SoccerWise - Mexico Back To Back Gold Cup Champs, Cincy Flip Shield Race + NYCFC DP Signing & USOC Quaterfinals

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

A script we have all seen before has come to a close in the Gold Cup. The US and Mexico battled in a hard fought final and this time El Tri gets over the line. Tom & David jump on to react to what we saw in the final and more importantly what we take from this month. Then they jump into "The Ice Cream Shop" as NYCFC make a DP signing, San Jose opens up another spot, and teams start to lock in their summer acquisitions. Afterwards they talk about Nasvhille's wild win and what the top of the table looks like in MLS, and prepare for this weeks USOC Quaterfinal matches.8:25 Gold Cup Final Recap26:25 Handball Controversey28:50 Overall USMNT Summer Takeaways35:00 Questions Around USMNT-MLS Transfers This Year41:45 Completed US/CAN Big Transfers47:25 NYCFC Big DP Attacking Signing54:00 Wild Weekend In Support Shield Race Led By Nasvhille & FCC1:03:29 Obina Nwoboda Injury Concerns1:23:05 USOC Quaterfinal Preview + SJ & NYRB Signings Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Welcome everybody to a nice and early bright start for us on a Monday morning to get your week started right? No weekend recap. Tommy Scoops is the weekend recap. This week he is the human victory cigar. I guess for Mexico as we come out of the gold cup and into the week the summer of soccer continuing to roll on or ending unclear to me. It feels like there's soccer every summer Tom and I don't know what makes it the summer of soccer.

Whatever advertising campaign is most relevant. That's what it is. And yeah, we're up here early. Rise and grind. That's all we know. And yeah, we're up here early rise and grind that that's all we know You know, we put you know, everybody has a normally one day every day We have three days in one day because that's how married to the grind We are 6 a.m. To noon noon to 6 6 to midnight. That's our three days in one day Someone sent us a message on I think it was patreon But it may have been in the YouTube comments, and said that you can hear the typing that Tom's doing during the show

because of his mic setup. And I was aware of that. See, issue is Tom's always doing three things at one time. And I can't pull him away from the scoops, and I can't pull him away from the hot tracks that he's on. And so sometimes you just gotta live with stuff, you know? That was my favorite reaction. I was like, oh, I'm really sorry about that. I didn't know that. I wanted to try to do better and God was like, yeah, no, I already knew that you did that. I was like, oh, sick dude.

I have watched you engage with technology in the past and I genuinely was worried about breaking you. Yeah, no, the jokes aside, that was a great know your teammates play That yeah, something would have gotten thrown We obviously have a lot to talk about Mexico is Gold Cup champions for the second straight competition Knocks off the US 2-1. It's an Alvarez with the winner So congrats to the L tree fans who were all around energy stadium epic environment for the final, felt like a big game, felt like a big atmosphere. And I think as every, both the coaches said, like this was the last opportunity for a real high pressure game.

And obviously that's a matchup we've seen many times before, but that doesn't mean that it's not a big deal for these players and these teams. So we'll talk all about what we saw in the game, as well as over the course of the month. But obviously the main conversation coming out of a weekend like this where Noel Kaliskan and Ian Smith are bawling,

you are sucked in. International irrelevant. Club World Cup, is it even happening when you are hitting volleys like that on back posts, offset pieces? These are the players that people pay money to come out to see. That is going to be our focus here, Tom. That is the only thing to focus on.

That was the only thing that happened in my mind over this weekend. What a goddamn goal. That was incredible. And Minnesota Aurora playoff win. Shout out to myself and the rest of the ownership group for helping guide the team along. So far heading to the National Semifinals. that will be a home game coming up next weekend. I think they beat a team called Kings Highway FC Cincinnati that plays in Pittsburgh. I didn't really understand what was happening with all of that so I'm glad I was able to

bring it up and to key on it. We have some huge transfer news as well. Tommy Scoops always working July 4th workday grindset. Nico Fernandez coming over to Major League Soccer as the newest designated player for NYCFC 25 year old Argentine attacker could be a huge bonus for this team. Not the only big move San Jose has sent a DP out to open up a spot a number of the players on the national team have been in talks Conversations are made deals official. So we have plenty to talk about in there We are going to continue to open up the ice cream shop as we go throughout The show and in Major League Soccer the table completely flipped this weekend

So new supporters shield leaders Nashville moves to second place, San Diego gets dumped against Houston in an epic game, Vancouver struggling without some of their key players. So a lot to talk about in the league. And Open Cup is back, baby. So I guess the summer of soccer does continue because the advertisers can just throw more games on there. Tuesday and Wednesday night, we get the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup. It is a tasty set of matchups.

There are a lot of teams that are in this cause they weren't good last year playing really well this year, but a trophy in this could be a huge moment for them. So we will dig into all of that as well. Before we get started though, two big things that we have to discuss. The first one is I think from everyone here at Soccer Rise, our thoughts going out to the people in the Texas Hill Country region who are dealing with the flooding that occurred already a number of casualties. The Austin FC game of course in the area was canceled this weekend because of the rain and we are heading to Austin quite soon. It is terrible. Everything that we have heard.

So we just wanted to send that thought out to anyone affected, anyone who's connected to anyone who is affected and we're hoping for the best for everyone there as well. Sunday ended Major League Soccer action with a really scary moment. Stefan Fry taking a hit to the head as he tried to defend on basically the second to last play against Columbus coming off his line, took a knee and sort of hit him on the side of the head as he tried to defend on basically the second to last play against Columbus coming off his line, took a knee and sort of hit him on the side of the head, his neck bent as well. He went down in a really dangerous and scary way and was taken to the hospital directly from the game.

I think first of all, a tip of the cap to Wilford Nance and Brian Schmitzer, who I think led their groups as well as you can in a moment like that and convinced the referee to finish the game there. Yeah, that's I hope that we don't gloss over that. And again, it's gotten the correct amount of of I mean, dude, like, what more can you say about Wilfred Nance? Like, so Columbus have a corner kick in that situation. And he's saying just stop the game. There's an ambience on the field.

Stop the game. And after after the game he said you know in these moments like football doesn't matter something sad fact and like Brian Schmetzer who is as old-school dude as there is in this league maybe maybe second of Bruce Arena doesn't show a lot of emotion positively or negatively he's a stoic figure on the sideline he takes notes sips his coffee and and wins trophies. That's what he does. He was emotional after the game, trying to say, thank you to Wilfrid Nancy. His voice was breaking up.

He was starting to get choked up. And I've never seen that from Brian Schmitzer. And I think it just shows the gravity of that moment. And between those two men, those two leaders, that's how you handle something like that. And it was just a small sliver of positivity to take away from an awful moment. And then we got good news from Stefan Fry himself,

who posted on Blue Sky and said, still trying to figure out what happened at the end of the game, but I'm incredibly grateful to all the staff that looked after me and happy to be back home resting now. What resonates is all the messages, calls, and love I've received from so many of you. So that's the best news you could hear that he is doing OK.

And we will learn about on the field, the recovery and what comes next for him. But I think, you know, it's a scary moment for all of us. We've all now seen a lot of scary moments on the field over the last few weeks, months, years. And I think you saw, you know, that raw emotion from a lot of the players, Christian Roldan, like would not walk away. And you saw the emotion of Columbus players trying to sort of console Seattle players, players from Columbus who know Stephen Fry well, right? He is a tent pole, a mainstay in this league, not just for Seattle, for

the whole league. You saw how he led in the conversations outwardly around the fight for more of the pay coming out of the Club World Cup. And he's been a major part of the Players Association, MLS awards, maybe not as many as he has deserved over the years and knows a lot of the members around Major League Soccer really well. So we're super happy to see him messaging,

to see him at least doing okay. And we will continue to follow it as it develops. But as you said, tip of the cap to I think the way that was handled both from the medical team, first of all, and their ability to get him off safely and get him in the right hands. And then of course, to everyone else for sort of understanding the moment and dealing with it. Let's dig back into the soccer on the field though and obviously we'll start with the Gold Cup final. Dream start for the US.

1-0 lead in the third minute. Chris Richards with the header off the free kick by Sebastian Burrhalter. Malik Tillman drawing the foul and Chris Richards just been unbelievable as a set piece threat. And I know we talk a lot about Sebastian Burrhalter service. I think it's been really good for Vancouver. I thought it was spotty over the gold cup for the U S but Chris Richards has been a factor every single play because he is such a force making plays for the ball. And I love the way he makes his runs.

He delays enough so that he could run onto the ball in all these situations. And maybe I thought he tried to do a little too much with this one. He gets fortunate though. It goes off the crossbar. It goes in and it's this epic start where with these two teams where they sit right now, both of them are a slip away from falling off the cliff. Like that's the way it feels for both these squads. And so I'm thinking after that, like, oh, you know, we know how the crowd reacts when Mexico struggles. We know how the crowd reacts. Mexico against the U.S. and as good as this tournament run has been, the Mexico had not beaten the U.S. in a competitive game in six years. Like they were not far off from that moment. But I think the difference with this Mexico group right

now is you have an informed peak Raul Jimenez for the first time since his head injury, basically, which is this center point for them that everyone else can play off of that makes life easier for everyone. He rescues them with a really difficult finish in the 27th minute. It was an unbelievable pass from Marcel Ruiz, the slide pass against his hips. Jimenez has a small window. Reims coming over to close. Freeze has a lot of it closed down. He roofs it. And then Edson Alvarez with the winner off the free kick laid on.

Alex Freeman keeps him onside. That will be a conversation we'll go through. There's talks about PKs and everything else. But for Mexico, and I think you heard it from Javier Aguirre, it feels like for them internally, they are back. They have now won three of the last four gold cups. This is back to back gold cup victories for them. And the nature of this tournament was you were never going to solve every problem.

Like you are not going to come out of a matchup in North America against Saudi Arabia and say, like, we are back. But the best you could do was win everything in front of you. And Mexico was able to do that. Yeah. Listen the the top line from this is the better team won On Sunday night, so kudos to Mexico Like you thought goss like that early goal for the United States to kind of test the mentality tests the mentality the crowd as well To see how they were gonna react it did quiet down the crowd and then Mexico fought back and full credit to them for that moment of brilliance from Raul Jimenez both like obviously the finish how

quickly he got to shut off his movement the timing the intelligence like that sequence was really really good you can point fingers and hey maybe Reem held them on whatever right I thought that was just a really really good goal that the passing sequence and everything that came through that and then from there on out oh boy was it downhill for Mexico Mexico. And it's more surprising that it ended 2-1 and not 3-1. Or not like- Downhill means pressure from them. Yeah.

Is downhill, I thought, I was like, Mexico played poorly after that? I was saying downhill for the United States in a bad way. But like, there was, I believe Stu Holden said it on the broadcast, it was probably, so like what? That goal happened in the 27th minute. Yeah. I think the 42nd minute was, like Stu Holden said it on the broadcast. It was probably so like what that goal happened in the 27th minute Yeah, I think the 42nd minute was like Stu Holden said on the broadcast I think this is the first time that all 10 outfield players in the United States are out of their own half. It was

Defending deep it was they were I tweeted in the first half that it felt like there were some dogs on the field for the United States, which I thought was true They were getting stuck in they were defending hard quick to dog tweets If there are dogs out there times gonna get that tweet out fast, but like it was like a player I forget if it was when Sebastian Peralta Tackled a player off the ball when he was trying to tackle somebody on the ball or like he was just watching him try to fight through on defensive set pieces um, I

Still stand by that that if the mentality was there and if the dudes weren't ready to work, this was going to look a lot more like the Switzerland game than this one. So I think that's an improvement. What some people have taken out of context for that tweet is that dogs doesn't equal great players. The dog should be the bare minimum for anybody stepping on the field. It's a problem that it hasn't been and I thought that was a positive sign, but like man By the 60th minute it was like oh this hasn't turned around at all

And it's like can they how long can they hold off or can they get a set piece or can they have? Spring Patrick Ajumon in transition or Damien Downs or whatever right but like Mexico was easily the better team in this game. 16% possession, 16 shots, corners were 12 to 0. It was a constant barrage of pressure. There was one good sequence in the first half, like when the United States broke pressure, settled down and possessed the ball kind of around the back. And then they ended up finding the right time to try to spring Ajumon into the channel. It worked.

They get a free kick. And that's really the like best passage of play I can remember after it went 1-1 because there just wasn't many. No. And what was I think frustrating to watch was the balance of sitting deep, and Stu talked about this a couple times, and applying pressure. Like if you are deep, you cannot let someone sit on the ball 30 yards from goal and pick their head up Because you're packed in you should be close and touch tight to some of those players and

The US allowed Mexico to do both of those things which was play high up the field and play easy And that's where you can start to find holes because you can pick your head up and dink balls over the top into the sides You know into the channels you can find feet coming underneath between the lines and attack from there. In the US, it didn't feel like had a clear position where they were gonna pressure at any point. So they never isolated fullbacks on the sideline and got to the ball quickly.

I think part of that is not a lot of confidence in your fullbacks defending one V one. I think part of that is like Sebastian Barralter is not really a wide player and can't really get there quick enough. And that's kind of part of the problem of what we saw when Vancouver tried to play him out there and how much better he is centrally when it's closer connections. And the key is his ball possession. The other thing for the U.S. was no one wanted it under pressure and no one wants to give it under pressure. No one wanted to build out centrally.

Tim Ream, every ball was up the sideline and that's a safe way to play. You're not going to break the game open if you play safe. And so the U.S. had no way to take advantage of the fact that Mexico is throwing numbers higher except for balls over the top to Auzhamang who then is completely isolated. Auzhamang's probably one touch away from drawing a red card on that foul you just mentioned. Cause like he's kind of gone, except it was his first touch around the defender

and the ref's not gonna call it as in on goal whatever. That's why it's smart defending. Like that like, and again, so like even, I don't think our defenders are naive anymore, but I will say watching Vasquez and Cesar Montes, I think in particular, and then Edson Alvarez, like that triumvirate adds to the defensive spine. Edson Alvarez was the best player on the field.

I'm not sure it was close. I think Chris Richards is the only person in contention for the United States. Listen, Gil Mora, 16 years old. He was incredible. Like the only way that you knew he was 16, other than just having the knowledge Like if you dropped into this game, you wouldn't know until that they did one of their close-ups on him

Be like, oh, that's a child right? You can't tell by the way he moves other ways reacting by the way He's composed. So I think you just go up and down the pitch for Mexico and they were just the better team Yeah, that's tough to swallow for the United States But and I would say the difference between the two teams in saying that is like Mexico didn't have a ton of chances. Like most of it was crosses that were defended away in dangerous areas, even after all of that, or shots from distance. That's the gap is not that large.

And I think a lot of people, you know, in our discord, I know we're talking about, like for Mexico, this was kind of an A team and for the U S we know this wasn't. Do we think the A team will perform? I think that's a question for a lot of people. But I think you saw a little bit of that gap of like individual quality, individual ability. It would be nice if there was still more, I think, risk from the US in some of the moments throughout the game, whether that was in or out of possession. And that's where it sort of felt like if they had decided on some more triggers, especially

when the fullbacks had possession with their back against the sideline, could you turn them over a little bit more often and get out and run as well as allow your teammates to anticipate? Because every time the US got the ball back, it was Ajumang isolated because no one else could anticipate, oh, this is where we're going. And Luna tried to put pressure on more as the second half went along So once the US comes out in the set from the second half We saw Luna and I think Jenny Teff talked about it like play a little more centrally try and find the game a little more I thought the US was pretty good the opening 15 minutes of the second half. I thought they were more aggressive

I thought they played possession a little bit more aggressive Malik Tillman continued to try and make things happen. Did he though? I don't know what... I mean, he tried to correct turn every single time he got the ball with his back towards goal. That's where I was about to go. I was gonna say, listen, Tyler Adams was bad in this game, just straight up. Which, again, I don't think that there's a pathway with these two groups that were on the field

for Tyler Adams to, like... He didn't have to be the best player on the field, but if he's bad don't think you have really any chance Malik Tillman didn't do much of anything for me and that was disappointing it seemed like he was a passenger in too many in too many instances like again Diego Luna also wasn't effective so neither of these guys are going to get the like oh well done I did notice before Luna was subbed he was looking around like oh nobody else wants the ball. Give me the fucking ball. Like, fine.

Like, let me try. And he gave the ball. He comes over the left side of the field. He's trying to create. He plays a bad pass across. But like, he's trying. Again, that doesn't make it better. But I like to see him being like, okay, no, it's on me.

I'm going to do this. Like, right? Like in those sequences, I was waiting for Tillman to be showing hard for the ball or again, trying maybe outside of the course turns But like I don't think that he was like you look at this group Melee Tillman you got to be the guy brother like That's what's gonna like if you're gonna be on the field for Leverkusen as I expect he will be it's a little bit different But there there is no moments where you can be a passenger you have to be the guy even when it's hard

Whatever right like and I still think he had a very good tournament. I'm still a big Phantom League tailman. But I was disappointed in that aspect of his performance in the final. So a few things around this. One is I completely agree with you. And what's frustrating about that is he played a lot last year, deeper in midfield for PSV and was around the game more. It felt like from an attacker to understanding the flow of the game and the like around the game more where he went. It felt like from like that role and attacker to understanding the flow of the game and the pulse of the game, which I thought was going to be the right combo to now come in and say, OK, as a 10, I can create chances. But also when the game's against us in moments like this or the pace isn't the way we want

it, I can sort of dictate and put my foot on the ball. That has not been the case the whole tournament. He has just been an attacker who's aggressive, which is where we have come in and sort of said like, okay, maybe push him out wide and play someone else centrally even if it's not a true 10, to give you a little bit more control. And in this game, what you see is Luca Delatorre,

again, overwhelmed, I think, by a lot of this moment. And with Tyler Adams, what I was talking to you about during the game was he is world class at the things he's world class at and he struggles at the things he struggles at. We never saw a single moment in this game where he was world class at the things he's world class at and that's where you lose it, which is he was,

he has these moments normally where he reads that he can go hunt and only him can get to pressure on the ball in the ways he does and then everyone else reacts off him and he can change the game against the ball and have match winning moments. Didn't see that a single time, or he can cover two people because he has the ability to read the play and cover the ground and like look at the Marcel Ruiz goal, right? He goes out wide. Delatory is disconnected from him. Ruiz gets the ball.

I'm not saying that's Tyler Adams fault, but when Tyler Adams is at his best That's where he saves you even a few moments when the US finally pressed and transition went the other way You're like, oh Tyler's gonna eat this up. He gives up a foul He's able to guide the player out wide but can't get the ball back. Those are the things where Average players can't make the play he does and that's where it's acceptable for him to not break lines with his passing and not be super confident in playing in the final third. And like that's the balance you get. And so you lost that. And the rest of the players in that area didn't really

want the game and couldn't really figure out. I think Burrhalter was good overall in like, he tried to pick his head up and find players, but he's out wide. And then the other piece of all of this, we have people in the chat being like, should Luna have come off earlier because he was gassed? This is the third straight game with the same starting lineup. And like, I get it. There's not a lot of chemistry. Pochettino is not working off a ton. We saw Greg Berhalter do this as well. Why are you going to change things if there's no reason to?

But I don't know that I walked away from the last two games saying the US is playing fantastic. So I think the balance of like what is the opponent gonna give you, how does it work, and listen we've said the same name every time, Quinn Sullivan. Of like in a game like this where you're really only gonna have the ball and play direct, would you not have wanted a guy where you're gonna play out to Luna and he and Ajumang are gonna be attacking space and trying to draw fouls and trying to create things and Maybe there you slide burr halter inside from the start and you push deletore higher and you're a little bit safer Whatever it is. I just think there was a lack of an attempt at creativity and

Then you saw into the game if it doesn't really work like it's gonna fall back on you That that's completely, completely correct. My issue is you just look at the 11, Delatorre, Berhalter, Luna, like Tilman, these are possession-based players. And did you think that you were gonna out-possess Mexico? Yeah. And again, this comes back to roster construction. The one name I keep on talking about.

You know who would have been nice to have either starting or coming off the bench? Alejandro's and Dejas. There are no natural wingers on this team. Diego Luna and Jack McGlynn were starting as wingers early in the tournament. And by the end of the tournament, it was Sebastian Burrhalter and Diego Luna. Those are not wingers, man. Like, and it became too predictable. And again, Burrhalter did try things.

Like, I don't think he was bad. But you know when he's not dribbling by you on the wing. that's fine because that's not that he shouldn't be playing as a winger And they were trying to weaponize Alex Freeman going up top By getting him further forward, but that there's just weren't a lot of opportunities for that It's also all it's that that's also a lot of responsibility on a 20 year old who's playing his first international level And I think overall in the window Freeman had a good window, right? He clearly proved he could play at this level. You saw in this game though, the moments, high pressure moments, defending in his own

box, attacking in the final third where he is not the finished product. He does not have full experience at this level. And he was a little bit intimidated. So to build your game model around, let's get him into space is a little bit harsh. And I think you're right. And like, could you have given him more help out there? If you push Tillman out there, for example, he's attacking players, he's pulling focus, can Freeman get slipped into easier situations than what he ended up

doing. So I think that's a question. I think how late all the subs game over the course of the tournament is a question mark It's funny like it listening to like Tottenham fans being like are you surprised by this? Like that's his tenancy and again, like that's fine He's a really good manager or like he's he's had a really successful career So like easy for us to say like oh cuz they lost why don't you make subs, right? But like that's a thing like that's part of the experience here. And I think for me, what I walk away with is, you know, I think Pochettino was really, um,

it seemed like buoyed by the overall month, the way the team played, the way the team gelled the environment they had. It is one of those moments though, where you're like, well, yeah, it's a gold cup. Like everything we watched over the last month felt very familiar. The U S goes to the gold cup. They crushed a couple of teams in the group stage. The games are harder than people expect in the knockout stages. They survive. They play Mexico. It's a coin flip, right? Like this game, the U.S. has won over the last few years, which was the U.S. is on their heels. They have less possession. They have the crowd against them. And maybe there's a moment magic. Maybe there's a mistake for Mexico

I thought on the Fox broadcast post game. They did mention I thought well of like Mexico kept their control Emotionally in a really tough moment over the course of the 90 minutes other games We have seen our Sergino deaths the Weston McKinney, whatever pull it out of Mexico Then you're able to throw them off a little bit. That wasn't the case I think a lot of that goes to Edson Alvarez the way he plays the way he controls this to Weston McKinney, whatever, pull it out of Mexico. Then you're able to throw them off a little bit. That wasn't the case. I think a lot of that goes to Edson Alvarez. The way he plays, the way he controls this team.

Last week or two weeks ago, I was like, he's not the best team in. Inconcap was not a great day for me on that take. The way he dominated the game and scored the winning goal, but besides the goal, as you said, he was the best player on the field. And like, you saw his reaction after VAR to the goal. And I think post game, the way he had sort of led the celebrations of like,

this is his team in his moment. And he's taken over for Aceh Aceh and he's taken over for a lot of the big players that were the face of this team before that. And so I think it's one of those things where it's like, Pochettino comes out being like, it was good. good Like we accomplished all of this and I don't disagree with that But he doesn't have the historical context of like this is kind of what how it works This is kind of what it looks like and as I said to start this with Mexico All you could do this month was win the things in front of you

Like you couldn't you can't change the gold cup You can't magically put Colombia and Argentina in the gold cup and you can't like change the nature of it All you could do is don't give any ideas by the way cup and you can't like change the nature of it all you could do is Don't give the concrete any ideas by the way, just just don't give any ideas Well, it would be nice if instead of selling your soul to Saudi Arabia You actually try to make a like quality competitive competition to help your region prepare for a World Cup That's gonna be hosted in your region But you know that might be a little bit too much for me to get into so you're not gonna come out of this

Overall though. Do you want to talk handball or no? Before we get I it depends on how deep you want to go. I think it was a handball, but like, that's not why they lost. It would have helped. That moment changes the game. Again, every rules expert, whether it's Christina Uncle or our very own Andrew Weeby or whoever, like it seems to be the consensus is the way that the law is written It's not a handball and it just goes back to like

It's just so so confusing all the time. I don't understand how that's not a handball But again, if that's what the rules say whatever Yeah I think my reaction when we watched it and it felt like it wasn't gonna get called was you're allowed that brace arm This is I've never seen this before. I've never seen the brace arm coming down on the ball and so that part was unique to me and Obviously, this is what all of the rules expert have said of like you are going to ground

You're allowed to put your arm out. It is somewhat under him whatever it is And I think it is a huge moment. Obviously, it's a one-one game Like it's a massive moment whether they would have won like you can't deny that but also like you make your chances. What I said in the discord at halftime was like the last sequence of the first half the US has a number of chances around the box. Every player on Mexico is sliding in on tackles. Okay go play in the final third and create penalties. Like that was an opportunity and for the US only be in the box Two or three times is okay You made the mistake of not playing there and creating other opportunities for that like the high volume of it would have created more chances

And it wasn't the case. Let's talk about the takeaways from the tournament overall for the US It's gonna come down to What did we learn? What did we add? I got the text right at the start of the game of like, how many World Cup starters am I looking at right now? Is it just Adams and Richards? And I just think Pochettino doesn't have a ton of time. There is no way he can flush more of this down the drain. And I don't think he wants to based off what you hear from what he's saying, based off the way he treated this game. Like I think he is sold on a lot of the guys that he used because he has no

other context to say no, these are my guys. So I think you're looking at a situation where 11 players that started the three straight games into the final are going to be major factors at least going into the next set of friendlies. And it's the I'm not saying it's starting spots to lose, but like they're on the overall roster and it's their opportunity to take it even further or to take a step back. Do you have any big names or obvious names that you come out of this saying like these people have solidified their spot or have locked in a chance? Yeah, I mean, I think Chris Richards, it's not that we didn't already know this, but

like he it's just so clear. You build a defense around him and then it's not even necessarily didn't already know this, but like he it's just so clear you build the defense around him And then it's not even necessarily who is the the next best defender It's who fits with him the best so I think again That's not anything necessarily new but just shout out to Chris Richards for how we played this summer Malik Tillman Like I think that he's gonna be a starter. I mean if the World Cup started in two weeks, I think it would be But that can change over here.

Let's see how things go with Bayer Leverkusen, let's see what the other players... I think that's what I learned more than anything else. Yeah, Richards and Adams, and Friese had the incredible moment in the penalty shootout. I still wouldn't say for sure I think he's gonna be the starter. I think he's currently leading that right now, but that's written in pencil, that's not written in pen.

Ah-Jumong, I think is very clear, he's going to be on the the roster Diego Luna. I think it's very clear. He's going to be on the roster Barring anything, you know drastic and I do think Alex Freeman has played his way there. Um, Pochettino could have called in Josh Sargent and and Joe Scali he didn't those were footballing decisions is what he called them So I think the only way to look at this is Ajumang and Freeman are ahead of those two players on the depth chart So for me, that's how I look at it I know you and I are torn about Orson at this level at this position on the stage And then I do think that I think torn is an understatement based off the way you came in on me in the group chat

I said I think that I'm good. I think no I said Max Arveston had a great tournament and I would put him in the locked in spots and potentially starter if the US played on the front foot in possession. But they don't and you said what are we doing here? Jedi is the best left back in the Premier League. Yeah. What are we doing? What are we doing? I'm sorry is tennis this and playing every

minute for Fulham all of a sudden like a bad thing? Is the way that you... Why would any of this be a bad thing? Why is it not just someone else? Just watch the switch of highlights again. God. Someone else gives you really good options. Now obviously I've been fawning over Max Armstrong for the last six weeks and every time I do it, he comes out and gets smoked by Switzerland and so then I gotta go back to the drawing board and recreate my takes.

But you see it in this game, even in a game that was bad, most of the good moments for the US finished on Arfsten on the left side and he beat his man 1v1 and got a shot away or beat his man and got into a dangerous area. Jedi is really good at soccer. He is really good at one thing. He does not change the way he plays.

And there is no optionality or switch off on the left side. He is going to stay wide. He is going to try and get a cross in. It is predictable. He is really good at that thing. Do you want predictability? I have no idea. I think the US probably plays on their heels too much right now

for Austin to be in the team But I also would probably Send out a whole memo and try and get more far see Citizenship and Cherepko and everything and just start the Columbus 11 if I could so I'm probably the wrong person to ask yeah, and again like I think Austin has been fine, but like I Cannot like in good faith cannot vouch for a defender who Diego Luna What I'm gonna remember from this Gold Cup final is how often he was sprinting to make sure Max Orson was never 1v1 I'm gonna remember Luca del Torre

Selling out to shade over that side to make sure that he was not 1v1 It's a liability and we're not going to out possesspossess teams. We can't out-possess Switzerland. We can't out-possess Mexico. Like, I don't, yeah, maybe, I don't care about trying to win games against teams that we're gonna have 65% possession. I think you can figure it out in other ways. Not building it around a lot of battles. Well, that has not been true over the last three years, totally. Okay, well then this team isn't good enough. Like, that's it, right? Yeah, or the other thing is he earned a spot on the roster because he's a change of pace

Yeah, no, I have different options in two different ways. No, no, no, no, don't move the goalpost and don't catch Okay, you were covering you and Doyle said he should be the start over Anthony Robinson. That's what you guys said and that's what I was like What are you doing? Yeah If you look at the team and you were to say Where does Pulisic want to play? If he's playing on the left, where's his dangerous area? What would change if you had Arfsten verse Jedi is Pulisic could go outside sometimes and get isolated and get 1v1.

And is he better at that than Jedi? If Anthony Robinson is fit and available, he is one of the first three names on the team sheet. I will not hear an argument against that. Great. It's good to know that we're in a culture and society that doesn't accept honest, open debate and just wants to shut down conversations

with fake facts about what English journos voted on and whatever else is going on. No, I get it. Of all of the issues this team has. This is pro-Antony, pro Pro Antony, not anti-Max. I guess even though I'm cheating on him. And I don't disagree with that. But I think this is one of the positions where you can say you have different options, you

have players that have different abilities. Yes. I came too strong. But I think Max Arfsten has earned another look from Pochettino. And if that's the list we're building, it feels like Luna, Tillman, Richards, Adams, and Freese are probably all starters in the next camp coming out of this. And then they can lose that spot maybe.

I would then say Arfsten, Ajamong, and probably Alex Freeman all earned another call up in which they can fight for a spot on the field. They probably aren't starters going in to the next camp, but they are part of the conversation depending on how people play does that feel fair coming out of this? Yeah, then we mean by the way reams probably yeah Yeah, we we ever miss that like again. I'd still like to see Robinson and Richards, but again He didn't Robinson or miles Robinson. I should be clear after yes talking about Anthony for so long

But he didn't play at all, essentially, this gold cup. So I don't like it's not even worth it for me to bring that up because I just don't think it's a reality. He would have played in the gold cup if he had a better chance at partnering with Chris Richards at this stage. But that's just kind of where I'm at. One of the last things to mention here, we're going to talk about some transfers that some of these players are having.

I think before we do that, though, it's interesting that you have this group of gold cup players, a lot of them playing in MLS, getting a first opportunity or a big opportunity. And I think coming out of this, we're going to hear a lot more rumors to players who have already been connected to teams in Europe, teams in Mexico, wherever it ends up being. We've heard Max Arvsten in the past. I think we're hearing Sebastian Baralter. We heard Pablo Mascherini sort of say like, I don't think Diego Luna is going to be here at the end of this year because I think he's playing too well and could earn

himself a move. Jack McGlynn just signed a new contract. We'll talk about coming out of this. I guess I would ask the question, does it make sense for these players in? And I don't always want to put everything on national team because I think in the US we do this too much. Completely agreed. But to host the World Cup at home and the value you will improve for yourself, is it worth for these players sticking around for another year and saying like, if I can make this move this summer, why not believe that coming off the back of a home World Cup where you get minutes you

can make an even bigger move or whatever it is next summer I think it should be considered by a lot of those players I just mentioned who are clearly playing in the right environment yep to improve their game and get into the national team yes so I think that's a great way to frame this and I feel really strongly about this so Everything is a case-by-case basis to blanket say you should go to Europe or you should go to Brazil or you should stay to all Players is really really stupid lacks context and is just a lazy way. I think the frame conversations So that's why like oh, yeah, Europe in general is better

But not every single situation is better and Not every time, not the timing isn't always right. So, Patrick Gajamang, that makes a ton of sense for me. You can see him playing in the Champo right now. This is also a player, think about it, he's on $100,000. He's gonna tenfold increase his salary. The move is right, the timing is right, that makes a ton of sense. And again, the latest there is the deal's agreed in principle, eight million in the region of 8 million plus

2 million add-ons plus a sell-on clause. It's time, right? That one makes sense. Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, and Alex Freeman. I have no doubt those three players can all go play in Europe right now if they wanted to. If you're Diego Luna, they're even stronger than there's no guarantee that you'll have the same situation for Yellow Salt Lake. I can guarantee there won't be, right? Both in the combination of he's starting

every single game for this team and that ain't changing no matter what for Diego Luna for Yellow Salt Lake. And the team is built around him because he is currently their best and most consistent player. You go to a European team, you have to win a spot, and guess what? We're not building the team around you. You're fitting into what we have. And if you can't do that, we'll buy somebody else. That is too much risk for me in a World Cup year, particularly when Pochettino has said,

I don't care where you're playing, if you're playing well, you're getting called in. Diego, I think there's too much risk there. Jack McGlynn is another. The role that Jack McGlynn is playing for the Houston Dynamo, he will not get that anywhere else in the world, like reasonably speaking. He's signing a new contract as I reported last week. I think that makes so much sense for him. And then you go after the World Cup if the timing is right, if the opportunities

are right. And then Alex Freeman, he's in the first half of his first year starting. Again, a team that they, Oscar Brey, have changed the tactics to put a center back and left back so Alex Freeman can get forward. You're not guaranteed that. You're not guaranteed playing time anywhere else in the world. I just think it's too much to risk for those three players. But a guy like Patrick Gajemont, that makes a lot of sense. Malik Tilman moving from PSV to Bayer Leverkusen, that makes sense. Those are different scenarios than those other three guys that I'm mentioning and even Sebastian

Borreltzer to that extent. The difficulty for a couple of these guys is what is their value to say the Vancouver Whitecaps versus what is the value of another team in your opinion? That's like Orlando, right? We had Mercado Moreira on the show last week. I'd recommend going and listening to it. He talked about building the academy and the future of the club and everything. And they really see Alex Freeman as the first through the full pipeline example of what they've rebuilt in their academy. Often then for the club, you want to sell

when it makes sense and you want to move the next group of players in, they have to hear Reid Brown, other young options, Gustavo Caraballo, whatever it is coming in. But also, like if the move makes sense now, you have to have that conversation. I don't know then that an Alex Freeman in his camp's gonna come and say no. So you're kinda hoping you're in lockstep with the team. My hope would be, and I think this is part of this convo

we're continuing to have, like try and win something with young players around, I think a year and a half is not a long time to have him in your first team to then try and make the move. I think saying like, oh, after six months we have to sell him isn't always the right idea unless it's a situation in which the player explodes and you know, the valuation's insane or the opportunity for them is insane. But I think we're kind of in lockstep here of like, yeah, it's case by case. But for the most part for these players, this is just a once in a lifetime chance.

And even if I'm not actually staying on the move, I'm saying the other way playing at a home world's cup is a once in a lifetime chance. And like I did a show with Tony Mule and Kobe Jones where they were like, it is my legacy and it is everything people know about me. The game has changed, the game has developed, the United States, the game here has developed. But if you play in that World Cup, like you are going to have cache and legacy

and opportunity and whatever different than any other World Cup that has happened since 1994 and probably any other one that happens until the US Men's National Team wins the World Cup, which may never happen. So I think that's where you're sort of having this combo of like, if this is my best chance. And what I'm saying with a lot of these guys is they have earned their time with the national team. So they don't have to find a way in now.

They have to maintain their spot and continue to hold it and maybe playing week in and week out for your MLS team. and then going in and playing well in camps is the right way to do that rather than as you said, take this risk, lose playing time with your club. Now Pochettino has to decide, well, do I trust them so much that they're still getting a chance or do they have to get back on the field for a club team that no one has control over? And then I can call them back in. And I think that's sort of the balance that these players have to find.

Let's talk about some of the moves because I guess all of us have to pay for a subscription so that we can watch the championship this year because every USMNT striker will play the champ up. Paramount Plus, baby. Oh, Tom, with a read that I didn't even see coming. I was ready for that. Yeah, and I'll be on on morning 40 the next two days in case anybody's curious. Anyway, yeah, Patrick Osserman, we just talked about Darby County.

Obviously, since I broke that news, was that Wednesday, Thursday night? That is where things are and now over the next 24, 48 hours, I'm sure they'll do the final details and schedule the medical, schedule the trial. I haven't heard anything to suggest that anything everything is on track We'll see what the timing looks like. That's good that he should get most of preseason with Darby County I think that's important. Damien Downs is headed to Southampton from Cologne a deal That's a similar price point to Ajaman's. I think it's a little bit more For a younger player and one who is proven in Europe Damien Downs his contract was expiring next summer. So that's why Southampton moved from that to Southampton or expected to be in the

promotion push. Darby County. I don't think it'd be fair to call them expected. Like if they make the playoffs, that'd be a hugely successful season. So that's kind of where things are there. And then that would have Ajumon Damien Downs and Haji Rae all in the championship, which would be a good way. I don't think so. I think Sarant is gone Nothing new there in terms of like a deal being close but like at every at every turn like my expectation is that he's leaving North City after career best season team of the season the championship either Premier League or Bundesliga is what I'm expecting

But we'll see how that one develops Yeah, it sounds like the Bundesliga connections are high. Obviously it was there previously, but a good opportunity for all these players against similar competition to prove that they deserve the spot and a pretty easy way for Pochettino to judge a lot of them. Obviously the team you're playing with is different, but if Damien Downs goes in and scores a ton of goals in the same league and other guys don't, then that's going to be a huge advantage. I think, I think Ajumang is going to eat.

Like I think all of the things he's already good at will come out in a lot of these games. There are big transition moments. There's huge opportunities on set piece. Like all of this stuff I think fits Ajumang's game. I think his hold up play can get better. And I think that's a huge part of what we could see. And that would be the nice developments for him to have. I think we've seen Haji Wright sort of clean up his game as he's been in England.

And Downs was really impressive over the month. Like he didn't have a ton of minutes, but you see it, the combination of size and touch. I think he's got a decent feel for the game. He's willing to use his size, but also wants the ball at his feet and really, really comfortable. Although still don't know what happened on the Augemange chance where he got played through. And he's spinning.

I think so too, but like at that point, they're calling it back either way. It was like not a world in which you run across the ball and they're like, yeah, no, no, we're gonna let that play. So then if he thinks AugemA is in a better position, fine. But like, if he's more aggressive to the ball, I think he gets a chance away before that. And then you see it from OJIMA,

like he is, I think, really good in his final two or three steps and into his shots. It didn't come off against Mexico. It didn't come off the whole tournament, but like you're playing against a really high level and that's the case and that's going to happen. But I just don't see other guys at his size who are comfortable cutting back on defenders and cutting back again because he can finish with both feet at pace he

can go either way and that changes the game and like for any complaints people have about some of the connection he had and how like you know part of the build up he was like the things he does are pretty special and he is new to doing it at this Level and it should only get better and this is a huge opportunity for him We're gonna dig into MLS, but another big international piece just from the region Jonathan David headed to Juventus So that's the final landing spot for him This has been a five-year ordeal of where he will land and and where he will be put and there have been some ordeal of where he will land and and where he will be put and there have been some reporters who have talked about it every week for all five years.

So now they can finally have their watch ended and Jon Snow style. They can go back and live in the normal land and off the wall. But a huge opportunity obviously for David. I thought he was really good in the gold cup. I thought he stepped up in ways we haven't seen of like being a leader with no Alfonso Davies and Ustakio there. And it should be a team that he fits into pretty cleanly. He can play in transition, he can play to his feet.

And he has shown so far that he'll score goals everywhere he goes. And this is a big chance for him. And it made sense at this time to go, I think, make a move like this. I agree. And going to Juventus, like Jonathan, I think he's going to fit in really well there. I think that he's better than Blajovic. I think that he'll adapt to Serie A, I think, really, really easily and really, really well,

particularly a team like Juventus that, again, for all their troubles in recent years, they're still going to be viewed as one of the biggest teams there. And week to week, they should be controlling possession, and they should be creating plenty of chances for Jonathan David. So then at current time of recording it's Jonathan David, Wes McKinney and Tim Weah. That's a lot of concrete there at that club and that's going to be cool if it stays that

way but you know we got our bi-annual report of apparently Wes McKinney is on a transfer list and Juventus are negotiating deals for Tim Weah without Tim Weah knowing I don't know what to make of any of it. Uh, so hopefully Jonathan, David, uh, well, at least he got the guarantees of the contract. So no matter what happens, like he's good. But again, I think that he's going to be a more focal point of this team than McKinney and way I have been, uh, obviously everyone will assume Weston McKinney being transferred out because of

his food takes. I'm fine with them. They're just not good takes. But like also he lived in Texas for a long time. So you're talking about like everything's in a strip mall and like, you know, Mediterranean food is Zoe's kitchen. So you know, it's not the best upbringing to come out of to go into that food atmosphere. But clearly event is fans are mad and I can understand it as well. Let's dig into our MLS talk. Let's start with the big signing.

Nicolas Fernandez, 25 year old, coming over from Elche right now in Spain, originally from San Lorenzo in Argentina, will be joining as a designated player for NYCFC, who won 3-1 on Thursday evening against Toronto FC in their start of the post-Italian's era, which clearly didn't go super well for them. Um, NYC FC sitting what seventh right now in the Eastern conference, still looking, I think in most times outside of Maxi rep Morales for direction in their attack. And that's what you're hoping you're getting in an in-prime player who is a few

years older than what we have seen the big signings be for NYCFC over the last four or five years. I've been crying out for a signing like this for NYCFC, so well done to them for getting it done. Again, that deal was done sources have told me for Nico Fernandez from Elche. The reporting in Spain is that he's a club record sale, which would put it in that like 8 to 10 million range. So he might be a club record signing for NYCFC regardless this is what I want to see from a city football group led club yes you're gonna have young players rising talents it cannot all be that the Red Bulls kind of fell into that trap a little bit in the past and again this is some again a, again, a fee in that range,

a player of this guy's quality of his pedigree in a position of need for NYCFC. So poor Maxi Morales can take a few minutes off occasionally at 47 years old instead of being the most important and the driving force of that team at this age. They didn't have a plan, they didn't, sorry, they didn't have a replacement for Santi Rodriguez this winter. This is a Santi Rodriguez replacement. He is coming at a much higher pedigree, a much higher fee and a much higher everything else than Santi

Rodriguez when he arrives. So those are the expectations. And having a DP 10 as a focal point is only going to help the young wingers that they've invested in. So I think this has the potential to be a homerun signing. We'll see exactly how it works out. He can play wide if needed too. So there will be plenty of times with him and Maxi Morales on the field together. And now they finally have their post-Maxi Morales succession plan. And again, somebody who could potentially like scales as a star in this league based on his stats over there. You never know exactly how our players are going to adapt. But this is a big time sign. I think that flexibility is really nice especially off the bat of like you can

play him out wide so the game's not fully on his shoulders while Maxey's still clearly capable of doing things and still just make his life easier and helpful or he can replace Maxey or you can push Maxey deeper like it gives you some optionality there which I think is really nice for this team as you said it sort of helps you double down on the young players that you have and making their life easier. And where he sits, if he hits and is happy,

this could be a guy for five to seven years that you build the rest of it around. If he hits like crazy and isn't happy or the offer is there, you could move him on again because he is still young enough to enter to another big deal. But I think a player in this situation is somewhat what I always talk about with LAFC of like, this could be a fluid asset. If it doesn't work out, he is in the range where you could probably move them on and get close to a similar number and like take

that risk. Where NYCFC has been is they've gone so young that like they're the ones making the big spend and no one wants them and then they Get stuck with them or you go on the opposite side Which is at an older age where this is their last move and if ever anyone wants out of the deal You're probably looking at a buyout and you're probably looking at a player who leaves for free And so this is the type of move that makes sense Can help them now obviously he'll have to wait a couple weeks to play because of the summer window can help them now. Obviously he'll have to wait a couple weeks to play because of the summer window. So NYCFC will have to hope that they hit the ground running with him really quickly, but I wouldn't be shocked for them if this is a team where it's like, okay, can we just get into

the postseason? And if it starts to gel, then we have a shot at beating anyone because I think most games they'll step on the field and feel like they have an opportunity. They battled pretty well last year even and didn't have, you know, a big DP coming in to save things for them, but then build going forward. I've talked about this a million times, but like they're going to open this insane stadium in, in New York city. And so it is going to be a huge moment. They have to do work early building towards that. Like there has to be the

foundation set in stone. And I think Pascal Jensen supposed to be a part of that. That when you open that building like okay you can juice things at the last minute to add to it but coming into it you should be feeling like you are a top four team in the Eastern Conference and that you're gonna be competitive every single game and that you have depth and you have a spine and then maybe you throw a cherry on top at the end and go big on a DP or a big name or loan someone in whatever it is. This feels like the type of move that can be leading towards that.

And as you said, we've seen some of the other warning signs for other clubs that have gone too young and not been able to compete where it feels like NYCFC sort of recognizing that. Yeah, I agree. Again, like this is everything I would want from from this on again. I understand that it's almost always going to be a player with upside, but it's a 25-year-old and not a 20-year-old. It's somebody who had seven goals in ten assists, something like that, over the last year in the Spanish second division and the cup competitions.

That's a serious player. This is a really good signing. This is the kind of guy that, I don't know know, Brazilian, like Botafogo or, or Palm Eris or like one of these big Brazilian teams will just say, okay, here's $10 million. Like, let's just take this guy back to South America. So I mean, I want to see more teams getting like any big Brazilian team going for a guy in Europe, something like that. I would love to see the next development of

MLS to be MLS clubs. Like, oh no, like we can match everything. Can't necessarily match the playing quality as the Brazilian league, but like in terms of money, ambition, like why not? Right? Like so I think it's a really good time. You have two guys as well who I think, I mean Alonso Martinez, obviously, killer finisher. If you can create for him, it's gonna be huge I still really like Hannes Wolf I think he's still more of a straight line runner like he is not it's not the fluidity and creativity off his feet as often but I think if you have Maxi and now for then is creating chances Those two will feast off of it and then you open up space as well for anyone else on the other wing

If that's sort of the setup you go with with Maxi playing a little bit deeper to get one v one situations and just make life easier For whoever it is and then as you said, they look better. So it's a big moment It's a big move for NYC FC and it is the big of big first big move I think of what we're gonna see many coming up in the next few weeks and obviously Got the ice cream shop to open up and continue talking about it But let's talk about the games we saw this weekend first and it was the flip at the top of the standings International break or you know international window not every full starter whatever it is But the points still count and we had a couple of huge moments

So Nashville knocked off Philadelphia 1-0 honey mook tar with a hundred and first minute pk winner It is tied for the latest game winner in an MLS regular season match history He puts a penalty kick straight down the middle in the air right under the crossbar Blake is sort of there and just can't get his hand to it I have no idea if that was a purposeful finish from honey, or if it was just head-down I'm gonna hit this as hard as I can and hope it goes on frame. Whatever it was, he has struggled with penalty kicks. This was a huge moment for Nashville.

They played the final 30 minutes down a man because Johnny Perez picked up a red card around the 63rd minute. And this was a clash at the top of the East Nashville because of the win, they jumped Philadelphia they moved to second place in the Eastern Conference. And this is a stratosphere. I think very few people expected them to be in. Tom, you could see the atmosphere in the building. The fans have come.

They have reacted to this. They are enjoying the way they play. And this was like a huge moment for this team. Now, this has been one of the most fun stories of the league this year. And like there's been so many pleasant surprises that Nashville are only just starting to get their due because we talked San Diego We talked Vancouver. We talked Minnesota you go on down the list and Nashville just kind of been there the whole time They're getting stronger and stronger now as the season goes on this team has They're unbeaten in like

11 or 12 games. I'm not gonna do the quick math and just stop But four wins in a row. The schedule got, this has all been Eastern Conference. And their next two games are at Miami, home to Columbus, and then three games later, they play San Diego on the road. So I'm very curious to see what the next stretch will be. I think this team is absolutely for real.

The way that they play, we knew that they were gonna be more fun this year than in the past, not a hard bar to clear, but we didn't know, is this just going to be a fun team in a transition year or is this going to be a serious playoff team? I had my doubts over the serious playoff team part and I've been absolutely wrong and this has been one of the very best stories in Major League Soccer. Hany Mookzar is still one of the most joyous players to watch. Sam Surge leading the Golden Boot race. And it doesn't matter who you put in this national midfield.

All of these dudes want to ball. And like it's just such a departure from what they did over the first handful of seasons in the league, which again, they were extraordinarily successful. Like that is, this is not a knock on that era. This is just stylistically much different and more fun. And they've done it, I think in their own way still, right? Of like, yeah, This is not a knock on that era. This is just stylistically much different and more fun. And they've done it, I think, in their own way still, right? Of like, yeah, they brought in a few more international players at a younger age that have fit in.

Surge was the start of that, but Qwasm and Yazbek are a part of that. Tag-Seth is a part of that. But it still is all sort of picking your game model and fitting slightly unknown pieces into it that all really work. The other thing for this team is now they're going to get Walker Zimmerman back as well. So they've maintained performances

without him. Now he comes back from national team duty. That's a huge get for them even as they go into this tough stretch. And I think part of being able to survive this game against Philadelphia is that DNA that they have built. The ability to hold the ball at times and be able to kill, you know, other teams attacks, other teams momentum and I thought they played with a ton of confidence and as you said, Hany is like a huge part of all of that He is now since he joined Major League Soccer the leading goal scorer in that time period That's as much as you can ask for last year was a down year It felt like everything was on his shoulders and a huge part of BJ Callahan's job

This year was like can you bring back the thing you said, the joyous part? Can you make the game a little bit easier for him? Can you make it fun for him? And there has been this push and pull of like, is he the, is he leading the line center forward? Is he a 10? Is he that second forward? Is he playing out wide? And now that Sam Surge has found his feet at that center forward position, I think this

is the best you're going to get from honey. He can make runs from deep He can attack defenders on the dribble or he can make runs into space to stretch the field over the top when surge drops in But he's more involved. He's more connected. He's in dangerous areas more often because there's more Variety to where he picks up the ball and how he attacks and a lot of that is like all the pieces around him know how to get him the ball they're quick on the ball they're comfortable I love taxeth I enjoy watching him play Qasim has been dangerous and so there's just a lot to really like about this and then you add on this which is this is gritty you go down with 30 minutes ago against at the time the shield leaders in a must win game. You don't have your full compliment. They don't have their full compliment. This is like classic Major League Soccer. It's going to come up like 19 times in the next four or five conversations we have.

But to get through that and get the winner I think is okay. There's something special happening and you can feel it inside the group and then you can feel it inside the building. I was texting with Valer who you know him and Ben Wright do an awesome job covering that team and was like does it feel like what it looks like because you know Geodes Park snuck through a lot of colored seats so you don't know if anything's a human being or a chair and they were like he was like no it is like this is probably the best atmosphere they've had since they

started at the stadium and that's what you're hoping for and that's what you'd like to see But because of this result Nashville was able to help everyone throw a little bit of a banana in there. And so then because of this FC Cincinnati jumped over both these teams and Finishes the weekend in the supporter shield lead with a 2-1 win at home over at Chicago. Kevin Denke continuing to look really, really dangerous, maybe even getting better. Kai Kamara continuing to look ageless.

And Evander just special so often. And in a week where we have All-Stars coming out and we've talked a little bit less about that because 100 people are gonna make that roster in the end and've talked a little bit less about that because a hundred people are going to make that roster in the end and it's a little bit less interesting for me even though I'm excited to go to Austin for it. Evander is still in that MVP convo and the things he does, kind of no one else can do. Yeah, man.

He's just a one-on-one player and this was why I was so bullish on this move for Sinse. I just thought within Cincy's structure And the freedom that he's gonna have again. He had plenty of that in Portland as well I just think that the Cincy defense was more ready for him And the way that he's paired with Kevin Denke has been really really special and there's not always a guarantee on that. He's been Incredible another win for Cincy. They came through a bad stretch where they went four games without a win. Now they're four in a row. Winners, this has been, again, this was my preseason shield pick. They still, I think, have another gear to go. I thought they played really good against Orlando and Chicago here.

I still think that there's another level. They have Hell's Reel this weekend. I can't wait for that one. I hope that as many players are available as possibly can be, even though Noboto is obviously going to be out. Columbus will have Orphan coming back from the Gold Cup, all of that, right? This is a team that I'm expecting to close out the shield race, but it's a completely wide open shield race. There are, I think, eight teams that I'd reasonably put with a chance. You know know you can tier them up however you want to be but like from Cincy Nashville, Philly, Columbus, Miami, then San Diego, Vancouver, Minnesota I think all of them realistically have chances and we'll see how long each of them can stay in the race but you know again Miami has the game in hands thing

so that's a little bit more difficult to put out but like the top four in the east are separated by four points and Minnesota, Vancouver, San Diego are separated by two points in the West and all of them are in this group so I hope the shield race goes down to the wire because that's super super fun and I like that more than then hey is this team gonna break a points record when like last year Columbus made a push at Miami and it was valiant but like it was it was unless that Miami had an all-time like slip up yeah they were gonna win the shield and it was just about hey are they gonna break a record and then and they ultimately did

so Cincinnati are still the favorite for me and I don't think that's just me being stubborn because I picked them in preseason but I just think that they have so many different ways to beat you and part of those ways are brute force talent what a Vander can do Goss to put a button on this, he does a lot of things that nobody else in the league can do. And there are games where they don't deserve to win. And Evander makes a special play, Kevin Deque makes a special play. The defensive unit steps up in a moment where, oh my god, how did they not concede here?

So I think they have all the ingredients and you need those factors to win a shield. It is exemplified by the fact that Cincinnati first in the league has a plus six goal differential. No one else has a single digit goal differential until you get to Columbus down in terms of we're talking about shield in terms of six. And that is just look the other way to the worst teams in the league have negative 22 goal difference. So like the air code the best one is only plus six. That is not that's not the same. No, it is. And it just shows the razor thin

margins that Cincinnati has won at so far. And they are elite defensively with Evander. Like that's been the that's been the formula so far. I think for Portland, that could have been the formula last year too. Like that's how good Evander has been. They just were not capable of the other side of that. I do think Denke looks better and that's not just finishing I think he looks more dominant more comfortable like right at the start We saw it and then he sort of fell into Disappearing out of games but getting on the end of things and getting enough goals to stay in the conversation Obinna no Bodo though is a huge loss for this team I think Pat Noonan said in an interview this week

that he got surgery and he would be out for, what I saw was quote a couple months. What I've been told is there's a, the discussion is gonna be after surgery, I believe surgery's today, is gonna be after surgery and early rehabilitation. Do we need to put them on the season ending injury list? And I really, really hope not. They're very hopeful not, but like this isn't

like a comeback. He'll be back in September for sure. This is a, is he going to be back this season? And they hope so, but we don't know for sure yet. They have said Chris Albright said on this show, like they're in win now mode. They may not spend like this always. It will be interesting to see how they react to being first in the shield race and losing one of their three or four most important players like how you bridge that gap, whether it's a signing or a loan, or do you believe you have enough internally right now Brian time Nunguna is taking over that role.

I think Bucca has played the best he's played over the last few weeks, but it is not the same. You know, he's not filling that hole. And the question will be, I don't know if there's anything internally in the league where you're like, can you find someone who's ready to hit the ground running that's available? And if not, how big of a risk or swing are you willing to take with the trophy? You know, very realistically looking at the exact trophy you are trying to win. Yeah. Um, I think that these are all things that they're going to try to figure out over the

next few weeks. Like, uh, I feel for the coaching staff there over the last 18 months, every time you think, all right, we just need a couple more weeks. We'll have the full squad here. And then we can sort of like everything that's had to be reactive and putting out fires. You go back to last year, this time last year, it was the, the sort of like everything that's had to be reactive and putting out fires you go back to last year this time last year it was the the segment of the season that the osco went down i believe hagglin did as well and miles robinson was on international tv like he is right now now hagglin's out again and miles robinson's almost back well nope obonino boto like one of

the constant presence inside this team one of the most important players on this team one of the most underrated players within the league okay now he he's out for several months. I'm like, alright well, I'm gonna can do the try to do the defensive stuff we're gonna need Buka more in the build-up because Anuguna that's not his game and like that's cool Okay, Lucas Angle you need to play left center back because you know, Hadebe is injured as well and and Miles is gone It's just like at every single turn Noonan and his staff are putting out fires rather than getting to be proactive and again this is for me one of the very best coaching steps in the league and

It's part of why I blindly trust them so much at any given turn because they figure shit out and that's just a really great Quality to have it would be nice to just get to watch them build things and be more proactive But injuries aren't gonna let that happen get to watch them build things and be more proactive but injuries aren't gonna let that happen. Obviously the first name that comes to mind is Derrick Jones because this would be the time where it all where it all hit and finally worked. I don't have like an obvious other name where I'd say this team has a ton of depth that's you know defensive midfield and like maybe you could get DC to give you a piece because they'll just take money and

whatever they can get. No one else really stands out for me. Like some teams have some depth. I don't know if it's depth that they'd really be willing to give up. Maybe you could talk LAFC into a move because they have like 97 central midfielders. None of them are pure defensive midfielders that they would give up. Like you know, if you're talking about taking one step down, then none of them are really naturals in that position. Um, and I mean,

I had this conversation with a Minnesota podcast a few weeks ago of like, they're like, would there be a fill in at central midfield? It's like, well, Hasani Dotson was that at the beginning of the year where we thought he'd be available. Obviously he's injured and it does not really feel like there's an obvious name there. The only thing for Cincinnati is like how much you're gonna trust someone coming in from overseas and hitting the ground running and being ready to go by the time you need it, so They did well last year in on paper with teenager debbie of like you got a guy

Who was a DP who had played an MLS who was available who could come in? I am NOT the biggest fan of him on the field They would be looking to probably do something similar if they choose to make a move Which will depend on how bad the injury is and what it ends up looking like on the West Coast Big results towards the top as well San Diego falling and the LA Galaxy falling so that sort of opened the door for Diego falling and the LA Galaxy falling. So that sort of opened the door for Cincinnati to charge to the top to Nashville to establish themselves in second place. The Houston San Diego game was awesome. It's everything you want is two teams who want to play. Yeah, well that ends up being a whole nother story. There was so much going on in this game. This

is another moment where I come back to two of the aesthetically pleasing teams playing in a high stakes game going after it and it's during it in an international window and I thought the field did not play well for either of the teams. I thought it held up the game a ton and you didn't even get to see this game open up as much as it could and it finished four to three. And like, that's just MLS, baby. Top five league in the world or whatever else is going on. There's the fun and then there's the negative.

The big fun, Lawrence and Ali is like fully back. He creates that goal himself out of nowhere. And then the dink at the end to be like, OK, I'm not just physically back, but like I'm at my spot and I'm reading the game and I'm confident and it's an unbelievable finish. It was his first start coming back from the injuries, made four appearances off the bench, finally got 45 minutes last week.

That's a huge moment for Houston. Like they need someone who does things outside of the flow of the game and breaks things open themselves. Inali is that player. Overall, San Diego then pushed buttons, created chances, obviously scored a ton of goals and you get, I think, a lot of belief from Houston to get themselves back in the game. The CJ Dos Santos moment though is wild. He basically broke his nose.

I don't know if that's true, but like he got hit in the nose while conceding a penalty kick in the second half and then they can't get the blood to stop. And then you've got concussion protocols. Then you've got to get his jersey changed because he has to face off in the penalty kick and it leads to 17 minutes of stoppage time because they could not get his nose to stop bleeding in a play in which he conceded the foul and the penalty. It was ridiculous from start to finish, but it was, I think, one of the most fun games of the weekend.

And for San Diego, they have done a lot, still missing pieces. Luca Del Toro is a big miss. They missed Godoy for a stretch because of Panama. And yet they've still remained in this conversation. Hashtag MLS after dark, by by the way everything you just said for the seat is everything uh... but yet say you have seen there there absolutely legitimate team in the shield race i still have on the fire as my leading mvp candidate

uh... we're should have to go for thirty four game season uh... no get no better brometer for that then seventy minutes a second of stoppage time. So I think that, yeah, of course you want to win every game you play. It's disappointing. Field wasn't great. It sucks. But like, yeah, you want to win every game at home, but sometimes these things happen

over a 34-game season. So I don't have any worry. I think your bigger takeaway on focusing on the positives for Houston, and particularly Inale, I think that's the more relevant takeaway than like, uh-oh, should we worry about San Diego? I don't have any worries right now. Yeah. I think that's fair.

Trucco Lissano coming off the bench in this one again, just managing his minutes, which is the right move of like long term if you finish towards the top of the West and you've got a shot in the playoffs and that's a huge part of it, like that's what you're looking to do. And they continue to get big performances from other guys. Miten hasn't been lethal, but he's a factor. Milan Oloski scores another goal. Like there's a lot for you to lean on. Franco Escobar with a stunner in this game as well.

And then Ponce gets the two goals. We mentioned this towards the top, but Jack McGlynn signing a new contract. Big moment this week He signs and deal in which he gets a raise but remains as a u22 initiative player Which is really big I think overall for team planning for this group Absolutely, I think this makes sense again. The player gets a nice raise deserved raise Houston get hit like knowing that he'll be here and the security of when it's time to sell maybe next summer They're gonna have bigger security to make that move. What I was told is collaboration between the players camp and the team

This isn't like okay, you sign a new contract. You're gonna be here through the end of the contract This is a okay. We want to reward you and we want to give ourselves security in negotiations as they come forward There was a bunch of teams calling Houston this summer I was told no official bid was made, but that's because they were having the contract talks as well. I think that in a different circumstance maybe more bids would have came, but like again they have a 50% sell on the Philadelphia Union, so this had the fee has to be in like the 6-8 million range. So I think the new contract helps with that and we'll see

what happens in the coming windows, but I think this new contract helps with that and we'll see what happens in the coming windows But I think this makes sense for everybody like again Like I said earlier in the show Jack Mcglynn saying I think that's best for his Current development in terms of like if you're looking at it in the World Cup lens I just think that there's too many risks to play I don't see him playing this right attacking midfield like half space ten role in Europe or You know really many worlds in MLS just given how specific Houston have their game model down So I'm interested to see what we're gonna like is this gonna help his game for when he's back playing as an eight in Europe like it'll have more maybe creativity and and confidence on the dribble or pushing into the attack or what is this gonna look like?

For teams that are scouting him in Europe But again, there's a lot of teams that really really like like him. A new deal for him, I think makes sense for everybody. For a club that signed Nicolodero at the last minute because they didn't know if they had an 11 that they could trust to start the year, to have McGlynn come back into a team that now has started Linger, has Bossy healthy, has Inali healthy, and playing,

Ponce scores two goals in this one, you can't complain about depth now for the first time, which is awesome for this group. And I have said for the last few weeks, like I have trust Houston. I have bought stock in this Houston team. Every time I've been asked like what team that's low down do we think can make a run? I like the way Houston has built into their game model. Now is the chance to finally see it.

And Jack McClain coming back into this team is going to be a huge part of that. And I think will be really, really fun as well. Vancouver falling three zero at the LA Galaxy. Payne still gets two goals. Big sort of relief moment for him. For Vancouver, it feels like without the internationals, like they've pushed us as hard as they can. And your hope is now you get revitalized

with White coming back in the team and Burr Halter coming back in the team and Ali Ahmed being fully with you and all the other things around that. It's a weird month for Brian White. Like he got the opportunity, he didn't get the chance. Now he steps away. Vancouver struggles without him.

Your hope is he comes out like hungry and is able to help turn this back around for this Vancouver team that we kind of always expected there would be a dip. The question now is can they manage the dip? And then for Miami, so they play midweek, they play on Wednesday alongside LAFC. Those are makeup games for the club world cup. And for Miami, they've got four games in hand. They annihilated Montreal this weekend. Not shocking there. They will the whole question with them will be with so many games and tight time period,

can they put out strong enough teams and play consistently? And that's been a question mark about them the whole time since Metsi got there. The other is now this rumor or connection with Rodrigo De Paul, which would obviously be a pretty large You know piece coming into your team. I don't know financially how they do it and I don't know if it's the right move to make but it seems like the same formula as Bousquet's of like Oh Messi's won with this person before let's see if we can get that person to come. Yeah The only way this can happen is if Bousquet's or like if Booskets would leave or retire. That's the only way it could happen. I think the talks are real based on what I've deduced.

Again, a lot of other people have reported this to people that they should trust. That's where it's at, but this can't happen without a departure. I know Jordi Alba signed a new contract in May, but the MWSPA numbers came out Whatever a couple weeks ago and he was listed at six million. It's DP simple as that. Busquets DP simple as that I got a text from somebody trying to be creative of well What if they take them on loan give them max TAM and then you know do a new con like your technique if you have a take them on loan, give them max tam, and then do a new contract. Like, if you have a pre-agreed contract

as part of a loan with a purchase option, so you do it for six months, you give them two million, and then next year you give them 12 million, whatever the number would be. You're technically not allowed to do that. So the only way you technically could do that is if you do a verbal handshake, wink agreement, we'll do the loan, and then we'll do a purchase option.

If you're at Letico Madrid, are you doing this on a gentleman's agreement? What's the value for you? Why do you care? And if you're Rodrigo De Paul, are you risking $36 million or whatever the total contract would be on, hey, this guy told me he was going to give it to us. Trust me, bro. Again, that's not to suggest that there's people to not be trusted in this deal I don't think that I would trust 36 million 40 million dollars in a verbal agreement to anybody so There there are all that is to say Bousquet would have to leave and maybe he does and maybe that's why this is could be all real

I will say it would be like I let go Madrid want like 15 to 20 million euros transfer fee Not not the most wise way to spend a 15 to 20 million euros transfer fee. Not the most wise way to spend a 15 to 20 million dollar transfer fee I'd say. But hey, if it helps you keep Messi, maybe it is. Maybe I'm just an idiot. It'd be, they do need more dudes like him on the field, but this is an expensive way to bring Messi's bodyguard in. Even though, if it happens, I would love to watch it.

Because he's a fun player, he's a unique player. He'd be the different kind of DP, it's just, you know, since he paid 16 million for Kevin Deca at a DP spot, not a box to box midfielder. But maybe in MLS he would add more goals and assists to his game. I don't know, that's kind of where I'm at on this. It's not how I would advise a general team,

but Inter Miami's obviously unique. It would be, I'm just gonna say it, insane. for this club to try and do a Wink Handshake deal when you are probably the only club that's gonna get investigated on every single thing because of what the last few years have looked like. And let me just say, so I don't accidentally get Miami in trouble, that is just somebody from around the league, Texan Big. Yeah, we're just all making this up on the outside. Is this possible? Right, that was just my rationalization for

No, it's not possible essentially It wasn't possible with De Bruyne They didn't even try it with De Bruyne and he didn't say yeah Like, so there's no proof that it would happen But it would be a weird team to try it Because You're gonna get caught cause you're the only one People are watching for this type of stuff

We have some comments in the chat as well about Could this mean an opening of the rules like does Miami kind of have they can't? They can't change in midseason. I don't think Something else. Sorry something else substantial is adding a DP spot Yes, or this could be for the offseason coming up Which we have no idea what that will look like and what that will be but obviously Miami's gonna be a huge part of the conversation as we go forward into the shield race. We mentioned, we talked about Stefan Frey off the top.

That game finished 1-1 between Seattle and Columbus, by the way. I think again, Columbus looked really good, missing of course Max Arveston, who is the best player in the region. So like to be able to get results without him. Jason Russell-Rose pass on the goal. Unreal, Diego Rossi looked good. All you starting to fit in. Yeah, this is a Columbus team that also doesn't have a

Double digit positive goal differential. They also are a team like Cincinnati that has played the margins really tight this year That's the gap between having Cucho and not it becomes from one goal leads to two goal leads It goes from tie games to wins. And I think Columbus fans have talked about that a lot. Gosdawg has not hit. He hasn't gotten super comfortable in front of goal and finished chances for them. Jason Russell Rowe has shown somewhat of his limitations as well. And so I think for Columbus,

we're still talking about can they add to this and make it a little bit more dangerous? Charlotte and Orlando, Orlando sitting right behind these groups In the conversation wild 2-2 game in Charlotte between these two squads But an opportunity as well for us to talk a little bit about Adelson-Malondo where there are reports connecting him to a move out of Charlotte and into Europe Yeah, I mean nothing new here in terms of a lot of teams really really like Adilson, Milanda, Schollert have already rejected bids earlier this summer. The messaging I keep getting when I ask sources is Milanda staying, Milanda staying, Milanda staying. We're not like

I think the only way that that gets tested is if Milanda demands to go or tries to make it messy. I don't know if he's going to. The kind of reporting out of Belgium was that he wants the move. That is different than I'm not training, unless like, you know what I mean? It's like the nuclear option versus like, hey, excuse me, I would like this move. So I don't know. There is a connection between Charlotte and PSV.

Charlotte's former chief head of scouting, Thomas Schalling, is the number two in PSV's front office. So there's familiarity there. Maybe that'll help with talks or whatever. But again, as of this morning, I was told, Charlotte are still firmly planning on Adil Samalanda being here through the rest of the season. But hey, things changing in Transpemba. We'll see what happens.

A couple of moves that have gone official. Atlanta has signed a 26 year old Albanian international center back, Ania Mihaj from Famili Kau where he was captain. All of that well done. All of that well done. I would have just said the Albanian international coming from Portugal. Made it all up on the fly was probably wrong about most of it. I do have an Albanian who normally sends me pronunciations, forgot to ask before the show. 26 year old though in prime center back to come into a group that has struggled mightily. It makes sense for Atlanta.

And this is one of those where it's like, if you're questioning coaches, if you're questioning roster build, whatever, having competent center backs is something that every team needs. And so you would go and make this move. And now we're talking about a group that, you know, brought Kim Ki-hee into this league,

was able to land on, Ya-I-Mar, like some of the best center backs we've seen in major league soccer in the past. A pretty big ad for Atlanta, uh, and Austin has made a couple moves or at least one official Nikki Beloko has signed 25 year old Swiss youth international center mid most recently played with Lucerne in Switzerland, started like 20 games last year for them in an area of need I think an area of need although they have depth of like someone who can push the game a little bit harder Going forward and it feels like they're still trying to figure out Their game model and what the role is in those central midfield areas under Nico Estevez and they've got a lot of options in there

they've also been connected with Diego Palacios a And they've got a lot of options in there They've also been connected with Diego Palacios a potential loan to Austin which I think would be a nice pickup for them Although I wouldn't say attacking fullback has been the flaw for them I would agree but this would I would be behind any any edition of cheeky Palacios to any MLS team whether you need him Or not. He's a really good player if you can get a deal done you get it done But left back isn't a need for me for that team. We'll see what happens Let's dig into open cup real quick before we get out of here Tuesday and Wednesday the quarterfinals So we've got Minnesota Chicago kicking off Tuesday night San Jose Austin as well

and then on Wednesday Philadelphia takes on the New York Red Bulls, which probably the game of The round and then Nashville hosting DC United All of these teams looking for an opportunity to win a special trophy. For most of them, it would be the first time they've ever done it. And some transfers connected to these teams as well. So Minnesota versus Chicago,

San Jose versus Austin on the first night. I think for a lot of us, we felt as the last round ended that Minnesota were the favorites. They would play at home for most of this road including this game It feels like their style fits knockout competition pretty well as everything's a long throw from box all and they continue to create chances They are strong defensively and now they would start to get some pieces back as well that they were missing with the Canadian national team Biggest one being Tani Oloche and Dane St. Clair, I guess,

might be the biggest one as well. I don't know. But Chicago, I think, looked good against Cincinnati. Tom, this is, to me, a really fun game of like clash of styles. It'll be interesting how much Chicago gets on the ball on the road and how willing they are to take risks with a central midfield that can get played through in transition. Yeah, we're into the business end of this camp, of this competition. That is, this is I think the matchup that's not like, you know what both of these teams want to do, right? And it just depends on which one's going to work out. And for me, I would lean, lean Minnesota in what they always do and how like, I don't know if I trust Chicago to break them down Yeah, this will also be interesting in terms of giving us an idea of like does the style work in a playoff setup?

Right because that's sort of been the big question is like do you score enough goals? Are you dangerous enough? Do you create the game whatever it is and I think we're gonna learn a bit about this So I think that's pretty big for Minnesota. And like, as I said, huge opportunity hosting this game. You would match up these, the winners of these two would match up in the next round. For San Jose, Austin, this feels like a huge chance for Austin, similar to Orlando a few years ago of like,

you have some belief in the signings you've made, you're not seeing it week in a week out. Can you steal a cup run here and sort of revitalize the fan base in this season and on the flip side for San Jose? They've just made a huge move. They've allowed Hernán López to go back to Argentina on loan which Tom opens up a designated player spot It opens one up for eight regular season games though because Hernán López is on loan Do you risk making the DP signing and sort of figuring

it out on the back end? I don't think he's coming back. I think you can safely assume he's not coming back. Whether it's staying at Argentino's Juniors or going somewhere else, you plan as if he's not coming back and you figure it out if you got an issue. Like they already loaned him, like right now. You can find another loan home if Argentino's Juniors, if it goes so badly. But I know that that club is very excited about bringing him in.

And I don't think that they're worried about it. In San Jose, I should say. Do you know anyone who's ever previously played at Argentinos Juniors? Yeah, Hernan Lopez's uncle, Diego Maradona. Okay, I just know you're a bit of a- He's going to go play at a Stadio Diego Maradona. I know you're a bit of an expert in that region,

so I just wanted to give you your opportunity. So you think San Jose goes, do you think they go big on this one? I hope so. I honestly don't know what to expect. Teams up for sale. But like, Bruce doesn't take this job without guarantees of investment. And they've been, they've tried, right? Like they came close on Brandon Vasquez. It didn't happen, but that ends up being a $10 million transfer fee and whatever, $3 million salary per year. They didn't use that money yet. So I think it still should be there.

I don't know this for a fact, but my assumption is they're gonna try something here this summer and again, whether it's a $10 million fee or not, like I don't think that they're just gonna be trying to trade for a bad DP within the league. You know what I mean? This isn't gonna be a Giacomo Veroni situation.

So the only thing I would add is if in a vacuum, you could convince me that the right move would be more of a center mid. And like say between Espinosa and Chico and Joseph, there's enough in the attack. Hernan Lopez wasn't adding a ton to that, that's why you're okay letting him go. You're not gonna go buy a DP center back. That's not how it works

How do you help that entire portion of the field and like could you go get someone who's a difference maker in that part? Of the field and it could be a big number, right? It could be 25 year old in their prime coming from wherever that could be a difference maker But like if you went out and got someone in the Gregory mold would that not help this team more? You don't answer that question I don't know I like it honest I got four weeks ago you maybe could have talked me into it, but like Bolaroos the truth and I think between Bolaroos Ian Harks and the no buck when he's back Like I think they have enough cover there

I think the best way to be have the most impact is a killer DP 10. And then you play this lopsided three at the back formation where Espinoza is kind of a wingback, but he's really a winger as we all know. And then you have the 10 that's coming into the half space on the left. And you have a box of four up top. And that just sounds like a Bruce team. Let your best players be your best players. And the rest of us will figure it out in transition and defensive. And again, this would be a really, really interesting team.

This is a really interesting. I think it'd be really, really interesting if they bring in a DP 10 that hits. On the Wednesday, Philadelphia hosting Red Bulls, Nashville hosting DC. I think you saw a Red Bulls team that rotated to be as fresh as they could for this game. And you have a Philadelphia team that's gonna welcome back some internationals that they haven't had be a part of their group and hopefully start to get some depth for them, not have to play as many players out of position. We talked about the loss against Nashville for them.

For the Red Bulls, official that Caraballo has now left, so his DP spot is up and he goes back to South America. And they made a signing off the back of this. I have it written down so I'm going to say it right now. Gustav Bergen. Yeah. Bergren. He is a 27 year old Swedish central midfielder from the Polish league. All of the Mad Libs has hit there for Red Bulls. Yeah. And it's interesting. So I like the signing, they needed a replacement for Kobayashi and somebody who's not going to be a DP. So that's good.

I don't know anything about this player. If he's an in-prime player, he's got a good profile. I think this looks to be a strong signing. We'll see. They, they being the Red Bulls, loves the Polish league. Like they've continued. I mean, they've made multiple U-22 signings out out of the Polish League So they are watching it more than anyone else The other thing with this team is like I think shroud and Edelman are really good options in those spots

so they don't need a crazy starter if they go out and sign Timo Werner and Lose Caraballo and just have the pieces they have really and if this is depth and an added one They're better off as a club. Yeah, I would agree and so on the team of burner one thing to consider I was speaking to a couple people around the league there are not excess or many excess international slots available for trade right now and that's something to consider this summer it's not going to prohibit any deals but it does factor into the math and so the Red Bulls I believe they have one open now and that would go to to break they wouldn't be worried in their ability to open up another international roster slot because they have their second team they have players

that can yo-yo between the first and second team a guy like Don Corr or you just go down their international list and be like okay like who would we be okay with making room for for team over or even if it's just for the second half of the season? And we bring them back to the first team next year something like that but like depends like there are will be other cases where maybe there's a player around the league that gets waved because Hey, like we need the international slot for a new summer signing like that. That's something to consider Like I think DC United have the most flexibility, but DC are trying to be active this summer, too So we'll see how that develops. And maybe it's just a lot of teams saying,

oh, what if this happens? And then two weeks with the left in the window, they say, okay, we're actually not going to sign anybody. We'll trade our international roster spot. But just something to keep an intro brain there. Marcelo Morales on an international for them as well. Sort of the one obvious one of, when you look through the list of

Not really a factor With the first team so that's one to consider as well. They will play against Philadelphia I think that's gonna be really fun. And then as I said Nashville against DC United DC trying to do the thing only DC has ever done of like be really bad and when he was open cup Nashville Can they keep their form for them like this feels set up very very well The winners of these two will face off against each other in the next round and we will be back on Thursday To help recap all of it I think we'll do another early show on Thursday because we are gonna get a little bocum beers with the boys on

Thursday afternoon last evening in person. I'm going to see Tom for the first time in a while. So we're going to do an early show remote so that Tom can come travel and see us in person as well. Um, we've got a bunch of interviews lined up. We're going to try and do some NWSL interviews that I'm really excited about this week. We are working on a couple of interviews as well to do around gold cup around MLS all star game and more.

So anyone you want to hear from, feel free to shoot us a message. Thank you to everyone here who was listening a lot or watching live on YouTube and in the chat. Always fun to talk to all of you. Always fun to have your input. Anyone else living listening remote via podcast? Thank you as well. Once again, it has been a great show. We are excited for the week to come here at Sakurai. Shout out to Tommy and shout out to all of you. And we'll talk to you again very, very soon.