Tuchel and Bellingham's Back and Forth

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25:56Argentina are through as well, but they were pushed all the way by Switzerland. It was a valiant effort from the Swiss. In the end, it was a 3-1 loss though. but this came as no surprise to our Switzerland superfan Stevie Nichol who's been behind them all the way. The bigger sides, you're not too concerned about either Switzerland or Canada. I think you'd be slightly more concerned about Switzerland. If nobody really wants to play them because... Oh I think you don't mind. Do you compare to other options? I'm just saying... This is a team that couldn't beat Qatar. And here, look, it wasn't that...

26:30All right, they're garbage. They're absolute rubbish, you're right. Who cares? They would be a good game of things. I don't know why. Why are you sulking? Why are you getting a little sulky about it? I'm just saying. What have you seen from Switzerland that's made you go, ooh? You said no one wants to face them. You said no one wants to face them. I never said anything because you never gave me a chance. All right, sorry. Because as soon as I said, nobody went, oh, you're... Who's going to be scared of them? Right. They're a team that just stick there. They're always in it. They're all... Look at the face.

26:59What are you making a face for? He's just told they always get out of the group and they're a team that could surprise somebody else. Really? Aye. Can I go? I'm enjoying this. How many games does Dan play for England? He must have had loads. Why was he kept on talking over you all the time as if he knows more than you? Because that's what he does. But he always bites as well. Are you all right here, Steve? I didn't know he played in three World Cups, Dan Thomas. I can't tell you what I texted him, but I can assure you when Ndoli put the ball in the back of the net I was on the tip I was giving it lads of course you were I tell you what though Switzerland looked Argentina dead in the eye didn't they do you know what I don't wish to throw any more mud on the guy but if Mbolo doesn't get sent off they were in the ascendancy they were in the ascendancy when they equalised they were the team who were going forward and then that moment just changed the whole trajectory of the game and it was really quite sad actually the fact that they've lost to that, you know, because they were on the up, really.

28:03Yeah, that moment, a second yellow brings in the mistaken identity protocol here. A second yellow for simulation that Mbolo got in the end. Where are you on this whole situation? So Granit Xhaka and some of the Swiss players have spoken about it and they said, like, the rules are the rules, but you wish the referee would have been able to make a different decision because it basically ends the tie. As Mike has said, it almost felt sad after that because the game completely changed. Whereas you had these two teams going toe-to-toe, all of a sudden it's like, well, Argentina are probably just going to score at some point.

28:35And it's disappointing. And to be honest as well, like, the tears from Mbolo and all this stuff, I feel, the reason I feel bad for him is because in that game, I felt like he was being, like, manhandled to that point from the centre-halves, midfielders, everything and so on. Then all of a sudden there's a foul. Oh, it's obviously a foul. But from when the referee puts his finger to his ear, you're thinking, what's going on here? And for it to be that way, Like I'm watching him. I'm like, why has he dived there? Why has he dived? I don't understand. I really do not understand why he did that. And it looked really dramatic as well.

29:06He's gone away from goal to win a free kick out wide. It was Paredes again, wasn't it? Because previously... Kicked him ten times, yeah. Yeah. Previously, the two of them had a couple of challenges. And obviously, that's where he got his first yellow. And so he's done it to try and get back at Paredes. Yeah. And listen, I understand Granit Xhaki and the rest of them. but you can't see rules are rules and then when the guy breaks the rules and gets sent off are you looking for them to change the rules? No, no, no You can't do that No, they started by accepting it They were talking more from a football experience standpoint My own personal view is that I just hate VAR and the fact that they are now re-reffing three kicks I mean, the Lissando Martinez one against Egypt of course he stands on his foot but that shouldn't have disallowed the goal there's more contact in every corner that everybody leaves alone every single game, every week that you watch.

30:01You know, whether it's the hydration breaks now which is happening, whether it's this new rule from Mbola where the referees have seen the incidents, have done what they've done, and now VAR's bloody getting involved again. We could be here for a long time. The sooner we get rid of it, the corners it's happening, there'll be throw-ins next to when the VAR will be getting involved. On this particular one? Just a disaster. Because I get it, there are lots of people who are like, VAR, abolished. They just want to get rid of it, yeah? I get it. Fine. But for me, the thing yesterday, the issue is the rule that they've created and the fact that the referee was basically tied in or not because this is what he had to do.

30:35Had to do, yeah. If there's a way whereby it isn't a guaranteed yellow card the other way, then he can maybe manage the situation better because the VAR stuff is not going to go away. In our lifetimes, it will not go away. It's just going to get worse, though. That's the problem. But based on things like this, you'd hope that particular thing would get better because they've seen how it's been implemented now we've got one of those decisions where everybody's looking at like i suppose that's a red card but it brings like a level of like sadness because that's what the game has become i think if you change the rule but you allow vr to look at it still i think it changes yeah the only problem is this is not the last rule that will change they will change another rule and then another as i said the core now the corners have come in oh it wasn't a corner now and then it'll be a throw in because you can throw the ball into the penalty area that will change soon oh it wasn't our ball it was their ball and they'll just suddenly start getting involved in every decision.

31:22You know, why can't the referee see that and make a mistake and just carry on? Paredes got a yellow card, so what? But no, it goes to this. Then we've got the snickle, then we've got the ball which isn't a snickle. It's just... I get what you're saying, but we're kind of opening a can of one. You know, if Paredes had previously had a yellow and then he got another one because of Bolo dives, then he shouldn't be sent off. Or what if Paredes was on a yellow and if he gets another one in this game, he misses the semi-final of the World Cup. So some guy who wants to dive is going to cost somebody else a game in the semi-final of the World Cup.

31:57So we're kind of opening a can of worms. Yeah, but that's always happened, hasn't it? It's always happened. It also gets to people saying, oh, Argentina are getting the calls. But when you do look at the calls, most of the time we're seeing that the calls are correct, whether you like it or not, by the letter of the law. And you are seeing that that's the way it is. You're calling a face. Only by the letter of the law. Only by the letter of the law. They're just new laws that have made up, aren't they? But they are there and they are in place. And so some people are criticising Argentina, but at the end of the day, they may be getting some luck, but they are still fighting and refusing to be eliminated, even if it gets to extra time that they're getting forced to.

32:34They're still not giving up. And it's not just because calls have gone their way, surely. Oh, no, I'm not interested in the calls. It's just my personal view that I hate them. It doesn't matter that it was Argentina. I've got no problem with that. They knuckle down, they work hard. They got there a little bit of advances, but the main thing is that they won the game and got through. I've got no problem with Argentina getting through. It's not necessarily the team. It's the VAR and the decision-making. I'm not having a go against Argentina. They got through. They're rightly there. It's going to be a hard game for England, but when you see the way Argentina play, you feel as if they're very vulnerable as well, aren't they?

33:06They rely on one man. They've got no real width. They don't like to cross the ball because of the size. So there's aspects there where England can really play on and think, right, there's a weakness there, at Tagliafico or Nico Gonzalez when he came on. Molina doesn't like to get too far wide. Messi likes to drift out and come in on his left foot. So there's issues there where England should really zone in on them, try and make the most of it. And I'm fairly confident in England getting a result against them. But Argentina, like England, haven't been at their best, but have done everything they can to get to the semi-finals.

33:39Why are they making it so difficult for themselves, though, with this Argentina team? do you think? Because many would say this has been an easier path for them, at least on paper, that's the way that it looked. And yet, they seem to be making hard work of it, even though they're getting it done. Yeah, to be fair, looking at all those teams there, you would have fancied Argentina to look a lot better. You know, this is the best side. They've not played anyone in the top 15 FIFA rankings. Yeah. I think this is obviously the team that's like the number one team in South America, the reigning champions and so on.

34:08And it has looked really poor. Not necessarily the Switzerland game yesterday, but the two games prior. But I think in some ways, you've seen some of the weaknesses that they have, whether it's the case of, say, the way that Egypt or Cape Verde would try and hit them in transition with the speed that they have, the directness, some of the vulnerabilities they have at the back, the fact that in some games, they are probably the most narrow side I've ever seen at a World Cup. You know, you can see a way to play against that. So I think it puts them in a tough situation. But, you know, in some ways, like they deserve credit for finding ways to come back.

34:36They definitely do. And in terms of decision-making, there's obviously this case, like there's a bias in favor of Messi and so on and so forth. The only two things that I disagree with, I thought Messi potentially should have gotten a red card earlier in the tournament where there was no yellow card given at all. And I would have been okay if that Egypt goal would have stood when they said there's a foul on Sandro Martinez, 100 yards away from the goal itself. But for the rest of it, they've shown incredible fighting spirits. Scaloni says himself, this team is like, we are fighters. This is who we are.

35:04And you can see that in how they play. The downside for them, it means that they're almost left to having moments as opposed to, say, general play. And that's, I think, the point that really summed up for me when you were speaking earlier. This draw is two completely different sides on either side of it. You've got England and you've got Argentina who are almost relying on moments because performances haven't been great. But then you've got, like, the totality of, like, a France and a Spain on the other side. And you can see how they got to the position they're in. Whereas for these, there's a reliance on somebody finding something in a key moment.

35:33Speaking of moments, Julian Alvarez popping off right at the right time. It hasn't been the easiest tournaments for him. on the day that Messi doesn't score, gets an assist. But on the day that he doesn't, Julien Alvarez pops off and makes the difference with a moment of magic. Well, it just proves the point that it's not just about Messi. They do have two or three others. And Julien Alvarez is absolutely one of those guys who can pull something else out. You know, we had that Argentina side up. You look at the names on paper, that doesn't blow you away. No, not at all. So in some ways, they're kind of the England of South America because for some reason, everybody's expecting them to be Brazil of the 1970s.

36:12I mean, and they're not. That's not where they are. So, yeah, they find a way of getting it done and they can actually, again, they can beat England by doing exactly the same thing and they can beat France or Spain by doing exactly the same thing as well. The England of South America. I bet you'd still be going for Argentina, though, even if they are the England of South America. Yes, you will. Jürgen, what have you made of Argentina in this tournament so far? Well, it has also been a very kind of traumatic path for Argentina in the last World Cup when they won it. And they grew into the tournament last World Cup.

36:44They lost the first game against Saudi Arabia. Then it was almost knocked out by Mexico in the next game if it wasn't for Messi. So there were some similar performances of Argentina already in the last World Cup where they won it. Now, obviously, it's not the most perfect performance so far from that team. But they have a grit. They have an aggressiveness in themselves. They have a desire to turn things around. And it seems like they have a fantastic team spirit. And with that, you can hurt almost all of the teams. And they know England is not perfect. And they know themselves that they are not perfect either.

37:17I mean, the fact that, obviously, you know, you feel sad, as Needham said, you know, for Switzerland. Because they played brilliantly. They gave everything they had. And then this incident with Embolo breaks their neck in a certain way. But still, you know, Argentina then in extra time, they kept going, kept going. And then with Julian Alvarez, it's fantastic. And one of the most beautiful goals of the World Cup, they decide the game to their favor. You, I mean, going into the next game, you have to highly respect them. You have to really do your homework, which England will do. And it will be a nail biter.

37:57It will be a nail biter for both teams, for both countries. and obviously the history of Argentina and England, we all know about it off the field as well. So this will be an incredible tense and nervous game to go into, but both deserve to be in the semifinals. It doesn't matter how they did it, how they kind of matched their path. It is always, as I said before, it is about the next game. And now we have two fantastic semifinals with France against Spain and Argentina play England, which you hope for. But that stadium in Atlanta, it will burn. It will burn on Thursday. Luster Olney here for La Quinta by Wyndham.

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39:20I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule, and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe, which contains F-Gartigamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC. It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit VivgardMyWay.com. That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T MyWay.com. And talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hytrulo. Brought to you by Argenix. There is some history between these two sides When you go back to 1986 with the hand of God 1998 Kicking out a Diego Simeone 2002 he's got some redemption obviously That was in the group stage as well wasn't it?

40:07That was in the group stage, there was a penalty But now they meet again And I do have to say that Lionel Messi has never beaten England He's also never faced England Never played them, yes So there's that What are we looking at here, Baka? Yeah, well, England are favourites, aren't they? And I think rightly so. But they need to be better. As I said, Argentina have shown signs of vulnerability, I think, the way they play. And they're reliant on one man. And I think, as Nathan rightly said, and we said before, down the sides, I think they're vulnerable. But England have to go out and try and do what they need to do and get the goals.

40:40They'll see vulnerability in England, the way they've played as well, and try and exploit that. But when I look at the two names, the list of the 2-11 who will play, I'll always fancy England when I see Messi in there with Rodrigo de Paul and Romero and people like that. I'll always fancy England, particularly at this tournament. I just feel that four years ago they were amazing, Argentina, but they've virtually got a lot of the same players. They're four years older, they're not playing in the leagues that you should be accustomed to. And I think England could find them out, I really do. Why is it hard then for an England fan to believe that they're favourites against the defending world champions, Argentina?

41:18Because you said 98, you said whatever, like 86. There's a lot of trauma. The older you are, the more trauma you felt. But I think from a positive... You're saying I'm old, Nadim. I said the older you are. I didn't say you were old. Don't worry, I played in some of those games you mentioned. But I think the most important thing in my mind, from an England perspective, for those guys who were playing, most of them weren't even alive to even acknowledge some of those moments. I was born in 86. I don't remember that game. I'm four years old. But these guys here, looking at Jude Bellingham, he's 23 years of age.

41:46You know, he's born after the year 2000. Do you think he's as bothered about how that felt in 98 to see the stress, the trauma and all that stuff? Absolutely not. So I think from an England fan's perspective, you don't get a chance to play against some of these South American sides very often, not least of all, Argentina. I think the last time he played was 2005 or 2006, bizarrely in a friendly in like Switzerland or something, which England won, by the way, but it doesn't need to get mentioned too much. So there's no real history there between these bunch of players. The fact that Messi's playing against England for the first time, the fact these England players are playing against Argentina for the most part for the first time.

42:19That puts the history in the background and the history matters more to say some of the England fans, some of the Argentinian fans, but also if you want to get really political, Falkland Islands and stuff like this, there's a lot to this game of football, but more so and differently for the fans compared to the players. Yeah, all in history. And so it is Lionel Messi taking on England for the first time, especially when it comes to World Cup competition as well. And this is what he has hard to say about it. Everything I've seen and remember is from videos and images that Argentinians constantly watch and relive.

42:52Personally, it's the first time I'm going to play against England, so it will be nice for that reason too. And we'll experience it for what it is, a World Cup semi-final against a powerhouse, a great team, and we'll try to arrive in the best possible shape to compete again. How do you see it, Jürgen, with what you've seen so far from both of these teams? Well, it will be, as I said, it will be a nail-biter. It will be a 50-50 situation, but I think England has matured and has matured in this tournament, but also over the last few years. I think they have a capability to beat that Argentinian team, which will be very resilient, which will be very tough, will be feisty.

43:33They will play it all. They will play the emotional side of the game. They will provoke you. They will be complaining. They will be doing so many tricks that they are that it's just in their system and obviously they have a certain Leo Messi that can hurt you in a split second but these are the moments you live for and you die for I mean this is now it's about time it's about time for that English side to prove their point and to step it up and I thought what I saw so far in the tournament you know the Harry Canes and Jude Bellingham, they stepped it up. So they need to be confident. They need to be purely focused on their own performance, which they will be.

44:17And then, obviously, this stadium will rock. You know, the English fans in Miami, they were unbelievable. I mean, the atmosphere was also with the Norwegians as well. And now they're dreaming big. And they have all the rights in the world to dream big. They are maybe 120 minutes plus penalty shootouts or whatever away from a World Cup final. So there's nothing kind of motivational to say for a coach before the next two games. You just let them out there and experience it. Stevie, what do England have to get right here against Argentina? I think they have to get their service right in the final third.

44:54I think they will have more of the ball. And there's no question. We were talking about how narrow Argentina seemed to be. Well, Thomas Tricol set this team up to get the ball to the wide players. So it's going to be on them. If they can deliver their crosses or pick out passes, as Gordon did for Bellingham yesterday, then Argentina's going to struggle. But you've got to remember, it's Argentina we're talking about. And they've struggled in a lot of the games in this tournament, but here they are in the semi-final. So on paper, fortunately, the games are not played on paper because on paper, I think England are clear favourites.

45:30But it's Argentina, so beware. See, he brings everybody right back down. There's just a few little comments from Stevie Nippon. So it is England against Argentina in one of the semifinals. In the other semifinal, we see in France taking on Spain. That's the other side of the bracket. And they've got recent history as well. Much of it coming in the Nations League back in 2025. The two sides faced in a semifinal there. That finished in Spain's favour. We saw them face off in a Euro semifinal as well. and that was Spain 2-1 against France. When you look at the odds to win it, it is France who are favourites coming into this.

46:07But they've been swapping whose favourites to win the whole thing throughout the tournament. Remember, Spain came into it as favourites, then they had that rough start that they had, and then France took over as favourites there. But who have you got on this one, Jürgen? Well, I was at the game France against Morocco and it was not the best day for Morocco. They didn't really believe in hurting France in any way. They were very defensive-minded. They didn't create any chance. I think the first shot on goal they had, or towards the goal, was in the 86th minute by Morocco. And France was in complete control.

46:42I mean, in complete control. It was fascinating to watch their front players changing positions, moving constantly, creating chance after chance. And it was just a question of time until the goals were coming. Mbappé is there. I mean, he's in the middle of the tournament. He's one of the superstars of the tournaments, but he's not the only one in his own French team. You know, I mean, when you would say, obviously Argentina, we talk all about Messi. Right now we talk about Jude Bellingham and obviously Kane. But with France, we're talking about four up front that can kill you in any moment of the game.

47:19So it is a fascinating side, this French side. They seem to get along really well. The chemistry is right there. They all know that Didier Dichon will step down after the World Cup. They want to give him the best gift ever, you know, to finish off, you know, with a World Cup trophy again. I think, you know, they have so far the most impressive run in the entire tournament. But Spain is Spain. I mean, we know he's full of quality themselves. Fantastic players. Started a bit slow, but now they are there. And these two teams, they have their own history. But I would, if I was personally looking at it, I would favour France for that match.

48:01You too, Macca? Yes, yes. When I see the two teams, I'm with Jürgen. I think France are too good up top. I think they'll make more chances. I can't wait to watch the game because you think that Spain may dominate the ball, particularly in the centre of the park. We'll wait and see who plays with Rodri, whether it's Fabian Ruiz or whether it's Pedri. But if they turn the ball over in that position and those from four to France are running at the likes of Pedro Porro and Pau Koubasi and Juan Laporte. I can't see them not scoring. I can see them scoring goals. I think Spain are going to need a massive performance from somebody, whether it's Lamin, whether it's Ayathebal or whether it's Alex Baena.

48:41I just, I don't think you'll get it from them. So it'll have to be someone like Lamin Yamal who has the performance of a lifetime, I think, to drag them forward. But when I look at the both respective teams, if it's the 11 that we think it's going to be, I can see Spain scoring two or three games. Sorry, I can see France scoring two or three against Spain. And I don't know whether Spain have got the capacity to score more than three. I know they had that 5-4 in the Nations League. That didn't count. But France really excite me the way they play. And the transition, if Spain lose the ball high up, they won't be able to stop them.

49:13There's too much pace in the team. There's been so much talk about everything that we've been seeing in the World Cup. So we'll be keeping up to date with that. We'll say goodbye to Jürgen. Thank you so much for being with us, Jürgen. We'll hear from you again very soon. Nice to see you, Jürgen. Thank you. And as mentioned, be sure to stay up to date with everything. Every single day we're on with you on ESPN FC, right here on ESPN Plus, back tomorrow, 5.30 p.m. Eastern, across all social media as well. You can stay up to date with all the stories and all the reaction to the World Cup games.

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51:20Odds to win the World Cup. No surprises. France sit top of the pile, followed by Spain, then England and then Argentina. These are the final four. Four teams that many predicted would be the final four here. For many, the four favourites coming into the tournament. But who's your surprise team been in the World Cup so far? It can be one of these guys, it can be something within the team, or it can just be a team overall that stood out to you guys. What has stood out to you? What's been a surprise for you? Well, I mean, some of the minnows, that's why this competition was allowed to let more teams in.

51:59So to see them and see the enjoyment that they had, they're the moments that I will take out of it. The Haitis or the Cape Verdes and something like that. The fact that we've got the four that we've got, I think most of us expected it. You thought Morocco should go well, which they did, but they're AFCON champions at the moment. Well, at this moment, they're AFCON champions. so they haven't been a big surprise team-wise but it was really nice seeing some of the lesser sides, the lesser countries and seeing how they performed and how Fazzino, for instance, the goalkeeper's been elevated from this lowly level to an international superstar.

52:37Those feel-good stories are really nice and that's what the World Cup is really good about, isn't it? Watching the Norwegians celebrate with the Roe and watching Egypt go home and things like that. They're the really nice things about it. Yeah, I think for me, there's different parts to it. There's been a lot of history that's been made. At this World Cup, we've seen Messi go to number one all time. And then you've seen Mbappe be right there with him. We've seen, say, Qatar get the first points at the World Cup. You've seen Canada win their first game at the World Cup. You've seen, say, Cape Verde and so on.

53:07Some of these other sides making history, picking up points, and having moments that their nations will remember forever. I think even Egypt won their first game at the World Cup at this tournament. And they arrived back in Egypt. and there's like thousands of people there to greet them. So that's absolutely incredible because you can see from a sort of wider scale, we're talking about the top four teams now, but there are other teams who have had these experiences which they'll never forget. But then the other side, the more obvious one for me is the way that Norway's been at this tournament.

53:35You know, for them, essentially coming in as like dark horses, but also playing the role of the minnow. You know, everywhere that they've been, everything that they've done has been championed because we're seeing a team at this world stage who we're not used to seeing very often. people buying into their culture people are doing the role the fans are staying out for longer than they ever anticipated and i think to sum it up erling harland one of the best number nines in world football said after the second game i don't care about the france game we have made it into the knockouts so that's the mentality of a really really small nation but coming from the mouth of somebody who's one of the biggest stars at this whole tournament and i think to see them go through the way that they have done they're going to arrive back in norway the next couple of days having lost to England, but they all arrive back as if they've won the whole tournament itself.

54:18And that, for me, is amazing. For the most part, the big stars have shown in this tournament as well, haven't they? Yeah. I was kind of going to go with basically what the two boys have been saying. But, you know, there's been two games that everybody will remember from this World Cup for me and will be the England one against Mexico with 10 men, the way they scored with 10 men, the way they held out. I mean, these are things that legends are made of. And Argentina coming back from 2-0 down against Egypt, again, it's just a head scratcher. Again, it'll be remembered forever. And the low point is going to be Scotland.

54:58You know, every country that's been in this World Cup, it seems to have been a happy story. It seems to have been a joyous story. Now, yes, the Tartan Army has been the happy story, But my goodness, if there's one team that went home with their tail stuck firmly between their legs, it was Scotland. And that's the only team... We never even mentioned that. We left it to their own devices. Because we're classy. Classy. Classy, the English are. I think Scotland's the only team that have gone home with people being unhappy. Everybody else seems to be getting welcomed where there was nobody at the airport when Scottish guys got off the plane.

55:35We do wave goodbye to Norway and the Norwegians and the wonderful Norway Rowe, though. Everybody was getting involved with that. They felt like a book.

55:47Brilliant fans. Brilliant effort as well from Norway coming to the World Cup, doing what they did. But now we bid farewell. What is it coming home? Oh, no. I don't want to hear. Hey, me and little Romeo. Dude Bellingham's his favourite player, so he was a happy little chappy yesterday. day. Aren't beat moments like that, can you? No, we can't. We can't win wonderful stuff, but I'm not going to go so far as to say if it's coming home or not because that would be silly. Anyway, that is all we have got time for on the latest edition of ESPN FC. Thank you so much for being with us. Make sure to stay with us because extra time's on the way next and these guys will be answering your questions.

56:26See you there.

56:37Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time. Thank you so much for sending in your questions. We've got Nadim, Maka and Stevie here in the studio. Let me find those questions. Shall we fill? How shall we fill? Don't worry. How shall we fill? I mean, they'll come up on the screen anyway. So, oh, here we go. Harry sent them to my email. Thanks, Harry. All right, Stevie, start, bench or drop? Your preferred way of England losing in the semis or finals, penalty shootout, blowout, blowing a 2-0 lead like Egypt. Start benching Like a nice negative question to start Lovely stuff there from Oscar Oscar yeah, well there's no question The starter is penalties Absolutely, in the final Or the semi-final, oh no no no Semi-final against Argentina If I was guaranteed To lose on penalties in the final I would prefer that, but I don't want to take the chance I'll go semi-final As a starter What's my other choices?

57:34losing a semi-final a blowout would be good as well I'll start with the penalties the blowout would be funny it would be funny what a nasty question what a nasty question for entertainment value being 2-0 up and then losing 3-2 90 minutes that would be great I think I would go for those three good question as well by the way good question For Mr McManaman Do you think Mourinho will be able to convince Bellingham to play as a midfielder or is it a lost cause and he'll be forced to play him as a second striker behind Mbappe? Wow I think he'll play wherever he wants to play Jude I don't think he's got a problem whether he'll play as a 10 behind Mbappe or he'll play in midfield There's a few people who have come in as we know Bernardo Silva's come in Denzel Dumfries, he brought about 3 or 4 in so there's going to be an upheaval the bigger question unfortunately for Pablo is whether Killian and Vinny Juni can coexist in the same team I think that's the bigger issue because I believe that he can only play with one he can't play with the two of them because they gravitate towards the left wing they want to stand on each other's feet they want to do the same type of tricks so I think he's going to be forced to play one and then the rest will follow they'll be fine Mourinho has one job doesn't he he has to finish above Barcelona finishes up Barcelona he'll win the league and with the people he's brought in they've got a good chance but I think the wider issue is what happens with Vinny Junior because Kylian if anything has put his he's the bigger player isn't he of what he's doing in this World Cup I was going to ask you which one would you pick would it always be Mbappe it will be I think it will be Mbappe with the president who's the most important man he's always wanted to bring Kylian Kylian in has done for a long time Kylian scored the goals they just haven't been successful Vinny Junior's contract's up next year.

59:32I think he's got a year left. He wants a huge amount of money. I think there's a clashing of heads about the fee. So I think something may happen in the summer. OK, let's see. Nadam, does Bellingham already have a better international career than Lampard, Beckham and Gerrard? He has almost as many goals in Euros and World Cups as all three put together. Yes, I think he does. I genuinely think he does. I think for the importance that he has as well, because with say Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes, people like this, the question was like, who should play? Are they getting the sort of like system right?

1:00:08But with Jude, like Jude Bellingham feels to me right now, like the generational talent within this England side. You've got Harry Kane, the record goal scorer, second most caps and all this stuff. But it still feels like right now it's Jude Bellingham's team. And for him to have that impact at 23, you can sort of see what the future is going to look like for himself in this England side. things tend to be built around him probably after Harry Kane retires or stops playing at some stage so I'm gonna have to say yes I think club career wise those are icons international team England being as successful as they have there I think the fact that he's they've chosen those type of midfielders if you said it as he got as he had a better internet as it does he have a better international career than Wayne Rooney I'd say no because he's playing further forward but he's chosen you know three people in which he you know he's having an impact on is having a bigger impact he's more important for the starting 11 than those three players were for the starting 11 that they played in.

1:00:58Every one of those the question is always why didn't they? Whether it's Lampard, Beckham, Gerrard throwing Scholes, you can throw in a couple of others as well, it's always been why didn't they? Yeah. We don't say that about Jude Bellingham. I think with those players, some of those players as well, they've received criticism from the media rightly or wrongly, you know talking about Beckham after 98 and so on but I think for Jude at the age that he's at and obviously it's the same for other England players as well. He's played in the European Championship final. He's about to play in a World Cup semi-final as well, as the star within that team.

1:01:31And I think those players, unless I'm mistaken, I don't think they ever reach those positions. Horses, yeah. The guys yesterday made the point that a big star like Harland playing in a World Cup quarter-final should never want to take himself out. But if you're thinking of the team first and you know you can't contribute any more, isn't it honourable to give way for fresh legs? So, I'm going to chime in with this one because speaking with somebody linked to that Norway team, he was carrying a dead leg going into the game. Somebody said he wasn't well yet, he hadn't been well or something as well, so there's lots of rumours flying round, isn't there?

1:02:08Exactly, and he did the best that he could and he did it for that long. And I don't know if you guys would agree, but extra time for me is like this hellscape for all the players because they're all exhausted already. And I think when somebody is going to come out of a game like that after they've given their all, I don't see them any type of way and I think the example I would use as an opposite was Harry Kane playing in the Champions League final in 2019 with the ankle issues that he had and he was adamant that he was going to play in that game and he was a hindrance to Spurs on that day and I think if somebody else could have potentially played in that game maybe Spurs would have had a better chance of winning all of them and whether someone like Soloth or Stan Larson who eventually came on have got the quality even as a 70 % fit Erling Haaland And, you know, I'd be playing Haaland all day long.

1:02:52If he feels as if he can contribute, I'd be playing him in that number nine position more than anybody else. We contacted Jan on this topic as well. We didn't get to it in the show. The coach had said afterwards it was a tough decision, but he was finished. Haaland had said, I can't do it anymore. And Jan told us that Erling had a dead leg. He managed to do the 90. They decided to try and push on, but after 106 minutes, he just couldn't go on. There you go. What's wrong with that? Nothing. There's nothing wrong with that. Do you know what it is? It's people watching a game from home saying, just finish the game.

1:03:25It's like 90-something degrees in this place. They've been playing for like three weeks. Why is he coming off? Why is he coming off? It's ridiculous. He doesn't want to do well. Why has he got cramp? Exactly. Why is he tired? He's an athlete. He's stupid. He should have cramp. Something else we didn't get to in the show, but while we're here, was the fact that Sarlott didn't square the ball to Harland in the fourth minute. But you have your own take on that, Stevie. It's good defending. You know, when you play 2v1, you want your defender to try and turn it into 1v1. So you try and get yourself, you get your body in the position where he can't make a pass to his mate.

1:04:03So now you've made it 1v1. And that's exactly what Stones did. There wasn't a pass there for Sorloff. The only pass he had was to stop and go backwards. Because he couldn't play a forward pass in front of Stones because then Pinkford would have got it. because the space wasn't there. Because of the position, Stones took up. So it was fantastic defending from Stones. And then gave back some up by coming back in. The main thing was that he didn't do anything, Soloth. That was the problem. Even if he would have tried the pass and Stones blocked it. As I said, I agree with the lads. Stones' position was excellent, wasn't it?

1:04:34But Soloth should have done something. He just kept on running and in the end ran down a blind alleyway. Even whether he moves his body and tries to put Harland in or try and put Harland in and Stones blocks it. But he didn't do anything in the end. so it looked terrible, but I agree. Again, that's down to Stones. Stones, yeah. Because part of it is the psychological part of it. So what you're trying to do is you're trying to affect him on the ball, not the other way around. He wants to affect you, but if you can turn it round on him, that's what happens. He doesn't make a decision, doesn't do anything, which means that Stones holds him up and then Gay comes in.

1:05:09I think it's really impressive from Stones for the reasons which you've mentioned, but also he's baiting Sol off to play the pass. Because as you said, the bit you summed up is perfect. If it's a 2v1, he's trying to make it like a 1v1. But to do that, you need to know it's a 2v1. So he's baiting him. If Soloff tries to make that pass, I think John Stone's going to read it, take it and then move on. So Soloff is essentially in a position where he doesn't want to give the ball away. He's trying to make his decision. At that point, John Stone's as one. Also, he wants to go on to his left foot, Soloff.

1:05:38And Stones, he was showing him down onto his right foot as he's defending. He's saying, go on, go down, go down. He didn't know what to do. didn't know what to do in the end Alex saw a lot imagine a fair play considering he's a nine foot tall striker so yeah okay last question best football fan slash celebrations at the World Cup Tartan Army playing the bagpipes England fans singing Hey Jude after every England victory or Norwegian fans and the Viking row or another I mean you can't beat the bagpipes come on seriously but we're English we've heard the bagpipes well I've certainly area for the last 40 years so i mean the viking row is a new one for all of us and it seems to it seems to be the new thing so i i've got a big clap yeah the icelandic clap yeah and you know they don't qualify so there's always someone who comes with brings it there's always someone who brings a new celebration and this year this year it's been it's been norway and everybody's embraced it for me it's not the hey dude one is it wonder what they're singing yeah as a mancunian like i'll I'll take that all day long.

1:06:43Bit of oasis. Yeah, bit of oasis. So not hate you the Beatles being a Liverpool boy? Absolutely not. I denounce that. I got full Mancunia. I step away. Lovely stuff. All right, that's all we've got time for on the latest edition of Extra Time. Thank you so much for sending in your questions. We'll be back tomorrow. We'll do it all over again.

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