thoughts on Denis Undev in this whole situation? No, I mean, it's a great discussion to have because the number nine in Germany is a big deal, obviously, because in the past there were great number nines. And the sporting director of that German national team next to Julian Nagelsmann is Rudi Föller, no other than Rudi Föller, you know, one of the biggest players we ever had in history as a number nine. Yeah, Julian Nagelsmann, he likes the thought about a false number nine. He likes a little bit the Spanish style of approaching things. And Kai Havertz is a good false number nine.
24:20There's no doubt. You know, he scores his goals. He's playing in the Premier League. He's playing for Arsenal. Won the Premier League this year. And he gets, yeah, he gets a lot of credit for doing all that. Denis Undaff, he proved his point with Stuttgart the entire season. He scores his goal. He's a real number nine. He's hungry. He's a box player. He holds the ball. He's a fighter. He's nasty. He's attacking the back lines of the opponent. And as a hard worker. And then, obviously, there's another kid that just, you know, a year ago went from Germany to Newcastle with Moltimane, who has a lot, a lot of talent, brings other kind of qualities into that game.
24:57But it is a critical position right now to be discussed in the German side. They are not sure what is the right role. I mean, you have to accommodate in a certain way Florian Wirtz coming from the left wing, Musiala coming through the middle. Musiala is not back at the same level yet as he had before his really horrible injury a year ago in the Club World Cup against Paris Saint-Germain. And so, yeah, there are quite some question marks. And is it working out with the double six as we saw today? It was kind of okay, but nothing now kind of world class. Therefore, yeah, but it's still, I mean, even if you have all these question marks, even if you can discuss it up and down the German side, the expectations are at least semifinal.
25:45You're not getting around that. You cannot discuss football in Germany, the expectations for a World Cup, and talk about round of 16 or quarterfinals. We would never accept that type of a discussion. For us in our upbringing, our culture, you go to the World Cup, no matter how the team looks like, no matter who the individual names are, you expect to go to the end. And if you go home early and if it's a quarterfinal, they would go home early with a quarterfinal. For us, it's a huge disappointment. And especially after what happened the last two World Cups, this team is with their backs against the wall, no matter what.
26:24And that's why, you know, it's better to be so quite direct and upfront with that discussion than to choose already kind of some excuses before you actually go into the tournament. The group is a very tricky one. You know, with the Ivory Coast, they just beat France in a friendly game, which is a friendly game. We all know what a friendly game is when they sub 10 players after a minute 60. But they beat France. It's a very, very, very good side. And then you have Ecuador. And for me, Ecuador is one of the top three in South America after Brazil and Argentina. So this group, I mean, obviously, Curaçao, you're supposed to do something for your goal difference in that game.
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27:04But with Ivory Coast and Ecuador, it's going to be two very nasty, very difficult fights. and I really hope they're ready for that. Now, Jürgen, you've been talking throughout the show today about Lennart Karl, who was forced out of Germany's squad because he got injured yesterday. He's only 18. He's just coming off the back of his first senior professional season. It's a season that he's lit up. He's impressed us all. We were all looking forward to seeing him in this World Cup. How significant a loss is this for Germany? Well, it is a loss because all Germany kind of wanted to see him getting minutes in this World Cup.
27:42Nobody expected him now to be a starter, like he was in the last friendly game. But at least to see him a half an hour or, you know, 35 minutes coming on and give the whole game a spark, you know, because he's a kid that takes people on, you know, he's not overthinking the game. And it's just fun to watch this kid. And that's what he did all year long with Bayern Munich. And he did it really well. Now, maybe sometimes when we throw in these kids at the age of 17, 18, 19, look at Olysee, look at Yamin Amal, maybe we overdo it. Maybe we do expect already too much from these youngsters and we already give them too much of a workload.
28:24And that's why possibly, you know, these injuries are a result of it. Because if you play them too often, you know, every three, four days, you know, you play them Champions League, you play them in whatever Premier League or Bundesliga or Serie A, whatever they play, maybe we ask too much already from those youngsters. But obviously we are hungry to see the next Lamina Mal. We are hungry to see the next Musiala. And in Germany especially, for seeing the next Musiala, everybody was talking about or is talking about Lennart Kahl. And this injury is sad to see. Away from the international side of things in Germany, Everybody's talking right now, Jürgen, about Michael Alise, because his name is continually being linked with a move to Real Madrid.
29:11And the front cover of Diario Asa, Spanish Sports Daily, saying the Galactico is Alise. This comes down to Florentino Perez saying that he will be signing a Galactico if he remains as president after the elections. There's no way Alise is leaving Bayern, is there?
29:31there's right now probably no way but you know the numbers are going up up up and if perez is going to the extreme and he has uh uh the money available you know he will he will go for him and try it um i mean by munich i mean there's a certain probably a certain number that that they would probably look into it and and would discuss it with real madrid but it's something that i if I'm now the coach of France, I necessarily don't need to have that discussion. You know, I'm focused with my team to get into the World Cup. And Olysses is obviously a fantastic player and a very important piece of the French national team.
30:09So you want to have not now all these blah, blah, blah going on, all these discussions going on. But we all know Fiorentino Perez is trying to win the presidency for another term at Real Madrid. So he throws out names, he throws out numbers. and hopefully in a couple of days this is over. But if they would go to an incredible figure at the end of the day, by the end, maybe end of August, then, I mean, Bayern Munich, they're not stupid either. You know, they will listen to it. What do you think of this whole situation? Money's money. Real Madrid is Real Madrid, even amidst all their problems. But they've just had a brilliant season with Bayern.
30:47And he especially has had a brilliant season with Bayern. They have. And to Jürgen's point, if you're Didier Deschamps, this is the last thing you need right now. Them having these conversations or Olysee having to deal with it as footballers, you do with speculation all the time, but right before a World Cup where you are favorite to go on and win it and one of your most important players with this kind of move. I also understand Bayern's position in that we're a big club, we're a profitable club, and Michael Olysee is a big part of our successes, certainly over the last couple of seasons. And so it serves them better to have the player than to have an even more top-heavy balance sheet.
31:26So you understand that perspective as well. While we accept that there's a lot of kind of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing and contact with agents and quiet contact with players, I find this kind of... And I know Real Madrid, this is not new to Real Madrid, this kind of just outward flaunting that, yep, this is who we're going to get. regardless of any of the usual protocols, whether they're broken or not, I find that amazing, in all honesty. But Real Madrid will continue to be who they are. If I'm Bayern, as a result, I'm taking an even firmer stance on this, in that I am also a big club, I'm a profitable club, I'm a successful club, and I'm not going to be bullied.
32:17And I think this is a time and a position for Bayern to establish that. Stevie? I went straight to Vincent Kompany. If I'm Vincent Kompany, I'm going straight up the stairs and going, by the way, don't ask me to win the Champions League, because you expect us to win the Bundesliga every year, and now you want the Champions League. Don't be selling my best players. Don't ask me to win the Champions League and then go and sell my best players. And then go and get me lunch. that's what I'm doing if I'm Vincent Kompany do you think Vincent Kompany eats the same food as you? I would suggest not as would I I was thinking the same Jürgen thank you so much for being with us today we look forward to hearing a lot more from you during the World Cup thank you guys make sure to be with us tomorrow ESPN FC with the results of Real Madrid's elections they are taking place tomorrow we'll find out who wins
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34:36Oh, and don't hear Iola. Liverpool's new head coach taking his first tour of the training facilities and downfield after the Spaniard signed a two-year contract to take home at the club for the upcoming season. Now there's been an article today in The Athletic touching on the inside story of how he came to Liverpool. Did you get a chance to cast your eyes over that? What stood out to you, Stevie?
35:04to be honest the thing that stood out was the fact that Arnest Lott was shocked he got sacked to be honest with you not to take it away from Mariola but that was the biggest thing because he thought Champions League qualification had been enough to keep his role well he did but unfortunately for him particularly the fans expect their team to play in a certain way and in terms of who was available right now if they wanted to move slot Areola is the perfect guy So you're shocked that slot was shocked? Aye We sit and watch we've sat and watched Liverpool all season and see it start bad and get worse and worse and incredibly even worse by the end of the season and so when you're doing that as a club the feeling at the club everybody's down there's a horrible atmosphere at any club that is not getting close to where they should be.
36:03And so he must have felt it, smelled it, walking down the corridors when people don't want to look you in the eye. Because that's what happens when you're expected to win and you are miles off it. Never mind the way you're playing. You're just playing rotten and losing. So that surprised me. But as I said, because Areola was available, it seemed like a no-brainer. Because if Areola can do what he did, with the quality of players that he has at Bournemouth. Why would anybody think he can't do that with the quality of players he's got at Liverpool? So, yeah, I honestly think this is a great move.
36:42But, as I said, I'm shocked at Slott's shocked. I'll be honest, I'm with you. I think it's a great move. It's a no-brainer. All the adjectives you're going to use are on that. Last week, I think it was, I floated a conspiracy theory of my own that this was done a long time ago. And everybody somehow kind of kept it quiet. despite the links of Iriola with other clubs, including Leverkusen. The amazing thing to me is how quickly this all happened. That, let's say, and while I'm in total agreement with Stevie, that Iriola is a really good fit for Liverpool, sitting on the face of it. If Iriola had signed with Leverkusen, who's the option?
37:23You make this decision to sack on a slot, and had Iriola not been available, Xavi Alonso is already signed for Chelsea. Who's the option? And for me, that is the thing that a club of Liverpool's size have kind of let things dwindle as long as they did, and it almost caught them out. Again, in my opinion, as we sit right now, they got the right man. But just, and I just didn't see that from Liverpool. Because there's a power, go on, go ahead. I find it hard to believe that Hughes, the connection that Hughes has with Areola from the Bournemouth days, there is no question that he would not have mentioned his name.
38:11You know, because probably halfway through the season, they'll be looking at what's happened so far. And that question will come up. Well, you know, obviously we expect Slott to turn things around, but if he doesn't, then what do we do? There's no way Hughes hasn't thrown his name in. Earlier than that. I think the fact that it's taken so long for us to find out is because FSG didn't really want to get rid of Slott. And I don't think, had Ariolo not been available, I think Slott would probably still be in the job. That was going to be my question. You actually think that would be the case? Absolutely.
38:48Because there's not... If they don't like Alodzo, which we believe is the case, there isn't anybody else, really. And so you then are forced to give Slott an opportunity. Just because there's no real successor. You're forced to stick with someone you've lost faith in, and a significant portion of the players also lost faith in. But you can't get rid of him and bring somebody in that you're not convinced is going to do a good job. That makes no sense. That makes less sense in keeping Slott. And that's what I'm saying. you've lost faith with Slott the players, a huge section of them have seemed to have lost faith with Slott it just it worked out by fluke as opposed to design that Eriolo was still available that he disappeared on holiday when Milan would try to seal the deal for him that Chelsea didn't think he was a good fit exactly, maybe they had their side set on well the same Chelsea that have had a thousand managers since this lot took over Maybe Chelsea would have preferred Xavi Alonso, but maybe they thought he's going to Liverpool, so we have a plan B type of thing.
40:03We're not talking about what Chelsea would do, and that's up to them. The thing for me is, it feels like it worked out by fluke as opposed to design. And a club of Liverpool's size, stature, history, do not do things by fluke. Go and talk to Chelsea in Crystal Palace so that it looks legit, and then we'll put you in the role anyway. No, you buy the two of my conspiracy theory, Kay. I'm sensing two of you are buying my conspiracy theory. You need to be on that show that Florentino Perez went on, Unexplained Mysteries. That's right. That's where you should be heading next. Football expired. So we're going to take a look at the departures that we know have gone from Liverpool.
40:39Obviously, Mohamed Talat, Andy Robertson and Ibrahim Akarnate, his contract expiring. He's moving on a free. And so where are your biggest areas of concern that Iraiola needs to address, considering how he plays the game as well, Stevie? Oh, my goodness. I think there's no question Liverpool need all of those that I've suggested here. So you've suggested two centre backs? Well you need two centre backs. If we're going to start saying that Van Dyke's getting on a bit, then you need to be able to give him a break then. Because we know at his best he's fantastic, but you've got to give him a break.
41:14So you need two centre backs. And you need a right back. I mean, Anish Lott went through the season, probably 50 % at least of playing a midfielder at full-bank. Now, you cannot challenge for the Premier League or the Champions League or anything doing that. You just can't. And there's no question, the middle of the park has to be beefed up. And there has to be somebody in there who's going to organise everybody. You know, Liverpool all season, in the middle of the park, teams were flying through the middle of them. and I never once remember seeing anybody getting angry. I don't remember anybody pointing a finger at anybody else on the team to tell me they've closed the ball or be in the right position.
41:57They all just seem to let it happen. So somebody dominant in the middle of the park who's going to make sure everybody gets their jobs done and has a bit of steel and stops teams getting at them. And then obviously, when you look at what Liverpool have on their books right now up front, my goodness, you talk about needing attacking wingers. because I'm not quite sure whether Cody Gagpo is going to be A, going to be staying for long and B, should he actually be starting for Liverpool considering the season he had last year as well. So Liverpool need two attacking... A lot of money. They need a lot of money, yeah.
42:30They need everybody, apparently. But the fact is, is that that's what they need. If we're talking about Liverpool challenging for the Premier League and the Champions League because that's what Liverpool has to be doing, then they need all of that. so they better find the one if he's somewhere. Do you have it? No. No, he does not. Yes, that is an article over in The Athletic and no doubt we will continue to talk about Liverpool's needs throughout the course of the season on ESPN FC. Our football reporters did just that on their podcast which you can catch on YouTube right now. Buster Olney here for La Quinta by Wyndham.
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45:17Scotland is going to win the World Cup. It's been quite the day. I've never seen Stevie so happy. Well, I have. Just, no. Last night. Oh, yeah, you guys were at an event together last night. Yes, yes. Tell us more. Yeah, Project Goal had the gala last night in Rhode Island. Shaq and I were there. Shaq was the ultimate ambassador. What a speech. Yes, I was. Great speech, right? I was an emcee. Absolute politician. Stevie was not a politician. No, I was a cheerleader. How did things go when his name was called? Who? Stevie's. Oh, ha ha ha ha. Stevie, guys, introduced to the crowd. Well, you know, here we are, Liverpool, multiple league champion, winner of the European Cup, Stephen Nicholl.
46:05Stephen, stand up. Stephen, can you stand up please? Stephen, can you stand up please? I was standing. Stephen was... I would have thought Daddies would have told me he was going to introduce us. Fair enough. And then I would have been there, but he didn't see anything. So I went to the toilet. I was trying. I was trying. I was like, this is bad. Oh, dear. All right. I'll stop grassing on you, shall I? Let's get the questions up from today's Extra Time. First question. Stevie, could hot and humid weather in Miami be a factor in favour of Brazil against Scotland? You think?
46:45Oh, Bolivia didn't take advantage. Yeah, I think they were a night out in New York last night. Listen, Miami is not suited to feisty-faced, white, ginger-haired Scotsman in the middle of summer. Absolutely a bad factor. And there's another big important factor here as well. Brazil. So, yeah, all things are pretty much against Scotland. Where is suited to the Scots? Scotland?
47:23We're very good at home. We do well at home. Come on, Chick, bring me questions. Stop trying to hide behind the ears. It's one of our faces. You're moving well within your knees as well. Okay, Shaka. Why isn't Portugal higher than England? They have arguably a better squad. Yeah.
47:45I still think Portugal have to figure out the Ronaldo condom drop. And that's kind of why Portugal are higher in my power rankings right now. But there... Also... Hold on a second. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I know what you're going to say. Wait a minute. What, what, what? Wait a minute. On the show, right, you just dismissed Argentina as not being able to win the World Cup. Yeah. But yet you had Portugal in it. So how did Argentina, how were they fourth and Portugal's fifth in your power rankings? Magic. Fair enough. I can't question that. Ah, Shaq. Have any of the friendly results? Oh, no, second.
48:37Sorry. Percentage chance that Alise goes to Real Madrid guys? I thought Don was... I'm going low. I'm going 10%. 10 %? I'm going low.
48:49No chance. I'm going 20%. 20 % changed. 5 % 5 % 5 % because you never know. I'm back at him getting all his boys in. They might do something stupid like Barcelona when they... What was it? 300 million for Neymar? Yeah, PS3, yeah. So, 5%. Okay. Have any of the friendly results changed your opinion of any of the top World Cup contenders, such as France losing to Ivory Coast, Brazil winning 6-2, Spain joining against Iraq? No. Not the results. Now, on social media, again, you don't know if it's true or not, but some kind of little kind of a spot between Mbappe and Kante. Kante? Right! Who gets angry when they go to the country?
49:41Nobody. So again, I just kind of saw that I didn't look any further into it. But, and then you're coming talking about the boss from France in, was it 2002? What year was that? 2010, wasn't it? Was it 2010? South Africa. Right. And I'm like, hold on, how are you doing a repeat performance? Again, this is just me and my little conspiracy theory sitting behind my phone. This is a big conspiracy, that's what. But there's going to be a mutiny in France. Because let's be honest, if you get angry at N 'Golo Kante, you're wrong. I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is, but you are wrong. I mean, you are believing what you read, though, here on social media as well.
50:20Well, you know me, K. I believe everything I read on social media. Everything. Okay, guys. Which African team will perform best at the World Cup? I'm going from Morocco. As per the aforementioned Pearl Rad Kings, Magic and Orp. Morocco, for me.
50:43I can't argue with that. Listen, Senegal...
50:50No, Morocco and Morocco. I thought you were going to make a case for Senegal. You were earlier in the green room. Keep going back and forward with them, to be honest. I'm going to play it safe and go with Morocco. I would love to see Cape Verde in their first ever World Cup make some wins. Come through a difficult group, I think with Nigeria, and I would just love to see them, I would love to see them surprise a few. That's my... I mean, if they won a game, they'd be happy, right? I guess, but I can't... Are they in Spain's group? I think so. Is that a group? I think so. Oh man. I feel like it.
51:32But again, African qualifying, FC qualifying is always difficult. It's ruthless. Yeah. And they come through a very difficult group and I'd like to see them now take some of that bravado that we saw in qualifying into the top. I'm not expecting it, but I'd love to see it. Okay. Stevie, given the fact that most people don't have Netherlands among their favourites to win the World Cup, would Van Dijk cement himself in the top five greatest defenders of all-time rankings if he helps them win the whole tournament? If they win it, yeah. Because for them to win it, him along with a lot of others would have to be at the best.
52:17And there's no question that when we're talking about greats, at his best, he's in the conversation. Yep. What excuses will international managers use most this summer? Travel, weather, pitch quality, which impacts players the most? Pitch quality. That's a concern heading into it, isn't it? We saw that in the Copa America last year. Laying grass over Ashton Turf is not easy. We didn't get it right at all last summer. It seems as though it looks a whole lot better this time around. and I'll use Gillette as an example, or the Boston Stadium as it's now known. We saw France-Brazil there in March and the pitch was in really good condition.
53:06But I think there are a lot of questions. U.S. Senegal, you saw the pitch there, which was just god-awful. There was no bounce to it. I wonder if that will be more the norm, those kinds of pitches as opposed to the Boston Stadium. You know, when we were talking about the Club World Cup, and I in particular kept bringing up the field, the pitches, I don't think people realise how it changes how you play. So tell us, because we wouldn't know this. The easiest thing is the bounce of the ball. You know, when a defender hits a 40-yard pass, depending on the trajectory of it, you know through experience and playing what it's going to do under normal circumstances.
53:56Obviously certain fields now and again there'll be little differences but generally you've got a fair idea and when you've been playing for nine months in your domestic campaign you're doing things automatically you know things things click in your brain as I said the way the trajectory of the ball your brains already figuring out where roughly where it's going to land and how and how when it lands what it's going to do. So all these things are in your head all the time and sometimes they're just automatic you don't even think about it now all of a sudden you play on a field where the ball doesn't bounce I mean it just completely it completely knocks you off and so like the Club World Cup you You know, I said that the field in my opinion was the biggest problem that PSG dealt with other than some good play from Chelsea.
54:50But that's why in my opinion they didn't win it because the way the field was suited how Chelsea went about it. So this is going to be a valid excuse from coaches? 100%. Could this change though, the outcome of some of those top teams who are used to playing on better pitches all the time? So might that make your World Cup winners? Well we don't know. A bit bigger. But we don't know what the pitches are going to be like though, that's the thing. so you can ask us again once we see whether FIFA who said oh don't worry we're going to get it sorted same way they've said they're going to sort everything else how's that gone so let's see what happens with the pitchers we will see oh yeah we've done that one Steve if you had to choose one player from your Liverpool era to play in today's game who are you picking and why oh my goodness that's impossible one
55:42Okay, shall we say if you get to pick one player? I'll tell you what, I'll pick one, right? John Barnes. Can you imagine John Barnes in today's game? How open it is. How half the workload defensively he wouldn't have to do. Can you imagine? He would get twice the amount of ball and the opposition half. Can you imagine the damage Barnsley would do with teams? I mean, there's a few... There's a good handful of others as well, by the way, but Barnsley would be a great example. Because Barnsley used to have to be back defending, set feces, corners, running back, I mean, you name it. Which... Let's be honest, if you'd swapped Barnsley in Mo Salah, I would figure Barnsley would probably have as many goals.
56:35I know that's a big statement, but Barnsley, imagine how many goals and assists Barnsley would have had if he had swapped places with Mo Salah. Any thoughts on this question, Shekka? OK. Fellas, if France Self-Destruct and Lamine and Nico, first name terms here, have an injury riddled tournament, then who lifts the cup under the scorching New Jersey summer heat?
57:03If France self-destruct If France self-destruct even if Laminio Al and Nico Williams are out I've been, well, distrught Otherly
57:24Me too actually Portugal Not Argentina? No? No. Really? Fair enough. We've discussed this. Who are you saying, Stevie?
57:49Go on, say Scotland.
57:53If I really, really wanted to look stupid, I would have said Scotland. He's thinking about saying England, you know, but he can't. No, I'm not. He can't muster the energy. Did you see England today against New Zealand? They're just keeping it all balled up. Yeah, they won 1-0 with a hurricane header. They're keeping it all balled up. Yeah, against New Zealand. By the way, Haiti beat New Zealand 4-0 last week. Four. So you said Haiti going to win it well? Haiti.
58:26Hater. Yeah, that's what it is. All right. You just couldn't see it. You can't do it. I don't care who wins it, actually. One is England don't win it. That will do it for the latest edition of Expreside. Thank you so much for sending in your questions. We'll be back tomorrow with more World Cup build-up and the results of the Real Madrid election.
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From the publisher
The FC Crew react to Saturday's international friendly between the United States and Germany which resulted in a 2-1 win for the Germans. Then, the latest on Michael Olise's links to Real Madrid and Andoni Iraola officially signing as Liverpool's head coach. Also, what Steve Nicol thinks Liverpool's needs are in the summer transfer window in order to get back to competing for the Premier League title and who can actually win the World Cup.
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