England win thriller in Mexico + FIFA’s Balogun controversy

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1:08One normal day of World Cup. That's all I asked for. Will never happen. Today's totally is back from the pub with the dawn, has thrown the rule book in the bin and is ready to hit the studio now to talk about another exceptional day of World Cup football.

1:28England go to Mexico's home and disturb them with bangers 2k up and a man down hitting new heights and winning a World Cup Classic While in New Jersey it's an earling exit for you Brazil beaten again by the Vikings in a Haaland-Morland Meanwhile FIFA 1 sporting integrity nil as the USA respond to red card by playing trump card Sunday night in LA the end of a very long evening down your way possibly it is World Cup Day 25 and with us here at Totally at the World Cup we've got Tom Williams again and Philippe Cardenas welcome to you both thank you thank you James what a crazy day this World Cup just keeps delivering it does doesn't it the final game at the Azteca was beyond anything that even the hype had suggested but even before that We had the unprecedented but sadly involving precedents incident with the Maligan red card.

2:27And we also had Norway knocking out Brazil. Yeah, I mean, it was a full day of news, of incredible results. You saw Erlene Holland obviously score a brace to eliminate Brazil. And then, I mean, this game in Mexico City, it lived up to the hype. It really did. It may have even surpassed the expectation and the anticipation that we all had. and honestly just what a performance in the end for England. Yeah, absolutely extraordinary. We'll get on to that very, very shortly. We'll also talk about Brazil's exit at the hands of Erling Haaland and company. But results first of all, Norway knocking out Brazil 2-1, the brace from Erling Haaland there.

3:08It's now the sixth World Cup in a row where Brazil have been eliminated by the first European team that they encounter in the competition. And then in the evening, England down to 10 men, but winning 3-2 at the Azteca. Absolutely extraordinary. Also on Sunday, not a result, but hugely significant nonetheless, was FIFA announcing that they had annulled the one-game suspension on following Balogun of Host Nation USA, which means that he is now free to play in Monday's last 16 match between USA and Belgium. Previously, FIFA had said the red card was not appealable, but after a call from the White House, It's now been confirmed.

3:49They changed their mind. Absolutely huge talking point that today and going forward. We'll get on to that later on in the show. Let's get a quick moment of the day before we get on to Mexico, England, Felipe. Oh, I'm going first. Let me just throw my flowers, a whole bouquet of flowers at Jude Bellingham. I mean, what a player, what a leader, and what a performance at the Azteca. Really, just at the first half when he scored his two goals, back-to-back goals, it almost felt like he was willing that team to victory when they were being dominated by the host. They were really under it. and I'm just always so impressed by him.

4:30I think he is inevitable. I know we say that about a lot of players, but Jude Bethlehem truly is. He just is that big game player that always pops up. If I were an England fan, I would love to know that he is someone that we can rely on in the biggest moments. No bigger for England, perhaps, at this World Cup than what happened tonight. And so cheers to Jude. Lovely stuff, Philippe. What's your moment of the day, Tom? Going to go for another number 10, but one who had a slightly different experience today, that being Neymar of Brazil. Specifically his penalty, the build-up to it, the fallout from it.

5:10So he's standing over the ball to take this penalty in the 10th minute of stoppage time. Brazil are 2-0 down they are going out of the World Cup but in spite of that he decides to start trash talking Orjan Nyland the Norwegian goalkeeper one of Norway's men of the match he then scores his penalty proceeds to go Nyland even though like the tournament is over and the referee's whistle is about to be blown at any second and that will be the last image that we have of him on a football pitch if you don't count him you know crying after the final whistle yeah he goes up to Nyland giving it the big I am the big...

5:45Yeah, real, like, this is the real quiz energy. So, yeah, you're knocking us out of the World Cup and you've played a blinder, but I'm going to score a meaningless penalty. So, you know, think on. A curious way to bow out. We'll be talking more about that game. We'll be joined by Martin Sleeveness a little bit later on. We're going to begin, though, today's show with Mexico-England.

6:11England 3, Mexico 2. it happened daniel story joins us now daniel where are you now uh new haven connecticut wow in dreamland as tom points out and you made it all the way across america because you started on the pacific coast and you're now there on the atlantic very much and to bring us back to immediate reality doing that felt 10 times easier than watching that last 20 minutes in India versus Mexico. Well, what an England, what a game. Felipe is the most objective person in the room. What did you make of it? I mean, I thought for the neutral, it was just a magnificent game of football, perhaps the best game that we've seen at this World Cup.

6:54And an all-time classic, an automatic all-time classic that we will remember for a long time, for everything, the build-up to the game, the fact that it was at the Estadio Azteca, the fact that Mexico was facing the 40-year curse. They have not advanced to a quarterfinal since 1986. England, could they play at altitude? Would they be able to face the conditions, the hostility, the star power of England against this Mexico team that has just played together and has been backed by this incredible crowd at the Azteca? So it lived up to its billing. All right. Mexico didn't end their 40-year curse.

7:28Are you beginning to wonder, Daniel, whether England might end their rather longer one? it was a defining night for a number of reasons uh i didn't think that an england team or thomas tushel england team could play like that i i thought maybe in this is maybe my own prejudice in my own bias but i thought that maybe with gareth southgate had gone some of that togetherness that feels we I've just written that I think sometimes we overlook those intangibles like passion and desire and courage and comradeship uh they they stick out more in international football and stick out more in the clutch moments of international football but I think we probably overlook them and it's very easy to lose them if you're not careful and I worried that England have maybe lost a little bit of that in the in the last 12 to 18 months this was like nothing I've ever seen from England.

8:26It was remarkable. I thought they'd sat back too early, but they didn't. I thought they'd, you know, I thought they'd blown out a little bit and they hadn't. It was a remarkable match. It was, as Fliever says, it was kind of nostalgia montage to the max, right? We are going to be getting those kind of slow, grainy Italian 95 highlights of that game for the rest of our lives because it was that sort of night and it felt like that at the time. And I think it'll probably feel like it more when we've all been to sleep. Is that how far you have to go back to find something comparable for this? The only other thing in my lifetime watching England that I can compare this to is beating Columbia on penalties because of, apologies, Philippa, because it was the, then it was about slaying our own demons, I think.

9:14Here it was more about proving something that we didn't know we had. and I think in a way all that kind of altitude build-up sort of helped and it allowed England to build this up into bigger than it was and this is basically a team that says you can do whatever you want we've got this I promise you we've got this because we've got Kane we've got Bellingham and then everybody else will just do enough which sounds really harsh but it's not and they all stepped up tonight you know I wrote a piece in which the only player I said the only player I'm giving a whole paragraph to here is Jordan Pickford because he's the one that's got a little bit of stick in this tournament.

9:49And yet when you need someone for a puffed out chess night, he just turns up again and they all did that tonight. So, yeah, it's a remarkable effort. There were about 35 times in that night where I thought England wouldn't go through and yet they never trailed. That's the sort of night it was. Very nicely put, Daniel. I think one of the things that will make this game almost dreamlike for a lot of England supporters will be the fact that they watched it at 3, 4am, not quite working out what's going on possibly lapsing in and out of sleep possibly in a pub I mean we had the highest hopes for this game pre-kickoff because of a lot of those factors and it exceeded them I think you know as we've been saying a classic battling England victory that calls to mind you know some of the similarly gallant battling England victories of the past yeah and you add the fact that people in England about to stay up until not just not the middle of night like the early hours of the morning to take it in and even you know the way that the game itself unfolded 30 minutes where England barely get a kick and then all of a sudden they're 2-0 up but then they can see just before half time and then they get a man sent off at the start of the second half and then they score a third goal but then Mexico reduced the arrears and then for the last 30 minutes of the game Jordan Pickford didn't really have a proper save to make and yet you know It was unspeakably tense and a remarkable game.

11:10We'll come on to Qantas' red card in a second, too, because today, of all days, it's especially significant with the news about Balogun, the suspension of the suspension of that. But Mexico in that last half hour, if there's one thing that I would maybe say about this game that wasn't 100%, it was Mexico's performance. They've been incredible at home. They haven't ever lost a World Cup match there at the Azteca. That last half hour with the man advantage and just a goal down, what did you think of their performance, Felipe? Yeah, I think Mexicans will look back on this and say, wow, I think we played our worst game in our biggest moment.

11:42And, you know, it wasn't a regrettable performance, but you did see their limitations. It is a limited side. You know, Raul Jimenez, I thought, was wonderful at this World Cup. So much respect for him, you know, coming into this World Cup after losing his father and after essentially almost saying goodbye to his career in 2020. And he really performed as a leader for this team. But in the end, to your point, James, they ran out of ideas. They were a man up. And yes, you can give credit to England for defending the way that they defended. But Mexico did not know how to break that down. They continued to do the same thing, the same service into the box that we just knew England was going to eat up.

12:22And to Daniel's point, Pickford was performing when he had to, just punching the ball away, being in the right position. And so Mexico, this World Cup, I think, will be memorable for what the country did in terms of supporting the national team, what the Azteca, I think, was reborn in terms of what we believe a temple of world football should be. But they go out in a bit of a harsh way. It's a total heartbreaker for them. We're just seeing Kwanzaa there. We should touch then on this red card. So he is shown a red card, Daniel, which brings England down to 10 men. did you think it was a red first of all?

13:00I didn't at first but yeah I do think it probably was fair I think he was out of position and got a little bit lost his head a little bit and so tried to kind of lunge in to win the ball and it is unfortunate because if he goes through the ball it's not a red card but the fact that he just sort of catches it and goes over the ball means that if you then catch someone that high on the ankle you are the dreaded giving referee a decision or giving VAR a decision to make Like, yeah, I didn't have a huge problem with that. He didn't seem to have a huge problem with it, really. So, yeah, I mean, we need to get big care on the phone to Gianni and see what we can do over the next two or three days, don't we?

13:40Yeah. Well, that's so interesting because in light of what's happened earlier today with FIFA essentially striking off the red card that Balogun received for a not dissimilar offence, you wondered whether FIFA were maybe going to change the criteria for awarding a red card what is also curious is it's the same VAR official who called the referee to the side line monitor for this tackle as had been in charge for the Balogun incident so in both cases he felt they were red cards will come on to the Balogun case soon enough but that seems to confirm that for referees that is a red card and it should possibly have stood for Balogun as well I don't know Yeah, a little bit different.

14:22A little bit different, but I mean, in the end, both, I think you can, if you wanted to find a parallel between both incidents, Balogun, Kwanzaa, there was a bit of, they endangered the opponent. They endangered the player with the way they entered into the challenge. and I think what's interesting about what happened today in the England game is that when we saw the tackle and the referee decided to listen to VAR everyone that is not hiding under a rock immediately said oh here we go now what's going to happen considering what the news that broke early in the morning about Balogun and Donald Trump and FIFA and everything like that that's the fear that I think we all have now we're going to start to question every decision and is a team going to step off the pitch after 24 hours and file a complaint and point to Article 27?

15:15That's, I think, what we were thinking about in that moment. I mean, the fact is probably already on its way. Now that you know they can be overturned, if you put enough pressure on, might as well have a go. Yeah. I'm not sure who the facts would come from. You mentioned Keir. Does he have the right kind of clout? More to the point from England's point of view, possibly, Daniel. Thomas Tuka, what does he do now with yet another he had another victim of the curse of right back I don't know, you might not have seen it given, you know, I've just come on the call but he has another issue in that Declan Rice was an option for right back but Jordan Henderson has fallen off an advertising board in the celebrations and potentially broken his arm, they think which would rule him out for the rest of the tournament so, and you can't call anyone up so Rice is going to have to stay in midfield I actually thought that was really interesting that he kept on Rice with a full 90 tonight rather than Elliot Anderson, given he got booked after 57 seconds and has been, to be tactical about this, out on his arse for the second half of some games in this tournament because he's just tired and he's got X number of games in his legs from Arsenal season.

16:23So I don't think it can be Rice. I suspect that they'll go back to the Spence experiment, but that is, you know, it's dangerous in itself in that that brings Moussa from Norway, who's had a really good tournament, obviously scored in the last 32, is a similar threat. I actually thought that Quancer, until the red card, and that sounds like bearing the lead, but until the red card, he actually did really, really well against Canones to kind of stand him up and to force him back and to pass him into midfield. That's what England needed. They didn't need everything from Quancer. They just needed him to do one job and he kind of did it until he lost his head.

17:01I think England will be more confident with Spence against Noose at the match-up because that's more about pace than cutting inside and dribbling, I think, and power past you, I think. OK. Daniel, we'll let you go. Is there one thing you'd like to leave us with on the subject of Mexico-England? One play I haven't mentioned. There was an awful lot of criticism of Dan Byrne when he got picked for this squad as he was going to be some Connor Cody-style England mascot and never get on the pitch. he came on tonight and he won more headers and made more defensive contributions than any other player in the match and he was only on for about 20 minutes I think maybe not even that so good on him he was a kind of Harry Maguire of the chat GPT generation in terms of England World Cup heroes so yeah good on Dan Byrne for not just being the mascot everyone said he was going to be excellent thank you so much Daniel where where does the road take you next so I'm having two nights here and then working my way quite slowly up to Boston so luckily the torrential rain is back on the east coast so just greet me as I do so but yeah France Morocco in Boston for me is next brilliant all right well let's have a great time Daniel and thank you so much for joining us tonight not at all have a lovely show cheers Daniel Daniel's story what a great stat about Dan Byrne.

18:21To my untutored, all I could see were white shirts dealing with anything that came their way. But Dan Byrne was there in the heart of it all. And again, slightly curious that Mexico, famously one of the smallest football-playing nations when it comes to physical stature, should have chosen to approach the last 30 minutes with a barrage of crosses when you've got a set of Premier League centre-backs who spend their weekends just nodding them away with their eyes closed, including Dan Burton, who is a literal giant in the middle. England bringing their own altitude to this particular clash. As for the altitude, England seemed to cope with that pretty well, although if you were watching after the final whistle when Harry Kane gave his post-game interview, I imagine that was because of the thinner air, that he almost completely lost his voice.

19:09Probably also just the fact of trying to shout to his teammates over the dinners. That was something that a lot of players, both American players and some of the Mexican players throughout the week talked about at play at the Azteca. Like, you cannot hear. You cannot hear your bench. You cannot hear your teammates. It is that loud. And so, you know, clearly Harry Kane, he lost his voice. That says everything about the environment. Just like another element to add to the folklore of the evening, which is a Welshman slightly sick and to me, but, you know. What an evening they've been through in that din, and among those cavernous walls at that towering height, and through they go to the quarterfinals in Norway.

19:52Well, very, very shortly we are going to meet up with Martin Sleipnitz to discuss Norway. We've only just knocked out Brazil, so they mean business as well. Next up, though, let's talk a little bit more about the Balogun business.

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21:14Sunday morning came the news that FIFA, after contact from the White House, had decided that the red card for following Balogun that they'd said was not appealable actually know what it is. And why don't you have your star player back ahead of your last 16 clash with Belgium? USA supporters and a lot of commentators in this country are understandably delighted, But I don't think there's much we can do around the fact that FIFA on Sunday intervened at the request of a host government to favour their team. Can't believe that the inaugural winner of the FIFA Peace Prize has sought to yield that influence over the guy who gave it to him.

21:56Who could possibly have seen this coming? But this is that we joked about the precedents that there have been, the World Cups that there have been in the past, where things have happened, where governments have intervened or lent on the match officials. And Tom, you made the point that you laugh when you read these reports from the 1930s or whatever, but that does seem to be what happened today. You think about Italy's triumphs in the 1930s, about Argentina winning the World Cup on home soil in 1978. We know that there was political interference in those tournaments. it's impossible to think about those World Cups as a consequence without thinking about that political interference and now sadly people will think about this World Cup in the same way regardless of what the US team go on to achieve because the leader of the host nation has intervened to help out his team and there's not been a single thing that anyone has been able to do about it.

22:47It may seem a harsh reading but that is literally what happened and it is without precedent. Mauricio Pochettino afterwards was saying this isn't the first time it happened, but it literally is. There was a case, it was Gahinsha, I think, back in 1962. But in those days, where he was able to play the final despite receiving a red in the second in the semi-final, in those days a red car didn't receive an automatic suspension. This one did, and only on Friday, FIFA were saying, this cannot be appealed, it's final. That is our decision. A lot of people were caught unawares, but I certainly was by this.

23:19We didn't have any idea that this was in the offing. Felipe, though, you've been following this story all week, and it's been building and building in the US. It's been boiling. And I think that tells you everything about the impact of this World Cup, where, you know, talk shows that spend their time talking about gossip and politics were discussing the Balogun red card. Some of the most high profile celebrities and athletes in the US were tweeting about it and complaining about it and really ramping up the tension and the frustration among the American fan base. Eventually, it got to the point where the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, was asked on Capitol Hill what he thought about the U.S.

24:06defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina. Again, remember, the U.S. has played well at this World Cup. They've played well. They have earned this position that they're in. And they have captivated the country, which was something that we weren't sure was going to occur. And when Marco Rubio was asked, and I quote, this is what he said, it was great, referring to the win over Basia and Herzegovina. They, the United States, they got screwed with that red card. There needs to be an appeal process for that. It's probably too late, though. When you hear the Secretary of State of the United States, which aside from the president and the vice president, one of the most powerful people in the U.S.

24:47government, essentially planting the seed that there should be a review, that raised a lot of alarms. But again, the euphoria of the U.S. and their performance so far just sort of dissipated into the air. But now here we are. And in hindsight, I think I look back at that quote from Marco Rubio and I realized that the U.S. government was seriously concerned about Balogun not playing in a crucial match against an elimination game against Belgium. the phone call was made for as you mentioned from president donald trump to gianni infantino and and you can argue but it wasn't a red again it wasn't a red we can spend days subjectively arguing that that is now beside the point a government has intervened the government of host nation has intervened to benefit the national team and to tom's point you know unfortunately now this u.s team if they continue to advance there's going to just be that question mark.

25:48If a call goes their way, we will be concerned, we'll wonder if that influences. Do you feel sorry for Foller and Balogun? Listen, personally, I think he deserves a lot of credit. Foller and Balogun has been nothing but a gentleman and a professional ever since he was sent off. And when he spoke to reporters a few days ago, the one thing that he said that I think just says everything about him as a gentleman, as a professional, is that he did not want to show the youth of this country the bad side of football by getting mad on the pitch and arguing and confronting the referee and storming off the pitch.

26:25He accepted the punishment. He accepted accountability for what he had done in that situation. And so I think Balogun has always been, since the foul on the red card, He's looked like just the utmost professional in this way. And now, unfortunately, though, now he's been thrust back into the spotlight in not the greatest of ways. And so now this game against Belgium and his performances, there's going to be a magnifying glass on him for the remainder of this tournament. Was Coach Rado for USA and the other players all delighted at his return to availability? Pochettino saying, like everyone that really loves the sport and trusts ethics and integrity, we celebrate this decision.

27:07One thing that strikes me, though, is that FIFA has always been very, very strong on the fact that if any of their member states have interference from their state government, that they will effectively be banned from football. And yeah, we've seen that happen in the past. And obviously that no longer applies. And there has been precedent to this, the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo had a suspension overturned on the eve of the tournament. When that happened and you thought, hmm, interesting, interesting timing, interesting that it should have only occurred because it concerns a high-profile player like Cristiano Ronaldo.

27:40And now it's, you know, now it's happened again. And, you know, unfortunately, it means that this tournament is now tarnished by that. This tournament that I think we're all enjoying perhaps even more than we thought we would. A lot, yeah. And for the, you know, for the US team, I think perhaps for the first time ever, neutrals have been kind of enjoying watching the US team and hoping they'll do well. and being swept up in the story. And now they are tarnished by association with this, even if the players themselves didn't have any role to play in it. Well, as you mentioned, Philippe, there'll be a lot of people who say, but it wasn't a red card anyway, and there'll be a lot of USA supporters who go, you have to accept it.

28:18It's good to get the best players out on the field, all that thing. But if you imagine if it had been a World Cup hosted in Belgium and Belgium getting their best player back on the behest of the host government. I don't know. I don't think anyone can welcome this kind of turn of events. We'll move on, though, because following that on Sunday came the extraordinary match at Medellins between five-time world champions Brazil and Norway, and it ended the way it ended. We're on to that next.

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29:09Norway 2, Brazil 1. Norway 1 of the great shocks of this World Cup, knocking out the five-time champions. Brace from Haaland, brilliant saves from keeper Nyland. and it's Brazil's earliest World Cup exit since 1990 and Norway's first ever quarterfinal. Who joins us on the line now or why? Of course, it's Martin Sleepness of the Enkel Severing podcast. Martin, thank you so much for being with us. Thank you for having me. This is always a pleasure to be on. If I'm on, it means that something tremendous has just happened in my life. So every time you ask, I'm like, yes, this is perfect. You said to us after the last game, you said, call us after the Brazil win.

29:53Yes, I did. And so we are. And you're taking a break from your celebrations of this extraordinary victory over Brazil. Yes, me and the group, they are down in the hotel lobby and drinking. And I had to have a hydration break from them because, you know, it's been a long day. And it's been, it's so emotional. even when Patrick Berg scored the goal that Bar took on offside, it's draining because every bone in the body and every hair just screams and empties itself of the energy. And three times today that happened. One with Patrick Berg and I was happy. If we had lost and I watched that goal and that would have been it, I would have been happy.

30:47I got the goal even even though we didn't get it. But then Haaland showed up with two enormous goals. So I'm drained, to be honest. Martin, last time you said that the pressure was on them and you seemed really confident, but did you really believe you were going to knock out Brazil? Well, to be honest, yes. Because I've seen all the Brazilian games and I don't think they are as good as a coherent team. That's Norway's strength. We are hard in the duels and quick in the passes, but we move together. So I think every match we've played, except the France match, has thrown that. We've been very good so far, actually.

31:38You certainly have. Have you seen all of England's games and what then do you think will happen when England face Norway and Miami? I think England is... I think England, they're harder than Norway. So this is the first time I'm not so confident anymore because Bellingham and Kane and Rice, they match the hardness of the Norway players. So I'm a bit scared, but whatever. It's Miami against England in the World Cup, and I'm from Norway, so it doesn't matter. I'm going there, and that's a victory in itself. Magnificent. What has your dad said about today's performance? Today I actually FaceTimed my dad during the ending minutes of the match, and he was singing the national anthem on FaceTime.

32:37I couldn't hear, but I screenshotted the picture of him. He was not looking in the camera. He was just singing out in the room. So it was very emotional, to be honest. Is it the proudest day, do you think, that you've had as a Norwegian football fan? I think this will be remembered for eternity. we in Norway we have always been saying where were you when Eregnal scored in 98 against Brazil in the group phase it's been like a ghost hanging over every Norwegian triumph in sports and this will be the thing that we will remember and cherish forever from now on and to be to be here in New York and and watch the match, it's indescribable.

33:38And Norway is boiling and burning right now. They're saying, I'm going to sell my boat. I'm coming over. They're crazy. I'm getting hundreds of messages from people wondering, how can I get tickets? This is larger than... I don't think it hasn't sunk in yet, to be honest, but I know how big it will be. All right, everyone rowing to Miami then. And we look forward to seeing you there. Martin, that's been fabulous. Get back to your hydration, and we'll catch up with you again soon. Congratulations. Thank you. Bye-bye. Martin Sleepness, one of the most popular additions to this show, Martin. And I believe, Tom, that we've just been visited while Martin was talking by another.

34:25Is that right? Yeah, while listening to one of our favorite guests, we were visited by another one, young Clarence Spredorf appeared slinking along beside the fence in an incredible convergence of totally NLA favourites. Incredible. The magic of the World Cup. It's just been that kind of day, hasn't it? Listen, we should talk about Norway a little bit. Congratulations, they have been incredible. Haaland, of course, there was this tweet after, well, well, well, as he awaits his next victim. He was exceptional. Keeper was exceptional. Odegaard, you absolutely loved Philippe. I did. I mean, Norway were exceptional, honestly.

35:05They came in, they were just completely locked in today. They took over the game, I think, early on. And yes, Martin Odegaard, I thought, played as a number 10. And perhaps his finishing wasn't as clinical when he had his moments, but on the ball, the control, dictating tempo, wanting the ball at all times, being that player, that leader in the midfield, I thought was really key to the way that Norway gained confidence and then maintained that confidence on the way to the win. So he's a player that I really enjoy watching. And I felt like today he's not a breakout star, but he had his big World Cup moment today.

35:41And that moment at the end when he and Neymar tussled and he earned Neymar a yellow card. And he stood up and just went right to the – Martin Odegaard stood up and went to the Norway fans and pumped his fists like, you know, we've won this game. we've knocked out Brazil, we've knocked out the five-time world champions, essentially he retired Neymar as well. Yeah. I mean, that's a pretty big scalp. Yeah, well, we heard about Neymar's penalty earlier on. But Tom, you were really impressed with Norway's manager Solbaken. Yeah, I mean, he made a very eye-catching decision at half-time to take off Antonio Nusa, who'd been arguably Norway's most dangerous player in the first half, and Alexander Surlott.

36:23He threw on Oskar Bob and Andrea Scheldrup. Watching here, we didn't really understand the thinking. But Scheldrup ended up playing a really big part in the game in that he sets up both of Erling Haaland's goals. And looking at the way Norway approached the game in general, you felt like they were the big team. They were the team who were on the ball, who were trying to take the initiative. Almost all of Brazil's opportunities came on the counter-attack, some of which they managed extremely badly. In the first half in particular, there was a two-on-two, there was a three-on-three. Brazil obviously squandered a penalty early on.

37:00Bruno Gimeraj, there was that big chance for Endrik with practically his first touch after coming on. So they had their chances. But overall, Norway looked pretty comfortable. And I think that, perhaps more than anything, is what would really stick in the craw for Brazil. Because they didn't play like you would expect a Brazilian team to play. They didn't just go out. They went out in embarrassing fashion. And no one perhaps more so than Neymar. But Erling Haaland, before we get into Brazil's sad departure, Erling Haaland has now scored in 14 competitive matches in a row for Norway. More than that, at this World Cup, he's scoring every 2.5 shots, Felipe.

37:33What are England going to do about that? He's a monster. He's a monster and he is in form. He is confident. He is finishing.

37:43Honestly, obviously the England players know him well. It's not going to be a surprise. but they're going to have to be fully aware of him. And, you know, I think Erling Haaland, I said it on the last show, he's so prolific for his club for Manchester City and he's never been on this stage with Norway before. And you did wonder, like, how this team was going to perform under the bright lights and just really impressive the way they've been so methodical, advancing, advancing. Then they have this, like, showcase performance today. And his goals were just strikers' goals. You know, the header was just a powerful snap header, textbook right to the ground.

38:21I mean, that's what you teach kids and he's still doing it as a professional. And then the second goal, we talked about it, just a complete laser across the grass into the corner. And the celebration just throws up his hands like a gladiator, you know, in Rome. Like, I'm here, I've arrived, this is my tournament. What a moment for him. Man City fans will perhaps forgive me if I say that this is the first time that I really found that smile as infectious as it naturally is. I mean, he's such a likable figure for non-Man City fans when he's not wearing that corporate jersey. And the moment at the end when Odegaard gives him the drumsticks to lead the big celebratory row, and I think a couple of drum strokes in, Haaland turns around and looks at the scene, and I don't know if it just hits him.

39:11We're just not Brazil out. We are going to the quarterfinals. And this even bigger grin spreads across his sizable face. It's like almost an embarrassed smirk. He knows that he's the centre of attention. He wants to be the centre of attention because he's one of the greatest goal scorers of his generation but he never really knows what to do with it. And the more goals he scores at this tournament the more attention he's going to get so he's going to have to get used to it. 62 goals now in 54 international matches at senior level not just of this generation, but of any generation, one of the greatest.

39:42I mean, and he's having a World Cup to remember. And he's in the golden boot race, a golden boot race that I think is going to go down to the wire, one that we'll remember for a long, long time. And he's been unstoppable. I think this is, you know, obviously, we talk about his personality, his big personality, his global stardom. But I agree with you, James, it felt like he, for a moment, was a bit starstruck by the attention he was receiving and what Norway had accomplished. Perhaps he realized it's not just about me. Like, look at our supporters. Look what we've just done. Yeah, indeed. So what England do about Holland, what they do about Norway is going to be the subject of much debate over the days to come.

40:22So for now, let's quickly address what Brazil do next, because the way that they went out of this game, the way they approached this game, ceding 66 % of possession to Norway, the Norwegians making over 300 passes more than Brazil, the Masters, did in the match. This was a tactical choice by Ancelotti. I mean, he's basically turned Brazil into his old Real Madrid team. Oh, I thought you were going with Italy. I thought he was going to say Italy as well. Catanaccio. I think we saw some Catanaccio today. Oh, you definitely did. But, I mean, the difference with his Real Madrid team was that they would weather long periods of pressure and miraculously wriggle off the hook and end the season hoisting the trophy aloft.

41:05and Brazil were not capable of that. They did have chances though, didn't they? The penalty earlier on. If the penalty is scored, it becomes a different game. If Hendrik scores when he's clean through, it becomes a different game. And maybe Brazil don't lose. But yeah, they didn't take their chances and they're out. Okay. And what to say then about Neymar, whose inclusion when the team was announced before the World Cup saw tears from Jean-Pedro's family who were gathered awaiting his name being read out. and the World Cup campaign ends with Neymar then on the turf in floods of tears. Yeah, I mean, personally, I never agreed with the selection of Neymar.

41:43He's not a fit player. He's not fit for this competition, this type of competition, this level. But Carlo Ancelotti, based on different reports and just opinions, I think he decided to avoid a PR type of disaster away from home. It almost felt like I'd rather have that internally, control it and have him available, maybe he can provide some spark. But even today, the penalty that he scored was just too little too late. Romario, the legend for Brazil, walked out of the stadium today and a reporter walked up to him and said, what do you think? He's like, that was not Brazil. That is an unrecognizable team.

42:22Felipe Melo, one of the hard men for Brazil, gave an interview saying, a complete opposite opinion saying you should carlo and chile you should have started neymar he would have scored that penalty that's why you take him to the world cup so clearly a just a completely divisive team right now and one you know to tom's point they they conceded so much territory so much space so much of the ball which is so anti-brazil and we didn't expect maybe much from them but to go out this way is is just almost laughable but this is what they've done over the last kind of 25 years If they lurch, it's like, okay, we've tried the Brazilian way, we've tried the Joga Benito, it doesn't work, we need to learn from the Europeans.

43:02And this time they've gone as European as they've ever gone by hiring a European coach for the first time. At some point they'll decide to move on from Ancelotti and they will move back towards the Brazilian tradition. And it will be whichever Brazilian coach is playing the best football in Brazil, get all the superstars back in the team, try and make it work. And they just seem to be caught forever lurching between these two extremes and never finding a middle ground that works. Once again, the statistic, in every World Cup since 2002, they've gone out to the first European position that they've faced.

43:30All right, well, well done to Norway. Good luck to Brazil as they begin their road back to greatness one day. Next up, we'll get on to what awaits us on Monday in the World Cup.

43:48Monday's line-up looks pretty good. two last 16 matches midday our time here on the west coast but 8 p.m in the uk portugal will be taking on spain in an iberian derby that's followed by the usa belgian game which is going to have a lot of eyes focused on it that's in seattle 5 p.m our time 1 a.m in the uk portugal spain though sees one prolific teenage right winger going up against one formerly prolific right winger who is now even older than the first player's dad. I'm talking about, I think you guessed, Lamin Jamal and Cristiano Ronaldo, who's announced in the meantime that this is his last workup.

44:37Yes. Well, his sister, I think, had already kind of teased it prior to the Croatia game. And yeah, he's now confirmed it himself. Although this being Ronaldo, it wouldn't be all that surprising if he was still knocking around in four years' time. It'd be pretty surprising. Still inching towards that mythical 1 ,000 goal mark. Portugal just made it past Croatia in the last round of 32, while Spain eased past Austria 3-0. It looks like a pretty straightforward matchup for Spain. Why might it not be Philippe? Well, I think perhaps because I would expect Portugal to come out of that game against Croatia feeling like we belong here.

45:17We've been talked about as a contender. We have confidence in what we're doing. And Cristiano Ronaldo today, combative with the reporter saying, you've tried to take me down and I accept the criticism, but I'm still here. And so that tells you that this is a player that is welcoming this moment, facing another contender in Spain. I still like Spain, as you mentioned. I think they just danced their way around Austria. and they are a team that I think is trying, is finally finding their rhythm, their best form. Luis de la Fuente knows that he has so many options and you mentioned the teenager, senior superstar, Lamin Jamal.

45:56We're just waiting for a complete performance from him. You know, if it happens in this game against Portugal in a Classico, an Iberian Classico, oof, what a moment that would be for him. Oh, that noise really sums it up, actually. Whoever does come out of that game will be up against either USA or Belgium depending on who wins that. Biggest game in US soccer history and probably the most controversial now to Balogun's return. Will that change things for the USA? Will that change things for Belgium? I don't know, but I am aware of the fact that when these two teams met, not very long ago, March of this year, Yeah, Atlanta, I was there.

46:31Balogun was on the field and the scoreline was 5-2 to Belgium. Right, and Belgium played really well. And again, there was 30 minutes where you really saw both teams with their strongest lineup. Thibaut Courtois did not play that day. He was not in goal. But the takeaway from that match was, whoa, the U.S. has a lot of work to do. Belgium looks pretty clinical. But I think we all understand that friendlies can be meaningless. The coaches are still trying a lot of things out. Pochettino obviously made a lot of changes in the second half, and he also played it down. Something Mauricio Pochettino has been saying from the very beginning, wait until the World Cup.

47:10Just wait until the World Cup. And so now he has his moment against Belgium, a team that is perhaps going to also say farewell to a generation of players that I think now with what happened this morning with Fuller and Balogun, probably thinking, hey, this is really our chance to make history here. And what a surprise and a shock that would be if after everything that has transpired today, Belgium knock out the United States. So you mentioned it. I think this is one of the most, you know, a must-see TV event. Of course it is. Excellent. Well, we'll be watching. Hopefully you will be too, despite the lateness of the hour.

47:49And, of course, we'll have a brand new Totally at the World Cup straight afterwards. So I do hope you'll be joining us for that. Many thanks to Tom and Felipe for now, to Martin Sleapness and Daniel's story earlier on, and to the production crew working through the night to bring this to you. See you again in 24 hours time for now. From all of us here, it's goodbye.

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