MNC: Who starts for England, & Scotland's approach v Haiti

20:56Conor Coady:When he drops deep, they know they're running behind. So again, it goes back to style of play, how Thomas Tuchel wants to play. But I think versatility will come anyway, no matter who you play in that midfield role. Because Declan Rice is a hybrid between an eight and a six. He's not just going to sit as a six next to Elliot Hansen. He's going to play higher and he's going to go and get the ball. He's going to go and join in like he does for Arsenal. So I think you'll get versatility anyway, Chappers. I just find it interesting, more the style of play rather than personal, what he goes with.

21:19Julien Laurens:I think that's why Rodgers is going to start ahead of Bellingham in that 10. Because if you look at Kane with Bayern Munich this season, before the Gnabry injury, Gnabry used to be as a 10 behind him. And Gnabry is not a 10, but Gnabry is a great runner. So when Kane used to drop, Gnabry would take all that space and that's what he would be so good at. Running into the space left by Kane, who dropped to get the ball, and Kane loves that and he's so good at that. and then you find Gnabry in the ninth position really in the box to finish whatever move Kane started and I think Rodgers is just perfect that's why Tuchel loves the Rodgers-Kane partnership so much and that's why I think in his mind I'm not really sure there's even a debate between Bellingham and Rodgers right now for who starts that game against Croatia and then if you again look at Bayern and Tuchel not even just as a German or as a former Bayern manager himself but would have looked at Kane all season long in those Bayern games on the left Luis Diaz put Gordon there the runs in behind is that verticality the pace plus the pressing like Conor just said and how aggressive he is and on the right hand side Saka and Olisse play the same way you don't you don't put the ball over the top for them they don't they're not runners that's not what they do you find them into feet Kane used to find Olisse into feet so much so well and then you let basically Olisse cook like you would let Saka cook and do something for Kane for Rodgers for Gordon for Rice who is the midfield more than Anderson, who, like Conor just said, is going to make those late run into the box as well.

22:45Julien Laurens:So if you look at that template from Bayern where Kane was so incredible all season long, and that's why I think he could win the Ballon d 'Or if England do well in this World Cup and Kane does well in the World Cup, if you two-hole every single day, you try to reproduce as much as you can that kind of template that you saw with Bayern where Kane felt so at ease all season long. Gordon also didn't play towards the end of the season for Newcastle, which might be a factor. he might be just still trying to get back up to speed what Conor was talking about at the very start before I was distracted by the mini earthquake.

23:16But this time last year in Spain, I was told that Bellingham and Gordon had the best running stats when they did the warm weather training. They went out deliberately a little bit earlier ahead of that World Cup qualifier against Andorra. And in Girona, where they were training, it was Gordon and Bellingham, who I'm led to believe were, in terms of their running stats in the heat, were the most impressive.

23:38Conor Coady:what will be interesting for me and we mentioned you a lot don't we and I'd like to think his reaction will be good but you know you just mentioned there Chappers about you've heard through your sources if that's what you're saying that he could be I just had a pint with a bloke in the pub who went do you think he might try I went yeah alright I'll use us but if we're saying he's not going to play Jude Bellingham so we've got a Real Madrid player in our England team and he's not going to start which okay but she's fine Morgan Rodgers had a real good season fantastic season actually but then he's going to be the replacement for Harry Kane not even in his position he's now going to come on as a nine what's the reaction we get from him?

24:11Conor Coady:For me, I'd like to think it would be a good reaction but we've seen how he reacts on a pitch when something doesn't go right as well so it's an interesting situation and it's something that I'm really looking forward to see because I just want England to win so wherever he goes with I just want England to win but I just look at that side of it and think I don't know what a dude you get on the back of that And we've done so many tournaments Chris where virtually every time Gareth Southgate named an 11 at a tournament we would then spend the next 15 minutes talking about the players who hadn't been picked and put on the bench.

24:42Every single selection. Yeah. And what they can't have is a Jude Bellingham selection dominating this World Cup, can they?

24:54Chris Sutton:No, well, you know, it's all about, as Connor quite rightly says, I think it's a great point, but it's all about how Bellingham reacts to that, whether he's going to act and chuck his toys out of the pram and sulk. But Tuchel, I mean, Ian will know this better than me, Tuchel called him out, didn't he? Or he has called him out in the past, Bellingham, and talked about the importance of the group and the team ahead of any individual. But Bellingham, I think, partly through his performances, won or has won Thomas Tuchel around. I think he left. Did he not leave him out of a squad, Ian, in the past?

25:32Chris Sutton:Jude Bellingham, is that right? It was when he was out with his shoulder injury, wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, he was quite public about it and, you know, and about the harmony in the group. So really it's, you know, that has to come from Bellingham. What he can't do is he can't start sulking if Morgan Rodgers gets to nod over him. I mean, he must know that that's probably, you know, going to happen. Bellingham hasn't had the greatest season at Real Madrid, but he may have to just bide his time. But it's, you know, it's not how you start a tournament. It's how you finish a tournament. And there's no doubting that, you know, if he does come off the bench, he can impact the game.

26:11I don't think Bellingham will start every game in the 10. I think because Thomas Tuchel, he values Morgan Rodgers as well. But he doesn't see, he said a quote to John Murray during the squad announcement that they're not challenges for the position. I think the word he said was accomplices. and I think for Jude Bellingham, who obviously gets a lot of attention, Thomas Tuchel at the minute is really happy with Jude Bellingham. He's happy the way that he's trained. He said he's in a good spot. Incidentally, he was actually given the captain's armband for that second half team that started against New Zealand.

26:43So I think sometimes there can be headlines that are created about Jude Bellingham, but at this moment in time, everything in the camp and the team spirit, there's a clip on social media doing the rounds. everybody is as one at the moment in that England camp in West Palm. Where do you stand, Chris, on this over-reliance on Harry Kane? Aren't most countries reliant on their number one goal scorer, their main goal scorer?

27:14Chris Sutton:Yeah, yeah. So is it a nonsense argument? No, no, it's not. a nonsense argument because England have over-relied on Harry Kane. You see, his numbers this season are over 60 goals, 61, whatever it is for Bayern Munich this season. I mean, that's incredible. You can't, you know, he's going to start, he's irreplaceable, but it's the big if. If he gets injured, then you know, will Watkins be ready? Will Ivan Toni be ready? So, I mean, Even the game against New Zealand, it was pretty flat. And then he comes up with that header. It's a genius finish from him to score from that position and divert the ball as he did do.

28:02Chris Sutton:Thomas Tuchel just has to... It will be interesting how he manages Harry Kane and how many minutes he gives him. But he will have to manage his minutes carefully. But if he gets injured, then we are all looking at the England team in a totally different way, where if virtually any other player gets injured, you're thinking, well, it'll probably be all right. But is that not the same, Jules, if Norway lost Haaland, or Sweden lost Jokeres, or Bosnia and Herzegovina lost Dzeko, or France and Mbappe, or Argentina and Messi? I mean, I've got percentages of their percentage of goals out of team goals through qualifying.

28:49You know, Mbappe's 31 % of France's goals in qualifying. Harry Kane's 36 % of England's goals. You could make the argument for several of those.

28:59Julien Laurens:Yeah, absolutely. And I think this is the nature of those tournaments and of those teams as well, is that one player doesn't make your whole team and it's not everything. but for some it's not far from being the case and so I know, and Chris is right, if Kane gets injured or if Mbappe gets injured or if Haaland, you know, what happens behind, what's next? But then they might not get injured and they will score six, seven, eight goals in the tournament and take their team really far and that's what we expect from them. I don't think it's putting too much pressure on them. I don't think we over-rely on them.

29:35Julien Laurens:It's just the kind of players that they are right now at their stage in their career because they're just the best in the world. So I think he's part of it. And also the nature of an era where it tends to be one main man up front. No, Connor? I mean, you know, back in the day, if Blackburn lost Shearer, they'd have Gallagher or Newell. But nowadays, you have one main striker.

30:02Conor Coady:Of course you do. Of course you do. And we're talking about the best main striker in the world for me. So can we be over-reliant on him? Yes, of course we can because he's our main man and we need him fit. This argument of, and what we seem to do, and I don't know if it's the same in other countries, Julian will probably tell us, but we seem to have this argument about we've got what I believe is the best striker in the world, and we try and find ways and go, what if we don't have him? How do we think of that? Let's just hack that if it does come. I don't know why in this country, and like I said, Julian might tell us different, that it might happen in France or other countries, but in this country we seem to do this thing where we've got someone unbelievable, so let's love him, but we don't.

30:36Conor Coady:We go, well, what happens if he gets injured? because then we might not have somebody as good. Don't even think about that because he is injured and he'll make sure he does everything because he's one of the most professional fellas I've ever met in my life. So let's enjoy him because we are reliant on him.

30:46Chris Sutton:He might get injured. He just might get injured. He might not as well. But why think of that? Because it goes with the territory. If you're a footballer, there's a fair chance you're getting injured. Then we have to talk about who's going to replace him. You can't replace him. You can't replace his goals. You can't replace him like for like. The England, whether it's Tony or Bellingham as a false nightmare or Watkins, that debate was doing the rounds at the last Euros, wasn't it? Should it be Kane or Watkins? Was Kane dropping too deep? So that was doing the rounds before. But I think that it is, when people talk about that, I think it's a fair enough point to bring up for the reason I've said.

31:31Chris Sutton:We would all feel different with an England team without Harry Kane in it.

31:34Conor Coady:But for me, we're not the managers of England. Let him deal with that. I don't feel like, us as English people, I don't understand why we think in a negative way like that. We always do it. Every single competition, there's always questions negatively about what if we don't, but we do have him. So let's enjoy it. Do you, in France, pore over what happens if Mbappé gets injured?

31:56Julien Laurens:Yeah, but Conor is right. We don't talk about it. Remember the Euros where he broke his nose in that first game against Austria and after that, it was all a bit chaotic and it was difficult. But there's not much talk about that when Lamine-Yamal go injured because it could be different positions for other countries. We talked about number nine for Norway, France, England, potentially, I think, for Germany and Havertz. But then for Spain, if they lose Lamine-Yamal, they will be in a similar position. Okay, what do we do next? And who can we rely on kind of thing? But they make sure that they cover him in cotton.

32:31Julien Laurens:Is that what you're saying? wrap them in cotton wall not cover them in cotton

32:37Chris Sutton:that would be an advice

32:38Julien Laurens:even you Chris got the idea even you got the idea or McTominay for Scotland I think if Scotland lose McTominay but right now this is not what you should be thinking of anyway you should make sure that those players you get the best out of them so whether your structure is around them whether you play everything to them whatever way you want to use them the ball doesn't have to go every single time to La Miniamale if you're Spain But if you're De La Fuente, you'd be silly not to use him as much as possible on that right-hand side. And same for how to get the best of McTominay in a tournament, etc., etc., before even thinking, who could we go to next if something happened to them?

33:16When you were in these squads, how many people were in the leadership group? Ian's mentioned, just a final thing. I feel like leadership always gets talked about here. So Declan Rice is now the vice-captain behind Kane. is that important or is it the leadership group that's the important bit both both I think it's

33:34Conor Coady:an incredible honour for Declan Rice because I think it shows the influence he has on the squad he's obviously in the leadership group and rightly so because he's a fantastic player but a great leader at the same time when I was there with England there was about seven or eight of us within the leadership group when I was there and I always remember the first camp that well one of the first camps that I went on I was in it and it was fantastic it was a group that you spoke about things off the pitch, the culture in the dressing room what can we do here, what can we do there, how can we make that better and it's a good thing to have within a squad so I'd like to think it's probably similar now, you might have maybe one or two less or maybe one more or whatever it is but it's usually around that mark of giving people the responsibility of leading the group and I think it's brilliant for the manager when you want to be away for so long, we're hoping when they're away for so long that you've got people within the group who can take on that responsibility.

34:17Did you have it grouped in different positions as well or whether, like if you'd Look at England Rugby Union, for example. You may have a leader of the forwards, a leader of the backs and so on. Yeah, no, no, no. Different positions or maybe players who had different roles weren't necessarily going to start or might be on the group that then trained the following day after a match just to get a sense of the mood there. Or was it just done on seniority?

34:39Conor Coady:No, I don't think it was done basically on things like you're saying. It was done on who was a leader, who would like to take responsibility in their moments. I always remember after the first game in the Euros, Jordan Henderson. It was obviously a massive party, brilliant, brilliant. leader and obviously that's a massive reason in terms of why he's gone now but we trained the day after Croatia in the Euros and the session was top really good but Jordan pulled everybody at the end and he just asked Gareth if he could have a word and he said at the end of training that's how training's got to be every single day because them sessions are hard and I'm sure the guys will tell you as well that when you don't start a game the next days can be tough when you train on your own the lads are doing recovery they've just got a good result they've just won the first game of a major tournament and you've got to go out and train but he took it upon himself to really drive it and do what he needs to do and he wasn't playing but that's a big part of it as well for me.

35:21So how will they shape up then, Ian, finally ahead of Costa Rica? What are you expecting them to do? Well, I said earlier on that he won't do the 45 minutes experimentation again, I don't think. We'll see players maybe playing for 60 to 70 minutes against Costa Rica. But they've got this behind-the-closed-doors game lined up against Miami on Thursday. So those that don't feature will then get another run out in that match as they stay here a little bit longer in Florida. and talking of the leadership group we do ask the questions to Thomas Tuchel about it but they're reluctant to talk about who's actually in it but as well as Declan Rice and Harry Kane as vice captain and captain you'd have Jordan Pickford, you'd have John Stones as Conor has already outlined the importance of Jordan Henderson and I think you could throw Dan Byrne in there as well so there'd be at least six in that group who'd be part of a leadership group for Thomas Tuchel.

36:16Okay Ian thank you and Ian will be bringing you commentary of England against Costa Rica on Wednesday night, although given he's struggled to observe an earthquake taking place, how much you want to trust his commentary or not, I'm not 100 % sure.

36:39Five Lights Sports. My favourite World Cup moment? It's the first World Cup I properly remember watching. Argentina 78. The ticker tape, Mario Kempes, Ari Hahn scoring goals from miles out and always one of my favourite World Cup moments, Archie Gemmels' great goal for Scotland against the Dutch. What makes the World Cup such a special tournament is the atmosphere, the colour. It is a meeting of the nations and of people who love football. The People World Cup 2026. Listen on BBC Sounds. This is the Monday Night Club with Mark Chapman. on the Football Daily Podcast.

37:22Let's move on to talking Scotland. Next, their World Cup preparations are complete. So their next game is their opening World Cup fixture early on Sunday morning against Haiti. It's a 2am kick-off. Full commentary here on 5 Live and BBC Sounds. You can watch it on BBC One as well. and John McGinn has been talking about settling into camp in America.

37:48Conor Coady:It's been amazing so far as an experience for the players, for the staff so far. In Miami, it acclimatised to some sort of humidity and heat, which we did. We missed the sun, the weather wasn't great, but the humidity was still there. So good exercises, good training. And then today, the humidity's a little bit less, but the heat is there and we've prepared ourselves in the best possible way. I think we've learned from the mistakes of the last major tournaments and as a group, players, staff, everyone above that, we want to try and eradicate those mistakes and give ourselves no excuses. It's getting real.

38:26Conor Coady:I think you see the fans are starting to travel. The airports are getting busier. You get photos from back home, albeit five hours later than the normal. But it's exciting. I think everyone's excited. We are no different. But there's a steely focus about everyone. the gym was packed in there which you maybe would have seen five or six years ago so everyone's doing the right things and we're ready for Saturday John McGinn on how they are settling in in America, let's talk to our Scotland reporter already out there Jane Lewis, they are a very relaxed camp at the moment, are they? Yeah, they certainly seem to be pretty relaxed Mark, you heard there from John McGinn he was talking about how excited the squad are to get involved in the World Cup again to be involved in the World Cup again.

39:14And they want to do themselves proud. And they have this kind of team spirit. Scotland are kind of renowned for having the kind of brave heart element of things, aren't they? But that kind of belief that they have in themselves and that kind of close bond that this squad seems to have, I think could be quite telling in this World Cup. We've heard from John McGinn talking about it, the likes of Ryan Christie, other key players as well, Lewis Ferguson, talking about the special nature and the special bond that this squad have together. And I think that could be key, I really do, in this World Cup.

39:46I mean, certain members of the Monday Nightclub have been a little curmudgeonly when talking about pre-tournament friendlies. You could take what you want out of them, depending on whether you win, lose or score a lot. And the fact that Scotland have scored eight in two and only conceded one against Curacao and Bolivia is a huge positive. Yeah, I think so. I absolutely do. I mean, I think that the game against Curaçao was, I think, a little bit frustrating from Steve Clarke's point of view. Because, of course, Curaçao lost a man. They had a man set off. And that's not what you want. It's not ideal preparations.

40:22You want, obviously, to be playing 11 against 11. But, yeah, still the fact that they managed to score four goals in that game, conceding one, would be a bit of a disappointment. But they managed to score the four goals. the likes of Lauren Shankland took his chances very well and probably did himself no harm at all in terms of trying to get a starting berth in that line-up against Haiti. And then, of course, there was the friendly against Bolivia, which was just a really, almost like a perfect friendly, if you like. You know, they scored goals against, again, Lauren Shankland linked up really well with Shea Adams.

40:55They kept a clean sheet. Players managed to get game time as well in the second half. Steve Clarke was able to make a lot of changes. So, yeah, I think they'll take an awful lot out from these two friendlies. A lot of confidence. It'll build upon their belief as well that they already have. So, yeah, I think, you know, as you say, you can look at friendlies and you can take from what you want from them. But I think Steve Clarke will be very, very pleased with how those friendlies have gone, especially the one against Bolivia out here in New Jersey, because, of course, that was played in really testing conditions, the kind of conditions that they'll be playing against Haiti in Boston on Saturday.

41:35So that was also a real plus. You can see plenty of positives there, Chris, can't you?

41:39Chris Sutton:Yeah, I can. I mean, Steve Clarke signing a new deal as well. I think that that's a big deal to keep that continuity with Scotland. With the friendly games, they are what they are. I mean, you think that Scotland lost to Japan not so long back, lost to Ivory Coast and then, you know, Steve Clark, you know, was questioned over those results. But as warm-ups go, you know, beating Kurosawa, as Jane quite rightly said, who were one up but went down to 10 men, beating Bolivia by four goals to nil, was, you know, puts them in a pretty good place. I think the interesting thing for Scotland will be how Steve Clark sets up against Haiti.

42:25Chris Sutton:Will he go with two up top? Gannon Doak was very good against Bolivia. Actually, it didn't start the Premier League game for Bournemouth this season. But he's their ball carrier. It looks like it'll be Adams and Shanklin, the front two. Or does he go with an extra body in midfield? I just think Scotland see this as their chance to get off to a flyer. But Haiti, they'll probably be thinking the same thing as Scotland. This is our chance to get three points. So I don't think Steve Clarke will be underestimating them in any way, shape or form. They're a team. They've got Wilson Easterdorf from Sunderland, Bellegarde from Wolves.

43:08Chris Sutton:And, you know, they qualified by right. And, yeah, it's not going to be an easy game. But everybody's looking at the game thinking, well, Scotland, you know, should get three points. It's not as simple as that. So it's, you know, while all the... I mean, everybody's positive going into the World Cup, aren't they, normally? other than England occasionally. So, you know, everybody's confident and the group, you know, everybody's together. Let's just wait and see after the first game when the wheels are off.

43:40Good grief. He has to go for it, Jane, doesn't he, to a certain extent, bearing in mind the other two teams in the group, though? Yeah, I think that's the common consensus, certainly, that you need to try and obviously get the win, but you also need to try and score as many goals as you can because, you know, three points could be enough to get through assuming we don't get anything against Morocco or Brazil. But it might not be. It might come down to how many goals you've scored. But, yeah, I think that is the general consensus. And I think, you know, it's interesting, Chris, talking about how Scotland are going to line up.

44:104-4-2 seems to be working for them right now, you know, against Bolivia. And obviously it's going to be a different game. But the Shankland and the Adams link-up play against Bolivia was excellent at times. And, listen, you talk about the midfield from a Scotland point of view. That was a midfield that didn't have John McGinn starting in it as well. Ryan Christie was exceptional. Ben Gannon-Doke was electric. The energy that boy has running up and down the wing and delivering the kind of crosses that he does was just exceptional and running at players. He could turn out to be a really key player for Scotland in this tournament.

44:48The other conundrum I think Steve Clarke has is his goalkeeper. You know, Scotland have a great tradition of having goalkeepers who have been exceptional. You go back to, you know, even further back than the 98 World Cup, but, you know, further back than that, you know, that Jim Layton's, Andy Gorham's in this world, you know, that he had a, Scotland had a really fine goalkeeping selection headache, if you like, to pick from. This time he's got goalkeepers Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn, who are not playing for the clubs. Craig Gordon has just come back from injury as well. So I think that's going to be really interesting to see who he picks in goal for Scotland.

45:30It was Angus Gunn against Bolivia, kept a clean sheet, made a couple of saves as well. He started Craig Gordon against Curaçao. He needs game time, that's for sure. so I think that almost the kind of two up top if it is two up top the kind of Lauren Shagland and Shea Adams combination that's almost not quite a stick on because I would never try and second guess what Steve Clarke's going to do but certainly in terms of the areas of the park those two have been playing really really well and linking up well so you would have to assume as you say he's going to have to go for it he's going to have to try and get goals and those two right now are kind of proven recipe for getting that.

46:10If you were in that Scotland squad, would you be looking at that first game thinking we have to win? I know you go into every game thinking we have to win it. Of course.

46:18Conor Coady:But you are looking at that thinking? For me, and I know what Chris is saying about it's going to be tough and it's a perfect game for Scotland, for me in my eyes. Would you want the perceived weakest side in the group first? Yeah. 100%. If you get a win in the first game, you put yourself in an unbelievable position to go through. I think Jane just mentioned it there about talking about goals and everything but if you get three points on the board knowing one of the other two teams are going to drop points or both of them if it's a draw you're in an unbelievable position going into the next game 100 % you want on paper the weakest team first especially if you're Scotland but for me it's a perfect game for Scotland they're in a great form they're playing really well they have a striker who's scoring goals in fact they have both strikers who are scoring goals and I think it's a perfect game for them going into it so they've got a real real big opportunity and I think they go through Scotland I think they find their way through whether it's one, two or three but they've got a perfect game to go into and I think they're in great form going into it Sorry, it's just worth bearing in mind, Mark, that playing the perceived weaker team, if you like, I think is a massive benefit and bonus from a Scotland point of view because if you look back to the Euros and they played Germany and were completely blown away by Germany in the opening game of the Euros, you talk to some of the players since then and they admit that absolutely threw them.

47:26They were spooked on the day and it took them a long, long time to go over that. And you could argue, and John McGinn said it in the press conference today, in that Euros, a lot of their big players just did not step up. They did not come to the fore. And if they were to play Brazil and Morocco first up in this World Cup and they were to suffer a heavy defeat or any kind of defeat, then it has such a negative effect. And so I think Steve Clarke will be more than happy with the fact that he's playing the so-called weaker side in this group. Does history put them under pressure and their record at major tournaments?

48:01Chris Sutton:I don't think that the players will be burdened by the weight of history, I think that under Steve Clarke, Scotland have been a success I think I understand the comparison with Germany and what have you and Scotland never recovering from that, the Euros wasn't easy but I think the first game is really difficult I think it's the be all and end all and Scotland I'm not saying Scotland fans are thinking this but everybody's looking at the at the glory game with Brazil and Morocco the focus for Scotland is just solely on this game and I think you know you mentioned earlier you said Steve Clark has to go for it he's quite you know he is he's a manager where he has options with his with his team selection he's a horses for courses type of guy and he'll just be focusing on winning this game.

48:58Chris Sutton:I just think that we just have this habit not just saying in England but in Britain of just underestimating teams because they're Haiti. Haiti beat New Zealand 4-0. So some people may say Haiti are better than England. They could look at England's result against New Zealand and say well Haiti are better than England. That would be ridiculous to say that. Who would say that anyway? Some people may say that. All I would say is this is a side who I think they drew with Iceland this side aren't a disastrous their first World Cup for 52 years whatever it is I'm not patronising them I'm just saying you can't underestimate them, they've recruited really well and the manager's been quite cagey with his recruitment and got players in who are you know who can who can sort of handle themselves i mean just reading up about them you know fascinating never haven't didn't play a home game because of the unrest in the country i had to play i think in you know in the main in in curacao and what have you but it's it's just i don't think this is an easy game for scotland that's why it annoys me where and i know everybody looks forward of course they do in the excitement of you know of the group but putting putting yourself in a Scotland player's boots.

50:25Chris Sutton:It's if we win this game, but the pressure is going to be on because if Scotland end up drawing the game, everybody will write them off. But I'm just saying it's not an absolute gimme how people are seeing this. You know, far from it. But I think Scotland, like Conor, I think they'll go through. I think Scotland will scramble, not scramble, four points, but I think Scotland will get four points from the group.

50:46Julien Laurens:I think the pressure is huge on Scotland before this game. And if there's, because they will be, they have, they're the favorite. So they will have a lot of the ball. They will play against the IT team that is aggressive, but he's also playing a low block and will be very happy. Even if they know this is a game that they, you know, of the other, of the three they will play, they have the more chances to do well than against Morocco and Brazil. Sure. But this is not their style to go out all gun blazing and try to take the game away from Scotland who are better players overall as an 11 and as a squad than this IT team.

51:20Julien Laurens:The thing about the cooling breaks in this World Cup as well is that don't think about two halves of football anymore. Think very much of four quarters of football, right? And if you play against a low block, what is difficult for a low block when you defend and defend and defend is that at some point you're going to make a mistake. But if every 23 minutes you have a break and for two minutes you can go and talk to your manager, get water, that breaks the game so much in a way than if you've been 45 plus three or four under pressure and with waves coming after waves after wave after wave and you would have to defend without losing your focus making any mistakes this game for all those teams that the smaller nations especially but it can go with scotland against morocco and norway as well and brazil as well later on is that you also know that you'll have a break halfway through the first half halfway through the second half where you can regroup, speak to your manager, get a breather, and it'd be much more easier if you're playing in a lower block to defend that way than in normal time when you don't have those coding.

52:17Are you saying it could be quite dull then?

52:20Julien Laurens:I think for the group stages, I think, Chappers, we will see a lot of those games, especially the first two games in each group, potentially, not when it's a blockbuster like a Morocco-Brazil game, for example. But I think there's a lot of teams, especially, again, the smaller nation, who'd be very smart to say, you know, if we take two points here of the first two games, then anything is possible. With three, remember New Zealand, I think the last time they were in the World Cup 2010, I think, had three draws, didn't they, in their three games? Three draws in this tournament, and you can qualify.

52:48Julien Laurens:So I think it's a very, very different approach now with 48 teams and 42 of them qualifying than anything we've seen before. Let's talk Spain, and actually more club story here with Guillain Balague, a Spanish football expert, BBC Sport columnist as well, because we're just going to switch to the Real Madrid side of things with Florentino Perez continuing as president. Not a surprise, Guillaume, although he was pushed maybe a little bit harder than people thought, was he? Oh, yeah, he was pushed.

53:20Conor Coady:He didn't expect this. I think he's still a bit annoyed about it. And he's like, oh, 35%. That's one out of three voters didn't like whatever he was proposing. What's that about? So he has promised to look into that. What is it that this other third needs? But it all had to do in a very clever move by the candidate, Enrique Riquelme, who more or less equaled everything that Frentino wanted to bring to the club, either as a manager or players, with the suggestion that Haaland and Rodri were going to come in and maybe Klopp. The other part of the discussion was basically Frentino has got the intention, to change the way the club is run.

54:05Conor Coady:So as you know, season ticket holders are in charge of the club. He wants them to become owners of the club, shareholders of the club. And to do that, he wants to sell 5 % of Real Madrid, and that will give him an idea of what the value of the club is. But that is also an open door to private money to make Real Madrid completely different. And the other candidate was saying, no, we want the club to be for the season ticket holders, and that has given him one vote out of three, which is not bad. So do you think this will have long-term implications then for Real Madrid? Is it wider than just who was going to be manager and which players may come in in the summer?

54:44Conor Coady:Absolutely. I think Florentino was fearing that the wave of opposition to his idea was growing. So even though he had three years left of his mandate, he decided to call elections because he said there was dark forces trying to interrupt what Ramadit should be about. In fact, what he wanted was the confirmation from the season ticket holders that he can do whatever he wants to do. And the implications are short-term because he's now going to organize a general assembly of season ticket holders. He's going to sell them the idea that he's going to open the door to private equity. And if that is the case, then it changes absolutely everything.

55:22Conor Coady:Then there will have to be a referendum and the referendum will be in the next year. And after that, his idea is to leave a legacy for Real Madrid that brings more money, but also is handed parts of it to private hands. Let's turn our attentions back to the World Cup. Spain in a group with Cap Verde and Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. And now saying, Luis de la Fuente, that Lamin Yamal will be fit for the first game, will he? He'll probably play only a few minutes because he hasn't even travelled to Mexico for the friendly against Peru. at four o 'clock in the morning, Spanish time. And neither Nico Williams or Victor Muñoz, the three of them wingers, very important for Spain and they're trying to recover from injuries.

56:08Conor Coady:But Del Fuente has told us that the three of them will be available for the first game. It may just be a matter of giving them minutes. But by the third game, there will be match fit and could start the games, if not before. We've been spending a lot of time this evening talking about friendlies, the points of them, the importance of them, what you're trying to get out of them. That actually sounds, Peru in Mexico sounds actually quite a tough one. Yeah, but he's got this cue. What does he want to get out of that? Just minutes, change the atmosphere, give them a little bit of competitiveness to a group that hasn't been together for very long.

56:49Conor Coady:The draw against Irak was a little bit that as well, just to make the training session, if you like, of that day with the amount of more physical work to certain players, with more minutes to other players. It was just about that. So nobody questions anything after the 1-1 draw against Ida. Nobody will question if we lose against Peru. I mean, it's 4 o 'clock in the morning. You're bound to lose. But certainly, the idea is just to give more minutes. Honestly, there is such a confidence, and I just don't belong to this generation. I'm so scared we're going to lose the first game and then what that's how we think not the new kids in the block they're like yeah we're going to win the World Cup we're going to get into the final don't recognise any of that but there's a lot of confidence oh is that overconfidence Chris

57:39Chris Sutton:I quite like the way Guillaume thinks I think I'm the same as Guillaume really oh that's worrying for you Guillaume what

57:46Conor Coady:a quick one on Maresca well I think he's the chosen one by Manchester City to become the head coach. And as soon as the club's written agreement, Chelsea and Manchester City, and he seems to be getting there, then he'll start doing more work about what he's got to do. So the hold-up is between City and Chelsea, is it? I think there's a lot of little things, the kind of things that people don't share, perhaps because they're boring. But it means there hasn't been a full agreement yet. But they're on the verge. They're very close. All right, Guillaume. Thank you. Enjoy the World Cup. Be confident.

58:25No, no, we're going to lose. That's it. Chris, Connor, Jules, thanks very much. Coming up on the next Football Daily, it's a special pod looking back on the Magic in Mexico 86.

58:51Conor Coady:This is the story of the greatest rivalry in the history of sport. A rivalry that split football into two fates for a generation.

59:00Chris Sutton:There could be no, oh, Messi and Ronaldo are both great players. There had to be one that was better.

59:05Conor Coady:They 100 million percent pushed each other to the next level. You know, we were the lucky ones who got to see it. I'm Steve Crossman. This is Sporting Giants Messi v Ronaldo. Listen first on BBC Sounds. the leash off your laptop with the processor that gives you long battery life work on the go jump between back-to-back calls stay locked in from brewing morning coffee to burning the midnight oil get maximum performance even when unplugged finally the freedom to move across the room or across the world is here snapdragon that's how get everything you need for your next project at Menards. Keep your gas-powered equipment running smooth with TrueFuel.

59:53It's ethanol-free, ready to use, and extends the life of your equipment. Get a 110-ounce jug on sale now through June 14th. Shop our selection of TrueFuel in-store and check out our weekly flyer on Menards.com for more great deals happening this week.