Ep. 20 - Round of 16 Recap & Quarterfinals Preview

Brandon and Shaun link up to breakdown all of the action from the Round of 16 by going through each game. 

They talk through madness at the Azteca, Argentina flirting with disaster, Brazil's disappointing generation and how France rose above the Paraguayans antics. 

In the back half, they preview each of the upcoming quarterfinal matchups which seem poised to deliver some great moments. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:22

Hello, friends, and welcome to episode 20 of the Friends on Football Podcast. I am one of your hosts, Brandon Johnson, and I'm joined today, as always, by my main man, Mr. Sean Boyle. Sean, how are you doing today? Brandon, much better.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

We're doing well. We are no longer talking about the United States men's national team. We are talking about the rest of the good teams that are still playing in this tournament and some recently fallen sides that produced some really, really good round of 16 games. I'm excited to get into all of those with you, and I'm excited to break down the quarterfinal matchups because we finally have them.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Round of 16, a little calmer, but still some games in here, Sean. That you you turned your head away and you missed two goals. You saw teams scoring late, you saw teams getting outplayed, played off the pitch. You saw it all in the round of 16. And I guess to to start, Sean, we will talk about the Morocco-Canada game. Morocco played Canada. Morocco won this game 3-0. Uh Canada actually had a better XG expected goals for the game, 0.84 to 0.82. But Morocco comes and wins this game 3-0. What were your thoughts on that one, Sean?

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Oh, my thoughts, Brandon. I was elated. I was absolutely buzzing. I was rooting for Morocco very, very hard. And I'm so thrilled with my boys to get this one over the line. We talked at length about the United States, and I don't need to apologize on their behalf anymore. This was before that game, so I could just enjoy this one with pure unadulterated ecstasy. I loved seeing Jesse Marsh spiral. Before we get to his his Chef's Kiss post-game interview, we should say, like you mentioned, Canada did have the better of the XG. They had a lot of chances in the first half to get a goal on the board. They didn't take them, and Jesse reacted to each one of those as if it was an unforgivable sin his guy had committed. He was freaking out on the touchline, made it about him. Morocco came out in the second half, and they just slowed down a bit. They relaxed, they realized they're the better team. They scored a cool goal from a set piece. As Adin Unahi continues to be the guy at these World Cups, he balled out for them in 2022. He's balling out for them again. He scored a brace. And the last one from Rahimi that just flattered Morocco a bit in terms of the score line. 3-0 was definitely not a true reflection of how the game went. But what it led to was some all-time post-game press conference clips and just comments from Jesse Marsh. My favorite, Brandon, he said, Our fans had the privilege of watching us play. The fans had the privilege. And then he goes on to say he would rather be us than them. This guy, man. I I Oh, you are such a bozo, Jesse. You'd rather be us than them. You lost three nil, you're heading home. That what do you mean? You'd rather be us than them. That's the one thing you can't say. You could say we played a little better on the day we deserved more. Sure. Would have been fair. I wouldn't be here criticizing you. But you so smugly sat there. Our fans had the privilege. You took a shit. You didn't even have one expected goal. You lost three nil, you got pumped. You're out. You didn't win the group. You didn't get an extra match in Canada. None of your fans went to the game. Miss me. Miss me on all of it. I'm so happy he lost. And then to say, I'd rather be us than them. Well, guess what? You're the only one. All of your players would rather be them. So how about you have a little chat with them before you go speaking for the group? Just take it all away. Jeans again from the guy. I'm out. Brandon, were you happy to see Canada lose?

SPEAKER_03 4:29

Yes, I was thrilled to see them lose. Just as you mentioned, Sean, the post-game interview was really what sent me over the edge. I was actually at my parents' house and nice 4th of July barbecue, hanging out with the family, you know, seeing everybody, and the game ends. Everyone kind of shifts their attention away from the TV because you don't have anything until the next game, France Paraguay. But they interview him on the pitch after the game, and he says, Yeah, I'd rather be us than them right now. And I felt this kind of collective silence in my parents' house because I was like, What did he just say? I'd rather be us than them. Did you just you just lost 3-0? You just got played off the pitch. You're going home, they're going to the the quarterfinals to play France, and and you're at home now watching, and you would rather be you than them? Like, like you said, miss me with that one because that that was that just made no sense. And for him, this whole World Cup, we've been on him the whole time, and deserved so. Deservedly so. I think he's made it all about him. And as we can see now, that did not help them win. Uh Canada overall on the field just never seemed to get everything to click. They would make the right passes, they would make the right moves, and then they'd hit the crossbar, the post, or hit the shot into the the crowd. And I I don't know what it was just the finishing or or what, but they could just never put together a full performance. And I think that game against Morocco really showed the difference between a good team and a great team. Morocco is one of the top teams in the world, and not always flashy, not always the coolest way to win soccer games, but they're efficient, they get things done, they score when they get chances. And that in a World Cup will take you a long way. So off the field, yeah, absolutely thrilled to see Jesse and the the Canon Canadians going home. On the field, I think it was deserved. They just didn't play to Morocco's level.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm just thrilled. I'm thrilled they're gone. It would be insufferable if they were still playing in the United States at home. So thank goodness that's not the case.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Yeah, thank goodness. Sean, the second game that day was France Paraguay. I alluded it to it earlier. France beat Paraguay in this game 1-0. Not the prettiest game in the world, not the one that you'd probably show your friends who don't really care about soccer. But for the diehard like us, Paraguay looked like they were in CONCACAF. They were just trying to muck everything up, foul as much as they can, slow the game down, and I will say it it worked for much of the game. So I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. Obviously, France goes ahead and wins the game on a penalty kick, but uh what did you think about that that match overall? Absolute shithusery from the Paraglians.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

And I mean, I usually love to see it. I have to say. I'm a fan of the dark arts, the dark arts, as they call them. I think Severus Snape couldn't have taught this course. They were masters. They somehow towed the line so well with this ref who was out to launch. He did not give them a yellow card during play. He was handing out yellow cards to Elise on France, who barely did anything in response to the Paraguayans just constantly provoking him for 90 minutes. He was tossing yellow cards to the French. Didn't give one during the course of the 90 to Paraguay. Absolutely shocking. I like I said, I typically enjoy the dark arts. For teams that are much less talented, I do feel like it's kind of the only way to really have a chance to win. You know, you not only can typically stay in the game for longer if you slow the game down and play less football, but sometimes you get that team to roll around with you. I talk about rolling around in the mud. They wanted a mud fight. And the ref, because of how he called the game, he allowed it and it became excessive because of him. Because he wasn't handing out those yellow cards, they would just keep testing him and say, Oh, I got away with that late challenge. Ooh, okay, I'll do it again. Next time it'll be a little later, a little harder. And next thing you know, they're just walloping the French well after the whistle. It's I liken it too, Brandon, when you have parents that aren't very strict, it creates sneaky kids. You know, the ref was not a strict parent, he allowed uh basically anything to go down, and next thing you know, the kids flipping dime bags at age 14. And it's just like he's running the roost now. The game's gone, can't control him. I I don't know, I don't know what the ref was thinking. But at a certain point, he had to say, hey, you know what? I probably should give a yellow card to one of these Paraguay players because they do seem to be getting to the French late a lot. They do really, they don't really seem to be playing a ton of football. You know, maybe just one would have done the trick, but I have to say, big credit to France was my takeaway because they did not get roped in. They didn't start doing the same things back to Paraguay. They rose above it, they stayed level-headed, and then their quality ultimately shone through in the way of an Mbappe penalty. But I thought it was a professional performance from France.

SPEAKER_03 9:45

This is the type of performance that France had that you'd expect to see from a team that is a true, true contender to win the World Cup. They played their style, even with the dark arts, as you mentioned, from Paraguay, sticking to their game plan, doing what they need to do, and taking care of business. I think that's the type of performance you'll need to have because there's always going to be a weird game in a knockout where you can't play the football you want to play, but to still maintain your style and keep your composure and not get red cards because now you're going into a match against Morocco, that would be costly as well. So to keep their heads and do what they needed to do was was vital for France, and I think really shows championship quality level uh football from them.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

For sure. And if we could appeal FIFA to get a yellow card taken off the books, Olyse did nothing to deserve that yellow, and now he has to be cautionary in this game against Morocco to not pick up another to avoid suspension, so I it's a bit gross that he got one, but I mean, all things considered, I think France will take that, they'll take the result, they'll move on, and they'll be happy that they didn't fall into the traps in the mind games from Paraguay.

SPEAKER_03 10:51

Absolutely, absolutely. Sean, the next game that I want to discuss with you was Norway-Brazil. And now, Sean, I I apologize because I know Brazil was your team that you picked them to win the World Cup. But it seemed like to me, Norway out Brazil-Brazil. 66% of the ball uh in this game. Holland Holland gets a brace in basically 11 minutes uh in the 79th and 90th minute, and Brazil scores a essentially meaningless penalty kick in the stoppage time. Sean, what went wrong for Brazil? Or what went right for Norway in this one?

SPEAKER_02 11:27

I guess, Brandon, another hand up. Apologies in order for the listeners. I am sorry for picking Brazil to win the World Cup. I will not do it again. I'm learning from my lessons. That's the one thing you'll say about me. I will not make the same mistake twice. I will say also credit to me for having Norway as one of my dark horses, because you know, Norway look the part of a dark horse, they're into the quarters. Great job by you, Sean. So, really evens it out. No, it this was Brandon, it was they they really did out Brazil Brazil. I could not believe the tactics I saw on display from Brazil. So, first 15 minutes, Norway had the ball, and Brazil was sitting back, willing to counterattack, and I thought, hmm, you know what? That's interesting. It's not what I was expecting, it's probably not what Norway was expecting. And it caught them out a couple times. There was a couple of missed chances, it led to a penalty, which was an absolutely shocking penalty from Bruno. Why is he on pens? No idea. He does the stutter run-up. Ugh, awful. Ban the stutter. From then, I thought Brazil were woeful. I thought, okay, they'll eventually come out and start flexing their will, their determination on the ball. I thought they were much more talented in that regard. They just didn't do that. Brazil decided, you know what, it's 95 degrees out. These guys are Norwegian, and we're gonna just chase them around the whole time and tire ourselves ourselves out as one of the oldest teams in the tournament. Awful. Brazil fans were booing. That is not Jogo Bonito. It was an embarrassment. I don't want to take anything away from Norway. They dominated the game and they deserved the win. They deserved to move on. It didn't even deserve to be close late, in my opinion, although it did get a little scary those final couple seconds after the Neymar pen. But we have to talk about Holland. He just seems like the coolest guy in the world, too. And he's just an absolute machine built to score goals. Like, he's an athletic freak. He's like 6'3, he could run like a 4-3. I don't know. He's flexible, he's good with his head, he's relentless in the box. He's unbelievable. He's scoring from outside the box with his left foot. I know he's left footed, and he he could score with his right as well, but that second goal of his was really good. He's just a really likable guy. Norway seems like a likable team, and they were the better team on the occasion.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Yeah, it really surprised me, Sean. Nor uh Holland was gonna get you what Holland gives you. And it was a standout performance, and I apologize to him because we almost expect him to score a goal or two a game now. That's just the quality that he plays at. But what really surprised me was Brazil just didn't seem to really want to change the shape of that game. Normally said, hey, we're gonna we're gonna hold the ball and we're gonna play at our speed and we're gonna attack methodically. And Brazil kind of said okay. And I I don't know what Don Carlo was was thinking or what went into that game plan, but they they really got outplayed. And unfortunately, in a knockout tournament, if you don't play your best, as we've seen with many others, you go home. And now Brazil now Brazil's at home, and and Norway's advancing to a quarterfinal game against England. Now, Sean, switching to this game, England played Mexico 3-2 final, England wins at the Azteca. Sean, I had this marked as game of the tournament. We may have another game in the round of 16 that could possibly compete with that. I I just want to know just give me your thoughts. This one for me, Jude Bellingham. I I thought obviously Jude's been incredible, and we know Jude Bellingham, and we've we've watched him forever, but to score a brace that quickly, and then what's not talked about is him stopping the the one cross that Mexico played in. Mexico guy on the back post has a tap in. I think it may have been your guy, Role, and Jude, Jude sends it out for a corner kick, and it's just the defensive effort that you don't expect to see from a center-attacking mid, helping them preserve that win. Uh, just just give me your thoughts on this one. This one for me was I I predicted before, I will say, I predicted for this one to be a big, big game, and it ended up, I think, matching expectations.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

We yeah, I think the billing for this one was game of the century. It was like a once-in-a-generation type game, is what people expected this one to be. And it's so rare that you get that game on paper and it delivers in the way that this did. This exceeded expectations and then some. This was by far for me the game of the tournament so far. I doubt anything tops it just because of the environment as well. The Azteca plays a big role into that. Second to none in that environment in terms of host cities in this World Cup. The Brits, they were saying that there were some complaining about the short turnaround and the altitude going into it. They left there saying the Mexican fans were amazing and it was a great, great once-in-a-lifetime trip. So that's what happens in the sport sometimes. But the you touched on it with Jude Bellingham. The match winners in England's squad made all the difference. Jude and Harry. They are just guys that have the ability to grab the game by the scruff and not let their team lose. And that's literally what we saw on display. Jude, the goal line clearance, uh, it was a tap-in. I believe it was either Raul or Cesar Montez, I think, where they just had a sitter waiting for him. And Jude just somehow, somehow waxed that one away. Unbelievable from him. He is such a big game player. It's just a guy you would love to go to war next to in your side. You look over at him, he's he's turned up to 10 at all times, but it's in control. It's all for the badge, just a freaking winner. And I can't say enough good things about how impressive he is. But the real turning point in this game, the Jude Brace was stunning, caught everybody by surprise. But the Kwanzaa red card in the 54th minute completely changed the match, in my opinion. Because it's 2-1 at the time, Kwanzaa gets the red, and then in the 60th minute, Raul Ranhel, the Mexican goalkeeper, commits a bad foul on Anthony Gordon inside the box, and it's a penalty to England, with you think at the time a chance to really seal the game and go up 3-1. At least you you pretty much know that you won't lose in regulation, and Harry Kane buries it. That's what he does, you know, just a big game player, like I said, with Jude. You knew he wasn't missing from the spot. 69th minute, Harry Kane himself, though, gives away a kind of a ticky tack, Mickey Mouse penalty. It's a little bit questionable. He gives up a penalty, Raul Jimenez scores that one, and all of a sudden we have about 20 minutes left to play. It's 3-2, and it's just Mexico in England's box at the Azteca, under the lights, all the pressure in the world to score a goal, and the England back line and Jordan Pickford just were so gutsy, clearing balls away. The subs, John Stones, Dan Byrne, Jed Spence all were immense. The shift England put in, I'm not rooting for England in any way. You can't do anything but just stand up and give them a round of applause. That was impressive as shit to go into the Azteca and play like that.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

Yeah, I think I saw something that they've only lost three or four games in the Azteca in the last like 90 years or something ridiculous. It's such a tough place to play, Sean, and for them to come in and play their style and take it to Mexico. It was was great. And obviously, I have a rooting interest. I did pick them to win the World Cup, but just watching that was it was an incredible showing of football on both sides. You had your guy go, uh Alberta Mora, 17-year-old starting from Mexico. I mean, you want experience, you want to get thrown into the fire. Here you go, son. Like, have a day. And he played well. And four years from now, when he's playing again, it's gonna be cake because he just played England at the Azteca four years ago. And Switch, I saw after the game he swapped swapped shirts with Jude too. So it's like I saw that too. And I saw class.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

It was a nice moment from Jude 2 to ask for his shirt back. Because a lot of times guys who are kind of more well known than the other will just give the shirt away, but they won't ask for the shirt in return. And that's a little bit disrespectful. It's maybe not meant as such, but it was nice to see Jude ask for more shirt as well. I thought Mexico really screwed themselves too with some of their substitutions. It felt like Jesus Gallardo had the ball as a left back operating on the left wing for the entire last 30 minutes of the match, and somehow failed the whole time to beat his man or put in a good cross. And I don't know how he just stayed out there for so long without any help or any change in strategy, but it just wasn't working. I thought they kind of shot themselves in the foot there. They'll feel a bit disappointed with how that one played out. Playing against 10, you would have expected them maybe to get that late equalizer, but England were the tougher team on the occasion, and like you said, Brandon, just game of the tournament stuff out of the Azteca. It's a shame we don't have any more games there.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Yeah, it it really is a shame, Sean. Another game that was a shame that we're just gonna gloss over is the USA loses 4-1 to Belgium. Belgium moves on to the quarterfinals, and if you want to listen to us break that one down, that's on the other episode. So we'll skip that one, Sean. Spain, Portugal. Uh we had Spain beating Portugal 1-0. Spain scores in the 91st minute, Mikhail Marino to win. What were your thoughts on this one? I personally thought Spain deserved to win, but it really wasn't as fun of a watch as I thought it was gonna be. But I but I'd love to hear what you think about this one.

SPEAKER_02 20:55

Yeah, completely agree. Maybe it was the come down after the England at Mexico game. This was the next one, and it was maybe we're coming off the tail of that, and just thinking, oh, the energy feels a bit weird. Couldn't agree more. Just a good entertaining first half for the most part. It was a lot better than the second, at least. The second half was horrible to watch. It's weird because I feel like I always find myself watching Spain-Portugal games, and very few times do I leave saying, oh, that delivered, but they're always close. So it's weird, it's a weird thing. Spain aren't the most fun team to watch because sometimes they're one of the teams that fall into the trap of having possession just to have possession, where they're not necessarily dynamic. Laminimault doesn't seem like himself still. And maybe it's because he was playing against Nuno Minge, who's the best left back in the world, and provides a threat going forward as well, but he just didn't seem a hundred percent again. And we keep saying he's getting a little closer. I don't know if he will be at 100% in this tournament. So that's something that Spain's gonna need to figure out because Nico Williams appears to be at 0%, and they've lost a lot of that dynamism on both wings now. Hopefully Lamin gets right, and he gets right quick. I Agree Spain definitely deserved the win in this one. They were the better team, they created more of the chances. I think they'll feel like they probably should have scored earlier. Some good saves by both keepers. I don't think they're gonna have anything really to complain about. They beat their rival, they're into the quarters, they haven't conceded the goal yet in this tournament. I mean, that's insane. So that's that's that's very good. And I just think the real loser in this, besides Ronaldo, besides Portugal, were was Dallas. Dallas, the environment in that stadium just wasn't right. I don't know what the deal was. Maybe again it was coming off the back of the Azteca. We gotta figure that out.

SPEAKER_03 22:37

Unacceptable. Sean, I I agree with you. It just didn't have the juice that the other games have had. I also wanted to take a quick second. I think we should give Ronaldo his salute for a great career. And the reason I say that is because we don't follow the Saudi League on this podcast. So even if he goes back to the Saudi League, whatever. But uh Ronaldo great, I have to jump in.

SPEAKER_02 22:58

He would be managed by Anj Postacogli now, who took over at his club in Saudi. So I do follow the Saudi League now, and in fact, I'm kind of Ronaldo fan because I'm a big Ange guy. So I I typically would agree with you 100%. See you later, right off under the sunset. If Anj is in in the mix, I'm in the mix. So I just had I had to say that.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

Wow. A 180 from Boyle live on the podcast. I love to see it, Sean. I did not know that Ange is now their manager. He just took the job last week. Okay. I've been too deep in the World Cup. I have not seen any club news. But uh, alright, so I might put eyes on one game. How about that? I'll I'll give them one game. I know how to watch the games?

SPEAKER_02 23:38

No, I have no clue.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

Uh yeah, we might have to figure that one out. Might be the VPN situation. It might be the VPN situation. I'm not sure we have the Saudi rights here in America. Absolutely. Listeners, we will follow up on that. Honestly, Sean, we'll we'll get into this as we get closer to the club season, but we might need to have a whole segment on how to watch these games because you gotta have 18 different streaming services to watch all the leagues. So we'll we'll get into that as we get closer to the to the club season. Sean, the next one I want to recap was the other game that I said could have been, or I'm sorry, that ended up being a potential game of the round of 16. We had Argentina, Egypt. Argentina wins this game 3-2. Egypt are up 2-0, two-thirds of the way through the game. Argentina storms back and scores three goals to win it before full time. Sean, you can give us some way more details than that. But it was I'm watching that game and I don't even really know how to recap it. It was so odd. I did hear some some possible corruption noise online. I saw that, I read that a little bit. There's a couple plays that I definitely would would question, but and a little clap from Gianni after the third goal, but hey, who's watching? Sean, what are your thoughts on this one? That's Uncle Gianni to you.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

I will say, Brandon. I was taken aback at Argentina, once again, just kind of playing with their food, and it's something we notice and that they do frequently, and they're just so comfortable doing it. They they're just like in a flow state until they absolutely need to not be, and something changes, and that's when you see the magic that we saw. But they changed their shape for this one. They were in a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. They brought in Leandro Peredes, and he played alongside Kevin McAllister. That's the that's the home alone character. It's his brother. It's McAllister's name that plays for Liverpool. Alexi McAllister. Alexi, his brother is Kevin and is also Argentinian. He plays, I believe, in Belgium. I always call Alexis McAllister Kevin. Oh, he's a real he's a real that's a real person. Swear to god, his brother is Kevin McAllister. The Argentinian home alone kid, yes. I thought you were just taking the piss. No, no, no. Fantastic. That's the real thing. So yeah, Leander Perez, Alexis McAllister, Rodrigo DePaul, and Enzo Fernandez make up that midfield diamond, and it didn't really work. They relied on width from the fullbacks getting forward. I thought Nicholas Taglifico had a decent half in the first half getting forward, creating some chances. But Egypt opened the scoring with a set P scroll in the 15-minute Yasir Ibrahim from Al-Ali. He scores a header, and Egypt looks super comfortable defending and looking for their moments to just pick Argentina off on the counter. The 21st minute of the match, Brandon Messi misses another penalty. I can't believe what I'm seeing from him. He's 0 for 2 from the spot in this World Cup, jarring stuff. He's not the best penalty taker, weirdly. But what do you think about that? 0 for 2 from the GOAT from the spot.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

It's terrible. One for my player pull, because he is my now turned into being my best player, basically. But two, it is the weirdest thing, and we discussed this when he missed the other one. But you're talking about the greatest player to ever put on a pair of boots and can't make a penalty kick, which you think theoretically is one of the easier things to do in soccer overall. So it's an odd one. And look, the goalie makes the save, which you know, you you gotta be you gotta understand that, but it wasn't a great penalty. No, it was not it was basically goalie arm length height, like not high at all, and it wasn't in a corner, so it made it pretty easy for the Egypt keeper to make the save, but Sean, I'll flip it back to you. Do you think there's a world in which someone else takes a penalty if if they do get a penalty kick in the uh quarterfinals?

SPEAKER_02 27:42

Yeah, hand it over to Julian Alvarez. My guy's crying out for a goal. He buries penalties for fun, he's excellent at free kicks. Let him get a sniff. I mean, this game would have looked a lot differently, Leo. So pass the rock next time. But in all honesty, I don't think we'll see somebody else take penalties, but it should be a conversation they have. Especially if Messi is and he's proven to be unselfish enough. If he's just not feeling it, who cares if you don't take the pen, Leo? Like you're gonna score a goal anyway in the match, you're gonna assist, it's what you do. And as we get to that, the second half is absolutely bonkers in this game, Brandon. It's insane. So in the second half, Argentina are chasing the game, committing some number forward. Egypt have a brilliant counterattack, score goal, and VAR does its thing. They say, hey, hey, hey, you guys aren't talking about me? What about me? They say, come on back. There was a foul. How you won the ball, not legal. Free kick, Argentina. Seemed a bit harsh. Was it a foul that started this? Yes, it was. Probably the right decision, if harsh. The foul occurred on the other end of the pitch completely, so it's a little bit tough, you know. You don't love seeing goals taken away for that reason, but whatever, it happened. Eight or ten minutes later, Egypt score almost identical the same way. Off a corner kick from Argentina, numbers forward, a brilliant counterattack. Mustafa Zico scores, and Hassem Hassan. This guy, he was absolutely electric. Number 12 for Egypt on the counterattack. He was special. He was flying, had a bit of skill about him. He looked great. It's 2-0 Egypt and Argentina are on the ropes. That's when, like you talked about, we saw a flurry in 13 minutes. None other than Kuti Romero opens the scoring. Assists from Leo Messi. Kuti Romero has this thing where if his team's down a goal, it could be the 10th minute, it could be the 60th, he goes up by himself and plays as a striker. He does it for Tottenham all the time. I fucking love it. He basically says, like, yo, you drop back to center back, that's yours now. And he goes and plays striker and just has a laugh up there. As soon as he starts doing it, the Argentina starts bagging home goals. I don't think it's a coincidence. But really, Argentina, one of the things that I noticed is they lack that out and out striker. They really do need somebody in the box because they have so many guys that can place nice balls in, but there's they're aiming at nothing. They play these balls in and are just hoping to win second balls and then feast from there. But when Romero went up there, he wins a header scores for Messi. He looked threatening in the box at other times. Messi levels it with an unbelievable half volley. And then in the 92nd minute, Enzo Fernandez scores a header from a brilliant Lotara Martinez big cross ball into the box. And next thing you know, the Egyptian manager, Hassam Hassan, is crying corruption. He said, clearly a fixed game. Everyone saw it. FIFA want Argentina to win. Then why do you make us play? Honestly, Brandon.

SPEAKER_03 30:35

Electric stuff. Top to bottom in that one. It was not a game that I think we thought was gonna be like that. We had mentioned the last time we recorded was actually before Argentina's 32 game. And we said Argentina will we'll walk over Cape Verde and then walk over whoever they play in the next round. And boy were we wrong. We we didn't even have a chance to talk about the Cape Verde game, Sean. That was levels and just yeah, drunk football. Not even no sorts of yeah, just I don't even know what to say about that one. That one was wild, but then to then come back and and come back from being down two goals to beat Egypt just shows the the quality shows in the in the big moments, Sean. And now they're entering out on paper a very winnable quarterfinal game. So this team seems to be maybe getting it together at the right time, or they're just holding it back. They're like waiting to put it into the into overdrive. They're like, uh, we're cool, we're coasting, it's easy. They're waiting to take that next step, and they may have to take it in the next game, which we'll preview in a bit as they play the winner of our final round of 16 game, which was Switzerland and Colombia. Sean, this was a 0-0 game. Switzerland winning on penalty kicks. Not not really different from what I think we expected. Both of these teams have unique styles, and they both said we're gonna play our style, and if it ends up 0-0, we'll just duke it out in extra time and penalties, and Switzerland ultimately got the best of it. What were your thoughts on on this game?

SPEAKER_02 32:11

Kind of a stinker, Brandon. It wasn't the best game. I didn't really enjoy watching it. For some reason, it just couldn't get me in, and I'm almost always in in World Cup games, so this is not a good one to watch. I would say Colombia deserved to win in if I'm if I had to pick a side. I don't think they dominated by any means. I thought they were better. They they, I believe, won the XG battle a little over one goal to 0.3. So I just think Switzerland were pretty poor in terms of creating real chances in the box, and I thought Colombia just missed a couple that they need to score. And that's a real thing with Colombia, is they just struggle to put the ball in the net. They don't have an out-and-out striker, they don't have a reliable goal scorer, and it came back to bite them. Because this game is nil-nil for 120 minutes, like you said, and then goes to penalties, and it's a bad, bad sign if Davinson Sanchez is walking up to take your second penalty. Not good. It's not good. I'm a big daff guy. I loved him at Tottenham. He's limited on the ball, you know, but he's a sturdy out and out defender, box defender, good man, big daff. But when he walked up to take that penalty kick, I was like, oh no, I was rooting for Columbia, and I was like, oh no, he can't be your second taker. What are we doing? And he hits the underneath the crossbar, bounces off the line halfway in, halfway out, and almost comes back to hit him as he's holding his head. Tough scene. Really tough scene. Switzerland advance on penalties. I wish I could say they're gonna meet their maker next round with Argentina, but I would be surprised at this point if that game's not super close and super dramatic. So we'll preview that in just a couple couple minutes. But overall, Switzerland, I think that was a good pick by you to make a little bit of run in this tournament. The the bracket f uh broke nicely for them. And I said it too, they're just they're just a solid team. They're not gonna really beat themselves. You're gonna have to go out and beat them and earn it. And so far nobody's been able to do that. So credit to Switzerland. I do think they're gonna need to up their game a considerable amount in order to take down Argentina, but I don't think it's impossible by any means.

SPEAKER_03 34:16

Yeah, I appreciate the the shout out, Sean. And they do unfortunately have a really, really tough next matchup, which we'll go over here in a minute. But my other bold prediction was we will have all European teams in the final four. And for that to happen, still possible. We need Switzerland to beat Argentina. I already have the one in Norway, England, I get that one either way. Belgium, Spain, I get that one either way. And then we need France to beat Morocco, which which could happen. So still looking looking good. And of course, I still have England winning the World Cup. So my predictions are are doing alright.

SPEAKER_02 34:50

We can't let them win. I can't let the we gotta stop them. We gotta stop them.

SPEAKER_03 34:56

I can't, I can't have them. But they might be. Sean can I can I interest you in some quarterfinal matches, Sean? Let's get into it. I'm so excited. Sean, we've had incredible, incredible football since this knockout has started, and I don't see it going any differently here. The first game we have on Thursday, July 9th, we have France against Morocco. Now, this one will be interesting because I don't think Morocco is gonna sit in a shell and muck the game up as much as Paraguay did. So I do think France will have a good chance to show their attacking ability, but also I think Morocco will show their attacking ability as well. So I'm gonna go France on my prediction. Um I picked Where's my score? Three to one, France to win. But I do think this will be an exciting one to watch. What do you think about that? I agree.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

A lot of talent on display, a lot of technical ability, a rematch from the 2022 semifinals. A lot to play for. A lot of these Moroccan players either grew up in France or have some French nationality mixed in there as well. And a lot of the French players can say the same thing about Moroccan ancestry. So these guys are familiar with each other. It's going to be entertaining, a lot of built-in knowledge of how that the other team plays, which could sometimes lead in a knockout game to a bit of a cagey affair, and also maybe a lower scoring match. But I think I'm with you. I think there's going to be some goals in this one because the quality of these attackers in this game are is just too high. France will advance, in my opinion. I think it'll be two to one. Another heartbreaking defeat for Morocco, but what uh climb that country has made in recent years, and they're so dangerous now and moving forward. I would not be stunned in the least if they were to be able to pull off the upset. I just think France have looked like the best team in this tournament, and I don't want to be on the wrong side of them any further.

SPEAKER_03 36:58

It's a fair, fair match, Sean, and I don't disagree, but honestly, that whole North Africa part of the world has been doing really well. You have them, uh Algeria made a little noise, Egypt made noise in this tournament, and it's great to see in a region of the world that maybe historically hasn't had a lot of eyes on them or or thought to be of as a powerhouse. So it's great to see three countries right there that are that are doing their thing.

SPEAKER_02 37:27

Yeah. And that game is Thursday, I believe, at 4 p.m.

SPEAKER_03 37:30

Eastern in Boston. Is that correct? It is correct. 4 p.m. Eastern location. Yes, the Boston Stadium, as we like to officially call it in FIFA.

SPEAKER_02 37:41

Pretty good game for the Boston fans. They've been a little bit spoiled in this World Cup with some real good ones.

SPEAKER_03 37:46

They've had they've had some great, some great football. Uh it's a shame that they don't actually play in Boston and they play all the way out in the suburbs, but yeah, hey, who am I? Who am I? Sean, let's switch to Friday now. Friday, we have one game. It is at 3 o'clock p.m. Eastern Time, and it is Spain. Yes, LA. LA Stadium. Spain versus Belgium.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 38:12

Sean, this is gonna be a generational hate watch for me. I'm not gonna lie. My three o'clock Friday, I thought I was gonna be watching the boys in red, white, and blue. And now that it's not them, I want whoever beat them to get smashed. So I hope Spain wins 3-0. I hope I hope they just absolutely dominate. I hope they have 75% of the ball. Belgium just doesn't have a chance, and it's just open and shut, easy watching for me going into my uh weekend. Doesn't that make us look even worse, though? Yeah, I I hear that, but I'm just a straight up hater.

SPEAKER_02 38:48

So that's not saying that. I don't exactly want Belgium to win either. Although I do, I will say, since they battered the United States, my Belgium Dark Horse predictions look a hell of a lot better. They stunk out the joints for I mean weeks of this tournament. I said they were gonna get dominated by the US, but now I'm gonna reverse Uno this and say I was in on this Belgium team early. I do think maybe they figured something out against the United States. And maybe that they settled on an 11. The Onana injury, Torres ACL against the United States, that's unfortunate, that's a big, big loss. But I hope that this one's a close game at least. I do think Spain are gonna advance. I I can't see myself trusting Belgium after that one game against the United States, and we might be shit. That's the other thing I should say. We might be horrible. So maybe you just take that game with a grain of salt and expect Spain to put this one in cruise control and just kind of control the game, win 2-0, would be my guess. Maybe 3-1, but I think Spain win pretty comfy.

SPEAKER_03 39:54

Okay, okay, so similar, similar thoughts. And the last day, Sean, of the quarterfinals, Saturday, July 11th, we have two games. The first game, 5 o'clock p.m. in Miami, Miami Stadium, we have Norway, England. I think for me, this one's gonna be the game of the round. Maybe there's a little bit of uh bias because England was definitely involved in the game of the round last round, but I think this one could be special. I do worry England have a bit of a hangover from Mexico. I think if I heard the word altitude mentioned one more time, I was gonna go insane watching that game. But there is science and truth behind that, and I wonder if the team that took a lot out of the team, and I wonder if they're gonna be a little bit lagging from that one. So I I do I do think this will be a closer, closer game than maybe many people think. I think Holland is going to score. I think he scored in, I think they said 11 straight or 12 straight games for Norway, which is absolutely ridiculous. But I did predict England to come out on top, just doing barely enough two-to-one uh win for them.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

I was obviously not as high on England as you, but I think you'll remember I did say they're going to make the quarterfinals at minimum. They're just a team that doesn't really beat themselves, is what I thought. And that was under Southgate more so that they struggle to get over that final hump, but they really did do a good job of controlling what they can control in knockout tournaments, and it hasn't been as smooth sailing as I thought for them by any means. I thought they'd be a little better at this point and more dominant, but they've gotten here, and I think I'm going to pick them to advance as well. I am hopeful that Norway can pull off the upset. I would love to see it. I've grown to really love this Norway group. I just don't think I've seen enough in terms of their defending to really trust them. And that's why I thought the Brazil strategy to give them more of the ball and not just try to break them down was so befuddling to me. I don't think England will give them more of the ball, or at least they won't allow them to have as much fun with the ball as Brazil did. I think England will pose a much more real threat going forward. They've got those game changers. And while Norway has Erling Holland, and that's basically it in terms of actual out and out match winners, England has two, and the two of them have shown no signs of wanting to leave this tournament yet. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, they're the story for me. I just trust them to get their way onto the score sheet and win another game for England. And I just think I trust the England defense a little bit more than I trust Norway's at this point. England showed me something those last 30 minutes at the Azteca. That's that's just just hard fought and as go and get it, gutsy performances you could have. So unfortunately, I'm gonna lean England advancing, and I think they're able to score some goals. I'll go 3-1 England.

SPEAKER_03 42:45

Okay, okay. Yeah, I think I think that'll be a good game, and I think if Norway do get the first goal, I think it can really change some things. And England hasn't shown that they can really play terrific football from behind. They really struggled against DR Kongo in the round of 32 match, and you do worry that if they get behind they have to then push and press and get the game kind of flipped. And I don't know if they have those guys, or if they do have those guys, it's not really showing. 100% agree.

SPEAKER_02 43:17

We've mentioned it changes the whole game if Norway score first, because then Norway are able to do what they want to do too, and that is to sit back and use Erling on the counter and Odegaard and try to get numbers forward with Noosa, and they have some pace going forward. So if they score first, that does create exactly the situation that they want. I'm hopeful that's the case, and I hope we just get a really good game. I think we should. I think this one will be fun to watch, too. I'm I'm kind of with you. I think of all the matchups, I would probably pick this one or maybe the France Morocco game is the two I would most like to watch.

SPEAKER_03 43:50

Okay. Right. Yeah, I think that's a good a good shot. And Sean, the final game of this round, we have Argentina, who won. Against Egypt in a crazy, crazy round of 16 game, playing Switzerland, who advanced via penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw with Colombia. I'll let you go first on this one. I don't know if I have a good feel on this one. Switzerland were my dark horse to make the quarterfinals. They they did it. I don't know if they have the quality to beat Argentina, though.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

I'm with you too. I I think this might be the end of the road for Switzerland, and I hate picking all chalk and taking the favorites in all these games. But I do typically think this is where those magical runs come to an end on most occasions. I think there's a difference in quality usually between the team you face in the round of 16 and the quarters. And I think that this is a sizable jump in competition. Even though Colombia were a good team and had a lot of good qualities to root for and like about them, they're not as ferocious in front of goal as Argentina is. And I just think that if Switzerland play anywhere near how they played against Colombia, they will be sent packing. It's a tough one because I think that's a very successful World Cup for them already, and they're kind of playing with house money. It's a free hit. So maybe we do see some things. Argentinas, like we mentioned, they're just known to keep teams hanging around. They're just refusing to put anybody to bed, and in fact, digging themselves real holes and having to come back. So I would be on high alert if I'm an Argentina fan. I think maybe they've learned their lesson and they take care of business here before it gets really tough. But I'm gonna pick Argentina. I do think they'll just be able to score some goals against Switzerland. I think it'll be three to one.

SPEAKER_03 45:41

Three to one. I am with you. I I agree with everything you said. I don't know if Switzerland I I don't I I just can't see Switzerland scoring. I think I'll go 2-0 Argentina. And that's nothing against Switzerland. I think they've done incredible at this tournament. They've they've advanced this far, and and clearly I've shown they belong in the upper echelon of teams in the world. But this is that upper upper echelon. That this is that these are teams now that are true, true world class sides, and Switzerland just isn't in that group, in my opinion. They can prove me wrong. And I and we I think we'd both love to see that, just from a football fan standpoint, but I think Argentina's quality just outshines them a bit, and it's the end of the road for the Swiss.

SPEAKER_02 46:30

I am also hitching my wagon to Argentina, so just in terms of who I'm rooting for with my heart, I don't think Norway will be able to get the job done. It feels boring to root for France or Spain. I'm not rooting for England, so we're really left with not a ton of choices. I'm gonna go with my GOAT Leo and hope for some magic and a repeat as World Cup champs now that the United States are out, but I don't feel optimistic about that either. I think we're in for a winner that I'm not exactly thrilled with. But I do think they'll probably be the most deserving team. Argentina. No, I'm saying the winner ultimately will be the most deserving team, and I don't think Argentina is currently that. They've not played the hardest group, they've played with their food way too much, where France have been just in control of every match, and Spain haven't conceded the goal yet, England have gone to the Azteca and won a true road game. There's just been some more some of those other real favorites in this competition have proven themselves a bit more so far, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_03 47:26

Okay, okay, and just uh have some fun before we end here, Sean, is would you say this is France's tournament to lose at this point?

SPEAKER_02 47:35

They would meet Spain if they both win, correct? Yes. I won't say that then, because because just odd speaking, that's the toughest match they'll probably face, and it won't even be in the final. So, yes, you'd think if they win that, they get to the final, but that that basically means they have to play two world-class opponents, whereas I think there's a little bit of a drop-off from the Argentina-England side. I think both of those teams are weaker than Spain and France. So if I were ranking those teams, I would probably rank them France, Spain, Argentina, England, or France, Spain, England, Argentina. You know what I mean? So it just feels like that one side of the bracket's a little bit more loaded than the other. So I would not say it's theirs to lose, but I do think they've been the best team so far, with Spain being right behind them for me.

SPEAKER_03 48:23

What about you? Okay, okay. Yeah, it it's that's a it's a good point that you just made because it almost is gonna be like if that does happen, France, Spain in the semifinal, it's gonna feel like a final because those have been, I would say, the two teams that have put together the most complete performances to this point. Of course, I'm biased and I'm gonna say England uh should be in the conversation, but I do think Speen, I mean, Spain hasn't given up a goal, France has looked virtually untouchable, and and and they're still not even all the way going. And you and you you know, you have the starters and they come out, and you're bringing in Barcala and Duwe and and and Ryan Cherkey off the bench, and you're just like France's second team would probably finish in the top eight. France's second team would make the quarterfinals of this tournament.

SPEAKER_02 49:10

And their second team is basically Morocco, it's basically people that went and played for Morocco, and they're in the and by the way, they still have a second and third team that would still do way better than like our United States team.

SPEAKER_03 49:22

So you're 100% right. And it's it's funny, it's funny you you mentioned that because there's so much uh it's such a history lesson. The World Cup's such a history lesson, and it's like, why are all these French guys playing for Morocco? And it's like, well, if you knew history, like that would tell you some things, and and we've seen it all over the globe, but yeah, this these two teams, France and Spain, I just feel like they've been at a different level, and it stinks that they're gonna have to probably play in the semifinal and not the final, but that's the way the bracket goes, and I think that maybe let's England, hopefully, sneak in. Uh, of course, you can't look past Norway, and then you can't look past potentially Argentina, but I would take playing against Norway and Argentina versus playing against France and Spain just to get to the final. A hundred percent.

SPEAKER_02 50:09

Yep. I think they're they're on the more favorable side of that draw, without a doubt. And part of that is just the way in which these teams go about their business, too. We we mentioned just Spain being in total control of matches, not conceding. That just feels like a stiffer test than the Argentina team who just played with Cape Verde in Egypt. You know, it just feels like you're going to be in the game against Argentina. Now they have this magic about them, they have the GOAT that will likely help them win the game ultimately, but it feels like you're gonna have a real chance late against Argentina almost every time they take the pitch. Whereas with Spain, it doesn't necessarily feel like that to me. Like I think you have to play at such a high level to have a chance late against Spain, and the same goes with France. So I just and even England, I I worry about England against the better teams because they've not proven to me that they can dominate when they have to go against a solid defense without a ton of space, and if teams are able to punish them, I think we could see a little bit of a different side, and it might not matter how good Jude and Harry are, but to your point too, it's like I would sign up right now for their draw into the final. You know what I mean? It's probably the best one going. So it's interesting. It's it these games are only going to get bigger and better as we keep marching. Now, there's fewer of them, so it won't feel like you can't keep up, but what a World Cup it's been and what a great quarterfinals we have in store.

SPEAKER_03 51:38

Yeah, Sean. If you look back a month ago and this all got kicked off, and you told me these are the final eight teams. I think we'd probably come up with five, five out of these eight. But to see a Morocco sneak in, and and and that's again, no faults, no nothing against Morocco. I do think they're a quality team, they're a top ten team in the world. But I think we maybe would have snuck a Brazil in there, a Netherlands, a Germany. Yeah, you know, there are some quality teams, even a in Ecuador potentially. There are some quality, quality teams of this tournament that are not around anymore. And so you want to see the best play at the end, and it's trending that way. We have these teams that are still still kind of catching on, but for the most part, Sean, we have the top eight teams that have shown they deserve to be here, and it's gonna be an exciting, exciting quarterfinal round.

SPEAKER_02 52:29

It's a win-win for us because we either get some really cool upsets that create some awesome stories and we see some untraditional teams in that final four, or we get some chalk where the the great teams take care of business and it sets up an outstanding on-paper semi-finals between France and Spain and England and Argentina. I mean, who on earth is missing one of those games?

SPEAKER_03 52:51

That is just as good as it gets. So uh unfortunately, Sean, there may be people missing that game because the games are on Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern. So people will fully do it.

SPEAKER_01 53:03

What are we doing? FIFA? What are we the common sense can be- What are we doing 3 p.m. Eastern? 3 p.m.

SPEAKER_03 53:09

on Tuesday and 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

SPEAKER_02 53:12

Well, what are we noon in the on the west coast? Seattle or soccer town, Brandon. What are we doing? Oh my god, you gotta talk to your uncle, man. This is outrageous at this point. 3 p.m. Well, that doesn't make any sense. It's I guess so the Europeans can watch. Yeah, that's that's gotta be why. Fucking makeup stay up till two. They just did it at the Azteca, they're having a laugh at midnight in my mentions. I I I mean, what if it's 4 a.m. they're tweeting about how proud they are to be British.

SPEAKER_03 53:41

Miss me. Yeah, the the the Common Sense Committee was not working on this one because in my mind, you just play the you play these games out this weekend, you just play the semifinals next weekend, you just play one game a week, and then you play the final the weekend after. You can extend it, you can have all your marketing, all your commercials, and all that in between, getting everyone excited, and you just stretch a tournament out. So I'll I'll have a word with my uncle, but it's not looking likely to change for this World Cup. Sean, lock in. We got some good quarterfinals. We'll be back to you, listeners, soon with some recaps and predictions on the semifinals, which could be some really, really good football. As always, thank you for listening. Like and subscribe, tell a friend to tell a friend. And as always, listeners, take care.