USA Stuns in World Cup Opener & Spain’s Shocking Draw | Tyler Kern, Arman Kafai

Hello. Hello. Hello, soccer fans. I'm Tyler Kern joined by Armand Kafai. What's up, Tyler? What up? This is beautiful. It's beautiful. We are out at beautiful Clyde Warren Park. They're having a watch party. It is Norway versus Iraq right now. It's three to one Norway. It's an awesome night. It's beautiful. It's cool. It's not hot, which is like crazy for Texas to not be hot. Man, in the evenings here, like it's not it's not blazing hot right now. But also, like, this setup is not in the sun whatsoever. And so even on, like, the nights when it is a little bit warmer, like, you can still come out and you're not gonna bake in the sun. Yeah. This is great. Incredible setup out here. No. I think it's fantastic. I mean, Dallas has multiple great setups with this and the official fan fest they have Yes. In Fair Park as well too. Think two fantastic sets. This is this is just glorious in the heart of downtown. Come on. Yeah. It doesn't get much better than this. There's a screen over to our right, bunch of cameras in front of us, a lot of people sitting out on the lawn. There's some people playing soccer out across the sidewalk, and it's amazing. So wonderful to be out here. We have had five and a half days of incredible soccer here for the World Cup, and we're gonna talk about all of it on this episode. We're gonna break down The US's performance against Paraguay, which was amazing. We're gonna bar, maybe talk a little bit about USA, Australia as well. So all of that is coming up on the show. If you're not already subscribed, make sure to go subscribe. We're gonna do episodes throughout the World Cup, of course. But, Arman, I think we have to start with The US and Paraguay. How can we not? How can we not? Four to one. The US won their opening match of the World Cup against Paraguay, and I think both of us had some anxious excitement for that match. We'd seen the US take on Paraguay in the past, but this Paraguay side, you know, qualified through South America. They had some good results throughout that qualification. And so I think it was reasonable to have some nerves and some doubts about what this would look like once the games actually started in the World Cup. And safe to say they put those those concerns and any sort of questions that we had about this team to rest, like, pretty much right off the bat in that match against Paraguay. And I think you saw a continuation of what we saw in those two friendlies, CK, against Senegal and Germany, where the US played really well. What did we tell the listeners? Listeners, we we try to tell you this all the time. We try to tell Watch for patterns of play. Don't look at the results. And you know how many people were like, well, the US lost to Germany, but did you watch that game and how the US played in the first half? It was a lot different than how they had played normally. That Paraguay result, I don't wanna sound a little No. Too exaggerating. I think it was the best first half ever since the US played in the World Cup. Best forty five minutes for sure that I think the US has ever played. Incredible. I I I couldn't believe it what I was watching. And the way that they dominated Paraguay, we've seen some of results as, you know, that was the second day. We've seen some more games. No other team has dominated a team like that. That's, like, maybe relative in the FIFA rankings, if that makes any sense. Yeah. Like, Germany and Curis Allen's up seven to one. Right? To begin with. Yeah. But, like, that's not that that wasn't yeah. The like, a total mismatch in terms of, like, the quality and all of those sorts of things, like, in that match. But in this particular case, like, USA Paraguay, like, boy, that was an incredible performance. That first half, I think, by far the best first half that I can think of for the US men's national team. And then, I mean, maybe the best ninety minutes for It was a complete game. You know? They dominated. They dominated. They also had moments where they were suffering as well a little bit, towards the middle when Pulcic, was subbed off going into the second half. There's a little bit of, acclamation period with Molly Tillman going on the left wing Yeah. And Seb Berhalter coming in, but they they figured they rode the storm. They didn't let Paraguay get too crazy of chances. I would say their goal that they scored, you could say was I don't wanna say fluky, but it was kind of against the run of play a little bit. Yep. And then the US kind of regrouped and were able to kind of see the game out. So for me, I have no complaints about the result. Yeah. I think the only nitpick I could make is I wish that they maybe finished one more of those chances in the second half, but they were killing them through Srginio Dez. So The chances were there to win that game five one six one. Whatever you wanted. Like, Malik Tillman, I think missed a pretty golden opportunity, but this you put that to the side. He had by far his best his best performance in The US. The list of people that had great, like, US games. I mean, I thought Alex Freeman was good in defense. I thought Yes. Malik Tillman was great. I thought even Seb Berhalter coming on was great. You can go down and down, like, the list of players, and it was like, where do you see a bad performance? Well, I think, like, I think what that does is highlights, like, the depth that this team has that you can take out of Pulisic at halftime, which I don't think you could do in 2022. You could take him out of the lineup at halftime. And, yes, there was a dip, but not a dip that was so detrimental that you ended up feeling like the game was ever in jeopardy. I don't think that that has been the case in the past. You could bring on a Seb Burhalter at halftime and not feel like a massive dip in terms of the quality of this team. I think the depth is there in a way that maybe it's never been there before, and that to me is what's particularly exciting about this team as they continue to progress in this tournament. And I think one of the more interesting things is the way that people, I think, were scared of the way Pochino would set up the team. Yeah. But, again, we saw those two friendlies. We saw those late runs being made. We saw them really just go three v two and really go through. And, for example, Pulisic making a late run and, oh, man, the parrot wide defender not tracking. Or it was at at some point, it was one of attacking misses. Weston McKinney making the run. Overall, it was just constant, just movement and constant to where Weston McKinney would maybe drop drop into the Alex Freeman role or whatever, whoever, or Sergio Dez. Sergio Dez would be higher. Like, there was so much fluidity in the formation. It was just like, what is going on? This team just looks remarkably better than what we saw in March. And I think that kinda leads credence to the theory of, hey. Was pushing or just experimenting? Was what was going on in in in those games? Obviously, Paraguay isn't at the level of, I would say, Belgium or Portugal, but I was left speechless after the first half. I just Flo Balogun? Yeah. Can we talk can we take a moment to talk about Flo Balogun? Let's talk about Flo Balogun. Flo Balogun was dynamic. He was pressing. He was taking doing individual efforts. He was making runs. He was occupying defenders. He did everything a forward would want you'd want forward to do. And then Ricardo Pepe comes in and continues and builds off of that. That's right. So it's like you have depth now. You have ability. And, I mean, we can go down the list of, like, what good things The US did in that match in a game to where, again, I just haven't seen them dominate a team, like, like that almost ever and not be like, oh, that was a fluke. Yeah. No. That's that's right. I and to put some numbers to it, the US had never scored four goals in a World Cup match before, so that's the first time they'd done that. And the three goal margin of victory is the most since 1930. The US won two matches in in 1930 by three goals. Was that the one they finished third place in, or was it the year after? They they they finished third place that year, and it was the first ever World Cup. And it's a really kinda Yeah. Tournament. Most people cite, like, 1950 or 1966 is, like, the modern era of the World Cup when it kind of is at the level that it that we kind of think of it now. And so it's a it's a fluky statistic. So, I mean, this was by far, like, the most dominant performance that we've ever seen from the US men's national team. And I think, like, you can maybe go back to 2002 and talk about some of those results when it comes to where, you know, you might look for better results overall, you know, whether it's like the win over Portugal, which was a massive result then, or the win over Mexico in the knockout rounds, that sort of thing. But in terms of just a team going out and just absolutely obliterating the team in front of you, which as we've seen since that game is not a given. Just because there's a talent disparity, which I think there is between The US and and and Paraguay, just because there's a talent disparity does not mean that it's a given that you're gonna go out and just absolutely blast the team. Right. I mean, we're gonna talk about Spain and Cape Verde here in a second. Exactly. And there are other examples of of there being talent discrepancies and and massive differences in terms of what teams are putting out there on the field, but still not being able to actually carry it out. I mean, look at Mexico, South Africa. Yeah. I mean, that was a game to where Mexico, I think, was a superior team in South Africa, but Mexico could never impose their game on South Africa even though South Africa just really struggled to connect passes. They struggled to actually get a flow of the game. I thought the ideas of South Africa were actually pretty good. They just couldn't execute them. And Mexico were just like, okay. We're not we're gonna sit against them. We're gonna go against the ball, etcetera, and we're gonna try to hit you in transition. But Mexico couldn't impose their will Yeah. On the game even though they won two o. I mean, even late on, right, when Cesar Montes gets the red card, that how does that happen when you're up two men? That's a lack of a control on that game. And I think you compare that, and Canada's also a game against Bosnia with how the what The US did against Paraguay. I mean, it's like like night and day difference with how dominant that performance was. Now can they build build off that against a team like Australia that maybe I'd probably say it's a little bit more tactically composed than what Paraguay was. Yeah. And I think we'll be forcing the US to kind of work in a different way than what they had against Paraguay. Yeah. It'll be interesting to to evaluate that that Australia match and see if the US can win in different ways. But before we start talking about that, let's go, like, maybe position group by position group and just highlight some performances Yeah. That we saw. Everybody? I mean, everyone everyone was good. The back line let's let's do do the starting line up real fast. We had Matt Fries in goal. I mean, he didn't really have much to do. Didn't have much to do, which is a nice thing. The back the back three looked like Tim Reem, Chris Richards, and and Alex Freeman who we mentioned. Now Chris Richards had the most passes with a 100% completion rate of any player since 1966. Crazy. It's crazy. And apparently, he what? He wasn't match fit until probably late on. Alright? Like, didn't we I didn't think he was gonna did you think he was gonna start? I did not think he was gonna start. I thought he was gonna start. You thought Pushino was bluffing a little bit with kinda stuff he was saying? A little bit. Yeah. I I thought he was gonna start, but I didn't I wasn't sure, like, what to expect. So for him to come out, put forward, like, almost, like, a nearly flawless performance, especially in terms of, like, his distribution Especially when he hasn't played in, like, what, like, a few couple weeks. Right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that that to me is is wild. And in in the modern game, like, you're you're trying to get into attacking formation with, like, three in the back, two midfielders ahead, and then, you know, a group of five attackers Yep. Kind of across the top. Right? That's what you're looking to do. And some nations will do will have four at the back, send their wide wing backs kind of forward. Right? Your left and your right back forward, and then drop a midfielder between your two center backs to form that group of three. Right? Because that midfielder has a better passing ability than your defenders. But if you're gonna have a center back like Chris Richards who's able to complete that many passes against an inferior opponent, then you're starting off kind of already with, like, a leg up on your opposition because you have a great defender back there, but who's also doing the distribution work that typically some nations are asking a midfielder to do. And you're talking about distribution. Right? Tim Reem. Tim Reem, I think, I was looking online, completed the most line breaking passes at 25. Incredible. Just breaking lines, finding, what, jet Jedi Robinson quite a bit. Mhmm. Being able to break those lines, have a center back, that's gonna be like, I don't wanna talk too much about the next game as we're talking about the last game, but it's gonna be huge when you're breaking that team that wants to sit back. Yeah. There's a center back that says, hey. I'm not afraid to break lines and progress the ball up the pitch. Hey. I can find a a center mid in in between the lines, boom, who can break the lines and then go forward with the ball? That's important. Right? Because sometimes you see teams, they they they can't break lines, CK. When they they can't break lines, what happens? You go side to side instead of going direct. And when you go side to side, get funneled out to the wing. Why does he get funneled out to the wing? Teams that sit in the low block want to funnel you out to the wing. Yeah. Why do wanna funnel you out to the wing? Most of the times, it's two v one. And then there's two defenders on one on one attacking player. Okay. Then you have to go back. Then there's a lot more numbers concentrated in the middle. But when you have a guy that can break lines, then that that you can't get set up in that way. So that's, I think, the beautiful thing about Tim Rim. I thought Tim Rim was excellent. I thought he could like, we talk about Tim Rim. He's 39 years old. There's a lack of pace there. You're you're an old guy. You're gonna have a lack of pace. But he never really was 39 this year. I have a lack of pace. I mean, I'm 29. I'm of a lack of pace. So, I mean, I can't even I can't imagine how how 39 is. But, look, he never really was exposed. And I would say, I think that's more to his positioning because Anthony Robinson's flying up the pitch. Yeah. He is. Like, I mean, I think it's more to his positioning than it in that in his, like, intelligence than anything else. Now we'll see what happens next game if teams try to isolate But I thought Tim Mareem was excellent. I thought Alex Freeman was ball work. I think his distribution was a little led to a couple of opportunities for Paraguay, but I think Freeman had some good recoveries as well too. Yeah. And, I mean, covered admirably for Sergio Dest on that side. Sergio Dest is just a winger. At that point, yeah, Chris Richer Chris Richer's Alex Freeman's basically a right back Yeah. In that system, essentially. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. In the midfield, we had Tyler Adams and Malik Tillman kind of as the two holding midfielders. I thought they both had great games, but Malik Tillman, I thought was outstanding in this game in terms of his distribution, what he was able to do when he got forward. You saw, like, a lot of calmness on the ball, I would say. Him and McKinney were interchangeable. Yeah. Almost. They swapped quite a bit. Yes. And, yeah, I think it just showed showed his versatility and his fluidity and just, like, how dynamic he can actually be. It's like incredible, man. Like, just watching how fluid they were and how they were just not stagnant in a position, I thought it was absolutely incredible. And, I mean, I really, really like what Malek Tillman did. I think it was excellent. I thought I thought he was incredible. He had Jedi out wide left. That's Anthony Robinson. And then out wide right, you had Serginio Dest. I thought they both had pretty great matches. Serginio Dest was a bad touch at one point with an opportunity in on goal. He also got tired too late on the match. Like, like the sixty fifth, like, six six minute, like, around that time before he was subbed Aphrawaya, you could see he was just tired. Yeah. And, like, the opportunities were there, but he was just gassed. He was gassed. But I thought I thought it was interesting the way that The US looked to combine more on the left side with Pulisic and Anthony Robinson and kind of get overloads on that side within possession. But then on the right side, it was more about, like, direct play. Right? Like, when they went to the right side, it was more direct Go to Srginio Dest. Yeah. Direct to McKinney, direct to Srginio Dest, just get them in space isolated on a defender. And I thought that that was a pretty effective game plan and and strategy. And I think overall, what you saw was a team that understood what their roles were and like you said earlier, understood their patterns of play that were gonna be effective for them in this matchup. And, boy, they really they really played it to a tee. There were so many moments where I was watching this game and being like, how do these guys constantly just find the same areas. Yeah. Like, it was almost like Paragraph wasn't tracking them. But I think it was just because the way it's set up, it ended up being a three v two, and then that third guy was free almost every single time. Yes. Making a late run, the Paragraph, you were late to react. Boom. You have a one v one with either pull a sick or I think it was mainly Dest on the other side attempting to cook. And then once I mean, first goal, pull sick was a was was a one v two. Pull sick cooks splits the defenders. Help being late to come. Right? So he recognizes that and just like, boy. Split of defenders, and you're like, oh my gosh. Like, this is this is awesome. Like Yeah. And the composure on McKinney on that first goal as well too to cut it back. I think even if it wasn't on goal, I think Balogun would have been there to score. I think so too. I wasn't really I it was from the start to the finish, DK. I was just I was stunned. I know. I was stunned of how dominant it was. And then to end with Gio Reina's Travella. Travella. Oh my gosh. So okay. So own goal opens the scoring, but it was wonderfully worked by Christian Pulisic. Down the left side, cuts it into McKenney who plays a cutback pass from an area where he could have taken a shot. And I wouldn't have blamed him had he tried to shoot there, but he tries to cut it back to Flo Baligan. A defender who's in a terrible position where he's rushing at full speed back towards his own net to try to cover for what The US has just done ends up kicking it into the back of his own net. Own goal, US is up one nothing early in the match. And then two goals from Flo Baligan in the in the first half. Boy, they were both just absolutely That's third goal. The placement on that third goal was just a goal. Cutting in from the top of, like, the right side of the box. One defender miss and make the other defender miss. It's like Onto his left foot, upper 90. You need individual talent like that. Right? Like, you can't just be, like, a team of sis like, a team of systems will work. Right? But you need those individual moments to flow. And I think when you got well, I guess, not trying to make a pun here, Flo Balogun, but I guess when you have Flo Balogun, oh, I'll make this defender miss. Oh, I'll make this defender miss. Oh, and then I'm a shoot it? Yeah. What else did it ask for? It's it's incredible. And so that was those were goals two and three were Flo Balogun. And then at the end of the game in stoppage time, Paraguay had pulled one back. It was three one. The US was cruising like it was going to be It was what? A 26 pass sequence? It was a 26 pass sequence that ends with Giarena just, like, casually Travelling. Grabbing the ball. I can do that in FIFA. I cannot do that in real life. Outside of the foot is a is a Travella. Outside of the right foot into the corner on the far side of the net. Just absolutely a beautiful goal and showing everybody kind of what Gio Reyna is capable of, why he's on this team in the first place. Just an unbelievable performance. It really capped off an unbelievable performance for the US men's national team. Four to one. I think I saw Doyle Matt Doyle tweeted a, or not tweeted. I saw it on blue sky. I don't know what Superior. Did he blue sky it? Yeah. He skied it a, a chart of all of The US players that kind of documenting, like, their sprint speed and how far they ran, how fast they ran, all of that sort of stuff. And Gio Reina was last in every single category. I mean, he's not gonna run. I mean, do you expect him to yeah. I I do I will say, like, I when I when that sub first happened, I was hoping that it would be Aronson. Yeah. To kind chase the game, see out the game, etcetera. But I understand why you put in Gio Reina. He's a special player that he isn't gonna run around and do things, but he's just a special player that does, like, special stuff. He just casually, like, walked the ball into the top of the box and then scored, like, an absolute banger of a goal. Oh, my gosh. I love a Travella as a Luca Madrich fan who I think is, like, kind of the king of the Travella, either the pass or the shot, but it was glorious. And so The US wins their opening match against Paraguay four to one. We're gonna save our look ahead to US men's national team playing Australia. That match is this Friday. We're gonna save that for the end of the show because we have a lot of other results and things that we should talk about on this episode. Oh, hell yeah. So I think we should dive in and talk about maybe the most Stunning. Stunning results up to this point. Because when we're talking about cutting edge and a player kind of using skill to beat players and, like, using that one v one kind of ability, that's something Spain was really, I think, lacking against Cape Verde in a nil nil draw that I think was as, I guess, improbable of a result, maybe as we could have expected in this World Cup. Zero zero between Spain and Cape Verde, I think, is our most shocking result so far. I mean, Spain is a World Cup contender. Yeah. I have them winning the World Cup. I think I'm on this show saying that they are gonna win the World Cup. I think you are. And guess what? They drew one one again or zero zero against Cape Verde. I mean, I the thing that shocked me was we saw this from a lot of teams where they would sit in these low blocks. And what would they do, TK? They would not be composed in these low blocks. I think a good example that, is in my in my mind right now is Bosnia. Mhmm. Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Canada. They were not and when they were sitting, they would push up a little bit. They wouldn't be organized in a low block. Cape Verde said, we're just gonna defend for a zero zero draw with our lives. We're gonna be super organized. We're gonna be set up. We're gonna be in this super compact low block. Break us down. And they couldn't and Spain couldn't do it. They had one chance to do Ferran Torres, which had a pretty high expected goal value and all the memes on whatever app you use are about Ferran Torres. But, like, overall, they just couldn't combine to beat them. Yeah. They couldn't create clear cut opportunities. At the end of the game, they put in La Minha Mall, and it was alright. La Minha Mall is one on one. Okay. Maybe there's a second guy coming as well too. Okay. He's gonna cross the ball aimlessly into the box. Again, when you're a low block team, that's what you want. You want them you wanna funnel them out wide. So they cross the ball in. You have all your bodies in there. Yeah. Just clear it out. Okay. They're gonna do the same thing That's why You got three center backs in there? Exactly. You have a whole bus chances. You have a whole bus in there. So I was really impressed by how I mean, the field tilt was 95% to 5%, which means 5% of the ball was in Spain's half. 95% of the game was played in Cape Verde's half. That's wild. I mean, it's it's an unbelievable it's an unbelievable result for a nation that now, like, first off, this throws off everything for Spain. Yeah. It does. Because now Spain, if they finish second in the group and Argentina finishes first in the group Could end up playing 32 game is a it would be against Argentina. What a banger that would be in Miami too. But here's a here's a here's a crazier thing, DK. It also keeps Cape Verde alive for that third place spot. It totally does. I mean Because you don't think that any of the other teams in that group are gonna earn a point against Spain per No. I don't think so. Not with the way Saudi Arabia and Uruguay played each other. I don't yeah. And so, like, to earn a point in that match where your opponents in the group probably aren't going to gives you a leg up. Gives you a leg up for sure. I mean, now it's all I think all Cape Verde have to do is beat Saudi. They don't have to even beat Uruguay and beat Saudi in the last day, and you're probably into the next stage on four points. So, I mean, they didn't get pummeled. They I I am I this is gonna sound weird. Am I shocked that this happened? Yes. But am I, like, surprised? Because Spain always throws to break down teams like this. I don't know why I was gonna bring up. Yeah. It like, they always throw to break down teams. I I don't know if this is their style of play or what they, like, wanna do, but they just can't break these low block teams down, like, as deadly, I'd say, as maybe some other teams would like to work. I think, like, it can get really frustrating watching a game like that because you're right. They'll just go side to side and just, like, string together a million passes, but with no, like No intent. Hacking intent. Yeah. And so when they won Euro twenty twenty four, they did that with, like, a lot more direct play. And, like, they didn't keep a majority of the possession against Croatia in that in that tournament. And it was, like, the first time in, like, a decade that they had, like Because when you play a team like Cape Verde, they're not gonna push forward. They're not gonna push forward. You can try you can try stuff. You can hey. We're gonna try to go through the middle. Oh, no. It's blocked. Okay. Cool. What's Cape Verde gonna do? They're gonna clear it out. Yeah. Just keep you can try those patterns of play. And even if it doesn't work, you can put it in the heads of the mids. Okay. Hey. We need to be careful. They're gonna try. They're gonna try us to try to capitalize on this. Oh, no. That opens up more space in other places. That's where a low block team is really dangerous because if you just take what they give you, you will struggle. There's a difference between, like, patience and, like, complacency. And I think sometimes, like, Spain, like, really trying to force the ball into the net instead of play the ball into the net, if that makes any sense. Yeah. And and and sometimes, like, it just ends up, like, they just do the same thing over and over again, but they're, like, okay with it because it's their style of play. Yep. But, yeah, like in 2024 when they won the Euros, like, were so much more direct through Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on the wings. And so not having them healthy at the beginning of this game, I think, matters a lot in terms of, like, how they ended up playing. But, yeah, Spain still has a match like this in them from time to time, and they've started slowly at times. And I saw this the other day. They've only won three matches since they won the World Cup in 2010. Only won three World Cup matches, which is crazy, against, like, Australia, Costa Rica, and Did they almost lose to Costa Rica, I feel like? I feel like that was a really weird game. Dominated Costa Rica. Either Costa Rica scored early, and it was a the this like, I I remember something weird about that group. But then the other thing that that is weird about this Spain side is, yeah, like, the that low block just, like, really, really can frustrate them if they don't have that direct avenue through wingers like Yamal, like Williams. And, yeah, it was it was wild to watch them struggle so much with Cape Verde. And what did we what did we tell you guys? We told you guys. This World Cup is forgiving, but if you don't win your group, you make your life a million times harder. Yeah. If Spain doesn't win their group, more than likely, they'll have a date unless Argentina next game coming up Yeah. Fumbles. They will have a date with Argentina on your as your round of 32 game instead of a third play a a third place team. That is, again, forgiving World Cup as long as and and and a very straightforward pathway as long as you do your job as a pot one team. Yeah. And they didn't do it. They didn't do it? Unbelievable. They didn't do it against Cape Verde. We'll see what they do against against Saudi Arabia and Uruguay also in that group. Those teams tied one to one yesterday. But, yeah, Cape Verde, I I could not have been more impressed with, like, their They're just so composed, man. I I loved every second of it. It was great defensive football. Yeah. Their composure, their discipline, their keeper had himself a great game, and is now a star. That was how many followers do you have on Instagram? He started on How many I mean, what? He started with 40. Yeah. And then he ended up with I think last time I saw, he had, like, 3,200,000, I think. I heard he, like Last time I saw, yeah, he had, like, 6,000,000. 6,000,000. Oh my god. Okay. Yeah. The power of the world cup, man. Oh my gosh. Tim Payne and this guy. Yes. I mean yeah. So I think that result really kind of threw a lot of things out of whack and really, really good for Cape Verde. What are the matches have you enjoyed so far? Every all of them. Is that a bad take? No. It's not a bad take. I mean, I've enjoyed a lot of the games. The game we're recording this on Tuesday. Yep. The game Monday night, Iran, New Zealand. I know I I have that's not but that was the most people were like, you think it's a game of tournament? That wasn't tech like, technically I'm like, dude, stop it. That game was a banger. That game was a banger. It was entertaining. It was fun. It was two teams, and this is something I think we'll see, TK, a little bit with these maybe three to like, the pot three and pot four teams playing against each other. They know they need to beat each other Yeah. To win. So you're gonna see these open, just wild games because both teams don't understand how to play as the main dogs with the ball. Right? Yeah. Like, when Iran and New and New Zealand play teams, they're usually sitting back. They're absorbing. But when they're playing each other, it's like, what do we do? We both want the ball, and we both are gonna get the ball. How are gonna go at each other? I thought that game was that's my game of the tournament so far when it comes to pure entertainment value. So Hey, guys. I got the other one. It is he's got 10,400,000. God. God. Awesome. The power of the World Cup, man. That's more than, like, half like, most NBA players. Yeah. I'm pretty sure. I think I think, like, sometime yesterday, he passed Jalen Brunson. That's crazy. He just won an NBA title with That's crazy. New York Knicks. Unbelievable. No. I thought I thought that Iran New Zealand game was one of the most entertaining games I've I've watched so far, if not the most entertaining. It felt like fast break basketball. Like, two teams that just wanna get out and run. Exactly. Both teams didn't know what to do with the ball, I would probably say. Iran, specifically, they did not know how to use our midfield Yeah. At all. And they were like, hey. We're gonna play super direct. We're gonna try to isolate Ramy and Rezaian, who is I I called him on blue sky, the Iranian Sergio Agassi, even though he's 36 years old, just because he likes to try stuff. And I love that. Just plays out, like, crazy a a crazy style play. He scored and assisted, in the match. I mean, he was absolutely brilliant. I thought that the Iranians showed the Iranians are gonna be very disappointed with this result, and I think you see some of that with their postgame comments because I think they knew that they had to win this game. They knew that they should have won this game. I think no respect to New Zealand. I think technically Iran was just a little bit better, but New Zealand was just a lot more organized with through Chris Wood. And I think we talked about this, TK, on our preview. I think the Iranian coach, Amir Gulenoy, I I totally said his name wrong, He is just not a tactician like they had with Carlos Quiroz. Yeah. And what you saw was a weird selection of players. You saw a defensive back line at an average age of 34 years old. That's right. Chris Wood was given so much time to, hey. I'm gonna chest the ball. I'm a control the ball. I'm a set the offense up. Sapreet Singh, I thought was excellent as well too. Elliot was it Elliot Just, I think his name was, I think, or the the the guy who scored the brace for New Zealand, I think, was absolutely excellent as well too. I I I think Iran just wasn't composed enough, and I think New Zealand was composed enough. And I think New Zealand picking off a point against Iran is such a fantastic result for their country. And I think for Iran, you're gonna look at it and say, we totally missed an opportunity to score and and and or or to to to take three points and go inside game against Belgium, top of the group. I think it's a absolutely missed opportunity by Iran just because the way they were set up. I think they're set up completely to fail. Fascinating. I I it just didn't make sense. It's like, have to have little bit composure. It's like, okay. We're gonna play direct. Then the defenders wouldn't know what to do with the ball, then they would lose the ball. Then New Zealand would play direct. Then because the the defense didn't have a they're not fast, you have to sit back. Yeah. So when you sit back, what happens? You open up a room up top for your for Chris Wood to operate. What happens? Sapreet Singh has a room to operate, etcetera. All these guys had room to operate just because the defense has to sit back because they're slow. There's space between the lines Exactly. Between the midfield and defensive line for for Iran. And and if at moments, you it looked like a five zero five almost Yeah. Where the where the midfielder's a push up. You try to play direct. It was entertaining, but I think Iran will be very upset with how that result ended up for them. Yeah. A two two game between New Zealand and Iran. Did you have thoughts and feelings about the the comments made by the Iranian head coach after the match? Now the reports are that Iran was made to get on a plane following the match and head back to their training grounds in Mexico, maybe ahead of when they thought that they were gonna have to do that, just like mere hours after the match ended as opposed to maybe the following day like they expected. The running coach had a lot to say about that. Just kind of talking about what was his his his quote? He said they were the most I'm blanking on the word. I have to I am too. The most maybe prejudiced against something like that, team Yes. At the World Cup. The most oppressed Oppressed. Team. I think it was. Yeah. The World Cup was was the way he said it. Did you have thoughts on those comments, especially as it relates to kind of Iran's situation coming into this World Cup. Absolutely. I mean, first thing first, let's let's not diminish the plight that the Iran players have to go through. Right? There was a lot. The the the administration, the the visa issues that they had Yeah. I think those are very valid points. I think this is the first time where I'll say I don't I don't agree. Because what what do most teams do after a World Cup game? They go home. They go back to their base camp. New Zealand went to their base camp in San Diego. And San Diego is a farther flight than, Tijuana. Obviously, there's more difficult than domestic flight, but that stuff is what happens. You go back home to your base camp, and you go recover at your The other teams have the option to do so. But, again, most teams just go back home or base camp. Everything is set in their base camp. The recovery, everything. I mean, even for an MLS game that ends at, like, eleven or twelve, eleven or 12:00 at night, teams are going straight Yeah. So I think for me, the Iranian the Iranian coach, I think a lot of that was frustration with the result. I think the result was very frustrating for them. Yeah. They should have beat New Zealand, and they know it. And I think they're I think that frustration is flowing out now. Well, you're not letting us recover here. This, this, and that. Like, that's the first time where I'm like, okay. Every Okay. I'm not I'm not necessarily with I'm not with you. I get that there's challenges, and I get that there has been challenges. They just have to reissue a a Visa to one of their players because their Visa's on a single entry Visa, isn't you? Like, I'm not even a Visa guy. Like, and now I'm, like, learning about all this stuff now. You know? So that that's the first time where I'm like, I think a little bit is frustration. You're blaming The US is gonna do the same thing. Again, New Zealand did the same thing. Yeah. New Zealand's flight was farther. They probably it was probably, like, They had to fly San Diego from LA. Tijuana's closer to Los Angeles. The the Federation president bragged that it was, like, a forty minute flight. That's wild. So, I mean and, again, like, again, for the misconceptions, they flew in the day before the games, which every other team is also doing as well too. Teams are flying in before the the day before. I think what England and Croatia flew in today. I think Croatia's, training at SMU is what I saw on Instagram. So, I mean, all I mean, again, the Iranian, I I followed this team since I was a kid. Yeah. My my my my family heritage is from Iran. So I followed this team as a kid. I probably know this more than half the more more than most people do. But I that's the first time where I'm, like, kinda lose me a little bit right there. Netherlands, Japan. Two two. Banger. First match Second best in Arlington. I think so. You know what's weird, though? What's that? Like, you look at the expected goals and stuff like that, number is so low. Yeah. It wasn't like these are all clear cut chances here and there. It was just like a like a flurry of goals and moments that happened in the second half. The first half was kinda like a dull feeling out period for both sides. You were kinda waiting for something to happen. Come on and do something. You know I mean? Spark that game into action. And then once it did, like, boy, it popped off, and it stayed that way for the whole forty five. You know what's a bit now? And, unfortunately, I'm a I'm a part of the bit. Alright. I kept saying why is Japan crossing in the ball? Oh my gosh. And, like Yes. Joe Darren Fletcher. You're going up again, and Darren Fletcher also says the same thing. Yes. I almost said the same thing. I didn't hear him. I was saying the same thing. I I didn't hear I think he had goal. Yeah. I love this game, man. I love it. Japan has a significant height disadvantage when playing The Netherlands. The Netherlands is in the top 10 of tallest nations at this tallest Probably overall too. Well, I They're eighth overall in terms of, like, a tallest national team at this World Cup. As a nation, The Netherlands is the tallest average. That's why I went to Amsterdam. I was looking up to everyone like, damn. Y'all are all so tall. Dude, I'm the same way. I I was just lost amongst amongst, like, a sea That's not a problem for you, Yvonne. You're you're you're you're chilling over there, man. We like, for us, we're just like, hey. Yeah. I do want a latte or something. So I know. I was just coming up to everyone's shoulders when I was in Amsterdam. I was just stuck on the metro, wow. This is this is Not a fun time. But so Japan kind of kept playing the ball out wide, trying to cross the ball into the middle. When they were down a goal. They were down two one, and they kept doing this over and over and over again. And I had that thought. You had that thought. Darren Fletcher, who was the color commentator on this match, had that thought and said it. And that's the really unfortunate thing for him is it's his job to make comments like that when it's obvious that But he was right. He was. He was right. Just because you just because you score doesn't mean, like, he was wrong. No. He's yeah. Absolutely. That's that's kinda like the curse of having to be the commentator. Right? And that's happened to me before when I was FC Dallas matches. You know, you comment on something and like You're like, oh, why why why aren't they countering? Then they score counterattack, like, five seconds later. Yeah. Exactly. Why are we bringing in Roland Lamall right now? Yeah. He chefs the score to Hatcher. Yeah. Exactly. So that sort of thing happens anytime you're an announcer, and he had a really good sense of humor about it and even made joke like, watch. They're gonna score now in five seconds. And sure enough, they scored. Yep. But, man, that was that was an incredible moment where he predicted exactly what was about to happen just by doing some good analysis because, yeah, you play that game a 100 times. And they're not winning a header. Yeah. Japan's not scoring a goal from a header, but it just so happened that that one came off. It was an incredible moment on the broadcast. Brazil, Morocco won one match. That was a really weird game. It was. The first half was super lively. Morocco was all over Brazil. Brazil settled into the game, and then the second half was just kinda like a it's like a stalemate almost to a degree. Yeah. I mean, two teams that didn't wanna lose. I thought Morocco looked great. The 18 year old kid in the middle, oh my gosh. He was he was amazing. And I think, again, do not underestimate the African teams. They are excellent. They have been underestimated up to this point, I think. I mean, people were shocked that Morocco tied Roswell. I'm like, how are you guys shocked by this this team? Morocco did it last year in the last World Cup, and they've been consistently excellent all throughout. Like, why is this a shocking thing? I I like, that was a fun game. What do you what was your most disappointing game? Oh, that's a great question. Because that one's tough for me. I'm still trying to figure it out. You know what Switzerland Qatar was a weird one to me because Switzerland, I think their XG ended up being around like three. Yeah. And they only got one goal and then Qatar comes down at the end of that match and scores to make it one one. Nothing against Qatar. It's that's not like an anti Qatar kind of take. It was just really frustrating watching Switzerland create all of these opportunities just like chance after chance and just bungle them. I mean, that's what Qatar does in qualifying as well too. They sit back, try to counter, and then they'll score, like, a fluky goal and then sit back and not do much. So I thought that game was was fairly disappointing. In Tunisia. The five one loss Yeah. That's brutal. And they fired their coach the next day too. Fired their coach. The first firing at what? Harvey Renard is gonna be back in there as a coach? Bring back Harvey Renard. The most handsome coach in the World Cup for sure? Looks like a book cover. Like a Oh my gosh. He's a model. Book cover. He's he's pretty incredible. I have no idea how they're gonna organize how do you organize a team after one game of a World Cup? You just come in I mean, he's it it it's gonna be, like, just back to basics, boys. Like Sit back and enjoy the ride. I guess so. Tunisia can't be expecting too too much out of this World Cup now at this point. Australia too. Turkey. That was stunning. No. Well, it was stunning because us this is a good example of, hey. We are a better team than a group of individuals. The Turkey is like a group of individuals. They had 1.3 expected goals on 30 shots, which means their expected goal per shot, like, let me do this quick math real quick, is like it's like what? Minuscule. It's it's look. I used to work in I used to work as a data analyst for teams. That's I don't if I can see it. Point four? Point zero four expected goals. Point zero four. For us, a bad number was point zero six. So it's worse than a bad number. So for those who don't understand, expected goals basically takes, like, the probability that a goal is scored on any shot given, like, the, like They take a bunch of characteristics, like the distance, like what part of the body is being used, how many defenders are in front, etcetera. All of those things, and they develop a a a probability. And then you add up the probability from every shot, and it tells you how many goals the team could have expected to score in that match. And so we kind of use that as a way to measure and kind of talk a little bit about performance, because sometimes goals aren't scored that should have been scored. It's a very predictive stat. Yes. Very predictive stat. And so in this one, that stat adds up over the course of the game. So you take more shots. You're gonna have a higher Expected goal value. Expected goal value. And so it doesn't always tell you, like, the whole picture of how a match unfolds. But in this case, yeah, Turkey takes a million shots in this game, and a lot of them are from outside the box. They had, like, maybe one or two pretty good opportunities. I mean, number per shot's terrible. That's That it's like, again, when when we when I worked at a club, point zero six was our bad number. Point zero four, if I'd if if I saw that number, I would tell the coach, yo, we we were awful. We were awful. And, I mean, the the results showed. I mean, they were awful. Are tell me what you think about this statement. Australia reminded me of, like, old school circa two thousand eight Confed Cup US. I was gonna say, yep. I'm with you. I'm with you a 100% on there. They have a chip on their foot their shoulder now too. They do. Everyone says that everyone thought that they would be the team that wouldn't get out of the group. Exactly. And I mean, I think they have a ton of bulletin board material, play really gritty and tough defensively. Everyone knows their role. They're not gonna get broken down easily, and they're gonna hit you really hard and quickly on the counter attack. And they did that to some pretty great effectiveness against Turkey. They sat in a low block. They hit them on the counter. They did their job. So let's talk about USA, Australia. Can't wait. Cannot wait for Friday. That match is at 2PM central time. USA, Australia In Seattle. In Seattle. Each of these teams has three points. US has a three plus three goal differential. Australia with plus two. I mean, you win this match, and you are You you well, this is one thing I realized that I I don't think for our listeners, I didn't realize this. The first tiebreaker is head to head. You know that? I did not know this until someone pointed out. The first tiebreaker is head to head. I've always thought it was gold different. It it was. They changed it for this World Cup. Wow. Because they didn't want some of these teams to get smashed in the expanded World Cup, and then be like, oh, we have nothing to play for anymore. Now you have we have more to play for. If the US wins this game, TK, and Turkiye draws with Paraguay or or loses a Paraguay Yeah. It's over. The US wins the group. The US wins the group. Incredible. Which I think given that performance in the first game for the US has to be the goal, but you can't overlook what Australia No. No. No. Brings to the table. And we talked about this earlier in the show that this is now a different challenge maybe than what Paraguay presented. Correct. Because Australia is gonna be a little bit more disciplined. They're gonna sit a little bit deeper. The US knows what they're going up against because we saw this Australia team in a friendly back in November. But that doesn't mean that there's not gonna be a challenge there when it comes to breaking down a team in a low block. And they're gonna foul the hell out of you. They're gonna be chippy. They're gonna for sure I would say, you're gonna for sure try to foul pull a stitch a lot, see how that calf is feeling as well too. I mean, they're gonna be a scrappy physical team that is going to want to frustrate The US. They did that in a friendly a friendly that they almost they got in this crap. So it's like peep I I think a couple of people are like, oh, like, is this game like, has this game changed? No. The US knew this is exactly what they're gonna go into because Australia, no matter what, and they knew that they need to win this game no matter what. Now it has a little bit more importance, obviously, because of the head to head tiebreaker essentially. So, look, I don't think I don't I think The US should be ready for this game. I think they are ready for this game, and I think they will prevail in this game. I think Australia, the way the the way they played against Turkiye, Turkiye, again, it was a felt like a bunch of group of individuals versus a team. The US feels like a team right now. They're humming. They feel like a team. I feel like they'll be ready to go against Australia. It's gonna be a lot more challenging, but when you have a guy again, when you have defenses defenders that can pass the ball like Tim Mariam and Chris Richards, that's gonna make things a little bit easier for you when you're breaking down a low block. I think that's right. I think The US can't get lulled into the same thing that we kinda just talked about with Spain, right, where you're content to go side to side. You And don't think Pochstein will let that happen. I don't think so either. I think he'll light a fire I've never I've never seen them play like that. Yeah. I don't think I have either. Even when they were winning, like, they weren't playing, like, the side to side kind of action. Yeah. I think that's right. And the team's really not set up for that. Like, the midfield is not set up necessarily to be a, like, a dominant ball holding possession team. It's meant to be a more vertical, like, attack quickly, hard, and that sort of thing. Exactly. Be direct with the ball. And I think you're gonna see that with The US. And I think the thing is the the only thing I'm worried about is if they if Australia isolates one v one with Timurine. That's what I was gonna say. It's like, how do you how do you cover for that? And that has to be maybe a Tyler Adams role, maybe mixed responsibility between Tyler Adams and Federation. This game. They need to win this game. I I would not wanna go into a game against Turkey saying, hey. We need to win, because Australia would have would be playing Paraguay at that point. The US needs to win this game. And, apparently, Australia has bulletin board material from Mike Gorilla. Do you see that? No. Mike Grella said that the that that Australia is whatever, and Australians are just super upset about it. Why does anybody care what Mike Grella said? What I said. And, like, it's funny because if someone asked the Tyler Adams about this, and Tyler Adams was like, okay. Former New York Red Bulls teammates? Yeah. I mean, he was like, okay. We're underestimating you guys, and we think you guys are gonna be hard. Yeah. Like I think everybody's aware. Like, it's the it's the freaking World Cup. But I think also, TK, people are just still scared about this US nationals game. It's cautious optimism. When I going into that game against Paraguay, I was less worried about it. Yeah. And I'm less worried about this game as well too. I think the US will do their job against Australia in a way to where it's like, okay. They won the the the I think The US will win the game. It'll be a little tight at first, but then the US will pull away. I I I am confident in this group after what I saw against Paraguay and Westag against Germany and Westag against Senegal. It's just a different beast that these guys and the way these guys are playing. Will Australia make it easy for them? No. But I'm not worried about it, if that makes sense. I think I I think now that I've gotten, like, the optimism right, like Now you're now gonna hit hit us with some pessimism? Yeah. Well, I no. Like, I think now that I've, like, feel the excitement about this team and seen what they can do, I think now, like, now there's, like, a height from which to fall, I suppose. And I think that's what that's what I mean, I'm not saying they're gonna dominate like they did Paraguay, but, like, I think there will be just it'll be a good game. It'll be a solid result from start to finish. That's my opinion. Score prediction. Two o US. That was gonna be mine. Two o. Two o. I think they get a breakthrough in Australia. Australia really didn't create that many chances if you actually look at the numbers and stuff like that. Yeah. They sat back quite a bit, and they were able to capitalize on two I mean, the second goal was a great strike. The first goal was a a fantastic move off a counter where Turkey was left exposed. The US just can't be left exposed in those moments. I feel like I think The US defensively is better than what Turkey has. Cannot give up the first goal. No. If you No. No. If you allow Australia into that driver's seat, they'll let them really get comfy sitting back. You need to score first against this team. Then you're really, really in trouble. Yeah. You have to score first. You have to. I mean, that's not a question. Yeah. Oh, boy. I cannot wait for Friday. I'll be there. Arman's gonna be there on the ground. Hopefully, I'll lose my voice. I hope you do too. It's gonna be incredible. I don't wanna lose my voice, but, you know, win in Rome, I guess. It's gonna happen. Let's wrap up the show playing a little game. I'm gonna ask you if a team is overrated, underrated, properly rated after their first match. Okay. Are you ready? Yeah. Spain. Underrated. I think that that result was I think that result was just, and they'll be back into it against Saudi. I'm going properly rated. Fair. I think, like I think some it's you so would did you have them winning a tournament before? I think we didn't. I had Argentina Okay. I believe. See, think they can still win the tournament. I think they can too. I mean, people forget that they lost their opening match in 2010. And so did Argentina, and they won the World Cup. Yeah. So, like, this isn't an insurmountable deficit that they have dug themselves into. They can still win the group and not end up playing Argentina. Right. If they win both our groups, these games are fine. So I think they're properly rated. I think they're still, like Yeah. A contender, a favorite for this tournament. I think if anybody's realistic, like, you know that this is possible for a Spain team, they weren't fully healthy. So I think, like, properly rated is where I'm at. Brazil. Rated. Properly rated. Properly rated? Yep. I'm going overrated. They were one of the top four or five betting favorites heading into the tournament, and I don't think that's fair. I think that's fair. Yeah. I think that's but I think Morocco is a tough kinda litmus test with that first game. I think Morocco is really good. I mean, you know, I'm high on I I know you're high on Morocco. I think they win the group. Yeah. That's interesting. I think Brazil yeah. I'm going overrated. That's fair. I I still think Brazil's overrated. We're we're I think we're the same family. I think I think that's right. I think I think Morocco's properly rated, but they're not on my list. We haven't talked about this team yet. Ivory Coast. Underrated. Oh my gosh. That game was awesome. That game was awesome. I mean, Diamande, I mean, you see a story about him, how he grew up in Florida and played in, like, UPSL? Yeah. He played in, like, Jacksonville or And then now he's play played for Lejanes, now plays for RB Leipzig and is linked with, like, a it could be a $100,000,000 player. To Liverpool to PSG. He was amazing. Yan Di Amande, I mean, you guys gotta look him up. Maybe buy his jersey, get some stock in him because he is incredible, super dynamic, was all over the place. I thought they played really well against Ecuador. I had Ecuador as one my dark horse teams. And I did too. And I was like, wow. Maybe Ivory Coast should be my dark horse team. And someone's gonna get a third place Ecuador, though. That's gonna that's gonna suck for somebody because it took it took a lot for Ivory Coast to break through. They were the better team, like, attacking wise for the majority of that game, and Ecuador did just, like, I think exactly what they did during World Cup qualifying. So rapid with the ball. As soon as they get the ball, they just go forward, and you're like, oh, woah. All these numbers just pushed up now. Yeah. And Ivory Coast, man. I'm the Ivory Coast Germany game. That's gonna be lit. It's gonna be fun. I'm here for that. Turkey, overrated, underrated, underrated. Overrated. Agree. I think Overrated. I I think there's a chance they'll get out of the group. I I overrated them because of Me too. Because of talent. The group. Yeah. Because of the talent. Arda Guller. I'm a clown. Yulma? Ivan, put a little clown filter on my face, dude. Snapchat filters on the onto the podcast. Turkey, I think, is I think is way overrated. That's let me ask you. Can we throw one more in there? Yeah. Sure. And Ivan, hop in this. Mexico. I'll let Yvonne go first. Yvonne's gonna say overrated, bro. No. I think that I think they're they're right. I mean, we I think it's they're rated appropriately, I believe. I think so. I think they're rated as well. I I would I would put them as rated. I was leaning towards a little overrated, but I actually don't think I I don't think the rest of the world expects as much out of Mexico even though it is a home world cup, and they should be better. I think yeah. I'm I wasn't confident after that game against South Africa. Boy, after that game, I I feel like no matter where you had them rated beforehand, you had to knock them down effect, which means I think I I think they were overrated little bit. Yeah. That like, that's not a great South Africa team. And, like, they didn't make it look easy. It was a hell of a lot of fun to watch, like, all the red cards and everything that went on in that game. Believe that second red the the red card from Cesar Montes. I think that is one of the stupidest red cards I've ever seen. You are up two men. How do you allow that opportunity to happen? How do you allow it to happen? Then why do you do that tackle? It's just it was insanely stupid. But can I have one more? Yes. We're I don't we're gonna have to wrap up. Think the game's gonna start soon. Haven't talked about this team, and I thought they had the most imp one of the most impressive results and performances I've seen. Okay. South Korea. I love South Korea. So they played, I mean, come on. They they were confident with the ball. They they build out the back brilliantly. I think they're gonna have Mexico run for their money on Thursday when they play in Guadalajara. I am so on the South Korea bandwagon. I loved watching And remember what winning the group does. When the group says, you stay in Mexico. Gosh. That is huge for that game is gonna be massive because what we said was tiebreakers. Tiebreakers head to head. That game is gonna be massive. Whoever wins or, Africa, while Mexico have to play a Czech team that is probably gonna be tough to beat. Yeah. I mean I mean, Czechia looked tough to beat. Yeah. And they were tough to beat. And South Korea was it will get some breakthrough. My only complaint was South Korea. They were too conservative going forward. There was moments to where we advanced the ball up the pitch, and there won't be, like, one or two attacking players in there. And then it'd be like, Son just taking a crazy shot because he had no other options to go about it. I think South Korea is absolutely excellent. I think they're underrated. I think they're underrated also, and I am excited to see what they do for the rest of the group stage. We are out right now at Clyde Warren Park. It's a Thanks a lot for having us. This is awesome, man. Thank you so much to Clyde Warren Park. This has been just, an absolutely incredible experience. Getting to see people on the lawn, sitting out here watching the match. We just watched Norway, defeat Iraq four to one. We have Argentina. Me. I I I think Iraq played pretty well, and then it kind of the the second the when playing out of the bat goes wrong. Yes. That I think I think that broke the camel's back a little bit. That'll bite you a little bit. That friend Senegal game Senegal came back in I mean, Senegal looked really good. Actually, I I I do think the African nations have been wildly underrated in this tournament. Yeah. Because everyone underrated the African nations. I think it's a pure thing of just, like, people think it's just South it's just Europe, first off, and then they ignore South America. They ignore Kunkakaf. They ignore Africa. They ignore the Asian confederation. I mean, again, the best game I've I probably say the tournament in terms of entertainment value is between an Asian side and aside from Oceania. So did any of you guys expect that? We are recording this before Argentina, Algeria. But up to this point, South America has not won a match in this That surprises me. In this World Cup. That surprises me. Me too. Because of their Club World Cup performance. Yeah. And they look like this? Ecuador took a loss. Uruguay tied with Saudi Arabia. Lost. Terrible. That shocks me. Yeah. We'll see if, Argentina changes that and makes us look silly before this episode is actually kind of Make sure to watch some games, guys. Maybe go try and pick off a game if you can. If you're in the Bay Area, go to a game. It's super cheap. It's like 200 I mean, you can if you can afford it. It's like $200, but for a World Cup game Yeah. Relative to the rest, it's like Get out to Levi's Stadium. Yeah. Go to Levi's. Maybe go watch go watch Austria Jordan. I mean, it already happened by the time this episode's out. But Well, this has been an incredible performance. We appreciate everyone for tuning in. We appreciate the folks out at Clive Warren Park. We appreciate Yvonne. We appreciate Yvonne for making this happen, pushing all the buttons, making us look very, very good, and giving us his opinion. Man, it's been awesome. So thank you all very much. Share the episode and share the podcast with a friend if you will. We are loving bringing you World Cup action, and we'll be back next week. Figure something out because Aman's traveling and going to all these games. So Yeah. Way too many games, man. He's gonna check-in from the airport again or something like that. Yeah. I can I can do that? You know? It can just be like Yeah. Just again. Holding the phone. We'll get you Hey. As long as Yvon dude, crop my, like, face a little bit better, man. Jeez. I was like, look. All my friends sent me a meme of my face all, like, zoomed in. They're like, what's wrong with you? And I'm like, dude, nothing is wrong with me. I just don't I just I'm just zoomed in right now, like, holding my phone and talking to a guy about his damn charger. We need to get you, like, a phone tripod or something like Something like that. With. I don't know. I don't know. But we'll figure all that out. Stay tuned in with us throughout the World Cup. Follow along with us on Instagram and all the other places, and we will see you next week. Thanks, y'all. Bye. Bye.