World Cup Everyone's now played 2 Games

Join The 2 D's as they discuss the 2nd round of Group Games. Have their opinions changed as to who will win? What did they think of England's performance in the second game? 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Two Days in the Pod. This week we will be continuing our review of the 2026 World Cup in the US. So join us as we discuss the way the tournament is taking shape and England's recent game against Girls. Hi John, how are you? I'm good, thank you. Bot and bothered. Bot and bothered, indeed it is. So everybody's played two games now. What are your feelings so far?

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Two games in now. It's a new uh this new format of the third team going through is going to be interesting with one game to go because there's a lot of teams who don't know who they're going to play. Whereas after two games, usually people have got a pretty good idea where they're going. And it did cross my mind about the supporters that if you think you book Boston, but actually you end up playing in Los Angeles or something like that. Um that could be a challenge as well, trying to swap around tickets. I'm not sure how FIFA will have in that, but but I think this round, I know everybody's played twice, the kind of what I would say the big teams, the big boys, have flexed their muscles, generally have put better performances together, have learned from their first games, gelled more as a team. By those I mean France, Argentina, you know, Germany, tough game against the Ivory Coast, but they always find a way to win. That was good. Spain were much better, even England. I don't think I can get too negative. Ghana were, they will learn from that, and it's a good time, you know. It's kind of like highs and lows, the roller coaster. But I don't think it's it was a bad performance. I mean, you know, it was not sharp enough, but that's a different story. Maybe we'll can come on to that later. So those guys have kind of gone through. I thought Norway and Portugal looked better. Um, again, Norway had a tough game against Senegal. So Senegal have played France and lost, and played Norway and lost, but are a very good team. Yes, and they if they get they could cause problems to somebody, you know, if they get through on the third game.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Um I think they're Africa's number one rank.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Yeah, yeah. I know there was the mucking about with the uh Cup the uh with Morocco and things, but yeah, yeah. So the African teams have are difficult to beat. You know, Morocco are difficult to beat. Senegal, even though they have lost two, are difficult to beat. Ivory Coast, I thought, were excellent against Germany. Ghana we saw against England, very good, very strong. Even Congo, I think, have got some good. I don't know if any African team has stood out enough for me to say they're gonna go on and win it. I still think it's um probably think it's the richer of case.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

It's interesting that I think that the African teams have won more in this World Cup than they have in previous World Cups. I think they've won across the African teams. I think there's ten African teams in it. They've won six games or so. So obviously, technically they're becoming better to go with the many years of promise that have while I remember the France World Cup when they kind of burst onto the scene and they started to look like they had tremendous sides, but they never quite had it with the the full sort of the tactical and strategic approach that we're seeing from them now. So I agree with you. I think maybe maybe there's not a winner there right now, but certainly down the line as coaching improves and more experience of the European leagues comes along, I think they might uh they might become more I mean if I if I was uh Premier League scout, then I'd be certainly looking at that Ghana team.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

The left back last night against England, I think, did really sorry the right back did very, very well, very, really well, fully for five person. I think him and the the the left back and right back both played for a team that was almost relegated from the French League wise. Yes, yeah. So there'd be players I'd be looking to, you know, the Brighton, Brentford supportwhits of this world going in and seeing if I could pick them up. Yeah, I th I thought so so the thing that I'm you know I'm pleased that the everybody's got goals in terms of uh the kind of golden boot candidates and Bappe, Messi, Ronaldo, you know, got a couple, Ireland, Kane, obviously didn't swallow, but you know, they're they're all they're getting goals, and so there are goals in this tournament.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Yeah, I mean they that's the what the thing they have been some fairly high scoring games in that I mean it's been interesting that the host nations, um Mexico, Canada, and the US have all are all unbeaten at this point. Yeah, US have won two out of two, Mexico won two out of two, and Caram can Canada have uh won one and draw one. So that gives a tournament momentum as well. Sure. Scoring goals, the US particularly are they've scored uh six goals now in their their two games and they're looking and they're looking good. The home team, the host nation doing well for three three nations. I think it adds to the momentum.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Yeah, I I think they're all qualified through to the next round. I mean, Mexico uh if they stay in Mexico and play as the Azteca, there's some ridiculous stat they've only lost once in 85 games or something, and it was against Brazil in about 1970. So whether that's because of the altitude or the heat or a combination of both, crowd, I don't know. So that they'll be tough. USA looked strong. They did. Good momentum, a good team. I'm not sure they've got any superstars, but they look strong.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

I think they looked to Polisic, certainly. He didn't play in the second game and they were still comfortable winners, but he is their their talisman, and I think from the evidence of that first game, he was very good. And you often get that if you get a home team, they coalesce around one player, and if he has a good tournament, the US could go further than than you might expect. And I think as an England fan, you wouldn't necessarily want them to run into the US during the knockout base.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Canada looked the weakest of the three host nations. Um I think when I was looking at trying to work it out, there was a BBC very kindly helped me with Canada when their group, Belgium, who were third in their group, would play them. And I was thinking if I was Belgium, I wouldn't mind that would be quite a nice result actually to go and play Canada. Because if you were second or first, you might play somebody like Argentina or something. You'd be thinking, I'd actually I'd rather play Canada. But um that dynamic, I mean, it starts tonight, the second round, or the third matches of the group, and that so the second round will start to open up, will be interesting. How many dead rubbers there are? I don't know. How many teams need one point or want to win to win the group and go somewhere else? Yeah, that would be interesting.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

One of the criticisms is that the FIFA have decided that results go on the head-to-head basis, which means there will be more dead rubbers than there might otherwise be. If goal difference was a factor, a team could, in theory, win by a large amount and actually qualify, whereas now there might be dead rubbers because they've lost two games, and in that third place league that you spoke about earlier, you know, they're they're out pitching kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

I I think that the other thing because what because there are so many teams. I mean, Scotland-Brazil tonight is their last game in that group. The last game in whatever England's group is next Saturday. So it's four or five days between teams knowing who they're going to play. The teams that come towards the end of this week, England, for example, we'll probably have a better idea if we win if we play these players. Now, if we're second in the group, we play these, if we're third, we play these. I hope it doesn't might factor it. I mean, you want to win a group, you want to win, and you want to move on.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

You would hope that that's their uh ambition. They wouldn't want to risk it.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Yeah, I think so. I think so. I think that's the way you'd want it to go. I mean, there are some dangers in teams that are second, uh, particularly for me, Ivory Coast, even Brazil, you know, if Morocco could win that group, for example, and Brazil was second and you played them, you'd probably would think the big boys would be okay, but Portugal would be difficult to play against Norway.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Yeah, I think it's going to be tough. Most of the, you know, once you get to that last 32, there's many, many good sides in it. Uh yeah, you could easily be knocked out uh early in the tournament than you might not have anticipated.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

I think the game I've enjoyed most of the second round is probably Germany Ivory Coast. I thought that was a great game. Ivory Coast were strong. Germans always have the although they might not be as good as them years gone by, they're still a strong team. And I thought they had a couple of good players. There's the um guy who played in the middle, I don't even know where he plays, number 23. I think it was in their midfield was excellent. And again, the subs they made just gave them enough to get to get over to get the win, as Germany always do. They seem to find a way through.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yeah, very efficient, aren't they? They've got again Germany don't really have any superstars in their site. They've got they've obviously got good players, but again, they're a team who just they have that cohesiveness, and every tournament they go into their threat. They so you know we've we've named about 10-12 teams who all potentially could could win it, and there might be some outsiders in addition to that as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

I I thought France were a bit lazy actually. They were played very well and they won, obviously. I wouldn't say they played very well, they played well within their skins, and they um instead of doing some sometimes the simple passes, they'd be trying to take a player on and do this or you know, going straight for goal, and I thought a bit more discipline they would have been to better team. Now, maybe against better opposition, they tighten up the game a bit. But I thought they were well worth the value for winning, but I thought they were a little bit kind of selfish and lazy, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Yeah, if they didn't. I mean they are a superstar team, right? They've got Mbape who kind of is a they've got great players all around him, but he kind of is the focus of the team, and I think if he plays well, they'll be like Argentina having Messi playing well, they'll they'll they'll be successful. If he plays badly, I don't know if anybody else, even though they've got some top players, have the same ability to step up to to the plate. So that will be interesting.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

One thing is I mean, I don't think of him as as a traditional number nine centre forward. He's number ten, he's a left-winger, right-winger, kind of not not yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

They're pushing him more central. They I mean he were he for a long time he was wide on the left, and if you remember, Carl Walker did very well against him because Walker was simply quicker than him, but now they've pushed him more inside, and I think he's he's more of a threat because he can come from either e either side. They have very good.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

I don't actually know if any team has got what I would call an old-fashioned, probably Kane is played. Even Kane is playing much deeper than he normally does. Other than uh Haaland, I don't think there's a kind of more of a which I do I do think of him as a traditional kind of number nine. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Um I'm not sure the other teams have anybody who's really uh there's no big out and out, you know, um Spain certainly don't Argentine look very good and very technical. I wonder how they cope in a very physical game where the ball was put forward a lot, a big centre forward to deal with, maybe an African side. That that might be a challenge for them.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

I do I mean Romero and uh Martinez as sit as a centre back pair do very well consider despite their height. Normally centre half you know, six foot plus an hour, six foot, six foot four. Those guys are very they have a lot of mouse, and I think they're niggly players as well. I think you know you've been in the game against them by probably the marks that you've got at the back of your leg and the little just uh I can certainly see them uh getting Bellingham wound up if he was coming through.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Well, yeah, I think that he'd be a prime prime target.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Yeah, just as an aside on that, I'm amazed now that what Tottenham have done quietly in this World Cup in terms of signings and things, they've got the big Dutch centre half from um who's playing for Holland. They've got Mickey van der Ven anyway. I don't know about Romero whether he's gonna stay or go. We're probably gonna go on. They've got the guy from um the other Argentinian from Bournemouth, yeah. Good. They've got Robinson, they've really picked up their uh recruitment. All of these were kind of bubbling under, and it was going to see if Tottenham stayed up, but I think Tottenham seemed to have had a good World Cup. Yes, maybe we'll see. We can talk about that maybe uh at the end of the season, but we'll see. So the England game.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

So what what are your initial thoughts on the England game?

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Uh I think they really struggled to break Ghana down. I mean, Ghana were five defenders and four in front of them, and there just didn't seem any way that even were going to break them down. Um, I think there was some frustrations with Bellingham and even Anderson, they played very well, kept the ball moving, did their jobs, cut out threats, but I didn't feel there was any one player until Saka came on, maybe, that that would make something happen around the bulk. Those guys, the Ghanaian Ghanaians, with the coach they've got, were very comfortable with defending.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

I I I agree. I I I think, and this goes back to our earlier conversations around the players that Tushel didn't bring with him. The types of players, you know, the types of tens we have there are powerful tens who play very well in space, but somebody like a Foden or a Palmer, not there. Somebody with a bit of magic could open things up around a tight box like that. Even a Wharton, who's good for passing quickly through the lines from deep, again, that might have been made a difference. So he's limited himself by his vision of what a number 10 should be. And if he thinks Rogers and Bellingham are are are that type of player, then we will run into problems with teams like Ghana and possibly even Panama, where we won't have the craft in those tight, tight areas to to break them down.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Yeah, I mean I think I can't unless he uses Rogers and then moves Belling, but would he drop Bellingham? I mean, I I don't I wouldn't say and doing very, very well. I wouldn't think, oh, I'd I'd get rid of them and move Bellingham back. I wouldn't see that as uh forward move. I would think that if anywhere I might think only the number 10.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Yeah. I think he might he might he might he might cho pick Bellingham as an eight, so he could have two eights and a six, you know, Rice and him could be an eight, and six. I think I play Bellingham as a ten, and then you might have Saka and Kane up front, so you might change the shape slightly to accommodate that. I don't think um uh we've we've done well enough on the wings, although Madaweki had a good game, so maybe you could start with Madaweki. But Gordon, I think, hasn't really in two games hasn't really really delivered the his position might be on under under threat.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Quite like the fact that Madaweki switched wings because I don't think they do that enough. It seems to be you know they like to have most teams, modern teams, like to have a left footed right one and a right foot left one, so they cut him in all the time. Yes, and I think that does give a point of difference, and you could switch the movie during the game. If one player is not it's not working for them on the left wing, you can switch them to the right one. Um I think Saka obviously they're working his game time training and things, so whether he could play the full game or not, I don't know. But he he added something, a bit of spark, but I think he needed another. I I I mean I love Ezie as a player, but in the Crystal Palace, so he was part of a less defendy and then so fast hit them on that. Yeah. So I don't know if he's that kind of number 10 where he's around the box linking play. I don't think he did that, Palace, and I don't think he's really done that at Arsenal either.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

No, he was more left-sided at Arsenal, wasn't he, coming in from the left. And it's really those players who can play very technically in those in those tight areas, small spaces, which which we definitely lacked. And just as an aside, you know, we've left Harry Maguire home, but he's he's somebody who can score a goal with his head. And if we've we had 19 shots against Ghana, like crosses into the box, somebody like Maguire might have been more of a threat than we got from maybe Gaye and Concer, who are smaller. So Tushaw's selection kind of limiting him on the day because he's because his vision about what his team Riley is tall, I think he's about six three, isn't he? Six three, six four, and and hit the bar with a header.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Hit the bar with a header, didn't really do enough. I know he he must have chance, and he he he you know came back and played. He played he was playing it that quarterback kind of number 10 rolls sometimes. That's okay, but only if you've got players who are going to run ahead of him.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Yes, yeah. I'm not sure. We didn't do that well enough, I don't think. I think against uh Croatia it worked very well, but for whatever reason he was dropping in. Maybe they just wasn't gonna maybe just they'd seen that tactic and realized they didn't want him to leave any space in behind, so they the low block kind of limits your ability to.

SPEAKER_01 15:34

I mean, they could have had a goal on the break, they could have had a penalty. Yes. I mean it was very controversial, if you like. Probably would have given it as a penalty. I probably would have done. Not saying they would have scored. I don't think they had any other major chances, one or two.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

I think they had two shots in the whole game, none on target. But they just they looked threatening on a few occasions, only had 15-20% possession. But that's all you really need if you've got quick forwards and you've got players like Semenyon side, even Ayu, who's uh who scored gold.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Well, considering I thought he was I mean, he's 34. He was there, he was in the middle. I thought he was gone. I mean, nobody would I don't know where he played where he plays now.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Leicester, he got he's been developing for two two years running, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Right, so yeah, but he played very well. I thought he was a he was a threat to England.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

He stood up to the new contract next year, he wanted to demonstrate he's got one more year left than him.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

Yeah, I think that actually makes the point about I mean Bellingham to get 50 caps at 22 is amazing. Yes. Um and there were you know a lot of guys with a hundred plus caps are there, and we've said before, and you've got AU who's 34 playing in Kane, and Messi is 38 or 39 today. I can't remember. No, that Renalda's in his 40s. He got a couple of goals, um which I'm glad for him because he always you know, everybody, most people are against him, but I think his he's a him or Messi are the you know, greatest player at the time, they're different players, but and I you know we can have an argument about that on another day. But I'm glad he got a couple of goals as well. It'd be good for him, it'd be good for the team, be good for Portugal, and good for the tournament, right?

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Again, it's another story. If it had been a story of failure, that is a story, right? But that's probably not a positive story that you know, so you probably want um you want him carrying on in the tournament and scoring goals.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Like bears of the tournament? Bears of the tournament.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

So uh the structure of the tournament, I think too many teams, too many games where like the Invangana game, where there's you're always going to get those kind of games, but there seems to be a lot of those games where there's a small team defending deep and there's a big team just trying to score. And in my view, the World Cup should be about the big teams playing each other. For me, too many teams in the tournament, not enough big teams playing each other fellow, and that's down to structure. What about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 17:45

I I um I think I said before, I I don't mind the expansion. Um I think that's it has been good, and I think it's up to I think when we get to the round of 32 and the round of 16, the Cape Verde's and Swab and QSR, they've played amazingly well, but they would have gone by then. Um it's still this hydration stuff. I mean, every I mean you made the point when we spoke last week was about the change in momentum, and you can actually see it. It is strong that momentum change. And when you've got players, even like Ghana, they've got a great coach, and there's a couple of other the African teams have got really well, well uh experienced coaches who have been to many, many tournaments, they get hold of those guys and they reinforce the message that they want to do, and that gives them that extra buzz to go for another 15-20 minutes. And I think whereas in a normal game they would probably lose that.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

The England game was the worst example of that because they had the uh the injury, I think, and then they had a they had a two-minute break for the injury, and then they had they played for 30 seconds and then they had a three-minute break for the injury.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

I don't know if they said you know, reading this morning, it's about more about the referee not having the common sense rather than the FIFA because there's a set time.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

I don't know. I understood, and I don't know if it's true, is the advertisers in under and in the in the US have that three-minute period for their advertisements, so that three-minute period has to happen at about that time.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

And if you press the button too early, they don't so I don't I don't know if that's the case, but uh I did hear Thomas Frank actually say when he was being interviewed about the room that he thought, which I totally understand, that this could become a norm because you know, if I'm Sky and I've paid a billion pounds for the Champions League, whatever it's whatever it is, and football's taken that money, and these players are earning that money. For me to say actually I can get another three minutes of ads in, it it's difficult for those that to say, well, that's not fair. That's not well it actually is because that's why you're getting paid a billion pounds you know for the tournament.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

From a financial point of view, you're right. I think the fans might I mean fans you can see everybody booze. Every time there's a hydration rate, they boo. It's like 20 degrees in the stadium, it's raining and they're having hydration. So everybody knows it's it's ridiculous. Whether that the fans will let that happen, I don't know. I don't have a pencil.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

The first time it's been done, we'll see what happens there. Okay, I think last thing is when we spoke last week, everybody had played once. We both thought France were with England probably second. Does that change for you?

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Uh it has probably slightly in that. I still think France will win it. I still think they've got the star players, I think Mbappe's playing very well. I think the England, there's been a little bit of a loss of momentum on the England side. I don't think it's a disaster. I mean, they they played well at times, they had a lot of possession, they had a lot of chances, but it did highlight where their weaknesses in that that squad is. So I'd say England have probably fallen down the pecking order. And the only other thing for me is that the sheer number of teams, as we discussed earlier, that have a chance in this tournament. What about yourself? Any thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 20:38

I think France are still the standout team, and but there are uh England are one of them. Uh and I think where else before I thought it was France and maybe England. Now I think it could also maybe be Argentina, could also maybe be Spain, could also maybe be Germany, they could get through. I don't think there's a host nation that will get through. I don't I've not seen them strong enough at the end. But the interesting thing is when they sort out this week who's playing who, that will eliminate some of these big boys like like Holland or a good two, and they could be playing some, or Norway could get those against you, and you could be playing them one of these days, and you could be out. Exactly. So I still think France, but let's see you next week, huh?

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Indeed. Okay, great.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

Okay. Good to speak to you.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

That's it for this week. Join us next time as we review the latest events in the twenty twenty six World Cup.