Japan's OUT, Canada Makes HISTORY... and a World Cup Fixing Scandal?

We're back from Miami, and the knockout round is already breaking hearts. Japan went up 1-0 on Brazil and looked like they had the upset... until a ball hit the post and bounced back in. Brutal. We get into Japan's exit, what it says about this Brazil side, and whether Ancelotti can fix them by 2030.

Then the good stuff: Canada making history into the Round of 16, Alphonso Davies back on the field, and the Jesse Marsch revenge angle nobody's talking about. We break down the brackets, the first-timers (Ivory Coast, Cape Verde), and the wild stat that 9 of 10 African teams are through.

Plus the two debates blowing up online... should the World Cup go to 60 teams, and was that 3-3 between Austria and Algeria actually fixed? We close with your posts: Olise's cleat obsession, the Madibo ban, and the Haaland Nike commercial.

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Chapters:
00:00 — Back from Miami, knockouts begin
00:50 — Japan knocked out by Brazil (the heartbreak)
03:08 — Ancelotti's contract and Brazil's future
03:54 — Canada makes history vs South Africa
06:37 — Jesse Marsch's USA backstory
07:07 — The knockout brackets and the first-timers
08:36 — 48 teams... should it be 60?
12:17 — The "best thirds" mess and the Austria-Algeria 3-3
15:40 — Tonight and tomorrow's fixtures
16:14 — Michael Olise's no-sponsor cleat life
17:40 — Madibo's 5-game ban
19:01 — The Haaland Nike commercial moment
19:36 — Wrap

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everybody and welcome back to the football show. We're back here during the same week. Uh, and the playoffs are happening. Round of 32, baby, two games already happened, which we're gonna talk in just a second. But uh we were out for the weekend. We got the fortune to go down to Miami and experience the atmosphere down there for a couple of the games the Columbia game, the Argentina game. So we'll share a little bit of that experience and uh how incredible the fan base and uh the atmosphere was down there. We did not attend to the stadium, uh, but we were closed, it was crazy. But what we're gonna do is gonna be a little bit different today. We're gonna react to some of the posts that our community and that the people have been sending us through Instagram and and social media. Uh, everybody out there is on the lookout for different things, interesting things to talk here on the show. And uh, can I do a quick recap? As we're recording this, uh, sadly, sadly, Japan uh is out of the World Cup. That was what one of the teams that I personally really wanted to go through. They were up 1-0 uh against Brazil. We had the hope, and then Brazil scored in the last minute of the game. Uh Bangor, the second half, Japan basically relegated to to defense and Brazil had a non-stop attack in the goalie, had a few saves. So actually, I don't know if I can actually see let me see if I can actually see some of the effects here in today's um in today's game, which was uh crazy. I did not get to see the whole thing. I'm gonna go watch the the summary, but um I was kind of watching here and there. So um Japan, for example, they actually beat Brazil 3-2 in October after losing two zeros. So like this was one of the key facts that I kept like looking at and be more excited every single time because I'm like, there is a possibility that Japan can win, given the fact that also Brazil has not been their best, um, you know, overall. And I think like today was one of those examples that you know there there might be something there. Uh, there is still, I mean, Brazil is one of the big ones that you cannot discard it for the for the World Cup. Uh, but at the same time, you had a very disciplined, very fast, very technically and tactically uh advanced team with Japan. But I think they had a couple players missing and they couldn't like fully have into the potential. In fact, the goal with uh Sano in the first half was an incredible individual play that you know he he took on Casemiro with a yellow card. He couldn't get back to him and and and grab him because he was risking the the red card and uh what a shot did he have. And Brazil had a ton where they hit the pose. Uh the goalie, you know, saved a few of them, and the last one he just needed like one more inch on that ball to kind of touch and get it out, but hit the pose and went back in. Uh, very unfortunate for Japan, which actually people had uh about 25% uh worth. But uh my opinion, I mean, maybe you know, the the heritage of being a Brazilian will take him long in this World Cup, but honestly, I think there's a lot of work for that team. And Chelozzi was just off for a uh renewal of his contract till 2030, I believe. So um if he does take it, I think he might be Brazil might be in a way better position in the next World Cup. Keep in mind he's just been there probably a little bit over a year or so. Um but yeah, I don't know. I think there has a lot of potential, but still, you know, lights years ahead, uh, you know, behind that Brazil that we all know. Um Japan is only the second Asian side to go unbeaten through five consecutive World Cup games, uh, which is crazy. You know, I again another of the facts that that I really was kind of hoping. Um, Japan had never progressed past round of 16 at World Cup losing at this stage four times, and you know, today is like uh another one of those. Um, but you know, congrats Brazil. Uh we're gonna talk a little bit about the brackets in just a second. The other game I really want to talk about and and uh kind of share a little bit with you was the Canada game. Canada making history for the first time um in their country by going through into the round of 16, which is crazy. I do believe it's the first time they um they fought hard that South African team. The South African team, believe it or not, looked very solid. In fact, they had about 58 possession versus 42% possession, and uh the momentum, even though they had the even though they had the the possession, the momentum was in Canada's favor, which uh with the attacking a highlight of of the of the game was uh Alfonso Davis coming back and uh making an appearance and it was crazy because when he came in, uh I heard some of the commentators say it's like, hey, this could be like the greatest thing ever for Canada, where they have this key player on the left-hand side, but it can also be the biggest witness, uh weakness because if they are uh able, South Africa is able to defend against this guy, then they don't have a secret weapon. But here are a couple facts. Uh Canada lost to Switzerland despite needing only a draw to top. Uh Canada scores six against Qatar, but manages one goal in each of the other two matches. And um so yeah, so there's a couple of facts there that you know once on paper you read it and you're like, well, maybe you know they did win against Qatar, but are they actually good enough to go ahead uh and beat the Bafana Bafana, which is a South African team, which you know I've been honestly very impressed with all the African teams with their physicality, the explosive, and just being out there and making sure that they can play one-on-one with all the other teams. Um a good fact here is that coach Hugo Bruce hinted that his tournament could be one of the last campaigns for his careers. And I'm very I'm very curious. I feel like Hugo has been coaching South Africa for a very long time. Uh let me see, South Africa, how long has been coaching because every time they they pointed him, I was like, man, uh yeah, so slightly over five years has been coaching the South African team. I felt it was way longer. Uh but, anyways, let me see South Africa, cool. That game, congrats to Canada, of course. Uh now they're into the round of uh 16, one step closer to you know continue to make history. Fun story with their their coach, uh Jesse Marsh. He was actually applying to be the US coach a while back before they gave it to Pachettino. So I think he has a personal score against the USA and uh and the national team. Not saying like against the US team, but the US Federation. So this is one of those side quest stories uh of the World Cup that could be interesting to follow and see if Canada can get further uh than the US. And uh, you know, may maybe there are the three host nations still at play. So let's go back to the let's go to the the the brackets. Let's see. Let's go back to the graphics uh because we want to see the knockout round here. So so far we have Canada, which will play against the winner of tonight. We'll know by the time that this episode comes out if it's Netherlands or Morocco. So Canada, I'll say probably Netherlands will go through. Uh in that game to now we're about to watch it. But um, you know, Netherlands has scored 10 goals in their World Cup group matches. They haven't kept a clean sheet in seven matches despite winning the last two. Um, so you know, Morocco, very explosive, very dangerous team. Uh, they conceded in two of the three group matches. Uh, they reached the World Cup semifinals in 2022, the first African nation to do so. Uh, maybe this is the end of them, but this is gonna be an explosive, incredible game. Um, that I'm excited to see. So, whoever wins that game is gonna go against Canada. On the other bracket, you know, we have Brazil already go through because they beat Japan. We just talked about it. They could play Norway or Ivory Coast, which each couple like both of them could be incredible, incredible rivals. Ivory Coast reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in their history. So, again, it it this is one of those debates that we've seen so many first times happen, this World Cup. And I was just having a conversation online and also we discuss this with Funzi, my my our other co-host, that hopefully he'll come back at some point. But we're talking about like, hey, maybe we're wrong about the World Cup being 48 teams instead of 32, right? Like at first, there was like a lot of argument against having the World Cup be this big. Uh, in fact, US is preparing a new bid for 2038, just the US, and they're already talking about expanding it to 60 teams. Now, that I don't know, like could we wrong? But the fact that there's a lot of first timers, a lot of very crazy, amazing stories, and the opportunity for these players to to play in a tournament um of this status at every four years is just incredible. We've just seen like very things, very wild, like so many wild cards, like uh Kate Verde, for example, or the fact that nine of the 10 African teams are going through on the next phase is incredible. So we we do see a lot of this, and you know, um past that 60 teams, I do think that might be a little too much, and uh it will be a little too much to replicate it on future World Cups, for example, because here's here's one of the things USA does have the infrastructure to host a tournament that big with all the stadiums, all the cities, like how big this country is. Now, if you try to replicate that in different countries, that might not have the infrastructure, kind of like what's happening with Spain, Portugal, and Morocco on the next World Cup, you might have to start mixing countries to be able to do this. So, is that an advantage as far as like where the where the cup is being hosted for those countries? Like we've seen it with Canada or Mexico that they don't have the majority of the games. Like, is that actually a win? I would like to see an analysis on this, but for the fans, obviously they're grateful to do that. But I feel like most of the marketing around the World Cup has been almost like US. I think this World Cup is going to be remembered as in the US, like the other countries were you know kind of secondary there. So how advantages is is something like this. You know, on the business side, it makes a lot of sense because FIFA makes a lot of money. The sponsors, you know, there's more sponsors open, there's more games, there's more inventory for them to do that. Um, I actually, you know, heard this interview from Infantino uh a while back, a couple days ago, where uh he was he was talking about the fact that you know people were complaining on like the water breaks and the money and the things that they make. And like his point was like, listen, the the one, this is a non-profit organization, and two, it's like we have this tournament every four, like once every four years, not that they do it every year. Yes, they do have other workups and the the like the the the the women's world cup and the under 20s and so on. There's other tournaments and the Eurocup and all these things that FIFA oversees, but the workup itself is is every four years. Now, um, do I believe that the quality can drop if we add more teams to a tournament like this? Yes, absolutely. I mean, at least teams with the opportunity to go further. That's why we have World Cup qualifications. So uh, you know, where is the limit? Is the limit you know 48 like this year? Is the limit going back to 32? Um, you know, yes, it is a joy to see more other countries, but at the same time, it's like, where is that diminishing return when it comes to the the tournament being so exclusive? You know, if we want to be on the World Cup, then the nation should prepare and should qualify and do better in the qualification, especially the rest of the world, except South America have way better odds to qualify for the World Cup. South America is crazy. Uh, we can that could be another episode just like covering South America and the qualifications and and and how they work. Uh but yeah, teams have the chance to improve and get better to qualify for that. And I think that's what the tournament gets, you know, uh makes it better. I think for it could be the the right number. Now, lots of little work to do because there's a lot of critics about you know the best thirds, and and especially with um Algeria, I think it was, and uh the last game that they play were uh here. I actually have oh yeah, I actually have one article here that is uh people are in favor of maintaining those 48 slots, but um the way that they're handling best thirds is a little iffy, is a little crazy because in the past what happens is that you have two teams that qualify per group, so the last game of the group, those two games will play at the same time, which is happening, right? But nobody knew uh nobody knew who will qualify or their results. Now, with the best thirds, there's some teams that already know what do they have to do in able to either qualify or get to a spot. The case with um with these two teams, hold on, let me see the music. Yeah, that what they're calling the the Kansas the Kansas Pact is what they're calling it, right? Um which it looks like it's like the the game that can transform on how these things are done. So I'm gonna translate this is in Spanish, but okay. Uh it basically exposes how bad the system with the 48 teams is and the rule of the burst third. So Austria are Argelia, like our are the heck Algeria, uh they tie 3-3 in a very weird game. And it felt like really weird, like when you see like the the player reactions, and if you've seen the videos, uh some people talk about a fixed, you know, the a fixed game where they both talked and be like, hey, let's tie so we can both go through. Uh Iran was the one that uh was out of the World Cup because of that, and uh it was almost like a non-aggression pact, right? So uh this rule of the best thirds, uh it doesn't allow for for what we just talked about that the teams can play and then nobody knows who they're playing, right? And that's the that's the beautiful part. It's like we we have to minimize the risk of fixing games, and with the best third rule, that is not the case. Uh we like to think it is, but it is uh you know very suspicious of what what's going on. So for example, Korean and Scotland, they played without uh without knowing what the exact result that they needed to go through, which is normally the the good case. But in you know, with Austria's game, they knew exactly what it was the result that they needed to take, and then that allows for speculations on was this a fixed game. So this is why part of it is okay, should we go up on teams to avoid stuff like this, or should we go back down? I don't think they're gonna go back down because there's too much money at stake. Uh so I guess we'll see we'll see how this plays out. Cool. Uh let's see what other games do we have uh tonight. We definitely went on a on a massive tangent on that one. Um let's go to today's game. Overview table and um all right at the time of the recording, Germany and Paraguay is already playing their zero zero, and then obviously Netherlands and Morocco tomorrow. Tomorrow, tomorrow it's gonna be uh we have Ivory Coast, Norway. We talked about it, France, Sweden. Uh, there's a little bit of story here in this game, but they play at 5 p.m. Eastern, and then we got Mexico, Ecuador. Uh that one's gonna be fiery. That's gonna be a spicy game for sure, especially how Ecuador ended up uh qualifying. So very excited of what's to come. Um, I'm stoked. I have a few quick things here. I mean, there's uh there's uh a couple posts going around of what people have been sharing, and uh uh Michael Olise is one of those players that have not been sponsored by any of the brands, and like this was curious, especially with me, that I love cleats and I love you know people. Um I mean, I'm addicted to soccer cleats. If I could get all of them, I would, except the pink ones this year, except those because they're all the same. But uh Olise is one of those players that you know with the spotlight that he's on, is very rare, very you know, weird that he is not showcasing. And one of the reasons that uh that he doesn't want to be sponsored is because he likes to match his cleats color to the kits that he's wearing. And it's funny because they have uh collection of okay, all these uh you know uniform colors, and then he's matching the cleats to that, which is to me is incredible. Also, um he likes to support local artists, that's what I read, and there's some local artists that have done some cleats, very clever paintings on his on his soccer shoes, and he wants to you know support that. So this guy is literally leaving millions on the table to be able to match his cleats to to his uniform out leagues, uh allegedly of you know what this post said. Do you think it's true? What do you think? You will you do it? I don't know, man. I've if you know if they come with a check, I think I'll take the check. So um, I mean this was kind of sad official. Uh the Qatar midfielder uh Madibo, the one that injured the Canadian player, was suspended for five games. And I think this is one of those cases where they need to make an example out of him for an allegedly aggressive foul. Yes, he broke the leg. But I've been reading a lot about it, and um there's a very cool analysis of a doctor that I that I saw where you know he put out the documents up there and he's like, hey, this is not just a hit, this is you know a mix of very unfortunate situations in that exact moment for that to happen, including the fact that it could be a bone disease that makes the bone a little bit uh weaker in that moment, and you know, together with the angle, together obviously with the hitting in the right spot, um, the force, all these things, like it did break. But um, we've seen many fouls like this or even harder that you know, nine out of ten do not break the leg, something like that. But the cool part is you know, the Madiwo stayed that night and and he went back to the Canadian camp and stayed and visited uh the Canadian player. So it's all good, it's part part of the game, it's one of those risks that we have to take. But I think FIFA uh wants to make this an example to you know diminish aggressiveness because from the outside, you know, you we don't know all the all the things that are happening, and it does look a little crazy and and very gruesome. Uh, if you did not catch the Norway game, um uh the all the Halands was hilarious, and there's a couple of videos on social media of a bunch of Halands just running around and and competing. And uh Channel Tatum came out dressed up as as Hall. If you haven't seen the latest Nike commercial, uh you know you'll you'll get it. But it's pretty pretty hilarious on how you know this is one of the highlights of uh of the game against France. It's pretty funny. I mean, all the stories that are coming around on this world cup is is pretty it's pretty interesting. So, anyways, we're back in uh we're back in the studio, we're back recording. I hope you guys had an incredible weekend. I hope uh for um continue to have a very exciting World Cup and um yeah, enjoy the games and we'll see you on the next episode. Take care.