Hour 1: Lukas Weese, The Athletic Soccer Reporter

0:00Lukas Weese:As soccer takes center stage this summer, Comcast helps bring the experience home to America. As the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the U.S., Telemundo is set to present its most expansive coverage ever. 700 hours of programming, live on-site presence at all 104 matches, and with multi-view and real-time 4K, Xfinity will deliver the most innovative and immersive sports viewing experience for fans watching on Telemundo, Peacock, Fox, and FS1. Learn more at ComcastCorporation.com. Fourth of July savings are happening now at the Home Depot with select appliances starting at$398.

0:35Lukas Weese:Plus, get free delivery on appliance purchases of$398 or more, no membership required. Upgrade your kitchen with a modern and sleek GE profile refrigerator featuring hands-free autofill for the perfect pour every time. And make laundry day easier with two-in-one washer-dryer combo innovation that completes laundry in about 90 minutes. Shop top brand appliances now at the Home Depot. Offer valid June 17th to July at the U.S. only C-Store online for details. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody. Can't get enough of the Rich Eisen Show? You're in luck. You can find us everywhere. Watch us weekdays on Disney Plus from noon to 3 Eastern.

1:14Lukas Weese:Miss the show? We've got a podcast so you can listen anytime. But here's the best part. Our YouTube channel. Subscribe at youtube.com slash Rich Eisen Show and you'll never miss a moment. Now, on with the show. Oh my God, you guys are my favorites. This is The Rich Eisen Show. Rich Eisen. I know what I'm talking about. That's the headline. The Rich Eisen Show. With guest host, Dan Schwartzman. I mean, honestly, he's brilliant. He's a poet. Dan Schwartzman. Oh my gosh. Live from The Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And now, sitting in for Rich, it's Dan Schwartzman.

2:06Lukas Weese:And it is a beautiful Wednesday here. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich Eisen. No, I was not invited to Taylor Swift's wedding, so you got to bring the B team in when it comes to days like today. And that is me. Great to be in the big seat yet again. So much to get into. Obviously, World Cup continues. The disappointment of USA soccer. We'll get into that. We'll break it all down a bit later on the show, but there's one thing that continues to irk me when it comes to sports today. No, it's not the Yankee bats. No, it's not the fact that while baseball is prospering, we are heading to an inevitable lockout.

2:41Lukas Weese:No, it's not that my Jets are probably in for another terrible season, and I have no idea if Geno Smith's going to be the quarterback. There's a lot going on in sports, but one thing continues to just stay at the top of my mind. And let me preface by saying this. the gentleman we are going to discuss is somebody I respect highly. In fact, I will sit here and argue with you about his greatness any day of the week. And I do think he's right up there with Michael Jordan in terms of who's the greatest, who's number two. We are, of course, talking about LeBron James. And why am I mentioning a guy who's like 41 years old, a guy that has played 23 years, has cemented his status as an absolute legend, all-time great generational talent a good guy by the way he's not getting in trouble arrested being caught at places he shouldn't be at things like that right but there's one thing about LeBron James that continues to rub me wrong and that's where I want to start today so he's gonna play one more year look if anybody thinks that LeBron is gonna to be out there playing another two three four years whatever it may be that's not the case it's not going to happen he's going to play one more year and i understand he wants to find that perfect situation where he potentially can lift that championship trophy one more time before he rides off into the sunset again having cemented his legacy as potentially the greatest of all time if not the greatest in your book he's probably number two behind michael jordan completely understandable and we could sit here for days upon days and argue who's truly the greatest the stats or the rings the unbeaten championship record or a guy that's taken teams that probably had no business going to championship being in there these are all the arguments we can make literally over the course of days talking about who's really greater but who cares there's no question lebron's one of the greatest of all time but there's that little thing called ego when it comes to LeBron that continues to bother me.

4:47Lukas Weese:And the fact that it seems to always be about him. We know that when he did that decision show, while it raised money for charity, it was bad optics, right? Very few people thought it was a good look to sit there with Jim Gray and do the whole, you know, run up to where he's ultimately going to play and he's going to take his talents to South Beach. That kind of backfired. Wasn't a good look. And here we kind of have a mini version of that without it being televised. So we know that he's not coming back to the Lakers. That was an entire production as well, right? Using social media to say and thank the Laker fans.

5:26Lukas Weese:And by the way, why not go back to the Lakers? Whatever. That's up to him. But now it's these are the teams that I'm thinking about. These are the teams that I need to be interested in me. These are the teams that I'm going to meet with. I'm going to take this list and I'm going to narrow it down. Again, all about him. And this is not a LeBron James who's in his 20s or even early 30s we're talking about. This is a LeBron James who's 41 years old. He's a one-year rental. Yes, he can make an impact because he's LeBron James and he can put up 20 points in his sleep. Nobody questions that. But it's not going to be the same impact of a 20-some-odd-year-old LeBron James leaving Cleveland and deciding to go to Miami, or even going from Miami back to Cleveland or to the Lakers, whatever it is.

6:17Lukas Weese:This is a guy who, compared to what he once was, is closer to being a shell of himself than actually being himself. But in his mind, he still has this amazing impact where he's going to be that missing piece. Yes, he is a piece, and he's a very good piece to a puzzle to try to win a championship. But to make this into production where his agent is talking about, well, it's Philly, it's Miami, it's Cleveland, maybe Golden State's in there. It's like teasing here a little bit, right? Oh, the fan base of this team. And unfortunately, when we're thinking about LeBron James potentially coming to, say, my team, right?

6:58Lukas Weese:And I worked in Philadelphia for years. I have a lot of friends still in Philadelphia media. And there's this giddiness about the possibility of LeBron James riding in on his horse and saving the day, right? Because that whole trust the process, them tanking all those years to accumulate top draft picks and then actually being a pretty good team built around Embiid and, well, Ben Simmons at one time. That didn't work out. But then bringing in Jimmy Butler and Paul George and this piece and that piece. And they were good. They got into the playoffs, but they never won anything. And now they're talking about, you know, Jalen Brown's there.

7:36Lukas Weese:And they're going to add LeBron into the mix. And that's going to put them over the top. But in their minds, they're still thinking of a 25-year-old LeBron. That's the vision of LeBron that they have. There's a selfishness of thinking we're going to get LeBron James potentially, and he's going to make us uber better. He will make you better, but he's also old. And while he has aged much gracefully and better than all of us, let's not kid ourselves, I'm 47 and I think I feel terrible. Right? Like I sugared up and drank plenty of coffee before starting this show today. And I'm 47. LeBron James in incredible shape and still plays at a very high level don't get me wrong and he can't help a team but people are still thinking they're bringing in a superstar caliber player I'm not sure LeBron's still a superstar he's a very good player still but there's still gonna be some struggles age never loses right father time always wins out and it's just this you know Every day, a little trickle of news, right?

8:45Lukas Weese:I'm going to meet with this team. Come on. Just make up a darn decision here. And then Rich Paul, you know, Knicks fans have had this infatuation with LeBron for years, right? Like LeBron's talked about, oh, playing in the Garnets, the Mecca, Best Arena, Bright Lights, Big City, all that. And yet he's never played here as a member of the Knicks. And was it Rich Paul who came out, was it last week or a week and a half ago, and said that, well, if the Knicks weren't coming off a championship, we wouldn't be discussing other teams. It'd be the Knicks, right? Well, here's the thing. If LeBron's got one year left, and again, this is a one-year rental, money's not going to be the issue because LeBron's got more money than he needs, frankly, and it's going to keep growing.

9:28Lukas Weese:He's got incredible endorsement deals, and he's had tremendous financial people help him invest his money. LeBron's a billionaire, and that's not going to go away. My whole point is when I look at what he wants to accomplish in this one year, does LeBron want to be a savior and hope to win, or does LeBron just want to flat-out win? Okay? There's a difference. Obviously, he wants to win a championship and ride off with that. But you go to a place like Cleveland, right, and they haven't won squat. Yes, they're a better team now, and they just locked up Donovan Mitchell and NBA salaries are unbelievable.

10:09Lukas Weese:Congratulations to him. It's like 69 million a year, some unbelievable number like that. But he'd be bringing, he'd be going back to Cleveland as a savior. Like he did the first time and it worked out. He won a championship, but he'd be a savior. He goes to Philadelphia. He is a savior, right? It's the last hurrah of Joel Embiid being the face of that franchise. and if this doesn't work out, they're going to have to blow it up again and maybe have to trust the process part too. And I don't think Philly wants to live through that. So Jalen Brown helps. He is now going to be that second guy to Embiid and he's going to be number one a lot more because Embiid's never healthy.

10:51Lukas Weese:But LeBron is going to be the savior in Philly if he goes there. Same with Miami and even same with Golden State, which is on the wrong side of that dynasty. but here's my thing and i'm not saying i want lebron james on the knicks i think lebron james could help the knicks sure they need scoring right they need some shooting blah blah blah it doesn't hurt to bring a guy like that in but if his goal lebron's goal is to win a championship and call it a career well go to the champions right i mean go to the champions you want to be a champion again? You want to raise that trophy? Well, then go to the team that actually has the trophy right now.

11:34Lukas Weese:Why go in there and play hero ball? So if you're apparently wanting to go to the Knicks, except that they won, so you don't feel that you fit in there, make yourself fit in there. LeBron's never, in my opinion, been a selfish player. If LeBron wanted to average 35 points a game, 40 points a game in his career, he could have done it no one can stop LeBron James right LeBron in his prime and it's been a very long prime can do what he pretty much wants to do he can instill his will on anybody on the court he's bigger faster stronger than anybody but he gets high assist numbers he is an unselfish player does pass the ball a lot I love his brand of basketball because of that fact you know like you look at a Carmelo or you look at a Russell Westbrook something like that I know Westbrook obviously has had assists with the triple doubles, but there's more of a selfish angle to their game than with a guy like LeBron James.

12:29Lukas Weese:I am a LeBron fan because of the fact LeBron James is not a selfish ball hog, ball stopping player where you're watching the Cavaliers or the Heat or the Lakers play. And when LeBron gets the ball, everybody clears out of the lane and practically takes a nap, right? And you know, LeBron's either drive the lane or shoot the basketball. He's not that type of player that was carmelo with the knicks no offense to carmelo that's kind of what it was but if lebron's ultimate goal is to once again raise one last banner and he has an infatuation with the knicks to where rich paul said if they hadn't won a championship this is a no-brainer well they won a championship but they've lost some pieces they don't have a lot of money to spend they're not going to go to that second level right james dolan has said i'm not going to that second level because they don't want to be hit with the ridiculous penalties financial and go to the Knicks don't make this a big production and it's an easy sell right you don't have to say I want to go to the team that's holding the trophy because I want it one more time what he can say is that I'm fulfilling what I've always wanted to do in my career I've played 23 years I helped Cleveland I helped the Lakers I helped Miami I've always wanted to be a Knick.

13:51Lukas Weese:And they win a championship, but the East is going to be better. Philly's going to be better. I think Boston without Jalen Brown actually probably is going to be better. You know, guy, Halliburton back with Indiana, they're going to be better. I mean, I want to go to the Knicks because it's what I've always wanted to do before I called it a career. He can make that point and sell it. But you can go to Philly? You're going to go to Miami again? You're going to go back to Cleveland? That's a homecoming you already had. You don't need that second homecoming. It doesn't add to your legacy. So what if you retire as a quote-unquote Cavalier?

14:29Lukas Weese:You want to retire as a Cavalier? Here's how you do it. The day after you play for another team, you say, hey, sign me to a one-day contract. I'm going to retire as a Cavalier. And you know what Cleveland's going to say? You know what Gilbert's going to say? Okay, here's the one-day contract. Congratulations. You've retired as a Cavalier. Your number's going up there in the rafters. You're an all-time great. You're the greatest player in our franchise's history, and we love you here in Cleveland. You've done wonders with the students here in Akron, blah, blah, blah. The legacy's already written there.

14:56Lukas Weese:He's got nothing left to do in Cleveland. He brought a championship there. Again, my whole point is you want to win, here's your way to win. Go play for the champs. You're not doing it for the money. I mean, it's a lot of money for any other normal person like myself or you out there, but for him, he's taking very little money, but it's not something he actually needs. that's my point is why make this such a massive production again with these three teams and its front page news and it's going to be on there you know espn.com top stories anything that has to do LeBron is always going to be up there as top stories and what's the top story LeBron narrowing it down to three teams or four teams this doesn't have to be a lengthy production all right Dan Schwartzman in for Rich Eisen on this Wednesday get into the Hyundai getaway sales event and get away with the deal so right it almost feels wrong.

15:50Lukas Weese:Right now, you can get great deals on our most popular models, including our adventure-ready SUVs like the Hyundai Santa Fe or Santa Fe Hybrid and the Tucson or Tucson Hybrid. Plus, there's our bold and stylish Elantra loaded with the latest tech or go all electric with the Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 9. So get down to your local Hyundai dealer and get away with the deal you'll love during the Hyundai Getaway Sales Event. Visit HyundaiUSA.com for details. All right, we are going to get into some soccer. Still disappointed from Team USA's effort. It was not there against Belgium. What is the next step for U.S.

16:26Lukas Weese:soccer? And ultimately, Argentina, an incredible comeback against Egypt. But rather than celebrate it, should Argentina, the number one team in the world, have a little worry? Lucas Wies, the athletic soccer reporter, will be joining us next. It is a Wednesday here. Dan Schwartzman, beautiful day here in the Northeast. In for Rich Eisen. Soccer coming up next. USA Soccer and, of course, the World Cup.

16:52Dan Schwartzman:The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.

16:56Lukas Weese:Back on the Rich Eisen Show on ESPN Radio, the ESPN app, and SiriusXM, Channel 80. The Rich Eisen Show presented by Progressive Insurance. Hit us up on the hotline, 888-SAY-ESPN. That's 888-729-3776. Dan Schwartzman in on this Wednesday for Rich. A little LeBron talk, but it is World Cup fever. And I don't care if you are a soccer or, should I say it correctly, a football fan. If you're not swept up by this fever, something is wrong with you. It has been incredible. I watch countries that I don't care about nor ever plan to visit. I watch with glee. Got my four-year-old asking if there's soccer on.

17:37Lukas Weese:My wife rolls her eyes when she goes, how much longer is this? I say two more weeks, just two more weeks of this, but I love it. I absolutely love it. The announcers, the energy, the pundits, everything about the World Cup I am a fan of. But there's big questions coming out of this, not just for Team USA, but even teams that are currently still in the tournament. Lucas Weiss, soccer reporter for The Athletic, joining us. and Lucas let's get right to Argentina just an incredible comeback for the ages down 2-0 to Egypt it looks like they are in a lot of trouble looks like the number one team in the world is going to get knocked out and before you know it they score three goals the winner and I think the 91st or 92nd minute and they move on so Lucas you got the adulation and everybody's excited for what Argentina did but that said what's the big concern watching that Argentina game for the defending champions.

18:35Lukas Weese:Rich Eisen here. Running a small business means every hire matters. A bad hire costs time and money, but the right one helps your business grow. The challenge? Finding that person without sorting through resumes. That's where LinkedIn Hiring Pro comes in. It screens candidates so you can focus on conversations with qualified talent. With Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence and build the team you need. Join the 2.7 million small businesses using LinkedIn to hire. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com slash eisen. Terms and conditions apply. A bandwagon fan. The biggest insult in sports.

19:10Lukas Weese:But this summer, during the FIFA World Cup, it's an invitation, America. Never watched soccer before? Perfect. Think a corner kick is a karate move? Sure, why not? Prefer sports where players can use their hands? Me too. Just here for the snacks? Now we're talking. So grab a bag of Lays and jump on the bandwagon. We're undefeated. Lays, the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Save$2 when you buy two cans of Superior Products Coverall tire dressing. Plus receive four times O rewards points now at O 'Reilly Auto Parts. Coverall delivers long-lasting shine. Visit your O 'Reilly Auto Parts store or OReillyAuto.com.

19:53Dan Schwartzman:Well, first off, thank you for having me on. And I think Argentina's a team, you have to be concerned about their starts. I mean, the last couple of games, they just haven't started on the front foot. And you look at yesterday, Egypt had a fantastic start. You can make an argument that they could have been up 3-0 had it not been for the disallowed goal. And I also think, too, that they rely too heavily on Lionel Messi. I mean, Messi is amazing. He's the greatest soccer player of all time. What he's doing at 39 years old is incredible. But I do think if you're going to beat Argentina, you have to find a way to contain him.

20:37Dan Schwartzman:Now, that's easier said than done. But I don't know if Argentina have the pieces like they did four years ago to find that scoring depth. Now, they were able to beat in Egypt yesterday, But if they face a team like an England or a France potentially in the final, they're going to need more than Lionel Messi to get the job done. But it does help, though, having a player of that stature continuing to perform at such a high level.

21:07Lukas Weese:Lucas, you mentioned England and what a win that was in Mexico City over Mexico. And you mentioned France, and I think France clearly has to be one of the one or two favorites. But that said, France also has not exactly looked dominant. They have in a couple of matches, but in their last match, they really didn't look, let's call it, dominant. What's the concern with France?

21:29Dan Schwartzman:The concern with France is their midfield. I don't think they have the midfield like some of these other countries. And to me, if you're going to beat France, you're going to need to have high possession rate. You're going to need to not put the ball in France's feet, and you're going to need to muddy up that midfield so that the stars of that team, namely Kylian Mbappe, can sprint through there to create scoring opportunities. So, look, anything is possible in international football, a global sporting event like this. I mean, we've seen some surprises already. I mean, we nearly saw the shocker of the tournament if Egypt were to win that match against Argentina.

22:17Dan Schwartzman:So anything is possible. I think Spain is the country that is best suited to beat France. Of course, Spain has not conceded a goal yet. And I think that their defensive ability, along with their ability to score, can really muddy things up for France. We haven't really seen France with their backs against the wall yet. I think Morocco will be a tough test, but I still think that France will pull through. But if there is a team that could end France's run at a World Cup title, it would be Spain in that semifinal.

22:53Lukas Weese:Chat with Lucas Weiss, soccer reporter for The Athletic here on the Rich Eisen Show. Dan Schwartzman in for Rich on this Wednesday. U.S. very disappointing, and I think people really need to understand it's more than just what you saw on the pitch. It's also the fact that the best midfielder of his generation, Kevin De Boina, wasn't even playing. Lukaku came in really for a cup of coffee at the end and scored that fourth goal. You know, Biogen wasn't even playing its full squad, and yet they did what they did to America. We got four years to the next World Cup. Essential for America, Lucas, to retain Mauricio Pochettino, and if so, is he somebody, from what we understand, willing to stick around for another four years, or is club soccer back in his future?

23:35Dan Schwartzman:It remains to be seen with Pochettino. I mean, obviously you'd love a manager of that stature. So even if it isn't Pochettino, you want a top manager managing this group. But I just think, Dan, there's questions about mainly the defense. I don't think the U.S. have the center back depth that some of these top countries do. And you need that in soccer. I mean, as much as the United States can boast about Christian Pulisic and Polarin Balogun and some of these other pieces, you need that back line to be strong against world-class opponents. And then the goalkeeping, right? I mean, Matt Freese just did not do a good enough job, simply put.

24:22Dan Schwartzman:I mean, that goal that he gave up was one of the worst goals that I've seen at this tournament, maybe in the history of the World Cup. I mean, I know that sounds hyperbolic, but at that stage, you just can't make those kind of mistakes. So I think if they focus on that, I think that the United States could be in a better position. But we say this constantly, right? But I think it remains to be seen what these star players turn out to be, the Pulisic, the Balogans, but they need to really improve that back line and goalkeeping.

24:57Lukas Weese:game my thing is we have four years to go till the next world cup and there is obvious excitement here in america we've never developed that superstar we don't have depth you mentioned defensively you have a 38 year old tim rehm at one time a really good player but obviously he's only playing there because they need him and they don't have anybody else and he's 38 years old let's jump ahead now there is young players that we've kind of heard about in this pipeline that potentially in four years can make a big impact. Kevin Sullivan's a 16-year-old kid that in two years he's going to go to Man City if he continues to progress.

25:29Lukas Weese:Diego Cochin plays for La Masia in Barcelona. He's going to go play in, I think, Denmark, so he gets more minutes, although he could play for Spain in four years. Is there a pipeline developing here in the States for where we kind of look at that next generation and say, hey, in four years we do have better talent, better depth, something that we don't have right now?

25:51Dan Schwartzman:Well, I mentioned center back, Noah Kai Banks. He's 19 years old. He's someone that I think people need to really pay attention to, and he's someone that I think has the tools. He's already played a lot of Bundesliga minutes, already being 19 years old. And the fact of the matter is that he's someone that is just going to continue to develop. You know, Alex Freeman, who's, you know, a fullback with Orlando City. I mean, he's someone that I think, you know, you could argue, you know, he's been the best fullback in that league. But, you know, I mean, I mean, there's others, too. But four years is a really long time.

26:36Dan Schwartzman:And the fact of the matter is they just need that experience both at the club level but also the international level. I mean, you hope that U.S. can go on a deep run at the Gold Cup. You hope that if Copa America allows CONCACAF nations to play, that the United States will be there and potentially compete with these South American countries. So obviously the World Cup is the grandest event of them all. But there's going to be other international events, too, that definitely capture a lot of headlines and an opportunity to gain more success at that level.

27:14Lukas Weese:look it's what really got me watching usa and watching other teams for instance mexico colombia the physicality of those countries compared to us i did not see that from us is that something you can teach because you know talking to my friends after the disappointment of the belgium match looking out class i just felt they're not a physical enough team and yet we're america and We're supposed to be physical. We play NFL football. We're tough guys. You know, we bang bodies in basketball. Yet here they are on the pitch, and they're just not being as physical as some of these other countries. Is that something that can be taught, or is that an entire mentality that we just don't seem to possess?

27:55Dan Schwartzman:Certainly can be taught. Look, I mean, you know, you do drills, and you can, you know, really instill that mentality in a group. but you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make a drink, right? At the end of the day, they thought that the United States came out really flat in that Pelgium game. Like this is the biggest game in the program's history. You had not been to a quarterfinal since 2002. And you just came out like it was just another friendly, right? And look, we won't ever know probably the extent of which the Balogun storyline off the pitch impacted the group but you have to think somewhat right and and and and to me i just think that you just gotta find a way to show up in those moments and and these world-class countries do that consistently right and and they also win in different ways like i look at france we've seen France run up the score sheet but they can also muck it up too like they did against Paraguay like Paraguay was very interested to keeping that low scoring going to extra time potentially penalties it just felt like the U.S.