Spain set up France semi - can England join them in the last four?

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1:13Yep, that's me. Bet you're wondering how I ended up here. Chilling here in the pool, looking at the football. No, here. It's totally at the World Cup. Better get a shirt on.

1:29He's Marino, and he's a special one. Belgium meets Spain in the quarters, lose Courtois, and get caught out as Spain's super sub fires them through to a semi-final with France, who will reach the other semi-final. Saturday, it's Argentina against Switzerland, and England versus Norway. Friday night in Los Angeles, and welcome once again to Totally at the World Cup, for Totally at the World Cup, which consists today of myself, Tom Williams. Hello, James. And the returning Philippe Cadeners. Good evening. A lovely shirt. Thank you. Thank you. I mean, I dress up for the show. Yeah. Why not? Yeah.

2:05You do as well, don't you, listener? Nice. Later on, we'll have Martin Sleapness. Tremendous news. Yeah. Ankle-severing podcast with big listeners. And Michael Cox, Coxie. Also tremendous news. Will be on to disagree with literally everybody. Mm-hmm. Yep. so there'll be that tom went to the sofi today to see the last game in los angeles which was spain belgium yes i did my fifth and final trip to the sofi and if i may segue into my moment of the day oh i mean okay then if i may be so bold it was my arrival in the press box so i have complained previously about the press box at sofi because ordinarily you are behind glass right and It feels a little bit like you're watching a football match at an aquarium.

2:54You can't really hear what's happening. You feel slightly removed from the thing that you're reporting on. Today, as viewers of the show will be able to see on the screen, I was in the open air and it was fantastic. You can hear the fans making noise. You can hear the referees whistle. You can feel the sun on your back. You can smell the smells. And it was, so for my final game at SoFi, it was nice to finally sample its atmosphere at long last. This looks like a kind of spillover area. There were probably so many press accreditations that they had to open up another section. I believe so, yes.

3:30So this is the Media Tribune as opposed to the Press Box, which is downstairs. And the Press Box is the one behind the glass. And there were quite a lot of journos in the Media Tribune, which I guess is just testament to the fact that we are now, you know, at the sharp end of the tournament. This is World Cup quarterfinals. Space is at a premium. If you were watching this game on the BBC, by the way, and were confused as to why they seem to be missing large chunks of the action, the answer is, Tom? Well, I heard secondhand that there were some gripes from the BBC commentary team about their inability to see the near-touch line.

4:02Problematic at the best of times, but when you're commentating on a game featuring Jeremy Doku and Lamin Ymal, two of the best wingers in the world, even more so. Indeed so. What a lovely moment of the week. How about you, Felipe? Mikel Moreno I was here a few shows ago speaking about the Spanish midfielder the super sub now officially a world cup super sub and and a Spanish hero let's go over the teams that he is now defeated after coming off the bench Germany at the European championship in 2024 Portugal at this world cup and now defeating Belgium coming off the bench as well in the 88th minute and it's when he does it?

4:4188th minute, as you say, in this one. The one against Portugal was a 92nd minute winner, and the one that dumped the host, Germany, out of the last Euros was in the 119th minute, so just before a penalty shooter. Again, I go back to before Spain played their opening match in Atlanta against Cape Verde. I was there in Atlanta watching them train, and at the player availability, Mikel Moreno was asked by the Spanish press if he expected or hoped to be the hero, once again, for this national team and doing so, you know, essentially scoring goals the way he had at the European Championships two years ago.

5:17And his answer was so humble. He was essentially like, I just want to get into the team. You know, he just wants to play. And so you can, he has accepted his role. I think he's a player that certainly Luis de la Fuentes sees as someone that if he comes onto the pitch, he, Spain probably needs something very specific from him, not just there to possess and do what this team does so well. It's like get in front of goal, get direct, get vertical. And on that goal, I think if anyone who watches Arsenal or watches Spain when he's on the pitch, he's somewhat in the middle, right? He's a central midfielder.

5:50He was right around the six-yard box. He was hiding around the 18-yard box as well. And he was the first to pounce on that spill. And the finish was, he had plenty to do still. Still, he had to get there first and then just pop it up above the goalkeeper into the net. So for me, it was a wonderful finish and a deserved win for him and Spain as well. What could have been had he been available for the Champions League final? Sorry, Arsenal fans. There you go. Another jump scare. Just keeps them on their toes. Indeed so. Lovely moment of the day. We've done the result. Belgium 1, Spain 2. We'll get on to the meat of that next.

6:36So it was a 2-1 Spain win at the SoFi on Friday over Belgium. Epic stuff from Rudy Garcia's side, holding Spain at bay for much of the game as the big names from their side dropped out one by one. They'd already lost Onana to that ACL. Tielemans then goes out in the warm-up with what looked like a hamstring injury. And then with the scoreline 1-1, perhaps their most important player, Thibaut Courtois, goes down with a bit of a bump. Apparently, he didn't want to come off, but was told if he wasn't 100 % that he should make way. So he does. And his replacement, Lamont's of Manchester United fame, promptly spills the shot which leads to Mikel Marino's goal.

7:21Yeah. And again, I think you look at that play, you know, Koubar C's shot did have some side spin to it. But you expect a goalkeeper at this level to handle that type of shot. And obviously you would think that one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Thibaut Courtois, had he been there, he would have eaten it up. But speaking of Courtois, I think if the global press, but specifically the press in the U.S., is going to attack Christian Pulisic for coming off injured against Belgium, not to attack this player, but Thibaut Courtois coming off and then telling the press later, well, I could have played.

7:54I could have stayed on. I was willing to stay on 10 minutes more. I just couldn't kick the ball far. But the manager took me off. I mean like Thibaut Courtois to ruffle some feathers in the mix zone with a I mean that's comment that's quite a statement from a top class goalkeeper in a moment that is essentially do or die for your national team and so you know I think that was in a poor form from him if you're going to come off and then speak to the press I don't know say something about anything but the fact that I would have stayed on because if you would have stayed on you would have protested I think the change.

8:30It would have been anything to convince your manager in that moment. Leave me on. I'm staying on. I'm going to finish this game. Rudy Garcia then saying, obviously, that, to your point, no, any player that's not fit is not going to play. So I think he was perhaps trying to take the blame, but I think this is both on the manager and Thibaut Courtois. And so cruel for San Alamans, and so surprising because one of the things that really stood out with him last season at Manchester United was how reliable he was. I think he might have made one error in the entire campaign and I think for United fans they found themselves in a slightly unfamiliar situation of just having a normal goalkeeper who didn't create headlines, who wasn't kind of doing wacky stuff all the time and so you'd think you couldn't have a better prepared backup than a guy like him who seems so level-headed, who seems able to rise to the occasion every time.

9:22His World Cup debut and he spends 19 minutes on the pitch and he commits a mistake that will possibly stay with him for the rest of his career. You felt for the lad. Well, hopefully he gets his redemption arc soon enough. The game began with Fabian Ruiz, who was in as a bit of a surprise inclusion for Pedri, opening the scoring and then celebrating the arrival of a child in the Ruiz family. Spain then conceded a goal. Charles de Quetalera, who'd been so effective against the USA, after a brilliant bit of work from Kevin De Bruyne, manages to nip in front of the fellow that Paul Belus was talking up yesterday, Pau Kubasi, for a very nicely placed header.

10:05Yeah, a really nicely worked goal and completely against the run of play. I mean, Spain were completely dominant, full value for the lead that Fabian Ruiz's goal gave them. And the game is drifting towards half-time. And in one of the very rare Belgian incursions into Spanish territory, Kevin De Bruyne, who returned to the starting 11, and we were talking previously about the fact that Rudy Garcia seemed to have settled on this new setup. No De Bruyne, no Jeremy Doku. He brought both of them back into the starting 11 today. Both of them were very influential. De Bruyne plays this really clever pass in between the centre-back and the full-back for Timothy Castagne.

10:43Lovely cross into the middle. And De Quetelera, building on the momentum that he's found in the recent games for Belgium, gets ahead of Kubar C to nod it past Unai Simon. Simon's long 649-minute run of World Cup minutes is ended and it's all square. Incredible. He hasn't conceded a goal at the World Cup since the one against Japan in Qatar. How was Lamin Yamal? He was great. He was really good. I waxed lyrical after watching him against Austria when he was sort of all right. Today he was brilliant. He didn't score. He didn't create any goals, but he got on the ball so much more. There was a really enjoyable duel between him and Jeremy Doku, because they found themselves operating on the same flank.

11:31That was very entertaining. But he was doing real kind of like la mignomale things. He was beating players at will. There were some wonderful first touches. The ability that he has to surprise his marker by using an unexpected part of his foot to control the ball. the Traveller pass over and over again there was a period towards the end of the first half where the ball was played out to him and he has that such very studied nonchalant style, it's almost like he's playing with his hands in his pockets, he explodes onto the ball with such intensity that Maxim de Kuyper doesn't even know what he's done, darts inside Doku, whips in a shot that hits the side netting he had a free kick saved by Courtois he had another shot saved by Courtois, second half Murphy created a chance for Mikel Ojazabal.

12:20So he did everything but, you know, kind of get his name on the score sheet or the assist sheet, but does feel like he is, you know, coming to the boil at the right time for Spain. Okay. Belgium defended really valiantly. We mentioned the number of injuries they were incurring, and it wasn't until the 18th minute that eventually they crumbled. What are your thoughts on Spain after this game with France in prospect, Felipe? Well, again, you go back to the European Championships two years ago and Spain defeated France in the semifinal. And it was interesting hearing Lamina Yamal tell the press later, if anyone should be concerned, it's France.

12:55Right. Not us. So not just two years ago, because that was the semifinal in the European Championships, and it was 2-1 to Spain. And then last summer, there was the semifinal of the Nations League, which you were talking about yesterday, with the incredible 5-4. 5-4. 5-4. Spain win, yeah. Yeah. I mean, Spain, again, I was talking to Tom off the air, When you prepare to play Spain, I think the night before must be horrendous to try to fall asleep. You know you're not going to touch the ball. If you're an attacking player, you're going to be defending the entire time. And you mentioned it. Belgium, I thought, with a valiant effort, they didn't really exploit much from the flaws that Spain may have, though.

13:35So we're not really sure. How can you really break this team down? How can you get this team to chase, perhaps? How do you take the ball away from them? How do you get them to concede, perhaps, first? So right now, Spain's still in cruise control. Yes, they've had a couple results against Cape Verde that wasn't impressive. I thought they were very ponderous. I was at that game. They looked nervous and very scripted. But they've loosened up a little bit. I think Lamina Yamal is the key to giving them an extra gear. And again, we've discussed this several times. Luis de la Fuente has so many options, so many different starting 11s that he can tweak with, that he can change depending on what he thinks he's going to face.

14:13So it's a complete side. They just haven't been tested enough in that back line to think that they could potentially crack when it really matters. It's been a long time, a famously long time, since anyone has successfully exploited those weaknesses, found and exploited those weaknesses. They haven't lost a competitive match now in 36 fixtures. They're one away from equaling Italy's record of, well, 37. By the way, here's a quick quiz question for you. Luis de la Fuentes lost two of his 48 games in charge with Spain. Do you know who they were against? Oh, I have one. Well, the last time they lost was to Colombia.

14:56Right. This was at the London Stadium. It was in London, yeah. 2024? 2024, right. And that was in a friendly. Yes, it was a friendly. The other one... We're not including Portugal in the Nations League final, because that was on penalties. Exactly so. Exactly so. The other one was Scotland in qualifying for, what was that for? Euro qualifying. That was only his second game in charge back in 2023. Oh, wow. I don't know what the Scots did that day, and possibly it being that long ago, it might not be so relevant. What did Colombia do? Is there anything that we can draw from that? I remember that game Luz Diaz was on, was just on another level.

15:32I mean, he was completely engaged, taking on his defenders. Danny Munoz had an incredible goal against them. And James Rodriguez, when everyone was like, what is he doing? Is he going to play? Was excellent. And it was just a game that Colombia took it to Spain. So here's the thing. They tried to keep the ball. They didn't keep it. They didn't dominate possession. But when they had it, they were so direct and vertical and quick to get upfield. So that is one formula of getting the better of Spain. Okay. Well, that's the problem that's going to be concerning France ahead of that semifinal. Equally, France is going to be the problem concerning Luis de la Fuente.

16:10Tom? Yeah, I think the composition of Spain's midfield will be very interesting in that game because we saw today Fabio Ruiz coming in for Pedri. Pedri gives you so much control and also just looks great with everything he does on the ball. But Fabio Ruiz brings that extra verticality. We saw that today with the way he popped up to score Spain's opener. in the end you know Pedri ended up coming back on and you know played reasonably well so that's a real quandary for Dela Fuente I wonder whether there's also a case to be made for starting both of them and maybe taking out Dani Olmo because Olmo's been playing as the number 10 he's the connector he's the live one in the middle of the pitch but I think given the threat that France pose in central areas the way that Alise moves around which for many and Javier behind him I think there's an argument to be made for you know trying to put as many players in the middle of the park as possible.

17:05Plus Fabian Ruiz plays for PSG, knows the French players, so it'll be interesting to see the team shoot. OK, that semi-final coming up on Tuesday. Meantime, trying to book their place in the other semi are, of course, England, Norway, Argentina and Switzerland. We'll be getting on to what Saturday's quarterfinals look like next.

17:30Saturday the early game is England-Norway it's so many things Kane against Haaland a rematch of that 1066 encounter at Stamford Bridge also of the World Cup qualifying game from 1982 Lord Nelson Henry Cooper Winston Churchill Maggie Thatcher can you hear me Maggie Thatcher can you hear me that one anyway Saturday's game potentially could be bigger than all of those maybe even put together very shortly we'll be hearing from michael cox on england's prospects but first here's norway's very own martin sleepless speaking to us a short time ago martin how's hanging out with 5 000 vikings on miami beach going it's uh it's good but the prospect of 30 000 englishmen is pretty scary to be honest do you know this commentary lord nelson henry cooper Winston Churchill, Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me?

18:22Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Does that ring bells for you, Martin?

18:28Martin Sleipnes: Yes, it's something almost everyone learned at school. It's kind of a legendary commentator moment in Norway. If you ask people below 25, they won't know it, but everyone else knows it. it gives me goosebumps you talking about it there you go the fact that this game here which is such a huge game for Norway the biggest World Cup match you'd ever had the fact that it's against England does that make it even more special? well it kind of dawned on me today because for the last six or seven World Cups I've been at home rooting for England so to be here now and watch Norway play against the team I used to root for it's it's weird it's at least weird but it's also kind of it's unexpected and it's hard to understand the magnitude of the game.

19:44Martin Sleipnes: We as Norwegians, we love English football. Liverpool FC Norway fan club is, I think, that's the biggest fan club Liverpool has outside of UK. 1 % of Norway's population is a member of Liverpool fan club. So this is a game that's every Norwegian and they are, they are. It's hard to describe to be honest. I'm sorry for my bad English right now. I think you've done a very good job, actually. You talked about the pressure being on Brazil and having knocked out the five-time world champions. You would probably say that the pressure is now on England. They are the favourites here. What gives you faith that Norway can do this on Saturday?

20:35Martin Sleipnes: I think Norway are a team and they are not afraid. In Norway, we have a mantra in Norwegian sports and we've had it for like five, six years that the result doesn't matter as long as you do your best. And I feel that Bodeglimp did that in the Champions League. The hockey boys won the bronze in the World Cup just a couple of months ago. And I think this is what's going to happen tomorrow, on Saturday. Norway, they are going to do their best. And they're going to be happy, whatever the results are. Every fan of the Norwegian team will be happy. We made it this far. We're happy. So the pressure is kind of off.

21:19They will go out and do the best job they can.

21:23Martin Sleipnes: And that's a luxury. That's a commodity for Norway. And England doesn't have that. And that could take the balance in our favor. Martin, listen, enjoy the show. Many thanks for taking time out from Miami to share that with us. And who knows, maybe we'll speak after the game. I'm going to cross my fingers and my toes and everything. And the big point and the major point of everything, as I said, I'm happy. Either way, we made it this far and it's been all right. So thanks for having me. sleepness in Miami what a game this is in prospect eh Tom and Filippo will hear from you shortly but let's uh let's bring in Michael Cox who's now joined us Michael how are you doing oh my goodness yeah you can probably see that on the video there's a big old thunderstorm in Miami there's been it's been pretty much one every day I've been here eight days now and uh yeah this is a pretty big one and i wouldn't be surprised it seems to happen at roughly the same time every day at some point in the evening so i know we've said this a lot and it hasn't actually disrupted more than two games i think off the top of my head but i wouldn't be surprised if there is some kind of weather delay tomorrow because there's a there's a lot of lightning in miami wow don't worry we definitely won't dub in a comedy thunder sound effect in post-production don't think we can afford one actually well there we go the the game though uh england norway it is early on isn't it so are the storms more at night uh not sure about the forecast because it seems to change quite quickly to be honest but the game is 5 p.m so um yeah early evening i guess it will finish okay michael how hot is it there uh i really feel like a weather forecaster for the first time i'm alive i think it's about 33 today uh pretty hot humidity i think is is the thing that catches you out more than the heat.

23:27And it is England's first real test in that sense. I mean, so far they've played five matches. Two have been indoor in Dallas and Atlanta. And the other three have been played in pretty rainy conditions. Okay, one was in Mexico with the altitude, which is a different factor entirely. But in terms of the weather itself, this is England's first big test. And in that sense, and I'm not saying Norway, a worse team than Brazil, but you think Norway's probably a better match than Brazil in terms of dealing with the heat. And also probably in terms of the fan base, because I think Brazil were going to have tens and tens of thousands of fans here.

23:59They've all kind of got rid of their tickets since the defeat to Norway. Some have been snapped up by Norwegians, but there is, I think, a lot more England fans in town than was expected a week or so ago. OK. Presumably you've been out for a run to test the impact of the humidity on physical performance, yeah? I played a game of Paddle last night, which was a 90-minute game at least. so it wasn't bad preparation. But yeah, I expect the England players are more prepared for it than I am. And of course, they did their pre-tournament training in Miami, so they kind of know the conditions. So they should be OK.

24:33And like I say, same situation for Norway. OK. They've just come through a particularly testing encounter, the one down at the Azteca, in which they defeated with 10 men, a Mexico side who hadn't lost at home for 13 years. Michael, you've called that potentially England's most important victory since 1966. Yeah, I mean, in World Cup terms, England's biggest victories, I think, have tended to come in the European Championships. There's been some really big ones in qualification. But I think when you go through the World Cup results, England have a tendency to just beat the teams you expect them to beat and then lose against the first big team they come across.

25:12I don't think Mexico themselves you would consider superior to England. But yeah, considering the circumstances, considering the altitude, considering the fact that they didn't have time to go in there early and prepare for that as some of the group stage opponents did, I thought it was really impressive from England. You know, a proper, probably as hard as an away day you can get in the World Cup in the sense that home advantage was so strong. So I did think it was very impressive. And I just think the whole vibe around that game was great for English football. There was so much talk about Mexico really making their life difficult in perhaps an unprofessional way.

25:49It wasn't really like that. There was a rule. Actually, I thought a really good feeling about the fixture. And I think the England fans who came away from there, and the only England fans who got tickets for that really, were the ones who have done all the games over the last two years because the allocation wasn't very big for England fans. They've all come away being incredibly complimentary about Mexico. and I believe the FA are looking to invite Mexico over to Wembley for a friendly, almost as a gesture of thanks. So, you know, after it came that people were saying, oh, they're not going to get any sleep, the Mexicans are going to let off fireworks outside the hotel.

26:23Actually, it came away with, yeah, I thought a really nice feeling with it, weirdly summed up by that incident on the touchline with Igre and Anthony Gordon, where, yeah, it's basically saying F you, and yet everyone's thinking it's the kind of classiest touch over. I think that's what the game was all about. comedy swearing in another language is it's the best swearing i know you were particularly impressed with england's defending there uh from jordan pickford in particular yeah i mean i think he'd had a little bit of a difficult tournament to be honest in the group stage there's no massive errors but a couple of goals he maybe could have done better with just a few jittery moments which i don't think we've ever really seen in an england ship i think he's been incredibly consistent at tournaments over the years when england needed him the most he made some great saves he came out and playing crosses i think that was a key thing to be honest in the second half so yeah i mean his his england record is really good i mean we're talking about harry kane as people are saying he's now the best england striker in tournament football i think in terms of his longevity jordan pickford increasingly is he's up there he's had this is his fifth tournament as a number one he's never really let england down in these tournaments so yeah there's a it seems like there's a safe pair of hands in in goal despite a few nervy moments in the group stage well he He could have those hands full with Erling Haaland, of course, on Saturday.

27:44We were asking the question actually the other day, if you were putting together a national team, who would you rather have up front, Harry Kane or Erling Haaland? Michael, what's your thought? Well, the funny thing is I've just been to the England press conference and Harry Kane was actually asked this himself, which I thought was a quite odd way to ask a question to one of the two. and his answer I mean he he said the usual what you'd expect in terms of I respect him but he also said something along the lines of the phrase we play in completely different positions which I thought was an interesting way to phrase it certainly Kane's better at coming short and linking play and spends more time in those zones but I wouldn't I don't think many other people say they play in completely different positions but that was his interpretation I think because of that I would go for Kane I just think he makes the players around him better I think his ability to play long passes out to the right flank in particular is something that Haaland doesn't quite do but in the penalty box I mean I think Haaland is as good a striker as I've ever seen and there's been a funny thing with Haaland here where it feels like the United States is really almost falling in love with Erling Haaland as in he's I mean maybe Felipe will be able to speak more about this but it feels like he's the kind of athlete people want he's just so big he's so strong he's so effective he puts up incredible numbers um and i think the funny thing about harland is despite the fact he's such a big you know physical unit i just don't think that many of his goals come from being fast and strong i think so many of his goals come from his intelligence his movement in the box his anticipation so yeah i mean the the one weak point i think you said about England's place of fires, with the exception of the second half of the Mexico game, the defending hasn't looked that solid.

29:31There have been gaps to exploit. And against Haaland, I think there's a good chance that, yeah, he will make them better at some point. Okay, particularly with Kwanzaa with suspension. Doubts, although he was training today over Mark Gray, and Rhys James also training today. But Felipe, is Erling Haaland the breakout star of this World Cup? I think he is. Again, he's such a huge star, though. I think that's what's interesting about this. We just had to see him in this market. And this is what our colleague Sam Lee reported, that Holland's camp has been told that social media algorithms are being geared towards Holland content because that's where the demand is.

30:08People want more Holland content, more and more and more. And to Michael Cox's point, first of all, he can speak the language. So he speaks English and he can connect with the consumer very easily. He's kind of goofy. you know like his social media presence disarms you you're like wait is he being serious is he being funny like what is up with this guy but then yes his his ethos on the field to Cox's point is like yes like this is this like this viking this powerful striker this prolific guy there's even content right now like crossing all platforms where women are saying this guy is interesting to me not the not the prettiest look but I'm intrigued and so he's even he's crossing Where does he get his hair done?

30:54Potentially, but he's crossing over different audiences. I'm sure the talk shows here, the nightly shows, the late night shows that are so popular, probably on the phone with his camp trying to get him on the show. But if they beat England, if Norway beats England and he stays alive in this tournament, expect him to be all over, not only social media, but television as well. Harry Kane so far has six goals in five games at this World Cup. Erling Haaland has seven in four. Michael, is he going to beat England? Well, there is a bit of a history of England almost being knocked out by goals from Premier League strikers.

31:33I mean, 2018, sorry, 2022, it was Olivier Giroud. 2014, obviously, England went out in the group stage, but I think I'm right in saying the crucial goals were scored by Mario Balotelli and Luis Suarez, who were the two kind of bad boys of English football at that time in various ways. so I mean I wouldn't be surprised Norway probably are based a bit too much around Harlem but in a you know in a one-off game that obviously can pay dividends and I think the way that they played in Brazil in the second half particularly down their left flank I mean all what both of their goals and almost all the good moves came down the left that's obviously the question mark for England with with you know various players have been tried at right back so I think this is a tough game for England.

32:17I can imagine England having a lot of the play, but maybe conceding goals slightly against the run of play. I think it's going to be interesting. Solbach and the Norway manager in his press comments basically said, with this heat, you need to try and keep the ball. I know it's an obvious thing to say, but I think with these two teams, probably more so than they would against France or Spain or Argentina, where I think they'd be happy to play on the back foot, I think there will be a bit of a battle to keep possession of the ball. I think England should be able to do that because I think they've probably got better players on the ball.

32:53But the way that Odegaard played against Brazil, where he was playing almost as, I mean, almost on top of the centre-backs, just playing 50 kind of short sideways passes to put Norway in control. I think it's going to be an interesting tactical battle, actually, yeah. Yeah, and Odegaard up against Declan Rice, his Ireland team-mate, if both are selected. What do you think, Felipe? I agree. Michael Cox mentioning the way that Odegaard played. I mentioned it playing as a classic number 10, going back to the center back, taking the ball off the center back, getting touches, just to keep Brazil at bay and force Brazil to defend.

33:30Obviously, Brazil has become a defensive side, but it just looked like the tactics and the decision-making from Norway was very effective to keep the ball. I agree. I think England has the better players in midfield collectively. The heat is going to be a big question mark. Colombia against Portugal, which was one of the better games in the group stage, the players were completely exhausted afterwards. That was one of those games where the hydration break was certainly needed. But again, I don't know what the X factor is in this game yet. If we just want to focus on Kane and Haaland, perhaps it is.

34:06But it could come down to what Michael's saying. Just who keeps the ball? Which midfield is more in control? A couple of things. One that Martin Sleepness was saying before, which is that both Norway and England had their kind of game of the tournament already. England's extraordinary performance at the Azteca, Norway knocking out Brazil. But whereas for Norway, that means they feel what we've done, even if we leave now, we've still had an amazing World Cup. Can England say the same thing or does that kind of achievement actually ramp up the pressure on the next game? Possibly. The other thing is the fact that Norway's players have had 90 minutes less than England.

34:43So when we talk about the conditions and the heat and the draining effects of that, Sorbacke's decision to rest his entire starting XI, essentially, for the last group game against France could be a really significant one. Yeah, I mean, so far it looks like it's paying off. I mean, they didn't lay a glove on France and you kind of felt like they'd squandered an opportunity to potentially win the group, but it's actually worked out reasonably well. And to pick up on what Coxie was saying about possession, Norway showed in that game against Brazil that they're capable of controlling possession. But we also saw several moments in that game, some quite naive defending.

35:25Brazil win a penalty quite early on that Bruno Guimaraes squanders. There were multiple moments in the first half where Brazil broke against Norway, found themselves in 2v2, 3v3 situations and weren't able to make the most of it. Endrik squandered that huge chance when he was sent through early in the second half. So you can get at this Norway team and yeah, you wonder whether they will seek to control possession in the same way that they did against Brazil or mindful of the extent to which they were exposed on the counter-attack. will they think well actually let's let's let England have the ball knowing that we've got Erling Haaland and Alexander Surlot and Antonio Nusa to run in behind you know when we're able to turn over the ball yeah somewhere out there Michael there's a an equivalent Norwegian podcast busy talking about how they're going to possibly stop Kane and Bellingham and all the rest of them as well yeah possibly I think the one thing I'd say about Norway and this could be kind of famous last words but I think in individual battles I think you probably would favor the England players.

36:33I think the quality England have got out wide and the fact that Tuchel is very you know, we know what's going to happen after an hour he will switch the wingers you know, two off, two on and you've got another two, you know, really quick players, whoever that will be I expect it will be the same Gordon and Saka to start but I do think that could be England's trump card. I think they've probably got a little bit more strength and depth. That said Norway's two wingers came on at half time against Brazil and had a really big impact so it's tough. I mean obviously two of them are decided already but of the four uh quarter finals this is the one i think that is most in the balance i think it could and should be a really good game excellent this is gonna be your last game out here yeah i'm home on uh sunday potentially with a lot of very sad england fans we'll have to wait and see flight availability may vary depending on the result but uh yeah it's been good i've actually i've been in miami for nine days and there was a game on the first day i was and the last day I was here and they didn't have any around the 16 games.

37:33So I've been watching a lot on the television. So I'm looking forward to actually seeing Game in the Flesh for the first time in quite a while. Okay. What's been your favourite place or thing while you've been out here, Michael? What, away from the football, you mean? Well, it could be. I tell you what has pleasantly surprised me. This might be a strange one, but the quality of music played in public places and bars and stuff. just as my shazam has been used more regularly than uh for many a year probably ever actually i don't know whether that counts as something i've enjoyed but yeah i've rediscovered shazam is my main takeaway from a month in america excellent michael that's fantastic enjoy the game tomorrow tea time i hope the weather is kind and we shall catch up with you soon on the totally football show

38:25Martin Sleipnes: nice one thank you for having me on not at all you can switch your disco lights off now yeah it's a honestly this is every evening i think probably six of the eight evenings actually to be specific there's a proper storm you can't go out in this weather so uh yeah hopefully the game avoids any of this all right fingers crossed thank you so much michael cheers we clearly need to stop listening to that 80s radio station we found james that cycles the same 20 songs on repeat every day. But what songs they are. The other game on Saturday is, of course, Argentina-Switzerland. And we'll get on to that briefly next.

39:05Argentina-Switzerland. It's the Here's What You Could Have Won Colombia-Asico. That's the official designation. It's also, potentially, our last chance to see Leo Messi at a World Cup. I thought. Or maybe the penultimate one. or maybe the one before that. We don't know. But hey, grab them while you can. Smoke them if you got them. Listen, Argentina, they've been on the ropes. They are testing fate. And, you know, the Switzerland team, perhaps you mentioned it. I think a lot of people, including myself, obviously, were hoping for a South American Classico, right? Colombia-Argentina. Colombia would have taken, I think, the game to Argentina in a different way.

39:46And now you have Switzerland, who I thought were very intelligent in how they approached the Colombians. They pressed in the midfield very effectively. They found out who were the key players that liked to control possession for Colombia and made life really difficult for them, forced long balls that their center backs were quicker to. The second ball game was something that Switzerland did really well against Colombia. So Argentina is a team that they're going to keep the ball, but they are also willing to concede. We've watched that, that when they get in a groove and they get a goal, Suddenly they're like, hey, maybe we're okay for a little while.

40:22And so I could see that happening. I think really the story, though, is how sharp, how fresh is Argentina. They're one of the teams that has not traveled much in this World Cup. Their home base is Kansas City, and they played in Kansas City, Houston, Miami, Dallas, Kansas City. They're back in Kansas City where their home base is at this World Cup. So that should allow them to, I think, be energized and refreshed and recovered for this game. But the biggest questions are still there. Can this team show up and play 90 minutes? Do you know which nation has traveled the most of the eight quarter finalists in this World Cup?

41:01England. Is it England? Over 11 ,000 miles of traveling. Do you know which nation has traveled the least in this World Cup from the eight quarter finalists? I'll say Switzerland. Spain. France. France have played all their games Boston, New York and Philadelphia But they have been playing in extreme heat In travel time They've not been subjected to quite the same rigours Anyway, Switzerland will be looking to be the team that could After Cape Verde and then Egypt came so close with Argentina They're yet to trail at any point, Switzerland Not just in this World Cup But in the qualifiers as well Crikey against that.

41:43Tell us again, Argentina's record, it's now, they haven't lost a knockout game in a major tournament since the semi-final of the 2019 Copa America. Who did they lose to? I think it was Colombia. Colombia. It wasn't Scotland, was it? No, it wasn't Scotland. It wasn't Scotland. And I mentioned this on the show before, that was in Leon Oscolone, was the interim, the guy with no experience, was he the right manager? And again, now he's one of the best managers in the history of Argentine football, if not the top manager ever for them. Right. Tom, do you want to pick a winner from these? From these two?

42:19No, I actually mean from the Argentine. Yeah, I think, I mean, Argentine are obvious favourites. And I think the fact of having come through those unexpectedly testing fixtures against Cape Verde and Egypt will give them belief, even if it shows some of their limitations. I'd be wary of Switzerland though. And I think the two matches they've played in the knockout rounds are arguably ideal preparation for a game like this. Algeria and then Colombia, players with very dangerous individual attacking players. In Colombia in particular, a team who dominate possession, similar South American style of football to Argentina, they've not conceded a goal in the knockout phase.

42:56Unfortunately, Johan Manzambi has been ruled out. He obviously missed the previous game against Colombia and he's, along with Ruben Vargas, one of the players who's really added some dynamism to this Swiss team. But I think they'll see what Cape Verde and Egypt were able to do and think that they can do something similar. Wow, what a shock that would be if the Swiss put Leo Messi and Argentina out of this cup. We'll see. We'll see on Saturday. No doubt you'll be tuning in, although that game, being the later one, will be quite a nocturnal pursuit. Do hope, though, that you will be joining us come Sunday morning, perhaps, for you when we reunite to deliver our verdicts on the last two quarterfinals and maybe throw our thoughts forward to the semi-finals too.

43:42For now, though, that's kind of the end of this show. So many thanks to Tom and Felipe, to Michael Cox and Martin Sleepness earlier on, to the production crew and to you. Join us again next time. For now, from all of us here, it's goodbye.