World Cup Daily - Rob Holding Talks England (and Arsenal) plus Portugal Held by DR Congo

0:25Rob Holding:If you're going to talk about England, you might as well hear from somebody who played for them. This is the Arsenal Vision World Cup Daily. My name is Elliot Smith. Hello, everybody. Love you for being here. We're going to try recording in the evenings, which means we're not going to get necessarily to the last game of the slate, but we will try to get it the next day, especially if it's got interesting stuff to talk about. The idea being that we give you more than two hours to listen to the episode before the games kick off. So we're going to try to do that to the extent that it makes sense.

0:51Rob Holding:And let us know if you don't like that, but hopefully that'll be better for you. And today we've got a treat. Rob Holding's coming up with Timsey. You're going to hear his thoughts on the England game. Then we'll come back and we'll do the headline stock rising and stock falling. So here is England, former England international Rob Holding and Timsey.

1:07Michael Timbs:Arsenal Vision Nation. I am joined by a dear friend of mine, someone who will be very familiar to the podcast. It is my good friend, ex-Arsenal, current Colorado Rapids centre-back and legend Rob Holding. Holdini, how are you doing, mate? Holdini, it's still going. It's going to stay forever, I think. I'm never getting rid of it. No, I'm good. I'm good. I'm enjoying being out in the States and having the World Cup here. It's ledge, mate. Having four games a day, just all day. My mates back home are like, we only get two and then we go to bed and it's like middle of the night. So we're missing the later games.

1:42And I'm like, it couldn't be any more perfect for me.

1:45Michael Timbs:Yeah, mate, it's so good. There are no games in Denver, no? No, no games in Denver. They bought a bid in, but I don't think it got backed enough. So they went with Kansas instead, I think. are you going to go are you going to catch any games no I had a couple of weeks off the last three weeks and yeah just that last week was when the game started and I was just back in Denver getting ready because we started again this week for training getting ready for our when the league starts again yeah fair how are the legs legs are great legs are great it's nice having that little break tied in with like some of the lads that are on holiday like back home because their season's finished yeah I didn't see any of them though but it's nice to be on holiday when they're on holiday because there's nothing worse than being training and working when you're seeing all the lads everywhere on holiday or playing golf of course right well I mean we're going to talk about the World Cup but still you're the main man so I want to we'll speak about you for a little bit longer so it's been a little while now how is Colorado you've told me personally a lot of very good things and I really want to go so when I do move here I want to I want to visit Denver a lot mate people people fall in love with uh denver and colorado and a lot of people said that like when i was moving speaking to people they were saying oh like colorado's amazing denver's amazing and um i was like well you're from there you're gonna say that you know but yeah getting out here now like i love it i love every day i walk the dog and i can see the mountains in the background um and just like the weather's always great the sun's always out and um there's just like a major sports city as well we've got like nfl baseball um the hockey the basketball and then obviously like denver summit being there now the women's team and uh and us it's uh it's a really like cool sports city so there's always something going on i feel like as well if like you you've always been like a big fan of america anyway like american american culture so it's almost like the perfect place for you like it was yeah did you go watch the gigs it looks unbelievable yeah it was always something that I wanted to do like at a certain point in my career I was always said like sort of as I get towards 30 and it just sort of worked out like how everything was going in England I was just ready for a change and yeah like I said I absolutely love it out here yeah and then how I just saw Ace leave the room yeah he walked in because he heard me start talking so he comes in thinking what's going on but then he's left again well he's made the trip out such a legend how long has he been out by the way he came out at the start of December so I came out in August last year and then I sort of got settled and then went back home during the off season and then when I came back my parents came out with me and we brought the dog over unbelievable and he's settling in as well he's settling in yeah he's getting used to the altitude the first walk we went on he was like he had to stop walking because he was like I can't breathe so even he had to get used to the altitude yeah the altitude of course yeah yeah it's a massive thing yeah like what are we 5 ,180 or something like that feet above sea level so it is it is a lot and then when you go up to the mountains you get even higher like i was i've been out the last week i took the dog hiking and we just went up into the mountains and like going down the rivers and the creeks and like mate it's insane it's so pretty your blood oxygen level must be through the roof now yeah i mean you go back to like london and you're going this is that's so easy.

5:08Michael Timbs:Yeah, if I need to go back to London and just do like a 5k run and just see how I feel. You run it in 15 minutes, you're going, that's there. Yeah, it's nothing. I mean, yeah, right, okay, so we'll talk about the World Cup as well just because it is happening. Because England just won today, that's why we're talking about the World Cup. Also, I know you're in America, you've subscribed to the American way of life but obviously you're still proud English, you know what I mean, watching the games I'm guessing. Oh, absolutely. Like today we had training in the morning, then we had a little break and then we got like an aerobic running session at one o 'clock.

5:45So it was like, get that done in 20 minutes. And it was shower change, get home. Literally, as I was walking out of the training ground, all the TVs had the game on and they were doing the national anthem and I just was like singing God Save the King as I was like walking out and everyone's like, it's just good fun. But it's good because you can rile up the Americans as well.

6:02Michael Timbs:Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's been such a fun, world cup to follow anyway just because world cups are always so sick like especially like on the page watching whatever happens like with the big teams the small teams but it's been such a highlight of mine to just watch what stuff has happened off the pitch with all the like you're the england fans going to random places that they'd never oh yeah i mean the scottish fans have been insane incredible like getting involved in like super niche local culture where like yeah you've probably seen that in like movies or documentaries yeah like the Fenway Park thing the Fenway Park the other weekend that would have been like they'd only see Fenway Park in movies and then suddenly they're all there and they all had like these sick tops as well I'd like the little Boston Red Sox logo and then the Scottish flag yeah and it was like tartan but it said Red Sox yeah that looked insane bagpipes and it's just like this is is the is the the best like melting pot of of a World cup that i can remember anyway yeah and i will say that's like the american fan bases and like just the environment that they set like they make it so friendly and so welcoming and they just want everyone to come in and have a great time yeah which i think that's what the feeling has been around like all the scottish fans the english fans every nation really everyone's been getting getting looked after and stuff which i think is like good and uh how it should be you know for sure and i think the the american fans is probably good for them as well like the american even like the casual fans that follow football but they only really see like say MLS and then the odd Champions League stuff but for them to like actually see what a World Cup when the whole world descends upon the UN for just this one tournament they're like holy like this this is crazy for them to see how much this like means to that many millions of people hello Ace yeah he's popped in there I don't know if you can see him where is he Acey bye hold your head up Ace come here he's not he's just hiding underneath for some reason and he's such a weirdo at times.

7:58Oh, there we go. He's up.

7:59Michael Timbs:He's up. Oy.

8:03Oh, no.

8:04Michael Timbs:Have I still got you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got me. You got me. You got me. Don't worry. What's happened? Did I go blank? There we go. There you go. You're fine. You're fine. But yeah, it's been so good. It's been so nice and refreshing to just see how much the cultures have melded into one and just the American normal people in random cities that would never be exposed to this many foreigners. And they need the American fans to be like, yo, soccer is huge. I think they love the chanting. They love the chanting. Every bar you're looking at. Was it the Londoner in Dallas that ran out of beer because the English drank them dry?

8:43And the Scots had drank something dry up in Boston?

8:47Michael Timbs:And they're like, wow, we don't even do this on St Paddy's Day, which is such a big thing out there. Yeah. There was one guy, I saw one, we'll get onto the football I promise by the way for people there was the one the one guy from I think it was somewhere in Boston where he's like and man those Scots they can drink holy I see that thing open at like opens at 11 and it was like 10.50 they started letting people in it was just a load of Scots came flying in straight to the bar and they're like it's 11 o 'clock you need to get battered but when you like everyone's on holiday as well like they're at a World Cup but they are on holiday so they're just they've not got work or anything they're just going for a good time exactly yeah it's so good I mean it'd be nice obviously for I still haven't seen a game I want to hopefully get one or two games next week when they're in New York and then somewhere else it'd be nice as well for you to go and get a game if your training schedule allows yeah it's a bit limited to a Sunday and it's just like it's the travel as well you're going to have to fly somewhere and then fly back out after the game it's just long but watch it on TV we have a couple of good places down in Denver they've got like it's called McGregor Square that's right near the baseball stadium the rocky stadium and that gets full and they're on a big screen and then they have one at skyline park which is like the clock tower in downtown and they have like turf little turf astroturf um five asides there as well so people sit on there watch the game and then they're playing footy at the breaks and stuff so that's that's a good little atmosphere yeah nice i saw i saw you put that i think you put it up on your instagram whatever like the maybe it was the opening ceremony whatever and i saw it there were loads of people it looks yeah that was the opening game the mexico game yeah i went down with the rapids to do like a little bit of promoting for it and the atmosphere was great.

10:23Everyone was just so happy and buzzing. There was taco stands and there was like beer flowing. It was great.

10:29Michael Timbs:Class. Right. England. I've got the top on. Yep. It's a very nice top. Retro. Is that a retro one? No, no, no. This is this year's. I think it's... Is that this year's red away one? Yeah. Yeah. With like the central. Yeah. Yeah. It's cool. It's the only one that actually fits because this is a medium. The home one is a medium but it fits like up here. Oh, yeah. You don't want that. child so um it was so i watched it at a petrol station that sold smash burgers on on a street corner here in manhattan unbelievable oh my gosh why did you watch it there was that like a planned thing or was it just no it was just it's just baby you know well yeah you'll be walking around in nick's gear soon as well oh don't you worry i've literally got a nick stop just oh my god he's changed he's changed but yeah so obviously an amazing game first half super nervy and almost just like typical England yeah amazing chances but also just like some lax defending and just stupid goals but then second half we were like I thought we were great value like it was a class second watch it was like second half yeah I had a feeling that Moosey was going to score I played against him because he plays at FC Dallas so I played against him once and then I think we played Dallas our last game before the world cup break and he didn't play because he was uh getting ready for the world cup uh so i knew like he'd be a bit of a handful and then he scored his goal so i was like there you go um but yeah england like set starting the game i thought yeah england england will score a few here and then the penalty and then the retake as well everyone's like misses it he's like oh england penalties world cup never works uh he gets the retake and buries it which i was surprised like i was surprised he even missed the first one because if anyone's taking a penalty on at the England team for me it's Kane he's just the best ball striker exactly and also like he's for Bayern there is no chance he's missing it and of course the first one for England in a new World Cup yeah maybe he was a little nervy you know like he wasn't as in the corner like normally he just whips it in the corner yeah so maybe he wasn't as in the corner as he normally does the second one was more like him it was like right committed I'm going there bang yeah and then yeah like the coming at like the game going 2-2 half time I'm thinking I feel like if we score they're just going to score but then the second half they were flying yeah what what who are you looking forward to see like because a lot was made of the um like selection by Tuchel because they missed out a few big players and stuff but who are you who are you excited to see in the barring Harry Kane I don't know Jude Bellingham whatever like who are you excited to watch you you've got your eye on your life honestly I've never really watched Elliot Anderson because I don't watch a lot of Forest games anyway through like last year and I heard all this hype about him and stuff so i was like i'd be interested to to watch him and like today he was he was a joke he was just like so like some of his first touches just away from pressure were good and like the way he was spraying the ball um yeah him and declan in the middle like what more do you want there is a center of two center mids yeah it gives it gives you that freedom just to run about in the 10 and like find the ball and pick it up and i like the subs as well because i was disappointed that Rashid didn't start because I was like he's had a hell of a year yeah so I was like thinking oh surely Rashford starts and then he went with Gordon and I was surprised he went with Madweke as well but he actually was really lively in the first half yeah really lively and obviously like as subs go like I think what was it it was Rodgers Saka and Rashid and you're going yeah it's frightening yeah and it's positive as well it's not like oh we're going to put on a new do set defensive mid or like could have bought on Henderson to like a bit of experience to see the game out but he's gone nah we'll just go we'll just replace the attackers put some fresh legs there and he showed you know like Rashi that chop and then the finish was great uh so yeah it's uh exciting times and like it was good for Bikai to get some minutes because I know he was carrying a bit of a knock right yeah I think he might still be as well like yeah I know they they talked before the tournament about like managing his minutes and stuff and we saw even in the running for the Prem he just wasn't like he was still good obviously because he sacks but he wasn't himself you know I mean like compared to when he's fresh yeah exactly so like and it's nice that like he knows he doesn't have the pressure of having to play every minute of every game yeah yeah and he could just build himself into the competition to the later rounds when we might need him to play a 90 minutes you know you know what I I do like our chances not that I think we have a better chance than we have in like i think we had better chances of like winning the tournament in previous years but it kind of did the second half did think like with the subs and just like we looked a lot freer and just kind of warmed into it a bit more yeah i thought we had a freedom yeah we did i was impressed i was impressed especially second half i was like oh right we are playing at a high intensity level and like we're going full belt like everyone's rapid as well like we've got such a fast team it was it was it was like a quick see spence see that like under lap run that he made just straight through the middle like not long after coming on yeah i was like i looked him and when i saw him running i was like oh spence in there spence is in here and then he just carried on going and going and going i was like oh my god he's through on goal he looked rapid i was like jeez just wait till he gets a thousand the chin strap thing off yeah wait till he gets the chin strap off as well weighing him down um right but last question for the world cup because you it's just i still want to talk about you but um the who who else are your your either team to watch dark horse or you think is is going to be the one to beat i said prior to the tournament i said turkey could have like a little but then like australia beat them 2-0 i just fancied like last euros and the young talent that they've got they might just start to click for them okay um and they did dominate the game they just got hit on the counter they got hit on the counter twice and Australia to be fair to them defended unbelievably like just defended the box till they put their bodies on the line you know but I did enjoy watching Norway as well yeah they look good Norway look good they've got solid players Zanderberg in the middle with obviously Martin and Harland up front it's always a problem and Oscar Bob they bring him off off the bench you know that's a hell of a player to bring on yeah no it's true also I think a very underrated thing about them is that the font of their letters is very like Norse.

16:55Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a nice touch. It's a nice touch.

16:58Michael Timbs:It's cool. It'll be like if the England's one was like Shakespearean writing almost. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is cool. I'm going to do that for the king. And then the fans rowing. Yeah, yeah. Doing like their Icelandic clap. They've got their row version of it, which is pretty cool. No, it's wicked. I saw people doing it on the escalator. I was like, that's hilarious. Yeah, it's so good. I mean we could talk about the World Cup forever but I won't keep you much longer we've got a few more minutes I have to mention I think the Arsenal fans watching which there will be a lot I have to mention obviously winning the league yeah I don't even spoke about that I saw you put up on your stories we were like so happy for the boys and stuff like firstly we did it we actually did it it was we were teasing teasing people for so many years and then to eventually get it over the line I did text Mikel actually I didn't really expect a response from him because I just know he would have got I said in the message like I went hi I still called him boss I was like hi boss and I was like I know you're probably getting a hundred messages but I couldn't help but be one of them and just say so happy for you the staff the players like what a journey it's been so proud so happy watching you guys finally lift the trophy and he did reply which I was like wow I didn't expect that and he just said yeah he was like thank you thanks rob um hope you're well uh you were a big part of like the first change when i came in and helping us and i was like i'll take that you know i'm just i'm glad he responded like it did it did mean a lot to me that he responded to the text but um yeah i was so happy for him and and the boys and ben white was comedy gold on the parade as usual so i'm so glad you picked up on that as well mate i mean obviously white he's gonna be funny like especially without a few beers in him he's hilarious oh mate he's so jokes firstly i have to say genuinely like and every arsenal fan will say the same thing like you were like mikhail of course he was going to reply to you though because you were like that first that first window of change that was like from when mikhail joined and you obviously felt it because you've been in you've been in the club for years at that point and just like it something drastic had to happen and obviously year on year you did feel like that change like was slowly getting there yeah and like another another person of that especially at the beginning yeah another person that like deserves mentioning would be granite xhaka for like how he how his football changed from like prior to arteta coming in to that arteta coming in and he literally was like arteta's tactical mind on the pitch was granite like he just understood the system and just knew what we needed and the way he played like the last two seasons that he had for us was unbelievable you know when he sort of set that standard so that's another person that i'm sure message i'm sure he would have messaged michael and spoke to him as well but um yeah it was it was nice just to get that little bit of a recognition i guess yeah for sure no 100 i'm sure in the same way that every arsenal fan like when we won the league on that tuesday night and we went to the emirates and just got drunk or when we went to the parade like yeah the way we feel like we deserve it because like we've put our heart and soul into it and like a bit of that premier league title is ours the same way i think you can feel about that as well and like so many same with granite and so many of those those lads and even emil and everyone were like yeah yeah you all played such important roles at different points that it did all accumulate to that so i think you will deserve a lot of credit yeah it was great watching it like watching that night when i was watching the game and then everyone was just at the end because it was like midday for us here so i'd like watch the game and then everyone was just heading to the stadium and I was like sat there watching just thinking this is insane.

20:40So I saw, I don't always say I got emotional. I grew up a United fan so I can't get too emotional about it. But I was like, yeah, I was, it was good to see like just every, all the Arsenal fans together celebrating rather than arguing because I've been through the years of like them arguing outside the stadium. So seeing them all popping flares and singing and dancing and having a good time celebrating was good to see. Yeah, unreal. Well, mate,

21:04Michael Timbs:thank you so much. Obviously, I know this has been a bit of a whirlwind chat but firstly thank you so much for doing this obviously I really appreciate it just as a friend but also as always amazing catching up with you I'm so glad the whole America thing is going well you actually have laid the foundations because now I'm following in your footsteps I'm soon going to be I knew this was going to happen as soon as the World Cup came here I thought everyone's going to want to move in now because they're going to realise how amazing it is here I wanted to move before the World Cup that is true that is true you told me last summer you were a planning on moving you're just waiting for some few things but still so thank you so much no I really do appreciate it obviously hope pre-season keeps going well you keep getting fit and I'm sure we'll catch up with you very soon and I personally will definitely catch up with you when I move here I'm definitely going to absolutely get out to Denver it's not too far yeah mate 100 % I'm flying to San Diego tomorrow and it's like oh hop skipping a jump you couldn't be 6 hours yeah you couldn't be any more further away you're totally diagonal from like the northeast to the southwest how how many hours is denver from new york four yeah i'd say it's about four denver's pretty good because it's pretty central like you can fly i think down to la is like two two and a bit hours and then like new york is obviously a bit more but like florida i went to nashville and that was like a three two and a half three hours so it's pretty central it's good i'll make sure it's not a long flight i'll bring my golf clubs i bring my football boots and we'll Oh, yeah, we'll get up to Arrowhead or Bear Dance for some real nice courses.

22:36Michael Timbs:Please, nothing will make me happier. Rob, my boy, thank you so much, as always. Appreciate it, mate. Thank you so much. You're a legend.

22:43Rob Holding:Well, that was a delight, and not just because I wasn't involved, but you're not getting out of this World Cup Daily that easily. You're still getting a headline, stock rising, stock falling. So, Timsy, fresh off your world-class interviewing moment there with Rob, you have to dive right back into being asked inane questions uh from an inane format by me so

23:04Michael Timbs:you owe us a headline okay a headline uh england worried but now actually confident so

23:17Rob Holding:england comma worried comma now confident it's we'll let the sub the sub editor figure it out

23:22Michael Timbs:yeah it was for me it felt very similar to the France game in the big expectations obviously two very like talented teams and the the first half just kind of felt very typically England obviously like massive expectations we started quite well and quite brightly that there are a few question marks with the starting lineup and the kind of selection with nonny starting right wing for example um but i i i wasn't i wasn't angry about it and i think even within the first five ten minutes nonny got quite a lot of joy and looked threatening um but but after that that phase that maybe 10 15 minute phase and obviously we got the goal which was a decent bit of play for nonny to get in front of luca modric and then obviously put the penalty away but it it never felt like or or looked like we were comfortable and that we could use that lead as a way of like asserting ourselves it was just it almost felt like what Arsenal what we did for the last six weeks two months of the season where we could never we never felt like we could just get that extra goal apart from the Fulham game get that extra goal to really just settle the nerves and and put us clear and it felt like that it was a bit of a frustrating first half a bit like obviously with the the front the french fans must feel with the the france team yeah but then the second half like with france the i think the quality shone through it was toujours probably had a a word to say at halftime and just kick us up the bum a little bit and then after that i think we were good value and looked threatening and the subs that we brought on were it just made you realize like no England is a very talented side like we do have a lot of good players to bring on Rashford, Saka and Rodgers just for whoever it's a bit unfair when Croatia is still playing 40 year olds so I was very happy in the end with the result and maybe we were a little bit hasty after the first half to think oh typical England second half was more the England that we're kind of used to seeing and yeah really happy about that so that'll be my long long long headline.

25:39Rob Holding:yeah well i'm no i get it i mean ollie watkins saka rashford morgan rogers ebrecha eza kobe mainu gay he spent's kwanza burn or whatever say where does that team finish in the world cup like it's a team that challenges for it certainly yeah that's the bench that's not even the whole

26:02Michael Timbs:bench you know yeah so exactly yeah incredible like there yeah we we have obviously have amazing depth and like i actually think i was chatting to my my good friend today he's a palace fan and he was the one who was telling me about about ese and elise back in the day and i think that ese has has the potential to have a really important role in this england side where we've seen how much depth actually makes a difference coming off the bench and having options off the bench and he's still in this team has a different selection of attributes that just others don't have that he can unlock these things.

26:38Michael Timbs:And I really hope that he can have a big part to say in this World Cup, because I think against better opposition, where some of the other, like Rashford, for example, bringing him on, great. And he's had a good season for Barcelona, but he was going up against kind of a not rock solid Croatia back line when we were kind of already on the on the front foot but against a better side I think he might struggle whereas someone like Eze who's proven this season for example that he can genuinely make a difference in a game he can be a game changer and I think against better opposition say we get into the later knockout stages and we play a Germany or a France or a Spain we're going to need players like him and I think I think and I hope

27:26Rob Holding:that he has a big part to play for us yeah i agree uh question for you the penalty having to be retaken yeah it does seem a bit unfair that you can stutter run up and then the keeper has to stand there like a stone i mean if you do a stutter run up run up i almost feel like the keeper should get free rating and go when he goes yeah i guess it is but i guess the

27:48Michael Timbs:the the rules are the rules i don't and i'm never this sort of person i'm like a stickler for the rules i always like you are now yeah i'm now i've got an english your kick game is excellent in general by the way thanks mate thank you um but the they are the rules and as much as i obviously want like a free-flowing thing and i'm like it's never that serious just play on even though it was an inch maybe that he was off the line like that is the rule i get it so i wasn't i wasn't i i felt i did feel bad because like the human in me is like come on man it doesn't make that much

28:23Rob Holding:just to be clear when declan rice tapped that ball two inches away after the whistle and he got sent off you were saying that's the rule i'm sorry right of course you are timsey right you were definitely saying that's the rule you've got me there you've absolutely stumped me there

28:37Michael Timbs:see that is it's it's um it's a revealing moment when you when your your true biases get exposed for everyone to see. Rules are rules. You've done it in front of me. I'm going, yeah, I am really biased. It's okay. It's okay.

28:51Rob Holding:So I'll give you a headline, which is an England win with Arsenal DNA. And I mean, first of all, Nani Medueke, who I thought was excellent, created the penalty that creates the first goal. The second goal is a Declan Rice corner kick delivery. The third goal is a Bakayo Saka assist laid on a plate for Rashford. He probably could have had a second and Saka looked like he was playing in first and a half gear at best and could have created two goals. And weirdly, to your point about bias, I don't hear a lot of England fans saying set-piece goals shouldn't count anymore. Just one of those weird, weird things.

29:24Rob Holding:And it's funny, I was messaging a friend as Declan Rice was taking the corner that Kane heads in. I was texting a friend, they should let Nani take in swingers. Why is Rice taking out swingers from the right? And then of course they get the goal. But much as there was Arsenal DNA on this in a positive way, I think there was Arsenal DNA in some of the ways that frustrated us. There were times when England couldn't string passes together. There was not a lot of play through midfield. This was a lot of hit and hope, a lot of hoofball at times. They would hoof the ball at the pitch, win a second ball.

29:54Rob Holding:But much like Arsenal, too physical, too athletic, too quick to recover the ball, too much for Croatia to deal with. When the ball went in the box, too many players who were capable of winning their 1v1s and second balls. And so, you know, Nani Mdweki pushing and running past people. I don't know that I love a lot of the football that was played by England in building play but that's been kind of a theme of the World Cup a lot of long balls chased down a lot of very direct play not a lot of build up through the midfield and I have to say today made me appreciate David Raya a lot because oh honestly Jordan Pickford cannot pass the ball and it makes you realize how much stress that puts on the defenders and how much easier it is to press and push a team back i also thought england sunk too deep off the ball at times with low ball pressure and however good england are if they're gonna let better teams at some point in this tournament just have the ball under no pressure 25 yards out from goal with 11 england players sitting almost in a straight line top of the box they're gonna ship goals so some things to work on there i i

30:56Michael Timbs:agree i think england have come unstuck a few times like that as well like even against croatia in 2018 for example like we scored the goal and they're just it almost froze yeah and i think you need to be it's easier obviously for a domestic like a club side to work on these things and like when arsenal do it it's not ideal but we're not really worried because we go look we whenever we just get men back our shape is so good and rock solid we we know we're probably not going to concede whereas when it comes to the internationals like i think you're running much more of a risk just because you're not going to naturally you're not going to have the same chemistry and the same understanding with that back four with the second bank of four how all of those kind of players fill spaces and and rotate in the right way like it's just really hard and i think yeah you're right against a better spain for example even though they didn't have a great first game like they're going to warm into the tournament and like their ability on the ball will eventually like I don't like the idea of if we score early and we spend 85 minutes just sat I'm not confident

32:06Rob Holding:if we do that against the Spain no you can't let Spain have 95 percent possession and all of it 25 yards out from goal like eventually they're going to find something but this is the funny thing about England you you're you're not sure they played the best football the whole time and then you look and you say 22 shots 3.2 expected goals could have been 5 6 7 uh there were some incredible saves so look a good start anytime you get four goals and you win your opening game in the tournament you're in you're in good you're in good shape pain's inevitable so yeah yeah even for england he's inevitable don't understand the need to bring jed spence on but that's just me okay um how about you give us one more quick headline one more quick headline ghana scenes

32:47Michael Timbs:my headlines are punchy today i'm not gonna go too ghana comma scenes like it ghana scenes uh last minute winner, you know. No, amazing stuff. My friend flew to Toronto today to watch that game. He actually invited me and I could have gone, but I wouldn't have been able to get back in time to fly tomorrow. So, I'm a little bit annoyed I missed that because that is just a proper World Cup result.

33:15Rob Holding:I love it. It's just... Ghana are World Cup heritage in general. They just are, man. 100%. Yeah. 100%. They've given the United States some trouble too, by the way.

33:24Michael Timbs:they're a bad part of our history yeah and just like the the even the scenes are in the stadium last minute winners are always great but like seeing a team like Ghana and they've got like a really dangerous side as well obviously like Semenyo is obviously a great player but they have great players in their side and seeing them score in the last minute and the the the fans in the stadium going bonkers just felt really good it was like it wrapped up a really nice uh yeah world cup day actually i know there was a final final uh fixture there there's a fixture going on