Argentina edge Cape Verde classic after Mexico-England chaos

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2:30It's been a f***ing great day at the World Cup. You're as wise as you are fragrant.

2:41Day 23, holy shock at the Hard Rock. Cape Crusaders face that man, and it wouldn't have been Robin if they'd won. We salute the amazing Cape Verde and hit the day's other stories hard. Colombia's win over Ghana. And Mo Salah versus the Flaming Galas as Egypt go through and team from down under fail to koalify. Friday night in LA as we record this, by the time it reaches you, oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light, a brand new Totally at the World Cup. Happy July the 4th to everybody. Happy July the 4th, Tom Williams. Happy July the 4th, James Richardson. Happy July the 4th, Philippe Cardenas.

3:16We are feeling festive. Happy 4th of July. Yeah, I mean it's still the 3rd for us. Phil Hay, happy... thank you I don't generally celebrate but I will this year I think we will this year fireworks already yeah can you hear them popping off in the distance they are aren't they I mean there could be fireworks for a lot of things certainly America's 250th anniversary is one of them the sad loss of some cherished colonies is another but also quite frankly one of the greatest days of football ever am I is that recency biased I mean in the last 24 hours we've had the greatest World Cup miss certainly of this tournament the greatest save of this tournament and I think probably the greatest game of this and many a tournament is that right I mean one of the great World Cup games undoubtedly between Argentina and Cape Verde you and I sat down this morning James to watch Australia versus Egypt it already feels checks notes literally checks note it already feels like it happened about three days ago yes yeah and even with that There were some special moments in that.

4:20Well, we even get time to talk about them because Cape Verde's clash with Argentina was just, where do we even begin with that, Philippe? It felt like such a moment, like we were all living together. The rollercoaster of emotions. We actually thought we were going to see one of the greatest upsets. No, the greatest upset in World Cup history. You have Messi back from doing what he does, a wonderful taking goal. And then Cape Verde, yes, the emotions of that team showing up and putting in a performance that we'll remember forever. I think so too. And even though they didn't go through to the last 16, Phil, it's a big thank you to Cape Verde.

4:57Yeah, it is. They can come again, them, definitely. If they're here in 2030, then lucky us. They've kind of fooled everybody because I think if you didn't look at the qualifying group through the African path, you'd have assumed that they were making up the numbers and they were here to just enjoy the thrill of being at the World Cup. But they qualified on merit. They qualified for a 32-team tournament. They deserved to go through the group. They didn't need the third-place table. They were unlucky against Argentina and exceptionally against Argentina, and they've added a lot to the tournament, been excellent.

5:28They faced three former world champions, one reigning world champion, the greatest player in the world, and the reigning European champions, and they haven't been beaten by any of them, and they exit the competition with heads very much held high. Congratulations. Well, they have been beaten by Argentina. Oh, yeah, but not in 90 minutes. Not in 90 minutes. Just for the pedants. Absolutely. No, no, but for the records, yeah. Don't interrupt him. He's going to say something to me here. Congratulations to Colombia. Yeah, yeah, congratulations to Colombia. Thank you, thank you. Yeah, we get the job done.

6:00When you're in the knockout phase, you get the job done. It was a tough match. Obviously, Colombia dominated, but they're through. OK, and you've still got extra gears to reach for, if necessary. We'll check on the results, shall we? Because, yes, it's true. Earlier on Friday, Egypt played Australia, beat them 4-2 on penalties after the two sides had drawn 1-1 in 120 minutes. Australian manager Tony Popovich subbing off Patrick Beach ahead of the spot kicks. Did he pay the price for that? We'll discuss that. Their reward, anyway, Egypt's reward, is a last-16 meeting with Argentina, or what's left them after their incredible rollercoaster of a game against Cape Verde.

6:393-2 it finished to Leo Messi and company, but that only tells a fraction of the story. Meanwhile, Friday night in Kansas City, it was Colombia 1, Ghana 0. Colombia will now face Switzerland, who late on Thursday, too late for us in yesterday's show, secured their first knockout win since 1938. Yeah, incredible, no? Their third straight win in this tournament, though, as they rumble along quietly. Perhaps they've got extra gears as well. They saw of Algeria 2-0. That was the game, by the way, that featured arguably the miss of the tournament so far. Am I being unfair? No. No way. That was the miss of the tournament by far.

7:19If you're hearing the audio version, we're seeing Fabian Rida in front of an empty goal, and that's not where the ball ended up. You can see where he's going to hit it with his heel, though, can't you? He's going to hit the front of the ball, and it's going to come back across goal to the keeper. who, in fairness to him, I'd have given that up as a lost cause. But, yeah, got his benefits from having a go at that one. All right. The game also featured possibly the assist. Is that fair? The assist of the World Cup. This was from Johan Mazambi, who's been having a terrific tournament and blazed past a couple of Algerian players, reached the goal line and then cut back for Mbola to score.

8:00I think what was the opener at that point? Yes, yeah. I mean, yeah, one of the breakout stars of the tournament, Manzambi, and he's now a regular in the starting XI. He's made such an impact previously off the bench in the game against Bosnia in the group phase. Yeah, picks it up on just inside opposition half, weaves his way to the byline, picks out Brea Limbolo, and even Brea Limbolo can't miss from that kind of range. Yeah, indeed. If you're not on the video version, perhaps get across there, because this is a glorious picture. This is Manzambi in full Sonic mode there. Yes. Anyway, Columbia next for Switzerland.

8:34Tough team. I think Switzerland is one of those teams that you mentioned, that they just get the job done. They're pretty strong across all the lines. Maybe they haven't shown their best stuff, but they have players. They have young players. They have an incredible player in Manzabi, 20 years old, playing for Freiburg. I don't think he'll be there that much longer. I think it's a really, really interesting matchup between Columbia and Switzerland, for sure. Okay. What day is that? When is that? Phil knows because you're going, he'll be there. It is Tuesday night because I will be in Vancouver for that.

9:03I can't wait. I think Columbia were pretty quietly impressive tonight. I thought Felipe played it down when he said they got the job done this evening. I think they are good. I think they gave Gannett a bit of a pasting even though it was 1-0. They were a better team by a distance. And I think if they can make the quarters, they're going to be a handful for Argentina. Interesting. Interesting. All right, well, we'll get on to Argentina and what they did with Cape Verde very, very shortly. moment of the day though Tom do you want to kick this off 103rd minute in Miami Argentina have just gone ahead at the start of extra time against Cape Verde we're all thinking well that's probably that to such an extent that I was actually looking up stats on my phone when I heard a gasp from those of us sitting around the tv here at the LA Totally Ranch and Sidney Lopez Cabral 23 year old left back who will join Trabzonspor from Benfica after the tournament.

9:58Picks up the ball on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and bends in the most outrageous goal with his right foot right into the top right-hand corner. Pandemonium here. I mean, many multiples of that in the stadium. And I imagine, you know, back home in Cape Verde. And just when you thought that this tie was meandering towards a very predictable conclusion, another twist in the title, and uncontestably one of the moments of the tournament. Yeah. Felipe, for you. John Arias, the Colombian goal. I mean, why not? Why not, right? Why not? And again, not because, oh, I'm Colombia going to choose that.

10:35I just think it's like, and it's not the goal of the tournament by any means, but it's just a cool finish. You like to see those types of goals at this elite level of international football, a player that can slow the game down at that moment, make a decision, and just coolly finish. and in the end it's the winner. It's the goal that Columbia needed to get to the round of 16. So wonderful player, John Arias, does everything for Columbia. Perfect. Phil, for you? A sad one, really. The end of Patrick Beach's tournament. I mean, he did throw in a bling-tastic save at the end of normal time, which kept the Aussies in it and got them through to extra time.

11:12But then 190 minutes, Tony Popovich substitutes him, sends on Matt Ryan, presumably thinking that Matt Ryan will be the better option for the shootout than Ironman Beach. I mean, it's no secret that we are the Patrick Beach fan club. But, you know, give Ryan a chance, comes on, doesn't save any penalties. They want bad penalties. But, well, you can't say the decision was necessarily wrong. It didn't work either. And I think I probably speak for the whole Totally Crew when I say, resign, Tony Popovich, fall on your sword and never dishonour the main man again. Did you see that in the space of time before the penalties were taken, the Egyptian bench prepared, by showing their penalty takers, a video of Matt Ryan facing penalties in La Liga and Mbappé actually doing him with a Penenka.

11:55And lo and behold, that's what Mo Salah pulled off in and what proved some pretty convincing spot kicks. It's not been a great tournament so far for teams in penalties. Yeah, they were good. I wouldn't want to be unfair to Ryan. Australia's, on the other hand, were not great. And we were sat at home, there were four of us, and as Harry Souther was coming up for the first one, And I said, he's got the build of a centre-back who is going to hammer this penalty over the bar by about two or three feet. And lo and behold, I don't know if there's something going on with the tree on the ball. But if I was a coach, I'd be saying to people, don't smash this.

12:27Because when you do, it seems to be going to the moon. It enjoys flying around, doesn't it? Well, we'll get on to that game later on. We've also got lots of bits of news as well. The Germany managerial situation. Also what's going on with England's kick-off time against Mexico on Sunday. We begin, though, with events in Miami and Argentina-Cape Verde.

12:51The record books will show Argentina 3, Cape Verde 2 after extra time. What lies behind those words were one of the most incredible World Cup games we've ever seen. I think is that fair? Is that hype? Yeah, for sure. One of the best games I've seen. I mean, I wasn't expecting that. What was so great about it? If anyone didn't see it and thought, well, okay, they're the underdogs, maybe Argentina are not that good. Who have they faced so far? Algeria, Austria, and... Jordan, Jordan. And Jordan, right. They were tested. They were not tested. And perhaps we felt that Cape Verde would give them something because they've done so with Uruguay and Spain.

13:30And they've gotten through to the knockout round fairly. I think what stood out, though, was other than just the drama, the individual quality that we saw from both teams. Obviously, we see Messi score a goal that reminded a lot of us of the goal that Dennis Burkham scored against Argentina. It was very similar. It reminded many of Leo Messi's goal against Nigeria in 2018 when he takes that first touch and then finishes. And these players like Messi and Ronaldo, we are wondering if they can still do these things. They're great players, but are they the tap-in merchants or do they need a moment?

14:03And that was one of these moments where we were like, this guy is still just completely at another level. and I think in the end we can walk away and say this team this Argentina team still heavily reliant on the 39 year old Lionel Messi which is I don't think we really expected that coming into the tournament no that's true some people would say he is possibly the greatest player to ever live so it's normal that the team might be a bit reliant on him but that was a magnificent goal with which he opened proceedings at that point it seemed like business as usual Argentina are on their way. Cape Verde, thanks so much for coming.

14:38And the first half kind of played out that way. The second half, had Argentina switched off? Or was it something in Cape Verde's tactical approach? They kind of stopped playing a little bit, Argentina. And we saw this from them in their second group game against Austria. They went ahead shortly before halftime. They looked fully in control. And I think they feel so in control of all their matches because, you know, they've all been playing together for so long, this group of players. they already scaled their Everest by winning the last World Cup there was an enormous amount of self-confidence and self-belief in this team and it's like they almost forget that they need to put games to bed because they have so much faith in what they're doing and I think they kind of lulled themselves into that way of thinking but also you know credit to Cape Verde who weren't just super defensive you know they were in a mid-block but they had quite a high defensive line they were getting players forward as quickly as possible.

15:32And, you know, without that, they wouldn't have been able to capitalize on the fact that Argentina, you know, basically took their feet off the pedal. Well, Argentina's opener was a special goal, but so was the equalizer from De Ruy Duarte. Two nutmegs involved here, Philippe. That was incredible. No, again, individual quality and the faith of this Cape Verde team that they felt that they could battle against the world champions. I think in the end, we know the praise that this Cape Verde team will carry and the legacy they'll have. But I really do think there are way more questions about Argentina as a reigning and defending champion.

16:05And those were the questions that existed coming into the tournament. Like, are they hungry enough? Are they deep enough? Do they have the legs for this type of grueling tournament? And tonight, all of their flaws, we saw every single one of their flaws, but they still managed to get the result. The legs is surely the biggest thing because I don't think there's any doubt that as extra time went on, Cape Verde looked an awful lot fresher than Argentina did. And there were countless Argentina players who were struggling with cramp and were needing legs stretched off. They were really, really feeling the strain as it went on.

16:34And because of that, because physically they weren't holding up particularly well, it was quite hard for the quality to tell. And there was a stat at halftime, I think it was on Fox, which was saying that Messi had covered about four kilometres in the first half, which my understanding is that is not a massive distance at all in over 45 minutes. And he is renowned now for this thing of walking when he needs to walk and picking his moments. and normally or in certain circumstances it really works for him. But there are going to be games where you can't do that. I don't think against France, for example, he can cover four kilometres and a half and expect to get away with that.

17:07And I think once physically Cape Verde got on top, it was a big, big issue. But they've been underrated, Cape Verde. They're a good team and they're well coached and they have kind of underrated strengths, I think. For all that, they were the team on the defensive for much of the second half with the scoreline 1-1. There was an incredible series of saves. Vosinha pulled off. One in particular where Messi took a free kick early. And Vosinha was still on his near post, trying to arrange the wall. Sees the ball flying in and screams across to get a palm to it. Just extraordinary. And then with the match, the 90 minutes ending 1-1, there's a lovely moment where Messi and Vosinha kind of congratulate each other as they prepare for extra time.

17:48And then in extra time, Tom, it just kept going. Yeah, well, very early in extra time, Argentina retake the lead a corner from Messi from the left hand side flicked on at the near post by Alexi McAllister falls to Lissandra Martinez not renowned for his finishing ability but takes a touch and whips this fantastic shot into the roof of the net at the near post a goal and an assist for Lissandra Martinez a goal and an assist for Lissandra Martinez yeah and the assist for the first goal was a beauty and yet as I said when I was discussing my moment of the day we assumed that that would be that but this game had other things in store for us.

18:23Yeah, well, what an incredible moment that was for. Sidney Lopez Cabral, almost as special as the goal itself, which was glorious, was what happened next because... The celebration was fantastic. Like, for years and years now, you go into the crowd or anything like that, you get booked. So if you're going to do it, you might as well do it properly and get right in the mix. And people who can't see the picture, they're looking at the photo of him. He went into the crowd up the steps and was trying to hunt somebody out. And this woman came forward. I don't know if it was his partner. He was there for minutes, though.

18:53Yeah, he was. And it cut to the referee at one point who was tapping his wrist. You know, it was like, listen, it's time to get on with it. And it didn't look, but I'm assuming he got booked. I'm assuming there was a look. I don't think he saw. Eventually he found what I think we assume is his partner. Yeah. But it was an incredible moment. It was like in the movies. Yeah, it was so good. And I think the referee had almost gone, well, yeah, this is. Fair enough. Time has stopped for this. He's human. Well, what an incredible thing. As it turned out, though, that wasn't the last goal of the game because in the 111th minute, another corner from Messi, although this then comes off a Cape Verde player.

19:31Well, yeah, well, it's actually Cristian Romero, the Argentinian centre-back, who gets his head on the ball and diverts it towards goal. And up till about like 10, 15 years ago, it would have gone down, probably, as a Cristian Romero goal. But it flicks off Cape Verde defender, Dini Borges. It goes down as an own goal. And it's so unfortunate for him that the record books will show that this game was decided by an own goal because morally it didn't really feel like one. Indeed not. Lionel Scaloni, the manager's reaction was significant, I guess. He looked almost like he was the manager whose side has just conceded a goal.

20:06But I guess in recognition of the problems that his side had faced, you talked about legs. One thing you mentioned while the game was going on, Philippe, was the bench, the fact that they just don't have depth, apparently. Yeah, they don't have someone that, other than Julian Alvarez, who doesn't start for them up front. But there isn't a player that you can look at on that Argentina bench and say, oh, if he comes on, watch out. Like Nico Gonzalez is that player that has been relied upon by Leonol Scaloni for the last two years as that change of pace direct winger. But they don't, he's not putting any fear into anyone, really.

20:40And again, we go back to Messi, that reliance on Messi and his brilliance. And honestly, yeah, to your point, Jimbo, I mean, he's wonderful. Like, he had, his service was exquisite today. You know, the winner from Cristian Romero, yes, it's an own goal, but there's a saying in Spanish that says, como con la mano, which is like, it's almost like he uses his hand to just, it's that accurate. And that was the type of service that Messi had today. All right. Well, Cape Verde have done this to Spain previously, held them goalless, in fact. So it can happen. Argentina finally, as you say, got the job done.

21:15Cape Verde become the second nation after Cameroon back in 1982 to end their debut tournament with no losses in 90 minutes. And as we've mentioned, the teams that they did it against and the players that they did it against, absolutely extraordinary. We look forward to seeing them again soon. As Vazinho said afterwards, we all know where Cape Verde is now. As for Argentina, will Egypt, who will be their next opponent, be pretty happy that they've spent 120 minutes slaving away in presumably pretty humid Miami temperatures. Yeah and what Philippi was saying about their alliance on Messi isn't helped by him having to go through 120 minutes in that particular game.

21:54I think Scaloni said afterwards everybody thought this was an easy side of the draw and I think it kind of is but it becomes less easy when suddenly the first game which you think should be not cakewalk but should be winnable in 90 turns out to be the game that it is. Michael Cox just published a really good piece talking about game state and saying that is the Argentinian problem at the moment, like the boys were saying, that they get in front, but then they're not killing games that need to be killed in the way that they should do. And for as long as that happens, I think if you've got your money on France or Spain for this tournament, then you should probably keep it there at the moment.

22:27Okay. Egypt, of course, also went through 120 minutes earlier on Friday. it was the first ever knockout game at the world cup as mentioned before it went to penalties Egypt had taken the early lead Imam Ashur with another great goal it was also Egypt that scored the equaliser because that was a second own goal of the tournament for Mohamed Hani and happened a couple of minutes after he'd been laid out essentially after a clash of heads and I'm not sure if he actually lost consciousness but questions were asked he looked like he might have been properly knocked out I mean he was flat on his back and his teammates all reacted in a way that suggested they were worried he was really hurt but after receiving treatment he stayed on the pitch and yeah within minutes he's headed into his own net I mean can't say for sure that there's any kind of connection between the two but in this age of increased sensitivity around head injuries it's not a great look probably well Egypt thought they got the winner shortly before extra time got underway when most Salah's Cross was headed goalwards by Rabir, only for Patrick Beach to do something Phil, quite extraordinary Great save, left hand, strong left hand great reaction, over the bar Have you seen the stills of it?

23:46Yeah, it's terrific So the ball's over his head and he hasn't even got his arms up and yet the next frame Elasto man has somehow reached behind him and pulled it back out Yeah, I mean, he's not been an Australia regular beach at all, but he's had a good tournament, I think, which is why I found the decision at the end really strange. And I was reading to take him off, and I was reading Popovich's quotes afterwards, and he sort of seemed to be saying, well, we had a substitution left, you know, as if it was like, well, the obvious thing to do is then replace your goalkeeper. And Felipe was making the point earlier that there had been a previous game where the same had been done with Ryan, I think under a different coach but that Ryan had been taken off for a penalty shootout so what the rationale was I really don't know but it did not make a positive difference Alright well Australia depart the tournament as does Patrick Beach he has prevented 2.2 goals at the FIFA World Cup according to Opta which is the most of any goalkeeper at the tournament so far at least all sounds good Egypt make it through to the knockouts for the first well to the last 16 for the first time ever which is about time really because they're seven times African champions.

24:57It's not good for Africa, actually, since the 32. Nine out of ten through to the last 32 and only two in the last 16, of which I think Morocco are the only serious threat. It's been like dominoes falling. Indeed. And yeah, a lot of the games they've been involved in have been really close. Senegal were 2-0 up with five minutes left against Belgium. Dio Congo led for so long against England. So, I mean, it doesn't make any material difference in the end, but they've given good accounts of themselves. And then Ghana against Colombia, for many people, the worthy winners, but the result didn't go their way.

25:28Just some fluky goal, and what can you do? What can you do? Let's get on to Colombia-Ghana and finish off Friday's action next.

25:40Colombia won Ghana-0 Friday evening in Kansas City, Philippi. A scoreline which did not reflect Colombia's dominance, am I right? Correct. They were in control the entire match, and they had the home crowd, obviously, at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, a complete sea of yellow. They took over the city earlier this week, and that has been, I think we can now see that that's one of the major factors for these teams that are playing well, the United States, Canada when they were at home, Mexico, obviously, and Colombia. Colombia has this traveling band of fans. They've gone to Mexico. They went to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Miami, and now Kansas City.

26:22And so they show up for this team. And you see the Colombian players, when the game gets dull, they're like, OK, we need you back. They do make a difference, those fans. Tom called them traveling fans in a previous edition. And some people said, look, it's not that. These are people who have migrated. They're essentially people who are now living in the States. Is that what the majority of the fans are? Is this an enormous contingent of supporters from Colombia? I would say a lot of them are U.S. residents. There are, I don't know the number, but there are nearly 60 million Latinos in the U.S.

26:57And Colombia is, they're everywhere. We are everywhere, okay? And when the national team plays, the Colombians show up. And I think the difference here is that there is belief in this team, that this is a good team, that maybe they're missing a killer up front, Maybe they're not getting the goals that they're creating, but they don't look unbothered. They don't look unorganized. They put out fires consistently, and they're through to the round of 16. Now they think this is a team that I think can make some noise if they get – obviously they have to be Switzerland, but just a team that's very consistent, I think, Colombia.

27:37Who lies on the other side of Switzerland if you get past them? It'll be Egypt or Argentina. and so obviously Argentina is as they say in Colombia it's nuestro papa they own us they're like our daddy they really do they they beat us a lot but these two teams are the most informed teams in South America Argentina and Colombia and Colombia has been there nipping and nipping nipping getting results consistently against Scaloni's side so I think Argentina is probably like if we get to Colombia you know watch out watch out indeed in the meantime many of the players James Rodriguez in particular may have enjoyed defeating Carlos Kiras and sending him home from this tournament.

28:16I enjoyed it. I mean, personally. You did. As we mentioned yesterday, Carlos Kiras had a brief and largely unrecognized stint as manager of Colombia, which saw Colombia fail to qualify for the last World Cup. His garner in this tournament had only four shots on target in the course of their four matches, which is kind of extraordinary. None in this game today. tweet of the days probably this from grace robertson who says florentino perez once had a team of zidane ronaldo raul figo and beckham and decided the perfect manager for them was carlos what what a time what a time anyway there you go that is ghana going out they were feisty and they had their chances but away they go and colombia go through to take on switzerland in the next round in vancouver phil and you're going to be there i can't wait can't wait i was i was hoping that Colombia would squeeze through because I think it will be better for the crowd, although it's further north, obviously.

29:12The stadium will look fantastic tonight. It's a great ground anyway but like Philippe said, the yellow spread everywhere was fab. Difficult game but I think Colombia will have the beating of Switzerland and I think the very possibility of it being Argentina in the quarter-finals, a game they could win, will be all the reason they need to get through. We can now show the bracket in fact for the last 16. A bit easier to see now we're into the last 16. From where I am, yes, for you at home, I'm not so sure. But essentially, shall I just read through these? You've got Paraguay, France and Canada, Morocco.

29:44That's coming up on Saturday. On Sunday, Brazil, Norway and Mexico, England. On Monday, Portugal, Spain and US, Belgium. And then on Tuesday, Argentina, Egypt and Switzerland, Colombia. That's a brilliant set of last 16. I mean, everything from here on in is deadly serious and is going to happen really quickly now. It's just going to go... I mean, we're going to be down to eight teams in a heartbeat. And then after a couple of more heartbeats, we're going to be down to four. No, stop. Stop. We're going to be clinging on for that third, fourth playoff. Oh, yes. But no, it is about to all get very serious indeed.

30:19All right. News actually regarding one of those fixtures, Sunday's England-Mexico game in Mexico City. A lot of talk on Friday that that was going to be brought forward six hours. Now, the word that had spread was that this was because of concerns of a storm. We've seen the delays that have happened because of electrical storms in Mexico City, that a weather forecast had suggested it was a safer idea to bring it forward to, I think, a midday kickoff Mexican time. It seemed like that was actually going to happen. It looked like FIFA at all but taken this decision. They'd notified not only the teams involved, but also the mayors of New York and New Jersey because they would have to have rearranged the other game that day, which is Norway against Brazil.

31:02As The Athletic reported, though, the weather forecast didn't show any sign of a storm, and it appears that the real concern, and this is quite understandable, is fan security, is safety, because after the Mexico-Ecuador game the other day, four people lost their lives. It's an incredible scene of enormous crowds and congestion in Mexico City, and a game at the end of a long Sunday with England fans and Mexico fans and who knows what else, the decision apparently was pushed forward to bring it forward. As it turns out, everything's been left as it is, apparently over concerns of the anticipated pushback from principally the two teams involved because it would have been quite a change to their preparations.

31:44I mean, also a midday kickoff in Mexico City would certainly change the conditions. I mean, I think one of the highlights of this process was Mexico manager Javier Aguirre calling into a very popular radio show in Mexico. Yes, he did this. Actually, no, the host called him and he picked up. And I remember the host said, oh, thank you for picking up, Javier. What do you think? Like, what is happening? And he was very honest. He said, we don't like this. No one asked me. We're not, we don't agree with this. There's a big difference between playing at 6 p.m. and playing at noon. And he described everything from the meal you eat in the morning, how you digest your food versus what you eat at 3 p.m.

32:22He said, no one asked me, but FIFA is the boss around here. So we're going to have to adjust. We're going to have to play to win. But this is like nobody likes this. The players don't like it. I have two players that are hurt. Now that complicates their recovery. And so that spread like wildfire with even people saying like, really, has it come to this? where a manager publicly coming out and calling a radio station and saying, you know, this is something that is going to affect both teams. So what is it that changed FIFA's minds? You know, I think based on our reporting, you know, you mentioned it, pushback from both camps.

32:55I think logistically, it's just too difficult to suddenly ask everyone involved from security officials, the stadium officials, to change this much anticipated game that I think there's a lot into it from corporate sponsors and everything like that. But I think really it was like just the public outcry, perhaps. To your point, Jimbo, I think there was a lot of concern from the Mexican government, honestly. Yes, I was there on the ground. I didn't see the millions of people, but we saw sort of the remnants of that. And there are videos that look really concerning of people that are just being crushed together.

33:31And so I think this is definitely a security concern, and they tried to get ahead of it. It just didn't work out. Okay. It's the point to make as well that we're talking about the last 32 for that game. And as they go on, if they go on through the tournament and if they get deeper into it and you start to talk about quarterfinals or beyond that, semifinals, then the crowds are only going to get bigger and harder to control. So there must have been security issues. But I think most people smelt a bit of a rat this morning when it was said that they're considering moving this because there might be a thunderstorm in two days' time at six o 'clock in the evening.

34:05It did not sound overly credible. and the truth seems rather different. All right, well, hopefully everything goes well for... Sorry. Well, hopefully everything goes smoothly for that game. Mexico, England, that's Sunday. What'll that be, UK time, Tom? 1 a.m. 1 a.m. The pubs are open. The pubs are open till 5. Good news for the pubs as well. If you've already agreed you're going to stay open till 5. It'll be a pretty sleepy pub time if the game had been moved forward five hours. There must have been a load of bar staff in the UK Who were thinking, oh go on, yeah, shift it Bring it forward, yeah I'm sure they were, Phil By the way, on the subject of England's hotel concerns And them getting a good night's sleep ahead of the game This apparently is a picture of their accommodation In central Mexico City With a ring of steel, the original caption said around it to keep unruly passers-by away.

35:04I mean, far be it from us to question the tactics of the Mexican police, but if they're going to be grouped that tightly together... I suspect they were deploying... It's not going to be too hard to outflank them. Well, let's hope so, James. Gaz Frim says, surely the answer to the hotel question is to stay in the same hotel as the Mexican team. Great idea. Yeah. That's good, though. Genius. Get that man a job. Now, Germany. news came on friday that julian argusman has resigned as german manager his replacement is almost certainly jürgen klopp who is enormously surprised at this news in no way has been preparing for this in his various broadcasts and comments over the last few weeks he says there's lots of talking to be done but he seems pretty positive that that's going to be his destination incidentally he will be the fifth German national team head coach in the space of the 2020 so the fifth German manager in six years if you include Rudy Vullo who's Kent Eker for one match that is quite extraordinary you know because Jürgen Love was there for 15 years it sums up the piece that them Seb Stafford blooded which said Jürgen Klopp is not going to be a silver bullet for the various issues that German football has he's like the obvious choice and almost the blindingly obvious choice and because he was knackered out at Liverpool and wanted a break this seems like a good job for him he must be, I can't speak for him but he must be pretty bored in this Red Bull gig, you know it doesn't seem like I mean he's turned up at a few Paris FC games last season, he looked bored out of his skull Yeah and he's kind of sort of been loosely named as being involved with some managerial appointments at certain patches of the Red Bull network but he must want a bit more action than that so it's just be a good halfway house wouldn't it and who the hell else is going to do this you know it's got to got to be him but i think sev's probably right there's a lot more to sort out than just replacing nagelsman who wasn't very good but um even so okay best luck to germany as they start their new direction meanwhile here in the world cup we move on to the last 16 16 teams left in fact there are their flags pick your favorite we've got four of them in action on saturday saturday afternoon in record heat in philadelphia it'll be paraguay against france before that houston becomes moose town as canada take on morocco joshua cloak is already down there and he's already calling this canadian men's football's biggest game ever yes again we rang him up anyway earlier today to find out more joshua you're currently sat inside the Enorma Dome in Houston, and you were just saying you could fit several Canadian towns into that place.

37:49Well, I said one Canadian town. But it would be a robust town. You could certainly fit in this stadium. I've never been here, and you can see why the World Cup or why FIFA decided the World Cup should be in this country because each stadium is bigger than the last. I'm getting lost in the stadium here. Yeah, each fixture is bigger than the last right now as well for Canada. I guess what we're saying is that Canada and the men's Canadian soccer team is now truly big time. Last 16 on Saturday. I've gotten sick of writing that this is the biggest match in Canadian soccer history. Like I literally made a joke in my last story.

38:35you know it's like that that Simpson scene where where Bart becomes famous for saying I didn't do it and then his entire class is looking at him to say say the line that's how I feel right now because every single game through this World Cup has been the biggest in Canadian men's soccer history but around a 16 like already this is a this World Cup is a success for Canada whatever happens against Morocco and I think we have a an inkling of what might happen against Morocco but already this world cup is a success um because again this is a team i wrote this morning uh as recently as 2017 they were ranked 120th in the world to get from that point in nine years to like i think we can say that the round of 16 in this world cup is where you know the goods separate from the rest um i think canada have every right to be proud of of their ascent um And this test is going to be unlike anything they faced.

39:36Although they did face, of course, Morocco in the last World Cup. We'll come into that in a second or two. But even when we spoke three weeks ago, Canada had never picked up so much as a point in the World Cup. And now here you are in the last 16 teams of this competition. It's not just what's happened on the field that's been a huge success either. What has this meant for the country? What you are seeing in this World Cup compared to 2022 is complete buy-in from the entire country. You know, soccer stadiums across Canada have had viewing parties and they've been full. You know, the watch parties in Toronto and Vancouver have become destination events.

40:16And there's just been remarkable scenes from small towns, again, which you could fit into the stadium, really buying into soccer. because anybody in Canada would admit Canada is a hockey country. And we know that, right? To see the way that soccer has pierced into the mainstream, truly I think that Canadian soccer has pierced into the mainstream in this World Cup, I think for the first time ever. I think it gives a lot of hope to the soccer community that, you know, years from now, a generation from now, soccer might be the kind of sport that is considered on on par with hockey wow that's a big shot well no it is but i i it is and i i think it's important to to share why you look at the way that canada is trending in terms of of demographics right more and more you know 20 in the last census 23 of all people living in canada were born outside of canada and with that they bring a love of soccer you know that was formed from other countries.

41:21Hockey is becoming such an expensive sport to play. Hockey is continually mired in scandal after scandal. Soccer is on a real upward trajectory and that the success of the men's and women's national teams, I think is only going to, you know, bolster that. The success on the field with players like Steven Estacchio, former Portuguese under 21, can only bolster that. Let's talk then about the next biggest game ever for Canada. Morocco, a 2-1 victory in the last World Cup for the North Africans. Funnily enough, the only goal they conceded on their way to the semi-final with France was against Canada, so there's that.

42:04You've also got Alphonso Davies back. Whether he will start, I don't know. Do you also maybe have the fact that I think a lot of Moroccans will already have their eyes on France in the quarterfinals? To me, if Canada have a chance, it's going to be focusing on their strengths, which is defending as a unit, defending compactly, trying to run Morocco into the ground, and then just hoping, you know, praying to the soccer gods that Jonathan David has a day. That's been rare this World Cup, but if Jonathan David can score, good things usually come for Canada. Okay, and you might just be on Saturday night writing Canada have their biggest game ever on the way.

42:43I don't know. What else am I supposed to write? I thought about that this morning. What else am I supposed to write? How are my readers going to believe me if I say, no, for real, this is the biggest one. But even giving Morocco, like taking Morocco to extra time, getting a win against Morocco, that's not just the biggest win for Canadian soccer history. That's in the pantheon of gold medal performances in hockey. that's truly what this would be you sound a lot more optimistic than I am but we'll see Joshua Cloak huge game then for Canada and Morocco in Houston the winners of that will face Paraguay or France or again what's left of them because they're playing each other in Philadelphia in the afternoon and it's forecast to be potentially the hottest World Cup match ever played I think the existing record is from back in 1994.

43:39I think it was a Republic of Ireland game. It was 38 degrees. Now, tomorrow, or today possibly as you see this or hear this, they're talking about 39 degrees in Philadelphia. But out on the pitch, field temperature possibly exceeding 110 degrees Fahrenheit, 43 Celsius. Your boots are going to be... I'm okay with a hydration break in that game. Yeah. I'm okay with that. It's fine. We could have 90 minutes of hydration break and a three-minute game infill, possibly. It's a fascinating game anyway, because France are France, but Paraguay are the team who put Germany out. Yeah, and of course, from a French perspective, inevitable echoes of 1998, the game against Paraguay at the same stage of the tournament, on what was one of the hottest days of the tournament.

44:31It doesn't get quite as hot in northern France as it will be in Philadelphia tomorrow. but it was a really gruelling, energy-sapping game. And for a lot of the French players who played in it, they felt it was the biggest challenge that they faced during the entire tournament. José-Louis Chiliver in goal for Paraguay repelled everything that France threw at them until Laurent Blanc popped up in extra time and scored the World Cup's first ever golden goal. Crikey. Do you have optimistic thoughts about Paraguay's ability to stop this France team? I mean, France is, they are, they look unstoppable.

45:08Honestly, they look unbeatable. I don't think Paraguay is the team that's going to knock them out of this tournament. But it is an interesting story that the correlation here between 1998, these two teams meeting again, is interesting. I think what's really telling about Paraguay today in 2026 is that this team was left for dead after the first game against the United States. A 4-1 loss. They were played off the pitch by the co-hosts. and Gustavo Alfaro and the players were completely, they were smashed when they got from the press. The press essentially abandoned the team. Gustavo Alfaro was saying, don't blame the players, blame me.

45:44They've given everything. We're not out of it yet. And this is a team that is caught between two identities. The 98 team was this classic Paraguayan rugged team, long ball, second ball football. The Garda Charrua, which is very famous for that grit of the Paraguayan football team. And they have evolved to be a team that wants to play. They want to play with the ball. They want to play slick football. And they tried that in the first game and it didn't work. And then what has happened is they've gone back a little bit to the dark arts and some of the off-field stuff. And the game within the game against Turkey, playing with 10 men and winning that game with one of the fastest goals in the tournament.

46:24And they held on to win 1-0. And then they get through and they beat Germany. So it's like they have come from the dead and now they've inspired this country that thought they were out of the World Cup after the first game. Well, not many people were given that much chance against France. But then how many people thought Cape Verde could take Argentina to extra time? Hmm. Yeah. Football, etc. and so on. A bit of late French team news. Yes. It looks like Aurelien Chouameni is likely to miss out. He's picked up an injury in training. Chances are it would be Manu Kone who comes in to take his place.

46:56It's not a bad replacement, but it means that France will be slightly weakened. One not too many for a France defender. Indeed. Let's leave it there. What an exceptional day it's been at the World Cup. We've got another one in store tomorrow. Hopefully you'll be joining us when we return in 24 hours time then. For now, very much thanks to Tom, to Felipe, to Phil, to our production team and to you for joining us today. See you next time on Totally at the World Cup. From all of us here, it's goodbye.

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