Final Group Games: Who Will Progress? | Day 17 Preview | Morning Cupdate, Presented by The Home Depot

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2:42world cup yep welcome to morning cup date built by the home depot coming to you live from la now the home depot is your winning assist to host the ultimate watch party with fast free delivery to get your backyard match day ready subject to availability now we're dedicating the start of the show to Cape Verde.

3:17Yeah, one place to start. One of the best stories of the tournament and now their fairy tale continues. They've become the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup. A 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia did the job, and I admit it wasn't the most exciting game, but the scenes afterwards were absolutely incredible. Also, scenes of the players huddled around a mobile phone watching the final minutes of Spain against Uruguay, knowing that a Spain win would confirm them as runners-up in the group. It was very, very special. And once the win was confirmed, the celebrations, oh, they really got going.

4:06And just to give you a little bit of context, this is how the news went down in Cape Verde.

4:20But really, we shouldn't be that surprised. This is no fluke. They did qualify above Africa's most successful World Cup nation, Cameroon, and they made the quarterfinals in their debut at AFCON as well. But what a moment for the nation of just half a million people. And lifelong Cape Verde fan, as of just 10 days ago, Rog was just as emotional after the full-time whistle. I'm watching these unbelievable scenes in Cape Verde, like you probably are, and it is so emotional. I've been a lifelong fan like you for the last 10 days. It feels like a spiritual home that I've never been to, this scattering of islands.

4:58Cape Verde's reward is around a 32 clash against none other than the holders Argentina in Miami on Friday. In the other Group H match, as previously mentioned, Spain came out on top against Uruguay. 1-0 was the final score. Alex Baena was gifted a goal after Uruguay keeper Fernando Maslera fumbled a tame effort into his own net. The mistake ultimately led to Uruguay's elimination and poor old Maslera took the decision to substitute himself off at half-time. It was an abysmal tournament for the South Americans, winning just two points and finishing behind Cape Verde as well. And at the full-time whistle, manager Marcelo Bielsa couldn't contain his frustration.

5:43I've done a lot of post-match interviews and I'm pretty sure that would have ended me. Up next, we have Norway against France. Now, this game was one of the most hotly anticipated of the group stages And on yesterday's show, we bigged up the potential duel between two of football's biggest stars in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. But unfortunately for us, we'll just have to wait for that battle. As already qualified Norway made 10 changes for this one. So no Erling Haaland. I think it was even sadder for Channing Tatum, who was spotted in the crowd dressed up as his new best friend Erling. Coach Stael sold back and opted to rest his players for the round of 32 rather than compete for the top spot in the group and carry on their momentum.

6:26Already qualified France went for the complete opposite approach. They absolutely went for it and included all of their best players like, you know, Kylian Mbappe, Ballon d 'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, who scored three after just 32 minutes. He joins Lionel Messi and Canada's Jonathan David in becoming the third player to bag a hat-trick in this tournament, which is already the most the World Cup has seen in 40 years. What? Desiree Douai added a late fourth to seal a 4-1 victory for Le Bleu. So France topped the group and will play Sweden in New Jersey on Tuesday 30th June. Well, Norway finishes runners-up and therefore have a trip to Dallas, confirmed, to face the Ivory Coast.

7:08In the other Group I game, Senegal took on Iraq, knowing that their knockout hopes hinged on beating Iraq by at least three goals. Their fans were well up for it in Toronto.

7:26Oh, we love the Senegalese fans. They were bringing the energy, that is for sure. And their team, well, they brought the goods. A thumping 5-0 victory, which included two beautiful goals from substitute Papke. They were also helped along the way by an early red card for Iraq's Rebin Salaka, who was sent off for a foul on Sadio Mane. That result was enough to secure a place in the round of 32 for the AFCON champions. Sorry, AFCON runners-up. Finally, in Group G, Egypt's one-all draw with Iran means they're definitely through. Iran thought they had got a last-minute winner, though. There were some big celebrations until that goal was ruled out for offside, quite controversially from VAR.

8:06They finish in third and now have a long wait for their confirmation. Belgium thrashed New Zealand 5-1 to top the group. If both Belgium and the USMNT win their first knockout games, by the way, they will meet in the round of 16. And speaking of the USMNT, according to the Athletic, US Soccer have offered Mauricio Pochettino a contract extension that would see him take charge for a second World Cup cycle running until 2030. Woo, World Cup! Conversations have been ongoing for several months, but any decisions will be made after this tournament. 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.

8:53These 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. It'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. The people who seem to get more done than everyone else, they're not working longer hours or running on more caffeine. They've just stopped wasting time on the stuff that doesn't move work forward.

9:30Switching apps, re-explaining context, hunting for files? Those aren't small inefficiencies. They're hours wasted every week. Superhuman Go gives you those hours back. From the makers of Grammarly, Go is an AI chat that sits inside every tab and tool you already use. Always available and ready to help you with what you're working on. Ask it to draft something, summarize a long thread, pull up a file or prep you for a meeting. Go handles it without you ever leaving the page you're on. This is what it looks like when AI actually fits into your work instead of adding to it. It's like having a teammate whose only job is to help you be better at yours.

10:09Go keeps up so you can move forward. With Go working with you, you can show off what you do best. See what Superhuman Go can do at superhuman.com. That's superhuman.com. The people who seem to get more done than everyone else, they're not working longer hours or running on more caffeine. They've just stopped wasting time on the stuff that doesn't move work forward. Switching apps, re-explaining context, hunting for files, those aren't small inefficiencies. They're hours wasted every week. Superhuman Go gives you those hours back. From the makers of Grammarly, Go is an AI chat that sits inside every tab and tool you already use, always available and ready to help you with what you're working on.

10:50Ask it to draft something, summarize a long thread, pull up a file, or prep you for a meeting. Go handles it without you ever leaving the page you're on. This is what it looks like when AI actually fits into your work instead of adding to it. It's like having a teammate whose only job is to help you be better at yours. Go keeps up so you can move forward. And with Go working with you, you can show off what you do best. See what Superhuman Go can do at superhuman.com. That's superhuman.com. So it's day 17 of the World Cup and that means it is the end of the group stages Woo! World Cup! Finally!

11:32By the close of play today nearly 70 % of the matches will have been played and only 33 % of the teams will have been knocked out Make that make sense It all starts with the conclusion of Group L and this is a group where things are still very much up for grabs In New Jersey, it's Panama against England Harry Kane scored a hat-trick against them eight years ago in the tournament and the really bad news for Panama is that Kane's curse has now been lifted. Have you now lifted the curse on Harry Kane? Harry Kane is free to score? Yes, yes, I did yesterday. Harry Kane is not my enemy. That was Ghanaian witch doctor Nana Kwaku Bonsam telling British radio station LBC that the curse he placed on the England striker in a bid to stop him scoring against Ghana has officially ended.

12:16That will strike fear into the hearts of all Panama fans, I am sure, around the world, who will no doubt still have sleepless nights over that 6-1 defeat at Russia 2018. Panama have become a force to be reckoned with at CONCACAF level, regularly reaching the latter stages of the Gold Cup in recent years, but replicating that on the World Cup stage has been very difficult. They know that they're already doomed to last place in Group L, but a first World Cup point could be a huge boost for the country. As for England, while the fans have been brought back down to earth after their drab 0-0 draw with Garner, there's not been much of this recently.

12:52It's coming home. It's coming home. It's coming home. Hmm, producer George, what are you saying? It's still coming home. Oh, maybe not as back to earth as I first thought. England's Rhys James is confirmed to be out for this one, but Thomas Tuchel has declared that midfield duo Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson are both available despite fitness concerns, alongside Bakaya Saka, who could be back on the right wing. At the same time in Philadelphia is Croatia as they take on Ghana. Let's hope Luka Modric is watching his back because that Ghana witch doctor will be on to him. Croatia fans aren't thinking about that, though, because they're too busy gate-crashing a newlywed couple's photo outside of City Hall in Philadelphia.

13:34Ole, ole! Ole, ole! Ole, ole, ole, ole! They are going to be very good wedding photos for sure. A draw will see both Croatia and Ghana advance to the last 32, by the way. Then at 7.30 Eastern, there's a very tasty game in Miami as Colombia play Portugal in Group K. And that is the subject of today's drill down.

14:03Today's drill down brought to you by Makita is all about one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far. although I'm pretty sure we did say that about Norway, France. This one was dubbed as the most expensive match of the group stage with tickets going for over$3 ,000 a pop. What? That deserves a what. Both sides are stacked with star power. Portugal's talent needs little introduction. Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes are the standouts but pretty much the entire starting 11 is world class. Colombia may not quite have the depth of talent but any team that can boast Luis Diaz and James Rodriguez in attack should never be underestimated.

14:43But in this tournament, Colombia's real strength has been its robust midfield of Jefferson Lerma and Gustavo Puerta. Their sturdy presence has helped this Colombian defence keep two consecutive clean sheets and it will be fascinating to see if they can make that three from three. All eyes will be on this game, not just because of that talent on show, but also because this could determine if we are finally going to get to see the holy grail of Lionel Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo in a World Cup. What? Despite playing at a combined 52 matches, they've never played each other in this tournament before.

15:19And although, never say never, 2026 is surely, surely the last time that this could happen. With Argentina already confirmed to have topped their group, a quarterfinal meeting in Kansas City is on the cards if Portugal beat Colombia and topped their group. If Portugal failed to win, then the only way that they could play each other would be in the final in New Jersey on July the 19th. Now, can you imagine how much a ticket to that game is going to cost? Elsewhere in Group K at 7.30, DR Congo play Uzbekistan in Atlanta. barring a gigantic win. Uzbekistan's dreams of reaching the last 32 are pretty much over, but a win for DR Congo would be enough for them.

16:03Then finally, at 10pm Eastern, it's the conclusion of Group J. In Kansas City, it's a dead rubber between Jordan, who are guaranteed to finish bottom, against Argentina, who are guaranteed to finish top and expected to rest Lionel Messi. And Austria face Algeria, who both sit on three points. More on that match at the end of the show. After the final full-time whistles of the day, tune in as always to Night Cup. The guys will be joined by a very special guest, football's chief poet, Mr Peter Drury. Tune in right here on the Men in Blazers YouTube. Anyway, it is now time for my worst bit of the entire day.

16:42I dread it. It's time for predictions. Yesterday, I took on Kyle Beckerman. He went for a France win against Norway. Well, I went for the opposite, but thankfully he went for a Cape Verde win against Saudi Arabia, siding with Roger's second team. Well, I correctly predicted a draw, which means it's all square. The scores remain 6-4 to the night cup. Today, I took on Carl Beckerman once again. So we've got two predictions for you today. You've got Colombia versus Portugal, quite a spicy one. What do you reckon it's going to be, the score? I'm going to go 2-1, Colombia. Impressed with what they've got so far?

17:21not worried about Ronaldo? Yeah, it's going to be a tough game for sure, but I think Colombia's got something right now that maybe they'll take into that game. And then next one we've got Croatia versus Ghana. Now this is quite interesting. Ghana already through, but it's all about leader place in the group. What do you think is going to happen? Very good against England, defensively strong. I'm going to say 1-0 Croatia. Thank you very much. Back to back, Kyle. Aren't we lucky now i am saying three nil to portugal i think i think it's got to be hasn't it so going against kyle there and i'm gonna go for a nil nil draw between croatia and ghana what i think i've got that in the bag

18:13today's finishing touch brought to you by bear pain is about a grudge in today's fixtures that you might not be too familiar with. Now, you might hear Algeria against Austria and think, oh, that's going to be a pretty tame one. But you'd be sorely mistaken. This is a footballing hatred that stretches back almost 44 years. It's all because of the events that took place in the Spanish city of Gihon on June the 25th, 1982. The second half in Gihon will be remembered as a shabby disgrace for the good name of football and to the World Cup competition. That was the sound of the commentator who was disgusted by what he saw as West Germany beat Austria 1-0 at the 1982 World Cup.

18:54This was when the group stages consisted of three teams per group and both teams knew that a 1-0 win for West Germany would mean both teams advanced at Algeria's expense. As a result, once West Germany went 1-0 up, neither team tried to attack the other, with the ball being passed around aimlessly in the midfield. There were jeers from spectators of both sides, but they were undeterred. Algeria lodged a formal complaint, but FIFA did not charge either team. However, they did modify the group stages for future tournaments. Since then, there's always been four teams per group, and the final round of matches kicked off simultaneously.

19:31The real irony is that when Austria and Algeria play each other later today in Group J, a draw will mean that both advance to the last 32. Surely they wouldn't, would they? That is it for Morning Cup Day today. built by the Home Depot. The Home Depot is your winning assist to host the ultimate watch party with fast free delivery to get your backyard match day ready. Subject to availability. Now today is the day. Philadelphia, head on down to Spruce Street Harbour Park at 3pm Eastern time just ahead of Croatia and Ghana for the fourth stop on our Match Day Live tour. Rod and Rory will be taking to the stage with three legends, World Cup champion Sam Muir, Italy's iconic striker, Super Mario Balotelli and Eagles Hall of Fame at Jeremiah Trotter.

20:17For those in Philly, we'll be live, rain or shine, baring any lightning, of course. Keep an eye on the Men in Blazers socials for any updates pending the weather. As always, the show will be live streamed as well. If you're tuning in from afar, that link is in the notes below. We are going to be back tomorrow, but until then, enjoy the last day of the group stages.

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