Round of 16 Kicks Off: Canada and France in Action | Day 24 Preview | Morning Cupdate, Presented by The Home Depot

0:00Hello and welcome to Morning Cup Day once again coming to you from Atlanta. After all of the drama yesterday and what drama we had, Kate Verde so incredibly close to beating Argentina. But we've now got our last 16 confirmed. This everybody is when that pressure really starts ramping up. Grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy your ultimate guide to day 24 of the World Cup.

0:28Yep, hello and welcome to another episode of Morning Cup Date built by The Home Depot and happy 4th of July to you all. The Home Depot is your winning assist to host the ultimate watch party with fast free delivery to get your backyard match day ready, subject to availability. Now, we have got to start with Argentina against Cape Verde, the biggest David v. Goliath match so far in this World Cup. The world champions against the smallest country to qualify for a World Cup. Put simply, we came so incredibly close to what would have been the biggest upset in the tournament's history. It started exactly as you would have expected it to.

1:07A moment of pure messy magic on the half hour mark to put the holders ahead. The touch, sublime. The finish, clinical. It was just world class. He now extends his record of scoring in eight straight World Cup games, 20 tournament goals in total as well. It is unbelievable rewriting history one game at a time. But what happened next wasn't in the script.

1:39That is the beautiful sound of Cape Verde fans celebrating D-Roy Duarte's equaliser on the hour mark. A beautiful finish that nutmegged, yep, you heard that right, nutmegged Lissandro Martinez in the process. On yesterday's show, producer Kippo predicted a 6-0 thrashing for Argentina. That would go on to be known as the Massacre of Miami. In reality, Cape Verde weren't going down without a fight. The Blue Sharks defended for their lives, with Vecina denying Messi on numerous occasions and a sublime goal line clearance from Roberto Lopez in the dying stages. They made it to full-time just. Sadly, however, after the break, normal service resumed.

2:20Lissandro Martinez opened stoppage time with a thunderous strike from short range. Was this going to be the end of the road for the heroic African Islanders? They couldn't come back from this, could they? Lopez Cabral will try one. Oh, my goodness, my goodness. That is a worlding. Sidney Lopez Cabral with one of the moments of this or indeed any other World Cup. We were watching the game in our hotel and just sat there in utter disbelief. Sidney Lopez Cabral out of nowhere with an absolutely stunning strike. It was beautiful. Everybody was shell-shocked. The Argentina players were shell-shocked.

2:59The fans in the stadium were shell-shocked. It was a moment of pure World Cup magic. That's got to be the goal of the tournament so far. How old do we reckon, guys? How's the move? 100%. 100%, yeah, definitely. That is a world hit! I don't know what's going to go on that buzzer, but it deserves to be hit in that moment. The game was heading to penalties, and we all just started to believe, didn't we? That was until the 110th minute. No! Oh, yes. Lionel Messi's corner was met by the head of Romero. Heartbreak hotel for Cape Verde. We will be wondering what could have been for years to come, but Cape Verde can hold their heads high.

3:42Now the Cape Verde flag is known and loved and on football fields feared around the world. It's the best of the World Cup. It's the best of life. It's the good stuff. Oh, in the end, it was a lucky, lucky escape for Argentina. They'll face Egypt in the next round as they beat Australia on penalties. Neither of these teams had won a knockout game before and it ended in a pretty dramatic fashion.

4:12Faroes took the lead early, but Australia then equalised after the break with a bit of a bizarre own goal from Mohamed Haney. He became just the second player in World Cup history to score two own goals at the same tournament. That, everyone, is consistency. And so off it went to penalties. Australia made the controversial move to switch their goalkeeper, taking off Patrick Beach, who has been amazing, for veteran keeper Matt Ryan. It did feel a little bit harsh on Beach, who has stopped more expected goals than any other keeper in the tournament so far. Here's what Rory Smith made of that on the nightclub.

4:46I also have a theory that goalkeepers who are sent on to save penalties don't save penalties. This is particularly true when they're Matt Ryan, who as far as I know is not a particularly sort of expert penalty saver. And it didn't pay off, did it? Ryan didn't save a single penalty. Argentina then await Egypt here in Atlanta on Tuesday. Salah against Messi. That is going to be iconic, isn't it? In Friday's late kick-off, Colombia took on Ghana in Kansas City. Many, including myself, had predicted this one to be a tense, low-scoring affair. But it turned out to be a quite thrilling and frantic affair.

5:20Jan Arias opened the scoring after 14 minutes and Colombia battled brilliantly to keep Ghana at bay. They'll face Switzerland in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Here we go then, everybody buckle in, because it is time for the round of 16. The World Cup is getting serious, with a place in the quarterfinals up for grabs. Meanwhile, another eight teams are going to be sent packing. Up first at 1pm Eastern, it is the co-host Canada taking on Morocco in Houston, and both sides needed late drama to book their spots. The Canadians got a 92nd-minute winner against South Africa, thanks to Stephen Estacchio, and Ryan Reynolds was buzzing.

6:01Yeah! Woo! Yes! Morocco needed a 91st-minute equaliser from Issa Diop to get them to extra time against the Netherlands, and then they eventually won on penalties. Here were the streets of Casablanca as the winner went in at 3.50 in the morning local time.

6:28I really do feel for whoever was trying to sleep that night although who needs sleep when your nation have just escaped being sent home by the skin of their teeth absolute scenes Canada could be boosted by the return of their star player Alphonso Davies and that is the subject of today's drill down

6:48Today's drill down brought to you by Makita is all about the return of Canada's star man who has barely featured at this tournament Alphonso Davies who plays left back for Bayern Munich is undoubtedly Canada's most recognisable name and most dangerous weapon as well but he has been managing a little bit of a hamstring problem that has kept him out for months before the tournament even began Against South Africa he came off the bench for 15 minutes and afterwards he was full of emotion for what his team had achieved. It was honestly truly amazing, but tears to my eyes because this is something that's going to elevate the sport in the country so much that most guys were in awe after the game for sure.

7:27Today, Alphonso is expected to start replacing the ever-present Richie Larea. As tough as that is on Richie, it is understandable considering Canada with Davies are a completely different team. His recovery pace transforms their defensive shape. His attacking runs down the left give Jonathan David a completely different kind of service. And his presence alone changes how opponents have to set up against Canada. Davies will be extra crucial as well because he is up against a formidable opponent, Morocco right back Ashraf Hakimi. He has been one of the outstanding attacking fullbacks of this whole tournament.

8:02Hakimi drives Morocco forward almost single-handedly. His relentless appetite for overlapping runs from right back creates chaos, opening space up for Saibari and El Canoose to exploit in behind. Against the Netherlands, he was Morocco's most dangerous outlet for 90 minutes. Against Canada, he faces the one left back in this tournament who might actually be able to match him for pace. The other match today takes place at 5pm Eastern in Philadelphia and it is Paraguay against France. Now, we've got to start with Paraguay's remarkable run to be in this match. After losing that opening game 4-1 to the United States, the way they've rallied back has been remarkable.

8:45A 1-0 win over Turkey and a 0-0 draw against Australia got them out of the group. But the history-making night was on Monday against Germany as they progressed after a highly dramatic penalty shootout. The celebrations were another level. There was, of course, the video of a prison in Paraguay where guards and inmates celebrated together. Sounds very safe. Meanwhile, we absolutely loved this video of a bar in Paraguay where the TV auto-switched off just at the very moment the decisive penalty was taken.

9:31that is brutal so annoying if you are one of those fans but so funny for us to watch now paraguay's win was all down to the stoic setup of their manager gustavo alfaro he said before the tournament Paraguayan DNA is intensity and clean sheet that is what will take us to the World Cup and that is exactly what they've delivered aside from that opening day mess against the USA. Happy 4th of July by the way. Germany had 73 % possession against Paraguay across 120 minutes and they couldn't score from open play however they are up against a totally different beast this evening in France who only scored 3 against Sweden but they could have easily have hit double figures some of the play between Alise Mbappe and Dembele was absolutely frightening.

10:18In particular, the moment where Alise hit the post with that scissor kick, which sent the men in Blazers Twitch stream into meltdown. Oh my God! Oh my God, that boot for those normally go in. If Paraguay can upset France, it would be the second biggest upset in World Cup knockout round history, according to the FIFA rankings. But let's be honest, is lightning really going to strike twice here? France have scored two or more goals in 16 of their last 17 international matches, suggesting that they are a different proposition entirely to the misfiring Germans. That, though, is the magical thing about the World Cup.

10:55You just never know. Tonight, it's a 4th of July special, as I will be joining Rog live on The Boss, with Rory calling in for another episode of Night Cup, right after the final whistle of giant killers Paraguay and the giants of France. So put down the fireworks, pick up the pints and throw on Men in Blazers on YouTube to spend your evening with us. How nice. And speaking of America, an important note is that the Matchday Live show in Atlanta has been moved to Monday, July the 6th at 6pm Eastern Time. It will now be a massive American tailgate ahead of one of the biggest matches in US men's soccer history.

11:33Come and join the madness at Founders Green in South Downtown and stay for the watch party after as well. It's prediction time now. Yesterday, I took on producer Kippo. We both went for an Argentina win against Cape Verde, but in Colombia v Ghana, I went for a Colombia win, while Kippo went for a Ghana victory, which means yesterday is another win for Morning Cup Day. Scores are now level, guys. It is 8-8. 8-8 as we're heading into the last 16. I like it. I'll have to take on producer Kippo again, won't I? Too easy. Anytime. Today, though, I took on Rog. Hello, Rog. Betty Glover. Are you ready for predictions?

12:16Live for predictions. Bad ones. Bad ones. No, no, no. We need your A game now because it's pretty much level. Is it really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Has Rory been letting the side down in my absence? Always. Rory always lets the side down. And your producer, Kippo, lets you down as well. Does he really? He does. Wow, Kipps. Okay, first up, we've got Canada against Morocco. Yeah. What are you saying? First of a double header that I think is going to be tough for francophone-speaking nations. I love Canada, but I have to speak the truth. I think Morocco are a heavyweight nation. I think they're going to win.

12:47It'll be close to begin with. It'll be a niggly game. 3-1 Morocco. Sorry, Jessie. I'm going to say 2-0 to Morocco because Canada have so many chances and they just don't take them. I promise David, shout out for that one goal tomorrow, baby. Yeah, fair. Okay, next, Paraguay against France. Yes. Stop waving your microphone at me. This incredible meatball of a Paraguayan defence against the most complete team the World Cup has seen this year. How's that going to go? Shall I go? Yeah. Okay, I'm going to say it is going to be 4-1 to France. And I think it will be 5-1 to France. What is that? I think it'll be 5-1.

13:345-1? Yeah, I think they'll score, it'll take a little bit of time, and once they do, they'll just blow the doors off. Game on. Happy 4th, America. Happy 4th! 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 It's 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.

14:14And let's celebrate this summer the 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.

14:29On today's Finishing Touch, brought to you by Bear Paint, we want to join in the historical fun because whilst today is all about 1776 and the Declaration of Independence, here on Morning Cup Day, we thought we'd honour this special day with a very rough, probably inaccurate and poorly told historical retelling of the history of the beautiful game in the United States of America. Has that got you up for it? Fire up the Yankee Doodle! In 1863 the English wrote the rules of football and by 1869 the first recorded soccer match took place on these shores as Princeton played Rutgers but there was no double pivot or false nine over here as the game apparently looked more like rugby than it did football.

15:11Then in 1930 the USA played in what was the first ever edition of the World Cup.

15:2113 nations turned up in Uruguay including the USA the French press mocked the US team and called them the shot putters because of their physical size the squad's journey was absolutely brutal 18 days on a boat with multiple players seasick for the majority of the trip despite the challenges the US made it to the semis but their match against Argentina was a bloodbath midfielder Ralph Tracy suffered an early leg break but still played on as he didn't know it was broken. And goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas played most of the game with a twisted knee. No subs allowed and Argentina won 6-1. Not surprising.

15:56Two decades passed with little to note in US soccer. After that, until the Miracle Match of 1950.

16:09This was the USA against England in Brazil. the professionals of England against the part-timers of the USA, a team which consisted of a dishwasher and a mailman. Against the odds, they beat the English by a single goal. Back in Britain, legend has it that several newspapers thought that the score update was a typo. Here was goalkeeper Frank Borgie explaining just how pessimistic they were. I was hoping to haul them down to four or five goals. The win against England still wasn't enough to spark a men's soccer revolution. The sport went underground for decades until 1975 when Pele signed for New York Cosmos.

16:44But that still wasn't enough. The real moment of change was 1994, when the USA hosted the World Cup. Still the highest average attendance of any World Cup ever held until now. And that is despite most of the host country not really following the sport. The Americans did it their way, of course. The brash and the beautiful went side by side, but only rarely did they look like failing. Into the new millennium then. The women's game had really taken off and the popularity in the men's game was spearheaded by Landon Donovan and co. The US made the quarterfinals at the 2002 Men's World Cup and US fan culture was starting to emerge.

17:21Fast forward to 2026 and the USA is on the precipice of its biggest soccer moment. Wednesday's 2-0 win over Bosnia attracted 33 million television viewers and scenes like this across America.

17:43Whatever happens, from here on in, soccer is well and truly on the map. Happy 4th of July, everybody. That is it for Morning Cup Day today, built by The Home Depot. The Home Depot is your winning assist to host the ultimate watch party with fast free delivery to get your backyard match day ready, subject to availability. By the way, to celebrate all things red, white and blue, we've got a special 4th of July sale on the Men in Blazers shop, 20 % off all USA merch. So go and grab those tees, hats and scarves that you need for when soccer comes home. The link is in the notes below. We will be back tomorrow, but I hope you'll have a wonderful 4th of July.

18:23Oh, and enjoy the football.