First Things First - Argentina has lowest remaining odds to win World Cup, Top 10 QBs list, Can Spain beat France?

Episode Date: July 13, 2026

(0:00) Argentina has lowest remaining odds to win WC, Will England impress? (20:06) Top 10 QBs in NFL entering 2026/27 season (32:03) Lamar Jackson ranked 69th on NFL’s Top 100 Players list (37:21) Spain vs. England pitches Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And Greg joining, Greg Jennings, Greg Jennings joins me to discuss NFL executive quarterback rankings. Then the NFL top 100 players list selected Lamar Jackson as the 69th best player in the NFL. How much disrespect is Lamar facing? And finally, France takes on Spain, tomorrow the World Cup semis, Mboppe, Yomal, Dax against me. That's the real battle. That is a battle.

It's the first-things-versed overtime battle for the World Cup final. I'm Danny Parkins. Dax McCarty, our first-first soccer analyst, is here. And Dax, you've been here for weeks and weeks and weeks. New segment today, pitch me coming up later on the show. Yeah, I'm a little scared. That's what I thought. I've seen your videos on socials, you versus Nick.

I need to do my research. You're stepping into my arena. I know. I am. Sports debate. I'm the former pro at this. I'm still in my prime, by the way. But we start today's show with Saturday's quarter finals.

Leonel Messi in Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1 to advance to the semis. They will face England Wednesday, 3 o'clock Eastern on Fox. After a pair of heroic late comebacks, a hot start for the defending champs was very needed. And McAllister's goal in the 10th minute delivered. Now, when you take a look at the odds for the final, however, Argentina sits dead last, about four and a half to one, to go back to back. So the champs, they got the goat, but Dax, are you surprised that, at least according to the odds makers, Argentina is still being doubted that they can ship this thing?

I'm not surprised that they are the longest odds to win it with this remaining final four. Based on what I have seen throughout this tournament, Argentina certainly have been unconvincing at best. But it is a little bit surprising, considering the fact they have the greatest player of all time, the fact that they have won the last three international tournaments that they have played in. And they're the sultans of suffering. They are the kings of chaos. Like this is a team when the game gets chaotic, when the game gets difficult, they actually thrive. I mean, the amount of times they've flirted with catastrophe only to come out smiling on the other side,

it's actually kind of hard to quantify. So I'm not really sure how Vegas ends up, you know, making their odds and determining that. Allow me to help. Please, yeah, please tell me. Please help me because it does feel like they don't factor in that kind of vibe nature of Argentina. Well, I mean, if anything, they probably think Argentina is going to get a lot of the bets because it's messy and it's Argentina and the brand equity. But basically, they're just projecting out the path. They're saying Argentina is a slight underdog in this game.

Yeah. And regardless of who wins France, Spain, they will be a bigger underval. be a bigger underdog in that case. So therefore they have to be the biggest underdog in the tournament. Whereas France, Spain, yes, you know, Spain is an underdog to France, but they would be a favorite against either England or Argentina. And that makes sense to me because that matches the eye test. Right.

And Argentina, it's hard to quantify just exactly how they're doing, what they're doing when they really haven't looked all that convincing. I actually thought that they were in trouble against Switzerland. I agreed with your take earlier. today about how if that game ends up 11 v. 11 and Switzerland keeps all 11 players on the field, I believe Switzerland goes on to win that game. Those are my favorite takes because it's impossible to prove me wrong. Exactly right. But the reality is, is that when the game gets into the second half, and we have seen this with Argentina countless times in the last couple of years, they have

an understanding of what the game requires. They have a feeling of if they are going to take you into a street fight, they're going to come out on top. And they typically, are able to do that game after game after game. And so I think with the remaining four teams playing, any team, you could make a convincing argument that they could go on and win the World Cup. Like it would not surprise me in the least bit if Argentina went on to win this World Cup,

even though they aren't really playing all that well. And their manager, Scaloney, has even come out and said, luck is on our side. So I think- Yeah, that's why I would be surprised. That's, but you have to factor in the experience, the know-how, the fact that they have a team that has played together for a number of years, and they are playing for a common goal. They're playing to make history,

not just for messy, but also for their entire country. There's a vibe factor around this team that's hard to quantify, but it is also carrying them at this moment. I still have them losing to England, but you have to acknowledge it's there. It is there, and I love vibes, and I love a story. But I know you like numbers and data better. I do. Hey, listen, I like to think of myself as a numbers and data guy who also watches the games. I really try to blend the numbers with the eye test. And certainly I'm not a soccer expert like you, but I've watched all of these games.

And it feels to me like Argentina, not only is lucky to be here, but that it is becoming commonplace enough in these performances where I am not expecting them all of a sudden to turn in some sort of dominant effort against an amazing team. And I am just not at all, convinced that their defense is up to the task of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, or certainly

if they got France and their front line. I just have a very hard time imagining it. And then to try to quantify it, because we've all gotten watched the games, let's just put the four remaining teams and their path in the knockout rounds up on the screen. And I know that's a lot of numbers, but basically it is the FIFA ranks of the teams that they've beaten to get here. Yeah. Spain's is the hardest by far. Yep. And Argentina's is the easiest by far.

But every goal that was ultimately the game-winning go-ahead goal for Argentina in the knockout round, the 111th minute against Cape Faird, the 92nd minute against Egypt, the 112th minute against Switzerland. So they have reached the quarterfinals on the easiest path by far. Yeah. with the least margin of error by far, I don't care how many vibes you have and what sort of common goal you have. That luck when you play, by far,

the toughest competition that you've played so far, is going to run out at some point. So while before the tournament, I picked Argentina to play Spain in the final, you always tell me, what's your form? How are you playing right now? They are clearly playing the worst of those four teams. even though I know England has been inconsistent.

They struggled early, but more recently, I feel like they have played closer. Their arrow is at least trending upwards, whereas Argentina has been more like this. You're a big regression to the mean guy. And so that's where I'm- As the sample grows, yeah. But that's where I'm at with Argentina. It's like these performances aren't worthy of them advancing, but they still continue to find a way and to kind of piggyback off of your point in terms of the path.

They're the first team since 2002 Germany to not face a top 10. team until the semifinals, and even that Germany team didn't even face the top 10 team until the final where they lost. So it stands to reason. If you look at both of these teams, you look at them playing against England. This is going to be the best team they play in the tournament so far. How do they respond to the quality that England has? I think England, especially if Argentina plays like they have been, there's no doubt in my mind that England wins this game. But again, England hasn't looked all that convincing, especially any players not named Jude Bellingham or Harry Kane. So whichever one of these relatively inconsistent, powerful international teams actually

marries the performance and the result, I think is the team that's going to come out on top. But yeah, hard to know what to expect from Argentina. The vibes are just crazy. 205 international matches for Messi. He's never played England. Speaking of, to the other quarterfinals matchup, England beat Norway to one. England trying to win its first World Cup since 1966, so you'd think everyone would be excited after the match. But Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham, well, apparently they were watching different games. Take a listen. We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today.

The result is fantastic. We're in the last four. It's amazing, but not happy with the performance. The commitment is there, but we made life very, very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played. sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today. Well, whatever. Whatever.

I think he obviously believes there could be more from the team. Yeah, yeah, it's difficult out there, it's difficult. It's a tough shift. All the players are putting a very tough shift. So my thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who was out there. Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Erland, Hildegard, Nusse, Sourloff. you know, that's not an easy team to play against.

So the postgame sound is amazing. Tuchel has this reputation. Him and Bellingham have history. That's the off-field stuff. On the field, they're in the semis. They're trying to win for the first time since 66. Were you impressed with England? Not really.

Great. I wasn't all that impressed with England in their performance, but I was impressed with the fact that they have two superstars who are stepping up in the biggest moments and delivering for them on a global stage. And we had a laugh about this a little bit earlier. I love that. I love that from both Tuchel and I love that from Bellingham.

And you can feel in Jude Bellingham's interviews a little underlying current of maybe tension when it comes to Tuchel, when it comes to some of his comments. I don't think anything Tuchel said was all that out of bounds. Post-game, emotions are running high. Tuchel is a bluntly honest manager and he's never going to sugarcoat things. In that moment, was it really the best thing to say or do? That's for people to parse out on their own. I have no issues with it because I think what Tuchel's trying to do

is essentially say, we aren't going to win the World Cup if we have a performance like that. And yeah, we got a little bit fortunate. We were sloppy. Now, Jude Bellingham is exhausted. He's absolutely run his legs into the ground for the last couple of weeks, and he has been the catalyst for these England victories. That's the last thing he wants to hear.

He doesn't really want to hear an interview. you were asking him about post-game comments. He just wants to praise his players. So I think there's a healthy tension that exists between Tuchel and between Bellingham. I don't think you have to be best friends. I had a manager who I didn't really get along with all that well back when I played when I was a young player. And he ended up getting the best out of me. It was the best year of my career in 2010, even though we didn't really get along all that well. And so I think that Tuchel is getting the best out of Bellingham. He's getting the best out of Cain. Bellingham is putting himself on the map as one of the best players in the world with these performances. So am I a little bit concerned

about England? Yeah, they haven't been all that convincing. But along the lines of a Messi, when you have a Harry Kane and a Jude Bellingham who are match winners, you just need a coach to get everything right behind them. And even if the performances aren't great, they absolutely still are capable of winning this tournament. We'll talk France- Spain in a little bit, but it's like those are the teams that you can't really pick a knit with. Yeah. England, In other Argentina. Totally. You can point to a lot of warts, a lot of knits,

and in some ways it feels like an undercard, hell of an undercard, given their World Cup history with each other, their sports hatred with each other, the superstar plays, the fact that they've reached the semis, it's an amazing thing. Was I impressed with England?

Not really. Not really. That game, to me, honestly, and I know they were the favorite, and Norway kind of not supposed to be here, and they had gotten over their skis and all of that. that match felt like to me you play it 100 times, 52, 48 go to England.

And the match just lacked quality. Yeah, well, it was so weird. Yeah. The ball hits the wire, but they claim that it doesn't. Not according to FIFA. FIFA says that it doesn't, but like, I have eyes. It hit something. It definitely did.

Right? It just came down. The first goal that Norway scored to take the lead, I'm pretty sure that was a cross. Great goal. It was a great goal. Great goal. Danny, we call that a Schros.

A Schross. There's a shot cross. A shot cross. You can't actually prove that it was a cross. Okay. Yeah. In my mind's eye, I think we got the replay angle of it. Look at it.

But look, he celebrates as if he meant to do it. Yeah, but I'm like, I'm pretty sure this just is not, it's kind of lucky and it goes in. And it's like, all right, great. With Holland on the back. With Holland? I agree with you. Right? Like, that's a cross.

The goal that's taken off for, for Norway. way, tough luck situation. He pushes him, but you know, trust me. Physical game. I get it. Guys fall all the time. It is a contact sport. It's a contact sport. Guys go down all the time. Things are not always called. That game honestly felt Holland gets subbed off and that was a little weird and the timing of it. Bellingham emerges with the two goals, which was fantastic. But it felt like a year's worth of stories happened in one game. Easily could have gone the other way. So I'm not going to come out of that overly impressed with England, but they're here.

They're still here and they're still kicking. And I do believe that England is starting to get better performances from some of their wide players, which is why England, Argentina, if it's a battle, if you look at the difference makers, I think Julian Alvarez and Lataro Martinez scoring was a good thing. Messi is obviously the biggest difference maker in the entire World Cup. Kane, Bellingham, the secondary players are going to have to step up. And so I look at Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford, Saka, Alvarez. out wide to be able to make differences for England.

I just don't see the same type of production with that Argentina midfield, which has been really frustrating. They're very dogged defensively. But again, when you are relying so heavily on Messi, who can change the game for Argentina from midfield? McAllister, DePaul, Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, they're very similar profile-type players. I just wonder that if the game opens up and England starts to show a little bit more quality

and a little bit more ingenuity in the attack. Argentina scored the most goals in the tournament, which blows my mind. It doesn't feel. Alvarez got in the party, too. He did, and it just doesn't feel like an Argentina team that can score on you at any given moment like this French team. I am just a little bit more, let's say, trusting of the secondary players for England

to be able to step up in this matchup. All right, so we got France, Spain, England, Argentina. It is the first time in World Cup history that FIFA's top four teams reach the semis. Now, France takes on Spain tomorrow, three Eastern on Fox. England against Argentina, Wednesday, three Eastern, also on Fox. Now, you were just talking about secondary players. Come on now. You can't go wrong here. Who will be the superstar of the semifinals? Plant the flag. In any given tournament at any given moment, it is incredible to see these different superstars stepping up for their countries at big times.

But this question, when I think about, like, what is the definition of superstar? There's only one player that rises above everybody else. Oh, you're going to go out on this line. I'm going out on a limb and saying Leonel Messi is the biggest superstar remaining in this tournament. We all wondered if this was going to be almost his farewell tour. Yes, Argentina is going to play for him, but they're also going to play with minimal pressure.

Are they going to be able to repeat? I believe there's only two countries in the history of the World Cup that have been able to go back to back. And the way that Leonel Messi started this tournament almost shocked everyone to their core. It was always talked about about how Messi going to Major League Soccer, that was almost him saying, all right, I'm going to ride off into the sunset, enjoy the latter stages of my career. He is a competitive monster, still arguably the best player in the world, and Argentina's fortunes are absolutely more dependent on him than I would argue any other player with any other team in the tournament. He is the orbit with which Argentina exists. And so if he

doesn't play well, they have other players that can make a difference. But this game, this semifinal has set up to be the semifinal of superstars. Well, you're picking England. He is the biggest superstar in the tournament. There is zero question about that. I believe England's going to win the game. But in terms of superstar influence, if Leon O'Messi decides I'm going to have a game where I absolutely feel like dominating and England isn't prepared for that. Yeah, he is going to be the difference between them getting a result or not getting a result. I can't argue with the pick and Leonel Messi. It seems to have worked out for the last, I carry the one, about two decades.

Yep. In soccer. But I will just say this. I'm going to make my superstar the player on the team that I'm picking to win the whole thing. And Laminia Mall, it feels like he's on the come. Like it feels like he's a... He needs it. I know.

But it feels like he's on the verge of it. Sure. Whether it's just endurance, coming back from the hamstring, he just led Spain in shots, leads him in one-on-ones. The talent is there. It's at times been sloppy. No question about it. But if he is truly this phenom talent,

which the eye test shows that he clearly is, if you trace back to some other phenoms in their first World Cup when they also were teenagers, by the way, happy birthday to Lumian Yamal turns 19 today. Not a bad birthday present. A chance to send your team to the World Cup final. Pele and Mboppe, if we show you, in their first World Cup at 17 and 18 years old, they basically, they didn't find the back of the net in the group stage.

But then as they got more comfortable with the stage, with the pressure, with the everything that goes into a World Cup, six goals for Paley, three for Mbapé. Now we throw up what Yamal has done. And again, part of this was he played 52 minutes total in the first two matches as he was coming back from the hamstring injury. The minutes are up, the shots are up, the shots on goal are way up, touches in the opponent's box.

He's just, he's close. He is. He's there. And so if Spain is going to upset France, they're going to need him, because that's not going to be a one-nothing game. Sure. They're going to be goals scored. So I think you mean, Yamal ends up being.

It's interesting. that we talk about superstars and the dichotomy right now, how we're hitching our wagons. To one of the oldest players in the tournament and one of the youngest players in the tournament, both difference makers. I think that you could choose 10 different players to answer this question,

and they could all step up in those big moments. The reason why I believe France is so dynamic and so dangerous is because you have three or four players you could choose from that French national team. There's not really two players from England, right? There's not really a ton of players, other than Leonel Messi that are going to have to step up and carry Argentina if they're going to get it done. If there's anyone that can do it, it is the greatest player of all time in Leonel Messi.

I just think the combo of Kane and Bellingham, it could just be too much for this Argentina team if they continue to play like they've been playing. All right, Dex, we'll see you a little bit later on in the show for Pitch Me, but coming up, would you rather have Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes heading into this NFL season? Well, Greg Jennings. I haven't talked to Greg in a while. He joins us next to discuss, and the countdown to the semis is on Killing Mbophe. It's been pretty good. 20 goals and 20 career World Cup matches. He's playing Spain.

You might have heard tomorrow. Three Eastern on Bobmix. This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales, using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign to, delivery and access better data across the business. The result, less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and

fandoms that matter most. Learn more at Accenture.com slash Spotify. The semifinals countdown continues. It's Harry Kane in England. Facing Messi in Argentina, Wednesday, 3 Eastern on Fox. Thanks for hanging out with us on the OT. Let's talk some football. ESPN.com dropped their top 10 quarterbacks for the 2026 season, voted on by executives, scouts, and coaches.

Now, it is a power-packed list, but as I always say, no lists are perfect except for mine. Top 10 Tuesday makes a return after the World Cup. Get excited. Alan, Mahomes, Stafford, Burrow, Lamar, Dak, Herbert, Drake, May, Jared Gough. No top 10 is complete without my guy, Caleb. Greg Jennings joins me now. I know he agrees that my top 10 lists are always perfect. Greg, a lot to unpack here. Let's start at the top.

Did they get it right? Is Josh Allen now? Is he taken over from Patrick Mahomes? The best quarterback in football? Oh, yes, they got it right. And I know there's going to be a lot of chief fans and our number one chief ring leader in Nick Wright that's saying, no, this is way wrong.

He's not here. Don't worry about Nick. It's just you and me talking, Greg. It's just you and me. I know, Danny. I know. But when you look at what Josh Allen provides, if you are building a team, he is absolutely what you want to build around. Obviously, the comparisons between him and Mahomes

will continue throughout the course of their career. If we're talking wins, obviously championships, we know who gets to nod there. But we're talking about just player and profile and measurables. and what they present and bring to the table, productivity, over the course of this season, this past season. And Josh Allen has to get the knob. He has a size, arm strength, pocket presents,

all the things that you want to have a guy run your offense, be the face of your franchise and or your team, and just do it in a special and elite way. When you think about guys under the center, can they score the football, can they put it where they need to at any point, any time. Can they create an improv and improvise? He does it. I have a graphic for you. I know you love graphics. When you talk about guys who can just flat out four touchdowns in any way,

these are some of the top guys. And Josh Allen jumps out on the page with those touchdowns. These over the course of the last two seasons. And one name we see in the little subheader, Patrick Mahomes, 55. This does. doesn't mean he's not a great player. We know he's great. But there's a guy in Josh Allen that we've come to know and witness who does it at an alarming rate. It feels like Mahomes, his floor is two and his ceiling is one because of all of the accomplishments and the ceiling that we've seen. A great way to put it. And the Super Bowls and the MVP's. But given what's happened the last couple of years statistically.

Like, Mahomes hasn't put up MVP caliber regular season since 2022. Now, he was unbelievable in the 2023 playoffs and was Super Bowl MVP. But really since then, he has not been individually statistically great. Some of that has been offensive line. Some of it has been receivers. Some of it has been him. He gets injured last year. But if we just, I do love graphics, if his ceiling is one and his floor is two,

I could make the same exact argument for Josh Allen. Like since 2020, they're 1 in 2 in wins, they're 1 and 2 in touchdowns, they're 1 and 2 in yards, and if you go even further and you rank the playoffs, what do those ranks look like? Look how similar they are. They're right next to each other.

It's not like there's a big gap between 1 and 2. They have basically been the same player the last five years. Now, obviously, Mahomes has the trophies, and obviously Mahomes gets him head to head in the postseason. And it's like that obviously matters when you're talking about who is the better all-time quarterback. But if the list is for this year and these two guys have basically been the same statistical player for that large of a sample, and Allen's coming off a great year and Mahomes is coming off of a year where he's injured, it's not some huge disrespect to have Josh in front of Patrick. Yeah, you're spot on.

I love the one and two graphic that you showed there. And that's kind of how we see it. I care of who you root for, who you favor. When you think of quarterback play, an elite quarterback play consistently, that has been consistent. That's including the other guys on that list. Burrell, Lamar, and golf,

all those other guys that's on that list. Stafford, these two remain. top of mind every time we think of quarterback playing this league. And it's kind of nice. Mahomes coming off the injury. Mahomes coming off missing the playoffs. Mahomes now another piece of like bulletin board material. It's like, all right, now go out and prove it and be number one on the list next year.

Let's go to the back of the list. My guy Caleb cracked the top 10. I, of course, buy it. What do we need to go to the back of the list for? Well, he's right there, number 10. It's a top 10 list. So, you know, he squeaked in. Now, if you read the Jeremy Fowler piece, he talked about like tiebreakers and other guys. And, you know, so he went to the phones and he called people to, and they basically argued for Caleb's ceiling over guys like, you know,

Sam Darnold and Jaden Daniels and things like that. I think that Caleb as a top 10 quarterback is projection on some level. And, you know, I also love the eye test. The 90-second highlight tape, the four-minute highlight tape of Caleb Williams is arguably as impressive as any player in football. He does not do it as consistently. He is not as statistically productive over 17 games. But when we show a montage of Caleb Williams' best, and then I send it to a coach, a GM, a scout, and I'm like, how many other guys could have a highlight tape like this?

What's that list? Mahomes, Alan, Caleb, like end of list. So I think some of this is projection and some of his is just not wanting to feel silly because his talent is so clearly 99th percentile. Yeah, I would say, I think a lot of it, not just some of it, is projection. And that's fair.

But based on what he was able to do last season, like I'm not mad at it. I think there can be an argument made for some other guys that were left off this list, a guy that comes to mind, he just happened to win the Super Bowl, happened to be on the one, two of the best,

better teams in the last two seasons, both being different organizations, but he's just not the name. He's not the flash. And that guy being Sam Darnold, like he would have an argument. But when you look at Caleb Williams, all those things that you say are very true.

He's exciting. He's exactly what you want to have under center leading your team. somebody that the fans are going to get behind and just come to see whether your team is good or bad, he's going to provide you some type of excitement and electric performance. However, you said something when you were speaking, the level of consistency. Over the course of just even last season, we didn't see that consistency from quarter one, two, and three, as we did in quarter four and when they were behind and he needed to do some magic

and perform all those heroics to bring his team behind. Now, he was able to do it. We talk about Bo Nix in kind of a negative light because of doing that. But Caleb was very similar in that same regard. So, like, Trevor Lawrence had a great year. He could easily be there. And you know, I don't believe that Trevor Lawrence is a better quarterback in terms of projection than Caleb.

But he deserves to be on that list based on what he was able to do last year. He had a better statistical season. I also think Caleb year one to year two made such a leap, like the sack rate, for an example. So people are just like, oh, well, if he can make that big of a leap from year one to year two, imagine the leap he can make from year two to year three with his second year with Ben Johnson. Let's throw the list back up there. And yes, Justin Herbert is one of my favorite players in football. But the six-seven mark between Dak and Herbert, I just thought was fascinating and lists are made to be debated.

Are you okay with DAC over Herbert, given that DAC has the counting stat argument is ironclad for DAC over Herbert, but he also has the better supporting cast. And I don't think if we were starting a team, and so I didn't know players two through 53, I'm not sure how many people on planet Earth would take Dak Prescott over Justin Herbert. I agree with a lot of what you're saying. And in that latter part, I would say there's probably not a lot of people, there's a share that would take DAC over Herbert, but not a, I don't think the popular decision would be to do that.

For me, I don't mind this at all. And you mentioned, Dag Prescott having the better supporting cast. Yes, he does offensively. But totality from a team perspective, no, he did not. And if we're looking at it from a lens of last season, you look at that defense that the charges had that Justin Herbert had to take the field when they didn't perform, when he didn't perform, they were absolutely one of the better defenses in all of football.

You look at what Dak did not have, and he had to be more. He had to do more. He was asked to do more. He had the second most past attempts in all of football behind, believe it or not, Bo Nix. And largely because there was no belief that their defense was going to be able to get stops. Yes, Justin Herbert was he had injuries himself. He had injury riddle offensive line in front of them.

But yet that defense still didn't allow a lot of scoring to be had on them. So there was no need for him to have extreme heroics. Where Doc Prescott, if he didn't show up, they had absolutely no shot. I am not going to freak out about the difference between six and seven. I don't really get bent out of shape over lists. I just, I know in my core, like in my essence, that Justin Herbert. Justin Herbert's a better player than Dak Prescott. That DAC is more statistically productive.

I just know that Herbert's better, and that's okay for me. I'm not going to make a more sophisticated argument than that. I just, I think that most people who watch football believe that Herbert's better than attack, but apparently because of stats in the wide receiver core, Herbert gets rights below him. Speaking of lists, Greg Jennings coming up. Lamar, I don't get mad at lists. If I was Lamar, I'd get mad at this one. And I'd get mad at my peers.

His spot of the top 100 is next with Greg Jennings. The countdown clock is on. My guy, Laminia Mall. Come on, Lamin, Lameen, find the back of the net here. Need you for that upset. Spain, France, Clash of the Titans, the two-feynium. favorites. 3 p.m. on Fox. Winner gets to be the favorite in the World Cup final.

Under 24 hours from now, from Dallas. My name is Peter Parker, but I'm also Spider-Man. This July, we're faced with a threat. That can be anyone. The world may have forgotten Peter Parker. I'm just a neighbor, friendly neighbor. But he hasn't forgotten them. Sometimes Spider-Man has to do the hard thing.

That's my responsibility. Talk to Banner? I didn't know you could get that big. Spider-Man, brand new day. In theaters, July 31st. Tick, tick, tick. The countdown clock keeps rolling on. Lino Messe in Argentina taking on England should be great.

Wednesday, three Eastern on Fox. Thanks for hanging out with us on the O.T. Let's go to Baltimore where the NFL top 100 player list, voted on by the players themselves, comes out 10 names at a time. And Lamar's name has been revealed. And I know what you're thinking. Are we already into the 20s? Nope.

Came in at 69th. Just a cool 67 spots lower than last year. Now, yes, the Ravens missed the playoffs. And when you look at his season last year statistically, it wasn't good. Worst win percentage ever, worse completion percentage since 2022, touchdowns 2022, yards ever. It was not good.

Dealing with injuries the whole year, Greg Jennings still hanging out with us. Greg, are you shocked? at Lamar's ranking on the, let's just say, sometimes inconsistent NFL top 100 list. Absolutely. This is one of the reasons why I always question, and even when I played this top 100 list,

voted on by the players, okay? Just when you look at, we just were talking about a list that had Lamar Jackson, albeit quarterbacks only fifth among quarterbacks. As voted on by coaches, executives, and executives. Now, you're telling me, those guys are going to put Lamar Jackson fit over all that quarterback, and his peers are going to say,

you know what, he's closer. He's probably closer to this is going to feel like a shot. And rightfully so for Lamar fans or Bryce Young fans, to Bryce Young, who's at 98, Lamar's like 30, like 29 or whatever the number is. in front of Bryce Young. Like, there's not many quarterbacks that are better than Lamar Jackson. And again, we're talking about all players, all positions.

I just don't believe that there are 68. Regardless of the season that he had, his impact, even with the season he had, albeit the production was not there, it was still felt. It was still a lot. When you line up against him, you're still concerning yourself about, number eight. And so I just, I don't see that. But hey, the list is what it is. Lamar will definitely see this and he'll do something about it this year, I'm sure. It's an outrageous list. I mean, Jeffrey Simmons was the 83rd best player in the NFL. He might be the eighth best player

in the NFL. Like, it's just that we, Kyle Van Nuoy, who's still in the NFL, was talking to us a couple weeks ago about how it goes. And it's like, they come into the locker room, sometime after Thanksgiving before the end of the year, they pass it around. You're supposed to write out the names from memory. There's not like a master list. Guys are voting for their friends. Like, was Lamar heard at the time? There's a million factors that could go into this.

And it's not about the next five years or the next 10 years, but for this upcoming season in a vacuum, Lamar Jackson is still one of the most difficult players in the entire sport either side of the ball to game planned for. He's one of the most dangerous players in football. So, while I think the idea of bulletin board material is a little silly for a multiple time MVP who has made tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars and he has been rewarded by being face of the franchise, highest paid player in the sport, league MVP.

He is motivated at this point solely by winning a Super Bowl, like the one thing from his resume that he doesn't have. It would not shock me at all if he got this alert on his phone. And he was like, okay. I'll show them. Like, it's ridiculous. It's a laughable notion to suggest that there's nearly 70 players in football better than Lamar Jackson. It's just absurd.

Exactly. I really don't need to add anything else. But if I'm a player, we see and we hear most things. I'm not going to say everything. But something like this, we definitely see it, we definitely hear it. And it definitely lights a little fire, a little flame. It doesn't start it. It's not the end-all-be-all.

But it's definitely one of those things that noted going into the season. Well, and we did a list last week on like the best to worst supporting casts for quarterback. And the Ravens were at 22. So if they were the 22nd best supporting cast for a quarterback, and then the 69th best player in the NFL's the quarter, Ravens are set up to win like six games this year based on those lists. And it's just obviously that's a ridiculous notion heading into the year. But hey, Greg, it's list season, man.

Welcome back. Good to see you. lists are fun, even if I mock the producers when they're pitching to us every day. Dax McCarty joins us coming up on the decks. He will make his pitch as to why my Spain team will not be his France squad. Yeah, it's a trip for the World Cup final online, but it's the OT Cup. Also, the countdown clock is rolling under 24 hours until France Spain. You cannot wait tomorrow.

Three Eastern on Fox. This episode is brought to you by Activia. You might already be eating yogurt. But not all yogurts are created equal. Activia contains over 1 billion probiotics per serving to survive and reach the gut alive. When it comes to gut health, Activia is the number one family doctor-recommended probiotic yogurt brand. Choose Activia. Feel good from the inside out.

Visitactivia.ca for more details. Hey, Jude, don't be afraid. England takes on Argentina Wednesday for a ticket to the World Cup Final, 3 Easter. We'll be watching on Fox. Now, we welcome you back to the OT. Our first thing's first soccer analyst, Dax McCarty, back with me now. It's a battle of the stars, but more importantly, it's a battle of the O.T. France, Spain, Mbopi Yemal, Dax versus me.

Now, Dax, I know, it's the big one that everyone is talking about. You had France winning it all from day one. Yep. I had Spain winning it all. They now face each other for a trip to the World Cup final on the line. You can watch it all, of course, 3 Eastern coming up tomorrow on Fox. We can talk about this World Cup for hours. Unfortunately, we do not have hours here at the end of the OT.

I'm going to just give you one minute where you are going to give me your pitch to see if you can convince me, and America, why France will win tomorrow against my Spain squad. Are you ready? Let's do it. Three, two, one, 60 seconds. Go. Since the opening half of the turn. In the tournament, France has looked utterly dominant.

They are the most balanced team in the world. Let's start in the attack. I scored the second most goals in the tournament. Their star attacking player, Killian Mboppe. He has not only, in this knockout stage, scored more goals than Spain's front three. Ojarzabal, Biana, and Laminia, Mul combined. He also has more assists in this tournament than Spain's leading assist man, Mark Koucarea with two, Mbapé with three.

You want to go to the defensive side of the ball where Spain's calling card is. I'm a form guy. Last five games, they've conceded the same amount of goals. Last three games, France has conceded less goals than Spain. They're the only team in the knockout stage that has clean sheets in all the knockout stage games. And this game sets up absolutely perfectly for that attacking front three to dominate in transition. All right, listen, I wasn't going to do as much negative politics on France.

You came right at Spain, which is fine. I'll be prepared for it when I get my 60 seconds on the clock. The last few games in the goal numbers is an interesting point. Yep. But again, to your eye test, do you believe that France's defense is as good as Spain or have the results just been there where the numbers match up for a couple of games? I believe they're hitting form at the right time. It's not just the fact that they don't concede goals.

It's the fact that they don't concede shots in their last two games. They've conceded one shot on target. One. So Mike Menon, their goalkeeper, is a fantastic shot stopper. Well, if he never has to stop any shots, then he's never going to get tested. Their backline is absolutely peaking at the right time because the Spanish attack will provide them with a big test. It's a pretty ridiculous collection of talent.

And everybody has just said, well, it's France's tournament to lose. They were the runner-ups last time. They've gotten even better ahead of this one. It's a formidable task. Sure is. Now you're up. You chose the easy side of the argument. I'll be honest, but that's okay.

You read the tea leaves, you look at the squad. Utterly dominant. Illinois State Debate champion in 2005. Let's see it. It's not going to be a problem. If I can get 60 seconds on the clock, 3, 2, 1, and I go. Bam. A little history lesson for you, Dax.

Do you like losing? Spain doesn't do it. 36 consecutive matches. without a loss. That's pretty good. They're the Eurochamps. Well, did they play France in that 36 match streak? Yeah, they did.

Twice. What's their record? Carry the one. Yeah, 2 and 0. So they know that they can beat France. They haven't lost in 36 straight matches, which is, of course, a Spanish record. Their star player, Laminia Mall,

is rounding into form, getting healthier, more shots on goal, more shots, more attempts, playing 90 plus with. Nico Williams checked in in the 80. minute in the last game, maybe a little bit of health, maybe peaking at the right time for them. And then, I don't know, they allow the fewest shots. They allow the fewest shots on target. They've allowed one goal.

There's a wise philosopher that we know around these parts here at first things first by the name of Kevin Wilds. And he trademarked the phrase defense wins championships. They don't allow goals. They're going to win. Well, my defense has conceded less goals in the knockout stage. In the knockout. I'm doing the whole tournament. Doing the whole tournament.

Does it concern you a little bit that in that performance where they did have that epic victory over France last year, that Michael Olise, the breakout star of this tournament, he only had nine caps when he played. He made an appearance in that game, and he has turned into the best creator in the tournament. Does that not worry you a little bit considering all the options France has at their disposal? The depth of France is ridiculous, and Oise is a spectacular player. and I'm banking that as Laminia Mall is now the ripe old age of 19, that it's possible, that it's possible, and by the way, happy birthday, that he is still getting better as well.

I really do believe that this is a heavyweight bout. I've said it a million times. Stiles make fights. I think this is like a best offense against the best defense situation. Whoever plays from out in front could be the difference. I don't think that this is a lopsided affair. I've got one last little nugget to kind of really. drive home the point. Yeah, we can go data, stats, I test, all of it. France also has the X

Factor, a win-one for the Gipper type situation in that their manager, Didier DeComp's experienced a little bit of tragedy, had to leave for his mother's passing, and come back, and he's retiring at the end of this World Cup. And what better way to send out a retiring manager, Danny, then what? Going all the way, winning the tournament for one of the best international managers we've ever seen. X Factor, I think that takes the cake. Gotta be honest, that's kind of dirty. You play the sympathy card for the manager needing to leave for the funeral. I knew what I was up against with you.

I needed to play something. Honestly, I respect it. It's dirty pool, but I respect it. Enjoy the games. We're talking about it tomorrow on the OT.