Latest / Friends on Football / Ep. 23 - Spain Defeats Argentina to Win the 2026 World Cup & Our Most Memorable WC Moments

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Ep. 23 - Spain Defeats Argentina to Win the 2026 World Cup & Our Most Memorable WC Moments · Friends on Football

• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, friends, and welcome to a very special World Cup Final Edition of the Friends on Football Podcast.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is our 23rd episode of the podcast.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Brandon Johnson, and I'm joined today as always by my co-host, Mr.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sean Boyle.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Sean, how are you doing tonight?
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Brandon, I'm doing well.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to talk to you about the very last World Cup match that we just witnessed.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: It did not go the way I was hoping it would go, but it was at least an interesting finish, I guess I would say.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: It may not have been the best representation of the World Cup in general this final game, but we got a deserving champion, and I think that's the most important thing.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing tonight?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Sean, I'm great.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: The game was not a fun watch overall, but my prediction was 100% correct.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: I did not pick the correct goal scorer, but I did pick Spain 1-0, and that was correct.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure we'll get into it later.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: By that happening, and none of our players getting any points on the board in this game.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I am the winner of our player pool.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I am I'm doing great.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, congratulations.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's the first thing.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: As a man of honor, I have to say congratulations.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: I will say, it's a little bit it's a little bit bold of you to just so brazenly come in here and say I am the winner without any context.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: He won by a point, everyone.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: He won because of his Canadians.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: He's a big Jesse Marsh guy, he's a big Jonathan David guy.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: That that was 18 points right there.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: The the play of the match, though, Brandon, why you ended up winning by one point was that second Ferran Torres goal, which was deemed offside by the side of his face, was going to be a La Mini Mall assist.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: So that would have given me the victory.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: It did not.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon did win the player pool by a single point.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: It was a great job by him.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a fun little adventure for us to do throughout the tournament.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, all jokes aside, Sean, it was actually a ton of fun to do that and keep track throughout the tournament.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And look, in the record books, it just goes down as a win.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter how it happened.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like you said, there's What did you say?
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's no no photos on the golf on the golf score sheet.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: So But I will say, as we've seen throughout this tournament, there is an appeals process, and I might be running this one through FIFA.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like Lamin should have been awarded an assist for that penalty he drew in the last game.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: We didn't get it.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna I'm gonna go through the necessary back channelings and see if this result will hold ultimately.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: But for now, you are correct in saying it is a victory for you.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: So again, congratulations.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: As a man of honor, that's first and foremost.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I'll cheer for now, and if it gets taken from me later, then hey, I'll fight, I'll fight back.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'll appeal your appeal.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it'll be in appellate's court for years to come.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I think we should spend most of our time talking about the actual winners tonight, which are Spain.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Sean, Spain, as you mentioned, wins the World Cup 1-0 after extra time.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: A goal in the 106th minute by uh Ferran Torres.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: What did you think, I guess overall, about the game before we get into maybe the specific play for the goal?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was kind of a snoozer of a match, to be honest, and I will say I think we did a decent job previewing that.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Neither one of us were expecting a ton of fireworks, especially coming off the back of 2022 and how epic that final was.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: It just felt like we were spoiled already with such a cool, fascinating, interesting World Cup that it might be getting a bit greedy to ask for that in the way of the final game as well.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: We certainly didn't get that.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: We did see a dominant side win this World Cup, though, and I think that's the most important thing, and the thing we should really drive home in this episode because the best team won, and that was the case not only throughout the tournament, but today as well.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: It was a kind of a dominant performance from Spain without being able to put the ball in the back of the net.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: And that honestly kept it interesting, even if it wasn't the best football back and forth.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: It was interesting until the final whistle.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Argentina, without doing anything for almost the entirety of the game, did have a few chances, if not half chances, in the last five minutes there, where it kept us all on the edge of our seat at least.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: The big takeaway for me was it just felt like one of those classic spain games with this group of players that you don't have, you can't even grow into, you can't get any momentum in because they are just so good at not only possessing the ball, but immediately taking it off you when you get it, not letting you get into dangerous areas.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: And it just because Argentina were never able to find a foot or a rhythm in this game, it kind of led to that.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think all of us having that feeling that Spain were eventually going to find that goal.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And we alluded to it on the on the last podcast.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: We said we'd be shocked if Argentina scored first.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: We just saw Spain take a little longer than we expected to score that first goal, and ultimately that was all that was able to get through in this match.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, what were your thoughts on the game?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: I I can't imagine you were blown away with the end-to-end action in this one.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, it was nothing compared to the third place game on Saturday, which both of us trashed and ended up being an absolute wild game.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: We can talk about that or not talk about that later, Sean.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: That that's wild.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: But no, it it wasn't the end-to-end game.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: We expected it to be sort of how it was.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think for me, one of the bigger surprises were how Argentina did not really react well to Spain's press.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Spain is known for that press when they don't have the ball, they want to get it back as quickly as possible, as high as possible up the field.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And there are a few moments where Argentina gave up the ball in the middle of the field, gave up the ball in their defensive third, and Spain maybe wasn't on their day on their best in this game, but had multiple chances to punish them.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think it could have easily been two or three-zero.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And Argentina really just didn't grow, like you said, they didn't grow into the game, Sean.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't have that sort of there was never that moment where you're like, alright, it's coming.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And they tried to throw it up towards the end of the game, the last five-10 minutes after they gave up the goal, but they didn't have that classic Argentina moment that we've seen this whole World Cup where it's the 75th minute or or whenever late in the second half, and you're like, uh uh, here they come.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: That just didn't they didn't show.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a credit to Spain, it's a credit to their coaching, their staff, their substitutions.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: I thought they subbed very well.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, I think they finally just took took one of their chances, and and it turned out to be the winner.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, this was not the game for casuals to watch.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: They'll leave that game thinking, like, maybe I maybe I don't like this soccer thing too much.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it just really goes to show how good of a team Spain is to make Argentina look pedestrian, in my opinion.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I would even say they looked almost worse than pedestrian.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: I really feel like Argentina just didn't have any courage about them today.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't ever take that step forward and really say, hey, you know what?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: No, we we might be less talented than the Spanish side, but we believe we can win this game.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: I never got that impression.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: They were always seeming to play for a draw, to play for PKs, to win one late.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: And that team, in my opinion, I'm always gonna go with the team that's more aggressive as the team who deserves to win.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: And in this case, it was not even close which team showed up to play real football and which team showed up to try to get to PKs.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: These guys, this Spanish side, you mentioned their staff, their players.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: The thing with them is they have so many good players that it's almost you can't pick one out in terms of who is the MVP for the Spanish side.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think you could talk to 10 different people, and 10 different people would have 10 different answers.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that just speaks volumes to the entire country.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: This the way that they're moving and rowing in the right direction right now, it's impressive.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Coming off of the back of the Euros into this World Cup, it really is hard to envision anybody else taking that Spanish crown off of them the next Euros or even the next World Cup because of the way they're playing right now.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you that last point you made, I think, was huge because the team's not old whatsoever.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: They have young players in all of their key key positions.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Besides Rodrigo, I would say uh Rodri at at the six.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Other than that, you know, they have very young players all over the field, and I I don't see it being any different moving forward, Sean.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's scary to think that this team maybe isn't even at their peak yet.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but they've I mean today was truly a masterclass in in showing who who the better team is.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: I I do think though, Sean, to bring up a point we made last episode, it's still, even after watching the game, it still baffles me that Argentina and and maybe it's credit to Spain.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's credit to Spain, but Argentina just never seemed like they wanted to get into the game.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: It was like, all right, when when we do stop them on defense, we'll just clear it out and give you another throw-in.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: There was never that, all right, let's build something.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: They had a couple set pieces, they didn't even put the set pieces in the box, they just passed them.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know what the mindset was behind that.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And we've we mentioned on this podcast again, like they don't really play ahead very often.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're usually they've been coming from behind this whole World Cup, but maybe they aren't as good as what we think they are.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I and that feels terrible saying that because I do think the talent there is there, and and I think the team is there, and and Martinez had a great game in goal, and they did so many good things, but there just never seemed to be that instinct to hey, let's go get a goal until 108 after they gave up the goal to Torres uh in the second part of extra time.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's like if you play with fire, you're going to get burned eventually, and that's kind of what Argentina did.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: I I was trying to emphasize that in the last point I brought up, but it's like they you can't criticize them too much because they kept Spain at arm's length throughout the match.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: I will say Martinez did make a couple of really, really good saves in the last, I want to say five minutes of the extra time of regulation.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: But before that, he had a lot of saves by count.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: But did you feel that any of them were super impressive saves?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: They all seemed pretty run-of-the-mill, just shots on target right at him.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think Yamal's free kick was decent at the end.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: That was good.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: But again, it's to his goalie side, like he should be there.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: If you trust the wall, you should get that one.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: The Nico Williams one in transition, decent save, but one you expect him to make.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I almost feel like he he had a good performance, but I don't think Argentina will feel that they were under at under siege that whole game.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: They couldn't get out, but the the attacks that Spain were laying on them weren't exactly fluent and really causing a ton of fear, other than a couple.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: So it's almost like that game plan of Argentina to keep playing with fire and try to win one late, it almost, you could almost see how it almost worked.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: But when it's a World Cup final and one team of the quality that Spain has is just committing constantly to having the ball, to trying things, to stretching the defense in different ways, they're eventually going to break through.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: They're too full of quality not to, and that's what we saw.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: But it is an interesting thing if you're an Argentinian fan, you're thinking to yourself, you were 15 minutes away from PKs where you have you feel pretty good about your chances going into them.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but at the same time, Sean, I I don't know.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: You have Messi of Alvarez, you have these guys who are game-changing level players, and they're just not even really getting into the game at all.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it I I see what you're saying, and I don't necessarily disagree with you, but it's just it's an odd one for me.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's really odd.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's not necessarily what I would have done, but I'm kind of trying to get behind Scalone and see what he his thinking was in this game.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought some of his subs were weird too.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: It was really in other games, we saw him make some attacking moves, like against England.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: We saw him be more aggressive with his substitutions.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: In this game, immediately, I know Lucia Martinez, he got injured, he had to come off.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: He was already on a yellow, so that was kind of not the worst thing.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: But then the other starting center back, Christian Romero, gets hurt in the second half, he has to come off.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: So some of those substitutions are forced.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: And he probably ideally out of his five subs doesn't use two on his two starting center backs, but I don't know that that's an excuse to some of the choices in their setup.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_01: And they were so narrow, Brandon, in the first half.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: They could not play out of that right-hand side where they had Rodrigo DePaul as the kind of the right midfielder.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Him and Messi didn't even get touches in the game.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: Messi was basically not even getting cardio, he was kind of just standing around out there for I want to say 80 of the 90 minutes before we went to extra time and they got down a goal.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: But he was basically non-existent, he couldn't get a touch in the game to even grow into the game.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I if that's your plan, you gotta change it.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Because that guy, number 10, he needs to be on the ball as much as possible.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I believe it was late in the second half when they said he made his 12th touch of the game.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's just inexcusable.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: It really is, especially because as we've seen before, everything goes through him.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And when he's on the ball, Sean, he's gonna get two and three defenders just naturally.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: He may not even be in a in a scoring position, but he gets the ball in the midfield.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: People know he can create, he can make things happen, and he'll attract defense.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Defenses.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: So other guys are gonna make runs and they'll they'll get openings, and that just didn't happen.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's it's sad to see, especially them going out this way, because they're gonna feel like they just didn't have their best today.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: But we've said it multiple times.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's a it's a knockout tournament, and 90 minutes, or in this case 120 minutes, decides who goes through and who doesn't, and Spain just clearly, clearly were the better team today.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think it would have been interesting though, Sean, if we zoom back into those last 15 minutes.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: If Argentina did score, I think I think they easily win in penalties.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: I just think once they get one in and it this the place starts jumping, the fans start chanting, and and even that was muted for much of the game, I feel like.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I heard a few Olays for Spain, but I didn't hear much from the Argentina side until the end.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: But Sean, they score a goal in in that second half of extra uh stoppage extra time, excuse me.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: They might not even make it to extra time, they might score two because that's just how they are.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Once they get once they see one go in the net, it's it's like a uh streaky shooter in basketball.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: They they miss 10 in a row, but once they get that one in, Sean, you can't tell them anything.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the microwave man.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you still see one go through, yeah.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's a little bit of that in this team, but I just didn't see that fight.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: And the last, of course, they were a man down, so we do have to note that they were a man down, but that last 15 minutes after they give up the goal to Torres, it still didn't look good.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: They like you mentioned, uh the second goal from Torres.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, his shoulder, his hair, whatever you want to call it, barely offside.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it I know it ruined your Yamal assist, but like he stays on side there, which he could have done because it wasn't like it really gave him an advantage, and then it's 2-0 and it's like really done and dusted.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I I just didn't see that sort of hey, we're gonna go win the game now, like Argentina had against England or in or in the previous round.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I I maybe credit to Spain, I guess, and I don't want to discredit Spain at all.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: They gave up one goal, like we've talked about one goal this whole World Cup.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like they're not they were never gonna give up two or three today.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: But for Argentina to not even test them, they had literally no shots on goal the whole game.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like you'll never they had two shots total.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Two shots, two shots total, none on none on goal.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like they both came late, Brandon.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, one of the one of them was that last chance with that falls to Simeone, which is actually a pretty decent chance.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's a box full of people, so who knows if that one is on frame if it gets through.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: But that was a good chance for Argentina late, like you said.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: The XG ended up being 1.94 to Spain to 0.17 for Argentina, and it kind of is what we're saying.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're talking around it, and I'm trying to say how Argentina kept Spain within an arm's length, and they and they did, but then you have to play perfect, perfect defense for 120 minutes against some of the most skilled players in the world, and I'm always just gonna bet on the team that's being proactive rather than reactive to find their way through in those scenarios, and that's just what happened.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: I thought the second half leading up to the goal, we should talk about the goal because it was a it was a damn good goal.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh oh yeah, it's a long diagonal from our boy Pedro Porro, Nico Williams, who I thought was really sharp or at least energetic in this match, made a big difference.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: He gets on the end of it, and the ball was intended back post for Nico, but it's overhit just a touch, but Nico does a fabulous job of just heading it back into the path of Ferran Torres, who is crashing right toward right to the right spot, and then absolutely world-class finish, I would say.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he left footed, sure as shit strike, right, just rockets it in there, and it's like, okay, there's the moment.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: There, that's where this game changed, and everyone, I would say, felt like it was deserved.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the goal was fantastic, and I'm glad you broke it down a little bit because it does deserve its credit.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: The the ball from Poro, like you said, was a little bit overhit, but I think Nico Williams's header to head it back because you how Sean, how many games do we watch where that header on the back post from Nico Williams, he's trying to score and he hits it into the side of the net, and it's like this was stupid.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: He should have just brought it down or passed it back.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And for him to be that unselfish at that moment to know, hey, let me drop this back into the middle and see if one of my guys can get it, and then Torres is crashing like you should on any normal good play like that.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: I I think the credit definitely needs to more credit, I think, needs to be even given to Williams for that assist because so many guys are selfish in that moment and and ruin it, and it's a goal kick for Argentina.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: But for him to keep basically keep the play alive and ends up being the game-winning assist, it it's it's great from him.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then the finish, like you said, the finish is not easy.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: I I know he's kind of open in the box, but he still first times it left footed, and Martinez is a little bit out of position because he's chasing the cross, which could he have done better.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Could he have done better?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: He's I just said this.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: This is a hot take, maybe.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: I texted a group and I was like, might be a hot take because he's been good in this match, but I think he's kind of at fault for that one.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to say he's at fault, but I think he could have done better.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think he should have left his line.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: It looks like he may have gotten a little bit lost where he like positionally lost, not sure where he was on the field.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because, like like we like I just mentioned, I don't think Nico Williams could score from that angle on a header.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: So that's pretty clear as that floated ball is getting closer and closer.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's becoming more and more clear.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: And not only does he step all the way out past his sticks, Debu Martinez, he then waits a half second before reacting to getting back.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: And where Torres slots that one home, you would imagine is where a goalie would be standing if they had stayed near post.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I I you hate to, I mean, eventually listen, eventually the dam was gonna break because Spain did deserve this, but if we're really micro-analyzing that goal, I do think that's one where Debu probably could have done a little better.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and I think it's a fair criticism from you, and I I don't think anything of it.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, World Cups and games are like this are one-on-moment, Sean, and that's a moment where hey, he stays in the goal, he doesn't chase the cross, maybe it's zero-zero and that goal never happens.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing three minutes later when Torres has the breakaway.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, he stays a half step back and it's two zero, or maybe one-zero, depending on you know, if that first goal didn't happen.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the the World Cup's about moments.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: And today I do think we saw the better team play a full better full performance.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: But hey, if it was the opposite and Argentina had that one chance, we'd have every right to criticize Spain's goalkeeper if the opposite happened.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's a fair criticism.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: Even if he was definitely their best player on the pitch today, because the rest of their team was pretty horrific.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: Deboot certainly was the best Argentinian player today.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: So we we can't criticize him too much, but I do agree.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like I think that goal was gonna happen eventually, either way, especially against 10 men.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: The Spain pressure had gone up since the 70th minute of regular time.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: Their pressure, it was almost like Argentina couldn't even string two passes together.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we I think we all knew it was coming.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon, I wanted to ask you as we kind of just talk about Spain in general.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned how their poised with how young their team is for the future, the next Euros, the next World Cup.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: This cycle of players, they have this outrageously talented.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: There's some more in the pipeline.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Who were some of your standouts from this World Cup?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I know it's hard to pinpoint one guy exactly, and Lamin Yamal gets all the attention, but he wasn't their best player in this World Cup.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: I guess a few for me, and you could talk about them, or if you have anybody else, but I would say Rodri, Pao Cubarsi, Danny Almo, Pedro Porro, Marku Correa, that crew really were the standouts to me.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then in different matches, you had Ferran Torres win a game, you had Mikelo Yarza ball, come on, or start and win some matches.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: And Lamin was certainly good, but that's kind of speaking to my point.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's like I just named 10 of the eleven guys that play.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like everybody except Unay Simone, who was once again running around a bit today, but I'm not sure he used his hands once.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: No, maybe once, and that that was really it.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: I I no, your names are your shots are great.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think you could throw a page Pedrian.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: I I just to accept the role coming off the bench.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: He looked good in my opinion this second the second half of this game today.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean he it's just it's just different.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like certain guys, when you see them play Sean, it's different.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know, it's not always a skill, it's not always a move.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's just that there's this confidence that hey, when you're gonna give me the ball, if you get in the right space, I will get it to you.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: And to be able to play with a player who can do that all the time has to be such free as a forwarder or winger because you have you have class around you.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to throw him in in your mix as well.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: A good shout.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: I've been a huge Pedri fan since like the moment it's on play.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think he was like 16 or 17.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And he just runs the game.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: And he doesn't, like you said, it's nothing flashy, he's not on the end of a ton of goals, he's not even getting that many assists.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: Just every time the ball comes to him, under pressure, in the middle of the park, you know he's going to make a good decision and can make a decision that cuts you right open.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: And he does it time and time again.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: I thought the two subs that Luis de la Fuente made were perfect.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Ferron coming in for Oyarzabal.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Oyarzbal just was kind of not in the right positions today, just wasn't falling for him.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: Thought they needed to make a change there.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_01: And then Pedri for Fabian Ruiz, a really good sub as well.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's just it just speaks to the level of quality they have.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Pedri is arguably one of the best midfielders in the world.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: The fact that he's coming off the bench for the Spanish side says just about all you need to know.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: It was not the same case for Argentina, who were just throwing on defender after defender.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: We had new fullbacks, new center backs, one new midfielder, Peredes, who came in and was trying to get sent off.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it was just a different in class in terms of who was coming on the pitch, also.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I and Sean, those names you mentioned, I assume 90% of them.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Rodery, I guess, is a little bit on the the older end, but other than him, everybody else should be back.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: And and and maybe Rodery's back as well, but maybe it's maybe a little bit of a more limited role just with his injuries and he's getting older.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: But Pedro Porro, Kukarea, like these guys are are much probably a little bit more wing backs than fullbacks traditionally.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: But when they had to defend in this tournament, they defended, and they defended at such a high level that I mean their team gave up again one goal in the World Cup.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I can't keep can't stop saying that.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: I know not all of their opponents that were the greatest, but nobody else was even close to that.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: And Argentina were one of the highest scoring teams in this world cup, France were one of the highest scoring teams in this world cup, and they kept them both without a sniff.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, combined.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: Combined, they had less than a half goal of XG.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that tells the whole story there.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it this Spanish side's truly special.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: They should be celebrated, they are deserving champs.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: I was rooting for Argentina because, like I talked about in the last episode, I'm in the messy magic.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love Kudi Romero, I like Marco Sanesi.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't felt feel like Argentina deserved to win that game at all.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: I would have felt like they stole something if they had forced penalty kicks in that match because they just weren't at the races in the same way that Spain were.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this it's very rare that teams go and win the Euros and then the World Cup in the same cycle.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: Spain have now done that back-to-back times.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: They did it ahead of the 2010 World Cup, they won the Euros, ahead of this World Cup, they win the Euros.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: And like we're talking about, who knows what this team looks like in four years?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: You just never know in football, it could change tomorrow.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: But the way you're projecting it and looking at the ages of these guys and who they have coming through after them, and this coach, this manager, Luis DeFuente, who's been with them their whole careers basically, it's really rare you get a situation where it all comes together at the right time like this.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it's weird that it's only Spain's second World Cup ever as well.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like casual fans and myself would say it had to be at least their third or fourth to typically think Spain dominant at this sport, but I think we might be seeing just the beginning of some more World Cups quickly adding to their total.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: Big big words from you there, Sean.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't disagree necessarily.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: I just what runs through my head is like France.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know what I mean?
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna be in the way.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: England, I know that's my team, my bread and butter.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: They're they're never winning.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Who knows what they are right now?
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's never coming home, not going home.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: Third place is coming home, so relaxed.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Brandon, I'm glad you brought up the third place because I would like to remind the listeners if we did count that amazing third place game, I would have won the player pool.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: Going away.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: It would have been a blowout if you had it.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Sean, yeah.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: Third place game aside, I don't even know what to talk about that.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: But uh no, I was gonna mention with Spain, I remember when we did the preview, we were talking about who's gonna be their goalie.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because between Juan Garcia, David Reya, and Unay Simone, we were kind of like, Una Simone might be the worst out of those three.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: And for him to come out, and granted, I know he did not have to make a ton of saves, but you still have to make saves when you are presented with them.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: And he did it, and he played his sweeper keeper, and even in early in this workout final, he had a moment where I was like, ugh.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: He did have a moment.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he did have a moment.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: It might come back to bite him.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if there's just a little extra magic in the ball for him or what happened, but he he did what he had to do, and and you know, Spain, Spain took care of business.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: But it's funny that we were talking about goalkeeper being a position that we're like, uh who knows which way they're gonna go.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Great, all three great choices, but yeah, we kind of had Simone as one of the lower choices, and then he comes out and does this at the World Cup, and you're like, it didn't even matter, didn't even matter who they put in the net.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_01: One nice thing is if you're a little bit worried about your goalkeeper, if you just don't concede shots, it's pretty you could have a scarecrow back there.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: Not to say that Unay Simone is a scarecrow, but I mean, the most impressive part of Unay Simone this whole tournament was like you just said, coming off his line, being a sweeper keeper.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he's out at the halfway line early in this match.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: He's just getting cardio in.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think he knows the ball's not making its way all the way towards him, so he could kind of just play as like a center back.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: But that's honestly it's how just completely dominance the Spain side were that he's able to be so comfortable so far from his net, knowing that you're not gonna have enough time on the ball to quickly catch him out.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: He's always gonna be more beneficial to his team, making sure those runs past the back line can't happen and those long balls can't be effective because he knows that you're not gonna be able to quickly catch the Spanish side out.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, it's just a masterclass top to bottom.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: They're deserving champs.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: For Argentina, I guess we should just say a magical run in this World Cup.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't think in terms of talent or even just the way they were playing, they were the second best team.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: But they had the second best tournament, and that that's it was special to follow along.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: All their matches, except for this one, were pretty fun to watch.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: They were kind of all bangers.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: We got the Egypt game, we had the Cape Verde game.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's just it was a fun group, and it's all because of that magical, magical little man, Leo Messi, who provided us with those moments.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: But I do think while Spain were the deserving champs, I thought it was a really cool story for all of us to take in, and it created a lot of buzz for this final as well, having Argentina in it.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, Sean.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: And just to sort of wrap up before we go into our next topic, Argentina moving forward.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: What do you what are your thoughts?
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Where do you think they go from here?
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, Messi is 39, he's only getting older, but he still clearly has magic in those booths.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: What's next for this team?
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: You can't imagine Messi playing at 43 in the next World Cup, but also I'm not ruling it out completely.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's I don't think it's a 0% chance.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: They will eventually, though, have to get to a new era of Argentinian football that does not include Leo Messi.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: And that's going to be completely fascinating to watch.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: I I think there will be some parts where I think, as great as Messi is, it is difficult sometimes to play with him just because you need to have 10 other guys kind of doing thankless jobs.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not necessarily like we talk about how Spain works as an 11 out of possession.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: Argentina aren't able to do that when you have a guy like Messi, and and that's a sacrifice you make 10 times out of 10 just because the trade-off is always worth it.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: But it does free you up to do more things creatively as a manager when you're in that post-Messi era and there is no superstar who walks around out of possession and tries to start counter.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just a whole different strategy.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's a whole different group of players, it's going to be because not only Messi, they're going to be losing a lot of these mainstays in the squad by the next time we get to a World Cup.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it'll be interesting to see where they go.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: They do have a lot of good young players coming through.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's the thing about these football countries.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: The talent, they keep pumping them out.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas here in the United States, we get one or two guys.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: We're like, oh, look at this guy, look at this guy, and we watch him with a microscope.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: There are they're counting them by the dozens in Spain, in France, and Argentina.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a little bit different, but I think we I'm just gonna take a wait-and-see approach with Argentina and see what Messi looks like in two years at the next Copa.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay, that's fair.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't really know what to think either.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think if he decides to hang up his international football boots, I don't think we'll either of us would have a uh a problem with that.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think he's done more than enough.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think he has won at every point in his career, and maybe he just tries to go out into the sunset after this one, unfortunately, on a loss.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: But it it is interesting to think about, Sean.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: The the post-Messi era.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, there's gonna be guys coming through.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be guys at the next World Cup for Argentina that we haven't heard of who score four goals, and we're like, who is this guy?
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: Where did he come from?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: And he's the next 19-year-old star.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: So it it is it's an interesting thought, and I just wanted to throw it out there as we as we finish talking about this this Argentina-Spain match, because uh the future is bright for both of these countries, and and will continue to be.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it's cool to see that they built such great foundations that they really are just never bad, for sure.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: The future's bright for them, and the future of Brandon is also really bright for the game in general.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: I thought this World Cup was spectacular.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: It was 10 out of 10, no notes, so many good moments, and I thought, you know what?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: A good idea to kind of tie a bow on this World Cup would be if we each came up with lists of our favorite moments from the World Cup.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I guess do you want to do it I guess from five to one?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll let you go first.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: And if I have something that's the same, I'll just put my hand up and say I had that at number whatever.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I'll let you do the honors.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: Alright.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: That that works for me.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think for me, and I put them down in not necessarily a specific order, so I'll just do a quick little renumbering here, but I I think for me, number five, and something I'll never forget, is just getting to go to a game, getting to go to the World Cup and and see it in action and in my home city and with my you know wife and and friends.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's it was just such an incredible experience.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: My my brothers, uh it's something I'll never forget, and I just remember I'll just always remember seeing like the the faces my my brothers had, especially when we surprised them on Christmas with with tickets.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think for me getting to experience that and do that is it's number five, but it could easily be, you know, one or two on my list, and it's it's just meant a lot.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I think for me that's that's definitely one I want to mention.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: I um obviously can't have that one on my list because I was unable to make it to a match, but I did have in my honorable mentions being in the city, a host city, on a match day or in the days in between, and just seeing and meeting fans from all different parts of the world was really, really cool to have that first hand experience.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_01: I can only imagine going to a match amplifies that, but it was really cool throughout, and it's similar to one of the points that is one of my highest up on my list.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's a good way to start this off.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: Cool.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Sean.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, do you do you want to go back and forth?
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to do your five?
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: Or do you want to go?
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm worried we might steal.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: So you go and I'll just I'll chime in and say I had that as well if I do.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: So some other and you mentioned when we were talking about this in the preview, uh, memorable.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: So these are not always these are not all gonna be super positive.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just gonna be the five things that I will remember the best.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I think number four, and this one's kind of silly, but the Cures Al away jersey that never got used to the World Cup.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: That jersey for me is like 1-1.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: That jersey is absolutely beautiful, and it is an absolute shame that Gianni did not find a way for them to use this jersey at the World Cup.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_01: One of the great tragedies, and it missed my list, but I'm so glad you brought that up because that that deserves mentioning.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, that one that one hurt hurt me a lot.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: Number three on my list, counting, I guess down uh from five, uh, Jude Bellingham.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I just put Jude Bellingham on my list.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: He I followed Jude and knew he was a guy and and knew he was a star, but this World Cup for me really showed the rest of the world how much of a star he is, and I think it's only going to help him moving forward.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: He's going to most likely, I would assume, be the next captain after Harry Kane, you know, retire some international football for England.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: He just played with such a spirit and such a determination that you don't see from a lot of guys.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and he does not necessarily become the next Messi or Ronaldo.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying that, but he will, if he stays on his trajectory, be one of the best England international footballers of all time if it's when his career ends, if he continues to play at the level he's playing at.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: And to get to see him, uh, I did not see any of their games in person, but to watch all of their games and and follow them, this world cup has been really special.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I put Jude as number three.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: I had a similar one that I'll jump in with.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: I had my honorable mention, my first one that missed the list was the Mexico England game at the Azteca, and that is Jude Bellingham's masterpiece.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that right there has everything you need to see from Jude.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: The goal line clearance, the brace, the he's just that guy.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of the moment that it crystallizes for me, just how much of that guy he is for that country.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: God, would it be great to have a player like him play for the country you support?
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's just every little thing he does is all about winning.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_01: He he's just a dog, a killer, and so talented to combine with that mindset that it's special.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: There's not a lot of guys like him.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_01: I also had in my notes for this game Horse Harry Kane in the post-game interview.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: He could not get a word out.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: That was an iconic moment.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_01: So that whole match was one of my favorites ever.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly one of my favorites from this World Cup, and I think that it needs to be talked about.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm glad you brought up Jude and gave me a reason to shout that one out as well.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_00: No, I appreciate it too because that game was probably my number six moment.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: So if I if I had a sixth moment, that probably would have been number six.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: My second one, Sean, the Sydney Lopez Cabral goal from Cape Verde against Argentina.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, goal of the tournament, I think.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if we can debate that.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure we can find another goal, but that to me is goal of the tournament.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: Just the moment, what it meant to Cape Verde, and it and that we were watching it out at a place that like wasn't really a sports bar necessarily, it was more like a bar that had the game on.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: But as the game went to extra time and the moments kept happening, you could see the people started to gravitate and watch.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: And when that goal went in, everybody kind of went crazy.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: And to see his reaction to go find his partner in the crowd, and he's cheering with his teammates, and I think it just goes to show, just even on a bigger level, Sean.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: I I know this is one specific moment, but hey, 48.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like, let's let the teams in, let everybody come to the table.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: We learn about Cape Verde, a country that I had personally had never even heard of before the World Cup.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: And now it's like, oh, this place looks kind of cool.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like maybe we should go on a trip there.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I think bringing the the small countries in and letting them have their moments too is something that I'll never forget.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: But specifically that goal from Cabral against Argentina.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely spectacular, that goal.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: That deserves its own its own montage of just play that one.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: If they were to do like a one shining moment for the World Cup, which is what they do for college basketball here in the United States, if they were to do that video montage, that one should be in there three different times, just sprinkle it in throughout.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Sean, I'll say last but not least, and it it sort of ties in with some of the other moments, just the fan support and the United States and Canada and Mexico hosting this tournament.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: I I put specifically how the Mexicans and the South Koreans really bonded, but the Tartan armies, the all of these groups that came to the US and just embraced our culture, and from the US standpoint, we welcomed them.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: And there's definitely worries I had before the World Cup.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: People coming in from the outside, people don't know what this is, what's going on, why are all these foreigners in my city, my town?
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we had Spain training in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and they're at the Walmart in Tennessee.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like just these moments, Erling Holland's at the in in Dallas, and he's going to the uh the Western Hat and Boot store.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it just all these moments, I think as an American who who follows this game pretty closely, seeing these teams and these countries and these fans come into our country and and make themselves at home and make themselves feel welcomed and appreciate what we have to offer uh is great.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something that I'll never forget.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_00: I was able to volunteer at this World Cup too, so I had some experiences around that.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: And just getting to meet people from all different backgrounds and cultures and just just the joy that people had just to be at this game at the game, to see their country play, and and just to be so thankful.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's something that I'll never I'll never forget.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's really good stuff.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: Great, great list by you.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm I'm I'm on a lot of similar notes, if not the same exact.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I think I'm glad we did it this way because I don't think there's anything you really took directly off of me.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_01: So similar notes, but I'll just go in a little different direction.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: The honorable mention I had, of course, Mexico, England at the Azteca.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about that, just one of the all-time games.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_01: My number five was Balogun's red card reversal.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: This, to me, and it kind of sums up the United States story, and so with it, it's this momentum that the United States had, and we were on the precipice of really making a change to people's opinions of the sport in this country.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then this red card gets overturned, and it was almost like all that good work we did was just counteracted immediately.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_01: We showed up completely flat, got played off the pitch by Belgium.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: But that 48 hours leading up to the Belgium game, I'll always remember this World Cup for that reason.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very glad you brought that up.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: That was in my honorable mention, Sean.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know how to really frame it because it's not necessarily a happy moment, and I try to stick more positive necessarily.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, that that that will always be remembered.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: That was such an insane turn of events, those those two days before the game.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I think also just the pol politics of it all and the FIFA, the organization, it's just all it's very on the nose that something like this would happen in our country as we're hosting and we have momentum, it just all feels like, oh god, why did that hell happen?
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_01: I wish we I wish he never got a red, and I wish we never ran up the appellate court to try to get that overturned.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, that one is gonna stick with me for a while.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_01: Number four, you touched on it, but it it it is a slightly different direction I went.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_01: I went Cape Verde, and then specifically Vizinha being reunited with his mom.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: His mother was unable to travel over originally due to some visa issues, maybe the cost of the visa or the accessibility of it.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually, after his performance that takes him from 60,000 followers to over 18 million Instagram followers, they were able to get her into the country and she was able to watch him play.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_01: Just that's exactly the stuff we're looking for.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: Just a great moment, a great story.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_01: Cape Verde needs to be on everybody's list in some capacity.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: I that's a great, great, great shout, Sean.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: My number three, it's a larger one, but I'm gonna frame it as Zidane's son letting Messi score.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: This this the Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane, it's really my note, my number three is Messi's magic.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: But this guy, Lucas Zidane, one of the worst goalkeeping performances I've ever seen.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I will I will it'll stick with me for as long as I remember.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: And that was where I was like, oh, they're handing Messi goals.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: I was like convinced they're handing him goals.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_01: It came back to ruin me.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_01: If that goal doesn't go in, Brandon doesn't win the player pool.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_01: A whole laundry list of things are different.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: If Lucas Zedan just has a clue of what's happening on the pitch, but that goal, I'll never understand how that went in in a million years in a World Cup, ever.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also not gonna forget that either, but no, I framed it under Messi's magic.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, that's in general.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'll remember Argentina's run and all of Messi's goals.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: That goal in particular I got a problem with.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's that's a good way to frame it, Sean.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely hilarious from you.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_01: My last two are more boring, but it will be what ultimately I remember this by.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_01: Number two, we could just breeze past it's Spain's dominance.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's just hard to really contextualize just how dominant they were to concede one goal to have seven shutouts.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: They deserve to win.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_01: This was kind of a formality.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_01: This final.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: So we can move past that.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: My number one, you touched on them, you brought them up, but specifically for me.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: It was the Tartan Army's performance in Boston.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: What what they did to that city in such a beautiful way, it was kindred spirits coming together.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: They were a perfect match in Boston.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: They set up home base.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: There and they drank them dry.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_01: They couldn't find a cold beer.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_01: You couldn't find a cold one.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: Just really special.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that coincides with my other just the fangroups, the Norwegians coming over and rowing in Times Square and in all the stadiums, and having a laugh at City Field as the Mets are losing, and they're just in the outfield just partying and doing like the salsa.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_01: Stuff like that, the Japanese fans picking up trash after the game.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm going to remember this World Cup by.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_01: Because it was on US soil, we got to experience it up close and personal.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I just thought it was great.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: And hopefully, my main hope for this World Cup.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's not something I can remember it by, but my main hope going forward is that even if it's three percent more people that were just casual or non-soccer fans became fans because of the things we just talked about.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: There had to be something that clicked with someone if you're just a human.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_01: There has to be a human story or a part of the game or something interesting you found that makes you explore the sport a little further in the coming months.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's my hope from this World Cup is we just got some more people involved in the game.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Beautiful list from you, Sean, and I agree.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: That number one is so special because it it's a sport that is the world sport, but still not totally clicked on here in the US.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's growing, and we have you know, analysis and a pro league and USL, and we have a maybe not a complete pyramid, but we have we have a little bit of a system here in the US, but it's still it's still growing.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, if you can grab 1%, 2%, 3% more people, I think that would be huge.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think on top of it, Sean, and I don't want to make this, you know, let's all hold hands and sing kumbaya, but embrace somebody you've never met before.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just seeing these groups come together and come into our country and and oh, what's ranch dressing?
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, what's this?
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: What's that?
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_00: Them trying different things, them trying different American things, and us Americans realizing, okay, they're just people too.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: They want to dance in the street, they want to have a good time, they want to have fun, they want to see goals and celebrate.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think if we can all just buy into that a little bit more, around not even soccer, just around people, period.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I think that would just help us moving forward as a country, as a world, and as a society.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_00: So just to play off of your list there, I think your list was fantastic, and I and I hope the same.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we we've made some new soccer fans as well.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't have said it better.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's a great message to kind of tie a bow on this World Cup and what we'll remember it by, but also what we hope it did and continues to do moving forward.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sean, now it's it's crazy to say I'm getting goose humps.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_00: The World Cup's done.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're done with the World Cup.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: We've done this for the last six weeks, we've covered it front to back, up top to bottom, and it's just really been a good, good time, and I've really got enjoyed getting to do it with you, Sean.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: But tell me, Sean, what's next now?
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: So so players are now going back to their home clubs.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: What's club football?
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: How do we watch club football?
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: What's what's what's happening next?
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_01: And we've got a lot coming up on the club side.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: You could really, I mean, yes, it feels like we put in some long hours, some long shifts here on the World Cup.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_01: You could say the the sport's just beginning.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we have this is just once every four years, people.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's great, it's special, but there's so much good stuff when you start to scratch the surface of soccer.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think we got a lot coming up this European season.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to get into the Premier League, will be our main point of focus because I feel like that's where most of our audience will live if they do become football fans.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's the most accessible.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great way if you guys can use this World Cup to gain some momentum in the sport and then pick a club team to support.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's the next step.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: You got to pick a club team to support.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_01: We'll help you with that process.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_01: The season starts towards the end of August, kind of in the middle of August.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: The preseason is underway already.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, Brandon, I've already been watching some friendly matches.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_01: I saw Matisse Albert, an up and coming U.S.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_01: player, play for Bricia Dortman yesterday.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just keeping my eyes on that.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_01: So we got a lot to get to.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna quickly turn the page into all of that and hope to keep that momentum we built from the World Cup with you guys.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_01: We'll keep it moving forward.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Sean, it'll be it's here already.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's wild to think.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: These players are gonna go back to their clubs.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure some of them will get a little bit of a break, but we have club regular season club games beginning in in less than a month.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's a quick turnaround.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll be covering it over the next few weeks.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have some previews, we'll go over some transfer news, some coaching changes.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_00: And like Sean said, we'll definitely we won't tell you who to cheer for because we're obviously biased in that, but we'll give you a little bit of info about teams and hey, maybe if you're this type of person, you'll like this team.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe if you're that type of person, you'll like that team, and just give you a little bit of a background on some of the teams in the Premier League, especially as that that'll be our main focus.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: But Sean, I know you're a big Italian league fan, so I'm sure you'll be adding some Italian league updates.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'll I'll be providing some MLS updates here on the American home front.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot to come in the next few weeks, and we're just we're just glad to have you here with us.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're gonna end up, Brandon, jumping right back into that preview game, as we did with this whole couple.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_01: It seems like just the other day we were previewing all of these 48 teams.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_01: Now we've got several different leagues to preview and a lot of different teams.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_01: So excited to get into all of it with you.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_00: It'll be a fun, fun next few weeks.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: It does feel like just yesterday I was telling you about uh Sergey Babarres from from uh where is he from?
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_00: Bosnia.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_00: Bosnia, I'm sorry.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_00: From Bosnia and him playing poker in his past life and all of that.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, lots to come on the horizon, Sean.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to do it with you.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: Excited to really dive back into what I think is really our bread and butter.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: The World Cup is special, but this is like a uh it's like the added treat at the end.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's the dessert.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: We don't really it's not where we live most of the time.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's the dessert, that's the extra.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: And now we're in our meat and potatoes, our bread and butter.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: But this is what this is what why we're here.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we're excited to to get that to dive back into our pool.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: I could not be more excited.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_01: This is our bread and butter.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_01: You said it, this is where I thrive.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a club guy through and through, mostly a time guy.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_01: Do love Roma, I love Syria.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_01: I watch a lot of Bundesliga, sprinkling some La Liga in Spain.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_01: There's really not much.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not I'm not picky.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: Not a picky eater.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_00: How does he have any free time?
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: He watches all the games.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_01: Podcast game never sleeps, you know.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_01: We gotta we gotta put in the hours, can't come on here and sound like stooges, so I I gotta I gotta stay true to it.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, Sean, we we appreciate you.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_00: We appreciate your insight, your knowledge as always.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_00: Listeners, thank you.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: This is uh our final World Cup episode, but like Sean and I both mentioned, more to come soon.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll be really diving into these club seasons, previews, transfers, coaches, who to cheer for, how to watch them, everything you want to know about these club teams.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_00: So keep staying with us, listen, follow, subscribe, tell a friend to tell a friend.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you as always, and take care.