SoccerWise - Kickback Committee & Soccerwise USMNT vs. Portugal Postgame Reaction Show

Episode Date: April 1, 2026

A dramatic finish to the final international window before the World Cup, including U.S. disappointment, PKs deciding final qualifiers, Italy despondence, and Bosnia glory from checks notes…a Wisconsin native? Gass is joined by Chicago Stars midfielder Brianna Pinto and MLS Reporter Michele Giannone to dive into the formation, lineup choices and performance by USMNT against Portugal and how fans should feel heading into the World Cup. Then they discuss the crazy endings for the last few qualifying games including Italy failing to qualify for their third straight World Cup, best things from the last week, and how to pick a secondary team to root on this summer.Listen to our shows, subscribe our newsletter at: kickbacksoccer.com3:13 Breaking Down the USMNT Performance15:36 What Does Success Look Like for the U.S. this World Cup?30:06 Italy Fails to Qualify Again for the World Cup41:38 Best Things We've Seen this Week52:47 Run Down of the Qualifiers57:51 Picking Your 2nd World Cup Team01:10:05 - Check-In with Brianna and Close

Hello, everybody. Welcome to a Soccerwise kickback special episode. We are live. We have two different titles together. We've got a whole host of guests, um, hosts alongside me. Everything about this is special except for the performances of the teams that most of us root for on the soccer field, which I don't know. Maybe that's unfortunately not special, um, anymore because we are getting used to the sadness that is. We have now 41 of the 42 teams locked into the World Cup. the U.S. men's national team has played their last game as they head towards what will be the roster announcement from Mauricio Pochetino. Canada is currently on the field in their last game that we can touch on as well. And I have two incredible guests with me. I have one of my co-hosts on the kickback committee, a central midfielder for the Chicago stars, as well as one of the reasons the World Cup is happening here in the U.S.

as we showed her incredible speech that she gave to get it here. Brianna Pinto. What's up, Brianna? in San Diego. I'm so happy to be here. It's good to watch this game and have our feedback. So happy to join you guys. And on the other side, we've got someone who's stood on the sideline for the U.S. Men's National Team. Unfortunately, only at one World Cup, but has covered two and has been as plugged into this program as anyone and one of our favorites here, McKelley Giannone. What's up, Mikelly? What's up, David? Hi, Brianna. Nice to meet you. It's great to meet you. It's great

to meet you as well. To be clear, we did a pre-meeting. For everyone listening, they did not just speak for the worst time. Miquely goes with that energy off the bat. And if you can tell from the way I pronounced his name, Miquely Gianone is partially Italian as well. So it's going to be a long show, but I appreciate you still being here, Miquela. That's how much I love you.

I woke up from my fetal positions that I've been for the last five hours. And I'm here. Let's see how it goes. I'm here, but I'm hurting. I thought you said it was 12 years. Yeah. Yeah. Wow.

Rihanna just had to make it worse. Twist the knife. That hurt. Also, let's be clear, you said to me earlier, actually, the only reason I'm doing this is for the distraction so that I don't have to worry about what I'm worrying about right now. So I feel like we're doing you a favor. You guys are, for sure. Well, we're going to talk about a lot here on this show. We're going to do some of our special segments that we always do on kickback committee.

We're going to talk about our favorite second teams coming. up and help people pick them going towards the World Cup from McKellie. Unfortunately, it might be a first team. We're going to look at our favorite stories from around the soccer world because we had this incredible week. Today was something I can't really remember experiencing watching all these qualifiers from all these different corners of the world, these atmospheres, these fan bases, the players. It felt like the games really had the energy that you want to have for the moment.

It kind of helped connect the Mauricio Pocitino. I don't call them Friendly's line. where you're like, oh, yeah, the difference you can feel. Like, if you watch the two games, if you watch a World Cup qualifier and you watch a friendly, you can feel the difference. And it's pretty hard to sort of break that. So we're going to talk about some of the great stories. We've seen some of the great moments.

But of course, we're going to start with the U.S. men's national team and the reactions from the two games. So the 5-2 loss against Belgium on Saturday, me and Doyle sort of went through what we thought the lineup would be. That was a fool's errand. it turns out where he's so much, you know, doesn't really care what other people think or what's conventional or anything like that. So he throws out a different starting lineup against Portugal. It ends up being a two zero loss, both games in Atlanta, this time against the sixth best team in the world and the reigning UAFNation's League winner. And there was some positives and then also obviously in a two zero loss, some negatives.

Brianna, big picture of like, what do you sort of take out of this game? What do you remember from it? I just think there really wasn't enough edge from the U.S. I think, you know, coming into this game, you really have to put a strong foot forward and kind of materialize into the team that you want to show in the World Cup. And it still seems like, especially the centerback role, that they haven't found, like, their best partnership. It does seem that Chris Richards is the lock for the World Cup,

but it just wasn't sharp enough, like defensively. And then in the attack, it seemed like everybody was a step slow where they weren't ready to hit the ball on the first touch or organizing their feet in and around the box. So it was just a little bit of something was missing, especially since we're so close to the major tournament. And I think the most frustrating part about that is, McKelley, all of that felt better than it did on Saturday.

So it was still, it was slightly better, but still not where we wanted to be. And I think that's the most frustrating part of where everything stands right now in the final game heading towards a World Cup roster. Yeah. I want to zoom back and not just take this game, but take the whole camp, the whole two games. And I think it was a reminder of the gap of talent and how do we need to adjust expectation with this group and with this team when we're heading into a World Cup, right?

I was part of the whole Berthalter process. So that was kind of different because we didn't go to Russia. And it was like a rebuild, right? And in 2019, 2020, you started hearing the rumblings, the rumblings and seeing on the field, these young kids that now are in their prime, like Pooleys, Sigma, Kenney, Adams, etc. By the way, Tyler Adams was greatly missed these two games. And when they started getting labeled as the Golden Generation, the Golden Generation. And I remember an interview that I did with Tony Meola in 2019, looking to. trying to look up to

2026, right? And see where this group projected. All of them projected themselves as a group, as a team, as a generation. And he said, something that I go back at it, especially in the past few months, and especially after the failure

at Cop America that originated all this change with Burhalter to Pocateno. And he said, if we get to 2026 with Christian Pulisic not being our best player, then we are in a good position. And that's not, that's not the case today. So I think this is a reminder, and it's a link to what we're talking about early with Italy. There's no talent. There's no war-class talent.

Italy today is not, it's not better than Bosnia, than Ireland, than Norway, than Russia, then Ukraine, than Czechia, than Turkey, et cetera. The U.S. is not as good as Portugal, as Belgium, as the big teams in the world and I think we need to adjust our expectations because if the expectations are a semi-final winning the World Cup

I think they're wrong so for me when I see these two games what I saw it's something that I was expecting right so I know it's maybe harsh to say it that way but the time is over the World Cup is here and the next time

that Mauricea Pochettino knows as a roster these guys are going to be 26 that are going to play at the World Cup. So I think we need to adjust expectations and realize that this team is not where we thought they could be at this point. Yeah, and I think that's part of

some of the fumbles in the process and going back between coaches and then Pochitino not having as much time and whatnot. But then it felt like last fall we got this pop of like even if maybe talent wise is not always there, right?

What do we go back to when we think of U.S. men's national team succeeding at high levels, it's effort and grit and, like, fight and all that stuff. And, Brian, it felt like it had come. And then as you talked about in this game, it's gone again. And it, it's really hard to put your finger on what's going on externally from inside the group of a lack of consistency of that true, like effort. Well, it seems like a lot of new players have come into the fold and have been getting opportunities to make a name for themselves. because to your point, McKelley, we talked about how wanting to see like the next big thing, who was going to be the difference maker on the field.

And in that search for the player that was going to be the difference maker, it left a lot of question marks on what chemistry looks like with this group. And to your point, falling back on the grit, the tenacity, the effort that are American values, that I feel like was overlooked in the process of. of trying all these different things and trying to establish like a new identity post the Burrhalter era. Yeah, and it's one of those things

where if McKellie's right, then like that's going to be the difference maker in some of these matchups. Now, someone in the YouTube chat says, well, they had it against Paraguay last fall. So like, McKellie, it's not a thing that doesn't exist in this group. It just seems to be something where they...

Yeah, but Paraguay is in Belgium. Paraguay is not Portugal. Paraguays is France, Germany, Spain. Like, what are we talking about? We're trying to make by the white what. And so, and to your point, Brianna, and also to your point, David, obviously you can win a game. The USMNT can win 90 minutes against Spain on a good day, right? But, and I go back to Mauricio Pocetino Presser yesterday, he repeated the word intensity a hundred times.

That was such a long answer. So how do you compensate the lack of talent when you're facing much better? teams with that grit like you said Brianna with with intensity and we clearly didn't see that against Belgium because you was Mauritius Pochettino saying that on the presser over and over again we saw a little bit of that at the at the beginning of this game because the USMT started started the game with a couple of good chances the final third was a problem it was a complete shock to everyone that he played with a false nine to a having three good number nines on the roster and on the bench.

But at the end, at the end, you can have the intensity, the grid. But at the end, talent trumps everything. And on the games, when you don't have the talent and you don't have the intensity, the grid, and the disposition and the final third, these are the results that you get and these are the performances that you get.

So it was honestly, this window was, again, my expectations weren't as high as maybe yours, Brianna or David, or the fans, etc. Because I'm not maybe emotionally tied to this team as all of you are. But I was more disappointed that I thought if I can say it in that way. Yeah, I mean, I said coming into it last week, like I had felt there had been a culture set at the end of last year where I was not nervous about these conversations we have. Who's the starting center back pairing?

who is the center forward. Because it felt like everyone, what we had seen was a large pool of player that understood what that speed of play was and what they were going to do. And that no matter who the characters were, there was a pretty good chance that at least the team was moving in the right direction. And I don't feel that way as much. Roberto Martinez yesterday was like, you can't take anything from March friendlies.

And this is the Portugal coach talking. But he was sort of saying like in watching the U.S., yeah, I don't take anything from a March friendly. Like it's a friendly, you can't take too far into it. it's really hard to come out of, you know, 7-2 aggregate across two games and two losses at home and not take anything from it. But I do want us to dig into that opening 20 minutes because it was the brightest part of the two games. And I think there was a sign of why Pochitino went with a false line. There was a lot of rotation. Pulisic goes out to press. McKinney goes up high. Waya comes

alongside him. Now Pulisic's making runs over the top with runners underneath him. There was a lot of that, but you also see the lack of having that nine, which is you didn't have one player to play into and you didn't have that one outlet. And I think as the half wore along, you start to saw those restrictions. Brianna, you laughed. You've lived the false nine life a little bit. Well, it's interesting because it feels like coaches are trying to reinvent the wheel. A lot of players are inverting now, whether that's from an outside back position or like an inverted 10. And I think it can be done very well. but I think it leaves a lot of questions over who's responsible for what and which spaces that they're occupying. So if you're trying to get a team to build effectively, they've got to know, like,

whose ground is what and kind of have a good read on the movement off the ball and the timing in order to like break down an opposition. And like in the first 20 minutes, it seemed like things were going to go in a positive direction, but it sort of broke down. as we made changes and like personnel like came into the fold because when you bring on new players who are strictly like a number nine you're not going to have that fluidity that they aim to show at the start of this game yeah i have i have a question uh for for both of you because um cal martino said something interesting in the broadcast i think he mentioned it twice when he was talking about the surprise of not starting with a winner number nine, starting with a false nine.

And then he said it again at, I think, the last 20 minutes or something. And talking about what Pocetino was trying to do or maybe trying to guess what he wanted to do on this window. Because it's kind of late, right, to start doing all these experiments. So I remember Cal Martino said something of like, this, I'm paraphrasing, because I'm, I don't remember the exact quote, but he said, I think that Pocetino already knows what he wants to do, and what are his 26th, and what is the starting lineup for the World Cup?

So basically the experiments against Belgium and especially against today were just as like, it's not panicking, he already knows what he's going to do, but still he wanted to try some stuff. I don't know how you guys see it. So he said that in the second time he said that for sure. He said that in the context of he was asked like, How do you think Pochitino is going to watch club form now to decide?

And Kyle Martino was like, I think he already knows, which I kind of agree with. I think maybe there's one or two decisions to be made. Or obviously, if an injury occurs, then you have to be watching. Or maybe if Patrick Oshamong scores 14 goals in his next five games, then like it's something you can't ignore and you have to figure out how to deal with. I think that part's kind of true. If that is the case and he said, So let's try something different and let's see what we have in this.

And you do that in a sold-out stadium in a home game, in the last game going up to the final roster. It feels like a miss of an understanding of what the job is overall. And he would be underestimating the power of home field advantage because it's like we're going to be playing on our own turf. So you want the crowd to be behind you in a, you know, hopefully round of 16 game. if that's what success looks like for the U.S. Actually, I would like to pose that question to you. What is success for the World Cup for the U.S. for you? In your opinion.

At this point, I would say a strong quarterfinal appearance. I would have told you semi-final 10 years ago, maybe not six years ago, coming out of failing to qualify. And then over the last four years, I would have tried to say semifinal, except for when Timwaya punched someone and then they got knocked out of a Cup of America and all of that.

McKelley. I agree. I'll say right now if we make the quarterfinals, it will be a good tournament. Again, 10 years ago, five years ago, six years ago, or even when Pocetino was named, mentioning semifinal, he mentioned semifinal in the last interview he did, I think. And again, I don't want to be so negative because we saw what my rock code did on,

in Qatar, right? Yeah. To your point on the talent thing, Hakeemes the best right back in the world. Yeah, no, no. And that was, I was going to finish my idea of, like, I don't see this,

I don't think this team is as talented as Morocco. Yeah. So, but they are a home team, yeah. Yeah, and, and I strongly agree with, with Rihani saying, like taking these two games for granted, I don't think he did,

but that's the, that's the taste that, that we're getting right now. And what he did today with this massive experiment, before naming your 26th World Cup, that tells me, and I agree with Martino with you, David, that I think he already knows. Of course, again, like you said,

an injury or maybe a striker that goes nuts in this last two months could change his mind. I don't think so. But definitely it was disappointed in the sense of it was really, good opportunity to send the team off to a World Cup in a good way. Now everyone is deflated. And I think a lot of people feel the same way that I do that this team honestly is really far away from what we thought this group could be, especially with all the hype that because

this is not from yesterday or last week or last month. We've been talking 2026 since 2018 when this was announced, right? And then we started labeling this kid as the gold, this kids as the golden generation, and we hype everyone that comes through through that pipeline. So it's, it's truly disappointed. Hopefully, I'm wrong. They have a great World Cup, but obviously the vibes are not, are not great right now. Yeah. Brianna, did you have an answer? Just like, well, yes, around a 16, I think is success. And I want to be, like, optimistic. like heading after that. So I'm going to set the bar low and then be excited about it because I'm always rooting

for the U.S. But to the point about confidence, like obviously I don't know anything about coaching. I've never been to coach. But as a player, you want to play every player to their strengths and let them do what brings out the best of them on the field. And this experiment didn't seem like they did that. And like if you want to have a team ticking in the way that they need to be at the level and the intensity that they talked about ahead of a World Cup,

like confidence is everything because you have to be, like as an attacker, you have to be willing to go out people 1 v1 on the dribble and create opportunities to score. And I didn't feel like we saw that out of Polisic who we've relied on for so long to be like a spearhead of this group. And even if, and even if like, okay,

because they played well in segments of this, maybe it's not an experiment, maybe he does use it. Patrick Ojamong and Ricardo Pippi, they've not been here before. So let's say you end up in a situation where you need them. Having played 60 minutes against Portugal or having success against Portugal could be the difference in their experience between being confident in a World Cup round of 16 match or being forced into the starting lineup or maybe you decide that the matchups better, right? Maybe you look at things and you say against Australia, we're going to start Aajamong because

it's going to be physical and the centerbacks are tall and we want someone who can deal with that and maybe we don't want to have balligans sort of like worn down by that experience in the middle of the group stage and these this is an experience that you kind of didn't get for those players which is where I thought the rotations in this game now I would say you did with aden morse and spaschen berhalter I think they got a chance to play against one of the best midfields on the planet mckelly was texting about vittina and how perfect every touch is and how beautiful everything he does is he's he is like he is like he is like he is like he is like watching a little fairy float around on the field. He's incredible. And I think Aiden

Morris and Burrhalter can look at themselves and say, we stood up against this and we belong on the same field as them. And I think that's a huge step for them. I think Chris Richards had another really good night. We're not 100% sure who his partner is, but at least we've got one of the pieces locked in, which maybe wasn't the case in the past. And I think there are other pieces you could say had good games coming out of this. But it's nice to have his many of those as possible heading towards a World Cup. And I'm not sure that that's the case coming out of these two games. And I think you mentioned a word that is key.

It's confidence, right? And we are clearly not seeing the best, not even close of the best version of Christian Pulisic. And you see it on the field. He's not confident. He doesn't, it seems that he doesn't trust himself at some moments of the game. And it's not new with the USM&T. We've seen it the whole year with Milan.

Something clearly is happening there. And at the end, you mentioned Berhalter and Ada Morris and Christian Roldan or Johnny Cardoso, especially the first half against Portugal. But at the end, at the end, this team is going to live or die with what your best players do. And those are Anthony Robinson, Christian Pulitzer and Weston McKinney. This team cannot allow himself or this team cannot survive if they don't have an A-game. against this type of competition, right? So after these two games,

I don't believe the confidence is super high, and I think that's a big, big problem, because it's also part of the intensity, this course from Positino, the grid, what he wants to see on the field. I don't, I, if I would have to bet, if I'm Pocetino right now, I'm more, I'm, tonight, right now,

I'm more, I'm more concerned with that, that with the soccer itself. And that's a huge problem when the next camp, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, is the world up already. Yeah. And I think you'd say the two goals, you know, one comes out of a mistake, then a few players are out of position against the ball and rest defense that you didn't think what happened because you're still in your build out and, you know, it's great, Bruno Fernandez is a great player. It's a back heel that I don't, I don't, Carl Martinez is like, what else is you going to do?

it's like, yeah, but no one else executes that. There's like seven people on the planet that execute that. And the finish is good. And then the Zhao Felix goal. I mean, Rihanna, you texted me like, crazy he had the time, but he also hits it pretty perfect. I mean, he hit it perfectly. But for the ball to bounce inside your 18-yard box on a set piece is unacceptable.

The first player that's closest to the ball has to get something on it to either block it or to make sure he doesn't even get the shot to begin with. Yeah. Because you could see that they were set up. up. So one of the things that we talk about as players is being suspicious, having your head on a swivel, seeing where the areas of danger are. And if you have him at the top of the box, like he's a player to be weary of. And those are the intensity things about this game where it's like that feels like not everyone's turned on. Even in just setting up marking, I think everyone on

the U.S. was in a line across the six. And there was four Portugal players on the top box, which means I get it zonal, but multiple U.S. players. players are in the same zone then. You have to think on the fly and you have to be able to adapt because even though you were told like the assignment is the zone, these players are intelligent enough to identify where open spaces to get a quality attempt on a goal and and they did just that. And so those are the two goals and, you know, I don't think anyone walks away saying like, oh, wow, Zhao Felix scored and that's a total failure.

I think for the U.S., the chances to be created and you mentioned it brand of like that half bit of clean touch or preparedness. That first chance for Pulisic, like, it's slow, and then he chooses to hit it with his right because it's more comfortable. The window is with his left. Like, there was no space coming off that left side for him to hit the shot with his right foot

and get it on goal, and it's like, are you locked in and ready and prepared for a chance to fall to you two minutes into the game? It didn't feel that way for him, although I thought trustee did really well to step forward and build that play. I thought him and Freeman had some really nice moments overall in this game.

Okay, big thoughts. Anything that we haven't hit yet before we get into some of the wild games over the course of the day? McKellie, you can go first so we can avoid talking about Italy as long as possible. I think this issue is going to get resolved a little bit.

Hopefully, knock on wood, when Tyler comes back, with Tyler Adams comes back, and hopefully, again, knock on wood, he's healthy for the World Cup. Because against Portugal and against Belgium on the first goal, I think the U.S. suffers

a lot when it's time to defense in transition transitional defense like I mean it's it's not looking good and and there are highways especially against Portugal you saw it on the midfield right and and Pocetino said it like on

at least on two or three goals the midfield didn't do a good job covering for for the for the for one on one side for Jedi on the other side from from where I think that's going to get better obviously when when Tyler Adams gets healthy.

And I don't know, man. I don't know. And I've been trying to get thoughts on this, but I don't know how Yunus Moussa just became completely invincible for Pocetino. Well, he's invisible at Milan and Alantas, so it makes it a little bit harder. He's been playing in Atlanta the last few weeks. And I think Yunus Mousa on one leg,

it's a better option that a lot of things that we have right, without feeling disrespectful. That's my belief, especially in that area of the field when we are lacking physicality, intensity, and especially when you get the ball, knowing what to do with it, and this is an issue that I heard you were talking with Doyle after Portugal.

Johnny Cardoso doesn't give you that. If Johnny Cardoso has to turn with the ball, most likely you're in trouble, or it's going to be in trouble. You know, and I think it's the best ball progressors, if not the best in the whole group. But clearly Pocetino doesn't see anything on him. And I think that's a big miss on his part. So hopefully when Tyler comes back and he's healthy, this is going to get better. But the midfield is a big worry for me right now.

Before you go, I just want everyone to know, I'm watching Canada in the background, and every Jesse Marsh game is like every player's hair is on fire. So if you thought the transition defense was bad, it could be, technically worse, although maybe on purpose, if Jesse Morris coached this team. Brianna? Yeah, I definitely agree with that in the midfield. I think McKinney is at his best when Adams is on the field because Adams that stay at home six, who's going to be box-to-box covering ground, winning balls, and then distributing

and starting to build. So I feel like that was definitely missing at times today. But it is sad to see a player like Musa fly under the radar because I think he just does such a good job with his positional awareness. Like when there are gaps on the field, he fills it. And then in the build, the way he positions his body so that he can play forward or has his head on a swivel so he can play around the man and then moves again to get it.

Because progression is not just making the pass. It's advancing with it to get the team forward so that they can build in numbers in the attacking third. And it felt a little bit disjointed. But again, like at a World Cup, you need players who are. We're going to play all 90 minutes. They can't just be on one side of the ball. And he's someone or Adams or someone that is going to fight tooth and nail to make

that last-dish defensive effort to clear the ball out of the box. And it just seems like we are missing that. But hopefully, Pochthino can find a way to plug those holes ahead of the World Cup because at this point we're at the moment that it's going to count. Still a lot of work to do. As we've heard, he will not be calling an extra. players to that camp going into the World Cup. So we're going to get the 26 when we get the announcement if everyone is healthy. There are still some question marks at the bottom of that.

Raina got what about 40 minutes all in across the two games. We don't expect him to play a ton with his club team. So we will see what that means to Pochitino and what he wants to do. Some question marks on the back end of what the options will be at centerback, at center forward, and then sort of who will be the mix in that central midfield. I have to think Burrhalter did himself a couple of favors. I think he's safely on that roster now. And now it's can he push for more playing time, especially getting the opportunity coming out of being the sub to start in that second game and get a ton of minutes over there. I cannot even explain to you what is going on in this Canada game. It is so unhinged. It was a three on oh break for Tunisia. I don't know how

that happened. And someone recovered and was able to block the shot for Canada. And then they all got of screaming and everyone's pushing each other. It is like Red Bull to the core at this thing. Let's jump in, though, to the best things we saw around the world as we got through our qualifying. I decided I wrote down, we'll do this like when you have a kid. You eat your vegetables first, then you get dessert. So dessert is going to be the good stuff, which means McKelley, we could start with Italy.

You kind of already put some of it out there. The frustration with the talent level. Now, I don't know that the Italy-U.S. comp is perfect, mainly because, they're coming from two different spheres. But to your point about where they sit right now, this is the third straight World Cup. They failed to qualify for. They took a one zero lead.

Bastoni gets the red card early for kind of a moment of madness on the tackle. And at that point, they kind of did everything you'd hope for. And it just wasn't enough across, what, a hundred minutes playing down a man, 89 minutes, whatever it was. Of course, we're going to just see two-Ais game and blame Bastoni or blame Moisei Ken that he had the one-on-one against the keeper when the game was one-zero to put it away to

zero and blame it on them or blame the two players that miss the peak case or blame it on the referee for not taking a red card, same play as Bastoni, but the Bosnia defender got a yellow card, etc. It's been three World, three World Cups. a row and this is a systematic problem that compared to the U.S. and credit to the U.S. when it happened for Russia 2018, change were made. In Italy, changes were made. The same federation, the same people that were in charge of destroying the Italian soccer pipeline and the way the teams work with youngsters and the academies and everything around. And you see it.

Seria was the best league in the world during the 80s, during the 90s, through early 2000s. And now it's what, the third, fourth best league if in the world. And it's sad to see that the same mistakes are being made and nothing happens. I think that's the biggest frustration that you see it. And everybody knows what the solutions are. but the same people are still in charge, the same people that were in charge 12 years ago

when it first happened. I'm happy that I was a functional adult when Italy was, I saw my nation and my team when a World Cup in 2006. I was 22 years old. There are kids in college right now or getting into college

that haven't seen Italy in the World Cup. I think our producer, Douglas, put together something, the driver for... Kimmy Antonelli. Yeah, Kimi Antonoli. Hasn't been alive with Italy playing a knockout game, let alone winning. They haven't played a knockout game since they won the 2006 World Cup final. The last game that Italy played at World Cup was when Luis Suarez beat Kalini. That's wild.

That's insane. It's a lifetime ago. But again, but again, we're not. I'm even going to get into the fact that you probably don't have a contest. No, I do. I do remember that. I do remember that. That was probably the first World Cup that I can remember.

But see, it's not the three World Cups that Italy has missed. If we go back, it was after the generation that won the 2006 World Cup, then those players start to retire. 2010 out of the group stage, 2014, out of the group stage. And then the next three, you didn't qualify. So it's actually five World Cups. in a row that Italy has been a mess and not even qualifying. So again, I could be here all night, but at the end, I think it's developing talent.

In Italy, teams don't trust the youngsters. And I was talking with, I think I saw it, I put it in the group chat that one of the groups. I'll give an example, Brianna. There's a superb talent called Francesco Camas. He's 17 years old, and he's already scoring goals for the U-21. At 17. He started last year with 16. He plays at Milan.

What does Milan do? They loan him to Leche, to sign Santiago Jimenez, the Mexican striker, instead of giving the youngster, who's already scoring for the U-21, for the national team, the U-21, and he's considered the biggest talent that has emerged in Italy in the last decade. Right. So there's an issue with the clubs developing youngsters. And when they strike gold, they haven't been able to manage it. Right. Today, the best player on the field was, I'm blanking the name, the right back that came in the second half. He's 21 years old. Palestra. He's, again, one of the best young players in Lili. Everybody was begging the coach to put

him in starting, but no. He has to start on the bench because the mediocre 32-year-old that plays at his position has to play above him. Is that a cultural issue though? Like, that's maybe like, maybe that could be an issue, like a cultural issue where you have to respect your elders.

It's not a cultural issue. It's a federation issue. It's a people in charge issue because when Italy, Pirlo Gatos, that generation that won the 2006 World Cup, they won a European a U-21. So there was a structure that was developing talent

and giving that talent the opportunities at clubs, at teams. Now, it's, it got lost somewhere and the people making decisions are, it's sad. It's sad because, I don't know, this is, I only care about

one soccer team and it's the Italian national team. It's, it's everything for me. And again, I was lucky to see them winning a World Cup and then winning a Euro in 2020. But it's frustrating that a World Cup that now is being played in a backyard and I could have seen my national team live, I don't get the opportunity.

So again, I went too long here already. One of the things that's mind-blowing, you said, okay, Italy's not better than Bosnia and Wales and named other teams, which you could argue about on each one. They're not worse, though. And you'd think you'd accidentally pack into results over the course of, if we take all five, 20 years.

And then the part that is so wild is that they won a European championship in the middle of all of this. I have no idea what you're supposed to do with that. Like in the context of all of this, it felt like they played some young players, right? They pushed Borrella through and at the time, Kiyahsa and whatever. And they won a thing. and then it all fell apart again. There's also an issue with the league

and the way the Italian teams play, and those players like Barella, like Chiesa, like, I don't know, like Calafiori, like Pastoni, et cetera. Most of them play in the Italian Soccer League. And the league by itself, and the way the teams play and the way that teams are developing players,

the league, it's a very slow league. And you see it now when the Italian teams go to play European competitions, they get annihilated. Physicality, the pace of the game. Now the Italian teams have been, how do you say it? They have lost grounds on that sense, right? And that has translated to the national team. And now you see, for example, who's the best defender in Italy right now? Scala Fiore, he plays in Arsenal.

He's used to the intensity, to that next level, right? The rest of the team plays in the Italian League. And then the league has started to fall down at the level of play intensity, physicality, et cetera. And then when you go compete and like you went on to compete in like hostile environments like today, and then top of that, you don't have the mental strength to manage the pressure

because you are freaking Italy and you saw it on their faces. Every guy, except Tonali that plays in the Premier League, when they were to take the P-Ks, you could see it in their faces. They were going to miss. They were scared. And then you see the Bosnian players just said, yeah, we got this, we got this.

And then you have that mental blockade that you have that history on your back and you didn't make it again. So today you were fighting Bosnia, you were fighting the hostility, you were fighting playing away, you were fighting the lack of talent, you were fighting against those ghosts

of what Italy was, right? A four-time world champion. And now those players are also dealing with that. And it's just a perfect storm. and hopefully something changed. I'm not expecting anything to change, and that's all I can say. Do you think we'll see more of an influx of an Italian players

going to the Premier League? Hopefully, hopefully because, well, the first thing that I want to see is changes internally, right? I want to see the Italian League being the best league in the world again. I want to see the teams working the academies. And at one point, we had Roberto Bajo, Francesco Totti, and Alessandro Del Piero in the same 11. Or backline was Fabio Canavero, Alessandro Nesta, and Paolo Maldini. Like, where's that talent development now?

It's, it's, we have one world cast player and he's the guy on goal, which is Dunaruma, that you can say he's the best goalkeeper in the world. The rest? We have zero world-class player. That's something that it's unforgivable and embarrassing for a country like Italy. And at the end it's talent, talent, talent, talent. All right, well, now that we got that out, we can go into some of the fun stuff and some of the good stuff.

I will say this, one of the most ridiculous parts of this week, as I tried to process it was, the draw occurred for this UEFA playoffs. and somehow the scenario was the team that won in one of the single eliminations would host no matter what. So you had all these teams go away in the first game, win, and then they host the second game. Like Bosnia-Herzegovina was not considered good enough to host the first game against Wales. But then no matter what, if they won, they'd win the second, they'd host the second game. We saw that with Kosovo.

I don't even understand how that happens. I've literally never seen this before in my life where it's. It's like, oh, yeah, no matter what, the team that wins on this side, then why would they not have been drawn against one of the worst teams? But that is for another day on another topic. Let's do the best things we've seen over the last week in the world of soccer. I will give McKellie a little breathing space here. So we'll go to some other topics first. Brianna, let's start with you.

It would definitely have to be the Denver Summit game. Seeing over 63,000 people at an NWSL game is super special. My first NWSL game was actually in 2013. I went to a Portland Thorns game when I was at a youth national team camp. And I don't think I knew that women's professional soccer was relevant. So to see the first like the NWSL come together and people really get behind it and support it and then see an organization like Portland at the time was so special. So now all these years later, breaking records in massive stadiums, it was just really

empowering to see how far this leak has come and see so many different soccer fans across the country just support it in a way that it deserves. So it gave me hope for where we're headed. And my greatest hope is that this summer we can continue to capitalize on like the World Cup coming and just the growth of the game. And hopefully that will parlay into the women's game as well. and continued attendance. I love having it on this show as one of our co-os, but I'm going to do the player thing now and ask you. Like, what was the vibe across the league

for players who weren't at this game, like talking about this and experiencing it from afar? Well, it's more like a sense of pride. So I'm actually a part of the NWSLPA, and we talked about, like, you know, field standards. Like, when my first year in the league, we were establishing a CBA. And at the time, we were playing in, like, minor league baseball fields.

So for them to be playing in Colorado at the Broncos Stadium was just so cool. And it makes us want to do the same things at our own clubs and push our own ownership groups to help us make this marketable. But again, we have to continue making the product on the field exciting. I think the only drawback was I wish there were goals in this game because 63,000 people seeing a zero zero ties is never exciting. but I think there was just a men's pride just for the players that got to experience that, for the players that were honored. I actually heard that Kristen Hamilton, she was honored as one of the players from Denver. And obviously she had such a great career in the NWSL.

So just to see the way they gave an ode to the past, but also are celebrating the future was a really beautiful thing. I walked past the group of Kansas City current fans in the tailgate outside the stadium. And I wasn't, like, shocked. 63,000. You know, it's coming. Like, people travel. And as I was walking, I looked back and I realized they all said Hamilton.

And it was like, oh, okay, that makes more sense than the Casey current fan section at the Washington's Fair Denver opening game. But yeah, I think Jordan said it was 32 different players from Colorado history who had never gotten a chance to play professionally in front of their home fans that got a chance to be at the game for this. So setting the attendance record. Jordan went through. We recorded our Soccer Wise episode earlier.

All the records they set because it's basically the highest attendance for any league game in women's soccer history. They're Champions League finals and World Cup finals. The Asian Cup final in Sydney was, I think, 80,000 last week when Japan upset them. But to have like a regular season game for any team anywhere on the planet, it's the largest crowd in history. and this is the third straight year that the record's been set. So it feels like there's a clear runway for the next record to be set at some point soon. So it is an awesome one. McKelle, you wanted to follow up, I think, with some NWSL too.

I'm going to stick with the NWSL. I'm sorry, Brianna. I'm going to take my San Diego Wave signing Katarina Macario. Great news, incredible news, amazing news. three wins in the first four games for people that don't know I used to live in San Diego I was there when the wave

were founded I was a season ticket holder for the first two years and I moved away I missed it a lot I'm so happy that we're back after a terrible couple of years

but yeah it's incredible that the team now made such a massive signing is she now the largest paid player in women's soccer? I need it's debatable, but she's definitely up there. Her and Trinity are one, too, for sure. So it's...

And Bon Mati is up there too. And it's not that it's my team. Obviously, I'm happy because it's my team, but I'm really happy that that type of investment, if it's being done by an American team, and instead of a European team, right? because in the last couple of years, it's been the Europeans poaching the WSL, right?

And they took my goat, David, Brianna, they took my goat. Miami? Naomi. I have nothing of a positive thing to say about Miami. Brianna, can I tell you my hot take? Can I tell you my hot take? Go for it. I think she's such a generational talent.

And so I truly believe she's already the best defender, American defender of all time. Well, without it out. Without it out. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, no, without a note. This is a conversation between me and Brianna, David. The best American defender of all time.

Yes. And I believe. The others that would go up was like Christy Rampone. And Becky. Like Captain American and Becky. Yeah. Yeah. And for me, because defenders are people too.

I think she's the best player in the world. I don't care. I don't disagree. Yeah. She's unbelievable in watching her in San Diego was just incredible. I think in the MVP argument you could argue she affects the game as much as anyone. Because when you play, when she's in your team, you can press in certain ways. You can leave, you can push numbers in certain ways that no one else can.

do. We saw it with San Diego. We've seen it with the U.S. as well. Even when the U.S. has had success without her, you feel the difference of the way players can take risks and the way she's able to erase over the top. Although I will say, Kennedy Wesley, having a great year. Kennedy is having a great year.

Stanford Alums just continue. Stanford is killing the game right now. Houston's had a pretty good year off some UNC players as well. So you guys don't stop producing players at any point. Okay, I'm going to go with mine, which is about either development in the U.S., but on the men's side.

And it's Esmira Barak-Taravich, who, not because Miguel is here. He was the best player on the field in a World Cup qualifier against Italy to clinch a spot for Bosnia and Herzegovina to go to the World Cup. For anyone who doesn't know, his family immigrated because of the Civil Wars, and came to the U.S., and he was raised in Wisconsin. And he was raised in a Bosnian family, raised in Wisconsin. played in the U.S. youth systems. We've all grown up and played in,

spent a little time with the Chicago Fire, and then a lot of time with the New England Revolution. And he was part of a reset for the Revolution Academy, which now we've seen not just him, right? We saw Noel Buck go to Southampton for a little while before he came back. We think Peyton Miller is headed as well. And he was sort of the face of this, but he is, you know, a kid who grew up here loving his home country.

Edin Jekko, his favorite player on the planet. he got a chance to walk on the field and score the winning penalty kick to get Ed and Jekko to a last World Cup at 40 years old. From an emotional point of view, it is one of the best stories on the planet. And this is also part of the success of the development that is shifted in the U.S. We see it on the women's side, right? The Philippines just qualified for the World Cup. South Korea, all these countries are polling players from the U.S. because development has gotten better.

And now it's happening on the men's side as well. and the best player and the most talented up-and-coming player on now one of the best nations in Europe came purely out of the American youth system. And not all of that is like, it's the youth system that created him. But the fact that the pipeline exists for talented players to be able to be found, to be able to push their limits and get to the next stage, which may not have existed 10, 20 years ago. I mean, you could think about how many players in Wisconsin that were talented, that just didn't get the opportunity or didn't get seen in the past. And now a Bosnian kid can have the dream that he'll play in a World Cup for his country. And he can actually get there through the pipeline that's built.

It was a pretty special moment. And it was a cool part of the day of like, I covered this kid's use 17 games. And now he's scoring the winning penalty to go to a World Cup in UA for World Cup qualifying. Aidan Morris and Sebastian Burhalter, I covered them playing together in a youth 15 game. And now they're playing together to start for the U.S. men's national team. So I think developments come a long way, an incredible story for him.

And it was a really cool way to end the day for everyone who's not Italian. For everyone whose name doesn't end in a vowel. I would like to add something real quick to that with all these kids that are dual nationals or had multiple options to pick their team. And how important is to let them do that. because of all the stupidity that's listened in the last weeks about Noaki Banks, right? Especially from supposedly our best player of all time or the best American player of all time anyways. How important is to let them be?

Yeah, it sucks that he picked Bosnia over the U.S. right? As a U.S. fan. But it's so happy. I'm so happy that he followed his heart. He followed what he felt. He felt more Bosnian than American. and now and now look at him. And I think we should never, ever put the type of pressure

that some people are trying to put on banks to kids like him. Yeah. Or you could love them both equally. And you have to choose one and that's okay as well. I mean, it's part of your heritage. You can't just like an eye one part. Yeah.

But I will say tagline for anyone who hasn't listened to us before, soccer-wise kickback committee. We are the show that doesn't shame people for being dual nationals and having multiple national teams that they can play for. So that will be our tagline. What a gift that is.

Yeah. That can be the tagline of our show versus other shows that are out there. Musa had like five options. Yeah. Okay. Let's run through a couple of these. So we talked about Bosnia with the victory. Denmark missed three penalty kicks

after coming from behind twice across 120 minutes in their World Cup qualifier at Czech Republic, they got scored on in the fourth minute. They had 77% possession on the road in Prague. They ended up scoring extra time. Czechia scores again off a set piece and then Denmark equalizes and then goes to the shootout.

In four shots, Christian Erickson was the only one to score and all three other players missed. I think Andrew Stryer, shot was saved and the other two missed the entire frame. So not Italy, not the only country with heartbreak today as Denmark not headed to the World Cup. Then we had Kosovo losing to Turkey 1-0. Turkey scoring late in the second half. So now Turkey will be the third opponent for the U.S. men's national team in the group that game will be in L.A. to close out World Cup qualifying.

Bosnia-Herzegovina, by the way, they will play the opener against Canada in Toronto, which, if it had been Italy, was going to be a scene on its own as one of the biggest Italian communities on the planet outside of Italy. And now it'll be Bosnia-Herzcovina, which I assume will also be a vibe. Maybe all of Esmer Barak-Tarovitch's family, friends, and entire town of Wisconsin will drive up through the border and go to this game. And then the last qualifier was Sweden knocking off Poland. This game went 1-0-1-21, and then finally 3-2 with Gorkres scoring the winner for. Sweden. This was a Sweden team that won one game across World Cup qualifying, but because of the

Nations League, they automatically grabbed a spot in this playoffs. They beat Ukraine in Spain because Ukraine could not host in the first game. And then again, it makes no sense to me. Then after being on the road, they go home and they host Poland in this game and they win three to two. And then the only other result we have right now is DR Congo scoring an extra time against Jamaica down in Guadalajara to make it through to the World Cup. So the reggae boys are out and we are still waiting on the result from the Iraq Bolivia game, which will be the final spot to put into the World Cup. So a lot of results there, a lot of drama over the course of the day.

Besides Esmir Barakterovich, anything stand out to you guys? I'm very excited about Turkey USA because like obviously seeing Turkey, I wanted to see like a good matchup because I have tickets to that World Cup game. So I think that'll be a good team to face. I mean, they've got a lot of talent. Yeah. It'll be a good way for the U.S. to see where they stand. I think the group got severely more difficult now for the U.S.M.T.

Because Turkey, it's legit, and they have a lot of talent, a lot of young talent. Yildes, Arda Guller, just two up top. I think Guler got in a fight coming off the field. Not in a bad way. Like, he was fiery. in this game. And sad for Jamaica, my guy, I'm Frey, he come on to the game. He played, I think he came up like 87 minutes or something.

I was talking to him before the break. I did the New York City Miami game here in New York, and I had a chance to speak to him. He was excited and hopeful to join the team and qualify for a World Cup, a bum for him and for Jamaica. but yeah i think i think the the us mn t group it's it's it's going to be more difficult that people realize paraguay is a good team turkeys are really good team and i don't know what to make of australia but you know i mean it's it's it's kind of a walca right yeah um for jamaica obviously heartbreak for them for d r kongo first time they've qualified for the world

Cup since they've been named DR Congo first time as a country really since they were Zaire in 1974. So a huge moment for them. They were the dominant team for this entire game. The crowds have been awesome in Mexico. If you're sitting there thinking, oh, I'd love to hear more about the Iraq game. We have someone at the game, Valer Shabella, who has done a lot of stuff with us. He's Iraqi American. He is going to see them play in person for the first time in his life. By the time he left Baghdad, they were not really playing games. They have not played anywhere close. close to the U.S. since then. So he is down in Monterey.

He texted me. He's going to send us some videos and footage. We're going to run it on First Touch tomorrow. But he texted me and said, Monterey's amazing. The Mexico fans are amazing. If Iraq qualifies, I'm moving here. So we may not be getting it back after this. But either way, he's having a blast. He's been posting videos about, like, being an Iraq fan and going.

And the comment section have been flooded by Mexicans with advice of where to go and what to do. and they can't wait to root for them. So I think it's going to be a pretty special game to close out the night. And that will be the final spot at the 2026 World Cup to be filled. So to help everyone, one of the things we've been working on is sort of a guide to how to pick a second team for the World Cup. Even if you are locked into one team, there are 48 of them now. There's going to be four games a day all through the group stage.

And you're going to want someone else, I think, to root for in whatever way you want to. So we've been brainstorming with all of our co-hosts that we rotate through kickback community, which, by the way, Susanna Fuller is not here because her husband is coaching in the U.S. Open Cup, which I probably should have had that up. They were down to nine men and into stop. They won in penalty kicks after getting two red cards against Asheville City. They finally got a win. So congratulations to Juan Knox and to Susanna and Ian on that side.

But they've been going through sort of how to pick your second team. And I was curious if you guys have ways that you go about this. Do you have second teams already locked in? I'm kind of a bit of a cliche. And there's always a team I can find that fits into my sort of barriers. But, Brianna, do you have a way that you go about being like, yeah, I'll root for them? I think this World Cup is unique just because I got to meet people from different federations as a part of the United Bid. So I'm rooting for North America.

Okay. I think we're entering the exciting era. You are Captain Planet on this one. we're entering the most exciting era of football in North America with the next couple years. So my hope is that it would become the number one sport in this part of the world. So I'm rooting for U.S. first and then Canada and Mexico second. Okay. So if either of them were or any of them were to win, it would be a win for me.

If they were to play each other, how would you go about that? Well, my two buddies, Alfonso and Diego, I guess Alfonso will hopefully be playing in the World Cup. So I think it would be Canada first than Mexico. Okay. All right. I think that's a fair way to go about it. McKelley. You've got like 500 teams now.

Oh, you have. I have all 48 to pick. Obviously, I wish the best to USMNT, but I'm going to root hard for Colombia. I have a great. for people don't know geographically, Colombia and Venezuela have all historically be brothers, brothers and sisters. And I grew up, part of my childhood was in Venezuela.

And I grew up in a house where I had Colombian neighbors, and their kids were like my age. So we play soccer together. And that was the time of the best. national soccer team that I've ever seen in my life, the Colombian 93, 94, the, that, if people, please go and watch those highlights.

For example, that team beat Argentina 5-0 in Argentina before the World Cup of 1994. And then you can watch the 3430, the two Escobars. The two Escobars to explain what happened and why that team failed at the World Cup. Cup, but that was peak Valderama, peak Treene Valencia, peak everything. That's the best national team I've ever seen play, and I've always had like a rooting

interest in Colombia because of my childhood and my friendships. And hopefully they have the breakthrough tournament that they've deserved because that's a nation that has so much talent and they're always like coming up. It's going to be hard because I don't think that team is as good as the one that playing in Cop America in 2024 than reached the final and lost to Argentina. But it's kind of the same group. Hopefully they get good results. But yeah, Colombia. So I love that one.

And although they don't have the best are because the best are Venezuelan areas, I highly recommend it for you guys to try Colombia and arrepas. and of course with all due respect brianna Colombian women I love you all you don't have to all do respect just because you like to say well in front of a lady here I'm just I'm a gentleman

I'm a gentleman so here's the only thing I'll say Colombian and rapos are sweet corn right yes Venezuelan too I mean it can be I mean there's corn flour but there's a way to make them sweet

yeah I find that most of the rapas I eat for Colombia, the difference is what? One is stacked on top and the other one's made as a sandwich. Yeah, and the sweet one, it depends of, it's where you eat it geographically. In Venezuela, it's like in the south. You find more like the sweet arepa,

but the main difference is in Venezuela, you open it and you stuff it. In Colombia, you put it on top. Yeah. Like a, like a... Yeah. Tostata. Yeah, yeah.

You're preaching the choir here, now that I've lived in Miami, Venezuela and food has been established as my favorite food. We're eating to Cano's like five times a week at this point, which is getting a little bit dangerous. So let's say you don't have a team locked in. You're not already rooting for the two. You're rooting for McKele. You're not. Do you prefer an underdog?

Do you prefer a favorite and a team you know has a chance to win? Is there a style that you look for? Like how would you go about picking a team you'd root for? It would definitely be an underdog or like a federation that's made like a historical amount of investment in their team. So like Morocco is one that's come up on both the men's and the women's side. But yeah, like I like a compelling storyline where you've got some star players, but you've also got a young and upcoming group that's like got something to prove. So I think that would be like my marker of a way to decide which team to root for. Okay. McKelle, do you like to go with a favorite?

You're telling me, do I prefer to watch the favorites? I mean, some people, like, this is what I would say, as I'm trying to help people pick their teams. I don't. Some people are like, I don't want to pick a team that's not going to be there in the semis, and I want to root for a team that, like, I know has opportunity to win.

I mean, I have a dark horse for the World Cup, which is Norway. I don't know how dark horse it is. Japan is a good pick. But if you're asking me, when it's quarter-final, semifinal, the final, I want the big teams. Like, I'm not, it's the same thing with March Madness.

I want Duke. I want Kentucky. I want, I want, I want the big names. You can, on the final four. You could say UNC. UNC is one of them. You don't want to. UNC.

You don't want to. No, we want that, we want the best team. No, that's the wrong answer. Brianna, Brianna is a UNC grad. Oh, okay. So, so we want, we want the, I want the final to be France, England. Yeah. And, I mean, again, I, I'm, I'm,

rooting for Colombia, Norway, but at the end, I won, I won the big ones. I won the big ones. I'm with Brianna. I want the underdog story. I would, if we could see a Cape Verde, I don't know, Cape Verde Japan final, I would take it. Where does Argentina and France, like the World Cup final, stack up for you all and all the finals that you've seen? Because, I mean, that was one that I could remember Clear's Day.

I think it was the best of all time. Yeah, I think that might be the best final of all time. Yeah. To have it be that open to score that many goals, I think we'll probably look back and say Mbapé was before his pure prime and Messi was just after, but you still have two of the players of their generation facing off against each other, which is just so rare of having that opportunity to have like sort of the next guy

go up against the last guy and Messi having to get over the top. So yeah, I would say that that is the best fine. that I've ever seen from like a pure game, and it might be the most dramatic we've ever had. Yeah. I was actually watching the highlights of the game. He came out on a reel or something. The Emiliano Martinez saved, the one at the end.

It was at last minute of extra time. Well, isn't France down to zero in like the 85th minute? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it was something absurd. So I think it also, the adding ingredient of Messi winning it and shutting down the goat conversation forever.

And then, or having Mbapé winning back to back and become this extraterrestrial thing that a 24-year-old has two World Cups or something, or even younger. I think Mbapé was like, what, 21, 20. I don't know. He was so young. And the amount of goals, the excitement. Yeah, I think for sure it's, in my opinion, the best. Yeah. And this is from someone who roots for Italy and watch them with.

Well, because that actually does back your point about seeing the best teams play. Because you want to see the best talent. You want to see the best players. And they put on a spectacle. For me, if we're talking not final, the best game that I've ever watched on a World Cup, it's not actual the final, is the 2006 semifinal that Italy beats Germany. That game was with Lucatoni and then. That game, if you can find the highlights, it was just two teams that were, and it was the first time that you saw Italy, that actually is like, okay, we're not the defensive Italy right now.

We're going to match your intensity and your offensive game. And actually, I remember Marciero Lippi coming into extra time. He took a defender out and he put a striker in, and everybody was losing their minds. It's like, oh, no, we're going for it. And yeah, and obviously that's the last great team that Italy ever put on the field. So let me give you the last few things we have in here that people have thrown in. And if you have any ideas of things you'd like to throw in to help us, what we're going to do is one of those charts where it's like,

does this matter to you? If so, then you move towards this team. So Walker said underdog story likeability. Doyle said cuisine of the country and style of play on the field. And then Suza's mother has said best looking manager. Those are the things that they've landed on. We've talked about music a little. We've talked about whether you've traveled to the place or not or no people from there.

Clearly, McKelley, that's a connection for you. Is there any other category that you'd sort of throw out there to say this is something people should think through? And we can add it to our list. Best airport. Okay. Easiest to travel through? Yes. Solnick City.

All of the travel nerds are going to come out of the woodwork and start explaining to it. Charles de Gaulle would be last on my list. Okay. Good to know. Oh, I'm passionate about airports. I don't know. Well, I've been to some international airports where I've been impressed. I shouldn't lie about that.

McKelley. I've always said in life, besides Italy or whatever, I root for people. So I look for storylines. For example, I was rooting hard for Jamaica because Ian Frye. No other reason. Yeah. Right? And I think that those are like my, the things that I look for, like human stories and maybe players that have overcome massive odds against.

I don't know. Or Bosnia. I mean, Bosnia just. You could do the transit of property. You could keep rooting for the teams that beat Italy. It's like, that means, that Italy got eliminated, but the next World Cup champion. Yeah. Okay, cool.

Well, I don't want to keep you guys for too long, so thank you for being here. Thanks for hanging out. McKelley, it's always a pleasure to have you. Brianna, you are in the midst of a season. Last time we talked to you, you had just moved to Chicago. It has been an up and down start to the season for you all on the field. What have you made of your experience so far before we get out of here? and have you checked things off your Chicago bucket list?

Yes, I did go to on the Chicago Architecture Tour. Was it great? It was wonderful. It was wonderful. And it was on such a beautiful day. My parents came to visit. It was actually the home opener weekend where we beat Casey. So that was a wonderful weekend.

So wait, the weather was nice on a day that weekend. So, yeah, I went, I actually went the day before the game, and it was beautiful. And then the following day, it was like 19 degrees with wind chill and the ball was flying all over crazy. There was white caps coming out of that lake. No, it was, it was literally crazy. I remember driving to the game when we played against Casey and I was like, man, Lake Shore is looking choppy. Things are not looking too hot for us.

Because the wind, serious, it's a real thing. That is like the third enemy. Like, it's like you've got the weather, the opponent, and then the wind. A third factor. Yeah. But anyways, like we were really stoked. to get the win. Obviously, the other games haven't gone our way and we've let in a lot of goals, but we're learning from those mistakes. And then hopefully when we get everybody back,

things will be going in a positive note. So so far, I love Chicago. Things have been great. The team has been, they've been just been really welcoming and kind. And I think we're going to get better over the course of the season. The U.S. is playing their final, quote unquote, sendoff game there as they travel from the Midwest to California, which is not a bit of a sense. enough. So we're hoping to all get out there for that game so we can see Brianna and we can see one of the great cities, which I have not spent as much time in as I would like. The literal only thing I've done is go to one Wrigley game, go to Soldier Field one time, and then the boat tour and the boat tour is the best. There's no better place in the summer than Chicago. Chicago in the

summer is the best place I've ever been. Incredible. Everybody says that. Either they live there or not. They're right. So I'm so excited to experience it. I can't wait to go to the sandoff game. Hopefully things will look a lot better and brighter. Well, you're only six weeks away from summer. So at a minimum, it's going to be the best place to be in the world when we get there. So thank you to all of you who are here live with us in the chat. Thank you to Frank as always.

Huge legend. Preston says England or Spain to win the whole thing. England just lost to Japan, so you never know. And I think Spain drew Egypt today. So I guess either don't count March friendlies or you never know what's going to happen. I'm sure Mauricio Pachitaine would prefer if you didn't do the first one, but whatever goes, whatever float your boat is your option. We've got more shows coming up this week.

Our NWSL show is going to come out on the SoccerWise channels later on Wednesday, myself and Jordan reminiscing a little on the Denver time and then talking about a lot of what we've seen. We did our first power rankings of the season, which we'll keep updating every week going forward. Doyle's going to join me for a little USM&T segment added to this for some reaction coming out of the camp and then we've got some interviews coming up for the MLS weekend that is coming back around the corner this weekend. So thank you to all of you for being here. Thank you to you too so much for joining me for this one. Thank you to Douglas for being on the sticks late into the night. And we'll talk to you all again very, very soon.