WORLD CUP DAY 2: C'mon Scotland!! USA look good

0:02Gregor Robertson: Checking out online? Apple Pay makes it simple. When you tap the Apple Pay button, you can review your card information and shipping details. Need to make a change? Just tap to update your details before you pay. Then, all that's left, simply authenticate your purchase with Face ID to check out in seconds. Make online shopping a breeze with Apple Pay. Hey, Yetis. This is Nick and Jack from the Best One Yet podcast. Now, the last company we worked at, they used Paylocity and everything just worked. It wasn't until launching our own media business, this show, that we realized how rare that is. Because Paylocity is one delicious burrito of operational needs.

0:45They roll up HR, finance, and IT seamlessly into one delicious bite. And everything wraps together like that all at once, your workforce, your tech stack, your business. You don't need more tools. You don't even need cilantro. You need one solution. And that is why Paylocity built a single platform to connect HR, finance, and IT with AI-driven insights and automated workflows that simplify the complex and power what's next. Or as we call it, a delicious operational burrito. Yes, we do. Experience a one place for all your HCM needs, besties. So start now at paylocity.com slash one. Paylocity.com slash O-N-E.

1:28Hello and welcome to the Game Football Podcast from the Times and Sunday Times. This is day two of our daily World Cup shows. Your essential, essential daily briefing, catching you up on what's happened in the World Cup overnight and previewing the action that is to come. I'm Tom Clark and joining me today, there could only be one man, because we are going to preview Scotland against Haiti, so it has to be my old pal, the former footballer turned journalist Gregor Robertson. Gregor, good morning. Good morning, Tom. 6.27, it's just gone. You've just woken up. I've been up all night. How are you feeling?

2:03Refreshed? Ready to join a slightly manic-looking colleague down the line? I'm feeling great. Yeah, I mean, the real question is how you're feeling. I feel good. I feel good. I'm buoyed by an exciting night of editing, a good night of football. And I think we have to start with USA's big win, a 4-1 win against Paraguay. We were just chatting before. you've caught up with the highlights but I can tell you it was a very very impressive performance from Mauricio Pochettino's side it made me think of the show we recorded with Alison Rudd the two of us just before the World Cup kicked off and I think I made a mention of the idea that these World Cups we often see players that we've seen before and heard of before and that maybe we're familiar with and that big tournaments suddenly produce some of the best performances they've ever done in their lives and that was the usa performance i thought for 90 minutes you had antin robinson bombing down the left wing looking like roberto carlos tyler adams in midfield looking like moises caicedo tim ream strutting about at the back age 38 looking like franz beckenbauer honestly like every single one of them pulisic even though he only played a half and we'll come on to that in a second but like every single player to a man western mckenny as well he's a player I've seen a couple of times in European football as well, he was brilliant dominating the ball front foot honestly it just felt like a moment when all the doubts and everything that has been thrown at Pochettino, you know he's not worth the money he's not got this team playing it was the archetypal perfect host nation performance that like honestly it was amazing to watch.

3:41And by the looks

3:42Gregor Robertson: of it Florian Balogun who's another whose name would have possibly crossed the Premier League followers Bow once of Arsenal but he was one of those players who left to go abroad young to get more opportunities and he's made a real name for him in Ligue 1 with Monaco and his second goal in particular was an absolute beauty Yeah a brilliant goal and I mean one of those goals where you're watching it going oh my god he's going to score this oh my god and the move as well like coming from right to left across the back and then breaking the lines I mean Paraguay weren't great in the first half they improved in the second you know I was speaking to Pete Rutzler our reporter at the ground during this game and I chatted to him at half time and I said look we're gonna have to change our plan entirely here this could be six or seven nil Paraguay improved in the second half locked things down they got a goal back Gio Reyna produced a brilliant finish for the USA to kind of as as Pete said put the cherry on top of this brilliant performance but you know so 3-1 would have been slightly different but that aside it was still an amazing amazing performance and and Pochettino afterwards was talking about you know this is what we've been building towards you know he looked so chuffed so so chuffed and pretty relieved I think underneath it all you know this was a big big moment for him big moment for this team you know this amazing stadium I mean goodness me we are seeing some absolutely unbelievable stadiums Tom Alnott talking on yesterday's show about the the glory of the Azteca obviously this is a very different stadium very modern but you're just looking at some of these wide-angle shots on the telly from my living room at daft o 'clock in the morning thinking wow and you know the camera panning and i'm enjoying this feature i don't know whether you've noticed on any of the games you have been watching obviously we've only had four so far happened with canada as well the u.s networks the fevered desperation to put celebrities on screen at all times yeah and i'm many of whom you don't know oh certainly i don't yeah i'm really i'm really enjoying as well you can hear the cogs whirring in the British commentator's mind going, Christ, I know that's someone famous.

5:45Bloody hell. It happened in the Canada game when I think Mike Myers came on screen and there was just silence. And you could tell they were sat there going, who's that? Who's that? Isn't that the Austin Powers bloke? And I mean, it happened in this game as well, the USA game. It was just celeb after celeb after celeb. So it's a big deal. This was a big deal for Poch and a great, great performance. And I don't know about you.

6:07Gregor Robertson: Good for the host nation. Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. I mean, there'd be people, you know, America are under the spotlight for many, many reasons, you know, coming into this World Cup. America's a nation, but America's a football team. And Pochettino, you know, whether you think this is the right kind of move or approach or not, he's tried very much to separate the football team and what's going on in the country. And, you know, America as a nation and as a host country. and I think we've seen enough in this game for American fans to be excited about I mean Balogun running behind there they've got Ampouosic the dynamism of McKennie and Adams as you say Robinson, Buccaneer and down the left they've got a lot of pace and energy in the team so yeah I think a lot of people have got a bit of fondness for Mauricio Pochettino as well and I think it would be a good thing for the US team to have an air of positivity for as much of the tournament as possible.

7:13Yeah, Dest, another one. He looked like Cafu bombing down the right wing as well. It was remarkable stuff. I'm really enjoying Mauricio Potosino's look at the minute as well. He looks a little bit like kind of Russell Crowe's better-looking younger brother. It's really kind of slightly off-putting, but I'm really enjoying it. And I do agree with you. I think these tournaments, whether they're European Championships or World Cups, they really really come alive in the opening stages when a host nation gets off to a good start you know I think about being at the World Cup in South Africa they didn't really deliver despite that shabalala moment that everyone talks about but you think of other great tournaments that people have enjoyed down the years you know 2002 Korea were a great team in that tournament a bit of a surprise and so I think the Team USA having a good tournament will make a big difference there was a funny social clip I don't know whether you've seen it doing the rounds of the US President Donald Trump sending a message of good luck and Pochettino's listening to it and chatting to him on the phone and Tim Ream is sat next to him and he could not look more awkward he could not look more like he's thinking this isn't a great look for me this isn't a great look for me but yeah so it'll be interesting to see whether Donald Trump makes an appearance at what stage now that the Team USA have got off to a great start talking about hosts we should also talk about co-hosts we've got to remember this we can't get wrapped up in the American fever Canada got off to a decent start I thought in this game against Bosnia earlier on I'm sure listeners probably did catch this one a really fun game this I know I'm the man who's trying to watch every single game so I'm prone to delusions at this point but I thought this was a good fun game and a good example of something that again we talked about in the preview shows of maybe where you've got one team who are pretty solid and are playing for set pieces and another team that are prepared to play a bit more expansively and it being a bit of a culture clash.

9:02What did you make of it?

9:03Gregor Robertson: I thought this was a really good game, yeah. I think Canada looked quite exciting. They play really fast and aggressive football. They created chances and they've got a lot of talent. I mean, the player who kind of came off the bench and made the biggest impact was Kyle Lahren, of course, who listeners to the AFL podcast, one that was spoken about because of his second half of the season at Southampton. He had a really big impact. I remember one game in particular when they smashed Rex on 5-1 and he was unplayable in that game. I think that was in February. So he came on and scored within two minutes, of course, and he had a great chance to score a winner at the end as well.

9:42Gregor Robertson: It was a really impressive block denied him. But you can think to yourself, they must have a decent team to keep him out of the team. And they do. I've got Jonathan David from Juventus, Uluweyesi and Dejan Buchanan from Villarreal even Ali Ahmed someone who made a big, big impact after joining Norwich City in January I think from Toronto he came on and made a bit of an impact too Liam Miller's another who will be playing in the Premier League next season with Hall City they've got some exciting attacking players and I think they were a bit unfortunate not to win this game I think Jesse Marsh said that afterwards we know Jesse Marsh from his time at Leeds of course and that kind of high pressing aggressive intense football is what this team is going to be about and he thought they kind of didn't really do themselves justice in the first half but in the second half for minute one you saw a change and they really were in the faces of the Bosnia team and as I say I think they were unfortunate enough to win so there's a kind of interesting quote I heard that if Canada have to win the group to play in their home nation again, moving forward, so that's a big dangling carrot.

11:02Gregor Robertson: It won't be easy for them. But from what I saw, I think Canada looked quite impressive. Yeah, I liked Ismail Kone in midfield as well. I think he could be a player that you could see impressing as the tournament goes on. I thought as well, for listeners who maybe we recorded last night's show, yesterday's show with Pete Rutzler and Tom Olnutt just before the South Korea game and for anyone who missed that Canada Bosnia was very very similar you had Bosnia and Czech Republic both being quite similar sounds almost a bit like a stereotype but of European teams with very experienced players towards the end of their careers being very very solid and playing for set pieces and throw-ins and crosses into the box South Korea looked very very good really really attacking played lots and lots of lovely football um so similar to canada but they just found a way to get a goal uh huang in boom in midfield i'm telling you now what a lovely tidy little midfielder he is he got the equalizing goal with a very very clever check back and chip but he really ran the show in midfield so keep an eye out for him um in terms of other stories overnight gregor it's good news for scotland again have you seen this go on england england it's all fallen apart not only of Scotland excited but England it's all falling apart yeah Matt Lawton reporting on the Times website now I thought the security had been ramped up you know to kind of ridiculous levels what happened yeah no England's World Cup party has been a victim of a theft Matt Lawton reporting training kits stolen whilst the party was on the move in transit from the pre-camp in Florida obviously all the players and the coaching staff they fly over but the FA as Hamza was talking about in the Big England preview a few weeks ago They always move in big, big truckloads of stuff.

12:47The FA, we believe, is still trying to determine what has been stolen and staff are liaising with local police. Two arrests have been made. But it could leave England scrambling for kit. There are other reports that players' boots have gone missing, that footballs have been taken as well. You're laughing, understandably so. I mean, you're Scottish. Why wouldn't you be laughing? But it's not ideal preparation for England. At least they do have four more days to prepare. I'm sure they could.

13:13Gregor Robertson: If it's the day of the game or the night before the game, you know, you're scrambling for boots. That's a real kind of, that is a real story. I would be pulling my hair out. But yeah, I think they've got time to probably muster up what they need before they kick off against Croatia. I'm really liking the idea of, you know, pictures emerging over the next couple of days of England players just in a queue outside a sports shop somewhere in Kansas, desperately trying to pick up some kit before the next game and Thomas Tuchel with a bag of balls. but Matt Lawton will be keeping you updated on that story on the Times website as it progresses just a little bit of added news to the USA factor Gregor Pete Rutzler's just filed into my inbox a quote from Mirosho Pochettino talking about Christian Pulisic I mentioned it there in passing USA star, he's very much seen as the poster boy he's a player that we know as well in English circles as well but we've not necessarily seen the best of him he is very much seen as the poster boy in America he was taken off at half time potential worries about an injury but Pochettino has said that Pulisic received a kick two days before today in training I hope it's not a big issue but when he finished the first half when it started to get cold he could not walk I hope that it's not a big issue that was so rushed because in the last minute we needed to change or do the substitution but now I think it was better and I hope he will be available for the next game having played the game yourself you know starting to get cold and can't walk is that a good sign or is that you know should usa fans be a bit worried about that it doesn't sound great to me if he says it's a knock and it's something that would seize up to that extent you kind of your mind thinks it might be a dead leg which can be really really painful and difficult to as he says once you sort of cool cool down a little bit and start to stiffen up then it can be really really painful so that's the only thing that might be an issue but I think if it's a knock then usually you can do something to to get yourself out on that pitch and I'm sure Christian Poulos will be doing everything he can yeah absolutely Peter Rutter as well should say that he's also going to be writing a piece all about Pochettino about how this was his big defining moment you can read that and his match report on the Times website now Gregor we're talking a little little break but come back I'm excited for the preview coming up it's the first time we're going to get four games in a 12-hour stretch it's going to really help me get through these night shifts and because we have the big one Haiti against Scotland to preview we'll find out what Greg has got to say and how his nerves are just after the break

15:52Gregor Robertson: checking out online Apple Pay makes it simple when you tap the Apple Pay button you can review your card information and shipping details. Need to make a change? Just tap to update your details before you pay. Then, all that's left, simply authenticate your purchase with Face ID to check out in seconds. Make online shopping a breeze with Apple Pay. Hey, Yetis, this is Nick and Jack from the Best One Yet podcast. Now, the last company we worked at, they used Paylocity and everything just worked. It wasn't until launching our own media business, this show, that we realized how rare that is. Because Paylocity is one delicious burrito of operational needs.

16:36They roll up HR, finance, and IT seamlessly into one delicious bite. When everything wraps together like that all at once, your workforce, your tech stack, your business, you don't need more tools. You don't even need cilantro. You need one solution. And that is why Paylocity built a single platform to connect HR, finance, and IT with AI-driven insights and automated workflows that simplify the complex and power what's next. Or as we call it, a delicious operational burrito. Yes, we do. Experience a one place for all your HCM needs, besties. So start now at paylocity.com slash one. Paylocity.com slash O-N-E.

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17:49Welcome back to the Game Football Podcast from The Times and Sunday Times. these are our daily world cup shows we're into day two day three god knows gregor at this point i'm already a bit delirious you're about to get delirious as well it's nearly it's nearly time it's nearly time technically it's christmas day right because even though you've got how long have you got i mean nearly a full day until scotland kick off against haiti and technically it is tomorrow you ain't going to bed you're going you're not going back to bed now are you

18:17Gregor Robertson: no no no it is a bit mind-bending you know when you you think you're scotlander player on sunday a while back you thought okay Sunday night even if it wasn't 2M you still sort of associate that with Sunday night but it's not is it so yes I'm going to be joining you in the sleep deprivation stakes tonight and it is a great day of football I mean Brazil and Morocco before that as well should be a cracker too yeah I mean I honestly genuinely think I was talking to my wife Amy about this and she was like right so you've got the four games right and I was like yeah yeah yeah because you know we've been watching the first one 8 o 'clock on telly together and I was like tomorrow you might want to stick something on the telly and I'll watch this one on a laptop Qatar v Switzerland but listen Switzerland are always exciting they are yeah will be wanting to improve their performance of the last World Cup so you never know but that's at eight o 'clock then I've just done the World Cup newsletter Gregor everyday time subscribers can get bespoke information into their inboxes we've got diary reports from people out on the ground Paul Hurst has written a beautiful piece about falling in love with the Greyhound bus system which is about the most Paul Hurst piece you could ever read I think he's probably the only man out there and yes he is from Yorkshire who could start a piece talking about I can't believe I got on the Greyhound bus system and then by the end of it he absolutely loves the Greyhound bus system but there's lovely stuff in there anyway each day Gregor I've been tasked with picking my match of the day and this one I couldn't choose because as much as I am absolutely buzzing for Haiti against Scotland I really really am I'm so excited for you I'm going to be cheering you on Brazil Morocco all my days that is in terms of World Cup openers World Cup opening games in the first couple of days that's about as good as it gets isn't it yeah yeah I look I mean for the neutral uh this is the game of the day there's no doubt um Martin Samuel's sort of preview was really getting getting me in the mood as well and sort of a reminder of the aura of Carlo Ancelotti and the calmness he brings in this little nugget that Casemiro was quoted as talking about in the piece about one of their early games when he needed to win to qualify and I think it was a tight game in the first half and he came in at half time and he said listen guys, I'm going for a smoke, there was a lot of commotion in the changing room, he's like listen guys, I'm just going for a smoke, I'll come back and then we'll know what to do.

20:43Gregor Robertson: And they all just kind of looked around at each other like okay, so there's this sort of calmness that he exudes and that may not be a bad thing for Brazil when you consider the sort of frenzy around the nation and Martin did a great job of sort of transmitting that frenzy even at their training base the level of attention from the media, there was a media room that said there should only be 40 people and he thought there was probably three times that number in the media room just all the people trying to turn out content and just he was watching them kind of doing their flicks and tricks and training and all that kind of stuff so yes, a World Cup when Brazil arrive means the World Cup has arrived and Morocco as well, their opponents I think could give them a really good game a team packed with talent as well that's the thing absolutely I'm building it up, it'll probably be 0-0 but it could be a cracker it could be, yeah I've said before this isn't the Brazil of old Ancelotti factor is fascinating it's also going to be fascinating the way they try and utilise their attacking resources I think Vinicius Junior has been playing as the striker but the striker who roams and then you've got Rafinha, Cunha and Martinelli behind them, we've got Igor Thiago to call upon but they're missing a few players as I said they struggled in qualifying so yes, although this is still Brazil it's not the Brazil of old and Morocco are a rising force and we saw that in the African Cup of Nations we saw that in Qatar as I said in a recent podcast they won the under 20 World Cup last year they've now got that manager in charge it was a kind of recent change at the helm and they've got some great talent so yeah I don't think it's going to be a goalless draw, I think there's going to be a lot of attacking talent on the pitch and I think we might well see some goals.

22:37Yeah, we've not had a goal this draw yet. Only four games. We've not had one yet. Lots of red cards though. Lots of red cards though, yes. We did mention that on yesterday's show. But yeah, quite remarkable some of those red cards I've got to say even though Tom Allnott calmed me down about them by the end including the great line which I don't know whether you heard. You can't go around slapping people Tom which I thought was, you know, just kind of really set the stall out. And I'll probably fold in your line from about Carlo Ancelotti. I'm going for a smoke and then we'll work out what to do.

23:04So there's nice little kind of motifs and one-liners to keep me grounded on this show. Speaking of Martin Samuel, he is going to be at Brazil against Morocco, reporting on that big game. I was having a chat with him last night. Gregor, he'd been in a restaurant, nice Italian in New York. He'd been having a nice bit of food. He was saying that maybe in New York, perhaps understandably with the Knicks, World Cup fever hasn't kicked in yet. He said he was about the only person in this restaurant watching the USA game. and whilst I was on the phone too I heard his limoncello spritz arrive so there you go I'm there drinking my fourth I'm there drinking my fourth cup of tea on the phone in the middle of the night to Martin Samuel who's out there on the streets of New York having a limoncello spritz in an Italian restaurant just the different approaches to this World Cup ladies and gentlemen but listen Martin will be producing no doubt a brilliant match report from that big game Gregor before we finish with the big one I think I've got a follow-up question Do you think I'm going to be the only person in the world Who stays up after Scotland And watches Australia Turkey at 5 o 'clock in the morning The only person in England

24:10Gregor Robertson: No I've got a lot of Aussies in England And that's another interesting game Another really interesting game You're going to have a lot of party in Scottish people If you get a win A lot of people wanting to carry on the party I hope Come on let's watch Turkey It's great let's do it no look that should be another really interesting game Australia got some some really exciting new young talent and Turkey as we saw in the Euros are like an absolute joy to watch so that could be a cracker as well absolutely but look I think it all depends on how the real big one goes Scotland yes how are we gonna do the real big one so come on then where we at we've done just The excitement levels are getting really, they're spiking now.

24:55Gregor Robertson: I mean, everyone's seen this. I'm sure all the listeners have seen this. McTominay, Trainspotting, Neapolitan mashup advert by Adidas. It's an absolute joy that was to watch. And I've watched that about a hundred times. It's so good, isn't it? And so then the story about McTominay travelling separately because of an illness, you know, sent fear through the hearts of millions of Scots. But it sounds like he's going to be ready to play. We need McTominay, McSauce. so yes I'm really really excited and as I said in previous shows I just want us to go for it I read David Moyes' column as well talking about his kind of times watching Scotland as part of the Tartan army before his coaching career which was all great nostalgia but he also made a really sort of a point that made me check myself a little bit about sometimes the brave thing, you know I'm saying let's be brave everyone's saying be brave, sometimes the brave thing to do is to pick a team that will be unpopular and he's he thinks you know maybe actually going 4-4-2 and chucking everything forward playing McTominay slightly deeper is not the thing to do he was alluding to that anyway and he was he was saying that he thinks Steve Clark will be brave enough to do do that if he thinks it's the right thing to do so you know Moyes made me to check my giddiness a little bit there in that column uh and I understood his point but I feel this is just slightly different because it's so it's so clear-cut we have to win this game ideally convincingly and we have to do everything in our power to do so.

26:33But to Moyes' point though it is you know we're all desperate for a McTominay hat-trick and you know parties in the streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh until the early hours and things but like you've got to play the other side of it and you lose 1-0 to Haiti is like that's disaster that's that's Scottish disaster for till the end of time you know Cecile your daughter's not going to put her Scotland kit back on if you leave 1-0 to Haiti so like beat them 2-1 get the win get the three points job done I know everyone wants a 3-0 win but there is that other side to things and that would be a disaster I mean are there any nerves getting into it you sound confident I was I thought you'd be now day of a bit nervous and worried but you sound confident

27:17Gregor Robertson: Of course I'm nervous I'm a Scotland fan I've seen this movie before But the excitement vastly outweighs the nerves Because we are better than Haiti And we need to show that And we can talk about formations and stuff Till the cows come home That's not what really it's about It's about our approach And our mindset And our attitude going into this game and that's what I have confidence about I feel like something the players are fully aware after their experiences in two Euros and reaching a World Cup for the first time in 28 years what this game in isolation means and what they have to do so I think that will be transmitted in their performance I don't think they're going to freeze I think they have gleaned a lot of experience as a unit and there's some players who play on the highest stage and have done so for many many years so I'm confident, I'm not confident that we're going to win, I'm confident that we're going to go into it and trying to do the right thing and I haven't been confident in the past as I said before, I've often felt that we're going in trying not to lose this is Scotland versus Haiti we're going in, we're definitely going to be trying to win Go on then, give us a prediction, you know I was going to ask you you could see me looking at you I was knew I was going to say it three nil three nil there we go I'm going to one I think it'll be nervy I think it'll be a late John McGinn winner I think it could be nervy but I think Scotland will get it done let's hope they do it's another brilliant day of football to come we hope that's worked as your daily briefing to get catch you up on what's happened overnight and get you excited for the day to come as Gregor mentioned there make sure you go and read David Moyes's exclusive column on the Times website Gregor Robertson thank you very much for joining me listeners tune in tomorrow to find out whether greg is so overjoyed that he joins me for the next podcast at 4 15 in the morning or whether he's so heartbroken that we never hear from him again one way or another i will be here though and i hope you'll join me too we'll see you then

29:36hey yetis this is nick and jack from the best one yet podcast now the last company we worked at they used Paylocity and everything just worked. It wasn't until launching our own media business, this show, that we realized how rare that is. Because Paylocity is one delicious burrito of operational needs. They roll up HR, finance, and IT seamlessly into one delicious bite. And everything wraps together like that all at once, your workforce, your tech stack, your business. You don't need more tools. You don't even need cilantro. You need one solution. And that is why Paylocity built a single platform to connect HR, finance, and IT with AI-driven insights and automated workflows that simplify the complex and power what's next.

30:14Or as we call it, a delicious operational burrito. Yes, we do. Experience a one place for all your HCM needs, besties. So start now at paylocity.com slash one. Paylocity.com slash O-N-E.

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