USA turned over by Belgium, as Spain end Ronaldo’s World Cup career

0:05From Los Angeles, it's totally at the World Cup, with a show as busy as Jani's hotline after a 4-1 called the wrong way.

0:17Waffle beats Awful at Lumen Field as US lurch from appealing to appalling. Humiliated 4-1 by Belgium. Next up for the Belgians, Spain, who Monday sank Portugal with their sub, Marino, ending Ronaldo's World Cup career in the process. We say goodbye to him and Brazil in this Totally at the World Cup. Monday evening in LA, Tuesday morning and thereafter pretty much everywhere else. It's a brand new Totally at the World Cup with Tom Williams. Hello, Tom. Hello, James. And Felipe Cardenas. Hey, James. Hi to you, Felipe. what a day we say goodbye to well Portugal and the USA the last host the last host the hosts are out you know I think the expectation was for at least one of these teams to get further than the round of 16 so I think it was a bit of a gut punch certainly for the United States and you can't go out like that I think Mexico will look at themselves in the mirror and say we went out with some pride, we took England to the brink, the United States can't say the same thing.

1:25We need to wait for the Disciplinary Commission of FIFA to just have a quick double check of the statutes. You've gone there. Article 39, subclause 17. Just to make sure everything is legit and above board. We joke about it, but Africa Cup of Nations, am I right? the results anyway on Monday day 26 I make it of this World Cup Spain beat Portugal in the early game bringing the curtain down on CR7 at the World Cup next up they will face Belgium who up in Seattle call it Lemanfield perhaps not Lemanfield defeated USA 4-1 and no they can't appeal alright let's get a moment of the day Tom dare I ask yours going to go for Belgium's fourth goal against the United States scored by Romelu Lukaku, who'd come off the bench, occurred about half an hour after the very comical third goal that the USA had conceded.

2:24And here again, there were defensive errors at the root of the goal in that Chris Richards had a clearance blocked and Lukaku curled it in. And then we were struck by Belgium's goal celebration. There is a suggestion that they may have been attempting to mimic a dance beloved of the US president a well-known national president if they were trying to do it they did I don't think they quite nailed it I don't think some of them had ever seen him do it if they were they'd been maybe told about it yeah yeah that picture does look like it doesn't it yeah an arrest an arresting image and that felt like quite a fitting way to bring the curtain down right on this uh you know particular episode well what a huge game that was so much build up to it so much talked about the teams involved ahead of it and the significance of it.

3:17We'll get on to it very shortly, but your moment of the day. I'm going to say Mikel Merino and his winner against Portugal. You know, the Spanish midfielder, the Arsenal midfielder, known in Spain as being that player, that jack-of-all-trades, and who pops up when they most need him. You remember the European Championships in 2024, a big 119th minute goal over Germany, takes them to the semifinal. They end up beating England in the final. And I was in Atlanta when Spain was there training. And when he was available for the media, the Spanish press asked him, are you going to score a big goal in this World Cup?

3:52Are you going to be that guy again? And he said, oh, I would love to, very humble and smiling. And here he is on a very important day, a game that was so tight, so cagey, so tactical. you needed that moment to be more awake than your opponent. And that's certainly what Mikel Moreno did. A nice finish as well. Absolutely. What a clutch player. We'll get on to Spain's win over Portugal later on. First up, though, USA 1, Belgium 4.

4:23Well, Monday evening brought a sensational Belgian performance up in Seattle. 4-1. It could have been many more. Yeah, it could. There was a very brief moment of hope for the US after they equalised, but then they conceded a second goal within two minutes of equalising. And despite rallying at the start of the second half of the third goal, which we mentioned earlier, just completely took the wind out of their sails. Where has this Belgian performance been hiding? I get the impression that Belgium, who kind of sleepwalked into the tournament, They were drawn in a relatively favourable group alongside Egypt and Iran and New Zealand.

5:05Drew their first two matches, won their final match quite comfortably. But I think it was during the game against Senegal in the round of 32 that Rudy Garcia found the winning formula. They were 2-0 down and shortly after falling 2-0 down, he takes off Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku. And I, along with, I'm sure, plenty of others watching, thought, well, he's gone mad. what a stupid thing to have done this is not going to work out and as it turned out those substitutions paved the way for Belgium to turn the game around he brought on Nicholas Ruskin and Doddy Lukabakio and Belgium end up winning 3-2 in extra time Juri Tielemans at the death and for the game today against the US he left De Bruyne and Doku on the bench again Ruskin and Lukabakio started Lukabakio was was quite heavily involved on the right hand side but I thought Raskin's role was really interesting.

5:56He played in front of the back four and when Belgium were out of possession he stayed in that little gap between the midfield four and the back four and it just made it very difficult for the US to play any passes into feet into Balogun for example and it also enabled Juri Tielemans to play slightly further forward in the De Bruyne role. He was very heavily involved, should have opened the scoring himself with about seven minutes on the clock. Raskin ends up teeing up the opening goal for De Catalera and by the time Garcia brings on Jeremy Doku, the game has already won. He doesn't even need Kevin De Bruyne, one of Belgium's greatest ever players.

6:33So chapeau once again, Monsieur Garcia. No Belgian player scored in their first two matches this World Cup. They've since notched up 11 in three games. They look tremendously composed in this game. Quite the opposite, you would say, of the US performance. Did the moment get to them, do you think? I think the moment got to them. Despite having that home crowd and being in Seattle that has been known at this World Cup for being amongst the most raucous and supportive of the United States, I really think that this team was thoroughly distracted by everything that was happening outside the pitch with President Trump, FIFA, the suspension of Fuller and Balogun, the fallout, and everything that has been said and critiqued and scrutinized since then.

7:18You know, there's a saying in American sports, don't ever give a team bulletin board material, anything that they can hang up in their dressing room and point to and say, this is what we're going to do. This is what they think of us. And that's exactly what the president of the United States did for Belgium. I really think that they came out thinking this is our moment. The United States doesn't have that World Cup pedigree yet. It's not a team that I think can manage these very stressful moments. You remember in 2022, they went out in the second round to the Netherlands and they look like deer in headlights there as well.

7:54And tonight, you know, Mauricio Pochettino after the match saying this, we didn't show what we've been showing. We didn't play the way we've been playing. We didn't match the intensity. And I think that is a byproduct of nervousness, of anxiety. and obviously an opponent that had studied the United States thoroughly and that were just so much sharper in key areas of the pitch, midfield, backline, on the flanks. You mentioned Rudy Garcia getting the selections right. But this is a humiliating loss. This is an embarrassing loss. As a host nation, you've got to go out with a fight. And especially the United States, where this sport is always going to be scrutinized and critiqued as a niche sport.

8:35And we felt like this team may have perhaps jumped a significant hurdle in terms of identity, aesthetically, how they were playing. And tonight, a complete regression. Well, no moment was more humiliating than that custard pie in the face when goalkeeper Matt Friese came out and froze and Belgium made it 3-1. Someone shouted his name at him, maybe, do you think? And it spooked him. But to your point, the goalkeeping position, the back line, those coming into this tournament, those are the biggest concerns for the United States. This is a team that for previous World Cup cycles had a good idea who their goalkeeper was.

9:14Mercy Pochettino was always switching back and forth. Tim Ream, who is on his final days as an international, really struggled tonight. And again, I think we have to give credit to Belgium for just being much more sharp when it mattered. For anyone who didn't see this, what actually happened with the third Belgian goal? So a long ball was played towards the US goal. Freeze came out, chested it down, was very quickly closed down by Charles de Cattellera, made as if he was going to clear the ball down the field, and then for some reason decided not to do that. Shaped to play what looked like a square pass towards the nearest defender, and the Getseleira gets his toe on the ball and it ends up falling to Hans Van Aken.

10:04Van Aken. Fries is now caught in no man's land on the edge of his area. Van Aken curls the ball towards what is a broadly empty net. Luckily for the US, there's a defender there and it is their captain and most experienced centre-back, Tim Ream. But inexplicably, he tries to use the outside of his left foot to clear the ball, which is just a surface of your foot you should never be using in that kind of situation and just completely misses it basically and the ball trundles into the net and i mean the u.s rallied slightly after that but you you felt watching it that they were done at that point it was a killer killer reminded me a bit of renee guita in colombia against cameroon in 1990 he had a little i had a little bit of ptsd there i was like oh my goodness uh you know he's novo senior uh matt freeze on the ball and so yeah that was the dagger.

10:50Different tactical approaches after that because Rudy Garcia went to the bench and brought on Lukaku and Jeremy Doku while USA had Eddie Vedder chug a beer to whip the crowd up, which he did tremendously well. He did his bit. If all else fails, you know, think outside the box. Indeed so. Any other conclusions you can draw? Was it just a night that went wrong or was this US coming up against its real level? What would you say, Felipe? I think, to your point, James, I think it was the U.S. coming to their level. They had not been really tested in the first round against a big team, a top 10 team.

11:24This is a top 10 team in Belgium. And I think coming into this tournament, certainly that was my prediction for this U.S. team. I thought they would be okay in the group stage. They would figure out who they were. They would play. They would be supported by a huge home crowd. And then in the round of 16, they would meet a team that they would have to really compete with and beat and play near perfect football. Right. And, you know, we saw tonight that we already mentioned everything that happened off the field. But I do think this is just the level that this team is still at. I mean, the USA staying in this tournament would have been problematic because you'd have found yourself thinking, well, how much can we trust?

12:02To be fair, it depends how they do it. No, of course. But I mean, if we know they've been favoured by a decision that came from the White House and that enabled them to feel the player who should have been banned. and they got away with it in the sense that Balogun was able to line up at kickoff. He actually won the free kick that led to their goal, so he made a contribution. And knowing that they'd got away with that, who's to know how the Trump administration, in collaboration with FIFA, might have approached the rest of the tournament? Had they gone on and had they won by one slightly contentious goal, had a Belgian player been sent off, had any number of things happened, you would have found yourself sitting there watching it thinking, How can we trust what is happening?

12:44So, I mean, it might sound uncharitable, but it's a good job they got stuffed. Because if it had been a narrow defeat, who knows what that might have looked like. And I think on that note, A, we have really enjoyed the US performances up to this point. And B, the referees did, I think, a terrific job today in a really difficult match. Well officiated, exactly. I mean, it felt like the world was watching this game. And again, the Trump administration really taking it to the Brazilian referee that was in charge of the Uzbekistan game. I will end with this, James, about the United States. I think it is ludicrous that U.S.

13:21soccer never put out a statement about what occurred with Fuller and Balogun and just let the Trump administration be the spokesperson for the national team. And I don't think Fuller and Balogun deserved this type of scrutiny. You know, he had done so well as just a footballer and performing at the level and on the biggest stage that I think we expected him to, like I mentioned last show, being a professional, taking accountability. And perhaps even he was a bit affected by all this tonight. Well, Belgium next up face Spain, which is one of the tougher challenges around. Let's hear about what they got up to with Portugal next.

14:05Could AI help you do more of what you love? Workday is the AI platform for HR and finance that actually knows your business. We help you handle the have-to-dos so you can focus on the can't-wait-to-dos. It's a new Workday. I'm Paul Tenorio. I cover soccer for The Athletic. And I'm Amy Lawrence. I cover football for The Athletic. Whatever you call it, the biggest competition in the sport is happening right now. And the Athletics World Cup coverage has everything you need to follow the tournament. We've got more than 70 obsessive reporters on the ground. If you're eager to know more about the teams, the matches, all the stories on and off the pitch, we've got you sorted.

14:44Throughout the tournament, you have free access to all the coverage in our app. Download the Athletic app and see you there.

14:53Spain beat Portugal early on Monday, reaching the last eight of the World Cup for the first time since they won the tournament in 2010. Spain have still not conceded a single goal. at this World Cup. That's now 609 consecutive World Cup minutes. That breaks the all-time record, which was held by Switzerland. Switzerland. Wow. Now, this game, Spain against Portugal, two of the top five ranked teams in the world, with a lot of expectations, it wasn't a classic. Why was it so cagey? I think because they cancelled each other out. I mean, you know, they played in the Nations League final last year, and that went to penalty.

15:36They're two exceptional teams. I mean, Spain are a more well-oiled machine than Portugal are. They had most of the ball. I think the key difference between this Spain and the Spain that we saw at the Euros is that it was the wingers who made the difference at Euro 2024. Spain don't have Nico Williams because of injury, but they do have him, but he's not starting matches. Laminya Mal is playing his way back to full fitness and back to full form. Really struggled today against Nuno Mendes until Nuno Mendes went off. and consequently Spain have become quite reminiscent of the team that they were before.

16:10They became this much more vertical proposition. Are we heading back to 2010? Well, it feels like it. You know, it's clean sheets, you know, narrow wins here and there. Okay, they completely took Austria to the cleaners in the previous round, but against top opposition, it's probably not going to be quite as easy to do that. Mikel Ojazabel wasn't quite on his game today, squandered the one really big opportunity that he had. and in the end it was the strength off the bench that made the difference. Not only Mikel Moreno with the finish, but Ferran Torres with the little through ball that played him in.

16:42Yeah, the subs making the game, Ruiz and Torres setting up Moreno to take the chance, which was the biggest chance possibly in the game. Portugal got one off the crossbow early on. In fact, amazing stat about this. Spain actually allowed their opponents the highest XG that they conceded so far in this tournament. all of 0.58. So that's how tight they've been. But yes, then we saw Mikel Marino with the finish. So Spain, sorry, Philippe, you go. I was just going to say, I mean, after last night, after the high that we experienced last night, I think it was perhaps expected that we would have a come down.

17:19And that was what we experienced in this game to Tom's point. I think these teams know each other a bit too well. But again, the goal was this moment of quick thinking. You know, the game was so methodical and a bit sloppy. And that was a moment where you just had to be ready, be a bit more alive in that moment. And so, yeah, credit to Fran Torres, credit to Mikel Marino, who not only gets through, but you have to finish. You do have to finish. And he really just like coolly slotted it in. And this was in the 91st minute as well. So a lot of extra time was looming. Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career is over Portugal's World Cup campaign is over Roberto Martinez's time in charge of Portugal is also at an end his career, his reputation if you will as a destroyer of golden generations is burnished with each passing tournament it seems the charge against him here is that he basically used Ronaldo too much is that it?

18:20Am I oversimplifying? I think that's how he will be remembered He was the manager of the Portugal team that had this fantastic collection of talents, as we've said plenty of times previously. Arguably the strongest squad that Portugal have ever taken to a major tournament. And it does feel like it was his dependence on Ronaldo that in large part prevented him from enjoying more success. You have to think that with that level of talent at his disposal, he should have been capable of producing something more. you know Gonzalo Ramos who came on and headed in the winner against Croatia didn't even get off the bench today and you know it felt like a tournament too far for Ronaldo and I think ultimately you know that the buck for that has to start with Martinez.

19:03Okay he has confirmed his retirement from international football certainly from the World Cup after the game what epitaph would you give his World Cup career? Well I think he gave it he essentially said I'm paraphrasing but you You know, basically before me, Portugal had nothing, no trophies, and they won the European Championship. I think he said before Cristiano. True, yeah, yes. Thank you, yes, thank you. He did mention his own name. You know, I think in World Cups, he's had good World Cups. He's always been a star at every World Cup. You know, Portugal is not a team that always enters as a contender.

19:38I think there's always an expectation, though, like, will we see something special? And that's what happened in this World Cup, too. We're expecting to see that midfield. You know, but Cristiano Ronaldo, you know, he is one of these examples of this particular World Cup that when it's over, we will be saying goodbye to some serious international football legends. And so tonight, one domino has fallen with Cristiano Ronaldo now announcing his retirement. Portugal are out. Lionel Messi is still alive in this tournament. I mean, not comparing Kevin De Bruyne to this, but like that generation of player.

20:13But Cristiano being out and saying that he's done, he was in tears after the game. It's a sight for his fans to realize that this is coming to an end. And now the big question is how much does he continue to play? Is he going to try to get the 1 ,000 goals? Will he stay? I think he can probably do that in the Saudi Pro League. But it's hit or miss in terms of World Cup legacy. As it turns out, his best World Cup was his first. Portugal reached the semi-finals after the court final against England and Winkgate and all the rest of it. And he's not come anywhere close winning one since then. And I guess the one thing that he does have is that European Championship win in 2016, which at the time felt potentially decisive with regard to his rivalry with Lionel Messi.

21:01Because at the same time, Messi hadn't really achieved anything with Argentina apart from the Olympics in 2008 or something. And it was like, oh, Ronaldo's finally led Portugal to a major tournament. You know, this was probably going to give him an unassailable advantage in the international game. And yeah, it's not exactly how it's turned out. Indeed not. Leo Messi still in the tournament. He goes tomorrow against Egypt. The other match on Tuesday, we'll see Colombia take on Switzerland. We're going to talk about those matches in a moment or two. But before that, next up, let's salute another massive name that's departing the cup.

21:35Brazil, who were knocked out on Sunday by Norway. Natalie Jedra joins us.

21:43Brazil have left the building, beaten 2-1 by Norway on Sunday. The sellers are making their earliest exit from the competition since 1990, when, of course, there's a fair bit of evidence that they were actually drugged by Argentina. Anyway, we caught up with Nathalie Giedra at Dallas Airport, where she vented some of her frustrations. I think there are a lot of frustrations around Norway-Brazil lost in this World Cup. I've always said to you guys that the expectations were very low around Brazil. And that's still the case. But that doesn't mean that Brazilians are not extremely disappointed, especially losing to Norway, which is not a traditional side, and also with some decisions that happened in the game.

22:33So in the game against Norway, especially the second half, So, Carlo Celotti has been under a lot of criticism by Brazilians because the subs didn't work. He had to change the structure of the team to fit Neymar in and put Hendrik at a position where he wasn't playing well. And Hayank, who was helping to defend against Haaland, had to come off. So, a lot of people against these decisions. And I think what hurt the most is the way that Brazil played in the second half. Global make the point that after Neymar came on, there was even more possession for Norway. They grew more into the game, which touches on what you say there.

23:17And I imagine this has done anything but quell the debate that's raged all year, really, about Neymar's inclusion in the side. Yeah, exactly. I mean, I understand the idea, the strategy. Okay, let's give the ball to Norway and then try to counter. But it really didn't work in the end. He was not productive. And I mean, the penalty, Jimbo, a player like Neymar, you get a penalty. You score the penalty. It's basically a consolation goal with a very slim chance of you getting the equalizer. You don't go to the goalkeeper. An experienced player like him, you don't go to the goalkeeper with a smile on your face and, you know, provoking him.

24:03I think that really enraged a lot of people. Now we know that he's retired from international football, so Neymar will not be a factor anymore. In two years as a Corporal America, which I imagine is the next target, Ancelotti came into this tournament having just been given a new four-year deal by the CBF. you waited so long to get him in he was the man who was going to make things different and in some ways he did but not the way you wanted this was the worst world cup for 36 years what's the feeling now in brazil about him and his future there is no discussion around enchilada's future i think it's pretty settled that he will stay that doesn't mean that we can't question some of his decisions and it was always about learning in the process and trying things because he hadn't had the time and he really suffered with injuries.

24:57There is a sense that he could have made better choices against Norwood, of course, but there's also an idea of, okay, now he will have a full cycle. He will have four years to form a team and get to know these players. I think the disappointment also, Jimbo, is that Ancelotti always spoke about the team learning throughout the tournament. And because Brazil was growing game by game, we didn't really know when they were going to hit the ceiling. And the hope started to grow. You know, okay, what if we make it past Norway and we get to the quarterfinals? What if we get to a semifinal, you know?

25:34And it's the hope that kills you, right? Yeah, always. If Norway go on and win the World Cup, you might end up feeling better about yourselves, of course. But one question about the future going forward under Ancelotti. is there a new generation of players for him to work with? I'm very interested. It's a really good question, James, because I think I'm very interested in some specific positions. You have Marquinhos, who played a great World Cup. He might be a part of the next cycle, but you need to form another central defender. The holding midfielder is crucial because it was Casemiro and Fabinho.

26:13and I mean Danilo in theory, Danilo Santos, he can play in that position, I don't know if he's going to be the one that's chosen the goalkeeper position, you know and the fullbacks because up front we have talent, we have Hendrik and we have and we have a lot of new players it's not the main concern Vinicius probably has another cycle in him, but it's more defensively, oh yes not to mention João Pedro, who I hope is a big part of the max cycle So there are a lot of question marks to be answered. And I think it's time Brazil look at themselves and look at the process of forming players, forming managers.

26:54How do they take care of their league? In today's football, you can't get away with just... They got away for too long with just having talents. They need to dig deeper and really need to have a good look at themselves to prepare properly for the next World Cup. Natalie I hope that helped Yeah a little I'm still digesting it's been 24 hours and I'm still dealing with it honestly Natalie Gedra not so much hexable hex Let's have a thought next about what awaits on Tuesday

27:36Tuesday's action in the World Cup let's see in Philippe's hometown of Atlanta it's Argentina against Egypt and following that in the somewhat cooler climbs of Vancouver Switzerland take on Colombia now we hear loads about Colombia no doubt we'll hear more very shortly but what about this Swiss team they're facing the ultimate under the radar side at tournaments and at this World Cup again well to find out more about what the Swiss have been up to so far we're joined now by Radio Tele Suisse's commentator David Lemos hello David Hello guys, how are you? Very well, thanks. I'm good. Nice to be with you.

28:16Excellent, us too. We're keen to know more about Switzerland because they seem to have flown a little bit under our radar here. How would you describe their work-up so far? I think they've been quietly very good. It's quite interesting actually because it seems to be a very common story at every big tournament now that Switzerland is the team that everybody respects. They all say, oh, they're a nice little team, like Riyad Mahrez said after the round of 32. But up to a point. There is a common feeling, I have the impression, that, yeah, Switzerland are very nice and old, but it all ends at the round of 16, basically, or before.

29:04I have the feeling that's what people expect of Switzerland. You ran England close to the last Euros, but at the World Cup it's been a really difficult spell. I mean, I say spell, 72 years since Switzerland last won a knockout game, which you did in the previous round. The tournament had started in a slightly difficult fashion with that 1-1 draw against Qatar, but since then, and perhaps since the inclusion of Johan Manzambi and Ruben Vargas, it seems like there's been a little bit of a fire lit under this Swiss team. Well, it's very interesting that you should mention these two names because they are doubtful for the match against Colombia.

29:44It has been announced at the press conference that three Swiss players had to leave the last training session earlier. Manzambi, Vargas and So. and that we will have further news later in the evening here in Vancouver at the time that we are doing this. So we don't know, but the atmosphere was quite grim. And to answer your question, yes, of course, because the inclusion of Manzambi has completely transfigured this team. I think he's one of the revelations of this World Cup. He's the X factor that this team needed. It used to be Shaqiri in the past. And now we had, or we still have, I don't know, Manzambi.

30:35Yes. Well, let's hope so. Fingers crossed for the game. We have Felipe here from Colombia. And I think, to quote the popular phrase right now, you want the best players on the field, don't you, Felipe? I think so. And I see a lot of similarities in these two teams. Veteran-led teams, a stout defensive backline, a good midfield that can control matches, a team that has a lot of confidence in the identity in which they play with. And I'm very concerned about Switzerland. Obviously, if these three players are not healthy, it does give a bit of an advantage to Colombia. But at this stage of the tournament, it may not matter.

31:11Next man up. And this is a game that I expect to be very, very tight, honestly. What counts as a good tournament for you, David? Qualification for the quarterfinals. I think it's something that is now expected of this team. The way they have grown over the last years, they have a very good spine with Koble in goal, with Akanji, with Jaka, with Mbolo, experienced players. It's a team of very, I like to say, it's a team of very intelligent players. And they have been able to learn over the last two years to play on the different systems because Murat Yakin likes to change systems depending on the teams he's facing.

31:53And they have been able to interpret these systems very well. They did it. I think they were saluted as one of the best teams, let's say, at Euro 24. As you said, Switzerland almost eliminated England. It went to penalties. And the way they have developed over the last two, three games gives us a lot of confidence, I should say. And now people in Switzerland, this might astonish Colombian listeners, but I think people expect Switzerland to beat Colombia. I had to tell people on air that Colombia is the second best South American team and that they are actually favourites. How's the World Cup going down in Switzerland there, David?

32:41Oh, people are loving it. they are starting now to have stadiums show the matches for the one that is coming it was not the case yet like in Norway beautiful pictures that we've seen obviously but there have been lots of watching parties people woke up at five in the morning to watch the qualification against Algeria after every match we see footage of hundreds of people in the street. So, yeah, people are loving it in Switzerland and they are falling in love with this team. A bit like at Euro. The difference is that at Euro, the Swiss were actually in Germany. They are still reluctant to actually travel when they have to cross an ocean.

33:31Yeah, fair enough, fair enough. Well, let's hope the adventure continues in a hard-to-say-this bit. Let's hope the footballs... Let's hope the best team wins. There you go. It's a good way to pray. David, thank you so much for joining us. Absolutely. It was lovely to meet you and enjoy yourself tomorrow. Thanks, guys. Happy to speak with you. Take care. David Lemos. Well, that's big news about the player availability for the Swiss. Meantime, Colombia, I read, Felipe, that they will become tomorrow the only team in the tournament to play a match in the USA and in Mexico and in Canada too. That's going to be quite tiring.

34:10How about that? They've traveled a lot. I don't know if they're the team that has traveled the most at this World Cup, but they probably are up there. It'll be interesting to see how well the Colombians travel to Canada. I know that in Vancouver there is a sizable community, and I know some fan groups are going. But to your point about the games, one in Atlanta and one in Vancouver, two stadiums that are domed, which is interesting, yeah. Okay. So I think both teams in both games are going to have the advantage of playing in a comfortable climate. Right. David, you know, it's interesting that the Swiss see themselves as favorites.

34:48You know, I think in Colombia, there's a lot of confidence in the Colombian side because they've played professionally, you know, really complete performances other than being there's a lack of clinical finishing. But overall, this World Cup, they've been a team that has proven that they can consistently play well across all lines. They haven't really given up some howlers, not a lot of mistakes. but this is the true test I really do think that this is a major major test for Colombia against a European side that only two years ago nearly knocked out England at the European Cup and a team that I see again mirrors a lot of the strongest qualities of Colombia veteran players in the back line, the left back position Granit Xhaka I mean, that is a player that I think we all respect and he will be super important in that midfield.

35:36I do wonder if Switzerland is going to give the ball to Colombia and try to counter. The players like Vargas and Manzabi are X factors for this team. They are the creative players, the 1v1 players. If they're not healthy, that changes everything for Switzerland. Rare to hit Colombia and Switzerland twinned in any way. But here's an interesting stat. You've conceded one goal so far and across all the matches in this tournament, Colombia have conceded a grand total of five shots on target, cumulatively. Pretty miserly. Very miserly. Wow. It's going to be a tight one. All right, the other game, Argentina against Egypt, possibly will be tight, possibly not.

36:21Who could say after what Argentina got up to with Cape Verde, but it's Mo Salah and it's Messi. Selections permitting. Can Messi score for the ninth World Cup match in a row? Quite possibly. The odds are in his favour. I mean, you'd think that what happened against Cape Verde will serve as a bit of a wake-up call because they can't afford to sleepwalk through another game after what happened last time. And Egypt, as well as they've done to reach the knockout rounds for the first time, haven't been all that impressive. So we'll see. Will it be a wake-up call? Or will it be a tactical lesson to the pharaohs on how to defeat the reigning world champions?

37:03We'll find out on Tuesday. And after the two matches, we'll be recording a brand new Totally at the World Cup. Looking forward to the rest day, which comes up on Wednesday. The first rest day of this tournament. Sounds like a beach day. It does, doesn't it? It does, doesn't it? Not sure what you're planning to do on Wednesday, but hopefully you'll proceed that by joining us in the very next edition of Totally at the World Cup. For now, it's thanks to Tom and to Felipe, to Davide and Natalie, who joined us before, and the production crew. We'll see you in 24 hours. For now, it's goodbye.