England set up DR Congo clash as Clarke leaves Scotland

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2:35From Los Angeles, it's totally at the World Cup. Group stage is now totally over and now it's a knockout.

2:47England, avoid banana skin, get Panama win. Next up is Dr Congo What could possibly go wrong-o? We check up on the winners and losers on this final day of the group stage for the ages Mahrez and Messi and more Plus the Scots take their fairy liquid and go home We say very well to Steve Clarke Saturday night in LA Sunday morning possibly down your way and it's another totally at the World Cup We're Tom Williams Hello James Hi to you Tom Are you still here, Duncan Alexander? Yeah, still here Crikey. It's your last day here in Los Angeles. I'm a group stage ultra, so yeah. That ends. I go. All right.

3:29Your work here is almost done. I'm going to squeeze another 45 minutes of top punditry out of Duncan. And you know what? At the end, we might even ask you for a little bit of a reminisce package of your favourite bits. Yeah. Anyway, group stage is over. Not just Duncan's going home. Lots of teams are as well. We've had 72 matches which have whittled the field down from 48 sides to 32. The round of 32. All right. Now, some of the flags we've respectfully deposited around the back of the divan already. Today, there's a fresh batch to be heaved over. Yeah, we're sad about Iran. Yeah, that was really sad.

4:10Really sad. It was through for all of two minutes. Yeah. And they were out. We enjoyed Uzbekistan's energy. and flag scored a lovely goal today I'm forgetting flag but effective

4:24Jordan correct they were here too and they made their mark didn't they in that game against Argentina they got a goal and respect I mean respect to everybody who makes it to this the ultimate footballing tournament that's why we're respectfully throwing our flags on the ground on the AstroTurf hope Panama yes bye top knowledge yeah South Korea yeah bye and what but they're fans but they're overhead kicks it's true more on Scotland later on and a thousand Scottish laptops slam shut where are you going to find a thousand Scottish laptops watching this anyway I actually wanted Scotland to go through so that was yeah I think everyone did that was just theatre yeah but you know it was it was a slow and painful action Duncan cried actually they might not have been tears of sadness but definitely some eye moisture when they went out let me just move things along and ask you for a moment of the day an uplifting incident something that struck you tugged on the cords of your heart Tom I'm going to go for the incredible closing stages to the Algeria Austria game in group J the game that we were all expecting was going to be a complete fix and a bit of a biscotto right And it was actually a really entertaining game.

5:51Yep. Algeria fell behind twice, equalised twice. And then with about 75 minutes gone, it got a bit biscotto. And you're like, okay, fair enough. They've had a crack at it. What's the name of biscotto? So biscotto is the name, Italian name, applied... I don't know why the Italians would have a word for that. I mean, of all the football cultures in the world, The name that is given to a football match that ends in a result that is mutually beneficial and therefore creates a certain sense of suspicion. Most notoriously in the case of the 1982 World Cup group phase match between Austria and West Germany, which eliminated Algeria.

6:32So Algeria had previous of this kind of arrangement. Although they were very much the victims back then. Very much the victims. Anyway, so the game is drifting towards a 2-2 draw that sends both teams through. And Iran out. And Iran out. And then in the fourth minute of stoppage time, All of a sudden... Aljuri, who've just been knocking the ball around between themselves for minutes on end, realise, oh, we could actually score a goal here. So they do. Riyad Mahrez runs in to score his second goal of the game and put them 3-2 up. Which is brilliant because it doesn't live the other side. Any time to equalise.

7:01Yeah, completely. Or so we thought. Or so we thought. Two minutes later, a cross comes in from the left. It's headed back across goal by Michael Gregorich. And one time, Wolverhampton won to centre forward, Sasha Kaladzic nods in the 96th minute, 3-3. Both teams go through, Iran go out. And this game that we thought was going to be one of the sleepiest and kind of most suspiciously uneventful games of the tournament ends up being one of the best games of the tournament so far. Did I misspeak when I said moment of the day and actually ask you to do a match report on Algeria? It's hard to condense it.

7:37It's this, you know, it was all, you can't have the moment without the pre-am. The moment of the day in that game was the ball hitting the corner flag. Right. And then staying in play, which is a great thing anyway. Yeah. But the fact that then a Maradona-esque goal came from it is, you know. I mean, you're being generous. But yeah, I mean, that was a great moment. Accidental Roy the Rovers, he did that once apparently. Deliberately aimed for the corner flag from the halfway line, raced after it and scored. Yeah, that was, I think, the first Algeria goal. That was the second Algerian goal. Second Algeria goal.

8:05Since we're doing the match report anyway. So Austria taking the lead through Arnautovic. Yes. Austria go ahead and Austria attack the game with a lot of gusto. Yeah. Both teams were going through with a draw. Yeah. Austria go ahead, slightly scruffy Arnautovic goal, runs in behind and kind of toes the ball past Algeria's substitute goalkeeper. Luka Zidane had been hooked after a couple of shaky performances. Another set a new record for sub-goalkeepers. Another sub-goalkeeper. How many is that? That was the sixth. One more than the record. Algeria equalised with this slightly comical slash brilliant goal ball hitting the corner flag and ending up at the feet of Rafik Belgali who then does a series of a magnificent face cross blocked and then does a lovely little kind of drag back smashes it in the near post Austria retake the lead through Marcel Sabitzer after 10 minutes of the second half then Mahrez equalises lovely assist from Husam Awar first World Cup goal for Riyad Mahrez at the grand old age of 35 then we get into biscotto time and then the madness happens Remarkable What a moment But it has been pretty amazing the end of these group stage games some of them have been absolutely extraordinary and part of that I think has been the whole convoluted though it is third place mechanism because it's kept a lot of fixtures alive that would otherwise have been the deadest of dead rubbers But what was good about the ranking of the eight best third place teams was it was done on goal difference which was not how the groups were done So it's almost like, goal difference is good.

9:36Bring it back everywhere. Anyway, commiserations to Iran, who, as a result of that late, late Austria goal, saw their hopes of a place in the 32, dashed. Duncan, what was your moment of the day? Well, I fear mine may be a little underwhelming now after that 38-minute monologue. And it's been underwhelming at World Cup. Shocker, surely not. Well, they did for a long time. and they broke through with this Drew Bellingham goal, which came from a soccer corner. All right, we're seeing a picture. For those of you not choosing to follow us in video, what's the picture look like, Duncan? Well, it's not a very informative picture.

10:14It's Bellingham celebrating. But what I thought was interesting about this was, do you remember the last Euros, when England were, again, a little bit moribund? In the first knockout game, they played Slovakia, and Slovakia took the lead, and it looked like it was going to be one of the all-time humiliations locations. Bellingham equalised and then Kane scored in extra time and England 1-2-1. Not a great historic moment but I do think it underlines that Bellingham and Kane are England's game changers and again today they kind of Bellingham assisted Kane's goal as well. The lovely left foot across and I think that it sort of showed that England aren't great at the moment but with those two up front I think they've still got a chance.

10:55Okay we'll talk a lot more about England But the results on this, the final day of the group stage, England with 2-0 winners against Panama to book a last 32 meeting with Congo. Croatia in second place in that group with a 2-1 win over Ghana. Ghana also goes through as a third place side. Next up, Croatia will meet Portugal while Ghana face Colombia. This after Portugal and Colombia in Group K had a spirited 0-0 draw in Miami. the other game in Group K saw DR Congo book that place against England with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan it's the first time that Congo formerly Zaire have made it to the knockout stages of this competition tonight then in Group J Argentina in the dead rubber against Jordan who were already out beat them 3-1 Messi started on the bench he came on, did he score Duncan?

11:50he did and the other match was Algeria-Austria which is one of the games the group stage, Tom. 3-3, and they both go through. All right, let's find out more about what happened with England against Panama.

12:09Duncan, England win the group. They're going to play their round of 32 game in Atlanta on July 1st against Dr. Congo after defeating Panama, avoiding thus a path that would have seen them facing either Portugal or Colombia and then potentially Spain. So that sounds like good news, eh? Five changes from England's performance against Ghana, which had frustrated fans so much. But the first half was still pretty dour stuff. It wasn't as dour as the Ghana game, which is sort of increasingly rivaling Algeria as a struggle. England showed a lot more invention. they brought Rashford in on the left Saka was in on the right Bellingham sort of dropped to slightly deeper Rice was on the bench and Morgan Rodgers came in and they were a bit more inventive Rashford particularly had a couple of times when he cut in from left and had right foot shots which were decent but yeah again Panama as they showed to be fair in their other group games are pretty dogged, pretty organised and yeah it was nil-nil at half time which led to as far as I could tell widespread concern and wailing.

13:20However, Jude Bellingham stabbed in a corner and about 60 minutes played. And very shortly after that, Harry Kane, from the assist from Jude Bellingham, made it 2-0. Becoming in the process, England's leading scorer in World Cups with 11 goals. One off Pelé now, I believe. One behind Pelé. Which is, you know, no mean feat. Overtaking Gary Lineker. Bellingham created four chances. I'm listing some of the positives here before we get on to other things. Belliam created four chances. Nick O 'Reilly popped up all over the place. Yeah, O 'Reilly was really good. I don't think the Konza, Gerald Konza, not Esri Konza, very confusing, I imagine, for some commentators.

14:02I don't think his right-back performance was great. He twisted his ankle in the second half, went off and Spence came on and was immediately much better. Madueki came on as well and looked decent, probably did a little bit more than Saka. but yeah, I think it was progression. I mean, this is the first time they've ever finished top of their group in consecutive World Cup, so for all the kind of semi-doom and gloom, it's not bad, you know. All right, but one or two considerations for Thomas Tuchel and his team might lie in the fact that once again they conceded chances to Panama, chances that a better team might well punish them with.

14:40My question would be, are DR Congo that team? Maybe. I mean, Wiss is looking better game by game. He's already scored more goals today than he did in the entire Premier League season. So, fair play. But I think England should have enough for that game. But I do think that, as you said, their defensive issues are obvious. Panama, a team who lost all of their matches, failed to score a single goal. The only team in this tournament to fail to score a single goal. So beating them 2-0, perhaps not the emphatic display that another opponent might have afforded. I think given how much England struggled against Ghana, it's similar opposition.

15:22And Panama had nothing to play for today, already out of the tournament. And yet gave a really good account of themselves, were obviously very committed to trying to get something out of the game. Lovely Reebok kit as well. Lovely kind of Bolton Wanderers coded... Well, England had their new red kit on with very dark shorts. They look like York City. It's like York City versus Bolton. Not in a bad way. Well, in a very accurate way, because some of the play was quite that. Let me ask you then about Congo's match against Uzbekistan, because the Leopards had a stirring comeback in this match. 3-1 the final score.

15:57They'd gone behind to a remarkable goal from Eldor Shomorodov. Yes, formerly of Genoa and Roma. Roma as well, yeah. Scoring one of the goals of the tournament, I think. 10 minutes in there's a long ball played down the Uzbekistan left and there's a bit of a defensive mix up, defenders aren't sure whether they should take it or whether the goalkeeper's going to come out and Shamurodov nicks in and scores with this beautiful little dainty lob from a narrow angle on the left hand side with his left foot seen a lot of dinks this was definitely a lob a slightly different kettle of fish and they led until the 68th minute when Abdukhari Kusunov, the star of this Uzbekistan team, Manchester City defender, basically cut Johan Wisser in half, trying to clear the ball.

16:46Didn't realise Wisser was coming around on his blind side. Careless with Wisser. Careless with Wisser indeed. Wisser scores the penalty and then 10 minutes later Fiston Mayeli darts in to put Dr. Congo ahead. Like the Daniel Munoz goal the other week. Yeah, outside of the right foot. just manages to keep himself onside. And then Visser seals the victory with this really nicely taken goal, picks the ball up on the left-hand corner in the penalty area, kind of moves outside the box and then curls a shot bottom right. And that is Dio Con go through to the knockout phase for the first time ever. Okay.

17:24Lots of Premier League players who we know. Visser, Yawan Bissakas, Noah Siddiquis, Arthur Masawaku, etc. so players who know what it's like to come up against English opposition. Indeed, so the game will be next Wednesday in Atlanta, and we'll do a big preview ahead of that, of D.R. Congo's chances and the threat they represent, but what's your feeling about this, Tom? After Ghana, how much do you think England might struggle with this one? I think England will take a lot of heart from the fact that they did eventually grind Panama down. I think if the game today had also finished in a draw, there would have been a lot more doom and gloom a lot more negative headlines Tuchel didn't send out his strongest first XI today and they still managed to get the job done against a team who'd only conceded one goal against Croatia who'd held out until stoppage time before conceding against Ghana so I would have thought England will have enough Good and I think they'll probably go on and win the World Cup and I think we should say that without fear of jinxing them it seems pretty evident to me Tom The other game in England's group, by the way, took place in Philadelphia.

18:31Croatia doing what England and Panama couldn't and actually put a goal past Ghana, or two in fact, beating the Black Stars 2-1. Petar Sukic, Ghana got one back through Derek Lukasen, and a former Everton man, Nicole Vlasic, headed home, eventually the winner to book Croatia a spot in the last 32 against Portugal. So you have... Old Man Classico. The Old Man Classico. The I'm over 42 in the last 32 between Modric and Ronaldo if selected. Huh. Anyway, next up, let's get on to Group K and the match that Portugal enjoyed today against Colombia.

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24:23Naturally, it finished nil-nil. But it was quite a match, though. Yeah, we really enjoyed it. And it felt a lot like a World Cup game from back in the day, in the sense that it was very hot and humid in Miami. And both sets of players looked pretty much knackered from about the 40th minute onwards. Right. So that was quite entertaining. You didn't begrudged them hydration breaks. Yeah, for once, we did not personally boo the hydration breaks. And, I mean, Colombia had the better of it. Most of the possession, most of the chances. I think Portugal had two shots on target. So after the high of the win over Uzbekistan, I think there are a few more questions.

25:02Well, so Portugal had a shot from Bruno Fernandes, which produced a remarkable save from Camilo Vargas, the Colombia keeper. You can see it if you're following us on video. They also had Cristiano Ronaldo with that bicycle kick attempt, you know, for old time's sake, which went straight into a defender's face. but still 37 shots all in all 24 of them for Colombia most they've ever recorded most they've ever had in a World Cup game Ronaldo this is the slider on how back or not back he is has gone up and down depending on their opponents briefly Duncan where is it today it slid down slid down and Roberto Martins was asked about this after the game you know people saying why did Ronaldo play 90 minutes again you know Messi was on the bench and other players are coming off early or being and rested and he said that Ronaldo was really important to their movement up front and to be fair to the to the young man he he didn't look out of sorts you know he played all right but still maintain that his relationship the action is more or less the same as a referee's eye he's kind of there or thereabouts and mostly observing it but just dressed in a team color as opposed to Yeah, and he's allowed to have shots.

26:19That's true. Occasionally. That's true. Not too many shots. Yeah. Rather than discuss him again, tell me about James Rodriguez and how he did for Colombia. Yeah, well, he broke the Colombian record for World Cup appearances in this game. And another player we didn't know whether we'd see again at a World Cup. And, I mean, it's almost like he's accepted something that Ronaldo hasn't, which is that he can't be the player he was five or six years ago. And he's adapted his game. and he was playing, I mean, Jacob Whitehead for The Athletic, after the game wrote about how he was playing as a sort of deep-lying winger, you know, tactical revolution.

26:54He was like kind of out wide, playing little triangles, occasionally playing like cross-field balls, picking out really good passes. And he knows that he can't run like he used to. Had a couple of good shots as well. But it's almost like he's worked out that, yeah, he has had to adapt his game and become a player that is beneficial for the team. Some players don't do that as much. If he can't run, does that not rather limit him on the wing? He can. No, but he's staying deeper. He's not trying to be a classic. A classic. I mean, he was picked as a central midfielder, but he just drifted out to the left-hand side.

27:26Pined in lovely crosses. A full seven. Okay. In the way that sometimes, I mean, Rodriguez has never been quick, but you sometimes get wide players who evolve into central midfielders, you know, Ryan Giggs, Andrew Zinniester. And if you've got the technical quality, you can still, I mean, Granit Xhaka, similar for Switzerland, no pace whatsoever, still pulls the strings for them. And Rodriguez was doing similar things today, 12 years on from being the star man at the 2014 World Cup. Yeah, indeed so. Colombia, as I mentioned, needed that remarkable save from Vargas to keep Portugal at bay. But they do go through as group winners and they will have a round of 32 clash with Ghana while Portugal play Croatia.

28:10and if they get past that then potentially Spain further down the road which I think that Ghana game is really interesting because as we mentioned we saw how England struggled to break them down I think this Colombia team will have different ideas of how to do it I think Luis Diaz is almost like the the player England don't have in that sort of you know that format of player so I think I fancy Colombia to beat them and I think they'll yeah it should be interesting to compare and contrast Although they have struggled to score in this competition, Luis Diaz hasn't caught fire in the way that some of the other big names have.

28:42True, he wasn't great in the first half this match, but he grew into it towards the end. He'll come alive in the knockouts. Okay. Now, the other group that took place today in the evening, certainly our time here in Los Angeles, was Group J. we heard about the remarkable finale between Algeria and Austria and in fact all the other bits of Algeria and Austria as well. So while that was going on, Duncan, you chose to watch the dead rubber between group winners. I was working on that game. So I was parlayed into observing the dead rubber. The dead rubber between Argentina, the group winners and many people's favourites for this competition and Jordan, who were on their way out but were giving it one last hurrah against Leo Messi and his compadres.

29:31Crikey, tell us about it then. Because to my mind, Argentina looked pretty comfortable without Messi and then, big surprise, pretty comfortable with him. Well, almost. They were very comfortable without him. Scaloni made nine changes. LaCelso scored his first ever World Cup goal from a direct free kick. He had a great game as well. Yeah, he was great. Nico Paz, who didn't score, but he was really impressive. that just lived up to everything that everyone's saying. And Lataro Martinez scored from the penalty spot. Again, his first goal at World Cup, which is quite surprising. That's a bit mad. And Argentina looked super slick in the first half.

30:08Second half began. Jordan pulled a goal back. Well-worked goal. I mean, they're good in little spells. And then there was obviously the clamour to bring Messi on, which happened. And then for about 15 minutes after she came on, they really sort of got stuck in a bit of a rut. they weren't you know they didn't really create much but this is very much lino messi's world that we live in and he sort of grew into the game he had one free kick which um didn't work then they won another one and he stood up and he put it past the wall the goalkeeper decided for some reason to just sort of watch it go in the net i'm not entirely sure why well well he'd already been at fault for the philis elsa yeah he he had his wall set up and then he decided well there's my wall I'll be on the right hand side of the goal hmm maybe I'll shuffle to the to the left and see what happens and LaCelle's like okay I'll just I'll put it in there before Messi's free kicks a few minutes before the commentator on Fox Sports had been moved to ask his co-commentator whether he thought that perhaps the Jordanian keeper might just throw one into his own net from Messi just to say I was scored on by the great Leo Messi and maybe one day receive a free bottle of beer like all those other goalkeepers did in that marketing tie up a few years ago remember that no budweiser sent a bottle of beer to every goalkeeper who'd ever conceded a goal scored by leonard messi and some of them received like 15 or 20 so if they do it again your man from jordan is uh i mean i must say this has been an extraordinary tournament for messi but some of the kind of overwrought commentary is a bit too much i mean right you know there were points in the first half when the penalty was awarded but you know things were suggested like should they bring Messi on to take the penalty Who was the commentator out of interim?

31:51I'll have to look that up Tom The irony being that of all the players to bring on to take a penalty if anything you should take Messi off The one thing he can't do is take penalties Then take him off, teach him a lesson, work on your penalties Yeah yeah well anyway Can I just say that with that free kick or do you want to say it? I'll just do a record wrap up So he's now up to six goals in this tournament not all time, just in this tournament 6 goals which in a lot of World Cups is the mark to get to, to win the golden boot your Linneges, your Canes etc your Silenkos he's already there, although to be fair Silenko also did it in the group stage this is his 19th goal overall, which is again poor old Mirosav closer and it was his 7th successive World Cup game he scored in which puts him past the likes of just Fontaine and Jairzinho and Jairzinho no one's ever done that before scoring seven consecutive World Cup matches boom the record books are in the bin if you've got a record book take it out set it alight it means nothing I watched a bit of this with you and was struck by how much Argentina looked looked to have that ease with which we saw them you remember that famous goal back in the 2006 campaign the Esteban Cambiasso the very same when they would just pass the ball around here there we'll take it up this way now we'll bring it back there oh and now we'll score a goal they seem to have that ease and i guess a lot of that comes from this being the second tournament in a row when the same groups played together they look really good they did i would say that i think their group they've not really faced much intensity in their group um and they're not really going to face that much intensity in the knockouts for quite a while um they've obviously got cape verd in the last 32 if they win that which we expect they will they'll play australia or egypt in the in the last 16 and they'll probably play columbia or switzerland in the quarters so i mean what nice pathway.org um so it could be the semi-final before they really face a sort of contender right um although you know my columbian boys will do their best if they make it but But, I mean, they are the world champions for a reason.

34:03But I don't think that they are just the out-and-out favourites at all. I think they're a good team among several good teams. I think they're my tip. From the first game, you just thought, you saw that, as you said, James, this sense of a load of players who not only know how to play with each other but really enjoy it. And there's just no jeopardy anymore. There's no pressure on them. They're already the defending champions. I mean, the pressure will creep back in the further they go. But the last team to win all their group games and then win the World Cup was Brazil in 2002. And France and Argentina have made the terrible error of winning all their group games.

34:41Back England, back Spain, back... There's a lot of football to be played. There is. There's a lot of football to be played, more so than in any World Cup previously, because even getting out of the group stages, we've still got 32 teams still in the competition. We do now know, there's a lot of football still to be played, but we do now know what the round of 32 looks like. So have yourself a bit of incidental music and I'll run through the bracket. It's on screen for anyone who's joining us visually, but there's a left-hand side and a right-hand side. Top half of the left-hand side, so this group of teams will provide one semi-finalist.

35:23Germany against Paraguay, France against Sweden, South Africa against Canada and Netherlands against Morocco. The other semi-finalists from that left half of the bracket will come from Portugal against Croatia, Spain against Austria, United States against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Belgium against Senegal. So two of those teams, all of those sides will be meeting in a semi-final. On the other side of the bracket, and I'll speed up here, you've got Brazil-Japan, Ivory Coast-Norway, Mexico against Ecuador and England against Dr Congo one of whom will meet in a semi-final one of Argentina against Cape Verde Australia, Egypt Switzerland, Algeria and who's the last one there?

36:05Colombia against Ghana Wow, that was a lot wasn't it? Yeah I mean I've never contemplated a last 32 before but here we are There we are But a lot of great ties Yeah? I mean in spite of this tournament being a bit on the bloated side or perhaps so we thought. I feel like all the teams that have gone out have kind of largely deserved to go out. And apart from Iran, because that would have been a fantastic story for them to have stayed through, to have gone through. But yeah, I think all the teams that are still in are broadly all decent sides. Brazil, Japan. Brazil, Japan leaps out at you, doesn't it?

36:42Japan have impressed us so much and Brazil who have been not particularly convincing. And you can see Brazil having to work very hard to get a result there. And if they were to go out in the round of 32, I mean, you know, you thought there was a soul-clutching, soul-clutching, soul-searching after some of their recent World Cup exits. This would be of another order of magnitude. Pick out a fixture, Duncan. I mean, there's so many. I think Netherlands-Morocco is another big one. Again, two really good teams, different teams. And, yeah, they know that they've got the prize of a South Africa or Canada in the next round as well.

37:23Ivory Coast against Norway. Mexico, Ecuador, because Mexico. Yeah. I mean, it's going to be fun. It's going to be fun. And maybe without six games playing, a lot of them simultaneously, we'll be able to just let it soak in a little bit more. I think the last four days with six games a day has been intense. but we go again we soldiered on we do indeed not in that bracket you'll have spotted Scotland they were confirmed out in the course of Saturday's action and with that came the announcement from the SFA that Steve Clarke has resigned as Scotland manager after seven years in the job and this following the announcement of a brand new four year contract for him to get a bit of reaction we spoke to Phil Hay earlier on Phil, Steve Clark is gone He'd just been given a new four-year deal He had I don't think this is at all a surprise Based on recent events Quite the opposite Recent events being the World Cup But I think As you say He signed the four-year contract on May 28th It's now June 27th And he's resigned From a distance This looks pretty ridiculous and pretty inept, and I think that point will be made by journalists in Scotland much closer to home than me at the moment.

38:48It is the right decision, though. It's funny with Clarke, because when he took the job, I think a lot of people in Scotland would say the same. I'd almost reached the point of wondering if Scotland were ever going to qualify for a major tournament ever again. It really started to struggle in that field. And OK, tournaments have started to expand, so you could say it has become easier to qualify for the Euros, was easier to qualify for the World Cup. But the fact remains that Clark qualified three times, two European championships, one World Cup, and gave particularly the supporters the sort of away trips and tournament experience that they perhaps thought they weren't going to get for much longer and were very much craving.

39:25The problem was that every time they turned it up, and this World Cup being a prime example of this, they then fumbled their way through the group games without much of a plan, without much tactical wit, and without much of an idea of how to get the results they needed to stick around or even to contribute much to the tournament. I think the really damning thing about this World Cup is that in Boston, the supporters made headlines. It was a celebrated cause, them being there. The city loved them. A lot of people wrote about them. The team have enhanced this tournament in no way whatsoever. They've contributed nothing.

40:00If you'd put another team in for them, they would probably have done more. They deserve to go out. They have gone out. And I think the biggest thing for Clarke is that the tide had turned against him in terms of popular opinion. And it won't be long before Scotland run into qualifiers for the next Euros. And I think the risk of things becoming toxic pretty quickly was probably high. I think he'll have realised that. And I think everybody will have kind of come to the conclusion that it was time to move on. OK, so respect for what he'd achieved, but relief that this particular era is over. Scotland returned to action in September when they have Slovenia and Switzerland in the Nations League.

40:35Phil, who do you think is going to be in charge? I see that you can currently get 5-1 on Ange Postacoglu. Now, interesting. I have always thought over the years that there would come a point where David Moyes would end up as Scotland manager, but that clearly isn't, unless I'm misreading things, that doesn't look like an option at all at the moment, given that he is in work. And looking around the options that are actually Scottish, I think it's a prime opportunity for the SFA to go for. I think whether Postacoglu would be the right fit Is very hard to say on specs really It didn't go well for him at Tottenham I know they won the Europa League But tactically it didn't work for them there It did not go well at all at Nottingham Forest But it did work for him in a big way at Celtic When he was there He was extremely popular there It was effective the way they played The football they played under him at Celtic It was very very good Bear in mind that they are the strongest Scottish club By quite a distance at the moment I think that that is probably I don't mean post-acoggle But I think that is the route they're going to have to go down Is to look at what is out there in the foreign market What can they do that is different Clark was talking about a lack of technical ability And lack of physicality afterwards It's a little bit richer on the basis that a month ago He was taking a new contract Because clearly that hasn't changed massively In the space of a few weeks But he's not entirely wrong There is technical ability Particularly in the midfield With McTominay and Gannon Doak and McGinn, Ferguson as well.

42:01But big problems in the centre of defence. We referenced this on a previous podcast. Can't find a goalkeeper that can get a game for his club. Do not have world-class centre forwards. So it is very limited. And I think if ever there was an occasion for a root and branch review that goes beyond what was Steve Clarke doing, and I don't think Clarke's tactics were very good at any of the major tournaments, then this is the moment I think the SFA will have to consider how the development of Scottish players, not just now, but 10, 20 years down the line changes because it definitely needs to. Phil Hay.

42:33Because Scotland have had a foreign manager before, haven't they? Bertie Vogts. And that went well. Really well. I mean, he's still seeing his name. Right. Fulfilled his contract. Bertie Vogts and Antipas de Coglo, who is just probably one of the many candidates. Very different entities. We should point out with Scotland that, obviously, there was a lot of wailing and worrying about the fact that they lost 3-0 to Brazil and maybe if they'd lost 1-0 or 2-0, that would have been okay. It turns out it wouldn't have been okay. Yeah, South Korea finished with a goal difference of minus one and they still went home.

43:05Yeah. Senegal, the only team with three points to finish third and get the third. Is that right? Is that right? What a high-quality group stage it was. Yeah. Well, the group stage is over and I don't know how to say this, but that means that Duncan's time is two. Three weeks together that Duncan we will always treasure for Not to alarm you, but there is a skunk in the garden, seriously There's a skunk in the garden How alarming is that? Well I don't know how Just keep talking There he is Or she in fact, we've not got close enough to ascertain Day 7 in which England become the latest big nation to lay down a markup kind of apt to be playing against Scotland because it's also what they would say if you live just for your dad Neymar

44:05who's I doing with it? yours I think

44:13I had a good tour James Sand don't touch much day Duncan Sand don't touch on a much day that's what they say in America brilliant work duncan your biggest cognitive tension is that you're trying to over rationalize and sanitize a game that is inherently chaotic and emotional and warm you're brilliant but you emit elitism while attempting to bend the beautiful game to your cynicism but then again you're british i told my mom to end that burner account but yeah here we go as i say memories thank goodness that's over eh no not at all it's been wonderful i mean i'm sad had to be leaving obviously the other major sporting events take place during summers and you know you've got a family you've got a home to go to oh yeah um yeah showed you pictures earlier yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah so in this room in pool now are we going to do that at the end come on first the group stage you know just since we're here just to wrap up duncan what what what have you enjoyed the most either in the football or in general well beyond the trionder which i I know you're obsessed by it.

45:16Well, you've just ruined my joke, in a sense, because I was going to say, call me Darren Bent, because for me, the group stage has been about beach ball. Patti Beach, a man, a legend. Right. And the triunder. Right. A ball. Can I say, some enjoy the beach, and some enjoy the pool. Eh, Tom? Yeah. Enjoy it more when I'm not forcibly shoved into it, but look at that. It took a little persuading for you to go along with that. Look at that acting. Both hands in the air. Yeah. You look like a... It's a good job you didn't capture the expletives that were leaving my mouth at that point. Anyway, so Patrick Blage, important news on that very shortly, and the ball.

45:57Yeah, I should also issue an official mayor Culper because... There's the ball. Why the ball, Duncan? Well, I think, A, it looks amazing in slow motion with the colours. I think we can all agree that is true. And it's serving up banger after banger, you know, of all kinds. As Tom said earlier, we saw our first lob today after many dinks. We've seen screamers. We've seen own goals more than we've ever seen before. It's just – and I think it is actually a good part of it. Have you ever tried one? We've got a mini one. There is one at work back in London. Is there? Yeah. So, I mean, I might pump it up and have a bit of fun.

46:34But it is – and I think to that point, I should issue a May Colbert because I did sort of say at the start of the tournament, I mean, I hinted that maybe it'd be a low-scoring tournament. No one recorded it, so people will forget. I probably won't mention it again. I wouldn't have thought when you've gone. I'm sure you won't, Tom. As it stands, end of the group stage, 215 goals. Feels like a lot. Is it a lot, Duncan? Well, it's more than any other World Cup, but that's because there's more game. But per game? Per game, it's 2.99 as it stands, which is a lot and the most since 1970? Is that right?

47:12Again, a World Cup with an iconic ball. Get the ball right, get the goals right. Well, that's so true. So, okay, you enjoyed the ball, you enjoyed Patrick Beach I think generally we enjoyed the rise of the Instagram goalkeepers as they're surely now known. Your Vosinjas. Your Vosinjas. Oh, L.O. Rooms broke the record or set the record or whatever he did with 15 saves. Who was that against? Ecuador. Yeah. Mohamed Al-Aweiss for Saudi Arabia against Uruguay, was it? Very possibly. Been some tremendous goalkeeper action. Jordan Pickford at one point. Yeah. Did that. Yeah. That was good. There was also the big dogs, because a lot of times the big names turn up and they disappoint, but not this tournament.

48:00That was a great feud. Yeah. Yeah. It was wonderful. and you just have to look down the golden boot list at the moment and it's superstar. Big dog after big dog. And I think it's, you know, we wonder what a World Cup in America and Canada and Mexico would be like, and particularly in America, a country that isn't historically that big into soccer. But I think they couldn't have really asked for any more. I mean, the games have been good. The stars have scored goals. It's looked good. I mean, to Tom's point earlier, there's been certain games that have just looked like World Cup matches. the light in certain stadiums.

48:34The Colombia-Portugal game today just had that feel of a World Cup game. And we've not even got to the knockouts. Okay. Have you made peace with the hydration breaks? No. No. I kind of flip between it a little bit because I do think that I've enjoyed certain managers being able to tweak their teams. But there's certain games where it's been a really good quarter and then it stops. and then the next quarter is really slow. Sometimes the good things do have to come to an end, Duncan. No, why? The thing is people are getting used to the hydration breaks. We shouldn't confuse that with people accepting them.

49:15Very different things. They got booed today during the Algeria-Austria game. Did they? The commentator was shook. I think generally they're being booed in every match. Good. Please continue to boo. Okay. Duncan, will we get you back? Maybe at the end of the thing? Yeah, absolutely. In some way, shape or form? Very much so. So you're gone, but yeah, like Obi-Wan. Yeah, exactly. Or Anakin, you know, I'll just loom up with that. Oh, yeah, I suppose he's also. He does come back, yeah. He does. Do the Obi-Wan. All right. Good, but the tour for you now, I have to say for us, it's not the end of the World Cup, even though it might feel like it, Tom.

49:54We've got other people coming. Tim Spears will be with us. Philippa Candenas will be coming in. Looking forward to that. Tomorrow, for example, Daniel Storey will be joining us. Well, big guns turning up. And also Rasmus Sandoval of Telemundo. So, Duncan, I'm afraid you'll be on your way. Well, we'll have Rasmus Sandoval going Patrick Bleach. Over and over again. Over and over again. As much as we want. Hit us again, Rasmus. Instantly replaced, and rightly so. Yeah. And there's only one game to talk about tomorrow as well, which is Canada, South Africa. So there you go. and there indeed you do go but listen before you go we wanted to salute your participation with a little something if you could stand by the pool Duncan so it's a mug with your own initial would you like to pass it over to Duncan ceremonial mug that he's not seen before salt bay when you need him oh wait there's something else down here as well oh yeah it's a professional level professional level I don't need to go back to London now exactly I can kick that around the airport has anyone kicked a football around the airport?

51:07no you can't that's only in the movies you need to deflate it before you attempt to take it on a plane if you buy a ball don't try and take it on a plane pumped up because they're not having that wow well that is amazing a real trionder the deep grooves the deep deep groove they really are something else aren't they the detailing on that wonderful anyway there you go that's very kind not at all that's yours to take home thanks for playing Tom you and I will be back back here tomorrow home essentially we will indeed and I can only hope that you'll be joining us despite the absence of Duncan we'll be back same time same place so many thanks for now to Duncan for all the good times to Tom to Phil Hay earlier on and the production crew.

51:56We'll see you in 24 hours time. From all of us here, it's goodbye.

52:05This is Kat and Nat from Kat and Nat Unfiltered. And this episode is sponsored by Michaels, your destination for all things birthday parties. If you've ever planned a birthday celebration, you know it goes from cute idea to full on chaos real fast. The party shop at Michaels makes life easier with over 4 ,500 party supplies in 60 plus themes like Bluey, Rodeo, Soccer, Rainbow, and more. Starting at just 99 cents, you can shop same day delivery or order online for pickup in-store. And they even do free helium inflation on SelectBloonStyles. Michael's, everything to celebrate anything. Visit Michael's in-store or shop online now.

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