Left Side of the Pitch
Left Side of the Pitch discusses the beautiful game both on an off the pitch. Episodes will cover notable moments from the 2026 men's World Cup as well as the social movements, protests and grassroots organizing that make football the beautiful game.
Left Side of the Pitch
Addressing the Imperialist Elephant on the Pitch + Cabo Verde Live Reaction!!
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Chavez, Johnson & Romo are joined by Madera for a deep discussion on politics and the beautiful game. Start, Sub, Bench gets silly and the Lightning Round pushes the participants soccer smarts!
Special thanks to Cristy Road Carrera @croadcore for the art and to Miriam Makeba and Manu Chao @manuchaoofficial for the music.
All right, y'all, we are back. It is Left Side of the Pitch, Episode 5. We're here at the unofficial Left Side of the Pitch HQ Boomtown Brewery. Boomtown hit us up for some sponsorship deals. We're uh open for a negotiation. Um it is what 37th or so minute uh in the Argentina Cabo Verde game. Messi just took the deftest of first touches from a ball over the top. Sadly hits it past Vojinha, and it is 1-0 Argentina. I'm here with a full panel as well as a special guest, a first timer to the pod. And so I'm gonna let everyone else introduce themselves. It'll be name, pronoun. Who do you want to win the World Cup? Who do you fear will win the World Cup? Like who's the the disaster winner of the teams that are still remaining? And then who do you think actually will win the World Cup? And we'll start to my left.
SPEAKER_05What's up, everybody? Chavez, he, him. I want Morocco to win the World Cup. I want an AfCON team to win this thing. And Egypt just uh advanced to the next round earlier today, but uh Morocco have a soft spot for me. I fear England will win it. Uh mean all this, it's coming back home, chant, all that stuff coming in the news or whatever. Uh I don't want England to win it uh aside from other teams. I'm with you. Who do I think? I think France is gonna win it. They've been the strongest team, unstoppable.
SPEAKER_01That attack is is insane. Unstoppable, I agree, man. Um what's up, everyone? Romo, he him. Oh, of course I want Mexico to win the World Cup. Who do I fear? I think Spain. Um, even though you know I'm a I'm a longtime Barcelona supporter and you know, moderately follow the the Spanish leagues and stuff like that. I just can't find myself, you know, cheering for um one of the master colonizers, right? Uh plus I think just their play, too, they just really haven't deserved it. But it's sort of one of these like, oh, we'll hit the switch sort of attitude from them that I'm getting. Um so I fear that they'll win the World Cup. Uh who I think it will win, I agree with Chavez. I think France will win. Um hands down. That that front line is just too fucking scary, man. I don't I don't see anyone stopping them.
SPEAKER_00Hey everyone, um that here. It's a pleasure to be here with y'all, um, you know, with the homies and talking about you know different things. So thank y'all for having me. Um El Hihim. Um I of course tame Mexico. Hopefully they can win. Um, all the energies, all the vibes, and get it together and win. Um, who I fear, it's not necessary fear because I don't think they'll win, but it's just the biggest fear is the US winning. Just you know, the one being the rival of Mexico, but also Trump giving the the World Cup trophy to the US on US soil among all the politics stuff that's going on will be like the biggest nightmare ever for the US to win. Um and then same also, who I think has probably the biggest chance, won Mexico, of course, but um France, yeah. They just it's just the attack that they have, the players, the energy, the vibe that they're having right now. The last game was they were all on sync, and it's it just seems like they'll they'll keep that going.
SPEAKER_02And I'm Johnson, he, him. I want Colombia to win. Um, I'm really down for any of the perennial um strong, powerful teams that have yet to win it. I was actually kind of rooting for the the Netherlands, Colombia, um, Morocco, as Chavez mentioned. Um, so any of those would be great. Um my fear would be um, and I have a list um really of one is England. I'm just they would be just so obnoxious and and never shut up, and to all my uh Scotland and and uh Ireland fans and and uh friends and all that, it's just unconscionable to have England win again. Um I'm gonna go with Portugal. Um I like a lot of the Portuguese players, and then the rest I absolutely detest and hate, and I would hate for Portugal to win it. Um I'm fine with them to win it after Cristiano retires and is no longer involved, then they can do whatever they want, but I can't stand that guy. And then I talk about uh internal conflict. I I have to agree with Madera, like I would fear the U.S. winning it this time, um, just for all the political implications and the state of the country right now and the state of the political climate. It would be absolutely weaponized by Trump and Infantino and all the other absolute deplorable shitheads. Um and I I would probably never watch the US again if that was the case. Like, even just I'm totally going off on a super tangent, but um, yeah, who I think will win as everyone else, France is gonna take it. Um I I don't think we have to worry about any of our fears. France um has been playing in maybe second year the whole time and just looks absolutely unbeatable. You know, it's like they just kind of take turns who's gonna be the one that gets the hat trick, who's gonna be the one that just dominates everyone as far as their attack goes, and it's just absolutely unreal. So um, yeah, shout out to my nephew Ethan for the uh inspiration on that particular icebreaker there.
SPEAKER_01Really good question.
SPEAKER_02Robot's July 3rd, you wanted to give a bit of like historical framing or um current event framing or anything else like that, given um tomorrow's holiday and all the rest.
SPEAKER_01What do you got for us, bro? I think it's kind of in line with what you just mentioned, John Cena, which I'm glad you you brought up and and my data started it with the fact that fucking punk ass Trump is planning to hand over the World Cup trophy, you know, at the conclusion of this tournament. Um and then being that tomorrow is is the 4th of July, you know, I kind of wanted to dedicate this and make this, you know, an F the Fourth episode, you know, fuck the fourth. Um but then also I wanted to kind of put it on the table in terms of we kind of I think all implicitly agreed that, hey man, seeing the underdog teams do good is is is a good thing and it's a worthwhile sort of uh thing to emotionally invest in, right, as a fan. So I wanted to kind of spell it out where I'm coming from as a fan and how that connects to the UN US men's national team and what's happening in the world of politics, especially today, right? So uh usually cheering for the underdogs, right? This World Cup it means to support teams that have been colonized or exploited by the world's powerhouse countries. And their football teams are kind of reflected, right, because of that. So we're talking, you know, the typical teams you guys brought up, England, which I hadn't even thought of, being scared of winning the World Cup, and I'm right there with you. Other countries like Spain and Germany and France, right? These kind of larger countries in Western Europe that have gone on in in history to colonize and exploit other countries. And then those teams that have gone on to exploit, continue to exploit or historically exploit, um many of them are in the World Cup, right? So teams like Morocco, teams like uh Cabo Verde who are watching right now, uh Senegal, right, Mexico, so on and so forth, IT, so on and so forth. And while not considered a traditional powerhouse in football, the US is undeniably the most imperialist and militaristic country in the world, right? I think we can agree to that, uh, who have historically exploited resources and people for the benefit of the wealthy and white at the expense of many countries whose teams are underdogs in this tournament now. Right. And especially with everything happening with ICE, you know, we're gonna talk more about it when we get into headlines, um, as well as the mass incarceration strategy and the mistreatment of brown and black youth and brown and black people, and the genocide of indigenous people here in this country, right? The mistreatment and exploitation of its own citizens. Right now we're seeing this happening at an unprecedented level with this punk ass Trump administration. Uh in cahoots with governing bodies like FIFA. Um, we're seeing right a number of uh examples uh of where they're using football, right, to push bullshit agendas, right? Um and I'm thinking that one of the things that comes to mind right now is the treatment of the Iranian national team, which is really unfair and based on imperialism and so on and so forth. So because of that, me personally, I struggle to separate the US men's national team from the political symbolism it carries. So the team wears a national crest, it stands for the anthem, embraces patriotic rituals, and represents the US on the global stage. So in my opinion, that means the team inevitably becomes part of projecting the image of a government whose policies I oppose, right, and those are the Trump administration. And whether intentionally or not, right, I think those players also carry that and represent that. So it makes it difficult for me to view the team as something separate, right, from the broader political project that symbolizes. So not only since I was probably about 14 or 15, do I not root for the US, but I actively root against them. Um so I kind of wanted to put that out there, get my fellow panelists, my fellow brothers, thoughts on this, uh, and take it from there.
SPEAKER_02I appreciate that, Romo. Um, and I think it's super important that we, you know, this podcast, and I didn't mention it in the very beginning, we're we're always gonna put the politics first, we're always gonna put the people first, what's actually happening outside the game off the pitch, um, first, ahead of, you know, Messi hitting a banger and who's gonna lift the trophy and all that kind of stuff, and I think you said that very well. Um just curious, um, and I kind of see it in in two ways, um, you you're you're saying you cannot separate the individual players, you know, Weston McKinney and Malik Tillman and um Jedi Robinson and any of those people who play for the U.S. with what the US government is doing. Um does that standard apply to other teams in other countries as well, or is it purely the to the United States because and and and it I think a phrase that the US government uses for other countries can absolutely be used for our government and our military that the US is a belligerent state in that we are currently at war and bombing Iran. We have you know gone in and and you know extrajudiciously, illegally kidnapped um Maduro out of Venezuela and took over their country. We have a huge stranglehold on Cuba and countless other shitty interventions, and if you look historically, all the different CIA um, you know, coup d'etats and and and all the rest, and so does that standard get applied to all the other teams, or is it just because the US is such like the global, you know, galactic empire at this point?
SPEAKER_01Very good question, man. Thank you. It for me it's the latter. Um and primarily because I'm most familiar with the fucked up things that the US do because I'm an American citizen, right? And I've also been subjected to it throughout my lifetime, so that's why for me it's it really hits at heart. I'm not gonna be shy to recognize where another player of another country, right, is representing a country who's um doing bullshit bullshit things. Oh, all right, uh almost the goal here. Um but for me I think it uniquely applies to the U.S. Now the football is the football, right? We're gonna talk about we're gonna go over the US game in a second. Um where there's nice football, again in the Galeano sense, I'm a beggar for good football. Uh but when it comes to the politics and just fandom the way I fan, that's where I stand.
SPEAKER_05I feel you, Romo. Look, it's been hard for me to support the US. Yeah. You know, I get it, because of the politics, the imperialist state, the history of this country of destabilization across the world, right? But for for some reason, this time around, I find it easier to support the US. And I'm trying to understand why. Is it because the football is better? Is it because Pochettino? You know, and so but I've never actively supported the US. Uh, but I find it easier, like, cool, if if the US advances, keeps advancing, dope. I definitely don't want them to win it because Madera, you brought up a good point, and I didn't even realize for the god for the life of me, I do not want to see fucking Trump uh, you know, handing the patrol.
SPEAKER_02He's gonna do that no matter who wins. He did it for the Club World Cup. He's gonna he's gonna insert himself and be on on the dais and lift the trophy first and then give it to the captain. He'll do that no matter what, because Infantino's his his his boy, and sure, they're disgusting people, and that's what they do. But yeah, handing it. I can't imagine his tweets. Oh, yeah. Oh, dude, just he'll probably he'll literally probably invade or bomb other countries with the like hard-on he gets from winning the world.
SPEAKER_05And so, but look, the U.S. is playing well, you gotta give him credit. Right? And so if if they keep advancing, it's gonna be hard not to support him.
SPEAKER_00I think I I I feel the same in the sense. One, well, I've growing up, I've always not like the US because of the rivalry with Mexico. You know, my growing up, it was a Mexican house. We watched soccer every weekend, and it was rooting for Mexico. Um, and then growing up again, there was always the the rival US Mexico. Uh for some time the US was winning, and that always pissed me off. The Gold Cups, man. The Gold Cups, and then when when 2002 happened, when the US beat Mexico, I was like, that was bad, and that was the the origin of uh Dos Acero. Yeah, Los Acero and just crazy and 24 years, wow. Yeah, so just that part, but then as I grew up again learning about the politics and being um son of an immigrant and just all the fear um that the immigrant community, like living in the US and just uh understanding uh again what we go through and many people go through, and then learning about all the different destruction that the US does in different countries, the bombings, you know, the taking of resources. That was just like okay, for sure, can be for the US. Um and then turning in, like a lot of you were mentioning about what's happening today, it's just all the different optics of it, and pertaining pert uh pertaining to soccer, right? Where Trump got the peace award for what? Bullshit. Nothing, right? And it was just again this political game that like and like you um um Johnson very uh put it about how this is all these things are being weaponized, winning the peace prize, having uh the War Cup in the US in the US soil. If they win, that will be complete weaponized, like oh no, look, it's okay. The US is okay, we're doing good. We're look at all the different posters and social media that the that that they've been doing, but we know what's going down here right now in the streets, we know what people are being separated, we know the violence that's coming to our neighborhoods. It's it's that attempt to uh to sportswash, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and that's it's just hard and to root for the US. And and I I separating myself from everything I that I just mentioned, the team itself does has like they're they're really good players, yeah. You know, McKenney has been doing very well. Um Weia has been doing very well, not just in the US, but club team, and they have like a certain swag. Like the the team is it's it's they're cool players, they're good individuals, but just to yeah, root for the team and amidst all this that's going on, and again, that like I mentioned, just I don't think they'll win, but just that that thing of Trump handing them the World Cup trophy on US, it's just like no, we gotta fight against that.
SPEAKER_05You know what irks me is just hearing the chance, right? USA, USA, that fucking bothers me, man.
SPEAKER_01It's tough, man. It's tough, it's identity, right? It's that identity that it's always been tough for me to resonate with. And I think I like the same place, you know. Um the soccer sense, you know, you want to root for the good players. You want you and then I follow him, you know. I've I've told Johnson and I talked about this a couple shows ago, but you know, I follow him, the post, the criticism, the criticism on poach, what's he trying to do? He's condescending towards like American soccer culture and all this shit. And like, I fall in that category. I'm part of American soccer culture, like it is part of my identity, right? But it's all it's tough to negotiate that, right? Like that part of my identity that like I just can't see in US soccer. You get what I mean? But the the individual players, for sure, especially when we talked about like the birthright citizenship, how that flies in the face of like the Trump administration's bullshit, you know. At the end of the day, for me, they're still putting on that jersey, man. They're still standing for the anthem, they're still right going along with it, you know. Um that's for me, that's where I think is the it is the line in the sand. But soc, you know, soccer isolating the soccer from all of that, I agree. They've been playing some great fucking football, man. The best in my lifetime that I can remember, which is good.
SPEAKER_02If if more or at least a few US players were more outspoken or outspoken at all, or had like a t-shirt celebration under the jersey for a goal, that would change. Or or it's something to say, like, hey, that's that's their bullshit. We're not about that. I'm gonna wear this shirt for my reasons, and these this is what they are, but all that because like again, knowing that they're predominantly players of color, they're predominantly um, I think at least half of them are um dual nationals and and play for multiple teams and the whole birthright citizenship, which thankfully just got upheld and and all that, and so there's such a a cool you know mix of diverse cultures all coming together and all that, like purely on paper, that sounds great. You just need them to be a little bit more courageous with the political part and and push.
SPEAKER_01I and I'm a huge NBA fan too. And I was talking to my wife about this the other day, right? I don't necessarily cheer for Team USA and basketball when they go play in the Olympics, but I'll follow it because you know, Kevin Duran, respect this game. Steph Curry's amazing, right? You want to watch good basketball. Um, they also have made some statements, right? Especially with the Black Lives Matter movement about six, five, six years ago, whatever that was. So I think the answer is yes. I would definitely look at the US men's national team differently if one, two, three of their players kneeled like Kaepernick, right, did in 2016 during the national anthem. That would change a lot for me. I don't necessarily know if I'd go out and buy a fucking jersey, but I would definitely hold them in a different regard and with a little bit more respect and they raise their jersey after going and says fuck ice. If Ricardo Pepe did that shit, scored, and said this is for El Paso and for all the immigrants that you're fucking over in El Paso, you know arriva la gente, libre los immigrantes, yeah, then I'm gonna look at that a lot differently for sure. Yeah. It doesn't have to be exactly that, but y'all get the gist. But something. Something. Yeah, something.
SPEAKER_05Should we look at athletes as you know being responsible for making these political statements, right? Because they're athletes, and so I don't see them as that. I don't expect them to.
SPEAKER_02I would like them to. I once took students on a field trip to Loyal and Maramount, beautiful campus, uh, and our tour guides there were super rad and said something to the effect of now that they have attained a college education and and that the level of privilege that comes with that college degree, that they're morally obligated to be able to give back and to do more for those who do not have that level of privilege. And so I absolutely think uh anyone that has that platform, any whether it's celebrity or sports star or movie star, just anyone who has that reach, um, and even just regular folks, you know, on their social media profile and like whatever, I do have a moral obligation to to speak out and to you know be able to push back. Um there's that famous Howard Zinn quote, you can't be neutral on a moving train. And so if you do have privilege, if you do have a platform and you choose to stay silent, then you're saying you're okay with the status quo, you're okay with what's happening and the the current conditions of the day, and that's fucked.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I completely agree. I think folks need to use their platform. Um I think, especially now in this day of age and where these sports are ruled by capitalism, where again all these different uh advertisements and endorsers are telling athletes hey, don't say this, hey, don't talk about any any politics, don't go here, don't do that. Um and controlling them in that way, controlling their image, where again many of these athletes have experienced all these injustices growing up. Um and it's made them who they are, but again, we live in this in this capitalist system. Um and and a prime example right now is Jalen Brown, who's from who was from the Celtics. Again, he was one of the main players when in their championship runs, and now he just got traded to the Sixers. And many people are saying because he has been outspoken, he's uh you know, awesome dude, awesome player, he's independent, um, he doesn't have an agent. And that's why he's he can do what he wants and he's been outspoken, he's educated, and people are saying he's he have been labeling him as pr as a person that's unmarketable because how outspoken he is. Um and again he's done a lot and he does a lot in the community. Um but again, all the this this capitalism talk is playing against him, and that's one of the reasons people are saying why he got traded because of all the things that he does. Um yeah, and I think people need to use their fully get ready.
SPEAKER_05I wasn't aware that he didn't have an agent, which is dope, right? It just is lo it just shows his level of independence, but again, right, capitalism at at its best, where if it's gonna hurt the bottom line of the organization, of the company, right, they're gonna they're gonna dispose of you.
SPEAKER_01Yep, for sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and we just got uh uh us as uh as fans and part of our community, we gotta keep pushing and um also demanding, like you know, a lot of the athletes have a lot of money and a lot of um fame because of us, because we're the ones watching, we're the ones going to the games, and we can you know put that like hey, hold them accountable. And I think and again, we've there's been many examples of where athletes are using their platform. Right now, uh recent one which ran really big was Yamid Jamal. He during their championship celebration with Barcelona, he got the Palestinian flag, right? And that was like crazy. People are like, what? Yeah, that's unheard of. Some people even know that he was for Palestine. Yeah, but he used that platform and he just, you know, I don't give a fuck. Give me that big Palestine flag, and I'm gonna rise it up.
SPEAKER_02Love it, love it. Yeah, that was amazing uh you know stance for him at such a young age, too, to be able to take and a really good example of what we're talking about here.
SPEAKER_0118, 19, 18, 18, chavalito, man.
SPEAKER_02Um damn Romo, this is like uh a full podcast episode in its own. Um we'll see you next week, folks. All right, very good, very good show. Like time for another beer. Just roll credits and uh wrap it up here, but um we do have quite a bit more bland. Appreciate you guys, man. Uh appreciate you, dear listener, for sticking with us. Um hopefully by now you you you get what we're about and you're on board with this uh radical approach to footy fandom. So uh we're gonna get into headlines. Um we had not done headlines in quite a bit. Um I'm gonna read through a few. I think we're gonna maybe go a tiny bit deeper into one or two of them and just add a little bit of thought or context or interpretation. Um but again, this is just kind of for folks to look into and maybe do a little bit more reading on their own. Uh, first up, I believe Chavez, you posted this. Uh according to AP, ICE arrests 10,000 people in five days.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I remember in our very first episode we're talking about ICE. It's been out of like some of our podcasts for a while, but over the last five days, over 10,000 arrests. You know, I'm I'm a part of a few rapid response networks here in in LA. And yeah, they've been going uh a lot of messages been coming through. And just announced yesterday, right? It this you know, because the Supreme Court said that the temporary protected status uh, you know, gave authorization to to Trump to end it, they just announced yesterday that they're gonna end it for seven countries Ethiopia, Burma, South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, and Haiti. It's at least seven countries, right? And so we have to keep in mind that while we're enjoying this beautiful game going on, right? There's the kidnappings are still be are still taking place. Over 70% of those who have been detained have no criminal records. Ridiculous. So I also want to take this time to just shout out to all the different orgs here in LA, all the social media sites, uh, you know, Chile here in LA is huge, but all the other ones, right, that that I don't know of. Um folks who are part of Rapid Response Networks. You know, going to work during the school year. I would drive by a Home Depot and I would see work folks wearing the vests, right? Yeah, those you know, because those pink vests. Yes, uh, you know, solo el pueblo, salud al pueblo, right? And so we gotta give a shout out to all those folks doing the work, defending our communities. And lately, I've been seeing where ICE, DHS, whatever you want to call them, weekend warriors are waiting at the courthouses, right, to round up folks. And so we're seeing this massive increase lately.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, definitely, and thank you, thank you for bringing that up. And I think again, all this is connected to soccer too, and uh right now where we're talking about right football, you're talking about TPS, Haiti was part of the the World Cup, Somalia. We had that uh ref that was denied to come here and ref and have a dream of of um refing in the World Cup and just how all this is impacting just our our lives, and again, this topic about football. Um and yeah, and definitely all this hate and terror that has come into our communities um since last summer, where again these masked men um and unmarked cars with guns coming into our communities and and kidnapping our neighbors. Um and I work with the National Day Labor Organizing Network, and along with a lot of different organizations that have been doing really great work and solidarity work where people are seeing this horror, horror, but are also waking up and saying, you know what, I I not I can't let this happen. Not in my community, not in my street. So people have really um organized and done many different things, and like you mentioned, there's people that are going to Home Depots and protecting day labors and protecting their neighbors, and um many we and uh our organization we we started the Adopt a Corner, um, Adopt the Home Depot, and you know, a lot of people, a lot of neighbors, just random folks, people of good faith, um of good conscience, are saying, you know what, I'm gonna protect my neighbor. And many, you know, many people have organized Adopt the Corners, Adopt the Home Depot, and we need to continue that, especially now where you you know the article again of 10,000 people um kidnapped in five days. We know that the immigration ICE has gotten millions of dollars, billions of dollars now, and they're gonna, you know, they're recruiting, they're doing different things, and that's why we gotta keep organizing. As football fans, as human rights fans, as just people um that recognize uh our humanity. We need to protect ourselves, we need to protect our neighbors and can continue to organize.
SPEAKER_02We also have protesters in Guadalajara accuse Hyundai of greenwashing. Apparently, Hyundai has a big automotive uh manufacturing plant there, and I think there's a quite robust automotive industry in in Mexico. Um, but Hyundai specifically has been accused of um a lot of excess pollution and specifically pollution to certain waterways. Um and that this World Cup, all the joy, all the international presence in Guadalajara, all those beautiful photos from inside the stadium of the mountain view and all of that. It's kind of just being used to greenwash or sports wash over um the local community pushing back against uh Hyundai. So hopefully there's um a bit of a of an organizing win at some point there and things can improve.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it was also a way for the protesters at these plants to raise awareness of all the environmental activists that have disappeared over the last couple years or the last decades, right? Over the last 20 years, according to the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons in Mexico, 130,000 people have gone missing. Damn.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the uh desaparacidos um just horrific stuff. So many families have no clue the whereabouts of their you know children or their siblings or their family members or anything, and so um, yeah, just awful stuff there.
SPEAKER_00So again, here, you know, for myself I mentioned that you know I would love Mexico to win this World Cup, but you know, all these things happening also in Mexico that are affecting families, that are affecting workers, like we also have to be very critical. Uh you know, we can love Mexico, we can root for the team, but we also can be critical of the government and the different things that are happening uh in these countries. Um just like we are for the US, just like we also need to be for France, you know, we're we think that are the best team, but also there's different things happening in France that are affecting families and workers. Um we gotta keep fighting, we gotta keep fighting for people's rights and love soccer, but also fight for people's rights.
SPEAKER_01And that's a tough balancing act, right? Like as a fan, just like walking and following games, but walking with that, right? Like the weight of that. That's that for me, that's what makes it tough, like on all angles. Sometimes I wish I was just dense, right, and didn't give a shit about that stuff. Or like I supported the status quo, and just like goal, yeah, who gives a fuck, you know. Um but I think back to an earlier point that Johnson brought up, you know, there is that moral obligation that I feel like I've been raised with and I still carry with this day. Uh, and it and you know, it infuses a lot in terms of who I am, right, day to day, and it's important, right? And we're bringing that to the show, which I think is really special.
SPEAKER_02Um to stateside Seattle Hilton workers are protesting for higher wages and immigration protections. Um, again, this, you know, Gopah is such a contradiction sometimes in that you know, we're loving the football, we're loving you know, the underdog stories and all that, but then all the hotel workers that house all the incoming tourists and all the all the all the Scottish fans and all the what I mean. I know they're in Boston and Miami, but you know, there were there was plenty up in in Seattle. Um, and yet those workers that are essential that make everything happen are overlooked and mistreated and underpaid, and it's just uh just a shame. DR Congo was one of the sweethearts of the tournament. Uh, hadn't it not been in the World Cup since 1974, back when they were known as Zaire, because they were ruled by uh uh you know insane dictator, amazing and amazing support, and you've all seen it already. Uh Lumumba Veya, uh the the living statue Lumumba lives, the um throwback to Patrice Lum uh Lumumba, the uh assassinated um former leader of uh Democratic Republic of Congo, um in part because of US CIA and British MI6 and all the rest of it there. Um and this guy, I I I forget his um full name. I I think his first name is Michael um or or uh me Michelle, huh? Um but sadly he was denied uh entry into the United States. Um initially for the opening match, it was because of um Ebola virus protocol, which okay, I can I guess understand that um Ebola is really bad right now in Congo, but then once he was done with that, they still denied his visa. And so he was only able to see one match when they played in in Mexico and was able to be there. But I really appreciate like what that meant for the DRC supporters and players, and that when he was denied, another player, sorry, another supporter stepped up um and did his best to be that living statue again and hold that pose for 90 minutes and not move and all the rest of it. And so um, you know, it's just that idea they they can deny as many visas as they want, but someone else is gonna step up and be able to kind of fill that role and still push back.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's the definition of a movement, right? Is that you have so many others that are internalizing it. Um and it was a really it was really heartbreaking that they lost to England, you know, and I think it was a day our buddy Herado from Futbolistas, I think, uh mentioned that it was a day before Lumuma's birthday that that game took place, which this game was Wednesday, we're not Friday, the game was Wednesday, so I guess his birthday um was yesterday. Uh, but I think maybe we should give some context, Johnson. I don't know if I don't know if you gave context yet about where because we mentioned a few times and referring to DR Congo as Dr. Congo. Um but it comes from a really funny story. I don't know if you mind if I share. Uh our our buddy uh Andy from football he says his son plays club soccer and they're doing a fundraiser for the World Cup, which uh Andy and I think Madeira got in. I'm not sure Madeira got in. Anyhow, uh you pay in and then it's a random drawing, and everyone who paid into the fundraiser, whatever country you get, if that could like for instance, I got Uzbekistan, right? So if Uzbekistan won the World Cup, then I take the whole pot. When they're doing the drawing, they did it live, apparently, as the story goes, and the whole team was in the room, and it was some randomized thing, I'm sure, on like a screen, right? And DR Congo came up, and these are 11, 12 year old boys, and they all go, Who's who's Dr. Congo? Funniest thing ever. Affectionately, yeah, Democratic Republic of Congo amongst us definitely has become Dr. Congo.
SPEAKER_02Refer to them as Dr. Congo with the utmost respect and uh admiration there. Um, which yeah, it was uh it was great.
SPEAKER_05Oh, you're hearing it live, folks.
SPEAKER_02Let's go Messi looks baffled. Cabo Venative is still supporting with their subs in the corner. Amazing seed. Wow. It is the 60th minute one-one. Cabo Vene Argentina. Wow. Oh, what an angle from the tightest of angles just outside the six-yard box, through the defender's legs, over Emmy Martinez's toe. Oh hook it to my veins. I can't stand Emmy Martinez. Oh, what joy, what joy from Cabo Verde fans there at the match. Amazing.
SPEAKER_03Okay, unbelievable.
SPEAKER_05Why so much joy at Boomtown for Cabo Verde? Is it Argentinian haters? Because they know if Cabo Verde win Mexico. I'm gonna assume a lot of these folks are Mexico supporters, and so now they won't, if if Mexico be England, they won't have to play Argentina next week.
SPEAKER_02I I mean it could be that. You're getting all conspiracy shit on me now, dude. I can speak for myself. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I guess we I generally want to see Cabo Verde do good, goes back to right, right, right back to the underdock. I know where you're coming from, brother. I see you. I see you. Valid question. Valid question. Vamos, Cabo Verde. Yeah, vamos, vamos. Now this is a match. Very exciting. That day I messaged you guys when we were talking about the games on July 1st. I think that was Wednesday. Um, that's at the end of the day, man. I was I was sad, bro. Because it it it was such a uh a crescendo the day before. I can't remember when um I think it was a couple days before when Paraguay knocked out Germany and Morocco knocked out Netherlands. Um it was unbelievable, dude. Like I was telling this guy before you guys showed up, or my letter was here, but I went and played soccer for the first time since January, you know, with the Aguilas with the old guys, because I'll fired up, you know, vicariously trying to live through like everything that I just saw when I'm fucking injured myself, you know. But it was great, it was so worth it. Of course he did. It was so worth it, man. And then Wednesday, man, every day I was just like, oh man, it just felt like everything was conspiring against the highest of highs, the lowest of lows. Exactly, man, exactly. Which is that emotional investment that the Copa brings out of us, you know what I mean? Which I love, dude.
SPEAKER_02Alright, folks, after all the excitement has a bit died down, uh, still 1-1 in this match. We're gonna head over to Start Subbench. And we just got one for us today, uh, as there's so much to cover. Um, the statement for today it is worse to play in high heat than high altitude. And we'll just go around the panel. Uh, Chavez, what do you think?
SPEAKER_05I'm gonna start this one. I consider myself a former athlete. I've run in high altitude and I've run in high heat. Oh wow. The body can acclimate better to high altitude than high heat. I feel when you're running in the heat, like your body is being suffocated, right? Like I'm being suffocated in this heat, and the body needs to work harder to kind of just cool itself down. And you know, that can lead to like it can lead to like cognitive decline. It's harder in high heat.
SPEAKER_02Does that explain why you are the way you are? That's kind of a compliment and an insult, like wrapped up in the one, like here you go, do with it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah, I work at Johnson with this, like, I don't know how to respond to that. Don't, don't, bro.
SPEAKER_02Don't it's that cognitive decline, bro? You're just you're just not quite there, man. Now I got it.
SPEAKER_05Bastard.
SPEAKER_02Sorry, it was too easy, bro. It's too easy.
SPEAKER_00It's too easy. I think for me, I would say sub neutral, because when I've played in high heat, I've never played in high altitude. But I, you know, growing up, always hearing about the Azteca and how p teams were always oh no, it's the altitude, the altitude, altitude. But again, I've never played in high altitude, but again, high heat, it is tough. So I'm neutral on it right now.
SPEAKER_01I'm subbing it as well. I think I would take high heat over high altitude in terms of comfortability. Uh, and I say this just because of the physiology of it, right? In high altitude, you just hear about like a lot of boxers, a lot of athletes training, or they even have those masks, right, where it thins out the oxygen, so it simulates that you're at high altitude to really get them ready for the worst of the worst. So, so I'm gonna sub it.
SPEAKER_02I'm gonna bench this one. Um What the hell? I might not have been a former uh elite athlete as yourself, Chavez, but I've definitely played sports in hella high heat. And I and I'm just thinking there's more you can do. You can know if you have a game tomorrow, you have a game two days from now, and it's gonna be 95 and full sun, you can start hydrating now, and there's so much you can do to mitigate that. Um if you're gonna be playing at seven, eight, nine thousand foot elevation somehow, and and and it's gonna be crazy. There it's I think it takes you something like 12 days to acclimate to high elevation. And I just remember one time I got to go to Big Bear and I was up in a in a mountain cabin and just going up the stairs, I had to like pause at the top because I was just out of breath. It was like eight stairs. I can't even imagine if if if if Wilson was at altitude, those stairs would be insane and all that. So just that thought and and you use that phrase like like suffocating, high altitude literally suffocates you. Like you're your your body's unable to absorb oxygen through the red blood cells to get it into the other parts of your body and all that stuff, like like you're limited in that sense.
SPEAKER_05So, yeah, I mean, this is why I said I would start the high heat because I ran a half marathon in Big Bear and I got there about 36 hours before the race to allow my body to get acclimated. For the life of me, running in 80, 85 degree weather around the Rolls Bowl is a lot harder. Really? Yeah, for me at least, and I can hydrate you know I think I got in the work every day, man. You see me with my gallon of water, worth it, man.
SPEAKER_02Left side of the pitch is calling its own hydration break. It is the 74th minute, and we've decided we're just gonna watch the rest of this match. Hopefully, there is a Cabo Verde winner, and it ends in 90 and doesn't go to the whole um 120 minutes, but fuck it if it does and goes to pens and Vojinia steps up, and this will be the potential greatest upset in not just soccer history, but all of sport. Absolutely all of sport. All the uh Stephen A. Smith bozos will be disagreeing with that, but uh anyone who understands this game in the in the least sense of it would agree this would be the greatest upset in in all of sport. It's officially beyond words. Uh Cabo Verde, I believe if not the smallest, one of the smallest nations in the World Cup, has now taken World Cup champion and Leo Messi army Argentina to extra time. Um Let's go. Put this into context, y'all. Like what how significant is this? Um what what chances do you give Cabo Verde in the next thirty minutes? Um how's it looking?
SPEAKER_01They can win this. Win this. I think they hold on. They say the uh attacking sometimes is the best defense. Yep, yep. They were I'm floored, man. I like I I think they can do it. I think they and what we've seen is maybe one game from the knockout stage so far has been decided in the extra time period. Other than that, if it goes extra time, it's going to penales. And I think the way Cabo Verde just finished out regulation, they can take into penales. And when it gets to penalties, it's up in the air.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. They can do it. They're playing, Cabo Verde are playing without fear. I think Argentina are nervous.
SPEAKER_01For sure.
SPEAKER_00Love it. And then they got um everybody rooting for them, right? Everyone loves the underdog story, and I think a lot of the fans, soccer fans are like rooting for them. And I think they they're taking that energy with them and into this game.
SPEAKER_02Argentina definitely looks nervous or upset or a combination of all of it. Like some of the subs that had just come out were super pissed, and just the looks on all their faces, Messi especially, is is just priceless, absolutely priceless. So we're about to see the two periods of 15 minutes. Should Cabo Verde push and get and try to get a goal within the the 30-minute extra time, or just keep absorbing, keep trying to try to play to the corners as they can, keep clearing it, no problem, and then shoot for those penalties. Um where at that point, you know, I think it could be any of them, and and you know, let's hope Vojinha's a uh a stud in goal for Panales as he is for everything else.
SPEAKER_01I think they push. I think they do what's made them successful so far, man. They're still relevant, they're still in it. I think they push, man. I think they continue the momentum, they continue that rhythm with Vojinia behind them. God damn, and then the the the defensive backs were making some incredible plays as well to stop Argentina from going ahead.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I don't think it's a time to change your tactics. Absolutely. You play with the style and the intensity that got you to this point. So yeah, they have to go all out, I think, and try to win it before penalties.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, I know I think also, yeah, they're not backing down, and I think that a lot of people have respected them with this, and then I think in this game they're not backing down, and that's really dope that they're coming in hard.
SPEAKER_05I have to say, a little conflicted to the degree because get out of here. Just because your son shares a birthday with Messi, bro. Get out of here. Yeah, but look, man, what a story, right? The story of But you're right. Winning World Cup back to back, blah, blah, blah. But at the same time, fuck Cabo Verde to take the reigning World Cup champions to extra time. Right? And having real viable, like a real chances of winning this game. It's I think right now it's a 50-50 game.
SPEAKER_01Straight up, dude. I think it's favorite in Cabo Verde. I mean, that's my heart speaking, but straight up, man. What was the record in group stage? Did they tie every game? Because it seems like they're the masters of dragging out a draw. They tied every game. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So they have that on their side. And I think it comes to a point too where again they they gave this really tough game to Spain, and people were like, oh, you know, this beautiful story, but to see them now with Argentina, like, it comes to mind where it's not just uh Cinderella's story. It's like, no, they are really coming here to play and they got players and they got the heart.
SPEAKER_02They're just no joke. Like, they didn't come here to be an also ran to like soak up the the vibes and then go home and say thank you. Like they came here to to wreck shop and here we are.
SPEAKER_05Insanity! Insanity that is the goal of the tournament. That is the goal of the tournament.
SPEAKER_02Of the first extra time. Let's go. Argentina had already gone up and scored and was up 2-1. Oh, I it's I like yeah. Indescribable. This is an insane goal. This is the definition of Golazi.
SPEAKER_01Insane, insane exploded 2-2 in another time. Historic. John Ceno, you called it. Insane. Historic. If this happens, if they if they pull it, they send us to planales and they win this as the largest.
SPEAKER_02This is already, this is already the story of the tournament. Already, man. Easily. Cuts it in just inside the box. Oh my god. Fucking hammer. What a hammer. The near side just inside the box, probably 16 yards out. And this the most perfect curler to the top corner. Far corner. Like, it is just insane.
SPEAKER_01Gotta defend now. They gotta hang on. What do we have? The 105th minute.
SPEAKER_02At least, at least get to the to the little intermission between the periods. You know what I mean? Like they probably have about a minute before they're gonna break and switch sides. Yeah. Fuck it, push for a third. Let's fucking know.
SPEAKER_01Push for a third, man. Go for the win.
SPEAKER_02God damn.
SPEAKER_01That's what's got them here. That's what we were just talking about. That's what's got them here, right? Like they just they just went for it, dude. They stuck to their guns. Amazing.
SPEAKER_02And that's where Japan fucked up. That's where Senegal fucked up. True. Um, and so many others before them is that they're the whole let's let's hold what we have.
SPEAKER_01And that's what I was pissed off about Mexico and and holding the second half and playing quote unquote pragmatic, you know what I mean? Where they could have gone up three or four-nothing.
SPEAKER_05Alright, he doesn't know this yet. But we are recording with uh Johnson, our production team. Alright, let's get some reactions.
SPEAKER_01I'm heartbroken. Um I I was just floored that Argentina went up in the first period of extra time, and then Cabo Verde tied in the first period of extra time. And when Argentina went up again in the second period of extra time, I was fully hopeful and expecting to see Cabo Verde knotted up again. And they didn't, oh dude, they left it all out there, man. I don't I don't know what to say. That's probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in sports. Not just soccer, World Cup, it's just in sports, period. Hats off to Cabo Verde, but my heart's broken that they're now out of the tournament.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think it's it's definitely the the game of the World Cup since now. Um I think he has it had energy. Again, like we've been saying, Capo Verde didn't back down. They weren't waiting, hey, let's let's park the bus. No, they they came out. They know again against Argentina, the defending champion. Um, and like we said before, too, there's a bunch of here. I think a lot of people were rooting for Capo Verde more than Argentina. Definitely, and anytime Capo Verde took a shot or had a chance, people were cheering. And it was just heartbreak, you know, to for them to lose. But you know, it was a it was a good game and ups to Capo Verde. Amazing.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, man, and so maybe I didn't because my inexperience as being a host, I didn't preface, I didn't add context. The game just ended. Argentina beats Cabo Verde 3-2. But I must say, that goal by Sidney Lopez Cabral to tie the game at 2-2, that has to be the goal of the tournament.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, definitely like we said before, too. Again, this game, I think, solidify Capo Verde has that they're uh they're soccer power, they're a soccer team. Um, again, the the game against uh Spana, people had a good feeling, so it's a good story, but here they show like no, we're here to play, and you know, again, up to them. They took it to them, they've won our hearts.
SPEAKER_05Big time. They have to, right? I think the story of the tournament with the goalkeeper, the play, everything, and just leaving it all out there against the reigning champions. Love it. What a great story.
SPEAKER_01I love it. This is what we're talking about when we talk about underdogs, you know. Anything is achievable, man. You put your mind and your heart and soul into it, like what they did. And there's so many times I commented to you guys when we're watching the closing moments of this game, is that they're they're leaving it all out there. They're playing with absolutely nothing to lose because they know that they're the definition, the textbook definition right of Minnows of underdogs. And I think that really got to Argentina. That really I think that really shook Argentina, and they didn't know what to Argentina didn't know what to do with that. And I and I and I give Cabo Vera all the credit in the world, all the respect in the world, because they did they didn't bow down to Argentina, right? They didn't park the bus like we're talking about. Uh they they took it to them, and there's there's absolutely no shame in that at all.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, man, absolutely. We love it. Such a great story now with the round of 16 almost set. I'm just curious to know what other underdog stories are left, right? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01You know, just telling John Sinho too, right at the game that's the game ended. I think it's yeah, I don't know if you have the bracket up, but I think it's it's going to be Argentina against the winner of Colombia Ghana and have Cabo Verde won this game.
SPEAKER_05Actually, sorry, Romo, but Argentina are gonna play Egypt in the next round.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god. See that I mean I think even more reason to cry because Cabo Verde would have told if they took if they took Argentina on this round, Egypt would have been a walk in the park.
SPEAKER_02Just walking through this place, all anyone is talking about is Cabo Verde. Unbelievable. I'm I'm I'm just stoked. I'm alive and paying attention and being able to experience this. You know what I mean? For sure. I feel like we're coming down from like the highest of highs right now. Um Cabo Verde match. They lose, but lose in the most heroic fashion. Three to two in extra time. Um Argentina had to give everything they had to beat this team. I was texting with my partner Dora, and she was like, Messi's not even celebrating the goal. And it's like, yeah, because they realized they they like they shouldn't even be in this position. Like the game should have been dead and over at halftime, probably. Um, and they obviously came in way overconfident and absolutely got their nose bloodied. And only one way to end something like this, and that would be with the lightning round. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, boam, boam, wah, boom.
SPEAKER_05Wait, we don't have a production budget to add those effects afterwards. We have to do it with our own.
SPEAKER_02I I like how you assume that there's any kind of a budget at all, bro. Only a budget for beer, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Beer budget, bro. That's it.
SPEAKER_02Says the guy who comes in the least prepared for every episode. There's always one. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but he trains in altitude, man.
SPEAKER_02I'm over, dude, it's it's that cognitive decline or whatever it was. I'm over here editing every episode for like three or four hours, and he's just like, yeah, man. I'll just improvise. This is like jazz, and we'll improvise. Alright. Um, Madeta, if you didn't, if you didn't quite hear the earlier uh episodes, um, I think it was episode three when we last did the lightning round, when the lightning round debuted. So I'm gonna um I've come up with a list, okay? And we're gonna go in order, and you have to come up with something from that list. So last time was the the 13 countries in the World Cup that are predominantly Muslim. And so we went through and did all that. Okay? And so here's here's put your phone down. All of you, flip it over, bro.
SPEAKER_05Alright, alright, alright, alright. Go Guardian.
SPEAKER_02Close all of it. Yeah. All of it, okay. Um in this current, and and and mind you, this goes back to the beginning, to the whole 48 teams, obviously. There are nine managers in this World Cup who previously managed in the Premier League.
SPEAKER_05In the Premier League.
SPEAKER_02Name those managers. Premier League. Uh Chavez, you're up. What do you got?
SPEAKER_05Bielsa in Uruguay.
SPEAKER_02Um, and and you also have to say what Premier League team he leads. Leeds United, Bielsa, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh I was gonna say Belsa.
SPEAKER_02I was gonna say, I'm I'm pretty sure you had Bielsa. Yeah. Um that uh are you are you gonna use a uh a pass here or what? Pass. Dude, wait, what a what a poor debut on the podcast, bro.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's a good question, though.
SPEAKER_02I I think maybe the only one I got right now is Pochettino, Tottenham. Okay, Pochettino with Tottenham and now now with the U.S. Okay, there's seven more. Thomas Tuckle.
SPEAKER_05Thomas Tuckle with Manchester United.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Tommy Tukes formerly managed what permanently?
SPEAKER_05Manchester United. Oh no, no, Chelsea. Chelsea, I'm sorry, yes.
SPEAKER_02Wow, wow, dude. All that altitude, bro. Uh Madero, are you gonna redeem yourself?
SPEAKER_00I don't know why I'm blanking on all the managers right now.
SPEAKER_02Okay, I'll I'll give you a hint, bro. Um He was assuming he was gonna manage one country a couple years ago. Marsh.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yes. That's what I was thinking. I don't, but I I can't remember which team. Jesse Marsh. He was the coach. Same same as Bielsa, Leeds. Leeds. Oh, yes, that's right. That's right. Yeah, okay. Marsh.
SPEAKER_02Canada's uh Jesse Marsh for Canada. Jesse Marsh, yes, okay. Yeah, he's such a like an annoying little like weasel of a guy. Like, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I've been watching him recently too, since the last episode. Uh-huh. I think your buddy Tony made the point that like he's kind of like a snob, like kind of a dick. Yeah. And I'm like, yeah, he kind of is. I never really like paid attention to that. Now we see it.
SPEAKER_02I still like him and I want Canada to do well, but I'm just like, this is the fucking guy. Too much.
SPEAKER_01So amazingly, another one came to me, Graham Potter. Gram Potter. Sweden. Sweden. With uh Brighton, and uh, he was with Chelsea for a little while.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Brighton, Chelsea, and then later with West Ham. Um, never quite recaptured that that Brighton success with any other club. But um, weirdly, I don't know if uh any of you had heard this, the the Sweden players and the Sweden fans adored Graham Potter. Really? He had like a cult following, they loved him, they barely loved him.
SPEAKER_05And Sweden barely qualified for the World Cup. They had to go all the way to the playoffs.
SPEAKER_02Tony was telling us uh in in episode three how it was like only because they won their group in Nations League and then still had to beat like two other teams and all that. So crazy there, crazy there.
SPEAKER_01And to lose what? They lost to France 3-0.
SPEAKER_02I mean could have been worse. So we still have one, two, three, four. We still have four more. One of them you're not gonna get. One of them's very tough. You have four more.
SPEAKER_05Okay, I'm gonna use my hint for this.
SPEAKER_02Has a very distinctive facial feature, a very distinctive eyebrow, likes to smoke cigars. Because Anceloni didn't is known as a as a as a man manager. He can he can handle ego. Okay, yeah, I mean you said Anceloni was a Ancelotti. He he he he managed Everton. Oh, that's right. Yeah, not even for a whole season, because what what was the quote like when when Real Madrid come calling, you don't say no, or something like that. And they would coach him. That was when uh Everton was managed by Ancelotti and had Jamas Rodriguez. Only one is still in. Um one has a a player that's very polarizing. Um Roberto Martinez. Roberto Martinez. Yes, that he coached or who did he coach? He coached Everton. Everton. Everton as well. Um this other guy um not only coached in the Premier League, but also coached Barcelona. And he wasn't.
SPEAKER_01Coleman.
SPEAKER_02Who did he coach in the Premier League? Uh Everton and Everton and Southampton. Yeah, I remember. Everyone's coach Everton. Dude, it seems like it. They'll pretty much they'll take anybody at this point. Yeah, freaking blue.
SPEAKER_01Well, you'll eventually end up coaching the World Cup. You go coach Everton.
SPEAKER_02And this last one, um, I'll just tell you, did uh did a stint with Manchester United and was royally unpopular.
SPEAKER_05Is this after what's his name left?
SPEAKER_02After Royals?
SPEAKER_00After Ferguson.
SPEAKER_05After Fergie?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00David Mark, that was David, right? David um No.
SPEAKER_02It's not the immediate successor, it's not um not who you're thinking of. He he he did a brief stint and he was brought in to suppose. Ralph Ragnick. Ralph Ragnik, there you go. Austria. I don't know who's gonna be able to do it. Yes, I've got to be a good thing. That's the one I like. There's no chance you were gonna think of that one, but that's a tough one.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Those are good.
SPEAKER_02Not bad, not bad.
SPEAKER_00Good question, good question.
SPEAKER_02You didn't do quite as well as you did with the Muslim majority countries, but this was this was a toughie. This was a toughie. I already have like two or three more prepped for subsequent episodes, so start doing your homework. Alright, I think that wraps us up. Um I'm in a full sweat. I'm exhausted. I need to get a pizza in me for sure. Um and then we still have another match later. We have Colombia against Ghana. Um, another one where I wish they could both win and both advance, but yeah, only one can survive. So um that'll be it from us. Um, yeah, let's uh left side of the pitch signing off. Pace Viva Football. Yeah, viva Palestina later, y'all.
SPEAKER_04My child is bringing in spirit so and mine each day brings voice.