Colin Cowherd Podcast - Colin Cowherd & Landon Donovan react to World Cup Draw: USA Is Group D favorite
00:01The volume.Today's World Cup draw reaction is presented by Haleon, the maker of Advil, Centrum, Tums,Sensadine, and Voltaire.They've teamed up with U.S. soccer for the assist, a campaign celebrating all themoments of support that make the big goals possible, because every goal starts with an assist.In the history of the United States men's national team, the man you're looking at hasthe most goals and most assists in the history of our country.and we have ourselves a World Cup on American, Canadian, and Mexico's soil.
00:41It will shatter every record from television revenue to television ratings ever.Lannon, you know, I've talked multiple times before, but I think the thing that's exciting to me is you were one of the rare Americans that could go overseas and be prominent and dominant in.in the States. This group of players, and they've grown up in a different reality, right?We've got multiple players playing overseas. It's the most intense soccer. Most of the bestbasketball is in the States. Most of the great soccer is in, let's say, Europe. Does the,I believe you're just more battle tested. I feel like this group of players has facedgreater competition. It's almost like they're more mature kids than you had the opportunity.Clint Dempsey or Alexi. Our soccer has grown. It does feel like a little bit more European.
01:47Take me to your history that how you changed as a player, the more you faced international players.Because I feel this group, they have an advantage over your era is that they've been more internationalconsistently. And I think that helps us in bigger stages, in bigger tournaments like the World Cup.So theoretically, for sure. And they've played at a higher level more often than we ever played.The challenge is, Colin, and you know this generationally, that when you grow up withmillion-dollar contracts when you're 18, soccer on TV, everybody knows.knows your name, you're famous, you're popular, whatever, you lose a little bit of the gritthat the previous generations had. And I'm sure this happened in all sports over time, the NFL in the
02:4170s and 80s. It was just hard and rugged. Now you get guys coming out of college, actually in college,already making billions of dollars. And so theoretically, yes, what we've seen, the evolution ofthis group of players is a bunch of them were 21, 22, 23, and Qatar in 2022. And over the past six months or so,you saw a bunch of them,I don't know if entitled is the right word,but expectant that they were going to be part of this national teamand that things were just going to sort of fall into place.And then they went through like a six or seven game losing streak
03:13with the national team.And it's over the last few weeks, few months,it's changed back to where guys realize that it's time to get your stuff togetherif you don't want to get embarrassed during a World Cup on home soil.But if all of it comes together, yes, what you've said is absolutely right.They are more battle tested in all the ways.Well, Maricio Pocotino is demanding.And so he walks into this group of players and he wants to establish a culture.
03:45And part of the culture is, I want to see a play.I really don't care what you did with Greg Burrhalter.That's right.I totally respect that.And I'm a Pulisic.devoted fan. I think he's about as good skill-wise as we've had. He's a really clever player.You know, he feels global in any league against any competition. But I don't like the word entitled,but I do feel like I almost want to defend him and go, well, he, LeBron's a bad comp. But he is our
04:23global star, should he have not expected sort of a, dude, we understand you got stuff overseas,or do you think Mauricio had a right to say, hey, I'm establishing a culture, everybody'seven. I mean, if you took over the lion's job, you'd be like, okay, Amaran St. Brown is our number onereceiver. It's sort of understood in the room, right? So I think it's a very, I think it's a toughcall, Landon. I think the United Statesman national team job is a hard.job.Brazil has higher expectations, but you're not, they're at a different time and place.What do you make a Mauricio's relationship handling of Pulisic in the early stages?
05:10So I think both can be right.So from Christian's standpoint, he has done a ton already at 27 years old.And by the way, I think he just scored two more goals today in Italy.So he just keep racking him up.But there is a level, and this is challenging for players in all sports where you feel like I've done the work, I've proven myself, I should be on the team, I should be a starter, this should be the way it is.And unfortunately, not so much with Christian, but a lot of his colleagues with the national team sort of took that same attitude and mentality.Yeah.And then they got their butt kicked a while during the beginning part of this year in the summer.
05:49And so Pochitino, by the way, Pochotino has coached Mbapé, Harry Kane, Neymar, Messi.Some like random American player isn't going to cluster him, right?So what he's had to do is say, listen, guys, where he comes from in Argentina, if you declined an invite to the national team, it's like sacrilegious.Like, you might as well never show up in Argentina again because the people there would cut off fingers to play for their national.national team. Right. And so when a few players at different times, and I'm excluding Christian fromthis argument because he's a different case. But when a few players have said, well, I'm a little tired.I don't want to go into the national team. His mind is just like, what are you talking about?You don't want to play for your country. And so what he's done over time very successfully is
06:38brought real pride back. And it's crazy that I'm even saying this, do you call him, real pride back inplaying for your country and for your national team. And I think he's done a fantastic,job of it. And now every time someone comes into camp, they have to fight and earn and scrap forevery minute. And I think it's good. Yeah, Landon, I think big picture it is good, but I think it's moredifficult than maybe soccer writers and fans understand is that there's a fine line in dealingwith global stars, music, entertainment. It can be singing. It can be soccer. It can be basketball.The world's changed. The money. I mean, like you said, college quarterbacks make $5 million.We have separated from Europe financially over the last two decades.
07:22America has.Like, this is where capitalists come.So I do think our athletes, it's, I mean, you know, again, I'll go to London and I'll be in a restaurant and I'll like, you don't have air conditioning.This is London, the financial center of Europe.Sometimes, and I hate to use spoiled or entitled.It's the reality of the life here.And if you're a premier athlete in any sport, it is different.Group D is interesting.
07:48sense is it's a great draw. Australia, always a little underrated, Paraguay, and then potentially,I guess Turkey is what many believe could be a favorite coming out. You say to yourself,well, it's a favorable draw. But let me ask you about playing in the States. You see this in othersports. Sometimes playing at home brings enormous pressure. Do you think, all right, now you're afavorite.Australia.You're the favorite.Well, Australia knows that.
08:21They would love to ruin your World Cup.There's a duality in that.I'd love to play at home.But shit, I've got to win.Your takeaway on playing at home favored probably in a group.That's new, that's foreign territory for the United States.It's national team.Very foreign.
08:40Yeah.So the interesting thing is there are three countries who are hosting in this World Cup.Right.The Canadians.home will be rabid, intense, amazing support, no matter what happens. And it's based on expectations,right? Sports are all about expectations. Mexico on the other end of the spectrum, if they go 10 minutesin their first match without scoring, there will be some, like, some thoughts of maybe booing, somehesitation about cheering. They go 45 minutes without scoring against South Africa in their opener.
09:14You're going to hear a lot of booze, right? And that's where it turns from like support.to pressure of you better perform or else.Soccer in America is somewhere in between.It's mostly supportive.We'll be mostly support.But if for some reason lose the opening game to Paraguay,now there's ramp and pressure that turns up.And that's a whole different element.
09:32So it's an interesting dynamic and one that, to your point,it's a great point, we have not dealt with before.We have never gone.I was talking to Tim Howard this morning.We've never gone into a World Cup expected to win our group.And not even close.I mean, it's like, rather easily.And it's a very different dynamic because we were one of the seeded teams this time.
09:53The other three teams in our group are significantly, quote unquote, worse than we are.And so it's going to be a really interesting thing to follow during the World Cup.What's reasonably appropriate success?To you, what does it look like?Okay, so the analogy I was thinking about, Colin, is in college basketball.all, if next year the NCAA went from 64 teams to 128 teams, your expectations of what successeswould change if you are a mid-major or if you're Duke or Kentucky, North Carolina, like,they want to win.
10:30But if you're a mid-major or you're a Seton Hall or in the past, maybe, and I'm just makingthis up, you know better than I do, making an elite eight is wildly successful.Wildly successful.But now you have 128.teams in the NCAA. Now getting to a round of 16 is the comp. That's the actual comp. But in your mind,you're saying, oh, it's only a round of 16. We should have got to an elite eight. So my point in allthat is, in the past, there were 32 teams in the World Cup. Now there are going to be 48 teams.So if you get out of your group now, you're in a round of 32. Last time in Qatar, if you got out of
11:05your group, you were in a round of 16. So I don't exactly know, and it's going to be interestinghow teams deems success. And this is where all the spin doctors will get. I'm sure.if U.S. Soccer, if we make it out of the group and win the round of 32 game, they're going to say,well, this is maybe the most successful ever, even though our team in 2002 got to a quarterfinal.So I don't know exactly how that's going to play out, but my opinion is winning the group is asuccess, winning a first knockout stage, because if you win the group, we would play a third placeteam from another group. Winning that game, I think should be an expectation. And then from there,a lot of it's based on who you play. And the way it's set up.
11:44now as likely that team would be Belgium. And that's a team that on paper is probably a littlebetter, but absolutely a game we could win. Yeah, you know, I kind of feel like I've said thisin professional American football. Most Super Bowl champs have seven elite players in their primegoing into it or still clinging to it. Kansas City now, Chiefs too old. Are you Seattle,little too young. So we have an interesting, I would say currently if I, and for the first time I canever remember, I'm not sure our goalkeeping is in our top seven players, like for the first time inmy life. I don't think so. Okay. Let's take the best seven players. I would say all seven are eithergoing into their prime or just entered it. Now, we're still in the young,
12:39We were the second youngest team in last World Cup.When we faced Netherlands, it felt a little bit like the dads and the oldest son.You could, the physicality.Yeah.You know, it just, they were a bit bigger, a bit stronger, more experienced.I don't expect us to go toe to toe with Argentina.But I usually feel there's 10 to 12 teams going into a World Cup that will play a moredefensive style, less attacking, more defensive.
13:08I don't see it this way.I think there's maybe three to four teams that we would be underdogs.But I do feel we can be aggressive.I mean, you know this.You play Brazil.You don't go in attacking.What you're looking for is a late goal to win it, tie it.That's how we played forever.
13:31I don't feel that way with this team.I think our team's speed.I think we can be a more attacking style.Or is that a very myopic American view?Well, it is a myopic American view.That's what we love about America.And we believe we can.But what more importantly is this team is set up to attack.
13:52And I don't mean attack with the ball.I mean to go and go after it.And that is they are young, athletic, physically durable.And in the previous regime under Burrhalter at times, it was a little too,tactical and let's be cagey.These guys, they're like,they're like lions ready to get out of the cage.You've got to let them go.
14:15And Pochitino likes to play that way.Yes.In world soccer now, it's becomeway, way, way more tactical and cageyand all these things. And so now, if you're a teamthat really goes after teams,you can really surprise teams. And we saw that, we playedUruguay a month ago and beat them 5'1.
14:34And that's a very good team.And they were just stunned. I was watchingthe game. And I couldn't believe how unprepared Uruguay was for a team that just came after themand got in their face. And so if you can play that way with the momentum, with the crowd, with theenergy of tens of millions of Americans, it doesn't really matter how far you go. You are going toinspire and put a product out that people are proud of. And I think that's what fans most want.Yeah. So when you talk about the way soccer has changed, what you're basically saying is theanalytic part, just like baseball and basketball. You're saying soccer's gotten a little bit more
15:11analytical and action. Okay, so this is a global reality of all the sports. And I always say I likeanalytics. Analytics plus let athletes be athletes. Like sometimes Landon, the clock says eightminutes, do your thing. Let's get out of the end. I think analytics has an absolute role,especially in volume sports and regular seasons.So I imagine you like the Americans to get out of Group D.Fair?Yes, to win Group D, yeah.Big thanks to Halion.
15:44And For the Assist, reminding us that no one scores alum.To learn more, visit Halion Assist.com and follow at For the Assist.Every goal starts with an assist.
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