France crush Norway, Cape Verde's cinderella run continues, and USMNT reactions with Herc Gomez: Night Cup 06/26/26

21:48Rog:Senegal 5, Iraq 0. Senegal needed a blowout. They kind of wanted a three-ish goal-ish swing to have a chance of advising, but they had two tough losses. France and Noe in the opening games, four minutes in, it got rolling. Habib Diara, deflection off a corner. Sunderland World Cup is one of our themes. Eight minutes later, got worse for Iraq. They're centre-back Rabin Sulakoun, centre-back for giving Sadio Mane's shirt a blatant tug. English referee Anthony Taylor giving a red card. Sending Scotland home with that cool dot, dot, dot question mark. Just let me play these sub-themes out. Second half was just an onslaught.

22:27Rog:Senegal's second for Mismel Assar. Oh, God, Crystal Palace, four goals in this tournament. A stunning goal. The last netted by Illy and Dye, the Everton trickster, with his own banger to make it 5-0. Well done, Illy, adding millions to the get-out-of-Everton bounty. Became the first player in World Cup history to come on as a sub, score a goal, assist the goal, have five touches in the opposition box and make five dribbles. That is wizardry. I don't know who counts those two last statistics, but God bless the commentator roared. These guys are having their own goal of the month competition. Senegal, they looked flatline at the outset, beaten by France, beaten by Norway, delivered at the death, became the first African team to score five goals in a World Cup game and they're most likely around the 32 opponent.

23:15Rog:It's England, isn't it? We are completely objective in that game. In Group H, Vergea, Uruguay nil, Spain won. The Marcelo Bielsa, Uruguay era kind of death rattled its way into one final last gasp. They needed to win against Spain. They were truly lifeless in this. I mean, God, I was disappointed. Zero shots on goal. A nightmare fuel in the 41st minute. Alex Bainer of Athletic turned, squeaked a shot really, right at, or so it seemed, the keeper, Muslera, 40-year-old, really a fixture in this Uruguayan side, ageing at an all-too-human rate. He dived like he was in a commercial for the American Association of retired people and simply patted the ball limply, lamely, agonisingly into his own net.

24:05Rog:Who's not felt those emotions in their life? It was a massive moment, really a historical error. It can only be described as very Scottish. It was quite Scottish, yeah. Muslera's been around for so long. As you say, he's been a fixture in that Eurodwein team, some really good Eurodwein teams. Made two mistakes in the last game as well, retained his place. And then according to Marcelo Bielsa, the manager, he asked to be substituted at half-time, which is a very, very rare thing to happen. Yeah, I mean, I think he may have looked at his rating on who scored and realised he's got the lowest rating of any footballer in the World Cup.

24:38Rog:Wanted to retire on that note. That's brutal. I mean, it is brutal. When he did not come out for that second half, this man who, you He's a servant of the nation. You're like, oh, Bielsen, we knew he kind of disliked his players before this. He must really hate them now. Felt merciless. There's rumors of mutinies swimming around that squad. They have been for weeks and months. It was very interesting what he said that he asked to be taken out. All I can say is what an excruciating last memory for a goalkeeper who has played four World Cups. Uruguay tried to up their intensity, which largely consisted of giving any Spanish player a good kicking in Caitlin Clarke's style, led to a flurry at the end of cards and a red for Augustin Canobio, who lost his mind.

25:30Rog:Marcelo Bielsa really has never looked more past his sell-by date, an iconic figure just barking at journalists at this point. And it meant 19th-ranked Uruguay World Cup campaign ended in flames, second World Cup in the run at Jason M. Williams in the Men in Blazers Discord said, guys, I'm starting to think the FIFA World Rankings are sort of nonsense. The FIFA World Rankings are a guideline rather than a rule, I would say. They're a suggestion. Yeah. More than anything else. Yeah. Jurid Wai, they came into this tournament unhappy. As you say, the rumours of kind of the players falling out with Bielsa, I think might have been running on for more than a year.

26:10It's kind of weird that he brought them here. They've not looked happy at any point in the tournament. They've not played well. Bielsa said after the game that his time in Juridwa has left no legacy whatsoever. It has meant nothing. Which is like a bitter kind of breakup thing. He's tarnished his reputation a bit. A bit. Juridwa football looks weaker than it has for 16 years. Muslera's first World Cup was 2010.

26:33Rog:Yeah, I mean, back-to-back non-progressions from the group stage. And look, it's a small country, so that's going to happen. But the way they went out, I think, was pathetic as well. Uruguay are up there, for me, in my attempt to salvage some Scottish pride. Uruguay, one of the biggest disappointments of this tournament. I think they've been genuinely awful. I want to move on to joyful things, but I have to say Spain didn't really get out of second gear. They outpassed Uruguay 5-5-3 to 2-2-8. They topped the group. This was a truly forgettable performance. They didn't have much to play for, you could say, but nor did France.

27:05Rog:And they were sparkling on the day. but let's talk about joy Cape Verde, nil Saudi Arabia, nil we love the nil-nils we love the Cape Verde nil-nil merchants nil-nil merchants of wonder and ecstasy and overachievement you don't need goals to find joy this was just an ecstatic sparkling event in Houston Stadium Vazinho and his blue shark ride on in 40-year-old goalkeeper 16.8 million Instagram followers propelling them to glory two points in games played Cape Verde came into this. Feels genuinely insane to say with an opportunity to win Group H if Uruguay had been able to beat Spain by a little margin.

27:48Rog:I think it was a 2 % chance, which is... It's a lot of percentage in Chris Richards' definition, yeah. It's a lot of percentage, but a testament, really, to how they've been in this World Cup debut. Made five changes starting line-up. They were much more attacking in this game. Couldn't break down a compact Green Eagles defence. My Lord, what a limp Saudi Arabian showing this was. The inquest there will be enormous. It wasn't free-flowing football. It was hard to watch. You wouldn't have known the Saudis needed a win, to be honest. Cape Verde, this is crazy, took all the initiative. This is the most dominant half of the tournament.

28:24Rog:Spain, 26 % possession, one shot on goal. Uruguay, 35 % possession, four shots on goal. And in this game, 50 % possession, 1.52xg. Another clean sheet for Fazzina. An immense history, not just for their nation, but for the World Cup. When we remember this World Cup, we'll remember this as the Cape Verde World Cup in the same way as we remember like 1990 as Cameroon announcing themselves to the world. Remember, this is a smattering of islands. Not all of them populated. They won their group. You always say this, they qualified properly. And now look at these scenes, this group of dreamers, this nation of wonder, put themselves on the world map, they turned up, they showed out, demonstrated football, born of a real hunger roar, one of a real yearning.

29:12Rog:You say a hunger of dreams forged over a decade's yearning for this, hunger that so many of the traditional powerhouse teams haven't shown. That's the difference for me. Yeah, and look, it's an incredibly romantic story for the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout stages. As you say, it's an archipelago. You get very few archipelagos in the World Cup, Rog. They are standing up for the archipelagos. If you think about the human stories of each of the players, they are beautiful. Vizinha at 40. I'm not allowed to use the D word, but all those players who've discovered their Cape Verdean roots.

29:46Ricardo Pico Lopez, the central defender, who was found by LinkedIn and now is going to play in a World Cup last 32 game against probably Lionel Messi, assuming he's fit. That's an extraordinary story. But they've not fluked their way through. They have been really well organised. They've been tactically disciplined. They've been technically really good. Today, they've played some more adventurous football against the Saudis in a way that you wouldn't expect them to do against Spain. That's the sensible approach. They are one of the best teams in Africa. They didn't make AFCON in the African Championship the last time around, but they qualified really well.

30:21They deserve their place. They are minnows. They are absolutely minnows, but they have come here and they have stood up and they have played.

30:27Rog:At Cheek and Bluster in the chat asks, Who'd win a fight? 11 Haarlands or 100-foot-tall Vizinha? Or one 100-foot-tall Vizinha? Yeah. The 100-foot giant, obviously. You think? Yeah. What are 10 Haarlands going to do? I actually honestly think one Haarland could beat 100-foot Vizinha. Haarland scares the... out of me. But anything that's 100-foot tall. Especially in this post-Renaissance Viking world. Let's see if he puts the Berseria hat on, then we've got a different conversation. I just watched that Viking movie. I can't remember what it was, but it's the one where there's that berserker war scene at the beginning.

31:03Rog:Someone will remind me what it is in the chat, where they all whip themselves up into the mood for battle. After watching that, I think one Haaland could do a 100-foot Vezina. But you tell me, got to move on to the football. Group G for not gay. Egypt-Iran.

31:21Rog:Egypt won. Iran won. A game overshadowed. Okay. By a really awful standoff, local organizers in Seattle had long planned this game as a pride march in celebration of the LGBTQ plus community in Seattle, which is big and strong and proud. And then came the draw. Football works in wild ways and handed them Iran versus Egypt. Two teams who immediately appealed to FIFA saying, quote, they categorically reject any activities promoting LGBTQ plus during the game because, quote, it could provoke cultural and religious sensitivities among fans in Iran. LGBTQ relationships are illegal. Egypt has got a history of persecuting LGBTQ plus people.

32:15Rog:There was on this day a smattering of flags outside. You know, a couple of journalists wrote they saw it. It was there. But once the game began, it was just the football. but I've got to say Pride Night football is the best football Egypt opened the scoring inside five minutes fastest ever World Cup goal Salah shot the ball bounced out to debutante Sable lashed through a gaggle of limbs to trickle him it felt like defiant it felt like yes Egypt but one of the things I do admire about this Iran team they are tenacity personified on and off the field what they've been through just to get to this tournament And then when they're in this tournament, the geopolitical negotiations, the treatment of them where they've had to paratroop in and out of games, they are admirable, even amongst the geopolitical complexity, which is beyond my ken, to be candid.

33:11Rog:And they bounce back, 14th minute, a rebound fell to Reze, and they smashed home for the most impossibly acute. That's a hell of a good finish. It was a brilliant finish, yeah, a really good finish. You know when you watch a lot of football, you see certain things happen, and you just know how they're going to end up. Yeah, that shot ends in the side netting. Yes, every time, right? I watched it, I was like, I was side netting. I think I started to turn away. You did. That shot from there doesn't go in. It went in. It was truly a remarkable moment. Ecstasy, their fastest ever World Cup goal. The rest of the game was really hand-to-hand rumblefish fare.

33:43Rog:You were shocked. These two teams weren't just like, guys, tranquilo. There's something about the passionate footballing mad nations they come from and they both are in their own way. And you add that complex decades-long geopolitical rivalry. I mean, these players were going for it, and it was incredible to watch. Right until the end, 92nd minute, chaos, free kick, ball in the box, scramble, absolute snapshots everywhere. I think it was Kalazade bashed home. Place goes mad. This team have been through so much tears, crying, hugging. The goal scorer put the meme, cool deal with its sunglasses on, and raw.

34:22Rog:There's one thing I know about football. You should never put the mean, cool, deal with it sunglasses on too early. If you over-celebrate too early, the football gods who are different from the Viking gods, they look down on you with malicious intent and they summon their demon spirit of VAR. And it was one of those funny ones where the goalkeeper was ahead of the ball. So when you looked at it the first time, it looked onside, but then you realised the keeper's not there, which means it is offside. And it was devastating. It was like the air being sucked out of the stadium. Yeah, I mean, the pivot of the fans from tears of joy to Icarus falling and just complete and utter trauma and agony.

35:06Rog:I don't know how you say after review West Ham number 19 committed a foul on the goalkeeper in Farsi, but that was what it felt like. Yeah, that was the best parallel in terms of the impacts of that VAR decision was just as kind of significant, just as punishing and just as cruel for the team that suffered it. Egypt, second place, Iran. Well, this is it. So look, to be fair, the Iranians will be devastated as we are live streaming and not just as they won't be watching. But they will probably get through. They will almost certainly get through as one of the best third place teams, which, as you say, Rog, given everything that team has been through, if you take away the context around it, is amazing.

35:45On a human level, it's amazing. Egypt run into Australia which is not the most glamorous round of 32 tie I would say but it is very open and for one of those two countries they didn't have a place in the last 16 and that is an amazing prize and the other thing we saw tonight in that game, Roche final thing it was played in exactly the right spirit both teams maybe a bit worried that they might not get through if they finish third both teams going for it right until the end that's how it's meant to be and I think that Egypt and the Aussies will play like that in Dallas or Houston when they meet there.

36:17Rog:And Iran will almost certainly go through also. Iran, I think the likelihood is that they'll go through. It takes quite a weird combination of results. I'm sure FIFA will make sure it happens. They'd be delighted. New Zealand won. Belgium, five. This one, both teams needed a win to guarantee qualification. We thought Belgium were fool's gold generation. They've underperformed even by their traditional standards of underperformance. I think two draws group stage was in danger of the there's a saying in Flemish Nardokloto yeah things are going to be going to do you know that one yeah say it all the time S-H-I-T like our chance even New Zealand's manager Darren Baisley was lamenting the relative unknown that his Belgian World Cup form he goes we thought they'd already be qualified and rotate their squad he was hoping for an easy game which was mind games Belgium just took it from the first whistle.

37:14Rog:Trossard, two goals, two spectacle celebrations. Nothing to see here. Flurry of late goals. KDB scored nice for him. Big Rom, I think a goal that might just earn himself a death move back to Everton where he'll totally destroy his legacy and become the next Beto Berry for old time's sake. Belgium in first ultimately. Hugh Hugh lost last. Above Egypt on goal difference. Ro, quick one. We are about to bring on our guests, but I do almost need to pour out one for your Scotland, who I think, as we sit here, have about a 1.4 % chance. Does that sound like a Chris Richards lot of a percent? I'm not quite as sunnily disposed as Chris Richards, Roge.

37:58To me, 1.4 doesn't sound like a lot of a percentage. They need Congo to draw with Uzbekistan, Austria to beat Algeria by two, and I think that might be it. so it's still possible but it's distant now

38:12Rog:yeah I will say the Scots are starting to leave en masse it feels a little dimmer here a little duller a little less colourful I mean we might as well not play the rest of the World Cup fun's gone you've won it Scotland you've won the World Cup of our hearts

38:32Rog:but it's time to bring on our guest smoke's cleared from last night our US boys closed out the group stage with heavy rotation, largely second straight. We got punched in the down blows by Turkey with the last kick of the ball this morning. I think we all feel US fans who love and dream about this team. Bad as bruised as Zendejas' private. The game meant nothing rationally. US had already topped its group, but what it meant will be revealed on July 1st when we play against, oh my God, not two teams, Bosnia and Herzegovina, what, what, to dig a little bit deeper. It's a joy to see late night, a man whose opinion I always seek from ESPN and Vamos on the Men in Blazers network.

39:15Rog:Oh, it's my friend. It's Mr. Herc Gomez.

39:18Herc Gomez:Raj, how are you guys doing? Good to see you guys.

39:21Rog:You're with Roar as well. You're up late night with us, Herc. Any time of the day for you, Raj. Roar, very good to meet you.

39:29Herc Gomez:It's a pleasure.

39:30Rog:We're not going to sleep till the USA are in MetLife and crowned champions. so that may take a little bit of match fixing or we may have to wait decades but Herc, glass half full or glass half empty question where are you in these two scenarios because there's two very different vernaculars in US football fandom right now one is this, chillax not that comfortable with that word second string held Turkey more or less to the last kick of the ball we're top of the group, Pulisic's back he's looking dangerous we've rested our first string Let's go. That's one scenario. The others, weird, heavy-handed squad rotation, chucking on the big players late, trying to win it, and then conceding a gut-punch late loser.

40:15Rog:Momentum broken, and momentum isn't just something you flick on and off at will. Where is Hurt Gomez? Where should we be?

40:22Herc Gomez:Let's relax a little. I think everything you just said in the latter is valid. Those are valid concerns. it teaches us or it shows us that the second string or the reserve players is a big golf in that talent but with the world cup you only need the 11 to 15 players maybe 14 to make a run these players that played against paraguay have proven that they are a well-oiled machine when operating correctly and can complicate any team in this tournament physically there's a lot of advantages as the U.S. has in how they play, how they press towards a lot of teams in this tournament. You saw Spain today.

40:58Spain is the closest team to how much it presses the opponent

41:02Herc Gomez:to the U.S. men's national team. They looked abysmal in Guadalajara. The game versus Uruguay was one of the worst games of the tournament. I really think the U.S. men's national team has a unique opportunity because of the physicality and because of the technical ability in the final third to cause some damage. So I'm glass half full because of the opponent. glass half full because of what you could potentially do in road to a quarterfinal was there anyone in that in that performance who you think like made a decent claim to complicate pochettino's thinking is anyone that stood out to you as saying they that position that one position those two positions are are now up for grabs or did you did it kind of cement in your mind that kind of pochettino now must know his first 11 i think he knows his first 11 but i I feel pretty good in case there's an injury in the back line that Austin trustee can come on in and seamlessly.

41:57Herc Gomez:He was very good. And he's not just been very good in this last game because he had a goal. But if we go back to the performance versus Portugal, he was one of the bright spots versus Portugal. And the very few times that he's played with the U.S. men's national team, he's done very well. He has size, athleticism. He's surprisingly calm on the ball, and he's left-footed. I like what I see from him. And listen, Sebastian Berhalter is a polarizing figure. He's a lightning rod, if you will. But the guy made history with a goal and an assist in a World Cup game, something that no U.S. men's national player has ever done in the modern era.

42:30Herc Gomez:He's a set-piece specialist. He's contagious in how annoying he is. He's a pest on the field. I'm not saying I want him over a Tyler Adams. That's not what I'm saying. But I'm saying he's proven to be a guy that Pochettino can put in latent matches and help you close out a game. There's a certain level of trust there. Those are about the only two guys. It was a frustrating night. I don't really want to put blame on these guys because it's a whole different 11 that's never played together, and they're playing together for the first time in a World Cup game, and they're being asked to maybe do things that's not normal to them.

43:04Herc Gomez:You can't ask Austin Trustee to play like Anthony Robinson. You can't ask Timothy Way to play on the opposite side of where he plays to play like Christian Pulisic. You can't ask a guy like Giovanni Reina to have the range in how he covers ground like a Malik Tillman. So I want to give some of these guys a pass because it was maybe a unique situation. But I really do think these guys have a unique opportunity versus Bosnia. It's a great matchup for them.

43:27Rog:We'll get to the Bosnia game. I do actually think we miss Tyler Adams more than anyone. We look pants down in that gut without him. I also think, God, Chris Richards, without that man, the quality drop off is frightening. Those are the two kings and called the fate of our journey in my mind. I want to hit the changes, though. There's lots of, by the way, even with new players, I love the opening intensity of the U.S., even the second string. I mean, they were charging around like a group of madmen for that first 10 minutes. Potch gets this team, whoever's on it, locked and loaded, looking for knockout blows in the first 10 minutes.

44:10Rog:It's really a fascinating thing to witness, energizing as an American fan. But I do want to ask about the heavy rotation. Nine changes going as far to bring in Matt Turner when it's clear Matt Freeze needs reps, needs experience, needs to feel like it is his seat, his reality, building that dominant persona. Did you like this? Was it a method you appreciated in the poch nine change madness?

44:38Herc Gomez:I understand a few of the changes. You don't want to risk a Tyler Adams, how important he is. You don't want to risk a Chris Richards, Anthony Robinson, or a follower in Balogun. I understand these changes. You're forced. Your hand is forced. I wouldn't have made as many changes. I would have tried to have had more cohesion and maybe players you think you could actually use later down in the road. And I would have kept a certain structure about the team. This isn't the World Cup of yesteryear. Back when I played in the World Cup, you had three days and then it's on to the next game. You've got seven days here.

45:07Herc Gomez:You've got seven days here to the next game. Who are you resting? Who are you resting? I could maybe understand a Tim Ream. I could maybe understand that because, you know, he's getting up there in age, even though I think he's been very, very good for the U.S. Men's National Team in this World Cup. But I wouldn't have made as many changes. That said, Marisa Pochettino and the U.S. Men's National Team, guys, they put themselves in this position to have the luxury of changing because they already won the group with two games to go. So I think the ultimate answer to this question is going to come after July 1st when we see these guys, some of these guys who are going to be 12 to 13 days without a competitive game during a World Cup, when we see how they play against Bosnia, if the rust is there and they start slow, we will have our answer.

45:50I was going to say, how do you think the players will be looking at it now? I think from the outside, when you're kind of not in the changing room, when you're not in the squad, you do worry about things like sacrificing the momentum, don't you? It feels a bit like a bubble has burst or there's been a bit of a reality check. Do players think like that?

46:09Herc Gomez:Yeah, I think sometimes players think like that, especially if you're an offensive player and like a follower in Balogun and you feel like you're in that zone. Like when you touch the ball, you've got a good chance of that ball going in. And it's a World Cup. No footballer wants to not play in a World Cup. That's the pinnacle of everybody, of every athlete's dream when it comes to this sport. You want to be in the World Cup. So sometimes that will come into the mind of the footballer. But also, I think Pochettino has drilled into these guys about trusting that process. And I've been very impressed, and I've been very critical of Mauricio Pochettino, But I've been very impressed that the first time we saw the actual starting 11 was in the debut of the World Cup versus Barawai.

46:45Herc Gomez:And how quickly these players took to a system that is very nuanced. I mean, Alex Freeman and the runs he has to make, converting himself from a right back to a third center back, to an interior playing as a defensive midfielder, to all of a sudden going into it as an eight. There is some real nuance to this game. And they learned it very quickly. So some of these guys are going to trust the process and go with it, but it does come into play. And more than anything, Raj, you know this country. The momentum I wanted to see isn't so much on the player's side. It's America. They're getting behind you.

47:21Herc Gomez:You had 25 million people watch you the first game. There was about 26, 27 the second game. If you could keep this going, by the time you get to the knockout rounds, you're going to have the majority of America watching in behind you. You got to keep building on this momentum.

47:35Rog:Yeah, by the way, I agree with both elements. And I feel that achingly. You know, it's been an ecstasy to see. And this is the difference. You know, Norway can rest the players. They're not trying to build the game in Norway. The game is, you know, it's got its own profile. You know, Turkey still needs to be. I read yesterday that football is behind other sports in Turkey. So what, hair transplants? Almost. God bless. Yeah, we lost to us. Some air chance for merchants. Oil wrestling is the number one sport. What if our best oil wrestlers play football? That's what they must ask themselves. As you watch it, like large men oiling themselves up and getting down with it.

48:18Rog:To be fair, that does sound quite good. It's very groovy is all I'm going to tell you. But we're trying to build this game in America. And seeing those scenes, C to C, all just the Americans losing their mind, I felt very loudly the absence of those scenes after this game. We now have to reset. We need to re-engage. We need to prove ourselves to ourselves to go again. There is that lingering doubt. It's 10 straight losses to European teams, which is just a crazy, it's almost a mental tick we have, an inferiority. I want to know, though, this is a quick one before we do try and pick up the what's, like the implications.

49:00Rog:if this game was not important why did poch bring the big dogs on like seginia tillman alex freeman you know they didn't have to warm up warm down recovery chase the game fail have the stigma of loss on their you know in their spell why did he do that if this game was like inconsequential

49:19Herc Gomez:well i think he was forced to do that because you don't want your players going a complete 13 days without having a game. And also, we've always heard throughout these two games that they played, Paraguay and Australia, how the U.S. hasn't been in a position where they've been down. We want to see what they're made of. It was almost like a game management situation where, all right, we're down. This is what we got to do. This is how we're going to implement the system. This is how we're going to go about trying to get a result. And I liked the intensity with purpose because anybody could just run around to run around.

49:54Herc Gomez:That's very easy. but the way the U.S. presses you to create their opportunities I think is unique to a lot of teams in this tournament and I think we're seeing with the Cape Verde's we're seeing with the Congo's we're seeing with a lot of different teams that if you are physically capable of stretching an opponent and organized, it doesn't matter who you are if you're Spain, if you're France if you're one of these big nations you can be surprised and you're going to suffer these well-organized teams with athleticism can cause some damage The U.S. has that in spades. So I think this was a good situation in game management for Mauricio Pochettino.

50:30Rog:God bless. What will he say to the players after the game? And what will they? You've been in locker rooms like that. I mean, the way we lost, 98th minute, last second winner, then involved all the bloody ghoul and nutmegging our hero, the last starfighter, Christian Pulisic, and then they swung it the other way. Did they have to nutmeg poor Matt Turner, just to sully and humiliate us even more? I do wonder what the players felt like when they got the mood in that locker room. Would they have been like, no big deal, we all good? And what would Poch have said?

51:00Herc Gomez:Yeah, hopefully he congratulates them for winning the group. That's got to be number one. Congratulations for winning the group because as Mauricio Pochettino would like everybody to know, it's important to congratulate the US Men's National Team for winning the group. Secondly, congratulations are over. We can't lose a game like that. Let this be a lesson. The score is 2-2. We're in the dying seconds of the 97th minute stoppage time. You've got to kill off the game there. You can't get scored on. If you're Christian Pulisic, hey, Christian, you're an important player for us, but you can't get megged.

51:32Herc Gomez:And if you get megged, take him down. Give us an opportunity to defend ourselves in a set piece, but we get out of here with the result. We've got to be smarter than that because this game didn't mean anything, but the next one does. And the next one could have the very same situation. So it's got to be situational awareness, and you have to learn from it. That's what I assume Mauricio Pochettino would have gone. First, congratulations. Mission accomplished. On to the next round. But boys, the way we let this one go cannot happen. Yeah, that was my sense last night. It was not so much the result.

52:00I think if they'd lost 2-1 and the game had kind of petered out after 60 minutes or whatever, I think it would have felt different today. Then you can use the last half hour to build up that logic in your head to defend yourself against the disappointment by thinking this does not matter. This is a tune-up game. Pochettino's getting miles in the legs of the players who haven't played. He's bringing on Sergino Dest and a couple of the others to make sure they're ticking over. But that's all it is. It's a fitness exercise. But to have that gut punch that late on is, I think, a setback for morale that they will have to overcome.

52:35We talked last night with Kyle, didn't we, about the kind of blood-in-the-mouth theory.

52:39Rog:Kyle Beckman. The US now have something to overcome. That matters. Which could be an advantage. I mean, Kyle Beckerman's point was it's good. They're not naive. They're not, you know, we're not thinking that our... Right, they'll know about it next time. Yeah, yeah. We know, we know, we know. We have been punched in the face. We know what we're in for. I mean, Potts, you've hit it. It was fascinating post-game. You know, it can't be possible that Turkey celebrates three points. Australia celebrates getting through. Paraguay celebrates getting through. For you to not say congratulations for winning the group, it's a little bit sad.

53:12Rog:Sorry, guys. We won. reports today U.S. soccer have offered Pochettino a deal to lead them into 2030. How do you understand that coming out now, today? And does he deserve it?

53:26Herc Gomez:I don't know how I could even comprehend to understand that. Who's in charge at U.S. soccer? Who's making this decision? Matt Crocker jumped ship. So who's the guy making, or woman, who's the person making these decisions? Once we know that, I could feel better or not about the way that U.S. soccer is going. Now, listen, I think it's Jesus Perez.

53:51Herc Gomez:Listen, there are good things about a Marisa Pochettino with this program. Culturally, it's changed. And I think he could have a place if he continues in the future when it comes to coaching education, which I think could be massive in this country and desperately needed. That said, the 20 months that Marisa Pochettino has had with the U.S. Men's National League, he's not exactly past them with flying colors. These last two games in the World Cup have been better than anybody could have ever hoped for. But my question is, if you beat Paraguay and you beat Australia to clinch the group, but you lose to Turkey, and then whatever happens and Bosnia grinds out a result in the round of 32 and you're eliminated, is that grounds for a new contract?

54:34Herc Gomez:I would think not. I would think you would think twice about this one. So if that's the case, hold off. there's there's something to to assess here not only in how the team does and develops in this tournament but who comes in and what they're looking for because you got a marissa pochettino who has suitors elsewhere and he's been involved in plenty of flirting sessions in the past so i i would preach calmness here well yeah the two things to me one that i'm all for culture and for kind of he's building something but let's not pretend it's not pretend it's not a performance business.

55:07Rog:It's a strategy for breakfast. Yeah, it does. But if he stands a new contract today and like Hurt says, they get knocked out by Bosnia, that new contract, Scotland are in the same position. They gave Steve Clarke a new contract before this tournament. And now you're thinking, really? If England have Thomas Tuchel an extension, if they do out in the round of 32, that's going to be an issue. Just wait. It is a performance business. There's no shame in admitting that. And the other thing that's really important, and Hurt alluded to it, Pochettino's been fluttering his eyelashes at quite a lot of teams in Europe.

55:38What happens if you offer him a contract and he says no in the middle of a home World Cup? What does that do for everybody? It just seems a really unnecessary thing to do. These ETA systems are delicate and finely balanced. Why take the risk?

55:54Rog:I don't understand any of it. I also mostly don't understand why that report has come out now. Somebody's put it out there for reasons that I'm having a hard time to fathom, But I'm locked on the Bosnia game. Herzegovina along for the ride. Talked about it. We've lost 10 straight European opponents, which is mind-boggling, particularly because we could have a steady diet of European teams as we march towards glory. Bosnia are fearless. They beat Italy to get here in qualifiers. They have their own narrative, their own sense of destiny, their own sense of sacrifice. Tim Howard said today, Bosnia, they're better off not even getting on a plane and going to San Francisco because the US is going to put work in against them.

56:42Rog:Sounds better with an American accent, I think, than an English one. I don't understand why American analysts are doing this right now, by the way. I don't know if we should learn quicker from the Turkish captain advising Australia that he was going to smash them only to lose it. I do think it's a dangerous game, but tell us what you think. I mean, both about the Tim Howard confidence thing, which is, you know, a lot of people love that. And what kind of game we've got in store for us on July the 1st.

57:10Herc Gomez:I love and respect Tim Howard, but he also said that Curacao is going to be embarrassed only to see Eloy Rune break his World Cup record. You know, the goalkeeper for Curacao. So, you know, that didn't get them all right. I wouldn't make less of a team like Bosnia. There are circumstances to everything, right? They eliminated Italy. I would say Bostoni eliminated Italy, getting red carded early on in that game, heavily conditioned a team like Bosnia. And the result that said, Bosnia is a team that you can't leave lingering around, both culturally who they are as people and the type of quality they have on the field.

57:45Herc Gomez:They're never going to stop and they're going to make you pay. Having said that styles make fights. And this is a great style for the U S men's national team to match up against. If you saw their game against Canada, they were overwhelmed by the physicality and the pressing ability of the Canadian men's national team. There are a lot of similarities physically to the U.S. and Canada. There are a lot of similarities to the way they can hurt you with players up top and the way the U.S. can hurt you. I really think that if Bosnia is not careful on their day, it can get ugly like the Paraguay game.

58:19Herc Gomez:That said, you leave a team like this hanging around, they've got enough quality in the midfield and with Erins Dzeko to hurt you in a way where they can force this, either finish it off in 90 or force it into overtime and take you out there. But I like this fight for the U.S. men's national team. I like this style.

58:37Rog:God bless the old UFC mindset of Hercules Gomez. You've been there. You've done that. We will talk to you before this game. I want to thank you for staying up late with us. I also want to say that you and the team on the Vamos channel are doing just magical work, man. And you and Sebi Salazar have like chemistry. I mean, it's like Zlatan and Lalas levels on JuleMats. It's amazing. You are an amazing, amazing duo. The match previews, the match reactions. I also love what the boys are doing at Give and Go. They just interviewed the governor of New Jersey, and it was amazing. I will link to it all in the show notes below.

59:16Rog:Thank you for informing us. Thank you. Whenever anything happens, I want you to know. My always gut is like, what does Herc think? what does Herc have to say? You make me so bloody happy. Your optimism right now, man. Tamor. I appreciate you guys. Take care of yourselves. Better than Zendejas takes care of his jewels. Oh, my God. By the way, there's a question in from the chat from MaxiJ. Which one of you is Zlatan and which one of you is Lalas in the jewel nuts?

59:43Herc Gomez:Oh, I'm more Zlatan than Lalas. But Sebi's more... Sebi's more snipey like Thierry Henry. we need a Lalas in the group so if there's another one out there

59:58Rog:we're all hiring if you're Zlatan who's top of the Hurt Lion category King of the Jungle

1:00:10Herc Gomez:Bocinia always from 50 ,000 to 17 million Bocinia God bless Bocinia

1:00:16Rog:long may that rain

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