Sunset SC Ep.17/World Cup Preview, Part 1: Groups A, B, C, D

Speaker 1: Hello. Hello. Welcome to another episode of the Sunset Soccer Club. I am Tyler Kern joined by Armand Kafai, and we are doing our World Cup preview part one this week. So thank you so much for joining us, Armand. Thank you for being here.

Speaker 2: I'm always happy to be here, TK. Like, if I wasn't here, it'd be a little bit of a surprise, but, you know,

Speaker 1: I mean be a surprise. It'd be a bummer. I just

Speaker 2: You'd be alone, like, where like, were a couple weeks ago, I think.

Speaker 1: But Exactly.

Speaker 2: No. I'm super happy, and I'm super excited for this little World Cup preview that we have, like, going on for everybody.

Speaker 1: So today, we are covering groups a, b, c, and d. The first four groups in this summer's World Cup. World Cup kicks off in less than a month, so we are punching these out and really doing kind of a look at each group as we go. So we'll go team by team in each group, tell you a little bit about their World Cup history, their FIFA ranking, their notable players, and then some story lines about that particular team. So we'll do that for all the teams in groups a, b, c, and d. So that'll be 16 teams in all today. It's gonna be awesome. If you're not already subscribed to the show, make sure you subscribe, stay up to date with the latest, as we get closer and closer to the World Cup. I know I'm gonna do a hit with, Mike Reiner coming up in a couple of weeks to help promote the World Cup as well. So if you're just tuning in and you're like, okay. The World Cup's coming up. Now's the time to dive in. You are correct. Dive in. Subscribe. Arman and I got you. And so that's what we're here to do.

Speaker 2: We'll do our best. There's a lot of teams at the World Cup. I mean, if it was 32 teams, it'd be a little bit easier, I feel like. But with the expansion to 48 teams this World Cup, we're gonna have to dig deep into our bag of footballing knowledge to get more info on more of these teams.

Speaker 1: Boy, and as we've talked about in a bunch of episodes, I mean, we've mentioned it a few different times, the soccer world is so massive and so vast that even as you look at these teams and look at some of the players, you're like, man, I should really know way more about that guy than I do. But, like, you can only consume so much. Right? And so Mhmm. Boy, it is a it is a journey, but it's gonna be a fun one. And we're gonna make some horrific predictions here as well for each group that will surely age quite quite well.

Speaker 2: Horrific, TK. I think we're both mashing out the park even though we both might disagree with each other. So we'll we'll we'll see. I've been looking at the Google Doc a little bit. I think we're off some good debate points.

Speaker 1: Think we are. And I'm I'm I'm glad we disagree a little bit more often in this

Speaker 2: Makes for better podcasting.

Speaker 1: It does. That's it's what the people want. We can't we can't just have cohesion all the time. So we gotta debate. We gotta argue a little bit and disagree, and it's gonna be good. So thank you for joining us for, part one of our World Cup preview. Parts two and three will come in subsequent weeks. But before we get to that, we gotta break down and talk, a little bit of news here. First and foremost, we are recording this on Tuesday, May 19. And as of this moment, just a few hours ago, it was confirmed that Arsenal win the Premier League this year. For the first time in twenty two years, Arsenal win the Premier League. As Manchester City drew with Bournemouth today dropping points, that means arsenal by virtue of their win against Burnley that took place on Monday. Arsenal win the league. Again, for the first time in twenty two years, and this is a team that has come in second place multiple times over the last few years. Kinda just been right there on the doorstep, and now they finally break through. We've talked a little bit about their style of play this year, how it is probably as, what's what's the right way to put it? They are as unaesthetically pleasing or as aesthetically unpleasing to the eye maybe as any champion going back to maybe Lester. I don't know. But

Speaker 2: I guess Lester was kind of one of the personalities they had on the team. They were. With Jamie Vardy, Juarez was fun.

Speaker 1: And Cole, Conte Conte. This revelation to the world. Yep. Yeah. I don't know. Not the most aesthetically pleasing team. That's all I'm trying to say, but they got the job done. They were effective, and Mikel Arteta and Arsenal get it done. Any thoughts on Arsenal winning the league, Armand?

Speaker 2: Congrats to them, and congrats to I know I have a lot of friends who are Arsenal fans. Were a more consistent team that were all throughout. You know? They you know, City had that that kinda blimp in the middle of year at people or being here, people can't forget about. But Arsenal was consistent all the way through. They got the results they needed, and now kinda like I was reading, some stuff about how Arteta's kinda changed the culture around Arsenal. I think that's the biggest thing when you look kinda back at it. There was a moment where they hate like, the fans hated the team. It's like, it was just, a big mess. They're finishing eighth, ninth place. And for Arteta to flip them to now finishing second, second, second, first, and to win a title like this with a fan base that seems like they're behind their coach and their team and with the fine style of play, for me, TK, I mean, it's it's a great moment for Arsenal as a whole. And it it kind of shows like, hey. Like, we're hilariously gonna like, this is gonna be a very weird jump, but, like, it takes the right kind of culture setter to, like, build that culture for a team. I mean Yeah. This is gonna be a crazy jump I'm about to do, so, like, please be with me, listeners. But, for example, Austin FC, they fired their head of soccer. They fired their head coach, etcetera. And it's like if like, obviously, you're gonna look for inspiration for other teams, but, like, to rebuild that, like, what Austin is gonna have to do in MLS, they should definitely be taking notes from what Arsenal did in rebuilding it, you know, through a coaching staff, you know, through, an organized soccer ideology, through something that is cohesive all throughout. And that's something I think that a lot, I think, teams in the world can learn from. Because they could have moved on from our test up a couple times. No? Oh, you didn't get second. You're out. Or you got second. You're out. We wanted you to win. But they never did. They backed him, and they let the project go all the way through. And I feel like in world football nowadays, we don't see projects go all the way through. You know, like, maybe they have success early on, like Pep Guardiola did, or he had he's had success all throughout his career at City, and we've seen that sustained thing through him. But often, we sometimes see cycles end prematurely because, oh, you didn't win the title that year. You didn't get a trophy that year, etcetera, instead of seeing the project through. So for me, it's a really good example of, hey. We trusted the process. We made the right signings. We rebuilt the culture. It doesn't it's not gonna happen overnight, and the result is his Premier League title.

Speaker 1: It's pretty incredible. Yeah. And I think that that joined up thinking throughout the organization, like you're mentioning, I think, is lacking across a lot of, of teams across all of the world of soccer, not just, not just in Austin FC. But you're right. I think a lot of people can take notes from the way that Arsenal has done it, the way they stayed the course, believed in the that they had the guy. And, you know, we'll see what Liverpool elect to do with Arne Slott, but they could do the exact opposite of what you're talking about. And it's it it'll be interesting to see what happens, from there with with Liverpool, but Arsenal win the title this year. And, again, yeah, you're right. A testament to just staying the course, believing they had the right guy, having the right thinking kind of all throughout the organization, and getting some of their player personnel's choices right.

Speaker 2: It's amazing to see. And on the flip side, DK, I feel like you're about to jump right into this. Pep Guardiola leaving Man City. Oh my god. What a what he's been there forever almost it feels like. And to see him leave Man City is Mhmm. Wow. Like, I was done to see it.

Speaker 1: Yeah. So we got reports yesterday from David Ornstein. David Ornstein. Yeah. Of The Athletic. Along with maybe a couple of other people kind of broke the news that it was being reported that Pep Guardiola leaving Manchester City at the end of this Premier League season. I mean, just a historic run, right? Like, ten years at Manchester City, which is longer than I think anybody really saw him staying there. And to see him win as many titles as he did, finally get a Champions League. Really, really impressive run that puts him up there. I mean, he's already, I think, the greatest manager in the world. Right now, I think it puts him in the echelon of, you know, best Premier League managers of all time with all of the trophies he won, everything he was able to accomplish at Manchester City. Yes, they had unlimited resources, but I mean, my goodness, the way that that club took on and that side took on different iterations as he evolved his tactics and his thinking, you know, from from the Yaya Toure days, I I guess. You know? But they were incredibly reliant at one point under under Gordiola on oh, who's the midfielder I'm thinking of? The Brazilian.

Speaker 2: What about the Bryan?

Speaker 1: Defensive midfielder. Oh, no. This is this is, gonna frustrate me. But they replace him with Rodri. Right? And he's just kind of always been able to to evolve and bring in the next guy for, you know, each iteration of that particular team. And so, yeah, it's just incredibly impressive what he's been able to do, and it'll be wild to watch City next year.

Speaker 2: Fernandinho is what you're thinking of.

Speaker 1: Fernandinho. Yes. That's what I'm trying think.

Speaker 2: I can look it up. I remember I I loved watching Fernandinho play, and you're a 100%

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: Dude, TK, what you said, I think you said it very beautifully. The different iterations of Man City, they went through cycles, and often coaches, like, die like, their cycles die out. But Yeah. They can evolve. But he was able to take on multiple iterations of his team to success. And you know what? Sometimes after ten years, you need a break. And I think for Pep Guardiola, I don't think this is admission of failure. I don't think it's even admission of the potential penalties that Man City might face with a 115 charges that they have. Maybe he knows something, but I think even irregardless of that, I think he's just kinda like, yo, I need a break. And if you look what happened to Klop, Klop left, and he I mean, I've seen him some interviews and stuff, like, with doing the New York Red Bull stuff, etcetera, because Mhmm. He's part of Red Bull group now. You're like, damn. This guy looks revitalized. Like, all he needed was just a couple month a couple of years off, and, like, he feels, you know, kinda back in it. And sometimes you need those long breaks. And I think I wouldn't be surprised if Guardiola took a long break. May and maybe maybe I I don't know, but maybe he wants to try international football. Maybe he wants to try something different. Maybe he wants to come to MLS and coach New York City FC with the city football group. These are all things I think are possible. How first off, how wild would that be if Pep Guardiola is opening that new stadium as their manager in 2027?

Speaker 1: Boy.

Speaker 2: I'm sure you won't take a longer break, but, like

Speaker 1: I mean seems like the kind of guy that, like, can't stay away.

Speaker 2: Right. For too long. Influential manager. I mean, I I don't know, man. I I love I love Pep Guardiola. I love what he's done to soccer as a whole. Yep. But, obviously, end of a great era in Man City.

Speaker 1: From Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Manchester City, we'll see what's next for Pep Guardiola, but he's won everywhere. I mean, he's, yeah, the best coach in the world. Yeah. He's he's an absolute winner and incredible soccer mind. And then finally, Arman mentioned it, earlier. There's there's a ton of MLS stuff we could. I mean, we could just do a whole show right now on MLS and Sam Sarver's goal celebration where he chugs a beer. That's amazing if you haven't seen that. FC Dallas player scores a goal against Vancouver. Beer cans thrown on the field. He picks one up and there's still a bunch of beer in it and he just hammers it, which is awesome. So much MLS we could be talking about. But Austin FC, as Arman alluded to earlier, cleaned house, fired Nico Estevez, fired their, what was his official title, sporting director, football director got

Speaker 2: to say. Yeah.

Speaker 1: As well, things not going well just south of where Arman and I are, Austin FC. So Nico Esteves previously coached at FC Dallas as well. Arman, I think you know Nico to a certain extent. Any thoughts just on this before we we get into our World Cup preview?

Speaker 2: It's gonna be really interesting because I believe Austin is potentially a top five resource team in MLS. Right? Anthony Precourt is not afraid to spend money whether people like it or not. I think people are still sour about how the Columbus situation happened, and, I mean, rightfully so, that that was a really in like, a weird situation. I can understand why people have those kind of feelings towards him, but he's done a great job in Austin in building these resources. If you look at all the positions they've filled off the field, he's excellent. If you look at the signings they've made, he's not he's willing to spend money and willing to fail fast and then reinvest that money when a lot of clubs are maybe a little skeptical. They sold Usman Bukari and replaced him with Facundo Torres almost immediately. They have a great stadium, a great training facility. Austin's a great city to live in. A great pathway as well too. I think their Unless Next Pro team is really good. So it's gonna be really interesting to see how Austin FC kind of take this. I think it's gonna be a very attractive role for MLS Mhmm. Folks who are in MLS that maybe wanna jump into there. But I'm super excited to see what Austin FC do. They have all the resources. It feels very we're talking about this where Dallas guys, Jason Kidd just got fired from the Dallas Mavericks. It feels like they kind of got rid of, like, the Nico Harrison almost and Roto Burrell and are now looking to kind of completely redo the org with guys that actually know how MLS works, kinda like how the Mavericks hired Masai Ujiri as the the kind of president of basketball operations. Right?

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: You kinda have to build it all the way through, and I think Austin's gonna have to go through that. So to hire maybe an MLS ready guy is gonna be, I think, very important for them, but I think they gotta clean it all the way through. So that's kind of my take on that. I think it's a sleeping giant, but we'll see what happens. They gotta hand handle the situation well.

Speaker 1: They came into the league with just, like, so much momentum, so much fire, and I think MLS is a better league when Austin is good, you know, just because, like, that fan base is awesome. That stadium is when it when it's, like, rocket, like, it really pops. I've been doing a few games there.

Speaker 2: Told you when I was working under Nico in FC out of FC Dallas, we had a playoff game. Our Western Conference semifinal was against Austin FC. We traveled to Austin. We couldn't communicate with our bench. It was that loud. Yeah. Was

Speaker 1: It's awesome.

Speaker 2: Extremely loud. It was one of the loudest atmosphere I've been to. They're intimidating. It's a great fan base that definitely is very vocal about their team. So Mhmm. Definitely interested to see how Anthony Precourt approaches that, going into, I guess, the MLS World Cup break, which leads us to

Speaker 1: The World Cup. Boom. That's called the segue in the industry. World Cup preview. Let's do this. Right here, right now, starting with group a. Group a has four teams in it. Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, or Korean Republic, and Chechia. That is group A. Mexico, of course, are one of the hosts. Let's talk a little bit about Mexico. And I think we're going have a lot to say about Mexico. We're not going to have as much to say about every team. So just naturally, Mexico being the the closest rival to the US men's national team and a team that The US right now too. So Arman rocking rocking the Mexico swag. Mexico's got great jerseys.

Speaker 2: Their their new third jersey is excellent. I mean, I don't know if they'll wear it in the World Cup, but, like, it's they do great stuff.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Mexico always always doing good stuff. This will be their eighteenth World Cup. The furthest they've made it was the quarter finals in 1970 and 1986. Of course, they automatically qualified to this World Cup along with The US and Canada. They're ranked fifteenth right now in the FIFA rankings, however much stock you choose to put in that. They've got a I mean, a few notable players, that we should talk about. 35 year old striker Raul Jimenez, who plays for Fulham in the Premier League. Gilbert Gilbert how am I gonna say this? Gilberto Mora, is a 17 year old midfielder for Tijuana. I mean, think we need to stop and just kind of talk about him for a second because 17 years old, is he kind of expected to be like the creative engine of the midfield for Mexico? And if so, like, that's a lot of weight to put on a 17 year old, but he's looked the part so far for Tijuana. Right? And, I think a lot of what Mexico might hope to do at this World Cup kind of falls a little bit on him. I Am right about that just in terms of, like, how they're viewing, like, how important Mora is to to the national team right now?

Speaker 2: What people maybe don't like, who are maybe new to soccer, maybe new to World Cup, like, maybe don't understand is Mexico soccer puts a lot of pressure on itself, it puts a lot of pressure on its players as well too. And Gilberto Mora came in. He came into the Gold Cup last year when, Mexico was kind of on the down. Right? They were down. He was playing for solos. He was scoring quite a bit as well, creating opportunities. I think it was 16 back then when and he performed excellently during the Gold Cup. I mean, he was definitely a standout standout player for sure, if not one of these standout players in the actual tournament. I wanna say that there is naturally gonna be pressure on him to perform because he is you know how all fan bases are. Right? When when the when Christian Pulisic was 17 years old, everyone's like, oh, he's the next big thing. He's this. He's that. And he's it turns out he's been really excellent. But Gilberto Mora, I think, is gonna have a lot of pressure. I mean, there was links of him to Real Madrid. There was links to him to other places in Europe. And I think maybe expecting him to do the most work is a bit dangerous. I think there is something cool and awesome about having a 17 year old that might be naive in the way that they play and might play a little bit more creativity than others. But I to rely on him in a World Cup, I think, would be kinda crazy in my opinion. I think maybe he's one World Cup away from being, like, the guy. You know, he's a 21, 22 year old. But to bring him on for experience and he can play. He can for sure play. I definitely think that he's gonna be a big part of, like maybe not of, like, their, like, starting lineup, but maybe he does a lot. Maybe, you know, Mexico does well, and you have this guy come in maybe as a load management. This is a World Cup Mhmm. One extra game compared to other World Cups. Is there a load management ball? Does Gil Gilchamora kind of shuffle into lap maybe in a second game or a third game, etcetera? I think, when it comes down to it, though, I do think there is a little bit of pressure on him. I hope not that much. But, again, Mexican soccer loves to put pressure on themselves and then in part that puts pressure on their players as well too. So he's a very impressive player, though.

Speaker 1: It's true. It's it's it's a harsh media landscape in Mexico for for the Mexican national team if they're not performing well. Right? And Yep. I think that that's probably something to always keep in mind that that at at some points, like, you see this with some national teams, like, the pressure catches up with the team, and it's almost like they eat their own, kind of with, like, the amount of pressure that's that's heaped on these players. And so that that makes sense. Obed Vargas is another player that is worth mentioning, 20 year old, Alaskan born, player that plays for Athletico Madrid now came up through the Seattle Sounders, Academy system. So he's somebody that if you've been watching MLS, you know pretty well. So that is that is Mexico. Obviously, like, there's there's players up and down the roster. But from the outside looking in from my perspective anyways, and you're probably gonna have a little bit more insight on this than than I do, Arman, but it felt like Mexico went into the World Cup in 2022 with some pretty big expectations, like expecting to maybe be able to break through in a way that they hadn't in the past, and that didn't really that didn't materialize. And I feel like I feel like maybe the expectation because they're one of the host countries, that expectation is there. But it doesn't seem to me like there's the same, like, top end talent that maybe they've had in the past, like performing at high levels in Europe and and things like that to where they can justifiably have the expectation that this can be a big tournament for them. So I almost think of them as, like, if Mexico does get to, the quarterfinals or something like that, it would be more of a dark horse run than this was expected of this team. What are your thoughts on how Mexico comes into this tournament and what maybe the expectations are and the atmosphere around the team?

Speaker 2: I mean, they're gonna be expected to win. Like, I think it's playing simple. I I I think people are gonna expect this team to try to win it all. Like, that's just the pressure that Mexican fans, I think, are gonna put on the team. Do I think they're gonna win it all? No.

Speaker 1: Yeah. But it like, is the is are those realistic expectations?

Speaker 2: I don't think they're realistic. I don't think they're realistic at all. But if you think about it, TK, they do have a big advantage in that if they win their group, if they win their round of 32 game, their round of 16 game, all five of those games would be in Mexico. All five of them. And we know the advantage that Estadio Azteca does bring to people when you can are used to playing at that altitude, when you're used to playing in your home country, when you don't have to travel much. Remember that Mhmm. There's a lot of travel involved for a lot of teams. There's some brutal routes. If your first five games are all in your same country of in in Mexico, where I think they they they have to go if I remember correctly, I think they used to have one it would be yeah. It would be Mexico City Mexico City, Guadalajara, and then Mexico City again. And then you go Mexico City and then Mexico City. There's a pathway set up for them to be successful. And all they have to do and I know that's kinda sounds a bit naive, but they have to win the group. I think there you are setting they are set up to be very successful, but I do think they're I'm not really confident Javier Aguirre as manager. I know it's his third time with Mexico, and I know he kind of has this kind of the the style of play is got is all brave, kind of old macho kind of style of play. Mhmm. They they had to call up the early call ups with the Mexican national team. Like, oh, we wanna get us advantage. We wanna take advantage of it. So we're gonna call up guys. They actually were friendly this Friday against Ghana. As a result, the domestic players that they've actually kept and taken from the Mexican clubs before the Mexican playoff. So playoffs. So I think there is pressure, TK. Like, do I think it's realistic? I mean, from outside looking in, no. I I don't think Mexico was gonna maybe win the World Cup. I think you're right. I think it's gonna more of a dark horse situation, but they are set up to be very successful with how their group is. Again, Mexico City, Guadalajara, and then Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico City. Like, that is a very, very favorable, like, draw. And I think maybe the talent isn't the top end talent isn't all the way there, But, I mean, this is their home World Cup.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. I guess I just think, like, we're kind of a we're we're a long way off from from Chucky Lozano, you know, being a player in Europe, and he's not even on, you know, part of the roster for this World Cup. You know, those sorts of players. And so and Raul Jimenez is 35. Those those are the kinds of things that I I think of. I think, like, the old players are too old. The young players are too young. And, like, this isn't the World Cup for them, but the next one could be, you know.

Speaker 2: Right. I think that's I think that's a fair assessment too when it comes down to Mexico. Like, they also have Santi Jimenez as well too.

Speaker 1: Like, they're

Speaker 2: from AC Milan. There's it's it's just I I they also, like, it's there's gonna be pressure, I think, on them regardless of what you or I think just because, again, this that's just how Mexican soccer is. So Yeah. I I'm not I haven't been really impressed by their games, but I think we're gonna learn a lot more, obviously, through these next three friendlies that they have coming up. I think this is gonna be really crucial for them to see kind of a style of play that they wanna come into going into this. Because I think when you look at the group and you look at it sets up, they should be the quote, unquote favorites, but I think they're they have a very strong competitor. And I think we're gonna talk about them in a minute or two.

Speaker 1: Yeah. We'll we'll get to them here in a second. But before we do, let's get to South Africa. South Africa qualified for their fourth ever World Cup. They hosted, of course, in 2010. They've never made it out of the group. They're currently ranked sixtieth in the FIFA rankings. They have a couple of notable players. Lyle Foster is 25, place striker for Burnley, currently in the Premier League, but not for long. And then oh, boy. That's it. Do you know how to

Speaker 2: Yeah. Mckenzie in the middle of the park as they're kind of like a a u 22 initiative player. So kinda some interesting names here. They haven't made the World Cup since they they hosted the World Cup.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: In 2010, which I think is a really interesting thing. And, TK, one thing that's really interesting, and listeners, I apologies for this. But because the World Cup is so expanded with 16 more teams, a lot of teams, their goal is probably gonna be just to gather the group. Yeah. And Yeah. As a reminder for our listeners, the third place team, the top eight can get out of the group. The top eight third place teams can can exit out of the group. So finishing first or second, cool. Awesome. But you still can qualify finishing third, potentially.

Speaker 1: I just hypothetically, like, I wonder what impact this has on, like, the way that teams approach some of these matches. Like, if you are an underdog and you are kind of thinking, like, what I'm trying to do is snag one of those third place spots. Do you not just, like, grind down games to draws if you can and, maybe try to steal one victory over, like, the team who's, like, clearly the worst in a group and, like, try to sneak your way out. Like, I I think I think there are gonna be a lot of teams who look at this and say, like, boy, like, if we get one lucky result and they can just grind out a couple of draws or something like that against against good teams, I I I wonder, like, if that does anything to, like, the overall feeling of, like, what the tournament feels like. Like, are there just a bunch of games that feel like slogs, or are they more you know, if am I totally wrong in our games more wide open and more teams are just gunning for it because they're like, alright. Let's see what we can do here. I don't know. I'm I'm curious to see what this

Speaker 2: does feel like if I was, like and then I might have an international coach, I think you wanna try to pick off as many points as possible. So to your point, I think if you're South Africa, do you sit back? You know? Do you sit back in an opening match against Mexico and, you know, you allow you you put the pressure back on Mexico. And if you're South Africa, do you really need to win that first game? You don't. We we just talked about it. You don't really need to. But you allow Mexico to feel the pressure because we know Mexico needs to win that game. We know that they're gonna have a big competition with South Korea. So it's like, how do they set up? I'm really interested to see how South Africa sets up, in these games. I think, again, they're probably gutting for that third spot, but I guess we'll see because for a lot of the teams, DK, I think they just wanna get out of the group.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's right. I think that's right. You mentioned South Korea as Mexico's primary competition here in the group. I agree with that. This will be South Korea's twelfth twelfth World Cup and I believe eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance from 1986 all the way up to now here in 2026. So a very impressive run for South Korea. They're currently ranked twenty fifth in the FIFA rankings. Of course, they've got players like Sun Hong Min who for plays for LAFC, but notably played for, for Tottenham for years and years. He's 33 years old. Lee Kang In is 25 years old, plays midfield for PSG, Then Kim Min, Kim Min Jae is 29 years old. Kim, plays center back for Bayern Munich. Good center back there, for Bayern Munich. It's just, I feel like a really solid squad, honestly, out of South Korea. And, I think they have a real opportunity here to challenge Mexico for the group just with their depth of talent, with some of their impact players, and I think looking to rebound from a disappointing twenty twenty two World Cup as well. And, look, like, you kinda look at Son and say, like, this is probably, like, your last, like, real real opportunity and run that you can make at a World Cup. Like, can you make a difference? And I think that he actually has a really good supporting cast around him in order to be able to make this happen. Incidentally, did you know about, like, the dispute that happened between Sun and, and Lee at a previous tournament? I think this maybe was, like, at an Asian Cup. Have you heard have you heard this story? They apparently got into an altercation over a a table tennis match that ended up with Son dislocating a finger while they were, like, fighting or arguing or whatever. They eventually made up and, like, one of them, like, flew to the other one to, like, apologize in person for the dispute. But

Speaker 2: That's very sweet, actually.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Kinda I I read about that while was doing my South Korea research. But I I think South Korea's got talent. I think they could actually threaten Mexico to to win this group.

Speaker 2: I think so as well. And the one thing that's really the one thing that I'd recently said about South Korea when I play The US is they're very organized.

Speaker 1: Mhmm.

Speaker 2: Like, they're really organized, and each player knows their respective role, and then they'll go out they'll go after you. And they're super athletic going forward as well too. I think Yep. Like, the athleticism going forward, the organization, I think, is gonna cause Mexico some problems in in in order to advance. I think Korea's I think they're excellent. Yeah. I think they are the main competitor of Mexico in this group, and it's not even close.

Speaker 1: I'm with you. I'm with you. Let's round it out. Chechia is, our fourth and final team here in group a. Their World Cup history, this is their tenth appearance. They were runners up in 1934 and 1962. I did not know that. Their current FIFA ranking is 41. Patrick Schick is maybe a player that you might know from from Czechia or Czech Republic as maybe you've previously known them. Czechoslovakia, they've also been in my lifetime. Patrick Schick's 30 years old now from from Bayer Leverkusen. But if you remember, I think it was the $20.20 euros that he just was absolutely insane and scored a goal from, like, beyond the halfway line, tied Cristiano Ronaldo for the golden boot in that tournament. This is a big team. Like, they are physical. They got in, by beating Ireland and Denmark. They beat Denmark on penalties. It's a big kind of physical team that I think is gonna be again, be another team that's gonna be tough to break down, but I think they have the physicality to be able to do it. And so I think that this is gonna be a stubborn, tough team to beat for this team for the other teams in this group. Where do you see Chechia kind of in the in the pecking order, and what do you think of them and what they're bringing?

Speaker 2: I have them third in the pecking order right now. I think they can definitely cause problems. And I think one thing we're gonna notice, TK, with this World Cup is because, again, the expanded nature of it, we're gonna see maybe some uglier football. Just some football with teams that are like, hey. Maybe we can't compete with this. Right? Let's sit back and try to smash you on the counter, or let's be super physical with you, etcetera. I when with you and Patrick Schick, I think we both have them as our dark horse to get out of to maybe make some impact in the group. I just I I think I think Korea and Mexico are just better than them, personally.

Speaker 1: I think so too. I I think I think those teams are better than them. I do think that a team like the Czech Republic or Czechia, I think I think there are occasionally teams that like are built for tournament style.

Speaker 2: Yep.

Speaker 1: Football. And I think that, like, there's a chance that this team could be that, you know. Good striker, just really, like, big solid physical team that's just tough to beat. I think, like, in the third game in, you know, a week and a half could be, yeah, just a beast to try to beat. So I do see them as a as a dark horse. Okay. So who's your favorite, yeah, to to get out of this group as the the the winners of group a?

Speaker 2: Host nation Mexico.

Speaker 1: I'm going South Korea.

Speaker 2: Hey. I love it. I think it's gonna be a really competitive game between those two. I mean, could end up like a one one draw. And I think it'll it'll come down to how bad they beat the other teams. And I think I think Mexico will use their their their they'll play the Azteca a couple times. They're gonna use that out I think that altitude and etcetera, that experience in those areas to, I think, may put put on the goal difference is, I think, the big thing.

Speaker 1: See, I I see Mexico coming out slow in that first game against South Africa, and I think that that will end up mattering, because I think it'll give a better blueprint for South Korea later on in the in the, group stage to know, like, this is what we have to do against against South Africa. So I I think that that ends up kind of being the difference. So I go South Korea, Mexico, Chechia, and then South Africa.

Speaker 2: I'm Mexico, Korea, Czech Chechia, South Africa. So our last two are right. Or Yeah. Right. It's the wrong word. We're together. But the we're we have the top two flipped. And I think we're both with it. Thursday, June 18, Mexico, South Korea, and Guadalajara, best game.

Speaker 1: Heck yeah. That's gonna be the best game of this of group a. Good stuff. Let's pop over to group b. Arman, you wanna take us through group b?

Speaker 2: Another host nation, Canada. All their games will be in Canada in the group stage. This is their second World Cup. Their last one was the last World Cup, which they were under John Herdman when they made the twenty twenty two World Cup in Qatar. They finished second to dead last out of all the out of all the points. So pretty pretty interesting situation there. They're third they're ranked thirtieth in the world. Couple players that, you know, our listeners might know, Alfonso Davies, the 25 year old fullback from Bayern Munich, Jonathan David, Juventus Ford. And keep in mind, Canada's coached by an American in Jesse Marsh. That's a that's a big controversial topic among, you know, US soccer folks who want Jesse Marsh to be The US coach before they rehired Greg Burhalter and then hired Pochettino over him. So a little bit of bad blood between them and as Jesse Marsh tries to kinda prove his ground. Coming in second in the group is Bosnia And Herzegovina. This is their second World Cup. This is their first since 2014. They finished third in that group. TK, I watched that group very closely because Iran was in that group who finished dead last, and it was actually the only win that Bosnia has over them. They're ranked sixty fifth in the world. Ed Ingeko is a legend that we all know as Ford and Esmir Vakhtarovic. He's a Wisconsin born from Appleton, Wisconsin who plays for PSV. He played for the New England revolution. They survived the playoff. They actually beat Italy in the playoff in Bosnia, which is an amazing result for the country on penalties. Qatar is also in the group. They've the they are the only country well, now it's not the case anymore, but they were the only country to qualify for a World Cup by being a host. So they qualified in 2022. They finished dead last. They're ranked sixty fifth. Couple notable players, Akram Afif, 29 year old from Al Saad, and Hassan Al Haydos. He's a 35 year old with a 184 caps. He's captain. He's played in Qatar's entire career. Fun fact about them is their entire team is domestic. So all their team is based in Qatar. And finally, we have the powerful Swiss Switzerland. They've made every World Cup since 2006. The farthest they've gone though is a round of 16, and they've lost in that spot the last three cycles, including last World Cup where they got smashed by Portugal six one. They're ranked nineteenth in the world. Some noble players you got you all will know, Grant Schaka, Emmanuel Kanji, Noah Okafor. It's a really interesting group. It's a group that many actually might say is the weakest group. I don't know if you agree with that.

Speaker 1: I think I do. Looking at Qatar and Bosnia And Herzegovina, like yeah. I think I think it provides, like, the easiest pathway for, like, the two teams that look like they're the best in Switzerland and Canada to get out of this group, I think, pretty comfortably. Does that seem fair? Like Yeah. Qatar just doesn't

Speaker 2: It sets up for them, I think, to be that well, like, if you were if we're talking favorites I mean, we're both talking Switzerland, I feel like. You're wearing a Switzerland jersey, so I'm assuming. It's a bad maybe a bad assumption out of me, but for those who aren't watching, he's wearing the Switzerland jersey. I really think this is Switzerland's worth taking. Like, I just I don't have confidence in Canada. Jesse Marsh kinda loses his head in moments, and you're like, why are you doing this? Like, like Yeah. Just be calm. Like, you don't need to freak out like this.

Speaker 1: He's an emotionally led guy.

Speaker 2: Yes. And I'm not so on Qatar. I know they're ranked higher than Bosnia. That kinda surprised me when I saw that, but FIFA rankings are BS to begin with. I think Bosnia is better than Qatar, personally. But I've watched a lot of guitar, sadly.

Speaker 1: I think some of those teams maybe in, like, in federations like Asia, let's say, you get to play maybe some teams and beat some teams that you're not give you're not playing if you're you're in UEFA. You know? Like, I know, like, San Marino is in UEFA or whatever, you know, and, like, that's that's gonna be a win. But, like, it's it's not quite the same when it comes to qualifying, and I wonder if that inflates Qatar's ranking just ever so slightly. But, yeah, I think you and I both agree that, like, Bosnia is probably the dark horse here in this group, and it's not really Qatar.

Speaker 2: No. I think it's Bosnia. I I actually thought Qatar would be the dark horse last World Cup. They literally spent six months, like, literally training as a team together. So they suspended the Qatari Stars League, I think that's what it's called, and they finished dead last. Like, come on.

Speaker 1: They were so bad.

Speaker 2: They they were so bad. Terrible. I think Bosnia with Esmir I think Esmir is such an excellent player, and I like the way that they played against Italy, man. I thought they played really well against Italy, and that's a really strong like, not really strong Italian team, but it's better than Qatar, I'd probably say. And I'd probably argue they're probably better than Canada as well too. Italy, I mean, I they're not the strongest team, but I think that they are a little bit better. I think Bosnia is definitely a team that can definitely make some sort of noise. I actually haven't finished finishing second, TK. I have no faith in Canada. Can you believe that? Wow. You have way more faith in Canada than I do. Wow. You have Canada finishing first. I love it. While we're in the

Speaker 1: same place. I got I got Canada winning the group. I don't know. I like I I like I like Canada's top end talent. I think that they came into the last World Cup, like, hoping to make some noise because they were doing well in CONCACAF, and that just didn't end up happening. Right? Jonathan David, you know, Alfonso Davies, Taejon Buchanan who's doing good stuff in Europe. I don't know. Like, I I like what Canada brings to the table. I think that they're gonna play under Jesse Marsh with very little fear and a lot of recklessness going forward. But I don't know that in this group, like, that there are other teams that can take advantage of that coming back at them. You know? I think the Swiss are really solid and really good. But of the Swiss players that you kind of outlined here in the doc that that we're looking at, Granit Jaka, Manuel Akanji, you know, these aren't attacking players. These are defensive players. And so, like, I think I think the Swiss are, like, built to control games, slow things down, and that sort of thing. But I think, like, when when it comes down to it, I I I just think Canada's gonna be able to get it done going forward, just enough to win this group. So I'm I'm I'm very interested to see what they bring to the table under Jesse Marsh because I think it's gonna be exciting. I think it's gonna be fun to watch.

Speaker 2: It should be exciting. Right? Like, it should be exciting. The players that have it should be great. I'm just worried Ramsay let down. I'm just worried. It's I think we go I think we go Swiss, Bosnia, Canada, Qatar. And the Bosnia one would shock me in a second, but I just I'm not sold on Canada, man. I don't know what it is. I their results, they they drew Tunisia nil nil. Like, they're just I don't know, man. Sony just doesn't scream like like when they were coming into the twenty twenty two World Cup, I feel like they had a better run of form than the form they have right now. Yeah. Keep in mind, they finished they topped, I think, World Cup qualifying. Right? They definitely they were ahead of The US for sure. I remember that.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: And they beat the US in both or they drew the US in the home qualifier, and then they beat them or they beat them at home, and then they beat the US in or they drew the US in The US. Excuse me. So I don't know, man. Like, I'm really interested to see how it works. Like, I think Bosnia could make some noise. Maybe I'm overrating Bosnia a little bit, gonna get UEFA bias a little bit. But I'll tell you this, though. Switzerland, Canada, and Vancouver, that's gonna be a fun atmosphere, man.

Speaker 1: Really, really good atmosphere. I think that'll be the the game of the group. June 24, Switzerland versus Canada in Vancouver. I think that'll be baller. Does that put a bow on group b?

Speaker 2: I think that does. It's not that strong of a group, man. I just I don't wanna diss Qatar or anything like that. But if you're Canada, you thank God for being in this group or whatever higher power you think because this is a this is compared to Mexico's

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: Where you have and and we're gonna talk later about The US. But compared to them, this is a dream for the hosts. An absolute dream.

Speaker 1: Dream of the group. Yeah. I mean, I can't imagine another group that has two teams in the 60. Or I guess Qatar is 55. But fifty five and sixty five

Speaker 2: We round up.

Speaker 1: FIFA rankings?

Speaker 2: We round up.

Speaker 1: Yeah. That's that's that's tough. And then if we get to group c let me take us through group c real fast. Group c has Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland. Brazil is, like, the most decorated team in World Cup history. They come into this with a FIFA ranking of six, but players up and down the roster that you recognize, Vinicius, Ruffinha, Neymar. Look at Morocco. Morocco is, the next team we'll talk about. Seventh appearance in the World Cup. They made the semifinals in the the last World Cup in 2022, kind of a shocking run, but they were they were excellent in that tournament. They were awesome. They're they're ranked eighth in the FIFA rankings. So in the last group, you know, nobody was ranked higher than what, Switzerland is 19.

Speaker 2: 19.

Speaker 1: And this one, you've already got six and eight in the FIFA rankings here in this group in group c. Haiti is our next team in group C. This is their second World Cup appearance since 1974. They've never made it out of the group that ranked eighty third. And then Scotland, ninth World Cup appearance, first since 1998. And again, they've never gotten out of group stage. They're ranked forty third in the FIFA rankings, but, I mean, they've got some players that that you'll recognize. Scott McTominay has been tearing it up for Napoli.

Speaker 2: Killing it.

Speaker 1: He has been killing it and looking great doing it, honestly. Leaving Manchester, I think, does good things for for people. But then John McGinn also, pairing with him in the center of the midfield and then Andy Robertson who was tearing it up, at left back for Liverpool over the last several years. So Scotland, they're gonna bring the party to the World Cup.

Speaker 2: Oh, Tika, I have a story about that.

Speaker 1: Oh, because you were at the Euros. Yep.

Speaker 2: I was at the Euros. And on I was looking on Twitter. I refused to call it x. And it was like, oh, man. There are so many Scottish people in Munich. Well, I was in Munich. I was like, there can't be that many people. I literally get off the train, and every other person is wearing a killed. I absolutely got like, we had I had some drinks with some Scottish guys. We just ran some at the bar, and I was like, hey, man. Like, let's go grab some drinks. Like, where are guys from? Like, what was Scottish? That's a really shitty accent. I apologize. But there there

Speaker 1: are More Arman and more Arman accents on the show, please.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I know. And we went through it. We had a great time. They bring the party for sure. They got absolutely killed in that tournament, but, like, they absolutely they they they bring the party, and I think they are my dark horse to potentially make some noise. All due respect to Haiti, I don't see it out of them. Yeah. I think they're gonna be again, this is kind of you get more teams in the World Cup, and that's awesome for development. But the first couple of cycles of, like, you know, the expanded World Cup, you're gonna see those teams get struggle quite a bit. Mhmm. I think Scotland, I mean, you have when you have Scott Scott Mettamune, Andy Robertson, like, two guys who are excellent men, excellent players. I think that they're setting up for, like, a third place, like, one of the stronger third place teams to advance out of the group. I think you can definitely see a situation where maybe they beat up on Haiti and then maybe steal a point off of Brazil or Morocco, or they beat up on Haiti so badly that they can advance based on goal difference. You know? So I I like Scotland. I don't know about you.

Speaker 1: I like Scotland a lot, for the same reasons that you mentioned. And with so many third place teams getting through, this is a group where it seems obvious who the first and second teams are. You know? Like, just what order you wanna put them in. And so how does Scotland, like, scrap for that third place finish? Like, can they beat Haiti, you know, get a decent goal differential from that and then keep it close? And and like you said, maybe snag a point off of Morocco or Brazil, then, boy, you're sitting pretty in one of those third place spots. And so to me, it seems like one of the, yeah, one of one of the better options for for third place teams that you can kinda call. And, yeah, I like some of the talent on that team. I like I like Scott McTominay a lot. So I like Scotland.

Speaker 2: In Europe, man. I'll say What's that? I think he's one of best midfielders in Europe.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Incredibly underrated, these days.

Speaker 2: I think he's I mean, just because he left Man United and, like, went to Napoli, everyone, like, forgot about him. But it was like, he's actually been significantly better in Napoli, and they've embraced him there as well too. So that's a huge, I think, thing.

Speaker 1: I I think that I think that's a massive thing. For me, Brazil already announced their World Cup squad, and, you know, this got sent in our group chat. Just that is the roster underwhelming for Brazil? Like, you know, you you look at Brazil and you kind of expect star power, and you do get it. Right? Like, you've got Vinicius. You've got Ruffinha. Neymar is on there for some strange reason. But the rest of the roster, like, you look at the midfield, Bruno Gimuresh from Newcastle, Casimiro, Daniilo Santos, Fabinho has been playing in Saudi Arabia since leaving since leaving Liverpool. And Lucas Pachata, I I don't know about that. It's like a a midfield that I'm rolling with into a World Cup for a team that, like, expects itself. You know, we're talking about expectations from Mexico. Boy, Brazil, like, expects that, like, this is kind of their birthright, right, to to be really good and to compete in World Cups. I just I I don't see it out of this particular team to be, like, a competitor at the top level. Full disco I I have them winning the group, but I'm not convinced that they are actually a contender to win this thing.

Speaker 2: Well, you have them winning the group and they're displaying their lineup or their selections. I'm displaying their selections. I have them getting second in the group. I have Morocco actually beat them. I think Morocco has shown and, yes, I know they have a new coach. And I think you have the say you have asked the same questions in Brazil with Carlo Ancelotti as well too. The same question I want would ask about Mauricio Pochettino. This is their first time coaching at international level.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: That is a much different, you know, thing than coaching a Champions League game, than coaching a La Liga game in Enchiladis case. I think that their land it is underwhelming. I think Morocco I mean, remember Morocco technically won the African Cup of Nations. It was through a kind of interesting situation, but they made the final in that weird in that really weird game. I think that they've, you know, continuously gotten better as well too, as a fact. And I think we've gotten more I think Morocco was underrated going into the last World Cup. And now it's like, okay. We know how good this team actually is. You know, we talked about Hakimi. We got El Nasseri as well too. There's also other players that we all have listed on here that are absolutely excellent. It's like, I think they're a really good team, TK. I think they're gonna surprise people. I think they're and I think the way that they play is very organized. You know? They're a much more how do I say this? They're really organized when it comes down to where they play. Think that's gonna be super important. You know? They drew they drew Ecuador. They beat Paraguay in two friendlies. I and I think I think they're a good team, man. And I think they've proven it that they're a really good team. So I have them win the group and Brazil finishing second, which I think sets us up for it's funny. I think we've agreed almost every best match.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Like, I think I think it's generally, like, pretty clear. Like, okay. We think these are the two best teams. So when they play each other, like Exactly. That's the best match. But that sets up an incredible match, like, really early on in the tournament between Morocco and Brazil, June 13.

Speaker 2: First game of each each for each team. That's incredible.

Speaker 1: I mean, it's that's incredible. I mean, that really kicks kicks that group off with a bang on June June 13, and, it's gonna be an incredible one. I mean, yeah, you mentioned the the the good players from Morocco and just how they play, and that's how they did it in 2000 and in in 2022 in the last World Cup, getting all the way and then finishing fourth overall. I I think just in this particular case, like, they don't have the element of maybe surprising people. I think they did catch people off guard and catch people off That's fair. By surprise. And I think Brazil is gonna come in and know that they are gonna be outstanding. I think Morocco still gets out of this group. I have Brazil, Morocco, then Scotland, and Haiti finishing blast in this group.

Speaker 2: So I have the same order except Brazil, Morocco flipped. And, I mean, for Haiti, conquercalf nation, we wish them nothing but the best. I just I don't know, man. I I just don't think they have a talent to do those things. I think the concavations are gonna struggle, especially, like, Curacao and Haiti. I mean, have Duscan Nation who plays for Ezekiel in in Iran. He has 44 goals. They also got Wilson Isador, the 25 year old forward from Sunderland who just switched to Haiti, but it's like, can they sneak into a third place game? It's gonna be really interesting, TK, because those, like, bottom two teams playing each other, Scotland and Haiti, this is has increased importance for both because you could actually advance. You know, a lot of times, you couldn't advance. Right? But now it's like, hold on. We can actually advance if we win this game.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. Getting three points and having three points on the board, like, puts you in contention for it. It might. Yeah.

Speaker 2: Like, to be honest you.

Speaker 1: It sure dang might. So that'll be interesting to watch.

Speaker 2: By the way, TK, do you know that there's 495 combinations for the, whatever your the third plate who the third place can play? I made a mistake of looking at before this pause to try to figure out what would be who, and I just gave up. I was like, I don't know why there's four in any five of these. Like, they couldn't, like like, if c if the first place person is c and the second place is d, then e play it's like, what is going on, man?

Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. That's wild.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Exactly.

Speaker 1: Figuring out all the different permutations of how this could how this could turn out. It's gonna be fun, though. It's gonna be fun. Group d. Do you wanna take us through introduce us to the teams in group d?

Speaker 2: Yes. It's a very important group. Why? Because our glorious United States is in there. The US is the pot one team from group d as a host against its twelfth appearance. They came in third in 1930. Are we counting that? I think I'm counting that personally.

Speaker 1: I think there were, like, four teams in 1930. Okay. Cool.

Speaker 2: We finished third. Who cares?

Speaker 1: I don't know. Yeah.

Speaker 2: But the more recent one was reaching the quarter final in in 2002 in Japan, Korea, World Cup is kinda like the golden moment. They beat Mexico in route to that. They're ranked sixteenth in the world. Noble players, you guys all know them, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKinney, Tyler Adams, Anthony Robinson. We could list the entire lineup if we wanted to. Alejandro Lindejas. Okay. Sorry. Was just me trying to put him in there.

Speaker 1: Putting it into the universe.

Speaker 2: Putting it into the universe. Next up, have Paraguay. It's her ninth appearance. The first is 2010, where they fin actually reached a quarter final in 2010. They're ranked fortieth in the world. Some noble players, Gustavo Gomez, who plays for Paul Maris in Brazil, Omar Alarrete, center back for Sunderland, and then Miguel Amarone, who most MLS fans will know, 32 year old who used to play for Newcastle and now is back in Atlanta. We have Australia after that. It's her sixth straight World Cup. The other one they made was in 1974. They're ranked twenty seventh. We know Jackson Irvine's a big midfielder from Saint Paulie who just got relegated. And then we also have Matt Ryan Paulie. Yeah. Who's a goalkeeper for Levante. And finally, we have Turkey, who's actually the pot four team. And, actually, the team that I have as a favorite going into this, which I think is a little wild, is their third World Cup. They finished twenty second in the world. You have Ardagh Guler, Keenan Yildiz, Hakan Shalinoglu. It's a really talented team, TK, and this is what we're talking about, listeners. Pot or group b, you have that group as a host. Look at what The US has to deal with. It's a much diff more difficult group, much more difficult teams, and I actually have Turkey as the favorite going into this group instead of The US.

Speaker 1: Turkey's so freaking talented, man. Just looking at the the players that they have, you know, you mentioned Articular plays for Real Madrid. I mean, there's already rumors of of Arsenal trying to make a $90,000,000 bid for him, this offseason. Like, Turkey is outstanding. I put The US as the favorite just simply because, like, look, they're playing in The US. I don't know how much of a home field advantage it's gonna be, but, like, I think that The US has this young core that's kind of been together for a long time now. The Weston McKenney, Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, core. The they're all 27 years old now. Anthony Robinson is 28. You've got other kind of, like, fringe core pieces like Sergino Des, who played a lot in the last World Cup. He's 25. Like, this is the last opportunity for, like, this core for sure. Like, these guys to be, like, guaranteed to be able to try to do this together. Like, maybe one or two play in the next World Cup or whatever, and and maybe they aren't, like, the central pieces of the team the the way that they are here and now. And so I just think, like, with that being the case, like, I'm making the US the favorites, but, boy, Turkey is just so freaking good.

Speaker 2: I mean, they're really good. They beat the US, You know, US were missing some players, so that is a big key caveat. I think that they were missing the like, a couple a couple of guys, and they survived. Turkey survived in that in the World Cup qualifiers. I don't think they were impressive. I think they just kinda survived, and maybe I'm overhyping Turkey, but I just see them causing so many problems for The US. I'm also I feel like maybe a recency bias of The US has played a little bit.

Speaker 1: A little bit. Sure.

Speaker 2: I I think, TK, though, I like Australia. I think they're gonna cause problems because what I liked again, in that US game, it's a small sample size, but how organized they were. And, yes, The US was able to break them down. But can Paraguay, can Turkey? I don't know about that. And that puts them to be a high floor team in my opinion. I actually think they'll finish third in the group and advance out. I think I have the Turkey and then The US, which I would hate if The US finished second in the group. It would except for a much more difficult matchup in the round of 32, potentially against Iran and Arlington. How crazy would that be with with what's going on politically? But Who? I mean, finishing first will allow them to play a third a team that finished third. Now we don't know what team. There's 495 combination as we mentioned. With The US, I have Turkey as a favorite, but TK, this is gonna sound very contradictory. The US should win the group. They should win the group. If they don't win the group, that's a big issue. I do I think they will? No. But they should win the group. They should advance, and they should be facing, you know, whoever third team is. The team is too talented. There's too much talent in Europe. I think Pochettino kind of has an idea of what's going on. It it's on Pulisic. It's on McKenney. It's on Adams. It's on all these guys, man. Like, this is put up or shut up time. This is the ultimate litmus test for your golden generation, quote, unquote, to really perform and actually do something. If they don't if they don't want this group, it's gonna be it's I'll have like, again, I don't have them winning the group, but it would also be a huge problem if they don't win the group.

Speaker 1: I I like, I think you're right. And I think, like, the continuity of this the team, like, so many of these guys have been playing together for for a while now. Like, the the most important players on the team, like, should all know one another, like, and should all, like, have this level and sure, like, Greg Berhalter was the coach last time. Now, it's a new coach but like, boy, like, so many teams would love to have like the entire core of their team As much of it as they wanna bring from the last World Cup, bring it to this one. And, like, has been the goal the whole time for The US. Have a World Cup on home soil. We've had it circled for years and years now, and now you've got this generation of players that, yeah, we've called the golden generation because they've attained certain levels of success within Europe. You know, Weston McKenney being a regular starter at Juventus, like, this entire season and for multiple years in the past. Christian Pulisic playing and scoring, you know, in Serie A with with with AC Milan. Tyler Adams starting regularly for Bournemouth in the early. Anthony Russell.

Speaker 2: We can go down the list. There's so much talent there.

Speaker 1: All of these guys. And so, like, it would be a massive disappointment, I think, to not win this group. Like

Speaker 2: It would tell me, TK, that the program has not developed enough. It it just it hasn't developed enough, man. Like, you can't you can't tell me that you have a World Cup on your home soil, and then all of a sudden you're just gonna be worse? Like, that doesn't like, that you're gonna like, I don't I don't know, man. Like, I just it it seems to me it's gonna be a really big indictment of the program, obviously, because your second round matchup can just get be a lot difficult. It could be Egypt. You know? Because Yeah. They would play. It's like I wanna say e or it's one of those other not e. It's like it's a group with Iran, Belgium, Egypt, New Zealand. That's the group that they would play if they finish second. And, like, you know what could happen? What if Egypt tops the group and you have Belgium playing in your second game? That's gonna be brutal. But Iran is gonna be a tough team too, and you know We've

Speaker 1: already seen what Belgium does to this US team.

Speaker 2: Oh, exactly. Jeremy Doku is gonna have the time of his life. And, like, you need to win the group, I think. Mhmm. And, again, kinda like Mexico's situation where if Mexico wins a group, Mexico City is your home base, and that is a huge advantage in this World Cup where travel is all spread out. Right? But if you if you're The US, you need you need you need to win the group. I can't emphasize this enough. You need to get seven points and get out of there, in my opinion.

Speaker 1: It's all gonna come down to June 25. USA plays Turkey in LA. You and I both have a group stage. Final game of the group stage. Best group of the or best match of this group's of all the potential matchups in this group. Boy, that one's gonna be I I hope it is as monumental as we think it will be. I have The US winning this group, because I think that they think they just have to, and I'm baking on them being able to get it done. But Turkey's high end attacking talent makes me really nervous, against The US back line. And so I I think there is enough room for concern there, but I feel confident against The US. I I feel confident for The US against Paraguay and Australia given what we've seen when we played them, back in the fall. And so I feel okay about that matchup. It's the Turkey one that makes me really nervous. I'm just gonna say that the US gets it done, whether it's a draw against Turkey, goal differential, get out of there sort of situation. But look, I think this is where I'll wrap things up and I'll let you respond to it and we'll finish out this thing. But I think that what you said is correct, that the program has to show progress. And in the past, The US has gotten into these situations against, like, a tough team in the World Cup. And we've just seen too many times where, like, they've wilted under the pressure of, oh, that's a that's that team actually has talent. You know? And I I like, I think I'm thinking specifically of, like, The Netherlands in the last World Cup or Belgium

Speaker 2: Yep.

Speaker 1: In the past. And I think, like, this group with the maturity that they should have, the experience that they should have needs to come out and really, really perform in that match and and get a good result for The US that wins them the group. I think, like, that would indicate to me, like, progress, and that would indicate to me, like, this group is actually, like, ready to fulfill its potential to the extent that it can.

Speaker 2: I'm with you a thousand percent because US is the pot one group, the pot one team. So they don't have an England. They don't have an Argentina. They don't have a Netherlands in their group. And you would continuously avoid playing a top team in that group. Right? If The US just just for I want listeners to understand this. Like, if The US won their group, who would they play? They are group d. Right? They're they're number one in group d. So I'm just double checking this because I don't wanna lie to you guys. They would play to third place, then they would play the winner potentially of group g. Right? That I think is that Belgium

Speaker 1: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand.

Speaker 2: Exactly. That puts you in a round of 16 game where you're not necessarily, like like again, like, you setting yourself for that, but you don't have to face another pot one team until then. So it's like you have the setup to do so. You need to finish and win the group. You need to win the group. And I'd be very disappointed the team if they don't win the group. Just gonna be final honest with you. If they have to play a team like Iran or Egypt in that sec in that second game, it's gonna be very difficult for them, I think. And, I mean, if they finish third, it's gonna be even worse because I think third would almost put them in a collision course to play against, like, Germany potentially or one of those other bigger teams. So need to finish first, TK. I really hope we do. I just don't see it happening. I think I see us losing to Turkey in that final game. That's how I see it. 9PM too. 9PM low our time. So it's gonna be an exciting day, man. I'm I'm really excited. I actually will be in Arlington for the Japan Sweden game, so I gotta go find a place to watch it. I'm not gonna leave Arlington till, like, midnight. It's gonna suck.

Speaker 1: It's gonna be awesome. Next week, groups e, f, g, and h will come your way. Big teams in some of those groups. You got your Germanys, your Belgians, your Spains. It's gonna be a fun time. So we'll break down those groups next week. We hope that you've enjoyed this one. If you have and you have people that you know in your life that are trying to prepare for the World Cup, send them this episode. We'd appreciate it very, very much. Subscribe. Share it, all of those wonderful good things. Arman, any final words for our lovely viewers and listeners?

Speaker 2: I can't wait for the World Cup.

Speaker 1: Man, it's gonna be awesome.

Speaker 2: Us doing this review and, like, going over all these things, I'm like, holy shit. I cannot wait for this.

Speaker 1: It's gonna be sick. It is just around the corner. So everyone, stay tuned.

Speaker 2: Stay up

Speaker 1: to date with us, and we'll be back next week. See you.