SoccerWise - Inter Miami's Historic Run, MLS & CWC Findings, USMNT Move On + PHI Turn Down Muller

Episode Date: June 24, 2025

The summer of soccer rolls on as the both the Club World Cup & Gold Cup prepare for the knockout stages. Tom & David get together to celebrate Miami's big results and their impending matchup with PSG. Then they talk through what we've learned about MLS big picture over the last two weeks and what could change. Afterwards they talk through what they've seen from the USMNT & CANMNT so far, as well as some big transfer reports around these players. Finally they look forward to midweek MLS action & debate Philly's decisions around Thomas Muller6:00 Inter Miami CWC Round Of !6 Qualification19:10 Sounders Show Well In Group Stage Loses24:15 LAFC Heartbreak Against ES Tunis28:30 Big Picture MLS Thoughts Out Of CWC37:35 Gold Cup USMNT Group Stage Stand Outs40:20 Tom/David’s USMNT Quaterfinal Starting XI50:00 USMNT Ice Cream Shop for Tillman, Agyemang & Weah54:50 CANMNT Group Stage So Far & Battle With CONCACAF59:30 Should Philly Have Signed Thomas Muller? Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Alright everybody, welcome back to Soccer Wise, David Goss and Tommy Scoops with you for a big episode. We've been away, missed last Thursday for numerous reasons, but we are back in the saddle. And as Tom just said said grip it and rip it Let's rock and roll. We are excited for what is going to be a massive show Tom I am very sad because I miss Beach weekend this weekend with you and the the former extra time crew So I'm hoping and I'm assuming you kept everyone alive. We did it was a lot of fun. It was a nice very hot day I will say

So we're I picked up Doyle producer honors from the train. They got to as I swear. I wish that this was a bit, but this is just normal me as honors is like found my car and like saying what's up, man? Great to see you I'm cursing at somebody else in the parking lot. It was cursing at me Because they just weren't moving and no one lane traffic and you know, it's all about that guy Of course so they they can take up all this and so the guys like

Saying something to me and I'm giving them back expletives and honors and doles start laughing immediately as like that's how I said hello To them by cursing at somebody else in the parking lot So that's that set the tone for the day cursing at somebody else in the parking lot so That's that set the tone for the day. It was really good you you can't miss an opportunity you know to let people know how you feel and I don't fully disagree with the way you handled that so I'm glad that you were able to To keep the vibes high I was sad to miss it, but I have to say this. I haven't done the full calculation, but I think this was at a minimum my ninth trip to Montreal in my life.

Montreal has gotten nine for nine. I'm officially ready to say that I'm in love with Montreal. Full stamp down. Well, you said that like that was new. No, but it's like, we've hit a ratio at this point right, we're hitting percentages where it's like It's not opinion. It's fact Right, right

Can't miss can't miss so it has my heart. I attend any top moments from your trip From my latest trip. Yeah Um, from my latest trip. Yeah. Um, well, I went for my sister's bachelorette party, which was really, really fun. So it was 11 of us and, uh, there was a lot more emotional stability than the bachelor parties that I've been on. So it was a really eye opening experience in many ways, but we did the, uh, we did the spa that's on the river.

If anyone's ever been, it's called Bodo Bodo to Montreal. So it was very fancy, it was very nice. We did a mural tour, which was awesome. The street art and everything there is really, really cool. And some of the bars in Montreal are my favorite bars in the world. So shout out to Big Japan, who has another bottle with my name on it hanging in the rafters,

which is always great. Because then at some point someone in my life goes we got to go to Montreal to drink this bottle of whiskey we already purchased that's in this bar but always what we do is once we finish it we buy the next bottle and guess what another trip to Montreal becomes necessary. So what is this what is this phenomenon? There's a whiskey bar and it has bottles of whiskey that hang from the ceiling and you purchase a bottle. So instead of a glass, you purchase a bottle, which is a better deal.

And... Finance. Yeah, exactly. Exactly what's happening. Actually, it actually may not be a better deal. Not that I'm thinking about the numbers, but here's the issue, it's Canadian dollars. So at some point you're kind of like,

well, it's all free in theory. And and so when you buy the bottle, they take your name and anyone else who's a part of it, and then they put it in their afters. And then they have this like really cool setup. It's a magnet that holds the bottle up. And then when you come back, you show them your your number, you tell them your number and your ID and they take the bottle down and pour you. Is this a buy one get one situation or do you buy a bottle so you spend on the one bottle

and then as you're leaving you go hey I'm going to buy another one for the next time? Normally it's not as I'm leaving. Normally it's you buy the bottle, you finish it so you buy the next bottle to start drinking it then when you come back the next time you finish that bottle but then you buy the next bottle to start drinking it then when you come back the next time you finish that bottle But then you buy the next bottle to start drinking it. Okay, and then you've got to go finish that bottle It has been the source of I think at least two trips Purposely for me up there now it has the makings of a third Unfortunately, no CF Montreal game this weekend for me to go to because it was an international break in major

league soccer. And I love to go to Stade Cebuto because it feels like this like odd semi lower division European experience, unfortunately, not higher division, which I think all Montreal fans will be first to admit. But again, I'm in love with the city and in love with the vibes with no MLS. We've got some club world cup to talk about a pretty special week. We'll try and make sense of everything as well as inter Miami's big matchup against PSG coming up and what it could look like and what that could be. We've obviously got some national team stuff to talk about with the gold cup group stage closing out today for Canada.

So we won't dig in as much on Canada. And obviously the U S already knows their opponent as well as their match time for the quarter finals. And then there's a little midweek MLS action coming up. So if you like international absences and you like teams missing games because of Club World Cups, boy do I got a product to sell you on Wednesday night. But of course, I'm going to be locked in for all of it. Therefore, if you are too, you should join our Patreon.

It gets you access to our Discord. You can hang out in there and you can chat with everyone else who's also locked in for the game. I love that last night as Inter Miami's leading Palmaros 2-0 chance to win the group in a group that features some big time clubs from around the world for an MLS team. I'm put in the discord. This a la Lee Porto game is insane. And the first response was this is what I come to soccer wise for. First of all, our own Jordan Angeley was on the call for it, which was awesome to watch. Four four game just like bonkers at the Metallands, which I

Still call Giant Stadium as a Jets fan. I don't even care. It's just like the only name I have for it and And that game ended up not fully mattering if one of the teams had won They could have jumped into Miami, but it was like sort of indicative of what this tournament's been Which is not full stadiums, but the 45 to 50,000 fans who show up to games are some of the best fans we've ever seen. And it's almost like if you put them in the right size stadium, it would be all time atmospheres, yet they've still been pretty fun.

And like that's sort of the vibe, I think, overall of the tournament is like, some of this has been cool and great, some of this has been poorly handled. It all mixes together to be like, this is fine or better than fine, but it's still not amazing. Um, but the big result for major league soccer fans, maybe Javier Mascherano after the game said like all MLS should be proud. We're doing this for everyone was that into Miami ended up drawing two,

two with Palmeros. They made it through to the round of 16 at the club World Cup. There'll be the only MLS team there as LAFC has been eliminated still with the third game to play in Seattle ended up going over three in the competition. Miami went up to zero and Tom I put this in my notes and then it obviously changed as the game went along. The first 60 minutes though, I thought that was the best I've ever seen Miami play. And it wasn't just, oh, they got a lucky break. It wasn't just Messi's the best player on the field. They were cleaning their lines.

They defended intelligently. They possessed the ball at times. They broke Palmeris' pressure. I think Palmeris reading the heat a little stepped off at times. And Miami wasn't overeager to push. They were able to knock it around, especially once they got a lead. My fear for this game, because I've watched both Paul Maris games already, was like, anytime the game opens up, Paul Maris kills you in transition and into Miami loves to open up. And so full credit to Javier Mascherano and

the entire group that they never did that. And they never really gave the opening until they got to the end, which I think we'll talk about as a separate topic. Exactly. So let me start off with I think the most important point because we are going to talk about the end of the game. We're going to talk whatever else. Inter Miami getting out of this group is a huge, undeniable, unmitigated win. just getting to the knockout rounds it started off a bit disappointing because that Ali game but they didn't play well in that first one and the last two games they have been awesome again making history by being being poor so the first concave team to be the UEFA team in an official

competition and then for particularly the first 80 minutes but I'll give it to them for the full game like Like you said, the way that they played against Palmares, I was worried about the transition aspect. I was worried about the onslaught that Palmares are going to represent and they had 22 shots. So like at the end of the day, they did really pepper Miami's goal. And that's when Miami are at their worst, when they're not dominating the ball, when they're not dictating the game. It's when, like you said, they get opened up in transition and it's when you put in enough pressure on Weingart

and Falcone and- Toto Aviles. Making Sergio Busquets cover ground and again, a walking red card in Toto Aviles. For Miami to play the way that they did, get this result, get through, you can't say a bad word. Right?

Like we're gonna, again, we're gonna talk about the last minutes. Like it could have been better, but by God, what an accomplishment. Everything that they did over these three games, you had the messy moment against Porto. And you had this Luis Suarez performance that, man, he's so intelligent. Like the assist on the first goal, I had to like rewatch the goal. I was like, oh wow. Like that was that was again a good finish by Ande but like Luis Suarez brings him into you know half a field of space and that second goal man like that looks like 2015 Suarez on Barcelona like questionable defending to

let Suarez cut you up that badly because if you bite that hard on the fake like you should be able to catch him back but But um, dude, that was vintage Suarez It's great to see we do these referendums with older players if they have a bad couple games. I'm like, oh must be watched Um, he's not watched right? He's still really really good You shouldn't be playing all the time and there will be peaks and valleys But um, it was just really cool to see a louis Suarez performance like that. And again, into Miami Get through to the knockout round at the club World Cup for all the jokes about you know, Miami were gifted This is corrupt FIFA wanted them in Seattle and LAFC are going home and into Miami are going through and Miami won their game in Atlanta

So it wasn't even just home field advantage. They're also not even playing in their home stadium I think this crowd you would say was at best 50-50 for Miami, if not worse for Palmaras. And let me put a little context into this. So Palmaras in this game finishes with a 1.5 XG, 22 total shots, seven of those on target on 46% possession. Against FC Porto in the opening game, they had 55% possession with over a

two XG, 17 shots and five on target. So for all of what Palmeiras did in the second half to try and get back into the game, it wasn't even equal to what they did to FC Porto who, while Inter Miami did beat them, many people would consider the second best team in this group as an overall club. I think it just goes to show that Miami had a really strong performance there and in par with everyone else and then had the difference making ability. I've said this on the show a lot, so I'll just take 10 seconds to pat myself on the back. I end days a must in the lineup. The way he stretches the field is different than everyone else. He's a cleaner finisher than

Fafa Pico. He is not as versatile as Segovia, but no one else on the team does what he does. And he should have scored two, like and that's the problem is he should have scored the second breakaway chance he got. He sort of let the defender back in, he killed his own angle, which is what really hurt him because he doesn't want to go towards his left. And by do by making sure he's on his right, he pulled himself wide and he kills his

angle. But even then, those stretches of the field makes Palmeiras take a half step back, opens up a little bit more space for central midfield possession. I thought Redondo was really good under pressure in possession. I thought he got pressed back pressed a lot. And so he had players coming from him from different angles. And instead of quickly passing out of it, he was able to work his way out of it and help the team maintain possession. I thought Busquets looked more like himself in this game than maybe we've seen in a lot of situations. And I thought Segovia was fine in that he was scrappy.

He helped defensively. He came inside to fill gaps when Messi dropped a little bit deeper. But red, I thought enough of Suarez's movement that he wasn't always on top of him And as you said Luis Suarez and maybe it is that at this age He's gonna turn it on sometimes when he's kind of locked in and this is a moment that he locked in against the team You know, he's played against being in Brazil against a team with his Uruguayan international teammates and like what it meant But whatever it was,

he was there at a level that we haven't seen all the time. And he was there at a level that few players can reach. Uh, and that's where inter Miami is able to ride those players out, um, and, and get the result. And so they're hanging on at two zero subs are made for both teams. Palmaris pulls back at two one almost immediately. And then they ended up pulling it back to 2-2. And this is one of those things where this tournament stuff, it's three soccer games at a random time, we've never seen anything like it before and everyone's asking the questions

what it all means. This seems very clear to me. It's also related to the fact that we've seen it in CCL for 20 plus years. Depth in Major League Soccer is a problem. With the way the salary cap is built. Depth is almost impossible. And as you get further into games and further into a tournament, the drop off for an MLS team is worse than it is for the teams they are playing against. And that's across the board. Pretty much, right? We saw it with Esperanza to Tunis. We're not talking about a massive team with massive spending, but I think a more even roster across things. And

so Miami brings their subs in, Palmares brings their subs in, and all of a sudden you're looking at a 2-2 game, which was enough to get you through. So I think that sort of Miami's managing the moment a little bit, but I think it's just the reality we walk away with. Yeah. And while I would push back on that a bit just because you look at the subs for Miami it's Alba, it's Kramosky, it's Baltasar Rodriguez, and Fafapico, right? Palmeiras it's Vitor Roque, Paulinho, Mariso. So both of the goal scorers, Mariso and Paulinho, Alan who had their one assist, and again Vitor

Roque who had just been signed by Barcelona and then came to Palmares in a big big money deal. Yes different and it's again, I want to hold on a little bit to get to the big picture stuff after kind of we finished off this game like For me, I thought Booskets was good too. I think in the last 10 minutes I don't know if it is fair to blame the goals on him but watch back both of the goals he's like half a step off on both

of them same thing with Falcone like I don't think I blame him but Miami had several chances to clear on both kind of both of those instances and then like obviously when it was 2-1 Fafapico had the ball alone at you know 12 yards out had heavy touch right to the goalkeeper. So there's so many different ways that again It could have been better and they would have set up a match against Botafogo instead of PSG Both teams are obviously really really good Botafogo just beat PSG. But like I think we'd all Prefer to play Botafogo though does set up a nice little I think we'd all prefer to play Botafogo though. It does set up a nice little PSG reunion for Lino Messi.

And again, like dude, if they lose five nil to PSG, if they would have gotten through top of the group and lost five nil to Botafogo, this is nothing but an overwhelming success. But it's just, I guess, I guess if it's halftime and PSG have 78% possession against Miami, you'll be thinking about, ah, I get that fa-fa pico chance.

Like, what if they could have held on for seven more minutes, including stoppage time? Yeah, it's, I think with the same conversation we had with Seattle going into these games, it's unlikely that the results will be there. I do think one of the things I've learned over the last few weeks is all of these teams are a little bit closer than we thought.

I think a lot of that is also the states of a lot of the European teams are tired and the weather has affected them and whatever. And for other teams, yeah, poor European teams. Exactly. And I think it's all great, but I think it's been slight equalizer in like the pace of game and the way the games have played out. And I think that's kept some teams in it. But Seattle had 20, what, 23% possession or was it 28 against PSG in the end?

One of the two. And so it's going to be harder against PSG than it would have been against Portofogo. Neither of them would have been in Miami. So there was no advantage there of like, quote unquote, playing at home and in Atlanta, I guess it's less travel and it's every bit as convenient. And hopefully some inter Miami fans can get up there. And it's less travel and it's every bit as convenient and hopefully

some inter Miami fans can get up there. And it's obviously the site of what was the big win against Porto, where you said it messy had the free kick. It's the moment that sort of elevates the team. It's kind of what you built this whole thing around. And in the end, the math we think we're getting is that Miami got $10 million for being in the tournament, 4 million for the win and two draws and seven and a10 million for being in the tournament, 4 million for the win and two draws and seven and a half million for making the round of 16. So it's $21 million all in all, which I don't know if that goes to players. I don't know if that goes to building a new stadium. I don't know how it gets affected in a club. Either way, it's better to have

it than not. And that's the advantage of being a part of this. And Miami, if they can sneak another result, now you're talking about like a huge windfall. And if they're able to sneak something against PSG, it's I don't even know how to quantify it. You mentioned it. This is the first CONCACAF winner over UEFA team in official competition ever. It's been 14 games going back to 2000 because there wasn't really a competition before that to experiment with it. There's been a couple already in the club World Cup. I think Pachuca has been extremely underwhelming overall as a team. They had an opportunity against RB Salzburg, which was a big chance. Obviously LAFC against Chelsea not able to get the results, everything Seattle had. And so for Inter Miami, it's already been historic.

The gap from beating Porto in a group stage to PSG coming off the Champions League victory and a knockout is pretty massive. And to do so and then move on to the next round would be pretty absurd. If they were able to do that, they would play the winner of Flamengo and probably Boca Juniors or Benfica.

Oh man. And I think it would be in Miami. So I think that game would probably break the stadium and it's something that I hope happens and it's something to look forward to. The other MLS teams before we get done, Seattle eliminated ends up on a negative five goal differential. So they lost two on the opener to Botafogo, three to Athletico Madrid and two zero to PSG the PSG game that they were in it for a while you get the deflected shot from Virginia in the 35th which is the opening goal. It was going to be tough

for Seattle to get a goal especially game states then shifting and obviously they were already eliminated coming into it. They finished on 28% possession. I had it written down 0.61 on expected goals. And I think what I've been hearing and what I thought I saw with Seattle is they didn't look outclassed. They didn't look uncomfortable, but they didn't really have the difference makers to get them over the line in any of the games. Starting new who in the opening game ends up being maybe the what had them done

because it didn't feel like there was other results in this one. But overall, Tom, I think the way we've talked about this for Seattle the last five months, it kind of all came to fruition the way we sort of expected. Yeah, I thought that they played well. And they walk away with zero points and a negative five gold. Like, like, it's, it's tough to kind of balance those two things. But like, everything is about relativity and, and managing expectations, like, call me like, again, Miami or LA I've seen this group, I'd be saying the same things. They had Seattle had the hardest draw that there was.

And this was before we put more respect on Botafogo's name, right? Like- And PSG. When the draw happened, they were not Champions League winners. Yeah, that's fair. No, that's right.

They had not smoked Inter Milan. They had not smoked Liverpool. That's true. That's true, that's true. But so like, again, I felt that they performed well, well enough considering all of that above. I don't know how many different directions to go because, again, we could talk about the spending money.

If Seattle had one more $10 million player on the field, it wouldn't have made a difference. Maybe against Botafogo. But it's not the difference of why they finished last in this group. These are just a different level, man. That's okay. Seattle should be plenty proud. They'll tell you that they were the only team, the only MLS team in this tournament

that properly qualified by winning the CCC, CCL at the time. And there's just not a lot of angles to go off of here. What they need to do is take these performances and bring them back to MLS and have a really strong second half of the season. Or it'll just be like, Oh, hey, remember that one time they were in the group stage? I think the things I took away one was I think Jordan Morris was a huge miss. He's a weapon in a unique way with the way he stretches the field that can sort of re-effect other

teams. Now, do they drop back lines a little bit more? Do they worry about him in other ways? You have this outlet where you don't have to play through pressure all the time. It was just this whole weapon that they didn't have and one that has been a huge part of their success over the last five years, including the CCL one over the last 10 years, but including the CCL win, like he was a big part of that. And I think that's really unfortunate because that's not the like, what if the roster structures were changed, but it's literally just,

what if the player we already have was healthy and available for these games? And they started John Bell, two of the games. I thought he was fine, but like I think Yai Mai is the best center back in major league soccer. There is a gap there. So those were some of the things

that I think are unfortunate for Seattle. One of the other big ones is Christian Roldan's a baller. Like Christian Roldan's a big game player. He's a grinder. The games mattered to him. I don't know what we'll look back and say. And obviously Greg kept calling him up, but like, I think he is one of those pieces that we are missing in the national team conversation. When you ask like, what does it mean to players?

And they're really young who can lead this group and all of that stuff. I don't know that Christian Holden is a starter in the US men's national team, but he did just play the best of anyone against Botafogo, Atlético Madrid and PSG. And I think you could hear it in the voices and some of the comments from those opponents, like recognizing that he was a game changer. He gets the goal, which is obviously a little fortunate against Portofogo, but like he's the only one creating chances against PSG as well. And like putting his head down and taking risks

and all of that stuff. So I think it's just another feather in his cap. I think if he wasn't super settled, he probably could end up in Mexico if he wanted to on a bigger number. And like, I wouldn't be shocked coming out of a thing like this if Brazilian teams do put in a little bit of interest and are like, well, this guy can play with these players. But I think he's pretty happy playing alongside his brother in the city that he's like

pretty tied to, which is awesome for Seattle and more credit to them of the culture they've built and what they've been able to do. L.A. FC still to play Flamengo. As I mentioned in the inter Miami thing, the results matter for the amount of money you're given. Like this is sort of a million dollar game if L.A. FC steals a result against a Flamengo team that's already clinched their spot on the top of the group. So it matters a little bit. That game's 9 p.m. Eastern time tonight. So we won't talk about it. The previous two games, we talked a little bit about the Chelsea game. L.A. FC had their chances late in that one to get a result if they

steal a result there that you you know if you get a result in that first game you're in it in all three games because of the nature of the tournament. And then in the second game Esperanza Tunis they get a penalty kick called against them that ends up being overturned on review. It was not a very open game. LAFC not creating a ton of chances and they get a penalty kick in the 98th minute that Dennis Buonga has saved. That 1-0 win would have put them in a really good spot today, right? They're playing a Flamengo team that are already eliminated. They'd be sitting on three points. They'd be tied in second place with Chelsea and they'd have an opportunity to do something special and maybe sneak in. Instead they go in down already

eliminated and there's I think some fair complaints about LAFC with the roster structure the way they've put it together and the lack of ability on the ball but do you think a decent chunk of this tournament is they've built a lot of it around Dennis Blanga and he didn't finish his chances across the two games? Yeah, I mean, it feels reductive to just go down to that, but sometimes like at the margins are so thin. And that was like my analysis coming into this tournament of like, we know that they're going to defend well. We know their limitations with the ball. It's going to come down to a handful of Denny Belonga

chances. And I backed him to finish. And he didn't. You go back to the Chelsea game. Again, it's not on him that they didn't win. It was a good team performance. I thought he played fine that game. But he had a coupled half chances, one real chance.

He didn't score. Penalty against Tunis, not doing much of anything before the penalty. just not good enough from their best but their hope of getting through you look at I don't man you look at Miami like it's obviously not a one-to-one comparison Belonga to Messi Messi had the free kick against Porto and then in the third game it was Suarez that had like that was another one of those stars. Belanga, Giroud, Martinez, Martinez has been disappointing.

Dürosin. It's just, I don't know, man, it's unfortunate when weird things that happen in a three game sample size, but like, unfortunately, not totally new. look at how they lost in the Conqueror Champions Cup to Miami that came down and Belonga missing chances that came down to them not being able to kill the game off with the ball so all of those things that have kind of hampered them in you know from you know they've been really really good over the last few years but it seems like they're just missing something and that missing something was on full display here at the club. And the missing something, I think the frustration with them becomes less MLS roster rules and

more it feels slightly self-imposed of like there's openings for them to spend big or when they have, they've not gotten it right. And so they even with the misses, they crushed it on Buonga. He's one of the best players in major league soccer. They got him in his prime. They're going to play him through. They've, you know, won trophies with him. They've been to a zillion finals. They made the club world cup, like all those things. And so part of this is like, if you support him more, AKA he doesn't have to do everything. His life becomes easier and you're more talented. and that's where I think the frustration comes with LAFC

And I think that's where the frustration comes overall for people in this tournament, which is Overall takeaways. I think this tournament looks more positively on African teams and obviously on common bowl sides Coming out of it Then it will on Major League Soccer and maybe Liga MX MX by the way because if Monterey doesn't sneak through Pachuca has not looked anywhere near against teams that are of a lower quality overall Although they got probably the best team out of Asia in their group then I think what other teams looked like and I don't know and This goes back to like sort of the combo we have around us and Mexico

perceptions of like, a lot of people in Mexico are like MLS isn't good enough. But like, LAFC doesn't count in that combo. And like, Javinko didn't count and messy doesn't count. And I think that's probably what a lot of people will come out of this one saying, whether they're right or wrong of like, yeah, messy and inter Miami got through the other MLS teams, I'm guessing here here didn't get a result and like this is where we thought things would fall even though there's more nuance in it that no one else is gonna give a shit about. Yeah and when you talk about the big picture takeaways look I've never bought into the Saudi first MLS

comparisons because like again it's just not fiscally possible or responsible for MLS or pretty much literally any other club in the world to spend that kind of money. So like, I think that's a non-starter, it's an easy thing to say, oh spend like the Saudi League. Alright cool, let's be backed by an oil state, right? Like let's have a bottomless pit of money, that'd be fun too. But you look at the Brazilian teams in particular, like you look at Monterey more so than Pachuca. That level of spend, maybe not dollar to dollar sustainable or dollar to dollar applicable in this exact moment,

but something close to it, Monterey probably, like again, they're not gonna spend, I don't know, was Vito Roque like $30 million? Like yeah, they're probably not gonna spend that. But like again, what Monterey are doing, what what some of these are like I don't know man that that that's the biggest takeaway for me for this tournament is oh we could do that like that's like I feel like sometimes I'm arguing on the side of like yeah no I understand why things have been slow to expand in this band well right now that looks pretty attainable for a lot of the clubs at MLS and look we love the Vancouver Whitecaps. We love the Philadelphia Union.

One Dallas and Dallas are spending more money lately so maybe it's not totally fair to them. But they're only spending money they made. Yeah but at least they weren't doing it on the pad. I digress. Hey Vancouver, Dallas, Philly, if you don't want to spend, cool. Do whatever you want. Maybe you get left behind or maybe you have the edge. And so many like Philly's youth academy, Vancouver's collective with the new head coach. Sweet. We can't we shouldn't be stopping the bigger spending teams to spend. And like I know that that's not a unique take.

That's not a unique position. I know a lot of people felt this way before. And certainly I did to to a vast extent, but to starting with, like, if you're Jorge Mas, if you're Mariposa, like, the people in those rooms who are arguing against the Vancouvers and the Dallas' of the world to expand the roster span, to take away restrictions,. Like I think the next time you go to a meeting, you just play the highlights. I mean, like look at what Paul Mercer, look at what Mildred did. Why can't it be us? And the other thing I would add,

which I think in that conversation, what I hope the takeaway would be, and I have zero idea, is we're actually not that far off. So that's part of what I actually think the positive of this was, which is with the money we've spent, you're not that far off from being closer. Yes. And so it's like, maybe you could have convinced me, okay, what's the difference in $10 million in Real Madrid

spends 500 and all he law spends 500 and Palmer has, you know, like Paulino came off the bench. I think Leverkusen bought him for $25 million four years ago and now he's come back around. So like you could have tried to convince me or other people like, okay, so then what does that really matter? And is that where we should focus it? Where I think the example here is like that actually would have done a decent chunk, whether it's expanding the salary cap or adding another DP or, you know, readjusting U-22 money, whatever the hell that is. I think the example out of this should be we're actually not that far off on the field. And like there's a sustainable way to get even closer. And then you look at like Boca Juniors, obviously Boca Juniors is I do think like culture matters with a lot of this stuff expectations

players are taking other deals sometimes in their career because they want to be in these places because of the fan bases because of the Experience because of what it means but like Ellen Velasco was leading the attack So like we're not talking about two different stratospheres and universes for kundo Torres is one most dangerous players on the field for Palmeiras Jefferson Savarino and Gregory are starting for Botafogo. You are not talking about two different teams on two different planets that are completely separate. And the gap then there becomes more attainable. And you're in already the market with these teams and you're in already conversations

with similar players. But you have to be able to get over the line with more of them. And that's where that spending increase could come as well as the depth Yes, exactly. And so Gregory I think is the best is the most pertinent example and again, like you don't You don't break the bank or you don't like compete with your armadillo with or without Gregory, but Gregory is a neat example here Miami had to get rid of him because of the roster rules and salary cap restraints they could have afforded him they would not be going into debt to keep but like and he again he

wouldn't have been the best player in the field he would have been super helpful for this team or a player in that regard like again it's not even necessarily adding all of the like 20 like if at land united You know take the 50 million that they spent over the last couple windows They would have spent that on like six players instead of three And that could have changed that would have changed things a lot for atlanta. Like I know that for a fact. Um like that's the stuff that I feel like it'd be obvious that's that's That's again, that's where the next step is and this league has just been again

like the calendar flip, all the reporting and then kind of what I've heard as well is the expectation is this is gonna happen maybe in 27, but definitely at some point in the near future. Dude, like, why is that not happening after the 2026 World Cup? Like the most obvious breaking point because they can't make a decision

or they're slow to make a decision. And that was cool in 2004 when it was about the league surviving. The league is going to survive. Again, whether they spend too much or whether they don't spend any more, the league is going to survive. We're past that. And it's just disappointing that, yeah, you know what would have been cool for the roster rules? Now. You know what would have been cool for the calendar flip? Next year in the obvious breaking point. And they're just going just gonna be it's even USL So like not just crap on MLS on this US of the program stuff for us. Oh should have happened before Like it was just too slow with everything and like guess what the summer of soccer that we're hearing about everywhere

You know who's gonna capitalize the Premier League and league I'm a kid or the Brazilian or the Brazilian League Like you gotta think they've always come to Orlando for a little bit of training camp games. I think Flau'Flu, Botafogo, São Paulo, Corinthians are like, oh no, let's actually go play a bunch of games and it's in the same time zone. So now you're opening things up and you're like, oh, here's more competition in your market. And yes, this is this summer of soccer and MLS didn't take advantage.

And I would add in that obvious breaking point of like, you could have test drove some of the rules on the Seattle and Miami line up rosters as like because they, they qualified. And then LAFC would have been a shit show anyway, which is what it is. And then you could have rolled it out for everyone next year as just the, how does this thing work? And yes, I love the Gregory example because it's just another solid adult in midfield. Maybe you could have spent the Redondo money different

or maybe you still have him. And you got three of those guys covering for Messi and able to connect the game and connect things. And like, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about a second Roll Don. We're not talking about can you afford any of the starters on PSG? Can you bring Hikimi in at right back? That's not the conversation we're having. And I think that part should be very clear after this coming out of this one. Anything else big you want to talk about? That felt pretty big.

No, because like, yeah, that is, I think that is the point that I'm taking away from this more than anything else. And again, like, to end on a positive as well, one more time, incredible group stage by Inter Miami. And this is going to be the stuff that we're going to reference down the line. And good on them. We have one more for them. If they be PSG, like that becomes the whole show for us next week so you can schedule that one in if it ends up happening for Seattle and LAFC by the way they jump right

back into MLS so Seattle hosts Austin on Saturday night at 10 30 LAFC hosts Vancouver on Sunday at 9 30. I think it'll be telling with Seattle like they they played well, they played sharp. Um, I thought Ryan Kent's been a really good ad. Now he's played it. Awesome for them. I think part of that though was game states of like, I think they actually felt more comfortable with teams that had more of the ball. Can they bring some of this though into their regular season play and not come out in like a malaise and can they play with the foot on the gas? Cause if they do that the second half of the year The conference is open enough to at a minimum. We're talking home playoff game I think you're talking probably first or second in the west if they play the way they've played over the last three games

Let's jump into the gold cup a little bit So the us mnt and mexico have both qualified as group winners for the next round The us will face off against Costa Rica who ended up second place in Mexico in a wild finish in the group stage game for the US. They went perfect in group stage play. They crushed Trinidad and Tobago in the opening game. They survived against Saudi Arabia. I think you could argue they survived against Haiti. I thought it was pretty comfortable overall though in the third group stage game. They then get a weak layoff, which is kind of crazy, which is why I think

Mariso Pochettino did not rotate as much as he did. They go into this game on Sunday in Minnesota against Costa Rica. They would then face the winner of Canada's group. So right now Canada's sitting in first place. We'll learn that later. Jamaica, Guatemala are probably in second place. And so it's one of those three teams in the conversation

of who they would face in the next round. It was a first start for Tyler Adams to close out the group stage in a long time. In the two one win over Haiti, picked up a yellow card like 27 seconds in. I thought it was 20 seconds too late, but like whatever Tyler, you do you. Millie Tillman got a ton of chances, ended up scoring the opening goal and uh, then the U S gifted Haiti pretty much an equalizer. Partially Tim Reams fault,

partially Matt freeze's fault. And then for the most part, the U S created a number of chances Tillman had, I think three balls hit the back of the net that were all called off and then ends up scoring off of this bizarre cross that's cleared off of him that's called a handball, that's not a handball that goes in the back of the net. And the US ends up winning 2-1. Of the rotation that happened, by the way, I was really impressed by Quinn Sullivan.

I thought he looked like Quinn Sullivan on the international stage and that's what you're looking for. Play with confidence, put your head down, attack the game. Alex Freeman started all three group stage games. He's the second youngest player to do that as well. In US history to start all through all three Gold Cup group stage game. So some of the young players are stepping up. Some of the players who have gotten opportunities because other people are unavailable have stepped up. Oh, by the way, that Tillman goal never counted. Ajamong had the winner in this one.

I don't know why I went through that whole conversation. That was one of the ones that didn't count. And Ajamong ended up having the winner, beats the goalkeeper, slides it on the ground from wide. Tom, any big takeaways before we sort of dig into a little bit of ice cream shop and and knockout convo Gold Cup you're talking about. Yeah. No. Yeah. I just want to talk about just dead rubber and to the group stage just what's my float So I was gonna say what would be our starting 11 for the game against Costa Rica?

Two notes here, which I put down but then Tom reiterated for me, Haji Wright and Damian Downs are unavailable which is why I put their names down under the starting 11 to make sure we didn't say them. You could have just not read off the rundown here. You know only me and you can see it. I know you've been working on it for a while now so I really appreciated the support there. Alright, let's go. It says what would our XI be in a knockout game? And the first name you wrote was Haji Wright and I was like you do know he's not on the team.

And the second name I wrote was Damon Downs and I thought you would do the math of they're both injured so they're both. I just wanted to make sure because I'm a good teammate. I wanted to say that in the, there's frustration with Patrick Ajamong's performances and I think they're fair. I think he has been not as good for Charlotte this year as I expected him to be. I think he struggled a little bit with the expectations. I think with Charlotte, he's struggling with the spacing and the way they've played as

they brought Zaha in and a little bit less connection to him. And then I think with the US, some of the frustration is, I don't know that you're seeing the work off the ball if you're not getting the elite performance on the ball. But he is still scoring and there are not really other options. It's between him and Brian White if you're going to play a natural center for there is another option. So you would start Brian White. I wanted Brian White to start the first game of this group stage.

Like I like I I understand. And it's more like if you one on one like who's more likely to come off the bench in a World Cup game It's a Jemong because he brings something different than anybody else Who's more likely to score more goals at the gold cup Brian White? You know, it'd be fun once in a while just let's win some games like and and Brian They just win all three games. They play I know but like we're just talking about all the all the All three games they play I know but like we're just talking about all the all the a jamong frustration whatever it is It's like yeah, there is another option and I thought the the last game of the group stage We would have seen some more rotation, but I guess

Pochettino still scarred from the rotation. Yeah between the two friendlies and the other Killed by the other thing is you have a week off So even though it's a dead rubber game, like you're not talking about keeping guys fresh. I think all the players who were sitting on yellow cards were rotated out. So I don't fully disagree of like, if you're going to have that much layoff, you can play guys from an energy point of view. The interesting thing with Costa Rica is they play five in the back. So like maybe a game that Brian White works a little bit better and his ability to battle against center backs and still win aerial duels, even though there will be three centerbacks is Brian frickin white. And like that's what he does. And that's where he feasts. But the ceiling with Ajumang is higher. Listen, I thought Josh Sargent

should be here. So like I don't disagree with the complaints that there are other center forward options in the pool. I think he's the most complete center forward. The hope I think for Pochettino is that Ajamang is also a little bit more of a complete player, more comfortable dropping in. It's his feet can create a little bit more. And then his high end ability to get out into the open field

as well as his finishing with both feet. It all should lead to your best center forward option in this group. That doesn't mean it's always been there. I would say my guess here is Matt Freeze stays in goal for you. Yeah. Chris Richards as a starting center back. Do you have a partner for him? Yeah, I think you just keep rolling with Tim Ream though I would have liked to see some more minutes from Miles Robinson but I think that Ream's passing will be very important and again if Pochettino is thinking that

this is a potential pairing over the next year going to the World Cup then it makes sense that you just keep playing them together. I assume Alex Freeman stays at right back whether we think he should or not and I do think he should. I think he should. And I I do think he should I think he should and I Think one of the things that was nice against Haiti was his composure from deeper not just I can get high I can run at guys that can be an attacking player but like passing out of pressure from deep has been really good from him Did you dude? Did you know I'm gonna blow your mind here? Did you know his dad played for the Packers? Dude has enough people talked about that yet on all these games and is there been a conversation about Alex Freeman?

Without mentioning his dad that that that's a new thing knockout rounds make we're gonna make this Challenge can you talk about Alex Freeman without talking about Packers are a volleyball team, right? Listen I covered him in the MLS Next Ranks and we probably mentioned it less. With less to talk about, we still mentioned it less than it get mentioned on the average broadcast or the average story. It's an awesome story for Orlando.

He is a legitimate right back option in the pool already at 20 years old. I thought it would come last year. I'm not complaining because I think Orlando are competitive. You were on this early complaining because I think Orlando are competitive. You were on this early. And I think Orlando are competitive enough that it's fair for them to say,

I don't know that this kid helps us win today and we are good enough that we think we can win today. They went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. They won a US Open Cup two years ago. They're not doing things wrong. This is the start though with them. Caraballo is obviously special, but Orlando has built themselves, as you would expect

with Oscar Breyhaut coming in, as one of the best academies. And so it should be really exciting in the way they handle Freeman will be pretty big in just setting the tone for who they are in this space. But he's awesome. He's deserved it. I would start Arfsten in this one. It was interesting that that was the rotation. Pochettino said it was like an energy thing.

Again, you got a week off. That was a little bit odd. I didn't think Tolkien was terrible. I thought he was pretty good in possession, but there's no reason Arfsten's lost the job. And I think he's really dangerous. Tyler Adams of healthy. You'd expect him to start.

Would you have Luca del Toro in that midfield alongside him? I think I would. I think Burlter's been good Johnny just still like again, he should keep getting opportunities But like on the face of a meritocracy, it's Adams is probably del Torre ahead of Burlter But I could see them going with any of them. Who would you have next Adams if he's I would probably say del Torre I think especially with Tyler who I actually thought his passing looked really good in the last game, but Delatory and him will take up different spaces. So you start to exactly even the lines a little and Delatory

then can attack space, which Costa Rica five in the back, three in midfield. There's a little bit of space to dribble in that midfield. And I think that's where Delatory is pretty comfortable. I also like the way he links the game from right to left or left to right, whichever it is, especially if Arvsten and Freeman are on the field because they're getting high. If you can get the ball from one side to the other quickly through his feet, you've got a chance.

So I would say the same. Now across the front three, I could give mine first. I would have Diego Luna, Malik Tilman, and Quinn Sullivan. I was that impressed. Oh really? I agree. And like, again, we're both big fans of McGlynn, but like I think that you need a different profile

on that wing than like Luna, Tillman, and McGlynn. There's just not enough verticality there. Like Tillman can give you that, but like he's better between the lines. Like the three of them do a lot of things really, really well that kind of overlap with each other. I think Quinn Sullivan gives you a different angle. And I think that should help with the spacing of, like you said, we're expecting Costa Rica to sit deeper and Quinn Sullivan was good against Haiti. This doesn't mean that McGlynn's been bad this tournament. Um, but I just think

on the balance of the team This is a greater, you know, some of the I also think McGlynn you look at as that sub option which is as the games going along if we have a lot of possession we're trying to break down a low third and Like Sullivan's still playing. Well, maybe McGlynn comes in for Luca del Toro Or maybe he comes in from Malik don't like I think you have other options with him But you can watch the game states and decide where and when to use him. Also, Quinn's gonna do more work against the ball,

and if Freeman starts pushing in high and you're playing a team that's got wing backs, and Joseph Moore is obviously one of the only attacking wing backs in the history of the region, then you're gonna want a little bit of that help. So, whoa, we finished, totally even except you would start Brian White, and I think Patrick Augeon is going to start.

I don't know which one I would say. Yeah, it's like I. Yeah, like you got to have three starts, all three groups, stage games like. Right. So that games come and like, like, again, like I totally good with that. Like this wasn't a critique of Ajamon. It was the huge saying, oh, we don't have any other options. Yes, they do. Yeah, I think that's fair.

And I'm excited to see this, because I think Costa Rica, potentially Canada in a semifinal and Mexico in a final, that's what we want right now. And OK, you've settled yourself in a group you should have won. You found your feet. You've gotten a little bit more cohesive. Can you show up in some big games? This is all you're asking for.

There is no other example to show this until the World Cup because they will all be friendlies. So here's your chance. You've got like a week and a half, two weeks, and maybe these are not all the guys at a World Cup, but also with the way things are going, if you perform in these, you're probably in the driver's seat for your spot and at that point it's on you to have the performances

I can't see a situation where someone really elevates their game here and Mariso Pochettino doesn't try and jam them in the lineup Diego Luna played through an injury in a frickin January camp and he has become like an automatic name on the lineup and He's played well in MLS that to maintain that spot So I would not be shocked if any of these players are capable of doing that for themselves in this one and I think that's the way it should be. Let's do a little ice cream shop with the US before we jump into some Canada Convo because there are some connections. You put out a Patrick Ajamong report I think a little bit earlier today or yesterday. Yesterday, yeah.

Uh, yeah. The market for Patrick Adjimong is heating up. There are active calls happening to Charlotte. Um, there's been nothing that's like agreed, but um, the feeling continues to increase that he will be moved this summer. That's not a guarantee. Charlotte don't feel any pressure to do so, though there is 18 months left in his contract. So if they don't this summer, then the price is only going down from here on out.

But hey, that might not be a concern. Numerous clubs from the EFL Championship have been pushing for Patrick Ajamong as well as Gank in Belgium. I've reported that in January, Lut had a form a bid worth up to four million rejected for ajaman for um one charlotte were insistent that he's at least staying till the summer we want him to be have a run as a starting center forward and they also didn't think it was a good fit situation for ajaman himself and lootentown ended up getting relegated maybe he saves him for relegation maybe maybe not, but

Charlotte's thing was we don't want to just send him anywhere. We want to send him somewhere where it's a good spot for him So we'll see how these negotiations go Contract talks have been not non-existent probably since you know the beginning of the season the two sides were not close. So If I had to make a educated guess I think he's gonna be moved on this summer but hey we'll see. He's not the only one the other ones are all European based which makes sense with the window being open. One of the ones though that's big is Malik Tillman who haven't really talked about much he's been arguably the biggest performer in this camp I think he's been really good with the US when he's been put in comfortable spots

and he obviously had a huge year for PSV and helping them win the championship and he has been linked to what you'd expect for high level PSV performer to the clubs that are sort of that next step up. Yeah, Bayer Leverkusen are reportedly in for Malik Tailman. I would absolutely love that move. I think he'd fit super well there. That's a really well run organization. And that would be a step up. And replacing Florian Virts, not going to be easy, but the fact that they're considering Malik Tailman just kind of shows you where his stock is right now. He of course is German by birth, so it's a comfortable spot for him to go back to, an opportunity for him to sort of reestablish his value and getting an opportunity to, as you said, step in and play a really big role.

I've been impressed by him in this camp. I think he's shown a little bit of grit. I mean, even the goal against Haiti, right? Like getting across the defender, throwing your body in there. There's been a lot of talk around the games, which I think is cool from Pochettino. Just like he's a leader, but in a different way. But we're learning it and everyone else is learning it. And I think it's cool to sort of get that opportunity for him to sort of be the

face of this with some of these other big names gone. And he's again one where I think he's established himself as in the convo, even when everyone's healthy, over a politic or way up because he's played that well. And it probably won't happen that often. The odds that everyone's healthy over a Pulisic or Weah because he's played that well and it probably won't happen that often. The odds that everyone's healthy all the time are also really low. So been talking about this for five years, six years, right? Like it's elusive and it feels like it's never gonna happen. But at the same time in that attacking three, he I think has put himself on a level playing field with all the other ones. And so he's got a really big opportunity. The other rumor right now is that Timothy way may be heading to England.

I think it's not a him for us that he's been connected with. He has not been a full time starter at you Ventus when healthy. He's worked his way into most games. And I think unfortunately for him he got stuck in the White House last week and was not stoked about it. And now he is potentially heading to England. This is a move on the one hand that could make sense which is it's probably a good opportunity for him. You're hoping that it's the right fit.

On the other hand, it's not exactly a year where you want to take a risk on a club that you're not connected to. And that is a club that is a risk. Like again, it could go very well or you could play poorly and all of a sudden you're not even making the match. It is a churn and burn club. And if you end up on the wrong side of things, you could be out out. And then you're looking at a January loan to reestablish yourself, to get back in the group.

And this is a guy who hasn't really played for Pochettino. Like he obviously got the red card in Copa America, which is brutal. And then because of injuries and timing and all of that, he's been on the field less. And I think he was Greg's guy like and it was because of performances like he had earned it. And he was when healthy locked in at that right attacking spot. And I thought he played really, really well.

He just hasn't been around Pochettino. And so taking a step back with club or potentially not playing would be really, really big for Canada. They're playing tonight, so we're not going to talk about talk about it a ton 94th minute goal for Curacao tied them on Saturday after the Nathan Saliba opener is Saliba done by the way, is he gone? I Am expect okay, we think it's Anderlecht Yeah, I love Nathan Saliba. I'm stoked about that for him I love when it's the all CF Montreal Academy Central Midfields with Matthew

Schuannier and him. Ismael Kone not even a part of this and also a baller. So I guess Montreal fans can sort of rest their laurels on that. And the fact that none of them will actually be playing for their club is maybe not something you want to think about too often in all of this, though. So Jesse Marsh is currently suspended for the red card he was issued in the nation's league third place game against the U.S. when he thought it was a deserved undeserved or whatever thought they should have gotten a red card

against the U.S. or P.K. I can't remember the exact moment but it was on that breakaway. Then he left the field too late so he was suspended for one game for the red card second for leaving the field too late. Now, Kankakaf went into an investigation of him for his actions at the opening game in Vancouver. It seemed like the frustration was around either where he was sitting or some interaction with coaches or officials. He has now been cleared of that. Canada has been fined for not showing up properly for the halftime dope testing, as well as having an official who had the wrong credential that was in the wrong place. So on top of Canada soccer fighting with itself, and Canada soccer fighting with its own country,

they're also now fighting with the Confederation and the region. It has all been very odd. I sent, I think, into our discord the clip of Victor Montagliani before the opening game on Canadian television talking about the comments Jesse Marsh made about players being poisoned at the CCL final, which Montagliani and Cogcap are very unhappy about because they feel like it leads into some really dangerous territory and that they've done everything they can to avoid that. Then that interview stemmed into Montagliani being like, I think if Canada doesn't win the whole gold cup, Jesse Marsh is under pressure, which is a mind blowing statement to make.

One, it has nothing to do with his job. Number two, Canada has won one gold cup in history. It was in 2000. They went to a Copa America third place game two years ago and they have only pushed from there. So to say someone is under pressure for not winning this one knockout tournament, which isn't the one they're geared towards and letting a coach go a year away from a hosted World Cup for not doing a thing they've basically never done before from a position that you shouldn't even be talking about it from is

wild and sort of, I think, tells us what's going on here a bit. It seems like there's not a lot of love between the two parties. It would seem that way. Yeah, this is a story that like doesn't sound like it's true. Like There's not a lot of love between the two parties. It would seem that way. Yeah, this is a story that doesn't sound like it's true. It just sounds like, why was he asked? Why did he comment? And why did he say that?

It's just like, I just had a loss for words and just, what a soap opera. Jesse Marsh is box office. He's Hollywood, wherever he goes. Canada, lucky to have him. I would say actually, I Canada, lucky to have him. I would say actually, I like that Christian Jack asked him. He's the guy talking about it. Jesse's the guy talking about it. They're on the broadcast before the game.

I didn't mind the question. I would hope the media training kicks in at some point. That you manage to answer a little bit. We've done full research. We disagree. It's unfortunate the comments were made. And now we move from there bit of like we've done full research. We disagree. It's unfortunate the comments were made and now we move from there instead of like you now. Now the road's there for you. You better win. It's like did you build the road? Is the road on purpose? Like what are we talking about? So all very fascinating going on. Hopefully Canada is able to get the job done and we see a potential U.S. Canada semi-final. Let's finish on a little bit of

midweek MLS. Obviously not ideal. Club World Cup teams areinal. Let's finish on a little bit of midweek MLS. Obviously not ideal. Club World Cup teams are out, so that has canceled a bunch of games because there's no opponent for those teams. So it's a bit of a smaller slate, and obviously we have a ton of international players missing. One of the games I put down,

Minnesota-Houston I think could be interesting. No Jack McGlynn, no Dane St. Clair, no Taniola Wache. It changes it a bit and isn't exactly the game. Quite a bit. You'd love to see Columbus. Atlanta is a big one. No Max Arvstein, obviously, in that one, but like still a big game for those two teams, I think could be fun.

Vancouver, San Diego should be the game of the weekend. Vancouver, another team missing a ton of players. San Diego missing Luca del Torre. So not the exact teams we'd expect to see. One of the ones that I wanted to touch on here Chicago against Philadelphia reports have come out over the last week that Thomas Mueller was offered to the Philadelphia Union and that they did not agree to terms. Philadelphia felt it was a little bit rich for their blood. Yeah. I mean, is this a surprise in any way? I don't.

It is not a surprise, but going back to- You didn't think, you're shocked that Philly didn't give $10 million to Thomas Mueller after Cincinnati only offered him a tan deal? No, not at all. It goes back though to the LAFC conversation, which is fan frustration is fair when the opportunities are out there.

And for not every team, the opportunity is out there. Thomas Mueller probably wouldn't want to play for every MLS team. And not every MLS team has open DP spots to use on him as well. And for Philadelphia, it's like it's teams don't want to use DP spots on him. Fine. But you're getting so much production on non-DP spots that you put it all together and maybe it's an MLS Cup team. Is this currently an MLS Cup team with Philly? Um, probably not, but maybe. Dude, the Red Bulls made MLS Cup last year, so we need to recalibrate what is or, like, again, like they were a good team, but they were crap for most of the regular season.

If the debate is- Miami lost to Atlanta in the first round. team but they were crap for most of the regular season if the debate is Miami lost at Atlanta in the first round like if the debate though is anyone can do it so we will choose to be anyone I don't think that's what you want to see no I just like what about the Philadelphia Union has ever given you the inclination that they would be signing nothing but that doesn't mean that it's right to not build the strongest lineup or the strongest roster that you possibly can to try and win things I'm not it's not Thomas Mooher bust You think there's a different DP coming in I?

Think that's a possibility cool, then that's great. I think it's extremely more likely that they spend a transfer fee again like Damiani, what was he, three and a half, right? Like maybe they up that again because they just got eight million for Daniel Gazda. Yeah. Like that's what I'm looking at. That's what I'm hoping to see this summer. And they've always been proactive about replacing players. Like they often will do it a window or a year before. Like Tiber Evo got here a year before Julian Carranza left. They've tried this with centerbacks. They've done this with central midfielders.

Hey, you know, was there for how many years before Jose Martinez. So I think I think we could see that. I think the hope would be that Jose Martinez doesn't always just become Jesus Bueno that at some point the level goes up off the sale of the previous player.

And I don't know if Thomas Mueller is that guy, but like that's the conversation you're talking about. I think it still would have all fit around the young players that they have and giving them opportunities and making them even better because they can learn from this guy, they can work off of him, he can create for them, they can create for him. I think that would have been pretty cool. I understand that there was never a world that was gonna happen, but the fact that we have

those convos, I think what we talked about in the first segment is, it shouldn't be acceptable to just have those conversations. It shouldn't be acceptable to say, this team, in one of the great cities in the world, in one of the great sports markets of the world, that has bumped up against championships over the last five years, will never do this,

and that's right, and we move on. You gotta do the right move. This is right. But I don't think that that's a fair conversation to have all the time. And I think we have to keep bringing that back in. They play against Chicago this weekend. But we're talking about it because agents,

do you know how many players are offered to clubs every single month, every single day? We wouldn't be, would we be talking about it? we We wouldn't if when we talked about Thomas Mueller on the show We did not Consider Philadelphia as a landing spot one But did we think Thomas Mueller would want to play in Philly because we don't think he wants to play in Cincinnati No, he wants to play for eight to ten million dollars. Okay, he would be playing it He would be wearing a Cincinnati Jersey if that's what they offer

Okay, but also Cincinnati has gone out and spent twenty five million dollars on a center forward Go ahead Gus. You would you spend ten million dollars on Thomas Mueller if I think that it takes me from where I am to where? I want to go. Yeah, maybe That's not an answer. If, if blank blank, maybe. I think, I think that they're a club that's close. And last time they were close, they didn't get themselves over the line.

And they had to sub a child, Paxson Ironson in an MLS cup on the road and lost. And it feels like they're going down the same road again. And so on the one hand, they deserve credit for the way they roster, build the scouting, they do the Academy players they play. On the other hand, you are built to win trophies. And how are you going to get over that line? Sure. I just I don't know.

It's just maybe maybe you're right that, like, I shouldn't be looking at it. It's just not something that ever computed. Jonathan Tannenwald, the Phenovian choir um Reported this out broke this like it's it was a relevant It was a good story for him to write like I hope that that didn't all sound like this is like a nothing thing It's just in my mind that i'm just like, um, and shout out Jonathan Tannenwald one of our favorites around here but like it just in my mind is just I just kind of shrugged my shoulders like

I just got a text like my my good pal Ben Jacobs uh colleague at Give Me Sport we do a lot of reporting together we're talking all the time when that came out he like he texted me about it I was like I have no idea what you're talking about but I'm not gonna ask anybody yet to know um and then he sent me Tannenwald's story and I was like yeah the answer is what Tannenwald wrote like that's all there and Ben is in Philadelphia right now. He's covering Club World Cup stuff. And he goes like, oh, I'm going to stop by the Philadelphia Union facilities. Like I'm going to ask about Mooler.

And I was like, you don't have to. It's 10. What? That's it. Like it's over. Yeah. And I just got a text. He's like, yeah, there's nothing in Mooler in Philly. It's like, I know Ben. I've said this 15 times. The door is open at SoccerWise with Thomas Mueller. So if he's willing, if he's really

looking for the right spot. If you give him that contract at SoccerWise, I'm coming in your office and saying I refuse to play until you match it for me. Yeah, that's the pressure I want in our environment. I want at all times for all of us to feel miserable and feel underwhelmed and under, uh, under supported. I don't know. That's what we do. That's what we're trying to build. Uh, so midweek action, we'll have some reaction for you on Thursday, um,

on the live show with the two of us. Uh, we'll talk a little bit more national team. We'll have the Canada results at that point. We'll have sort of the full bracket for the gold cup. We'll have an idea of sort of what the club world cup bracket looks like as well. And we have some interviews lined up. So we're going to do a special interview next week so that we can run that on July 4th so that Tom can celebrate his biggest holiday of the year. I think you play Uncle Sam, right? You die the beer beer the mustache and you go out and you play him with The top hat big a bit. So we will be able to do that and we've got some other exciting stuff lined up We're working on our Austin event that will hopefully be announcing soon

But we will be in market for what is going to be a really big live event for us once again Hopefully even bigger than what we did in Columbus because we will plan it and announce it more than like three days in advance and everything else we've got going on so I'll be back with Jordan Angeli tomorrow myself and Tom will be back on Thursday as we roll on here at soccer wise and we'll talk to all you again very very soon you