USMNT 2-0 Japan Friendly: The Deuce Live 09/09/25

26:37Ricardo Pepe coming back. Please go in October. I cannot wait to see him. We are delighted to bring you the Men in Blazers City Guides presented by Visa. A joyously assembled guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore and watch the beautiful game across the country. It's a guide aimed at helping fans experience the city as a local. It's built by you, our listeners, recommending some of the best small businesses in your communities. Like the finest Viet Cajun in Houston. Yes. The best burrito in San Francisco. Yes. Where to savour lemon pepper wet in Atlanta. Yes, yes, yes. A massive shout out to our sponsor Visa, who's made this guide possible.

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28:02Wherever you dine, points are piling up. So bring your friends along for your next course. Because it's not all about the posts. It's about the company and the memories. How can gold from Amex sweeten your next food moment? Learn more at americanexpress.com slash explore-gold. Terms and points cap apply. How do you say dosa zero in Japanese? That's the question. Tell us if you know in the chat. Google Translate tells me it's misero. My Japanese may probably be as good as my Danish on the pod when I read out the phrase makes my piss boil in Danish. A lot of crap I got for that accent. But if you know Japanese, you come on and tell us.

28:47Japan thrashed the crossbar. McGlynn did the same. I have to say, the Japanese goalkeeper, Kaseki Yasako, made some phenomenal saves down the stretch. Really, really some world-class ones in there. I need to ask you, other than the players we mentioned, Clint, who stood out for you? Oh, man, I mean, I think we pretty much covered it all. You know what I'm saying? We talked about the back line, talked about Chris Richards. Amazing. I thought he was amazing. He was amazing, right? When you look at the back line, I think he's the first one you put on the sheet. In the midfield, you talked about Tyler Adams' performance, but you also got to give credit to Rodan and Zendejas, what they were able to – the energy and the quality that they were able to bring in driving forward.

29:35Christian Pulisic, Baligan looked really good again. And yeah, I mean, it was just exciting to see the team playing well. I mean, I don't know. I mean, subs came in and were trying to make a difference. McGlynn, with the two chances that we talked about that he almost scored on. Unlucky on the one that hit the crossbar and came down and bounced on the line. But yeah. That Diego Luna dummy in that was just like, chef's kiss. I agree. Chris Richards' passing game, one of the most improved areas of his football, was really beautiful to watch. Massive night for Matt Freeze, who I hope is going to join me on stage in New York City.

30:17I'm really fascinated to talk to him. Clean sheet too. Let us not forget. Superb for this team. Probably the biggest piece of tonight. I will say big picture. I'm going to take your questions in a second, GFOPs, because I want to get to them. But I think tonight's victory, the most important victory, you know, after Potts had gone, kind of bore on the floor on the media, we wanted to see tonight, is there a plan that he talked about? Has it been communicated? Do the players believe it? Do they buy into it? Honestly, we still don't know if any of those things are true. The win is really nice, really nice.

30:52Finally beat in a top 25 side, getting rid of that statistic. I do think, Clint, the big win tonight was the optical not losing, not losing so it sounds crazy but it would have been a bloody long month uh until october if we just you know laid two eggs here for sure i mean if we if we lost if we lost tonight it'd be difficult to trust the process because the more you lose the more it's hard to see the vision we talked about you see someone building a house and they put it they start with the chimney first before they do the foundation you're just like well what's going on you know what i'm saying but When you start to see results, you can start to envision kind of the plan that's going forward and you can start to believe in it.

31:34Right. So I'm optimistic. I hope they can continue to build from this because I think it's also important to create good habits. We talked about losing and winning and losing can become a habit. And we're having all these games on home soil and the World Cup is going to be on home soil. So it's important that we start protecting our house. We don't let people come in here and disrespect us. We go out there and we fight and give the fans the reason to cheer. And we leave with dubs, like what y 'all talked about. So I'm looking forward to these friendlies and seeing more of what this team can do and hopefully adding a little bit more quality with some of the players that we're missing.

32:10Great statistic from up to Jack. The U.S. men's national team has won 11 of its 15 all-time matches in Columbus, 73.3%, highest winning percentage of any city in which a team has played 12 or more times. I've got to say, you could make the case we should play all the… For the World Cup. Yeah, play all the… We're the World Cup games. Come on, let's get some… Move them all to Columbus and we'll win the bloody thing. I'm just… Let's go. I'm speaking data here, guys. That's all. Don't hate me. Colby Peterson in the chat says, Kyle Beckerman mentioned. There's always a Kyle Beckerman mention. Last question from me before we take the GFOPs coming up to celebrate with Clint.

32:50Clint potches a year into the job, almost to the day. I think it's tomorrow, is it? The anniversary. 10 wins in 18 games. But tonight it feels like we bottomed out. We passed the nadir. Please God, we're on the way up. He's disassembled the squad. Tonight was gestures of progress. If you were to grade the first year, what would you give him? Oh.

33:16A plus tonight? Yes, okay. Tonight is what we needed. Gold Cup is what we needed, but Nations League was not good. We've got to be real about that.

33:31I don't want to be a hater. I'm not going to give a grade on them, man. By the way, I was a D student, so I'd probably give them a B minus, C plus, which was better than me. Better than me. And look where I am today, kids. You can win the World Cup with a C plus. Clint's very big on pass fail. But if they didn't win tonight, shoot, I'll be saying it's probably like a D. You know what I'm saying? You only have a few tests, man, that we needed that A. We needed to balance out our average. So, yeah, I'm with you on that. Probably a C plus or a B minus. I like that. BJ Callahan's got an A, baby. But Clint's big on the pass-fail grading system.

34:12Ecuador and Australia to come in October. I do expect a very different group, very different squad to come together. Western McKinney back off the naughty step. Eight more games before the World Cup squad is announced. Let's get to your questions. Reminder of how this works on YouTube Live. Scan the QR code or click on the pinned comment in El Chato. Take you into the Zoom with our very beautiful producer, Tony. Possibly the nicest man in the world, scientifically proven. Don't worry, you won't be on screen, so you don't have to put your shirt back on if you've ripped it off in dosisero glory.

34:47Let's go. We'll do as many as we can, all lining up. Let's start with you, Mighty Liam. Tell us where you're from and what's your question for King Clint? Hey there. I'm Liam. I'm from Naples, Florida. Oh, beautiful. My question tonight is, well, the first ever soccer game I watched was USA Iran in the 2022 World Cup. So it's pretty much been downhill from there. But tonight I'm feeling hope. I'm feeling excited. Do you feel that after this match? And do you think that the changes that were made were only because of the loss to Korea or we would have kind of gotten there eventually? Well, what I think is crazy is you say trust the process.

35:28But if I just thought of it now, if Ben White doesn't get the hamstring, then Balogun doesn't even come in. You know what I'm saying? Absolutely. Things happen for a reason. And I don't wish anything bad against a player getting injured, not being able to come in. But Balogun took his chance. And we're talking about him possibly being the main guy, number nine for this team. But, yeah, I think you've got to mix things up when you're not getting results and see who these players are. They're going to step up for you because he had to be feeling the heat. I mean, U.S. soccer had to be feeling the heat.

36:04The tendencies that you've been seeing at games in terms of being more for the opposition is not good for optics. optics and it can't be good commercially trying to for leverage when you're trying to get deals done so doing what they did tonight is what the doctor ordered is what we needed and hopefully there's more of that I mean what do you think Raj God bless you Brian White I mean that is the ultimate sacrifice and God bless you Ballet for coming back in still working his way back from injury but you saw how locked in he was tonight you saw how locked in And you saw how the final whistle, looking at the coaches, the other players celebrate with him.

36:46He's got a real sense of a weight off for him. It's been so long for him to screw in a US jersey. I mean, you saw how much it means to him. That's ultimately what we want to see tonight. So I think, I don't know about who, Liam, but I feel like this team tonight will have hopefully narrative changed. That feel, that debate, the awful debate, to be candid, about do these players care? Does it mean anything? It does. It does. And, you know, I feel like that has been shattered tonight with this victory, the style of it, the assertive, the aggression, all those things. That's our most recent fresh memory.

37:25Look, there's always recency bias as a fan, right? So, I mean, if these two results had been reversed, we'd be in a darker spot to do the win and then the loss. So this is perfect. This is important. It's very, very good. These games coming up are hard. I want to be clear. Ecuador, Australia, Paraguay, Uruguay, like all of this could be ripped to tatters. But ultimately, it's why we watch. You know, we're excited now. We're ready for this team to come back together. We're not filled with dread. It's not, doesn't the must win reality of the next window has kind of been changed a little bit. Those are the optics.

38:02But Liam, are you the human being that started supporting this team that actually pivoted its luck into a tailspin. Do you ever feel that sense of responsibility seeing as you watch that game, which is really our last happy moment? You know, sometimes I do. I've become kind of the person in my friend group that sets up all of the games tonight, like to get together. Everyone comes over, has beers. And tonight I invited everyone over and usually I have seven to 10 people. And tonight I had three. And after the second goal, I went into our Snapchat group chat. and i went you're losing attendance dang i went to our snapchat group chat and i said you know f the haters and i added them all and i said we're winning against japan see you guys at the world cup god that's so funny i i thought you were gonna say liam that tonight you had only three friends come but you had 20 japanese people you didn't know come around and just sit on your couch by the way you're hitting a really important point which is from a fan perspective this is the crazy thing about this US team they've gone into a tailspin and lost a complete apathy in terms of their existence really at the very time when football has become so popular in the United States but we've become a club football nation almost Liverpool Arsenal was big here we had like soccer curious NFL fans they all knew that game was happening it had wider cultural impact You know, the U.S.

39:33have become small. That's the battle. It's the battle for Liam's living room that we are trying to dig our way out of. And hopefully tonight was the first step towards really a surging return. God bless Liam. Thank you for being with us. I want to get to as many as we can tonight. Next one up. Oh, it's the great Andrew. Tell us where you're from, you beautiful human mirroring. Come and speak to Clint Dempsey and Fire Away. yeah i am uh andrew i'm calling from raleigh north carolina home of the nc courage god bless god's country the best named sports team in the world what is your question for mighty clint so um i met his dad when i was younger so i want to hear your perspective on alex freeman if he has a shot at the starting 11 i think he plays with a lot of heart and i really like how he plays and the energy he brings.

40:28So what's your critique of him? I was excited. I thought you'd met Clint's dad when he was younger. I was like, man, where do you see Aubrey at? Where do you see him? I love Clint's dad. I love Clint's dad. No, Antonio Freeman. That's good. No, no, I mean, I like Freeman. I like the energy that he brings. I still think he's raw. You know, in terms of, you know, some of the decisions that he makes, I think it's going to be difficult to replace Des in that position because of what Des can give you going forward. But, you know, I do think that there's still a chance to battle that out and see what happens.

41:13Obviously, he started over Des tonight. So Pochettino believes in him. And I'm curious to see that. I think that's great that we have these battles that are going on for positions, because I think that's what we need to, to, to, to be a better team and to start getting better results. Yeah. I mean, I, I agree with everything that you've said. I mean, there's definitely a, there's definitely a footballer in Alex Freeman. He is still so unbelievably raw. One of the storylines of tonight that's kind of been swept away and I'm kind of fascinated and I wish we had a press conference really to learn more about it not starting dest um who yes is you know still working his way back from injury still you know talked on the show when he came on if you've not watched the interview it's actually really i was quite fascinated listening to serginio he's probably the most american mentality and he's very very dutch at the same time um but he's still feeling his body still feeling you know not quite himself and I would love to know why he didn't start tonight because there is something about him I mean he's just a he's a risk taker a wonderful risk taker bombing forward but it does leave particularly a defensive three who are still trying to find their chemistry it leaves a real vulnerability when you have a player that's there and not there him not starting was it a warning to him?

42:40Was it just a signal to him to not get complacent? Was it about his physicality and where he is in his own return? I mean, I would love to know more because it does feel like Dest is for me unshakable as a position in this team, but for him, Alex Freeman to get the nod, it's a player that will grow in confidence. I've got a feeling he'll be playing in Europe within the next year and that next move for him I think will really determine the fulfilment of his true potential. But God bless a remarkable human being. Next one up. Believe it's your birthday tomorrow. If that is true, Kirsten, come on up.

43:16Tell us where you're from and give us a birthday question. From Virginia Beach. Yes. Kirsten. Excuse me. Kirsten, I am so sorry. My Japanese is terrible. My English is even worse. Is it your birthday tomorrow? Is this the truth? Yes, that is the truth. And celebrating with the dubs? Celebrating 100 % with the dubs. And one year before I turned 50. What? That sounds unbelievable. You genuinely find that hard to believe. I was in line on Sunday. Somehow got kicked out. But I have questions, a whole lot. But I'll keep it to one. So do we think... birthday you do whatever you want well thank you very much i appreciate that uh clint we met we met you in austin was one of the best moments but so going into november and going into philly and hartford are we going in with our starting lineups do we think that's what's coming in and what do you think we should be doing and raj why are you laughing so hard right now like I'm laughing because my producers in the chat say, I did not kick her out.

44:39We lost her connection. It wasn't me. Kirsten, I love you. I'm not laughing at your question, but I'm laughing. From your birthday, from the 757, keep going. Keep firing away with Clinton. I mean, what I would say, sorry, keep going. No, it was just, are we going into November? So I think October is going to be different and a different lineup, but are we going into November with our actual starting lineup for the World Cup? And are we going to show up with that? Is Weston coming? Are other people coming? And do we think they're being brought in? Or do we think they're just going to be left out?

45:19And we go into the World Cup wondering what's happening. I mean, for me, I would like to see our best players come into every possible camp from now into the World Cup to get that chemistry going and to get this fan base excited and have us get back to winning ways. I miss seeing Anthony Robinson on the pitch. I miss seeing Weston McKinney. I miss seeing Pepe as well. It's good to see Des back. Just to see our full team and how it would look and what kind of performance you would get because I think Pochettino has been bitten a little bit by the injury bug and hasn't been able to put out his best 11.

46:06I mean, I would say CONCACAF Nations, he had the ability with the strong 11 to try to go out and to win that. But for the most part, they struggled with injuries. But I would like to see those players that I mentioned back in there battling and seeing what our best lineup would be. Yeah, I mean, Tillman is the other one. Oh, Tillman, good show. I mean, Kirsten, we honestly don't know. And this is the cliffhanger that we leave the September window with. Like, are we building to something here? Are we these players that we've become, you know, really quite familiar with and we've really enjoyed?

46:41I love watching Diego Luna. I think him coming off the bench is a really interesting option for this team. just he's just got he's speaking a completely different creative language um to everybody else on the on the fields and Dejas has just established himself today it's just a um I mean a gun a gunslinger in a very you know that mentality very Clint Dempsey uh prime Clint Dempsey and I just love it and so we're all you know we're these guys are working their way into our affection but could it be that this series is a bit like Fargate where the next season comes back in October and it's a completely different cast and a completely different storyline because kind of Potch has hinted at that.

47:27He said two things before this window. He said, number one, this is the last window for new players. And he also hinted, Weston McKinney's coming back off probably the naughty step. I think it's pretty clear he's been put. That's why he was left out. He kind of hinted he'll be back in October. Who else will be back in October? If we do bring in Tillman and we do bring in Pepe. And please God, Anthony Robinson, to me, is the most important player in this U.S. What he does on that left. He gives you both. He gives you both. He gives you going forward and stability defensively. And we're just missing that complete right back.

48:06That can do what he does. I think it's both sides. Yeah, yeah. So when we have Anthony on one side and we have Des probably on the other side, Yeah, we can keep teams honest and they can't kind of impose themselves as easily. If they all come back, we're going to lose some of our new friends. So I don't know. I don't know the truth. This is what we talked about in the last show. We keep thinking all these guys, is Brendan Aronson coming back? Is Gio Reyna? God bless. I mean, I really hope Gio at some point does feel that swagger again and can make a claim here. But we talked about before this game, we said, what if they're never coming back and these are the guys.

48:48That's really, none of us know the answer to that, Kirsten. And I'm kind of, I can't wait. The nice thing about tonight, I can't wait for the next window now. And I'm guessing you feel somewhat similar. And it feels great to feel like that again about this team. Totally agree. I think I get to, there's some of the players that I feel like should be starting and aren't starting. And some of the matchups that are happening maybe shouldn't be happening and if you have players that play ball listen I am a die-hard Josh Sargent fan um I love that ginger all day long loved him with baby yanks but he is not a senior yanks and I know that and unfortunately that's the reality of it so I think for me being the fan that I am and Raj with your show you read my best friend uh Kim Merritt's uh letter back in like 2018 when he was passing of cancer like I've followed you all the way along for everything but it's just one of those we have very realistic opinions of everything that happens and very realistic goals of what we expect.

50:10And so I'm there with that. Like I'm a Flo, I'm a Weah, I'm a Pulisic. And let's go there. Let's figure out what we have to do to make this team successful. Amen, amen. And we want to both wish you a happy birthday, your passion, your love of this team and this journey is really, really, that's ultimately all that matters to a year ahead of many memories, loving your football and can be with us anytime. Great comment in the chat. Jack Macchiuffac Jr., whose name I've just butchered and I apologize. He says, Dest is a swashbuckling hero made for journey matches, not friendlies. Yes. Yes, they're journey matches.

50:52God, that sounds, the more I say it, the more odd it sounds. Let's have Sam come on up. Tell us where you're from. What's your question? Oh, for the mighty Clinton. I'm from Warner Robins, Georgia. My question is, how many MLS players are we actually going to see in the World Cup roster? Because Potts seems to love them, but the European players are overall better players. Sam, how old are you? 13. God, man, it is great to have you on this show speaking to Clintu. Sam, I'm looking forward to you playing, please, hopefully in the 2030 World Cup. Clint, what a question. How many MLS players are we going to see in this World Cup roster, do you think, ultimately?

51:37Yeah, I mean, I think it's tough to say, but I mean, I could easily see five or six, you know, breaking into the squad. But to your point, I do think playing in Europe is more challenging and is a higher level. but I mean I think it's important to have a good mix a good balance of domestic and talent and talent that's abroad so yeah I look forward to seeing how that maps out but I'm not the person in camp that is picking players per se but yeah I mean I think definitely both leagues whether you're home or abroad are going to be represented I mean what do you think Raj? I don't know it's such a crazy question Sam It's one of the great unexplored and misunderstood, like not misunderstood, we just don't understand it.

52:29Potch does love the MLS player. This is one of the craziest pieces of narrative. We were talking yesterday, Clint and I, with Herc how many paradoxes are currently wrapped into this US team. And we've had Greg Berhalter, an MLS coach, ultimately really went after the European talent in an almost Klinsmanic way. and then we have this great supposedly global coach coming down to take us next level, and Potch has, quote, fallen in love with the MLS player. We talked yesterday, the player that I keep thinking about, thought about him a lot this weekend, this window. Aidan Morris, this young star, did everything he's supposed to do, you know, reveled in Columbus crew, had a great time there, headed off to England to try and play in the best league he can be, He's currently in the championship, lifting his team to top of that league.

53:23One of the hardest leagues to play in in the world competitively. And he's thriving, surging, dominating games and is not making the squad. So it is fascinating. You know, also who's playing and who's not playing, even the guys in the squad. We saw Chris Richards on the bench watching an MLS player take his place in the last game. Mentally, I don't know how that feels. You know how that feels. I know you always say to me how pissed off you'd be if you were on the bench and X was starting. Well, I think it's one of those situations that it doesn't matter where you're playing. I mean, if you're good enough, you're good enough.

53:58And you always have a chance to prove yourself when you go into games and you go into camps. I remember going into 2006 January camp, guy on the outside looking in, trying to break into the European heavy roster that we had of American players that were playing abroad. because it was difficult during World Cup qualifying because those were the main guys. And you're trying to do whatever you can to try to get into that team. And when you get your opportunity, you've got to take it with both hands. And lucky for me, I was able to do that in 2006, which by having a good World Cup, that allowed me to get my move to Europe.

54:34So I think that there's quality of players that we have here in MLS, and if they get the opportunity, they just got to go out and take it. And for the players that are playing abroad, you've got to make sure that your main players in your team and you're playing week in and week out. So it don't matter where you're playing, but when you get the call, you got to step up and you got to represent. So I think that should be the main focus. Big Sam, thanks for coming on. Come be with us anytime, you beautiful human being. I've got to say your passion for the game really does just infuse me with such incredible joy tonight.

55:10From Taco Night in Tulum to Sushi in Tokyo, Every bite is rewarding and post-worthy with Amex Gold's four times membership rewards points at restaurants worldwide. Wherever you dine, points are piling up. So bring your friends along for your next course. Because it's not all about the posts. It's about the company and the memories. How can gold from Amex sweeten your next food moment? Learn more at americanexpress.com slash explore-gold. Terms and points cap apply. Potch's presser is happening right now Journalist at Kentra Hagata Has just tweeted Potch has just said I look forward to coming again Talking about Columbus Give that man all the Schmitz house of sausage We've got time for two more questions Coming up Mighty Tyler Myhan Tell us where you're from And what's your question for Clinton Thanks for taking my call and my question is for Clint.

56:12And really from a player's perspective, when you come off a game like tonight where we got the win, but there were a couple of shaky moments early on that on another night might have been punished, how seriously do players take those near misses in the film room? Is it more about relief that they didn't go in? Or do those become real teaching points even after a win? yeah I mean they definitely become teaching points because I mean you enjoy the win but you don't get too high or you get too low right it's always the next game and you got to perform and you got to get back into your club team and do the business and then get get called back in and when you get called back in you'll have an opportunity to look at film and and make sure you're doing things right and things that you're not doing correctly they'll be pointed out and you'll have a chance to to learn from them if you're someone he doesn't learn from, guess what?

57:06You're on the bench, you're not getting called in. So that's the way it always is. You always got to look at what you're doing, evaluate yourself, and make sure that you're putting yourself in positions to be successful. So I'm sure they got the film crew looking at, have the players looking at what they need to look at and try to get better and get what they want out of these players. But the most important thing is creating a winning culture again, getting people confident, and get us clicking on all the cylinders and getting some of these guys uh that have been injured get them back i mean what a great question by the way thank you for that one man i really really really love it tyler i mean i've been with you in 2014 making that film behind the scenes of the world cup journey and i remember a game in in cyprus you played ukraine in cyprus um and and then went to a hotel at like one o 'clock in the morning and then suddenly were driven to the airport all of you to to fly to all points in Europe at like four o 'clock in the morning.

58:05And then you were just gone. I remember deeply like just seeing you all waiting in the airport, just like shattered, tired. I think you lost the game 2-0 as well. You're all just sitting there very, very quiet, very sullen. But like you were going off, man. You were going off to play back in the Premier League. Tim was going back to go and lose a game with Everton probably. Jermaine was going back to Germany. It was like everyone was splintering. How long does the U.S. game stay with you? Or is it just immediately like, boom, get the bags to the airport, click back into the Premier League narrative?

58:42How does that work for an elite player? I mean, for me, I mean, you switch it off, but I think both of them, whether you're playing for your national team or playing for your club, they help each other out, right? They get you back on waves again. I always kind of like to use that phrase, especially, you know, for an attacking player because sometimes you might not be scoring with the national team. You get a goal with your club team. You get called into national team camp, and then you're able to score with the national team or vice versa. You're not scoring with your club, but you're getting called in to the national team.

59:11You get your goal, and it brings you back with a good mentality into your club team, and then you get back on track of scoring. It's like they go hand in hand. You need them both, right? And sometimes it can get you out of slumps, and that's how I always looked at it. It was an opportunity to get out of a slump or keep a streak going, and you just had to go and make the most of it and always try to represent and play at your best. But it's always next game. It's always what team are you going to and giving your all to make sure you represent where you're from or the club you play for, the country you play for.

59:41So that was my mentality. Really fascinating quote from Poch, tweeted by Kyle Bond, who tweeted, Pochettino says Alejandro Zendez has given him, quote, doubts about his expected World Cup pecking order. Essentially, he says he's had to reconsider how he sees a U.S. men's national team death chart after Zendaya has his performance today. One goal can change everything, Clint. Yep. As we talked about it, man, that's what's so beautiful about this game. One win can change everything, right? Gets everybody off your back, gets people believing again, gets people excited again. And like I talked about, getting goals can get you on a streak, can get you on a run.

1:00:24I mean, it's the same with Bologna. It's a guy that wasn't going to get called in until Brian White had a hamstring issue. He comes in, and now we're talking about him being the main guy, number nine again. Just getting goals, getting wins, man, it's crazy. Talking about him winning the Ballon d 'Or, let's be candid. Let's not overhype the man, Rog. Last question for you of the night, of this win of wins. Come on up, Drew. Tell us where you are and what's your question for the mighty, mighty climp. I'm in Austin, Texas. So looking forward to the October match. My question is a bit tactical. With the chances Japan had tonight, it looked like they kind of were, you know, targeting our outside center backs.

1:01:16Would a better team, you know, be able to put Tim into a blender? And so do we think this is the formation we'll go with going forward? or will we revert back to four in the back and maybe like the 4-3-2-1 we typically play? I think that's a great question. I would like to see them play against the full-strength side that is top 20 in the world and see how we deal with that issue, right? We talk about in the 3-5-2, the wingers kind of being, you know, getting exposed at times and do we have the speed from those outside center backs to deal with those issues of 1v1s? You know, example, Tim Ream stepping out to go against Asala or, you know, someone with pace that Diaz from Columbia that can cause you problems.

1:02:10I would like to see how that would pan out. You know what I mean? How we'd be able to deal with that. You would. Well, you have to be tested. You have to test your formation to see if it's going to stay in the test of time. That's like weather. How would you know? How do you know you got the right situation, the right formation? If you're not tested. I would like to see this baby trying to cross the six-lane highway just to see how it pans out. It sounds terrible. Hey, come on, man. You either sink or swim, man. Though you're in the deep end, you got to figure it out. I hate the water. This is Sparta, says the voice in Texas.

1:02:49I mean, but when you say Mo Salah running at Tim Ream, I've got to say it does make my bum clench a little bit. I don't love it. But wouldn't you want to see it? Yeah, we did well in that formation tonight. Wouldn't you want to see it better tested to see if it's battle tested, if something is seriously that we can use going forward, if that's going to be a main formation for us or not? Yeah, especially if Jedi can come back, right, then the relationship he and Tim have might be able to make it work. That's actually really interesting. The Jedi recovery run with Tim is really interesting. I mean, right now, any good coach with a Sia, I mean, Sal is one of one, isn't he?

1:03:34But, you know, Louis Deon, I didn't sleep well last night thinking about Matoma running at Tim. Ultimately, Matoma doesn't start. Proof that 80 % of the things you worry about in life never come to pass, and why do you worry about them in the first place? But it is a challenge, because what it does also then sucks the midfield back. Yeah, because Tyler also being the sixth, he puts out fires as well, but like you said, it forces you may to play deeper than what you want. Yeah, it sucks everybody back. It puts that vulnerability in mind rather than straight. Players aren't thinking about, I'm going to go and run for that.

1:04:09always thinking about the weakness, the fear, the worry, the darkness. Ultimately, I love the three at the back with Anthony, please God with Dest. I think it's probably the most ambitious, the most bucking in, the kind of football we want to see, the stirring football. I'll tell you, the stuff that we want to see and that we saw tonight. Tonight was nothing and tonight was everything. Tonight was what Clint has been begging for. we saw footballers who got on the ball and wanted to hurt their opponent also what i liked about the formation it seemed like it gave christian more freedom to move around and find the ball and to be our difference maker yeah so that's also that's also another reason why i like that formation and curious to see moving forward how does it go up against a true test yeah and by the way got the best out of Ballo as well we've seen Ballo struggling in in in previous Berhalter systems just not playing to his strengths all of it clicked it made us just proof reminders I'm going to give you the last word tonight uh Clint but just don't remind us that tiny changes can just make our moods change tonight we leave there I do again thinking let's dream again let's believe that everything's possible last night being on stage with Frankie Haydick hearing him bellow about the qualities that made that team that you know playing with Clint made them fearless I felt little bits of that tonight little embers of that fire glowing once again so let's hold on to those but Clint I mean the big lesson I learned from you tonight is when you're building a house never start with a chimney my mistake but when you when you have the last word well I mean you talk about little changes I mean what's insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

1:06:00So when you're not, when things are not working out, it's, it's, it's good to tweak them a little bit and kind of see what, what's going to be the difference maker for you. And tonight, maybe that's the three, five, two, maybe it's putting in Zadejas and, and Baligan in the lineup and, and, and Christian O'Don and, uh, you know, shaking things up like you talked about and giving people the opportunity to fight for a spot in this team and create more competition within this squad because it puts everybody on notice. And when you have everybody fighting for a place to be in this World Cup, which is on home soil, there's no bigger stage that can be set.

1:06:39So I'm excited again. I'm looking forward to these next camps and to see who are the players that we're getting called in, if that 3-5-2 is going to be truly tested like we we want to see but also seeing our best players in and who that best level is going to be i can't wait somewhere in japan the japanese version of alexi lalas is losing his marbles tonight just remember that dear listeners our win is their loss happy birthday to you kirsten new york city come join us terminal 5 september the 18th with carl anthony towns and the mighty josh hart as well as i hope matt freeze is going to be joining us amongst other people it's a celebration of our city and the incredible football culture tickets available all over our social and in the link in the chat clint i've got to tell you this i can't wait for the next window with you it's only i think it's like 26 days away baby and we'll be back you're a beautiful human being to spend time with man yes sir roger i appreciate you appreciate all the questions that people brought in and appreciate the u.s for getting us a win thank you i don't We're not going to be Eeyore anymore.

1:07:45Let's go. At the end of Clint Dempsey, the Eeyore era is officially over. And most of all, thank you, Columbus. You never let us down. Courage.

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