SoccerWise - First Touch '26 World Cup Daily Show: Spain Heads to the Final, France Takeaways & England vs. Argentina

Episode Date: July 14, 2026

Susannah Fuller is back with David Gass and Matt Doyle to react to Spain's semifinal win over France, discuss what went wrong for Les Bleus, and break down the performances that shaped the match. Then, the crew looks ahead to the historic England vs. Argentina semifinal with lineup talk, key matchups, and predictions for who will join Spain in the World Cup Final.

What's up soccer friends? Welcome to First Touch 26. I am so thrilled to be back. I'm Susanna Fuller alongside my best guys, David Goss, Matt Doyle. Hi, fellas. Did you miss me? We did. No, you didn't.

And we've started every show by being like, Susanna's not here. So we're going to do the rest of the show in her honor. I promise you coming back. It feels like I haven't been here for a year. Like, there's just so much that has happened. There is a lot that's happened. It was just the first week of the group stage.

Which was the best part. I mean, it was pretty good. And now this part's pretty good too. It's pretty good. So you have controlled the key moments. Thanks. No, it's so awesome to be back. I'm super stoked to finish off this amazing World Cup with you guys.

As you can see by what I'm wearing. You guys, I put all my eggs into the France basket. And the fact that this semifinal between France and Spain was not even really, it was a game in which France wasn't even really in it, a 2-0 loss throughout this tournament and especially against Morocco. I had so many people texting me saying, who is going to beat France? Can anyone actually go toe to toe with this France team? And I was like, I don't know.

I don't know. They looked that good. And today, Spain made them look that bad. A 2-0 loss. What were the stats on this game? France had zero shots on goal. Zero shots on target. Zero big chances created.

Yeah. It's, I mean, it's one of those where you just kind of have to, like, scratch your head. And we'll dive into it a whole lot more. But before we do, this is sponsored by our wonderful sponsor, Soccer.com. goal club days are happening right now at soccer.com through Thursday. So if you're looking to upgrade some of your gear, now is the perfect time. You can save an extra 20% sitewide with the code GC days, and that's up to $300 in savings. With some exclusions applying, spend $199 or more, and you'll get a free Trianda key ring,

or spend $299 or more and score a free Trianda mini ball. Plus, if you're picking up a new pair of cleats, use the code hat trick to earn three times the goal club points on all cleat purchases. Head to soccer.com today to take advantage of all these limited time. Goal Club Day's offers before they are gone. All right, guys. So let's get into the nitty gritty. It's Bastille Day.

I was feeling, you know, I was like, it's got a freedom scar. Yeah. Bandani. You're ready for your lame is performance? No, I mean, I was fully, I knew this was going to be a tough match for them, obviously. Spain is a really, really good team, but I just didn't anticipate this game going the way that it did. And, you know, as soon as Spain scored that first goal, you saw France have some opportunities on the counter, Doyle, but really they just were never able to kind of assert their dominance in this game

and control the game that we've seen throughout this tournament. So what did Spain do right or what did France do wrong here? Spain does not turn the ball over stupidly, ever. And when they do turn it over, it's in low risk areas, and their structure behind the ball is the best in the world, which is why they're the best defensive team in the world. And what we saw today was, you said France had opportunities, I think. Like France had like ideas of maybe opportunities on the counter in theory, but in reality they were at best going 3 v.4 versus a Spanish team that had everybody else dropping in. to their banks when they needed to.

And it was just, it was a defensive master class. It was a possession master class. It was, I think, two really operative things here. One is that every single player on Spain is better in small spaces than every single player on France, other than maybe Oryarthol and Mbapé. Mbapé is just so special in any situation. And that includes Olise versus Olmo. Olise is a better player overall, but in those tight spaces, and we saw it today several times,

Omo is kind of a wizard. And that is, Spain was able to make those the terms of the engagement. Small games, small spaces, and France was never able, I'm so frustrated at them for never hitting a long diagonal to Dambale on the right wing, because Cuccarea was shuttling defensively between Dumbale and Olise because any time they found O'Lise in the pocket Cuccarea was on his heels.

Eventually you have to play over that. They never did. That's one. Two is two years ago during the Euros and during the season that led up to that in club soccer, it was unquestionable. It was not even close that the best player in the world was Roder.

And we've all kind of forgotten that because he got injured really bad ACL tear like a month after the euros. And he has not been the same until about March. And we all kind of looked past it because we've all gotten used to Rodry maybe not being that guy anymore. Come the World Cup, Rodgerie has been that guy again. And when he is playing that well, it makes the job so much easier for everybody else on Spain to the point where Petri's had a lousy tournament. He's a sub now. doesn't matter.

Laminia Mall has not been what we all expect. It really hasn't met. 13 goals to 1 is their aggregate score. Nico Williams is hurt. Doesn't matter because Rodry is just joysticking everything that happens in every single game so far. And I thought it would, my friend in Spain texted me before the game. She's like, what, you know, what do we think for this one?

I said it's 50-50. I could see it going either way. I feel so stupid now. Yeah, it's amazing. Two hours later for having said that. It's amazing when these things happen. And I've been saying the whole tournament, like, it's going to fall apart for Argentina one day.

And when it happens, it's not when you expect it. And it's so bad. And that was the story with France today. Right? Like France was a given that they were going to win the whole thing. Now, it's an example for one side. It doesn't matter if you have the 26 best players in the world.

Only 15 play. And at some point, it's the day of the game. It's not what's your depth and what are your options and all of that. The other side for France is, They hadn't really been tested. The only time they'd been tested against Paraguay was the opposite test of today. They didn't have to defend. They didn't have to find ways to change the pace of play.

They just had to break down a low block. And I think what's disappointing about France, for all the things you talked about in possession, is I know Spain are world class, but at some point make them feel you. And no one closed down anywhere around the field. And all of a sudden... France looked intimidated.

Yeah. And it was easy for Spain to play into the final third. and where I thought the game could get lost for Spain is we're knocking around passes, we can't find openings, and then we do make a mistake because at some point high volume, you're going to make a mistake. And France is the best in the world at taking that and going the other way. But any time that happened, it was already in the defensive third,

and there was no, France couldn't break out. And then to Spain's credit, they recognized it, and they were really tight. But this, it was a flat performance. It was a scared performance. and even after 2-0, late in the game, there was no scramble for France to get back in. There wasn't the last 10 minutes where you're like, oh, my God, you know, if France had played this way

the whole way, they would have been in the game. Like, outside of Mbapé, they pretty much lay down, and it's shocking to see, you know, it's not surprising if you think about Desham's time, like, yeah, it's kind of like a limp to the end. But for a lot of these guys, like this was their chance. This is a very new group when it comes to the world. Cup and it it felt like a group that kind of similar to Spain in 2014 was just on their last

legs except we're talking about 23 year olds and 25 year olds who are trying to win a world cup for the first time that's not how it felt coming out of the game it's bizarre no it's crazy and the fact that this is didier de champs last match in charge ever with this french national team doyle is he partly to blame for this result did he get some things wrong so I don't think you can say he got the personnel wrong, but the knock on Deschamps the entire time is, well, two of them. One is that... He's obsessed with Audrey and Rabio. Rabio was one of their best players in the first step.

Kone was too. Anyway, one, they're boring, and two, they're unstructured. And up until this game, the unstructured part was true, but it didn't matter. because absorb or get on the ball and knock it around and let the superior talent determine the outcome of the game is usually a really good idea in soccer. But when you come up against a team like Spain, and to be clear, I'm pretty sure in the entire world,

there is only one team like Spain. So when you come up against Spain, you have to be more than just patient and possessed of dynamic talent. You have to have the structure that allows you to take the type of risks that lead to goals. And they don't have that structure behind the ball. So I think part of the reason they look scared is because they were scared to lose the ball. They were scared to take those risks because it's not clear how to layer their runs

and how to layer their defense behind those runs to win the ball back immediately. And if you don't win the ball back immediately against Spain, you're probably in trouble. And you saw it after the first goal where there was. a moment or two where Chiu-Amenes picking up the ball and Cunday's pushing into its hack. And it's like they're figuring it out on the fly. And that in comparison to Spain, where everything is pre-worked and reworked and understood, and with Spain, you're going into like the DNA of the players and how they read the game the same way, you just felt those polar opposites where France, it's not like, oh, I do this because in three

minutes when I come back, the center-back will be shifted and then we'll turn and go up field. It was you play a pass to then that player can try and figure out what's next. And it felt very slow and it doesn't feel predetermined. And Spain are the one of one. That was the answer to that question the whole time as people were asking all tournament. Who can beat them? These are the two best teams on the planet by far. They're the two best teams for a multitude of reasons.

And I don't think anyone else could play France straight up. But Spain can. And then because Spain plays in a special way, France hasn't really faced this. And there's no comp for it. I mean, I guess you could say Portugal. Portugal would be the closest one, but Portugal has issues with certain members of the squad

who limit the way that they can play. But to your point about DeShamp, yeah, he deserves some blame. He's limited as a manager. I'm not sure a national team manager can, in the course of a month, layer in the type of off ball and structural stuff, that you need to consistently beat Spain. But between a hydration break, a halftime,

and a hydration break, fourth quarter, at some point there has to be a moment where the team takes, just plays on the front foot. Yeah, there has to be a screw-it moment. Like, we should run. Like, let us actually run and press and get some more yellow cards. And that's why I thought Rabia was actually good.

I thought he had a few moments where he actually hurried the Spanish midfielers. Now, the ball always then ended up on Rodry's foot and the hurried part was over when that happened. But it's, it, God, it feels like a Gordian knot at this point. Yeah. The only other question for him was Dewey are Barcola. Yeah.

And I think Dewe has a little bit more individual quality to beat guys. I think Barcala connects things better and can be a third finisher, a second runner for Mbapé. And what ended up happening in this game was because there was no chance creation, Dewe's individual quality may have shown out. to a help concede the goal in 30 seconds onto the field. So I could be completely wrong about this. And maybe he got it right.

But I think that's the only like lineup piece that really stands out. I've said over and over. I think Kona should start on this team. But that's probably not the difference in this game either way. And the Dignay play to give up the first goal like I'm taking that touch. Because that's really where it goes wrong. It's on the touch where now the ball's so high up in the air and exposed that he He has to make a play in the box on the ball, and that's what he ends up doing.

So I think that's that big mistake that he'll live with off that. But part of that is Spain played in the attacking half. So when you make a mistake, it's in a dangerous area. When Spain made mistakes, it was in the middle third. What about the second goal, though, for Spain? Because on that, I think the thing that shocked me the most was that they just, nobody did anything on France's defense. They were all, there was like three or four guys just standing there. I think Dewe had just come on.

He stopped following. He stopped tracking his man. And it, like, I think for me, I guess I was a little bit surprised that there, to your point, there wasn't like this moment of like, okay, we've got to, we've got to push. Like, we've got to really, really fight. It seemed a little bit laxidical from them, which is surprising considering Spain now kind of has France's number. They've beat them in, you know.

Three straight semifference. straight semifinals. And so I think, and I don't know where that comes from. I don't know if that's on the players, a mentality thing. I don't know if that's a Deschamps thing where, you know, he didn't have his guys maybe in the right frame of mind. But I'm thinking if I've lost two semifinals in a row to this team and we want to be the best team in the world like everybody is saying that we are right now, you know, you've got to walk the walk. And it was, I think that second goal for me sort of exemplified just the sort of disappointment and lack of bite and lack of dog in them for a better. Yeah, it was low X dog, but conversely, if I've lost two straight semifinals to this team going into this one,

maybe instead of saying I want to prove that we're actually better, they've actually proven that they're better and we're going to lose again. Oh, God, I hope it's not embarrassing. Can we say that? I mean, it's obviously not the end of the tournament. I think they're the best team in the world. I think they play the best soccer I've ever seen in my entire life. And not the most entertaining necessarily,

but in terms of soccer that is designed to win games because they strangle the life out of you. And then when you think you have an opening, you actually don't. And they're going to get on the ball again and they're going to pass it 75 times. And they're going to live in your final third. And if you make one mistake, like a poor clearance,

like failing to track a single run, like coming in late on a tackle, you're done. And I shouldn't be as surprised as I am that they did it to France and made it look that easy because it's not three years in a row. Yeah, and the pressure they put you under, I think that's the part you feel, which is any half mistake becomes a fire drill

and becomes the change of the game. And then once Spain takes the lead, now France is completely out of their game plan. Because they want to sit in and hit on the counter and they want to get into space. And now of a sudden Spain can sort of decide when and where they want to step out and they want to control things. But they are the best combination of team and quality. Because they all, I mean, Rodri, Kubarsi already. I think Simone will probably win the Golden Gloves this tournament.

You could argue Raya should start over him. Pedri, who has not been at the top of his game. I thought this was the best he looked when he came on for the final 15 minutes to kill it off. Yeah, it's a good time to come in. Yeah, right? and handle that. And I thought this was Lemini Amal's best game. So even without him being at his team. Needs to learn how to

tackle. A couple of bad ones. Coming from behind on Killing and Bapa, he gets to do whatever you want. I thought this was his best game, though. Like, he looked active. He looked after it. He, when he pushes past people, it doesn't feel like he has the sixth

gear to get to right now because of injury, but he tried it a couple times in this game, including that one where he tried to split both defenders. and if he's taking those risks, you have to honor it as a defensive team. So it still opens up space for his squad. So you're talking about a team that has five to eight world class players,

five to eight players that can arguably be the best at their position in the world, plus the connections that they have and the way they play together. And then on the friend side, you're talking about players individually, but does it come together at the same? And I don't, there's not another team at this tournament

that has, you know, if England wins, and comes into the final, you could argue there's maybe three players that are world class at their position or the best in the world. It's just that's a gap. That's a huge gap between three and six. Man, so Spain, the favorites when you left? I still think I was going to win. Argentina could beat them because they still have messy.

England could beat the. If you told me England got two goals off a set pieces and won two nil or two one, I would say, yeah, that's entirely plausible. but Spain are going to go into the finals as the favorite. One of the reasons is because of the way Spain plays, they don't blow you out. Right. Because they keep the game composed and controlled.

But also when they're up to zero. It feels like 18.0. And that's for a team that has Impapa and Dembelle and all of this. So that will be the weird part, I think, in the final of whoever they play, whatever it ends up being. Yeah, it might seem close. And we're all going to keep talking about, oh, yeah, four years ago, it was 2.0 and then France came.

I just, I don't think Spain gives up chances like that, and I don't think they make the mistakes like that. But we've all been proven wrong many a times over the last few weeks. I want to chat a little bit more on Lamin Amal, because as you mentioned, like he's been coming back from injury throughout this tournament. We really haven't seen him at full throttle. David's playing through an injury right now. Terrible cause. No, what a true. Someone has to.

You're the real hero. Yeah. But then I'm going to hold my face. go down and roll around. There you go. Just to kill time. Embellishment people. Do we need to see a breakout performance from him?

Does it matter for him? I mean, he's still so young. Is he still 17 or 18? Just turned 19? Yeah. Like, I'm aging. Basically a dead body at this point. Corbs.

No, but does it matter? Because I feel like, you know, there is so much expectation with this kid and, you know, he is the future. He is going to be, has the potential to be the greatest of all time. greatest of all time. Does it matter if he doesn't have a breakout performance in this World Cup? I would say, I think we've reached the point where it's like what Holland's become culturally. Lemini Mal is not going to get there because of this World Cup. Okay.

But I think for soccer fans around the world, he's respected as one of the great players, and this will be on his resume as a World Cup win. And for all whatever, you know, whatever Ronaldo gets for not performance. at the international level and not helping his team win and all of that stuff. Lamin Yamal will be the opposite starting at 19 years old. He will have won a European championship and a World Cup. I think this World Cup pretty evidently he fought himself back from injury to be there for his team. I think he's been pretty selfless in the way he's played and the runs he's made in the space he tries to open up.

And so it hasn't hurt his team that he's not at his full. Yeah, if he scores three goals in a World Cup final, now it starts to connect a little bit more to Impape in 2018 and what he did. and being that young phenom, but winning those, these things is all that matters, right? No one talks about the exact performance outside of a few years down the road.

Nobody remembers that Zedon was actually mostly terrible in 98. They remember what he did in the final. Now, granted, that's kind of the opposite point that you're making. Lamin Yomal does not need to have that type of final. He just needs to win. He already had that type of performance in the European Cup as a 16-year-old. So, like, he is, he is minted, he is a made man basically forever.

If he does have that kind of performance in the final, then we might be talking about this Spain team, the way we talk about 1970 Brazil, as like one of the two or three all-time greatest national teams. Like that is what we're aiming for at this point with this team. And I would hope we have 12 more years with more chances, right? Like he's 19. So the hope is if he can stay healthy and stay at the top of his game,

that whatever tournament he has the one performance like that, or maybe if he does it for a whole tournament, and to Doyle's point, he did it in the last final against England, that that could be whatever is World Cup. But his resume will say World Cup winner, European champion, both of them if they come out of that with a win, and that will be at 19 years old. Sadly, his little brother is going to grow up as well,

and we won't have his cute little baby brother, you know? Like, can we just keep him small for vibes? I watched a video of him doing a cooking baking cookies with his mom. Oh, God. Yeah. I'm so here. So here for that content. On Francis side, so, you know, they kind of go out with a whimper.

The end of the Didier Deschamps era. Where do they go from here? Obviously, there's so much young talent on that team. You know, they're going to be a presence for many years to come. But, you know, in terms of, you know, a new coach, what does that look like? Are they, do you anticipate them kind of straying from Adity A Deschamps away? No, I think the assumption is it's Zadon, right? Zaddon's been waiting for this job for a decade.

And Zadon is the same style as DeComp and Carlo Ancelotti, vibes, culture, talent will figure it out in the end. I can tweak some things. I can give some advice. But I think it'll be the same. My guess is that's also sort of what France has built in the style that they've developed their players of like there is this individual one. V1 quality. And so there's only so much

you're going to knit it all together. And if you want to change any of that, you have to change it from the youth ranks up. And you have to change the way, you know, Spain has a top-down, Germany has a top-down style. I think they just need a different philosophy

through midfield, not necessarily even different players. Chua Menni, he's super talented and super smart. So is Kone. And so is Rabia, who I know you love to hate, but he's a really good player.

Only because he pitted me against Kone. Everything. ends up being very linear. We saw it in today's game where Alisei would find pockets of space, right? And it would put Kukarea into really tough positions. He would find pockets of space between the lines, and France, a few times, actually found him. But he had no immediate drop pass to then turn, like hit the drop pass, and then turn and

stretch the field. And that was surprising to me, because to me that was a way to get at Spain. You want to pull Kukurea off of the back line, make him chase O'Isset, drop pass, and then turn, and you have D'Ambellé on the touchline and O'Isa going into the channels. You get Leport, who was amazing, by the way. You get Leport out of the midfield as well. You get him running. You pull Rodria.

And that was never there. And I think that, look, I think Zadon is a better manager than Deshaun. And while he's not, you know, he is part of, like, from that same cloth, Ancelotia as well. I do think that there will end up being a little bit more misdirection and a little bit more subtlety to France's game in the next cycle. And they'll still be one of the two best teams in the world, most likely, and maybe even number one.

But what you're talking about is some of the issues we've seen at the World Cup, which is when a country develops a type of player, because it's same for Portugal, right? Vittina is the best in the world right now, or Zhao Neves is. but then you put them together and oh no one's ever making an advanced run they both want to play side to side it's a lot of short touches i think for spain one of the secret sauces has been marino coming off the bench he plays a little more vertical fobby and ruis as well yeah but so then the issue becomes is there anyone else in the pool who has that soccer mind where they want to be that player

or you mean for for friends yeah and i think that's one of the issues we've seen across the world cup it was funny because shirky has been really poor this world cup and he would O'Lise was great. O'Isae was really poor today. Turkey came on and he found a little bit of a different spot. And he did a little, you know, he tilted the field at least a little bit. So maybe that's part of the answer. And then you slide O'Lise back out wide and they interchanged. Dembella, because DeMbele was really disappointing in this way.

Yeah. So. And yet there's moments where you're like, oh, he's just one, DeBelle. Yeah. He brought a ball down from 60 yards away and hit a shot. These are the problems that any manager in the world would kill to have. it's the reason why you hire someone like Zudan because he has the stature to be like, you won the Ball and Door, enjoy coming off the bench because you're not the right fit for my team. So.

Love it. Yeah. No. Nothing. I will say, I think for Deschamps, it will be a shining, it's a shining career. He won a World Cup. He won a World Cup. So three semifinals in a row at the World Cup.

He won the first one. He lost in a final. Now he loses in a semi. He won as captain as a player. I think his legacy is untouched there. If in two years at the Euros, they are Joga Bonita and playing beautiful, there might be a little bit of a conversation. We had that with Spain in that golden era of like,

oh, right after that big coach leaves, they actually played better. And that maybe adds a debate, but I'd be surprised if that ends up happening. So he has that. I think he has that legacy. And Bapa has another World Cup. Most of these guys have at least another World Cup if they stay healthy. So I don't think it's a close to an error, and I don't think it will sully what has occurred over the last eight years.

All right. Final thoughts on Spain before we turn our attention to the other semifinal. Just that we saw one of, there was like five options of how this game was going to go. And one was Spain are one of the two best teams in the world. And France had never seen it before at this World Cup. And they went out and played their best game. And it was a pitch that they just hadn't. really seen and I think

Cuccarello's a madman. He's awesome. Upal McConnell's also a freak. I kept thinking Cuccarello was wide open in the channels and then they'd slip the pass and then he'd get closed and you're like, oh, Pekarmo can't just leaves an extra four yards in that space. Because he's so quick. Because he's so quick. He's like, oh, I can close that, which is mind-blowing.

The moves to when and where to use Fabi and Ruiz has been really, really impressive. And the way Spain is structured and you can speak to it better than me. A guy like Pedro Poro then reads the gaps and he knows when he's got his three or four chances because it's also predictable for him. Yeah, everybody on that team really understands their role

and understands partnerships. And that's what's striking to me. It's Poro in particular, who I don't think is really that great a player. Yeah, right? Individually, he's not as talented as, God, he might be the 22nd guy on the field. But he ends up being a super effective player because he understands how to use the space and gravity

that the more talented players create for him. And that is the essence of what a team is. And good luck to either Argentina or England in the final. Yeah, that's going to be really interesting. They will be eagerly awaiting to see who they will play in the World Cup final. Tomorrow, the second semifinal between England and Argentina in Atlanta, Georgia, 3 p.m. Before we chat about this matchup, though, we need to talk about the kit matchup between Argentina and England. Reminder, guys, you can visit soccer.com for the widest selection of World Cup gear.

plus you'll get free shipping on orders over $49. So if one of these beautiful kits right here have caught your eye, now is the perfect time to go buy one. All right. So Argentina is kind of playing a little bit of a mind game here in this match tomorrow because they are not going to be playing in their traditional, like the light blue stripes. They're going to be wearing the darker blue one.

But there's a historical context. Love a little history. Okay. So apparently they are playing. in the darker kits because in 1986 and 1998, when they beat England, they were wearing a Navy Blue kit. So it's a little bit of psychological warfare that is now happening. And I'm kind of here for it because I think it's fun.

And there also, I mean, there's a lot of context between England and Argentina, like the Hand of God game. We've got the Falklands War, you know, like there's, there's a lot of beef between these. Going all the way back to 1966. I mean, because they met in the quarter final, England won 1-0 on a goal that I think if it would happen today, it would be vared back for being offside in Argentina.

You were in the stadium or we were just covering remote? Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. Yes, wow. Low blow. So, yeah, so this is, anything to kind of add more fuel to the fire. I'm totally here for,

but we're going to take a look at the kit matchup. Yeah, we're going to do, we're going to look at both OAs and both homes, which are all available on soccer.com. Dary if you want to pull it up for us. This is a kit you're talking about. Yes, which is gorgeous, by the way. It is a very, very nice kit.

And for Argentina, where they're most known for the home kit. So we're going to look at the two Oays. We're all going to vote. Then we're going to look at the two homes and we'll see where we end up who we pick to win purely based off kits. Just kits. So this is the Argentina one.

It's this black. It's a flower design with a little bit of the blue. It does have the old school Adidas logo. I'm a sucker for the trifle. And then obviously it has the reigning champion crest down the middle. But this is the England away. And it's red. I love a chess plate because it makes me feel like you're like, you know, going into battle.

And the Nike sign below it. And as we know from the kit that we have in house, this pattern in the background in person stands out really strong. Yeah, you don't notice it from afar. But when you're up close. I did notice it until I looked at it. Yeah. And so I can tell you this pattern stands out really. There's a lion print in there, which is kind of cool.

So blast me as it may be. I vote England on the away kit. What about you two? I think I got to join you. Wow. I don't like it. It's coming, home. That one is sharp.

I'm Argentina. I love the art. I think it's beautiful. With the flower. Yeah. It's elegant. Yeah. And this is the one that they believe will be lucky in the game.

If you use your gold club membership, by the way, you save $15 on this one. So now let's take a look at the homes. For Argentina, it's pretty straightforward, right? the famous Al Bessette's Day. It's a terrible word for me to say. It means sky blue. There you go.

So it's got the stripes. It's pretty classic. It doesn't really change much every time. And then this England one, which, as I have mentioned, it looks from afar like a plain white jersey, but it's got this old school like umbrose style collar to it.

I do like the way the three lions look in the crest. And I, as I have said, up close, there is this pattern. and this material to it. So where do we fall on the vote on this side of things? This is an easy Argentina for me. Okay.

Do you think that classic? Yeah, it's one of the most iconic kits in all the soccer. You know exactly who's playing when you see it, and it looks good every time. Okay. So he's split. What about you? Yeah, Argentina. Okay.

Argentina. So you're full Argentina all the way through. The thing with the England, it's just always struck me as so plain. Like it's just, and I, And I get it. This is what I'm saying. When it is. It has a little bit of flare, right?

There's a little bit of flare. I just, I don't, I don't know. It's got the umbrella style collar. It's got that old school. No, it's classy. It's clean and classy. But you're going to Argentina. But I'm going to go Argentina too.

So therefore, we have Argentina winning the World Cup semi-final based off kits. Easy. So that's all people needed. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, we're done. England's wearing the whites.

We're done. I think so. Yeah. I don't know. I'd like their chances better if they were wearing the brides. Those reds are sharp. I think they've only won them once at the World Cup so far. Oh, boy.

They're keeping them in the back pocket. They should say they have to wear them in the final against Spain. La Roja. Yeah, and see what Spain does off the back of that. Imagine that gamesmanship. Ooh, that would be tasty. Crazy tasty. All right, well, let's talk about this one.

England, Argentina, as we said, a lot of history between these two teams. It feels like, you know, Argentina, I feel like we haven't seen the best of them yet. There's been, none of their performances, I think, have been, like, super convincing at all. For me, my perception of the England team completely changed after the result in the Azteca against Mexico. And that is where I said, oh, my, okay,

there is some serious tooth to this team. And, you know, their win against Norway, I feel like they might have a, little bit more momentum. They might be feeling themselves a little bit more heading into this matchup, whereas Argentina, it feels like just haven't put together that complete performance yet. And then even against Switzerland, it was, you know, there's always a controversial call that could have gone someone else's way. And I just think that this is, I feel like England might have a little bit more moxie heading into this one. Would you agree? I think England have

played better and a harder path. So I would say England have had the hardest path to this point of any team to go to the Azteca and then have to go play outside in Miami against the Norway team with good momentum who had already picked up some good results themselves. I would argue that England had the toughest path. And in doing so, they looked fairly competent and controlled is not the right word, but they battled. Where Argentina have shot themselves in the foot over and over. So therefore they've had the most difficult path that they've self-influct. on themselves against Cape Verde, against Egypt, and as you said, against Switzerland. So I think it's fair for England to feel confident.

And what I said to McKelley yesterday is Argentina, so the whole conversation about France and Spain, Argentina are the we'll just figure it out team. And they have. They bend. They don't break. And then Messies enough at the end. Is that really appreciably different than what England have been? I think England can take advantage of more gaps.

I agree with that, but they've also just been a just-figure-it-out team against D.R. Congo. They didn't overwhelm them. They just figured it out at the end, and they have Harry Kane. So they were able to win that one. Yeah. Against Mexico, it was 90 seconds of madness from Mexico. It was a great play by Elliot Anderson. But what percentage of that game did England look like the better team?

And I would argue the same for their game against Norway. What percentage of that game did England look like the better team? And this is no different than Argentina. Well, it's slightly different in that they don't really give up a ton of chances when they don't look better and they stay in, where Argentina concede two wide open, and then they go and they attack and they score two. And then the 50-50 flip is who gets the penalty kick at the end of the game. So do you think that is because they have been a better team or because they have more talent on the defensive side of the ball? I think they're a better team. I think they're more structured defensively.

I think they work harder for each other, and I would trust what I've come to is... I don't think anybody works harder for each other than the Argentine. The amount of open field tackles Argentina has lost is mind-blowing for a team that's won this... That's gone as far. And it's not because they're not working hard for each other. It's because I think you're dead right about the structure.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So do you... But I guess if you come into this game... You, I assume that Bukaiusako, Anthony Gordon, and Jude Bellingham will have multiple opportunities to be out in transition and create a chance. Yeah. Jude Bellingham with those late box arrivals, Harry Kane somehow getting isolated and being able to turn one of the centerbacks. If you told me England won this game for one and that it was the best they've looked all tournament, I would say, yeah, that sounds about right.

Yeah. And yet, Argentina are going to win. They're going to find a way. They're going to find a way to win. They're on a match. And the gap is not that large. So for Spain, let's say Argentina wins, I will feel fairly confident that Spain will win the final.

I don't feel confident that England will win because I don't feel confident that England will put away all the chances they get, and they will leave the door open. And there is this just doesn't quit vibe about Argentina, plus Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, and Messi are all world class. No, they're incredible. And they've also scored 17 goals at this World Cup, which is insane. It's, I think they're, yeah, they're won off their best ever tally, which is 18.

So they could easily break that record, which is nuts. So for England, if they want to stop these goals from going in, how do you contain a messy? Like, how are they going to play this game? How will they set up? They haven't lost a knockout game in a tournament since 2019. So if I had the answer to that, I would not be. sitting here. I would be coaching somebody. I don't know. And partially, I don't know because the weird structure. They switched to a 4-4-2 diamond in the middle of this tournament, which is a formation

that nobody plays in the world anymore, except for a couple of pressing teams because it's like a specialist formation. And Argentina are not using it to press. They're still playing like a mid-low block. Their left shuttler is looking like a wingerer at times, even though he's a natural, central midfielder. Messi goes wherever, and he's still messy, obviously. He makes magic. They need the center forward to stretch the lines because they play without wingers, except the center forward can't stretch the lines because he also has to track back

because Messi doesn't track back. None of it makes sense, Suze. I have no idea how you stop this. I have no idea how you even game plan for it. Yeah, and the other big fear is we don't know. what Declan Rice has. Yeah. We don't really know what this sickness is.

You know, too cool, I think kind of... Does he be eating lettuce from Taco Bell? Sorry. As someone, as someone with a long Jewish line of stomach issues. That potential sponsor suits.

I love Taco Bell. I love Taco. This breaks my heart that this is... We're not eating anything fresh for the next week and a half. It's boiled only over here. Yeah. Fried to be healthy. And we don't fully know what his issues are.

And if he can't chase and he can't cover ground alongside Anderson, I think Morgan Rogers, to me, clearly won that role. But that's a guy who's not naturally a deep-lying midfielder. And again, this is the space Messi floats in. And we always ask the question over and over again, how does Messi get open? How is no one tracking him? And it's this balance you have where you don't want to over cover him

because you don't want to break your shape and feel like you're doing too much. and the moment you sort of make that decision, that's where he goes, and he goes and he goes and finds space. So if you end up playing someone in there who just doesn't naturally play that role, or if Declan Rice can't cover the ground that he is famous for and do all the work that he's capable of doing, plus an Anderson who has now played at the Azteca and a daytime game in Miami and now comes into the shortest rest, into this game, those are worrying things, I think, for England, and those are the things that I will monitor from the outside and saying, what I think, like where maybe we'll find the difference in this game.

Dave's going to monitor that. Yeah, I'm going to keep locked in eyes for it. I don't want to let anything get past me. Me and Ismail Elfath are going to be on our games. The whole time. Yes. Let's talk about Jude Bellingham for a second because this, when I was working at Morning Footy and he had just made the move to Rail Madrid

and had this unbelievable breakout season there. And we were just, we couldn't stop talking. talking about him. I remember like running out of superlatives talking about Jude Bellingham and how exceptional this guy was and just his his absolute quality. And I feel, you know, due to injury and just kind of like the mess that was happening at Rail Madrid recently, I feel like everyone kind of forgot that Jude Bellingham is like world class, like truly one of the best footballers that we've we've ever seen. It feels like he has taken this England team and and put them on his back.

It's almost like they feed off of him, you know? And he has been just everywhere. If you watch his work great, the man is literally unbelievable. How important, like, can he continue to do that? Can England continue to get results on the back of massive performances from Jude Bellingham? He's very clearly a big game player. We've seen at the Euros. Now we've seen at the World Cup.

I think the Aztec is his shining moment. the two goals, but the way he ended up down a man sitting in and helping them defend and helping them fight and helping them defend. And so, yes, I would, what, he's got 11, 12 international goals, 11 at major tournaments. These are the moments he elevates for. As we said, I think there'll be some gaps in this game, which he can take advantage of. The goal against Norway is sort of like everything he does. It's reading the game, it's covering enough ground to get from where he is deeper, more attacking,

and then it's the quality around goal. It's the composure on the first touch to get clean and then the acceleration into the second touch and then the finish knowing exactly where the goalkeeper is. Those are, you know, it's five different types of perfection for a player all rolled into one. And so I think there's every reason to believe he will show up in this moment.

He's done it for Real Madrid in Champions League. He's done it for Dortmund in big games. There's no reason not to think he won't. No. What I was saying about Spain at the start of this show about how they control the game in these small spaces because they're just so much better than everyone they come up against.

What makes Bellingham brilliant is he takes those small spaces and he's able to make them big instantly. And he doesn't do that with perfect control. He does that by just changing the terms of the engagement. And the goal against Norway is a perfect example of that. Like that was, he didn't have them dead to rights. And then suddenly he did.

He creates this momentum going downhill towards the goal and has quality to finish it off. The partnership with him and Kane, even when they're not necessarily linking and passing back and forth to each other, they're always using each other's influence to find those pockets of space. My gripe with this England team is that they've limited themselves with some of their squad selection to basically just that. Yeah.

What can change is if suddenly Saka looks like the best. version of himself or suddenly they get something wide on the left which they haven't gotten much of in this term. My hope would be this game being indoor climate control a little that Saka gets the start because okay maybe he's not perfectly ready to do the Azteca into Miami but now you know you can get 65 to 70 minutes out of him so give him the chance to start in this game because I agree with you you know the best moments against Mexico Saka sets up Jude Bellingham. Saka is willing to take his man 1 v1 in a way that Madueke doesn't want to. Saka can create himself or he can link up with those two guys. And the goal against Norway is also Bellingham reading Harry Kane's gravity.

And Harry Kane pulls centerbacks and he pulls the team to one side. Bellingham shows up. He goes the other way. Saka, I think, reads that as well and just individually can create special moments and no one else. No one else from these attacks can. That was a special moment for me on the catch. So I would hope that he starts in this game, and I would hope that if it's Anthony Gordon on the left, in that setup, Anthony Gordon seems to understand his job enough that he's going to make runs to pull defenders around. He's going to work hard. He's going to press. He's going to close down. And it seems to be enough for England alongside those other three to get them over the top. Yeah. For Argentina, obviously, we know the importance of

Almanese, but who, like, who else? Who needs to be? Perides has to control that midfield. It, in, like, he's going to start. It's very clear that that is, you know, that is now his job, and he's got to be the one to control that midfield, because if it's suddenly Anderson and Rice, getting on the ball and getting the chance to advance the ball via,

like, not even passing, like, literally just, like, carrying the ball upfield at a sprint, that is trouble for Argentina. So Paredes has to control the midfield with and without the ball. They have to limit their turnovers in that part of the pitch, and that comes back to the guy where number five. All right. I'm going to ask you guys, I'm going to have you make a little wager.

Ooh. Kind of a wager. I don't know. As a group? If you were going to put money down on a certain goal score, would it be Harry Kane or Leo in this? matchup. I'm going to say cane.

Okay. Which is probably the wrong thing to say when Messi's leading the golden boot. Yeah, I mean, my instinct is to say Kane as well, but I'm going to say Messi instead because we want it to be a fun wager. Loser has to buy the winner falafel.

Oh, absolutely. What was the last on? Persian food? I brought you to Persian food. Yeah, you didn't pay for it. Oh, I helped. As long as it's not Taco Bell. No, nothing fresh.

Dang it. No fresh. Can we make predictions for this matchup? You want to go first? Okay. I'm going to make a prediction. I think this one is going, I think we're going to get bonus soccer in this one. I first see this being, oh, I could see it being 1-1, and then we go into extra time.

I think, yeah, I think it's going to be a stroke of brilliance from our little magician, Leo, and I think Argentina are going to win. I think my first prediction is, I think there's going to be the chaos moments. I think there's going to be fights into the bench. Like I think there's going to be some foul at midfield. Both benches are overflowing. I guess it's hard. I don't fully understand the angst over the Falkland Wars and I've never lived it or anything.

But I think Paredes brought it up himself. And like this is- Well, he called it the Melvinas. Obviously. So this is 50, 40, 44 years after it happened. it's clearly in there and the fact that it then went over to Simeone in the 90s and then

into the early 2000s I think I think there's really a point of pride in this for Argentina and this Argentina team is already unhinged so I think that will happen I think today was soccer played on to perfection

and tomorrow will be all the other parts of soccer which are also entertaining and fun yeah it's absolutely fun And for this Argentina team, I spoke yesterday about Fermassi. Like, he's stepped away from Eridona Shadow. He's done everything. He is now a god in his own right.

Yeah. For this team, they've won all three championships over the last five years. They beat Brazil in a final. They beat France. The only other thing to do is to beat England. Like, that's the last piece for this group with Lataro and DePaul and Romero and Otamendi. Like what they have as a legacy left besides winning the World Cup one more time, is to beat England.

So I think there's going to be something weird in this. I think for all soccer reasons, I'd pick England. I think for non-sockle reasons, I pick Argentina, and I think Argentina's going to win. I'm going to go against the grain. I think England's going to win, and they're going to make it look easy. Wow.

I just think, like, David has kept saying it throughout this tournament. Eventually, it falls apart. Uh-huh. And it fell apart spectacularly for France in 2014. And, sorry, for Spain in 2014. It fell apart, spectacularly for France in 02. and 2010. Correct.

And it just, it feels, Argentina's been on a knife edge, this entire tournament, really, but especially these knockout rounds. And they've had a huge talent disparity in those kids. And like, I know England's been on a knife edge as well, but I just,

I like them on the margins here. They have two guys who are really clicking in front of goal. They have set piece advantages. They have ball carrying advantages out of midfield. I think, they're going to win and they're going to make it look easy. I would set the over under on

Argentine red cards at 1.5 and I would probably take the over. But I think it's going to be the type of win that gives England fans so much confidence going into the final that they're going to be seeing yes. Oh no. Oh, Doyle. And then I am going to get to celebrate on Sunday.

Wow. You're so cruel, but I love that about you. Yeah, it's going to be really bad environment. It's going to be that I cannot wait to see just the scenes in Atlanta. It's the, I mean, so the story this morning was extra tickets had become available for the semifinals over the last 24 hours because FIFA dumped a bunch of tickets because they're trying to manipulate whatever. The Spain ticket got cheaper. It was like $500 cheaper than what it was 24 hours ago.

So it ended up being like 13 to $1,500 to get in the building. And the Argentina, England tickets got more expensive and it went up to $3,000. I mean, we have seen it, right? We are living in Argentina. When Argentina goes to a stadium, it's Buenos Aires. That's the way it's always been, but especially in the U.S., and especially with the amount of fans that already live here. And then England are one of the great traveling fan bases.

So to your point, in Atlanta, it's an easy place to get to. Let's call them one of the large traveling fan bases. Let's call them one of the large, not great traveling fan bases. Okay. All right. Well, all right. Sorry. I'm not going to fight you on that one.

Yeah, I think it's going to be a vibe. I think the city's going to be a vibe. And I think in the stadium it's going to be big. If it goes to extra time, it feels like one of those. It's just going to be buzzing the whole time. Oh, man, it's going to be epic tomorrow, guys. We only have two matches left. I know.

What? How did we get here? We have the third place championship game on Saturday. Forgive me. Yeah. We'll be doing a live watch-along with pre-post game. So we'll be doing about four-hour broadcasts around that one. Yeah.

Yeah. Because we are committed to the third-place championship. We are so committed to that. Although if it's Argentina and Miami, it might be a vibe. It also, I mean, it won't be, but it could be Messi's last game. It could be Argentina-France rematch. Yeah, yeah. Or it could be England France.

Yeah. Do you know what happened late in the 2022 World Cup final? Because France was trailing to zero, but they actually came from behind. Wow. Yeah. First half in that notebook, huh? Yeah, yeah. Man, I love that.

Guys, this has been so much fun. We are going to do this again tomorrow after the England-Argentina match. So make sure you join us. immediately following the final whistle of that one. Guys, thanks for having me back. This is fun. Good to have you back. I know.

This is great. And you showed up in a French jersey. What are you going to wear tomorrow? I know, exactly. Who are you going to curse? I literally have an Argentina kit that I'm going to. So, yeah. Congratulations to England.

You're welcome. Here for you. Guys, thank you so much. Appreciate everyone behind the scenes for doing what they do. You're the best. Thanks for having me, guys. Thanks for tuning in. Join us tomorrow.

We'll see you then. Enjoy the soccer. Thank you.