Ronaldo and Portugal oust Croatia, Spain dispatches Austria, and a next-day US regroup with Clint Dempsey: Night Cup 07/02/26

24:57Have you imagined what he said to his teammate? Did I? Yeah. What did I say? I did that. I've done it again. I've done it again, yes. Let me think again, very, very unfair to Cristiano Ronaldo. Again, all of this is projection. It's about our weakness, our desires and our... You've basically got three beta males here looking at one of the world's Alpharez males. He's what a dud. Yeah, we laugh at what we want to be. Yeah, obviously. Spain played Portugal on Monday as the undercard to the US. Can we just quickly say Modric, I don't know how you would sum him up. I'd say no greater footballer in the world who looked like he was a medieval cowhand fresh in from the pastures.

25:42He was as great as he was. Sorry. He was as great as he was unassuming. He did. He destroyed with relish and a smile, led his tiny country to some of its greatest days, not just in football history, but I think in history eternally. I will say his legend will be utterly immortal. And what I loved about him, I mean, there's no point eulogizing Modric. Everyone knows how amazing he is. But what I always loved is that there's something very human about him. On the grounds that he isn't Ronaldo, he isn't this sort of perfect specimen. He's a little skinny fella and he played football like a dream.

26:18And 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. 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.

26:55To the football, to more together courage. It may be time to bring in the United States Modric equivalent. It's time because the dust has settled. Sun's gone down. Night belongs 24 hours on. Still to that joyous roar of the United States men winning their first knockout round game in 24 years. That clench fist, the gripple grapple against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32. That 10 straight losses to European opponents gone. Set up a last 16 tie against old friends Belgium in Seattle on Monday to break it down and to relive his feelings. Let's bring on the best to ever do it for the U.S.

27:40men's national team for an edition of Juice After Dark presented by Allstate. It's amazing to welcome the Bass Assassin, the People's Pundit, my king, the mighty Clint Dempsey. What's up, Raj? What's up, boys? How y 'all doing? Good evening. Clint, 24 hours on. How are we feeling, man? Give us a vibe, Chet. Ecstasy. Yeah, feeling great. Obviously, still more work to be done. We're in the round of 16. So it's all about getting to the quarterfinals and trying to go further and do something historic. So, you know, we don't get too high. We don't get too low. You know how we're doing in Raj. Oh, we get very high.

28:17We get very high. Can I tell you why you're so high, Clint? You know me. I'm a fairly negative, dark person. And the swaggy stuff against Paraguay, it was nice. It was like, you know, effervescent kind of candy. But this performance, man, against a Bosnia team who are a collective fist, to overcome adversity, to dig deep. You know, the willingness to shithouse so smartly, to wind them up, to wind the clock down. It was more impressive to me even than the Paraguay win. I don't know if you agree with that. I love the tenacity. I love the ferocity. I love the, you know, in dark moments, the stepping up with 10 men.

28:56But mostly the intelligent IQ of this team. I thought this was a fantastic performance. One of the greatest performances by U.S. men in the World Cup. I mean, I thought it was a really professional performance. Bosnia sat back and were difficult to break down, but I thought we moved the ball really well. We created chances even in the first half. If we didn't get that goal, I still would have thought that they played well. But the fact they were able to get that goal and then the second half deal with that adversity and then go on to get the second. Obviously, the red card, Bologan missing the next game is going to be a huge loss.

29:32Was it a red? Was it a red? I don't think it was a red card because his foot has to go to ground at some point, right? And he's not looking where he's stepping. They had a good battle all game, him and the Bosnian player. And I just think it was a little bit unlucky there. So in my opinion, I don't think it was a red, but in slow motion, anything always looks worse than it actually is. Everything looks like a Michael Bay movie in slow motion, right? It looks like just explosions going off, car chases, just people falling. it's just for sure for sure but you you see you've seen other instances i think messi was it was in a game and stepped on the back of somebody's leg accidentally as well so and that wasn't given uh so i think it's kind of a similar situation so in my opinion i don't think it was a red card i i completely agree clint i have to say it had that exactly i feel you said he's got to put his foot somewhere like it felt as though that it's a natural action it's not being motivated by by a design you know there's no there's no change to Balogun's body position as he's coming down he's concentrating on trying to win the ball not sure he's 100 certain where the Bosnian player is it's just a very unlucky instance of the foot coming down um so it's uh you know I think that's frustrating for the US but I my hope for them is that as much as they showed in that period after the red card happen it's a it's a great experience to to overcome that adversity and like i think that will stand them in good stead going forward in the rest of the games and in the contest no for sure i agree with you 100 on that it did they did show a lot of character and it was some adversity they finally kind of faced a little bit uh with their best 11 um so um even though they lost against turkey they didn't have their best 11 on that day but in terms of how they performed in this World Cup.

31:22They've done what they needed to do. But let's be honest, in every game, they were the favorites, in my opinion, not only having the home field advantage, but if you're looking at FIFA rankings. So I think you go a step up now when you play against Belgium. And I still think that they can go out there and perform in the same way. I think there's periods of time where they're going to be bossing the game. I mean, obviously, you're going to have to deal with more pressure now because you're playing against a little bit more quality. I a more open game. But this is what it's all about. I think this is going to be their first big test, and it's the round of 16.

31:57I mean, we've been in this situation before in terms of in other World Cups. It was the round of 16 you got to when you got out of the group. This is a little bit different because there's more teams. So even though you win a knockout game, it's really just, it still was just the round of 32. So I'm not trying to like be negative, but at the same time, you know what I'm saying? I'm not trying to get too high either. So it's like, look, keep the feet on the ground. Lay yourself. It's amazing. It's joyful, man. Hey, come on, man. At the same time. You're like me with Everton. You don't want to be hurt.

32:28You don't want to be. You're not going to let yourself be hurt, man. You know how it is, bro. You got to undersell so they can over deliver. That's what we're doing. We're guessing them up. We're guessing. We're going to get to the part where we guess Belgium up. I do want to ask this very quickly. Free kick goal. That technique from Malik Tillman to get it up and down. when you watched his face before he struck it there was a confidence that took over yeah i mean did you know did you know he was going to score before he hit it because it felt like he was just blissed out and locked in no i didn't know um you know i was it shows his confidence that he was able to be the person who's taking it with the other players that were on the pitch at that time and at the same time to be able to deliver i think that style of free kick is difficult but that's really at that close of a range that's the kind of style you have to hit it with the inside of your foot and almost like your your toe is kind of slightly down it reminds me how gareth bell used to hit free kicks when i was at talking him he had that ability to to to do that that type of shot i still think the keeper maybe could have done a little bit better there but i'm not going to take you anyway from the quality of the way in which he hit it and the and the way in which he's played i think he's been unbelievable you saw glimpses of when he was in gold cup and he wasn't with the strongest team and I know Pochettino was upset what we're saying a B team or an A team but let's let's call it what it was that wasn't our strongest 11 in Gold Cup but that's when he kind of took ownership of being a player that we saw that had a potential to break into our strongest 11 and then the way he played in the send-off games and especially in this World Cup just the running he's added more to his game he's always had the quality on the ball being in tight spaces but now you're seeing like the defensive work or the running forward to get in in more dangerous positions I think he's he's gone you know gone from strength to strength and now you're starting to see the free kicks his confidence is really starting to uh to show through and I think he's been one of our better players I'm really glad you said that Clint because I think he's he's been a little bit kind of under the radar in a way that he shouldn't have been what I really like about him is how smart he is like he's as that pentagon the famous Pochettino pentagon kind kind of rotates around.

34:39Tillman's the one who fills the gaps. Tillman is always the one who kind of glues everything together. And I'm not, because it's maybe sometimes not, in the first couple of games, it wasn't the most glamorous role. He got overshone by Christian or by Balogun. But I think that you could probably make a case he's been that, maybe not Balogun, but he might have been their best player so far. Yeah, I'd put him in there in the top three for sure. I mean, the way in which he shows those moments of quality with behind-the-back passes or seeing the certain little flicks here that other people can't do.

35:13And just what he's added to his game now with just being a box-to-box midfielder. He's always had the quality when he's on the ball, but now he's added a different dimension to his game off the ball. Just all the running and the work defensively. I mean, you go back and watch Australia after the game. He was laying on the ground dead tired from all the work that he did. But go look who picks him up. Oh, look who gives him the biggest hug ever is Pochettino. He knows the work that he's putting in, the grinding that he's doing. And he appreciates that because that's how he was. You know what I mean?

35:46And when you have players that have run through a brick wall for you, that's what you want on the team. And I think, to Rory's point, he's been one of our best players. But I think also we've had a lot of players step their game up and it's made it easier on everybody because of that. Because you're not just saying there's one player that stands out. You would say Anthony Robbins has played well. Dest has played well. Tyler Adams, Weston McKinney, Tillman in the middle played well. Balligan's played well. I would say Chris Richards has played well. I mean, I would say Freeman has played well. I mean, there's so many players, I think their game is elevated because of the home field advantage.

36:20But they created that in terms of how they inspired our fan base. But that fan base has caused them, I think, to be on another level. And I think as a whole, they've all just lifted their game to another level. And that's what you get when you have a country behind you, the way the U.S. is behind them right now. We've got a question for you from the chat. Aaron Smith, 6568 asks, who would you start in Flo's place? This is the big question. And would you change anything with it or expect to change in the tactical setup? Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. It's like, do you go like for like? And it's either going to be a peppy in the sense of, you know, being the number nine or a how'd you write being the number nine.

37:01I've been surprised we haven't seen more of Haji Wright because he really hasn't gotten a lot of minutes, whether you looked at the sending sendoff games or even in this World Cup. Right. Pepe's gotten more of the nod, I would say. And so I don't know what's going on in training. I don't know if anybody has an injury or not, but it seems like Pepe's been the one that's more favored. What I will say in the sendoff game, what I saw from Pepe is he did do a good job in terms of creating two of the goals. He added assists. And he also had a hockey assist, is what you would say in America, when the pass before the pass that leads to a goal.

37:36Or do you do a situation where you put Christian up as a false sign, which he's done that before, hasn't necessarily been successful, but then you put a winger out there or more of an attacking midfielder. So I think Pochettino has a lot of options in terms of what's the best one. I don't know, but I don't think there's anybody that really can. What would you do? What would you do? What would you do? The thing is I'm not in training. and I can't really see what these players are doing. I mean, I would go for a like for like. It's either Hadjirad or Pepe, right? You don't really mess up what you have going and how people are interchanging and what the movements are and how they're playing.

38:09And it's just like, who can best execute and replicate what Balagan was doing is kind of who you go for. And for me, from what you've seen, that player seems to be Pepe because we haven't seen a lot of Hadjirad. So I'm not in training to see what's going on and all those types of things. But what I will say, if Pepe does get the nod, I think he needs to step it up a little bit because he's gotten the minutes and he's gotten the opportunities and he needs to take it with both hands. So that's what I would like to see a little bit more of if he does get that opportunity to go out there and really make an impact.

38:42In the 12 years since this team still felt the loss in that 2014 round of 16 to Belgium, you're on the field that day. They're about to shape up again. This team who can win things, this team who can score, this team who can tenaciously hold on and then score again. Does it mean something to you emotionally that it's Belgium again in the round of 16, or do you feel nothing, Clint? What I would say is it's interesting because it was kind of a similar scenario at that World Cup. We lost Josie, who was our true number nine, and we didn't have a like for like that could kind of replace him. And I think that really kind of hurt us because it forced me to be a false nine.

39:25And it's not my best position. I'm not the fastest guy on the field. I'm not really going to stretch things. I'm someone who kind of operates in the pockets, gets on the half turn and is able to do give and goes and try to create chances in that type of fashion. And we went with that. And it was difficult for me to really kind of make an impact in that role. It would have been nice to have someone that was more of a true number nine, because I think we would have been more effective in that tournament because it really we lost a lot by Jose going out in that first game. It changed the dynamic of our team.

39:58And I don't think we were as dangerous because of that. In terms of the opponent that we're playing against, what I would say is I'd rather play this Belgium than the Belgium we played against. We're playing prime Hazard. We're playing prime Kevin De Bruyne, prime Lukaku. Moussa Dembele was in there. Jan Vertonghen was in there. Even though Courtois is continuing playing at a very high level, he was playing at a high level back then as well. So I like our chances better. I think this team that we have is a strong one. I would have loved to see Balogun being able to play in this game because I would have even liked our chances more.

40:33I still think the boys are able to get the job done. And if I'm being honest, we've had the best pathway we could have possibly had. in the sense of we look at some of these other teams and who they've had to go up against, you know what I mean? Brazil against Japan, you know what I'm saying? Netherlands and Morocco. Yeah, exactly. So it's the thing of Portugal versus a Croatia, you know what I mean? There's been a lot of tough games that we've, not to say that take anything away from the competition that we've played against, but we could have had a more difficult pathway, like some of these other countries are having to go through.

41:08It's crazy to me that you played Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. And now the next generation are about to play Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. I want to know, because I know you've got to step off. What does this team have to do that you in 2014 couldn't against this Belgium? What kind of a game do you expect? And where do we match up well? And what makes you a little nervous? I think you continue with your mentality, your identity that you have. I think you need to be aggressive. You need to press. You need to take the game to the opposition. You need to make them feel like they're in the game, touch tight, and also be confident on the ball.

41:51Be cocky. Do your stuff. Keep the possession. Still have the deep runs from midfield. Play the ball into the channels when it need be. When you have opportunities to take people one-on-one, continue to do that. Whip balls in when the defenders are facing their own goal. Like, don't change a thing. Play with your chest out and continue playing confidently and understand there's going to be times where this game is going to be open and you've got to be ready in transition. That when you lose the ball, that you're not picked apart and vice versa. When you win the ball, they're not able to be in position and you've got to take advantage of that as well.

42:23So I just think go out there and be who you are and believe in yourself. And I think that we do have the quality and we do have the ability and belief that we can go win that game and we will have the home field advantage. You better believe in Seattle. They're going to show up and show out. The way in which that stadium is built to be right in the center of the city, it allows for that energy, and those people go out and support like no other. So I look forward to the atmosphere that's going to be created, and I look forward to this team going on and putting on a show. And I'm going to say this.

42:56Christian will have a point to prove. He still hasn't put his stamp on this tournament because he hasn't scored a goal. You talk about Norway and Holland scoring. You talk about Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina, Messi. If he is indeed our main guy, he has to show that by being someone who scores in this World Cup and for our country. And I think he will. I believe in him. So I just look forward to this team going out and doing what they do. Amen. I think they get it done. I do think that the battle between Doku and Tim Ream and Anthony Robinson is going to be pretty decisive. I do need to know the game U S without Balogun.

43:35I mean, this man is, I don't know many U S center for, I was going to ask you what that first goal where he rearranged his body pirouetted muscle memory. How, first of all, very quick. I know you've got to step off. How many U S strikers could have scored that goal in our, in history? I mean, I think Eddie Johnson could have done that. I see some similarities between the two. You know what I'm saying? I'm not going to, I'm not going to say, you know, one's way better or one's way worse because Eddie's my boy. And, you know, I just think in terms of, like, the way that they move and the ability that they have with both feet, I think Eddie would have made that finish.

44:14So three, Eddie Johnson, Flo Balogun, and Clint Dempsey is what you're saying. I think Josie. I think Josie could have made that finish as well. So how much of a drop-off is it for us, Clint, the U.S. without Balogun? this hot hand, this confident man. Rory was just talking about how every time he shoots the ball, he thinks it's going in the back of the net, which is just, I mean, we have not had that. We now have that, but we now don't have that. How much of a drop-off is it? Well, it's a huge drop-off because you have someone who scored three goals in three games, and he also created a fourth goal, you know what I mean, against Australia where he beat somebody, played it across, and it ended up being an own goal.

44:54I remember conversations where you were asking me who our number nine is, And I remember telling you from Jump Street who I thought our best number nine was. Now everybody started to say, oh, he's the man, whatever. I was like, I've been knowing that he's the guy because of what my eyes tell me. I still think it's Julian Green, and I'm going to die on that hill. There we go. I'm going to die on that hill. I'm not going to be disrespectful for anybody else in terms of what they're coming in. I don't think anybody can truly replicate what he does. I think everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses and what they can bring to the game.

45:24And I think Pochettino has gotten every decision right thus far. And so I believe that he's going to make the right decision again on who's going to be the best to go into that game and help make us be more effective. So it is. But to answer your question, a huge loss. It's hard to replace the three or four goals that are created that he's already done this tournament. We're going to let you go. At Chris Voss in the chat, says, Clint, the only truth I want to hear. At Greysideburn7973. One last question for the GOAT. Clint, why not us? I mean, if you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will.

46:02I mean, that's what your mom and your grandma or grandparents used to tell you as a kid. And I just think it's so important to have that belief. And I think the way in which they played in this World Cup has given us that belief. And in return, created that home field advantage, which is now returning that belief back into them and giving them that confidence. because in tough moments, like you saw today against Portugal and Croatia, your backs are going to be against the wall. You're going to get punched in the mouth. Maybe you can see first. How are you going to respond? And, you know, you're just going to have to weather the storm in certain situations.

46:35And it's just a little bit easier to weather those storms when you've got people that are, you know, behind you and urging you on. It brings out the best in you. And so far in this tournament, I feel like our fan base has done that for this team. Amen. Slim Dempsey, you're a beautiful human being. These are amazing days. What you've seen so far, I hope we see a lot more of it. Travel safely. Enjoy every single second in Seattle. Everyone loves watching you, man. You are the people's pundit in every regard. And thanks for joining us. You incredibly great. Man, I appreciate y 'all. I love watching y 'all.

47:11And Raj, man, you didn't gas up Belgium, man. We got to keep this trend going so we can. Just gas Belgium up one more minute. Big Rom is unstoppable, right? I fear Big Rom. We fear Big Rob. I love you. Gas up the bells on television. Big love, big man. God, what a human being. What a human being. Can I ask you this question, gents? I'll allow it. I did a show called First Take this morning. Yep. I got asked eight different times the same question. What are we going to do about Balogun being away? What are we going to do? And I'd answer. And they'd be like, but Balogun, Balogun. And I just thought, it's incredible to live in an America where people know his name.

47:54Two weeks ago, no one on first date would have known the name Fulham Baligan. Now they're like distraught that he can't play in a game on Monday night. I think it's amazing. It's a brilliant sign. Again, I feel like every time we've been in here, I've said about the fact that we're three people who love football and we want America to love football as much as we do. And it's so cool to see that level of engagement. Like, you know, so many of my friends, I've been getting texts from friends who have always been sort of football curious, maybe, you know, a little bit like. It's a king. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

48:29They're ready to swing into the world of football. Who's that? Oh, Mark Clattenburg. I'm interested. But yeah, to have them text me like, oh, you know, again, questions about that, excitement about other games as well, not just purely the US. Like people who are getting into the other games because they want to get a little bit about who the US might be playing, for example. So, no, it's very exciting. And we will see what the US is going to do without Balogun. I guess the other thing is that he is the guy who scores the goals. And if you're a relatively new or casual football fan, the first thing you will realise is you need the guy who scores the goals.

49:02So for him to be absent is... I mean, I think Tyler Adams has probably been as important to the US as Balogun. The way Adams controls the midfield is vital, because I'm a sophisticated East-threater football. You're a hipster. I'm a hipster. Give me a defensive midfielder. Yeah. But if you, I'm guessing if Tyler was out, it wouldn't feel to the newer fans. It wouldn't feel quite as urgent. You'd be like, well, you just play another field. But you can't see what he's doing. But I guess it'd be the same in basketball if you've got someone who's on form. If you lost, yeah, if you lost the hot hand.

49:33Yeah, if you lose your main hitting man in baseball. Your main hitting man. You want your main hitting man, right? We all want the main hitting man. The hitsman. Yeah. You need the hitsman. The cheap hitsman. Yeah. The cheap hitsman of baseball. or your first choice hitsman. Yeah, yeah. Or the big thrower. The big thrower. Throwy man. That'd be a great nickname, actually. The big thrower. What's your name? The big thrower. They call me the big thrower. They call me the big thrower. It sounds like a ride at Six Flags, that, doesn't it? Yeah. The Six Flags in Atlanta. They might go. You should. Don't really like rides, but I'd like to go to Six Flags.

50:05Anyway, yeah, it's obvious that, it's immediately obvious you need the goals person. Yeah. So it feels more urgent because of the position Balladon plays. I think my tuppence worth on the Balogun situation and what they might do is that I think it actually represents a really great opportunity. Like, God willing, he's gone for one game. The U.S. progresses. But it is a chance, as Clint said, for Riccardo Pepe to come in and, you know, write his name into the tapestry. You talked about the mythos of American football. Will this be one of those inspired cameos on which the U.S.'s whole experience turns?

50:40And I think what Pochettino has done so well this year is, I think he's made the US team greater than the sum of its parts. And I don't say that as a patronizing thing, but I think they work so well together. That's what you want in the international football. Of course, of course. And I think he's the right person to get the mentality of whatever player comes in, whether it is Pepe, or if it is Hadji Wright, or if it is Pulisic going in there as a false nine and somebody else coming in, that whoever comes in, he will get them in the right mind frame to enjoy it, to embrace it, to grasp it, and to have a chance to shock the world, you know, a little bit.

51:20And that is exciting. It is fascinating. Clint hit it. Christian Pulisic is yet to truly enforce himself, to truly raise it. He had flickering. I thought, yeah, I thought Clint was being slightly harsh, because I think Pulisic in that first 45 minutes against Paraguay was amazing. 45 minutes. But then he got injured. That's not his fault. 45 minutes and then he had the what was it like a period of the second half against Turkey and then in this game, I mean you've got to know we're conditioned to think this is Pulisic's team, you've seen it in the commercials, I'm not being funny, it's not Ballo in the commercials he's not even playing for ultras silently is one of the three, I mean it's got to be frustrating he knows, like ultimately his legacy is tied to this World Cup on home turf.

52:09But I don't think Pulisic is in quite the same position as we are projecting onto Ronaldo, say, where I don't think there's any question that Pulisic would take the US going out with him. No, he's not that kind of character. I don't think many human beings... So I think that he will be aware that his job is to... To an extent, if Balogun's the hot hand or if Tillman's in form, then Pulisic, I think, is the sort of player who will try and fit around them. Well, again, you look at the situation of Tillman taking that free kick. I think Pulisic probably to the casual observer, which I would include myself as someone who's not an expert on the USMNT, I would think, oh, it's going to be Pulisic that's going to take that.

52:46But evidently, I didn't see any instance. We didn't have any of the sort of, who's taking this? It should be me. It's my child. I take responsibility. I think that thing of the sort of, again, from my time around Wrexham, the great success of that football club for a long time has been the collective endeavor and that's what i see in the us team that i really like and i don't think it is a case of christian pulisic's us mnt he is an incredibly important part of it but for me i think again what his legacy would be for this for this competition is the us got to the semi-finals and he he was part of that that's fair i mean the fascinating thing about this us team and i want to pull this together and move to the Spain game, is that, number one, I mean, Clint said Balikin is in the top three players, and I would have loved to know who he thinks, you know, else is in there.

53:41Tillman, he said. So that leaves one other position. I'd assume it'd either be Tyler or... Tim Ring. It was Tillman, he said. Tillman. I'd imagine, so one has to be Balikin, and that leaves another space. It's either Tyler or Chris Richards, I'd imagine, who is there. So that means Pulisic is not there. But ultimately, it doesn't matter. One of the most fascinating things about this World Cup journey so far is that for the first time, the face of the team is Russell Crowe. I mean, it is Pochettino. This is Pochettino's team. He's the face. He's in charge. And I imagine he's quite surprised how he got there because five months ago, it didn't feel like this.

54:20You know, 10 months ago, he was having press conferences where he was saying, you know, I'm not a mannequin. like this is my like he was fighting for don't go there don't go there but he was he was fighting for control of all of it now he's large and in charge it's his team it's like this is very much Pochettino like Emma Hayes is running the US women's team for the first time it was always player power it was always Alex Morgan Megan Rapinoe before that you know but now the US women is run it's definitely Emma's team and in the same way in this late run The US men's team is very much, both Pochettino's team is a figurehead.

54:58You always say this is pure Pochettino ball. And that is very new for us. That's fascinating to see it play out. Have you seen the speech that the USMNT put out? It's really interesting. He seems, one, he seems genuinely emotional. I was like voice cracking. I don't know whether he had something in his eye or whether he was a little tear, but he seems genuinely emotional at what he'd seen and how proud he evidently is. And I'm aware that, you know, there's such a thing as cutting film to create impressions. Was it as emotional as him in the Cinderella one? It's as emotional as Master and Commander when he loses his Batman.

55:32Humphrey will know the pain of that. Of course. Killick. Preserve Killick. That's the name of his manservant. But he doesn't actually die. He's a different character. He's Jesus Perez. One of my favourites. He's Jesus Perez. Yeah. When Jesus Perez is thrown overboard. No, but it goes like the players. The players are wrapped. The players are in it, and I think that relationship, Roger, you'll know better than me. You'll have to be discreet about it. I don't think those relationships have always been easy but they are in it football dressing rooms are weird places some people know that fragile places and you have an awful lot of alpha egos not unlike this bus less hot not quite the better air conditioning just a bit of alpha ego who did the kick out go on sorry it's an in joke from today's Twitch watch along which is very funny the but if you it's not easy to keep those videos in check and people do fall out but they tend to fall out I think when there's not a vast amount going on whereas now everyone's got to focus and look there might be someone in that direction who hates Pot who just thinks he's just a real like a real dick it's possible but they will know that for these six weeks that is secondary you don't have to like the manager it's not we put loads of like energy into establishing whether players like each other whether they like the manager they mostly don't mostly they're not friends the players that you worship as a team are not friends with each other they are work colleagues they might occasionally go to the same Christmas party like does Joan in HR really like Steve the CPA exactly does it matter it doesn't matter you're not like Monsanto's going to collapse because Joan doesn't like Steve Joan back off sometimes Joan putting in a transfer request here we go here we go Joan to Joan to KPMG Joan likes the KPMG project.

57:24Joan, to State Farm, all contract signed. Here we go. The player, Joan, likes the project. So I think what that video said to me was, whatever their personal dynamics, they are in it with Pochettino. Because Pochettino is an elite manager. That should not have been forgotten at any point in these last two years. Pochettino is really good at this. And I think in international football, a sign of health is probably that your feet ahead is your coach. That is probably, in international football, the best place to be. We have a lot to unpack, a couple of days to unpack it. Tell us what you think in the chat.

57:59Tell us at meninblazers at gmail.com. We really want to savour this moment with you. We want to revel in it. But we're going to get back to Men in Blazers and Tapas. Spain 3, Austria 0. Those who don't know history will not know that this game was one with a lot of previous humps. yes absolutely with this being called the hapsburg derby some work's been done here to put uh put the different kits on the different uh figures yeah those those kits are actually from this previous season yeah it's unfortunate also why has austria got two badges on come on guys well i know this is so this was uh they wore them in the hapsburg people were not correctly using google ai are you serious can you just talk about this because it is the hapsburg el classico uh if you don't know young viewers house of habsburg european dynasty was split into two branches the austrian ones who ruled the uh the holy way and the spanish who governed spain spain and latin america and the car family have bloodlines obviously in taboo for them these are your people yeah yeah no well yes again another uh familiar face from all the illuminati parties i go to he wears the mask but unfortunately the chin is still visible so you're like all right fernan he's like i don't No, who are you?

59:11Me, that's not me. I'm not him. You think I'm Philippe II? I'm Philippe I, sucker boy. I didn't know this about the Habsburgs, young viewers. I can't believe this has turned into the rest of this history. Can you just explain how they all had an enormous chin? So the Habsburg chin is very famous, and they acquired it through rampant and excessive inbreeding. Yeah, yeah. Guys, kids, where's my camera? A lot of you are going to think you want to do inbreeding because you see all the celebrities doing it. Don't do it. It sounds fun. Yes. But it is not. A lot of teenagers these days with their social media feeds, they're looking at the Hapsburgs.

59:50They're thinking they need to be more like the Hapsburgs. John Strong, if one of the Hapsburgs scored a goal, would let them enjoy it for about 10 seconds before he said, and his dad is his mum. His story all the more remarkable, given the fact that his wife is his mum and his dad is his nephew.

1:00:13A real tale of adversity overcome. Born into a life of unbelievable wealth. What a goal! Yeah. A goal born in the ballrooms of the Palace of the Hohenzollern. Amongst your type. So that's just the background to the game. I think we've told you all you need to know about this one. The World Cup contains these kind of depths. It really, really does. by the way when the Oakland Athletics play like you know the Boston Red Sox you don't really have this kind of not as much no not so much Las Vegas Athletics these days as well you don't have the levels of slaughter and palace intrigue it's rare yes it's rare that there is an inbred pitcher on the Boston Red Sox What?

1:00:59What was you saying? You don't have it. You don't have it. Let's get back to the throwing men. The chief hitsman. I'd rather talk about the soccer dudes. To the game. We should get a sting, the soccer dudes. To the game. Spain, they've mission accomplished. Group H, they were the top of it. But you've seen France and Mbappe blow away all comers. You've seen Argentina and Messi just play the football of passion on our hearts. Spain had their child king, Luminumal, but they've not really impressed, have they? You know, that numbing draw against Cape Verde, the plodding scrape past Uruguay. Jamal's had building his minutes, but there was a lot of angst in Spain.

1:01:41Really a nation waiting to see this team that they think should be winning this trophy show any kind of form. Cucurea said something beautiful. I loved what he said the day before. He said, when there's no other football and only the national team is playing. People have to talk about it. And when we play well, everyone speaks highly. When we're not at our usual level, they don't. He said, it's better it happened in the group phase. Today, you will see us at our best. I mean, this is ultimately prophecy for what occurred. Yeah, I think that they have obviously heard a bit of the criticism from Spain, the sort of restlessness.

1:02:18They did come into the tournament as kind of second favorites and they had been a little bit plodding in the group phase. But I think the key thing with Spain is what they're trying to do is different to what France are trying to do and to what Argentina are trying to do. They are. Just explain. France is all about that kind of firepower. The Fab Four, throw up the fours up front. There we go. We're all doing it. There you go. Can we get a wide shot, please? There we go. Yes. Throw up the fours. We've worked so hard on that. Bus boys. Bus boys.

1:02:50Argentina is kind of messy and his bodyguards, his Virangian guard. Yeah. And then Spain is more of a symphony. They're trying to kind of piece together this sort of possession-heavy style that does kind of end on Lamin, but isn't just Lamin. It's a slightly more delicate, more intricate style than either France or Argentina, who are the teams who've really impressed. And it takes a little bit longer to get going, I think. But what we saw today were the first shoots of it. I think the first strains of the symphony. Hey, have you ever seen any of those videos of that lad, Jacob Collier, like putting together with an orchestra?

1:03:22Have you ever seen any of this? no guys treat yourself jacob collier is his name get these incredible videos of him with like the sort of boston symphony orchestra he's he's like a musical genius he's this young lad and he'll get them he'll pick out different instruments you play a place play a d can you go d down into c on the cellos now yeah that's great and they do this and he builds this like symphonic sound in front of you and sometimes it'll turn into a song you recognize and it's amazing and when you describe it's really i promise this is not a bit it's really cool jacob collier is he the kind of just walks up to a public piano in an airport starts playing he can do that and then an opera singer just happens to come out the crowd oh yeah exact song like a flash mob and yeah just yes by coincidence it's always the same oh is he no he's not he's more like he goes into a giant concert a place where people have paid you know a lot of money to come and watch yeah because it's with a proper symphony orchestra and he gets them to do amazing business is booming yes yes yes nothing to do with this all good but it but it does remind me that idea as you say of like building that up and and how it is the various different parts seem great but it's not all quite working but then when it suddenly comes together and then and the the sounds blend it's pretty incredible and i feel like today was with the sound the sound was blended oh it was spain jacob collier this is that what you're saying yeah i think delafuente has got a touch of the jacob colliers about that's fair don't we have to love to have a touch of the jacob colliers i mean austria organized but limited i think we can say um the team who are a bit like the second cousins at the wedding.

1:04:50They're just happy to have been invited to the World Cup. They don't expect to be in the photos. The remarkable aspect of this game was almost the complete lack of suspense about it. Spain were that good. Their full-backs, Cucurrea, two assists. Porro, a goal charge, marauded, almost unfettered. Set the tempo. Spain hogged 64 % of the possession. Austria were barely able to lay a glove. Spanish back line still yet to be breached. And the heartbeat was Luminium Al. Incredible rule. This kid was three years old when Spain won the World Cup. It was also actually the last time they won a knockout game, which is another of those statistics that sounds made up.

1:05:30I say that just to underline how remarkable it is to see this team, who are so potent. At the heart of it is a man-child. Just seasoned professionals are ceding the key decisions on this team to a kid. And a kid who, by my estimations, will only be fully fit by the semifinals. I think Lamin is not at 100 % yet. There's no question about that. Coming back from the injury, he picked up for Barcelona. He had flashes today, I would say. But the other thing that he does, even when he's not at his kind of mind-blowing best, is he causes so much panic and he draws so much attention. It's not an accident to me that certainly two of the goals came from the left-hand side.

1:06:10Yeah. From Spain's left-hand side. because Austria were probably quite concerned about what was standing around on their right. I was actually going to say this earlier when we were talking about it, not to go back to the US team again, but with Pulisic, he's sort of the closest equivalent of that for the US. And I do wonder the degree to which, okay, there's an argument he's having a quiet tournament. Is that because so much attention is being focused on him and that is freeing up other opportunities elsewhere? Anyway. That's a good point. But it's also a tremendous pressure. I mean, we don't know if it's that or what it is.

1:06:38It's a tremendous pressure on a kid so young. and today delivered. The other key that we should talk about quickly, the midfield starting to feel a little more girded. The other question going, do they have a blunt shot or sharpened edge? And today it was Uyathabel who feasted on Saudi Arabia. I don't think he said, I'm back into the camera, but he didn't do it again, but he did today. He might have said, I'm Basque. And everyone says Spanish, he's got a list. Was it, is he the most underrated striker or least talked about finisher in Europe. Can I confess something? Please. Do we have time for me to confess something?

1:07:16Clint's gone. We've got all the time in the world. In the Euro 2024 final, after England equalised through Cole Palmer, who's not in this tournament, I looked at Mikel Oyathabel. I can't remember whether he'd come on or whether he'd started. Did he look back? And I said to the person sitting next to me, who was probably Tarek Panja, friend of the show, the thing about Oyathabel is you never think he's going to score a goal. And three minutes later, he scored the goal that won Spain the Euros he's a really subtle footballer is the way I'm going to excuse myself that you don't notice him he's not spectacular he's busy he's sort of a bit of a scurrier does a lot of work for other people but the two finishes today were just brilliant like a lack of back lift when he swept away like with a Fantasia broom it was beautiful the way he opens his body up he is there's a real delicacy to how he plays he's not a big sort of Erling Haaland striker Yeah.

1:08:09Couldn't have been in the Ranguant Guard. No. He's much more likely to be a spy, I think. Yeah, yeah. There's a real kind of... He's so excited. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. But he's a really kind of... Scores in finals. He's one for the connoisseurs. I think that's what Nathabal is. Loves to score in finals. Scored in the last two Coupa Del Rey finals. He's played in the Nations League final. Winner in the Euro 2024. I'm just saying, if you get to the final, this is the guy who's going to get you the goal It's fantastic to see. At the end, we knew the game was over. It was 2-0. We were doing a live stream.

1:08:46You're like, yeah, it's kind of good. And then a beautiful third goal. The third was amazing. The pass from Tricorea was just amazing. I mean, it's just an absolutely stunning, skipping low cross from deep. Oyathabel finished beautiful. 17 goals, 7 assists in his last 16 games. Just an ecstatic release. And we knew then the game was over because of the sight of Penelope Cruz. Rosalia and Anton Chigga dancing in the stands. It's how you say in Spanish, the fat lady sings. Post-game, the manager, Luis De La Fuente, called the performance what he wanted. Almost perfect. And it's kind of hinting at this refraction of a World Cup truth that we keep talking about, that there's a German notion of the turnier manschaft, the team that doesn't look good in the opening rounds, but game by game, round by round, they start to find their rhythm.

1:09:38they start to bare their teeth, they start to show true menace. And I don't know if there's a word in Spanish. James Horncastle would probably make one up for us, Roar. Roma Ciampino. Yeah. What does it mean? In English, it's a reverse England. Yes. You heard it here. But Spain could be that team. Yeah, I think we're, I don't know what you think, Humphrey. It strikes me there's a lot of rune reading that goes on in tournaments. Sure, we love that. And I think we're kind of looking for signs that aren't necessarily there. So Spain weren't great in the group, but we know they have quality. They showed some of that quality today.

1:10:12Whether that tells against Portugal, it depends a little bit on kind of luck, bounce of the ball. I mean, Croatia had three goals ruled out for offside today. That's tiny margins. Yes, yes, yes. And they are capable. I think when they're at their best, I think Spain probably are the best footballing team. France probably have the most attacking talent and Argentina have the best player. They don't. Flew Balogun plays for France. Not Flew. the United States of America have the best suspended striker. Thank you. I'll bite your arm off for that. I'll tell you this incredible stat. Laminya Mal won his first man of the match award at a World Cup.

1:10:46Look at him. He looks absolutely ecstatic. Delighted by it, isn't he? That's what Humphrey looked like when we told him he was doing another nightclub. He's like, want me to sweat my bits off one more time? He's just desperate to get back to buying pool noodles at Walmart. This is time wasted. For the serious guys, please. I want to go to Walmart to buy pool noodles. Pool noodles. Pool noodles. Spain remain unbeaten whenever your mouth starts for them. Started 24 times, won 18 games, drawn six and lost none. By the way, the goalkeeper just broke the record today for most minutes without conceding in international football.

1:11:30It's like 529 or whatever. The numbers, let's say, are looking great. Propitious. Let's leave you with the underrated moment of the match. Seeing Laminio's brother going full on, vamos, in the stands. Isn't he just adorbed? That is a very cute child. Yeah, he gave it some good wallet. I just love that photograph. He'll be playing in about 13 years. He'll be playing for Spain. He's already at the Massey. He's been given the week off. It depends if he's running the show for Barcelona under-14s midfield. Do we think Lionel Messi's baptized him as well? If he hasn't, they should get on with it. By the way, that's crazy.

1:12:07It's mental. That's the craziest non-AI, most AI photograph of all time. Is it AI? Who knows? Only the Habsburgs. It's all a simulation. Only for DNA. Only the Habsburgs. God bless. I'm trying to find out exactly where we are on the script. This is where I get completely unprofessional. We're going to go into the beautiful Kalshi segment now. This is where we are because I'm still beaming for that American performance last night. It feels so good to be back to hear it earlier from Clint Dempsey. I mean, it was on the field 12 years ago when we played Belgium in the round of 16. I'm excited for Monday.

1:12:44This is a day we have yearned for since the tournament was given to the North American three. And I can see the reactions to it in your reaction to our merch, which is how I measure everything. I learned this from big boy. Always be selling. Yeah, we have our juice collection, tribute to Clinton and the juice, but now we have the free Ballot shirt. And by the way, I think it's our most sold object ever in just 24 hours. Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a lot. People love injustice. We're seething, man. We're a nation that will not back down, Tom Petty. I love it. If you haven't got it yet, have a look at our shop and your support allows us to buy this man an air conditioner for the bus.

1:13:27That makes it sound like a charity case. All over the United States of America, tall British people are sweating. Yes. Oh, my God. You'd certainly find enough footage of me sweating. It's an epidemic. To fill the advert. It's an epidemic. For just$10 a month, you could buy Humphrey, an air conditioning unit. Raw, we've reached that part of the night. Everybody suddenly believes that needs its own sting by looking at Calci percentages to peek into the brains of football fans everywhere. Tonight, we sit in a world where all three host nations have won a knockout game. which is amazing. Conquer Cav power, baby.

1:14:01Question remains, who'll make it furthest? Canada play Morocco. Mexico play England and the Azteca, where they've only lost twice, is it, in 59 years? I don't know if you've heard, our US boys play Belgium in the next round on Monday. Which team is going furthest in this tournament? Let's have a look. So I think that order of favoritism makes sense to me, I would say. I think the US can beat Belgium. My sense yesterday was very much that Belgium beating Senegal was good news for the United States. Yeah. It was bad news for my relationship with the country of Belgium, but that's a different matter.

1:14:33Tragic. Mexico, England, obviously we've talked about a fair bit today, just privately. I think the altitude is a massive factor. I actually think, Rog, that it's a shame, it might be a bit of a lesson, that European teams should play outside Europe more often. It's good for them. See the world. I think the altitude is a factor. Join the army. That Mexican crowd will be a factor. England are better than Mexico they should win it it's quite a good test case for home field advantage but my sense would still be the US are the likeliest to get to the quarter finals yeah my only comment would be that Jesse Marsh should print this screen out and stick it up in the dressing room it's a classic bit of Canada, get the Canadian boys riled up I think no matter how riled up they are they will not beat Morocco that's fair I think they've got no room on that locker room board because after my comments on the Bare Naked Ladies, which went down very badly.

1:15:27I think I'll be slabbing out. Wait, you slag B &L? Yes. Get me out of here. Are you offended by that? Are you really offended? I'm not being offended. Are you offended? No, I was saying earlier, I'm quite hard to offend. Would you go to a Bare Naked Ladies concert? Or would that offend you? It depends if I was free in one week. That's their song, right, isn't it? Imagine if... Yeah. It depends if I'm free in Build Me Up Buttercuts. Not their song. No, I think... No, I'm not that bothered about it. Would you rather go to a Bare Naked Ladies concert or a Nickelback concert? Nickelback. You'd have a good time at Nickelback.

1:15:58You think? Yeah. Just to be clear, I'm taking Levine over all of them. Oh, my God. Of course. By a mile. Of course. Avril Lavigne by a million. Oh, Avril Lavigne. Not Adam Lavigne. No, he's like, where are we going with this? I'm saying Levine, Nickelback. Yeah. Avril, Nickelback, Naked Ladies, Maroon 5 guy. I think you've missed, I think, Tragically Hip, number one. always, always, always shout out to them. I'd like a bit of Alanis Morissette. Yeah, I was going to say, number two. Levine's still top. Avril. Avril's still top. Alanis. The new pornographers. What? Have we just named Canadian bands now?

1:16:35The Beaches. I like the Beaches. I love the Beaches. They're really good, yeah. I like a bit of Feist when she sings with Kings of Convenience. Is this what Kelsey want? Yeah. Right, Hurts says, surprised MIB didn't hook out home to Water IV for tonight's show. By the way, there was a very funny comment earlier where it was, where was it? Somebody asked, and I'm sorry, I can't remember the name, they wanted to know if the Habsburg tour was going to be on the test. We should do a quiz. Let's do a special quiz episode. There's been a lot of references, yeah, to see how much people have been paying attention.

1:17:10Fire one random question before we go into tomorrow's games. Test the audience. Oh, well, okay. Well, actually, I should say that I got corrected because I was going on about Harold Blue Nose the other day and it's Harold Bluetooth, which is where Bluetooth comes from. Oh, I assumed this is, I just... Yeah, I thought there was another one. I defer to you on a class basis. I was direct, well, there you go, this is a classic mistake. Harold Blue Nose was Harold Blue Tooth's less successful than the Ebertonian brother. Yeah, Harold's a Blue Nose. Harold, I'm a Blue Nose. I'm a Blue Nose. He's a Blue Nose base.

1:17:41Are you good in battle? Not really. I haven't taken a trophy off a dead body for a long time. tomorrow not since 1995 did you know oh that hurts did you know God what are you doing like that for I spent so long with him and all I keep thinking just every least once a day I just think you haven't won a trophy you haven't won and it's really hard not to say it doesn't bother me but I don't want I don't want to be rude I tell you Cleopatra lived closer to the pyramids than she did to everything I don't know what to tell you tomorrow do you know this football yeah I'm going I'm led to believe. Football Argentine manager Leonel Scaloni's 100th game in charge will be against the team he always dreamed of facing in a World Cup clash.

1:18:25Cape Verde. Hey, in a press conference over the weekend, he said he felt exactly the same as he did during his very first game. I don't believe that for a second. We always feel something in the pit of our stomach. The day it stops being like that will be a problem. Get that man some tums. Leo Messi will undoubtedly be back in the lineup tomorrow after coming off the bench against Jordan. Scaloni said he could have played the full 90, but, quote, preferred that his teammates had minutes. Do we believe that? I'm sure he could have played the full 90. I suspect that he was benched for his own good.

1:19:01Yeah. Which I think is fair enough. Argentina has seven players. Giovanni Lo Celso, chief amongst them, are making their World Cup debut. Cape Verde have 26 first-timers. And you know me. I've been a Cape Verde lifelong fan for the last two weeks now. I've loved learning about this country. Did you know this? There is a Cape Verdean museum in Portucket, Rhode Island. No. Why? Well, I believe I actually had that guy on, the congressman, Jeffrey. Because they're whalers. I actually do know the answer. It's because they're all whaling people. They came to whale towns first when they moved here. Wow, okay.

1:19:38And I imagine it's where they first set foot in the United States. Tell me if I'm wrong, fellow Cape Verdeans. But will they have Argentina wailing? That's the question. Oh, nice. Who's that commentator? Houston, we have a problem. That's all commentators. Oh, okay. What's his name? It's all of them. So we've got to go there, by the way, Raw. Right after this World Cup finishes. To Cape Verde. We're finally going to drive this bus to the Cape Verde. When they've won the World Cup, it will be evidence of a history of resilience and tenacity. The president of Cape Verde says his team is going to win this 1-0, by the way.

1:20:12That's how he got to be president. And so does the Ghanaian witch doctor, who's not been wrong yet. Remember, he shut down those sketches of HK. Do they have a chance? Cape Verde? Look, I mean, they held Spain. Yeah. So it's been a part of it. I mean, it sounds stupid. Of course they've got a chance. That's a lot of percentage. I think that's a lot of percentage. It is. It's that situation. My only hope is that we all enjoy this game as much as Lionel Messi. Enjoy getting patted down at the airport. Let's take a little look at this. It's delightful. He couldn't believe. Look at his little face.

1:20:47He couldn't. You've got to assume he's very rarely had any interaction with commercial airline procedures before. He does look a bit like someone who's on their stag do who thinks one of these guys is going to start stripping in a second. When he sat in that chair, he had that slight air of like, what have you guys done? Guys, I said no. What have you done? But it must be a novel experience for him. Maybe he's jealous of people. Maybe he's like, oh, I just want, I'd like to know what it's like to be patted down. I once had an interaction with someone really genuinely massively famous, who I'm not going to say their name, but believe me, does it remember Shmob Shmack?

1:21:23No, no, no. It's neither of those two lads. But they were working out in the same gym as the one. that I was in and I'm pretty very carefully not saying he was working out there. What were you doing in the gym? I was working out but they basically came in and they used to come in and park around the back of the gym and it's an underground bit and they could get in all this but that was being refurbished so they had to park on the street out in the front and then come in through the front entrance and came in with like a little bit of like, oh crikey, oh god wow, that was nuts. Like, oh, what happened?

1:21:57I haven't been on a street in about nine years. was that an australian accent you just did no no no i did say crikey which may be i haven't been on australia in about nine years yes exactly it was indeed my old friend melanie gibson um no no it was but but it was that was the existence of someone who is almost as famous as leonel messi and i was like oh that's crazy yeah you don't you just drive from one very secure compound by someone your security team takes one very secure compound another very secure compound that's probably what his life is like yeah it's a rare instance can we see the clip again normality yeah he's almost giddy at this moment look at him he kind of recoils um and the little giddy the double the double over there and then he shakes his head this is a bit where he thinks someone's going to grind on him he takes that position the old guy's gonna twerk yeah he's loving it he can't get it he's like there's a slot drop coming yeah he can't believe I told you guys not to do this he's still giggling he can't believe that they don't know him from his Mickle they're ultra what do you think he's got in his hand luggage he's been in a commercial with Billy Bob Thornton what do you think is in his carry-on um woof that's a great phone we need someone to pause that video yeah ultra zoom it enhance yeah I think it would be a six-pack of Michelob Ultra, a giant pack of the Lees.

1:23:30Some Duracell batteries. Some Duracell batteries. What else do you need? Oh, the Lionel Messi special burger at the Hard Rock Cafe. Just got one of them. It's been at the bottom of my bag for five months. Can't be arsed taking it out anymore. Fun fact from at Kate Riley 4172 in the chat says, the only direct flight from Cape Verde to North America is to Providence. Wow. The more you know. That's a great fact. So, mate, Jay Piano, Cape Verde are the second most likely team to win the game tomorrow. It's true. That's really true. You know what? You can't argue with truth. Also taking place tomorrow to Carlos Quiroz Memorial Derby.

1:24:05Ghana's current coach faces one of his exes. Country they used to coach because, as they say, 75 % of the earth is covered by water. And Carlos Quiroz has, at some point, managed the rest of it. Recently grumbled about the 48-team format of this World Cup. I thought he'd love it. More opportunities to manage quite negatively. He said the number of participants would turn into something, quote, vulgar and ordinary. I wasn't talking about the mannequin piss, was I? No, because no one would describe it as that. You need to apologise if you did. Apologise again. Carlos Quiroz may have said some terrible things about the mannequin piss.

1:24:37If you're offended. I think Carlos Quiroz loves the piss. But it's what he calls it. But since his Garner side advanced, as one of the third-place teams, he might just want to, what do they say? Tranquilo. Don't buy the hand that fifers you, Carlos. Garner stumbling into this game. We were there. We watched them lose to Croatia in the final group stage. Colombia battled to a 0-0 draw against the Portugals, despite taking 24 shots. What do we expect in this game? Well, I've been very wrong about Colombia. I thought they'd be rubbish. I think they're quite tasty. But they're pretty good. Yeah. They've got World Cup team vibes.

1:25:12So, yeah, I think Colombia are better than Ghana. Ghana don't really have a cutting edge. Semenya looks a little bit kind of... Lost in that setting. Lost in that system. If I'm really honest, I think he's just a lot better than all of his teammates. Right. And he's not quite on the same wavelength. Yeah. And I've got to say, if Colombia can get Luis Diaz into Luis Diaz's lethal mindset, that will elevate that team as a true European threat. You're just dropping facts. Just dropping bits of chance. The more units. Yeah. How many abs has Mo Salah got? H-E-A-R-T-S. What are you saying? How many abs has Mo Salah got?

1:25:45Is it a 24-pack? He's got a 24-pack. Yeah. He bought them at Costco. He's playing tomorrow. We're going to have to find out if he's got a muscle strain, nation holds its breath. I'm going to go and see him. His exit's at what? In Dallas. So you're going to give him yours? I'm going to go and give him my muscles. But I'm delighted. Mo Salah's having such a nice time. It's really nice to see how much fun Mo Salah's having. He's left Liverpool. He's just delighted by it. Yeah. Excuse me. He's just... I'm so tired. He's just on the lash. He's just happy. He's not on the lash. He's with his mates. He's having a nice time.

1:26:17He's freed from desire. Yeah. He's freed from armless lot. Yes. I mean, God, if he's overcome his worst. He's been in a workplace environment that he was very unhappy. Yes. And he's gone on a lads holiday to the west coast of America. Yeah. It's a good time. Yeah. He seems so free. Playing two assists and a goal so far. For years to come, we'll remember this as one of the achievements in history, he said, after dispatching New Zealand. God bless. Now he's going to play Australia. Another team full of scrappy counterpunchers. The Antipodean Slayer. Yeah, he doesn't like the Antipodeans. Can you say I'm back after beating up on New Zealand and Australia?

1:26:59Technically. I think at the moment, I mean, if you decide after beating Uzbekistan. Yeah, I think the bar is quite low. Yeah.

1:27:07Shop the Sherwin-Williams 4th of July sale and get 30 % off paints and stains June 26th through July 6th. Whether you're refreshing your interior or exterior, we've got the colors to bring your vision to life. And with delivery, getting everything to your door is easier than ever. Shop online to have it delivered or visit your neighborhood Sherwin-Williams store. Click the banner to learn more. Retail sales only, some exclusions apply. See store for details. Delivery available on qualifying orders.

1:27:38It's time for the food. Yeah! It's the European mind cannot comprehend. Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Thank you. I'm so excited. We're doing San Gennaro Pizza from Antico Pizza, which here in Atlanta, European food, American style. This is meant to be one of the great pizza places in the United States. So two things. One, I love pizza. Two, this is a food that can be served cold, so it has a natural advantage. On this bad point, we've got Italian sausage. We've got sweet red peppers. We've got buffalo mozzarella. We've got garlic, cipollini onions. That just about hits all the food groups. There's always three simple steps.

1:28:12Eat, ponder, score, gents. Here we go.

1:28:20I'm not rendering my verdict since I've eaten the entire slice. I'll tell you, it's got quite an idea. This is the sweet, sweet lovemaking of pizzas. Raw, Humpf, I'm just guessing. Hang on, hang on. We're going to write them down first. You've eaten your fair... I'm just paying for time. I'm covering you. You've eaten your fair share of pizza... Your boy loves pizza. Your boy. Your boy don't love microphones. You've never eaten pizza parked on an orange bus. The last orange bus left in the World Cup, Dutch people. Parked in the middle of Atlanta. About to go and have a couple of pints out in Atlanta after we finish this.

1:29:01America baby. At Axielo 2, a food-related comment. New at Wendy's for the World Cup, the Men in Blazers Worm Burger. Nice. That's a great idea, man. Get that deal done. and we'll get big boys to close that deal for us. Yeah, he'll be on it. Always be closing. Are you ready for this? Yeah. I think this is going to be a 9.3. Oh, Rog, you know me so well. Hits the post, Rog. Oh, my God. Humphrey's happy. Gone big. Humphrey's out with a bang tonight. Gone big. When the bus is rocking, don't come a pizza in. We're going to finish with a letter. As always, we want to close this with your words, your memories, your thoughts, your loves, your joy.

1:29:39Share your World Cup journeys. No, hands off. Go in daddy's tummy in just one minute. I don't care for you being daddy. Is there more pizza outside? Can you be your boy? How can you sell it to be your boy? Producers, can we get word on whether there's more pizza outside? Firstly, I'm ya boy rather than your boy. Ya boy. Can anybody be less ya boy? Ya boy. What do you mean? Well, what do I mean? Because you're eating into your microphone. You're giving people mesopotamia. You can't give the people this at Petumia. Can you read this letter, Roar? I can. It comes from Stephen Hopping Garden. Roar, do the honors.

1:30:16Dear lads, my sister is due with... Yeah, boy! My sister is due with her third daughter next week, and among the family banter about when the baby will be born, there's also some discussion about what the baby should be named. I know I welcomed input on choosing the names for my children. Did you? No. I find that at this moment, and after the triumph over Bosnia and Herzegovina, beautiful name for a little girl putting an end to the curse of the Trinidad and Tobago loss of 2017 I think she should name her forthcoming daughter Florence in honour of Flo Balligan who died so the USMNT could live.

1:30:56That's not what's happened. No he didn't. He's still with us. Any help that MIB and the greater US soccer community to turn this dream into a reality would be greatly appreciated. Stephen Hopengarten from Massachusetts. I will say I love the name Florence. I do too. My door is middle name. There. Hey, hello. There you go. Known a few Florenses in my life. All big thumbs up. Good eggs all around. Good eggs. I can't say that. You can say that. I can say that. Yeah, good eggs. Yeah. I think that's a, if there is a nominative determinism thing, I think Florence does tend to steer. What the fuck? What?

1:31:29No, no, no, no. Sorry. So close. Oh my God. I fell for it. I like the name Florence. I'm rapacious tonight. But there's loads. There's loads. There's Christina for Pulisic. Yes. Yeah, yeah. It's not really... I don't know. Tyler with an A. Tyler with an A. That's a famous... That's a very good one. Is it Tyler Banks? Tyra. Tyra Banks. But there's Tyler. Tyler is like a glamorous hip-hop lady. I learned today that Ryan in America is both the gentleman's and the lady's name. Yeah. I didn't know that. I think Tyler is quite sort of genderless over here. Yeah. Okay. So what are we saying? What else?

1:32:05Matt, she could play in goal. We need a new Matt. Freezer. Freezer. Invite the cow. All I can tell you is, with our first kid, we had to negotiate with my wife. He ended up being called Samson. But to get there, which is where I really wanted to get, I did submit my first list of names, which was Pele, Puskas, and Achilles. Achilles. Just ridiculous names. Don't say that. We might have listeners called Achilles. No, I just knew she wouldn't go for them. And we negotiated into the name. So don't have Florence. Start with following. My advice. Come up with that. Go with following. We gave our son a very sensible name on the basis that I'd never met.

1:32:48He's called Ed. And on the basis that we'd never met a bad Ed. Yes. Most Eds are very nice. Charlie's, I think, is a good name. Charlie's the same. Well, people are not nice with him. Charlie's here, who's a dud. If you've met someone in your... I don't mean it. He's very sensitive. I don't blame him at last. If you've met someone in your life with a name and you hated the person, you haven't had any associations with a name. I have one. But then, is it Rory? Cristiano. No, I love her. No, Cristiano. I know loads of great Cristiano. And then, anyway, so it's a nice name. Yeah. But then with our daughter, we kind of went a bit more wacky.

1:33:21Went for Orly, which is a French name. It's a lovely name. It's a beautiful name. And I really regret not committing to what I wanted to call my son, which is Claudio for Lopez. Oh, sure. Was it really? Yeah. I'd love to have a kid called Claudio. Claudio Smith. Claudio Smith. Look at that. But he's not called that. It's an endless source of disappointment to me. I'm trying to think about it. If I had two more children, I'd call them both Richard. So they'd be Richards, and then I'd be naming them after Chris. Even better, first name, Chaboy. It's not a great name for a girl, Chaboy. You don't think?

1:33:55Fancy boys called pop stars. Glamorous hip-hop ladies. This is where we are. I want to thank you for sending another night with us on the sweat bus. The only orange bus left in the World Cup. Take that, Dutchlands. But why stop here? You could spend your mornings with us as well. With the Men in Blazers newsletter. Hands off that, you bastards. Straight in your inbox. First thing, seven days a week. It's a comprehensive look at all the games. It's a beautiful thing. I write it last thing before I go to bed with these very tired fingers. That's what Potts wishes he'd done to me the first time we met him.

1:34:27I don't know what I'm doing now. This is how Rog types like this. I do. We're squeezing the keys. He's caressing the keys. Squeezing the juice from the keys. I do. I do. I do. I do it like this. No, just like this. It's very nice. Subscribe at the link in the notes below. I'm sorry we're so giddy and tired. It's the pizza. It's not the lack of sleep. That's it from us. We'll be back tomorrow night again, 11.30 p.m. Eastern time on this YouTube channel here in very, very, very hot Atlanta. And in honor of our adoptive home, here's the, I love this, the English fans last night They go into a Braves game and just randomly serenading center fielder, the throwing man.

1:35:04What would he call him? He's a good throwing man. A good throwing man. His name's Michael Harris. I just say football is loving. This is Rog saying big, big love to you and courage. There's only one Michael Harris. One Michael Harris. Walking along, singing a song. Oh, I have!