World Cup Daily - Messi, Mbappe and Haaland Again

0:00Music

0:25And now in honor of the amazing games today, we'll just play Tuesday's podcast. This is the World Cup Daily. My name's Eli Spitting, Bapman, I'm sorry, I'm going to get Gunner. Yeah, Tuesday's podcast, last Tuesday, because it was, what was the story last Tuesday? Messi, Mbappe, Holland. What's the story today? Messi, Mbappe, Holland. It was another day for those stars to stamp their authority on the World Cup. It was also a day for God to stamp his authority on the World Cup as he struck down with furious lightning on Philadelphia, delaying the France game and creating the challenge of us having to watch two football matches at the same time.

0:59something that you can do but you shouldn't have to do but we did have to do it we did it for you dear listener I do want to let you know we still have Louis Ambrose's director of football episode out there for you to listen to over on the Patreon if you want to Clive has sent me the list of players we're going to be scouting looks like up on the scouting video agenda Alex Scott Ayubuadi we're going to do a little midfield stuff then we'll filter our way to the forwards and look at players like Barkala and Krupy and so there's lots of good stuff still to look at over there if you want to join us saliba 50 is the code you get half off for the first month and you can just enjoy all the wholesome goodness or you can stay wherever you are listening to this podcast currently because you are about to be treated to the voice of michael timms hello timsey hello mate how are you i was about i was about to say the voice of

1:43Michael Timbs:michael timsey but that that's not you'll be surprised how many people actually have said that as well so yeah it's like that's that's a thing i find especially with my friends from the uk that like i only know them for so long by the the folksy nickname that they have that then when i try to say their actual name i don't i don't even people find it amazing that my name is michael like they'll i'll get introduced or obviously people just know me as timsy nice to meet you michael oh i thought your name was timsy i'm not going to introduce myself as my nickname maybe i should i don't know there are too many names floating around right now in general we got transfer rumors we've got world cup we've got you know all of the stuff going on how are you supposed to remember uh all the names i you know what i've got nascar names in my head as well so i'm just yeah uh control alt delete that you can just get rid of that and you're good to go um all right enough of the hashtag witty banter i thought you and clive did an amazing job by the way the yin to my yang as you said so effectively welcome back to new york by the way how's the return uh great great it's uh i haven't brought the weather back with me i i we obviously did get pelted by the same uh weather gods it's very norse i felt like it was i don't know what the rain equivalent to Thor is but I think that's what we got on the east coast so uh yeah an annoying interruption but what are you gonna do eh it was actually at first I was going Americans with their just overreaction you can play football in the rain and then I saw the rain I was like okay there's actually there is standing water all over the pitch yeah it's the lightning that really does it too like because also however little FIFA cares about fans they draw the line at watching them get struck by lightning actually i don't know if they do that might have just been uh the people that run lincoln financial field that made that decision purely optics from there yeah yeah exactly right our sponsors don't like that you can't sponsor the hydration break if it's actually the lightning strike break that doesn't and this weather storm is brought to you by yeah yeah you know what but we could no never mind i'm just kidding we don't have to do that um well it's it's good to have you back man um i'm gonna give you the first headline on another day that is very much about the big star names.

3:47Michael Timbs:Yes. I will go with, surprisingly, with my shirt. I've put my Messi shirt back on just because I feel like I have to. It's a banger. And it makes me happy, man, seeing Messi dominate the headlines, deservedly so. And he looks like he's just having so much fun to be able to miss a penalty and a bad penalty at that and still could have scored a few more. How stunned were you when he missed the penalty? I was certain it was going in. I was. I was surprised. But I was surprised by how bad the miss was. We've seen him miss quite a few penalties in his career anyway. And especially with the kind of short run up.

4:31Michael Timbs:And I don't know. I'm not always convinced he's going to score. But in open play, I am convinced he's going to score. And he did that. So to get to the headline, it will be Messi looks like he's just having a stroll in his back garden. And it's kind of scary. Yeah. You know what's weird? The Messi vibes are almost like a preseason game. You know the preseason game where the young kid comes on and everybody's trying to pass him the ball to get him the goal. And everybody's having fun trying to get the kid his goal. Except it's the greatest player of all time. And it's games that matter. and all five of Argentina's goals have been his and this is the World Cup, but it still has that exhibition feeling where everybody inevitably knows the ball's going to go to Messi and he's going to score a goal, but this is the World Cup for God's sake.

5:19Michael Timbs:I personally think, I say I'm worried. I'm worried for England's sake. They just look so comfortable and he looks so comfortable. It's almost like that pressure has been lifted, if any golf fans out there, the Rory McIlroy winning the Masters so then to see him this year defend the title and it's just like I've won it so the pressure's off me now well let's hope that applies to Arsenal by the way of course yeah I really do yeah I really do hope that and I think there is a bit that does have a big part to play where there's a certain you're walking with a certain pep in your step and there's no pressure and seeing him just even during the game after the game in in his interviews and stuff just like chilled out smiling happy giving normal answers and it's like this messy robot figure is just no longer there because he's so comfortable in the fact that he is a world champion he sealed his legacy and so this is just a free hit it's like we've still got a decent chance I don't think obviously that Argentina's level is that of Spain if they really click and France and maybe even England.

6:29Michael Timbs:But I think how relaxed they are and how they're playing is very, they seem to be playing very free. That is a worry because I think that can have a big part to play when it comes to those big games of just how comfortable you are playing with each other and not feeling the pressure. So it's, yeah, it's cooking up to be a bit of a worrying combination that. And this isn't sort of like the elder statesman player who finds himself in the box and the ball squirts to him and he heads it in or something. These are brilliant goals. The first of the two. First of all, by the way, brilliant dummy on that goal too.

7:05Didn't know he's behind him. It's like Barcelona. It looked like Barcelona. It looked like a Barca goal. It really did. The second goal though, first of all, he turns beautifully on the touchline, beats a man, should have an assist to, I think it's Julian Alvarez, who gets stuffed. He gets the ball back. He beats three men in the box. he's first to the rebound when the shot is blocked and goes down with a beautiful sliding finish like this this is a guy that still has it it doesn't sometimes you see these aging players and they get some goals that feel like they're poachers or it's a big man who can still head it from a corner

7:40Michael Timbs:but he's still executing at a very high level yes exactly i would agree it's it's the that hunger there as well is that he we know like he's not he's not going to be tracking back all the time He just conserves his energy Just does what he does when he has the ball And he uses his energy when he knows He knows better than anyone when he should run So what's the point in taking him what to do But it's The hunger that you see With Ronaldo Like that almost desperation to score But actually good Yeah but actually But also channeled Productively too because he still makes The better choice when the better choice is there You know what I mean?

8:19Michael Timbs:He plays the right pass, plays it the perfect way. But then this is what we've seen from Messi for the last 20 years. It's just remarkable that he's still doing it now, but it's that when he's playing, he is the best passer of the ball and he has the best football IQ and he has the best feet and he's the best finisher as well. So I don't know. Speaking of the best feet, for that second goal, the ball's kind of fizzed to him and he does this little backflip to himself, this like first first touch to kill it with the back flip of his ankle and the other thing is you know sometimes i'm like the guy just walks how does he find space but i was watching him off the ball and i realized we're sort of writing a hagiography here but it's messy for god's sakes like i was watching him off the ball and he's just standing but he scans and he scans and he scans and some players will get close to him and he'll just he'll just take two steps a little further away and he'll scan and scan and scan a player get close to him so just take two steps the other the way and all he does is make sure that he's in a pocket and if you try to get him close in that pocket you know what to do he'll just walk to a different part of the pitch and find another pocket he just goes and finds a pocket of space i've seen some interesting uh analysis on twitter and obviously you have to take twitter with a bit of pinch of salt but i have seen people pointing out some clips of his this world cup but then kind of adding in some previous seasons clips of him using the referee as a reference point of where he should be because I never really, I can't believe I've never thought about this before, but the referee is the only person on the whole pitch that isn't marked or is not a player, but occupies quite a crucial, because obviously the referees have to go diagonally from basically the left-hand side of each area.

10:00Michael Timbs:So looking at the goal, they have to occupy that left-hand side of the area and he just does diagonal runs. And those are the areas where Messi likes to operate in the 10. But the opposition players are never going to, whether it's the deep-lying midfielders, whether it's the centre-backs who are going to be pushing up, you're never going to be by the refs because he's just in the way and you're like, he's just occupying space. Can't get around him. I don't know if he does this consciously, whether he's just a genius and doesn't need to think about this or whether this is something he's worked on.

10:30Michael Timbs:But now that I have heard that, I watched it and like there are times when he does just float and seem to hang around almost use him to hide a little bit yeah which is ridiculous yeah but I don't know it kind of makes sense but fundamentally at the end of the day no matter how you hide no matter how you get available no matter where you get the ball you still got to be able to get it onto your stronger foot and finish and his left foot is still brilliant there was a there was a free kick late in the game too that he just wraps past the post I mean yeah he could have had others to your point there's gonna be an interesting point we are recording before Jordan Algeria um if Algeria wins that first of all then suddenly Algeria Austria becomes a really good last game final day a game you know where the win the winner is through the loser has to sweat if there's a winner in that game but there's a decision for Argentina because it's a it'll be a 39 year old Messi by that point I think or any day now um and against Jordan you would think he has a chance to really rack up some more goals and the way Mbappe is going and if he wants to be the all-time World Cup scorer wouldn't hurt him to put another three on the board against Jordan and you know that might be in his mind but you want to win the tournament again and putting your 38 year old out there in a meaningless game against Jordan isn't necessarily the best approach so what do you expect I mean deep down I kind of want him to play in that game and see what he can do against Jordan but what's the right thing and what will they do do you think no he I don't if he'll play the full game we won't but i think he's well and also i i genuinely do believe that he doesn't care about records because i think he he knows he doesn't need to worry about records because they will come so i i don't he doesn't have that same just pure blind obsession to the absolute detriment of everyone around you that ronaldo has with goal scoring records and getting to a thousand goals and you know obviously winning the world cup will be a dream for him but it'll be a dream for him as well as well as portugal whereas i think for messi he just knows that he doesn't need to chase those things because he knows how good he is and that all he needs to do is just play his game and the goals will come and the records will come and the world cup will come so uh yeah i think it's not i don't think he's gonna talk to the gaffer and just go you need to play me I need to keep extending my record I don't think he actually cares I think the only thing he cares about is the Argentina getting through as far as possible and winning retaining the World Cup I honestly think that's and he knows if if Argentina does do that he'll get another like seven goals this tournament uh but so yeah that's where I think anyway I think he he might play an hour he could he could play the full game it just he does what he wants but he does what he does what he wants not to the detriment of his side most importantly yeah yep um okay i have to give you another headline and yes i guess we can save some of the well you know what i will gosh i yeah i it's fine i guess i'll i mean i i hate to do it because i'm not even sure it was all that good but my headline is going to be mbappe continues to chase messy right I mean it is the story it feels like it's shaping up to be the story the the once and future king right the the the man who wears the crown and the man who's coming for it and ultimately people keep saying well Mbappe will eventually inevitably pass Messi's record but this is a world cup sometimes players go into a world cup they're injured they don't play they don't play well or you think they're going to dominate and they they don't get a goal and their team crash out early you're not guaranteed world cup goals or a lot of very good players who didn't have as many world cup goals as you'd expect and Mbappe might have two more world cups after this if Messi goes and plays against Jordan and gets three goals you know and puts himself four or five ahead of of Mbappe and finishes this world cup four or five ahead of Mbappe there's no guarantee he gets caught so Mbappe you know they want to win but this is bad opposition they were playing against in Iraq and he looked dead set on getting the ball and trying to get goals um but to his credit he did and it does feel a little like this France team is not perfectly fully formed just yet I thought it was a weird midfield I didn't I mean you're playing Luca Dean at fullback like that's not great I didn't know inside no no but but the talent up front really did tell um and but for me it's it the headline has to be Mbappe playing anything you can do I can do better you know with the goal scoring category so far yeah I would agree I I do think Mbappe will finish when it's all sendan he will finish as the world cup's highest ever goal scorer i i as much as you said i i agree it's nothing's given and you know being messy being three ahead or four ahead maybe by the end of this competition i think mbappe obviously has time on his side i think to a score to have scored as many goals as he has already and i think how how many goals you can score when you are that good as well I think is linked to how good your team is and how many World Cup games you get per World Cup and I just think France being able to get so deep in these competitions because rightly so they are one of the favorites and they are just that good it might give Mbappe I don't know what the exact stats would be but let's say one or two games on average more per World Cup and I think when you are on Mbappe that does make a difference and that'll be at least a goal or two per tournament obviously he has to stay fit messi's injury record is is a joke um for that long so it's no it's no it's not an easy task but i think he will he will end up surpassing him because he does just he does look good i think we're we're maybe a bit spoiled watching it in for example the champions league and watching him now obviously in the la liga where he doesn't get to play against these teams a lot you know he's used to stern defenses you like champions league like super cagey cagey performances and and difficult tight games and with the world cup increasing in games as well and expanding their teams like it's it's only going to get easier i think as long as he stays fit um so but he's he's been great like he's been a handful he is so there are just certain times every single game where you do watch him when he when he really runs after a ball or runs through with the ball it still blows my mind just how quick he is it is frightening uh yeah so and France yeah as you say going off the back of your point of France look France look very good not super impressive like they just look good enough like they're just they're going to blow these sorts of teams away it's not to say that it was it was all it was all France like Iraq definitely had some chances and um you but you'd think going into the latter stages they'll they'll start to kind of shore up their their team and um look a bit more solid but for the moment it's kind of what you would expect really just incredible firepower just blowing everyone out the water yeah yeah i think that's about right so you know what i will do this i will give you a chance as the final headline don't get too excited now but timsy you can pick the salee goal of the day salee is your way to make sure that you can stay connected with your mobile phone wherever you go in the world and by using the salee app you can have an e-sim what's an e-sim it's what a sim card would be if you didn't have to take the damn sim card and put it in your phone and carry it around and flip it out and then lose it or break it or it you know roots your entire phone and sends the information to some nefarious operators because you bought it at a train station from a scammer it's not that and it means you don't have to use the usurious international rates that your regular phone plan uses.

18:24With Saley, you simply install the app, you tell it where you're going to browse. It also is from the people at NordVPN. So it's got security, it's got ad blockers, which reduce the amount of data that you consume when you're using your eSIM plan. How about you do this? You get the Saley app, you download it, you sign up for eSIM, and you use code ArsenalVision for 15 % off at checkout. That's like what the regular price would be but 15 % less than it imagine that that's literally what 15 % off means go to saley get the app use code arsenal vision and with that I turn it over to Timsey for the saley goal of the day

18:57Michael Timbs:I I think I've weirdly I'm going to give you three okay three goals of the day our cup runneth over yeah I will give you one the literal goal of the day is Messi's first goal yeah objectively I think that is the best goal we saw today in terms of football goal right yep it looked like barcelona great move just just a totally expected perfect finish from messi we've seen it quite literally hundreds of times in his career incredible goal agree however uh i've got an arsenal bias goal which is harlan's first because oh god uh was a narcissist there actually driving forward and be like, yes, okay, this is the Martin that we know and love.

19:45Michael Timbs:And it's only going to benefit us if he has a good World Cup and racks up a few more assists and actually him getting a goal as the skipper would be great as well. So that was also one of my favourite goals. And then my personal favourite, which wasn't objectively the best goal of the day, was Dembele's goal. Mbappe's left foot, fine. I think the keeper maybe could have done a bit better. Yeah, he could have. Dembele's goal I found really satisfying because one it's nice that he's got into the tournament now as well but two the the finish and the touch and the finish was just so smooth and as soon as that ball was played to him you knew it's the sort of goal where you know it all depends on the first day if the first touch is good he's going to score and the touch was perfect with his right foot, which might be his strong foot, might be his weak foot, I don't know, and a great finish.

20:40Michael Timbs:So that was very satisfying for me personally as a technical – I like technical football, and that made me happy. Yeah, yeah, I think that's right. And by the way – So sorry for ruining your goal of the day. No, no, no, you gave me multiple goals a day. It's even better. So now we've got to get to the stocks. And I'm going to go with my first stock rising. It's going to be Erling Haaland. And, I mean, he could have four today, to be fair. he missed the empty net when maybe he could have slid it to someone else the the finish the volleyed finish is so erling holland because it's like yeah he makes those things look like they're just tap-ins but his knee is above his head he's he's racing to get in a position he's kept the play alive after having been you know nearly scored earlier and been taken out just brilliant brilliant work um his first goal obviously is typical holland just racing down the pitch the size and the speed of the guy is crazy.

21:33And I think we've got Erling Holland against Saliba coming up in the last group game. And obviously I'll be rooting for Saliba to win that battle, of course. But that could be a really interesting one if France are pushing up and Erling Holland can get into space. He is a player who I think makes a mediocre Norway team look like they could go do something. And obviously we love Martin Odegaard. But if Erling Haaland was on France, you know, I mean, yeah, exactly. So to me, when I can take that Manchester City shirt off of him and watch him in an environment where I'm kind of rooting for him because of Martin Odegaard.

22:13It's so much easier for me to see, holy cow, we've had this guy in our league for years. And no wonder it's been a nightmare because he is an absolute force of nature. The technique, speed and power is incredible. And that volleyed goal, it's a goal only he scores with that flexibility, that athleticism, that strength is just incredible.

22:31Michael Timbs:Yeah, it's true. Which makes, by the way, our Premier League win all the more impressive. So just as an asterisk there. He should learn to make better facial gestures, though, after beating Arsenal to ultimately throw the leg. Yeah, even after he scored that goal as well, kind of not celebrating or just being this cool dude. Come on, man. The first goal celebration, great. him and Odegaard both leaning on the on the flag quite cool the funny thing is he showed more emotion for two missed chances where he threw himself to the ground than he shows for his goal scoring he just thinks he's cool but we know we know better who's your stock rising?

23:09Michael Timbs:he might be really cool doesn't he have a thing for raw milk though? yeah like raw milk and probably just raw meat as well raw milk, raw meat and raw whatever is in the syringe that peps doctor in spain gives him but i'm just that's a joke that's an alleged that i'm not actually making an accusation i'm making a joke quite clearly go ahead i will go with stock rising i'll go with uh michael elise who uh was was my second gonna be possible player of the tournament most important player after i said do a and then corrected myself with your help. Good save on the Douay correction. That would have been a really terrible pick.

23:52Michael Timbs:He is an unbelievable player. He's fun to watch. He's so fun to watch. He's so smooth and the perfect amount of direct because at one point he'll get the ball, look like he doesn't care, give it back and just look so almost relaxed to the point of like being just I don't know, he doesn't want to be there and then the next time he'll do it and he'll just skip past the fullback just like he's not there and he didn't start the game he was okay, he didn't start the game that well today, but then just pops up with an assist I think and created the joint most chances completed the joint most dribbles, two assists in the game, nearly nearly a goal when he tried to lob the keeper at the end there just a lovely little effort.

24:45Michael Timbs:Yeah, and I just think that's, it almost typifies him that, is that he doesn't need to be on the whole time. And we've seen that with Pallius, especially with Bayern as well. He can dominate a game without having to dominate the ball, which is a sign, I think, of a really, really good player. Can I give you an analog people may not like and you may not agree with this? Tell me if I'm out of my mind here, because like I said, my brain's a little bit fried, but there's a bit of bird camp that that just the game is slower for him than for everybody else and he can pull out the kind of party pieces that normally only get pulled out when it doesn't matter we can pull them out when you actually need them and and they're impactful and he just he he slows the game down and there's an elegance about the way he plays it that reminds me a little bit of bird camp it's yeah and but with the same element of just it's but it's so impressive like you see him take someone on or do a piece of skill cut inside and just whip it in the corner and you go like that is that is amazing to watch and it's kind of similar it's maybe a more relaxed kind of a slower version of like what Neymar did in in his in his peak years where when he when he gets the ball you are waiting for something because you know he's capable of just all of a sudden switching on and just um sorry Neymar was slightly more explosive in terms of the way he did things and but still had that languid style and and Elise is like the ultimate languid version of that I think um but yeah he's amazing and he's also it kind of also very typical in performance because he is an output machine as well uh as much as he's great to watch he's easy on the eye he just delivers and whether that's an assist or a goal, he'll always cause some troubles with his deliveries and stuff.

26:32Michael Timbs:And I just think that he's a bit like Saka in that regard where he's just an output monster. So he's pretty much, I think, a complete package as right-wingers go. Yeah. I'm going to give another stock rising, and I think it's deserved. But tell me if you disagree. I'm going to go Ismail Sar. He had two goals for Senegal. What I will say is that Senegal were squarely on pace to be my top stock falling. This was a listless performance at times, a disorganized performance, a performance that seemed disjointed from a team that had too much talent to generate so little. And cue Ismail Assar. He had two goals, one of them falling to the ground, brilliantly executed.

27:09Could have had a hat trick at the death to find an equalizer off a corner when he got his jump right in Holland, jumped under the ball just slightly. But, you know, it would have been tough to reorganize himself. He had the most touches in the box of any player with 10. He took the most shots with six. He had 1.18 expected goals of the 1.7 that were generated by Senegal. And I just think, again, not a great Senegal performance, but Saar didn't give up. When he went to 3-1, he kept fighting. I think he deserves a lot of credit. He looked really dangerous. He could have had more goals, took his goals brilliantly.

27:48The one where he's falling down is really, really good quick feat to execute that. So kudos to him. I thought he was good.

27:55Michael Timbs:Yeah. I think those goals have kind of typified. He is very, very dangerous. And we've seen him score plenty of those as well for Palace in the season where he just gets it done somehow. He's had some great goals as well and just competent finishing. but then he's not afraid to just find a way of finding space, getting his foot on the ball or just fashioning a position for himself to be able to score a goal. So he's great. I love it. It'll be really interesting to see what he does in the summer actually because I think he'll be on people's radar, especially if Senegal progress and he keeps playing because he's their key player.

28:38Time for a couple of quick stock followings.

28:40Michael Timbs:Who do you got? uh on on senegal uh senegal they are my stock falling they are you look i think especially it's always nice when when african nations actually make it through and i think they are senegal are rightly seen as one of the if not the like giants to the reference point of like right if anyone's going to do well it's going to be senegal up and down the lineup they probably have the most talent of any of them yeah yeah and they just you know they'll obviously their form as well they're they're in good they were in good form um and they'll be hugely disappointed not to get something i mean maybe they've been a i know they haven't been unlucky even even against france like they started well and could have got something from the game but ultimately the quality shunned through and i think the quality did in this game as well maybe not going forward because they created enough chances going forward but at the back um i know harlan's difficult to defend against but it is kind of basically just harland and then with odegaard pulling strings behind um and yeah they just they they haven't been they haven't stepped up as the as the uh the the african giants as they as they should and and i think as a lot of people kind of look to them as being so they'll be massively disappointed and i'm kind of disappointed in the way they've done so far yeah it was honestly it was just like a really it to me it felt a really half-hearted performance at times and then towards the end it looked like they wanted to try to get something from but looked a little half-hearted and uh koulibaly got taken off really poor day for him and i think you're 35 you're playing in you know saudi arabia and now here comes mbappe dembele duwe barkala always say here comes erling holland and yeah it's a big task i get it and this is a group of death to some extent i mean if you told me a good team lost to france in their first game and narrowly lost to norway in their second i don't know that i would say that good team flopped but it's the manner in which they got behind in this game that i i have to agree was very disappointing so yeah and i think as well uh it's maybe got not gone totally against my expectations but i would have i would have expected senegal to be in norway's shoes i made maybe it's been a bit favorable in terms of the draw the fact that they play france first which is so difficult and then they have a crunch game against Norway whereas Norway obviously had the first game against the Raka like just get those three points and so you're playing with a bit more freedom so maybe they've been a little bit unlucky with that because now it's not really up to them whether they whether they go through um but even then I still think if I looked at those those four teams at the start of the tournament no matter what the fixture list was going to be the schedule i would have expected it to be france probably unbeaten maybe two wins one draw senegal one win one draw something like that not back-to-back defeats um and not looking good value for their money either so yeah yeah well if you can give the netherlands a stock falling after a 5-1 victory then i can certainly give france a quick stock falling uh after their 3-0 win over iraq now look this was a difficult situation they've got a very bad iraq team in iraq were dreadful they're playing in 90 degree whatever that is 35c 90 humidity and then there's a raging storm that makes a pitch nearly unplayable and then there's almost an hour delay and so like i get it not easy conditions to produce top drawer football especially when you have such lame duck opposition so i'm i'm giving this like a mild stock falling maybe more of like a we should watch this stock because france in a way they've done the thing that what do they what do they say like champions win when they're not at their best well france have won two games now fairly comfortably without ever looking like they're at their best and maybe if anything that should terrify the rest of the tournament but something about rabio and coney as a midfield couple, as we said, Dina playing fullback.

32:45I just the whole alchemy of it didn't convince me and I'm I still think that there's a possibility that this easy sort of start to the tournament for them that they've had could come back to bite them when the competition level goes up. I just, I wasn't convinced by the way they played today, but I acknowledge like I said, the conditions for playing and the level of the opposition were dreadful.

33:11Michael Timbs:Yeah. I mean, I think they, I wouldn't be surprised if they make changes for the next game, the final game against Norway to maybe more of what we would expect as they head into the knockouts. I also think the conditions weren't great, but equally, even with Willow talking about pitch was super hot and bumpy and it wasn't what he was used to because he uses studs and screwing studs and it's, you know, it's more of an astroturf sort of thing. Like they're going to be used to playing on super slick surfaces. Maybe it was too slick to the point of it actually being swampy, but I wouldn't personally use the conditions as a kind of as an excuse.

33:56Michael Timbs:And not an excuse, but you know what I mean? It's like they're not going to be totally foreign to those sorts of things. So we'll see. I guess I back you in that as a stock to watch rather than necessarily falling. I mean, maybe the better stock falling is a rock, right? They were just abysmal, completely abysmal. And I didn't know what the plan was. Defensively, were they trying to hold a line? No, they weren't really compact. I mean, Mbappe had all kinds of space to stand in and run. It didn't make any sense to me. Yeah. What do I know? They haven't had it easy. They haven't had it easy, and they're not going to have one for the last game either.

34:32Michael Timbs:So they are leaving with their tails tucked between their legs. But equally, what were their ambitions going in? Yeah, I don't know what we were expecting. It's about what we were expecting. Yeah, fair enough. Let's quickly look ahead to tomorrow because tomorrow gives us, well, we'll have Jordan and Algeria to talk about if there's anything to talk about. My expectation, by the way, is that Algeria should be able to get a win there and set up a really fun final group game with Austria. But tomorrow we've got Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia, DR Congo. DR Congo obviously coming off their sensational draw.

35:10England, Ghana, which should be a great game, I think. I hope so, because I'm going. Oh, you are going. You're going to Boston to the game. How excited are you for that? Very, very excited. Have you been to a World Cup game before? I have not yet.

35:22Michael Timbs:I got invited onto Fox News, not sport, Fox News, to talk about my experiences at the World Cup because I've done like one or two TikToks talking about the fan scenes, which has been amazing. So shout out to the Scots who are now in Miami and getting, again, they're rolling out the red carpet for them. And the Norwegians in Times Square rowing in the rain. Cool, do your thing. A few TikToks went viral and I think someone at Fox has obviously seen that and said, let's bring him on. I haven't been to a game yet, guys. You know, I've been here in the madness, but I haven't actually been to a game.

35:56Michael Timbs:so I'm very excited for tomorrow. One, it's going to be a great game. I'm very encouraged by the second half of the first game for England and I've never been to Boston. It's a proper sports city. It's just all of these things like tomorrow is where I feel like I'm finally going to be like, yes, I'm in the World Cup, you know, and then I'll be able to report back probably slightly hungover on Wednesday to explain how we lost 2-1 to Ghana and it was one of the worst performances we've ever seen sort of thing. Yeah, well, I'm very looking forward to it. I'm looking for it. It sounds great. I will tell you, obviously, you're not being from this country, but soon to be a denizen of this country.

36:34I will leave it to you with the commenters to update you on and educate you on Fox News and what to expect.

36:40Michael Timbs:Yeah. No, I did not accept the invitation. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Okay. And he breathes a sigh of relief. Yeah, don't worry. Don't worry. They emailed me and I saw it and I was like, I am not doing that. Okay. Into the recycle bin Yes So I left that there Yeah Fair enough Yeah So I'm Yeah I'm really looking forward to Tomorrow's I guess a bit of a weird one It'd be nice to see What Portugal do Against Uzbekistan If they don't win that I mean Tara They're Yeah Ronaldo needs to do something Like As much as I I don't care about the whole Ronaldo fiasco The thing he needs to do Is bench himself And let the Portuguese team Just move past him Because they have to beat Uzbekistan.

37:26So this group is an interesting one. Obviously, Uzbekistan lost to Colombia. DR Congo and Portugal drew. I assume DR Congo will lose to Colombia. So Portugal get the win over Uzbekistan. All sort of goes back to being okay for them, but that's a team that I think can win the tournament if they can get their alchemy right. They've got a lot to prove.

37:45Michael Timbs:Do Portugal go, we're going to persist with Ronaldo? We know it's not the right decision, but we're playing Uzbekistan. Maybe we should be able to get the win anyway, and if he gets a goal, maybe then everyone can shut up and it actually, it's good for the team. Or do they go, this is an absolute must win. Therefore, Cristiano, you're on the bench and we're playing someone else. We're playing a different system. And then everyone's like, Oh yes. Okay, cool. We can play now. You know, it'll be interesting to see. Yeah, it will be. Well, obviously the more interesting thing is the England game. And I don't know if you saw it, but Tommy Tukes, as you told me to call him, said Tommy T said that Kaio Saka feels no pain anymore.