Canada top South Africa in a last-minute thriller: Night Cup 06/28/26

16:45Roger Bennett:Your focus is very much on we don't want to lose this game now rather than we're going to try and win it. You are conscious that every time you go forward, you are leaving yourself more exposed at the back. You are taking that risk and as 90 minutes sort of hovers into view, you don't want to take that risk. 70, 50 minutes, cometh the hour, cometh the Fonzie and that giant decoy trundled onto the field. God, look at him. First time since, was it May 6th? The PSG game that he left in agony. Played on the left side of midfield. I found it nerve-wracking watching him. Just thinking, my God, you know, he was making stuff happen.

17:19Cutting in, cutting out. My brain kept saying, my God, please look after yourself. Ease your way in. Every time he was on the ball, he did look like a varsity player training with the JV. I mean, he looked like a man amongst children.

17:33Roger Bennett:And you could tell that as soon as he was there, Canada's sense of kind of where the ball should be switched completely to Davies. He was the one they expected to make the difference to find that opening. I'm not sure how fit he is, Rog. Yeah, why you thought he looked. There was one point where he did, he tried to beat the fullback, did about 10 step overs, didn't beat the fullback. And then the ball broke back down, South Africa sort of started attacking. Chased it slightly. And then started kind of walking, did what I do when I have to track back. So it started walking. And then when the ball went out of play, he just sort of, he sort of folded over onto his knees and sort of went, into the Lukaku position.

18:06Which is, I don't know,

18:07Roger Bennett:the technical term, Lukaku position, the technical term in British English is he was blowing, Rog. Yeah, blowing. He was blowing. Blowingly. Well, it's blowing out of his something, isn't it? That's what it means, but we don't say that bit. No, because it's a family show. We'd say genitalia. PG-13. No, it's not. We wouldn't say genitalia. Would we not? No, it's the bottom, isn't it? The bottom. I don't know. I'm going to... I've got to say, he reminded me, my favourite golfer is a Thai golfer, Apu Barnrat, the Barnrat. Golfers have no personality at all. Just golf. Yeah, just love watching him in the open.

18:44He'd like tee off on the first tee, and by the time he'd reached the first green, he would evade twice, and he was sweating as if he'd run a marathon, like literally barely hanging on. That's what he reminded me after about five minutes. But God bless. What do we know? The cliche is football in general, but World Cup football in particular, It's a game of moments. And thank God we had one. 92nd minute. A cross was cleared. And who swooped upon it? Stephen A. Yes, swooped upon it. And just in a moment of sudden, sudden true quality in a game that really lacked it. He just caught it stunningly, sweetly, under enormous pressure, probably exhausted of leg, exhausted of mind.

19:32this Canadian had gone over to Europe as a seven-year-old and he'd gone to Portugal really tried to grind his way through the levels of European football to some to some aplomb what must that have felt like Roar just that that moment that that that goal for all of North America

19:50Roger Bennett:well from a technical sort of football standpoint he was in zone 14 that's the key thing that's that bit on the edge of the box and it's where a huge amount of danger comes from and actually if you look at a lot of games in this World Cup a lot of goals have come from there that's where they need to get players. Eustachio, I really liked him. When he was at Porto, I saw quite a lot of him. And as you say, he's got this quite strange career path. He's born in Canada to Portuguese parents. And then whether he moved back, whether they moved back and took him with them, or whether he moved back for football, I'll admit, I do not know.

20:17Roger Bennett:But he spent a good period of his career at very small teams in Portugal, kind of, as you say, grinding his way through the Portuguese, Chavez, Les Chavez, all these kind of teams that, to be honest, will be playing in front of several hundred, maybe a thousand people in little towns, gets his chance eventually at Porto, becomes a Champions League player, and always looks at home in that kind of environment. He's really neat. He's really technical. He is Canada's other star. Obviously, Davies and Jonathan David are the two big names. Eustachio's career, he's at LAFC now, but his career is elite.

20:49Roger Bennett:And what you saw in that moment was his ability to execute. Something that if you got Steven Eustachio to do that on a park with no one watching, he would do it 100 times out of 100. But under that pressure, it's really hard to do that. And he did it perfectly. He's been great for Canada in this tournament. He deserved that goal. Yeah, I mean, Jesse subbed him off. He's ridden him. So, you know, asked about him a lot, been quite cryptic. But in this moment, it was ecstatic. The response, watch the goal again. Watch the players, the release, the relief, all of them. Even Fonzie bolting in just utter, utter collective ecstasy.

21:25I'd be honest, I teared up listening to Jesse Marsh in that player circle post-game, which he opened and closed with the incredible line, which I'm imagining will be headlines in every Canadian newspaper tomorrow. You are Canadian heroes. And he's right. He said it. And I loved it. I loved it, man. He's right, Roar. These guys are now going to be up there. we're so obsessed with the future of the game in our own nation. There's a Canadian story of breaking through, catching out with hockey, of this ecstatic, diverse, young face of Canada, making the game catch on there as it is here. I mean, it's even further behind there.

22:09But this will be a moment of, what he said, heroes. They'll be up there with the tragically hit, with Rush. I don't like to be hyperbolic, but with Morissette. with Margaret Atwood, with that woman who won the US Open whose name I can't remember, with the kids at the Grassy Junior High. They're massive.

22:30Roger Bennett:They are massive. It's a huge thing for Canada to make the last 16. It's an amazing achievement. It's brilliant for the tournament because we want the hosts to do well. It's important. It improves the tournament. All three of them. Where do they go next, Rog? They go to Houston, that great Canadian city. It's a long way away from Canada, Houston. But obviously there will be plenty who travel. We saw that in LA today. It's great for them. It's great for the tournament. They're playing on a great Canadian holiday, July 4th. Oh, the Canadians will love that. They'll love it. They'll love it. They'll love it for Jesse.

22:58They'll love it for Jesse. And they could play the winner of the Netherlands or Morocco. Fine. In that great American house that JJ Watt built. It's really football. It's coming home to Ottawa. That's right.

23:13Roger Bennett:Big day for Bret Hart. I love this history. I love this joy. If you're watching this from Canada, we are so elated for you. And Matt Peterson, D7U, says, can we recruit Canada as our second country to face a two-headed monster of Bosnia and Herzegovina? We get to pick a sidekick like Batman and Robin, right? Isn't that how it works? I don't... This is a delicate thing, Rog. I don't know if Canada would like being described as the Robin to America's Batman. I feel like that's maybe not. Yeah, it's a bit... I'm talking myself off the ledge there before I go a bit coded, if you know what I mean. By the way, names for the US Men's National Team already pouring in.

23:53Happy US Boone says USMNT Trash Pandas. I like that. Is a Trash Panda a raccoon? It's a baseball, an incredible baseball franchise. You keep sending me the best hats. I love them. I love them. I will take a Trash Panda hat. It's just like, we'll get you on. It's just like a nonsensical name that means it's almost saying, insert crazy name here. We'll work on that one. That James Wilson runs, calls back to PFT commentator. a commenter who gave us US Mutant Ninja Turtles. I actually like that. I thought that was good. Go back and watch that interview. If you're a big cat, quick word tomorrow type of World Cup day.

24:32We've all been dreaming of for years. Big teams, big stars, big knockout matches. Certainly not a day to be working. And this is Rog referring to myself in the third person, which, you know, I only do on emergency days to say, don't go to work. Take the day off. You deserve it. You know you've been working hard, yeah? You know you've been noticed in the office. Just phone it in. Not employees at Men in Blazers, by the way. Everyone else, and if you want to experience the Cup, as you should, pint in hand or bar finder. I'm so proud of this. On the Men in Blazers website, it's got you covered. You guys created it.

25:07It's an interactive map of the best soccer bars in the United States, put off thousands of your recommendations. It even tells you which pubs are playing which games. It doesn't get easier than that, Roar. Yeah?

25:18Roger Bennett:Absolutely. Just sell it a bit more with me. Always be selling. Always be selling, Roger. It will show you the best place to have a good time wherever you happen to be. Change your life. Exactly. Even tell you what songs to put on the jukebox. Radiohead, 1605, Let Down from OK Computer. Okay, those games, let's talk through them quickly. Starting Houston, we've got Brazil. Brazil. You'd say it better. Brazil. Brazil. That was bad. Versus Japan. No. Nippon. No. Whoever holds stated goal of winning the World Cup and more concretely are writing a first ever quarterfinal appearance. No, they're not.

25:58It's a round of 16 they get into. Come on. To get there, they'll need to first face their mentor. Stay here. This is a bit like the Karate Kid. I'm exaggerating slightly. But the J League was launched in 1993. They're MLS. And some of the biggest names they brought in, all of them were from Brazil. Brazil. Brazil. Seven in total from the 1994 World Cup winning side, including the captain of the team, Dunga, Zico. Play Zico. What can he do with a free kick, man?

26:26Roger Bennett:Zico was the great genius of 1980s Brazilian football. For those who haven't... Do you know what? A worthwhile thing to do after this finishes. Do it now. I don't want to watch this. Second screen. Yeah. Second screen. The second screen. Just put Zico into YouTube. You will not regret it. Honestly, he's genuinely amazing. If you've seen people like far out ping pong balls for Nat Anas, it's even more impressive than that what he can do with a football. But I should stress it is unrelated to that. It's kind of related. I've got to be candid. When you watch it, you'll know what I mean. He was just unbelievable.

26:57And he went on to coach Japan in the 2006 World Cup. So Japan's chief has called this their biggest game in World Cup history. I wonder if he says before he says these things, not to be hyperbolic as well, but I love it. Brazil fans are going to turn up in mass at Waterwall Park in Houston's Galleria area for a bit of heavy batuka drumming. Was it batuka? I'm not very good at this pronunciation of this stuff. If you want to go in Houston for a bit of a drum sesh, it'd be amazing. It's like partially meaty, sweaty football fans and like Houston deadheads showing up. I can't believe that would be amazing.

27:34That raised eye model, Carlo Ancelotti, He said his team will, quote, need to show real grit to advance. Again, he decided to beat them 3-2 in October 2025, one of Mr. Carlo's first games. Well, for me, this is a moment of true time for this Brazil team. Are they a true unit like Jurgen Klinsmann believes they can be? Because Japan are not perfect, but they're organized enough. They're disciplined enough to ultimately give us the truth.

28:00Roger Bennett:And they have a clear identity, the Japanese. They have a sense of what they're trying to do, a kind of vision of their play. they fit together really neatly. They don't have the individual talent that Brazil do, obviously, although that gap is probably smaller than it used to be. But in terms of as a cohesive unit, Japan, I think, have been one of the two or three most impressive teams at this World Cup. I don't want to disagree with Jürgen Klinsmann, as Jürgen Klinsmann does know a lot more about football than I do. But Brazil, to me, look like a moments team. They've got fantastic individuals who will step up if and when Scotland give them a goal.

28:32Roger Bennett:or they'll kind of turn the game to their will and kind of make their quality pay. But I haven't seen anything particularly coherent from them. I guess with Ancelotti in charge, former Everton manager, you don't necessarily... Legend. Former Everton legend. Carlo's quite good at riding that wave, at kind of figuring out, right, these are the players in this team. This is what he did at Real Madrid. These are the players in this team who can make a difference. I will empower them. I will enable them to kind of shine. But I'm not sure he's a big, like, cohesive vision philosophy guy. So it is a real test.

29:03I'm not sure I've seen enough to have complete faith in Brazil. Sorry, laughing. You are laughing. Chris Voss said, did Zico teach the Japanese how to do the ping pong bit or was it the other way around? I think history will have to be our guide to answer that question.

29:23Roger Bennett:To be serious, Rog, the other thing is there's a psychological element for Japan. And it might be related to Zico and his ping pong balls. is that facing Brazil is a big thing. You know, to a lot of countries, Brazil are the ultimate World Cup test. So even if they're not what they were, even if they're not how they exist in our imaginations, it is massive. Who amongst us is what we were? Well, that's true. I don't mean to go all Zen Panda on you and all that crap. Trash Panda. Yeah, trash. I don't mean to go all Trash Panda on you. I've got to get you that hat, man. Make a note of it. You at home, I've got to get Roura a hat.

29:54Just remind me. Then in Boston, Paraguay against Germany, who played all their starters in that final group stage match against Ecuador, despite having wrapped up first place and promptly crapped the bed. So kind of like the worst of both worlds. Paraguay have Miguel Alvarez on ruin stated after his red card mouth covering just sickness. Their manager, Gustavo Alfaro, said it was really hard to recover from that opening day spanking by the United States of America, mutant ninja turtle soccer guys. Soccer dudes. Soccer dudes.

30:32Germany will wonder if we'll see some rotation for this. And really what I mean is Dennis Undav is like the only guy that can score the goals and they keep him on the bench. They seem like a team almost. When you look at them, they're kind of caught between the old, the new. And in that gap, there's no identity. And I think for Germans, most unforgivably of all, there's almost no personality.

30:52Roger Bennett:There is a, I don't want to stereotype, Rog. I just did that. Forcing me into these positions where I've been in the game. defend the indefensible. But I think the issue that Germany has... What do you think of Germans, all of them? What I think of Germans are these three... No, I think the issue that German football has, Rog, is that it's so industrialised that it kind of produces endless kind of reiterations of the same player. That's basically... They're very neat. They're very technical. They love a counter-press. They will close you down. But there's no cutting edge. There's no grit. There's no real kind of ingenuity to German football.

31:22Roger Bennett:I think you saw it with Wurz in the Premier League last season. I think Kai Havertz, who is a player I love and have loved, Love. Before the comments come in, I have loved Kai Havertz for longer than you. I first saw him play as a 17-year-old for Bayer-Leverkusen. You loved Kai Havertz as much as Kai Havertz loves donkeys. I love Kai Havertz as much as Kai Havertz loves making selfless runs for other people. Yes. That's how much I love Kai Havertz. And for space to create chaos. But again, he's a lovely footballer to watch, but he's not a sharp edge. And I think that's the issue with Germany. They'll get through against Paraguay, because Paraguay aren't very good.

31:51Roger Bennett:But Germany are limited by that absence of devil, I would say. I love that. Hustlebone says, Germany has a personality. They have Norgelsmann's personality. Norgelsmann just has no personality. That is brilliant. But does that apply equally to Hench Norgelsmann? Because Norgelsmann is stacked now. If you look at him, he is really, he is, that man is in the gym. I just don't understand, by the way. Number one, coaches. Like the guy at Miami, what was his name? The Mike, whatever his name was. Help me out, you can shout it out here. Huh? But no, the Dolphins coach, you like came in as like a nerdy guy, then had a makeover and then was cut.

32:32The Bears had a coach too. Like Mike McDaniel, Mike McDaniel. I just don't know when a coach, like you're a leader, you've got to feel confident in yourself and then you remate yourself. What the players will think about you. Like if you've got to change yourself while you're coached, like who do they believe? Do they believe your inner core? Do they believe your inner truth? Or do you just project doubt to them?

32:52Roger Bennett:Is being like a nerdy data coach who becomes, do America not have the word hench? No, we don't have hench, but I like it. Hench means like bolted up in British. So like if you become, if you're a nerdy coach who becomes hench, do you think the players see that as like the version of she's all that taking the glasses off and hair coming down? Finally, you're beautiful. You're massive. But you're like, you're already made coaches. You were that. You have to be authentic and confident in yourself. I don't know enough about this stuff. and I'm going to leave it there because we're moving into some thorny waters.

33:25Chris Voss said swole is the word. Yeah, that's right. Swole, all right. Swole, all right. God, swole Rog would be unbearable. Last bat today is a doozy, a worm burner of a game. It's a tiny juicier than a birrier taco. It's in Monterey. It's in Netherlands against Big M Morocco. Morocco have three Dutch-born players. We've got a community of 430 ,000 who live inside of the Netherlands. I don't know if we mentioned before, this is very much a diasporic tournament. Their top scorer by unbound Ishmael Saibari currently is employed by PSV Eindhoven. No, he's not.

34:03Roger Bennett:He's gone to Bayern Munich. Yeah, but at least for a few days. Oh, fine. At least because I've looked at the date on the contract. Fine, you've seen the contract. I knew you'd do me there. Yeah, sorry, Ross. I knew you'd humiliate me in front of Chris Voss. And he was here at Division I Play of the Year. and won the title last season. Ronald Koeman was captain when the Dutch beat Morocco in the 94 World Cup in Orlando. Wow! He says he's not sure if we're the favourites. Is that him low-balling, just keeping things chill? Because his team have looked like one of the most improving game-to-game of the tournament, or is it just a new reality, Morocco semi-finalists in 2022?

34:42Roger Bennett:Yeah, the Dutch have looked pretty good, and they do have the usual kind of array of high-quality Dutch players, most of them from Liverpool. but I don't think that means Koeman's pretending I'm not sure it's kind of, there's no fakery there he will look at Morocco and think for 40 minutes, 30 minutes they played Brazil off the park they got to the semi-finals last time they have a stronger squad this time than they did in 2022 much more kind of creativity I think with Brahim Diaz El Canous, sorry they've got players who can kind of make that a little bit more of a difference in the half spaces in the little areas, all that business they are to be taken seriously Morocco I think this might be.

35:18Roger Bennett:The game of? Well, I think it's a real shame that it's a round of 32 game, if I'm completely honest. Prepare us a round of 64 game in the next World Cup. Round of 64 in Spain, Morocco, Eurodwea, Paraguay, Argentina, and Portugal. We're on game 573. We've eliminated two teams, and now we round 128. At last, Timor-Leste and Estonia have been eliminated. I think it could be the game of the tournament, this one. It's genuinely a really good game. All right, ready. at AJ who do you think wins I don't this one I had to do I did the Men in Blazers there's a Men in Blazers bracket it's a lot of fun I haven't done it yet I've done mine one for one you are can I still get into it even though I didn't anyone know am I done you can get into it but you don't get any credit I think Canada are going to win 1-0 today's was the hardest I had that 1-0 come on let me in sir at J Pano who's going to win well I don't know it's the one I keep going backwards and forwards on is my answer don't equivocate off the fence Morocco Rocco.

36:16Yes. I think Netherlands win. At J Piano says, getting Giganmog by a tactics maxer. I don't know what any side of that sentence means, but I love it. At Bradmag, 5 for 8 does. Men in Blazers offer Dr. Newt to miss work for matches. Yeah, do. I've got one. I'm going to put it on the website. It says, I've got a ping pong ball stuck at my anus. And so I have to take the day off work. And they're all signed by Dr. Joe or Dr. Congo.

36:45Roger Bennett:Dr. Joe is my physician now. He is? Yeah. He gave me a full body physical. Gave me a yellow card. And then he finished. I said, how am I? He goes, I'm not a doctor. I was like, what do we do that? I don't know. Results of our very scientific call, they're in. Will Peter Drury say, Worm Burner in commentary? Yes. You're not going to believe this. 69%. Nice. No, 31%. at Vigilante Design says Worm Burner needs to be turned into the Men in Blazers mixed drink of the World Cup. What would be in a Worm Burner? A worm. And some fire. Worm Burners for the US national team. The Worm Burners. What? That's a perfect nickname.

37:26Roger Bennett:Worm Burners. You can't take the truth. Worm Burners. It's the Lions of Tarangar against the Worm Burners. That is amazing. That would be unbelievable. Yeah. That would be unbelievable. That's what we need. And the Germans will fear the Worm Burners. And the Germans... Oh, don't get me off on this. And as the world arrives in the United States for the biggest spectacle in sports, we're going coast to coast, host city to host city to meet the world with the Men in Blazers Match Day Live Tour. These are free college game day style live events taking place just before kickoff at some of the biggest games of the summer where we'll be taking the stage with celebrity guests in front of thousands of fans.

38:10It's going to be amazing. Come and be with us in person or from afar on YouTube. And let's celebrate this some other way. It's meant to be celebrated. Just head to the events tab on meninblazers.com for all the details. To the football. To more together courage. It's time for a very big moment in our World Cup coverage. I wish we had a theme song. Wow! It's time for the Blazies. What are the Blazies you want to know? Welcome to the Blazers. We're now in the blazy part of the broadcast. It has been a wild 18 days. 73 games. By the way, which is already nine more. This is mind-blowing than the 64 games total that in the old, lesser, tiny little week format of the World Cup.

38:55We've already played nine more games more than a normal World Cup.

38:58Roger Bennett:We've already had a World Cup, and we are now going to have another World Cup. That's what's happening. Pretty much, man. Double World Cup. Who wouldn't want? I mean, double whopper. Yes, please, Daddy. also two goals 99 in each game it's a world cup with the highest goals per game average since 1958 when this world cup started isn't that amazing it's incredible yeah and that's up yeah it's up from um substantially from 2022 which was a pretty good world cup that's a good sign i the group stages rog i think have been quite good we're going to talk about them yeah let's do it by the way this is also don't know if you know this the world cup with the most hydration breaks ever.

39:36Roger Bennett:It is. It's up there. And it makes it so good. Macarena, Macarena. Anyway, so number one, let's open with the big picture. Number one, you tell us in the chat. You can fire these away later. What's been the best big picture thing about this World Cup that's made it so electric? This doesn't sound really cheesy. It's the fans split into two things. One is... Not you, Freddie 7. Roger's very cynical about Freddie LA 7. I'm very cynical. Very cynical. It's a psy-op. It is. One is that kind of sense of people coming to the States, having a really nice time, kind of seeing a country that I think, whatever the political context, a lot of people have a lot of cultural affection for, which may be something that Americans don't realize, that there is a lingering cultural affection.

40:23Roger Bennett:I can say that for Europeans. As good as it gets, it's a lingering cultural affection. No, I think people are well disposed to the US as an idea. Sometimes people don't agree with what the US does as a political entity, but that's a different matter. and I think that's been really nice to see. But I'd also say the bit that I've really enjoyed more than anything is Americans seeing what football culture looks like in their streets, outside their houses, taking over their shopping malls. That's what I've enjoyed. Have you seen the video from Dallas today? Of the Argentinians taking over. The sea of Argentinians.

40:57Roger Bennett:To see that in the US. It moves me. Yeah, I find it really powerful. I find it deeply, deeply moving. It's happening. I mean, here's mine. Mine is very crude. Could I agree with all of that? I can get into it so very deeply. But crudely, when I think of what's lifted up this World Cup as like the apex of it is, well, the US boys play this fleetingly thrilling little glimpse of Razzle Dazzle. But for me, crudely, the tournament from the off has had the big dogs barking from the very first minute. This is a tournament where the biggest footballers in the world are all utterly shining on the world stage.

41:32You think about it, look at the Golden Boot Race, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Vinicius Junior, Dembele, chasing Lionel Messi. I mean, he's scored six times. I mean, I know, yes, the goalkeepers are now ushering the ball. It was an honour. Don Leo. It was an honour, Don Leo, to be scored upon. Like Matador. He's Don Leo. Oh, my God. But this is massive names, massive moments, massive competition. And to me, it is the singular storyline. It would be the lead singer of storylines that's made this tournament such a belter.

42:04Roger Bennett:Absolutely. Well, Cheetan Bluster says in the chat that the stadium marches have been lit, which I'm too old to say, but he's right. Although I would disagree with Sean Knapp, who said that if he hears the song Titanium once more, he'll have a breakdown. I would disagree. And unfortunately, the singer, Sia, she isn't affected by criticism. She's bulletproof. Fire away, fire away. I love that song. Oh, do you really? Yeah, I love it. Oh, my God. I'm just seeing lots of people trying to desperately get on the Jumbatron in Philly while it was going down. It just makes me feel feelings. One other thing, very quick one.

42:33I think the fact this tournament has been played because the fans are doing it, the players are playing it in a joyous spirit. Had a lot of spite in past World Cups. You know, players, Albanians winding up Swiss players, you know, a lot of edge. This has been a World Cup of warmth, a really uplifting spirit, almost like the Corinthian spirit of all, where just players were noble. And I'm sure it won't last, but it's beautiful, man.

42:58Roger Bennett:Well, I... And it goes from the players towards the places that they're staying as well. I thought amid the disgrace of Kansas City last night, Rog, and the remarkable game between Algeria and Austria, with its many strange occurrences, the banner saying thank you, Lawrence, in the Algerian end was amazing. It is. And I'm going to talk a little bit more about Lawrence in a moment. It is truly gorgeous. That slide 2.0 series says the Korean fans in Mexico are going to be missed. I just put myself a Korean hat in Koreatown. And then I get eliminated from the bloody tournament. I feel like I did it.

43:33I'm so sorry, Tamina Kimes' mum. Dan Turner 94049 says, keep us from countries with populations lower than Kansas City, Missouri. Chris Voss says, chat needs Rory to share a Spotify playlist. They play it every hydration break. You don't hear it. It is.

43:49Roger Bennett:My Spotify playlist at the moment is mainly Danny Ocean and Bad Bunny and Zoylo. Okay. That's what I'm on at the moment. Oh, Azulio sounds like a good juice diet. Chris Voss says, no, we've just done that one. It's time. It's time for best uniform rule. Why are we doing best uniform? I don't know. Because people like this stuff. Good content. People do like this. I really liked the Uruguay away shirt. There was nothing else to recommend Uruguay's involvement in this World Cup whatsoever. We should apologize to our colleague, Matthias, who is still reeling from it. I didn't like the photograph of their manager.

44:30Just the beautiful, iconic Bielsa on the bus, on his own going home for the game. None of the players got on with him. He's just on his selfie like an old man. Holding it like that, it's genuinely amazing.

44:41Roger Bennett:Your advice whole campaign reminds me of a family holiday that's done really badly wrong. That's the vibe. But that shirt is really nice. It's a lovely shirt. I actually think the kits have been pretty good for this tournament. I think mine is France away. Always. France are always the most thought out design-wise. This one is utterly stunning. You may love the minty shade and say, why? Is it a minty shade of what? It's the copper cladding of the Statue of Liberty. This is brilliant to me. Of course, don't mean to get all Alice Cooper on your ass, but gifted by France to the United States, dedicated in 1886 as a symbol of the profound relationship between France and the United States.

45:19The idea of this jersey is immense. I think the execution's even better. This is state of the art. Hang it in the Louvre. Hang it in the Met. I actually think the Little Mexico jersey on the Little Mexican duck whirling could also be the answer.

45:32Roger Bennett:That's true, yeah. But then it's been worn by a duck, so it's got a natural advantage. I love a duck jersey. A duck goes with everything. Ducks in jerseys. If you don't like ducks in jerseys... Yeah, well, it's not the sport for you. At AA Jazz says, here in America, we call them kits. Thank you very much. That's a show. Uniform. So let's move on. Best jerseys. And the answer is New Jersey. Always the best jersey. Player's transfer fee has increased the most. I'm cheating a little bit here. I think you've probably got the right answer. But Manzambi, the Swiss midfielder, who was the sort of player who I think the Premier League would have been looking at anyway after a great season with Frybird.

46:08Roger Bennett:He's shone here. As we've established, I tweeted about this actually. It was a rare moment of just tweeting for the sake of tweeting for me. Did it feel good? It did. It felt really good, but I could feel it. I haven't tweeted in two years. It's like when you get that hit of nicotine. You can feel the addiction coming back. The days when clubs used to sign players just off the back of a good World Cup have been ruined by nerds. The nerds have taken the algorithm with all their research and their knowledge and their data and their metrics, and they've made clubs do sensible things. I miss the days when someone would play well twice for Algeria at a World Cup and would get a£15 million move to a big club.

46:45Roger Bennett:It's much more fun that way. Who did we have on the other day? who was talking about being a nerd. I can't even remember who. It was Humphrey Kerr. Oh, he's going to be with us on the bus. We miss Humphrey. Imminently. He's driving the bus to us. He's just crossed the Georgia state line. That would be... He would love that, would Humphrey. He's got the moustache as well to do it. He does. For long haul driving. Yeah, I think his knees in the dashboard would be a problem. AJ Piano says Batarina, the Croat striker. And that's a good shout as well. Mine would be Alex Freeman. I mean, I think he has, by the way.

47:12He absolutely has. A lot of players salivate. His intelligence is really amazing. Ayubouadi of Morocco. Unbelievable. 18. Veteran head. Teen shoulders. Tone setting. Power. Brains. Five tool player. Alil Odin. Premier League covets him, I think, right now. Manchester City or Liverpool salivating. Come to Everton, I know you're watching. By the way, return of Talking Odin. Start Tuesday. Humphrey's going to be on the bus. Talking Odin. I love it. We're going to go deep. Why talk about football when we can talk about the Clacken and North mythology. This is one I don't understand why we're doing this.

47:48By the way, these all got handed to me. I didn't make these up, but we're going to do it. Are you ready for this? Hottest manager. I love this one. Is this who we are now?

47:56Roger Bennett:It is absolutely who we are. Who is the hottest manager? This is Instagram bait. That's what this is. Yeah, I think, first of all, serious point, Rog. Please. I think the managers generally are much better turned out now. You do? Yeah. Jesse turned it down today. He went very, like, business casual. I am focusing on coaching and training my team. Yeah, just roll out of bed and I can crush you in my pajamas. Yes. I think Fabio Canovaro, the Uzbekistan manager, is just a grizzled... That photo doesn't quite capture it. No, it doesn't, does it? He's got these incredibly clear blue eyes. That looks more like a cab driver that tried to stab me once in Bosnia.

48:30Roger Bennett:We've all, you know, there's no accounting for taste. I mean, that's hot to you. Really, everyone has their own version of hot... That's a hot look. That is not... They have managed to find the least flattering photo of Fabio Canovaro in existence. Well, I've got to tell you, it's the noise now. Absolutely done, mate. I can't tell you, that just gives me the... That looks like someone's made a statue of Fabio Canavaro that started to melt. That makes me shrivel. I thought you were going to say, Coach Poach! Coachy Poachy! Coachy Poachy! Did you see that LA newswoman? That was just amazing. The one who was like, and Bosnia, you're going down!

49:04We're the US and we're back and we're going to do you, Coach Poach! I think for me, I was going to say Sebastian Boccaccio. say.

49:14Roger Bennett:The Connobol Tribane. Yeah, yeah. What do you call it? The Connobol Tribane. Yeah, I mean, Connobol, he also, Connobol, that's an incredible photo of them. Who are you worshipping? Myself. I mean, the way he ran to the stands to just hug his partner who he loves himself so much, he's found himself a partner who's the exact mirror reflection of him with naturally flowing blonde hair. It was just erotic, man. It's like a Harlequin novel come alive. Harvey Renard must feel very, very threatened. No one puts Hervé in the corner. It's going to be great when he's Scotland's manager, by the way. Hervé Renard.

49:50That would be a great idea. Writing that shirt into a kilt, tucked in.

49:54Roger Bennett:That's exactly... You've taken me off the actual matter of the podcast, which is who's the hottest manager onto football. Hervé Renard or someone of that ilk would be a great idea for Scotland. I think so. If you first press conference, why did you take the Scottish job? I've always wanted a job where I'm not expected to wear underpants. Absolutely. It suits him perfectly. Love it. You'd love it. You charm everybody. What? You can go commando under a kilt? Okay. Can you also go kiltless when you wear a kilt? There's a slight problem. Here's what I'm going to tell you. I believe beauty is on the inside.

50:25So my real answer, not on the outside, is Dick Advocate. Watching him, 78 years old, tear up, not once but twice, when singing that Curacao National. He knew exactly how hard it was for them to qualify. He had to step off. His daughter had a terrible illness. You know, he got them there, couldn't go, then came back, managed them, and reveled in this moment. Watching him sob the first time that Anton was played, I think it was to feel the real power of this tournament because it is emotional and hard to put into words if you're not Peter Drury. That was beautiful.

51:04Roger Bennett:It was a great moment for Dussi Dink, yeah. That's so funny. It did. It was an accident. I got them all mixed up. Just a burlap sack as undies in the Scottish job. Mentioned for Vincenzo Montella, the turkey coach as well. Also a handsome man. Also, I've got to say this because Zach Lee Rigg, one of our scriptwriters, keeps telling me, Jakin of Switzerland, he wanted me to say. Yeah. He's got that white swoosh in his hair, hasn't he? He does. He's very distinguished. He does. He looks like it genuinely. Whenever they cut to him on the sideline, I'm always surprised he's not fixing some sight onto an assassin's rifle in one of those movies to take out a big scope.

51:43He looks like he's done it before he'll do it again. Jason Sligg says, Hot Poche. I guess that's Mauricio Pochettino's new nickname.

51:52Roger Bennett:His nickname is Coachy Poche. Oh, Hot Poche as in Hot Pocket is the joke. Yeah, it's Hot Coachy Poche. We should have a Hot Coachy Poche calendar. One different look for every day of the month. AtSeanNap4458 says, The Uzbekistan coach looked like his answer to What's your favorite food? Is overly steamed cabbage. I like a man who knows it. It was such a bad picture. Fabio Cannavaro is an attractive man. Okay. Here's the other one. Next category. Best fast food restaurant whose stock prices increase the most because of the World Cup. It's got to be Waffle House, surely. It's got to be Waffle House.

52:28We are about half a block away from one. Are you ready for this first trip?

52:31Roger Bennett:I am indeed, yeah. We're going out for dinner tonight, and then we go to a Waffle House. Yeah, we're going to go out for dinner, come back, stay here for three to five hours, then go to Waffle House, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get into a fight. have our food slung on the floor, and just feel so much better about life. And we're going to obscure our identities, do on a road trip across America, turn down millions of dollars of offers. We're lots of Russian bots promoting us from the very off. Recruit JJ Watt as our agent. Oh, JJ. Oh, JJ, I wish he was my agent. For me, it's Buc-ee's. And I do truly think the European mind cannot comprehend this temple to great American abundance.

53:06What is Buc-ee's? You're going to Alabama tomorrow in the car. Rory Smith, can you take Rory? Charlie, producer Charlie is going to take you to a Buc-ee's tomorrow. Mind-blowing. Anyone who wants to make money, I'm just throwing this out. I don't mean to turn this into a squawk box, which would make me a version of that weird man. But if you want to make money, just get the rights to franchise Buc-ee's in Europe, man. If you open the first Buc-ee's outside of Dresden and take those Nuggies over there, boom, shakalaka. Yeah.

53:35Roger Bennett:But something of that scale wouldn't work. It's the same as these massive cars you've got. Yeah. You don't see those in Europe. They don't exist. I think that bookies might be too large for us. We're small people like hobbits. Give me problems, not solutions. Most slop-slop goal of all time, Roar? There's been a few. I think there was one in the Mexico group. I can't remember which one it was. But I'm going to go for the silliest goal of the tournament. I think it's the Muslera mistake against Spain. A weak Alex buying a shot. I'm not even sure how he... It's not like it hits a divot and bounces weirdly.

54:11Roger Bennett:It just bounces normally. He just doesn't read it. He's just like, weak palms for Bielsa. I think we need a little noise effect for when we both agree. It was Muslera. Comma ball Rob Green. He almost chucked it in. Oh, that's harsh. What? On Rob Green. On Rob Green. There was a divot involved with the Rob Green one. Was there really? He's a friend of mine. Leave him alone. Yeah, Clint's a friend of mine, which trumps that crap. Clint said he hit it so weakly he turned around and started to run back and couldn't believe when it bobbled in. So you know what I'm saying. Getting subbed out was just so deeply traumatising at halftime as your farewell to World...

54:46Whenever he thinks of World Cups now, do you think he thinks of them proudly? Or do you... You know, sometimes there's an awkward situation, you know, like a party that you crap your pants at, and when you mention that friend again, and they're like, oh, yeah. It's just going to kill the seven.

55:05Roger Bennett:do you know what i mean no do you know what rog on this publicly broadcast channel i'm not gonna say i know what you mean no not gonna do that i'm not sure i know what i mean i'm locked in a basement watching football for 18 days this is what happens this is like one of those prisoners tests the psychology test i mean musler did to an extent shit his pants can we go on to another category to save myself let me name where i did this most heart lifting goal most heart lifting goal most heart lifting goal most heart lifting goal yeah well ah that's a great question um sensible answer sensible answer sensible answer by the way shout out to adj piano says yeah i know what you mean i think ecuador's peter drawy talked about it brilliant last night didn't he ecuador's winner against Germany.

56:02Roger Bennett:That was kind of, I kind of wanted to say Austria's equaliser against Algeria, but there's suspicions. But yeah, I think... 110 passes for the... Five minutes of possession for the Algerian goal. And then Riyad Mahrez immediately devastated to have stored it. What did he say? I read you in that quote that he said. Oh, he said that he had to respect football. Yeah, why did he do that after 110 impotent passes just suddenly charged forward and scored? And he said, You have to, I had to, I had to make the run. I had to respect football. What he meant, Raj, was it's part of the game. It's part of the game.

56:36Roger Bennett:That's what he meant. But, so I'm going to say Ecuador, that the little flick to beat Germany. And the scenes, Betis SSA, and it was great. I would say, I was going to say Ecuador, those scenes, it did make you sob, even if you've never been to Quito, which I have. I had little guinea pigs. I still feel guilty about it, but it's not like they would have lived if I hadn't eaten them. They were already cooked, I guess. I don't know. By the way, I found Curacao's equaliser against Germany truly profound. Yeah, that was amazing. I found that so beautiful. Yeah, they ended up losing 7-1, but that was the hydration break.

57:08By the way, Noggesman said, yeah, we changed our tactics completely. It was the audacity. It was the fearlessness. It was the moment for me that the World Cup really, in earnest, the match that struck everything that's followed.

57:25Roger Bennett:Yeah, it was. That was an incredible moment. In fact, Curacao's goals against Juradwai as well were... No, hang on. Cape Verde's goals against Juradwai were also incredibly uplifting moments. And Brad Mag, 5-4-6-8, in the chat, says the Real Jimenez goal in Mexico's opener. That was also... It feels like a long time ago. It feels like a different World Cup. Was that 2005? That was in the 2006 World Cup. The 2025 World Cup. But that was a wonderful moment as well. That was beautiful. This is the thing. That when you try and look back over the group stage, you forget all the stuff that's happened, just so much of it has happened.

57:56Yeah, once you've had more than two kids, you just genuinely can't keep anything together. It's all the same crap. Just goal, goal, goal, city. Best fan performance?

58:07Roger Bennett:I mean, do you need to ask? Yeah, because there's a lot that's performative. It's the strats. It's the strats. Make the case, Rory. The descent of a considerable proportion of the country's population to one city, which now is desperate to be annexed by another nation, that is... That is as good a fan performance as you can have. Just the friendliness, the image of Scotland that they've been able to convey, the sense of humour, the joy, the love, the pride. The way they sing Flower of Scotland is... I mean, I have watched the videos of them singing Flower of Scotland at Foxborough about 400 times.

58:46Just to hear that song, which beautifully, very subtly,

58:51Roger Bennett:is about how much they hate the English is truly wonderful. My favourite anthem is the Japanese one. It's beautiful. It's about decency and a vision for the future. And it's so... So many of these anthems are so bombastic. Theirs are just calming. It's not about Zooto's pinpon balls. I find it so unbelievably just clarifying and calming. Then it just stops in the middle. It's in a beauty. It just catches you and you jolt awake and you want to destroy. I can't wait for that to play before. God, we'll have bigger juxtaposition between what Matthew McConaughey here calls the Brasilia national anthem and the one from beautiful, beautiful Nippon.

59:31I love those guys. For me, I give you the Scottish. I think it's culturally so significant for this tournament. I'm not going to play it down. The Norwegians is fascinating. I love that other Scando countries are annoyed that they've taken the Viking thing and trying to own it when it's like everybody's, no! I think the road thing, they need another act. It's like a one, you know what I mean? It's like a one hit wonder. I did ultimately think though, what I think I hope is lasting because the Scottish thing contains so many great virtues, but you nailed it earlier. The embrace of the Algerian team in that hotel, which they chose just because you can smoke in it, which I love just the serendipity of beautiful outcomes.

1:00:16This is the scene in Lawrence, Kansas last night when the Algerian team returned home triumphant. Look at this joy. That's incredible. Look at this wonder. This is not their home country they're going back into. They're going back into Lawrence, bloody Kansas. It's a university town. And it is stunning. It's just, you realize these people in Lawrence, Kansas are going to tell their children and their grandchildren about the days when for, you know, 39 days, this Algerian team came and they felt so alive. So I just say, find a person in life, young viewers, who looks at you like the people of Lawrence, Kansas, look at the Algerian national team.

1:01:01I just love, love, love all of it. It's total, total high for me. A couple more before we go. Cinderella's story. It's hard to choose, but let's go for it.

1:01:10Roger Bennett:I would say that there have been loads. is one of the benefits of the expansion of the competition. I really, really liked Eloy Rune for Curacao. Keeping that clean sheet, I thought was amazing. I don't know. I can't remember if he... Did he break Tim Howard's record or did he get close to Tim Howard's record? I think he got close to Tim Howard's record. I believe he had 15... We had someone on yesterday talked about him breaking their record. I think he had 15 saves. And I think every time they announce Tim's record, it seems to be getting higher. I think it is now... 38 saves that Tim Howard made.

1:01:44The best stories get bigger of each telling the fish was that.

1:01:50Roger Bennett:39 years old, playing in USL 2. Tied it. Tied it. 16 saves. From Miami. And, you know, they went into that game against Ecuador. I suspect, expecting the worst. They'd conceded 7 against Germany. It looked like it might go a little bit sour for them, that perhaps they were the one team that had got here and would be a little bit out of their depth. And to stand up to an Ecuador team who would then go on to beat Germany, who could easily beat Mexico in Mexico City in the round of 32, who are genuinely good, overseen by the Commonwealth Cobain, to keep them out at that age after a long journeyman career.

1:02:25Roger Bennett:It's such a beautiful moment. And obviously he has been overshadowed by another slightly older goalkeeper. But I loved that moment for Eloy Reum and for Duracell. Obviously, as someone who's like a life for Cape Verde fan, it was amazing. But I was on the plane today wearing, and I've been sent another couple of Cape Verde hats. I had one on, and it was full of incredible Ghanaian fans. If I chatted to you on the plane from Philly to Atlanta today, I loved it. You made my day. And I'd be chatting away about Ghana and just the joy of the Ghanaian fans, the Ghanaian diaspora across America. I met a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1:03:00I was like, a lot of guys, he was with his young kid. He said, I had to bring my kid to watch this. So there's many Ghanaians in Chattanooga. He's like, nope. So like this, you felt that electricity. And he goes, he goes, God, it's amazing. You're a Cape Verde fan. I forgot I had the hat on. I was like, no, an American fan. He goes, the hat. I said, oh yeah, lifelong, lifelong. I said, I am lifelong Cape Verde fan. But for me, the Cinderella story, when I do think about it, and I love the Cape Verde story, obviously being Cape Verde for life, it's Kongo, just the background of Ebola. and the spiraling conflict, which is degrading and deadly in Eastern Congo.

1:03:39It's a resource-rich area where there's just, I think, 120, 130 gangs just battling over the territory. There's been millions of deaths. There's been huge displacement. This team is so good. They're so good at football. They're so powerful as a symbol. and amidst the nine African teams who progress, which I do think is the story of the tournament, we were on the plane with a lot of Kongans too. I'm just chatting to them about the pride, the joy, the positivity that they feel about their nation putting out into the world for the first time in a long time, refracting a positivity off this run. Johan Wiese said it beautifully.

1:04:23I'm going to read it out. He said, this is after yesterday's game. He said, it's not easy in our country. There's a war in East Congo every day. Every time we wear this shirt, we think about them. That's why what we show is just to say to the guys, no matter what, we have to keep going because we want peace. For them, I say thank you because we came from far. We came from nothing to be here. And now we write our story with a black pen. And we need to be proud. It's beautiful. That's really lovely, yeah. It's really lovely. Newcastle is the world's Johan Wieser now. AJ Piano says about the confusion about where the room broke Tim Howard's record.

1:05:01Basically, it comes down to a dispute between the notional record and Opta's official count. I believe the most modern football sentence of all time. I mean, I think we're just making it up at this point. Let's finish. I'm exhausted by these blazes with the best song or chant of the tournament, Roar.

1:05:17Roger Bennett:Well, I'm not allowed to quote my actual favourite chant of the tournament, Rog. Yes. Apparently, it's a bit of a lightning round. Well, it's very, very difficult. We'll probably get sued. It's an English chant about financier. I believe, yeah. Yeah. English chance of having to finance here. That sums it up. Tells you everything you need to know. I think probably the defining one, so the Argentinian, you can normally rely on the Argentinians, but I think the Argentinian one that they've written for this tournament is too long. It's got too many different rhythmic bits. The main bit is good. It's a difficult second album.

1:05:47Roger Bennett:It is a difficult second album. They've gone too far. It's too complicated. I like the fact that they have reverted to the one from 2022, which is an absolute all-time banner, but I'm going to be biased. I'm going to wear it on my sleeve for the last time, because they've gone now. The chant of the tournament is no Scotland, no party. Surely. Chris Voss wants to know what the English chant is. He says woe karate. We didn't talk enough about the woe karate on this show. For me, it can only be one chant. And we support the US, the US, the US, and that is why we like it. We like it. Whoa. I'm just delighted you didn't go for our chant-ish item.

1:06:27Roger Bennett:We don't care. I thought you'd use this as a chance to push that. I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted. By the way, hopefully we'll be back on Wednesday for more karate chat. I think the best chant, if I'm being serious, is the English fans when they chant about finance. No, when the water breaks happen, the English fans chant, what the effing hell is that? I just think it's so funny, beautiful chanting at a water break. You tell us what you think for all of these. These were the blazes. I'm exhausted by them. Tell us what you think in the MIB Discord or at meninblazers at gmail.com. Oh, I enjoyed that, Raw.

1:07:05It's like reviewing where we've come on this journey together, and it's gorgeous.

1:07:13We've reached that part of the night where we figure out, oh, I can't wait for the food. I'm excited. What? Everyone suddenly believes we look at the Cal State percentages to peek into the brains of football fans everywhere, even ones that don't have brains. Tonight, we peer into our crystal ball and ask, will a team ranked outside the top 10 reach the semi-finals of this tournament? In case you're running all 10 teams in the top 10 of advance, but outside of that cohort, you've got your Japans, your Mexicos, your Equadors, and of course, we support the US. 60 % of the people thinking outside will find a way into the semis, like Morocco in 2022.

1:07:48Roar, are you one of them?

1:07:51Roger Bennett:I did do my bracket, as I said, Roger. I did my bracket. I didn't do mine. And I think I landed on the semifinals being France versus Spain and Brazil or England against Argentina. I can't choose. It's hard for me to predict around England. It's a thing I find difficult. So I'm going to say no. I think the team, the four semifinals will all be teams in the top 10 of the extremely important and absolutely scientific FIFA rankings. That is so fascinating. News just in at Van Frankenstein says, I'm on board for the soccer dudes. This is good. I think it's gathering momentum. We could sing We're All Dudes at matches.

1:08:27Roger Bennett:What's the tune to that? We're All Dudes. Aha. Is that the one? Yeah. That'd work. Yes. Just contributing. It's not as good as we support the US, the US, the US. That's why we like it. I think that two teams will get in. Really? I think it's going to be, I don't even know if this is possible, because I'm not a bracket frame of mind person, but Cape Verde and United States. There you go. Yeah. Can that happen? Can they both get in? Yes, they're on opposite sides of the draw. America. Cape Verde. But that would involve Cape Verde beating Argentina. Is that... Can you imagine how many Instagram followers, which is what he's doing it for, Vazini would have if he knocked Lionel Messi out of the World Cup.

1:09:09John Oliver always says spite is a rocket fuel of human motivation, but I do believe the greatest human motivation is doing it for the gram. It's time for the food. It's the European mind cannot comprehend and we are in Atlanta. So what do you think we're going to eat, people? We've been here for four hours. One option. One optional. Oh, Charlie. It's Atlanta of food groups. I'm so excited. I hope it's cold. Look at this. It's Lemon Pepperwet from JR Crickets. Roy, you familiar with the work of Mr. Lemon Pepperwet and Mr. JR?

1:09:36Roger Bennett:I am because last year, Rod, we came to Atlanta to do a show in a lovely bar, whose name I can't remember. Oh. And afterwards, you took me to JR Crickets at four o 'clock in the morning. I did. I did. You didn't like how we got to get pat down for rifles. But I had the same experience. Where was I? Oh, at the Columbia Watch Party I went to in LA. Someone very clearly checked if I had a gun, and that isn't something I'm used to, to be perfectly honest. I don't know what to tell you. Is this thing loaded? We're going to do it. Food on the table bar we went to is Brewhouse Cafe, winner of the best bar of America.

1:10:11Come on. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. This is my favourite.

1:10:20For those who don't know, lemon pepper wet is a wing sauce. This is quite hot. Coming out my nose. Butter, lemon pepper, and wait for it. Lemon pepper wet seasoning. Exactly what it says on the tin. Well, we've got to move this along. Everyone's going to tell us we're going to go to Magic City and wave dollar bills around you all.

1:10:39Roger Bennett:We're not going to do that. We're a fine people. Do I have my whiteboard? I don't have a whiteboard. The only thing I'd say that was wrong with that was... Your whiteboard's there. the vague sense of sitting next to a man who was having an orgasm whilst he ate it that was slightly off-putting but apart from that I enjoyed it J or cricket? No, you now it's the fact that you put it in your mouth and you go oh, like that, I don't need that wouldn't be the first time, I can see your thing I think you're going to give this a 10.0 because this is just genuinely this is amazing oh, there's a lot of big caps coming in from fans, fans, Andy Magic City is a must if you're in it this is, I really feel I might let Rory conceal carry certified to complete his bingo card.

1:11:25Roger Bennett:That's very funny. Chris Voss has added a lot to this. Chris Voss has added more to this than I have, to be honest. Come on, Vossie. Oh, you tight bastard. 9.3. Better than Jim Southstreet. Yeah. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. We have a new leader. But then this is a bit of a fix as I've been to before. I know I like it. Don't worry. I think, no, do you like it? You like it. I like it. And we support Jay Cricket. Jay Cricket. I think that we need like a button that we push, whatever. You can't eat into the microphone. I'm not. People in Mesopotamia or whatever it's called. People in Mesopotamia.

1:12:01Roger Bennett:Mesophonia. Yeah. I need something a little bit cooler. Okay. I don't care. Let's just finish this off. We've traveled around our country. Keep sending us suggestions for Atlanta because I think we're here for 11 days. It's going to be a lot. We're not going to Magic City. I want to make that clear. Just keep telling us where to go. Work soccer dudes into all the young dudes by Mott the Hoople and Bowie. People say musically inclined GFOPs make it happen. Look, tonight's letter comes in song form from the great Scott Horowitz. We'll take all Atlanta, by the way, recs from you guys because we're here forever.

1:12:33We're not going. So we need to know where to go. Night Cup turned into a late night talent show. Scott did not send us a letter. He just sent us an MP3 attached, and it's US Chant 2026, all caps. I did think, should I open this? Is this sent to me by a Nigerian scammer? But I don't know many Nigerian scammers that are called Scott Horowitz, Roar. Well, that's what they pretend to be called. Here is Scott Horowitz's chant for 2026. Roll tape. Bow! Goal scorers in paradise. Paradise McKinney, Pippin, Dest. ran a ball again right they're just a goal scorers in paradise oh is that an advertisement for edibles scott that would be my first reaction what's your

1:13:23Roger Bennett:reaction to that uh don't do drugs yeah my reaction to that is that um you can decriminalize things but maybe not you shouldn't use them all the time just because things are decriminalized Doesn't mean you should just chew them all up, baby. Look, I love it. I think it's good. I don't think it's a chance of shite, but we don't care. It's not on that caliber. But keep sending this to yourself. Last time we had a poem. Today we've got a real chant from the Mighty Mighty. And in all honesty, I am sorry to be rude to you, Scott Horowitz. You're one of my favorite. Like Randy Newman is up there as a lyricist.

1:13:58I think you're just behind him. Send us your postal address and we will send you a patch because you deserve it. Keep coming in with all your thoughts, your experiences, your memories, your poems, your songs. I love all of them. I can't wait to hear all your chants in person for stop five of our Match Day Live. I'm still holding this, by the way. This Wednesday, July 1st in Atlanta, we'll be at Founders Green in South Downtown. Yes, we will.

1:14:25Roger Bennett:This is my favorite poster so far. It is. But I feel, and I've spoken to him about this, we've got the order on. I spoke to Horny last night. Horncastle is very, very much of the view. We've got Big Boy at the top of Outkast. We've got Larry Nance Jr. at the bottom. And in between, we've got a very, very, I'd say, Hussute-looking James Horncastle. It looks like he's just conquered Everest and come back down. It does. He looks like he's conquered Everest, but mainly the kind of Nepali Porters have done most of the work. That's what it looks like. But Horncastle is very much of the view that his name should be above Big Boy's.

1:14:57Yeah, that's fair.

1:14:58Roger Bennett:Yeah. Medium boy. Yeah, James Horncastle regards himself as the only Big Boy in town. That's fair, but it's going to be amazing. Can you imagine Big Boy meeting James Horncastle? I can't wait for Big Boy. It's a luscious left foot. It's going to be gorgeous. You're going to talk about football, this moment, Atlanta, the Owls. Kicks off at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Any of you can come in Atlanta. Come be with us. It's a morning show. Who's on the coffee? Who's on the beer? Who's on both? Come be with us. Give us a hug. Give us a cuddle. Look out at this hotel basement. We'll see the sun. Link for more details.

1:15:31Come and be with us because it is magic. It's in the notes below. Big boy is big on Syria. Reacts to Scott Horvitz song rolling in. God, you guys are very quick with your positive criticisms. That vigilante design song.

1:15:49It muffs. That Jason slide. What I just said.

1:15:57Roger Bennett:That has some bones. That's so...

1:16:08Roger Bennett:There was one who said he was going to report us for offensive content. I've not jumped chat like J.O.L.T.

1:16:21Scott Horowitz has got feelings, guys. I liked it. Before we go any further, but we just got the transcript from Jesse Mars' speech to his Canadian players in the wake of tonight's match. Can you read that?

1:16:36Roger Bennett:Guys. Shall I do it in an American accent? Yeah. Sack of dudes. Sack of dudes. Think about the two years we've been together. Think about how we talked about sticking to the plan. I want to be Irish that's right. This is a bit like Crime Keeper. Sticking to who we want to be. Playing aggressive. Accessing the quality. You guys showing your character. You guys are Canadian heroes. Canadian heroes. Canadian heroes for the future children of this country who play this sport. This sport has a big future because of you guys. Where's the microphone? You should be so proud of who you are. That camera over here.

1:17:12Roger Bennett:You should be so proud of this game. Is it still on me? You went after it moment after moment. You are Canadian heroes. Can I just say I'm a cynical man and an awful man. I adore Jesse Marsh. I think he's unbelievable. He has taken a path that no one as a men's soccer coach in the United States has taken. And to end up leading Canada into this incredible moment, just sing your song, Jesse Marsh. You singular, self-described crazy madman. I can't wait to speak to you. I can't wait to revel in your glory. I love Canada. I love the nation. I love a Montreal bagel. I adore being in Toronto. I love everything about it.

1:17:49Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I hope you're all dancing. I hope you're all singing. I hope you're all hugging your kids, your parents, your loved ones, and just making memories. That's it from us. God, what a show. What a journey. We'll be back tomorrow night, live once again, maybe on the bus. We don't know. Come check it out on our YouTube channel. It's in Georgia. Lou Littler is going to be with us after this. He's a darts child prodigy, 19 years of age, huge football fan, just a joy to talk to. Check it out on our YouTube channel. This is Rog, still holding this, saying big, big love and courage.

1:18:26I've loved being with you tonight. Oh, Canada. Go, Canada. Jesse, you king. Here's Luke Littler. One of the joys of the World Cup, I've got to be honest, is watching the world come over here and fall in love with America, like waffle by waffle, burger by burger, chicken wing by chicken wing. Is there anything that you do look forward to doing when you're in New York? Yeah, I mean, I think it's just trying, obviously, the drinks that they have over here, obviously the range of food because it's so different over here. And like you said there, it's good to see obviously plenty of fans getting along with each other.

1:19:03Even the Americans said obviously that Scottish have been good, us English have been good, obviously the Norwegians, the Netherlands. And yeah, I think it's just been, other than the great tournament, the fans are there and that's what us players need, not only for the darts, but for the football. The fans is what makes it. I want to dive into it. It's almost been like the love of darts fan base has kind of spread into football. I can't remember a tournament where it has just been more welcoming, more joy, more good vibe. It has been amazing. But what did you make of the trip to MetLife this weekend?

1:19:37You watched England beat Panama. What was it like to watch the English national team in World Cup play in an NFL stadium? Yeah, it was good. Obviously, we got off to a very slow start. and obviously I think it was half an hour, maybe 40 minutes through, we got the news that Croatia went 1-0 up and then obviously surely the players knew that we needed to win this game to obviously top the group and obviously avoid Portugal, which we have done in the last 32. But yeah, it was good. Very wet in the stands, but it was all worth it in the end. Must have felt like being back home in the north-west of England, that.

1:20:14Yeah, it was good. It was good just to be in the mix as well with all the fans, all the supporters. and obviously when we score a goal, Chase the Sun comes on and everyone, all the fans are looking at me and we're all singing along. And yeah, a very good day out. Watching Harry Kane play the England scoring record was incredible. What was that like to experience? Yeah, it's incredible. Obviously, Harry's done a lot of great things, not only for England, but obviously for his club as well. Obviously, Kane and Jude, they're obviously the main players at the minute. As long as they keep scoring and assisting each other, then we can go far.

1:20:46You are close with this English team. I love watching you in March. Thomas Tuchel asked you to come into camp to organise the Three Lions Dart Championship. I believe Tuchel asked you to, quote, teach these boys a lesson. What lesson did you give them and what was that like for you? Obviously, we had a little game and I think a lot of the players were in teams of four, teams of five, just going around the board and I think I went around the board in, I don't even know, like 12, maybe 13 or 14 darts around the board and everyone was like, how have you done that? And yeah, it was just, obviously, it was good to see them before coming over here to the World Cup and yeah, we've done a good job so far, so hopefully they can carry on and hopefully bring it home.

1:21:28What players impressed you with their darts mentality? I don't know about mentality but Phil Foden was probably one of the best obviously Phil's not in the squad but yeah I'd say Phil's the best I think he hit a 180 minutes before I walked in Did he really? He's got some serious he's put some serious time in Yeah I think him and Ramsdale were the most like practising they didn't want to get off the board I think when everyone went for dinner I think I was stood with Foden, Ramsdale and I think Stones we just kept practising and kept practising was like oh the food's on so we went and went and sat down, had some food in and played again.

1:22:03Let's talk about England yesterday. You were at the final group stage, which was a Panama game. Nervy first half, as you said. Eventually, quite comfortable 2-0 win. Got around the 32 game coming up against first-timers DR Congo. What were your expectations for England going into this tournament, honestly? Yeah, I mean, obviously, we've got a strong opportunity. Obviously, we've got a very, very strong squad. But if you look at the right-back position now, we've got no right back Rhys James is injured Levermento's had to go and then you obviously Tuchel goes and calls up Chalaba from Chelsea who's a centre-back so as fans you're kind of questioning where's Trent or even I said it where's Kyle Walker obviously he's been at Burnley this season but we all know Kyle is rapid he can get a crossing he can get a passing but yeah we definitely got the squad so yeah I'd say I'd say semi-final final or even go on and win it Who's your favourite player Luke, who makes you believe?

1:23:01This tournament right now, I'd say Drew Bellingham's been the best. Obviously, I think maybe Harry's scored more goals, but obviously that's obviously what he does and what he's been doing for the last God knows how many years. But yeah, just what Drew Bellingham does with the football is sensational. Do you relate to him? He's an Englishman, but he's almost got an American mentality. He's just like, I'm a winner. That's what I'm going to be. That's what we're going to be. Yeah, I mean, even obviously when he was at Borussia Dortmund and obviously now he's at Real Madrid, and he's just constantly playing game after game.

1:23:31And even yesterday, he just presses everything. And yeah, that's what we need as a team. What do you think of Thomas Tuchel's management? Yeah, I think it's good. Obviously, it's different to what he had at Chelsea. Obviously, he was doing a three-back with the two wingers at Chelsea. He's sort of doing it now. Obviously, when we go and attack, there's sort of three defenders that sit back. Like Panama were counter-attacking us. that's like nearly a four on three, maybe a five on three. But yeah, it's good what he's doing. We can all see what he's trying to do. And yeah, it's worked out so far.

1:24:03Group stages. Fela England had maybe two good halves of football in the three matches. If you were managing England, what are you changing? What would you do to get the best out of these players? I think it's very difficult to say because everyone's been doing very well. But like I said there, we don't actually have a right-back who plays right-back and who has played right-back last season. I'd say that's the only downfall that we have. Can I get a score prediction? England-Congo. It's a hard one to pick. Same as Panama. They play a five-back. I mean, obviously, they've got a very, very solid back line.

1:24:36Wanbissaka's right back. Twan Zebe used to play for us. Masuaka, who was at Sunderland. He was also at West Ham. I think it was at Mbemba, who played in France as well. I know everyone at the back. So, yeah, it's going to be hard to break them down. Is this the collectibles talking here? No, this is FIFA. All FIFA knowledge. But yeah, I'd say 2-0 or maybe 3-0.