Spain eliminate Mbappe and France, and an Argentina vs England deep dive: Night Cup 07/14/26

22:01And it just felt like, as you say, France just never really got going. They never threatened. They had one cross across the face of the box from Koundé in the first half where no one was really there. It was very, very tepid. Alise, anonymous.

22:17Roger Bennett:Yep, completely. Whole team seemed oddly listless. And I kept thinking back to something Jurgen Klinsmann said to us on that one of the first Saturdays. It feels like it was years ago now of the tournament. He talked about the conditions were so destructive across the United States that the teams are going to take a cumulative toll. And it's who can manage and fight through that cumulative toll. And I was thinking about Paraguay, France, Philadelphia, July 4th, one of the hottest days of the tournament. temperature was 100 degrees at kickoff. It was a broiling. And then the win over Morocco, July 9th.

22:57We were in Boston that day. I think it was around 90 degrees. But the conditions were, I mean, they were absolutely stifling. It is the cumulative wear and tear may ultimately be that one of the things that explains just made ultimately some teams beat themselves.

23:16Roger Bennett:Well, it's what we said about the US, didn't we? That they had, before Article 27, They had limited travel up and down the West Coast and perfect temperatures. LA was, you know, perfect football in temperatures. Seattle the same. San Francisco, the Bay Area, I presume similar. It felt like they had an easy ride in terms of the physical toll. Other teams have played at altitude. They've played in incredible humidity, incredible heat. I think logically that even with all the recovery stuff they do, that must play a part. We were talking about how Spain were, in a way, starting to look quite boring to live through.

23:51And that was the accusation that was thrown against them in 2010. There's Javi in the Esther midfield that could just hold on, didn't let opponents touch the ball, neutered them 1-0, just got the goal, and then it was like game over, boa constrictor style. And then it happened, 58th minute, the quite underrated Olmo charging through the gut. Ball worked to Porro, exchanged passes with the big O. And suddenly, I don't even know how this happened. He was so totally alone in the box. First touch, second touch, quite stunning finish. Incredible move. But the temerity of it, this was France. We hold France here.

24:29This was a very exposed, shockingly, it was almost like a do you know who you are moment.

24:36Roger Bennett:The French just seemed to stop as though there was some sort of pay dispute. And they just decided. They drove their tractors onto the pitch and said, we're not going back to work. Yellow jackets. The Gilles Jones, yeah. No, I think it was Manu Kone. Poro's run, to be a little nerdy about it. Poro ran and Kone stopped. And it's just, I mean, that's what it comes down to. These are incredibly high-level football matches. If you switch off for a second, you can see the goal and you're out. But you also had that, that was, I mean, again, actually Kone and then Lacroix, who was behind him. Two players have been brought on as a reaction to a yellow card and an injury that perhaps don't have quite that same, you know, telepathic communication as Rabiot and Saliba would have had in that moment.

25:21You know, those tiny marginal changes, I think probably as football fans, we've all lost count of the number of times you've watched a game where an opposition player, sort of star player has come off with injury and they bring on an 18 year old from the academy and he has the game of his life and you're livid because you think, I'm very sorry that guy got injured, but maybe this is a chance for my special boys to get an advantage. And it doesn't happen. But actually, this might be one of those rare instances where, you know, you can never tell exactly how Rabiot or Sliba would have played that scenario.

25:53But it might be significant that it came through that left-hand sort of channel. And both, you know, you just suddenly like, hang on, where are either of them? I mean, and not taking away from Olmo, it's a fantastic ball. It's just very, very intelligent from the Spanish players. but it wasn't defended brilliantly by the French other, which is, you know, that's the nature of goals at top level football. It is usually a combination of both. It's rare that it's just one or the other. It's important to find someone to blame. Yes, of course. Football is largely about finger pointing, I find. Yeah.

26:22What else do we watch? Well, it's to judge. We watch to judge. We judge these guys who are way better than us at almost every aspect of their lives. Yeah.

26:30Roger Bennett:Do you know the Italian concept of the Umarelle? I don't. So the Umarelle on an Italian building site is an old guy who was employed to tell the builders where they're going wrong. Love that. And that is essentially the entirety of football punditry. Well, he's like a Spanish Sharon. A Sharon? He's like just, you know, just like pointing out everything that's wrong about what they're doing. Who's Sharon? I don't know. Is there someone in your life, Roger? Are you all right? Are you safe? I am. Someone telling you you're bad. Are you being bullied by Sharon? In the chat, Sharon2568 says, you bald bastard yeah go to bed so that's the umarelle that's what we that's what we we are umarelle it would sound better in latin which i'm sure you can just kind of cook up we watch because we judge no i can't custodes um spectates custodes custodes udicase would be judge we can't we don't have time to do live latin the italian version of what you're talking about the umarelle they have it in italy too that's what i said it's italian in the chat this is the rampant Men of the time and age who spend their time on construction sites stereotypically hands clasped behind their back, offering unrequested advice.

27:41The picture here is tremendous. We all need an umarel in our life. Man, I'd love an umarel. One of you, we're going to have a competition. If you can do something nice, I don't know what it is, come and be my umarel and just abuse me. Anyway, that's in another podcast today, which is... Italian construction sites. Masochism today. I mean, it was amazing in the moment, hilarious that in a star-studded matchup, we hyped, hyped, hyped, hyped, hyped, Mbappe, Due, Dembele, Lamin-Yamel. It was the two different players who made the big moments. We were a Sushidab player and a Spurs player. Yeah.

28:19Roger Bennett:In many ways, it devalues the World Cup. The second goal was brilliant, though, from a Spanish point of view. Yeah. As much as it is undercut by the fact that he currently plays for Tottenham. It was a great run. It was a great goal. He took it brilliantly. And Oelzebel, who's scored the penalty, is an absolute, I'm going to use an American term here, clutch player. He's really good in high-pressure situations. At Mac Tumon says, Sharon is a bit nicer of a carrot. At Mac Tumon, I meant to say carrot, but I was wondering whether it was. It just came out so wrong. This is where we are 34 days into the World Cup.

28:51Like, genuinely, I am collapsing as a human being. I'm clear you weren't talking about Ariel Sharon, the former Prime Minister.

28:56Roger Bennett:Or Sharon, the ferryman to the ancient Hades. That was Sharon. That was Sharon. No, it wasn't. I think probably Karen. Yeah, it was Karen. That was Karen. Oh, my God. It's sure we've got the classicist. I'm not a classicist. I'm a classicist. You are. It all fits together. Yeah. Karen the ferryman. Karen the social media construct. Yeah. This is it. It's all there, man. She carries us away. We are peeling back the matrix on a bus. When they sing My Sharona, the song, they're really talking about Hades. We're all going to die, people. France 2-0 down. Remember, that's cheery. We're all going to die.

29:31France 2-0 down. But not before the end of this World Cup. Exactly where Mbappe wants his opponents, yeah? Yeah. Wanted to be 2-0 down until the 81st moment. But as at pining for the Fjords, wrote in the Men in Blazers Discord, comeback not on. They're playing in the Cowboys stadium. There are no fourth quarter comebacks to be found here. I say that as a Cowboys fan. God bless you for that insight. Incredible moment, though, in the commentary booth. The only way for France to get two is to get the first one.

30:04Roger Bennett:That's one of those statements that sounds stupid when you hear it, but actually is very wise. Yeah. I mean, they're not wrong. No. Pick that one apart, Umarelle. Yeah. Yeah, Umarelle, you can't criticise. It's true. Also, I mean, it must have been so inhibiting for the French to know this team had only conceded once all tournament. They now needed two. I mean, as I say, we're all going to die. Maybe we all come back as a little stuffed squirrel with a cowboy hat on some terrible football show, live streamed from a sweaty bus. What an achievement, though, for noted yachtsman Charles de Catelara to be the only person to have strut against Spain all tournament.

30:38Roger Bennett:I mean, that is crazy. Yeah. As he's just walking around in some incredible cruiser in a speedo. Having a whale of a time in Mallorca or something. Yeah, he's just jumping off onto his little smaller boat. Tiny jet ski. Yeah, and then, you know, his small... Jesse, again, to have a place of sort of, what do you call them, fried calamari frittin. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look at that succession boat scene. Yeah. Amazing. Why not? That's what I'd do if I'd been knocked down the World Cup. Oh, what a life. What a life he leads in our imagination, which I just love. Cape Verde gave Spain a better game on this two final stats.

31:15France, this is incredible. Their attack, still, let's not forget, gave us such joy. It was in their pomp, which was every day apart from today, one day too many, my friend, one of the greatest, one of the deepest the World Cup's ever seen. We talk often in the World Cup about greatest teams never to win it, like the Dutch teams of 74 and 78, the Brazil team of 82. Yeah, you know, just the played was such beauty, such just eviscerating sheer human connection and majesty. Here, reduced to three shots on target, two came in garbage time. And one of them was the stupid one where Unai Seaman kind of gave the ball away and then Due just crapped his pants with the moment of opportunity.

32:09XG of 0.30. It was 0.818 when it went to 90 minutes. These are incredible raw. So how do you explain them, what we saw, just this completely impotent potency?

32:23Roger Bennett:I think what's really upsetting is that Horncastle was right. And that basically the Spanish starved the French of the ball, which meant that it put, I guess, more pressure on the moments when they could get into attacking positions. The Spanish defensive organisation was enough to kind of restrict those to poor quality moments. and after a while I do think the French maybe because it wasn't going all their own way because that talent wasn't telling they struggled to think of a way through other than will one of you please sort it out and they couldn't do it yeah and you saw I mean you saw some amazing sort of quick footwork around the box especially as we got into that last period where they were kind of skittering away from Spanish defenders but they were there was always one more there's always just one more spanish player which again i think speaks to that tactical nous that they had that they they understood they just they just knew exactly how to play it and i mean roy you've you've made observation to this end already in this conversation but like that understanding of the team spain has had the best team at this world cup i think we can say that now conclusively france having said france the best team you know last week or whenever when i was last on the show but i think you can now say those two systems have been tested which is insane talent versus insane teamwork insane teamwork in this instance has won out i mean there's a different scenario where you get to 30 minutes and it's nil nil and spain are you know don't get the rub of the green in a certain instance and you know france come through and they get an early one and spain are going to come out like it you know nothing was ever written in stone about this game before it started and And it's very easy now to be like, well, yes, of course, teamwork outdoes talent.

34:02But it's certainly Spain executed their game plan better than France did.

34:07Roger Bennett:And it does illustrate that in a World Cup, you don't get any points for cumulative prizes. So no matter how good you look in the first six games, I think, yeah, six games, if you aren't right on the seventh, you're done. And it is, yeah, that is the kind of the brutality of it. It is incredibly brutal, incredibly ruthless. I mean, Franz, I do think I'm fascinated to hear them talk, if they do, about just the energy levels. I mean, they played in some of the hottest games of this tournament, but also they've looked in that second half. Different level. I don't want to, this comparison works and doesn't work.

34:44They reminded me in times of the US team against Belgium, where they've been sent out to play in a certain way. They thought the game would go a certain way. It was going in a completely different way than they imagined. The idea they had was not working at all. They had no answers, and there was just panic amongst the players. There was problems in front of them they couldn't solve at all, and they just kind of sank, and that was an agony. A lot of it, I mean, Deschamps now leaves, and Odin Zidane will inherit the job with a fresh canvas. But a lot of it, Spanish masterclass, which this was, huge respect to the Spanish manager, Luis de la Fuente.

35:23We don't talk about him a lot. We don't think about him a lot. We did say before the game that he's a big tournament master, a tactically savvy. You know what Tuchel is meant to be? He is. He's got that track record. In this game, his team, total control. We were laughing. Barely broke a sweat, Spain. So the question is, hard-hitting talk sport. Can anyone beat them?

35:46Roger Bennett:Yeah. I don't think they're unbeatable. I mean, just as we thought that France were unbeatable, and it turns out they weren't. So I think we have probably underestimated Spain throughout the tournament. We've maybe been judging them against a standard that they're not trying to set. They're trying to do something else. They're not unbeatable, but it'll take a good team or a really good player. And I think that's probably more likely to beat them. Yeah, I think, you know, yes, Spain have been less spectacular than France. And there's been so much chat about golden boots and wow, all these individual players, like these guys are racking up goals and all these things.

36:22And meanwhile, Spain have just gone about their business very methodically, as you say, not necessarily chasing the glamour of stuffing anyone 7-0. Like that's not necessarily been their game plan. In terms of can someone beat them? I think yes, of course, because virtually any team can beat any team on their day. I think you can't score a second unless you score first. That's again such a good point. And it gets better than what you hear it. I do think, I think that, that some of the individual performances out of some of the England players and some of the Argentinian players have been amongst the best in the tournament.

36:56And if you get, you might just have what's one of those players on either of those teams, whether it's messy, whether it's Bellingham could just drag their team in. Yeah. And you also, I mean, I said, I said earlier, and this is probably very asinine thing, but I can repeat it anyway. Quote yourself. Quote myself. I'm not going to say stuff. To quote. So interesting. The thing. So interesting. myself and i just think other people should hear it the mythos uh yes yeah but you know the the the structure of world cup is such that you have to you know you that all that is you only play what's in front of you and ultimately you can only judge you know the system is designed to whittle everyone down so you have one team at the end and it may well be that france would wipe the floor with with argentina or england in a final and it might be that spain will suffer against them.

37:41So, who knows? Poll in chat knows. Is Spain going to win their second World Cup trophy? See? 64 %? No. 36%.

37:52Roger Bennett:I feel like that might change when we know who wins tomorrow. Football wins, Ru. Football always wins. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente just spoke. We started almost four years ago with an idea. We've been faithful to that idea, and it's brought us here. That's what you said, dudes. Today, we face one of the best national teams in the world, but in front of them, they have the best team in the world. That is different. These players deserve everything. Oh, that's a punchy line, isn't it? That is a punchy line. You like that? Like that from Ursula Fuente. He's been rehearsing it in the mirror. Like, you're a bad guy.

38:23You think you're a bad guy. I'll show you a bad guy. He's like practicing. And it worked. And he could deliver it. Their solidarity, their generosity, their talent. They do a lot of good work for charity. They made the difficult look easy. Here's what's incredible. Since joining Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe has never beaten Laminya Mell in a knockout game for France or Real Madrid. Whoa, it's like Brutus and Cassius or whatever in Anthony and Cleopatra. The good news for Kylian Mbappe is that he might have a...

38:53Roger Bennett:They get to play one more game because they play the third place game. Goals stored in the third place game count. They should not. Yes. There's no one cares. Should they count? No. No. No. No. No. No. No. which means which i mean there's a decent chance that whoever loses tomorrow between inland and argentina uses that game to maybe give certain players who haven't played a lot a lot of football a bit of a taste of the world cup yeah which means kiki may well have chance to fill his boots right uh for the golden boot yes think about it which does feel like it is a big deal as we've discussed a few times over the course of the of the world cup that with this opportunity to crack America for some of these players to become, you know, Haaland has quietly won that game.

39:39We're going to talk about it. We're going to talk about it. But we'll see. We'll see if Mbappe can ship five past, you know, a Dan Byrne and Jordan Henderson center back partnership in a third, fourth playoff. That might bring him back into contention. Didier Deschamps just spoke. The players are devastated. We have to be clear headed. Technically, we were second best. That's on us. We lacked technical precision and energy. Yeah. They don't want to take anything away from Spain. We lacked offensive aggression. Aggression might not be the right term. They forced us to defend. We did not manage to make this game difficult for them.

40:20Honesty in his departure, which I've got huge respect for. Interestingly, 13 of the past 14 men to women's European Championships and World Cups have been won. By whom? By the team who wins their knockout game first. That extra day gift of rest for the shattered leg, shattered mind, shattered soul team. We don't talk about that enough. I mean, it makes sense.

40:44Roger Bennett:And especially, as you've said several times, in a World Cup that has been so defined by the extreme conditions. Yeah, I mean, look at us out there today. Braving swamp ass conditions. Yeah, wet gussets all around. Wet gussets. That's our band. The wet gussets. Rory Smith and the wet gussets. Chad's very active in this episode. Is it about Drossett? Talking taxidermy. Aaron Smith says, the squirrels cause a death hit by a worm burner. Mate, it wouldn't be that intact if it had been hit by the big dubs. At Rye Hut says, more dead inside the squirrel or Everton fans. Whoa. Mean. That's a philosophical question.

41:21We're all dead at 34 days into the World Cup. AJ Piano says, the goal right before a hydration break should be called, this is very good, a thirst quencher. oh yeah I do like that I like it's catching on

41:37it's time for a quick break into Soccer Dudes

41:45Soccer Dudes well of course I love it I spent a lot of money on that it's like seeing the sort of Sistine Chapel for the first time oh my god I almost pissed myself just a little bit then man you can unlock in the civilization games. Yeah. I hope in a thousand years when archaeologists are digging for evidence of 2026, that's all they find. And they press button, SACHADUDES! And they'll be like, oh. It will just be that.

42:14Roger Bennett:And you know that scene in Planet of the Apes where they see the Statue of Liberty? Yeah. It'll be that, except it'll be the Statue of Samuel Adams in Boston with a traffic cone on its head. And they'll be like, what were these people doing? We're obsessed with the duding around soccer. Yeah, the duding. Dude, yeah. Sack of dudes. Here's what we want to talk about today. Why was it about the soccer dudes? Because what I believe is possibly the most important American moment of the tournament happened yesterday. Sadly, not an American player. Erling Haaland arriving home with a now famous whiskey raccoon.

42:44Your cousin, look, could have been you. Could have been you, but he didn't love you. We chose the raccoon with a whiskey bottle instead. It's from Wild Bill's Western Store. It's a bourbon squirrel, apparently. we got this our new bus mate I can say the raccoon cost$750 squirrel regis oh Erling's got one as well yeah Erling's got one Erling's got one Erling's got one that seems to have full body parts in the down below and Erling has

43:14Roger Bennett:not removed the drone from his Erling's still got the pistol Erling's has an open carry license we had a little moment with ours we said put the gun down it's very very frightening standoff I did what you do on like movies where you go put the gun down. Give me the gun. And then he just sadly dropped the little squirrel hand. Yeah, little squirrel hand. I realised he didn't have the word. He's also dead and been stuffed so it wasn't that brave. It's funny, isn't it, squirrels? Because we think they're really cute but they're basically just rats. With bushy tails and cowboy hats. It was the cowboy hat though that makes it cute.

43:47Of course. It's a village people. I would say that we have a tiny cowboy hat we occasionally put on our pug and it is such good value. Really? It's the funnest. When you've got to commit and stuff your pug, and then it's really in it. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Roger. She's going to live forever, so I can't do that. Are we taking a photo? I'm going to find the photo. Find the photo of the pug. You keep going. I'll show you the photo. Here's why I like this. Like, Haaland clearly did this to send a signal back to America. The race you were talking about, Humpf, about the commercial face of the tournament, which arguably Mbappe could have crapped out in, you know.

44:20Yeah. Ultimately winning. I think Bellingham, if he wins, that's massive. Messi, if he... they're all racing to be number one this was a fascinating i'm in the clubhouse i'm erling harlan how can i communicate back to america how much i love them texas specifically he came off intentionally he could have just left it in his luggage it could have been in a box he came out of that plane um trying to cement his place in our sentimental historical he's a genius of comms

44:46Roger Bennett:and optics yeah but i don't know how deliberate it is i don't know if it's a deliberate strategy It might be. Maybe I'm being naive. I think he's just, I think he's an offbeat character, Erling. That's, and he loves that stuff. I don't think you're wrong that he was, there was an element of kind of saying, I, you know, I have kind of developed this bond with the United States. And in Europe, I don't know if you know this, Rog, but in Europe, the way we think of the United States, you know, Russia is the bear. England is a lion. America is a stuffed raccoon. That's kind of how we... Norwegian trash panda.

45:16Roger Bennett:Yeah, it's a Norwegian trash panda. Yeah. I think there was an element of trying to express... I don't know how deliberate it was in terms of, I want to win a marketing war. I think it was very much, I've had a nice time in America. He is basically Freddie LA7. Oh my God, what if he is? I don't think he is, because Freddie LA7 is now tweeting the weirdest stuff. All I can tell you is he's going shooting this afternoon. Of course he is. I don't want to get into that crap, because Erlin... That was the first three weeks. Berlin is a master of comms. He's not the psyopsis. He is, but I also just think he is naturally very offbeat, which to me...

45:52Roger Bennett:Freddie probably has the squirrel's gun. Does it both Mbappe and Bellingham, I find a little bit... This is amazing. Hold it up. There you go. There's my dog dressed as a little sheriff. Show it to the squirrel. Oh, my God. She'd go berserk if she saw the squirrel. This is Spider-Man. If she's a squirrel chair. He's got a black hat, which means he's a baddie. Yeah. And Hilda's got a brown hat. You're supposed to have a white hat. This is Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meat. I love it. This is why we do this. This is why we live. For this. You don't get this from Alexi Lalas. I know because he's a professional.

46:31I saw Lalas last night. How was he? He was good, all considering. Did he throw a punch at you? No, he didn't. He gave me a hug. He gave me a hug. Arguably worse. It was a long convo. he's doing alright he's he's he's Eye of the Tiger that was my fault

46:50Roger Bennett:sorry Still of the Night yeah yeah Survivor yeah I'm a survivor he's we've had it what is it do we have the rights to that song yeah I was going to say how long are we allowed to sing that what song it was poetry I was just making it up yeah you think we've had it rough sitting in this sweaty bus for 35 days yeah imagine being trapped in the underground dungeon studio with Zlatan Ibrahimovic talking about lions constantly. Sure. Be awful. But also they get whizzed, you know, every now and then one of them is whizzed off to a secure location in one of the other cities. And that's, as you guys know, quite exhausting.

47:28It is quite tiring. Is this real, are diamond shoes are too tight? I've not found this at all exhausting. A little bit, yeah, yeah. I've not found this at all exhausting. Yeah. I just, I've not slept in 34 days. I'm in a post-sleep world. Is that a friend's line? What?

47:42Roger Bennett:that my diamond shoes are too tight. It is. It's a friend's line. It's a Chandler line. Is it not a Paul Simon stong that he stole from Diamonds on the soles of his shoes? He steals all this crap, Simon. At Hoflax 24, Norwegian Trash Panda is my favourite alternative score band. Squirrel needs a name, Jack. Can you get on it, please? If you've got a good idea, just put it on. Squirrel in Haaland. I like squirrel in Haaland. Squirrel is a word that a lot of countries struggle to say sensibly. The French word for squirrel is ridiculous. What is it? I can't remember. One of the African teams is the Squirrels.

48:14Which one's the Squirrels? Flying Squirrels? Can you tell me, J-Dubs, which one is the name of the Squirrels? Quick plug, because always be selling. We're about to get to Argentina, England, which is really amazing. But here's a perfect example. The wave of football is overflowing. So many new fans are pouring into the game. Many of you have fallen in love with a big Norwegian taxidermy fan called Erling Haaland. Nice news. You can follow him all year long. in the Premier League, and it warms my heart for anyone new listening. So many of you are with us all the way and have been for years, but this is truly what we do all year.

48:50Not the bus, Bart, but we sit, watch football, talk about stuffing squirrels and how we're all going to die every day, every week. Big pods, Monday, Friday, social newsletters. This week alone, the guest list is all obsessed with football. We've got Jon Stewart, Jon Oliver, the quite brilliant Brene Brown, who I can't wait to talk to her about what she's seen this World Cup. At the weekend, Spike Lee at Fanatics Fest on Saturday. Kate Verde and Sensation at the Match Day Live that we're doing together before the World Cup on Sunday and more. Method Man going to be with us. Come get stuck in with us.

49:29We're just grateful to share these moments, share these memories. Benin are the squirrels. What's the French word? Écourie. Yeah, it's a beautiful word. Is it? Yeah. You can see how it's almost squirreled. Equirrely. Oh, yeah, maybe. Equirrely. Confirmed it's a Chandler quote. Oh, no, two women love me. They're both gorgeous and sexy. I would never say that. My channel is speaking. My wallet's too small for my 50s, and my diamond shoes are too tight. How do you know friends' quotes? That's a good line, that. You know, I'm of a generation. God, that's incredible, man. To tomorrow. Genuinely incredible.

50:05What am I? I think I'm a... Who's the Jerry? Out of the three of us, which is Shotgun Ross? No, you're Chandler. Am I? Yeah, you're funny. Who would want to be Ross? Honestly, you really want to be Ross. I had the biggest crush on Jennifer Aniston imaginable. You look at Ross, I'd want to be that for my wife. I like dinosaurs too. Oh my God. And I like my first wife to be a lesbian. Oh my God. I think you have to be Chandler because of your profession. Because I do the zingers. You do the zingers. The zingers and the fingers. All right, I'll do the zingers. also had a big crush on Courtney Cox as well so that's fine I don't know this conversation I that leaves Ross and Joey I think I'm the German one what's his name Gunter yeah definitely Gunter definitely strong Gunter vibes I've always wanted to be the Gunter we're very similar

50:54Roger Bennett:that word actually means something else in English let's move on doesn't mean wet gusset not dissimilar keep on moving okay so tomorrow preview Argentina just chilling out ahead of this massive game. They're just still eating the Asada. No big deal. This is amazing. Look at it. It's like they're all just auditioning to work at Nando's, which I just love. But tomorrow's game in Atlanta, the semi-final against England, is a very... That's just team vibes. This is amazing. I'm quite hungry now. Very suggestible. In my ground-down stay, I'm just so suggestible. I want barbecue. so but oh we're gonna have barbecue in the food section yeah um a game it's more than a game it's an international incident um i want to take a moment by the way with eating squirrel on that bar don't look cover your eyes um i want to take a moment to backstory he's dead he can't say um all that's to come because many of our audience are too young to have lived it blue for blue i do think to really appreciate tomorrow you do have to understand the full range of context These teams have met so few times in competitive history.

52:06I think they played 14 times ever. And the World Cup is really where the rivalry burns. So I do want to live with you some of the key beats of this thing. Started in 1966, World Cup in England, quarterfinals. Argentina, terrifically physical. It's always a side of the game. Love the dribble. Love the art of the dribble. But love, love, love the swift elbow to the rib cage. 33rd minute, German referee Rudolf Kreidlein sent off the Argentine captain Antonio Latine for arguing about a foul on Bobby Charlton. Didn't leave the field for eight agonizing minutes. Police actually had to come on and escort him off.

52:48I love this. On the way off, he grabbed the Union Jack that was atop the corner flag, gave it a little twist to insult the 90 ,000 screaming English fans bellowing at him. many of whom chucked beers in him after he left the field. By the way, sorry to interrupt, but the newspaper hat has got to come back into football. Did it ever go out? People stole newspaper hats in a lot? I'm going to get one for you, an attire for the next couple of years. Would you wear one for the next show?

53:12Roger Bennett:Sure. I don't think football is that cool anymore. No. That is a really cool picture of a football. Yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. It's a picture of a backdrop of people who are very much not cool. By the way, everyone in the back of that picture is like 23 years old. It's just 1966. he's 17 just graduated from school how many of those people do you think are dead now oh god Rog what's going on there's a real thread of like mortality and doom running through this it's like pinging beacons of mortality the one in the really cool sunglasses in between Rathine and the trainer he is he could be a Hollywood star he looks like Jermaine from the yes that arm there he is It is Jermaine.

53:58Present. Oh, my God. Jermaine, present. Yeah, present. Where's Murray? He's one of those time travelers. Listen, mate, I didn't mean to do 10 minutes on this photo. It's an amazing photo. It's a cool picture. You're laughing at me talking about death, and then you're both getting sucked into a random vintage photo. By the way, jerseys used to be so cool. They were so gorgeous. That is just, that man definitely smoked. How many cigarettes? Of course. That was 20 a day. He was having one by the time he got down the tunnel. After the game, legendary England one. survived and the legendary English manager Alf Ramsey wouldn't allow the players to swap jerseys at the end and he was asked why he said because they were quote animals a quote which I think he probably regretted after the fact Argentina would have never forgotten that I mean it really has baked raw that game this moment into the DNA of the it's the origin story of the enmity I mean is it so long ago kind of now largely old man shelter cloud kind of stuff.

54:56Roger Bennett:No, I think it's still really relevant because until that point, England and Argentina had been quite friendly countries for various kind of historical reasons. And that seems to change it. What we don't understand, I think, in Britain is that the South Americans are convinced that that World Cup was fixed. There's a really strong conspiracy theory about various refereeing appointments that were designed to get Argentina and Uruguay out. It's the World Cup that Pele was kicked out of. So they got very upset understandably about Ramsey calling them animals, but the way they referred to the English after that was piratas, the pirates.

55:30Roger Bennett:So that is where it starts. I think that's a really significant event in Anglo-Argentine relations. So fast forward to 1982 and America, there was a war, the Falklands War. An irrelevancy to you. I don't think there's many American high schools where the Falkland War is taught in history classes, but for any English person, even people who were too young to have actually lived it. It's an enormous moment that hangs over all of us culturally, politically. What was it? It was a dispute over a small archipelago off the southeast coast of Argentina. I'll be candid, none of us knew where it was before it all kicked off.

56:08Argentina invaded it, the military hunter trying to preserve themselves by showing their might in the... They didn't think England would care. When we found out about it, it was not clear to us why we cared, but being challenged and needing a win of our own, Margaret Thatcher to prop up her own government, sent a whole armada to, I mean, these islands, it was genuinely more sheep than it was human beings. No humor in it. 255 UK servicemen, three-fourths of civilians, 649 Argentines, woefully equipped, it has to be said. Many of them young kids who'd been kind of press ganged into the army died.

56:47The Argentinians still believe the islands, they call them the Malvinas, should be theirs. And that war cast a massive shadow over the next World Cup meeting. Mexico, 1986, once again, court finals, this time at the Azteca. Two unbelievable goals. You talk about mythos, but these goals, Diego Maradona jumping up to punch the ball. He's 5 '5". This is our legend. How tall was he? 5 '6". How tall was 6 '2"? Shilton? Something like that. Six foot two, six foot three. And watching it, we didn't understand how did it happen that the ball was in the back of the net. Turns out he punched it. This is in the pre-Var era, brilliantly after the game.

57:28Brilliant, really brilliant PR. He was asked, did you handle it? What did he say, Rob?

57:32Roger Bennett:He said that it went in a little with the head of Diego and a little bit with the hand of God. Marketers on Madison Avenue, if they were given weeks to consult on that, could not have come up with something brilliant. Four minutes later, we were reeling in England. It was an agony. He decided to pick the ball up deep in his own half, ran through the entire English team. My childhood heroes eviscerated all of them. Two of them were asked afterwards, why didn't you try and take him out? They said, sadly, we did. I mean, it was just one of the greatest acts of dribbling. Accompanied now, find it on YouTube, one of the greatest pieces of Argentine commentary in real time.

58:14One of the English players afterwards said it was a goal so beautiful. It was all he could do to stop himself from applauding on the field. It was an agony to watch. I wrote about it a lot in my book. We are the World Cup. The injustice of the first goal, the aesthetic beauty, which he could have done at any time. He wanted to F us and then he wanted to destroy us. It was truly stunning. He said afterwards, before the game, we said football had nothing to do with the Malvinas. But we knew Argentinian kids had died there, shot down like little birds. This game was our revenge. I mean, this is a game for both of you.

58:47you were too young to watch. I don't think you were even alive. I was born in Ace 2. I was alive. We were both alive for the game, but I don't remember it. But it feels for you. I bet you were alive because its fingerprints are all over definitely the Argentine psyche. I don't know how you understand it.

59:02Roger Bennett:So to me, it is a defining moment in English sporting history, the Hand of God game, which is what we refer to it as rather than the goal. The second goal, what the Argentines call the Barilete Cosme goal is the goal of the century in English. What do they call it? Barilete Cosmico, which is cosmic meteor. It's what they shouted. Cosmic kite is one of the things they shouted. Stunning. To us, it was one of these seminal moments, even if you hadn't lived through it or didn't remember it. It's hugely significant. It cements in the English psyche this idea that Argentina cheat, effectively. The hand of God is that.

59:40Roger Bennett:I think what we might see tomorrow, what is interesting, is that Argentina don't really regard this as a footballing rivalry. It is much more closely related to the Malvinas, to what we call the Falklands, what they call the Malvinas. First thing, when they got into the semi-final, they started singing in the locker room again. You know, let's win one for Messi. Let's win one for the Malvinas. Like, first thing. Yeah, and a lot of it is actually, I spoke to a British academic about this today, that a lot of it is actually to do with that Maradona quote, the little birds. If you listen to most Argentine chants, they will have a reference to the Malvinas.

1:00:15Roger Bennett:Gary Linnick has got in trouble for this, so just be clear, I'm calling it that because that's what the Argentines call it in their songs. I call it the Falklands. They will always have a reference to it, and it's always Los Pibes de las Malvinas, the kids of the Falklands. Because it's a really central part of their national story that their young children, their teenage conscripts, were sent to war and killed by the British. The circumstances of the actual invasion are quite complicated. As you say, it's an archipelago in the middle of the South Atlantic. The people there think of themselves as British because their ancestors were British because they were sent there by the British.

1:00:53Roger Bennett:It's a very complicated situation. Argentina still has a territorial claim. There have been various negotiations in the last 20, 30 years. But in Argentina, if you go to stadiums, you will see maps of the Falklands. If you look at fans, they will have tattoos of the Falklands on their legs or their arms or whatever. It is something they think about on a daily basis. is central to their national story. We do not teach it at school. You do not learn. You do a history degree. Yeah. Yeah. You do not learn about the Falklands. It is not a thing you teach. I think I did it a bit in politics, maybe. Yeah.

1:01:25Roger Bennett:But to do with Thatcher, like it was part of Thatcher's kind of legacy. It is a thing that Argentina is really central to Argentine identity in a way that it is not in Britain. And I think that is the misunderstanding between the two nations. I would totally agree with that assessment. I mean, I think it's something that is, again, it's very complicated. It's a very emotive area. And so I'm going to be careful not to say too much because I'm not expert in this enough. But I think Rory's assessment is very clear. I think you've seen a lot of conversation around this from the geopolitical, the sporting, the everything-ing.

1:02:01And I think that it is fair to say that it is a political rivalry, more for the Argentinians towards the Brits. And then it's England to Argentina is a football one. There's a sense that, you know, which I think is probably very much incorrect. But there's a sense of an English sporting identity that we're always the plucky, honest, good boys. And everyone else is a dastardly rotter. So let me bring that forward to the present day, because 12 years later, 1998 World Cup, France, another meeting, game tied 2-2 at halftime. It looked like it would go to a shootout when Diego Simeone, same man in black you now see, patrolling the technical area at Atletico Madrid games, fouled.

1:02:49Then 23-year-old David Beckham is looking up, thinking maybe one day I'll be in seven commercials in one halftime water break. He's thinking, could I build an entire garden shed from Home Depot? The answer is yes. They've got everything there. That's why I love it. But back to this moment. In the moment, Diego Simeone pushed himself up, kind of pushed. Hockey fans, the NHL, it's like when you grind your glove in the opponent's face. And the slightest flick out from an angry David Beckham in response, which was exactly what Diego Simeone wanted to coax, red card Beckham sent off vilified in a moment if you watch a Beckham documentary this is one of the great career low points England ultimately lost on penalties and then 2002 England got their revenge unbelievably winning on a penalty scored by redemption seeking David Beckham but won by Michael Owen running at pace diving over the leg of do you know who that is on the left America Maurizio Pochettino Coach Poch this is crazy Cochy pochy.

1:03:56Cochy pochy. What are you doing, Cochy pochy? He was thinking about a Hugo Boss jacket. One day he would wear like a military dictator. But look at him there. Oh, look at those. Look at that thigh acreage. Look at all of it. Magnificent. Anyway, Owen dived over his leg. And the incredible thing is they lost 1-0. And the Argentinian papers didn't howl, to your point, about cheating and about appreciating cheating. They do appreciate the dark arts as much as the great arts. The headline, I remember one of the Argentinian papers the next day was just, they've learned. Like it was respect.

1:04:33Roger Bennett:Yeah. They've learned how to cheat. But also, do you know what's so funny? I'll say to my shame, I remember the Beckham incident as clear as day. I remember that game so clearly because it reinforced that righteous indignation. Like these rotters, look at what they've done now. but i have forgotten that that penalty was one off a off a dive they've learned so this is where we are i am i watched that game by not watching it because i was that was my first year at university and i was doing my exams it was the summer and the games kicked off in the morning and in the middle of my exam the invigilator the invigilator not person monitoring the test not on the desk and said just it was very posh and like great exams that would dictate the rest to Rory's life.

1:05:19Which I failed, which is why I'm on this bus.

1:05:23Roger Bennett:I'd like to let you know that David Beckham has given England a 1-0 lead over Argentina. And then just carry on. They interrupted a university exam. How do you come back from that? You don't. That exam went very badly. Did it really? To be honest, Roger, it probably went fine. Would have propelled me to act like, I know you're that boy. You don't have to revise. You just go in there and just ace the test. Oh, Oh, two teams. Such is a hatred between these two teams. They just don't play friendlies very often. I mean, it really is. It's like a hate between their fans. So they separate. England play Brazil.

1:05:59They'll play Spain. They'll play whomever. They do not play Argentina. Last game was in 2005. It's been 21 years since these two teams have played. Here's the mind-blowing thing. Lionel Messi has never, ever, ever played against England. This is his first time lining up, which is crazy. So the game, it's a tantalizing clash with all of this loaded on it. Layers, burn layers, biblical layers. I hope you now get a full sense of it. Maybe we've gone on a little bit too long, but we really did want to make sure people understand the reality. And this is the kind of World Cup semi-final, biggest players in the world, biggest stage, trying to out-goat each other.

1:06:38In one corner, man who's not content with just completing football, but defeating for the time, Lionel, pulling up our phone, seeing Messi goal after Messi goal. It's like watching clips of Michelangelo, you know, paint is wonder in real time. Humph, you're the lone England fan amongst us. When I say Messi's never played against England before, that is some motivation. I mean, does it feel like a generational clash to you or do you expect to experience Messi differently when it's your team that he's attempting to put to the sword? I think it's an interesting one. I mean, I think that it's impossible to escape from that that Messi is the greatest person to ever play the sport.

1:07:17And therefore, it's a real privilege to see him in a competitive game against your team. I will say that, you know, prior to being a Wrexham fan, as Liverpool fan, and watching him getting absolutely walloped all over the park at Anfield in that Champions League semifinal in 2019 was an absolute joy. um uh so you know i i would love somehow simultaneously for for leo to have a glorious end to his career with a crowning achievement which would be winning third place the third place trophy at the 2026 world cup i do think the game i i'm i'm suspicious of the game being a classic well it might be a classic but for sort of not not for the most uh glorious of reasons I think both these teams have sort of stuttered their way here.

1:08:07I don't have, you know, I think in the past England, you know, games against Argentina, you know, historically have felt so freighted with not only with a sort of sense of, you know, the great rivalry, but like, gosh, it's Argentina. They're so good. How will we ever beat them? Same with games against Germany. And in the last few years, that has started to change as England have sort of, I think the English system has started to produce better quality players. And we've changed the way we approach international football. So I go into it, you know, I would like England to win. If England don't win, I will be excited to hope that Messi can do the seemingly impossible and do it all over again.

1:08:50Hassi Mann says, son, if you don't pass your exams, you'll have to go work with Rog. Come on. Come on. It's a blessing, man. There will be a dead squirrel. I mean, it's fascinating. Leonel's looked tired against Switzerland. It's almost mortal. Watching England try and stop him is going to be fascinating. But Raw, other corner. You've got England, Batman and Robin, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Just two icons of the game who are so un-English in different ways. Harry Kane with his consistency in the face of gigantic scorn. Jude Bellingham, we talked about it, talking about being a winner, which is like a...

1:09:28I mean, it's like you don't talk about being money. You don't talk about sex. If you're middle class, don't talk about money, sex, or being a winner. Like, it's like, boom, just big forbiddance. He's doing it. These guys have scored 12 of England's 13 goals. Really lifted this England team, Tommy Tuchel's team on their back. Come up time and time again. This semifinal against defending champions, will England need more? or can Kane and Bellingham on their own drag themselves into the final together?

1:09:57Roger Bennett:So I agree with Humphrey completely. I think it's not, this is not the sensible grown-up semi-final. This is the sort of reckless, emotional, slightly mad semi-final between two teams who are not, who haven't played especially well, either of them, maybe in patches they've done all right, that have been dragged here, in England's case, by the fact that they've got these two incredible players having incredible campaigns. And in Argentina's case, a little bit by Messi and a little bit with the hand of God in the sense of there is like this, there's this wild emotion around Argentina. Argentina are magic.

1:10:28Roger Bennett:There is a magic to Argentina. That's the only rational explanation. Magic. They are not great physically. They're not especially well organized. They're not playing well. They can play much better football than they have been playing. They don't look like they're kind of on their game. Maybe the individual components aren't even any good. No. Oh, they're sort of, you know, Rodrigo de Paolo was a pretty good sort of champions-leading midfielder and is now too old to be a pretty good champions-leading midfielder. Alexis McCallis has had a bad season. Enzo Fernandes has had a bad season. Alvarez, who's the other threat, might have woken up with that goal again in Switzerland, but has been poor in this tournament.

1:11:02Roger Bennett:Talia Fico's too old. Futi Romero's unreliable. Lissandro Martinez is 5 '6". Like, there's all these flaws in this team, and yet they are here because they are magic. It comes down to, I think, two things. One is, can Bellingham particularly, but maybe Kane as well, kind of drag England along with him on his own personal journey to get to the World Cup final, because that's what England are at the moment. And can Argentina harness that emotional energy that has got them to this point, or will it crush them? I think the second one, because it's England, I think it might be too much for Argentina.

1:11:38Roger Bennett:That is my sense, that you look at Messi crying buckets of tears after Egypt, You think about the stress and the strain they've been through, as well as the heat, the humidity, all that. I think chuck in the sense that they've got to... Ronley, and all the players have said it's not... It shouldn't be approached like this. But this idea that they now have to fight for the honour of the Falklands, it's a lot for the players to deal with. And I think that might be a problem for Argentina. I am fascinated to watch this game. I also want to make sure we can get our flight to Atlanta. People are freaking out.

1:12:10Stay chill, tranquilo, like Mr. Squirrel. Well, England have had so many semifinal challenges. I mean, it is fascinating to watch them psychologically take this on. They've exercised, in a way, the hand of God by going down into the Aztec of this World Cup and beating Mexico, which was very tied to that kind of spiritually. This next step will be to beat Argentina in a knockout game. Tuchel was hired for these moments to almost defang this thing. I think this is very much what we'll see. Also, we don't have time to get into it because we've got to finish in 10 minutes for plain purposes, Raw. But the complications of this mixed seating that we've talked about, it's been Atlanta police saying they're stepping up security.

1:12:54I just say, I've been on a couple of shows where people have laughed at me for saying this is going to be quite a potential flashpoint in this World Cup. The World Cup of Love no longer. I had one show where they were like, look, Raj, we have the SEC games and we know what we're doing there. This is not an SEC game, man. This is black belt stuff. I do worry. I do worry. And I hope that this game goes off with wonder and in the spirit of 2026 rather than the past. It's time. We reach that part of the night where we figure out what everybody suddenly believes by taking a look at Calci percentages to peek into the brains of football fans everywhere.

1:13:33Scambolo to sign up and trade on Calci. We just discussed it. if you want to call it that. The one question on our minds, England versus Argentina. Who wins? England, 54 % favourites. Argentina, you're defending champions sitting there at 46%. Ultimately, I think it's what they call a coin toss in the Falkland Islands, Raw. How will this one end?

1:13:56Roger Bennett:I think that's probably about right. I think England probably do have the footballing edge in terms of their physicality, in terms of their athleticism. I think there is a world in which England can outrun and overpower Argentina. But it does not, I believe, take into account the possible magic. I think this game, more than any other, is a full-on 50-50. I hear that. I really hear that. I think it's, you know, as we said, this is the sort of chaos semi. As I say, neither team has, you know, England have not really looked in much control of any of the games they have. So it comes down to those flashes, those moments, you know.

1:14:34And Bellingham and Kane have shown the capacity to do that this tournament, which has been great for England. But Messi's just done it again and again and again and again and again. I mean, it's going to be a game of moments and magic. I am so excited to watch this with you. I'm hoping England have been training with more cable work. Yeah, they need to make sure they've got that cable game down. That's crucial. America. It's time for the food. And today, we're in the big D, Dallas, Texas, spiritual home of one early in Haaland. So we had to do the best thing. Two tomahawk steaks and raw milk. Brisket and pork ribs from Hutchins Barbecue.

1:15:10I'm so excited for this. Do I get one? This is like a death row meal, the way it's been presented. Sorry, death again. You're so excited about bloodstains. Yeah, no, I'm just saying. This is amazing. God, it smells so good. Remember, no mics. Mic's up for Mesopotamia purposes. Dallas is known for one thing. It's their incredible taxidermy game, yeah. But it's also known for two things, taxidermy and barbecue. you so let's see if this barbecue lives up to the height you know the trail eat ponder school here we go oh my god the european mind cannot comprehend

1:16:02I must say, if there's one thing I've learned from this journey across the nation, there's no one I'd rather share my meat with than you boys. Okay. Don't make this weird, Rog. I don't like it. I like the food. Pedro Martinez said he just shouted out you've got to shower with 25 guys

1:16:23Roger Bennett:you don't have to and he did shout it out as an instruction you have to shower with 25 guys you have to shower with 25 guys it's the same thing, sharing my meat I think that's incredible I will give that a 9.4 17, where are we? what? that is amazing I think it's because we're a bit sleep deprived I really love barbecue. I mean, give it a 10. This is going to really blow up the leaderboard. I am horny for barbecue, says Freddy LA7. Sorry. 9.87. It's also Lieber. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Lieber, Freddy. I can tell that's real good business, even though it's a bit chilly. It is so good. Get in there. Get some more.

1:17:05Okay. This is it. That is right to the top of the leaderboard. I don't know how we rule on this. Give it a 10. Give it a 10. Give it a 10. That's so great. I'm horny for barbecue. you i've got to get a bumper sticker that says that um raw hump hump's are the great contribution

1:17:19Roger Bennett:to this this tour is the phrase i'm off my tits on football which is a t-shirt that's amazing it is mythos uh what was the other thing monomyth fingers fingers zingers and fingers fingers and fingers i know it's amazing we've written your autobiography roll last but not least as we always invite you dear readers get that microphone up from your eating mesopotamia come on respect the people like me who've got fragile is i'm just there defending the universe for poor people to get that hearing thing when people crunch ice sometimes you just want to kill them so let's go to the letters raw world cup journeys world cup memories world cup all of that nice stuff drop us a line manyblades gmail.com your letters are amazing also in our discord amazing uh this one comes to us from gfp thomas banks raw do the honors friends thank you for all the joy that you've brought to this world cup it's been an absolute delight i write this message in the spirit of philanthropic cartography.

1:18:12Roger Bennett:This week you'll be driving from Atlanta to New York. I know the temptation is strong to take what feels like the most direct path east to Interstate 95 and up the east coast to the former New Amsterdam. While this may be the most timely route, you'd be denying your souls a grand experience. I'd implore you to travel a few hours out of your way and drive north from Atlanta into the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Meander along Highway 23 through Clayton and Dillard. Before long, you'll find yourself in western North Carolina. If there is a God, and if that God has an address in this country, that address is in western North Carolina.

1:18:45Roger Bennett:Bast in the beauty of southern Appalachia, as you drive that beautiful orange bus, beautiful, through the Nantahala National Forest, take a ride on Highway 74, it's very specific. Life is a highway! Take a ride on Highway 74 near Bryson City. Follow that route through Silver Dillsborough, home of the Jackson County NC US Supporters Club. Woo woo! Then on to Waynesville. Showing! Eventually you'll reach into State 40 near Asheville. State 40 to 85 and on to 95. And you'll be on your way to NYC. Yeah. But you'll have fed your spirits along the way and feasted your eyes on the beautiful Smoky Mountains.

1:19:24Roger Bennett:Is that where they play the banjo when we get eaten alive? That's an Appalachia. Okay. If you haven't got the time, that's understandable. But I'd be a terrible FOP if I didn't extend the invitation. There's a few of us here who would love to clink pint glasses with you all. Whichever way you go, safe travels. Are we going? I would love to do that. My wife has promised me a trip to the Shenandoah Valley, which is in that neck of the woods where all the American Civil War stuff is. I drove her around a bunch of wineries and I don't drink wine. And she was, she drunk in the car was like, we're going to look at all the Civil War stuff.

1:19:54You'd be such a good Civil War reenactor. Oh, a dream. The three of us should do it together. It would be amazing. Come on, let's do a feature for Men in Blazers next season where we go and do a Civil War reenactor. I would love it. I've always wanted to do Lewis and Clark's journey.

1:20:08Roger Bennett:Could we play football on Civil War Battlefield, or is that disrespectful? You can't talk your mouthful into a microphone. Mesopotamia! It's how the squirrel died of Mesopotamia. Thomas, what you've just described sounds like heaven. Yes, I imagine. West Virginia. Life is a highway. I want to drive. I love cars. I'd like nothing more than to share a drink with you in beautiful, bubbly Appalachia. But this bus is like Herbie. It's fully loaded. It's got a mind of its own. and it goes where it goes. We've got to get there for the football. But I do want to say, one of the things about this tour, is we do want to start doing live shows in incredible cities with really remarkable footballing cultures like Portland, Maine, El Paso, Texas.

1:20:51We want to go to those places, right, in the year ahead. I just want to meet this barbecue and be left alone. Fair enough. So let me do that. I'll go with you, Roger. No, thank you. Come with us. No, I'm not home. I just don't want to talk about it. By the way, tell us where you are and where we should come because we want to come to some pretty different spots in the year ahead and just celebrate America. Sean Peters 509 says speed limit is 35 around there. Take 95. What was that word you said about the person who criticizes? Umorel. Umorel. Yeah, you're Umorel, Sean Peters. I love you for it.

1:21:21That's it from us. We're back again tomorrow in the ATL with Atlanta legend Ludacris joining us on stage. I cannot wait for this. Amazing, man. It took me a long time to realize is it's ludicrous. I didn't realize. Am I dim? Wait, it's too long to discover that ludicrous was ludicrous. Yes, I didn't know. It was like, genuinely, it made my brain, I was like, what? As if I'd discovered it for the first time. Roar kind of patted me on the head and was like, oh child, you're a sad man. What's Brendan Hunt's sweet boy? Is that just Cockney rhyming slang? I mean, he's your friend. He is, he's coming too.

1:21:56He's a very nice man. We got Horny Horn Castle, then New York City, when we've done the trail, the Appalachian Trail, on our bus for weeks. We're somehow going to get back for the final still. We're going to be live at Fanatics Fest doing a match day live with Spite Lee, Vizinha, Method Man, Tiki Barber and the world champion of our hearts, Becky Sauerbrood. Can't wait to see Vizinha, by the way. Oh my God. Tickets are in the show notes below. That one is really pitching for an MLS move, isn't it? Who? Vizinha. Vizinha. I think he's seen the new what we've got it from here and he's taking it really seriously that commercial.

1:22:30Until then, we'll leave you a clip from our match day live this afternoon right here. Lovely moment when the great Devin Brown had the opportunity with World Cup finalist tickets on the line in front of Cowboys legend, Moose Daryl Johnston. I want to thank Marriott Bomboy and the Make Your Shot Challenge. Stay tuned to see what happens. Atlanta, we're coming for you. It was so late. I'm also about to piss my pants. This is Rod saying big, big love and courage. I love you all. Atlanta. Atlanta. Atlanta. Atlanta. Atlanta. Atlanta.

1:23:15That was unbelievable. Thank God. Oh, that was amazing. Wow. Wow. That was crazy. What do you think of it? That was amazing. Good job, baby. What do you think of your death? Um, he's really good.