USA light up the World Cup - can Brazil or Scotland follow suit?

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2:03Paul with one figure. Dusk falls on day two at the World Cup and boy, have we got a lot to talk about on this Totally Football Show.

2:15Friday in Los Angeles, red hot, red stripe USA, red, white and blue pass Paraguay 4-1. In Toronto, Canada get first ever World Cup point. Larian from David to curb Bosnia's enthusiasm. Saturday, one, two, three, four matches, including Brazil. Hello there. Welcome to the Totally Football Show. Thanks so much for joining us. What a line-up we have for you today. From left, we've got Phil Hay. Good evening. Radiant Megan Ferringer. Hi. Hi to you too. And also Duncan Alexander. Hello, James. Ahoy there. Fantastic. What a day. Megan, what an evening it's been. Friday here in Los Angeles for the USA.

2:56This has been such a fun day. And I owe everyone an apology for acting just so negative towards my team. Right. Yeah. Well, now they've beaten Paraguay. We're going to win the World Cup. Yeah, this is how these things go. USA scored more goals today than they did in the entirety of the last World Cup. Yeah, it's the most goals we've ever scored in a World Cup match. And I thought we played phenomenally well. I don't want to sort of indulge in hyperbole at this point. But? Yeah, I mean, if we made it to the final, amazing. But no, I mean, Paraguay weren't very good. And I think that first half definitely showed that.

3:30But we capitalized. And I think the cohesion of the attack especially, I'd say that's the best performance we've seen under Mauricio Pochettino in quite some time, if not under his entire tutelage. Wow. Crikey. We'll get into the game. We'll analyze the goals. Four of them. What else stood out for you today, Friday, day two of this World Cup, Duncan? Another good day for the officials, enacting some of IFAB's new rules, or laws, technically. IFAB, obviously a shadowy group of men that meet in a golf club in South Wales, usually, once a year, to bring in new rules. But they've obviously brought them all in for the World Cup.

4:06And I think we saw the first ever mistaken identity yellow card overturn in the US game. It involved Miguel Almiron. on yeah so tim ream challenged him but on and amaran went down but on replay i mean ream didn't touch him and amaran three to 15 steps later went i'm gonna go down the ref bought it gave ream a yellow um but after after flirting with a red a little bit he did a little bit of a well no i think this ref had a certain style which is when he keeps his cards together which is a sensible thing to do um so every time he gets the yellow out you can also see the red which Chad's a little frisson.

4:42But, yeah, it was a couple of minutes before VAR told him to go and have a look. Okay. And he did. And it's a whole new ballgame. In the earlier match, Canada's game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Phil, something that you enjoyed. Yeah, also new rule. Duncan was saying that they're like a shadowy group of men. And they're sometimes like the rearranged deck chairs on the Titanic crew as well. And a lot of the laws don't seem to, or tweaks that do, don't seem to make any difference. But this one, the throwing law, where you're given a timer to take the throwing, as Bosnia were, and you get five seconds, essentially, and if you don't get on with it and you don't do it, then the throwing gets awarded to the opposition, which in this case happened and it went to Canada.

5:22And these actually seem like really sensible ideas, which they should start rolling out elsewhere, especially in the Premier League, Toronto. I mean, that's the plan. I imagine if they're tested here and there's a success. Yeah, they're in for good. So we can all look forward to this in our own local leagues next season. Excellent. I should say, by the way, thank you everybody who's been tuning in on YouTube as well as in our usual podcast format. A lot of people excited as well by the wildlife moment that we enjoyed yesterday, Megan, with the intrusion of a skunk in our backyard here in Los Angeles.

5:54James, a.k.a. Jimmy Bronze, said, thought this was excellent. As weak as I am, I really enjoyed the bit where the guys got skunk and antsy. Clever. Because, yeah, there you go. The band, a reference to. Very nice, very nice. Should we talk about... That's not the real skunk. Not the real skunk. A lot of people doubted whether a skunk actually appeared. All we have is Tom Williams' word for it. Well, I saw it as well. Oh, you did see it as well? But I was professional and just thought, I'm not letting a skunk put me off my stride. But Tom gets quite scared. I mean, where is he tonight? Hiding from the skunk.

6:27Is there anything else it could have been? What about a raccoon? I don't know. Megan, you're an L.A. native. Yeah. Yeah, skunks are quite a thing here, no? Yeah, they're a thing here. I'd say more so than a raccoon. So odds are higher leaning towards the skunk. Megan knows wildlife and wildlife knows Megan as well. We might get into that later on, but the squirrels are keeping a wide berth of you today. Anyway, let's talk about USA Paraguay. All right, Friday night in Inglewood, USA beating Paraguay four goals to one. So many questions from this. Are USA legit? Is Christian Pulisic legit? it our paraguay really really really bad uh let's get into all of that first of all usa megan you said this is the best you've seen them them play and yesterday you mentioned pochettino's comments about he wanted them to play like children yeah you know in a carefree way and is that what we saw in that first half absolutely i thought some of the things that they were doing it was full of confidence in the kind of thing you might see kids playing on the park pitch or something like some of the back heels they were trying the passes the no looks it was it was just full of confidence like a bit of swagger and you're for to do that in your first game under sort of the blinding pressure of being the host nation as well and all of these pressures and expectations i think it it shocked a lot of people it surprised a lot of people the opening goal coming so early in the seventh minute obviously played a huge role in that because then you sort of get that first goal out of the way um it was still an amazing moment from christian pulisic to get the goal to kind of get into position to do that but obviously they had a little bit of luck to get it in the end.

8:02But they also created that luck with that cross. But that whole build-up, the back-heel flick from McKinney, the bursting run from Pulisic, a team that looked like it was really having fun, Duncan. Yeah, I think hosts have to start well, and I think obviously Mexico did. And USA were brilliant, I thought. I thought Pulisic now has three assists since the start of the last World Cup. No player has more. It's level with Messi and Kane, which kind of like that's what the adverts tell us. But actually, it's true as well. So I just thought they had a swagger. They obviously helped by playing in an air-conditioned stadium, which is useful in this weather.

8:36But, yeah, I think everyone can be super positive. Yeah, they're basically through. They've got a 98 % chance now of getting through to the last 32. With about a 10 % or 11 % chance of playing Canada in the next round, which would be fun. Well, that would be fun, wouldn't it? We'll talk about Canada very, very shortly. Phil, how impressed were you? Hugely. I mean, I was a bit of a naysayer, like Meg. and I think you should get on the hype train slightly after that. It's kind of weird the way things are working out. I sort of wonder where that football's been for 18 months under Poch, because they've definitely not played that well under him before.

9:12In fact, I don't think they've ever played that well at the World Cup before. He has this kind of inherent faith in Gio Reyna that nobody else seems to have, because the kid had a terrible time at the last World Cup and just can't get a game, can't get minutes anywhere he goes, but he picks him, and then he scores like that tonight. Right, and Pulisic as well. Pulisic's club form is stinking, to put it mildly. And there was the stat before May that he hadn't scored for the USMNT since 2024, which isn't, it's like a biblical drought. But he said, you know, when the World Cup comes round, I'll find confidence from somewhere, I'll find goals, I'll play well.

9:46And he has, it's a bit like flicking a switch. Right, I mean, he didn't score tonight, but he had a huge part to play in the success until halftime when he went off. Now, we're still waiting to hear the motive for his withdrawal. It does seem to be... A calf injury. A kick to the calf. A kick to the calf. Pochettino was saying it was a bit tight and everything else, so precautionary, I reckon, we'll be there. And he watched the second... It's not a week until the next game. Right. Yeah. And he was on the bench for the second half, which suggests he was all right. OK, so the first goal was an own goal from Damian Bobadillo, Tom's brother, presumably, and echoes here of the last time a World Cup was in USA and that Colombia game.

10:27and the terrible circumstances of that. Player you mentioned yesterday in your preview, following Balogun, then took over. What a magnificent first half he had. Yeah, and both goals were such amazing goals of composure and skill and finesse. And that's exactly what we really needed and we wanted. And that's what I was saying yesterday, is that we haven't really had a striker that was able to put away those types of goals, especially the second one that he had. I mean, to be able to sort of know the past, like let the ball sort of do the work. And then he has a little bit of luck because he gets the ball away from the defender.

11:01But not like just to look up and just make sure that he's going to get it to the top corner was brilliant. It was wonderful. And especially too, when you look at the other goals that the USA missed in the second half and those chances that were sort of snatched at by Pepe, that's when you sort of realize, okay, we've got a real player on our hands and someone who's going to put away the chances that we need. You've got an elite finisher and possibly an elite manager too. I thought he did really well. I thought Pochettino's decisions to bring in the subs were really, really smart. I think, too, what's really important in the first game is to make sure that you do bring in everyone so that they all can feel part of that camaraderie and that cohesion and that swagger.

11:36And they all got to show it. And, you know, a point to Reyna. Reyna, when he was included in the squad, a lot of people were questioning whether or not he should. And, I mean, that fourth goal was phenomenal. It was, wasn't it? It was curtains for Paraguay. I mean, that's a great get-up as well. So, I mean, you know, that's an elite managerial stance, I would say. So, yeah, good stuff. Excellent. Well, we'll see what happens in their next game. Any thoughts about Paraguay, though? Just before we get to Paraguay, we've obviously talked about Pulisic. We've talked about Balogun. I think Tyler Adams was magnificent.

12:08I think Opta said that this is the first time USMNT had named a player from each of the top five European leagues in a World Cup game, which I think, along with Pochettino, It kind of shows how they've developed as a footballing nation. They have got quality out there. I think they have been a bit underestimated. And yeah, it all came together. But Adams was magnificent and played a lot of the game on a yellow card. There was a lot of people saying it should be taken off, but he sort of controlled the second half, i.e. himself, pretty well. Why not us, says Pochettino? Why not us? And that's a theme that's being echoed in a number of adverts about miracles that have happened to American sporting teams before.

12:50We still have to leave a bit of a question mark because of Paraguay. Yeah, although I think Paraguay are a really good team. I mean, I'd looked at the qualifying stats and the run through the qualifiers beforehand, and it made them look really strong. And I thought this would be, depending on Turkey, because Turkey is a bit of an unknown quantity, and the sort of side that could come good from nowhere, having not been brilliant for a while. But I thought Paraguay might be the most difficult opponents that the USMNT would come up against. But they were completely rinsed. And a little bit like last night when I said with the Czech Republic, I can't work out whether, well, I can work out, but are they really good at set pieces or are they actually just dismal in open play?

13:27And I think they're probably dismal in open play. I think Paraguay were just completely rattled by the way that the USMNT played. But Pochettino's been really expensive and it's been strange watching him because he's the most expensive employee US soccer have ever had. And watching him over the past 18 months, it seemed as if at times he almost regretted taking the job I wasn't really very happy in it and I wasn't loving it. And then looking at it tonight, you think, well, that's the sort of football that you pay big money for and that's why you wanted Pochettino. And it suddenly looks like a really good fit, whereas for so long we've all been sitting thinking, where is this actually going?

14:01I do think it's hard, though, for when you manage a team that's hosting a tournament because you have to wait so long for it to actually start. And this was kind of like, in a sense, day one, wasn't it, in terms of what he's been brought in to do. And he's done all right. I think too, one of the things, sorry to interrupt, but the thing with Paraguay, I think the reason they were so rattled was because of the press. I thought the US's press was absolutely phenomenal. And it felt more like sort of Pochettino's out of possession that we've seen maybe in a club since. And we haven't really seen that for the US in the last couple of months.

14:30So I thought that was a really great part of the game. We'll see if they can replicate that in game two, which will see them take on Australia. Australia, who will face their opening game against Turkey tomorrow. Tomorrow that match will be coming up in Vancouver, 5am UK time, 9 o 'clock here. It's a late one, isn't it? A lot of people are very interested to see Australia, but also that man there, Vincenzo Montella's Turkey. Could they? Are they, Phil? I think they'll be quite handy, Turkey. I don't know, do we say that again? Dark Horse? I was just going to say, do we put them on the Dark Horse list?

15:04Unfortunately, the Dark Horse list seems to be enormous. It's a big World Cup. Yeah, it is a big World Cup, so I suppose it is going to stretch out. I don't think Turkey will go too deep, but even just the presence of players like Gouler and others, they're a good side when it comes together. And I think they'll be better against the USMNT than Paraguay were this year. Really? Yeah. Americans have a great history of taking Turkey apart, of course, but one of the traditions. Anyway, lots to look forward to tomorrow with Australia against Turkey and three other matches as well. We'll get on to all of that later on.

15:36But next, we're going to talk about the other host nation in action today, Canada, who scored a mighty point against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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17:54experts set up on qualifying orders, life gets a little easier. Visit Wayfair.com or the Wayfair app. Wayfair, every style, every home. Earlier on Friday, the World Cup, Canada got their first ever World Cup point in a battling 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina. They came from behind to do it as well, Phil. I think they'll be in their own way as happy as the USMNT. They played really well. Better team than Bosnia, I thought. Should have won the game. Nothing was really going for them until they equalised. There was that mad clearance off the crossbar, which was kind of summing it up to that point.

18:28But Duncan was mentioning with the USMNT that the players spread across the world's top five leagues. Now, it's not quite like that with Canada, but the individual players are starting to elevate now to a higher level than they have been previously. And Jesse Maas has also been really proactive at trying to pick up players who could have declared for other countries, Mexico and so on. And they've built a good little squad. They played really well today. In the past, when I've watched Marsh's teams, they've been a bit prone to pressing high up the pitch to an extent where they get left exposed and open at the back.

19:01But it wasn't like that against Bosnia. They got the measure of it right. And I thought they deserved to win the game and should have won the game. We'd heard indeed from Joshua Cloak about their problems with finishing Canada in their various pre-tournament friendlies. And it looked like that was going to be the story of this game, particularly, Duncan, when Bosnia-Herzegovina took the lead. yeah it looked like it was going to be a fairly sort of drab bosnian win but um there was a kolasinic um clearance which was magnificent it certainly was i mean you know against your own bars risky maneuver but he pulled it off with uh with aplomb so uh yeah and then but it as phil says it never really looked like they panicked there was we actually watched this game on telemundo which is interesting because they actually allow us to see the hydration breaks, unlike Fox.

19:53And we actually saw in the end of the third quarter, I will keep calling them quarters, Jesse Marsh going quite energetically angry at his team, really sort of laying into them. And it worked. I think they looked, the strongest part of the game for them was the last quarter and that's when they equalised and they probably should have won as well. We'll get tired of talking about the hydration breaks and clearly Fox are just going to stick this out and they're going to do what they're doing with the ads. But it surprised me that they're doing it because when they were trialled before the tournament started, it was Pochettino who had the laptop at the side of the pitch with the players round about and trying to explain what was going on.

20:32And I thought on that basis, a broadcaster like Fox would have said to themselves, it could be some interesting stuff. Not necessarily fascinating, but vaguely interesting bits and pieces going on in these breaks. I can't think of a single reason why they would choose to show adverts instead, Phil. No, me neither. But I have to say the Ferrero Roche bars looked lovely. don't they though don't they though we did enjoy the fact they turn on the sprinklers during that hydration break because even the ground gets thirsty so yeah fair enough yeah Kolasinic was actually there enjoying the refreshing the refreshing droplets yeah it was a set piece goal of course it was for Bosnia Hezegovina then there were a bundle of chances Kolasinic's clearance off the bar as it turned out and then eventually with 12 minutes to go it was a a saint who answered the home fans prayers yeah who saw that coming and maybe Southampton's training staff anyway.

21:20But yeah, it was a brilliant sort of first time. Well, it looked like a brilliant first time finish. But on replays, hashtag disappointing deflection. But I mean, I don't think many Canada fans are going to be worried about that. Right. No, it was a lovely turn and finish. It maybe went off someone's backside, but fair enough. Where does that leave them? Phil's saying that Canada should be as happy with that performance as USA would be with their 4-1 win over Paraguay. Where does it leave Canada? Well, the Athletic's all-knowing projection model, which is really cranking into gear now, gives Canada an 88 % chance of getting through to the next round, which is pretty good, right?

22:00Yeah. 88%. That's because, essentially, they've still got to play Qatar, who are probably the weakest team in the group. And as we know, three will probably go through from, well, eight of the 12 groups, and this could be one of them. So, yeah, as we mentioned earlier, Yeah, there's a reasonable chance they could play the US in the last 32, which I'm sure Jesse Marsh, his energy levels were high today, but I could imagine they might go even a little bit higher. It bears mentioning that for all the US success today, Friday, last two times they faced Canada, they've lost on both occasions. So, hmm, interesting.

22:36Qatar, next opponents for Canada, they're in action tomorrow. They're taking on Switzerland. and that's midday West Coast in San Francisco, 8pm in the UK, if you're curious, on Saturday. They're coached by, of course, Murat Yakin, who took them to the last 16 of the last World Cup, he said, reading from his notes. And they have set up their training ground next to a snake pit, Phil, you were telling me. Yeah, Tim Spears always gets these pieces at our place. I'm sure it was Tim, you know, weird and wonderful. Dig out Spears and send them off. So he discovered that in, I think it's San Diego. San Diego.

23:11Yeah, San Diego they're in. There is to the right or the left of the pitch, depending on which end of it you're standing at, a massive big open area of tundra, which is basically infested with snakes, and pretty much if anybody kicks the ball into that area, it's lost for good. Wow. Unless you've got a death wish or you want to chance your luck. It's not lost for good, you've just got to be not scared of snakes. Or immune to the poison that might kill you, I suppose. Yeah. Would be the other risk of it. I wouldn't be going in there. No. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily call it a snake pit, more some land that snakes live in.

23:44It's a snake pit. It was described as a snake pit in the athletic, and that is good enough for me. I think the pressure of getting through to the next round of the World Cup is the real snake pit. That's the real snake pit. I was surprised to learn there's eight to nine species of snake in Switzerland, so I'm not really sure why they're worried or scared. Right, OK. Was it the Swiss? It is the Swiss next to the snake pit. The Qataris, who are their opponents, were the hosts, of course, last time around in the World Cup and they lost all three of their matches. They are now managed by Ulan Lopetegui, who looks like he's actually going to be in charge of a national team this time after, of course, what happened to him in 2018.

24:22They've gone for a swoop for him this summer. They've gone for a much more cutting-edge, modern manager instead. We've clearly got a lot to say about Qatar and Switzerland, but we're going to hold that back until they actually play on Saturday. So look out for that in tomorrow's show. Now, lots of other action coming up on Saturday. Beyond the two games involving the Canada group and the USA group, there's also Group C getting underway. It features Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and also a mighty team called Scotland. We'll talk about all of that next. This episode of the Totally Football Show is brought to you by the FIFA World Cup meal at McDonald's.

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26:01143-foot screen, and live game sound puts you right inside the action. The World Soccer Championship, book today at CircaLasVegas.com. If you've looked into using AI for customer support, you've probably noticed most existing solutions are off the shelf and don't quite fit your company's needs. Or, it's a great custom solution, but it takes forever to launch. Decagon gives you the best of both worlds. Decagon helps companies create personalized concierge-style customer experiences with AI agents across chat, email, voice, and SMS. They're available 24-7, feel natural to talk to, and can resolve customer requests on their own, so businesses can keep up with requests without losing their personal touch.

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28:27It's on Wednesday in Toronto. They're taking on Panama. Thomas Partey, who's now at Villarreal, former Arsenal player, of course, is facing trial on seven charges of rape and one of sexual assault. He denies all those charges. He is eligible to feature in the other two games for Ghana in Group L, which are against England and Croatia, because he has successfully entered the USA. Duncan, you've got some news about England, meanwhile. Yeah, they've been robbed. What one publication called an audacious heist, but I think it was just some, well, equipment. So a lot of footballs. What did they lose?

29:03A lot of footballs. Apparently they were left with just one football. One football. Although I imagine you can buy other ones. or they might recover them. But it's quite cycling coded. It's a very common thing in cycling races, Tour de France, etc., where a lot of expensive equipment gets stored in trucks and people target them. I've not heard of it happening in football before. Do you think the police would be motivated to go after bags of footballs? I mean, you certainly hope so. You'd hope so. Taxpayer funded employees. Yeah, yeah. But, I mean, maybe they have bigger things to sort out. But, you know.

29:36All right. Well, good luck to England anyway. with finding some more training equipment ahead of their debut match. We're going to get on to Saturday's matches, though, from Group C, which will feature Brazil against Morocco. We'll hear from Natalie Jedra very, very shortly. She's in New Jersey following, of course, the Sela Sal. But, Phil, Scotland in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Is it? No, it's in Boston. In Boston. It is in Boston, but I believe Boston is. It's in Massachusetts, not Foxborough. It's the Foxborough Stadium, though. Oh, is it? Yeah, it's in that neck of the woods, yeah. Well, look at that.

30:11Anyway. I believe. Looking to get off to a winning start against one of the worst ranked teams in the tournament in the shape of Haiti. Two words for you though, Phil. Costa Rica. Yeah, I have a feeling if you went back to 1990, there was probably somebody sitting on what would have been the equivalent of a podcast back then saying off to a good start against one of the worst teams in the tournament. Haiti are 83rd in the world, and I decided to go back and see whether Costa Rica were in fact worse, but then realised that the FIFA rankings didn't start until 1993, so it was a bit of a pointless exercise.

30:45But my abiding memory is of coming home to catch the end of the first half and the second half against Costa Rica, because for some reason, even though it was in Italy in 1990, that game kicked off in the middle of the afternoon rather than waiting until people would have been at home. They must have known what was coming for the Scots. I can't believe they didn't give Scotland and Costa Rica prime time slot. Me neither. Me neither. But if they'd known what was coming, they would have done, you see. Yeah, more fool them. But yeah, Scotland have had a habit of kind of all-timers in terms of debacles in World Cups.

31:16The one-all draw where they ran in 1978 wasn't amazing. Losing to Costa Rica, not brilliant either. Getting rinsed by Morocco in 1998. There's a definite Jim Layton pattern in this. Goalkeeper, Duncan and I were talking about him earlier. Goalkeeper who could be really, really good, but was prone to these kind of debacle moments which he never ever seemed to get away with ever. When he made mistakes, it always went horribly, horribly wrong. Right. He's not in the squad this time, thankfully. No, we're not that desperate, although we do have a clutch of keepers who between them have made two league starts this season just gone.

31:49Really? So Leighton probably had a chance. Yeah. In terms of having a prime time slot this time around, I'm afraid the news isn't great, although all school kids should be safely home from their studies because it's actually going out at 2am UK time this match. How are people going to watch that? Are the pubs going to stay open? Yeah, I've got the pub. Yeah, no, there's nothing Scotland likes more than a 2am game, so everybody can just drink through the night. Yeah, happy days. I like that as well. I mean, pretty good, isn't it? Yeah, fair. Even if you're coming in at 2, stick on Hayter's triumph.

32:19Magnificent. Well, this is what somebody tweeted straight after, a Scotland fan who was planning to travel with the Tartan Army, said, this could be an all-timer where we lose to one of the worst countries in the world at 2am in the morning. Bingo. I mean, the thing with Scotland, which is bizarre, is that they've been to a World Cup many, many times, but have never got out of the group. They haven't been to a World Cup since 1998, as you know. And they also had Brazil and Morocco in their group, yada, yada, yada. This time around, though, it feels like one of the best squads that Scotland have taken to this tournament.

32:51I'm being a little bit facetious about them, because I think there is a bit of wind in their sails. And once you get into the midfield, it's really good, actually. You've got McTominay, you've got McGinn, you've got Gannon Doak. There's a lot of talent there. George Ferguson. Yeah, absolutely. Really, really good player. And then you've got a goal scorer in Shankland, who Steve Clarke has been kind of resistant to playing up until this summer, but looks like he will play him now. And while I don't think, I mean, Clarke is kind of famously conservative with his tactics, and while I don't think he'll have a personality transplant completely, I think he'll play Shankland against Haiti, because that is the game to win.

33:26it's the defence that worries me the goalkeeper slightly because they just haven't played so as Duncan said potentially fresh potentially like ludicrously rusty but I have visions of you know Vinicius Junior going at Grant Hanley and others going at Grant Hanley and other defenders around him and it's not a pretty thought really so that would be where the trouble comes. But we also have to remember we're in a paradigm now where Scotland can boast former Serie A Player of the Year in their squad, in Scott Mottomane. In Brazil, who they'll play later on, have got a Brentford and a Bournemouth player in their squad.

34:01So things have changed. I'm pretty confident Scotland are going to get through. I think they'll go through, yeah. All right. Haiti, whose build-up has been somewhat disturbed by the fact that FIFA, who only days ago were telling everyone to chill and relax, told them, with just two days to go before this fixture, to get their shirts redesigned. Because you see the one on the left there? I'm not sure if you can see down in the bottom kind of left corner of the jersey. It featured images of essentially the revolutionaries who gave birth to the nation of Haïti. Back before that revolution, they'd been a slave state owned by France and a gentleman called Toussaint Louverture.

34:41And I must say I'm indebted to FIFA's action for finding out a little bit more about this. He led the revolution, which saw them become the only successful slave revolution to actually end up in a proper nation state. Anyway, FIFA said, yeah, that's political. Slaves against slavers. Find people on both sides. And it's happened within the last 500 years. So, I mean, it's pretty current. This is the thing, you see. I knew nothing about this until I read about it. So I went to look back at when the revolution in Haiti actually took place, which was at the end of the 18th century, which seems like quite a long time ago to me.

35:14And I know that FIFA isn't big on political statements and rules of rules. But, I mean, the Scottish National Anthem, for example, or Flower of Scotland is about beating the English in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, right? What? So you would call that... I've changed my mind. I hope they go out. You would call that mildly political. Right. You would also say that if you had an issue with it, it's a little bit like shouting the odds at the French about Agincourt. Right. It's so long ago that... I mean, equally, the Stars and Stripes, which we saw waved around with wild abandon at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles this Friday evening, that was a revolutionary flag, surely, against, again, the English.

35:51Haiti and the US have both successfully thrown off the English yoke. Scotland, not so much. Not yet. It's quite dangerous to have lyrics in a national anthem. Just keep it. Anyway, the good news is that Haiti did have a spare shirt, which you can see on the right, which is slightly less romantically charged. You had suggested, actually, that somebody in the process of producing this might have said on the quiet, maybe this will cause a problem at some point, shall we just have a contingency? Yeah, well, there you go. They'll be playing in Massachusetts, but also, as I mentioned yesterday, in New Jersey.

36:23As will Brazil, who are going to be taking on Morocco at the Meadowlands. And Natalie Jedra, as I mentioned before, is there following the Celisau and was indeed on Friday at Carlo Ancelotti's press conference. Earlier on today, I dodder up to hear what went on. Natalie. Jimbo. You're in New Jersey. I am. It's lovely here. It's very warm, but it's lovely. Excellent. Are there a lot of Brazilians around? There are, actually. This afternoon, they did Bandeiraço at Times Square, which is like that gathering of fans with instruments and flags. And actually, I learned that New Jersey is the third in the U.S.

37:10in terms of Brazilians living in the States. So it's Massachusetts first, which surprised me, and then Florida and then New Jersey. So nice. We're expecting big crowds, big noisy crowds. Big crowds at the Meadowlands, the MetLife New Jersey, where Brazil will be taking on Morocco. You're going to be going along. Have you been saving up for the trip?

37:39Yeah, I should, right? But, yeah, I'll be with my – I'm one of the lucky ones with a credential. So, yeah, but very much looking forward to it. Excellent. Today, Friday, you've been at Carlo Ancelotti's pregame press conference. How was he? He was very positive. Actually, Jimbo, I'm surprised because I've been with the Brazilian camp this whole week And I'm surprised with how confident they really come across and how positive they are, especially considering that there's a lot of skepticism around this Brazilian side. But Ancelotti, he repeated what he said many times during this cycle, which is Brazil, I can guarantee you that Brazil is ready to compete with any team in the world.

38:28And he seems very confident when he talks about it. And he also spoke about nerves because, of course, it's his first game as a manager in the World Cup. He was Ahigo Saki's assistant in 94 and, of course, played in 86 and 90. But it's the first time as a head coach. And he gave a really good line, actually. He's very charismatic. He gave a really good line about, well, you need fear. Fear is important because if not, you're going to face a lion thinking that it's a cat. and you can't do that. So, yeah, it was a very upbeat press conference from Ancelotti. Excellent. Well, Saturday, of course, you're facing Atlas Lions.

39:14So we'll see how that goes. This is only his fifth competitive match in charge. What's the big question for you ahead of it? What are you waiting to see from Brazil? I think everyone's waiting to see Brazil compete. I think there is, Brazilians are not as positive as they were in previous World Cups for this coming to this one. Definitely not compared to 2018, for example, when Brazil had a perfect cycle. And even 2022, because there was continuity in that process. But I think what people really expect to see is the attacking players, especially Vinicius Jr. and Rafinha, delivering for the national team, because that hasn't always been the case.

40:02Many people argue that Vinicius Jr., especially, he never played for Brazil as he does for Real Madrid. So I think that's the biggest expectation. And just, you know, trying to manage the nerves in this first game, because every first game at a World Cup is naturally a more nervous match. But this one, especially against Morocco and the talent that they have. I mean, Morocco, I was in their press conference as well. And Hakimi spoke about them being in a different level and embracing this, you know, embracing the fact that they are seen as a strong team in this World Cup. So we're talking about two teams that are going to try to have the ball and attack.

40:48But at the same time, Ancelotti makes it very clear that the defensive side is very, very important to him. So I'm very interested to see how the game is going to pan out. You know, who is going to be more on the front foot and who will be a bit more careful. OK, in team news, Natalie, no Neymar, as we knew, but Wesley also out of the World Cup. squad for Brazil. How big a loss is that? Who have they brought in to replace him? Yeah, Wesley is a big loss because it's in a position that Brazilian fans already thought that we were kind of a bit more fragile. We've been talking about the fullbacks for a while, you know, and as much as people love to mention Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Marcelo, Dani Alves, we haven't had this level of fullbacks since Qatar.

41:39But now when you have an injury in this part of the pitch, especially considering that Edwin Militão, who was going to play right back, also got injured and is not even here. It was a concern. Ancelotti said that he called up Ederson, who's a midfielder, because he thought he was well covered with Danilo and Ibanez on those positions. So I'm not sure if many people would agree with that, but we'll see. And as for Neymar, Ancelotti said that he should train with the rest of the squad next week. But it's funny, Jembo, because Vini Junior, he gave a press conference before Ancelotti today. And when he got asked about Neymar, I mean, really, he said that everything he does on the pitch, It's because he spent years trying to do everything that Neymar did.

42:33And that Neymar is his biggest idol. And he admires him so much. He didn't save any compliments to Neymar. So that saves volumes about how this group of players look at Neymar. And, well, he's not going to be involved against Morocco. but there is hope that he can maybe play a few minutes still in the group stage. Maybe. I don't know. I'm a bit sceptical about it, but we'll see. Natalie Gerdra, always lovely to hear from her. Always nice to get Brazil in action. It's not a World Cup, is it, until we have the Verde Oro taking the field. Phil, what do you think? Are you concerned about Ancelotti's plan that we've seen in the friendlies as well?

43:19Four up top with just two in the midfield? I would say so, yes. I think I'd be more concerned if it was somebody other than Ancelotti doing it. I think him being head coach is the only reason why there's a little bit of me that thinks maybe Brazil will do something at this tournament. I don't think they'll do much. They are Brazil, but they're a fairly poor version of Brazil as they've been over the years. They've still got some top players and really good players, but nothing about them. And I know the different management and Ancelotti just has this way with teams and is very good at making the best of what he has and also very good at coming up with systems and strategies that the players like and are happy with and willing to go along with.

44:01But I think they'll get through the knockouts, obviously, but I think they will hit problems at some stage. Bold predictions from Phil. This is a huge game, by the way. I think it's the only match from the opening round to feature two teams ranked inside FIFA's top 10. So, yeah. Because Morocco went further than Brazil last time all the way to the semifinals, like the last World Cup. They arrive at this tournament having just changed their manager. Yeah, and they arrive as champions of their continent as well. This week? At the moment, as it stands. Might check tomorrow. Yeah, I think, you know, Hakimi's outstanding.

44:41They've got a very kind of... They know everyone knows their role. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing how they get on. I mean, I think Phil's point about Ancelotti, you know, is correct. He's a vibesman. I do actually think Brazil is slightly better than people are saying. And I think, yeah, that two-man midfield could get ransacked in the latter stages. But I think what will happen is that they will produce some moments of magic in the group stage. I mean, do you remember we watched some goals, didn't we, with Tom a few days ago? Richarlison sort of flick and overhead kick in the last World Cup and that's kind of what you want, a few bits of magic.

45:18Yeah, they need Rufina to run right, is pretty much it, I think. He's the best attacking player and if he's on it, they'll be dangerous. If it's not coming together, then I don't think they'll make much of a dent. The Leeds diaspora continues in this World Cup. Indeed, yes. Magnificent, all right. Well, looking forward to that. Of course, we'll have coverage of that in tomorrow's show. Same time, same place, whether on YouTube or whatever podcast platform you prefer. Many thanks to Phil Hay for being with us today. You've got another newsletter out tomorrow? Indeed, yes. Leading on the USMNT, who'd have thought?

45:52OK. They are all available for free. I mentioned this for free. A big initiative, this, from The Athletic. All the World Cup coverage from the site is available through the Athletic app, and that's for the duration of this mammoth World Cup. Duncan, many thanks to you as well for today and to Megan and Natalie Gedra as well. Many thanks above all to you. Do join us when we return. Same time, same place tomorrow for now. From all of us here, it's goodbye. This episode of the Totally Football Show is brought to you by Hotels.com. When you book in a hotel, here's a simple question. Why wouldn't you use Hotels.com?

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