DISCUSSION: Germany vs. Ivory Coast; Netherlands vs. Sweden; Curacao vs. Ecuador

Declan Link, Paul Schmidt-Troschke & Jon Bonfiglio come together to review the latest games from the World Cup, plus additional talking points. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Hi everyone, welcome back to World Cup Football, etc. with Curacao. Curacao have just drawn nil-nil with Ecuador. Curacao 82nd, ranked 82nd in the world before the match in Ecuador, 23rd at the start of the tournament. But more on that later. Let me get uh through the introductions first and move on to the to to the important stuff. Uh let's start with uh with the uh very, very relieved, I'm guessing, uh Paul Schmidt uh Troschka. Hello, Paul. How are your bowel movements this evening?

SPEAKER_03 0:59

Oh uh very good. Um actually my uh my poor old heart uh has has relaxed. My heart rate um has dropped to very low levels um by now. Um but it wasn't uh it wasn't uh a day without stress. Let's let's call it like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

What is your resting heart rate? You'll you're the kind of individual that I think measures these things.

SPEAKER_03 1:23

Oh, um I I used to do that. Um it's quite low, actually. Um what is a low heart rate for uh for a guy in my age? I don't know. Is it a 60?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Something like that. Something like that, yeah. So deep sea divers have uh well, free divers have that kind of um but yeah, I imagine given how far the the the blood has to travel in your body anyway, that it probably is it probably is exhausted by the time it gets anywhere. Yes. Um Declan. Hello, Jaclan. Are you there?

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Yeah, hi guys, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Good, thanks. Um, of course, uh uh I'm gonna introduce you tonight as our international language liaison expert because uh uh I know that you've been practicing the various ways in which you can one can say ivory coast in different languages.

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Yes, I think I've become an expert on it, a bit more so than you have on uh Qatar.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Um yes. Uh do you want to give it a do you want to give it a shot? There's you've got you can do the French or you can do the Spanish.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

I can't do Spanish, I can do the French. I I did a lot of French at school. Codivery.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Paul, how how how how marks out of 10 for that pronunciation?

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Um let's give it let's give it a for for declan. I'll I'll give it an eight on a normal scale of the screen.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

What do you mean this isn't a declan specific scale of pronunciation?

SPEAKER_03 2:53

Then I I would say uh the the the first part was was perfect. Yeah, I think uh the the cot is good, but I think the second part is is called cote d'ivoile. So um practice a little bit more uh in front of uh in front of the mirror um after our recording declan and then then you're good, I think. How about this?

SPEAKER_02 3:15

How about this Paul? Cote d'Ivoire. It's not that hard.

SPEAKER_03 3:18

Oh wow, you didn't you didn't need any any practice. Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Yeah, I think you could be tricky. Um uh in Spanish Costa de Marfil for anybody uh out there who wants to. That's actually easier uh than Côte d'Ivoire because it you sort of pronounce it as it as it sounds. But uh Declan, before I let you off the hook, I I have a a second thing that I want to ask you, which kind of incriminates me as well, because in the lead up to the World Cup, um I seem to remember that both you and I were upping Ecuador as having a really strong side.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Not only was I upping Ecuador, I was also upping Turkey. So it just shows what I know. But again, that's why we love the game. But uh the problem I can qualify it because I did say in the build-up that Ecuador have a fantastic defensive record, they have a very solid unit, you know, in midfield. Uh their trouble is they still depend on Valencia up front, who's about 78 years old now, and as is shown in tonight's game against Curaceo, they cut they created so many chances, they had so much possession, but you've got to stick the uh the ball in the back of the onion bag.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Yes, um, we should also talk about Tokyo's elimination. 62 attempts on goal across two matches and not a single goal. And I I mean yeah, I I uh also am a guilty party here because uh yeah, I may not have said that they had a particularly um a hugely sort of strong and impressive side this time, but I've certainly been saying that that Tokia could be a sort of a global footballing powerhouse going forward over the next couple of generations. But they're certainly not going to do that if they keep underwhelming as significantly as they have done at um at this election, uh Declan. What do you do you have any sort of thoughts on um on some potential reasons for why they've so massively underperformed?

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Uh the length of a coach's hair, the fact he looks like he's a a a model who should be in in the Paris fashion show, uh, some of his uh antics on the side, uh not quite Jesse Marsh level, but um I'm he gets under my skin. Uh but again, sometimes, you know, we've all played the game. Sometimes if the if the if the recipe isn't quite there, you've got some really good players who play in certain positions, but you don't have someone who can put the ball in the back of the net. It is what it is. You know, you can't stick a square peg in a round hole. Now, you know, both Ecuador and Curaceo technically are not eliminated yet. Both could, based on the uh the the third round games in their group, could possibly feasibly um get out of group E, but I don't see it because um you know Germany have won the group now, and um and uh you know they're both probably gonna both probably both both gonna lose their last games.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Uh yes, Turkey coach Vincenzo Montea is a man who not only has beautiful hair, but he also knows he has beautiful hair. He definitely has some hair product sponsorship um somewhere in his um uh in his sort of uh catalogue of uh of industry and finances.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

We should look up and I would almost I would almost say, John, it's in the um in the in the category of uh David Ginola.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Yes, yes, he sports it. He's the kind of guy who only moves his hair, who's learned to move his head only in certain directions and at certain speeds in order to not disturb the uh the hair.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Silence. Silence, I completely agree.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Let's move on. All right, now a quick reminder that uh our next live event will be in Mexico City on Saturday, 4th of July, just ahead of the last uh 16 and uh the day before, a potential clash between England and Mexico at the Azteca Stadium. We have a few tickets left for that event, but these will likely sell out in the next 48 to 72 hours. So do get in touch if you want to join us. Uh you all know the email address by now, World Cup, etc. at gmail.com. And don't forget that the etcetera is the full word, not the etc, the et c E T E R A at gmail.com. Now, uh in in other news, Declan and Paul, I have a little quiz for you both about where our listeners are. We've talked about countries, we haven't talked about cities. So I'm gonna ask you for the top five cities on earth around which uh our listeners, our highest numbers of our listeners are clustered. Any any ideas? Maybe, Paul, we can we can start with you. Any thoughts on which of those cities, which cities, which global cities harbor most of our listeners?

SPEAKER_03 7:53

Um yeah, I m I must say that uh, of course, knowing that the USA um is the country with uh with our biggest listenership, um, is New York or Los Angeles among them?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Very good. Not New York, Los Angeles is in fifth place. Two percent of our listeners are in Los Angeles. So there you go. Yeah, very good. Any others you want to you uh you want to bring up at this point or are you gonna stick with Los Angeles?

SPEAKER_03 8:20

No, I I definitely want to want to bring up one more. Um, what about Sydney? Sydney, Australia? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Look, Sydney, Australia, uh the city on earth that has the highest concentration of the World Cup football, etc. listeners. Very good bullshit. No way. Oh wow three three percent of our listeners, uh three percent of our listeners uh come to us from Sydney, Australia. So pat on the back, uh you guys and gals that are that are out there. A surprising statistic, but we massively appreciate it. So that leaves you with three, Declan. So we've got the first and the fifth, second, third, and fourth places. Any thoughts?

SPEAKER_02 9:00

I definitely have some good thoughts. I mean, because obviously I live in Orlando and at the end of the day I'm a sales guy. I I do put it out there to both of my friends. And as both of my friends do feel sorry for me, they then make sure that other people know about the podcast. So I would say here in Orlando that there's a good percentage of people feeling sorry for me who are listening to it. Um that's incorrect.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Orlando is not even in our top 10. Hold on, I'm just giving a listen. Look now. Orlando is not even in our top. I'm looking, I'm looking. It's not even in our top 50, you know. Would you believe it?

SPEAKER_02 9:41

Okay, well let here, let me finish off by by um this this could be quite controversial because uh the the other cities that I immediately sprung to mind were Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, Bockham, Gelsenkirken, all located in the Ruhr Valley, which is where Paul comes from.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

No, none of those. Absolutely none of those. I'm gonna give you a clue. So it's second, third, and fourth place. So we still have that one's gonna be fairly obvious as soon as I say this, we we have one more Australian city, and then we have a Canadian city, and we have one more American city there too. Uh, I mean, look, the other Australian city is pretty straightforward, right? Melbourne, Australia. So Melbourne is in second place, just behind Sydney, also 3% of our listeners. So that leaves uh a Canadian city and an American city, Paul. Any uh any any any bets from your end?

SPEAKER_03 10:37

Yeah, I um did I say San Francisco or Los Angeles first? You said Los Angeles and New York. Los Angeles. Los Angeles and New York, yes. Um so um let me go with uh one guest for America, San Francisco.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Nope, San Francisco is is is not is not it. Declan, two, two left. One can the Canadian city is pretty straightforward because it's where it's sort of footballing powerhouse in Canada. So can you help us out with that one? It's gonna be Toronto area. Absolutely. Toronto, Canada is it is in third place, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:08

So going back to what I said last night, my mate Patrick Craig, I was best man at his wedding, he's doing a good job of uh marketing and uh talking up uh to all his friends in Ontario about the uh the podcast. So well done, Pat.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

There you go. Thank you, thank you, Pat. Um, yeah, two percent of our listeners are there, one American city left, and it's not that far away from you and me, Paul, and where we are at the moment in Mexico.

SPEAKER_03 11:33

All right, then um uh it might be uh no, not Santa Fe, Houston.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Close, close, Declan, not close, but no cigar. What's the other one in that area? Dallas. There you go, Dallas in fourth place. All right, USA. So yep, so Sydney, Australia, Melbourne, Australia, top two, then Toronto, Canada, and then fourth and fifth place, Dallas, USA, Los Angeles, uh USA as well. Um, and then we got there's some really unusual um uh cities and hits and hits after that. Uh none nearly as obvious. Well, I say obvious as as those. Uh Boardman, Oregon is in our top ten. Ashburn, Virginia, Bolton in England is is there as well. And then we've got another Australian one, Brisbane, uh, Queensland. And uh top bring up the top 10. We've got Walnut, California. Uh, and whoever's listening, whoever's clustering around listening from Walnut, California, thank you so much for your for your.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

You know, the bolt, the Bolton, the Bolton connection is my middle, my middle son Tommy, his roommate Hayden, is the graduate assistant coach at Rollins, where he's the coach, great player. He used to play for Man U when he was a kid. I think his family uh love to follow football, so I think they've spread the word in Bolton in Lancashire, which is wonderful. So thank you to uh to uh the Smethurst family.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

We should um we should do an end-of-year awards for uh for for best evangelists of World Cup football later soon to be world football, uh, etc. Um, I I also have one more question for each of you, just uh just on a personal level, because sometimes I think you don't you don't really listen to me or or value what it is that that I say. So obviously, um last night I had a Garfield movie on the bus ongoing fiasco. So I have a one question each for you to gauge whether you're actually paying attention to me or not. Declan, let's start with you. What was Garfield's family issue that he was working through in the film?

SPEAKER_02 13:35

Yeah, I agree. I don't listen to you, John.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Ah, no good. And his estranged father.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

Was there something to do with like a purple cow or something?

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Oh, you've just ruined the second question. That was my next question. I should have asked you that one because my next question for Paul was what colour was the large uh, but actually, I can ask a related question. The large bull who was initially distant but came to befriend Garfield during the course of the film. So you got that one right. But Paul, I can I can ask you a subsequent question, a sort of tie-breaking question there. What was the what was um what was the issue? What was the the the massive bull very sad about?

SPEAKER_03 14:12

The the massive bull? Um it it was the the estranged father. I I could have uh answered that question, but uh about the bull, I must say I no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

He's been separated from the cow, who is the love of his life by industrialist farmers, and it was part of Garfield's role to bring them back back together. But yes, enough on you I let's get on to the football and let's start with uh with group E, Germany two, uh Côte d'Ivoire uh one. I'll try to say that in a silky way as possible, and then uh Ecuador Neil Curaçao. Uh Nil, let's let's take them as a as a pair, I think, uh, and discuss the the the table and what that all means uh going forward to to start off with. Uh Paul, Germany two wins now go through as as group winners. Um uh how did you feel about their performance today against Ivory Coast?

SPEAKER_03 15:08

Um very mixed, I must say. Um, I mean Germany was uh as a unit, I would say, uh the slightly uh better team, especially after the mid-second half um triple substitution that completely changed, changed the dynamic there. Um the the the first uh 25% of the game, um I would say Germany had had a good hold on it. Um I mean first 25%. You mean the first the the for the first half of the first half, basically.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

What's the first half of the first half?

SPEAKER_03 15:42

That's the first quarter.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Declan, what's your reaction to him using the word quarter? I don't like it, but I still like Paul.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

Yeah, it's it's it's it's like uh do you know the fell into my cunning track? NLP neolingual programming. That's what what uh what watching these the this World Cup is uh it's doing to me. I'm um it's like subconsciously um uh yeah basically planted into my mind to um to see football now as as this uh as this game of of quarters. Um but yeah, uh that's a different discussion, of course. So they came quite good in the game. Then of course the the goal um yeah completely broke the the broke the German dynamic. And then um yeah, my my problem was really that um Germany didn't really have an idea how to how to crack the um the uh Iri coast defense, and uh this just continued for the first like 15 minutes of the second half, and then um when the substitutions were made, yeah, it completely changed. And um of course Dennis Undaf, I think, is a name we will be hearing about uh much more in this tournament. Uh right now he is uh he is tied with um with Messi and what's the the other fellow's name with three goals um for the um for the golden boot. Um and uh both his his scores, I think, were very, very intelligent. The second one was really quite impressing. I mean it was in the um 95th minute. Um he received uh a completely unexpected pass and just no look put it into the uh into the short corner um of the goal. Uh magnificent, uh magnificent goal there. He's just a very pure striker. Um and uh overall, I'm um I'm I must say I'm satisfied with the performance because Ivory Coast um was definitely better when it comes to the individual performance. They they solved many more situations than Germany on on kind of a dribbling individual level. Um, but when it came to yeah, a concerted effort to to get the ball in, um, I'd say that uh that yeah, that Germany um had an edge there. And also this uh yeah, this kind of uh, I mean, I I like to to to to call it like uh like that, this this killer instinct, which is um uh when you run run down a list of what um um or imagine the the ivory coast team running down a list of of what they um what they did right today, then they basically can make a check mark almost behind everything except of this last bit, this killer instinct, this um yeah, the the last five percent, which which then win you a game. And uh I would say in that regard, Germany showed that they were first, they were um they were uh psychologically uh resilient, um, didn't feel the pressure enough, um and uh or too much, I mean, and uh and the last the last five percent. That's that's my my my kind of take on the game. But they have to they have to definitely um fix these these issues um going up against um yeah teams uh which uh which uh yeah basically um which have this this killer instinct um uh and these scorers.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Yeah, that's uh on top on three goals uh alongside Canadian uh Jonathan David, who's called a hat-trick, of course. Um Declan, I mean I think the thing about Germany, which I would say is that they had plenty of chances, and I completely agree with you, Paul, about the the on the face of it, them lacking a killer instinct. But I think when a team comes from behind and manages to get a win at the death, that um has the capacity and has we've seen historically, uh Declan, has the capacity to really make a team believe in itself and recognize that they have this sense of not knowing when they're beaten. And that is such a German trait.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Yeah, I think Julian now Nargosman deserves a lot of credit for what Paul was saying about the three substitutions around the 60th minute. I mean, it was a you know the the the um coupte d'œuvry were fantastic uh for the whole game. In fact, for a neutral it was a very good game. It was back and forth, end-to-end, you know, for to a certain extent with the uh Ivory Coast 4-1 4-1 defensive block, that choked out a lot of the uh lines of communication to Florian Wirts and Musiala. Uh so Nagelsman had to do something, and he did it in fair play to him, and uh it it paid off. And uh, you know, I remember Paul talking in the in the build-up to the World Cup about Dennis Undauf, who who who you know obviously plays for Stuttgart. I think Martin Heckman mentioned him when we had the three German boys on uh a few weeks ago, and um between Undaf, Amiri and uh Luluing in midfield in um and then bringing basically two strikers together with Unduff and Havertz, uh it was uh it completely sort of changed the pace of the game. Um the cross that came in from Amiri was fantastic. Even both of you two probably would have scored that. Um, and then Dennis Undav, I mean, the goal he scored was the type of goal that you know forwards like myself in our dream score. Get the ball in, good firm pass in, turn, good first touch, swivel, and knock it past the keeper with pace. Absolutely brilliant. So, I mean, it was it, I think Nagelsmann at the end of the day deserves a lot of credit for the decisions he made. And to your point, John, I do feel that that is going to be something that brings the German squad together, it brings belief. Anyone, anytime you c you you top your group after two games in a World Cup, you know, you can you can arguably give some of the other players uh some time some minutes, some time. You can rest some of the starters. So I think it's you know, it was a good game to watch. Um in fact, you know. All of the games today were more interesting and more fun than yesterday's game in many respects. And and also, Paul, I'm very interested because I've been very impressed by uh Nathaniel Brown, who I don't know too much about. Police for Eintrapp Frankfurt, I understand, has a German mother and a uh American father who he has no contact with. I'm sure now that he's doing well in the World Cup, the dad will be on the phone. Hey, do you remember me? Mine uh but be before you know it, you know how it goes in Germany, Paul. Um he'll be played for Bayern Munich in a couple of years.

SPEAKER_03 22:30

Oh yeah, uh definitely. I mean he's uh he's a very, very young guy. Um not very young, but 23. Um plays for Frankfurt, a very, very solid, solid German team. Um, and I think he is uh he's definitely uh today was was one of the one of the key players. Um and uh yeah he I mean you have uh there are multiple I mean the the team is basically made up of of many characters like this which are already very good players, not stars yet, but they are at a young age, um and and can definitely definitely make a um make make a breakthrough. Um I would like to add some some like um new uh numerical um facts. Amazing. We we like statistics, of course. So Dennis Undav, um I think that that's like uh that's what you want to see from uh from pure striker. Um he had 11 touches um uh with or the the the second goal was his uh 11th touch um in the game. Then this was uh the first time since 2006 that Germany started in a World Cup with two wins. Um so uh yeah, I remember back in 2014 when we we uh when Germany won the World Cup, it wasn't even um it didn't start with with two wins. Um then it was today the battle between the two youngest coaches in the tournament. And uh yeah, we we didn't speak about yet um too much about uh referee performance, but I think especially today um the Benitez uh was Benitez was the the the first official today, and what really what really annoyed me was that he did not um for the first 45 minutes especially um gave like clear directives. Um his uh his kind of gesturing was some at times very very vague and brought like um yeah this this nervousness or this this yeah these unclear or created these these unclear uh situations, for example, also with the with the second goal, which uh was then um disallowed, um and and stuff like this. So didn't really like the the referee performance today. Um but apart from that uh yeah that's what I what I wanted to do.

SPEAKER_02 24:51

John, do you see that what what how you know how how Paul is pointing that out? Imagine if Germany had lost or drawn. Yeah, no, it would be all the fault of the referee.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Yeah, let's let's see what uh let's see. Obviously, there's a lot of tournaments still to run, um, but let's see, let's see as and when that happens. But I think it it it I mean Paul makes or by accident I think makes an interesting point, which is the fact that uh you're absolutely right, we haven't spoken about referees, but generally when you don't speak about referees, it's it's because they're basically doing pretty well, right? You you almost don't want to so when you spot a referee that um that generally it's because they've done something wrong or there's something contentious. But uh but uh yeah, they've not really been, I think, noticeable Deccan, which to all extends and purposes, I think, means that they've been relatively uncontroversial so far this World Cup.

SPEAKER_02 25:37

Yeah, no, I I I think the referees in general have been very, very good. I think the the the referee in the Turkey game last night uh against Paraguay lost it a few points during the game. But what I also find very refreshing as well, there's been some um full female crews, and you know the the the days are long gone now of that chauvinistic type of attitude that women shouldn't be involved. There's there's a lot of female commentators across the different sports networks around the world who are commentating, and you know, the the females on on the refereeing crews are are being given uh ultimate respect and and and doing a good job. So I you know, by contrast, where you know I spend a lot of time watching the Premier League, it seems like all we do is talk about the referees and VARs and all that sort of stuff, and that's not a topic of conversation. So, so um, you know, maybe the Premier League League look need to have a good look at themselves and see what they need to improve on based on the performance so far, and it is so far, of what's been going on with the referees in the tournament.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Yeah, there's there's actually a number of um or a few Mexican lines women who are part of the the FIFA team um that are that are participating. And um, yeah, I mean Mexico is is very proud of them, little doubt. And uh Paul, of course, you remember when when we saw the uh the match between Baltimore and um uh NAS Capois in in Haiti, that match was officiated by a female referee, and um, and just how she managed that and her quiet authority uh was uh I mean there was absolutely no issue whatsoever in that game with her being a woman, was there?

SPEAKER_03 27:20

No, uh absolutely not. And I mean that that is an issue which um uh uh is I I think there is like not a single slight uh slight bit of real-world evidence that um that to have a female uh referee um either first official or or on the sidelines um leads to any any worse performance than than males. I would say sometimes uh quite quite the opposite case. Um no, it's it's it's amazing to see that. I would say that this this World Cup is um or can be seen as uh hopefully like the final breakthrough. Because so far, I think you had one female um first official in the in the Premier League so far. Um in Germany, of course, uh women in soccer. I think it's it's one of the countries which is um to me, I must say surprisingly, um most progressive, with also the first female coach um in the Bundesliga and one of the European top five leagues. Um so uh yeah, and uh it was very, very impressing to see um uh the the Haitian game, the Haitian National League game uh officiated by a woman. And uh yeah, she managed that um extremely well, extremely well. I had big respect for her.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

And just as a final point on group E, if Curaçao beat Ivory Coast in the last game, they will go through. Of course, that's uh you know not necessarily the most likely thing to happen, but um, yes, it is it is still in there, it's basically entirely in their hands to uh to make it through to the uh to the next round. Let's move on to group F, if we might. Uh Netherlands five, Sweden one, and then the Tunisia-Japan is on later on. Uh, I was certainly surprised. I mean, we've all spoken about the the strength of the of the Netherlands, and a number of people have them as as favourites for the for the tournament. Um, but I expected this match to be a lot closer than it was, um, Declan. The the Netherlands seemed to be not just firing on all cylinders, but but to have found uh tactically a real weak spot in the Swedish defence, uh, converting three of their goals with low crosses into the box in the phase of the keeper.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Yeah, I it was it was quite a refreshing performance by the Netherlands and uh the the early goals by Brian Brobby, who's had a uh an incredible make out breakout season with Sunderland this year after he got transferred from Ajax, what those goals were scored nice and early on. And uh when all is said done, I think it was quite a commanding performance. The the Dutch were really ruthless from the whole whole game, and um, you know, I mean based on if if if if there is um you know synergy between games and what happens, Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1, the Tunisian coach is given his P45 and sent back to Tunisia. Uh the Netherlands beat Sweden 5-1. Does that mean that Graham Potter's going to get sent back to England or Stockholm?

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Well, it's an interesting question because I was speaking to Danish journalist Mikkel Brunn yesterday about Graham Potter, and I was saying how Graham Potter in the UK is generally sort of um not really massively respected. Um but uh but uh Mikkel was saying that in in Sweden he's very he's very liked. He's he's got a Swedish wife, he's lived there for a long time, he's managed clubs in in Sweden, he speaks Swedish, uh would you believe? So he's sort of really taken to the culture, and he's sort of um not just highly respected, but also really sort of lauded and liked in in the country. So um it would be a surprise if he was sacked after this 5-1, but you you know, as you say with the Tunisian, I mean I mean, by any measure, a 5-1 win, uh 5-1 loss at the World Cup is is a dropping, it's an embarrassment, right? So and and ordinarily you would think, I mean, maybe not now, but later, there would be there would be consequences. I guess the thing about um uh Sweden is it's it's still very much in their hands as to what happens and how they do in during the rest of the the tournament pool.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

Yeah, absolutely. I think that this um I mean definitely definitely an upset for for Sweden, which is um uh definitely not a bad team, um, of course, with the likes of Jukatas um in there. Today I think that the Netherlands showed their like ruthless efficiency. And um if you yeah, didn't prepare for for a specific um uh situation or for for a specific way in which you could get attacked, or you just you're just caught by surprise. Uh and then of course uh Brody is just a very, very fast player. Um, and Gakbo, of course, is also world class. Um, so I think it's uh I mean Sweden of course is is at fault for for uh losing that game, but on the other hand, Sweden was uh looking at the numbers again, extremely inefficient. They actually had more shots on um uh on on goal, uh more shots in total, and um more shots within within the uh the penalty box. And uh, yeah, I mean out of five shots on goal, uh out of seven shots on goal, um the Dutch team uh managed to get five in. That's um, I think a team or a situation, um, a team in a game where you can't really do do much much about it. Um, but this performance by by the Dutch team really, really um um um not necessarily surprised me. Um, but this made me realize that the Dutch probably have a very, very good chance this year, uh considering the other performances of uh of other contenders for the title. Um so yeah, just they have to stay on track. And uh and of course, uh the Dutch fans uh in Texas, I think they they they made a real really big power demonstration with their huge fan march um through through the city. Uh was it was amazing pictures. I mean the Dutch are very famous for that. Um and to see them do that uh in the country where everything's big and they managed then to make a the create the biggest uh parade as a as a quite a quite a small nation was just uh just amazing to see. Always fun to see, uh to see the Dutch anywhere in the world.

SPEAKER_02 33:43

Yeah, I do think that that's very good of you to say that, Paul, understanding the uh the tension there normally is between the Dutch and the Germans. So well done. I know that was hard for you to say, but actually I think the Japan-Tunisia game later on is actually even it is makes it even more fascinating now because it was a probably a fair result when the Netherlands and Japan drew 2-2, and uh you know, a new coach being brought in by Tunisia at the last minute probably you know, is he's not going to be the the the salvation for them, and and and we all think that Japan or another of the dark horses for this tournament, you know, they should step up tonight based on the fact that Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1, Netherlands beat uh Sweden 5-1. By default, Japan should absolutely hammer Tunisia tonight. Let's see what happens.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

Yeah, and the the fact that that first match between the Netherlands and Japan ended up in a draw means that this this group is actually pretty cluttered. So this, as you say, definitely this match between Tunisia and Japan uh taking place uh in the next or starting in the next couple of hours should should clarify that somewhat. But um we're we're going into this group uh is going to take us into the last round of fixtures to make um clear who exactly it is going through and of course and in and in what positions. Um let's move on to the uh player of the day and the team of the day. Maybe let's start with team of the day because that might be a slightly cleaner one to discuss. Paul, uh, what's your pick or picks?

SPEAKER_03 35:20

Um my pick for player of the day um definitely is is uh Dennis Undaf um with uh one one very nice goal and the other one was a was a must. Uh but still he showed his quality today on the world stage. Um, of course, he was record scorer um in in the Bundesliga uh last year. Not record, uh after Eric Kane, of course. Um uh yeah, incredible player. Also, if if Germany should should run deep into the tournament, we have to do a piece on him because he is he has really an exceptional life story. Um he was for for most of his career playing like in in the German third division, and then at some point he just uh uh very unusually late um he managed to have his breakthrough. Um and is just a down-to-earth uh character who is known for um eating a little bit too too much um too much recruit and therefore not performing on the pitch, actually. Um so yeah, and the the country of the day is of course Kuraçaal. Um with this draw against Ecuador, they now have uh uh I mean everything uh everything's possible. They have a slightly realistic chance um to actually go on into the knockout stage, which would be probably the biggest surprise um surprises of all in the tournament. So these are my my two picks for today. Technol.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

Uh top three players, not top one player. In third place, Cody Gatko. Tony played very, very well today, much better than he plays for Liverpool. In second place, Eloy Room, the Curacle goalkeeper, who did a magnificent job uh today and had shades of the Cape Verde goalkeeper uh Vozinha. Uh uh Room is 37 years old, and um Vozinha is 40 years old, and actually uh Room plays here in Florida for uh Miami FC in the USL. That's the level he's playing at. So I put him in second place, and like Paul, Dennis Undov, definitely uh number one. I mean, the more I look at him, the more I think, wow, that's me in disguise, a non-ginger version. So very impressed with him. Um team of the day, I'm sorry, I'm going for the Netherlands, and I'm gonna give Germany an honorable mention because uh Curoso did well, but we're talking about top quality World Cup football here. It's a lovely story, Curaco, but I think we should focus on the tactical and technical elements of the game, not the fact we love Curaceo.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

Yeah, the um I think it depends on how you like your bread buttered. Um Netherlands definitely the performance of the day. I mean, they were just they just felt like a really complete side. And um, but of course, as regards you know stories and backs against the wall performances, then Curaçao is is right up there too. Um my my player of the day, um a mention for uh Bart Verbruggen in goal for the Netherlands. Uh yes, they did drop Sweden 5-1, but he actually pulled off a number of really amazing, uh consistent top quality saves. And I think that match would have been uh, I mean, the Netherlands was the Netherlands would probably still have won it, but it would have been a sort of a much uh more tense, high-scoring affair had he not been in goal. But I think it's difficult to look beyond Eloy Room for Curaçao. His 15 saves is the second most in a single match in World Cup history, with USA's Tim Howard against Belgium in 2014 being 16. But that match went to extra time. So Eloy Room's 15 saves is the most that has ever happened in a World Cup Finals tournament inside 90 minutes. It's that is, if you if you do the division, that is remarkably a save every six minutes on the field. Uh staggering.

SPEAKER_03 39:08

Wow. Wow, kudos to him. I mean, this is really the tournament of the um of the smallest nations uh to ever play in this tournament. It's uh it's amazing. It's really, really amazing to see.

SPEAKER_01 39:21

Um uh just a quick note to to listeners as well. I mean, we were talking about you know where listeners are coming from at the top of the at the top of the episode, but just to say, in all sincerity, we really appreciate you sort of um logging in and following us. We hope that it is it's always interesting, uh, that it is occasionally incisive, and that we bring you uh really fascinating, surprising guests that shed a light on um on footballing and related stories. Because of course, as you all know by now, this is the the etcetera bit is you know, we cover the football, we cover everything else too. So if you are happy to continue to uh share and talk about the podcast and uh perhaps even rate it when you next download an episode on whatever platform provider it is that you download the podcast on, we will continue to be uh massively grateful. We're now at the interruption stage of the see how see how we've evolved, how far we've come that now we just even called it the interruption stage rather than have interruptions. Uh Paul, what's what's your uh your your choice of interruption today? Um I must disappoint you. No, no interruption uh today.

SPEAKER_03 40:31

I got everything.

SPEAKER_01 40:32

Is it because we've called it the interruption stage? I mean, technically it's not even an interruption now, if we actually officially call it the the interruption stage. Declan, have you got something left field you want to bring up before we before we say goodnight and Sayonara and a fidosane to to everybody?

SPEAKER_02 40:46

We need to say our Fidosane because Paul's so happy today as we round off tonight's show. But um two things I would love actually to hear feedback from our listeners because I know we continue to expand and expand around the globe. So uh obviously you've you uh you put the uh the email address out there on a regular basis, John. We'd love to get some feedback. Um secondly, I'm gonna be intrigued tomorrow. There's a as they say in America, a full slate of games tomorrow. Uh starting off with the Spain-Saudi Arabia game, and Spain have to pull their socks up big time. I think Belgium, Iran's going to be another fascinating game. And then I'm quite intrigued because my mate Keith, who coached with me at Rollins, or I coach with him at Rollins for many years, uh Keith Buckley, is going to be down in Miami tomorrow watching the Uruguay Cape Verde game. And he'd been sort of um, you know, like us all slagging FIFA off saying, oh, there's only going to be about 5,000 people in the stadium. I'm going to be particularly intrigued to see on the back of Cape Verde's great performance on the fact that Uruguay playing there is a lot of South Americans in South Florida, and it's a weekend game, what the actual supposedly crowd is for the uh Miami Stadium, the Hard Rock Stadium. And then we finish off with a good game again in you know in honor of Jeremy Christie tomorrow night, watching New Zealand hopefully beat in Egypt.

SPEAKER_01 42:06

Um, I don't know uh what you mean about us slagging FIFA off, uh Declan. I think that's you know, you can't really tar us all with with that brush. I think it's it's pretty clear that it takes a huge degree of skill, organization, and creativity to organise a global event, the likes of which we're seeing, in which a single organization manages to rip off the entire the entire world in the way that FIFA have done. So, you know, props to FIFA. I don't think we've seen an event, uh I don't think we've seen a magic trick like this in the history of the world.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

Well, you know, ever since we started the podcast back in uh September of 2025, uh we we haven't exactly been FIFA's greatest fans. And and sadly, you have to put your hand up, even though everyone hates it, they've actually got it right. I mean, some of the price of the tickets for those that round a 32 game for the US national team is unbelievable. And we haven't, you know, we haven't even got that. That's the first stage of the knockouts. So you can imagine what it's gonna be like for the quarterfinals and semi-finals, how much tickets to exchanging hands for.

SPEAKER_01 43:08

I'm just rapidly looking. FIFA's bases in Sweden, Geneva, right?

SPEAKER_02 43:12

Uh yes, yeah, yeah. Switzerland. Yeah, great.

SPEAKER_01 43:16

I'm just sorry, uh Switzerland. We do have uh a significant number of listeners in Switzerland, but uh I can't see that many in Geneva. So if we do have anybody listening to us from FIFA HQ, it's probably hopefully a cleaner in a broom cupboard.

SPEAKER_02 43:31

And check check Doha in in Qatar, because I think that's where jo that's where Uncle Johnny lives now.

SPEAKER_01 43:38

Uncle Johnny. Um there is we don't have any listeners at all from I'm gonna be forced to say it now, aren't I? Uh Qatar. There we go. That was the best I've done for a while. Um with no listeners whatsoever there at the uh the home of the Last World Cup. Um so that's a shame. But uh, you know, maybe it does continue to save us from from that that lawsuit. And if you are that um that that that cleaner or that office worker in Geneva, um, and please don't pass on any information of um of the the broadcast to anybody further up the the food chain at uh at FIFA HQ. And um yeah, and if you have any problems with that, just get in touch and I'm sure we can we can come to some arrangement. Uh thank you very much, everybody, and uh we will talk tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 44:24

Talk to you soon. It was a pleasure.

SPEAKER_02 44:27

Roll on tomorrow, boys. Elvidas Lane, and uh well done to Germany today, Paul.