Lionel Messi secures another win for Argentina

26:11And the quality that he has in the distribution, that entry pass to allow him to, you know, also score some goals has been brilliant. So I love watching that. He's unbelievable. He has pace. He's strong. He's physical. A knack for goal. I mean, what more do you want? Ali's right. I mean, Mbappe aside, I love me some Kili Kili, but Olise, what an absolute show. Are you not entertained? All right. Well, one thing we weren't really entertained with was the storm that we saw, Jules. There was a rain delay. We understand that, of course, there were thunderstorms and lightning, so that's why the game had to be halted.

26:46Just talk to us about what it was like and how weird it was for you to experience because, of course, you live in England and there's a lot of rain in England, but a rain delay quite like this in the middle of a game, it's interesting, isn't it? Yeah, I've never experienced anything like that. Before, I was in Ukraine in 2012 for the Euros when France played Ukraine at the Donbass Arena there was a lot of rain and the game was stopped after five minutes and suspended for an hour and then they finished it on a waterlogged pitch. But two hours and ten minutes like yesterday, never before. I mean, we knew there were high risk of those thunderstorms coming, but what really amazed me, and again, I'm maybe really naive and I've never really experienced it, is how quickly things change because it looked like actually things were brightened up and that getting close to half time that we were fine actually and we would avoid the thunderstorm.

27:37And then suddenly the FIFA people were texting us saying, like, I have time. You need to go and find shelter because this is going to be dangerous. And we're like, really? And the rain had started falling, but it was just the rain, like you said, Alex, that we see in the UK, for example, or anywhere else. But it changed so quickly. And for the players, it's difficult because half an hour you can manage, even an hour you can probably manage. Two hours and 10 minutes, it's a very long time. They played a bit of cards. At least it was big dressing room over there. So you have the bikes, you can do a bit of cycling, you can play with the ball, you can do kippee-uppies, you can do the two-touches game, all that kind of stuff, great.

28:13But after 45 minutes already, you've had enough. So it was not easy, and credit to the two teams, really, because I thought the second half could have suffered from that long break in terms of quality. And the pitch as well, because there were a lot of paddles everywhere and paddles and things like that. But actually, it was still good quality second half. Ali, you've experienced something like this before, have you? this long? How hard is it for the players to kind of just keep in that moment? Yeah, it is difficult. I played in Orlando in the middle of hurricane season and, you know, lightning consistently.

28:43So it's really tough to stay mentally in it, right? Then you go and you sit after warming up and activating, especially after, you know, you already start the game. So it is difficult to kind of stay mentally in it. But then it's just keeping your legs warm. And honestly, you're basically staring at each other in the locker room, right? And trying to you know stay ready for for the next part of the game but um you just have to continue to talk about what you know you're you're going to fix in order to get back out there and get 100 percent back to where you were so it's tough but you know they're professionals this is a business you got to show up and you got to show out when when you have the the um opportunity to and and i know that they can handle it just like we saw last night yeah natum took the time during that rain delay to re-watch the usa up against australia he was such a fan of that game by force by force He was entertained either way.

29:33All right. Well, for more World Cup coverage, make sure to check out the latest edition of the Gab and Jules show. As you can see, the boys are very much here throughout the World Cup, bringing you only the best content.

29:47Well, he plays later on today. Can Cristiano Ronaldo join the other big hitters and get some goals? We'll talk about that next.

30:00I'm pretty confident talking into a mic. Hey, I'm doing it right now. But home projects, I second guess everything. Is that noise normal? Is that water damage? And who should I even call? That's where Thumbtack comes in. Upload a photo or a voice note, and their AI-powered search helps diagnose the issue and match you with the right top-rated local pro. Instead of guessing or searching for hours, you get clarity and can hire the right pro with confidence. For your next home project, try Thumbtack. They know homes. Hire the right pro today. If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify.

30:36You know that purple shop pay button you see at checkout? The one that makes buying so incredibly easy? That's Shopify. And there's a reason so many businesses sell with it. Because Shopify makes it incredibly easy to start and run your business. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10 % of all e-commerce in the U.S., from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. Shopify gives you a leg up with hundreds of beautiful, ready-to-go templates to express your brand style and forget about the code. Tackle all those important tasks in one place, from inventory to payments to analytics and more.

31:13Spread your brand's word with built-in marketing and email tools to find and keep new customers. And did I mention that iconic purple ShopPay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world? It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Your customers already love it. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com slash network. Go to Shopify.com slash network. Shopify.com slash network.

32:02Well, after a disappointing result in their opening game, Portugal will be bowing into action later today. They will be going up against Uzbekistan. And of course, there's a lot of talk about Cristiano Ronaldo and whether or not he can finally come to the party, as many expect him to be that talisman for Portugal. But before we get into Super Cristiano Ronaldo talk on the pitch, Jules, there's been a lot of talk about tension and drama in the dressing room. So tell us more about what's being said. Yeah, it's a bit everywhere, Alexis. I mean, there are a lot of things written in the Portuguese media or said in the Portuguese media about those tensions within the dressing room around Cristiano Ronaldo.

32:45We saw Cristiano himself putting some cryptic posts out there, his sister getting involved as well. We saw Joao Neves and Bruno Fanonj, both of them getting a lot of abuse on their social media. I mean, for Joao Neves, just basically saying that they know how much Cristiano has done for Portuguese football and for football in general, to be fair. But in this walk, they were all fighting for the same thing and all being the same kind of players. And Cristiano fans clearly didn't like that. Bruno got a lot of stick in a similar way. We saw Francisco Concecao, who did really nothing wrong the other day around Cristiano and got a similar abuse.

33:21So it feels like there's a very heavy environment around the national team. We're not sure about Roberto Martinez's future, for example. At the moment, he seems to be leaving Portugal at the end of the World Cup, probably to go to Al Nasser, which is the club where Cristiano Ronaldo plays. So there's a lot of things going on. And it's really not ideal when you're preparing for such a big game because they need to win against Uzbekistan. not just to win. They need to play well. They need Cristiano to do well as well. And that's a lot of things that you need to get right for this game. Yeah, I think when we saw the fixtures getting into this World Cup, Portugal against Uzbekistan, we didn't think we'd be calling it a big must-win game for Portugal.

33:57But that's exactly the state of affairs. So for this one now, Nadam, if you're Roberto Martinez, do you start Cristiano? Absolutely start him, yeah. I still think he's the best forward and the best finisher that they have in that side. And I think the biggest issue from the first game, obviously Cristiano didn't play as well as he could have done. but who did for that Portugal side? I think it was more so issues in terms of their approach, say the lineup selection and so on. So I think going into the second game, I think you'll probably learn from those lessons because they will face a tough test against Uzbekistan.

34:24Again, which they should be winning again. But again, it's a side that also plays in a similar style to Diakongo. I think Diakongo played with the back three, Uzbekistan played with the back three. I think Roberto Martinez didn't set his team up correctly to play against that type of lineup. So yeah, I'm backing him to play, backing him to score. it's just I don't know it's just it just feels too easy to just go against him right now because he's because Portugal haven't had a great game and I think also the stories that we're hearing there about say the attacks against Conte Sao and Jean Neves and Fernandes the problem with like Ronaldo and Messi and people like this they've got tons of fans but some of those are like actual crazy fanatic types you're talking about me right not you on this occasion no and some of these like fanatic types they don't even like they're not even from Portugal they don't support Portugal It's just all-out support for an individual.

35:10So they never really take anything. So me again. So, yeah. It's like Joanne's conversation about how we're all pulling in the same direction, like nobody's bigger than anyone else. That's like good speak. That's good football speak. But if you're a fanatic, it's like, how dare you not discuss my king in the correct manner, which is a shame, really. It's a shame indeed. I wonder who would ever say such a thing. But, Frank, what about you? Would you start Cristiano today as well? Yes, of course. Of course, I mean, it's one game. Come on, guys. You know, chill out. It's only one game. Somebody say something.

35:43Now you have the family, you have the girlfriend, you have the sister, you have the fanatic fans, you know. Joe Nevers didn't say anything bad towards Ronaldo. He wanted to say that he was part of them, that he was with them, and that nothing was said badly about Ronaldo because players, they know they can't say anything against him. They know that he's a real star, he's the peak of the national team, and he has to play against Uzbekistan. He has to score goals, Portugal has to win, and to bring the confidence back and the count around the national team, it's obvious and compulsory for me that Ronaldo has to play, and he deserves to play.

36:25I mean, they didn't have a good game. One game, come on, take it easy. That's all right. Jules, your eyes kind of went big and looked a bit surprised when both Nadam and Frank so adamantly said, of course they would start Cristiano Ronaldo. Do you not agree with them? It's not that. Frank says it's one game. It's not one game. And that's the problem here. That is the problem. Ronaldo was poor two years ago at the Euros. Didn't score a single goal. Missed penalties. Didn't even... It's not just that he was not good. It didn't look good. Full stop. The World Cup four years ago, three and a half years ago in Qatar, we were there.

36:58He scored one goal on the penalty. So there's no goals in open play for two big tournaments now. and the problem is not this one game against Congo because you could you could have one bad game it happens to everybody even the goats like Cristiano and Messi the problem is it's been going on for a long time and okay he's calling the qualifiers good for him I mean Nedam Anuha was calling qualifiers for Portugal against Leipzig and things like that he might even take he might even take a penalty and score that penalty who knows eh so it's not the one game and that's the problem here and sure he's going to start against Uzbekistan Roberto Martinez right now is not going to take that decision to bench Cristiano.

37:35This is not who he is as a coach. This is not what he wants to do. He should have done it when he took over after Qatar, you know, and he didn't. And now it's too late. You can't bench. I don't think he will bench Cristiano like Fernando Santos did in Qatar. But I think the debate is right to be there. Would it be better with, I don't know, Joel Felix as a nine or Rafael Léo as a nine or Gonzalo Ramos as a nine? You've got other options. The problem is you've never tried the other options. So now you're stuck in like, well, it has to be Cristiano. One, because it's Cristiano. OK, no problem. But two, because we don't really know what plan B is because we never tried a plan B.

38:07Alec, you played in teams, especially with the U.S. women's national team, where you're kind of still hanging on to the magic from some of your aging superstars. And you're hoping that lightning will consistently strike in the same place twice. But would you start Cristiano Ronaldo? Yeah, I would. I would start Cristiano Ronaldo. I think it has a lot to do with also the identity of the team and maybe the personnel. And I think there were a lot of individual play in that game rather than a collective team effort. And I feel like if that can shift a little bit, then you might see a different Portugal today.

38:38But I don't think just taking out Cristiano Ronaldo is going to solve all of the issues. And automatically Portugal is going to be playing magnificent and scoring all these goals. So I think they keep him in and they have to figure out what the identity of the team is and how to share the ball collectively. I think a lot better than they shown in the last game. They're making the same runs. they're not really having any quality service into the box, and the shots were nowhere near really on target. So I think those are more of the issue right now than just one player. All right, we're going to take Ali's word for it because she's the boss.

39:11All right, Frank LeBeouf, Julianne Laurent, thank you so much, guys, for joining us. We will catch up with you another time. And don't forget to check us out over on YouTube for the FC live stream right after Portugal face Uzbekistan. And there will be lots of reaction on what happens or what doesn't happen from Cristiano Ronaldo. Well, if you've been hearing a lot of it's coming home, that's because the England fans have descended in New England. We'll be talking the three lions next.

39:45As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, clickgrainger.com, or just stop by. MLB.TV on ESPN is your home for every out-of-market game, live or on demand.

40:21Catch your favorite teams and players, plus MLB Network and ESPN app features like Multiview, syncing your stats, key plays, bets, and fantasy all in one place. Sign up now for MLB.tv in the ESPN app. Separate subscriptions required, blackouts, and other terms apply. Visit stream.espn.com slash MLB TV for more information.

40:48Back on ESPN FC, let's have a look at England's group standings. They started things off with a nice 4-2 win over Croatia. That has them sitting pretty at the top. But Ghana also were able to get a win, and they go up against the Ghanaians today. Speaking of Ghana, their talisman, Antoine Semenyo, he's had a complicated journey from failing trials at academies to then even playing non-league football. and now he will be going up against the country he was born in as he suits up for the Black Stars against England. For more on that, here's Anscape's Bill Roden.

41:25Adonis Silva. Harland. Plenty and support. Oh, that's beautiful from Antoine Semenyo. In a very short time, Antoine Semenyo has gone from a striker trying to prove he belongs to Premier League star Ximeno! FA Cup champion and one of the faces of Ghana's World Cup host. But as Ghana and England prepare to meet in the World Cup, the decision to represent the Black Stars was made long before Manchester. I wasn't really in the ranks for England. Being a late bloomer, I didn't really have any expectation to. And to be honest, I didn't see myself getting to this point. You obviously dream big, but I didn't know it was going to be my reality.

42:09So, yeah, when Ghana came in, I just said, yeah, like, there's no way I'm saying no to this. Antoine Semenya was born in London shortly after his parents immigrated to the UK from Africa. But Ghana was never far away. Ghana meant everything, to be honest. My family, mom and dad, brother, we used to watch Ghana daily. We used to go to Ghana. There was just so much love. When you mention Ghana, it's just love. Everything was just, like, football-related. Everyone loves football in Ghana. Even just representing the nation, it means so much. I think it's a dream come true. My dad always used to talk about representing Ghana as a kid, and to say that I'm doing it now just means everything.

42:51Ghana first made the call four years ago, and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar felt like an arrival. Since then, everything in Antoine's life has accelerated. Semenyo! Pure power! I think just going to that World Cup in 2022 was one thing and then everything's just sped up from that point onwards and at Bournemouth. Semenyo to finish it! Had a breakthrough season there. Antoine Semenyo makes the breakthrough for Bournemouth. And then just kept on going and then obviously my man's seat, you know, so yeah, a lot's happened so quick and I've just had to adjust. Some would frame England vs Ghana as the country where he was born against the country he chose.

43:37But Semenyo does not frame it as conflict. He frames it as commitment. Like my friends are kind of split. Some are supporting England, some are supporting Ghana. Obviously being born there, it's quite a lot. But yeah, I mean, it's a game at the end of the day. And I'm representing Ghana. I've committed to them. So it's a game for me. I want to win. and coming up against obviously teammates and stuff is going to be something. But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Well, he's capped a stellar season with a beautiful, impudent cup final goal. And Sominio can only imagine what a similar game winner against England might do.

44:16God, I think the Ghana fans might take over America if that's the case. Yeah, it would be amazing. I mean, just, yeah, scoring against England would be great for sure. I mean, if that's a winning goal, it's even better but I want to make history I'm gonna score as many goals as I can and I love the nation I'll do anything for the nation where my heart must leave and I'll work as hard as I can to make sure there's success in Ghana

44:46well he will definitely have to contend with a familiar sound as the England fans have descended upon Boston I'm not I'm surprised to see there's enough beer for them to get after Scotland had their way with Boston. Scotland, of course, off to Florida now. But England fans definitely full of song, wondering if it will be coming home. And someone who has been asking that for a long, long time is one of the biggest England fans we know, of course, our Adrian Healy. Adrian, what's the vibe like out there in Boston? Can you do better than the Scots? And is it coming home? Well, those are all the questions, Alexis.

45:24good morning to you all. I can't stay away from this, can't stay away from this city of Boston. As Paul Revere once said, the British are coming. And after 10 days of the Scots of the Tartan army here, it's the turn of the English. You know, there was some overlap between the two tribes over the weekend and a lot of unity and harmony were displayed. The Scots had two clear messages, two clear messages for the English though. One, good luck trying to out drink us. And two, please don't remove any of those orange traffic cones we left on top of statues so on that first point on that first point the English have their work cut out because roughly about 14 ,000 expected in the city as opposed to 50 ,000 for the Scots but they've set about their task with a purpose a determination and a relish that I think even Thomas Tuchel would approve of they've been giving it a good go here in Boston and we're on our way it's been the dominant song but you all saw or Wonderwall being performed by the players and the fans together down in Dallas.

46:26And that seems to have taken over here. In fact, last night at one of the bars, former English player David Bentley got up on a bar top and led the rousing chorus of Wonderwall to everyone's delight. He's probably a player that Nedden played with, I imagine. The former Spurs and England man. And that's not actually him, but there was a photo of him up on the bar and the English fans have been loving it. Real, real unity here amongst the fan group. Need him. Hello. Hey. Hey. If that's David, yeah, I did play with David. If that was him with the flat cap on, that's the way he's been for the last 10 years.

47:07And what I liked with David is he actually retired very early because he wanted to do other things, but he still had the honour of representing his country. He was really good as a player as well. It was good to see that he's still supporting the England side. England-Ghana though, it's gonna be a good one. You know, I'll be honest with you, so I was born in Nigeria, I played for England, and you don't really know about where your allegiances truly lie until they play against each other. And I think England have done that maybe twice in my lifetime. And I swear I've been tested, like, watching that game.

47:35And I think for Antoine and lots of other people in England, you know, who have that sort of dual nationality type situation, I promise you when the game starts, you will realize very quickly which team you're rooting for. but it might not be what you expect. All right, well, Eddie, you told us about all the stuff off the pitch. On the pitch now, what are you expecting from this matchup against Ghana, especially with the talisman that they have? Antoine Semenya, who's coming off of at least a good time with Manchester City recently. Yeah, and they're likely to have Thomas Partey back in the mix as well, so it could be a little Arsenal reunion against Declan Rice there.

48:09But I tell you what, listening to Thomas Tuchel's press conference yesterday, he's expecting a very different sort of game. Yeah, talking about England having a lot more of the ball today at Boston Stadium against Ghana. Ghana, a team that like to counterattack with speed and purpose. But he, of course, will be looking for an improved performance from the defense. What remains to be seen is, is he going to change any of the starting 11? There's plenty of thought out there that he might not. Perhaps Marcus Rashford, perhaps Mark Gaye. But those may be the only two changes and maybe neither of those either.

48:43that. Adrienne Healy, thank you so much for joining us. Go get yourself a cold one. And by that, I mean a cold iced coffee because you are a professional. All right. Well, make sure to join us tonight on ESPN FC. We will be looking back at all the day's play midnight Eastern time on ESPN2.

49:02Well, we just cannot stay away from the Scotland fans. And now they got the factor 70 out and they've headed to South Beach. We'll look at them next.

49:15ESPN FC is brought to you by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Only pay for what you need. Right, here's what's coming up at the FIFA World Cup today. Portugal, Uzbekistan, that's the game we were talking about to see if Cristiano Ronaldo can finally find the back of the net. Then England up against Ghana. Panama face Croatia. And then Colombia against the Democratic Republic of Congo is the later kickoff. Now it's time to get some predictions from our experts and myself, of course, just here for the vibes. Let's start off with the one we did speak so much about, Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo up against Uzbekistan in now what we're calling a must-win game for the Portuguese.

50:00Nadam? Hello. I'm going to go over this way. Oh, that was a very... That was a very Linga drag, I would say. I'm going to go over this way. I think Ronaldo's going to score to that. Oh, Nadam says it first. Cristiano Ronaldo to score. I'm also going with Portugal today, so I'm with Nadam definitely here. I want Portugal to do well, and I want Ronaldo to do well and score a goal and get back to that confident way. My bracket wants them to do well as well. Yeah, my bracket definitely wants Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal to do very well, so I'm going to go with them next. Next one now. Colombia against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

50:38So, Natum, you can't go for Congo, can you? Who says? Oh, you're going for a draw. I'm going to go for a draw, yeah. I think, obviously, Colombia are very good, but I like the Congo as well. And I know they knocked Nigeria out. I was going to say, Natum. Well, that shows how good a team they are. Yeah, that's true. Well, they knocked Jamaica out as well. But I'm going to go for Colombia on this one. Ali, what about you? Yes, Colombia for me as well. All right. Tierra querida. England against Ghana. There are a lot of Nigerians watching me here. There's no right answer. There's no right answer.

51:12There's no right answer. But the realistic one is this one. But what would your heart rather see? England again. I have left. Don't worry about that. I'm going to go for England. Do you know what? I'm going to try to get some Ghanaian Jollof. And I'm going to go for a draw in this one. Nigeria is better. Is it? You see? That's the rivalry right there. Finally, Panama up against Croatia. Can Croatia bounce back? They must win for them. So I'm going Croatia. Yeah, I'm going to do Croatia as well. All right. Well, do you know what? I'm sorry to our Congo Cav brothers, but I think I'm going to go for Croatia on this one.

51:46Long live Luka Modric. I want to see him at least get out to the group. Come on now. Come on now. Right? Yeah, I think so. Long live the 40-year-olds. Yeah, long live the 40-year-olds. Nate, I'm turning 40 this year if you haven't noticed. All right. Well, one thing that we have been absolutely loving about this World Cup has been the mighty Tartan army. And if you look down in South Beach now, you will see a lot, a lot of sunburns going out there. But Scotland and the Tartan Army and their cones have descended upon South Beach. And look at that. They managed to take in some baseball. Absolutely love it.

52:23All right, that's going to do it for this edition of ESPN FC. Make sure to join us again tonight for more World Cup talk.

52:35We'll be right back.