In short
Episode topic: Post-match debate on England’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina, focusing on Thomas Tuchel’s tactics and comments (“tired tactics,” “DNA” remarks), plus praise for Lionel Messi and Argentina’s resilience.
Key claims
England’s second-half collapse is blamed heavily on Tuchel (about 60%) for retreating into an ultra-defensive shape after the hydration break and for refusing to acknowledge tactical fixes; players share remaining blame for passivity and poor in-game leadership.
Notable examples
England’s 12% possession after leading 1-0; Bellingham running into three defenders; Messi’s late assists and Argentina’s second goal evading multiple defenders.
Guest backgrounds
No named guests in the provided transcript; hosts include “Stevie,” “Maka,” and “Nadam” (former players/analysts). Additional discussion: Messi’s record 12 World Cup assists, dribbling dominance, and Argentina’s “adversity” mentality; later, a separate segment on Liverpool needing more signings under new coach Andoni Iraola.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOReactions to England's Performance
0:40 to 1:30
Discussion on the English press's reaction to the recent match.
“As you can hear, that is the English press and their thoughts as to what they saw in the game in Atlanta yesterday.”
Statistical Analysis of England's Game
1:30 to 2:30
Analyzing the poor stats of England's performance during the match.
“But he's clutching at the bag of straws, isn't he, trying to make...”
Tuchel's Post-Match Comments
2:30 to 6:20
Examining Thomas Tuchel's statements about the match and their implications.
“Does it feel almost audacious to say what he said afterwards, that this was the best that he'd seen his team play?”
Critique of Managerial Decisions
6:20 to 8:00
Criticism of Tuchel's tactical decisions during the match.
“I don't believe that for a single second, but he should have a calmer mind on the side.”
Player Accountability in England's Loss
8:00 to 10:00
Debating the responsibility of players versus the coach in the match outcome.
“and the jostling each other and doing your own job and then helping the next guy.”
Exploring England's Tactical Failures
10:00 to 12:00
Discussion on England's tactical errors and their consequences during the match.
“And that's what the coach should have been telling his players.”
Tuchel's Comments on Team DNA
12:00 to 14:00
Critique of Tuchel's comments regarding England's football DNA and identity.
“but it says England don't have the same DNA, so they can't do it.”
Analyzing England's Performance Against Argentina
14:01 to 19:04
A deep dive into England's disappointing loss to Argentina, discussing tactics and player performances.
“Why are we keeping a guy on who failed the first time?”
Analyzing England's Performance Against Argentina
19:59 to 20:23
A deep dive into England's disappointing loss to Argentina, discussing tactics and player performances.
“It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks.”
Lionel Messi's Impact in the World Cup
20:23 to 24:30
A celebration of Messi's performance against England and his legacy in football at the age of 39.
“but in the final 10 minutes, he assisted both of the goals and made history by making it 12 all-time World Cup assists.”
Show all 24 chapters
Ballon d'Or Controversies and Predictions
24:30 to 28:00
Discussing the race for the Ballon d'Or and the implications of World Cup performances.
“Like, I'm 39 years of age, I'm washed up.”
Debate on Ballon d'Or Rankings
28:00 to 29:15
Discussion about the merit of players in the Ballon d'Or rankings.
“I would have potentially thought, given the fact he was Bundesliga player of the year, I would have thought Michael Lisset might have made that list, personally.”
Argentina's World Cup Journey
29:38 to 33:56
Analysis of Argentina's performance and determination in the World Cup.
“Let's take a look at some of the papers and the reaction from Argentina and get to Argentina's game against England.”
Messi's Impact on Argentina
33:57 to 35:59
Exploration of Messi's influence and the team's unity and passion.
“You know what I really enjoy actually now looking back?”
Upcoming Final: Argentina vs. Spain
36:00 to 38:13
Preview of the upcoming World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.
“What a game that is set to be, especially given Messi's time spent in Spain as well.”
Upcoming Final: Argentina vs. Spain
38:14 to 38:38
Preview of the upcoming World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.
“Well, when you're with Farmers, it's kind of inevitable.”
Liverpool's Squad Challenges
39:14 to 42:00
Discussion on Liverpool's player departures and the need for new signings.
“All right, let's talk Liverpool, shall we?”
Liverpool's Transfer Woes
42:00 to 45:16
Discussion about Liverpool's current squad and transfer needs.
Upcoming Liverpool Match
45:16 to 45:39
Preview of Liverpool's friendly match against Sunderland and player performances.
“These guys will be answering your questions.”
England vs. Argentina: A Personal Reflections
45:58 to 49:51
Stevie shares emotional insights on the England vs. Argentina match.
“Martinez and then the goalkeeper Martinez and Romero and Enzo and they were really getting on my nerves I just didn't like and actually at one stage I was right on the line.”
Reflections on Semi-Final Loss
49:51 to 51:56
Maka discusses the impact of England's Euro 96 semifinal loss.
“Yeah, listen, it is the game that none of these teams want to play.”
Rest Days and Their Impact on World Cup Finals
51:56 to 55:25
Debate on whether FIFA should address the advantage of extra rest days in finals.
“Nadem, your thoughts on the little back and forth between Jude and Messi?”
Reactions to England's Exit
55:25 to 56:00
Discussion on the aftermath of England's exit and predictions for the finals.
“the fact that they have played a day later, absolutely it should affect them.”
Discussion on World Cup Final Predictions
56:00 to 56:26
The hosts share their thoughts and predictions for the upcoming World Cup final.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:02Turn it up! Storm has zero sugar and 200 mgg of caffeine, so you can turn that workout up a notch. Good energy in, good energy out. Energy for life.
0:40Media shattered, caned by Messi. Night our dream finally died. Agony as our wait goes on. End of the world. As you can hear, that is the English press and their thoughts as to what they saw in the game in Atlanta yesterday. In terms of the stats, it does not look any better for England. 12 % possession for 30 minutes when they were leading the game 1-0, which is the lowest by a team winning for at least 10 minutes in a World Cup match in the last 60 years. two teams this century to fail to reach the World Cup final after scoring first in the second team and that is again England against Croatia in 2018.
1:20Thomas Tuchel doesn't seem to agree though with what the stats are saying, what the critics are saying because he said after the game, I have zero regrets, we played one of our best matches, maybe the best. Does he really mean that, Maka? No, of course he doesn't. But he's clutching at the bag of straws, isn't he, trying to make... I think because after the Norway game, he had a little head-to-head, didn't he, with some of the journalists. So he may have been a little bit safe. But of course, every statement that comes out of his mouth now, unless he says we were terrible the last 30 minutes, no one's going to believe him.
1:56So, no, it's certainly... I mean, England weren't great in the whole tournament, apart from maybe 45 minutes against Croatia in the second half and battling performance against Mexico. They laboured at times, but it still wasn't one of their best performances. The first 55 minutes were a battle in the first half, get the goal. And then the last, well, the last half an hour, 40 minutes with injury time was awful. It's one of the worst we've seen in a long, long time. Those stats, 88 % and 12 % for England, they are very, very damning. You cannot make excuses for those numbers. It's hard to get those numbers that bad.
2:31Does it feel almost audacious to say what he said afterwards, that this was the best that he'd seen his team play? So I don't really get too passionate about football very often, but that really upset me yesterday in terms of how he approached that game. And I think for some people, they could say the players this and the players that. The players do deserve some blame. But Thomas Tuchel, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many, was brought to be the difference. We've seen England make it to semifinals before. They've made it to European Championship finals before. And they said that they're missing that thing that would take them across to the other side.
3:01Well, the players are for the most part the same. So what's the difference? Well, it's the coach. And I think from yesterday, everyone, like, I think how rare this is for everyone to see the same game happening and to finish the game and say, oh, we all thought the same thing. That is the thing. Whether you're eight years of age, ten years of age, ex-players like us, you could clearly see what the problem was with 30 minutes to go. And my problem with Tuchel yesterday, like, we can talk about the game and it's very easy for me to talk about the game from my comfortable room watching on a TV screen.
3:30with all the other context out the window for me, but they're for him. But the fact is that, like, after the game, firstly, he said it was a great performance, which we all know is a lie. And he also spoke as if there was nothing he could do about it. I think a manager, in my opinion, same way with senior players, because it's not just him, because I would say Kane and others within this side started to do things which were making it harder for England. It's 11 versus 11. And he said, oh, they gained some momentum and there was nothing we could do. They were getting crosses and there was nothing we could do.
3:59You have got players on this pitch. you can make a difference. And if they can't make the difference, you've got players on the bench you can make a difference. And the fact that the ones he turned to were the ones to say, oh no, Argentina have got the ball, we'll just defend. We saw the day before, Spain put forward one of the best defensive performances, but that was because of the fact they pressed from the front. They made France uncomfortable every time any of their players got the ball. And England could have switched that up, could have attempted it. And for me personally, I'd be more accepting of that if the manager went out on his sword as opposed to saying, well, they were getting better in the game.
4:33There was nothing we could do. So I put a back five in. And basically, to sum up the game, Bellingham's running down the left wing on point with three Argentinians chasing him. And everyone in England is hoping he can win a throw in. This is the World Cup semi-final. And that's what they're reduced. And I think Thomas Tuchel is a big part of that. What percentage are you going to put on the coach here? How much is it his fault that England lost this game, Stevie? I'd have to say probably 60 on him and 40 on the players. you know what Nadeem's talking about considering the players that England had on the field the experience they have and for Harry Kane to come out and say well it just seemed to happen you're the captain of the team you're supposed to be following letting everybody follow your lead so if something's not right and something's going wrong and you're under pressure then you're in a position to do something about it and he did nothing and actually between the players between the manager, between the rest of the coaching staff.
5:31Nobody did anything. Nobody did anything. They all sat on their hands until the equaliser because it started 25 minutes before the equaliser. So you've actually just sat there on your hands and let it happen for 25 minutes. And they had a hydration break in between that. So you could have sorted it out then, but nothing got sorted out. It's so disappointing in so many ways because the hydration break at this World Cup has been the thing which has defined some team success in certain games because here for england like just before the hydration break happened i think pickford made us pickford made a save there's a goal kick and he's looking referees like drink we need a drink we need a drink yeah because he knew the state of that game was going way beyond what they were comfortable with so here now you walk to the sideline and i'm not this guy that believes that as a player you don't have some level of responsibility towards your own performance and you rely upon the coach fully I don't believe that for a single second, but he should have a calmer mind on the side.
6:27So he'll say, this is what we're going to do. And everyone could see how much they were struggling. Everyone could see that they needed something else. But instead, to then choose to retreat, there's an idea about messaging within a game. If the coach says, we're going to go to a back five, then what does that mean we're going to be doing for the next 30, 40 minutes? It's like, we're going to defend. What does that messaging mean for the England players? What does it mean for the England fans? But what does it mean also for Argentina? Argentina were already dominating the game and it's like okay so this is what they're going to do and I think the guys have said it 12 % possession in a game is as bad as you will ever see it's as bad as you will ever see and I think for Tuchel to say well this is just how it is that to me is unacceptable I'm the opposite of you, the hydration break I would prefer to have him sticking his finger in people's face as opposed to the calm stoic type I would much rather shock the players into waking up because the rot had already set in.
7:24So surely that's your first move. We've got to get the cobwebs cleared. And the only way to do that is by sticking your finger in people's faces, particularly the more experienced and the captain in particular. Yeah, 100%. So that's the way I would have gone. I just can't. There's a little thing in my head because there's certain little foibles that happen in football. and, you know, we talk about it's one thing to get men behind the ball, but you still have to do the work. 100%. And it almost seemed as though they were thinking about Mexico and it was just going to happen for them. They forgot about the desire and the covering each other and the jostling each other and doing your own job and then helping the next guy.
8:06That all disappeared. It was almost like they were just filling holes and not doing the real work. I mean, that's indicative. Because of the second goal, Messi beating Jed Spencer, Nico O 'Reilly, cross into the box. We've got 25 defenders on the pitch at the end of the game, yet it evaded four of them and Lautaro Martinez as a free header. How does that happen? You know, that's not down to Tuchel. You know, listen, there's plenty down to Tuchel, but that particular moment of the game was not down to Thomas Tuchel. It was down to the poor defenders and switching off and lacking the intensity. I don't know what it was.
8:41But so I'm the same. he's got a lot to answer for, Thomas Tuchel. But the players have to police themselves on the pitch, whether it's Pickford shouting, get up, or whether it's Stones or whoever's there saying, get up, get off my feet. Harry Kane's coming back into centre-half. Somebody has to take responsibility and say, look, we're in trouble, we're under the caution. Get up the pitch and let's try and do something different. But just to clear and come back and clear and come back, that is never going to work when you've got the best player on the planet. with the freedom of the park, standing and doing whatever he wants.
9:16For anybody who's not aware of football in the 80s, 90s, early 2000s, or even before that, everybody thinks about today. And it's all about the coaches. And if a team wins, it's because they've been coached to do this. And the tactics and all the other things. There are certain things that have been around since the game was invented. And the two biggest things are the two reasons, in my opinion, that England lost. One, you don't sit in your own six-yard box. Number one, it's about as basic as it gets. Number two, stop the cross. You don't need to have travelled Europe and got all kinds of badges to understand that.
9:58That is about as basic as it gets. And that's what the coach should have been telling his players. One, get up. Two, stop the cross. If they do that, they're still in the world cup. I totally agree. And I think from Tuchel's standpoint, Like he's not coming in here with a baggage of like being English and having tons of failures in the past that sort of weigh him down He can come in succeed or fail of England and go on and do something else He has the ability to say to these players. This is unacceptable This has to change but instead he allowed it like from my perspective again And this is from us as former players like at the back You don't start the press at the back you start the press from the front when like if for example the back forward just dropping off independently of everybody else.
10:37You'd see massive gaps between the team, but you didn't see that. Instead, you saw, like there are times, for example, Gahey standing here, Anderson's two yards ahead and like Harry Kane's two yards next to Anderson. Like what is this? Because listen, it's great you want to come and help and defend, but we need an attacker. You defend from the front, not bring the front all the way to the back because lo and behold then, they lost possession, lost control of the game and you know, these comments as well that Tuchel's made about England and not having the ability to control the game of football.
11:08I hope to God we talk about that, because that, to me, is one of the biggest insults you can have as a manager. Because ultimately, why on earth are you taking charge of these players if this is what you believe? Let's make your wish come true then, Nader. Oh, it's by magic. I think ball possession plays a crucial role, said Tuchel. It's maybe not in our DNA like it is in Spanish DNA or in Argentinian, Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball. I cannot cope with this. Like this came in this afternoon and I'm like, why are you here then? Because he's basically up until this point where he said that, which was earlier today, he'd made every sort of, he highlighted every problem, every problem that's gone on in the game and not one single solution because, you know, they're obviously, we can't do anything.
11:52Argentina, they had momentum or they had, they were talking like they had 14 players. It was ridiculous. Yeah. And now today presents a solution to that problem, but it says England don't have the same DNA, so they can't do it. you're talking in that midfield you've got Elliot Anderson who's a hundred million pound player you've got Declan Rice a hundred million pound player Jude Bellingham basically a hundred million pound player like are we idiots yeah are genuinely are we idiots because this DNA thing it misses the point and if he thinks it's not their natural thing to do demand more tell them to do more and if you're not going to do it someone on the bench can do it yeah sorry I've been way too passionate But he spoke about Deccan Rice struggling and so on and so forth.
12:32They'd lost control in the midfield. If only there was a right-footed midfielder that was sitting on the bench that could have been used at some point. Oh, no, Kobe Menuh, he's a mascot. He's not allowed to play. Yeah, I hated it. I hated everything Tuchel said since this game finished. What do you think of comments like that from Tuchel about the DNA? I think it's awful coming from the England manager. I really do. I mean, the Brazilian DNA. What's the Brazilian DNA? They went out to the tournament two weeks ago. and even Argentina, they haven't had a DNA against Cape Verde. Their DNA was fighting back and being resilient to the end.
13:03It wasn't keeping the ball. They didn't keep the ball against Switzerland until Switzerland went down to 10 men. Cape Verde, Egypt, they didn't keep the ball and show Argentinian DNA. I have no idea what he's talking about. No way. If you say Spain DNA, I get it. Yeah. But throw in Brazilian and Argentinian. If he was English. An English manager would never have said that. An English manager would have been battered. Yeah. I don't know man if listen if Southgate would have said or done any of these things in the last 24 hours he would not be flying back an English manager would never have said that exactly so should he stay Stevie?
13:40well I think at the end of the day if you're employing Tommy Tuchel you have to figure out why you employed him and he was employed not to get to the semi-final he was employed to get to the final and win the tournament That was the remit of signing Thomas Tuchel. And so if that's your remit, you've failed, why are you keeping him on? So that has to be the bottom line. Why are we keeping a guy on who failed the first time? So we're going to keep him on and pay him what we're paying him, hoping that it doesn't happen again. It's a failed experiment, unfortunately. He was brought in, as everybody knows, to do better than Gareth Southgate, to get us over the line in difficult circumstances.
14:31And even if they would have lost to Spain in the final, because Spain are a great team, we can all take that. No problem at all. It was the manner in which we lost. When we lost against Croatia, when we lost against Italy in the final, et cetera, et cetera, since Gareth Southgate, none of them have been as bad as that yesterday. None of them. Do you really think that? Yes. I thought yesterday's performance was awful. I didn't like the Croatia one when we were leading and the Italy one when we were leading, don't get me wrong but I've never been so disappointed than last night, that half an hour last night after we went in the lead in a close game we broke the deadlock we're all thinking this is it now, this is it to do what they did after that was mind boggling It was very quickly apparent as well wasn't it Nadal after that goal was scored, what was happening?
15:20The England goal Yeah, with England. Well, it's funny you say that because I thought in the first half, like they battled and all that stuff. It looked like they were ready to go to this sort of like war with Argentina from a footballing standpoint. I saw it. Second half started, they were still the same. They scored to make it 1-0 and I thought, I'll tell you what, I think they're going to do this, you know. That's how it felt in the game. So for them to finish the exact opposite way. And again, we spoke about it. Like, I don't know if there'll be many people in England or anyone supporting England who would have thought, you know, after this hydration break, going to a back five is the right thing to do.
15:51not many people would think that given the pressure that they were under. So that in some ways is the alarming thing. And I know we'll talk about... The back five thing, actually, I'm not that bothered about, to be honest with you. I understand what you said earlier, that it kind of sends a message. By the way, it feels very generous to put Kane in that position there. Correct. It feels very generous. I know, right. It wasn't a back five in the end. It was a back seven. I was adamant it wasn't a negative step with this set-up. Whether it's a back four or a back five, The point is, you have to be a certain distance up the field.
16:25Otherwise, it doesn't make any difference. If you're going to sit in your own penalty box, it becomes a back 10, which it actually ended up being. And also, you played in defence. Lionel Messi's not going to run past you. Julian Alvarez is not going to run past you. Even Lautaro Martinez, who came on really late, he's not going to run past you. So why don't you push up? You don't have to go crazy. but the ball over the top is not going to hurt England at all. So that was another reason. It's not as if you've got Kylian Mbappe running past everybody because he's so quick. This really feels like the day after a game we've just played and we're trying to figure out why it was so bad.
17:06And every single thing we're saying, we've heard and said in a team meeting when we've had a performance or a result the way it happened like that. You know, things like, why are you letting somebody sit on top of you? You know, as a defender, you don't want your defensive midfielder standing on your toes. So you've got to push him out. Yeah, get him up the way. And then he's got to do the same thing. As you said earlier, whoever starts off closing the ball, you do the same thing. Nobody did anything. They all did absolutely nothing. Yeah. Including the coach. For me, it's disappointing from the standpoint.
17:43Like, we'll obviously talk about Argentina and the stuff that they've done. the way that they could sort of recover. And I thought for that 30, 40 minutes, I think that's the best I've seen Argentina this whole tournament. I would say, arguably, that's as good as I've seen Messi in an Argentina shirt, possibly across even the last two tournaments. I thought he was incredible. But England, like, Argentina could smell blood. They saw that England were doing that. Like, when they're coming off that hydration break and the players are looking around, seeing what's going on, or who they're bringing on, oh, Gordon's going off.
18:11That's interesting. Because he's the one that had the speed and threat to potentially getting behind. I guess this means this is the game it's going to be. And that there, like, it's obviously easier for us to say at this moment in time and to sense what it is. But as former players, you're right, Stevie, we've been in dress rooms after games like this and known exactly what the issues were. But then you wonder, well, why couldn't we have changed that? And sometimes as a player, you can't change that. So that's when you look to the side. Correct. And if you would have made, in my opinion, obviously it's a lot easier for us to say from our position, if he would have made stronger decisions like he's being paid to do, not to make it to a semifinal, because again, And let's be fair, England were favourites for every game they've played in at this World Cup.
18:48Every single game. So for them to be at this stage isn't a surprise. Isn't a surprise. So he's there to make the stronger decisions. That's what they said would set him apart. His cup record, he's this, he's ruthless. All of a sudden he turned into the meekest, mildest manager I've ever seen. So England are out now. So let's stop talking about them. Oh, thank God. But there is a lot of talk. and postmortem on England's performance against Argentina over on the Football Reporters podcast. You can catch Mark and the crew over on our YouTube channel that is streaming now also wherever you get your podcasts.
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19:58You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18+. So Lionel Messi didn't score in the clash against England, but in the final 10 minutes, he assisted both of the goals and made history by making it 12 all-time World Cup assists.
20:34saw the papers with the playmaking magic of Lionel Messi on the front of them. And there was a lot, a lot of talk about Lionel Messi with Santi Solari and Craig Burley on last night's show after the game. Lionel Messi is the greatest player I have ever seen. He's the greatest I've ever seen doing things on the field, all over the field. Whether it's goals, whether it's assists, whether it's passes around the corner, whether it's beating players individually, whether it's taking a nation on your back. I mean, he could go back-to-back World Cup winner. Everybody thought now in this World Cup, which is his third final, by the way, doing what he's doing in this World Cup at 39 years old, I think that's out of the wildest dreams of anybody, any analyst, any player, any fan.
21:27What we are witnessing, the world of sport, not only Argentinians, it's something unique, And something I don't think we'll ever see again. Some Messi stats to make it your eyes weep, basically, especially if you're an England player. Ten successive dribbles against England, which is the most in a game this World Cup. When it comes to the goals, he's leading the Golden Boot race with the A, tied for first with Mbappe, but under the assist tiebreaker, Messi is on top of the standings right there now. Big chances created first in that as well. chances created overall. First in that, successful crosses.
22:04Probably no surprise. First in that, through ball tied first and assist tied second as well. And as Santi just said, Steve, he's doing this at 39 years old. It's like he's getting these potentially two World Cups here in the latter part of his career. Yeah, I mean, I'm with Natham. I thought he was phenomenal yesterday, particularly when they needed him in that last 35 minutes of the game. he did everything correctly didn't he his movement was brilliant his speed of thought was excellent and then of course he gets his assists which we know but the fact that he's just driven his team forward I think he's better this I mean his stats on moving and walking etc etc it actually doesn't even matter anymore because when he's that efficient you know when what he can do and in the biggest game as you rightly said he put his team on his back and said come with me again And that is a proper leader.
22:57He's not the most vocal. He doesn't do many interviews, etc, etc. But what he does on the pitch, follow me guys, and they all follow him. They all protect him. They all go mad when he gets kicked. You can see how important he is for the team. And I just thought he was exceptional last night. It was a really nice story. As much as I was upset about England losing and the way they lost, I just thought to celebrate this guy at 39 years of age, I thought he was exceptional yesterday. Unbelievable stuff, Stevie, isn't it? I think we all see the goals and the passes and all the wonderful things that we all wish we could do.
23:35And I always think, and I certainly thought about it the other day, I'm listening to Thomas Tuchel going, well, we've had some tough games and it's been hot. And we're a bit fatigued, right? And I'm thinking, hold on a second. There's a little guy who's 39 years of age right there, who was the best player in the last half hour of the game. Who's breaking records as well. Who not only was quicker than everybody in your team, but nobody could knock him off the ball. We always talk about Ronaldo, about his physique. Nobody mentions Messi's physique because in that last 30 minutes, he's dribbling around in circles trying to get away from two and three England players and they're all trying to knock him over and they couldn't knock him over.
24:11They couldn't get the ball off him, they couldn't knock him over and he's 39 years of age. So, listen, along with all the talent and all the vision and all the touch and all the goals and all the other things, he has an inner strength in him that is just unshakable. Yeah, he's awesome. He's so good. Like, I'm 39 years of age, I'm washed up. Just for the way that game was going. For me, it wasn't one of those games where for Argentina, they're just like, oh, where's Messi? Just give it to Messi. They were still structuring around everything that they were doing. But his command of that sort of like inner right-hand side, he gets the ball here comes Montiel or here's Rodrigo de Paul or this and when he has those options and you know he can beat you both
25:00Rodrigo de Paul and Rodrigo de Paul or Montiel you know but he he just sees a different game and the point you've made about how strong he is he is so sturdy the time when Elliot Anderson got booked in the first half he shrugged off Harry Kane shrugged off this guy I'm thinking flipping heck Like, imagine going up against that. The ball is literally glued to his foot. And then even, I know you're unhappy with the cross for the second goal. But Nick O 'Reilly and I think Spence coming out. They came out late. That's the first problem. But they've seen Messi come inside his left foot for the last six or seven times.
25:35This time he sells it, goes on to his right. And the ball into the box on his weaker foot. It is perfect. Like a player that's skilled on one side to have the ability to have that moment, to have that. More importantly as we can like see through the game He represents what Argentina is at this stage in terms of the passion the drive the everything like Messi was crying two games ago Not for the same reason Neymar was or this guy cuz have been knocked out because he got through This is the 39 years of aid as a world champion as somebody's won the Ballon d 'Ors when everything there is to win in Football and the short sheer emotion of him getting into a quarterfinal I think it was that says so much about the guy and what it means to him to represent his national team like it's it's breathtaking and to see it that man obviously against england you don't necessarily want to do that but even that context leonel's messi leonel messi's first and only game against england yeah watch this you know what i mean like he's an icon absolute icon well he's actually leading the race for the ballon d 'or once again how many of those has he already got Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
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26:38Yes, Lionel Messi. No. Take a look at the odds to win the Ballon d 'Or and we're looking at players that have participated here in this World Cup with Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamin Imel in there too. Lionel Messi at 39 years old is at the top of the list. Oh, come on. Are we happy with that? Are we happy with that list? Here's a question for you. Here's a question for you. Hang on. Wait for this. Wait for this so we can just show you this. This is Rodrigo De Paul and Messi on Instagram this morning. Very chill. When do you? I should have got you to do that, Nadam, now that you've turned all...
27:10Not only do you look after him on the field, he's bringing him breakfast as well. It looks like that, doesn't it? He's got the balls as partyguards, isn't he? He really is, though, isn't he? What were you going to say, though, Stevie? No, I'm just... You know, you look at the three underneath Messi, right? If Messi wins the World Cup, that'll be two World Cups he'll have won because of him. Yeah. You talk about Maradona, he'll have done this twice. What have the other three underneath him done to usurp him for the Ballon d 'Or? Well, that's the only thing. It's winning it. If Luminium outwins it, at least he's won the World Cup and the league and et cetera with Barcelona this year.
27:49That's all the thing. Harry Kane won winner for winning the league by a Munich one. So if Argentina win it? And Kylian Mbappe won't get it now because he's won nothing all year. So that's ridiculous. But Messi will get it. Messi or Luminium, if that's the point. Whoever wins the World Cup. I would have potentially thought, given the fact he was Bundesliga player of the year, I would have thought Michael Lisset might have made that list, personally. Obviously, they've sort of fizzled out very much so. But, like, I don't know, man. I don't want to see him biased, but Harry Kane shouldn't be second on that list.
28:18He's playing an MLS detract from... Correct. He didn't, yeah. I mean, that's just a popularity contest at Ballon d 'Or, isn't it? Well, he's won it then. Yeah, he's won it. Journalists all over the world voting for people. So, you know when you give him the World Cup? He's going to give us a Ballon d 'Or. Might as well give me it now.
29:03Works independently of Gemini apps. Check responses for accuracy. If we knew more about our sleep, what would we do differently? Would we go to bed at a consistent time? Or take steps to reduce interruptions to our sleep? With Sleep Score, Apple Watch measures your bedtime consistency, interruptions, and sleep duration. Then, every morning it combines these factors into an easy-to-understand score from 1 to 100. So you'll know how to take the quality of your sleep from okay to very high. Know your sleep score with Apple Watch. iPhone 11 or later required. Let's take a look at some of the papers and the reaction from Argentina and get to Argentina's game against England.
29:45Obviously, very exciting times for the Argentines. The heroes, basically, and a miracle in football. And now we go on. And this is Lionel Scaloni after the game saying, this team plays best when facing adversity. the opponent hesitates a bit we smell blood and we go for it here's Craig Burley last night talking about Argentina's performance every country wants to win the World Cup of course they do and every country is passionate about a World Cup and we've all played but I see something different with Argentina I see that it means more to them I don't know why but it just seems as if it means more to them to get over the line for their country and that's one of the reasons that they've been in the position that they've been in and they've came back.
30:37It's not just Messi, it's guts, it's determination and it's pride. Well, they don't know they're beaten, do they? Even if you look in this World Cup, the way that they have seemed to be, OK, this might be it, they might be out and they just fight on and they battle back and it comes to it and then just to see how it all ended with that comeback against England to come back after the 84th minute when they were 1-0 down and they were trailing and to win it in regular time as well, 2-1, because they will not be beaten. Yeah, I think the nuance around the England one is saying it's 1-0 at 84 minutes suggests that England were doing something.
31:16England were not doing anything at that stage. It should say underneath, England were hanging on for the previous 25 minutes. Hanging on by a thread, yeah. Yeah, it was tough. It was tough, but yeah, credit to them. And I think Craig's right. It does feel like it's different to them. But the reason I believe it's different is because they're the only team at this World Cup that isn't here to win it. They're here to defend it. And the way in which they carry themselves is in that manner. Like, this is a case of them going to war for every tackle, every moment. And through the games that they've played to this point, they've done essentially just about enough to get through.
31:48And you see the emotion that comes through it. But on the biggest occasion, which was yesterday, the biggest occasion so far, we saw exactly who they were. there was the battling in the first half they had some possession they created a couple of chances but then as soon as they got rolling my goodness gracious me they looked unbelievable yes england had something to do with that but this never say die attitude but alongside quality because there are tons of teams who play against like a back five or a low block or whatever and they're just slinging nonsense balls into the box every time the ball went into england's box post post save big chance and so on because the quality that they have it was shining through as well as that desire to just go and win the game.
32:25The demeanour. When you actually just watch the body language of the players as well, Macca, you watched Argentina and just the drive it gave them. You looked at the England players and you didn't see anything even remotely similar to that. And, you know, I'm with Craig. I think that it does mean more to them to play. I mean, I know it's silly when you represent your country, but they do seem to be more passionate. You know, in South America, you know, in Europe particularly, because we've got, you know, highly competitive leagues, you see people pulling out of games in September, October, November quite easily, you know, they were pulling out of that and next minute they're playing in the Premier League at the weekend nobody ever pulls out of a Uruguay squad or a Brazil squad or an Argentina squad, it does seem as if it means a little bit more to them than most, you know, it certainly means more to the fans, you know, the fans travel, I thought England fans travel, they travel in their masses they outnumbered England, 4-1 yesterday, which is unusual They couldn't even hear the National Anthem for England.
33:22And they are incredibly passionate in how they celebrate more passionate than others. So maybe it does mean more to them. I'm not Argentinian, I don't know. But visually, it looks as if it means more to them. And the way the players celebrate and sing and dance with the crowds at the end of the game, it certainly looks like that. And the emotion some of the players have shown when they have won through games. Again, you wouldn't expect to see that from a Frenchman or an Englishman, And that they're crying because they beat Switzerland or crying because they beat Egypt. So, you know, it's something there that they fight and they will run through a brick wall to win this game.
33:57You know what I really enjoy actually now looking back? Some of these Argentinian players playing in the Premier League, they're criticised for how they are as people. You know, Lissandro Martinez, oh, he's a bit rash. He's a bit rash, isn't he? Emi Martinez, oh, I don't like his attitude. I don't really like this. You know, Cristiano Romero, oh, he just wants to do this. Then you see them all come together and it makes perfect sense They are one of the worst teams to play against because they will be in your grid from start to finish They are in your face constantly, but they all have the quality as well So when they all come together in a perform in that manner You can see why like every tackle is everything to them every moment every run every flipping recovery run even Like I said they were two and up with like five minutes to go in this game And you got LaTaro Martinez is going to press the center-half long throws come into the box because Big Dan Burns is going to head something.
34:45Nicolás Sotomayor is like seven foot tall all of a sudden. They are so intense with how they play. And when everybody matches that energy, that is the Argentinian experience. And credit to them for it football-wise. Do you think it's an even stronger fight in them right now, Steve, because they know it's the end for Messi and Argentina? 100%. 100%. There's no question. I can't argue with one thing that everybody said about their desire to play for the country. But at the end of the day, there has to be more than desire and man for man this is not the best team in the World Cup but they've got a guy called Messi who not only is arguably the best player that ever played the game but he is the reason that they will die they you know when you get a guy like Messi in your team and he uses he uses the admiration they have for him to help them and at the end of the day he knows that every single one of them standing next to him on the field he knows they will die for him but you know more importantly every one of them knows that as great as he is and the reason he's there is for us to get him the ball and we want him to be putting the ball in the net and we want him to have all the glory because they want him to have all the glory they're carrying him off every time they perform like that they carry them off to give him a rest so he can't and he doesn't even need it I know but but they know that if push came to shove he would die for them yeah yeah that's why they do it for sure yeah it's it's incredible to see and now comes Argentina coming off against Spain on Sunday in the final and this has been some of the reaction a brutal finale the final most beautiful final in the world say Marca finalissima and a final against Messi.
36:40Yes, bar everybody crazy for this one. What a game that is set to be, especially given Messi's time spent in Spain as well. But in terms of the two teams facing one another, it's the first time the reigning European and Copa America champions will face off in the World Cup final. It's the first FIFA World Cup match to FIFA, the top two ranked teams. It's the second FIFA World Cup meeting between these two teams. It happened in the 1966 group stage and Argentina and won that game 2-1. Also resurfacing has been this photograph of Lionel Messi bathing baby Laminia Mal from 2007. This is when Diario Sport partnered with UNICEF, who were the shirt sponsor at the time for Barcelona, to produce an annual charity calendar and raise money for humanitarian causes.
37:28And Laminia Mal's family entered what was essentially a raffle at the time to get to be one of the babies in it. But there were still other babies that were a part of this. Lamin-Yemal was the baby that was teamed up with Lionel Messi now I don't often use this but you really couldn't write this no you couldn't so couldn't understatement so many subplots isn't there with Gavi and Pedri and Koubarsi and La Masia and then you've got the king of them all sitting on the top on the opposition yeah there'll be a lot more talk about Argentina against Spain and what to expect from the final 5.30pm Eastern ESPN Plus all the build up over the next few days for the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.
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39:14All right, let's talk Liverpool, shall we? Seeing as though we've got two former Liverpool players here with us. Some big-name departures at Liverpool, as you can see here from this graphic. We've also got some lingering injuries to talk about as well in this current squad. Arrivals in the form of Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz right now. but Andoni Iraiola, the new Liverpool boss, has publicly stated that the team needs more players. Maka. I absolutely agree. Absolutely agree. I thought they sold too many players last year, even though they spent a lot of money bringing people in. And the fact that three really experienced superstars have left, all for no money.
39:59And then we brought Xhaka in, of course, he was a very talented very talented boy and you know Ibril need time to settle and Victor Munoz I think that came out of the blue didn't it you know six goals for Osasuna hasn't played a minute nothing in the World Cup for Spain and what I've seen of him it's going to be a massive jump from you know the second tier at Real Madrid to Osasuna then to Liverpool in the Champions League so that's a gamble in itself they need time Leone's a young centre-half of course who injured his ACL Conor Bradley's injury prone and is coming back so they definitely, if it was me I'd say they need another three or four easily There's a few rumours but one thing that has been reported is that Sir Bozlight has agreed to an extension that's got to be great news Stevie for Liverpool It's got to be the only news It's like what do you say?
40:51I can give you some of the rumours then so Bradley Barcola's name's on the list Joe Gomez's name's on the list You know what I can't be doing with rumours You don't want rumours? No transfer talk from you? where do they need to strengthen the most then? Everywhere the back, the middle and the front they absolutely need to strengthen everywhere Harvey Elliott will come back after the disastrous loan shenanigans that went on with Aston Villa so he'll come back into the fold but you can't let any more players leave there was talk about Curtis Jones may leave but I think he's agreed a new contract Joe Gomez leaving because he's been injury prone but actually you can't let any I'm surprised he let Andy Robertson leave I was amazed I'd have just said to them no you're not going you're staying we need you so they need more experience it's all like buying kids but they've got a lot of games I'm absolutely shocked Macca pre-season has already started and I get it if you're going to sign players from the World Cup then okay but pre-season has already started they've already let more go again this year than they brought in they brought in a young defender who's raw as the day's long Munoz is a head-scratcher and that's it I don't know what to say the whole rumour thing I mean, even the rumours we're only talking about two players we need more rumours and also Bradley Barker will probably have a hundred teams after him if he wants to leave PSG I'm sorry, I'm completely befuddled here I've no idea what's going on absolutely 100 % they should have more signings by now and the longer it goes without any just tells you they're going to end up gambling when they shouldn't be they've just spent £100 million on two players there that we don't know whether they would start in the first team if there was a game tomorrow and they need five or six tell you what I hope the bank balance is in good shape because it's going to have to be and they need something of a comeback this season don't they Nadeem yeah I suppose importantly they did make it into the Champions League that's going to be the foundation for Liverpool on any of those sides that you know would be contesting for titles in years to come but I was with Steve like they felt like the squad felt like last year it really did so for this year to miss those three key players for them to all go on a free you know essentially interesting I don't know if you guys would agree but would those players have stayed if they say had a better relationship with Arna Salon because there's no way City I mean the Liverpool would have been allowing them sorry would not have offered them contracts to stay like why do they think their futures are better elsewhere given the scale of Liverpool as a football club especially Canate in his 20s so I'm a bit concerned I agree with the Canate one the other two I don't I think that I think the other two will question the past the best and if you're Liverpool and you want to be one in the Premier League and you want to challenge for the Champions League then you have to look forward and you have to take a step forward did Salah have a year left though Salah did yes that's the interesting thing why did they decide to cut ties there well I would probably think the half a million he's getting a day that'll do it yeah I'll probably swing it.
43:53It's not even the fact that they've let three go and two have come in. You know, Endo has a really bad injury and he's, with all respect, coming to the end of his career. They're not going to rely on him much. Joe Gomez, as I said before, is injury bone. Connor Bradley had a bad injury and is still recovering. Eka TK is still out for another few months. So, the missing four of the players that we know they've got already. So, you are down to your bare bones. You look at the team that are going to travel to the USA next week and come on tour, you won't have heard of any of them because they're all academy kids.
44:26I mean, I know them all, of course, because I work there. But there's about two or three big hitters that you know, and the rest are, who's this lad, who's this lad? All for the future. And you can't rely on that when you've got 38 Premier League games and hopefully 15 Champions League games. They need much, much more, or they need the people who are injured to get back really quickly. Yeah, that's definitely one to keep an eye on. Who will be coming in at Liverpool? Maybe we could send you down to Nashville, Stevie, where they're going to be playing against Sunderland. I'll take the guitar away.
45:00July 25th, 6pm East, an ESPN Deportes for Liverpool in friendly action against Sunderland. It's also on ESPN Unlimited if you want to see how they're looking right now. And some of those young players that Macca was talking about. Anyway, that's all we've got time for on the latest edition of the show. Stick around, though. Extra Time's on the way next. These guys will be answering your questions.
45:23Welcome in to the latest edition of Extra Time. Stevie, Maka and Nadam here answering your questions today. Stevie, first one's for you. Walk us through your emotions during the game. From England going up 1-0 to Argentina coming back to win 2-1. It's funny you say that because I spoke to you earlier but I never told you, the two of them don't know. there was a stage in the second half where I was thinking do I really want England out? Because I was watching this Argentina side the way they were playing and then our friend Martinez and then the goalkeeper Martinez and Romero and Enzo and they were really getting on my nerves I just didn't like and actually at one stage I was right on the line.
46:15Never crossed it. Never crossed it. Never crossed it. I didn't. I didn't. It wasn't until the equaliser I thought, yeah. Get them out. Yeah, get them out. So I was really close. I was. Surprisingly. That's an array of emotions for you, Steve. Some that we weren't expecting. Even Eleanor said to me, are you thinking what a video? I was like, aye. You all right?
46:41Stevie is France not winning this edition of the World Cup the same level of travesty as Brazil failing to do so in 82 I love that we'll let everyone in on this but I love that it's put to him because he's old hey he's been shh Brazil in 82 no I don't think so no I don't think so Brazil were brilliant in 82 but they failed to Italy beat them didn't they Yeah and they didn't have a centre forward Brazil They had everybody else Falcao and Edir Well the one thing I would say is that going into that World Cup in 82 Brazil were one of the favourites but they weren't France was strong favourites coming in here and as the tournament progressed we all started saying they were even stronger favourites.
47:39So I think you'd have to say, yeah. Yeah. OK. All right, anyone else? No? Well, I mean, 82 was a long time ago. I remember that team and it was an amazing team. But, you know, as you said, you're looking back thinking about the players. But if you go through that side, you know, the Socrates, all their better players were behind the ball, weren't they? as Stevie said, they didn't have a main centre forward, like an R9 to get them all these goals, or a Rivaldo or a Ronaldinho when they won in 2-0-2. So probably, you know, everybody, after the quarterfinals, everybody was gung-ho about France, because they were scoring and free-flowing and so many attacking options, it was like France are going to walk through this.
48:25So it probably is more of a surprise that France didn't win this than the Brazil team in 82. Well, it's funny you say that, because I think of the other teams that were left in the competition I think France on a slightly off day could have still won but the way that Spain are as a team and Spain being the team that have beaten France twice before in the last two years they're probably the only team that could do to them what happened so as soon as France were off a little bit it's like well yeah Spain are European champions you know what I mean that kind of makes sense two years ago Spain were the best team so it's not a surprise that they beat them exactly alright Maca have a wonderful day for you Maca England have just exited.
49:02Here we go, bringing up some old memories. How long did it take you to get over the Euro 96 semifinal loss? Did returning to club football help you move on or did it affect your play for a while? Oh, no, I was fine. I mean, I was upset, of course it was. And then we went back to the hotel, if I can remember. We had a few drinks with everybody. And because the final and the tournament was in England, the next day people have packed the bags and all gone home. so you know you leave this the sanctity of this hotel with 25 of your your teammates and then all the staff and as soon as you're back with your family you sort of try and shrug it off and then like most people you just try and go on holiday and try and forget it forget about it but once the once the um once the season started again with Liverpool I was fully invested back again I was looking forward to it then month off don't kick a ball stay away from everything that was my thing because I always looked after myself and I didn't really put on any weight so I just never went in the gym didn't touch a ball, enjoyed myself on holiday and then once I went back to pre-season training I was all in again, I was really looking forward to it I love that team 96 anyway who will be incentivised more to win the third place game?
50:18England or France? What's a third game? It's the game no one wants to play. Yeah, listen, it is the game that none of these teams want to play. That still count though. Yeah, without question. Yeah, this is one of those games that these teams don't want to play. If there were like some sides who were just like buzzing to be in the semi-final, then it's different. But now I'm speaking with Julian about this actually. And this is Deschamps' last game. Yeah, if he stinks to play south, that's two defeats in a row to finish everything off. And the same for Tuchel now. Tuchel is like, some people saying, should he stay?
50:49Should he go? imagine they just get kicked around on Saturday in this game. Everyone can say the game doesn't matter but there'll be tens of thousands of fans of both teams who will be at that game on Saturday and if it's got the energy of a preseason game where teams don't care or the players don't care I think it will matter and people will sort of have this in the back of their minds when thinking about what's coming next. Do you think Mbappe will play to try and score to try and take over Messi? Does that count like that? I think so does it? Does it count as it knows it? Yes, I think it will play, yes.
51:19I think ultimately, like it's a game between France and England and people can try and talk it down, say there's this level of disappointment. But as soon as that game like starts and it gets close to it and you see the stadium, see all this stuff. And if you're Thomas Tuchel, do you play everybody who hasn't played? If that makes sense. Well, all I would say. Does Tommy get a game? Well, I mean, whoever hasn't played, Ollie Watkins, Yves Antony, whoever, do they all play? I think, I don't know if, I don't think they all play because I think Tuchel, if he decides to play Kabi Menuh now, that's like one of the biggest slap in the face you could ever imagine.
51:50And that's one of the quickest ways to lose a player. I think that would be a scandal if he decides to do that personally. All right. Nadem, your thoughts on the little back and forth between Jude and Messi? Listen, man, Jude is feeling himself. Can somebody tell me, do they know what they said? Because I've seen it a thousand times. I've still got no idea what it was about. Oh, yeah, they'll have understood each other. Jude speaks Spanish but do we know there's reports on what they've said but it's hard to know what to believe what to believe yeah apart from that just before we go back to it who was the guy that Jude slapped that was one of the did you see why he slapped him yeah yeah he was running onto the pitch and whatever like the Argentinians love it don't they like oh my god must be great to be part of the bandwagon but if you're not on it it is a nightmare fuel but I think from Bellingham it's good that he's like feeling himself he wants to represent England and show that he's not scared of anyone but in terms of bears to poke in history it's just the wrong one isn't it you know what I mean because Messi played like he's doubly motivated to try and prove a point and when he plays the way that he plays like the stuff that he sees the strength that he has the influence that he has sometimes it's good just to put a tackle in and then just keep it moving you know what I mean just say sorry and walk around yeah I can only apologise for tackling you please don't take it personally it definitely felt like Jude was hearing a lot more oh of course of course because of his Spanish there was plenty of swear words you believed back and forth, especially when they've won the game at the end.
53:16Ignorance is bliss, right? Ignorance is bliss. Are we keeping you? No, I've got, I've been sent one of the quotes of what was said, but my phone's in my bag and I can't read it from my watch, so apologies. Jude says they were discussing a foul. Yeah, that was him and Messi early on, that was in the first half. I mean, there was enough fouls in the first half. Oh yeah, which one? Exactly. Everybody, but it was what happened after the game was the bigger thing. Yes, of course. So we've had to correct the next question just so you know if it reads differently on your screen. I'm just going to check how it does read.
53:53Yes, this is right now. So in 17 of the last 19 finals in the Men's and Women's World Cup, Men's and Women's Euros and Copa America, the team with the extra rest day has won. Is this an advantage that FIFA should address? Absolutely. 100%. Why are you having them in two different days? Yep. And again, all these people and all these committees, you'd think there'd be at least one person with some sort of normality about them and bring up, well, hold on a second, don't you think that's unfair to the team that has a day less rest? And then they should all go, yeah, what do we do about that? Especially if the stat's like 17 out of 19, it shows.
54:40It's a distinct advantage, doesn't it? Spain beat France a day earlier. You know, with the Argentina-England game and the passion that goes through and the energy exerts and 24 hours later. Absolutely, it must be. There's not a reason. Why? I know. There's not a reason for not doing it. Well, not even. Oh, I know, but one game kicks off at three, the other kicks off at seven, the way they've been doing it. They're in different cities, so it doesn't affect anything. It affects nothing. Yeah. Nothing. Nothing at all. The advertising still costs the same. In terms of fairness, why don't you do it on the same time?
55:16100%. We know that. We know why they're not doing it. But if Argentina are tired, which of course they have, they've had a longer schedule than Spain, the fact that they have played a day later, absolutely it should affect them. All right. Stevie, did you check on your British friends to see if they were doing okay after the game? Or were you smiling and laughing afterwards? British or English. I know. which is very kind, to bring everyone involved. I think they're trying to, like... Yeah, yeah. We almost... We almost... Yeah, yeah. He's British... All his Scottish friends and his Irish friends were thrilled to bits, thanks very much.
55:51The only one part of the British Isles is not happy. I can assure you, and it's not Wales, England, Wales, Ireland or Scotland. I've had more memes. My phone's blowing up with memes. I know you sent me a couple last week. Yeah, I got that. who are you going to go for now then who are you going to go for on Sunday the final, who do you fancy Spain why because they've had an extra rest day oh yeah, and I've got some money on it lovely stuff thank you so much for sending in your questions we'll be back over the next couple of days as we build up to the World Cup final
56:39We'll be right back.
From the publisher
The FC Crew react to England's loss versus Argentina in the World Cup semifinal as they offer their thoughts on Thomas Tuchel's bold tactical decisions, and wonder if he can stay on as head coach after such a defeat. Then, giving due credit to Argentina for yet another comeback win as Messi and co. advance to the World Cup final to take on Spain.
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