World Cup Daily - Preview Show!

30:45I think France could have won more. I guess I would compare it to Joachim Löw's time in charge of Germany. They were always competing. You just wanted them to get over the line more than once. But if you're always around the semifinals, I don't think you can say someone's doing a bad job. Yeah. I mean, but Mbappe, Dembele, Barcola, Douay, Griezmann. I mean, you bring Mateta on the head, one in late if you need to. Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, right? I mean, it's incredible. Incredible, incredible depth. Chiuameni, like, it's the rare example of a team that I think has strength at all positions at an international level.

31:24I mean, usually you say like, oh, they've got the forwards, but they don't have the defenders. They've got all of it. So they will be expected to go, obviously, very, very far. And I think, if I'm right in saying, I think if things go to plan, and I know that tournaments don't usually go to plan, that they could face Germany in the round of 16, depending on Germany. So that could be an interesting one. You know, if you're looking for a way that they could slip up, but I don't see them slipping up. What about you, Louis? I guess I'll come right back to you. You got a favorite other than France?

31:57Yeah, I was going to go with Brazil. Interesting. I like that. Probably coming in with their lowest level of expectation. Is that why? I mean, is it because they don't carry the win? I think it helps. I think it helps. I think Brazil, what they haven't had before is Carlo Ancelotti. Who wins. It doesn't matter. The ultimate winning vibes man. Yeah. Like, you know, the eyebrow goes up. He goes, just go on and do your thing. Fini Junior knocks on into the top. Does that work if you don't have all the best players in the world at your disposal? I mean, but it's something about Brazil and a World Cup.

32:35and I think a part of it is definitely me wanting it to happen and wanting it to be the case and to come true. I think it's... They could have a difficult road to get there because they will have as well, by the way. They could face Senegal, England, Portugal. I'd done a bracket earlier in preparation for this and it's a really, really tough route. But I think international football is about balance and getting your best players platformed to deliver their best. And I think that's what Carlo Ancelotti is absolutely brilliant at and has been throughout his career. Well, after famously early in his career, he sort of let Baggio go and didn't know where to put him because he didn't want to use a number 10.

33:22And he sort of learned from that and then packed that Milan team full of number 10s, just finding out a way to get as many of them on the pitch as possible because he realised once you've got good players, you should figure out where to put them instead of saying, no, you don't fit. I think that's actually the perfect way to approach international football, where you don't have loads of time for the players to develop loads of chemistry on the pitch. I think in Brazil, there's always been a bit of a, you're trying to pack too many of those playmakers on the pitch. But I think a lot of these players have a sort of hard-nosed work great about them.

33:57Vinicius Junior is the exception. but I think if you look at Cunha, Rafinha if Gabriel Martinelli plays I think he'll play quite a big role because I think Ancelotti will like his work great Bruno Guimaraes in the midfield yeah Bruno Guimaraes and Casemiro as a midfield Gabi at the back as well obviously if we think set pieces might come into it he's going to have something to say I think Brazil will be sort of they were in 2002 when they lost on it it was five at the back and Gilberto Silva in front and it was well three at the back because it was Kafa and Roberto Carlos at wing back but like it was organized and then you kind of just let Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho get on with it and I think with Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães in front of Gabriel and Marquinhos you've got the same sort of platform to do the same and then you know rely on Rafinha and Vinicius Jr.

34:50and Cunha to just go and win you games. It feels to me it feels like an important tournament for Vinny Jr. who like felt, I think, slighted not to win the Ballon d 'Or when Rodri did, and then has subsequently suffered through a tough season with Real Madrid, where now there's a question of whether he's even on the outs there in terms of his future and his reputation, I think, has diminished a bit, in part because his club has not performed. But this is a chance for him to remind everybody, I'm the best player in the world. I mean, at one time, I think that was the perception of who he is. I don't think that's a perception anymore.

35:21Teammate Rafinha might even be considered sort of gone beyond him recently. I think he'll be looking to make his mark. Neymar lurks in the background here. The joker in the pack who can create the kind of media circus that can destroy a deep run though. So that's a concern I think. But would any of you write off Neymar coming off the bench in the 85th minute in a close game and doing something? I would. Yep. I would. Honestly, nothing would make me happier as well just because I think like, you know how it's been kind of a thing on twitter over the last like six months be like the disrespect on Neymar blah blah blah like and then showing highlight reels of just his playing for Brazil and playing for Barcelona and just he was a freak of a player obviously he's in the absolute darkest highlight of his of his career now but still I think it's it's interesting to think that you know there was for a period like Neymar was so good that he was the talisman for quite a few years in that kind of like post Robinho Ronaldinho era like he was just the next guy and yeah Vinny had that a little bit very briefly but now as you say and it like Rafinha is is I would say definitely ahead of him in in one the pecking order but two like the the importance and the the output and just how good he is on like the world stage where Vinny I think is obviously an unbelievably talented player but just very hot and cold and I think the the domestic like the club situation probably doesn't help just because Real Madrid is not the sort of club where if you do blow hot and cold they're going to stand by your side the whole time it's just not that sort of team so uh yeah it's going to be an interesting one but maybe yeah as Lewis said like it it might play in their favor where there's no obvious talisman that they're going to look to to you need to drag us through here and maybe it is more of a collective you know what everyone's going to have to pull up their socks and grind a victory out.

37:15So I'm really looking forward to it. I think it'll be, it's always fun watching Brazil in a World Cup, man. And especially with them being in a bit of a weird era at the moment, it might actually throw up some crazy results and you never know. I'll be all up for it. Much in the same way, I think Arsenal saw the draw in the Champions League and immediately thought, we need to get to the final. I do think Brazil, if they get to this final, let alone win it, they will have absolutely proved themselves because it could be a hell of a gauntlet that they have to run to get there. Another favorite here has to be Spain, right?

37:53I mean, we've got to talk about them. Tim, I'll bounce it back to you for a second. And I mean, it's just they seem to constantly have a system that allows them to play that on-ball dominant way. They can just keep the ball and keep the pressure on and squeeze and squeeze. And they have an interesting squad because I think there's a lot of different ways they can be set up for success. And I also think they have the kind of depth that, as we touched on, on bad pitches in hot weather in a grueling 48-team tournament could make them an even bigger favorite. So what do you think about Spain as a favorite?

38:30I think they are the number one bookies favorite. I could be wrong about that. Yeah, I was going to be super original and say, if it wasn't France for my pick, it would have been Spain. Well, we are picking favorites, mate. We got the dark horse coming up. We're picking favorites. Wait, would you say this is your favorite, Elliot? I think they are the favorite. I have another favorite that I'll give you in a moment but is Laminimo going to play do we know is that has that been confirmed maybe in the knockout rounds yeah again it's a weird one because same with like a lot of the returning sort of key players like you know Mikko Marino I don't know if I mean David Ray is not going to play but like Durian for the Netherlands like I wouldn't be surprised if he does eventually play but like he's obviously a great great player for them so I'm I'm not quite sure I just think Spain in general, I think back into their sort of golden period a little bit, obviously from the 2008 to 2012, it's just like how the club football just played so seamlessly into international football.

39:32So it didn't take a rocket scientist to put that team together and hope they do well. That was obviously maybe a bit of a freak era, but it's kind of similar again where, yeah, it's pretty much plug and play for you know going from the Barcelona team and everything to the national team so I wouldn't be surprised like they were so solid in the Euros obviously they were unbelievably solid and sort of like unspectacularly solid as well so I wouldn't be surprised as well if they if they go really far on this in this tournament but yeah they're kind of a bit I think they always come with a bit less hype than France because France is kind of, their talent is quite cool and entertaining, whereas this one is like, we've gone through the tiki-taka era now and it's kind of a bit whatever, but they're still just doing it despite that it's not that entertaining anymore and still winning.

40:28So yeah, they'll definitely, I would say they deserved favorites, yeah. Spoiled for choice in midfield, certainly. I mean, Pedri's back. Rodri looks a little bit like Rodri. He's back. Obviously, you have Mikel Marino and Zubamendi. you have Gavi Fabian Ruiz so there's a big big talent there up front I mean I would say it's going to be interesting to see what he goes with but like once Laminya Maul comes back you're one of the best players in the world there it is kind of interesting teenagers at the front and the back and Laminya Maul and Pau Kubarci you know both teenagers playing important roles the only thing I'd say on Spain is keep an eye out for sort of the goalkeeper controversy because Joan Garcia and David Raya you might say are better than Unai Simon potentially but I think Unai Simon is Luis Enrique's, pardon me, not Luis Enrique, Luis de Fuente's guy.

41:19So that's who he's going to go with. So we'll just have to see there. Luis, I want to throw a different potential favorite at you though. Portugal. There's a lot of talent in that Portugal team. And I think if Ronaldo is willing to be a role player, that's the only thing that I think is the question. Can Ronaldo be a role player? Because if he's willing to be a role player, I think Portugal has a reasonable path to doing something in this tournament. I mean, they actually have, I think, a pretty, not easy, but more straightforward path to making a final than like a Brazil, for example. So I'm going to put Portugal as the last of our favorites category here, and I'm sure there are other names that you're screaming that we've left out, like England, of course.

42:07And of course, they're bringing it. Yes, it's coming home. We hear you. but Lewis what do you think about Portugal I mean look I'd be fine with it coming home but the thing I most want to come home is an unbroken Declan Rice and Bacayo Sacken and all of our Arsenal players but Lewis what do you think about Portugal as a as a favourite yeah I when the Portugal squad got announced I sort of read it and then read it again and then read it a third time because I couldn't quite believe the list of players yeah and I agree with you. I think they're perfect, but they have one big elephant in the room, and it's a 41-year-old man probably still doesn't have the humility to play for the team, or maybe in this case to not play for the team.

42:58The last World Cup, Gonçalo Ramos came to the team, and I can't remember who against, in the early knockout rounds. He scored a hat-trick, and the camera was just on the bench constantly to see Cristiano Ronaldo's face as he responded to each of those goals. And that just tells you what the story is. The story is going to be the same three and a half years later. The Portugal have arguably, you just rattled off those Spain players and I thought, oh, they'll play for any team in the world. Those midfielders, Pedri and Rodri and Fabian Ruiz, it's like, yeah, they'd walk into any team in the world.

43:33And then you look at the Portugal midfield and you go, Well, they won't walk into that one with Vitinha, Chau Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes. It's absolutely insane. I think Bernardo Silva's been Manchester City's most important player for a number of years. Spectacular this season. Bruno Fernandes has been Manchester United's much lower bar, but Manchester United's best player and maybe the outstanding creative player in the Premier League for many of the last few years. Vitinho and Jauneves are two-thirds of the best midfield in Europe over the last two years. Nuno Mendes as a left back.

44:11Yeah, and then at the back, right? Diaz, Nuno Mendes. They can thank Pep Guardiola that he's turned Matias Nunez into a really serviceable right back. So they've got that now as well on that side of the pitch. Yeah, I mean, Rafa Liao and Pedro Neto, there's pace, there's technical quality. Vitinho can make 100 passes in a game. Jauneves can. Like, I don't know, guys. the talent here should not be overlooked. Obviously, the Ronaldo part of it takes center stage to some extent. And by the way, I think we should handle this sensitively, but they named Yogo Jota as the 27th to 26th players. They named him symbolically as a player in the squad.

44:50I am sure that he is still with them emotionally. And to the extent that we maybe didn't factor that in as something Liverpool dealt with this season, I think it's certainly something that will be in the minds of this Portugal team to some extent, and obviously a lot of people that would have been close to him. So that's just sort of another emotional component to what they're working through. The talent is there. I think Roberto Martinez, I'm not sure I rate him as a tactical manager, but Roberto Martinez has always been sort of talked about as a guy who just gets people, right? He's well-liked.

45:21And I think some of the Portugal team, as has been the case for years, is just fitting the egos together and getting people to want to play together. And if he can achieve that, talent-wise, there's nothing this team can't do, Timsy. I would say though that they've had, maybe not to this level of talent, but the different versions of the teams that they've had over the years have always been like, they've never lacked talent, I would say. Well, in the last maybe eight to ten years. And they just don't seem to, in my eyes anyway, never threaten. I don't know if it's because I just don't pay as much attention to them because I've always just, growing up past 2004, 2006, like they're just not really a team that you need to worry about really when it gets serious so I don't I don't know if if maybe this time they are just so talented that they are actually somewhat a team to to be a bit scared of but yeah it'll be it'll be I mean interesting to see if if Martinez can actually get them playing the right well I just think it's maybe a little bit difficult with the the the humongous let's say personality of I shouldn't have done that actually that's a bit crazy but uh of ronaldo um hanging over just because like having you know vitina there like just the the way they play is just going to be very different to maybe the way even like bruno plays and that sort of thing like the role that he takes up versus bernardo silva or you know how how you're actually going to fit all of these players in and still have to allocate maybe 20 minutes per game for Ronaldo to come on and just, oh, I didn't score.

47:00You know, I don't know how that's going to play out. What do you get? Like what version of Bruno Fernandes do you get if he's like playing in deference to someone instead of just playing as Bruno Fernandes? Fair question. Well, okay. I do want to do some dark horses in a moment and we're going to lightening our way through the groups as well. We're going to just do a quick, any of the teams we haven't talked about. But before we do that, and I want to get to our players in the tournament as well. Before we do that, I think we should quickly have an England section. I think we just should. So we'll put them sort of between favorites and dark horses.

47:37We should just talk about them quickly. So Tim G, I'll throw it back to you. I mean, Tuchel deserves credit. He made big, big calls. Left out Foden, left out Cole Palmer. And I find it kind of hilarious. So there's that. He has to find a way to get the most out of this squad. And it's tough because the players that he wants to rely on, not all of them are in their best form or in their best fitness. I mean, a fit and firing Bakayo Saka, for example, obviously changes what you think about England's fortunes, but that's not what he's got right now. So he has to make a decision based on the players he rates versus the players that are in the form that can get him what he needs.

48:15So how do you think about England's chances in this tournament? I would say they are about as good as the last few tournaments where I would say we are one of the favourites but I'm not that confident so weirdly because I think going into the tournament I'm not that confident that we'll do that well obviously we can but because I think Tucci is obviously a great manager and even with the selection for example like I personally think yeah sure you could Rourke Colpama but then like I don't pretend to know more about football than Thomas Tuchel so I trust you mate just go with it but I think in previous tournaments maybe I had a better feeling just because like Gareth chose a team that was maybe a bit more of like the everyday fan selection of like yeah that's those are the 26 that I would have chosen like Phil Foden's gone blonde this is this has to happen whereas Whereas now it's like, because it maybe doesn't make sense in a way.

49:19And I'm not like, I'm not amazed by a lot of the, I think that a lot of the players had to be chosen, but I'm also not amazed by the fact that they're in the team. I think the top like 12 or 13 players kind of relatively like self-explanatory. I don't think it really kind of diverges much from that. But yeah, I think as we get into the later stages, maybe his tutors kind of knowledge of the game and maybe his better kind of tactical management and stuff that we've seen with Chelsea, obviously, like maybe that actually has a much bigger part to play and we're going to be able to navigate those later stages a little bit better.

50:00but for now I'm just not I know I should be excited it's England at a World Cup and we can do amazing things and I think as much as we can I'm not I'm not totally convinced in comparison to other other countries so that is my version of like sitting on the fence by the way so well done brilliantly done really love it I think the climate will be a problem I think the grueling Premier League campaign will be a problem I think the form and fitness of some of the most important players will be a problem. I still think, you know, you look at England and they get out of that group, probably top the group almost certainly.

50:38But again, they could wind up with a difficult road at the quarterfinal stage. I think they have to get to the quarterfinals. That's sort of how I look at it. I mean, right now they're setting up to maybe face, I mean, weaker, let's say teams in the round of 32 and the round of 16 quarterfinals for me is the minimum they have to do. And at that point, if you're facing a Brazil, if you're facing Portugal in the semifinal, those are games that could go either way. And I think if England crash out to those teams, England fans, well, I'm not sure they'll take it on the chin, but they'll be able to accept it.

51:09But I think quarterfinals is the bare minimum, Lewis. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised by anything, by the way. I wouldn't be surprised if England went on and won it. I think, Elliot, when you talk about the path through, I've got like if Mexico win the group England meet Mexico in the round of 16 in Mexico City yeah that's a good point the stadium if that happens you can imagine the Azteca that day that's proper World Cup energy by the way it is the Azteca is one of the most I think intimidating grounds in world football it's at elevation it's massive it's loud it's a terrifying place to play football especially in the summer it's the most I'm so glad we're going to see it this summer it's the most iconic stadium in World Cup history Maradona 86 the 1970 World Cup final they might be the two most famous games alongside like Brazil 7 Germany 7-1 like some of the most famous games in the history of the World Cup I think it's going to be so great to watch Mexico play games there it's an extraordinary place that could be that I guess my other my other my question with England is the defence I think if going forward I think there's a reliance an over-reliance maybe on Harry Kane but I think there are so many other players around him that it won't matter there are players off the bench that can take his place and do a job as well Oli Watkins is in really good form Saka's not been in great form but I think you would back Saka to find some form for a tournament like this and then some combination of Rogers and Bellingham and Ezzet there's going to be enough there to support Harry Kane.

52:53I think in midfield, if you look through the past few tournaments, I think Elliot Anderson is the best partner Declan Rice has had in an England midfield. If you go back to the Euros a few years ago, and it was Calvin Phillips in there. And the last Euros, it was sometimes Kobe Minou and sometimes Trent Alexander-Arnold. I think Elliot Anderson is by far the best partner Rice has had for one of these tournaments. But then you go one step further back, and it's like can Rhys James stay fit there isn't really an obvious oh he's got to play left back John Stones is going to be relied on he's barely played for Manchester City this season he's going to be relied on at the back who partner is gay at the back like Stones or can Stones even play 90 minutes every few days so it's going to be what Esri Contza probably coming in which like it's not like Esri Contza is a bad player but I think when you are looking at alright are you going to go and win a World Cup I don't I don't look at Esri Concer and Mark Gay and go yeah they'll win you a World Cup quarterfinal semi-final get you to get you to the final get you over the line in the final so I think that's that's the question for me for England the biggest one yeah well Tim do you want to finish up on England and then we'll turn to players before we come back to dark horses yeah yeah it's just that on that final note of of England just that there seems to be like we have such depth I feel like we've got got far better over the last few years and like last few tournaments where maybe in previous tournaments that the the starting 11 was a lot more obvious than it is now but we we do have a lot of that i mean jordan henderson is still in there which is you know he's a great guy but i don't know why and but you know they're just but they're just the general like strength for the team yeah the the wealth of options that we can leave out phil foden and uh and cole palmer for example like yeah there's there's a lot more substance there but equally yeah i just don't know how that plays out especially at the back with whoever plays i just i have no idea the england team is always such an interesting one for me to follow just from a drama standpoint because like people really do struggle to get their club tribalism out of the way of the way they watch the national team which i love and that's how it is right like it was the same thing when Foden was in the team and people were saying, Foden should start over sack or Palmer should start over sack.

55:16And it was like, no, they shouldn't. And now they're not in the team. So it all worked out. Let it all work out as he famously once said. But like, so I think it is funny watching the England fans implode as the player they prefer from their preferred club doesn't play. So we'll keep an eye on that fun because that is always one of the things that makes it fun. So, all right. I want to do players. We'll do some dark horses. We'll zip through a couple of the things we haven't covered. We've got a lot of football to cover over the next month or so, but a lot more to cover on this episode. But, and I feel very strongly about this.

55:47At this point, 55 minutes into this episode, you're saying, and I can hear you saying, I don't know what VPN to use. And I'm like, well, I have an idea for you. Then you're like, well, why don't you tell me that idea? Well, that's what I'm going to do. Don't yell at me. It's NordVPN. You're going to use NordVPN because when you are traveling, when you're abroad, when you're somewhere else, and you want to watch the things you have subscriptions for, you use NordVPN so you can VPN back to the place you're from, and you can watch the things you watch. Like when I go to London and I've got all these people around the pub and we're like, hey, let's watch Manchester United lose a football match.

56:18And people at the pub say, we can't do that because it's 3 p.m. blackout. Well, ha ha, there's no 3 p.m. blackout when I NordVPN my way back to my subscription and we all watch Alex Iwobi score a winner against Manchester United, which we did at a pub. 3 p.m. blackout, be damned. We watched the game. We enjoyed it. You can watch things you want to watch. When someone shares some viral video of Arsenal being awesome, but it's blocked in your location, it's not blocked in your location. if you simply VPN to another location. Not to mention, there are all kinds of identity tracking, age checks, restrictions, all kinds of things.

56:48There are websites that you may or may not go to, and I am not drawing any conclusions about what you do in your personal time, but they may require an age check that they don't require when you VPN to another place. And it does come with security. Now, upgrade your online protection with an all-in-one security app. Get an exclusive NordVPN deal and four bonus months, four extra months at nordvpn.com. It's risk-free with NordVPN's 30-day money-back guarantee. It's nordvpn.com slash arsenalvision. Do it now. Lewis, is that enough of that? Elliot, that was wonderful. Thank you. That was stunning.

57:17I mean, you should hear when we get the Manscaped ads. That's when it gets really fun. Okay, so let's do our NordVPN MVP. NordVPN MVP of the tournament, our player of the tournament sponsored by Nord. And we're each going to go ahead and pick one. And Timzy, I will let you pick first. who is your player of the tournament sponsored by NordVPN. So is this going to be the golden... Is this the golden bull? Not the golden boot. It is the golden bull because the golden boot is the goal scorer, right? Yeah, right. Golden boot is the goal scorer. We're talking about the golden ball, the player of the tournament.

57:55Who's your player of the tournament? It's got to be someone who goes deep in the tournament, of course. Well, that's the thing. I think I'm going to go with my favorite, which is France. and I think... I think it's going to be Dwey. Interesting pick. I would say I love him. I love him. Just because a lot of the headlines are on Mbappe and obviously he's performed at World Cups before. He's great. Probably should have chosen Mbappe now thinking about it. but I really do like Douay. I just think he's at that period when I think Mbappe was the young kid and taken it by storm. And I think he's without that sort of level of pressure as well.

58:43I think he's just... Should I go Douay? I don't know now. I'm talking myself out of it. I just love Douay. I'm going to go Douay. He's got a lot of competition for playing time, I'll tell you that much, between Barkle and Dembele. and you know, I mean, he starts, he starts over Boclo anyway. And then, oh, I forgot about Alise. See, this is why I went with France. It's my favorite. So I'm going to put my foot down and say it's going to be Michael Alise. There we go. Michael Alise is a very, very, very good choice. Well done, Tim. In true AVP heritage, you talked yourself around, around the houses and back to the right decision in the end.

59:19Lewis, feel free to pick one that you don't actually mean and then wind up with the one you actually mean the one I don't mean that would be Desiree do I? I think it's not going to happen Laminya Mal I'm going to cover my bases, I've said that Brazil are going to win it but if they don't there's a good chance it's because Spain will win it and if Spain win it, they'll win it because of Laminya Mal the question obviously is when he'll be fit when he'll be properly fit and how many minutes he can play but I'm wondering maybe if he doesn't play in the first couple of group games is he then fresher for the knockout rounds without those minutes and without the last couple of months of minutes in his legs for Barcelona?

1:00:07Does he come back and he's sort of raring to go and if Spain don't rush him back and if Spain are going to go all the way it'll be because Laminya Ma is the best player in the world and this is the stage for the best players in the world. Luminium is probably, I think, for me anyway, he is the best player in the world. He lit up the Euros two years ago and immediately became a worldwide name after that breakout season at Barcelona. And I think he does enjoy and relish these sort of big occasions and the attention and the spotlight. And yeah, I'd go with him for that reason. and I think he'll be getting everybody off their seats.

1:00:52And I hope he does. I hope he is flying, because when you watch the World Cup, you want to see the best players at their absolute best. He's one of the most fun players to watch in world football, and I do think he's 1v1 demons. The guys who can really dominate when the game comes to a standstill are going to do really well in this tournament. And Yamal, you get him the ball, and when the game is in a settled possession state, he's dangerous in a way very few players are, both with his left-footed shot and with the delivery he has into the box. so I'm going to go with another wide player and I'll say look I don't know if they're good enough to get far enough for him to win it but if they are I think Vinicius Jr.

1:01:28is a great pick because I think Vinny has a lot to prove he'll have a chip on his shoulder I think you know he's ready to be the man for Brazil I think it's the kind of tournament where he can really dominate and I root for him I like Vinny I think he's faced a lot of really unfortunate stuff in Spain and I'd like to see him have a good tournament So he's a player that I could see being a candidate to win this. I mean, Mbappe is another one, obviously, that I thought about picking, but we get it. You're killing Mbappe. You're great at football. I'm going to go with Vinny Jr. So those are our top picks.

1:02:07How about a quick dark horse pick? A player who might be one tier below that, Timsey, who you might want to pick. And since you fumbled the bag quite badly with your player of the tournament pick, This is your chance to come back strong. Is it Desiree Dwayne? Would he be your dark horse pick?

1:02:26No. No, he wouldn't. Okay. Right, right. Not good enough? My dark horse. The thing is, do I want a dark horse to be the underrated star, but in a good team? Or is it actually going to be the dark horse is going to be the best player in like a bad team? How about this? Yeah, the best player that people are talking about, but it doesn't have to be someone who could win the golden ball because obviously to do that you probably have to get to the final so like how about the bet the player you think people could be really talking about after this tournament regardless of whether they're a golden ball winner interesting okay i should have thought about this before i can come back to you you want me to come give you a second if that's all right yeah i'm gonna i'm gonna throw one at you you guys are going to laugh.

1:03:12Lionel Messi. I don't think he's done. I don't think he's done. You're going to have to run that by me again. I don't think he's done. I really don't think he's done. I think he'll have an influence on this World Cup. I think he's been playing here. He's been playing in Miami. He knows the pitches. He knows how bad they are. He knows the climate a bit. MLS takes place during this time of the year, so he's used to it. I still think Lionel Messi can play football at a pace that this tournament will be. And I think he will drip his magic on parts of the games enough that the world is going to go, oh shit, Lionel Messi's still here playing football and he's still playing football at a high level.

1:03:53So I know he's not a dark horse in the sense of like a name people won't know, but I think Lionel Messi winds up having a big impact on this World Cup when in a World Cup where nobody's talking about him. And I'm sure in his mind, he's sort of like, you know I'm still Lionel fucking Messi I think that could happen Lewis that's my pick I'm not going to if you're sort of throwing that to me asking if I'm going to write off Lionel Messi then the answer is no I'm not going to write off Lionel Messi yeah and they have the bones of a good enough team they have a good enough team obviously Julian Alvarez is a player that I would be very happy to see at the Emirates I don't think that will happen but you know they've got Enzo I don't like him, but he's good.

1:04:35McAllister, you know. Let me throw another one at you then, like for this exact thing. And as you're like rattling off messy teammates, Nico Paz as my sort of player then, if he gets on the pitch enough for Argentina, I think it's sort of a foregone conclusion that at some point Real Madrid will activate that buyback clause and have him back from Como. But over the past couple of years, Como promoted to Serie A with Cesc in charge very solidly upper mid table the first year and then now into the Champions League finished above Milan this season and Nico Paz is sort of the crown jewel in that whole project as a Fabregas-esque playmaker and gets on the end of things, scores goals but really makes the team tick and I don't know whether those are the names that Argentina have if he'll get on the pitch much but that's the player that I would love to see a lot of at this World Cup if he gets the opportunity could be exciting Timsey do you have that's nice yeah do you have one yes I do now I'm gonna go for Kai Havertz as a dark horse just because one of my all-time Germany aren't I mean Germany always pretty solid um and they've obviously got a wealth of talent as well but But I think he's maybe a dark horse just because he's been injured for so long and been so in and out for us this season.

1:06:02And whenever he has been back, he's obviously contributed with some really nice goals. But we still haven't been able to make the most of just how good a player he is like we've seen over the last few years for us. Just had a goal and assist in their last tune-up game. Yeah, exactly. And it's just like you kind of forget actually just how good he is. We've had those a few moments this year, but when he is fully fit and he's firing, he is actually a very complete striker who's not a striker. He's great. So I wouldn't be surprised if Germany going, I guess, a little bit under the radar going into this tournament and also him basically being the kind of standout guy up there that offers what he can offer.

1:06:49I think he could have an amazing World Cup. And obviously, for our sakes, I hope he does. But with playing a respectable amount of minutes and not too much. He doesn't have nine months of football in his legs either, does he, like everybody else? Yeah. Yeah. So I think he's now obviously looking for him. He finished the season well with us and could be firing and, as you say, quite fresh for the World Cup and not have, I guess, that much expectation or that sort of pressure to perform because he's basically just come back still. he's got a chance to yeah I was going to say tips he's got a chance to absolutely stamp his name on the tournament in the sense that I think Germany could face France in the round of 16 and predicting this stuff is crazy because weird things happen but if they top the group and France top their group I think they're on a collision course for a round of 16 matchup and if Germany were to get past France in the round of 16 obviously it would be a huge embarrassment for France but you'd think that Kai Havertz would be a big part of that and he scored in two Champions League finals one was a winner unfortunately one was not but But yeah, he's got that big game quality, I think.

1:07:55So I like that for sure. Living in Germany, by the way, is an interesting sort of element of this. He's going to start up front for Germany, but the German public aren't very happy about it. They generally isn't that highly rated or well-taught. Who do they want to see up front? Timo Werner? Well, this is like a weird thing that happens. This is a weird thing that happens, I think, which I'd never really fully appreciated like growing up in England or the entire national team played in England so it was never something you consider or really think about that much when you're sort of in that environment but people don't watch leagues from other countries all that much so two years ago for the Euros everyone in Germany wanted Nicholas Fulcrook to play because he was scoring lots of goals in the Bundesliga I forgot the Fulcrook period everybody wanted Fulcrook to play because he was and Havertz was starting and the media constantly and in the stadium, it was like, why is Havertz playing?

1:08:54Why is Fulcruc not playing? And this time around, it's the same sort of noise around Denis Undav of Stuttgart, who was the top scorer, the top German scorer in the Bundesliga this season. I think the top German scorer in Europe this season. And it's had a couple of really prolific years for Stuttgart. But because Kai Havertz doesn't play in Germany, it's like the country forgets how good Kai Havertz is and what he can do. fair this season it was easy to forget him a little bit just because he played so little it was but you know they they kind of they're you know they're watching their version of match of the day or they're watching games on a saturday and they're seeing dennis undav score every week and then so i think it's just an interesting little sort of like side story in germany around kai havertz maybe him scoring germans maybe him to see they don't want to see him playing that much yeah maybe him scoring a good goal in the champions league final and then this goal and assist in the last tune-up might have brought a few people over to his side a little bit of pressure off him hopefully with that yeah i mean the ideal for me would be kai havertz plays well in the world cup but they go out relatively early he's got some football back in his body but then he has some time to rest up because we could use him next season i will say um the the germany team is an interesting one for me because no one is talking about them and germany should always be considered a favorite how about one one more player a young player that i think we could talk about just really quickly because he plays for one of the host nations um you know mexico have Gilberto Mora.

1:10:17He's a 17-year-old midfielder. He's a Gold Cup winner at 16, been in Liga MX since he was 15. This is obviously a time for him to be starting for his country at 17 years old, in the heart of the midfield, at the Azteca, in a World Cup. Luis, you got any information for us on Gilberto Mora? Because that is a player that I think Mexican supporters will be very excited about, and I think maybe the world is going to learn about a little bit in this World Cup. I am one of those people who hopes to learn. a lot. I think it's like that's what the World Cup is about as well. Like especially when you get players playing in like Liga MX.

1:10:52Like it's you know it's impossible to be following Liga MX when you're in Europe with a child. Too much football. There's too much football. There's too much football. Yeah. I think what I would say about that You hipster credentials though maybe didn't work. But that's okay. That's okay. Well what I would say though is like this Mexico team compared to like recent years there's not like a star anymore so there's sort of a I guess an opening there for someone to become over the next few years the start the next star for a football mad country as well so yeah like I'm happy that there's like a young candidate to sort of take on that mantle because Mexico at the moment compared to the Mexico teams the last 15-20 years like doesn't have uh they don't have like that standout player so I hope that this is a big big world cup for it but then they they and they maybe need that to get over that that curse of the what's it the curse of the last 16 seven yeah seven world cups in a row so so the the bad thing is is now there's no rather is there's a round of 32 now so it makes it even harder so you say you said they'll win a knockout game but it still won't count as getting over that hurdle that's the thing it's still where did they get to well they won one but then they went out on the round of 16 so i guess well i mean mexico england at the Azteca man that would be a heck of a time for them to get passed around the 16 you know what as an England I hope we I hope we win it we just don't concede a single goal but if we're gonna go out at any point to Mexico at the Azteca let the football gods just make it happen that's fine yeah yeah and by the way I think all England fans will feel that way and take it with equanimity and and quiet resolve and calm.

1:12:38All right, Dark Horse teams real quick. I think, you know, we brought up Portugal to win it. We brought up France to win it. We brought up Spain to win it. I'm going to throw one at you. If we're going to go full on Dark Horse, Senegal. Lewis, what do you think about Senegal? Senegal, as long as they don't sort of forfeit matches by storming off the pitch because they don't like a decision. That didn't happen in the AFCON, to be fair. Yeah. I was thinking about when you mentioned the sort of, I guess, under the radar type players. I did toy with mentioning Illiman and Jai, who I think is a really great player to watch.

1:13:15He's been excellent for Everton. But there are obviously, with Sadio Mane and Nicolo Jackson up front, he's not the biggest name for Senegal. But I think Illiman and Jai, I hope he has a really good tournament because I love watching him. I think Senegal and Morocco the pair of them the way they've played in recent tournaments World Cups Senegal gave England a really good game in Qatar and sort of unfortunately found themselves behind before half time and Morocco obviously went even further I think the pair of them we've seen that AFCON battle and it wasn't the first one between the two teams in recent years I think they could at least one of them could go really really far in this Yeah I mean and Jai Idrissa Ghanage obviously they've got the pair of Everton players they have Ismail Sar from Crystal Palace players that we'll know from the league Papamatasar and despite the fact that he plays for barely Premier League level Tottenham Hotspur it's still a reasonable level by international football standards.

1:14:15Any dark horse teams for you Timsy that you want to quickly pick out? I would always tend to veer towards Japan just because watching them in the World Cup they always seem to turn up and record at least one proper upset even even if that's in the group stage or if they get to the knockouts like it's it's so much fun to see to see them also the south korea as well i feel like the two of them but mainly japan i feel like i always always up for an upset and like they just seem to i don't know like that i don't maybe i don't understand football well enough to know why they do it but like you're fit right and just they yeah perfect thank you uh they they just gel really well as a team and like they just seem to like there's literally no egos and so they just you know there's a proper team effort stuff so i would always say japan for for a world cup i always like enjoy i it's more i like keep an eye out for those sorts of especially like if you're going to watch any random games if like any of those sorts of countries are playing i'm always down to to give it a watch and i always feel like they kind of deliver a shock every now and again yeah i mean i do think losing Matoma is a big, big loss for them.

1:15:27Like he's out injured and he's the kind of guy that can produce a goal from nothing. You know, I think he's got that, that capability. So it'd be interesting to see how they deal without him. But I think that's a good shout. I mean, for them, I think topping the group makes, I mean, obviously it does for anyone makes a big difference, but if they don't top the group, they could be looking at Brazil right away in the round of 32. Whereas if they do top the group, they could be looking at like, again, not easy, but like a Morocco followed by like a Bosnia or South Africa or something like that. So they could get all the way to the round to the quarterfinals to face France.

1:15:58So an interesting one were to depend on the group quickly. Want to ask you just about the host nations. We talked a little bit about Mexico, but Lewis, Canada and the United States, any thoughts on the host nations and, and what their possible capabilities are in terms of how far they could get? I feel like it's hard to uncouple Canada's chances with the fitness of Alphonso Davies, who's obviously the outstanding Canadian player. I thought they were really unfortunate with their results at the last World Cup and I like the idea of a host nation having sort of Jesse Marsh in charge with the type of football that he'll be playing like I think you want the host nation to really go and have a go and not try and scrape through and Jesse Marsh will have them pressing high and throwing bodies forward and it might be to their detriment in the end but I think that it's nice to see host nations getting stadiums behind them by absolutely going for it.

1:16:52And that will be the case. And I have no idea what to expect from the USA because I think there are, in terms of quality across the pitch, from the backline, midfield, up front, I don't think there's ever been a generation this talented. And they've got a proven top-tier manager in Maurizio Pochettino. and for some reason it doesn't really seem to have gelled and clicked and worked out. But I wouldn't be surprised at all with that home support pushing them on if we saw a lot of fight and a really good run from America. If you just go through the players that the USA have in defence, in midfield, up top, on the wings, there's quality everywhere.

1:17:43There's more than I think there's ever been. so yeah I nothing would surprise me if the USA had sort of embarrassing feeble early exit based on the performance a lot of the performances and results the last couple of years equally if they everything sort of clicked and fell into place and the support drove them on to reaching a quarter final or something that wouldn't surprise me either I don't know how are you feeling how are you feeling about the USA's chances I mean I think Turkey are or Turkey A sorry I apologize like you know turkey yeah i don't want to get it wrong but it is fine turkey's fine i'm sure it is funny we were having this debate in in the discord the other day which is that like there are certain things that you have to say right and then there's certain things if you say them right you get made fun of for saying them right it's like hector bearin right like if you say that people laugh at you but that is how i understand his name is correctly said you're supposed to say bellerin so i don't i don't totally know the rules i would do my best to respectfully pronounce things.

1:18:42I will say the other day on a podcast with Clive, I said, Primer. I said, we're going to provide a Primer and everyone made fun of me. And I want you to know, according to both the Oxford English Dictionaries and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the English pronunciation of an introductory text is Primer. Okay. Primer. I know Primer. I've never heard that ever. Everybody laughed at me. They all laughed at me. They're not laughing anymore. They are still laughing. Timzy and I can get our passports out if you want. That's definitely wrong it's correct in the u.s it is not correct in the uk american english it is pronounced primer now i know the americans will be saying no it's not yell at the dictionary go yell i'm just telling you yell at the dictionary see this is what happens you pronounce it the right way people still laugh at you anyway i would say the hard and fast rule with player names and country names is like unless you are fluent in every country in every language of every country you can just say how your people say it and it's fine i see what you mean yeah go go with the okay the cultural prevailing cultural pronunciation provided but there is a right or wrong when it comes to saying primal properly like that's not that's yeah and you are correct because according to the dictionary the american way of saying it is primer i'm just letting you know that so that you can say it the correct way when you come uh if you ever when you say it doesn't it sound wrong to you sounds absurd completely absurd yes i would go on that for our gut instinct just do that doesn't sound right i just want you to know we had this is this is avp heritage because we had a huge argument over buoy do you know what a buoy is a boy you mean a boy yeah see see that's how your people say it but but it is said buoy over here in the water yeah yeah and then people say well do you say buoyance we don't say buoyance i don't know why we call it a buoy i just live here okay man I didn't choose it.

1:20:29Anyway, Turkiye. Isn't buoy a verb as well? It's a buoy, like something can be buoyed. You buoyed me. Like I've been buoyed by, buoyed by... Sasha Bui, who I think plays for Galatasaray now. Sasha Bui. And Emmanuel Ebue. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. Emmanuel, yeah, Ebue. See, so it is the right way. It's not Emmanuel Ebue. Anyway, so Turkiye. I think with Yildiz and Gouler they're going to be really interesting to watch right I think those are two very fun young players who by the way both I think have been linked with Arsenal at periods I'm excited to watch them I think that they could easily beat the United States I think the US will be lucky to not get grouped I think this is a a team that hasn't gelled but it's also hard to say because you know obviously the when you're the host nation you have that support behind you that can be that can propel you but then again you know it's a very multicultural country and and sometimes you come to these games in the united states and you'd be surprised to find that like when the u.s plays mexico in the u.s for example oftentimes mexico has the more vocal support in the ground so you just don't know what that support's going to look like and i think undoubtedly that would be the case with with any country against mexico there will be more mexican fans yeah yeah i think that's absolutely right so yeah so it just depends on how that diaspora shows up for their for their team because they're they all live, you know, this is a melting pot.

1:21:56So it'll be interesting. Look, I think the United States will probably get out of the group. And I think if they top the group, they crash out to someone like Switzerland, maybe, is sort of my thinking there. And if they don't top the group, I still think they probably wind up getting knocked out relatively quickly. Either way. So yeah, I don't see much of a path for the US or for Canada. Candidly, I think the goal for both of those teams is to get out of the group. Now, for Canada, what I will say is they could draw someone like very, very weak in the round of 32 the way it shapes up and could wind up with like a Portugal in the round of 16.

1:22:38So I have Canada probably going a little further than the United States, but I don't see the USA going further than maybe the round of 16, but probably the round of 32. Lewis, any thoughts there? yeah like i don't i'm not a million miles off yeah i've got all three host nations in the round of 16 when i when i didn't track it so i had like canada beating oh sorry yeah like i like had canada playing south korea in the first like knockout round the usa playing egypt and mexico playing sweden and i feel like if they did get those games and they they won't because there's no way all of that's going to land exactly like that.

1:23:18But that would be a really kind sort of round 32 for all three of those teams. And I think that would be like a relative success for all three of them to get to the knockout rounds and then have a really competitive game. One that I think they'd have a really good chance of winning to get to the round of 16 would be good going. I also think as a final note to that, I think it's always good that the one of, well, now that there are three host nations, I think obviously the chances are maybe a bit greater, but the deeper the host nation goes, it just makes for such a better World Cup. So I'm desperate for at least one of those three to make it to at least the round of 16.

1:23:52It would be amazing. Yeah, I think... Is there even a chance that Canada could play the USA? I think that's possible in the first knockout round, the round of 32. Where would they play it? I have no idea. Mexico. It looks like it would be played in San Francisco if that were to happen, I think. Okay. potentially Vancouver. I don't know. Look, as a final point, we haven't talked at all about like an Erling Holland with Norway. It'll be interesting to see how they perform. It'll be interesting to see if Scotland can get out of their group with Scott McTominay, who is one of the best players in world football, apparently, and one of the most handsome since moving to Italy.

1:24:33The glow up there is just insane. There's a lot of fun storylines. There will be a lot of fun players to keep an eye on. I guess last little tiny quick thing, Timsy, Arsenal angle you want to just give me your quick sort of Arsenal hopes is it they all get eliminated quickly is it they have good tournaments but don't go deep how do you square that circle? I would say I want as many of the players to have as good a World Cup as possible the main thing is no injuries and in my head anyway I think for example there's going to be at least four or five players who are going to miss maybe the first few weeks of the season or be very, very not up to speed for the first month of the Prem.

1:25:18Just because they're all important for their own nation and they're going to play, especially for example, Declan Rice, he's going to play every minute. We're probably going to get to later stages of the knockouts and we're just going to have to deal with the fact that it's going to be a super curtailed preseason. Knowing him, he's a horse. he will be up to speed by the time the Prem starts but even then like he's still human so I think I would actually love one or a few of our players to obviously win it if you're going to go the whole way like you know I remember the even just from 2014 from when Meza and Per and Podolsky came back from the World Cup and it is great like it does invigorate them and like it can only help the fact that they've obviously experienced like genuine historic success um and like that off the back of our own kind of domestic historic success like i think it would be incredible so anyone really but also kind of watching for the players coming back from injury and actually getting some minutes and almost using the world cup respectfully as a mini pre-season to get up to speed would be like obviously jury and timber and kai to have have good tournaments where they actually look sharp and kind of reminding us of like the first half of the season, just how good Jurian was.

1:26:42Like it's kind of hard to remember now just because it was such a long season. But the first half of the season, he was like freakishly consistent and sharp and just, you know, the best right back in Europe, in my opinion, at that point. So there's kind of a few different angles there. But yeah, those are the kind of the three points, I guess. Yeah, I'm with you on that. Like one thing I'd love to see, I'd love to see Saka have a great tournament, play really well. England crash out, but crash out through no fault of Sac his own where he comes away as like one of the good storylines from England and then can get a good solid rest till next season.

1:27:19But coming off a feeling of getting back to something like his best football and looking really good for the rest of the Arsenal players, like honestly, I just want them to play well for teams that ultimately get knocked out early through no fault of their own essentially is what I want. Lewis, does that work? can we get can we get that that would work for me absolutely one one little thing that i'm put like personally interested i'm just kind of interested to watch gabriel and saliba play without each other and and and how they kind of sit in the heart of different defenses without each other um like as that partnership you know having to play with with like upa mccano and marquinhos i think i'm i'm just interested to see like those dynamics i guess do you do you feel as well that like they are as maybe not idolized but like as truly appreciated as they are for us where like i i couldn't love both of them any more than i do and i think if if the sentiment isn't like shared for their country i'll i'll be so annoyed i think i think saliba is rated by the french i i had read at least once upon a time that gap big gabby was not as universally agreed upon in Brazil, but I could be misreading that.

1:28:37Well, again, we're maybe not totally fluent in the kind of football tactical thing, but how? How can you not watch him and go like, you are just the monster that everyone needs? Yeah, I mean, it's a great question. I think obviously, and we know this from watching this happen to other clubs, as you get, as your club elevates its stature globally, the players that play for you elevate their stature along with it, right? So when you're the best center back for the fourth best team in the league, that's very different from being the best center back from a team that is winning the league and going to the Champions League final, right?

1:29:11So I do think that the stature and status of all of our players have been elevated along with the club's fortunes as well. So let's just hope again, none of them have any kind of heartbreak that is related to them specifically, that they all have good tournaments, they come home to us unbroken and with a little bit of rest. I would be fine when we go to Dublin for our event if we don't see any key players in Dublin at that time. They can all be resting, and we can watch Max Dowman play in that game, and I'll be perfectly happy to see it and maybe a couple new arrivals. So we'll have transfer stuff coming up, of course.

1:29:45We'll have main pods coming up, of course. We'll have scouting videos and transfer dailies in July and all the stuff that you used to around the club football. But Timsey and myself and Lewis at times and Clive certainly and Tim at certain points and maybe even Paul, although I doubt it, and certainly all kinds of people. Scott and Matt will all be here to get you through the World Cup in one place with your headlines, your stock rising, your stock falling, and what to look forward to from that day as the World Cup daily rolls on. So we will kick that off with the first day of matches on Thursday and take you all the way through the tournament together so that we can all stay together as a community, which is what we love to do.

1:30:19And I do want to thank Lewis for jumping in and being a part of this one. Lewis, thank you. And I look forward to sharing the tournament with you and, of course, sharing some fun pods over the summer. Thank you. Me too. yeah looking forward to it and Timsey I am looking forward to your uh Yeoman work on on this podcast which I want to emphasize will be more of the 30 minute variety than the 90 minute variety moving forward but we did want to get you a proper preview that wasn't just the first 30 minutes of complaining about football in the tournament but that's kind of World Cup heritage so thank you Timsey and I'm looking forward to working with you yeah no thank you and going forward as well I know this is just as a final tidbit if I can try because obviously it's an Arsenal pod as well to speak to a few ex-Arsenal boys who aren't playing in the World Cup if they want to come on, if you will allow, if that works for you.

1:31:06Our policy has traditionally been we don't want to speak to Arsenal players because we don't want them to lower themselves to this level, but we would be happy to allow them to do that if they are willing to do that for you, Tim Z. Okay. I'm talking like Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin. Oh, yeah. Bring it on. Absolutely. If that's okay, I'll do my best. Oh, if it's okay. We would absolutely love it. if they are willing to lower themselves to the standard, absolutely, absolutely. I'll convince them. Don't worry. They hang around with me sometimes. All of a sudden, I feel like I've made a very, very smart choice for the future of this podcast.

1:31:37So there you go. If you've stuck around for 90 minutes to hear that, now you know what you're in for. Of course, Tim's has to live up to that promise now, and we will hold you to it. Okay. I think we leave it there. I think we look forward to the World Cup. We're going to have a heck of a lot of fun together, one way or another, laughing at it or celebrating it, or maybe a little bit of both, but hopefully not a lot of crying where Arsenal players are concerned. So how do I, I guess I don't have a good witty outro for the World Cup Daily other than to say, yeah, what do I say here, Lewis? Do we have a 10?

1:32:06USA 10? No, man, I'm not going to do the I believe, I believe that we, I believe that we show it. I'm not, you're not taking me down that road. You know what? I'm going to do my normal outro for now. I'll come up with one for the World Cup Daily and we'll leave it there. So we love you and we'll talk to you after Arsenal 10. Transformed.

1:32:26Thank you.