Chelsea 3-0 PSG Club World Cup Final Recap with Rory Smith: Men in Blazers 07/14/25

23:10Roger Bennett:But I think to switch his brain off and just play purely on instinct, the ball was perfect instinct. That first half, he was unplayable because he didn't seem to notice he was playing in this massive game. I did love Glenn in our Discord saying, all I can hope is that Cole Palmer's doing the exact same thing in the exact same stadium in a final this time next year. I actually found that third goal to be utterly jaw-dropping. It was like, my God, PSG's dynasty. It's like over in just like three months. That's how long dynasties last these days. Empires must fall, this one. It was like they look so jaw-droppingly human, flawed, vulnerable.

23:53Just that, you know, the aura that they had, utterly, utterly, just gone. And it was, that third goal was remarkable.

23:59Roger Bennett:It was beautiful. But the other thing is, well, Pedro, I think is fascinating. because he's not a surprise. I think he signed for Watford when he was 17. He's been around for ages. All of the major teams have looked at him, both at Watford and at Brighton. And a lot of them, I think, were kind of unsure about how his form at Brighton, which again was kind of up and down at times, might translate. And all transfers are a risk, but a transfer like that is a particular risk because you're paying a lot of money for a player who sometimes looks amazing, sometimes doesn't, and you're not signing another striker.

24:32Roger Bennett:You can only run so many strikers. We saw Liam De Lappe today. We won't see that that often in the Premier League season. But João Pedro has improved Chelsea inordinately, immediately. Yeah, all immediately when he arrives. Where is he going to play? He's going to play up bloody top. He's going to score bangers for fun. I mean, his confidence, watching him in the flesh, is really, really remarkable. Because, I mean, your Colt Palmer theory, I don't know him well enough to know whether it's true or not. but João Pedro who's arrived at this team mid-tournament he looks like he's utterly in sync and that he belongs his confidence is palpable it's beautiful he's kind of he's made Chelsea make sense you know I really like Nicholas Jackson I think Nicholas Jackson's a really smart forward his movement's brilliant his finishing's a little bit erratic but he's a really good player Dilap is excellent when he came on he looked really good but with João Pedro in the team Chelsea look kind of complete.

25:31Roger Bennett:Quick one though, even 3-0 down, did you not expect PSG to snap up like the Undertaker, get back into this? Well, yeah, because they'd had that one chance early on when Desiree Douwe tried to pass to Afro Fakimi. Little bit of cockiness there, little bit of complacency. Almost too much collective football. Just put your foot through it. It was almost too... It was like, we don't score the goals, we scored the beautiful goals. It was, we are so good. look what we can do and I think maybe the game turns on that because that was nil-nil and they then had a chance to switch around Nevers late in the first half Sanchez made a few saves in the second half which is not a sentence I ever expected to say they did have their opportunities but they never kind of gathered there was no storm no storm arose and what you expect from PSG is a storm and I do wonder that might be tiredness it might be how well organised Chelsea were how disciplined they were I wonder as well whether it might be the heat because we've seen that in the other semi-finals the teams that score first it's really hard to chase a game when it's that hot it's like playoff hockey score first you've won the game baby PSG I've got to say that signature kick off of terror and menace the boot in the ball right out we're playing the game there slightly less menacing when they're being knulled down I love how they commit to the bit though they did it in the Champions League final and you couldn't really criticise them after the Champions League final but it's a really stupid thing to do just keep the ball no I mean it is It's genuinely like battles beginning in the Middle Ages where the large 6 '5", Arthur of Oak Forest, does the flaming hammer that no one else can lift and flings it into.

27:09That's what it is. It's like, oh, my God. It's meant to break you symbolically.

27:13Roger Bennett:But when you're kind of 3-0 down, it's like, that's our ball. Thanks. Yeah. We were all waiting there for PSG to snap back. 50-second minute. None other than Dembele found himself in between Chelsea, centre-backs edge of the six-yard box, only to see, what is that? The large Iberian pour of Robert Sanchez. Who knew that was on the end of his hands? We had no idea. He was brilliant in this game. Felt brilliant, looked brilliant, lived brilliant. Six saves, complete control. He's often seen as the truly weakest link in the Chelsea starting 11. This sent a number of keyboard warriors scurrying back to their own timeline.

27:54Delete, delete, delete. does this performance change reality at all that he's mistake prone or was it just like to be a goalkeeper at the Premier League of any level even a third string you've got to be pretty bloody good and this was just this was just the sublime performance for him where everything

28:10Roger Bennett:kicked in was a man who absolutely hasn't said anything publicly about how bad Robert Sanchez is in the last week I think I'm completely neutral on this Rog but it doesn't change the fact that he probably needs to be upgraded, that he's proved over last season that he isn't reliable enough. Or if Chelsea are going to stick with him as first choice for this campaign, you are taking a risk. You are assuming that what we saw last year was the blip and that there is something else. Obviously, he's a really good goalkeeper. He wouldn't be playing for Chelsea or have played for Brighton if he wasn't a really good goalkeeper.

28:43Roger Bennett:Whether he's good enough to help them win the Champions League or the Premier League, I'm not sure. so it may be that this is kind of his golden hurrah for Chelsea if they can find another keeper but then at the same time on a human level it'd be brilliant if this was the performance that kind of kicked him on to new levels wouldn't it that would be wonderful I love the meme of him that people have photoshopped in the Peter Cech helmet the ultimate tribute after that opinion well just became lesser game where there was always up for grabs it was who would win the RG Borgie remarkable 85th minute it's João Neves just brazenly, blatantly grabbing a tuft of curls of Mark Kukurea's curly locks, giving them the old tug.

29:26That hair in those kind of moments when the heat's rising, it's just a provocation to elite footballers in those moments.

29:34Roger Bennett:I feel like João Neves let himself down a little bit. Shouldn't be pulling someone's hair. Come on. Unless you play for Tottenham. Unless you play for Tottenham. I mean, I suppose if it's there and you want to grab it, then fine. but it kind of summed up where PSG were at that point, didn't it? It kind of made it clear they have, I mean, they were 3-0 down, they were going to lose the game and they were quite annoyed about it. It was who is going to win the afters and that was that. Things truly turned unsavory. Final whistle of skirmishes all over the field, repeat. One flashpoint involved PSG manager Luis Enrique, who we praised for his wonder, his empathy, his humanity, his leadership, charged into an argument involving Donnarum who needed to be, It took about five minutes for the coaching staff to calm him down afterwards, constantly pulling him away, constantly trying to charge back.

30:19But it was Lewis Enrique gave João Pedrez sort of a shoved, slashed open hand slap. I don't know technically if that's a move. It's pretty unbecoming of a gent that we admire so much.

30:31Roger Bennett:Yeah, seeing a manager involved is particularly bad, I think, because they are meant to stand slightly apart from the kind of melees that happen occasionally after games. I'm not quite sure how FIFA will feel about it because it is obviously in theory the sort of thing we don't want to see literally nobody in MetLife was unhappy about it everyone thought it was quite funny it is a little bit unbecoming it's not re-sportsmanlike but at the same time it kind of suggests that PSG were annoyed to lose and that's kind of what FIFA wanted to happen they wanted this to mean something to the teams I'm not quite I don't quite understand why it got so bad tempered because the game did get a little bit kind of sort of dirty but nothing particularly spectacular Obviously, Juaneva being sent off is not great, but it wasn't an especially kind of unhappy game.

31:17Roger Bennett:I think PSG may be objected in the first half to the physicality of Caicedo and Enzo Fernandes in particular. It seems to come out of nowhere, but it does indicate, and I'm not excusing it, it does indicate that PSG were into it. They wanted to win the game. I think it means that Luis Enrique will be banned from the opening game in four years' time at PSG at the Club World Cup, which they will be against Everton Football Club, but I'm getting ahead of myself there. Let's first of all put PSG aside here by saying that loss and the head loss at the end really summed up almost a transcendently bad day for this PSG team.

31:51They are treble winners. We have marveled. We've talked about Dynasty, a team that allowed one goal in their past five games. They absolutely rolled over Inter in the Champions League final. They just gave Real Madrid a red-ass smacking, a 4-0 demolition, but they saw Chelsea pump three past them in 45 minutes. How can one understand it? Pep Guardiola often talks about the hardest job for a team that wins, wins easily, wins a lot, is that battle against complacency.

32:24Roger Bennett:Yeah, but we see it quite a lot now, don't we, where teams go on these tears, and then when they fall, they fall pretty spectacularly. I think that's definitely been a trend in modern football in the last, I'm going to say, 10 years, even if you go back to all of those famous kind of collapses from Barcelona, I think teams are now so, the standard is so high for both sides. Everyone is so good and so well organized. And the rich teams, Chelsea and PSG being two of them, have such quality that if you're just not quite on it by 0.1%, then that can open up a chasm. It's kind of like on a beach where a little channel suddenly becomes this huge river.

33:04Roger Bennett:I think PSG made a sort of tactical error that was exploited by Chelsea in the first half. And that's all you need. You go. And suddenly they've collapsed. I guess the players must feel, and not being a player, I don't know this for certain, but they must feel like there's nothing they can do about it. The manager tries to change it. PSG did have chances. Nothing clear-cut, but they did have chances. They never seemed to gather enough strength to kind of really put Chelsea under pressure. and then the physical fatigue kicks in. So I think we are seeing now, I'm old enough to remember, Rog, when games between really big teams, and especially finals, ended 1-0.

33:44Roger Bennett:That was the standard. That was how football was. And you knew when you were watching a Champions League semi-final or a Champions League final that you would not get a great game because that wasn't the point of them. The jeopardy and the drama was in how high the states were. the Juventus AC Milan 2003 Champions League final is the gold standard for dreadful football match. But it didn't change the fact that you watched it because it was the Champions League final. The last 10 years, since the 10th Guardiola-Clopp era, what we've seen is that big games turn on these tiny things. And when they do, you get these huge straw lines.

34:19Roger Bennett:You get teams losing 4 or 5-0. Tottenham beat Manchester City 4-0 last season. And then lost 8th straight. And then finished 17th in the Premier League. when things go wrong they tend to go wrong really spectacularly now and I think that's what PSG did to Real Madrid they worked out how to attack Real Madrid Real Madrid gave them two goals and it's what happened to PSG today Chelsea exploited something and they exploited it relentlessly we've got a great game and Doja Cat is what you're saying but let's give Chelsea huge huge love because at the end of the game there's only one truth in words that have only been said I think before in Todd Burley's dream life as he speaks out in his REM State Chelsea Football Club are world champions.

35:03This was a seismic victory. Comprehensive. No one gave them a chance. They were far the better team. They had the best player on the field in one game. This competition has divided people. It's got to be said, we'll talk about that in a minute, but you've got to give them huge, huge credit. Enzo Mureska has won two trophies in his first season in West London. Even the greatest hater cannot diminish what they achieved today. I mean, this season has been like watching Enzo Mureska do one of those 20 ,000-piece jigsaw puzzles or those 800-piece IKEA furniture assemblies. And that's what he's done with his squad at this side.

35:39So where are we now? Do we have to admit Chelsea Football Club are a very, very good football team?

35:48Roger Bennett:Yeah. I think we kind of knew that, even though we knew at the same time that they're a work in progress. I think there's two things that Chelsea have done that I think are very forward thinking, and I don't know whether they've done them on purpose. It's not a coincidence that the two teams in the final were the two youngest teams in the competition. That's important. They have gone for youth. That gives them energy and Brio and all that stuff. That, I think, is a very modern way of seeing it. They've also got a massive squad. And to me and to most people, their squad is far too large. economically it's a bit stupid because you that all those players that they don't need anymore you're gonna have to swallow a massive loss on them because no everyone knows you need to sell you need to sell Raheem Sterling so why would anyone pay you a bid fee for Raheem Sterling and they're just not going to but there are now so many games all the time every summer every summer has a competition there's no spare time there's not long breaks between seasons god knows how long they'll have for pre-season it will be two or three weeks at most you need a bid a squad.

36:48Roger Bennett:You need to have players who you can count on. I don't know whether that's deliberate, whether Todd Bowley and Bedadet Barley and Paul Wynn Stanley and all the other people involved in recruitment at Chelsea, I don't know whether they sat down and thought let's look at the way this game is going. We are soon going to be playing 70 games a season as standard. We can't have a squad of 23. We need to have a squad of 28. I don't know whether that's what they've done but it's what they've happened upon and it really works for them. God bless Chelsea. Also, by the way, God bless Todd Burley who met with Luis Enrique after he sat Graham Potter, went Pochettino ultimately in April 2023.

37:24He must have glimpsed this future. This is what he knew, you know. This is what he imagined. What do you imagine this victory will feel like, will be received, will be understood? Chelsea have won everything. You know, they've won Champions League. They've won titles. They've won almost by divine right for periods. Where didn't this troopy fit in the pantheon?

37:48Roger Bennett:Well, it's quite important in Chelsea's self-identity that they are, I think, one of just a handful of teams who've literally won everything. Every trophy that has existed, they have won. They're completionists. They are. They are the champions of everything. They've been world champions before. They won the UEFA Cup, the Europa League. The Florida Cup. The Cup Winners' Cup. No Florida Cup, admittedly. So it is important to them in terms of... Chelsea, as a club, was certainly post-Obramovic has been about winning trophies. That's what they do. They win. so that's a welcome return for them i think i think it's a shame they're not doing a bus parade as we talk rog there is no plan for them to do a parade when they get back to london which i think is kind of a missed opportunity people like a parade but it also imbues the trophy the victory with meaning it says this is a thing worth celebrating i think if you don't do a parade then you're almost saying well actually that didn't matter that much so they're almost talking themselves down somehow they've said and it's i get the logic that their players need a holiday they need to rest.

38:44Roger Bennett:I understand that completely. But if you are world champions, if I was a world champion of something, like shouting, like Michael Buffett, then I would... Bite your elbow. I would, I'd celebrate that. I'd be like, I'm going to shout to my people. And then if you don't, you're kind of downgrading the tournament. They didn't have a parade for the conference league. Okay, the conference league isn't that big. Little bus. Just a little, maybe just in cars. Tiny bus. Mopeds. But if you're world champions, but you don't have a parade, there's just something jarring there to me. And I think that will influence the way that Chelsea's victory is kind of recognized and interpreted.

39:18They're going to have that on the shirt. They're going to have the football club for four years, which is really, really remarkable. It remains to be seen how exhausted they are to play, what price they'll pay for winning the battle. But next Premier League season, just the fatigue, the heat, the fielding their big players in sustained tournament fashion. without the break, hence no, no, no on the bus door. But let's talk about the legacy of this tournament. FIFA have hailed this tournament as an enormous success. Jurgen Klopp has referred to it as, quote, the worst idea ever implemented in football.

39:55Those can be the only two options. So, I mean, we've watched 63 games together over the past four weeks scattered across the United States. So where are you on the spectrum of a man who started off as a Club World Cup-ophile?

40:10Roger Bennett:Yeah, the thing is, Roger, I like the idea. And I think what's influenced the way I think about it most of all is that the idea makes sense to me, that I think there should be a space, a stage, on which the best teams in South America can play the best teams in Europe and Africa and Asia. I think that's quite a good thing. That's the thing that should exist. I've always had a doubt over what the financial legacy will be. I think it will just serve to distort the competitive balance in lots of leagues around the world. Not really in Europe, but certainly in South Africa or Morocco or wherever does the amount of money the teams will have made i think we've learned things for next summer games shouldn't be played in the early afternoon sun in an american summer it doesn't make any sense if you can do it in air-conditioned stadiums fine but outside it will ruin the spectacle you need to convince fans of the worth of something rather than just hope that influencers will convince them that's not a great strategy there has to be more conversation with players they've said that they've done this deal to kind of fix the the calendar issue but they didn't invite FIFPRO, the main players union globally to the meeting.

41:12Roger Bennett:So I'm not quite sure what that means now. I found a lot of the kind of the staging of it, I guess, a little bit gaudy. I don't quite want to say tacky, but a lot of gold, a lot of fireworks, a lot of show. Not quite sure how much, how much substance there's been. But at the same time, there have been, there have been enough moments to make me think if you treat this and it's your phrase, if you treat this as dog fooding, then it's a beta test beta test then I think there's something there I think there's something great here I've got to be said there really is I love your thing about the the notion of these teams testing against each other you know if you're a Brazilian fan the Brazilian fans I've spoken to are the ones who are most delirious about this you know I think elated dizzied almost by the weight class that they find themselves in there's been no doubt that the Brazilian fans were the joy of this tournament.

42:11We've talked about that a lot, but their teams, I think, give this tournament merit or have given this tournament merit. There's a true competition that can be ballsetate. I don't know how much they'll love, like, their players are now in the shot window in an ever more expeditious fashion.

42:25Roger Bennett:John Arias of Fluminense now very firmly on Wolves' radar. I don't know how much that would make me elated, but the South American fans really won this tournament, really made it seem like this. if you project it forward could be amazing. But you try and think of the moments, Raw, on the field that stand out. Because it did matter this tournament because of the enormous prize money, the Saudi prize money. For instance, Chelsea today won a trophy, but they also won an amazing cog in their battle against PSR, against financial fair play. I mean, ultimately, the 123 million, which is remarkable. but globally culturally defining moments.

43:07Like you could argue there were a couple that were in there. Not at the level of a World Cup where heroes are created overnight across the world. But there were lovely moments. There was the complete and utter beatdown of Real Madrid by PSG. Last couple of minutes of Real Madrid, Dortmund. Lionel Messi's free kick against Porto, which almost like an Oscars lifetime achievement reward. Al Hilal clipping Manchester City. What else is in the memory of the legacy of this tournament footballingly?

43:40Roger Bennett:I'd say Monterey coming within a Sergio Ramos missed header of taking Dortmund to extra time. I agree with you completely. I think the South American teams, the Brazilians in particular, show proof of concept that if you put these teams together, there is competition there, and that's really important. I agree that it's lacked moments. And I think my abiding kind of sense is that there's a point at which you can't just kind of shout that something is true. FIFA have done all they can to tell us this is a success. Look, it's a success. We've done this. We've done that. We've done the other. I think these things have to grow organically.

44:16Roger Bennett:The one argument that you see a lot in Europe, certainly, but maybe all around the world, that doesn't really kind of resonate with me is that it kind of lacks prestige. But you sort of think, well, obviously it lacks prestige. It's the first one. You have to give it a chance. You can't say this competition won't work because there's no prestige here. You're kind of weighting the argument in your favor. But at the same time, you can't tell us to find it prestigious. That's not how it works. But the other thing that I think is really important is that football finds a way, like life in Jurassic Park.

44:48Roger Bennett:The South American fans, and I wrote about this in my newsletter. I think we've talked about it before. the South American fans will carry anything they'll carry a World Cup you can put a World Cup in the desert and 100 ,000 Argentinians will turn up to watch it you can put a tournament that's never happened before that is basically the brainchild of one Swiss lawyer in America rampantly commercialize every single second of it and you'll get loads of Brazilians coming and they'll sing songs and they will provide color and they will give it soul because that's what this thing's lacked right is soul the fans have given it soul and in the last week i think that those kind of seismic results particularly psg beating real madrid and then chelsea beating psg they give it a little bit of mythology there will it's they're a slightly weird champion chelsea i think it would probably have been better but would have been in fifa's interest for psg to win it the undisputed best team in the world being world champions is quite a helpful prestige well it kind of says look this this thing works like we've done what we set out to do they're the best team in the world and they've won this tournament it's had like a random generator yeah or it does give it a little bit of a Florida Cup vibe doesn't it like Chelsea have won it with their blue blue with their with this sort of hodgepodge of a squad but at the same time they've done it in real style they've done it with a guy who is all show no tell scoring two two goals and create creating the assist for the third that has worked that is a result that will that people will notice Knowing Cole Palmer, he's probably on a scooter in Times Square with a mini mouse head on, just scooting around.

46:21Roger Bennett:What are those little ice cream droplets called that you have here? The ice cream droplets. I think you've been at rat droppings. No. Frozen rat droppings. Dipping dots. Dipping dots. He'll just have a little cone of dipping dots or whatever on his scooter going around Times Square. His massive face on a big billboard. Yeah, the voice of, do you want to go to the club? No, I just want to go on Times Square on a scooter. There's some dipping dots. No, so I think there are bits there that have given it a little bit of heft. You see those little, it's those shoots that I think they'll have to build on.

46:49Roger Bennett:The problem is that now FIFA have to work out whether they want to expand it to 48 teams or... Yeah, they laughed. I was on Sky Television. They were talking about the size of the tournament. I was like, lads, in about 20 years' time, you guys were having a show on Sky where you're nostalgic for the time that the Club World Cup was just 32 teams. Like it should be. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, but I can't believe it. There is a lot of talk about what comes next.

47:15Rumbles that FIFA have a desire to make it an every two-year event, which would make it kind of like some kind of Super League, but under FIFA, not UEFA. But here's the biggest challenge for me watching all of this football rule, which I love. But the World Cup proper, you can find yourself just being emotionally taken by teams that you didn't know about before. You just admire the qualities of them. you can essentially be internationally polygamous at least a bit of a swinger you can be like oh Croatia I admire so much the collective tiny nation Uruguay the fight of Uruguay Morocco you can be in tournament you can find that emotional sense of connection but because club loyalties are so ingrained we're not just monogamous we're like angrily monogamous which is why a lot of England fans will cheer for the England team But Liverpool fans are not going to be cheering for Chelsea today.

48:07And you don't warm to teams like Real Madrid or Inter in the later stages of the tournament. Your hardwired, pre-existing feeling that you have about these clubs kind of defying. It's a cooler, it's automatically going to be a dollar wattage rule than the World Cup proper.

48:25Roger Bennett:Yeah, I think that's absolutely right. I think you can warm to club side. So I think the Brazilian teams will have won a lot of friends here. not necessarily with the way they played, but with the way they fought, with how much it meant. I think you can be worn over by seeing the Bocca fans in the stadium or the We Dad Casablanca fans marching through Philly. You can be worn over by those scenes. And I think even as... But then they're obliterated and then they're gone and we're down to the last stage and we're just like, oh, we meet again, old foes. You don't warm to these teams. You don't root for these teams.

48:55You're not emotionally deeply connected all the way through.

48:58Roger Bennett:But that's because we're so exposed to them. So I still harbour, despite all the pain they've inflicted on me, like I am still kind of impressed by the grandeur of Real Madrid. But they're sufficiently familiar that I don't really, I can't be a Real Madrid fan for a bit. I'm not. But I think more dangerous or more challenging for FIFA is that the fans of the clubs who aren't here, it is in their interest to think it's not important. Because if you're a Liverpool fan or a Man United fan, Arsenal, Barcelona, you don't want to think this is important. You actively want to think it doesn't matter.

49:31Which is why I think FIFA will find a way to make sure there's a format where all of these big clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Barcelona, and the millions of supporters, the millions of eyeballs they can pull in, will be in the next iteration of everything.

49:46Roger Bennett:But you also have to have a little bit of modernity, don't you? It is weird that they sent two Portuguese teams to this tournament, neither of whom is champion of Portugal. The champions of Italy aren't here. The champions of Spain aren't here. The champions of England aren't here. That is strange. And it's difficult logistically to say, you know, Barcelona win a title at the end of April. By the way, you're spending your summer in the United States. Like, that's tricky to organise. But at the same time, it does kind of diminish the competition because with all due respect to Red Bull Salzburg, it's not really clear why they were here.

50:18Roger Bennett:No one was thinking, you know, to establish who the best team in the world is, we definitely have to check that they're better than Red Bull Salzburg. The road to glory goes to Red Bull Salzburg. So, you know, they deserve their place on the coefficient and that's how they decided to do it. I think there's a point where you maybe just have to commit to the bit and say, we're trying to find out which is the best team. These ones are the best teams. These are the contenders to be best teams. So let's get them in instead. I watched today and people are having a great time in MetLife. But it is fascinating when you're in a great European venue, you're not just watching the game itself in that moment.

50:55when you're watching the history of the games that have been played on that field before, you know, when you're at the San Siro, you know you're in a vaunted temple of the game. MetLife won't meet mental health. There was like the Jets banners were still out to watch a game played under like Mark Gastineau's banner. And Jude Cleco. It was like, yeah, I mean, I realized there's a marketing adage that you can take an old product to a new market or a new product to an old market, but it's almost impossible to take a new product to a new market. And seeing this tournament, this new tournament that is taking its first steps towards building its own mythology, but seeing that in this stadium that is not built for this kind of football, that is a challenge that ultimately is going to need many, many re-dos before it's overcome.

51:47Roger Bennett:Especially in a sport that's so wedded to its own traditions, It's a, you know, values tradition above all else. Football is not easily changed. It doesn't really want to be changed. And there's an argument that it shouldn't be changed because it, you know, it works quite well. Quite a lot of people like it. It's very popular. So why do you need to kind of add more onto it? I think, yeah, it does feel a little bit like a, there's something alien about it, I think. Like I'm not, I'm on my own personal journey, Rog, about not kind of thinking that there's a correct way for football to sound or to feel, or you're allowed to go to a game and just enjoy it and just have a nice time.

52:19Roger Bennett:that's legitimate. I don't think it's for people, you know, I'm a man in my 40s, I don't think it's for me to like gatekeep what football should be like for people. But at the same time, it does feel like we increasingly take this thing that we love and we just put it in different scenarios and say, well, watch this then. You'll like this, it's football. You'll like this. And we don't think about what it means or what it's for or what its purpose is. And I think what we've seen this month is really indicative of where football is now, that it's a sport that is determined to milk every last drop in the name of kind of creating content and kind of complete saturation coverage.

52:59Roger Bennett:I'm not sure that's really healthy for football, but I'm not sure anyone within football is really having that conversation. So I've enjoyed the tournament. I think it has a place. The part of me that really wants the best team in the world to be Brazilian or Argentinian thinks this is a good thing, and I can't let go of that. But at the same time, it does need to be thought through who it's for, what it's meant to be doing and how it relates to the rest of the football world, I guess. Yeah, I mean, in terms of the content, we do have to mention President Trump arrived on the field to present the trophy.

53:33So the reception was complicated. We wondered whether in England they'd ever have King Charles not only just hand out the medals, but then also jump up and down with the players.

53:46Roger Bennett:I think I'd like to stay and celebrate with you. But do you know what? It's a bit different. Yeah, and obviously there's a kind of a lightning rod issue around President Trump. But I think if you go back to 2022 and the World Cup in Qatar, the Emir stayed on the podium and gave Lionel Masih a bish, the traditional black robe that Qataris wear. And that felt at the time very much like Qatar was saying, this thing has been ours. Lionel, you've won it, but let's not make any mistake. This is our thing. And it felt a little bit like that at the MetLife today, that it was, this has been a tournament that has, you know, Gianni Infantino, this shouldn't be an overly controversial statement.

54:24Roger Bennett:Gianni Infantino has made a real effort to get close to President Trump. And you can think that's good or bad or neither, but he's definitely done it. and this was maybe a little bit of the payback, I guess. This is kind of what Trump gets for allowing that access to the most powerful person on the planet. And that in itself is an indication of where football is now, that it is this both President Trump and the Emir of Qatar see it as this incredibly potent political symbol. And again, that's something that we as fans have to start to reckon with a little bit, I think. Pinny27 posted on our Instagram.

54:58Roger Bennett:Cole Palmer's just up there wondering what the man from Home Alone 2 is doing up on the podium with him. Which I love you. You were like, we're living in a world now where Cole Palmer and President Trump have had a conversation. I mean, it is genuinely astonishing to me. You know, when you have like a, I don't know whether this was like it for you at your wedding, but you kind of have that fear of like bringing different people from different parts of your life together and how they'll get on. Like that must be, like Todd Bowley must have been really like, God, do you think Donald will like Cole?

55:26Roger Bennett:It must have been really stressing for him. facilitating their conversation, which I'd love to know exactly what they talked about. Part of me probably thinks Donald Trump believes Cole Palmer must be Arnold Palmer's son. Possibly. I think they probably had a conversation about how you exploit the space Nuno Mendes leaves behind him when he counterattacks that. I still believe Cole Palmer is so much smarter than he pretends to be. He's probably had several questions about the future of cryptocurrency. I'd say the wonder of the World Cup. Football in general is a mirror that reflects the world.

55:56I always thought that was a great thing. You know, the culture, the politics, the history of the nature of the nation that surrounds it. As you say, today we saw the United States is not immune to that. I do believe, though, the power of the World Cup ultimately is about unity, its ability to connect, its ability to bring together. And I do hope a year out from that tournament that these incredible cities across our nation that are going to be hosting the world, along with Mexico and Canada, that they are going to be the focus on what people are really talking about come 2026. But to close this beauty, it's time for a letter from a GFOP to take us home.

56:39Call time on the summer of summers. I've got so much sunburn from just sitting out in full blast in MetLife. But raw, this letter gives me such joy. It's a slice of magic from GFOP Isaiah Batts. Do the honors.

56:53Roger Bennett:So Isaiah starts, hey, Roger and Rory. I just wanted to thank you for being such a big part of my later in life football fandom journey. As for many American children, the first sport I played was soccer, but quickly turned to American football. We all make mistakes. I played until sophomore, year of college. Say that again. Sophomore. I don't know what it is. By the way, just to be candid, we're laughing in Michael Buffer. First American word he encountered, it's sophomore. Sophomore. By the way, do you don't think it's a good job for Buffer that it wasn't a Leicester versus Norwich final? Or Loughborough would have really screwed it.

57:26Roger Bennett:Buffer would have just screwed it. He wouldn't have known what was going on. My sister! It's not... Sorry. I obviously know it's pronounced sophomore. Yeah. My joke was, we don't have that in Britain. I've never understood what it is. Is it like second year? You just reverse buffered. Second year. Second year. Yeah. I played until my second year of college and paid absolutely zero attention to the real football played around the world until I got the opportunity to travel abroad and realised I'd been wrongly indoctrinated into thinking American football was the greatest sport ever created. Only then did I realise the error of my upbringing and how I missed out on the beautiful game.

57:59Roger Bennett:Welcome back to our loving arms, Isaiah. So I returned to it about a year ago and decided to jump headfirst into the world of real football. I didn't know what teams to support, but I had a buddy who was an Everton supporter. This is going to end with him not liking football. It's a terrible mistake. So I figured it, just to be clear, I don't know what's on the letters before I read them. I know, I love this. Sean Dyche turned them back on to football. Imagine your first exposure to football being better. so I figured it'd be easy to just go with that little did I know what I was getting into but it stuck through all the ups and downs of this season I couldn't help but be pulled in by the tragedy and triumph of Everton Football Club where even draws feel like Super Bowl wins as an American in Texas I never thought I'd ever say that long story short your show made diving into football such a joy I don't think I would have fallen in love with it so much without you and your show I don't know how I found it but I'm here to stay and now that I'm expecting a baby boy in October, I can raise him up in the way he should go as a football fan.

59:00As an Everton fan.

59:01Roger Bennett:What are your feelings on burdening children to be Everton supporters? I think it's wrong. Thank you for being such an ambassador. What you're saying though, is that you editorialising? Yeah, I'm editorialising. Thank you for being such an ambassador for the beautiful game and bringing light to the poetic nature of the game. One question before I go. How optimistic should I be about all the buzz around the toffees coming into this new season? Get in. I hear it's the hope that kills us. Best, Isaiah Bats. Roar, first of all, Isaiah Bats, congratulations to you and your partner. We are so bloody thrilled for you.

59:34I hope you call a baby Jordan Pickford like a proper baby name. And just know that getting up early, volunteering to your partner, be like, I'll get up early Saturday and Sunday. And then watching with your son, Premier League football, when he bounces on your knee, he passes as being like a really good dad and childcare and sacrifice. But Roar, the Everton question. Don't know what you think about that. Give a quick blast for Paul. Should we put Isaiah out of his misery?

1:00:02Roger Bennett:For the first time in quite a long time, I think Everton have signed or are about to sign a player who I think is quite good. Tiano Barry, the striker they've got from Villarreal, I think is a player to be genuinely excited about. And more importantly, Rog, he's a player who's on the way up and not on the way down. Because Everton have made that mistake so much recently where they've signed a player who you can tell kind of thinks they're doing Everton a favour. Whereas Barry is looking for... This is his big move. This is his big chance to prove he can cut it in the Premier League. I don't think next season will be as difficult for Everton as the last couple of seasons.

1:00:35Roger Bennett:I think they'll be fine. And they'll have that lift of having a big, shiny new home to move into. God bless. I can't wait for them to move into the big dick. I mean, first of all, Isaiah, we're moving from the focus of the club World Cup back to the Premier League. and as the clubs we love are about to descend in the United States, I will say Everton are about to take a stage in New York City a couple of blocks from here with me July 25th for a night with David Moyes and some of the biggest players on the squad. The venue has just made 22 more tickets available. Grab them from our social because it is going to be my happiest night of the year.

1:01:14But I do believe this is more than a new stadium. It's almost like a chrysalis that the club are going to crawl into new ownership. David Moye's back. Grandpa is back to return to that level. They were when I was a kid. You caught the tail end of that when we were a mighty, proud club who you could, you know, we won trophies. Opponents would fear us. New hope, new wonder, new son, please God, Isaiah. I do love your line about how draws feel like Super Bowl wins. I'd say welcome back to football man that's really the important thing we've had so many over the past season thousands of new fans returning to football alongside of us and that like football fans falling into our show like snow on snow it's what makes my heart utterly swell Isaiah I want to thank you for your letter to more football together and Roel thank you to you it's been an incredible week being in your company you're an amazing human being the whole team here savored every single second you're about to return to Harrogate that chocolate orange only diet starts again tomorrow but what has been your favourite memory of being here with us?

1:02:29Roger Bennett:It's been amazing to spend so much time with all of you, it's been a pleasure to be with you Rog it's been a pleasure to be with everybody from Men in Blazers, I've had an amazing week we've done some amazing stuff I've had to disassociate myself my mind from my body quite a lot on stage in New York with Clint Dempsey and Jordan Klinsman, it's just deeply weird not a lie to you it's a weird thing to happen um but it's been on the stage or the clint just all of it just being on stage in front of people in new york city is they loved you man is but but you know for someone who's just a man from harrogate it's a bit weird but it's all been amazing and it's been such a pleasure to spend time with everybody the two things outside of that that have been my highlights uh not withstanding the club world cup final um i went back to philly on saturday had a day off and saw a friend of mine who i've not seen for 10 years who lives in DC, he'd driven up for the day.

1:03:17Roger Bennett:And the first thing I saw when I got out of Jefferson Station at Reading Terminal Market was an ice cream festival, which I was - In your honour. I assume so. Behold, we have gathered our finest creameries for you to taste as a vaunted ice cream man. It felt like Philly knew that there was someone in town who knew a lot about ice cream. I went to a place called Hungry Bear, a little stall. I can't pronounce the name of the river. Stuttle River Surprise, chocolate, caramel. It was excellent. had a little like roll what we call rollos inside really good um lovely vibe philly's a great city be a brilliant place for the world cup uh but the main highlight comes from my first trip to philly and i can only describe it in five words rog and those five words are betsy ross dog beauty pageant it's kind of amazing it's like the america that we grew up watching from england where they just feel like incredible just walk down the street just dog pageants for no reason It was literally everything I wanted.

1:04:11I know. That's why Betsy Ross is such an American hero. When I heard about this, I just wanted in. I just bite your arm off for a Betsy Ross dog pageant. But we'll make date with the football that keeps coming. Women's Euros, sublime. We are charging towards the knockout rounds. Check out the women's game, our women's football vertical, where Sam Mewis and her team are covering every single kick at the ball with a remarkable cast of characters. And here on Men in Blazers this week, we're dropping a very special piece of content this Friday. We're going to release the morning that we spent with Arsenal icon, proper, proper legend, really a footballing philosopher and poet now, Roar Thierry Henry.

1:04:50Special interview right here in New York City. We talk about the football's growth in the United States in particular. We ask if it's Arsenal's year. Also delve into his legacy, which is really beautiful. Drops on our pod and our YouTube on Friday. Don't miss it. Keep writing to us. Send us your photos of your football-loving dogs and cats, especially meninblazers.gmail.com. You'll let us give us such joy. I want to get back to my own dog, to be candid. We are 333 days away from World Cup 2026. Michael Buffer, just practicing all of those nation's names in the mirror until then. Let's say for each and every one, Roar, huge love to you, man.

1:05:27You're going to need more than one Buffer.

1:05:29Roger Bennett:There's so many games, man. We're going to need a bigger Buffer. Rodge sending you big, big love. so I'll take a second of watching football together for granted and courage.