USMNT face Australia in Seattle, plus Scotland v Morocco | Day Nine Preview | Morning Cupdate, Presented by The Home Depot

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2:43Hello, everybody, and welcome to Morning Cup Day, built by the Home Depot, the perfect supplement for your morning cup of coffee. We've been absolutely loving Seattle, by the way. We were out and about by the waterfront and near Pike Market, savouring up the atmosphere. What an incredible day it was. By the way, join the Home Depot to welcome the world to our backyard and get fast free delivery on everything you need to get match day ready, subject to availability. and by the way I think Seattle does the best coffee in the whole of the USA that is that is my claim that I am bringing to you this morning now USMNT fans I hope you are ready Mauricio Pochettino's side are back in action can you believe it's been a whole week since this during their incredible 4-1 win over Paraguay

3:38oh some very sore heads in the morning following that, I imagine. It was pretty special, though, wasn't it? A brace from Flo Balogun, an own goal, and a spectacular Gio Reyna Travella gave the USMNT a dream start to this World Cup. Full focus now, though, on Game 2. That's going to take place here in Seattle at noon Pacific, 3pm Eastern time, as the USA play Australia. The Socceroos also had a special start to this tournament as they beat Turkey 2-0 in Vancouver. and afterwards, the Socceroo fans had an interesting chant to taunt their opponents with.

4:19It's pretty route one as chants go, isn't it? Turkey's in the bin! Australia were widely predicted to finish bottom of Group D and the win over Turkey was one of the shocks of the tournament so far. Their hero was goalkeeper Patrick Beach, best name in the World Cup, by the way, who on just his third cap made a staggering eight saves to keep the Turks at bay. The big worry for the USMNT is Christian Pulisic, who was substituted at halftime against Paraguay and has been training solo ahead of the game. Mauricio Pochettino said in his press conference yesterday that he is much better, but also hinted that he may not be available until next week.

4:55So how are the USMNT fans feeling ahead of this match then? Well, we went down to Seattle Stadium yesterday afternoon, had a little walk around and also had a chat to some of the fans. Honestly, after the match the other day, we're going to win the whole thing. It's pretty clear to me. I mean, no one can stop us now. We're too good. I'm thinking we can make it to the final eight. The final eight? Yes. Yeah, we made it to 16 before, so let's just go one step further. And of course, we have to hear how Klimt Dempsey feels about this match, don't we? Played in the city where he spent the final five years of his career.

5:31I think they'll feel a weight off their shoulders, whether you're the coach, whether you're this team. You knew that there was a lot riding on how you do in this tournament. They put themselves in a position to get, you know, I would say on a wave, right? You're on top of the surfboard, but you got to stay on it for as long as you can do it, right? For a bit of balance, we've also been speaking to some of these out here in Seattle as well. It is fair to say they are very confident.

5:57Roger Bennett:Look, Grela's been talking a whole lot of smack in the lead up to this game. And I think the boys are ready to go do all the talking out on the pitch. It's very American to showboat beforehand. It's all good. We put Turkey in their place 2-0. No one expected that. The Aussies, we're going to come back and we're going to get the win tomorrow. 10 out of 10 for the fancy dressmate and the banter as well. Epic. Then at 6pm Eastern is another big match for the Tartan Army as Scotland take on Morocco once again in Boston. Tens of thousands of Scottish fans will be out in force in their new adopted city, and this is going to be the soundtrack.

6:37Of course it is, of course it is. And whilst you might think that Boston are getting a little bit fed up with those bagpipes, aren't we all? After two consecutive Scotland games, it turns out that they have absolutely fallen in love with the Scottish, So much so that it's been announced that Glasgow and Boston are to become twin cities. The governor of Massachusetts even signed an executive order making haggis legal. Although it turns out that that one was just a slightly elaborate joke. The twin cities, though, that is actually happening. That is official. It is going to be sealed in April 2027.

7:11The mutual admiration can be summed up by this city worker who had nothing but praise for the visiting Scots. They came, conducted they self, man, with class, dignity, man, and they like our city. So I'm happy they came, man. Also, one of my favourite things I saw yesterday, not quite content. With Mexico having their own national duck fan called Merlin, Scotland adopted a local duck in Boston to sport the blue and white cross. They named it Donny. So we got some exclusive audio of Donny, especially for Morning Cup Day. Quack, quack, let's go Scotland. Donny. Amazing. Donny, we thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to send us that.

7:52Now, this is going to be an extremely difficult match against the semi-finalists four years ago. Scotland won their opening game against Haiti 1-0, but were far from convincing, whilst the Moroccans, well, they looked very convincing against Brazil. How the Scots approach this match is the subject of today's Drilldown.

8:13Today's drill down brought to you by Makita is all about how Steve Clark's Scotland go about keeping one of the world's best and most dangerous teams at bay. Because of that victory over Haiti, Scotland have a real chance of making the last 32 for the first time ever. But they probably need a draw against either Brazil or Morocco to achieve that. Getting four points gives you a 90 % chance of making the knockouts, while three points only offers a 50 % to 60 % chance. So getting one more point would make a massive difference. That is easier said than done, though. Haiti were ranked 83rd in the world.

8:49Meanwhile, Morocco, they're sixth and Brazil are fifth. Against Haiti, the Scots struggled to keep possession, particularly in that second half, something Rory Smith talked about on Night Cup.

8:59Roger Bennett:Haiti were amazing. Haiti were much the better team. Scotland, I think, struggled with the pressure of knowing that they had to win that game to have any chance of qualifying. I think that really seemed to get into their heads. In that opening game, Scotland played a 4-4-2 system, but there is no way they could do the same today. Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie was dropped for Haiti, something that Steve Clarke, the boss, said was one of the toughest decisions that he's ever had to make. Maybe Christie will come back in to add some energy, but Clarke's biggest decision is whether to choose a back four or a back five system as a way of stopping Morocco's star-studded line-up.

9:33Now, I think it is safe to say a 0-0 draw would be celebrated back in Scotland like a World Cup, but the odds are very much stacked against them achieving that. Then at 8.30pm Eastern, Brazil, well, they're back in action.

9:52They really do have severe pressure on their shoulders to get the win against Haiti in Philadelphia. The five-time champions were very poor during their draw against Morocco and would have lost were it not for Vinicius Jr.'s moment of magic. What magic that was, though. We will have more on the antics in Philly a little bit later in the show. Then in the final game, it's the Group D teams who lost their opening matches. Turkey against Paraguay and San Francisco at midnight Eastern. A defeat in this match for either side will likely be curtains to any hopes of making it through to the knockout stages.

10:25A word from our friends at 14.40. The 2022 World Cup final drew 1.5 billion viewers. It's 11 times this year's Super Bowl. To understand how football became the world's game and what drove it, listen to 1440 Explores with Financial Times journalist Simon Kuiper. It will give you the inside scoop into the depths of the tournament. Listen to 1440 Explores wherever you get your podcasts. And as the world arrives in the United States for the biggest spectacle in sports, We're going coast to coast, host city to host city to meet the world with the Men in Blazers Match Day Live Tour. These are free college game day style live events taking place just before kickoff at some of the biggest games of the summer where we'll be taking the stage with celebrity guests in front of thousands of fans.

11:14It's going to be amazing. Come and be with us in person or from afar on YouTube and let's celebrate this summer the way it's meant to be celebrated. Just head to the events tab on menandblazers.com for all the details. To the football, to more together courage.

11:32Next, let's run through everything that happened yesterday. There were wins for both of the co-hosts in action. Firstly, in Vancouver, Canada claimed their first ever World Cup win in some serious style as well, sending fans across the country into full football fever.

11:56Oh, a win like that. It calls for this, doesn't it? Woo, World Cup! Shout out to the Toronto Mayor. I bet she's feeling great. A 6-0 thrashing for Canada over Qatar was quite the way to claim a maiden win in the tournament. Three goals in each half for Jesse Marsh's team, including a hat-trick for Jonathan David. But the match was overshadowed by an extremely serious leg break for Ishmael Kone early on in the second half. Ismael was taken to hospital where he will have surgery. Now, Qatar's Asimoma Madibo, who made the tackle, was sent off and went into the Canada locker room after the game to offer his condolences to Ismael's teammates.

12:34Then, in Guadalajara, Mexico picked up their second win of the tournament. Here's the reaction from Football Asada's Chris. Mama! That s*** was ugly as s***. But we got the W, baby. Six points out of six. We won the group. Oh, absolute scenes for L2 fans as they beat South Korea 1-0 thanks to a second half goal from Luis Romo. By the way, for all things Mexican footy, you have got to follow our Vamos Network channel, Football Asada, on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to get all of their thoughts. Now, Luis Romo's goal was a horrible moment for South Korea. Goalkeeper Kim Sung-gyu, who collided with his own player and spilled the ball straight into the Mexico midfielder's path.

13:16He will not want to watch that back. By the way, some of the shots of Koreatown in LA during this match were absolutely incredible. Nearly as many there as in Guadalajara itself. In the other Group A match, South Africa scored a late penalty to claim a 1-0 draw against Czechia, meaning that Mexico now just need one more point to seal top spots in that group. Then in the other Group B match, Switzerland scored all their goals in the final 20 minutes of the match to blow away Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1. It means that Switzerland and Canada are level on points at the top of the group. A draw between Canada and Switzerland in the final match would guarantee both qualify for the final 32.

14:01Now directly after USA take on Australia, you've got to tune in to Night Cup because Rod Rory and James Horncastle will be joined by another old friend, one of the greatest NFL players of all time, part owner of Burnley Football Club, the incredible JJ Watt on Night Cup. Watch them break it all down, pint in hand, right here on the Men in Blazers YouTube channel. OK, it is time for our nightly prediction challenge against Morning Cup date against Night Cup. It has been a bad few days for Morning Cup dates. I'm going to be honest. I take the full burden of that. But our fortunes did change yesterday.

14:36Rory and I both predicted a Canada win, so all square there. But I predicted a win for Mexico against South Korea, while Rory went for a draw. which means it's a win for Morning Cup Day. Come on, everyone. Oh, yeah. And we pull the overall scores back to a respectable Morning Cup Day 2, Night Cup 3. I'm on the hunt. Today, looking to redeem himself, Rory Smith was up for predictions once again. Two big old games coming up, two big clashes that we've got our eyes on. Let's start with the US against Australia. Intriguing clash.

15:13Roger Bennett:More intriguing than I thought it would be, actually, to be honest. I wasn't sure that Australia could beat Turkey, and I definitely didn't think they'd beat Turkey like they did. So it looked a little bit more challenging for the US than we thought, but they were so good in that first game. They've kind of triggered all this momentum. It feels like the country's kind of got behind them. They'll be full of confidence. So I think the US take it, but the Aussies put up a fight. I'm going to say 2-1 to the US. I was going to do that. Okay, I am going to say 3-2 to the US. So still a US win, but okay.

15:44Next one, Scotland against Morocco. Nervy for you.

15:47Roger Bennett:I'm very upset about it. I think Morocco look really good against Brazil. They're so creative. They've got so many kind of ingenious players. They've got players who I thought weren't that good anymore, playing brilliantly. Nusseh Masraoui at left-back looked amazing. Brahim Diaz. Bouadi, the midfielder at Lille, is 18 and looks like he's playing in his third World Cup. So as much as it pains me to say it, I think Morocco will probably win and win quite comfortably in the end. so I'll say 3-1 to Morocco. I'm going to give you a little bit of hope here. I'm possibly putting the Morning Cup date team on the line by not winning a point, but I'm going to say nil-nil.

16:23I think Scotland are going to defend for their lives and I don't think Morocco are going to be able to break them down.

16:29Roger Bennett:I would bite your arm off for a nil-nil.

16:35Today's finishing touch brought to you by Bear Paint is a warning to all fans in Philadelphia about a curse that could strike your football team. You might remember that last Sunday it was Ecuador against the Ivory Coast in Philly and fans of Ecuador all gathered by the Rocky Steps pre-match.

16:58And look, this all appeared pretty innocent enough, but fans of Ecuador committed one cardinal sin. They dressed up Rocky in an Ecuador shirt. Sadly for those Ecuador fans, they did not know about the Rocky curse that fans of American football know too well. Now, if you dress him in your team's colours, they will lose. Ecuador, sure enough, lost 1-0 to the Ivory Coast. If only they'd had Travis Kelsey in their lives to warn them. Do not touch the f***ing Rocky Memorial, okay? Do not do that, alright? Definitely don't put an 87 on there. Do not do that. By the way, my producer just called Taylor Swift lame, so I hope Travis Kelsey isn't listening.

17:41With Brazil playing Haiti today in Philadelphia, the Philly Tourism Board put up a post on social media reminding travelling fans that putting a shirt on Rocky will lead to disastrous consequences for your team. As this news report points out, fans of the five-time champions heeded the warning. Because as you can see, show that Rocky statue, there's no jersey on it. So a Brazilian sports fan group actually warned fans here to not put the jersey on Rocky Down. So thankfully they listened. But if you see a kit on the statue, do double check exactly who put that kit on it. Yesterday, an Argentina shirt was spotted on the Rocky statue.

18:20But it turns out it was just a cheeky Brazil fan trying to stitch up their eternal rivals. That, everyone, is why we like this sport. that is it for your morning cup date built by the home depot join the home depot to welcome the world to our backyards and get fast free delivery on everything you need to get match day ready subject to availability today is the day everybody quite literally your last chance to join us for the free match day live show in seattle at pier 58 it gets underway at 8 30 a.m Pacific time just ahead of USA Australia. Rog and Rory will take the stage with the somewhat unbelievable line-up of local icons for a match preview and tailgate that dreams are made of, leading right into the famous March to the Match.

19:06For those of you not in Seattle, do tune in on the live stream. Link is in the notes below. We will be back tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the football. We'll see you then.