More USMNT Reaction + Brazil vs Morocco Later!

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0:30If you want to know what a historic victory actually looks like, you don't look at the stat sheet, you look right here. Sheer euphoria rolling through watch parties across the country last night as the USA kicked off their campaign in some style with a 4-1 win over Paraguay. Happy Saturday to all of you. Welcome into ESPN FC. Kay Murray, Ali Krieger, Stevie Nichol along for the ride because we're looking forward to Scotland's first game in a long time in the World Cup later today. And also Shaka Hislav joining with us. But of course, there is only one place to start today. And that is with the big win for the US last night against Paraguay.

1:17When you look at biggest wins for the US in FIFA World Cup history, You've got to go all the way back to July of 1930 to match this one. A 3-0 win back then against Paraguay and Belgium. That being the opening match of the tournament as well. So much excitement surrounding the U.S. right now. Casey Keller is joining us. Casey, what a performance we saw from the U.S. last night. Yeah, it was. I mean, I just missed out on that squad in 1930. and so I'm really excited that I was able to be watching that match last night. So, I mean, but I think once you go away from the first minute or two. One minute, Casey.

1:57Is that a lost voice we detect here? What's that? Have you lost your voice? No, I have not lost my voice. Are you cheering, Casey? It's 6 a.m. in the morning here in L.A. That's my voice. But no, it was a situation where you had, probably after the first minute or two, Paraguay had just a little bit of a chance, a tight cross from the end line. And then after that, it was absolute total domination from the remainder of that first half from the U.S. And look, I think if they were just even a tiny bit more clinical in the final third, it could have been four or five. I mean, that's how good that first half was.

2:39They absolutely pinned Paraguay in their half. Christian Pulisic was tremendous. Flo got the two goals. And it really was. It was one of the most dominating halves the U.S. have had. I mean, the only half I can remember was 2002 against Portugal, where we end up 3-0 up. But to then be able to come out of the second half, you know, you expected a response from Paraguay. You expected also the U.S. to be just that little bit more conservative with a three-goal lead. They make the little bit of a mistake, the only real mistake in the match, which then gave Paraguay that goal. But then the subs came in and just galvanized everything.

3:24And then came in and Gio got that fantastic goal at the end of the match. And it really was a special night for U.S. soccer. That is the way to do it, Ali. That's the way to start a campaign and put yourself in a statement win. Yeah, it was unbelievable. They played with urgency. They looked comfortable. They looked confident. They played on the front foot and they were able to finish their chances. And we haven't seen that in a long time from the U.S. Just such a dominant performance from each line. The forwards, the midfielders, the defenders, they all did their job. That's exactly how you want to start out.

3:54Yeah, Shekhov, I feel as though there has been some negativity towards this U.S. men's team. In the build up to this tournament, lots of questions about no qualifying campaign. lots of questions surrounding Pochettino. It looks as though you're putting your hand up yourself. Guilty as charged, huh? Guilty as charged. I have been fairly critical of Marisha Pochettino almost over his entire, since his appointment and a lot of what's been said and he built up to this tournament. But I have eaten all my words. Marisha Pochettino and this team have made me eat those words because this, and I take Casey's point, but I have seen this US team over many a year.

4:34I have played against many a US team. You could make the argument that I would better than this team, have better individuals. I do not think I had seen this good a performance from the US men's national team at any level of the game. That was how dominating a performance this was. Casey's right. It could have been so much more. You take it for what it is, an incredible start to the tournament that surely the US can only build on. That was his best 11. Pochettino put out there today. 100 % yeah I'm in Chayka's club as well I've been giving them pelters but they were just fantastic and I think I think the catalyst for it was the front four the way they closed down squeezed the opposition Paraguay just they couldn't breathe they completely swarmed all over them couldn't get out and then of course when you take your chances and as the boys have said they should have had more yeah I mean I actually had to check that this was a US team I was watching because, let's be honest, all the way up, leading up to this World Cup, we've been questioning what is this team.

5:34Well, now we know. Yeah, let's take a look at the players. When you say, what is this team, you actually take a look at where some of the players are playing their trades on the domestic scene, especially the players that we were seeing combined last night for the opening goal. Of course, you saw the likes of Pulisic and McKinney, and we talk about where they play, playing their football in Europe, same with Balogun. We take a look at the XI, and you see where everybody's playing. Obviously, Tim Ream, back over on these shores now, but has all those years in the Premier League. Matt Freese doing a great job, as we saw.

6:02But everybody playing their football in Europe. Is this something that's showing on the international stage here, Casey? Yeah, I think so. But I think that the American players aren't surprises anymore. And I don't think you have to talk sport directors and talk owners into purchasing an American player. I mean, back in the day, it was. It was like, what? I'm going to buy an American? Well, I can buy a South American or whatever. Well, that's not the case anymore. And really what it then comes down to is you just have to prove it. And let's go back to exactly what Stevie and Shaka were talking about.

6:37Yes, I was one of those as well. That was extremely questioning Pochettino's approach in the 20 months that he's had the job. But I also said that, look, this has been a four-year preseason. Without having a qualifying campaign, you're just kind of going through the motions until it really matters. Look, we've all played on teams that have had great preseasons and terrible starts to a season. We've had terrible preseasons and great starts to a season. And it was just really nice to see that it was the latter. It wasn't a great preseason. It wasn't a great run for the U.S. in their buildup. Yes, they had moments.

7:14And yes, they gave us hope at different times that I wouldn't even say this performance was in the bag, that just a result was in the bag. Well, we got more than just a result. We got a tremendous performance as well. Now there's a little bit different pressure. Now going into the Australia game, it's like, can you replicate what we saw in this opening match? Because we all know that Turkey is going to be the real big test. And so get the job done in Seattle and then go into that Turkey game knowing that you're already through in at least second place. Let's talk about the turning point in the game.

7:51Obviously, if you were watching last night's ESPN FC, you'll see that this was discussed with the panel, whether it was the first goal, and then the feeling on the panel was that it was actually the second goal, and Baligan put that ball away. Let's talk about the performance that he had last night, Ali. Yeah, it was amazing to have a brace in the opening game of the World Cup and to also choose the United States out of, you know, having the option of playing for England or Nigeria. That just shows the pride, the mentality that he wants to play with and what he wants to prove himself, that he is the number nine for the United States.

8:22And he did that, just that last night. I mean, he had the confidence. He looked comfortable. He wanted the ball in big moments. He also was available consistently in and around the box to be able to be a threat. And Paraguay just didn't have an answer for his threat. To your question, Kia, I thought the turning point was the opening goal, the own goal. And granted, it was eight minutes in or whatever it was. And up to that point, I thought it was a fairly even game, which kind of surprised me, given that Paraguay, as you expect, would be more defensive. But up until that point, I thought it was fairly even.

8:57And then the opening goal comes. And I thought that just threw fuel on the U.S.'s fire. And why I disagree with the discussion as to whether it was the second goal was the turning point. Remember, Balogun had a goal disallowed before that, rightly, for offside. But I thought from the time that goal went in, there was a sense of freedom about the U.S.'s play. And this was not about Paraguay going into a shell. This was about the U.S. being at their absolute best. That just came with, once that goal went in, you just saw this team kind of settling to who they were. For all our concerns about Christian Pulisic coming in all calendar year, coming into this tournament, Caceriz, the Paraguay right back.

9:41If I were in charge of Paraguay, I would have pulled him off after 30 or 35 minutes. Christian Pulisic was having his way with Caceriz down that the U.S. left. And Flo Balogun, I cannot begin to sing his praises highly enough for his performance from back to front today. Stevie, we wanted to show you how he's relaxing after that performance. He was asked what he would be doing. He said, to be honest, I'll probably just watch Netflix, did Flo Balogun. I hope he's not watching the bus We don't want him getting any ideas from it Yeah, the bus being the Netflix show And the mutiny with the French team In 2010, I don't think he will be watching that I don't think so, but At the end of the day, everybody has to do What makes them Get away from, you know, because It was such a high octane Performance that you really do Need to calm down and rest and get your legs Back, because if they play That sort of pressure 90 minutes after 90 minutes after 90 minutes, particularly in this heat, regardless, it's going to be tough to keep it going.

10:44So they have to relax. And if you need to go on Netflix, you go on Netflix and do what you want. Do whatever you want, because you've just put your name in the history books, in US history. Stevie was telling me all about this player here. How do we say his name, Stevie? Patanod. Yeah, Patanod. Yeah, he was doing a trophy presentation that I got when I was a kid. There you go. That's how old he was and that's how many years it has been for the USP with multi-goal games in World Cup history. But let's get word from the man who's just done it himself. Here is Flo Balogun after the game. A real dream.

11:20It's a dream. It's a dreamy night. I've not been able to take it all in after this. I'm sure when I get back to my hotel and I rest, I'm sure I'm going to really be able to be in the moment and experience how much of an amazing that this is.

12:05Look, it's... Sardinio is amazing. I think it was the collective approach. Making sure you're OK? How are you feeling right now? Yeah, I just got a bit of a kick in the first half, so I'm really hoping that it's nothing. I've had similar things before, and, yeah, I'm staying positive. I don't think it's anything. Obviously good to hear from Christian Pulisic, because there were concerns when he came off as to whether he'd be injured or not, but we heard from the man himself there, and we heard from Pochettino. Everyone, amazing, amazing. He's talking a lot more in this press conference than he was in the one leading up to the game.

12:37Exactly. The one word that comes to mind is amazing. No, I want to actually take it back to the defensive side of the game, because then, you know, the good defense provides the attack with more opportunities to score goals. And that's exactly what happened. Just like Stevie said that they, Paraguay, wasn't able to breathe. They couldn't even get out of their half at times. And I think the countermeasures were amazing. countermeasures were amazing and they and they really made it difficult for them to even try to find a midfield and and then forward passes to get out of their half and I think that is what helped uh the combination play and the the effectiveness of of the goals that were scored um so I want to I want to talk about that because Natum mentioned that yesterday the countermeasures are going to be huge and and being able to provide that for the attacking players and I think we don't talk about that enough and Richard was incredible you know Ali brings that up you know you were talking earlier about what was the key, the first goal, the second goal.

13:33Well, actually, for me, it was after the first goal because I was expecting the US to just maybe sit back a little bit. But they didn't do that. They just kept banging on with what they were doing. And that was the encouraging thing because it seemed normal for them. They didn't think about keeping the lead. They wanted another one. So I think that was the key, to be quite honest. And that's because they're amazing, Casey. Well, I mean, if you watch the Mexico game, when they were gifted that first goal from South Africa, they did exactly what Stevie was afraid the U.S. was going to do. They just kind of dropped back into a shell and consolidated after taking the lead.

14:12And I was thinking a little bit of the same thing. OK, what are we going to see now after this early goal? Is it going to be a response from Paraguay? Is it going to be the U.S. taking their foot off the pedal? And instead, it was the exact opposite. that they actually pressed forward and almost put this game out of touch in the first half. And so, yeah, very, very proud of that display. But then the other side, then they have that little bit of an issue, right? They can see the goal when they shouldn't have. And then what was the response from there? It wasn't then just hang on for dear life.

14:47It was still, you know, very progressive, very, you know, on the front foot. The subs came in, did their role as subs. and solidified a tremendous win. So, yeah, or an amazing win. I mean, either or. But it was just really, really, again, just one of those nights that you didn't necessarily see it coming. I saw a win. We all picked that it was going to be a U.S. win, except for Herc. I don't know why Herc said it was going to be 1-1. But we all kind of thought, yeah, the U.S. was going to get through this game, but none of us expected it to be so dominant and so entertaining. Yeah, Herc was just trying to protect his heart.

15:27Stevie wasn't doing that, though, for sure. Let's talk about which goal was the best for the U.S., though. Let's start this conversation in the studio. Flo Balogun or Gio Reyna? For me, Flo Balogun, for sure. That was the second goal, obviously. The second goal, how he wrapped it around the goalkeeper, top bins, incredible. Incredible skill and technical ability to do that. Sokampo smashed it into the top corner was it better than Gio Reyna's? Yes, well they had more to do you know it kind of opened up for Gio Reyna whereas Balogun actually he opened it up for himself and then the finish is frightening I mean as soon as it left his third it was in the top corner so yeah Balogun I'm gonna go against the defenders here I'm gonna go at Gio Reyna not specifically for the finish but for the build-up I think it was 20 passes or something to be short in the build-up to Joe Rayner's goal.

16:19So once he takes that, and again, it's very late, game is over, but still, I think it kind of underlined the American dominance in this one. It kind of put an exclamation mark as to how good they were all game long. OK, Casey, you going to stick with the goalkeeper and go with Rayner, family friend? I'm going with the own goal. Ah, boy. Got to be different. Yeah, that's when he lost his voice. That is when he lost his voice. I was so excited. They all count, they all count. A lot more from Casey on last night's show. Thanks so much for being with us, Casey Keller. Go and continue celebrating that victory.

16:57Make sure to check out ESPN FC reacting to last night's 4-1 win for the USA. That's available now, streaming on ESPN+. Next up, we will get a taste of Brazil as Carlo Ancelotti and his team enter the fray today.

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19:06Five times World Cup champions Brazil kick off their campaign against 2022 semifinalist Morocco. It has been 24 years since Cicela Sáu last won the tournament. And so in comes Carlo Ancelotti to try and change their fortunes and help the Brazilians return to the pinnacle of world football once again. One thing we know about the Brazilians is they know how to party and they have been doing just that in Times Square in New York, a sea of yellow in the iconic landmark. But just how long will they be celebrating? Welcome back into the show. What to expect from Miss Brazil? so much talent in this team, Shaka Hislop, can they turn it on on the biggest stage of all?

19:54I'm not sure Brazil will at least match the expectation of their fans. Their fans think that this team is going to win a World Cup or go very deep in it. I'm not sure that they can. And while they struggled comparatively in corner ball qualifying, things certainly turned the corner once Carlo Ancelotti came on board. But still, I just feel that this team does not have what it takes when you match it up against the best in the world. I'm not sure that they have the out-and-out number nine that they need. Defensively, I'm not sure that they're strong enough. I'm not sure that they have that built-in leader.

20:32Maybe that comes in the form of Neymar, but kind of given his injury history, I'm not sure that he's going to play from the start in any of these games for Brazil. So I just feel there are too many pieces missing in this Brazil outfit. But trying to put the pieces together, as mentioned, is Carlo Ancelotti. What kind of difference does that make, Stevie? Well, I mean, it's clear since Ancelotti's come in, the whole outlook, not just from Brazilians, but from all of us on the outside looking in has changed. You know, all of a sudden we're coming into a World Cup and everybody's like, oh, Brazil, this is going to be the Brazil of old and Ancelotti can do it.

21:09I mean, Ancelotti, at the end of the day, is a fantastic manager. But it depends on the talent you've got. and particularly can you put that talent together to make a team and there's no better example of doing that than Morocco. Morocco's a team. This is not a team of big names. When you look at Brazil and then you look at Morocco you can see all these star-studded names in Brazil but Morocco's a team. I don't think Brazil's a team yet and I'm not keen on the middle of the park with Paquita and Casemiro in particular. I don't think they're particularly strong there and so yeah, I have questions the same as Shaq.

21:44I'm not sure we're going to see the best of Brazil. Yes, they're going to be competitive, but for me, they're not winning it. And I think they get a wake-up call against Morocco. Ali, talk to us about what a high-level manager like Carlo Ancelotti can bring to a team that have this talent and knowing how to deal with the superstars. He's a manager that's famed for that and knowing how to put those pieces together. Yeah, I agree. All you hear about him is how he manages the personalities really well and gets people to buy into the identity and the tasks that he's asking of them. I think it's all about giving the players expectations.

22:17And as long as they follow that, then they could go far. But I also agree. I think it depends on the personnel and the relationships that you build on the field. But ultimately, he is a manager that can bring personalities together and can bring players together in order to buy in. And so we will see. But Morocco is going to be tough. I think not many people give them enough respect as they deserve. So the opening game for Brazil is going to be really difficult. Yeah, something else that's difficult is getting to terms with new technology, which yesterday our boys did pretty well with in this very studio.

22:49So what are we to look out for with this Brazil team, Alejandro Moreno and Nader Manua in this new era? Thank you, Kay. It is indeed a new era for Brazil. That means this is a new version of Brazil And therefore there are going to be some surprises In my estimation as to how this team Approaches their matches in the World Cup So we're thinking of a team that is usually attacking In my mind I think Carlo Ancelotti is going to go back To his latter years at Real Madrid And this team is going to defend first Yes, you heard it here first Brazil is going to defend first Lucas Paqueta Which by the way, honestly If you're a Brazil fan Are you really excited about Lucas Paqueta being on the field?

23:32Probably not. Regardless, I digress. Mateo Cunha, he's going to defend. Vinny Jr., he's going to defend, or at least be in defensive postures. Rafinha, he's going to defend. Let me take him back here. And this is a team that is now going to try to force turnovers in this part of the field. What are they trying to do? Well, it is very simple. You're trying to take advantage of Vinny Jr. over distance. You're trying to take advantage of Rafinha over distance. They are willing runners. Mateo Cunha will work the underneath spaces, but what they're trying to do is win the ball right here, Natum. If they win the ball here, now they're thinking about getting forward in counter-attacking posture.

24:08You're thinking of Brazil as to, is the right back going to come out? No. Is Alexandre going to come out? No. Actually, they're not the sort of players that will give you that width. So that width and the depth to get in behind is going to have to be provided by Vinny Jr. I don't know if it's going to work, but that's what I think Carlo Ancelotti is trying to do with Brazil. Yeah, I think that's right. And I think in fairness as well from this Brazilian side compared to what we've seen previously I like the back four. I like the fact that the full back for example, they will go and support They won't fall ahead.

24:38These gone are the days of Cafu's, Roberto Carlos and so on for this Brazil. Sadly. Sadly. But if we were to look back at the last World Cup, Brazil felt really light in midfield. But as I look through here now, this feels a lot stronger and I'm going to include Kunja in that. Because if you look at those four players in there, they have the ability to be able to win the ball back. and as you said yourself, to be able to find moments whereby they can get the ball into these spaces and hit teams on the counter. Yes, it feels very, very strange that Brazil do not have a number nine. You know, that's one of the most famous shirts you can have, the Brazilian number nine.

25:11But I think Cunha's ability to link the play, to be able to come back into midfield at times, to be able to be higher here, but more importantly, as I said before, this allows a lot of play for these wingers to be coming inside and causing problems for this Morocco defense and throughout teams throughout the tournament. And I think it's very, very clever just because it makes defenders have to think about things in a different way. Yeah, okay. All right. Let's reset to the starting positions once again. You know how sad it is for me as a fan, hardcore fan of Phenomeno, Ronaldo, Ronaldo Nazario, the true number nine for Brazil.