Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America - #716: Gozo to Palace, Cavan on the rise, preseason rundown

Episode Date: August 10, 2026

Cavan the Playmaker is starting to impress even Vince. Gozo to Crystal Palace seems imminent. Mathis Albert getting preseason minutes with Dortmund but not going crazy yet. Justin Ellis playing well in tight space for Orlando City. Plus a rundown of a bunch of other news. Skip the ads! Subscribe to Scuffed on Patreon and get all episodes ad-free, plus bonus episodes. Patrons at $5 a month or more also get access to Clip Notes, a video of key moments on the field we discuss on the show: https://www.patreon.com/scuffedCheck out our store, where you can get Scuffed hats and sweatshirts and other stuff: scuffedpodcast.com/storeAlso, check out Boots on the Ground, our USWNT-focused spinoff podcast headed up by Tara and Vince. They are cooking over there, you can listen here: https://boots-on-the-ground.simplecast.comAnd check out our MERCH, baby. We have better stuff than you might think: https://www.scuffedpodcast.com/store  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the scuff podcast where we talk about U.S. soccer. Hey, everybody, let's get after it. Lots to discuss August 10th, 2020s. The U20s lost in the Azteca last night in front of 36,000 fans. But they do qualify for the U20 World Cup next year in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, right? What did you guys think of that red card against Applewhite? Vince, go off. Oh, well, brother, let me tell you something.

I'm not locked in, so I don't know what's going on. I heard there was a red card. I heard it might be a phantom foul. I'm watching the fellas that were not released for this tournament. Exactly. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. I wasn't locked in either.

I just kind of had it on, and then the Philly game started, and I locked into that, but I was kind of following what was going on with the other game. Shout out to this, you know, it's like a U-19 team. So shout out to them for qualifying, despite not having as many guys as they did. I know there's a few interesting players on that team, such as Applewhite, such as Cooper Sanchez. Yeah, absolutely. I thought Vince you had seen it and we're ready for a Mexico, for Mexican soccer take.

I mean, it was, that was crazy. And after that, I kind of stopped watching that and just focused on. So what happened? It was a very stout sliding challenge, but no contact. Right. So, I mean, I could see a yellow card. Maybe they called it a dog so. I don't know.

But a red card is crazy for that in a tournament final. However, little meaning it has. Well, I mean, we saw the same thing happen in the World Cup, right? In the Azteca, an England match? then like, like, Kwanza, he didn't make contact, did he? I thought I was crazy, or people thought I was crazy for saying that it shouldn't have been a red card. There was, like, everyone I talked to was like,

that was a red card. His foot kind of rolled on the, his leg kind of rolled on the ball, and I don't know, I mean, the game, I tweeted something about how the game, not, it's not totally gone, but it's way, way softer. I would have gone to jail if I played soccer now. Like, this is a challenge like that. It's insane.

All right, grandpa. So, yeah. No, yeah, I didn't think it was, I didn't think it was a red card foul, but yeah, it was our C team. And, you know, Mexico fans on social media hate to hear that. They always bring it up like it's an excuse. But the reality is the best U-20s are the ones we're going to talk about here shortly, and none of them was involved. Yeah, that's what it comes down to. And, you know, I went on my campaign on, we got a win, we got to win, et cetera, et cetera.

I'll make an exception for this. You know what I'm saying? I wondered. The goal here is to qualify for the U20 World Cup Now when the U20 World Cup comes Then that's official winning time You know what I'm saying Let's get let's get

You know the players that we can get Yeah who's even going to go to that That'll be an interesting episode I would say maybe like Just thinking on some kids like Justin Ellis may be available At that point in time MLS guys

Yeah, yeah, some MLS guys, but like a Kevin Matisse, probably still off the table, I would think. But we can tool up more than we definitely did for this tournament, you know what I'm saying? So, yeah, it was a pass fail. Getting until the U-20 World Cup. And so we did that. So it just is what it is. Yeah. Let's talk about, I mean, let's start with Gozo.

So the headline of the week is he's heading to Crystal Palace. Sanjay, what do you think of this move? I like it. I think there's this, you know, there's been this over-correction about players making ambitious moves to a top league or, you know, any team in the prem. Obviously, minutes are crucial this stage of their career, but there's a lot of things. to like about this. And if it doesn't work out, if he doesn't hit the ground running, it's not like his career's over, right?

They can find somewhere for him to go, maybe somewhere else in England, where he can get some more minutes and adjust the intensity of a ball over there. So they obviously have a good history of developing attacking players. Sounds like he's going to be in an attacking role that's not a wingback role, right? according to Sky Sports, he's going to be in the 10 slash wide rolls behind the striker is what we've heard so far. So I think that is really interesting. But yeah, people talk about Gozo as like a winger type. And he has, I interviewed him for Backfield earlier this year, and he said that is his best position.

That's where he thinks he's best at. But he's also versatile and can play as like a second striker or inside. He's not just like a wide guy running up and down. So again, does he have, is his game refined enough to do something like that anytime soon at a level like the Premier League? I don't know. But it's intriguing for sure for him and how he could fit with the U.S. It definitely gives us a lot to think about. Me picturing Xavier Gozo playing as a tucked-in winger.

Yeah, I don't know. It kind of takes a little bit of the excitement I had for the move. It turns it down just a little bit. Because I feel, okay, the way I feel like this could work, especially like in the first year, like this year. You know, it's like you get them in the wing back position, you kind of let him run up and down, show off his athleticism a bit, and he kind of just treads water while he adjust to the speed of play.

And that type of thing. in a less load-bearing position than being a tucked-in winger would be for an attack. You know what I'm saying? I mean, you're really like, you really got to orchestrate things, bro. If you're receiving the ball in an end

and about, you know, zone 14, the half spaces that pop up and your attacking half, et cetera. So that does kind of get, that does kind of give me a little bit of pause because I don't know if I've seen, if I've seen Zaviargozo really

impose himself in them areas in those areas as much as I have out wide obviously but you know I'm choosing to lean on Crystal Palace's

history for identifying and developing young attackers that has been you know quite exemplary in the past five six years

especially these last like three four where like bro they're just they're just got dudes coming out the woodwork. Yeah. Consistently, quite consistently. It's like at least they're gone, as they gone,

you know, here comes another one. Here comes another one. Like they just, their hit rate is pretty damn high. And we know Xavier has the, has athleticism to stay to hack it in the prim. I would, like I said, I just, especially early, just kind of like to see him,

just run up. up and down, man. Run up and down. Get your wits about you. Understand what's kind of going on out there before they put you in the middle kind of where the bullets are really flying. But less defending, though, right? Yeah. Yeah, that's fair. It is a big jump, though. And he's not going to play wingback over Daniel Munoz, right? Definitely not. There's no chance of that. To Vince's point, like you're expecting production there, right? And that probably won't happen soon. So let's see how he gets acclimated and where things are like in the wintertime.

Because if he's like just not playing for a few months, you know, then we're in a different spot. That's something else. But no, I think to your point, yeah, like, is he like a tight spaces guy? Like, no. But I think the idea is to have him be like goal dangerous near the goal of striking the ball, making runs in behind. So I see it from that standpoint. Because we have seen those, right?

We have seen, if you get him around the box and let him get a shot off, you know, he has a banger or two in him. It really strikes the ball. That's what I was just going to say, man. I was, you know, he hasn't played since the end of July because of like a little knock, right? He's good, though.

Like, he was supposed to start that game recently, and then it was like, you know, as a precaution last minute. Like, he's good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not saying I'm worried about the injury. I'm just saying, like, he hasn't played for a little while. So the last game you can watch of him playing is July 26th. And, you know, I pulled up some of the footage from that.

Dude, dude can, like, dude can generate a dangerous shot in a lot of different situations. And I think that, I mean, I'm hoping that can sort of carry him a little bit. Like, because he had in that game, which I think, they lost the timbers two to one he gets the ball running out of defender two defenders in front of him and then you know uses the defender in front of him as a as a to keep the goalkeeper unsighted and just rips one from 20 yards top corner excellent save from the keeper um only is the only thing that keeps it out so i love that he is he's genuinely dangerous in that way and i think that will translate. We'll see.

Okay. I mean, look, in the fee, it's a fee that's, I think, significant enough, even though we're talking about a Premier League team, you know, still like 15 mil, you know, he's not coming over to play school as Cardell Jones was said, you know what I'm saying. I would think he would get a shot to be on the pit. I meant to do the math on this, because I was talking to this, transfer with someone recently. I think the dollar's a little weaker, so I don't know if it's... Yeah.

Okay, Matisse Albert, Matisse Albert, 30 minutes off the bench at Arsenal yesterday. He's played in all the friendlies. He started a couple of them. What do you guys see in with him? This is the best he's looked so far in this, preseason. Like, I watched some of his, um,

they, they were in Japan, I think. They played a couple, uh, J league teams and he was just kind of treading water. Um, but this,

this cameo against Arsenal. It was like, okay. You know, you can really see there's something. How he could, how he could potentially fit in that, fit in that team and earn some minutes and maybe look,

um, influential in those minutes, you know, possibly. Because I, I, I thought he, And fit in with the U.S. too, right?

In that, like, similar kind of inside winger role? Yeah. I love the way he, I love his first touch in the, you know, in the last few appearances. You know, he's coming back to the ball in that tucked-in spot. Some nice little, like, one-touch redirects to people or to, like, to, you know, how Poulosick's good at, like, coming back and then cutting in with his back to a defender. Some of that, uh, that really sticks out to me that he's, able to handle tight spaces, at least in these games. And he looks stronger.

I don't know. Did I see something about how he added some muscle over the summer? It seems like it. He looks stronger. Yeah. I still don't know if he can separate yet at an elite level to the point where he's playing against defenders in the Bundesliga. That's a kind of question I had because I, like,

From the stuff I was watching, it was like, there was one. He had an opportunity. He kind of got the ball, was in front of a defender. And so he receives it, turns, and you think is kind of in a position to get off to the races. And really did not get off to the races. So I was wondering a little bit about kind of his burst in where he is athletically right now after seeing that. Even at the U-17 World Cup, I was wondering. about it like like the technique and sharpness is obviously there the quality is there but yeah physically

uh i'm not sure i have the same expectations for him just yet as a few of the other guys when we just talking about goes and we'll talk about cabin later like i'm not sure he's in the same they're all in different spots and i don't know about him being the national team and getting real minutes just yet he doesn't look real comfortable going he's often plays on the left Like he's been playing on the left in this preseason. He doesn't look super comfortable going to the end line and making something happen with his left foot. He likes to cut in.

And yeah, I mean, I guess we'll see again. But I share your guys as concern. He's not like roasting people. Yeah, I'd be surprised if he's getting a ton of minutes. It would be nice to see a roasting. I think we're a bit away from that. I don't know how much he'll play. in this first half of the season,

and then we got to see, you know, can he break in in the winter, in that winter camp, or is alone or something? Does that make more sense? Maybe he will be available for the E20 World Cup. Who knows? Marbella. That's where,

that's where Dorman goes every winter. I just want to throw that out there. I know that because of the Cole Campbell story. That's where they was going when he got on the plane with the Louis Vuitton bags, man. Everybody started hating on him. It seems like a lot of teams go to Marbella, you know? Yeah.

That isn't sent Cole Campbell to a German town without even a... They don't got a Hofbrunhof, Ellversberg. They don't got a train station. Oh, they don't even have a train station? No. I wonder if they have any of those restaurants where you can get the baskets full of fries with all the meat and the cabbage on it. which sounds really not that good as I describe it out loud, but it is delicious.

Sounds good to me. I'm hungry. One of those Turkish joints. All right. Kevin Sullivan. I think he's, I'm curious what you guys think, but he's, he now starts every game for Philly. He's playing well. I think he started every game since coming on as a first half sub for Yovan Lukach on May 13th. So, you know, the minutes that were promised last year didn't materialize, but they've definitely materialized this year.

He still has, he's still not 17. He doesn't turn 17 until the end of September. Yeah, I guess that means we can't call him up. Hey, hey, hey, I'm not going to lie, man. Kevin, I'm making an exception for Kevin. I was talking about all the willy-nilly. We're just throwing up call-ups to whoever, just because, you know, your birthday is in. 2003 or whatever but but cabin though I have to say I have to say I've been impressed like particularly

like that that uh who they played Cruz Azul yeah the match before this one yesterday I mean he started off a little slow and it's like even when he starts off slow it's like uh he's still gonna give you his best brindo impersonation like he's everywhere he reads like deflections of the ball well like you know he'll pop up if like your pass got deflected by the person that's like marking you or whatever and cavern's on defense and you might and it might just been a slight deflection like the ball the pass is intended for you and it's still coming your way a little bit cavin's jumping in that lane he's taking it boom we're going out of the way you know he's just throwing himself into situations whether they be advantageous for itself or not he's throwing

the self into him. You're going to know that he's on the pitch when he's there. And then like, so that was like the first 20, 25 minutes of cruises zoo match. And then he started to turn it on, man. And especially that second half, I'm like, that shit was that I was impressed, man. I was impressed. I was impressed. I sat up in my seat. I'm sitting in the seat that I podcasted right now. But like I got like two monitor to set up whatever. And just as it kept going. It's just making play after play. Dangerous move after dangerous move. It's like, you know, this is what I like to see, man. When you're an attacker, I want you to attack.

What Michael Irvin say? Michael Irvin say, you got to be... To all my playmakers, man, we must not feel the temperature in the room. We must be the thermometer. And Kevin Sullivan, I'm here to tell you, after getting these minutes in, getting some confidence. under his belt and assimilating to the level of MLS and League of Mekkes, I guess. That boy's a thermometer. That boy's a thermometer. You know, I come on here.

We talk on them under review about, you know, people, Malik Tillman, for instance, like last year. When it's like, you know, he has all these abilities and he has opportunities in these games to push the game forward. But he's just not doing it. He's relaxing. You know what, whatever. You know, you see players. They kind of want all the situation, everything around them to be perfect before they make a play.

You know, I've checked my shoulder three times. I know where everybody is. In the past that I'm receiving on the half turn is coming to my favorite left foot. Not my right foot. If comes to my right foot, I'm passing it back. It's coming to my left foot. So boom, I'm going to turn right here. I know where he is.

So then I can make something happen. Kevin never turns down the opportunity to make something happen. He's relentless. Yeah. He's relentless. Some of the ideas may be good. Some may be bad. whatever, but he has a damn idea

and he backs himself to execute in the moment and as more time goes on, he's executing more and more in these moments. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like, it's, that second half in particular as Cruz Azul, I was like, hell yeah. Yeah.

Cruz Azul is a legit team, by the way. They're not some random team. Like, they're a good Mexican team. Always good. I don't think it's fun to play against him, you know? Right. It's a pain in the ass to play against Kevin Sullivan for so many reasons. But let me just give a couple of things.

Even in the first half, he had that little nutmeg and then the slide rule pass for Westfield to cut it back. That was a gorgeous pass. It skipped not just two defenders, but it skipped a teammate who was open. And it was just perfectly weighted for Westfield. Westfield's cut back was a little behind Eloski or whoever it was in front of goal. Also a little reverse pass to set up Alidou. early in the second half. That one was nice, man.

It's like just a clever little one-touch pass. You know, eliminates everybody on the defense. And Alito could have scored. Kavana could have scored two at the end. He missed both of the chances. You know, they were good chances, especially the second one. Not like he missed sitters or anything. But I just love how he went on the broadcast afterwards.

And he said, he was. apologizing up and down for missing those changes. He said, I'm going to, I'm going to, it's going to keep him up at night. He apologized to the fans. He said, I already apologize to my teammates. I'm like, man, this guy, he's coming, you know? He's coming and everybody better get ready. He's going to continue to come.

That's right. He knows how to present himself for sure. So one other play I wanted to highlight. I think there was a clip of this online. Shout out to the compers, by the way, the comp stars, making sure everyone is abreast of these happenings. But, yeah, there's a transition moment, and Philly gets it out to him on the right side,

and he accelerates, and there's a defender coming at him, like kind of behind him, like to his side, and there's one coming across the field, and he splits them with the dribble and gets past them going the other way. And it's like that, like the awareness to do that, and also the acceleration, the burst, and like doing it at the right,

the correct angle. That's really encouraging to see. So he should be in camp in the fall. We had a, I was surprised. We had a very spirited debate in the, in the Discord. I'm usually not in the USMNT channel because some things are too addictive and I try to stay away from it.

But we were talking a bit about, call-ups for the fall and there was some pushback to my philosophy a lot of people taking Vince's side and I'm fine with that I wouldn't have it any other way you look fine with it yeah I mean give it six weeks we're talking about him after another like week give it another six weeks and I wonder if he'll be ready to play against Mexico and her friendly you know at the very beginning the World Cup cycle I mean the way the the way disgust is turning the corner of your mouth right now is really a beautiful thing. Like, we'll do this, we'll do this again, and we'll do it in a different language,

like closer to the window, but I don't get not beating a legit team at the World Cup since 2002 in thinking that what we're doing makes sense or is working somehow. Not that none of it is, but it's been decades since the selection strategy has made sense. and we got to shake it up now that the pool's in transition. But now, he deserves to, he's shown enough to be on a field in a game like that. And if it doesn't work out for him long term, whatever. What are we losing? What do we have to lose?

We have nothing. So, yeah. Let's call him up. Why not? And I'm with you, Sanjay, on that one. Sounds like Vince is too. He should start against Mexico. Vince, what do you think?

Probably not. If he stays on this, on this trajectory, we get a bit more production, which, oh, my, people are like, oh, we need to see goals and assist. Like, yeah, we haven't created anything from open play since when? Since Obama's first term?

Obama's first term. It's a little, that's a little. So I think the man with the plan would have, would take umbrage with that statement, Sanjay. That's all I'm saying. So chances, chances from open play.

If you want to stay within the good graces. I'm talking about when your team is the ball, generating chances. Not counterpressing, not set pieces, consistently creating chances, even against teams that you're better than. I'm not blaming the man with the plan. It's an indictment of the player pool and how we produce players here. But what I'm saying is I think the man with the plan would take umbrage with what you said. because I think

let me see yeah he takes credit the team takes more risk going forward so that's good that's an improvement from Greg but is the chance creation there yet to where we like it to be

it probably will never be but it needs to be better and cabin is one of the ways we can do that yeah he's a chance creator I mean that's that's the that's what's so exciting about him Let me read you guys a tweet. I don't even know who this is.

Curtis Murray. Kevin is so good. I think a lot of you guys are going to eat crow soon. I can think of a few people who are going to have to eat crow about him. He's starting to grow beyond what I see in a typical U.S. prospect. I did not ever see young Pulisic play like how Kavana does. Now, this was a little baity because a lot of people are like, hey, Pulisick was playing in Champions League when he was 17, yada, yada. But I do think it's an interesting thing.

Like, what, let's compare and contrast Pulisic and Sullivan as players and as personalities. Can we do that? Personality is, let's get that one out of the way. That's an easy one. Kevin is charismatic, has swagger about him, and is ready to be the face of American soccer if his talent puts him there. And his performances put him there as a pro. Like, if he's consistently good, he is what people have been waiting for in terms of personality. Christian's a nice guy.

I think he's, you know, there's, he's been unfairly attacked, especially recently. But, yeah, he's not Cabin, personality-wise in terms of playing. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, before we move on from personality, so I, when I saw Cabin apologizing for missing those chances, it did occur to me. Would Pulisic ever say something like this? I don't think so. I think he would say, no, I think he would say, that's just soccer, that's just football. and, you know, we go again.

Whether a cabin is sincere about it, it's like apologizing up and down for missing a chance, is different, I think. It's a different approach. It is a little bit of a different approach. And, you know, as we kind of discussed before, I'm not one to come down on pulley for his approach. But it is different.

It is different. And it's one that will, you know, you're talking about face of the franchise type of things. it's a type of thing type of sentiment that people want their face of the franchise to convey you know I fell short

here I will do everything in my power to make sure we don't fall short next time type of thing whereas Christian Polic will be like you know it's just a moment in time yeah if we want to get really we'll get really nuanced about this

as we do on this podcast I think there's a difference between Christians like tone and body language which no one really appreciates and what he actually says. I think he will actually say the words like I needed to play better. I needed to do this.

I should have done that. Like he does say that, but people will take something he said out of context and then you package that with the way he carries himself a lot of the times with the media and like just how he is. And I think he's unfairly attacked. But I'm not trying to attack. But like you said, though, it's about, it's about tone.

It's about how you deliver. And it's about the vigor and what you say. And when you say it, you know, kind of thing. And so if you are unwilling slash unable that what a, like I said, I'm not coming for Christian Policicic. I don't care how he delivers these sentiments. When it's especially clear that he doesn't want to, you know. But, yeah, I could just, people respond better to a,

you're going to respond better to a cabin doing that than a Christian politic. Just, yeah. It's also funny, I just thought about this. And now it really sound like a grandpa. Some of these younger kids coming up, you know, we heard Audrey recently on the pod. Gozo is a good guy, like, talkative guy. You think these people are just, you know, on their phone on TikTok, which Audrey said he is.

But no, they've got personality. There's confidence to him. I think people are going to like this younger group of players a lot. Yeah, you know, that's a good point you made about the Audrey thing. I was listening to him talk. I was like, yeah. Somebody can get behind. Yeah, he's got some charisma too.

Yeah, for sure. As players, what do you think the differences are between them, you know, from what we can tell right now? Let's start with Vince. I mean, I wasn't around for Christian Politics, 17 years old. Yeah, but I'll tell you this, he hasn't really changed that much. He's better at attacking the box. He's better attacking the box off the ball than he was when he was 17, for sure. But when he's on the ball, it's pretty similar.

He was dynamite. He was, Christian was, I think we talked about, you know, when we were talking about his legacy in that post-mortem and how people were talking about him. And I raised the point, like, we've faced. failed him when he was maybe best position to go off at a World Cup. Like when he was... That's probably true.

When he was in his teens and he was just dusting guys, no problem. Like this guy starting at the Bernabeo, receiving the ball in the wing and just beating the first and second defenders, like, easily. Like, when I saw that, I didn't care about goals, assists, the same way now with Kevin, I'm sure it'll come. But when I saw that,

I was like, this is insane that an American person can do this at any point in a game. Yeah, we were, We were talking about how Matisse Albert isn't really eliminating anybody. Pulizik was eliminating everybody when he was 17. Like, he, dynamites the right word for it. He was so explosive, so dangerous on the dribble. And, you know, him and Usband, Dembele were, um, um, coming from each wing.

It was, it was a beautiful thing at Dortmund for a while. Yeah, let the record show. People tried to come at me with advanced stats about Sancho when they compared him to Policic and Sancho was really good at one point in time. But I said Christian was, I said Christian, I backed Christian in that debate. Remember Christian getting to England and people ask him in interviews about Sancho repeatedly? And I was like, what is this? But anyway, like.

He was going crazy. Sancho had a moment. Yeah, but Christian, he just needed to stay healthy. He's sort of done that. Not really. But when he was in his teens, yeah, I think he's more. more of a, I think he's more direct getting behind the defense and maybe getting across in, then Kavan to me does project as a 10, not because like he'll slow down or something,

but because he can pass the ball and do creative things in around the box that Christian maybe doesn't do when the play is like more static, you know, when you're parked in and their half trying to lock thick. Christian was always a stretcher profiting off of space. Yes, yeah. Pulisic was liquid mercury on the ball. And Sullivan's a little, I would say, a little lumbering as he tries to dribble past people. But, but it's that, it's those ideas, you know, the one-touch ideas.

He's always looking to kill you with a pass through the lines or over the top. or the little reverse pass. I mean, he just wants that so bad. And Pulisik, Pulisic takes three beats to come up with those ideas. And then he still doesn't execute. So that is the difference to me. One thing I want to say about Polisik, like, I remember early on, Juergen Klopp talked about when he was training with the first team,

and he singled out his ability to pass the ball. And we don't really think of him like that. But there was, you know, once upon a time where he'd play more sensual. with the youth national teams at least and I think we're all waiting for this maybe transition to him being more of a second striker 10 kind of thing who's already obviously like a pocket winger in Pach's system but yeah I wouldn't discount his ability to once he's like no longer able to do hero ball at all like once he physically knows he can't do that and yes he has to be more creative inside

all the time. I'm intrigued to see what he can do in this next phase of his career. I'm not like writing him off because he's losing his face. I think he has more quality than people realize in that sense. Otherwise, he wouldn't be where he's been for a long time. I mean, we've seen some of the ideas come off inside for, you know, for Milan. I'm trying to think of something for the USM&T. Maybe not.

I mean, maybe the, you know, the Tim Wayo goal against Wales. But even that's like him running there, right? That place started with him getting the bullet down from someone and like go into the defense. I'm saying like even when everyone's parked in their third doesn't mean he's a useless player. We can't. No, no, no. I'm not saying he's a useless player. I just think what you see from Cabin at 16 in terms of passing ideas really is like a totally different.

from what you saw from Pulisic. Yeah. If you just watch, like, that whole, that reverse pass sequence to Alado, like the way he sets it up with his movement, his relation to Alado, like the way he kind of gets into, the way he positions itself in relation to Alado to receive that ball and lay it off, you know, first time or whatever. Like, you know, it's just, there's a lot of intelligent design there. And the idea to find the opportunity to make the play.

and then execute the play. Yeah, there's just a, like I said, a lot of intelligent design there that I'm not necessarily sure that Christian does. As far as like just orchestrating the whole chance, like not just the execution, but the creation of it as well

through his movement, through his positioning, and understanding where his teammate is and where the defense is, et cetera. Also, one more thing, And I'm not saying that Kevin is some, like, silky, liquid dribbler. But there was a nice moment when he was double-team against Cruz Azul. And I think he's on the wing, two dudes are on him. I think he nutmeg the guy to his right, got to the end line.

And I think he cramped up and couldn't serve a ball in. I mean, he was kind of rubbing on his shins a little bit as he went down. but, you know, he got that too. No, he can beat people for sure. It's just, it's not, it's not the, it's not that, like, really liquid quality. Is that a burner? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, but nice to see, though. Yeah, we forgot to mention, I think, he did score and got an assist last night against Nahakha. Nahachia. How do you say that? Is it a car? That's what I always. I honestly don't know.

Oh man. Our resident. That's what I gotcha. I forget what to do with the X. So he got a pretty strict, like he just led somebody on the overlap. It was Nathan Harriol, by the way, former USMNT player. Nice shot down in the far left corner. And then he got a goal in the second half, receiving a ball on his chest,

and then doing it like kind of a jump volley. thrashed it past the goalkeeper. So there's your production, folks. Yep, production has started. Yo, real quick, before we leave young people in MLS, I do just want to talk about Justin Ellis real quick, because Bells, I don't know, I'm going to formally introduce them to you. Like, I know that Bells is making a face.

I know you probably haven't watched any Justin Ellis, but Bells I'm telling you right now you need to get on that okay you would you would like them you would like them this is a this is an Adam Bell's type player can you give me the basic details like what position does he play where does he play yeah it would behoove you to listen to the podcast episodes that you're not on

about a battle by the way so many things would behoove me but okay he's an attacker a four right now mostly playing center forward for Orlando City. Okay. All right. I think he's an Urteguyen American, maybe.

Something like that. But he's a, like I said, center forward, but like really a playmaker, more than anything. I think at the end of the day, he might even profile more as like a 10 or a second striker than like an actual center forward. because, like, I mean, he, he doesn't have Goddy, like, goals and assists totals. I don't even think he gets, like, many shots in games, but just his ability to receive the ball and make things happen, whether it's on the dribble,

whether, like, I mean, Bell, his back-to-goal game is hold-up play, immaculate. Immaculate. Bro, they, they, they, he can receive the ball in any situation, whether it's back to goal with a centerback on him, whether it's in a half space, tight space situation like his first touch is great his close control is great his physical tools

are not great but it almost doesn't matter because his his first touch and his close control is so good like he'll just glide past people dribbling past people no problem like there was a play did they play was it the Monterey match I think it was Monterey yeah yeah yeah they when Orlando City played Monterey Antoine Grisemont wins the ball back Like in the Monterey half They kind of get a counter going the other way Justin Ellis with the lack of athleticism

You know Very high IQ type of player You know gets in the transition moment Gets in the centerback's blind side Blind spot kind of cuts to the ball Receives it centerback realizes Justin Ellis is here He dribbles past him

then plays a, like a ball in the Tyree Spicer. I want to say who then, like, wins a penalty for Orlando City that they score. They scored the second goal. They end up winning that match one or two. But I just think, like, as I continue to watch him play every week and watch him apply his tools, I think it's somebody who is going to be a nice dance partner with Kevin Sullivan if we get to that point. You know, somebody who just, like I said, Adam, like, when you watch him, watch him, it's like, you know how Harry Kane drops in and playmates?

Mm-hmm. It's essentially that. Like, he has that type of quality on the ball. I mean, all the time he's finding people in behind whenever he drops back and receives in the midfield. Like I said, silky smooth on the dribble. Like, people just, they kind of can't touch him. You know, he receives a face-up.

And like I said, not a burner, but the close control is just so immaculate to where he can just do whatever he wants with it. And, yeah, I mean, I shattered him out on the Marcus episode, but as I just continue to watch and watch, he continues to hoop, man. And, you know, his ball playing ability and all the stuff on the ball is already playing up in MLS. So I do have questions about his...

Where he can go, kind of, because, like I said, just the physical isn't necessarily there. but even if he's like a I don't know even if he's a career MLSer maybe there's a Sten in Belgium or something like a la what's my dude

that does commentary he does TV MLS or MLS he played in Belgium was it Anderlecht I'm like Sasha Sasha Kleshton Sasha Kleschen exactly

and if he has a little Sasa Klesson career path I think just another somebody gonna help us somebody who actually provides us something different, you know, not just, in theory, maybe looks like somebody different. And so you say they provide something different. He's somebody who's actually going to provide us the ability to navigate in congested areas, in tight spaces, to play, you know, intricate one-toos and attacking spaces, et cetera.

So you're telling me he's, oh, you're out of the ball. aren't you That's right Is he going to Is he eligible for the U-20s? He is right? Because he doesn't turn 20 until 2027?

Not that it really matters. I mean if he's really good then he's probably not going to play at the U-20 World Cup. If he continues to play well, he probably won't play at the U-20 World Cup, I should say. Yeah, he's eligible because he's turning 20.

In 2027. Yeah. So I do, I, I also noticed on our lineup in the U-20 game last night, we have an OIA football. I was going to say that. Yeah, yeah. I think Marcus rates him.

He's from the Basque region or when he plays for Athletic Bobao. So, anyway. That tells you all you need to do. Yeah. Let's, just to put a wrap on the MLS kids, what do you guys think about Frankie Westfield? So I really, go ahead. I was just going to say, I haven't really been moved necessarily.

But he plays a position where you kind of got to lock in a little bit more to fully understand what he's about. But, like, in the moment, so, you know, I've been watching Kevin, watching Philadelphia Union games, like different types of things. He just seems okay. I like his, you know, I talked about this with Marlon LeBlanc a couple weeks ago. Like, he is a real, you get the sense he's a real competitor, and he's a battler.

and that is sort of a foundational thing as you know as christiano rinaldo said the hunger is the hardest part and you could see that he has the hunger uh he had a he had a rough like like moment in front of goal against cruz-z-z-z-ul

right where he like kind of fell over as the ball came across that's not obviously doesn't disqualify anybody from anything everybody makes mistakes but i like westfield v a r saved him there i think that's right that's right that's right

The botched clearance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. He's, I just don't know, like, how we'd fit with the U.S., with the senior team, because he's, like, just kind of a traditional fullback. His technique is pretty good. I think he does interesting things on the ball. Is he elite at that where he, you know, play at a high level in Europe

or do it for the U.S.? You know, like as a starter? Probably not. But he's too small to be a centerback, I guess, height-wise. He's a strong guy, but Marcus correct me on Twitter about his height. Like I assumed he was like taller, like 5, 10, 5, 11, 6 foot. He's not. So, yeah, I don't know if he could be like a elbow back kind of thing,

defensive fullback for the U.S. But I think he's a good player. I just don't know where he'd fit. Yeah, and I was just looking up free. there. He's coming off the bench for Villarreal in their preseason games, but it's hard to see him surpassing somebody like Freeman, who is not, you know, who's not like a super high-ceiling player. He's just, he's just quietly pretty effective. I think Freeman is, I think Freeman's got a pretty high ceiling. Like, I think he'll be a good prem player at some point. And if Westfield is

just his backup, that's, that's fine. You know, competing with Scali, that's fine. But I'm just thinking about, you know, the chronic centerback shortage and how we can get people to maybe deputize there. We'll talk about Testament soon. I don't know if that, that's a... When we talk about Testament now? Yeah, let's do it. Let's take a little break. We'll come back in a second, and we got Testament to cover, Tyler Adams. Malik gave a somewhat, I guess, controversial he'll interview to the Cologne, to the Kolnerstadt-Ansinger. And then there's other things to discuss as well. We'll be back in a moment.

All right. We're back. Before we get to Tessman, let's quickly talk about this Malik Tillman interview. He gave the interview to a local newspaper. And it's pretty good. It's pretty good. I'll put the link in the show notes. One quote is this. Of course, every team says they want to win the tournament.

So he was asked what it was like to be a U.S. player on a home soil World Cup. And he said it was incredible. Of course, every team says they want to win the tournament. But our biggest goal was to change the perception of soccer in the USA. Ah, echoes of Greg Berhalter, and encourage younger generations to start playing themselves. Start playing themselves. I think we made a big step in that direction. We can be proud of that.

I love that sentiment. I think it is probably going to be the most important legacy of this World Cup outside of, you know, major changes at the top of FIFA. Speaking of legacy of this World Cup, quick aside, I was in Saratoga this weekend for a bachelor party. It was a, we went to a horse race. It was whiter than the fish concert I told you guys about that I went to recently. but a great time.

But, you know, you hear, I heard country roads a few times when I was out and about, and it's funny how you just hear that now and you think of the summer from the team. Yeah. Yeah, and I, you know, I think a lot of kids did

enjoy the World Cup and were inspired by it. We've covered all that before. Another quote is, Balligan is an important player, so he was asked about the red card that was rescinded. He said, Balagan is an important player for us and for the team. In hindsight, though, something like that shouldn't happen.

A red card is a red card and should stand. I don't know who had how much influence on it, but you shouldn't get involved in a discussion after a red card suspension and try to change the decision. So I happen to agree with him there. I do, at least. You know, that's Malik talking. You know what I'm saying?

He's me leak now. You know what I'm saying? I understand, though. then you go over to Germany, you got to turn the Malik back on. But just remember, Malik, that they called you Malik for the first 20 years of your life.

And it wasn't until, it was not until he embraced his American roots and started going by Malik that he, you know, he became a two-time World Cup goals score, et cetera, et cetera.

You know what I'm saying? I mean, I'm just, don't forget. Don't forget you. You don't got a panter to them. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying? You don't got a pandering to him.

Yeah. He's probably not pandering to be. To be clear. Yeah, I don't think he is either. But, you know, who knows? And then maybe the part that's the most controversial is he had a little bit of criticism for his club. Well, he had some criticism for the fans who leave nasty comments on his Instagram account,

which is why he deleted some stuff. But we're talking about Leverkusen fans who did not think he was good enough after a $40 million transfer. But he said this about the club. I would have liked to have received a bit more support during the World Cup. Nobody has to write or call every day. But from time to time, I would have appreciated getting one or two more messages. How did the club respond to this, Sanjay?

Doesn't sound like they loved it. We got a quote from the sporting director. He didn't talk to me about it. For me, if someone doesn't like something, it's important that they talk to the person they have an issue with. He didn't do that. If someone has something serious to discuss, he has to talk to me or close CEO Fernando Caro. In the end, it will become clear soon whether I stay or not. That's still a different quote.

Yeah. Yeah, that was in the interview. It doesn't, you know, it sounds like he's excited. Parts of the interview, he sounds excited to take on the season and prove himself at Leverkusen. But he also did leave open the possibility of a move. I don't know if you want the Leverkus and Ultras on your bad side, bro. No, no, no. That's a scary bunch.

Oh, man. Yeah. After what we saw in Cologne, brother. Yeah, I'd be... come on malik man look like I mean first of all just if you

you're gonna stay and do something just do it just do it there don't don't worry about well why would you introduce added stress and you like you gotta move you gotta you know just just get it done

leviccusing man stocks high it's a it's a like I guess I'm just saying like this is a big enough club for you this is a this is a club that kind of befits your talent a club who at the very least has Champions League ambitions but you know won a ship as well

that's probably not going to happen again ever but just just make it just make it happen there bro like there's no reason for you to leave Levercuse there's no reason for you to leave Levercues at this point you'll just be leaving to make a lateral move at best maybe a Frankfurt or something like that whatever like just make it just make it happen there, bro. You're at the place you're supposed to be. Let's make it happen. Yeah, hopefully this furious war of words between him and Simon Rolfs doesn't signal the end of his time there. Because I agree. I think I'd like to see him make it happen there. It's a good club. And they have, he'll have, he should have every opportunity to succeed.

Balo, where's he going? he's going to the prem it seems like we're just putting to find out where there was a toddenum rumor recently and then another rumor about two prem clubs being after him uh i can't i'm not a transfers guy it's hard for me to like like i have no desire to track uh each and every. I don't get up. People love this stuff. I told you I coached that camp recently.

There's like one kid who, bless him, he got there early every day on his bike, like loves ball, had a jersey on. Like you can tell, he follows the game. And he was like, he was coming to me with like the latest transfer of rumors. Like for this player, that player.

I'm like, dude, I remember when I could maybe do a fraction of this. But I never really care for it. I don't know about you guys. To me, it's. I just want to be. to know where he and like I just want to see the official announcement and then sort of deal with that. Yeah, just let me know, just let me know where he ends up going. But yeah, two separate things. It's a totem rumor and then the rumor yesterday, the two prim clubs are after where they,

where a club was not named as far as I can. But he did not play in Monaco's friendly versus Liverpool. So it does seem like he's on the block. Yeah, yeah, we don't know how much of that is that versus is some fitness thing, but I couldn't really decipher there, but Tyler Adams been linked to Newcastle and Manchester United and we'll see. Sorry, one more thing about Ballo.

It would be cool, right, as an Arsenal Academy guy who winds up there. At Tottenham? Yeah, yeah. It would be fun for the narratives, yeah. Yeah. Okay, Tessman. started at

centerback played a little centerback last season for Leon he was he played in the uh... James League qualifier versus Sparta Prague the first leg the second leg is tomorrow right? Yeah. Is he

an answer at centerback for us in the future? Hell no, respectfully. Respectfully. I mean, somehow, some way Leon has found themselves in a centerback crisis once again as soon as their season starting because i don't know i don't know what's going on but i looked at their bench for this match and i looked at also who started

alongside uh tana tessman it was like him and a left back and uh matta who who is one of their centerbacks like the other two people that they put at centerback just are not centerback so i don't i don't know what injury crisis they got going on so far i think i heard they signed two centerbacks this summer maybe they're just not ready to play yet or something like that but, you know, in this game, Tanner was, he tried to water. He tried to water. There was just no obvious business handling in situations where maybe, like, you know, him putting out of fire would have prevented, like, a dangerous chance.

Like, there was one time where a player got kind of played in the cutback zone, and Tanner's kind of, they were kind of even, like, as bros played in the cutback zone. Tanner does well to, like, he didn't, like, lose him or anything. He tracks him, marks him, is there as the man meets the ball and as he cuts the ball back. But just, he does not affect the play at all. You know, the cutback reaches a Slovia Prague attacker. And I think the, I think the shot went off the crossbar or something. But it was like a big chance, like a big chance, something that could have been thwarted by some business handling.

And, like, yeah, there just was no example of that in this match. Both the goals had nothing to do with him. But there was like another play. It's not convincing. There's another play where he was like retreating when he should have closed down. Yes, yes, yes. In the first half, I was like, dude. It's not that, look, look, like he has the, it makes sense using him at centerback.

Like, from a physical frame, tools and distribution. Like, it's obviously enticing. probably too late, but enticing. But the thing about the position, right, is that, like, if you're positioning or instincts are bad for, like, a moment or two a game, you were not a good centerback. And that's why I'm inclined to agree with Vince. Like, when I see stuff like that, it's like, you know,

it would have to be a really specific situation for the U.S. For it to make sense. But even then, it's like if you're playing against a team where you're dominating the ball, and the only way they can do anything is, you know, countering you and you need to be switched on at all times, even more so. Like, do you want him back there?

The answer's probably not. So he moved up into the midfield at the very end of the game. We'll see what happens tomorrow. But, like, I'm down to try it. I'm definitely down to try. I'm down to try anything. We've got four years. But not an answer.

Okay. The problem remains unsolved at centerback, I think. Yep. I haven't lost any sleep. thinking about Tim Riem getting dunked on but it's a little surprising I haven't middles bros they got a league a league's cup win versus Ryan Reynolds and wrecks them yeah now we have three guys there all Columbus crew Academy projects products Sebastian Burrhalter Max Arfston and Aidan Morris

it's very cute yep seven and arf with the start uh in morris is a minor injury um seb got an assist mm-hmm

could have had another as well they both look pretty good um yeah yeah I mean I had intended to watch this game on

wiscount but wiscount didn't have it up at the time of recording so I mean it just kind of is what it is. I mean, of course, they'll have the championship matches.

Everything going forward, but yeah, I guess the EFL Cup, which, I mean, this one is just the league's cut, like the cup of the football league, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, just championship league one, league two teams in it. Right. So maybe Wiscount's taking that one off,

which I guess I kind of don't blame them. But, you know, obviously we'll have 46 damn matches to lock in to, plus whatever else they get into to lock in for Middlesbrough. I saw some of it live, like, and there's comments out there too for everyone. They were good. They were like what you think this would be, you know, like what the level is and like they're fine players. But are we putting a lot of eggs in this basket to elevate the team for the next World Cup?

I'm definitely not. Not me. Not me. I'm leaving my eggs in a different basket. Okay. I'm leaving them in no basket first. Hey man, it's a nice, you know, could be a movie. Could be a movie.

You know, you got two childhood best friends, you know what I'm saying? Gone abroad, going to take on the English. I mean, you know, in the same way that Rexum has kind of got a cracking over here with, like, drawing casuals in. I mean, you know, we always looking for that hook. what if I interest you in a little Ada more, Sebastian Berthelter, Max Arfston? They got to get promoted for everyone to really sit up.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Maybe. I mean, Rexham, they just had celebrities attached to it. Is that what it is? Yeah, and then they got promoted from the National League, which is like 430 teams into the league three, and then they moved up. By the way, real quick with Rexum,

when everyone was talking about, we were talking about it a bunch this summer about Pach's next move when we thought he would definitely bolt back to Europe and someone who I'll keep anonymous and this is just based on speculation anyway there was nothing like to this

but we were talking about where Potch could go. Someone said Rexam if they get promoted which I thought was really interesting because that would be a big deal if they get up there and uh potch might you know who wouldn't want to be it'd be fun managing the hollywood club yeah yeah middlesbrough is uh i just realized this like on the north sea so it's on the east coast uh of england just a little bit south in newcastle so way way up there far far from london yeah yeah

not in the middle at all despite the name although it although it's uh you're U.S. national team players do sort of fit the name. I really had no clue that it was, I mean, yeah, that's far, that's far away from most things. Yeah. I wonder if they can go swimming. That's stucking it out. I understood. All right, Rico went 80 minutes in PSV's opener.

He's sticking around, I guess. He's sticking around for now. He's not going to England. I mean, there haven't been any fresh room. rumors since, I mean, I don't think it's been once since May, you know what I'm saying? Like, so I think it's, I think it's dried up. And, you know, let's get a, let's get a full season of ball in, Rico. We'll get a full season of ball in and we'll reassess after.

Yeah. No rush, man. Get some reps, score some goals, score. 40 goals this season. Yeah. I don't know. I just, I don't know what to say about Rico at this point. But, so I'll just say nothing.

Diego Cochin Now Petterbosch talked about He said he's happy for Pepe to stay So I mean Hopefully does some They're in Champions League, right? Yeah, they won the league. So

Cochin So on the baby goalkeeper beat Diego Cochin did not look very good And friendly over the weekend I guess he had some errant passes out of the back anything else? There's one really sauce one

and then there's one one of the goals he should have come off his line maybe that's something we should talk about all our keepers like what we're looking

for we need people who can command the box it's not just shot stopping it's not just don't screw up with your feet it's not like

be good with your feet you got to command your area yeah right like Ream did get dunked on but could could freeze

deal with that maybe probably right I had a coach you always used to say like if it's in it's in or near the six, keepers got to do something.

And, you know, we need our, we're our basketball players, you know, getting rebounds, we're our receivers going up for a jump ball. What happened to that? High pointing the ball. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, we need like a, we need a Dennis Rodman. Well, I guess we have one on the wins. She plays a winger. She's one of the best in the world. We got, we got Harvard trained scientists and stuff now. You know what I'm saying?

Like it. Carver is cooked. Keeping for the shootouts. Try to pull out his pro-tracked. Termin the flight of the ball, man. Hey, we need to. Real quick, Bales, he said a friendly. This ain't a friendly, brother.

Oh, yeah, he's playing in Scandinavia, right? Yeah, Denmark, their season started. Lingby has played three matches now and have lost two and Drew one. So, I mean, at least he's in a place where we can keep tabs through Yiscount or whatever. So starting every week, we will be here to give y'all updates. And I can't say I've watched any of these first three matches, but I didn't know that Lane B season had officially started. I'm going to go ahead and lock in because I've heard a lot about Diego coaching. You know, obviously, I mean, he was maybe rated to the point to where he got called up by,

you know, Mrisio Pashtino and the boys. So the potential is there theoretically for good things, according to what I've heard, not what I've seen. In terms of those younger keepers, the one who literally and figuratively stood out, not because, like, his play, we didn't watch so much of practice, but Julian Istone's huge. He's a tall guy, and he has amazing hair. Tremendous hair.

like now that Diego doesn't but anyway you're talking about stuff you saw from a World Cup camp yeah like him in Rick was there the whole time I think and then Diego left and Ice Stone came in if I'm remembering this right and Ice Stone is eight he's tall he's like six seven right yeah he's tall

I mean we just sent someone else to Stokes went to to Brentford right so you get a couple couple of things to keep an eye on there with with keepers but yeah and also Go ahead Oh no go ahead Yeah Yeah just gonna say Gagas

Slanina got some minutes On Chelsea's tour of Southeast Asia So You know About the Southeast Asia minutes With half the squad Got the bug You know they're on the toilet

Gaga Oh Yeah I don't know About that But It is kind of funny. You got 45 minutes in Kuala Lumpur, and we'll see why it happens. One more thing about mentioned.

So I just want to, I don't want to overlook this. There's some interest in, we talked about Denmark, so Norway, Mr. Gabriel Wesse. There's some interest online with him. Yeah, scored a goal. I saw the comp. I didn't wise-scout him, but I saw the comp. And, yeah, interesting player. I don't know if he has the goal danger.

I don't know if he's a killer in the final third, but interesting left-footed player. All right. Let's keep an eye on him too. I think the last thing we need to talk about is No Kai Banks. I mean, we could mention this. Johnny Cardoso got his first minutes since his injury. off the bench in a friendly versus

Man City yesterday but Nockai Banks started a friendly versus Asuolo on Saturday. How do you look? Is he still up in the air about where he's going to play his

national team soccer? Yeah, I mean you gave away a pen but other than that, you know, the right side centerback thought he was what we've seen from him. He said you know, there's speculation about where he might go, but he's got to put together a full season there.

And I think he knows that he said. My plan is to stay at FC Augsburg. The focus is now fully on preseason preparations in the upcoming season. Like, I think there's some Arsenal link or rumor about how they're watching him. A lot of teams will watch him because of his profile and, you know, what he showed to an extent last season. But, yeah, he's got to put together a solid season. No word yet on the national team stuff.

Hopefully he comes in the fall. He can play a friendly. A call breath would have to do a one-time switch, so he can't play in a game, but he can come and train if he wants to. Hopefully he does. But, yeah. Also, we should mention Eunice. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Well, real quick, this is kind of a ridiculous challenge from Nokia to give up the pin. I mean, what is he doing? Respectful. Nobody knows. Okay. We can keep moving. But, yeah, Eunice moves soon.

Hey, man, it's preseason. Yeah, he's experimenting. Eunice is getting some center mid-minutes, and it looks like you might stay at Milan? Yeah. That's what we're hearing. People are reporting that, I think the last thing I saw is that Eunice is more in than out of, what's my man?

Former Manchester. Emmerim? Yeah, haven't heard many flattering things about him from by United people. But at least he's using him as a center mid. I'm not hearing much flattering things from Milan people about him either. I mean, but whatever gets to units moves on the field, taking it, brother. Yeah.

You guys know my feeling on him. I think he could be a pretty important player for us at the next World Cup. Yeah, just want to add, before even the World Cup, as we get back to the Conga Calf grind and, like, away qualifying and stuff, Eunice Musa has been in the trenches. So when you compare him to guys who are relatively newer who have just played games in the United States, like you just remember that.

Eunice Musa committed to this team and went through the grind, when it was a real grind, Concaf, you know, in the mud in El Salvador. Yeah. Remember that picture of him? So he's not some hot shot European guy who took off the Gold Cup

because he thinks he's better than everyone. He said he had a reason for it. You should believe him instead of questioning his character. He's a lovely guy, nice guy. And he has the Concaf stamp already. in a way that a lot of guys don't. So remember that. When you're comparing him to the grinders, the squad guys,

Eunice Musa's done it. Still kind of hilarious that Sebastian Berhalter got to play every World Cup game and Eunice Moussa didn't even make the roster. Last, this is it, and then we're out of here. But Pulisik stayed in Milan while the team went to Australia. So he attended Milan and Italy legend Franco Barassi's funeral. who world soccer calls this centerback, the 19th best player of the 20th century,

head of Paulo Maldini, sandwiched between Zico and Corincia. So, Pulisic went to the funeral. He looked like it was the first time he'd ever put a tie on. Oh, is that what that pitch was from? Yeah. Oh, man. I didn't see that.

The bottom of the tie was, like, well above his belly button, which... Maybe that's... a look now. I don't know. But, you know, I'm just having fun about it. That's it. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, real quick, real quick. Did we talk about FIFA at all? There was a joke before, right? Yeah, let's not. We're at 80 minutes. No, no, real quick, because this was edited out of the last thing, which was probably for the better when we were talking to FIFA. But keep an eye on this, folks, because if Johnny survives here, we might get to the,

to a 64 team world cup. This whole, like, debate that's going on, uh, is kind of bleeding into the older conversations about how much power should FIFA have to expand competitions and, um, who should be making decisions, you know,

the power of European clubs, all that. Uh, that matters for the national team, right? If, the next one expands or it expands soon. Um,

so keep an eye on that. And also for maybe hosting 2038. Could be interesting from that perspective. Well, I don't know if you've seen, but there's been a joint statement put out from UEFA, Kanka Kav, and AFC. I didn't see that this morning. I didn't read it. What did say?

I mean, essentially, that Johnny needs to get out of here. I mean, that's, that's, and they came down on the whole, you know, the whole thing that got us here, you know, the selling of, parts of the World Cup profits or whatever. They came down on that very hard, and it's like, oh, that's not the leadership we need, et cetera, et cetera, Johnny needs to leave.

And so, you know, that's where we stand now. So the baby might get thrown out with the bathwater then, huh? Because then pot one, you know, the whole pot one thing changes too. Like that has a real domino effect to the cycle if there's,

it's easier to qualify and pot one is that much easier to get in. So, I mean, I just, from reading all the reporting, I've been of the thought that as soon as this got leaked and all this came out and then the thing didn't go forward, that the 64 team was kind of dead in the water at that point.

We'll see. 64 teams, 48 teams, 32 teams, and we need to get better at soccer. That's right. Thanks everybody for listening. We'll see you.