Messi powers Argentina, Mbappe shines for France, and Haaland lifts Norway, featuring Humphrey Ker: Night Cup 6/22/26

24:19Rog:The best capture by Eduardo Galeano, the Uruguayan poet, where he said Maradona dribbled as if the ball was attached to his foot. Lionel Messi dribbles as if the ball is actually inside his sock as he runs. Like elite athletes watch Messi and are like, oh my God, how do you do that? It's like when you watch Barry Sanders, you do, you get that little man just doing humanly ecstatic almost theological things mentally and physically. And it is ecstatic. I mean, I want to pull this together and get to your point about why are they scoring? Why are they doing this? And I do believe it's more to do with astrology and the stars aligning than it is about the stat padding.

25:02Rog:I have a whole theory that we probably won't get to in this show. But the amazing part of this game was that Austria did not roll over. They were actually quite good. They were gritty. They were dedicated. They lacked, yeah, the composure, the commitment in the final third in key moments, but they were gutsy. And it showcased another facet of this Argentinian team, which I just don't think gets talked about enough, which is they're defending. They don't allow many shots on goal at all. I think it's 11 hours since they last conceded. Do you know the last team to score on them? Had to look this one up.

25:38Bolivia. Close.

25:40Rog:It was the Bolivar of Europe. Mauritania. Didn't even know that was it. Mauritania. Yeah, it's West Africa, north of Nigeria. They played a friendly against them in March. 1-2-1, late goal from Jordan Laforte. Shout out to you, sir. Look, Austria threatened late. There was a Vimmer header that was kind of flicked just wide. It got a little nervy. And then suddenly, what did we see? We saw that little Ewok scampering up the wing. 94th minute, suddenly Messi, sweet Messi, player for all the amygdala, Messi was a hunter charging in on goal. He thought, you know what? I'm going to pass it. Gave it to Julian Alvarez, who was, I think, so shocked that he passed it.

26:22Rog:Just completely blew the chance. The ball bounced around. Messi swooped on it again, shot it. It was blocked. There were two guys ahead of him. We watch a lot of football. That ball is not going in. Somehow, Lionel Messi, it was almost like a mind bender of a shot that he did. He unleashed with such venom. such violence um it was a stunning moment and then watching his face as he ran away charged away high-fived the photographer too there was an ecstasy um there's a delirium it was almost more human to watch him score a scruffy sloppy uh kind of just you know mundane goal than when he scores a transcendent moment of uh of human excellence yeah i think seeing him scrap is really pleasing because he makes so much of it look so easy that you forget how hard he is trying and that goal was all about Messi saying I want to score another goal and also a little bit kind of getting pissed off with Julio Alvarez for messing up the chance up.

27:19There'd been a couple where Argentina had kind of blown it and I wonder if he was like God can you do nothing for yourselves I'm going to have to sort this out but there was seeing that kind of energy and that determination that is a side of Messi's game that exists I think he's been saving it up for the World Cup, but it does exist. And it was really nice to see that come out, even at the age of nearly 39.

27:40Rog:What do you see when you look at him, Hump? Because Ronaldo scored five goals in World Cup play in the last two World Cups. Messi has now scored five in his last two games. I mean, he's pulled away. He's left Ronnie in his dust in this moment. 12 goals in his last nine World Cup games, plus three assists. Man is 38, about to turn 39. yeah i mean look it's it's it's a very well-worn observation but i think the debate about him being the greatest player of all time is surely beyond settled as you said it's an extraordinary thing to know you are living in the era of the greatest person ever to do a thing that we're obviously all so passionate about that we love so much um so yeah i mean i do think it's extraordinary perhaps I think I was not alone many of us probably felt when he went to Miami it was a bit of a like okay here's a nice gentle sort of descent into retirement make a few quid, live in Miami that sounds great fun, nice change of scenery in an environment that's probably not wholly unfamiliar in many respects he's not chosen to go to Germany or England or Italy or go and have a little bit of a last hurrah he's kind of you know he's winding down but it may be that this was a master plan designed for this world cup where he was like i'm going to keep in shape i'm going to keep my eye in but i'm going to conserve energy for one last hurrah because i suppose if you're a player like that who can you compare yourself to other than diego maradona and go like well he won one world cup maybe i can go one better and win two and you should never underestimate the the argentine chip on the shoulder so they they have a new song for that we're talking about chanting the argentines have a new song for this tournament it is not as good as their song for the last tournament that is the one thing that makes me think argentina can't repeat is their song is not as good it's too complicated there's too many changes of rhythm but one of the lines in it is the is the trophy they robbed from the number 10 referring to the 1994 world cup which obviously apparently is a thing that argentina is really bitter about he failed a drudge test there's a limit to who Now there's no real question about whose fault this is.

29:52It was Diego Maradona's fault. But I think that's probably right. He may well want to succeed where Maradona failed and win a World Cup in the US. And the best measure of his determination was after that second goal, I think they scored in the 95th minute and he clearly fancied another hat trick and only partly because Roger predicted he'd score one on morning cup day. So he gets the ball. He's given up on his teammates by this stage. He's decided that they're messing around too much. I'm not interested in them. I think he beat two players, gets fouled and then from 35 yards shoots from the free kick that is a guy who's like right I'm taking this very very seriously there's a chance for me to score a third double hat trick, first two games just went narrowly wide but Messi's on it he's not here to play The real test will be if he goes around the keeper in a subsequent game and does that thing where he goes down on your knees to head it over the line that's one we'll know if he's taking it seriously or not.

30:44Rog:I think 1994 they're very annoyed that it wasn't a golden boot for a federal intoxication. He was kind of robbed of the big one there. But the Messi stats are, they are like sci-fi. 24 % of the goals scored in a World Cup by a man-aged over 35 have been scored by Lionel Messi. I mean, it is utterly ecstatic. If you're Argentinian and you're pessimistic like me, you would start asking yourself, who else is going to score the goals other than this dude? Is that a weakness for our team? But that's only if you don't like fun. I'd say the sickness of Messi's dad, which is crackling in the media, it almost feels like is the new mission.

31:31Rog:Last time it was win one for Lionel. Now let's bond together. Win one for Lionel's dad. You know, this Argentinian team, they are. Jürgen talked about it on Saturday. It's hard to live for nine weeks with a bunch of dudes. but you have to find a way to enjoy living together. The Argentinians, they love to barbecue, drink the mate, win the football and win the World Cup. I saw a video of them having a barbecue, an asado at some point this week. I think Emi Martinez and Lautaro maybe were doing the cooking. I don't think I've ever seen so much meat. It was extraordinary. It looked like a Roman fire ceremony.

32:13Do you know what I mean? It was just this sort of massive pile of protein. It was astonishing. And then even the photo you showed of Messi having a haircut. Like, Messi is nearly 39. He's a grown adult. Rodrigo de Paul has to go and have his haircut with him. I think that's amazing. That sums up kind of how they approach life.

32:28Rog:I'm just surprised Messi doesn't sit in, like, the little race car that they have for the little kid. Outside the CBS pharmacy. Yeah, he'd be so cute if he's, like, getting his haircut in the little thing. But I wanted to – there's one for you. I loved it. end of the game, he was so shattered. Messi is so exhausted, no doubt emotionally exhausted with his father, physically exhausted from the endeavour. A journalist did journalist things, said, you know, you've broken the record, you're the leading goal scorer, which of the goals is your favourite? And he just said this, he said, I don't know, I don't remember, I am so tired.

33:07Rog:It's the first time I've ever related to Lionel Messi, Humpf. Yes, this sounds like me when i park my car in a in a multi-story car park and my wife is like where is it after we've been to see avatar fire and ash the movie was three and a half hours long i'm too i don't know that's a very specific that's a that's a very specific reference that happened that was many times yeah no i mean god bless him it's also like he must be i mean he must be exhausted, as well he should be. Soon he will gain his well-worn rest. Put his feet up. I presume he's got a huge ranch of beef somewhere in Argentina that he's going to go back to.

33:53Rog:Don't we all? At Justin Hill in the chat says, my son practices the hand of God every day in the backyard. God bless. Proper football. It's nice to have listeners in Scotland. At Laura Jewelman3256 says, just wait until its drone flyovers. Oh, that's a bit dark. A word from our friends at 1440. The 2022 World Cup final drew 1.5 billion viewers. It's 11 times this year's Super Bowl. To understand how football became the world's game and what drove it, listen to 1440 Explores with Financial Times journalist Simon Kuiper. It will give you the inside scoop into the depths of the tournament. Listen to 1440 Explores wherever you get your podcasts.

34:37Rog:And as the world arrives in the United States for the biggest spectacle in sports, we're going coast to coast, host city to host city, to meet the world with the Men in Blazers Match Day Live Tour. These are free college game day style live events taking place just before kickoff at some of the biggest games of the summer, where we'll be taking the stage with celebrity guests in front of thousands of fans. It's going to be amazing. Come and be with us in person or from afar on YouTube, but 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.

35:14Rog:To the football, to more together courage.

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35:50Rog:Let's go to France 3 Iraq 0 This happened in the city of brotherly love all eyes on one man, Kylian Mbappe We'd seen him score against Senegal, pulled ahead of Olivier Giroud in the French scoring record 58 goals in 99 games for Le Bleu. This is his 100th. I've just seen Lionel Ressi raise the stakes against Austria, becoming the all-time leading goal scorer. This then was the Michael Jordan meme, and he took it personally. It was remarkable. The storms were the subject before the game. Didier Deschamps said it won't happen. The pitch in New York was too dry. It could do with a bit of rain. That's called an ice cold take now.

36:32Rog:But we'll get to that. Poor Iraq. Can you imagine having to face Erling Haaland in your first game and then Kylian Mbappe and that supporting cast in the second? I mean, you limp in to meet this deep, deep French squad. It took Kylian Mbappe 50 minutes to remind Messi he would not be strolling to that golden boot or that his all-time World Cup record may not stand the test of time. It was Alise who pounced on some Iraqi defensive slip, rolled the ball to his boss man Mbappe. Lethal spot, edge of the box, kind of the point of the box. He just stepped up, unleashed, weaker left foot, lashed it through two defenders, vaporized the ball really.

37:10Rog:I think Joe Hart in the BBC studio was one of the goalkeepers, started to crackle a little bit about this ball. Not that it's Jabalor on the S 2010, but it's swerving oddly. It's beating goalkeepers in odd ways, just tiny millimeters, their hand plays. But have you heard anything about this, where there's smoke, there's fire? because it is. A lot of these shots are kind of going through our dudes. They're just there for Instagram numbers. Get embarrassed. I did a little bit of BBC radio the other day at some point. I couldn't tell you what day it was, Rog. And there was a former goalie on. I don't know if it was Rob Green who was another former goalkeeper.

37:46And he was complaining about the ball and the reaction from the other players, the other former players on the panel. Not from me. I'm a neutral in this. Was very much, God, goalkeepers will always find an excuse. The Jabulani was extreme. but it can make a massive difference. The way that the ball is constructed, the kind of the way it curls, the way it spins does vary way more than you'd think and I think keepers find it difficult if it moves in ways they're not used to, if they're anticipating the ball to kind of travel in a certain way and it doesn't. So it might be a factor but I think it's more likely just to be really good finishing and when Vazinha's not playing, not especially good goalkeeping.

38:22Rog:They're all just there to pad their insta numbers. The storm broke. Didier Deschamps is translucent white shirt. It was just nipples out. Tackles flew in. It became a mire. Just one shot and goal by France in that first half. And then the thunderstorm warning cave. Stands emptied. Game suspended for two agonizing hours. Gray and Arnold, the Iraqi coach, God bless, leaving the stadium underneath his trapper keeper binder. That was old school. I think there was a problem. They had to fish in Little Angolo Kante out of a puddle at one point. I'll just say, I mean, no big deal. Let's just, is that not summer on the East Coast?

39:01Rog:This is just how we live. Yeah, I mean, look, I love a bit of football in the rain. It's a magical thing. I think that said, the volume of rain that was coming down was definitely in danger of sweeping half the team away. And yeah, you just don't want to mess around with some of that lightning strikes into the stand and suddenly you barbecued half the Iraqi traveling away fans. Rob Roushry on Instagram said, God said, I will show you a real hydration break. There you go, yeah, exactly. A sort of heavenly hydration break. There you go. Everything, everything, everything theological. On they came, two hours later, couldn't stop Mbappe, closing the gap on Messi.

39:49Rog:53rd minute Iraqi back line, incredibly generous. It's like the end of disclosure day. No spoilers. Ahmad Basel just misplayed the ball, gave it straight to Dembele, squared it back to Mbappe, who had the whole of Philadelphia and Bucks County, Delaware County you could throw in there too in terms of the space he had to aim for. 2-0 France, 2-4 Mbappe. These are remarkable days. What we're living is not normal, Roar. I mean, Hunt kind of framed it earlier. Messi too, Mbappe too no spoiler alert for Big Earl Yeah as I say to an extent it's coincidence I suppose that they're all playing on the same day but they do all seem to have shown up Humphrey's right that maybe Iraq aren't the elite opposition but they've done okay they deserve to be here I think maybe that does kind of help maybe it does help pad the numbers a little bit but you know Mbappe's still twice against Senegal and the Senegal are quite good.

40:52Yeah, exactly. I don't want to be disrespectful of either Iraq or of Kylian Mbappe, all of whom collectively, I'd say probably better at football than me. Just in the main, when you average them out. But yes, I think ultimately you do compare that to World Cup of 1998, where there are always going to be one or two unfavoured teams in there. And if you're lucky as a prolific striker, you come up against, your group has a team that you're likely to be able to fill your boots against. And then, you know, given the scale of this where we're talking about, you know, 17, 18 goals around that across the course of the longevity of players now, getting a hat trick in a group game in 1998, really, that pushed you very far up the ladder.

41:49I suppose what I'm saying is you look at Mbappe and his age profile and how many more World Cups he's likely to go to, one can easily see him getting deep into the 20s and it not being that remarkable.

42:03Rog:I've got to say, I look at this, I'm a cynical person, I'm a negative person, I'm a horrible person. You're a monster. Yeah, I must be... Someone must stop you. Before I do it again. But I actually see this World Cup. I know Mbappe came here with a real plan to become the face of American football. Does that stake this place? They know it's happening. They want to be what Pele was in the 1970s. I mean, Messi is just Messi. That brain is just about winning and creating everyday transcendence. I mean, at some point, he'll be canonized. So he's a different case. But Mbappe and Erling, they both want to be.

42:44Rog:there's this huge area, huge amount of money, huge amount of brand spend. They're looking at tactics, they're looking at video games, they're also looking at David Beckham in almost every commercial and like, hmm, I fancy some of that big money. I think there is. I'm not being funny. I do think there's an extra motivation in this World Cup to come and just show out because to the victor go the spoils, but to the victor in America in an American World Cup goes an incredible commercial opportunity that can set them up for life. Absolutely. It's the last great kind of unexploited market. I mean, it is exploited.

43:22There's no question of that. And like, you know, at Wrexham, we have always been cognizant of like, can we become America's favourite club team? Certainly in our stratosphere of football. Because the opportunity here is so vast, the audience here is so vast, the resources is so vast so yeah I mean I think you would be any of these guys who have a team around them worth their salt would be looking to go like can you become as Roy said earlier the reverse Michael Jordan in a way or the second Pelé or a third Messi or whatever it may be because the rewards for that are extraordinary but what's really nice is that as much as you're completely right that Mbappe and Haaland will have seen this as their chance to state their claim to greatness with the commercial advantages that follow.

44:21We're two weeks in and it'll change over the course of time as we get to the more serious end. But the face of the World Cup so far, apart from Messi and maybe Pulisic, is the Cape Verde goalkeeper. He has a name. And there's something really nice about that. That is something that is completely organic. He did not, well, you know him, Rog, not me. I'm assuming he didn't arrive with a commercial strategy

44:41Rog:Foss Fosser is he already doing the deals with CBS I don't like the seat for Fosser but Fosser wants all of that Verizon money Fossinia Verizon hey it's name big savings stay connected with my mama she's over here we connected she's on my family plan It's amazing, man. Do it. I mean, that's a fair point. He is the one that everybody's talking about. There was an element of, and like Tim Payne, the Kiwi Defender, I think we said the other day, that was a really nice story that the Argentine streamer picked him up, but it was effectively done at random. Tim Payne hadn't really done anything to earn that other...

45:26Rog:He's not done the hard miles like Freddie LA said. Exactly. But other than being quite bad at Instagram, Tim Payne hadn't done anything. Whereas Vizinha has become one of those characters who will be a moment in the sunshine. It won't last forever. It will. He's got 15 million Instagram followers as he reveals himself to be like a great far right communicator in the future and uses that platform to run. I mean, I don't know what he's going to do with it, but now that's the gift. His life has changed forever. He will be one of the great communicators within his sphere of football. And God bless him.

45:56Rog:He earned it. At Cheek and Bluster in the chat says, Rog the Impaler. Cheek and Bluster, I told you we're not talking about that anymore. The game ended there. Lise set up Dembele, got his goal, shushed the haters. The depth, though, took off Lise, took off Dembele, threw on Ryan Cherky and Desiree Due. Francis stacked. Sean of intrigue, Sean of, you know, there's no kind of flaw, there's no kind of gossip, there's no little crackling fury. They seem supremely unbothered. Quickly into the third big game, New York, New Jersey Stadium. That's what it's called now. Welcome to Viking Row of Norway.

46:33Rog:Get a new move, lads. fascinating cross-confederation class between Asterix, winners of the AFCON, Senegal, and aspiring European superpower, Norway. Fresh off bludgeoning Iraq, hungry for more. I think slow boil is what you say when you want to get to the hits and get through the early exchanges. Norway owning the gutter, the field. Senegal mining down the flanks. Edward Mendy, yes, Chelsea fans are Edward Mendy had a couple of incredible kick saves using his legs. But when he tried to use his hands, it all kind of went to crap. Big Earl Harlan. We all laughed, touched the ball twice before the first hydration break.

47:12Rog:First corner, Landon Donovan said, I'm not worried about Earl in Harlan. He could touch the ball once and score three times. New math? Slight exaggeration, only slight, I would say. But this is Harlan. Harlan doesn't need to be involved in the game. He never has. I mean, it's the most pointless metric for him. He doesn't want to touch the ball a lot. It would bore him. He wants to touch the ball maybe twice and store two goals. So the game came alive. Julian Ryerson, the always creative full-back, limped off, replaced by Marcus Pedersen. Pants went, Kaladu Koulibaly, inexplicably mind-synapsed, coughed the ball directly to him.

47:50Rog:Pedersen had time to set his sights, finished right through Mendy. Look, there's all kinds of rumours of disarray in the Senegal camp and unpaid bonuses and unpaid everything. I think this did look like Mendy and Koulibaly quite quitting this goal. Maybe. I don't know. I think Senegal have been very unfortunate to run into France and Norway in their first two games. I think Senegal are much better than they have looked so far. I think losing to the United States ended them, to be candid. It was almost 2-0. Big Earl tackled the keeper, hit the post, pounded the turf like that angry Norse god Odin.

48:25Rog:I looked this up. Odin, do you know this, Humpf? Odin had a battle-induced rage known as the Berserker Gang, with which he channeled his fury to deliver a certain victory. Isn't that beautiful? Do you have Berserker Gang? No, I can tell you some more Odin facts. He had two ravens called Hugin and Moonin. I know that. Did they get on? Is Moonin not that weird hippo? Yeah. That's a Moomin. Okay. Yeah, they're often confused. Are they not based on each other? Easy mistakes. I don't know. Maybe the Moomins are based on... Spit this fact. Yeah. One more fact, please, that you had to suffer from plastics in an English education.

49:11He has a six-legged horse called Schlipnir. Don't we all? Get on with it. It makes you so special. He has... What's Gullen Bursty? That's something. That's one of his little pals. I think that's what he calls it down by. The squirrel that lives on the tree, Yggdrasil, which is the tree of life, is called Ratatosk. That's all my Norse knowledge. This is extraordinary.

49:33Rog:It is extraordinary. Did you get caned at school? Did you get, you know. No, they had done away with the caning by the time I got there. But it was a place that used to cane people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That sounds like, they sound like the kind of facts that were caned into you. I just like Norse. I've got a little raven tattoo on my wrist. There you go. I'm a horse business. I don't know if I've ever been so impressed by anything. That is just rattling off these sort of old facts. It's amazing. When I asked you, and you've dodged the question, do you have a look again? Do you have an inner fury that you channel to live a certain victory?

50:09Oh, not certain victory. No, I have an impotent rage that is much less cool when I can't get the printer to do the thing, when it's like, well, hang on. What do you mean print this document? I'm like, I mean, print this document. What else could I possibly mean by that? And then I lose my mind. And my wife is like, I don't find this attractive. Impotent rage.

50:37Rog:What is that? If you know what the Norse version of that is, I like the Berserker gang. What would that be? Because the Berserker, yeah, if you know what it is. Mr. Bina gang. It's like that. The Berserker gang did take root in transition after Senegal, got to say, so disappointing so far in this tournament. Odegaard charged into the danger zone, slapped in Big Earl who finished with utter dominance, utter berserker gang. And then to see just the scorer from Manchester City and the assist from Arsenal by the corner flag together, beaming, it was like cats and dogs human hysteria. Hands down the M6, I suppose.

51:20Yeah, it was a nice moment. It was a nice moment.

51:23Rog:It's a beautiful moment. I mean, just I love the international game. I love the boundary smashing. Ismail Assar gave Senegal misdirected hope, a goal which only angered Earl a little bit more, a burger lashing in the low cross. This finish, it was... He's a massive man. Massive man with massive limbs, massive musculature, massive framework, massive cartilages, massive blood-pumping arteries. how he opens his limbs so unbelievably. He shouldn't be able to do what he does to move his limbs in that way. It's a superpower. It's incredible. You have to remember that to Humphrey, he's not massive. To me, he's a trim.

52:05He's a little feather, isn't he? I call him wee early. How does he do that? The way he adjusted his body was extraordinary. And the speed of thought, the ball kind of didn't, I don't think it didn't come where he would have expected it to come. And he had to kind of twist his body around. And the kind of strain on the thigh, I think, would have been quite extensive.

52:27Rog:Talk. I'm not exactly sure what talk means. But I did think, oh, my God, the talk, the whiplash, the creepy, all of that crap. Whatever it is, he's ecstatic in his own. The three of them. Mbappe, speed. That is Marvel comic speed. Superhero crap. Messi is just a diminutive, tiny little Ewok who can become just a roaring, monstrous, unstoppable force in the blink of an eye and then flip back, shapeshifter. Earl is, I mean, I'm not big on the Marvel cut. He is the Hulk. He's Thor. He's just a massive, powerful flexor. 59 goals in 52 caps. He's taking the piss. We're like, oh, he's not doing well by his own standards.

53:10Rog:I mean, this golden boot is going to need, like, how many goals to win it? That's a great question, you know. Nine? How much of Pavarotti, Domingo? I don't think he had nine or ten, maybe. Nine or ten. You might even get double feeders, which I think probably hasn't happened since Jules Fontaine, who got 13. It's astonishing. It is. Domingo, Placido, whatever their names are, all those three tenors just singing off the three of them. I think Mbappe is going to beat Messi's goal record. Yeah, eventually. I think he's like, I am it. I am him I am not him and then Earl's just going to be like doubling it Players think about that stuff a lot more than they used to We've seen it with the Ballon d 'Or like they are there is a generation of players now who really take the Ballon d 'Or seriously in a way that it was always kind of a kind of secondary benefit before I think now that Messi kind of brought that well first closer and then Messi brought that World Cup goal-strawing record into play Mbappe will have that on his list of things I would like to do Didn't Am I right?

54:08Michael Owen won the Ballon d 'Or, didn't he? He did. But you think about how much... Are you diminishing it?

54:15Rog:No, but as in like... But Oli Palmer would have been... Oli, listen, he's awarded himself the Ballon d 'Or a thousand times over in his head. And it's a great ceremony. It's a much better ceremony. Deserve. The only person to ever receive it while wearing a loincloth and oiled up from his own line.

54:41but what I mean by Michael Owen it feels like in that period that was sort of 2001 I think 1-2 like around then you know that wasn't front page news in the way I feel like an English player winning it now would be if Harry Kane won the Ballon d 'Or this year it would be oh everyone in the country knows this you stop traffic it's everything so just to your point Rory of that the growth in importance of that to individual players. And again, the brand building we were talking about earlier, it feels like so much of modern football culture is sort of online debates about, is this player better than that player?

55:20How do you measure that? Well, Ballon d 'Or is one way.

55:24Rog:I'm so bad at it as well. Like I can't say, who's the best right back in the world? Name your top 10. I'm like, my brain just kind of plutters out. But I will say, I do know if Harry Kane did win the Ballon d 'Or, English people would find a way to diminish that achievement within probably 24 hours. Just like, yeah. If Inland wins the World Cup, he stands a chance. But we have to remember the Ballon d 'Or is a French award. Harry Kane's not going to be winning it. He's too English. We just ran a poll in the chat. Who will win the Golden Boot this World Cup? Are you ready for this? Messi, 48%. Mbappe, 25%.

56:00Rog:Earl, 19%. They're all wrong. Balikin is the only acceptable answer. Ultimately, Norway had a slew of chances, didn't take them. So I scored again. It means that France can top the group with a draw in that epic clash. Senegal will have to hope they can scrape through in third place. It's one more highlight of the day that I do want to love because I love life. I love joy. I love positivity, even though I pretend not to roger the impaler. 8 ,000 Scottish Tartan Army fans today went on the piss to attend the Florida Marlins game. At Shelf, the record on our Insta noted, we posted a scene, a really beautiful scene of thousands of happily drunk Scottish men dancing outside the stadium.

56:44Rog:One of them, the camera zoomed in on, was still wearing a, I don't know if we've been washed regularly, a Red Sox jersey from the last baseball game. He wrote, personally, I really appreciate the guy wearing his sock shirt that he got last week. It's always really important to remember your roots. exactly he's not a glory hunter he's not switched allegiances to the Florida Marlins jumping on the Marlins bandwagon at Cheek and Bluster in the chat wants to know can Odin finish over a double team on a late match corner oh yeah how would he do it oh knowing your Norse mythology how does that happen well probably get you know get the Valkyries involved do a bit of blocking you know Get them in and around.

57:34Do that thing where they all group around a field of sport.

57:36Rog:Yeah, the Valkyries. The Valkyries causing that havoc. Put this into context, Everton's top scorer Beto had nine goals this entire 38-game Premier League season. Messi, more than halfway. Why are you telling me this, producer J-Dubs? Let's look at tomorrow with real excitement. England are back in action. Ghana in Boston. Vibes, enough around that. It's crazy how positive the England camp is. not just positive, but just like not overhyped. It's like in the three bears, not too hot, not too cold. It's just right. There's no negativity. There's no drama. There's no baying in the media for somebody to be, but I've not seen it raw.

58:15Rog:Today, this press pack, I've lived with it for a couple of tournaments in the early days. Roy Hodgson, admittedly, every single press conference was just like, it was like, it was like, it was one of those horrible, awful, like bear baiting things you sometimes see on Russian Instagram. This is like someone asked a serious question, Thomas Tuchel. What do you think of Wonderwall? Could it become a new anthem for your team? For the record, he's in favour. He said yes. It's what great songs like that, I thought. I think he's this one Greg sausage away from trying to become English raw. It feels oddly panic-free, controversy-free, almost serene.

58:53Yeah, so there's two things. One is that Tuchel has named a squad that on the surface looks a bit weird, but I think he's designed to survive six weeks, maybe eight weeks in each other's company. I think that was something he really took into account. You have to have that kind of balance of characters.

59:08Rog:I think Cole Palmer would be walking around just practicing open carry and just slowly losing his mind. I don't know whether this is true of Cole Palmer, but I think there were probably players that would not be brought, because if they got bored, they might not be the best people to be around. I think that's probably true. And the other thing that I wonder... It's Jordan Henderson. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think that's why Henderson's there. I think he's there to kind of... He's arranging the kind of strabble nights or whatever. That's what he's... Or whatever game they're playing. They play a lot of Wolves, don't they?

59:40Yeah, Mafia. Yeah, that's what all the Wrexham boys do. They do that hours and hours. Is that right? Yeah. Wolves and Parchees. That's what Wrexham do.

59:48Rog:Big Dan Burns there to organise the lighting of the forts. What's Parchees? Parchees or Parchees. It's like a little dice game thing. It's a bit like Perudo, I think. I could be wrong about that. I know that some of them... Can huge sums of money be won and lost on this game? I don't think... Well, I'm sure that that's a possibility, but that doesn't go on with our lot. Absolutely, they're very moral people. Oh, yeah. We pay them so badly, they can't. Parche is a huge sums of money can be, but you can do it in a way that the footballing authorities are overseeing you. Yeah, that's fine. That's the billions of them.

1:00:26Rog:But go on. You can tell Humphrey's an executive. I think the other thing that might be working in their favour, you know, is the big gap between games. Because it means the press don't have too much to kind of, the press and the fans actually don't have too much to kind of work on. And by the time they play again, everyone's a bit, you've kind of gone through everything that's happened in the camp. You've gone through the kind of the mood stuff. You've spoken to a couple of players. And it just keeps it all at quite a nice like bubbling level, which for other teams might be a problem. But I think for England might really help.

1:00:54Do you think there's anything to the proliferation of understanding of world football means that you have a day like today, right? So we have, we just talked about these three unbelievably good players. And France making those substitutions, taking off, you know, Elise bringing on, and Dembélé bringing on Dwayne and Cherky. that fans of England, it used to be, I feel like, again, you go back to the 98 World Cup or whatever it was, or 2002, whatever. 98 was the Michael Owen goal against Argentina, wasn't it? And you have that sort of, I feel like, taking myself as an example at that stage, an active football fan, but one who probably didn't know much about Argentina beyond the three players that one saw on Football Italia or whatever, being like, well, they're all that good, are they?

1:01:44They can't be as good as David Batty. you know or whoever it is you know like this bloke David Bassey's gonna do him yes exactly like well at least the lads think they've seen football playing for Real Madrid yeah good luck getting right past David Bassey and having unrealistic expectations as a result and now I feel as though we perhaps English people have a maybe have a better sense of where they exist in the football you know where we exist and I don't know I don't know whether there's an element of that I think there's not as much as there should be, this is a subject on which I have many opinions, Roger, and I won't go into all of them, that I think, I think there's not as much as there should be, but there is definitely some, and I think a lot of it is to do with FIFA, not the morally questionable organisation, but the computer game, because younger fans have this kind of number in their head of how good players are, and it's like, oh, he's an 86, and they're like, well, he's an 86, so he's obviously good, and even if they've never seen them play, you don't have to watch them play to know that, well, FIFA think they're an 86, then they're probably, they're probably really good, And I think it has recalibrated how people understand England's weight class, to use your term, Rog.

1:02:51Rog:I think England fans have been conditioned. So you look at those experiments on rats being electrocuted in a maze so they can learn it. I think English fans have kind of been electrocuted enough by the team's failure at this point to know exactly where we are, to know what we dream about. We're laughing. John Oliver, last time he came on, did talk about World Cups for England being like Charlie running at a football with Lucy Holding. But then we unpicked it and thought, it's almost the pain that the English fans like at this point. And what if Charlie's saying to Lucy, do that thing you do where I run at the football and then the last second you pull it away and I just soiled myself.

1:03:29Rog:I think it has the whole everything of being an England fan. I think it has rewired a little bit. There is an awful story tomorrow that we have to mention. Garner, sluggish start against Panama. I don't think they had a shotgun to the 45th minute. But Thomas Partey, the ex-Arsoul midfielder, was expected to be back in the side, wasn't allowed entry into Canada due to seven charges for rape, an impending trial. This is just a pure darkness story. England's players, this is the issue that they're talking about, have to decide if they're going to shake his hand, including former Arsenal teammates, Declan Rice, Bikai Osaka.

1:04:06Rog:It's just an awful story that is irredeemable and is a darkness that we're going to have to live through. I want to draw a line under that and move back to the football and just ask both of you, what kind of game do we expect? I think the 4-2 win over Croatia was almost perfect for England, perfect for Tuchel, in that it gave us moments of joy and hope and then, oh, what an attack. When we won it, we can surge. But also, this was lost. We're not perfect. So it kind of dampens in, you know, over-expectation, over-hype and the rustiness of the back line. It's fairly human, this side, and one that can definitely build, but it also keeps the moorings from flying off into hyperbole, which is obviously not an emotion, I understand.

1:04:52Yeah, I think that's... To be fair, Roger, and very rarely I say this to you, I'm not sure I could have framed that any better. I think that's absolutely right. High five! I think that is how that result played out. There was 15, 20 minutes in the third quarter where they looked really, really good. and the rest of it they kind of looked fine going forward but a little bit shaky at the back and like we were saying I think fans are waiting a little bit before figuring out whether this is a kind of let's call for the manager to be burnt at the state or whether it's a it's coming home sort of a summer could go either way at the moment

1:05:25Rog:there is going to be a moment though when everyone's like who's the first person that tweets it's coming home but those are the two deers there is no in between there's no like oh it'd be great if we got to the semis. It's either it's coming home or Thomas Trickell has to be thrown off London Bridge. That's your two options. Why can't two things be true? Look, unfortunately, Hump will not be with us because I love that human being, but we will be live streaming that game on Twitch, Twitch at Men in Blazers, Twitch channel. Joining us will be Will Arnett, huge Liverpool fan. Another, oh my God, Liverpool fan.

1:06:01Rog:It's going to be unbearable. Aaron Desner of the National, Taylor Swift producer and a real football knower and more. Come and join us. We'll be living the game with your insights. Oh, look at this. There's a whole graphic. I didn't even know. A lot of very handsome humans. He's got Flula Ball. He's hilarious. He is. It's like genuinely. It's like having cocaine bear. Come and join us at the end of the show. England, Ghana, presented by Google. It's a watch along with Twitch. And then, oh, Hunt will be back in our loving arms. We'll be able to do some of these together. Over to Panama and Croatia.

1:06:35Rog:My dad would call them both in their first game non-winners, Roger. They both looked to put a point or three on the board. If Ghana lose to England, the win for either of them will keep them in contention. Panama were pretty awful from a CONCACAF perspective in the first game. The Croatians did cause England a little bit of stomachache. Those two goals they scored were amongst the most exquisitely constructed, almost like beautiful origami, collective selflessness, and that's some vicious, vicious finishing. I mean, stunning. Yeah, they've got some good young players coming through Croatia as well as the world's oldest man.

1:07:09So they are a better team than they look today. It's England, certainly in that 20-minute period after half-time. I think Croatia are pretty good. Panama are always quite tough defensively. They're well-organized. They don't really have a huge amount of attack. I think Croatia will have too much for them comfortably.

1:07:24Rog:They're like a Euro basketball team, not afraid to use a glass. Over to Group K, Portugal and Uzbekistan. I love Uzbekistan in Houston. This is an amazing footballing full circle moment. 2009, 24-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo made a sponsored visit to Tashkent, emphasis on sponsored, to give a football masterclass to local talent, including several members of this national team. Is that right? Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it? Can you imagine? Including Winger Dostan Beckham-Damov, who said playing against Ronaldo here is like a dream come true. Defender Rustam Ashur Matov was a little more blunt. we are not 13 anymore he said I'd like that if he said Mr.

1:08:07Rog:Ronaldo at the end of the quote it would be a little more I suspect that as a 13 year old he was nutmegged 7 or 8 times by Ronaldo in front of the Uzbeki media and is now looking to get his revenge it's the only way they'll learn first minute I'll just do him and he'll whisper in his ear that was for the humiliation it took me 10 years to get over you crushing my soul you bastard. Portugal need a win. It's got to be a game where Ronaldo is. Ronaldo is going to blast five goals, isn't he? He is. Can we just rip this band-aid off? And it's going to actually hurt Portugal in the long run. He'll get a hat-trick and it will justify continuing to select him for the rest of the tournament until they go out.

1:08:45Rog:He's going to do this to the haters when he blasts his fifth. And by haters, I mean people who look at data and know how much he's holding back the team completely. People who watch we round up group K matches. Colombia versus Congo in a battle of the seas brought to you by Sesame Street, a win, puts Colombia through. But Congo, one of my favourite teams in this, 25 % possession against Portugal, but looks so lethal in key moments. Oh God, they're also going to have huge news, the iconic Congolese fan Lumumba Vey, he's arrived in North America to show off his I think it's just stunning. This is what I mean every team has a thing, this is their thing and their thing is my favourite, their thing, the way he stands out like a statue unmoved.

1:09:30Rog:rooted in his nation's history to have him there on North American turf it's going to be amazing. I think in front of his sartorial presence great things. First of all he's an amazing sight and second of all I think Conrad will beat Colombia. Colombia are South American and Belgium. They're far too old. All of their squad were playing in 2018. The whole defence was playing in 2018. They haven't refreshed. James Rodriguez, friend of the show, is still there, shouldn't be. James. I think that Condo are pretty good. They look really smart against Portugal, and I think they will beat Colombia. James at Rexxon.

1:10:09Rog:Oh, my God, really? James at Rexxon. He's lived in the area. He's lived in the Northwest before. He loved it. He loved it. I asked about Everton. He said, yes, last dance. Ha, ha, ha. I think it means he wants to come back. But he did say to me, he teared up childhood dream to play at the Stoke Kairas. I'm just passing it on to you, baby. Looking forward to that unveiling video. It has always been my dream to play at the Stoke Kairas. Ever since I saw a video of Graham Whittle playing for Brexham. I want to play with Mr. Phil. That would be amazing. God, Phil Parkinson's footballing brain and James' just incandescent ability.

1:11:03Rog:Premier League, baby. Chris Evans, 4514 says, Rinaldo's already filming Visit Uzbekistan adverts. Look, so many big matches, so many big moments. Commemorate all in our merch shop. This is the plug, Humpf. Just bear with me. We've got a GoGo USA line. Humpf knows this. There's new designs out daily. Humpf loves them. Including a Cape Verde one on the screen here, which I love. It is. I mean, what does it say? Lifelong Cape Verde fan. And underneath it says for the last five days. It's a little bit EU flagged that, isn't it? Is it really? Yeah, a little bit EU flagged. So you're memorizing everything that's important.

1:11:35You could sell that to Remainers in Britain. The Wokarati.

1:11:40Rog:The Wokarati. Everyone's welcome. Check it all out in the shop. By the way, that's amazing. He's going to use that word more. The Wokarati. Welcome, Wokarati. We've got to reclaim the word Wokarati. Check it all out in the shop. What is that? Woe and karate together. I love karate. I was put an orange belt. Do you know this? Woe. I'm checking all that in the shop. Links in the notes below. I'm not doing a very good job of my plug. Roe, it's time for what everyone suddenly believes. We're nearly there, Humph. I'm exhausted. Where we pop into Cal. You look at their percentages. Helps understand what the public is feeling about a hot burning issue of the day.

1:12:15Rog:And we have to turn to Lionel Messi. Because, yes, the hype around this man just keeps reaching ever deeper, more profound levels. I believe he's a holy man. On Kalsh, they've got percentages for chance he'll appear on Jimmy Kimmel this year. I crap you not. Zero. 14 % chance of that. No. He won't do Kimmel. He loves Kimmel. He might love Kimmel. I always get confused which one's Kimmel and which one's Fallon. I know. I think Messi would go on Kimmel, but I think he'll realise when he goes on stage, he actually likes Fallon. And he's like, maybe terrible. Leave Kimmel before Kimmel leaves you.

1:12:50Rog:Jamie Carragher said that, didn't he? leave the Kimmel who's the one who supports the slightly smaller team is the one who supports West Ham yes that's Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Myers Seth Myers, is that the same thing they're all same, all different they're all wonderful and very talented but this man has already conquered the football world how many goals do you think he'll score left in this tournament, 6, 7 8 or more tournaments how many will he add to his tally before this World Cup well they've got Jordan to come so that's probably another two which takes him to seven and then Messi probably thinks he's playing Michael Jordan I did look at their bracket I switched the stage of the tournament where I looked at their bracket and they I think they've got a relatively decent run probably will have a relatively decent run to the semi-finals so I think he might score 11 I agree with you by the way I think the number 7-8 I think it's just going to be a complete and utter ecstatic orgy just a in this bloaty tournament bet against this man at your own peril.

1:13:52Rog:This man ages like Rob Lowe, if you know what I mean. Which is to say he doesn't. Henry 712 in the chat says, Sean Dyche, founding member of the World Karate. I love it. I don't even know what the World Karate is, but I love it. Get that Amex gold card ready. I'm too tired to cook. We feeling five guys or the Cheesecake Factory? Both. Earn up to$120 a year in statement credits of participating partners. Up to$10 each month when you pay with the Amex Gold Card. Learn more at americanexpress.com slash explore-gold. Enrollment required. Terms apply. It's time for the food. Oh my God, we got that.

1:14:31Rog:This is the part. I've got to not do this into my microphone. But it's different this time. It's drinking. We got you on. We don't expect this. This is amazing. These are very expensive. What are they? Californian things. I don't quite understand them. You're a Californian. Yeah, you're a Hollywood type. This is called a mango. Malibu smoothie or a Malibu mango or something? So just explain Airworn. I mean, this is, by the way, European mind cannot comprehend. Yeah. European mind cannot comprehend Airworn, really, because it is sort of like a really more bougie Whole Foods where everything costs.

1:15:10I mean, these are probably like$24 or something.

1:15:13Rog:It was more. They said, do you want to pay more? We said, yeah. It's worth it. We paid$30 for these. This is like the most Californian thing. I'm actually allergic to mango, so I'm going to blow up in a minute, but it's worth it, Wookerati. This is like an L.A. In L.A.'s culture, Irwan, how would you explain it? So, Irwan is, yeah, it's like a fancier Whole Foods. There's about four or five of them across L.A., and they're always full of, you know, very, very glamorous people who are spending, you know,$150 on kelp. Kelp noodles and sort of weird... Oh, I only eat artisan kelp. Bee pollen sourdough bread.

1:15:59I will confess that I consume just enough kind of celebrity content to know what I want. You do.

1:16:04Rog:This is like the least jokes you think I can think of for you, Ru. I think my wife might be quite jealous that I've had one. That might be the way I picture it. Yesterday I gave him a Pink's hot dog and chili dog, and I wanted to go something diametrically opposite today. This feels very important for my microbiome. Does it really? Yeah. What was your take on Pink's, by the way? Because that used to be about 100 yards from my house. I don't really like hot dogs. See, I love hot dogs. I don't particularly like Pink's, which is like a controversial. They have a couple of mouths, so they can't. You get a red card for that now.

1:16:37Rog:You would. You'd be sent off. You'd be sent off for that. What are you talking about? I love pinks. He's slagging off pinks. You can taste the gristle and the toenails and the trotters and the – I love it. All of it. It's so yummy. All that. Just nothing beats a ballpark hot dog for me. That's my hot American take. It's got to be soggy and weird and gross and handed to you by a teenager out of a big tub. my key takeaway from 12 days of men in blazers force feeding me american junk food is like some sort of factory farmed pig is that a bird is a bird is a bird is a bird and hot dogs are just hot dogs that's but rog that that and i say this is a fully signed up member of the woke karate that is amazing that's one of the nicest movies i've ever had i mean it is delicious is it worth 30 no not of course it's not it's some fruit but it is delicious put my money in a garbage can and set it on fire.

1:17:32Rog:I'm also very allergic to mango. How allergic? As you said that, that seems not great. I commit to the bit. Do I need to move away, Rog? Is that what's happening? Is something explosive about to happen? I hope so. Are you about to explode onto this World Cup like Lynn Harland's? I'd love it. In which case, I'm going to stay on the live stream because we get a lot of views for that. Can you tell me what score you give out of 10? 9. 9. 9.0. That's delicious. What would you give it, Humph? I give it a three points. I'm not an air-worn kind of guy. I think it's good. It's pretty good. I do like mango and stuff.

1:18:09So I'm going to go, I'm going to give it an eight.

1:18:12Rog:God, I've got to tell you, you are both going to have, at the end of this show, your own skincare line. Me and Humphrey have been very middle class about this. That is absolutely delicious. It's fully organic. Lovely. Before we talk about skincare lines, can you just explain your moustache, what you're going for? Because I think it's fascinating. It's like a whole lot of you. I got my hair cut this weekend. When I was last on, I had a bit more of a handlebar. A bit more Hell's Angel last time. It's more like 1920s cricketer to me, but Hell's Angel. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'll take that. WG Grace.

1:18:44Rog:Yes! He's a bit older than that. A man called Godfrey was what you looked like. Yes. My ideal form of 1920s cricketer is someone who took 170 first-class wickets for Hampshire and then was killed on the first day of D-Day. I knew the sob. The sob. He died as he... Yeah, he did die. Yeah, that's too early. That's too early for you. That's what he did. He attacked the Germans. He attacked the Germans with a cricket battle. Would you... Come here, the hun! I've got another good fact for you. I believe I'm right in saying the first British casualty on D-Day was a man called Den Brotherton who had played in midfield for Manchester City before that.

1:19:19Oh, wow. He was a Beth Tannenhor captain in the Boston Boxing infantry. I'm a big history nerd. Is that true? I think that's right. I think that's right

1:19:31Rog:that's incredible I have nothing funny to say thank you for your service brotherage not brotherton sorry I keep trying to get my wife to let me grow a moustache but she keeps saying no I might use Humphrey as proof I think that looks genuinely good a lot of people in the chat yesterday were trying to work out what is going on with your little goatee I can't be bothered shaving is what's going on with my goatee I'm just not interested in shaving it bores me. Guys, I got my fact wrong. His name is Den Brotheridge and he played for Aston Villa. All we know is Wrexham are not signing him. By the way, we paid the respect to three incredible men.

1:20:12Rog:One of them probably deserves it more than the other three which slithers of fiction but you do. You look like a man who would try and cross the North Pole unaided in 1923 wearing only a tweed suit and would perish on day three which I just love. And then, yeah, having won enter the Paris Olympics and won the tennis singles without having never played tennis before. Yeah, I know. And then go hunting and catch some rare tusks and present it to the Queen. He does also have the slight vibe of someone who's going to sell you some counterfeit cigarettes in the middle of the lips. Bit of a spit. And some tights for your loved one.

1:20:52Rog:I didn't know whether to do the Walker reference, but yes, you look like a Walker. Yeah. It's a deep call. I'm aware that many of our viewers might not know Private Walker. I just want to say Lieutenant Herbert Denham, known to his friends as Den Brotheridge of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, widely recognised as the first allied soldier British casualty killed in the action on D-Day, educated at Smethwick Technical College, played football for the Aston Villa Colts, and of course played cricket because everyone played those two. You couldn't just play one. Played for Mitchells and Butlers in Smethwick, May his memory long be remembered.

1:21:26Rog:I feel great to actually honour him in this moment. At Chris from 4 says, Humphrey's World War II ghost is haunting the changing room in Notts County. I can't say this show has come off. We started honouring brilliance and we have completely and utterly just devolved into the woke karate. So let's end this with a letter. We're loving your World Cup journeys. We're loving all of it. Send it to us at medinblazergmail.com. dropping into our MIB Discord, which was on fire today. I loved it. I was in there all day. It kept me sane on a very dark day for me. But send us your emotions, what you're experiencing, and Roar, do the honors.

1:22:04Rog:This is from GFOP, Tommy Lavelle. I'm listening to you and Rory this morning back in Dallas, and every 30 seconds I'm overcome with chills thinking back to that experience in Seattle. I was there with my seven-year-old son making memories that will stick with us through both our lifetimes. That's a lovely picture. In a few sentences this morning, Rory summed up my lifetime as a USMNT fanatic. At last, Rog, I am speaking for America. What has been my own personal minority pursuit for the better part of 40 years just evaporated among the tens of thousands in the streets of Seattle. I finally feel a part of something massive and growing.

1:22:41Finally, thanks for all you do bringing our community together. That's a nice letter.

1:22:46Rog:I like to think of ourselves as the last thing stopping football from going over the top, to be candid, if I'm being honest. But that is a beautiful letter, Tommy LeValle. Your son is beautiful. I said to so many people there as we were marching, found out today, 15 ,000 of us marched to the game joyously, euphorically. It did feel like Ferris Bueller's kind of that scene in Chicago. It was beautiful. Great. parades said to so many people to the people with their kids you're going to remember this forever you're going to remember being with your mom on this day forever uh when you're going to be remember being with your kid forever this is going to bond you um and i do i hope that all of you experience that i do feel like something very profound in the tectonic plate to this nation is happening um and we're going to ruin it all tomorrow live on twitch our first watch along presented by Gugel.

1:23:40Rog:We are your official second screen friends. We are your friends. And we're going to be on there with, it's a big day, England, Ghana, Will Arnett, the golden voice man, Grammy winner, Aaron Dester. Come be with us, revel in this match together. We're getting good value for this piece of design that we've done. The link, oh, Flula Borg looks very sexy in that photo. He does, yeah. The link is in the show notes below. And on that note, we'll be back again tomorrow to celebrate the England game. My wife's coming to LA. I can't wait to see her. Give her a huge hug. That show, 6 p.m. Pacific time, 9 p.m.

1:24:13Rog:Eastern time. Come join us again on YouTube. Big Hump, can we get a last word from you, you beautiful, beautiful man? Wise scholar. Are you a scholar more than anything? You're a scholar, sir. Just a dork. I'm just a bit of a nerd. I mean, I'll take scholar, but let's be honest, I'm just a dweeb who's interested in doing things. Do you have a butterfly net? Do you have a butterfly net? No, but I could really see myself doing that in the future. I paint toy soldiers. That's probably worse than the British. That's normal. Do you know bird noises? Can you walk outside and name birds? No, my brother-in-law is very good at that, though.

1:24:52He's like, oh, that night jar's back.

1:24:57Rog:My wife is like, you need to get a hobby. You've got to stop working. This is ridiculous. And I thought about it for a week, and I thought, what skill in my life do I really want that I don't have. And that was it. I'd like to know burn songs. Yeah. What sort of soldiers do you paint, Humphrey? I do all sorts. So I did lots of historical ones, lots of, there's a company called Warlord Games. They make loads of, sorry, I probably shouldn't plug them on here. If you want to send me loads of... Error one. Yeah, Error one. Wokarati. Classic Wokarati behaviour, trying to shill for a big toy soldier.

1:25:37What do you paint, dude? So I paint, I've got a load of English Civil War miniatures. I've got a load of Napoleonic War miniatures. I've got a load of World War II miniatures. I've got, what else have I got? Can you paint me a Lieutenant Herbert Denham Den Brotheridge? I probably can't. I mean, unfortunately, I'm moving house at the moment. Otherwise, I'll be able to fish out. I've got some World War II British paratroopers who look very like Den Brotheridge. Although he was Oxenbuck's infantry, so he was technically glider. glider pilot. This is extraordinary.

1:26:10Rog:Everyone's saying this in the comments. I'm very impressed. I've had two slurps of the Errol one and honestly the sugar is racing through my body. Your microbiome feels so good that you're just pouring your heart out. It's oversharing about Toy Soldiers. No, you're not oversharing. I've got so many questions that I'm going to rein in. I want to thank you, you beautiful man. I didn't expect that to be the last word. You just have to do yourself. as the toy soldier painter, which makes me love you all the more. You incredible. You are a scholar. You're an enterprising scholar. If this was the 18th century, you would get on a boat on a doomed expedition to go and paint the flowers and fauna of Patagonia.

1:26:53Rog:It would be amazing, dude. I'd absolutely love to get being blow-darted. Blow-darted by someone after a cultural misunderstanding. Day 17, learning to live with scurvy. It's not as bad as mother warned. a friend of mine I do want to say an old school friend of mine I found out today has passed away I want to dedicate this show to you Andy Pye and your memory your passing is a reminder it's a hard segue from Toy Soldiers but man this is life to remind us we all have but a few World Cups and we never know how much we have left to enjoy he was a crazy wonderful man and I do dedicate this show in his memory to all your lives savour every single moment.

1:27:37Rog:We'll leave you with people who are savouring this World Cup. These are the Norwegian fans bringing big Nick's energy to New York City. We'll be back tomorrow night. Big, big love to all of you. Thanks for being with us. Godspeed. Courage. Good night, everybody.

1:28:05Thank you.