First Things First - Portugal draw with DR Congo, Bo Nix ‘could full-go’, Baker Mayfield contract dispute

Episode Date: June 17, 2026

(0:00) Portugal draw with DR Congo, Messi hat-trick,  (19:06) Baker Mayfield contract dispute, Will Bo Nix pick up where he left off?  (28:04) Does Nick Sirianni get enough credit? (35:24) Packed Stats World Cup Edition Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The excitement of the FIFA World Cup is now streaming live on Fox One, the official English streaming platform to catch every unforgettable moment. Fox One brings the action straight to your screen so you never miss a goal. Download Fox One and experience the FIFA World Cup live. Welcome into World Cup Corner. It's first things first overtime. I'm Danny Parkins here with U.S. men's national team midfielder and our professional soccer analyst, Dax McCarty.

Greg Jennings joins me later to talk football. But first, football. It's an all football show. You get it, Dax. Let's start with Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal results in a disappointing for them one-one draw with D.R. Congo. Two tough misses from Ronaldo in just five minutes of each other. But this one here was seemingly a missed opportunity for Bruno Fernandez that Ronaldo took over.

Here's Tieri. Because he wants to score, he goes into the path of the backpass. You see both players, and it's easier for you to. to defend. And that's my thing. The team needs to score, not you. You saw the reaction of Buenos Aires beyond going like, let it roll, make a run, create space so I can tap it in. It didn't happen. All right, Dax. So obviously, Messi has the historic night, the hat trick. Him and Ronaldo, both in that goat conversation, Messi becomes the all-time leader in World Cup history. And Ronaldo follows it up with this disappointing game. How disappointing is both

Rinaldo's performance and the draw for Portugal. Get to Rinaldo in a second because overall, yes, Rinaldo has a share of the blame. Of course, he's a superstar. He's always going to have to face the music when Portugal don't play well. But this is much more than a Cristiano Ronaldo problem. This is a Portugal problem. Their best midfield in the tournament, I've said so myself. They did not play well.

But really, most of the blame should go on their manager, Roberto Martinez, for setting the team up wrong tactically in terms of his personnel. Sometimes your best, most talented players do not make your best most effective team on the field. Portugal, a lot like Spain, have a lot of very good midfielders, a lot of great technicians in and around the ball, but they all want to come to feet. The only player on the field that even provided remotely any threat in behind was Pedro Neto. And even then, he wasn't running in behind. This team right now is still built around Cristiano Ronaldo, and it shouldn't be. It should be built around Bruno Fernandez, their best midfielder.

the guy who can create chances. And so I compare it a lot to what we saw from Spain. But if you see Ronaldo here, who am I to argue with Tieri-Henri, one of the best strikers of all time? Ronaldo has to leave that. There's two schools of thought here, is that Ronaldo knew that Bruno Fernandez was there, and yet the ball was behind him.

He still tried to shoot, which is extremely poor. Or sometimes even worse, he might have not known he was there, which is really poor vision, poor communication between teammates. Bruno Fernandez, if Cristiano Ronaldo, like Tieri said on the broadcast, If he makes an unselfish run to the far post, that's a tap-in for Bruno Fernandez.

Portugal might walk out of there with three points after having not played well. But a lot like how Spain played, where Spain actually came up against a goalkeeper who stood on his head. They came up against a team that defended perfectly well. The difference is so stark in those last two numbers. They both had ample amounts of possession, but a lot of possession without a ton of purpose. At least Spain doesn't tell the whole story of any match. story, but you know what does is the shots and the shots on goal. Spain came up against a great goalkeeper who stood on his head and they were guilty of poor finishing without their two

best, most dangerous players on the field from the beginning. Spain still gets Nico Williams back and Laminia Malbecke, fully fit. Portugal barely tested the goalkeeper. They barely were dangerous. And so that is one of the biggest problems with the Portugal performance. But as it relates to Cristiano Ronaldo, he's still more effective to me coming off the bench. You need to build the team around Bruno Fernandez, and Bruno Fernandez really thrives when he has runners into space, guys that can take players on 1 v1. When Conce Sao came on in the second half, he provided them a little bit more cutting edge. He was a little bit more dangerous. Rafael Leal wasn't great, but he will provide you danger running in at players. There was a moment in the game,

if we can show it, where Cristiano Ronaldo had an opportunity at the outside of the box where he was 1v1 with a Congo defender. And typically Christiana Ronaldo would go. He would try to create a chance, get a shot off, get across, he decides to go backwards. That's a player for me who doesn't trust his ability in and around the box anymore when he is faced up 1B1. He needs to get service and when he is not efficient in and around the box, there really is no reason for him to be in the starting 11. Roberto Martinez has to take accountability and he has to decide what is going to be my best, most effective team from the start of the game. It is easy for us to say that in an air condition studio.

Does Roberto Martinez have it in? We are talking about one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Of course. One of the most famous people in the world, a national hero. Of course. Every time on the broadcast, there's a corner kick. They're like, this is the moment for Ronaldo. And I'm like, I don't know, there's other guys on the team and that they can give to.

Do they actually have it in him to bench him? No. Okay. And that's the biggest problem is that Cristiano Ronaldo's ego. is so big that I think it would create more of a problem, more of a distraction, if Roberto Martinez said, hey, I think you would be better served coming off the bench. Cristiano Ronaldo, he needs to score goals. He has that hunger to score goals, and that's fine. But I think the most concerning thing that I could say about Cristiano Ronaldo in this moment

for Portugal right now is that I think he'll be very upset that Portugal didn't win this game. I think he'll be very upset that they didn't play well. And it's not all on Cristiano Ronaldo because it is the entire Portuguese team that didn't play well. But I think he'd be even more upset that he didn't score a goal, especially after what happened yesterday, when you have all the biggest stars of the tournament. Mbapé, two goals. Messi, Hatrick, Erling Holland, two goals. Christiano Ronaldo, you know he saw that, and you know he wants to be involved in that conversation for the Golden Boot.

Lino Messi, he's going to break the record for scoring the most goals in a World Cup, and he's probably going to break the record for most assists in World Cup history. Christiana Ronaldo, if he is not in the headlines for his numbers, for scoring goals, that is a big problem for him and his ego at this point in time. And it's really hurting this Portuguese national team. I want to, before we move on to More on Messi, I want to just make one point about DR Congo because they're not going to get, they're not going to get a lot of attention. Give them love. Please, Danny. Give them all the love.

And I get it. Yeah. But to me, that story is the essence of what the World's Cup is about. No question. It is the world's game. This is the second. time ever the DR Congo has qualified for the World Cup. And the first time back in the mid-1970s, they get blanked in every game.

Three matches, zero, zero, and zero. And that goal and that celebration, Yohan Wissa, he is now a national hero. No question. This is not a small country. What a goal. This is a country in Africa with over 100 million people, one of the 15 most populated countries on earth. soccer is a huge deal

and they have never scored a goal. They have never registered a result. They have never gotten a point in the World Cup and against Big Bad Portugal and Big Bad Rinaldo where all of the storylines is about them and the star power and all of that.

That is one of the biggest moments in the history of their country on a national stage, arguably the biggest, maybe inarguably, based on how they were celebrating after the match. And I just thought that was what the World Cup's all about. Very Cape Verde-esque.

Heroes all over the field. It was a tremendous defensive performance. They actually were unlucky not to go and win the game because Wissau was actually in on goal and he was taken down for a yellow card by a Portuguese centerback. But I'm so glad that you built them up because they deserve all the credit for a great performance. Portugal, a lot of questions. Congo, who knows?

They could get out of the group. Anything can happen. That was a wonderful performance. It was a great moment. Messi and Argentina. The stars were shining, obviously none brighter than Lionel Messi. First career hat trick in the World Cup. He turns 39 one week from today.

The oldest hat trick ever in the history of the World Cup. Once again, here is Tieri Henri on Messies' greatness. Listen, we said before the game that this guy and the guy we're going to see tomorrow. They're both on the moon. And he reminded us why he is, who he is, and Argentina also reminded us that they are the oldest. Let's not forget about them. But Leo is just different. So Messi's hat trick there puts him in the time.

puts him in the tie with Germany's Miroslav Klose for the most goals all time in World Cup history. I mean, there's a million things we could say about this, and no superlative is probably enough. But what do you make of Messi's historic night? His greatness is not in question. He is the greatest player that's ever lived, the greatest player of all time. He is just further cementing his legacy. It would be akin to saying that Leonel Messi right now is playing with House money. He's just having fun.

The pressure of actually winning the World Cup is off him right now. And now he is just enjoying soccer. And his performance last night was so impressive, one, because I was concerned about his fitness going into this tournament. And so, you know, me and the Argentina fans, we're having a little tiff on social media right now because I did have a Danny Parkins nix-esque take. Oh, that Argentina. What bad takes are just branded Danny Parkins' nicks takes now?

Well, listen, I have to take this one because it was a bad take. I said, Argentina, I didn't even say that we're going to lose. I said they were going to tie. And I said that Messi was probably going to be more of a creator than a goal scorer. And I find it hilariously poetic in the moment that I say that, that he actually scores his first World Cup hat trick. I mean, Argentina fans, you should be thanking me for putting that out into the universe, all right? That's how it works.

That's called a reverse jinx. You're welcome. That's exactly how it works. But the point is, Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, not just because of the goals, and not just because of the creativity. It's because of his soccer IQ. And the goals are amazing. He's the leading goal score in La Liga history.

He is the leading goal score now tied with Marislov-Closa in World Cup history, but it's also the creativity. He's had to adjust his game as he has gotten older. And so he is still such a creative fulcrum, a creative influence. And it's because his soccer IQ, he can determine, he's like a chameleon. Whatever the game needs, he will be able to provide that. No players in the history of the game have been able to provide the goal scoring prowess and creative ability that he has. When this tournament is over, him and Kiliin Mbapé will have broken Miroslav Kloz's all-time goal-scoring record in the World Cup. And not just that, he will break the all-time assist record in the World Cup.

Not bad. Not too bad. Goals and assists. Which is why you can say, you can forgive me for thinking, listen, is he going to be the creator? Is he going to be the goal score? It doesn't matter because Messi is Argentina. It revolves around him, his health, his countrymen and women love him. He's the greatest player of all time.

That is not in question. This is just further cementing his legacy right now. There's a movie-esque aspect to it. I can't believe he's still doing this. We talk about Ronaldo and how it's almost like ceremonial and he's on the wrong side of 40 and should he even be out there. And we talk about Messi, who's 38 years old, who won the World Cup four years ago. And he comes out.

and has a hat trick at 38 years old, and it's still arguably the greatest footballer in the world. Like, Yamal is the phenom, and Mbapé is in his prime, and we could talk about Kane and Holland, and there are many great players everywhere. But it is not ridiculous to say that even at 38 years old, Leonel Messi is still the best soccer player on planet Earth. And when you combine that with what you're talking about,

he's accomplished everything, statistically. Literally everything. He has more trophies than anyone, more goals than anyone, more assists than anyone. Now he's got the oldest hat trick and all of that stuff. And then the pressure. Like just for people who don't understand how famous these guys are, Ronaldo has the most.

Not even close. Rinaldo has the most followers of anyone on Instagram. Messi is second. Messi has twice as many followers as Taylor Swift. Like it is just like the level of fame and pressure that these guys are under. And one of the storylines, though, about Messi and Argentina. And we talked about it in the lead up to this was they're bringing back the same team that won it in 2020. 17 guys are back from that team,

but they're all four years older, and it's an old team. Is this going to be ceremonial for them? And it's like, I watched that, and I watched his dominance, and I'm immediately thinking back to back? Yep. Like, back to back.

First time in Brazil in the early 60s. Like, is it on the board? Like, if they're going to get, we didn't know if Messi still had it because I know, no disrespect to the MLS. You're a great NLS player, but like he hasn't been playing at the highest level since the last World Cup.

Yep. There was some question of whether or not on this stage, he still had it. And in one match, that is a laughable question. And now it's like, oh. It's gone. That narrative is gone. Maybe Messi can do it again.

And when Messi is playing with freedom, when he's playing with happiness, when he's playing with joy, that's what you get to see. You get to see his otherworldly talent shine through. And to Algeria, they actually had a goal wiped off for offside, and it was really close. And so, again, it's these fine margins that we talk about. when you play the greatest teams in the world and the greatest players in the world, it is very similar to Senegal in their first half performance. When you do not take your moments and your opportunities against these types of teams

and specifically these types of players, they will not extend you that same courtesy. They will punish you each and every time, and Messi continues to just wow every single person. It doesn't matter if you're a soccer fan. If you are a fan of sports, you love what he is doing right now. Not a bad day yesterday for the world. I mean, Holland, a couple of goals, Mbapé, a couple of goals, messy with a hat. By the way, Harry Kane, already two goals tonight. We are in the midst of maybe seeing the greatest golden boot race in World Cup history right now with all the great attacking players that are scoring goals for fun.

Filar and Balligan, two goals. Bam. U.S. men's national team faces Australia on Friday. 3 o'clock Eastern on Fox. Coming off a 4-1 win over Paraguay that gave USA fans, of course, hope for a deep run in this World Cup. Australia though, a different opponent, also coming off a win where they shut out Turkey A. Here is friend of first things first, Sebastian Burholter on the mindset hitting into the second match. I think one is that we're American, we don't take .

And I think that's someone that he really put in. And, you know, he's, even though he's Argentinian, he has that mindset of like, look, this is what we do, you know, and this is who we are and this is what America is about. So I think he just, you know, even from outside perspective, he showed, you know, us Americans what we're about. You know, he really drills that into us. And I think that's someone that, you know, has helped us this last cycle. Forgive me forever being disappointed with the internet, but I'm shocked that that hasn't gone more viral. That is like red meat to the base.

Like, we're Americans. Incredible quote. Do you expect, though, that's great talk. Yep. And you got to rearview mirror that first game. Do you expect another A game against Australia? Because of the performance in the first game, yes, I absolutely expect that. And so this is going to be significantly more difficult.

game for the U.S. men's national team, both in pressure, mentality, and approach. But think about the buildup to that first game against Paraguay. Think about the U.S. men's national team having to deal with the uncertainty, the inconsistency that they played with, the criticism that they dealt with, myself included, because it was deserved because of how, I'd say, lackadaisical some of their performances were. And yet the buildup four years ago, from where they were in 2022, to Mauricio Pochitino coming on board, to them never playing with that lineup on the field from the start until your World Cup opener against Paraguay, it's easy to mentally get built up for that and absolutely come out of the gates flying, which is what they did. Significantly harder,

mentally, to get yourself back in that frame of mind to go again against Australia. Now you're being praised, now you were being worshipped, now you were being said, oh, well, it was a quarterfinal run. Now maybe they can go to the semis and win the whole thing. Listen, we need to to pump the brakes a little bit. And Tyler Adams spoke about this. He said, yeah, how we're approaching this is with humility. We're staying humble. We're not getting too high. We're not getting too low. We need to continue to do exactly what we did that got us to that performance against Paraguay. And I absolutely love what Sebastian Burrhalter said. We don't take any crap from anyone because they are going to have to be up for the fight again against a very good Australia team who's going

to provide, I think, a bigger test than Paraguay. Probably a bigger test, certainly a different trialistic test, right, in terms of how they want to possess the ball and all that. But I would say in terms of the hearts and minds, one of my favorite lines from one of the great movies, Gladiator, the mob is fickle. Sure is. We're all in after that. We are. We're all in.

Follow it up. Right? So all of a sudden, you get complacent. You have a letdown. We are a divided nation on everything. The haters will come back out. Or even worse than a. haters, ambivalence.

Sure. Like, we swipe left on things. We scroll past things. Like, you had this unbelievable moment in your opener that had people thinking all of those things, myself include, oh, maybe they can make a run. Maybe some of these top teams are struggling. Maybe the gap is closing a little bit. You're supposed to beat Australia.

Correct. Just like you were supposed to beat Paraguay. Now, you dominated Paraguay and exceeded expectations. Correct. But if you fall short of expectations in match two, fluke, outlier performance. Yep. So whether you believe in the. quotes or not, it'll come true on the 19th of like, do they display any amount of complacency

in this game? Exactly. And that is, that's the key word is complacency. Don't let complacency seep in. And this is where I think the experience of four years ago is really going to help this team. Talk about Argentina and about how they have all this experience returning. They are not overawed by the moment. They're Argentina. They've got the greatest player of all time, the greatest player in the world still right now. The U.S. men's national team doesn't have that, but they do have 13 players returning from that 2022 World Cup team. They do have great leadership. They do have a fantastic manager who's coached in big moments and big games in Maurizio Pocetino. They will absolutely be ready for this game against Australia. I expect a similar performance, but it's

going to be, it's going to test them significantly more on the defensive side of the field. Paraguay, poor, Australia is going to give them a big test. We'll get more to the specifics of the challenge for Australia in a little bit. Is this Baker Mayfield's last season as a Buccaneer, we discuss with Greg Jennings on the other side. You're looking now at a countdown to Ghana and Panama coming up on FS1. Can Ghana end the six-match winless streak for them? They take on Panama 7 Easter, right here after us on FS1. This episode is brought to you by Activya.

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Visitactivia.ca for more details. The countdown to Uzbekistan, Colombia, often running. Hames Rodriguez won the Golden Boot in 2014. Can he do it again? Find out, it's their World Cup opener tonight. We're excited. 10 Eastern on FS1. But let's go to Tampa Bay.

Contract talks with Baker Mayfield. It isn't an NFL offseason without contract talks. Reports from the Tampa Bay Times said the team was worried about his durability. Baker, none too pleased. Take a listen. I've started every single game last year for the three years, so I don't know if that should ever be a question. All right, short and sweet. And frankly, backed up by facts.

He was banged up, though, last year, as was the entire team. Greg Jennings, of course, here with me now. You think this is Baker's last year in Tampa? I think it could be. Look, I hate when players are put it in position to have to say something like that. Baker shouldn't. We know who you are. We know he's a competitor.

We know that he was willing to play through injury. Now, the productivity dropped because of that. And so does that warrant a team to have that type of stance? Of course. Totally get that. But is he deserving of a contract extension? Absolutely. If Baker takes the stand,

which he, this is where I feel like Baker needs to stop being the nice guy right now and play ball. It is a business. Sit. Where are they going to Jake Browning? No, that they are not to.

That is your leverage. It is the only leverage as from a player perspective that we have. And so, In Baker's defense, he's been the consummate pro. He's been awesome. He got there playing his way into a contract. He did that with a chip on his shoulder. Then he proved in year two that he was one of the best quarterbacks in all of ball.

And last year, did he have a down year? Yes, he did. And a very disappointing finish. I'm not excusing it because of the injuries. But let's be honest, if Baker's healthy and the team were healthier, I don't think they're dealing with this issue. Okay, so two things. On the health point, because I just wanted to refresh my memory on it,

you're 100% correct. I mean, Bucky Irving missed games, Chris Godwood miss games, Mike Evans missed games. They had 11 different starting offensive line combinations, which was the eighth most in the NFL. He was on the injury list for over half the games himself. So he was playing hurt with everyone on his offense, actually missing games around him.

And his numbers dipped two years ago, as you mentioned, 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns. He was excellent. When you say sit, because he has said negotiations get cut off at training camp and I will be there and I'm just going to be focused on having a great year. They have him under contract for this year and then they can franchise tag him going forward, which kind of limits some of his leverage. How much are you saying he should sit?

Because my estimation is if you have a year statistically like you had two years ago and they brought in Zach Robinson from the McVaytree, new offensive coordinator, like if he goes out there and he has 4,300 yards and 35 touchdowns, he's going to get $200 plus million this off season off of this great year and they'll be negotiating off of the franchise tag number. Like how aggressive would you be willing to take it if your Baker Mayfield? So if if Baker wants, because he he talked about not negotiating once the season starts. Once training camp starts. Was it was it training camp? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. He said he says this is done as soon as training camp starts. Well, if that's the case and so most players will give.

them to the season, week one or whatever. He's giving them to training camp. So right now, I would play hardball. I would minicamp, all the things, he should not have shown up. Wow. And because he has some type of leverage because this team, we believe them to be a team that can compete. Whether they are a Super Bowl contending team, that's to be seen with a lot of team.

Double digit wins, win another division. team, absolutely. With the healthy Baker-Mayfield, the healthy roster, this is a team that we believe that can come out of the South. Listen, he is not taking your advice, and you're such a nice guy. I am. I'm a little surprised. I'm saying this, Danny, and I probably would do the same thing that Baker's doing.

He's trying to be the leader as a quarterback on a team with a new offensive coordinator. And you're saying, it's not show friends, it's show business. Look, they were applauding him for, you know, being on the field, being available, despite the injuries, now all of a sudden we're at the table and negotiating, you're using that very thing that you were applauding me against me. All right, let's go to Denver, where Bo Nix returned to practice yesterday

for the first time since that ankle surgery that stopped them one game short of the Super Bowl. Here he is on how he's feeling and his stat is ahead of training camp. Take a listen. Yeah, I could go full go right now if they wanted me to. For me, it's just, it's another bump in the road. It's another thing.

But I don't, one thing I don't necessarily worry about right now is my health. Greg, you think Bo Nix can pick up right where he left off? I think he can. I think they would like him to take another step because picking up where he left off, although they had a terrific season from a team standpoint, and he had a decent season statistic, more than decent season statistically, but a lot of his heroics came in the latter parts of the game, the fourth quarter we know about all that.

But the way he played in that division round against Josh Allen and those bills, if he can be that moving forward with a little bit better completion percentage, this team will be set up for a great deal of success. His mobility, we see him moving right now. A large part of who he is is being mobile, getting outside the pocket, utilizing his legs. So we'll see how healthy he is. He has to be healthy in order for this team to make noise.

I got a theory that Bo Nix has like needs better PR around him Bo Nix like he's in the AFC championship game he breaks his ankle this is okay I see where you're going now I'm not going to be Bo NIC

I know you're not because I'm the Caleb guy and I already kind of have a thing with Justin Herbert and his division so like I'm not available Bo but this corner of the take universe is available because Jaden Daniels, offensive rookie of the year, one of the most exciting players in

football, NFC championship game in Bow's draft class. Drake May, runner up for the MVP in the Super Bowl, in Bo's draft class. Caleb Williams, superstar, highlights, cover of Madden, face of the NFL. Micah Parsons says maybe the best player in the NFL in his draft class. Show me the stats, please, on this draft class. Bo Nix has more wins than all of them, more touchdowns than all of them, and more yards than all of them. It's, now, I know Sean Pate loves him, and his teammates seem to love him, and he seems to be a pretty fiery guy,

so maybe at some point he will start, you know, amplifying his own accomplishments. But I would look at that and say, Bo Nix is just being way underserved in the marketplace of what this guy can actually be. You can look at that, you can say that, or you can be truly honest about it. You can put the stats back up really quickly.

Like those stats tell one side of the story. When you look at those other guys on that list, the Caleb, Drake and Jaden, obviously Bo Nix, when you look at those three guys, they're winning because of them. Listen. I'm not saying that Bo, Bo didn't allow them to win because of his heroics, but when we look, when we think about the Denver Broncos, that defense is first thought.

And listen, we know they played down to inferior competition. last year and fourth quarter heroics and that game against the Jets and the game against the Giants and the Raiders. I agree with you. I'm just saying the corners out there and the we win with him but he's a great leader and just gets the job done.

That sounds a little like Jalen Hertz. That's a couple hundred million dollars in a Super Bowl MVP. You know, and he played great in the playoff game. It's not like there isn't a huge industry around paying guys like that, supporting guys like that. He has really backed it

We had an act of journalism happened today about Nick Siriani and the Philadelphia Eagles. We will discuss with Greg Jettings on the other side. Countdown in four days and 20. That's how excited we are. We cannot wait. Can they keep it going against Australia? Friday, 3 o'clock Eastern on Fox. The countdown to Uzbekistan, Columbia, often running.

You are looking at Columbia fans partying at the Angel of Independence in Mexico City. ahead of their matchup, which you can catch 10 o'clock Eastern on Fox. All right, let's go to Philly. Thanks for hanging out with us on the OT. The epicenter of the Eagles ups and downs has been speculation on head coach Nick Siriani's handling of situations with the team. Of course, he's only two years removed from a Super Bowl win.

Star running back, Sequin Barkley, though, doesn't understand the lack of credit his head coach gets. Mike Silver with a great piece in the athletic. He doesn't get enough credit at all. I don't get why he doesn't. What he's doing in real time is legendary. If we're being honest, no one talks about it enough. Like, we love to talk about me rushing for 2,000 yards.

Nice to move to drop that in. We love to talk about Jalen Hertz. We love to talk about the Eagles. But he's like the last one to get brought up, and it doesn't really make any sense. So that's Sequin Barclay's opinion on his head coach, and I thought it was a great piece from Mike Silver in the athletic. Do you agree with the premise that Nick Siriani doesn't get enough credit?

Look, I think he gets credit enough credit. It's challenging. He gets the credit that he's deserving. I don't think we give him the lion's share of the credit or even half the credit when we think about or we start to compare him or put him in the names of other coaches like Sean McVeigh or even Dan Campbell, Kyle Shanahan, all these other coaches because we kind of have fallen in love with their persona. even Vrable we we don't we we we subscribe to that unless you're in Philly and you are a Philly fan no one really subscribes to his persona

his personality it's like it's like that guy that you see and it's like yeah man if I saw him I might put hands on it and then you get to meet him and it's like I mean he's kind of he's cool that's just kind of it that's this quirkiness of him and and when I bought into who Nick Siriani is was literally in the playoff game, the wild card round,

against the 49ers, when they did not, they went for, or they third and whatever it was, they didn't convert. AJ Brown's walking off the sideline and he runs up to him because he's trying to get him off the field

and he gets in his face and he rips them. Now, a lot of people came at Siriani about that. I saw that as an opportunity to be like, this is who he is. Right. Despite who you are as a player, your talent,

status, all the things. And so proximity matters. Saquan Barkley, who wasn't there a couple years ago, got to see it from afar. And he was probably like, you know what, is this real? So the moment you get in that locker room, you want to see if it's authentic, if this is who he genuinely is. And if it is, we can sign up for that. But it just doesn't work. He's a, this is how we're going to do it. It's about the team. And if you don't like it, I'm an acquire a team. taste, but I get the job done, and he gets the job done. So I loved the piece from Mike Silver because it attempted to answer a question that I think

a lot of us have asked, which is some version of the office space, quote, what would you say you do here? And I'm admitting, like, I have asked that question of Nick Siriani because I saw him fumble his introductory press conference, and he doesn't call plays, and Howie Roseman is this unbelievable GM, and Jeffrey Lurie is this great owner, and you have this. this super team roster with MVP caliber, top five caliber players all over the field. And I don't really get your offensive coach, but you fire your offensive coordinator, but you can't call the plays.

Like, what do you do? And this piece attempted to answer it. And it made sense to me that while I still personally, you mentioned like Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVeigh, well, what do they do? They call plays. Dan Campbell, what does he do? Force of nature leadership. Correct.

Right? Mike Rable, force of nature leadership. This guy's like fighting with fans and like joy, like verbally, fighting with fans, with opponents, with his own team. Like, what are you doing? But a few things from the article I thought were illuminating. Zach Ertz, who's played for a lot of coaches and been on a couple of teams, said that he called him an elite team meeting guy.

Okay. That is something to me. Like, we don't see it publicly. He maybe messes it up at the press conference. they had that anecdote about like, you got to water the plant every day, you got to feed into the system. And then like he told it at the press conference of like, you got to take care of your flour. And they were all making fun of him. I'm like, dude, you crushed it in the meeting and then fumbled it in the press.

What are you doing? Jeffrey Lurie backed him and said, there are times where his abrasiveness is a negative, but it makes him who he is. And so the positives outweigh the negative. So now I'm like, oh, okay, his boss backs him up. That was also something from the article. And then the last thing I would say is in Philly and that pressure cooker situation, like if you need to, if you are comfortable with who you are, it makes it easier for you not to fake it. Like I remember when Brandon Staley got that job with the Chargers.

And I was like, oh man, young guy, analytically driven, going to go for it on fourth down. And he did at the beginning. And then when it stopped working, he stopped doing it because of the questioning and the pressure. And all of a sudden it was like, oh, you're a man without a country. You don't know who you are. You don't know what you believe. And those guys seem to think he might be crazy,

but he's an honest brand of crazy. And so while I personally would still prefer the X's and O's guy and the system guy and the play caller, I do feel like I have a better understanding of what makes Nick Siriani a good leader. Yeah, and I think it bothers him to a degree. And he would bother me. And it bothers him because most, most coaches are always understanding of the players are going to get the credit. Like, you get good players.

This is who goes out and puts their bodies on the line and they win games for you. My job is all through the week. My game is through the week, preparing my team to play. And clearly, Zach Ertz speaks to it. A lot of those guys speak to it. He does a tremendous job doing that. And their record speaks to it. Their success speaks to it.

However, because of his personality, he's kind of put himself in the situation when, you know, he kind of alluded to, I mean, I could call plays, but I don't really call plays. And when the offense is going good, it's like, yeah, that was something that I drew up. But then when it's not. Have it go poorly with Sean Mannion after it went poorly with Kevin Batulow

and all of a sudden, not everyone's going to love that personality so much, right? And that is Philadelphia and the NFL. as well. Oh, wow. We got cool World Cup stats. Dax doesn't know what he's in for. And the U.S. men's national team getting ready to take on Australia. They're talking about, and Parkage nailed it with that balligan pick in the first game. I wonder who's going to pick to be our breakout player.

That's what they're talking about there, Greg, when they're warming up. Friday, 3 o'clock Eastern on Fox. Staples' preferred business membership built for busy business owners because you've got bigger things to think about. With Staples Preferred, get free delivery. No minimums. Staples Preferred unlocks up to 3% back. Plus 10% savings on print and exclusive wireless offers.

One less thing on your plate. Actually, a lot less. Visit staples.ca slash preferred. That was easy. We are just over an hour until Ghana and Panama face off in the World Cup opener, Ghana seeking to reach the knockout stage for the first time since 2010, 7 o'clock Eastern, right here on FS1. Now, there have been a lot of cool moments of the World's Cup so far, and of course, it's only

been a week. So it's time now for what I'm saying will be the coolest moment of the World's Cup so far, although that is I suppose to be debated. Packed stats, which are cool with Dax McCarty. Dax has absolutely no idea what he's in for. But, Dax, I have one question for you, my friend. Yep. Do you know what's cool?

What? Goats. And your gloves. They're the coolest. Mbapé is going to chase down the goat by the end of this World Cup for most goals ever. Everyone's talking about Messi, understandably, tying the record for most goals in a World Cup career. And he's 38 years old, and he is the greatest of all time. Mbapé cannot become the greatest of all time by the end of this World Cup,

but he's already got a golden boot. He already has a World Cup title. And at 27 years old, he is too shy of Messi after his two goal game yesterday. Fun subplot of this World Cup of who finishes the 2026 World Cup as the all-time leading goal score in World Cup history. I love that take. I don't like it. I love it. Thank you.

And I already have all of Argentina against me right now. So let's double down and go for more. Leonel Messi, I said it before, he does what the game requires. If the game requires him to be a goal score, he has the quality still at his age to be able to do that. But if it requires him to be a playmaker, if it requires him to get other teammates involved and be more of the pass, the assist man, he can do that as well. Mbapé, pure goal score. And with all the talent around him, with Olise and Dembele and Dewe and even Bradley Barkle coming off the bench to help provide him with chances, he's going to be on the field for France every minute of every game. He takes their penalties.

Messi takes the penalties for Argentina as well. So I think it's going to be close, but I love that take. I agree with you. He's two back. It's a nice little subplot here for this World's Cup. Do you know what else is cool? I would love to know. I'm glad you asked.

I thought you would never ask. See estas. I mean, honestly, Spanish culture is the best. It is. Sangria at 16s. Siesta's. What gets better than that? But here's the thing. You should, oh,

Oh, wait, did I skip one? Oh, I did, but we're good to go. Spain, here's the thing. Skipping stats is not cool. Spain's gonna bounce back. There's no reason to panic about their slow start. They had to draw against Cape Fear. Everybody, everybody goes insane.

They're one of the favorites. This is what they do. Four, five, and seven in their openers in World Cup since 1950. 25 and five in their other matches. Switzerland, the last time Spain won in the World Cup, they lost their opener. So I ever went, listen, Nico Williams plays three minutes. Yeah.

Laminia Mall plays 19 minutes and they get the draw. They're going to be just fine. Everyone needs to pump the brakes on panicking there. I'm actually upset that I can't disagree with you yet, okay? Because you're 100% correct. The Spanish performance, it lacked incision, it lacked cutting edge. It lacked a little bit of flair and individual quality. That's exactly what Nico Williams does.

That's exactly what Laminia Mall. does, if it wasn't for Lionel Messi in his otherworldly performance last night in Kansas City, Laminia Mall would be talked about right now as the best player in the world because of what he has accomplished at such a young age at Barcelona. He is a man for the big moment. He's a man for the spotlight. And as long as he's 100% fit and healthy, he will be the difference maker for Spain. I have absolutely zero doubts that Spain is going to rebound and go on a big run.

That's great. But you know what else is cool? What else is cool? Tell me. You're going to tell me. me, I know you are. Bucking trends. I mean, the U.S. hasn't had back-to-back wins in a World Cup since 1930.

Yeah. That is a remarkable thing. One, two, and six following a win in their World Cup history. I expect because of Pochitino and motivation, because of the ease of the group, because of how great they looked in the opener, I expect them to dominate again on Friday and that horrifying, nearly century long trend to end on Friday for Team USA. Let me ask you a question. What do you mean by dominate?

Listen, this is this is because I got multiple multiple goal victory. Multiple goal victory. Finally get to disagree with you. You think they eke one out? Very excited about this. They're going to dominate in possession. You're going to dominate in field control. They're going to press Australia high.

the field. They're going to repress when they lose the ball. Australia doesn't care. Australia had like 25% possession in their opening game against Turkey A. That's actually where they thrive. I think the U.S. men's national team is in for a much stiffer test. And they've talked about it all week long about how difficult of a game this is going to be, about how they need to be extremely sharp in the defensive side of the field with players like Irankunda from Australia, who was fantastic in his opening game, took his goal well. This is going to be a massive test for the U.S. men's national team, both on the field where I think they're going to win, but it's only going to be by one goal, but also mentally, can they get up for another big game?

Well, let's get more into this big game here as we go to Seattle, where the U.S. men's national team hopes to keep their hot start rolling against Australia. Of course, you could catch that game Friday, 3 o'clock Eastern on Fox. That hot start, of course, Phelaren Baligan, his two goals, paired with Gio Raina's single goal. It was a very impressive. game. Dax, I have a question for you, sir. I got a most important player in USA's matchup with Australia is fill in the blank. None other than the captain, Tim Rieme, teased it a little bit earlier when we were talking about the U.S. men's national team, but Inancunda and Australia are

dangerous in transition. Turkey A found out the hard way what you do when you don't turn your dominant possession into goals, into chances, and Australia can punish you going the other way. Tim Riem was absolutely brilliant. in that first game against Paraguay, but he wasn't really tested. He was tested maybe one time in behind. He won the foot race. Bravo, Tim Ream. He will be tested, along with the rest of this US men's national team, back line,

much, much more significantly with the pace that Australia has. It's the counter attack, right? The idea that that's how they got their two goals against Turkey A. So, but you're- Backline's gonna be high, space and behind. And just to be sure I understand, like, you're choosing Ream over a guy like Chris Richards because of like age and speed? Physicality.

Chris Richards, he'll be able to handle a one V1 duel in behind. Tim Reem, keep proving it, man. Let's see if you can do it. So it worked out well for me in the opener, but I want to double down on Phelaren Baligan. As you should. You got to put the ball in the back of the net.

You're not going to have a ton of chances against Australia. Yep. And we have a wild card situation here of they're saying everything is okay with Christian Polisic. Didn't train again today. Didn't train again today. Might not be 100%. We all for months and months said Polisic is the best player on Team USA.

Well, what if Fleeckley one? Filar and Balligan is a golden boot candidate or the breakout star, or he ends up being the best player for Team USA. So I think he finds the back of the net again, and he ultimately is the key to success. It's a great player to double down on. I'd love that take when you had it a couple days ago. I think Balagan, especially with the confidence flowing through his veins right now, he doesn't need four or five chances to score a goal. He needs one chance, and he won't get as many chances as he got against Paraguay. I think Australia is going to be significantly more sharp in the defensive end. more organized, more compact. Balagan,

we need you to step up again. All right, Dax, great stuff. Thank you all so much for joining us. Now, we are dark tomorrow, so we will see you Friday. But that does not matter because first things first, we'll be back at 10 a.m. But stay tuned, following us right now for World Cup today. Then catch Ghana and Panama right here, 7 Eastern on FS1.