In short
World Cup Daily episode covering England’s group-stage performances, knockout-stage outlook, and standout results (especially Messi scoring again and the Algeria–Austria stoppage-time thriller).
Guests
Clive (co-host; Arsenal Vision contributor) and Elliot Smith (host; Arsenal Vision).
Guest backgrounds
Clive is an Arsenal Vision regular analyst discussing England/club-player parallels; Elliot is the main host and frequently links World Cup observations to Arsenal squad/roles.
Key claims
England look “bored” and inconsistent; midfield stability is lacking when fullbacks push out, leaving space and forcing Rice/Bellingham/Rodgers into patchwork roles. Kane is praised for consistency, though questioned under extreme tournament pressure. Argentina’s success is attributed to players accepting roles and having a clear “cause/mission,” with Messi continuing to deliver.
Notable examples
England’s 2-0 vs Panama; Saka’s assist from a corner; Jude Bellingham’s injury recovery; DR Congo’s Yoan Wissa scoring twice; Ronaldo being booed in Portugal vs Colombia; Austria–Algeria “handshake draw” turning into 3 stoppage-time goals (Mahrez and Kalajdzic).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOExploring England's Performance
0:45 to 1:48
Discussion on the English team's performance in the World Cup and upcoming games.
“We'll get into the director of football stuff.”
Analyzing Players' Form
1:48 to 3:08
Deep dive into the form of key players like Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
“I think they know they're better than the opposition.”
Midfield Dynamics and Strategies
3:08 to 4:50
Examination of England's midfield structure and tactical challenges.
“and you're playing for your life, which is coming up very soon, and then we'll see the team wake up.”
Fullbacks and Stability Issues
4:50 to 7:06
Insight into the role of fullbacks and overall team stability during matches.
Thoughts on England's Path Forward
7:06 to 10:15
Discussion on England's upcoming matches and potential challenges ahead.
“And so I do think you see in this tournament, for example, the French forwards, they're thriving, messy.”
African Teams in the Knockouts
10:15 to 14:00
Reflections on the performance and physicality of African teams in the knockout stage.
“really aggressively, the shortest route to roam.”
England's Path and Physicality in International Football
14:00 to 17:00
Discussion on England's potential matchups and the physical attributes of international teams.
“DR Congo, I think it's just everybody's saying it'll be fun to see Mexico and England in the Azteca.”
Harry Kane and Player Performances
17:00 to 20:04
Analyzing Harry Kane's record and discussing the impact of key players like Jude Bellingham.
“I think we can move on and talk about some of the other games.”
Predictions and Conditions for Upcoming Matches
20:04 to 23:16
Predictions for England's matches and thoughts on challenging conditions in Miami.
“I'm looking, Rice, you know, he's okay at the moment, he'll get better as the games get tougher.”
Messi's Impact on Argentina's Success
23:16 to 24:56
Discussion on Messi's performance and Argentina's strong team dynamics in the tournament.
“Giovanni Lo Celso had a beautiful, I think it was a free kick goal as well.”
Show all 15 chapters
Ronaldo's Role in Portugal's World Cup Journey
24:56 to 27:30
Examining Ronaldo's influence on the Portugal team and their challenges in the tournament.
“I think that's happening with England a lot.”
Atmosphere at the Fan Park
28:00 to 29:00
Discussion about the fan experience during the England game and the presence of Colombian fans.
“and it was 80 % Columbia, even during the England game.”
Portugal's Tournament Prospects
29:00 to 31:20
Analysis of Portugal's team dynamics, particularly regarding Ronaldo's impact.
“But I must admit, I can't think of the players going to come in to take his role.”
Austria vs Algeria Game Analysis
31:20 to 34:14
A breakdown of the chaotic Austria-Algeria game and its implications for the teams.
“It turned a board game into a great game.”
Looking Forward to the Knockouts
34:14 to 36:28
Reflection on the group stage and anticipation for the knockout rounds of the tournament.
“I think my interest in the groups has ebbed and flowed, ebbed and flowed.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Music
0:25And once again, the English media maintain their consistency. Set pieces are the best thing in football. This is the Arsenal Vision World Cup Daily. My name is Elliot Smith. You can block manager at Yankega. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the World Cup Daily. I am in Chicago about to see lovely, wonderful Arsenal people and talk about Arsenal in a live show. I'm very much looking forward to doing that. This week on our Patreon, we will get back to the business of doing transfer talks. We'll get into the rumors. We'll get into the director of football stuff. Clive and I owe you one of those. So we've got lots of fun stuff to do.
0:55We're going to have a main pod tomorrow hosted by Tim as I'm obviously traveling and out and about. but we are very much looking forward to talking through all that. And great news, by the way, for those of you who have never really loved Granit Xhaka but had to pretend to love him when he came back into our good graces, he may be off to Chelsea and you'd be free to dislike him again. So that's wonderful. We're going to talk England up front today, as you can imagine, and then we'll get our headline stock rising, stock falling quickly from the rest of the slate, which was a bit bonkers. Messi scored.
1:20There were, I think, 17 goals in the Algeria-Austria game in stoppage time, which I think is a record. We'll cover all of that. But first, we need to talk about the only footballing nation that anybody really follows closely, and that is England. And I'll do it with Clive. Hello, Clive. Hello, hello. Yeah, how are you feeling about your home nation and the, I want to say, thrilling performance they put forward against Panama?
1:42Elliot:Yeah, it's a tough one, right? It's game three. People get too excited too quickly. there are different phases in tournaments right and there's the points accumulation phase where you're trying to qualify for something and that can maybe bring certain tactics into play like mid and low blocks you're trying to gain points against a stronger team and Gano's showing it actually works right because they've qualified and so and then there's the football matches where you're trying to win a game and then things will change and I think Ingele are far more suited to the football match and the contest and And I think, honestly, I look at some of the players, Elliot, and I think they're bored.
2:26Elliot:I think they're bored. I think they know they're better than the opposition. And I think they're bored. And they're just playing in spurts. And I think, and maybe a few of them are not in form. And maybe a few more than we expected. And I think that's probably part of it as well. So it's been a long, old season, right? And you can just, I don't know if it's me and how I feel about football, but I'm looking at some of these players and there's very few sparkling. And I think that's just the attritional nature of the seasons they've all had. And funny enough, the player that's sparkling the most, Julie Bellingham, has a big chunk of the season off of injury and he looks ready to go.
3:04Elliot:And he's just standing out, isn't he? So yeah, it's challenging. But hey, look, when the football comes and you're playing for your life, which is coming up very soon, and then we'll see the team wake up. let's dig into the Arsenal players just a bit because obviously people are going to be most concerned about that here so what did you make of Morgan Rodgers? Yeah, Morgan Rodgers fair enough Morgan Rodgers is one of the only players that have played more than Declan Rice this season and it's you can see... For multiple seasons in a row Clive, he's racked up minutes he's two seasons running now I think of like near 4 ,000 minutes him.
3:40Elliot:He needs to be a better door mate, that's where he needs to be And he's played, again, I felt that maybe Kane and Bellingham both played okay, but I couldn't see his role clearly. I couldn't see where he could be. And he was steady, 6.5 out of 10, but I want to see more from him, and I think we'll see more from him when he's arsehole and rested. Saka, to me, looks like a player that's been very light in training to make sure he's pain-free. but I know you talk often about the burst for me it's the power that he's missing and he's when he's at his very best he's very heavily muscled and he's really strong and he's really fiery and bombastic and you can tell by his ball striking ferocity and so I think he's lacking power and that's somebody that's rehabbing but not training the muscle to be bigger and stronger and so he's not fit yet but he's fit if you know i mean like pain fit maybe and he's getting better um but he's got such wisdom so compare him to man away okay one's got a brain one hasn't one's physically superior to the other and it's not the one we expect to be you know so um so yeah he's got wisdom which is going to be required when the pressure gets hot uh deckham rice he was i wouldn't say rested he was protected with the yellow card and i think the one more yellow card he's out of that knockout game England don't need to even risk that but if it is he gets a rest and so that's great for everybody concerned he barely gets one so um anybody else anybody else well I mean I think there's Nani Meduake who came on obviously and like the Nani Meduake experience is just kind of consistent I do think it's worth noting Saka got the assist for Jude's goal um from a corner yeah right so all of a sudden that's not ruining football anymore which is great great news once you work out what nonny is then accept him for what he is and there'll be more players like that the problem martinelli is like a nonny per se someone who supports somebody else you know and more squads going to have players like this really critical players that know the system that bring a level of threat support maybe somebody else and maybe a touch more consistent in quality but really valuable and then once you work that out unless everybody listening wants to see Nonny get past Saka if that happens that means Saka's dropped you know so once you work that out in your mind you can accept it and then just move on I think he's an incredibly threatening player but I don't know what I'm going to get mate he's just like one minute good one minute bad but I like him I like what he offers one thing that I believe fundamentally about football player performances is that when you train in your club every single day you can build partnerships and relationships and tactical understanding and that can really benefit players all over the pitch i think when you're in an environment where you don't get to do that all the time and build up that rapport and have that tactical understanding certain areas of the pitch are harder to perform than others i think midfield is the hardest role to get right in constantly changing setups with different tactical um instructions or tactical approaches whereas i think attackers like wingers can probably thrive in any situation because they get the ball beat their man, they create a goal or a strike or just get in front of the net and score.
7:06And so I do think you see in this tournament, for example, the French forwards, they're thriving, messy. He just keeps scoring, right? There's players that are thriving. I look at England and I see a real challenge so far through three games to find an approach where the midfield looks complimentary and it works and there's no midfield that's going to be as good when Rice isn't in it. But I think Rodgers may be struggled to find his role in this midfield and influence the game. And of course you're going to have completely rational calm reactions from people saying he's not even worth 10 million let alone 100 million now because of one performance yeah one performance for england but like do you have thoughts on that the i do the england midfield not not being able to control and settle in games and maybe just the the challenge in that area of the pitch for international players to learn their new roles and their new teammates in the in that area of the
7:57Elliot:pitch yeah i mean i could talk about this all day honestly i could please do the um first second of the game ball goes straight into the right back slot i'm looking at my screen thinking where's my freaking right back and i see saka running back towards his own corner flag i'm thinking well we all know he's not fit so i think he do not be running out his legs defensively so i could not find quanta in the first phase of the game i just couldn't find him then you're surprised he started No, I think it was something that he planned to do. And you've got to think about the tournament as a whole. And Jeff Spence was thick in the last game, was left back.
8:33Elliot:And I just sat him, although when he came on, I thought he steadied things down. He did. You know my big feelings, fullbacks are your stabilized. And so first minute, I see Saka running back on the right-hand side. And a few seconds later, I see Gay right on the left-hand touchline. I'm thinking, hold on a minute, where'd my fullbacks? I'm not saying fullbacks got to stay in, but they got to time when they jump out. and so were they trying to attract people on i don't know but i don't like that so first things first that makes me feel unstable so when you're unstable what do midfielders do they drop in to protect the fact that the center half to split out to the outside right so once your fullback's dropping you're now asking bellingham and rogers to hold the middle they did it on occasions because panama are not very good but that i looked at that screen i saw too much space in the middle of the it and people not knowing when to stand next to Anderson so I don't think a ride did a great job positionally until the old miles inverted thing I think he went to the back line early very early and was chasing back so your stability is there you know my thing with stabilizers on the bike so you lose stability there so what does Anderson do so Anderson then decides I'm gonna put on my mini cape on right and he's a really good presser but when he presses with Rice near him Price is writes his luck an insurance policy.
9:50Elliot:So he can be really aggressive, front foot and push past the ball and go and rat it. And what he was doing as a guy that's on his own in a 3-1-6 build-up, he was ratting to the ball, but he was going to the ball aggressively. And sometimes you have to curve your run and delay the attack. Delay your attack to allow your other players to fold around you. So he was going to the ball, gambling to win it, really aggressively, the shortest route to roam. if you don't win and get popped past, then he's running back. He's running back. Sometimes he makes a tackle. Sometimes someone else makes a tackle.
10:25Elliot:But you know what I look at when I look at the screen? I don't know who's going to make a tackle. People are running after the ball like greyhounds after a rabbit. I'm thinking this is not stability. This is not structural. It's going to last through the gate. It's the best teams. And when I see Konza running down the left touchline to try to collect it and make a tackle, I see Gay dashing to the right-hand side. what I see I see a bunch of really good athletes running after the ball and winning races now if you're in the crowd and you're thinking oh he's won that ball I'm thinking it's not consistent you know you can watch after you can put a line down the middle of the picture you know when someone runs to one side you you don't know you close your eyes can't you you can close your eyes I know who that is on the right hand side I know who that is on the left hand side I watched last night and I couldn't tell you who was going to get to the ball and what positions they were playing and that does not give me a lot of confidence going forward with our stability i feel affecting anderson and he started to run after dogs a little bit running around and i thought okay it settled down and we got into our game and that's fine but that is a an issue for me the midfield construct you can for me i know we disagree about two defensive players versus one but it's a it's a it's a patchwork right if you do have two players that are more sixes and eights than eights and tens then your fullbacks can go they can disappear they can get so what you're really aiming for is that 3-1-6 system so you're six ahead decide who it is you know but it can be your fullbacks you still get the you still get that but i think at the moment our fullbacks are not in the best shape and after them not in fullbacks you know so we have got a problem here so everything's on the table but i'm not upset this is just it's average thought you may at the moment let's see what happens when the big boys come along yeah it's it's one of those things too that inherently i was very much in the camp that the reaction to the Ghana game was just wrong that that England were dominant in that game They had chances to make it a comfortable victory that they didn't take.
12:38But Ghana, and again, acknowledging that Ghana were denied what was probably a stonewall penalty, I guess that does change things quite a bit. But in general, I thought England looked dominant and did the things you need to do. And sometimes in football, you don't score the goals. We know that all too well. I do think the Panama game was less good. I think that it was more even than it needed to be or should be. But it winds up being a 2-0 victory. And in general, I think England will probably be the kind of team that is actually set up to do better against big teams that are going to have a go rather than teams that are going to sit and counter.
13:08So let's just quickly touch on the path for England because it is DR Congo, then probably Mexico, then maybe Brazil. I'm not going to call anything an easy path, and playing Mexico in the Azteca would be not easy, and of course the hand-to-god goal there, so there's a lot of pain to relive. But what I would say is I think it is nominally the easier part of the draw, but I'm going to say something that contradicts that in this way. I think DR Congo are dangerous. I think they have players, you know, Wissa's on three goals now. They've got Juan Bissaka who can sprint out if they can get to Wissa in space and in transition.
13:45I think they can be dangerous. They drew Portugal. They narrowly lost to Colombia in a 1-0, and they beat Uzbekistan pretty handily, even though they had fallen behind to a sensational goal, opening goal, one of the goals of the tournament. a sort of volleyed lob over the keeper. But I don't know that I think, DR Congo, I think it's just everybody's saying it'll be fun to see Mexico and England in the Azteca. I think this is a game England, I mean, obviously they'll be focused on, but that has banana skin qualities. There's some decent players in the DR Congo team. So am I just trying to make drama where no drama is there?
14:16What do you think of the path for England?
14:18Elliot:I'm, you know, wanting to play Mexico, that will just be an amazing occasion, you know, to be involved in. And that's what I want to see England get to. and show their stuff. I don't think they're going to just walk over Ecuador, by the way, but that's another story. Yeah, that's a good point. That's a really good point. But just for the occasion, can you imagine it? It'd just be absolutely incredible. So I hope we get to see that. But there have been, I think there's nine out of 10 African teams that are qualified for the next phase, right? And what I've noticed just from watching the games, not all live in the middle of the night, there's a hell of a lot of physicality in some of these performances.
14:58Elliot:And you have to be really physical. I think England have got a really physical team that can dial it up physically and really go with people. Quite a tall team. Centre-back full-back. Look at Nick O 'Reilly. He won't be a full-back for too much longer. He is like a man. He won't be doing those runs on the outside. He'll be in midfield really quickly. And you look at we played Conta last night. Could play Conta and Sloan's the next one. So we've got a very tall back four. really physical and I think there's a level of physicality that Garner showed that I think maybe the watching media may be underappreciated the physical aggression and speed in their defender defending was really really good and there's more teams like that and they're making that they create an identity for themselves unlike Scotland for example Elliot who didn't really have an identity the identity was to win that first game and I think they need to develop one you know are they going to be a physical team it's very difficult they don't have those players are they going to be a technical team they don't have those players so what are they trying to be and this is something this is a challenge for international teams when you bring people together and the teams that have the strongest identities really clear Argentina obviously their their Messi driven identity France with their four wingers that can all be number 10s up front they play a double pivot Elliot no one seems to worry about that you know because their four forwards up front are just incredible and so mobile and they get around and they use they use one side fullback normally to get up they make them to make the fifth man so yeah i i think some of these teams are struggling with identity but some of the african teams are really forging one you know around their better players and i think it's really been an interesting watch for me and i'm with you i think conga are going to be going to be a challenge but in gonna set for that challenge with somebody who has squad selections and I think the manager is a smart dude.
16:56Elliot:He can see where the game is going in the hot sun of June and it's a running race mate. That's what it's going to be. Yeah. Well we'll see. I think we can move on and talk about some of the other games. I'll tell you I filled out a bracket clap. Oh by the way we should at least get passing mention to Harry Kane becoming the all time leading England scorer right passes Gary Lineker. I believe that's what happened right? Yeah. Getting this right. And you know what i'm with harry kane i actually i'm gonna get killed for this but i actually don't think he's great under extreme pressure of tournaments i agree and let me correct myself real quick all time leading world cup scorer yeah yeah yeah uh i just thought he's great and it was gonna be jude's gonna step up who does not give a monkeys mate he just decides it's all about it's all about me son i'm gonna get on this ball i'm gonna lift this team i'm gonna put them in my rucksack I'm going to carry them forward and you know Elsie Kane is he's a constant he always turns up to every single camp he always plays all the minutes so you can't dismiss what he's done and the amount of caps he's had it's a really massive thing alongside your club career to do that so you've got to give him a clap but when he went through that one on one I've been watching all the Bayern Munich clips this season that's bottom corner right for England goalkeeper height straight at him come on this stuff's really important you know it's really important i always remember that france penalty they missed never missed a penalty against arsenal in the league flipping hell gave france over the bars like the highest pressure who's going to step up but if it's not kane it's not benningham it's normally our boy number seven well he's not quite there neither is he so no or maybe i keep my mouth shut on kane because we're gonna need him going forward fair fair enough okay well let's um i will tell you i filled out a bracket i have england losing to france in the final I'm very sorry to inform you I will say one of the things to keep an eye out on is not just England potentially having to play Mexico and the Azteca but Brazil and Miami Stadium and July 11th in Miami I'm going to go out on a limb and say those are going to be difficult conditions I don't know for sure you never know about the weather but like it could be thunderstorms it could be 100 degrees and humid we'll have to see but so I have England losing to France so I'm sorry for the heartbreak but yeah do France look like the team for you right now?
19:16Argentina, France do you have a non-England favourite from what you've seen I'll tell you why
19:21Elliot:what I think is interesting a lot of the look at the England team Harry Kane who's won this year reached a mountaintop maybe didn't just win in Europe the Yasa Villa boy you know they won knackered Arsenal boys won knackered I look at some of these other teams I look at Mbappe right had a flat year, switched off, get ready for the World Cup. Messi, get ready for the World Cup. You know, you can see it, can't you? You can see the teams with the focus, with the laser focus, and I still think we're resetting. You know, I don't see, you know, Rashford's okay, Flats in DC, but he's still our best option.
20:05Elliot:I'm looking, Rice, you know, he's okay at the moment, he'll get better as the games get tougher. I'm just seeing a lot of heavy usage in our players and I think France are the ones that make me think that got me on my set he clapping and they're the ones providing the big moments and I think when we get back to our Arsenal chat next it won't be too long these phrases that people use podcasters use we need someone to manage the big moments big moments do that thing that thing it's that first goal that really changes everything it's the hardest thing in football by the way That first goal, you know, the Dembele goals, Mbappe shots.
20:44Elliot:These are like banging shots. Long shots are coming. Bang, bang. What's that telling you about the trends in football? Mid-low blocks, people standing, giving space, edge of the area. Who are we looking at? That Morgan Rodgers bloke. He's got a great shot, edge of the area. Eze, great shot, edge of the area. You see where the spaces are developing? See what's happening? Big moment players. The game is telling you something. thing i always find these these are times to be observant and see the trends in the game without watching not focusing too much on the quality because there's too many crosses going into the car park from england isn't there i mean gee whiz it's pretty average so don't focus on quality focus on the trends of coaching and it's becoming a moments game and look teams are providing the biggest moments with the first goal are doing well to get it you know and um that's where my eyes are going at the moment mate he said moment again all right well i i'm gonna pivot here and we're gonna do headline stock rising stock falling from the other games just very quickly and get through them because there was a lot of other stuff that happened and um i'm gonna give you the first headline and i'm gonna make it the nord vpn mvp of the day how about that like yeah you like that okay well nord vpn of course is your all-in-one security app it is a way to watch the things you already pay to subscribe to whenever you're all over the world, which is exactly what you should be able to do.
22:05And Nord enables you to do that. You put it on any device you have, you click, you browse, you go. It also gives you internet security. So you don't have to worry about being tracked around the internet as well. And when you do it with our code, you get a four bonus month deal plus a discount off your Nord plan plus it's 30 day risk free. So for bonus months, you want it go to NordVPN.com slash Arsenal vision. That's NordVPN.com slash Arsenal vision and your Nord VPN MVP of the day is my first headline from the other games and that is Lionel Messi um it's kind of gifted to him wasn't it it's kind of gifted to him where the wall was set up the way the keeper tried to cheat to the left maybe the the wall maybe the maybe the players themselves had some money on Messi to score maybe the the Jordanians had had had a little pop on on Calci or whatever people are using these days and and had a pop on Messi to score but he does score and like he just keeps doing it.
22:58And the Argentina team to me looks very, very solid, very deep. They understand each other. They've run the course. They've won the World Cup. They look like they're having fun together. You know, Julian Alvarez hasn't really gotten going yet, but he's there. Lataro Martinez is up and running. Messi has scored all of their goals up until this game and he still gets one here. Giovanni Lo Celso had a beautiful, I think it was a free kick goal as well. So like they just look very, very good. And the Messi story means they're going to have a lot of neutrals behind them too. So not only will they have the Argentina fans, they get Cape Verde.
23:34Messi's going to go nuts there. Then they get Australia, Egypt. Then they get probably Colombia, which would be a phenomenal, phenomenal game. Colombia are a team that people are kind of sleeping on, but have been defensively very sound and have Luis Suarez, Luis Diaz, right? Really good. They have the Suarez guy, the sporting center forward. So anyway, I'm invested in the Argentina path. I think the Messi story is wonderful, and I think that they look really tough. So he's my top headline. Messi keeps being Messi. So do you have a headline from the other games, Clive?
24:07Elliot:Yeah, I suppose what – okay, I'm talking a little bit more holistic, Elliot, because I'm only catching little short highlights in later games. What you find with Argentina maybe is that the players are accepting their roles. and this is what Tuchel's trying to do with England. He's trying to get people to accept their roles. And so what we tend to do as watchers, we try to pick teams. So if you're picking a team, for me, Alvarez has to start every single game, you know? But Latarra Martinez starts most of the games because Alvarez's role is to come off the bench. And I think that's where international football is going.
24:44Elliot:I mean, if Tim was on here, he'd be saying, that's what Serena did with the England women. Everyone had their roles and I'd be messaging Tim saying, why is she picking her? Why is she picking her? But she knew her role from the start of the tournament. I think that's happening with England a lot. Players know their roles, hence there's harmony. I think it's showing the international football, it's really showing itself as a unique sport almost. And the teams that really understand their roles as a group and what they're there for, what their cause is for, it's really the teams that are flying.
25:13Elliot:And I think there is a cause angle within international football and Argentina have captured that beautifully, haven't they? They have a cause, they have a mission. And yeah, if you can see it bumping off the screen, can't you? Yeah, yep. All right, I'm going to hit a stock rising then from the other games. My stock rising, I already mentioned it, but I'm going to say Yoan Wissa. He's been great for DR Congo. Them getting through is obviously a great story. And I think, you know, he comes through with two goals. They fell behind Uzbekistan. They, you know, they had to get something from that game.
25:48they do get something from that game what they get is a date with england but that will be very exciting for them whistle will know a lot of the players he's up against very well as will wambisaka um but kudos to yo and whistle who's having a great tournament and i think a player whose club season didn't go the way he would have wanted it to go so uh happy for him to see him having a good tournament he is my stock price yeah yeah well he wasn't this season was he yeah he looks fit all
26:12Elliot:all of a sudden, isn't he? Yeah. Yeah, and so Newcastle fans are thinking, we've just done all our money on you. We barely saw you. And when it comes to the summer, you're running around like a three-year-old. So they'll be expecting more to the same one. I mean, we're experiencing that a bit too with some of our players, right? Maybe it's like for Langer. Yeah, like Kai Havertz, right? We're watching Kai get starts for Germany. We could have used that, so, yeah. Yeah, and we're, you know, it's one player we don't mind playing, is it, Kai Havertz? But yeah, Langer's another one who's looking quite sharp in his tournament.
26:39Elliot:Newcastle spent some money on him. probably wondering where he's been. He's got himself healthy again. Yeah, it's game football, mate. It's hard to predict. But just be honest, you went on about Visser, which is really, really good stuff. But the fact that they can't go where they are is just a brilliant story, full stop. It's just incredible what they're doing. You want to pick a stock rising from the other games? I suppose, I think I want to pick a stock rising, but I suppose I want to understand a bit more what happened about Ronaldo, really. You know? Because I haven't seen it. And I want you, maybe you can tell me about what happened there because I know that he, obviously, it doesn't take much to find him on the screen.
27:22Elliot:He's the bloke in the middle of the pitch, not moving around too much. Right? So, he's not hard to spot. Portugal have a problem with him, massive problem, that basically he's the boss of the whole team and of the whole country. And basically, they are, talking about having a course, Argentina have a cause, but at least somebody actively contributing. Ronaldo maybe is not as active. I just want to get your feeling on that game and what happened there. Yeah, I mean, I think Colombia did more of the work in that game. And Ronaldo was booed lustily by a very partisan Colombia crowd. I have to say, we're in Chicago for these games.
28:01We went to like a fan park type bar. It was like open outdoor area. It was packed. and it was 80 % Columbia, even during the England game. I mean, and then we saw another fan park and there were Columbia fans around the corner. So the Columbia diaspora here came out in force. There's a big Columbia diaspora in the United States anyway. And just like, it was a hostile kind of atmosphere. Portugal finish as runners up, obviously, because of that game. And like that Portugal team is a team that is talented enough to go all the way. As a result of finishing runners up in that group, they get Croatia, who I think they're better than, although Modric, you know, has grown into the tournament a little bit.
28:38But then they would play potentially Spain in the round of 16, which obviously, you know, they would, I assume, like to have avoided. If they can get past Spain, the run gets a bit easier. But, you know, if they can get past Spain, it's a big F. So I just think it's a very clear case of what's been the case for Portugal for a while now, which is they're too good to be held back by Ronaldo, but they are being held back by Ronaldo.
29:01Elliot:So that's where I'm at. Yeah, you're right. But I must admit, I can't think of the players going to come in to take his role. Ramos, is he still in the squad? Still guys at PSG or back to go from PSG? I'm not sure where they are. But yeah, I mean, yeah, Gonzalo Ramos, the PSG player is there. I mean, it is a good point. They have a lot of wide forwards. They don't necessarily have a lot of striker candidates. I think Rafa Liao is a player that should be playing ahead of Zhao Felix, for example. You know, I don't know. I just, that team feels like a mess and it feels like a mess of Ronaldo's making.
29:39So we'll see what happens there. Okay, let's hit the stocks falling. I'm going to give you a stock falling. The brains of everybody involved in that absolutely insane Austria game, the Austria-Algeria game. Did you follow this at all?
29:54Elliot:Well, I know the score and I saw the game and I thought, wow, that looks really, really exciting. without knowing the context of the game. And I saw the two injury time goals. I'm thinking, oh, this is absolutely brilliant. I'm thinking they could have just played out a nil-nil. Is that right? Played out a nil-nil? So they both needed a draw to go through or better, right? So a loss would have seen either of them crash out, okay? So a draw suits them just fine. And it was kind of a disgrace because they were doing the handshake draw thing at around 75 minutes and just passing it around between each other and no one contesting the ball.
30:29And then for reasons I cannot explain, they just decide like, you know what, actually, we're going to go for it here. And all of a sudden, there's Amara's goal. So it's Austria take a 1-0 lead Algeria get it back to 1-1 Austria make it 2-1 Algeria get it 2-2 at 60 minutes and then they do the handshake draw thing, except all of a sudden for no particular reason, Mahrez in 90 plus 3 they play it forward to him, he sprints in and he scores and then in 90 plus 6 Kalajnik scores to level it again so it's just completely mental They just needed a handshake draw, and I get that there's no pride in doing that, and nobody likes to see that, but they were doing it, and then they stopped doing it, and then they both got goals at the time.
Read the full transcript
31:24Well, we got a great game out of here. It turned a board game into a great game. It was a very, very weird dynamic. Certainly not what I expected from that, so definitely a weird one. I don't know that either of those teams are poised to go very far, honestly. With Argentina, I would say Austria, Algeria, Jordan, not the toughest group. But, you know, it'll be interesting to see if they're as good as they looked in the group stage. So I don't know if we have to go much further. Do you have any other stocks falling? Maybe if you want to pick from the England game or if there's, you know, anyone else whose stock fell for you on this day?
32:01Elliot:Yeah, I think Morgan Rodgers' stock fell a little bit. Let's, you know, bring it back, right? End his price with it, hopefully. yeah I think I'm not sure if it's his own fault there was a nice combination played with him and Saka early on but sometimes you go on a football pitch and it's just not your game and it's just not you and suddenly you're sort of like it's just not you like Gordon had it in the first game and I thought okay maybe sometimes just not left hand side's not working the unit's not working but when you do it twice you don't play the third game you know Eze pre-tournament he had a good cameo against Costa Rica.
32:37Elliot:Came on the last game, I didn't think he did well. Came on this game, did much better. You know, and so, and I just, but I'm obviously, we're all looking at Rodgers a little bit more and we're thinking about doing our dough on him. So he was seeing sparkle and he didn't quite sparkle. But what he maybe has done, Elliot, and I don't know if you think the same, I was trying to squeeze in my mind that he can definitely play left wing and he may end up playing left wing in this tournament, by the way. But based on that, I'm thinking, I'm not sure you are a left winger a true left winger but you are a left half spacer and now I'm thinking am I trying to squeeze it in in my mind and then the people are now shouting at their devices Barclay's the one for the left wing and then sometimes in football keep it simple you need a speed outlet on the outside and you need clever creative players who can play in small space on the inside and maybe that's where we're heading but I thought he had a a difficult not difficult game but a quiet game i really wanted to see a bit more from being ready yeah i i think that's right i it is the case though that you you rate players based on international football at your peril and that works both ways writing off great players because they're not good for their nation is a is a silly thing to do and we've seen the opposite we've seen players valuations go through the roof because of international football who are never as good as international football made them look.
34:03You also, I do think like Saliba and Gabriel, I think are two of the best center backs in the world. They look a lot better standing next to each other than they do in their national team. Partnerships matter on a football pitch. So for me, the last story is simply to say the knockouts are here. I'm excited for them. I think my interest in the groups has ebbed and flowed, ebbed and flowed. There've been moments I've been really caught up in it. It started with a bang. It had a little low ebb. There were a couple really exciting moments. Messi's been a great story, of course. the France team with some of the goals that they got were great and Senegal had some stunners against Iraq there were good moments throughout but the knockouts are here and I think it's looking like it could serve up some really exciting football as we go through so I'm I'm excited for the knockouts I think the expanded tournament field if I'm being completely honest like I'm not sure I think it's great but I have to admit it has not been as damaging or as poor as I thought it might make the tournament.
35:00So I've been okay. It's a world game.
35:02Elliot:It's a world game. And we've seen the world on display. And in a part of the world, it's got a very diverse sort of populations. So I have to sometimes just don't try to cut and paste how I watch football every week based on what we're seeing in the World Cup and just let it flow into your head. Exactly. And see how people love this game and see how you can bring people together. And I'm just trying to enjoy the community angle to it. And when the crunch comes, then we'll see, right? And so your point about not going too heavy on players and not going too heavy on coaches, it's absolutely right.
35:38Elliot:They know what they're doing here. I think when it comes down to it, they have to win the big moments earlier. And those moments are coming up right now, right now. Well said. All right, I think that's a good place to leave it there. We will have some Director of Football and Scouting video content for you this week. If you'd like to join us, we'd love to have you. Otherwise, we'll have main pods and World Cup dailies, and Timsey will be back for the next one. So for now, I'll say thanks, Clef. Thank you very much. And I love you. And I'm looking forward to seeing people in Chicago in about 45 minutes.
36:06So that'll be fun. We're going to do a live show right after we record this. So that'll be a lot of fun with James McNicholas and Paul, my friend Tim Clark. So it should be a good time. But until then, we love you. And we'll talk to you after World Cup 10 FIFA 0.
36:27Thank you.
From the publisher
On this edition of the World Cup Daily, Clive and Elliot cover the Headlines, Stocks Rising and Stocks Falling from yesterday’s games. Then they look ahead to the games coming up.
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