Brian Brobbey bags a brace and Deniz Undav, supersub: World Cup Daily

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1:56Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly. Brobby, Brobby, Brobby, entertaining the nation on primetime TV on a Saturday evening. The Netherlands hammer Sweden 5-1. Brobby with a classic target man's performance. And the Dutch looked brilliant. Gakpo excellent down the left. De Jong and Gravenberg running midfield. The Graham Potter honeymoon period is over. Sweden rallied a little in the second half, but they have work to do. In Group E, Denis Undov saves Germany. Two excellent finishes for their permanent substitute, as Junior Nagelsmann's side come back from behind to beat the Ivory Coast.

2:24Curacao, population 150 ,000, draw with Ecuador. Population 18 million, a stunning result. Their keeper, Eloy Ruhm, making 15 saves. The joint most ever in a World Cup match. It means Germany win the group, but the other three can still progress. Then there's last night's game. Number 10, Paraguay, covered his mouth. Decision, red card. But as Dark Horses Turkey go out, we'll look ahead to tomorrow. Answer your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly. With me in the studio, Barry Glendening. Hello. Hi, Max. Welcome Leander Charlequins in Toronto. Hey, Leander. Hey, guys. And doing the night shift in the UK, Dan Bardell.

2:57Hey, Dan. Hi, Max. You look good for 3.15am. We are recording before Tunisia, Japan. We'll talk about that tomorrow. Hard to know which game to begin with because they were all good. And Curacao fans will be yelling at us for not doing the first ever World Cup point first. But let's begin with the first game of the day, Baz, in Group F. Netherlands 5, Sweden 1 in Houston. Perseus says, we were in the middle of a packed Dehems in Soho and I yelled out, yes, Max, when Brobby scored. T says, I don't pay close attention to Sunderland. I honestly thought you guys were calling him Brian Brobby as a joke this entire season.

3:30And I did pick him for a golden boot in our predictions. I mean, credit Koomer, Barry, for making this switch because it really worked.

3:38Max Rushden:Oh, absolutely. Brobby was sensational. scored the Netherlands first two goals basically scored the same goal twice one across from the left and the other across from the right absolutely bullied Isaac Heen who really knew he was in a game and could not cope with Broby at all people who've watched Sunderland this season will know how good Broby is how strong he is how deft he is he's got a bit of everything, he's good in the air got good feet real handful for any defender and I'm kind of sad he's put in that performance today because I was hoping he'd keep a bit of a low profile at the World Cup because the vultures are already circling before it started and there'll certainly be more of them circling now.

4:26Max Rushden:I really enjoyed this game I'm going to say 5-1 kind of flatters the Netherlands because it wasn't a 5-1 game. I don't think the Sweden goalkeeper made a save just the Netherlands scored all their chances or most of them and Sweden created plenty of chances but only scored one that was by Anthony Alanga who did more in 10 minutes for Sweden than he did all season for Newcastle and yeah Newcastle fans will be you know Ezek played well as well so Newcastle fans will be watching this game going for various reasons yeah an emphatic win for the Netherlands and Sweden will be wondering how on earth they managed to lose 5-1.

5:10Max Rushden:Yeah. Leander, back to Broby. I just thought Baz made a good point about how deft he is because you could look at a player like that and just think, obviously he's incredibly strong, but that touch for the opening goal to, you know, cushion that ball into Gakpo's path is elite, isn't it? It is. He can do a lot of different things. He's a player that's confounded people at Ajax where he played twice. He came up through the academy there and then briefly left for RB Leipzig and then came back at a fairly hefty fee a few years later and never really did the business for Ajax. And he always looked like such a prototypical Ajax striker, such a Dutch striker, a target man who could sort of do a bit of everything, who's just really good on the ball, really good with his back to goal, really physical, really fast.

5:53And so he's capable of these things. And honestly, with the way he played, it kind of made me wonder, watching this match, whether Graham Potter had ever watched a Dutch team play before. Because Ronald Koeman does not do unusual things for a Dutch coach. He does not do exciting things. He is a Dutch school 4-3-3 wing play ideologue, and he does not deviate from that. And those first two goals that Broby scored, they were sort of prototypical Dutch-style goals, right? Ball up to the target man, out wide, low cross comes back, someone is there to tap it in. So I was really surprised by how befuddled Sweden seemed to be by the Dutch early on.

6:36Yeah, and actually Dan, I see Barry's point about the chances Sweden made, but for the first 25 minutes, half an hour, they could not touch the ball. Yeah, like Barry said, I thought Sweden were pretty good in the middle of the pitch, but had problems at either end. Jokeres had a pretty presentable opportunity when the game state was still pretty close and he snatched at it and didn't connect with it properly. defensively they just didn't like crosses and couldn't deal with anything that came in the box they had their moments but Holland in that first half that's probably the most flying start I can think that a team's made so far in the World Cup everything they did looked dangerous Sweden had to retreat I didn't think they dealt with anything that came their way from Holland well at all there was a moment at the end of the first half where Sweden did kind of get themselves together and they started to play well but didn't get that goal and then when you've started the first half badly and you then go and start the second half badly as well, you might live very, very difficult for yourself.

7:35And I just thought, Potter, when the camera panned to him at one point, I remembered that he was actually West Ham manager at one point this season as well because the look on his face was very similar to the start of the season with West Ham. Yeah, and worth remembering, Sweden won no matches in qualifying, I think, as well. You know, qualified in this, you know, slightly weird way. Cody Gakpo as well. I can't remember someone was saying, on the pod. It can't have been off the pod because we don't really talk about football when we're not doing the pod, Barry. You just criticise my life choices.

8:04And you mine. Of course. But someone's saying that his decision-making for Liverpool is not good. Like he's either too greedy or he makes the wrong choices. But he actually got everything right here, I thought.

8:14Max Rushden:He put in good crosses. His goal was excellent. The way he caught inside Gustav Lagerbielka and pulled that low shot into the bottom corner. I mean he's a very good player I think he didn't have a good season with Liverpool one of many Liverpool players who didn't perform who knows why but he was excellent today I thought I was going to say Jimmy Crescensio Somerville was also outstanding when he came on he made a real difference and for all the criticism we've eaten out of Sweden I still think they played quite well they just could not score Ayari missed a couple Jokeres missed a few and there were other chances they missed but Verbruggen had to make some decent saves and they came out on the wrong end of a hiding yeah it's yes how would Jimmy Somerville fare I mean look he's got a low centre of gravity Jimmy hasn't he and he's got that beat boy that beat boy feeling I suppose it's interesting Leander isn't it how one game can sort of make you a serious contender I don't know you wouldn't want to play the Dutch.

9:23They looked like they had real balance. So I've been watching this Dutch team my whole life. I was born there. And I have a really hard time trusting this generation because it's sort of this mind warp that I can't quite get my head around because there's something deeply ironic by this generation of Dutch players, which is that historically, there would just be a glut of attacking talent, playmakers, creative players, wingers strikers we just mass produce them and if there happened to be a few serviceable defenders that would be a golden generation right and this one is sort of the other way around where there's just this abundance of defenders i mean keep in mind with this team that jurion timber is injured uh matthijs de licht is injured natan ake was on the bench and they still have like a really strong back four although they do seem to be um easily exposed on the counter with with a little bit of speed because Virgil van Dijk just doesn't have it anymore.

10:16And so the problem with this generation is finding sort of enough attackers that could piece it together and they still don't really have an entirely, you know, Brian Broby's been really good for one game, but, you know, does that make for the model that they're going to follow from now on? So this team, I'm just not sure about it yet. I mean, they were very good today. They were solid against Japan, not overwhelming, but I don't know. Any other strong thoughts Dan on this? I'll probably go along with what Leander just says I don't think that one game makes them one of the favourites I don't have them in the top four or five teams To win this competition They looked more balanced I think maybe sometimes teams in the World Cup Will play a system and a team in the first game And it may not work and make a couple of changes And it feels like they've landed on something But I think it was more a case of that Brian Brobby was very good Rather than that whole team came together And played really really well I think having a focal point helped, but I think if it came to the big occasion, I wouldn't fully trust them either.

11:18The other game in Group F Tunisia Japan is sort of kicking off in half an hour's time, so we will discuss that tomorrow. That'll do for part one. Part two, we'll do Group E.

11:29Max Rushden:Hi, this is Becca Moore for the Girls Podcast. All right, a quick shout out to our presenting sponsor, Apple Cash. Summer is here, which means the group chats are already spiralling with festival and summer plans. And we all know the worst part of being the one who fronts the money for the passes or housing. That's why this year we're only using Apple Cash. It's a super easy way to settle up because you can do it right in messages. Just tap the plus sign to get started. And the best part is you can spend the money you get right away anywhere Apple Pay is accepted. Every payment is secure and protected by Face ID, Touch ID, or Passcode, and your transactions are never shared on a public feed.

12:00Max Rushden:Set up your Apple Cash today in the Wallet app. Apple Cash services are provided by Green.Bank, member FDIC. Terms apply. Hey, everybody. This is Taylor from The Total Soccer Show, and this episode is brought to you by Hotels.com. The summer of soccer is right around the corner, and if you aren't using Hotels.com to book the experience of a lifetime, it's worth asking, why? As a member, you save up to 20 % on hundreds of thousands of hotels around the world and earn rewards on every single stay, which means the trips you're taking now help pay for the ones you're already dreaming about. So whether you're following your team across North America this summer or planning a well-earned escape after being glued to football for weeks on end, make sure you book on Hotels.com and start earning rewards.

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12:58welcome to part two of the guardian football weekly uh so let's start then with germany beating the ivory coast 2-1 leander you were you were at this one um what was the atmosphere like in toronto oh it was incredible there's huge amount of german fans i mean and it's it's nice that toronto stadium like the stadiums in mexico and like the vancouver stadium are actual soccer stadiums and they're built that way. They're not NFL stadiums and it's just a different vibe. It probably helps that the press box is outdoors because in all of these NFL stadiums, and we're not going to complain about getting to be at a World Cup, but when you're sort of trapped behind glass, it's also kind of kills the vibe a little bit when you're covering these games.

13:36But there is a great atmosphere. The Germans claim that they had 12 ,000 people who had come on the march to the stadium, which I believe, because it was really packed with a lot, a lot, a lot of German flags. So it was really fun. And this game is all about Dennis Undab, right, Leandro? It is, yeah. First, we have to give credit to Ivory Coast. That is a good team. And they've made a lot of changes going into this one. They made six changes to their starting lineup. They basically played an entirely different front line that they had against Ecuador the other day. and that is a physical team that presses well that can really make teams uncomfortable.

14:17And they did that for the first hour with Germany. They sort of seemed to run out of gas in their press. And then Undov comes along and Julian Nagelsmann's come in for a lot of criticism for his management of Germany. But I think he deserves credit for the subs that he made and for the way that he kind of reignited that German attack. And they finally were able to push their way through and confirm some stereotypes with a 94th minute winner. I don't know, Dan, if on Sprach Sport, they're ringing up and demanding Dennis Sundar starts for Germany, but maybe it's a perfect position for him. His record is absolutely mad.

14:51Is it nine goals in his last eight matches? And he's probably only played about eight minutes. Yeah, I think it's nine and 11 caps overall, or nine and 12. It's certainly one of the two. I think if you have something in a competition that works, why would you change it? It maybe suited him coming into that environment. I think it's quite telling that he's coming off the bench and not Volta Marder. You kind of get the feeling that if Havertz weren't to start maybe Volta Marder would start but actually the best option to bring off the bench is Dennis Sundar and that kind of flurry of substitutions that Germany made really pulled the game into their favour.

15:32I thought Amiri who kind of played towards the right flank and the ball he put in for the first goal I thought he played really well when he came on as well. I think the players that entered the pitch came on with a real purpose about them and swung that game because before then I felt like Germany were in a little bit of trouble. Ivory Coast in transition and in that first half Diamandé just absolutely ripped Kimmich. I think the formation that German play just put him in so many uncomfortable positions in a game where you're going to have loads of possession and you're expected to dominate, which I guess Germany were to an extent.

16:03Kimmich will be alright kind of playing as a right centre-back but I think the way Ivory Coast exposed in particularly in that first half he suddenly did look very very old in in in that german team but ivrigo's had so many so many chances that they could have had things could have gone so much different for them in that game i think they'll look back at that at that moment when adingra took a took a touch yeah i don't need to take a touch yeah it's funny that you say that dan about sort of the the role that undav played because that's exactly what nagelsmann said in the press conference after the game he said i've got this guy who's efficient coming off the bench Why would I change that?

16:39Why would I start him? He's come in twice. He scored both times, three goals in total. I'm not going to make any changes. He talked about flow a lot. That seems to be one of the buzzwords that Nagelsmann really likes. I think we should also give some credit to Felix, Felix and Mietje. I believe his name is pronounced. The Dortmund midfielder. He was excellent. Just box to box, up and down. You know, what good came from Germany in the first hour or so largely came through him. He was very, very impressive, especially as Musiala and Sané and Wirtz were having a tough time getting going against that kind of suffocating press.

17:12And actually, Leandro, that Metzger pass into Undav is great. But the first touch from Undav to like even control that ball anywhere near you is hard. But to put it right onto his left foot is perfect. Yeah, beautiful. He just took it. He spun it. He just lashed it past Fofana, who'd had a good game up to that point. It's a striker's finish, as they say. Yeah, so that means Germany have won the group. This is the first time Germany has survived the group stage since they last won the World Cup. And that's not to suggest that they're about to, but they'd actually gone 12 years without surviving the group stage at a World Cup, which is baffling when you consider that no country has been to the World Cup semifinals as often as Germany has.

17:55They've been 13 times. Next most is Brazil with 11 times. Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it?

18:00Max Rushden:I just presume they always do. yeah i knew they've gone out the last two is it the last three they've gone out in the group stages or just the last two and those are the only times in their history that they've gone out right and and and having watched them leander and you see more in the stadium or you see a different shape of the game like where whereabouts are germany we were sort of saying the netherlands after one game you couldn't necessarily have them as that doesn't shoot them into one of the favorites for this where are germany because they're sort of getting going i guess i don't think i would list germany among the early favorites either.

18:31I mean, there's a lot of holes in that team still. You know, Schlatterbach seemed to be injured and maybe wasn't the strongest suit on that team to begin with. They have some problems there. They don't really have a creator if Musiala's not on it. You know, is Kai Havertz the striker that's going to get you all the way to the semifinals, to the World Cup final? I'm not so sure. You know, Kimmich is sort of suspect. At one point, Nagelsmann had to move Brown over to the other side just to come and deal with Jan Diomande, who was very, very fast. He does this funny thing, I noticed in the stadium, where basically any time a player gets away from him, he gives him a shove in the back with two hands, which just goes unpunished for some reason.

19:15So there's weaknesses in this German team for sure. Yeah, I quite like to, by the end, Nathaniel Brown was just booting it anywhere, like proper old school, anywhere, mate. That was great. to the other game then that just finished Ecuador nil Curaçao nil in Kansas City their first World Cup Curaçao their first point their keeper Eli Rue made 15 saves so that is tied for the most in a single match in World Cup history alongside Tim Howard for the US against Belgium in 2014 I'm trying to work out it's quite hard to work out where this compares to Cape Verde getting a draw against Spain but regardless Barry it's an amazing result for them

19:52Max Rushden:it's a sensational result for Curacao. I think it's probably not as glam as Cape Verde getting the draw with Spain because Ecuador aren't as big a powerhouse as Spain, but there were many people, including my own dark horses for this tournament. Not a good 24 hours for the dark horses, I would say. We'll get to Turkey. But this, I mean, And there was so much to like about this game. Eli Room, for a start, the Curaçao keeper, had the game of his life. I presume he's never played that well before and probably won't ever again. But not only did they put up a heroic rearguard action against an Ecuador side who just huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the house down, they also had chances to win this game.

20:48Max Rushden:there was one stage after half time where Hector Galindez the Ecuador keeper was forced into a triple save, two excellent saves from Bakuna and Locadia and towards the end he had to make another save from Bakuna which had he scored could have pulled off the shock of the tournament to date so it was a real real good game Ener Valencia missed a hatful of chances for Ecuador John Yeboah missed a couple as well but yeah Ruhm was sensational he will be a hero in Curacao and when you say the population what was it 150 ,000 V18 million yeah I was on Google Matt looks like a lovely spot Curacao just off the coast of Venezuela Leander will know more about Curacao probably it's the Dutch some of the Dutch royal family were present to watch them and a lot of their players are Dutch.

21:52Yeah of course. Eli Ruhm 37 placed for Miami FC the other the other Miami not into Miami but yeah Leander what did you what a moment for Curacao. It's just an incredible story and I was working out that if we do World Cup points per capita then Curacao and Cape Verde are the best teams in the world so we should we should power hats to them yeah the dutch king and queen were there um curacao is still part of the dutch kingdom it is also an independent sort of uh sovereign nation um and it's one of those games that really kind of defies analysis right and almost defies statistics to an extent because it was largely one-way traffic uh ecuador had 27 shots by one count 29 shots by another 15 on target although i saw that their xg was only 3.05 so you know shots certainly but maybe uh not always of the highest quality but you know a game like this like how can you not be romantic about it and i just love that the only 0-0 matches in this tournament have also been the greatest upsets there were those two moments barry at the end like i think one was like the 91st minute and the 94th especially the second one where Ecuador fizzed the ball in and like it went off the shin of a Curaçao player and we're all standing there ready to come to the studio going, oh please don't so thank God they held on

23:16Max Rushden:Yeah, it was sort of skin of the teeth stuff at the end but Piero Hincapi as well had a great chance to win it for Ecuador from a corner and he headed over the bar and it would have been heartbreaking if they'd conceded a late winner, but they didn't. They held on and hats off to them. So Dick Otfokat, which as we all know, probably translates to the penis lawyer. It was part of a really concerted effort in the Curacao Federation of just basically trying to mine kind of this post-colonial relationship with the Netherlands. And they have sort of dug up all of these players who are really solid professionals and made this effort to bring them all into the national team sort of in this multi-year project that's really paying dividends for them in a fairly spectacular way when you know it looked kind of after their first game against Germany when they lose 7-1 that they were maybe the one team at this World Cup that wasn't entirely competitive and that maybe didn't super belong here but if you consider that they hung on fairly decently in that first half against Germany they've now played three halves out of four a very competitive soccer.

24:33So this is a team that's shown that it's no pushover. And are they going to make it to the next round? Seems doubtful. But nevertheless, for a country that small to be able to come to a World Cup and not embarrass itself, I think also shows that the World Cup is not too big at 48 teams and that there is room to let more teams into the tent and to absorb absorb more nations and that you know the quality is not capped at 32 teams yeah so germany uh have six points they won the group ivory coast three points ecuador on one and curacao on one so uh germany won the group but below that all still alive going into uh the last games um i was trying to come up with a good room joke for eloi room and i couldn't think of anything room is dutch cream if that helps that's for cream well if he married mark poom to great sort of goalkeeping power couple they could be the poom rooms or the room pooms uh that's just that's as good as i've got at this stage uh it's been a long week yeah look you gotta workshop these things this is a work in progress show you know this isn't my edinburgh show yet um anyway that'll do for part two part three we'll begin with uh turkey nil paraguay one

25:49Max Rushden:hi this is becca moore for the girls podcast all right a quick shout out to our presenting sponsor Apple Cash. Summer is here, which means the group chats are already spiraling with festival and summer plans. And we all know the worst part of being the one who fronts the money for the passes or housing. That's why this year we're only using Apple Cash. It's a super easy way to settle up because you can do it right in messages. Just tap the plus sign to get started. And the best part is you can spend the money you get right away anywhere Apple Pay is accepted. Every payment is secure and protected by Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode, and your transactions are never shared on a public feed.