Latest / Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football / We're onto the Olympic Quarterfinals

Transcript

We're onto the Olympic Quarterfinals · Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

0:03
OK, welcome to into the channel podcast premier about women's
0:08
football. Before we hit the pitch.
0:09
If you enjoy the show or love women's football as much as your
0:12
boys do, come kick it with us already.
0:14
Subscribe, follow YouTube, Spotify, Apple podcast, wherever
0:17
you like to watch or listen. Leave us a review over at your
0:19
favorite podcast app, links to all of our socials and the show
0:22
notes of this episode. I am your host Dino de Cespedes.
0:25
And as always, I'm joined by my Co host Mr. Grant Angle.
0:29
What is up man? I'm feeling slightly less than
0:31
fantastic, buddy. Not because of the football,
0:34
let's just say I I caught the bug.
0:36
But thanks to the miracles of modern science.
0:40
Not really miracles like actual like researchers and scientists
0:43
and doctors and things like that.
0:45
The symptoms aren't too terrible.
0:47
I don't feel that great though, so I got to apologize.
0:50
I won't be cracking a beer ski with you today by all means.
0:53
I feel like you should partake. I'm in much more of an organic
0:57
cold pressed juice kind of mode. But I will say this.
1:01
Citrus cayenne juice. The ingredients are as follows.
1:04
Three whole oranges, a sliver of ginger, a dash or two of
1:09
cayenne. Hopefully this one has two
1:10
dashes, about 1 lemon and 1:00 or so grapefruit.
1:15
So we're, we're still living over here.
1:17
We're surviving. I like it.
1:19
That's that's quite the diverse mix of ingredients there.
1:22
Trying to stay healthy man. Yeah, use promo code channel.
1:25
Buy one of those juices. We're working on that.
1:29
Yeah, absolutely. Well, well wishes to you, man.
1:33
I'm going to go ahead and. Do it, enjoy yourself.
1:37
Correct. This quarterfinals preview Bad
1:39
Boy just in honor of of our guy who is drinking juice over there
1:43
in the Pacific Northwest. Oh, it sounds great.
1:48
Well. Cheers to you.
1:50
Cheers to you as. Well, I should be good by
1:52
Saturday. Cheers to the Olympics as well.
1:54
Let's go. It's going to be quite a
1:56
weekend. So a lot of good football today.
2:00
Pretty good football today, I'll say.
2:02
And the only reason I say that is because there was a lot of
2:04
maneuvering and understanding of what the dynamics were with the
2:07
table and who was getting where and who was going home and who
2:10
was staying. And I think we saw that play out
2:11
in the field a little bit. But still really, really
2:14
exciting stuff. A lot of good drama and we've
2:17
got our seats meeting. We know our four quarterfinals
2:19
matchups, let's go. We even got some times we're
2:22
going to knock through all those lot to cover tonight.
2:25
With that said, where do I get started?
2:27
Let's start in chronological order, as we like to do a lot of
2:31
times in these tournaments. First match on the docket
2:35
Saturday. Little early for your boy over
2:37
here on Seattle, but this is already these are already
2:39
multiple complaints I've levied so let me try to slow down on
2:43
that. 6:00 Eastern. They have an early wake up on
2:46
Saturday out here in the Pacific Northwest.
2:48
Little more tenable for you folks over there on the East
2:50
Coast. 9:00 AM the United States of America versus.
2:54
Japan a matchup that we we kind of landed on, you know, we, we
2:59
did a little bit of prognosticating before the
3:01
tournament kicked off, filled out some brackets, created some
3:04
tears. We made some predictions.
3:06
And I think USA, Japan with USA winning Group B, Japan coming in
3:11
second, Group C kind of was always in the cards.
3:13
Yeah, but what kind of state do you see both of these teams
3:18
coming into this matchup in? I mean, I feel like both teams
3:21
should feel really good about themselves at the moment.
3:23
I mean, Japan coming off of a pretty dominant 31V over
3:27
Nigeria, they score another banger off a free kick.
3:31
They're able to kind of take that 3-1 lead, take that control
3:34
heading into halftime and just kind of see the game out from
3:36
there. They had 46% of the ball versus
3:39
Nigeria. They got off 21 shots, seven of
3:41
those on target. I think all seven might have
3:44
been in the first half or maybe in the first half.
3:46
They had like four shots and three of them were goals or
3:48
something like that to my to my recollection.
3:51
And then on the USA side, they put in another really good
3:54
performance they had at 70% of the ball versus Australia and 21
3:58
shot attempts with nine on target.
3:59
So both teams should be coming in pretty full of confidence at
4:03
this point. Yeah, I agree with that.
4:05
I think we can already sort of imagine a 7030 possession split.
4:08
That's roughly where these teams have been for most of this
4:11
tournament. And I think it's going to be an
4:13
interesting mix of styles as well, because it kind of feels
4:16
like both of these teams want a counter.
4:19
USA will hold the ball, but when they're on defense, it kind of
4:21
feels like they are going to play a little bit conservative,
4:25
not take too many risks, not sort of crowd or rush the ball.
4:28
Just kind of like let the game play out, giving us an
4:31
opportunity to run. And not necessarily just kick it
4:33
over the top and run onto it, But like open field, be
4:35
creative, find a lane that approach paying big dividends, I
4:39
think so far in this tournament. And also maybe a little bit of a
4:43
bellwether with regard to how Emma Hayes might be thinking
4:45
about like a Spain match up down the road.
4:47
Yeah, I like that point. And I I actually was thinking
4:50
something pretty similar during the Japan Nigeria match.
4:53
You know, Japan, they were trying to play, play some
4:55
passes, some aerial passes into the box, into the channels, some
4:59
might say. I jotted down in my notes on the
5:03
other side of what you're saying about Emma Hayes, you know,
5:05
maybe Japan is already kind of thinking about how are we going
5:07
to play against USA on the counter in these kind of
5:10
opportunities. So both of these teams, exactly
5:14
to your point, they're able to open up the passing lanes into
5:17
some dangerous areas and they do that with speed and precision,
5:20
good ball movement and player movement.
5:22
So I think you're right when you say this is definitely trending
5:26
toward a 7030 game in terms of possession in favor of the USA.
5:30
Let me flip the question to you. Can Japan survive with only 30%
5:35
possession versus the USA? I actually think this game comes
5:38
down to the back lines and we'll start with Japan specifically.
5:41
So obviously, if USA is controlling the we saw this with
5:45
Australia a little bit today in today's match.
5:48
Julie Fatty was talking about it early on the telecast with
5:51
regard to like how frustrating it could be to kind of play
5:53
against and ultimately like breakthrough a low block.
5:57
And when the USA scores right at the end of the first half, you
6:00
kind of saw like a weirdly overdone outpouring of emotion
6:05
just for the first goal. Roughly.
6:07
The game doesn't totally even really matter.
6:08
Like it's like USA is winning the group either way, they're
6:11
not going to lose this this one to Australia.
6:12
But I think that that was reflective of like just how
6:15
difficult it was to breakthrough and actually get that goal.
6:19
You know, you can make the case out that'll be a little bit
6:22
tougher against Japan perhaps. I think they're a little bit
6:24
more organized defensively. But then I think on the flip
6:27
side, I think Japan's counter is going to give the US midfield
6:31
problems. So I think Japan is easily going
6:34
to be able to move the ball forward, get these breakaways
6:37
right. And then it's going to come down
6:39
to how's Guerrema going to hold up?
6:41
Who's back there with her? Is Davidson back?
6:44
Is it Sonnet? Don Krueger?
6:46
Like what? What are the pieces going to be
6:47
looking like? Because you know, in spots
6:51
there's going to be some nervy moments when Japan's running.
6:53
They look like their their legs are moving twice as fast as our
6:56
runners. Yep.
6:57
As they've been known to do. And it's just going to be a
6:59
matter of like what each of those back lines on both of the
7:02
sides look like, really. Totally agree man and I think we
7:05
have to address the big ol elephant in the room.
7:07
So Sam Coffee picks up a yellow card in the third minute of this
7:12
match against the Tillys, and she will be out against Japan
7:16
due to yellow card accumulation. So now you are missing a key cog
7:21
in your defense with her as a holding midfielder.
7:24
And I realized the Davidson injury, you were right on this
7:27
in the last episode where you said, OK, now you lose Davidson.
7:30
You put Sonnet there. It's great to have Sonnet there.
7:33
But now you've thinned out some of that depth.
7:35
Well, now you're without Coffee. And so now we see, is Davidson
7:39
able to come back and play? I have not seen any reporting
7:41
that says she can or cannot, not yet.
7:44
So that'll be a very interesting question to to see answered.
7:47
Let's say she can't. What does the back four look
7:51
like and who is your stalwart defensive holding midfielder in
7:56
that in that situation? That's really tricky.
7:58
Kind of feels like you have to put Sonnet in that defensive
8:02
midfielder spot. Right, you would think.
8:04
She's got the mobility to kind of cover most of the ground on
8:07
the on the pitch, right. So that might be the move there.
8:10
I'm not sure where nice monger is going to be at necessary
8:13
necessarily, but I think you got to think it's Germa Fox, Dunn
8:19
Kruger. If Davidson can't play like it's
8:22
we're starting to get to the the very end of the bench here.
8:26
I know Emily Sam's I think was called up and might have
8:28
dressed. So, you know, that could be
8:30
something that you go to having an excellent season obviously
8:33
here in Orlando, but I don't know you're you're you're a
8:36
resident formation tactical guy. What do you what do you think
8:40
they look like? I think traditional wisdom
8:42
because I mean Crystal Dunn, typically she'll play left back.
8:45
That's like kind of her bread and butter there.
8:47
So if you say, OK, Sonnet is too good of a center back and she
8:52
pairs really well with Germa, then you play Dunn, Sonnet,
8:55
Germa, Fox, left to right in the back four.
8:58
And then maybe in that defensive holding midfield spot, maybe you
9:02
look at Lindsay Horan and say, hey, look, Rose is going to have
9:05
to take more of the responsibility connecting the
9:08
offense up top and I need you back there.
9:11
I need you as the veteran. So I think that's a possibility.
9:14
But I think you're raising a good point too, because Sonnet
9:16
is a really good holding midfielder.
9:19
We can ask a lot of Crystal Dunn, but what if we do what
9:22
you're suggesting? What if you play Kruger at left
9:24
back and you just say, look at Crystal Dunn and say you're one
9:27
of the greatest players in the history of our program.
9:29
Can you give us some time at left center back?
9:31
Can you pair with Naomi and we go Kruger, Dunn, Girma, Fox?
9:36
These are four awesome players. These are 4 experienced players.
9:40
Might be a little risky and I know some folks in the YouTube
9:44
comments have made fun of some of the lineups I put together
9:46
because I like to move the pieces.
9:48
So you have to really think about these things.
9:50
And without Davidson it could present a challenge.
9:53
But if Davidsons back then it's done, Davidson, Girma, Fox and
9:58
you put Sonnet at defensive midfield and you're I think
10:00
you're feeling great. Yeah, for sure.
10:02
Yeah. And was excited to see Cory
10:04
Bethune get like some some legitimate minutes today in this
10:07
one. Sure, because I think they're
10:09
going to. They're going to need her.
10:10
They might. With all the flux, you know, on
10:12
the roster, and I said it, you know, when the rosters were
10:16
announced, the little Johanna situation, you sort of look at
10:19
where we're at right now. We're only halfway through this
10:21
tournament. We already knew it was going to
10:22
be, you know, a battle of attrition.
10:24
Yep, just a quick turnarounds, the short rosters, but would be
10:27
really great to have a player like in that spot that you just
10:31
sit rock solid, you know, and can kind of, you know, slot in
10:35
the pieces around a centerpiece type player like that.
10:37
But we do have Corey Bethune. I think Corey Bethune is gonna
10:40
get some minutes. I think she's kind of maybe
10:42
borderline in the starter conversation, especially if
10:45
Davidsons out and Coffees out, because I think at that point
10:49
you'd have to, especially if Haran drops.
10:51
I think you got to play Corey Bethune.
10:52
I would hope so. That seems to be one way to
10:54
balance out the skills and talent, get everybody sort of
10:57
spaced out the right way. Yeah, I totally agree.
11:00
And you know, I was taking notes on it today.
11:03
I just think Corbin Albert, she obviously she scores a good goal
11:07
today, great hit upper 90. I just think the last few
11:11
matches, the send off matches or I don't even think she made an
11:14
appearance in the Germany match. But in the first match against
11:17
Australia, Albert's touches in the USA's defensive third have
11:21
not been consistent enough. I don't think they've been
11:24
reliable enough. I think that's why she didn't
11:26
play versus Germany or if she did, she played very little.
11:29
I think it's why her you can see her time kind of shrinking a
11:32
little bit. So I I would be surprised if you
11:34
kind of put her in a defensive role.
11:37
And like I said, she she scores that good goal.
11:38
We know she can do that. We know that's in her game.
11:41
It's the consistency of the touches that you actually need.
11:44
And if that's the part that you're lacking, like we have all
11:47
the scoring already. So we actually don't need that
11:49
part. But if if you're going to give
11:51
us inconsistent touches in the midfield, you might sink US
11:54
against Japan. That's a great point.
11:56
Corbin Hambert's strengths I think are for the most part, I
11:59
think centered around like head down.
12:02
I'm just going to go that might be running.
12:04
That might mean firing from where she's at.
12:05
Yep. And I think when the game gets a
12:07
little more complex, a little tighter, it requires a little
12:09
bit more thought. She could do that too, but not
12:12
at the same level. Some of the vets or some of you
12:15
know, the the killers on some of the other teams that play that
12:18
more European style. But I actually think Albert is
12:21
for sure a valuable piece. She'll definitely have a role to
12:24
play because she's a little bit of a match up nightmare.
12:26
You know, especially when she comes in for Haran or even for
12:30
like Lavelle. She's big and she's strong and
12:31
she's fast and she's got power. She's not out there being Boma
12:35
T, but the stuff that she does, she's doing that stuff at a high
12:38
level. And I think there's a reason
12:40
that we're looking at leaner slivers of her game and being
12:42
like, I'm not sure that's that's something that we could work on.
12:45
But, you know, for the most part, good player.
12:47
Yeah. And I think we'll hear more from
12:49
her this this tournament for sure.
12:50
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. I think I like the way you're
12:53
framing that there are spots where they could use her.
12:56
I think in the in the spots of need right now, not so sure if
13:00
she's the right player there. And that's why I like you
13:03
talking about Bethune, because I think she might be the one that
13:05
you have to, you have to put in there.
13:07
Yeah. And I think we haven't done our
13:08
brackets yet, neither our normal brackets or our wacky brackets.
13:11
We'll get to those at some point.
13:12
But I can, I can imagine against the Canada or against the
13:15
France, Corbin Albert really being pretty valuable, you know,
13:19
because I think physically she's up to the task.
13:21
Japan, Spain, it's a little bit more touch here, touch there, a
13:25
little faster twitch. I think that the those are going
13:28
to be less less Corbin Averty type games.
13:31
But again, again, she's still a young player.
13:32
So I mean, she could definitely surprise she's surprised today
13:35
with with, you know, pretty much a banger.
13:38
That was good. Great job.
13:39
All right, I'm not going to ask for a prediction.
13:41
We're going to save that for the bracket portion of the show.
13:43
I've got some other fun stuff later in the show.
13:45
So definitely stick around. Let's scoot ahead.
13:47
Couple teams that I think you know hold a special place in our
13:51
heart for different reasons. Spain, take it on Colombia in
13:55
that 11:00 AM Eastern slot, 8:00 AM Pacific, a little friendlier
13:59
to you, and I'm sure you'll be totally wired from the US match.
14:02
So Spain, Colombia, quite a banger.
14:05
We're going to have to do something with this, with this
14:06
extra time, because pretty much every match today is spilled
14:09
into the next. Yeah, but Spain, Colombia, what
14:11
are you going to be looking forward to?
14:13
I think with Spain, people can look at them at a few different
14:16
ways, like they did enough to beat Nigeria and Brazil.
14:21
Obviously against Brazil, I know they're helped out by the March
14:24
of red card, but Spain looks under pretty much total control
14:27
at all times. So I just want to say this to
14:30
our pals in Spain, our friend MLS in the YouTube comments.
14:34
You understand where we're coming from now.
14:36
I think we have a good understanding of each other.
14:37
I just want to say to the other Spain pals out there who like
14:40
follow us on Twitter, watch the show.
14:43
We appreciate you guys rocking with us.
14:44
I just want to say this, your national team is the best
14:47
national team. I am not under any false
14:50
impressions here. I recognize that I'm not
14:53
debating it. You won the World Cup over the
14:56
team I support. I left that match realizing it
14:58
would taken a pretty magical effort to beat you.
15:01
I think what happens when you guys are on top is that people
15:04
like me and Dino and maybe a CO2 finally, perhaps maybe we kind
15:08
of look and say, oh, what are the ways that that somebody
15:11
could take down the giant? So just to put this on the
15:14
record, we know you guys are the best and you got to talk that
15:17
talk. So please continue shit talking
15:19
us about how you're the best. But every every time we say
15:22
that, hey, there might be something here, we don't mean it
15:25
as an affront to you as a footballing nation.
15:28
So, you know, please keep that in mind.
15:31
So I'm going to get into why I think Colombia takes down the
15:34
champion. There we go.
15:37
No, I think I was actually thinking about this today.
15:40
I think there's a little bit of sometimes conflating Spain and
15:44
Barcelona. Sure, because Spain didn't do in
15:48
the World Cup what Barcelona did in the Champions League, which
15:51
is just outclassed everybody outside of, you know, a little
15:55
Chelsea here and Benfica, LeBron, you know, some there's
15:58
some interesting football having been played, but for the most
16:01
part it was an outclassing every tie that they went out and then
16:04
participated in. Now, Spain at the World Cup
16:07
looked great, but they didn't necessarily look like the only
16:10
team that could win the World Cup the way that Barcelona
16:13
looked like the only team that could win the Champions League
16:14
for most of it, right? I think there's a little bit of
16:17
conflating going on where it's like, well, isn't this like big
16:20
bad spade? It's like, well, it's not
16:22
Barcelona, even though it's a lot of those players, there is
16:24
still some learning curve. These players kind of coming
16:26
together. So they're not out here winning
16:28
678 nil, but they are dominating to your point, but they also
16:32
don't look unbeatable. I think we have to kind of keep
16:35
in mind that like even in that first half where Spain had
16:38
control, Brazil had some chances, some looks, didn't
16:42
really make, got that guy sweat too much.
16:44
But like this is just a one and done kind of tournament right
16:47
now we're in the knockout stage, so you have a bad 7-8 minutes
16:50
and it could really kind of put you behind the 8 ball.
16:52
So I still think Spain deserves to be upper echelon, one of the
16:57
favorites for sure. But I think this match is going
16:59
to be interesting and I think we did see Maya Ramirez give some
17:02
of these Spanish players a little bit of a hard time.
17:05
She'll be back for this matchup. And I think God, that was man
17:08
should be on track as well. So though that that could
17:11
definitely change things. I also think watching Colombia
17:13
today didn't quite take their foot off the gas, but they
17:16
throwing the kitchen sink at this game, right?
17:18
Like, I think they knew we've essentially clinched if we hold
17:21
it here. I think they had to give it up
17:22
another two goals to kind of put themselves into jeopardy.
17:25
Yeah. And we've seen what's happened
17:27
with some of these yellow cards, some red cards, some injuries.
17:31
So I think there was a little bit of playing out the string,
17:35
you know, not not exactly, but I mean that wasn't necessarily the
17:38
all hands on deck, backs against the wall types of Columbia
17:41
performance that we've been used to.
17:43
Yeah, I think that's a good point.
17:44
It's one of those things, I think you nailed it.
17:46
It's one of those things they were clearly out there.
17:48
They played to win the game, but it was like, OK, if we basically
17:51
hold serve here, we know we're through.
17:54
I believe it is Columbia's first time making the knockout stage
17:57
of the Olympics. Obviously they made the knockout
18:00
stage of the World Cup in 2023, so that's a great achievement in
18:03
itself. I want to ask you a question
18:04
here though. So because I'm glad you brought
18:06
up Myra Ramirez and the trouble that she was able to cause
18:10
Barcelona in the first tie of that Champions League semi
18:13
final. I started to think about that
18:15
myself and I wondered, can Colombia do the thing to Spain
18:18
that Chelsea did to Barcelona? But then I also thought Colombia
18:23
in their midfield doesn't really have an Aaron Cuthbert, they
18:26
don't really have a Shogun Nuskin, and they definitely
18:29
don't have a back four of Neve Charles, Cadisha Buchanan, Jess
18:33
Carter and Ashley Lawrence. I guess mostly because they're
18:36
not Canadian. But I started to think about
18:40
this. What do you say to the idea that
18:43
every time we want to try to point out how A-Team can beat
18:46
Barcelona or Spain, not to conflate the two, we kind of
18:50
always have to go back to the same example of Chelsea getting
18:55
a one nil victory over Barcelona.
18:58
And that maybe in some of these other situations it is nearly
19:02
impossible to beat a team that has Bomati, Better, Uelo,
19:05
Poteas, Patri, Katakoi and and others.
19:09
Totally fairpoint. I mean extremely fairpoint.
19:13
So I think the only thing you didn't kind of hang your hat on
19:17
is this Spain side is not scoring.
19:20
That's true at the pace where they're just going to lap
19:24
everybody. Yeah, right.
19:25
You know, they're not hanging 345 go, they're not they're not
19:28
doing that like they're dominating in a different way.
19:30
So maybe it's a little bit of fool's gold.
19:32
You know, you look at the you look up at the scoreboard,
19:34
you're like it's one nil or it's 22 nil or two one we can.
19:37
But in reality, it might just be a wrap, like they're already
19:40
ready for everything that you think you're going to do,
19:41
everything that that you haven't even and thought about doing.
19:44
You know, they're already ready for that as well.
19:45
Yep. I think there's only one way to
19:47
find out. It's going to be an interesting
19:48
matchup. Very funny point that we keep
19:50
going back to that that match. Well, Columbia's got Maya
19:53
Ramirez and you know, we saw what happened the last time she
19:55
faced the team with Beaumont, Dia Perettas and some of these
19:58
other players. Yep, it's going to take a lot.
20:00
No spoilers. We're going to save it for the
20:01
bracket section, but I'll leave it at that.
20:03
It's going to take a lot for Las Cafeteras to get past the world
20:06
champs. That's fair.
20:08
It takes a lot for anybody. 100% What do you say we switch gears
20:12
to the 1:00 PM affair? Germany finished second in Group
20:15
B, Canada second in Group A Congratulations to those two
20:18
squads. Couple teams maybe heading in
20:21
some different directions. Canada, I think really peaking.
20:24
Germany, you know, sort of waxing and waning.
20:27
What do you be looking for when these two teams lock up on
20:29
Saturday? Exactly how we drew it up.
20:31
Germany gets through. Big win versus Australia,
20:35
smacked by USA, big win versus Zambia.
20:38
Canada win all three matches, three points.
20:42
Everybody saw this coming. Totally normal.
20:44
Nothing to see here, everybody. I think this is going to be a
20:47
really, really interesting one. I think the teams are going to
20:51
come out and be super careful. I think there's going to be kind
20:55
of a feeling out phase. I think Germany's going to be
20:58
really wary of Ashley Lawrence and the way she's going to be
21:02
running at them. What I'm very interested in
21:05
seeing, I think specifically how is Germany going to do battle
21:10
with Jesse Fleming in the midfield?
21:12
And what kind of role does Alex Pop have in that if she's going
21:17
to be in that midfield? And is this a Fleming versus Pop
21:20
game? And whoever creates the most, I
21:23
think that might be what decides the game.
21:25
Yeah, I could definitely see that.
21:26
I mean, I talked about this a little bit with the USA Japan
21:29
match too. I think the back lines are going
21:30
to be huge also. Yeah, I think Canada has the
21:34
defenders to make it a long day for Germany.
21:37
It doesn't mean that they can't score because I think those
21:40
players are good and in tighter spaces.
21:42
But we saw EU s s defence be able to frustrate those front 3
21:47
for Germany. We had sort of put the call out
21:49
like, all right, well, Jeremy's going to need these attacking
21:51
players to kind of get cooking. And I think they they got the
21:54
ball rolling, no pun intended today on that.
21:57
But Canada's just a tough, they're a tough team.
22:00
They're a tough match up. They score tough goals when when
22:03
needed. It's weird to kind of say this.
22:05
I'm not a very scientific Y kind of explanation, but I think
22:08
Canada is just going to be a little grittier, a little more
22:11
physical and they're going to have what it takes to kind of
22:14
grind down that German side. If Germany is able to kind of
22:17
like scoot away, find space and you know, kind of find a little
22:21
joy, be able to run around the park a little bit, that's going
22:23
to be huge for them. If it's going to be everything
22:25
is in contest, elbows and you know, shins and hips and little
22:30
chunks of grass flying up, you know, every every few minutes.
22:33
That kind of matchup I think greatly favors Canada.
22:36
Haven't really made my pick yet, but I think this one is going to
22:39
be. I think this one is one of the
22:40
more intriguing matchups on the board.
22:42
Totally agree. And I will tell you to your
22:44
point, well, I think you're 100% correct on this.
22:46
Think of the set piece battle that we're going to have between
22:50
these two teams. Like both sides.
22:52
Canadas set piece attack versus Germanys set piece defense and
22:56
vice versa. There could be a lot of elbows
22:58
thrown in this one I gotta think.
23:00
And shout out to our shadow executive producer who coined
23:03
the term tall girl bias. A lot of tall girl, tall girl
23:07
energy and tall girl players, frankly, in this match.
23:12
So I think, you know, it might be easy to say that like set
23:14
pieces, you know, oh, they could play a huge role in this one.
23:17
It's like saying the offensive line is going to play a huge
23:19
role in an NFL game. But I also think on this one you
23:23
do have elite set piece takers and elite set piece finishers
23:28
100. Percent and great matchup
23:30
between two goalkeepers here on Kutchenberger Caitlin Sheridan.
23:34
I really love defensive what this Canada team is doing.
23:37
They've only given up two goals in the three matches.
23:40
A lot of things that Miriam talked about on the show, Miriam
23:43
Crabby from she squares bangers came to pass in a way that like
23:46
the midfields amid important their athleticism has worn teams
23:50
down. They've only given up the two
23:51
goals as mentioned. The one that really stuck out to
23:54
me was she talked about Canada's experience in this tournament at
23:59
this timing at this speed, this time of year and you know, I
24:03
could I could be a big man about this.
24:05
I kind of wasn't buying it in the moment.
24:07
I feel, I feel okay saying that. I was like, okay, yeah, all
24:09
right. They played this turn.
24:10
A couple of them ran around four years ago or this time of year.
24:13
So what? But I mean, that's a bit much,
24:17
but okay. Shows what I know.
24:20
She was dead on. I think we've seen that play
24:23
out. And then imagine drone gate,
24:25
right? Six points Bev Priestman, who we
24:27
talked about on that Canada preview extensively and her
24:31
impacted kind of like her her persona sort of, you know,
24:34
informing how that team kind of operates gone.
24:37
And still this team three up, three down, five goals for two
24:41
against when you needed it facing a Columbia side that is
24:45
at risk, you know, coming into the day and they get a they get
24:49
a big win to kind of like slam the door back.
24:52
And this this quarterfinals not happening without us.
24:54
I love it and I I think that had to play a role.
24:57
I see what you're saying about like, OK, yeah, experience
25:00
matters for something, but maybe it's not an X Factor.
25:03
I guess when you have a massive scandal, I almost almost wonder
25:07
if now it kind of disproportionately helps that
25:10
everybody's kind of like able to pack it in and now the players
25:12
actually have something they can really talk about.
25:15
Like if they have no pedigree and then they go through this
25:18
scandal, what are they talking about in the locker room?
25:21
Like they they have nothing really to lean on.
25:24
Now they have this automatic, hey, let's all look at our
25:26
photos of our last gold medal. That was us.
25:29
We did that on the field. You know, folks on Woso Twitter,
25:31
understandably non Canada folks have been wanting the players to
25:35
stop acting like they're a victim in all of this.
25:37
Well, I simultaneously empathize with them a little bit where if
25:41
some of those players like didn't look at drone drone
25:44
footage, they might think I didn't know.
25:45
What do you want me to do about it?
25:46
So like I kind of am a little victimized by this, Like our
25:50
coaches screwed us over. So sometimes I don't love the
25:53
phrase. I see both sides, especially in
25:56
in certain things. This is one of the very non
25:58
serious topics where I think it's OK to see both sides up.
26:02
Yeah, I totally, I totally agree with seeing both sides because
26:05
it's a totally moot point because whether or not a player
26:07
watched the film, that film got watched by somebody who then
26:11
turned that film into some ideas to be to be executed in the
26:16
field. So it is cheating.
26:18
The players were victims because none of them were orchestrating
26:21
any of that. You know, whether they've kind
26:24
of heard anything or had an who, who, it's totally moot.
26:27
Doesn't matter. The cool part about all this is
26:30
that FIFA very swiftly said a six point deduction.
26:34
And the good part about that is it left the door open for this
26:37
Canada side. And how cool is that, Larry?
26:40
Well, we're gonna dock you six points.
26:42
If you can win all three, you know, we'll kind of like let you
26:44
live, right? Then they they went out and did
26:48
it. And to your point, you know,
26:49
he's a veteran players. They've got players in their
26:51
late 20s, mid 20, you know, like the good chunk of that team's in
26:54
their prime, right? Yeah.
26:55
So not super surprised that a team of vets, the defending
26:59
champions in this tournament, I'm surprised that they won all
27:01
three, but they got it done. It is very much like a video
27:06
game scenario where it's like, all right, well, you know, you
27:10
can save America, but only if you grab this, this glass vase
27:17
out of this tower. And it's like, well, that's a
27:19
really random thing that I gotta do like Jesus.
27:21
And in this case, it's like, well, we docked you 6.
27:23
So good luck with that. It's amazing to see him go
27:26
through. I get why some people are
27:27
frustrated If you're Columbia or if you're one of the sides.
27:31
I know like Australia, they were like loosely in it to to make
27:35
it. I could see some frustration
27:36
there. But it's hard to argue that
27:38
Canada didn't do enough to win and then earn their spot in the
27:42
knockout round. I think that's I think that's
27:44
pretty inarguable. I totally agree with that.
27:46
Yeah, I think Australia probably has a bone to pick.
27:48
Columbia less so because they got to settle it on the field.
27:51
If Columbia really, really wanted that two seed, right, you
27:54
know, they could have pushed a little harder, you know, try to
27:56
get a score or, you know, kept a clean sheet.
27:58
Yeah, but that defender struck again.
28:01
Vanessa, Jill, awesome. Big play Vanessa, that's what
28:05
they were calling her since, since day one.
28:08
Check the tape. No, not, not really.
28:10
But I, I think some of the things that we did talk about
28:13
last week, her tenacity, her determination, just kind of like
28:16
her, her short memory when it comes to like, OK, I got beat
28:19
here and like now it's like, you know, I'm going to get this
28:21
right back. Or maybe she didn't even think
28:22
about that. She's just like, I need maximum
28:24
impact every play. She just plays like that 100%.
28:27
The ball comes in, smashes down the header.
28:29
One of those moments where it's like, who else is it going to
28:32
be? Like it was just such a
28:33
storybook kind of thing thing. It's like, okay, of course
28:35
Canada is going to find a way to win this one didn't quite happen
28:38
in my bingo card, though. Of course, could be this as
28:40
yields a score. But it was pretty awesome moment
28:43
to see kind of like the journey that she's been on this football
28:46
season particularly. And still, I mean, who knows?
28:48
There's still a lot of story left to be written.
28:50
I look forward to her going back to Leon and looking at Katie .2
28:54
DNA and being like okay, you leave the goal scoring to me.
28:58
I got that. I am now goal scoring machine.
29:00
Vanessa Gio, let's do this. I mean, her and Renard, I mean,
29:03
like those are some some hardcore defenders that you've
29:06
got you got to worry about in the box there.
29:07
But yeah, I think I think she'll come back with a little swagger.
29:10
I'm I'm with that. She should.
29:12
All right, Germany, Canada, that's going to be a banger.
29:14
As mentioned, 1:00 PM Eastern and the last match up of the
29:18
day. Was happy to see this team find
29:20
their way into the quarters. Shout out to front of the show
29:23
Julia Bellastoni and Dodge. We did it.
29:26
I didn't think we were going to do it.
29:28
I picked picked against Brazil, sadly, but I was so happy to see
29:32
them get through such a tough moment today in the match versus
29:36
Spain for Marta. Oh my God, you know, she knew
29:39
it. The announcer was devastated.
29:41
He mentioned it roughly 75 times and over the next 10 minutes.
29:44
After she was broken up, yes. He was going through something
29:46
on air for sure. But I'm excited.
29:48
They're they're they're in the tournament and they're playing.
29:51
I don't know. Did they get the best draw
29:54
drawing France? Maybe a little bit.
29:56
A little bit of a winnable game for Brazil.
29:57
I think they got to be pretty happy about it.
29:59
I mean, obviously the Marta situation is just crazy.
30:04
I mean, people got to it pretty quickly.
30:07
The first thing that came to my mind was the Xenadine Zidane red
30:11
card in the 2006 World Cup final where you just kind of look at
30:14
Zidane and you're like, what are you thinking?
30:17
And I thought the same thing with Marta where it's just like
30:19
I can't believe she kicked her boot up that high like asking
30:24
for a red card at that point she almost takes Olgas head clear
30:28
off. You can see the reaction of
30:30
every player but you could also see in the slow motion
30:33
reactions. Like you can see every player
30:35
have an inner conflict too because they all look up to her
30:39
so much. They're like, Oh my God.
30:42
And then they're just like, you got to get a red card, but
30:45
you're still Marta. Like, I'm sorry, but like you
30:48
got to get one Marta. And I think Leia Alexandria from
30:52
Manchester City, who plays for Spain, like she basically did
30:56
the like, sorry, Marta, but you got to go.
30:59
I love you, but you got to get out of here because that you
31:01
were wild right there. Absolutely wild.
31:04
And right before halftime too. And she knew it.
31:06
She knew it too. She got up.
31:07
She was just like, what was I thinking it was?
31:11
Crazy. So she'll be out one match or
31:14
two because Myra Ramirez is out two matches, right?
31:16
Or what the how does this show? Yeah, this is the thing.
31:18
This is the mystery of the Olympics.
31:20
But I believe we have it solved. I think when you get a straight
31:22
red, I believe in the Olympics. If Myra Ramirez is any
31:25
indication, I believe you're then out for the next two
31:28
matches. All right, so March will be back
31:30
in the final or the 3rd place match.
31:32
We'll see exactly if they get there.
31:35
France on the other side, little underwhelming.
31:38
I was sort of hoping for a France, Germany first round
31:42
match up. You know, just cause those are
31:44
like, I don't know, the classic underachievers of the last
31:47
couple years, You know, great teams on paper, super loaded,
31:50
just can't quite get it together.
31:52
Would have been cool to see those two teams battle, but I
31:55
think now that they're separated France, they're on Spain's side
31:58
of the bracket. So if they get past Brazil,
32:01
could be facing Spain. But I don't think getting past
32:03
Brazil is any done deal. I think defensively they've
32:06
looked a little choppy. Ketoto.
32:09
I mean, she's absolutely cooking.
32:11
I think she's played above expectations.
32:13
I think if I'm being honest with myself, I think she's she's
32:15
definitely surprised. She looks better than she looked
32:17
great at PSG. She's looked even better in this
32:19
tournament for sure. But you've got to look, you got
32:21
to look a little harder to see other players on this France
32:25
side that have been outperforming.
32:26
What's been your read on France? They just fall asleep for like
32:29
long stretches. They're just not.
32:31
They're not playing, like, interesting or creative football
32:34
for just minutes at a time, 10 minutes at a time, 20 minutes at
32:37
a time, an entire half. Yeah, I think underwhelming is a
32:41
perfect word for it. I'm glad you used that.
32:43
And I'll say if if France falls asleep for a substantial stretch
32:47
in the match against Brazil, they'll lose.
32:50
Like, like Brazil will take advantage of that, Marta or no
32:53
Marta, you saw Gedoline. She got some substantial minutes
32:57
in this match. It looks like she's ready to go
32:59
now. I wonder, did she get
33:01
substantial minutes in this match and that means she's going
33:04
to be a little more limited in the next match.
33:06
That could be a problem. I think that that could also
33:08
stand to reason, actually, now that I talk it out.
33:10
But I think Brazil's defense should feel pretty good about
33:14
this match up despite the great attacking talent on the French
33:17
side. Because exactly to your point,
33:20
if you could maybe limit Katoto, nobody else has has done a lot.
33:24
Yet limiting Katoto? Easier said than done for sure.
33:27
But I think Brazil defensively, they've been pretty impressive.
33:30
I mean, you know, you lose Marta and then I think the last like
33:33
20 or 25 minutes, Antonio was like just really hobbling
33:37
around. They had to move her up into the
33:39
nine spot just because they couldn't have her back there
33:41
Defensively. She was too much of A liability.
33:43
And they obviously run out of Subs.
33:45
So I think there's something to that nightmare of a match being
33:48
over. You know, obviously playing
33:50
Spain, trying to get something, it just kind of not going your
33:52
way, get a little chance to regroup, maybe bring on some of
33:55
the reserves. Kind of wish Jace was on this
33:57
team. Yeah, I'm not sure if it's an
33:59
injury, if it's injury related, but I think her pop would be
34:03
very beneficial, you know, based on where things are at.
34:05
But I totally agree with you. I think this Brazilian side, you
34:08
know, Gabby Nunez, get a lean, you know, Adriana, like if they
34:11
they could maybe piece something together, have a nice 10 minute
34:14
stretch and maybe build a little bit of a cushion that that
34:17
proves a little tough for France to come back from.
34:19
Because I think if there's one team that you want to knock on
34:22
their heels and they're at home and the weight of the world is
34:25
on their shoulders and the pressure's on and the time is
34:28
now, I think it's this French side that you want to come out,
34:31
smack them early and then see what kind of response you get
34:33
from them. I think you're absolutely right.
34:35
And I, I want to go back to your point about Brazil's defense.
34:38
So they conceded two goals against Japan.
34:40
One was a penalty and one was that wonder strike when Lorena
34:44
was off her line in a bit of a scrum.
34:46
He conceded two goals versus Spain.
34:48
One was just the dam eventually breaking because they had been
34:51
playing with 10 players for so long.
34:53
And the other one was the Super late wonder strike by Pouteus.
34:56
So other than that, I feel like they should feel pretty good
34:59
about themselves. And I I also want to point out
35:01
though, in terms of Brazil's attack, you mentioned Adriana
35:06
and Gabby Nunes, possibly Ketaline.
35:08
When France falls asleep like that, three passes can unspool
35:13
their defense. Do you trust Brazilian
35:15
footballers to put together 3 passes sometimes over the course
35:18
of of a match? I would say, I would say you do
35:21
totally. And I want to point out show
35:23
favorite Sakina Kharshawi, she looked a little hobbled toward
35:27
the end of the match. So I had found this cool
35:29
website. It's called Cord de Foot, which
35:32
means footballing heart, I believe.
35:35
Footballing hearts, baby. And they talked to her post
35:37
match. And here's what they wrote as
35:39
her quote when they had little editorial notes in there, which
35:43
I which I found amusing. So this is a quote they say
35:46
parenthetically nervous smile from Karshawi.
35:50
And then she says it's OK, it's OK.
35:53
In reference to her hamstring. She says I'm coming out of a
35:55
really big effort. So I don't want to say anything.
35:57
I hope it's OK. We'll see you tomorrow.
36:00
We hope it's not too serious. We should hope it's not too
36:03
serious. So, and I, I want to say also
36:06
it's worth pointing out the last reporting I saw, Wendy Renard
36:10
was reportedly, according to The Associated Press, set to have an
36:13
MRI on Tuesday. So I haven't seen what what the
36:16
update to that report was. She didn't play today.
36:19
So no Renard, maybe no car, shall we?
36:23
Or a hobbled car, shall we? Or maybe a hobbled and a hobbled
36:26
car. Shall we?
36:27
What are we talking about? Are we supposed to look at
36:29
France as the favorite here? I mean probably still, but thin
36:34
margin. I mean like, well, let me let me
36:37
put let me put a different question to you.
36:39
Yeah, we'll put Canada, Germany off to the side.
36:41
We'll assume those these teams are roughly in the same
36:44
ballpark. Sure.
36:45
Japan trying to beat USA, Colombia trying to beat Spain,
36:48
Brazil trying to beat France. If you're picking one upset of
36:51
those got to imagine that Brazil over France is I mean, you can
36:55
make a case over USA, but I think I still go Brazil over
36:58
France. There's something just off about
37:00
this France. I like the the New Zealand match
37:02
today, the formality of all formalities.
37:06
You're on three points, Columbia's on three points.
37:08
You know, Columbia's going to be a dogfight.
37:09
You get to kind of like take on New Zealand at home, close up
37:12
the group stage flying high, enter the quarterfinals, high
37:17
fiving and just, you know, laughing and, you know, just,
37:20
you know, showing pictures of, of things you've seen on the
37:23
Internet to your, to your, your teammates, just because
37:25
everybody's just that loose, right?
37:27
Didn't get that. Nope.
37:28
No, not at all. And so I totally agree with you
37:30
on the on the confidence scale of those three, USA, Japan,
37:34
France, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, for sure the upset that I would
37:38
be most confident in picking is Brazil over France.
37:42
And that is no disrespect to the French players, but I think
37:45
that's a that's a big indictment on what's going on in the
37:49
program because they just have too much talent for that.
37:52
And so obviously we talked, we talked about it with a SEAL,
37:54
Irvay Renar kind of being on his way out.
37:57
I just keep going back to that. Something is off over there.
38:00
I mean, since diving way in last summer's World Cup, this is the
38:03
thing that I think has made itself most apparent.
38:05
And obviously we see this USO essential team kind of up close.
38:09
Your lionesses, you know, Serena Wiegmann, she's rock solid
38:12
there. I think a SEAL talked about her
38:14
being a gently approached, you know, about the men's job and
38:18
just kind of like really missing it in Max fashion, which is very
38:22
cool to see. And then we've seen stuff with
38:24
Canada as well, you know, where organizationally a disaster, but
38:29
the players are such such professionals that I think we're
38:33
seeing them transcend everything.
38:35
Going on the flip side with France a little bit great
38:39
players and just not really able to kind of put it together now
38:43
looking at it from the French perspective, this Brazilian
38:46
side, you know, you mentioned some of the, the, the, the
38:48
France injuries, you know, we mentioned Antonia, you know,
38:51
kind of like banged up Cataline still obviously not all the way
38:54
back back like in today's match. I was kind of happy when she did
38:57
get subbed off in the 70s. I'm like OK, good all.
39:01
Right, she's. Going off on her own, you know,
39:03
volition and like everything's good.
39:04
We'll see her back in a couple days here for sure.
39:07
But I think if you're France, this is a really nice draw as
39:12
well in terms of like a let's get things back on track kind of
39:15
game. And if they're looking ahead to
39:16
Spain, which they shouldn't be, but if they're thinking, OK,
39:19
let's win this one and just survive another day move, you
39:22
know, advance to the next round. Brazil is is probably a good
39:25
match up for them. But I think both you and I are
39:28
probably reading the tea leaves a little bit and just kind of
39:31
seeing, OK, they they couldn't quite get it right against New
39:33
Zealand. Yeah, when everything was lined
39:36
up perfectly. What makes you think and
39:38
knockout stage that Brazil's going to be any easier?
39:40
Yeah, And so they're leaning on what you're talking about.
39:43
South, the Antonia injury, Cataline on the mend.
39:46
No, Marta. And then Brazil's goalkeeper
39:48
Lorena looked like she was in pretty rough shape toward the
39:51
end of that match, too. So if you're French, you, you,
39:54
you can lean on those things, but you were also able to lean
39:57
on. We're way better than New
39:59
Zealand. Zealand, like by every
40:02
measurement you could transfer fees, contracts, big clubs,
40:06
historical success with our clubs, every measurement you
40:09
could experience, every measurement you could possibly
40:12
have. You are miles ahead of New
40:14
Zealand and it takes 2 from ketoto and you're I think
40:17
they're level going into halftime.
40:19
Let me do a live live Fact Check of myself here.
40:22
Yeah, that's right. And it was right.
40:24
You're you're level going in, level going into halftime
40:27
against New Zealand on your home soil.
40:30
You just got to be better than that.
40:32
When you really think about it, I'd love to play this kind of
40:34
like reverse engineering game If France were to beat Brazil on
40:39
Saturday, let's say three, no, three one, you know, like a like
40:42
a sound victory. What I would have expected
40:45
against New Zealand is like A5 nil 51.
40:48
Sure. You know, kind of like look what
40:50
USA did to Germany, right? And then look at for France did
40:54
to New Zealand. It's like, you know, like they
40:55
made it way, way more interesting than it needed to
40:57
be. And this could have been like,
40:59
not just a showcase match where it's like, oh, we get to have
41:02
like our YouTube compilation of all of our best moments.
41:06
You know, sometimes it's like 30% the New Zealand game.
41:10
That didn't happen at all. And I think you you would have
41:13
expected a big performance today if you are of the opinion that
41:18
this France side can go deep in this tournament.
41:20
We didn't get that. Now I think I'd be pretty
41:23
shocked now, I'll say, if France were to come out and really lay
41:25
the smackdown in Brazil on Saturday.
41:27
Oh yeah, absolutely. If if it's beat down, I will be
41:30
absolutely surprised. And as nervy as it was, maybe
41:34
nervy's not the right term, but it's still it's only it's a 21V.
41:37
And I know every football match is not going to end three to
41:40
nothing. But again, look at the talent
41:42
disparity here. Look at where the match is being
41:44
played in the environment. Like bringing on Eugenie Lesimer
41:48
in the 83rd minute, That should have been a part of what you're
41:51
talking about, where everybody's laughing.
41:52
She gets a gigantic ovation. She's smiling coming on the
41:55
field, but really she's coming on.
41:57
They're going OK don't do something dumb to accidentally
42:00
give up the equalizer. Yeah, no.
42:03
And I think she's coming into a nervy game.
42:05
Like she's coming to a game where things can go.
42:08
I mean, this wasn't going to happen, but France could have
42:11
gotten eliminated today if things broke terrible.
42:13
So I mean, they were technically at risk, I would have just
42:17
wanted to see a bunch more from them.
42:19
But let's put that to the side for now.
42:21
Let's get wacky. Let's fill out this bracket to
42:23
figure out what we think happens from here.
42:26
I think we both did pretty well with our tiers and pre
42:29
tournament predictions. I think we each talked each
42:31
other out of stuff that was actually right.
42:33
So you know, it'd be like that sometimes, but now is as good a
42:37
time as any to to kind of get things back on track here.
42:40
Let's stay on this match that we were just talking about and
42:42
that's France hosting Brazil. This will be our the 1st pick
42:45
that we make and then we'll work our way through until we land on
42:49
a winner. I like it.
42:50
Are we talking to each other into a bad idea, picking against
42:54
the home team? Because my gut reaction is I
42:57
think Brazil's going to win this football game.
43:00
I think you're damn right you're talking.
43:01
I said let's go. That's exactly what we're
43:04
talking about. Let's go.
43:06
Yeah. Like, I don't know.
43:08
There's definitely a little bit of a stink on this France team.
43:11
Yeah. I would have liked to just see
43:13
like one really good performance.
43:15
You know, they they started hot against Colombia, gave up two,
43:18
made that one nervy. At some point, usually this kind
43:22
of catches up with you. We saw this team kind of like
43:24
flame out World Cup against Australia without scoring with
43:27
for the most part the same squad.
43:29
Yeah, I like it. Let's let's put Brazil through.
43:31
Congratulations, Spain, Colombia.
43:37
Not sure how long we need to talk about this one.
43:39
Spanish fans, you cannot get mad at us.
43:42
Spain's going to win this match. I do think, I think for a long
43:45
stretch of it, I think it's going to be a dog fight because
43:47
those Colombian players, we've talked about their their
43:49
toughness, their intelligence, their speed and their skill.
43:52
They're just not quite at the level yet of Spain.
43:54
Who is. I agree with that and I think
43:57
all four of these matches, all eight of these teams, all seven
44:00
of these matches are actually 8, counting the third place match.
44:03
I don't think there's any off the board upsets.
44:06
I think we got, we got eight good teams.
44:08
Even Colombia beating Spain. I wouldn't lose my mind over
44:11
that. That would be surprising.
44:13
But we also, like you mentioned, you know, we haven't seen Spain,
44:16
you know, explode either, just five goals and three matches.
44:20
I can see this one being one nil late or one one and then going
44:23
21 absolutely on the board. But I think Spain does advance
44:27
here. I think I would be closer to
44:29
losing my mind if if Colombia advances over Spain.
44:32
I don't want anybody to misunderstand.
44:34
I'm confidently picking Spain. Spain's going to win.
44:36
I just think for a stretch, I think Colombia can can make it a
44:40
fight. I would be very, very, very
44:42
surprised if if Colombia advanced over them.
44:45
I think that's a fairpoint. I'm going to add one more caveat
44:48
to that. I think there are teams in the
44:50
tournament that I don't think could beat Spain.
44:53
Weirdly, I don't think France could beat Spain.
44:55
I don't think Germany, I don't think Germany could beat Spain
44:58
either. Just those are bad match ups for
45:00
them. And I think there's just
45:01
something about Colombia. They could really muck the game
45:04
up. We've seen Spain kind of like
45:06
stall out, not stall out. But it's like, you know, they
45:09
don't it's weird to say, but they don't have ketoto up there.
45:12
That is just sort of just going to be like a put back monster
45:15
just like, all right, you know, like she's going to create, you
45:17
know, she's going to win her match handily, right?
45:19
I think we've seen Barriuelo be threatening in spots.
45:22
You know, Mariona has been kind of like sort of looking for her
45:25
place on the pitch. Collectively, they're awesome.
45:28
But I think again, these are very small sample sizes.
45:31
You're talking about 90 minutes of football, but I think there
45:34
are some teams I really would be shocked.
45:37
Columbia, I don't think is is that kind of team.
45:39
You could get something from Kaiseto early, You can get
45:42
something from Ramirez early. And then I think you could see
45:44
this game in contest late. Unless Spain's been playing a
45:49
little bit of possum, but I don't think that's the case
45:52
either. I think they are who they are at
45:55
this point. Really good team.
45:56
Probably the favorite or one of the Co favorites.
45:59
But yeah, I think it's going to be an interesting match.
46:00
Up, I'm with you on that. That makes a lot of sense on the
46:03
list of teams that could do it. I think Colombia belongs on that
46:07
list. That's fair, all.
46:09
Right, let's go. USA, Japan.
46:11
This one's tasty. What are we looking at?
46:13
What are we thinking? All right, so in our YouTube
46:16
comments, let's rewind all the way back to match day one.
46:20
I think when we watched the Spain Japan match, we said
46:24
there's a chance that these might be the two best teams in
46:27
the tournament. I had a brief YouTube
46:28
conversation with now friend of the show, Dolph Manatee MANITY,
46:35
who asked me if I would be willing to bet my own hard
46:40
earned money that Japan could beat the USA because he did not
46:43
believe that Japan was likely one of the two best teams in the
46:47
tournament. And I kind of jokingly wrote
46:49
back, you know, I think I would. So if, and this was obviously
46:52
before we saw the Germany match and all these other things.
46:55
And so I told him I was like, you know, I don't bet strangers
46:58
on the Internet, but I do live near a casino.
47:01
And so if the value is right, which I have not yet seen the
47:04
odds that maybe I would take him up on that.
47:06
And if Japan were to defeat the USA, then I would make some
47:11
money. And if USA defeats Japan, then
47:13
he could gloat and mock me on the Internet, which is totally
47:16
fair. I've I've set myself up for it
47:18
by doing this show. So I want to I want to start
47:20
with that caveat. Shout out to Dolph.
47:22
Thanks for rock with us. Thanks for watching the show.
47:24
And so I'm going to do it. I'm going to place a couple
47:27
bucks on Japan to win because I think the value is going to be
47:31
excellent. And I think a lot of the action,
47:33
if you believe it or not, I start to talk a little gambling
47:36
here. I think a lot of the action is
47:37
obviously going to be on the USA and it's going to kind of drive
47:39
up that number. So I can bet a little and make a
47:41
decent chunk if Japan wins, but I don't want that to influence
47:45
our show bracket. So where let me let me just set
47:48
that all the way to the side. Where are you landing on USA
47:51
versus Japan? It's interesting because I think
47:54
before today's match against Australia, I think I would have
47:58
had these teams a little bit closer.
48:00
And I know Japan, good performance against a tough
48:03
Nigeria defense and just a tough squad top to bottom.
48:06
I think seeing the US breakdown, that Australian defense, and I
48:10
know that they got completely roasted by Zambia, but they had
48:14
one pathway to surviving and that was finding the draw.
48:18
Still didn't find the draw the entire tournament, still just
48:20
all just wins and losses. So apologies if you're out there
48:22
betting the draw. I think they really showed
48:24
something today. I think Australia was going to
48:27
do everything they could not to give up a goal and for them to
48:30
just kind of like keep chip away, chip away, chip away, chip
48:33
away, get the goal before halftime.
48:35
Not in like the freewheeling sprinting kind of like fun bell
48:40
biv to goal kind of way that we've been used to this
48:42
tournament. They've really made him work for
48:45
it. And then you get kind of like a
48:47
Corbin Albert sort of wonder strike, which weirdly has been
48:51
missing a little bit from this team.
48:53
You know, it's been a lot of like Smith to Swanson, Swanson
48:55
to Smith Rodman involved, you know, Rodman and Smith Rodman's
48:58
well, you know, like that's been the formula for pretty much
49:00
every single one of these goals. I ran as well with a couple
49:03
assists so far, but there's just a few different ways that this
49:06
team can score. I think defensively they're
49:09
really, really locking down. This is going to be an
49:11
interesting battle, but I think based on the current form, I
49:15
think I think USA has definitely got enough to get past Japan
49:18
with in what's going to be a really tough matchup.
49:20
Yeah, I think it's fair to say that Japan's attackers are
49:24
really going to have a tough hill to climb if the back four
49:28
is done. Davidson, Germa Fox.
49:32
I think that's really tough. And even if it ends up being
49:35
done Sonnet, Germa Fox, I think that can be really, really
49:39
difficult for Japan. So for the, for the purposes of
49:43
this show bracket, and I finally found the odds, Japan is plus
49:47
3:20 to win in regulation. So for any any folks out there,
49:52
if you bet 100 bucks, you would win $320.00.
49:56
So that's pretty good value. So for the purposes of the show
49:58
bracket, though, let's take the good old US of A.
50:01
I like it plus 290 for the drug to throw in a little half a half
50:04
and good business there. There you go.
50:08
I, I will say I think I'm with you on that.
50:10
It is. I think if if USA is going to
50:13
win, I think it's either an extra time or or PK's.
50:16
I could see that. I think USA is going to score,
50:19
yeah. It's going to come down to is
50:21
Japan going to score? Are they going to score enough?
50:23
They could get two in the first half and that could keep USA
50:26
busy the entire patch trying to get those two back and maybe get
50:29
a third. So all of this depends on kind
50:31
of like how the games break, but I think we're on the right side
50:34
of of the future here taking USA.
50:36
Both teams to score is -174 so Vegas agrees with you that both
50:40
teams may possibly score. OK, I'm done.
50:43
We're done with the gambling talk.
50:45
It's over. It's a different podcast.
50:47
Different life, you might say. Exactly.
50:51
Oh alright, last matchup of the quarters, Canada, Germany.
50:54
I've got very strong thoughts and feels on this one.
50:57
I want to hear where you're at. Man, Canada's feeling awfully
51:00
Team of destiny, like team of destiny with a ceiling.
51:05
I think we've talked about it a lot.
51:06
I think the defense is tough. I think they make it challenging
51:09
on their opponents. It feels like they block shots.
51:11
I wonder if the stats would would back that up.
51:14
But it just feels like Canada, like you talk about like kind of
51:17
that hard nosed mentality. It feels like they were able to
51:20
kind of muck stuff up. So I think I'm leaning Canada in
51:23
this one. Yeah, I'm heavy.
51:25
Canada too. Oh, good.
51:27
I mean, this German side has a little bit of front running to
51:30
it. You know, you rattled off like
51:32
there are three results. Take care of business against
51:34
Australia. Australia get thumped by the
51:36
USA. Take care of business again
51:38
against Zambia. This Canada side probably more
51:41
like the USA than they are like Australia and Zambia.
51:45
No disrespect to the Achilles. This is going to be a battle for
51:48
Germany. I like to sort of call these
51:51
matches like set the tone matches like let's see first
51:54
5-10 minutes which team is setting the tone.
51:57
So I think if they can match Canada's intensity, then we've
52:00
got ourselves something. But that's not what I expect.
52:03
I expect Canada to kind of keep the intense times rolling and
52:07
Germany not not to be able to totally keep up with that.
52:10
OK, I like it. I think we're in agreement.
52:12
Canada moves on. Awesome.
52:14
Let's stay at the bottom of the bracket, this Canada side versus
52:18
the good old USNA. What do you think?
52:21
I mean, you know, we talked about it with Miriam Krabi.
52:23
If she scores bangers again, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe.
52:26
It's a good rivalry. The matches are close.
52:29
I know when we had kind of started doing this podcast and
52:31
we had started talking about it, we looked at the at the all time
52:34
record and I was like, we share this one's a rivalry because of
52:36
the lopsided nature of the the wins versus the losses.
52:39
I would expect a good match. I mean, you know, we saw it in
52:42
the cocky FW Gold Cup. We saw it and she believes I
52:46
think Canada is capable of playing USA tough.
52:49
They do have that experience edge as as a squad together in
52:55
this kind of tournament in the Olympics.
52:57
I just think the top three, the three forwards, Bell Biv de
53:01
goal, if you will, I just think they're, they're too good.
53:04
I think it would, I think that would end up being too much for
53:07
Canada. So I I would place my chip on
53:09
USA. Where?
53:10
Where's your head at? I think I'm with you on USAI
53:13
feel like I can see a scenario where the USA kind of treats
53:17
this Canada match up a little bit like their championship.
53:20
Like all right, this team wins the goal last time.
53:23
You know, it's been hotly contested these last couple
53:26
times. Like let's go beat this team.
53:28
Like maybe a kitchen sink type situation for the USA to kind of
53:32
get past them and then maybe potentially Canada just kind of
53:35
running out of running out of fuel.
53:37
But I think maybe outside USA Japan, that was an interesting
53:41
match up. I think USA, Canada is as even
53:43
as it could get, you know, barring maybe the this, this
53:47
final preview that we're going to get into here in a few
53:49
minutes. But I think these these two
53:51
teams, it's it's sort of coin flip 5050 type territory for me.
53:54
I think that's fair. And, you know, you sparked
53:57
something in me here that how many times do you see in like
54:00
March Madness or in any kind of like playoff scenario in
54:04
American sports? And hell, yeah.
54:06
I mean, you see it in in football too, where the the
54:08
Cinderella team or the team that had like a lot of things going
54:11
against them, they do hit that point where it's like they're
54:15
just gassed from every big win. So like, they have this huge
54:20
emotional uplift from the France victory.
54:23
And then they do it again against Colombia.
54:25
And let's say they do it again against Germany.
54:28
How many times can the serotonin go up and down and up and down
54:32
until eventually you who are just cooked?
54:34
I like where your head's at on that.
54:35
All right, so sort of begrudgingly, we're putting the
54:39
USA into the final. Brazil, Spain.
54:41
Yeah, I mean, you know, if Brazil, if Brazil makes it here,
54:45
it would be a massive achievement for them.
54:48
Now, obviously the Marta red card and all that stuff, we
54:50
we've seen how Spain played against Brazil.
54:54
Now you're going to go in there and you're going to have a lot
54:55
of these Spanish players, they're going to have more
54:58
information, they're going to have more, a little more muscle
55:00
memory against Brazil. And you know, the reciprocal is
55:04
true. Brazil will have that same
55:06
information about Spain. The tricky thing is Spain has
55:10
many of the best players. So you know, I think this would
55:13
be a massive result and hopefully something that they
55:17
could really take into the 2027 World Cup for Brazil.
55:21
It would be really difficult to find a path for them to beat
55:24
Spain. Yeah, I agree with that.
55:25
And we talked about like Colombia maybe giving Spain a
55:28
little bit of a hard time. I don't think Brazil is in that
55:30
category that could give Spain a hard time.
55:33
I think anything that Brazil does really well, Spain kind of
55:36
will have already seen version of that somewhere at some point.
55:39
So that leaves us with a bronze medal match of Brazil versus
55:44
Canada. What do you think in there?
55:45
Well, that would be March's return.
55:48
And so that would be a huge emotional lift.
55:51
And I think that makes things very, very interesting.
55:55
If Canada were able to walk away with a bronze medal, you would
56:00
have people shouting, don't even hand the bronze medal to them
56:03
because you're just going to revoke it anyway.
56:05
You know, there's some humor in that.
56:07
Obviously, some people take it very seriously.
56:09
That's understandable as well. How rad would it be if Marta had
56:13
this, this moment where it's a complete disaster and she gets
56:17
the red card and a lot of people are saying that's the end of her
56:20
international career? I know they meant like in the
56:22
context of tournaments, but let's all keep in mind that
56:26
Marta is going to get a victory tour, a celebration tour, a
56:30
retirement tour for her career no matter what.
56:33
But I'd also say maybe tune into some Orlando Pride games because
56:37
because I'm not sure it's off the board that Marta can't give
56:41
you 15 minutes a game every couple games in the 2027 World
56:46
Cup. So I know, I know, I'm saying
56:50
she'll be 40 years old at that .41 years old.
56:54
I don't know. Everybody get in line.
56:56
Who wants to bet against Marta? I'll let you guys line up, form
57:00
a nice orderly queue for the people who'd like to bet against
57:03
her. So I think I'm really curious to
57:05
hear what you're going to say. I think it would be cool for
57:07
either of these sides to win. I'm going to go overly
57:10
sentimental. Let's say Marta makes her
57:12
comeback. Brazil walks away with the
57:14
bronze. Massive It's such a good story,
57:17
actually. I don't think I can pick against
57:19
it if I'm going to make the case for Brazil to get past Canada
57:22
for the bronze. You could envision a world where
57:25
the loss to the US in the semis is just too devastating.
57:29
They're like, OK, we gave it everything that, you know, we we
57:31
literally left all of it on the field.
57:34
And you know, you could see them not necessarily being able to
57:37
summon everything for this bronze medal match.
57:41
And then you could also see maybe Brazil.
57:43
I keep thinking about that conversation we had with Julia
57:45
and this is a team that had that has had success in the World Cup
57:48
in the Olympics prior, you know, maybe a generation or a
57:50
generation and a half ago, but it's there.
57:53
It's in the DNA would be a really great outcome.
57:55
I think, I think I'm into it. I mean, I think if if Brazil
57:58
gets past France, another, you know, foray against Spain, they
58:04
might be like, OK, well, we are up here like we belong.
58:08
I think Canada would be a big biggest favorite in that match
58:10
though. They've proved a ton to me.
58:13
If I'm putting my hard earned TBP dollars on on a pick, I
58:16
think I'm probably taking Canada.
58:18
But I think for show purposes, let's wacky up this bracket a
58:21
little bit ago. Let's give let's give Brazil a
58:24
little bit of hardware for the hard work they put in.
58:27
Yeah, I I like it. And yeah, you, you reference
58:29
like the past success that the program has had runners up in
58:32
the 2007 World Cup and then silver medals in both the 2004
58:36
and 2008 Olympic Games. So it would be a great way to
58:40
kind of send Marta into her victory tour if she doesn't end
58:44
up playing in the in the 2027 World Cup.
58:47
Also, what if it's on the board too, that they just get mashed
58:50
by Spain? And then Arthur Elias is just
58:53
like, OK, gettelene, you're off, Antonio, you're off.
58:56
And it just starts resting everybody.
58:58
And then Canada's in a dogfight with USA.
59:01
And then to your point about them just being emotionally
59:03
cooked and drained, and now you have rested Brazilian players
59:06
going up against Canada. So I do think you're right
59:09
though. I think if these teams meet and
59:11
it's like Marta coming back, I do think Canada would likely be
59:13
the betting favorite. But what's the fun in that?
59:16
Not at all. I think them getting mushed by
59:19
Spain is is super live and and you reminded me of that.
59:22
When you're like, oh, Spain's gonna have tape on you like and
59:25
they're going to be able to do a little bit more with that tape.
59:27
I think then Brazil will they're going to be find a little bit
59:30
more to exploit with those talented players.
59:33
So I can see that one, the Brazil, Spain rematch being a
59:37
little bit of a wider margin than the first go round.
59:39
So all right, we got Brazil up on the podium with their bronze
59:42
medals. Now just one more matter of
59:45
business at hand. Spain, USA in the final.
59:50
I've got to kick it to you. My brain is still a little bit
59:52
too jumbled to kind of figure out to collect my thoughts.
59:55
I need to, I need to hear where you're at with this one first.
59:57
All right, well, you know, proceed with caution.
59:59
You're going to the man with foggy brain over here.
1:00:02
With the illness, But I I will say I'm born in America, lived
1:00:05
here my whole life. I got my issues with this place.
1:00:08
I think I've made that well established.
1:00:11
But with that said, the members of the US women's national team,
1:00:15
at least for the time that I have been paying attention a
1:00:17
decent chunk of my life, have been people who I have found
1:00:20
easy to root for. Yeah, even being an England
1:00:23
supporter, I kind of wear the two hats.
1:00:25
But we said it before this tournament, and I'm just not
1:00:27
going to mince any words about it.
1:00:29
I don't think this team, even with this great performance in
1:00:32
this tournament, it's nearly impossible to beat Spain.
1:00:36
They're too good, man. And I just think in like the NBA
1:00:41
wisdom that you and I kind of grew up on and were raised on,
1:00:44
and you see it in football too. You got to kind of go through
1:00:47
some stuff before you're you're able to win at the biggest
1:00:51
level, at the highest level. And I just think this team with
1:00:55
their current chemistry, they're on a great trajectory.
1:00:58
Speaking of the United States, but I remain unmoved in my
1:01:02
opinion that I think there might be two goals between Spain and
1:01:06
USA right now. They're too organized, they're
1:01:08
too smart, and maybe I've been moved a little bit.
1:01:12
I don't want to say I remain unmoved, completely unmoved.
1:01:15
I think maybe the gap is a little smaller than I expected,
1:01:18
but I think it's still a pretty sizable gap.
1:01:20
So if it's two nothing and then USA pulls one back in like the
1:01:23
86th, I can see that. Or if it's, you know, if it's
1:01:26
two to one in the 88th and Putaius, it's another laser into
1:01:31
the top of the net and it ends three one.
1:01:32
I think you could look at that and be like, OK, that that's
1:01:35
fair. That was a one goal game.
1:01:36
And then they they stretched it and now they everybody goes
1:01:39
grabs their gold medal. So I don't I don't mean to be a
1:01:41
fatalist here, but I don't think it is.
1:01:43
I think it's just the reality of the situation.
1:01:45
Spain is the best team in the world.
1:01:46
I think they walk away with the gold.
1:01:49
Totally disagree. Yes.
1:01:52
I'm going to, I'm going to take the USA thing and I'll tell,
1:02:00
I'll tell you why. Let me see if I can talk you
1:02:02
into this. So.
1:02:04
I was very curious coming to this, into this tournament, to
1:02:07
see what kind of approach tactically Emma Hayes would
1:02:11
employ. I think what we've seen this
1:02:13
tournament has been very illuminating.
1:02:15
A lot of possession, a lot of like forward play, quick forward
1:02:20
play, but not with like balls over the top that we're just
1:02:22
going to run onto. I think now we have the players
1:02:25
to actually work the ball up the field.
1:02:28
Lavelle's been great at it. Smith, Swanson, they've been
1:02:31
great at it. I think that is a little bit of
1:02:34
the recipe that Emma Hayes, I believe thinks could beat Spain.
1:02:38
Yeah, almost like let's forfeit the midfield.
1:02:41
We don't have the horses there, but where do we have the horses?
1:02:44
Back for our left back and right back, causing havoc up to left
1:02:48
and right hand sides and our players up front.
1:02:50
Like giving them the freedom from pretty much anywhere on the
1:02:54
field to turn any bit of possession into a fast break or
1:02:58
a breakaway or whatever. And I think that strategy has
1:03:02
been employed because Emma Hayes is looking at and thinking about
1:03:06
Spain and thinking about how we might beat this team.
1:03:08
Now, on the flip side, I've mentioned Spain's attack looking
1:03:12
pretty underwhelming. So I don't see Bariuello scoring
1:03:16
against our back line or Jenny Hermosa scoring or a Caldente
1:03:21
scoring. I think it's probably going to
1:03:22
be from the midfield, like Battery Aitana or Alexia.
1:03:26
A lecture's been on absolute fire fire, so I would I would
1:03:31
take a look at the anytime goal scorer for Alexia, you know, in
1:03:35
that and pretty much any match up, I think until she starts to
1:03:37
cool off. But I think it's going to take
1:03:40
some magic from Spain. I think each of these teams is
1:03:43
good for one goal. Sure.
1:03:45
You can say it's either going to be Alexia or Aitana or Patri,
1:03:48
and on the US side it's going to be one of Soph, Win and Fire,
1:03:51
just depending on who. We'll keep an eye on that.
1:03:53
And then I think it just becomes who gets the third goal, who's
1:03:57
got the better approach, who's got the better game plan.
1:03:59
And the last thing I'll say, we've been on the Spain side
1:04:02
watching them, watching Barcelona really closely.
1:04:05
But a lot of their brand in my mind comes from their
1:04:10
performance at the World Cup and they're out and out domination
1:04:13
of France in the Nations League. Now that France side not quite
1:04:17
looking like the world, the world beater that I think we
1:04:21
think they could be in our mind. You know, I think like on the
1:04:24
field, we really kind of haven't seen it in a good way.
1:04:27
So what if France is just like a second tier team just out and
1:04:31
out? So yeah, of course Spain's going
1:04:32
to beat them to nothing. Yes, it's a final.
1:04:35
It's a big deal. You know, France, how much do
1:04:37
they care about the Nations League?
1:04:38
Who knows? They had already clinched the
1:04:40
Olympics as the home country. So I'm not saying it, but I
1:04:44
just, I just have a feeling that this US side is going to have
1:04:47
something left for that final versus Spain maybe that we
1:04:52
haven't fully seen. And I think I think there's
1:04:54
going to be some vulnerabilities against that Spain side that
1:04:58
that some of our strengths might be able to take advantage of.
1:05:01
And I think most of that, I got to chalk it up to Emma Hayes.
1:05:05
Oof. That's bold.
1:05:06
There should have been swelling dramatic music behind you.
1:05:10
Very American style. Independence Day style.
1:05:14
Welcome to Irfan. Yeah, exactly.
1:05:16
I, man, I love where your head's at.
1:05:19
And let me just say, because you've reminded me of something.
1:05:21
When Marty got that red card, there was a tweet sent out from
1:05:25
the ITC Twitter account that said something to the effect of
1:05:29
let's hope Brazil can pull out some magic here or something to
1:05:33
that effect. And so I would just like if you
1:05:36
wouldn't mind a little running theme of this episode, if you
1:05:39
could confirm to all the Spanish fans who watch this program, who
1:05:43
sent that tweet between us, who who have that both have access
1:05:47
to that Twitter account. That would have been me.
1:05:49
OK, good so Spanish fans who've been riding me for like pick and
1:05:54
marry herbs over kata koi for my world 11 who got on me for
1:05:58
picking Leone over Barcelona, who's told me I have been
1:06:01
disrespecting Spain. Let the record show that Dino's
1:06:05
picking USA here to beat Spain and that he sent out a tweet
1:06:09
that I know you're going to latch on to and be like why
1:06:11
you're rooting for Brazil over Spain?
1:06:13
Why you guys haters? So I just want to just clear
1:06:15
that up. I'll say I mean if you want the
1:06:18
show bracket to be USA over Spain, I will absolutely ride
1:06:23
with that. I think that'll be a good
1:06:25
looking graphic, but I honestly, because we're at a stalemate
1:06:29
here, because I don't think USA is beating Spain like with
1:06:32
Alexia playing this way, I just don't know what answers we're
1:06:36
going to have in the midfield for Alexia, Bonemati and Padre.
1:06:40
I think that is that's a nightmare.
1:06:42
Betty Ualo has not scored in this tournament and your point
1:06:45
stands there. I I take your point on that.
1:06:47
I think that's good. Now we got we get to get into
1:06:49
the one of my favorite tropes. But is she do, I don't know how
1:06:54
do she is and if does the explosion happen?
1:06:57
So I don't think USA is going to be able to do it.
1:06:59
I think they're going in the right direction, but they're
1:07:02
definitely on the list of teams that could beat them.
1:07:04
I wouldn't be totally floored, but I would be I would be
1:07:07
surprised. So I say you producer of the
1:07:11
show, I say, I say you make the call on on what the the bracket
1:07:14
looks like. And I will.
1:07:15
I will respect it. Well, I do want to address those
1:07:17
Spain fans. It's a wacky bracket.
1:07:23
There you go. You never know what's gonna
1:07:24
happen. It's a tournament.
1:07:27
All right, 21 USA gold medal. Let's fucking go.
1:07:31
I love it. What are we doing here?
1:07:34
Yeah. I love it.
1:07:37
What a tournament. Can't wait.
1:07:38
No, I want to actually see them play football.
1:07:40
Keep it locked with your boys. We're going to be covering every
1:07:42
bit of this. I know we're we're, we're way,
1:07:45
way into the deep waters here. So appreciate everybody for
1:07:47
continuing to rock with us. I had one more quick question
1:07:49
before we get out of here. Group stage MVP.
1:07:52
Do you have one? Do you have a short list?
1:07:55
This is probably just a little slick way to do.
1:07:57
Let's name some dudes, of course.
1:08:00
Who's who's really stuck out to you in this group stage?
1:08:02
Marie Antoinette Katoto. Five goals in the group stage.
1:08:06
She's the only reason France gets through the way they do.
1:08:10
Barbara Banda, four goals, so those are your two top goal
1:08:13
scorers. Obviously you got to name them.
1:08:15
Love it. Jesse Fleming, one goal and one
1:08:17
assist, but just a monster for Canada big time.
1:08:21
They cannot have the success they have if she doesn't play
1:08:23
well, and I believe she played 270 of the 270 available minutes
1:08:27
in those three matches. Tremendous.
1:08:29
Yeah. Shout out to Jesse Fleming for
1:08:31
sure. Alexia, you got to be in the
1:08:33
conversation. Has to be big game player.
1:08:35
Vanessa Giel, she was, she made my shortlist.
1:08:38
Couple of Americans as well, Sophie Smith and Naomi Germa.
1:08:42
I think I've been exceptional. Yes.
1:08:44
I think without either of those players, totally different group
1:08:46
stage for USA. Both of those players have
1:08:48
absolutely stood out. Also had ketoto.
1:08:50
Also had a Fleming on my shortlist.
1:08:52
So do you have an MVP pick? I'm going to take Marie
1:08:55
Antoinette ketoto because I think France might be out if if
1:08:59
she doesn't play the way she played.
1:09:01
Great point. Love the pick.
1:09:02
Hard to argue with. She's also stepped up.
1:09:05
We've talked about hell yeah above and beyond where she was
1:09:08
for her club. I think my pick, little
1:09:10
sentimental I I'm going to take Alexia Potayas for MVP.
1:09:13
Best team. It's great.
1:09:14
Probably best performance on the best team.
1:09:16
Would have loved to be in the room with our guy Chris Sharples
1:09:19
when either of those Alexia Golds gave me.
1:09:21
Just to hear, you know, the Sharples treatment on that, Hell
1:09:25
yeah. I certainly imagined it.
1:09:27
That was definitely glorious. I was a shout out to our guy
1:09:29
Chris. But yeah, I think Alexia is my
1:09:31
my my group stage MVP. Love it.
1:09:33
Yeah, worthy pick absolutely and inform.
1:09:37
Complete dangerous weapon for the best team.
1:09:39
All right man, anything else you want to hip before we get out
1:09:41
of? Here I want to do a couple end
1:09:42
of shows shout outs if I can, so this is long overdue.
1:09:47
Threads user Cali Texican on Threads, friend of the Shadow EP
1:09:52
who also manages our Threads account.
1:09:54
Cali Texican, you are one of the elite knowers of Ball among our
1:09:58
audience. Thank you for rocking with us
1:10:00
and thank you for sharing our videos and just always being
1:10:03
super cool and knowledgeable. So this is way overdue.
1:10:06
Just wanted to give you the quick shout.
1:10:08
Couple people who wanted to participate in the nickname game
1:10:12
for the the three forwards we had Ronald Tobias 3925 on
1:10:17
YouTube. He threw out RSS Express as the
1:10:21
three forwards. So I, you know, I like a good
1:10:23
rhyme and I'm not sure if it's Rodman Smith and Swanson or
1:10:26
Rodman, Swanson and Smith. Ronald, you might need to
1:10:29
clarify that for us. We also got one from Gretchen
1:10:31
Little 6817 on YouTube. She said she was leaning into
1:10:35
the quote corporate creative mode and that was funny.
1:10:38
And then she gave the three Amigas, which, you know, I think
1:10:41
it's like, it's well known, like evoke some emotion for people.
1:10:45
And I think it fits pretty well because they all seem to be
1:10:47
pretty good pals. And then I want to shout out
1:10:49
Hepolo on YouTube. He gave us Pro Evo Soccer 3,
1:10:54
which is a great reference to an old PlayStation two video game.
1:10:58
It was an alternative to FIFA and it got me to Google.
1:11:02
I said, OK, who was on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 3?
1:11:07
On the cover of that game is Pierre Luigi Colina.
1:11:10
He was a referee. I he, I think he is the only
1:11:13
referee I've ever seen on the cover of a football game.
1:11:17
He was an Italian referee in he officiated the the final of the
1:11:20
2002 World Cup. Great facial expressions on that
1:11:23
guy. Google image search him.
1:11:26
He has a bunch of videos calling him the most feared referee in
1:11:29
the history of football. But like, he also was like
1:11:32
pretty well known. And I only vaguely remember this
1:11:35
'cause he like, the 2002 World Cup was like a formative thing
1:11:38
for me, but like a massively respected referee.
1:11:41
So Hepolo, who also I think got a shout out from the women's
1:11:44
game and Sam Mewes and like gave them an idea.
1:11:47
And on their Twitter account, they're like, Hepolo, reveal
1:11:50
yourself, 'cause I think he said something to them on YouTube and
1:11:52
then they're tweeting about it. So Hepolo, I appreciate you
1:11:55
rocking with us just as you do the women's game with Sam Mewes.
1:11:58
So just wanted to get those those shout outs out here, make
1:12:02
sure that we thank the people who are so kindly watching the
1:12:05
program. Hell yeah.
1:12:06
Definite shout out Hepolo, Cali, Texan Gretchen, Little Ronald,
1:12:11
and pretty much everybody in the comments section.
1:12:13
Comments were scorching on the last episode.
1:12:18
The the conversation, the commentary, all excellent, all
1:12:22
really exciting. Luckily, there's no deadline on
1:12:24
the Smith, Swanson Rodman nickname.
1:12:26
So if you got something, shoot it our way at ITC under score
1:12:30
pod or in the comments on YouTube.
1:12:32
We'd love to hear it. You know, not to pat myself on
1:12:34
the back. I still think Bell Biv de goal.
1:12:36
It's got to still be leader in the clubhouse.
1:12:38
I got to imagine like that's still that's still the bar.
1:12:40
We're going to try to get over here.
1:12:41
I think so. I think it's got to be the
1:12:43
leader in the clubhouse and if I really think about how Trinity
1:12:47
Rodman, Sophie Smith and Mallory Swanson play football, if I had
1:12:51
to give like a musical comparison to it, I think I
1:12:54
would describe their play as hip hop smoothed out on the R&B tip
1:12:58
with a pop feel appeal to it. I feel like I've heard that
1:13:03
somewhere. I can't quite put my finger on
1:13:05
it and I got to say it's driving me out of my mind.
1:13:11
Yes, the oldest man in the world.
1:13:15
So I can go, alright, man, I think we did it.
1:13:18
This is another episode of Into the channel.
1:13:20
Sincere thank you for watching, listening, following, liking,
1:13:22
subscribing, just playing, hanging out with your boys.
1:13:25
Keep in our comments section on absolute fire.
1:13:28
Remember to like if you liked and subscribe or follow into the
1:13:30
channel, YouTube, Spotify, Apple podcast or wherever you like to
1:13:33
watch or listen. Leave us a review over your
1:13:35
favorite podcast app. Links to all of our socials in
1:13:38
the show notes of this episode. And a big thank you to my coast
1:13:40
as well, Mr. Grant Angle, for cruising into the quarterfinals
1:13:44
with me. No drawing of lots necessary.
1:13:47
No tiebreakers necessary. Straight one seed right to the
1:13:50
top. I appreciate you man of.
1:13:52
Course, buddy. Likewise, three wins, nine
1:13:55
points. Not three wins, three points.
1:13:57
No drone gate over here. All respect to to you Miriam in
1:14:00
Canada. But yeah, again, thank you
1:14:02
everybody for rocking with us and we'll see you next time.