Mexico Through to the Round of 16, Plus We Preview the USMNT's Biggest Ever Game | Day 21 Preview | Morning Cupdate, Presented by The Home Depot

0:00Hello, welcome to Morning Carb Day. Welcome to Atlanta where Mexico has just beaten Ecuador. We've been at a watch party with a load of amazing Mexican fans. What an atmosphere. That is another co-host through to the last 16. The big question is what can the USMNT do today? This is your ultimate guide to day 21 of the World Carb.

0:26You'll be pleased to know I made it out of there alive. Hello and welcome to Morning Car Update, built by The Home Depot. Celebrate match day with a winning assist from The Home Depot. Fast free delivery lets you focus on your team, not your to-do list, subject to availability. The Home Depot wishes the USMNT good luck ahead of today's match. Now, we have got predictions with former USMNT keeper Brad Friedel coming up, as well as looking back at yesterday's games. But first, everybody, the day of destiny has arrived. This is what it is all about. A knockout match at a home tournament at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern.

1:03Richo Pochettino's USA take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in San Francisco. And we are hoping for more scenes like the ones we saw here in Atlanta at officially America's best soccer bar, the Brewhouse Cafe. USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! And no matter whether you're watching at America's Best Soccer Bar or from the comfort of your couch, this is a moment in US soccer history that you are not going to want to miss. Win it and it will be the USA's first knockout victory in a Men's World Cup in 24 years. How about that? The good news, though, is that the USMNT has a clean bill of health. The real reward for winning the first two games was the fact that against Turkey, Mauricio Pochettino was able to rest several first-team players, protect those who had yellow cards, and also get players like Christian Pulisic back up to speed after being out injured.

1:57And whilst they may have narrowly lost to Turkey, it was still a chance for several of the second string to provide healthy competition. Sebastian Berhalter impressed, as well as Austin trustee and Brendan Aronson. His former USMNT midfielder Clint Dempsey being as positive as ever. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but we got to be at our best. And I think if we are, and players like Christian and Bolligan and how well our midfields played in terms of McKinney, Tillman and Adams, like what they did against Australia, winning the game and getting the clean sheet. If we can replicate something like that, I think we'll finally be on to something.

2:34But yeah, I'm definitely feeling optimistic. It is well worth checking out that full chat between Rog and Clint. It is up now on the Men in Blazers YouTube. And whilst Clint is right to be positive, there is one big question mark. Is it possible for the Americans to beat a European team? Can they beat a European team? I must admit, I needed the Brian Windhorst meme explained to me, but he has perfected it in a football context. In recent times, placing the US against European opposition is like opening an ice pop in Death Valley. It doesn't really do very well. They've not won any of their last 10 consecutive games against nations from Europe.

3:13and haven't recorded a victory over one in over five years. Bosnia and Herzegovina's progression to this stage of the tournament has been mightily impressive. They beat Wales and Italy on penalties to qualify via the playoffs, and then managed to hold co-host Canada in their opener to a one-all draw before getting out of the group thanks to a 3-1 win over Qatar. One to look out for, though, is the Milwaukee Messi, Esme Baraktovic, Bosnia's young technical winger. Born in Wisconsin, he got a senior cap for the USMNT in 2024 before making the switch to Bosnia to represent his parents' homeland. So now in a twist of fate, he's coming up against his former team and his threat along that flank is going to be crucial.

3:55Considering the size of the nation, Bosnia have had a very impressive amount of support out here in North America. Here's one Bosnia fan explaining why life has been sweet ever since he found out that his nation would be at the World Cup. I haven't had a bad day since March 26th. We beat Wales March 26th and then a week later we beat Italy. Swear to God, man, every single day, coffee with my boys, drinks with my boys. My girlfriend of six and a half years broke up with me. I miss you a little bit, but yo, I'm telling you, not a bad day. I get the feeling that man is definitely a glass half full kind of guy.

4:30So how does the US go about trying to make it past this Bosnia side? Well, it could all be about the now trademark flying start.

4:42Today's Drill Down brought to you by Makita is all about the USA's flying starts in this tournament. Against Paraguay, the US took the lead in the seventh minute. Against Australia, it was the 11th. And then against Turkey, it was as early as the second minute. And this is no coincidence. This is Pochettino's fluid tactics in full action. Mark McKenzie spoke to ABC about the team's tendency to fly out of the block, saying, it buys you that time to really build into the game and continue to play with that freedom. Much of Potcher's system relies on the right-hand side combination of Serginio Dest, Alex Freeman and Weston McKennie.

5:16Dest pace in particular was a huge threat against Australia with Pulisic returning and adding some creativity to the left-hand side. This US team should be well equipped to attack Bosnia's compact defence from both sides. And with Flo Balogun up front, they are stacked. What's that chant again? Oh yeah, this.

5:41I really, really hope this catches on because it is amazing. But conceding an early goal will not phase this Bosnia side at all. In both UEFA playoff games, they found themselves 1-0 down to Wales and Italy in the latter stages of the second half. In both games, the Bosnians were patient and were clinical when the chance to respond arrived. Don't I just know it as a Wales fan? Bosnia and Herzegovina thrived as the co-host spoilers against Canada as well, so can they repeat the trick tonight in San Francisco? By the way, if you're getting in the USA spirit, go check out the GoGo USA merch collection at the Men in Blazers shop.

6:21Link is in the show notes below. Next, let's look ahead to Wednesday's other knockout ties. The first match of the day is England against DR Congo. will fans of the Three Lions be singing this again at full time? And after all You're my Wonderwall I said maybe

6:48Wonderwall by Oasis has become the new sweet Caroline for fans of England which I think has gone down well with the vast majority although not with one of our producers Elizabeth who boldly claimed the other day at dinner that Oasis are overrated. What? Come on. Honestly, terrible take. Anyway, England can't take this match against DR Congo for granted. The African nation are in a World Cup knockout match for the first time, but they held Portugal to a 0-0 draw in that opening game before only losing narrowly 1-0 to Colombia in match two and then recovering from a goal down to beat Uzbekistan 3-1.

7:25England boss Thomas Tuchel has a bit of a right-back problem as well. Rhys James is injured and so is Jarrell Kwanza, which means that Spurs' Jed Spence will likely fill in. Then, at 4pm Eastern, this will be the sound in Seattle.

7:47Belgium fans there bringing the noise before their last match. We're expecting the same again against Senegal, Even though Belgium topped their group and Senegal finished third in theirs, this is an extremely tough one to call. Senegal lost two of their three group games, but they were actually pretty unlucky in both of those defeats. Belgium are sort of the opposite, taking top spot after beating New Zealand, the lowest ranked team in the tournament. But against both Iran and Egypt, they looked far from convincing. The winner will play either the USA or Bosnia in the round of 16. Yesterday, three more teams made it through to the last 16 One of which was co-host Mexico Who have been utterly faultless They're through with four wins from four matches They've scored eight goals And they're yet to concede any But best of all Well, they've won their first knockout game since 1986 And as you can imagine The celebrations in Mexico City were wild

8:52While at the Azteca, over 80 ,000 fans turned it into a sea of green The team were clearly galvanised by the insane atmosphere And after a storm-delayed kick-off, Mexico blew Ecuador away

9:22Julian Quinonez smashed the opener into the top corner after 22 minutes. Mexican commentary just always delivers, doesn't it? Raul Jimenez then sealed the deal by firing the second one in not long after. The reaction at a watch party in Atlanta was quite something.

9:47That was Wicked Wolf in Atlanta. We were there and let me tell you, that atmosphere was insane. Now, Ecuador showed few signs of staging a comeback and it ended on an even worse note for them with Piero Hincapier being sent off for covering his mouth while confronting a Mexico player. But for Mexico, it was just pure magic and also a very commanding team performance. Eltrie played with an intensity that has made fans believe this team could go on and make even more history. They just have the spirit. That's all it is. The fans, the attack, the play, the coach, phenomenal. It's a well-balanced team.

10:24Now, Mexico will wait to see if England defeat DR Congo to set up one of the most anticipated rounds of 16 matches in recent World Cup history. And Mexico will, of course, have that advantage of playing at the legendary Azteca Stadium. You know, we're playing at home. We're doing our thing. We've got a lot of young players. Mora, 17 years old. And, you know, we're doing our thing, you know, like, like they're showing everybody that, you know what, like we could, we can compete. We can compete with these big teams. Up next, and tournament favourites France breeze through Sweden, striking fear into the hearts of any nation who thought they realistically had a chance of winning this tournament.

11:00Their attack is just something else, isn't it? Kylian Mbappe opened the deadlock just before halftime with a sublime individual effort before Bradley Barcola doubled their lead.

11:15Oh, such a good chant, isn't it? An absolute classic. Now, believe it or not, this match was 96 years in the making, as it was the first time these sides had ever met in a men's World Cup game. And the Swedes will be wishing it'll be another 96 years until they meet them again. Mbappe then got another, making it 3-0 on the night, his sixth of the tournament. There is just no stopping him, is there? Pure dominance from Le Bleu, proving exactly why they are the favourites. It also means Didier Deschamps has won more World Cup matches than any other manager in the history of the competition. Good stat, but I think the only thing he's going to care about is winning another World Cup.

11:53Anyway, France will face Paraguay in the round of 16, and earlier in the day, it was these guys.

12:07that's just never gonna get boring is it never i want to see it every day they kick the day off against the ivory coast in dallas norway are considered by many as dark horses in this one due to star names such as you know erling harland and martin odegaard whilst ivory coast had impressed with wins over ecuador and cape verd neither side had ever won a knockout game before so stakes were high. Buid on by their now world-famous fans, Norway broke the deadlock on the night. Antonio Nusa putting Norway ahead. However, in the second half, Manchester United's Amadeallo's superb solo effort drew the scores level, and this tie set to be destined for extra time.

12:46That was until, who else? Erling Haaland, who popped up in the 86th minute to send Norway through. Ivory Coast threw everything at it in the dying stages to try and get a draw, but the Vikings held firm. Norway will now face Brazil in the last 16. 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 Matchday 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.

13:28Come and be with us in person or from afar on YouTube. And let's celebrate this some other way. It's meant to be celebrated. Just head to the events tab on meninblazers.com for all the details. To the football. To more together. Courage.

13:45Tonight, after the big one, USA against Bosnia. Come and share whatever feelings that you may have with Rog Rory and Wrexham's Humphrey Kerr on another episode of the Night Cup. Think of it as sort of like your post-match therapy with a beer. Let's get straight into predictions then. I'm starting to enjoy this challenge against the night cup, actually, because yesterday Rory Smith went for a 3-1 Norway win, but I went for a 2-1 Norway win. Bang on. Come on, Betsy. Lovely. Beautiful. In the Mexico game, Rory went for a draw, while I went for a 2-1 Mexico win, which means it's a point for morning cup day.

14:22We're back in the game. Come on. Woo! So much enthusiasm from that corner. We trail night cup 8-6. We're pulling it back day by day. Today, I'm going head to head with an overly confident former USMNT keeper, Brad Friedel, who told me that he wanted to take me on. So here it goes. Hello, Betty. I would love to beat you at predictions. I mean, of course I'm going to win, right? Isn't that the way it goes? Okay, England against Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo. I am going to predict, not an easy game, but maybe an easier scoreline at the end of it all. I'm going to predict 3-1 to England.

15:14Yeah, 3-1 to England. and the US against Bosnia. I am going to predict the US winning a much harder than anticipated 2-1. I just think all knockout games are really difficult. I actually want it on record that I have beaten Brad numerous times at darts when I worked with him in Seattle last summer. So I don't know why he's so confident he's going to beat me again. My predictions for this, I am going to go 2-0 to England. England win I think it's probably on the cards and I'm going to say the USA are going to win this 1-3-2 but it is not going to be easy

15:59On today's finishing touch brought to you by Verpaint we've got to talk once again about Lumumba Vea DR Congo's world famous statue fan who watches his nation with one arm raised throughout the entire 90 minutes in tribute to Patrice Lumumba the country's first leader Thank you, we have reached the bar of 25 ,000 subscribers. Lumumba Veya was able to make it to DR Congo's game against Colombia as it was hosted in Mexico, but he's not going to be able to make it here to Atlanta today for their knockout game against England after being denied a visa to the US. But fear not, everybody. Lumumba isn't beaten that easily.

16:39He has an apprentice ready to step in. DR Congo's ambassador to the US confirmed to The Telegraph that he will be replaced by a younger fan called Enoch Habwende or Lumumba Jr. Now, Enoch has been in intense training in order to last the full 90 minutes. I wonder what that training involves. Plus potential extra time. And the ambassador has said that he is the real one, but Lumumba Jr. is smaller and a bit younger. He's the Generation Z fan. Forget the football. This is proof that every nation needs strength and depth, even in the stands. That is it for Morning Cup Date today, built by The Home Depot.

17:17The Home Depot is your winning assist to host the ultimate watch party with fast free delivery to get your backyard match day ready, subject to availability. Today is the day, Atlanta. Get yourselves ready. Rog and Rory will be at the Founders Green in South Downtown at 10am Eastern Time ahead of England and DR Congo for another match day live. They'll be joined by James Horncastle, NBA star Larry Nance Jr. and local hero and hip-hop legend Big Boy. I've got something to say! It's a free event, so if you're in the area, it's not too late to join. For everybody else, the link to the live stream is in the notes below.

17:52They'll be previewing the massive US match later today and also the England one as well, I'm sure. So enjoy that. We are going to be back tomorrow, but guys, enjoy this massive day of football. I hope it goes well for you.

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