The Rest Is Football: Daly Brightness - The “Group of Death”, Alessia Russo For Golden Boot & Lucy Bronze’s Wall Chart

Episode Date: July 3, 2025

Is England’s group really a “Group of Death” and what are the main dangers France, Netherlands and Wales will pose? What makes Alessia Russo one of the best strikers in the world? Why is Lucy Bronze in charge of the team’s wall chart at their base camp hotel? Millie and Rach are joined by Ben Haines to discuss what we need to be looking out for at Euro 2025 and why Spain’s Clàudia Pina has the potential to be the standout player at this tournament. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before we get into today's episode of Daily Brighteners, we just want to say a huge thank you to our proud partners, Shaw, for being with us from the very beginning and what a start it's been. I think the reaction to our podcast so far has been nothing but positive from our family, from our friends, from our teammates, from our fans. It's been really nice to see all the positive reviews and feedback, so keep that all coming. Yeah, I also think that we've probably learned a lot about ourselves and me and Rach always talk about this podcast, you know, it's more than just us chatting, it's actually like a little therapy session.

And I've actually learned a lot about myself and I feel like it's given me the confidence to open up a little bit more and show that more vulnerable side. So, yeah, it's been really, really refreshing. And we also get to appreciate all the things that we've achieved. Rach, everything you're achieving with Villa, you know, the form at the end of the season, me getting my 200th in the WSL and talking about all our accomplishments, the hard times. Yeah, it's becoming a really nice platform actually, and I'm really enjoying

where it's going. But thank you to everyone for the amazing support. So thanks again to Shaw for showing up for Women's Football and back in the pod from day one and thank you all for tuning in. Hey everyone welcome to the Rest is Football Daily Brightness. Euro 2025 has now officially begun with the opening games in Group A taking place last night. Very excited to say we have someone very, very, very, very special joining us today and throughout the tournament to give us some extra insight for our coverage of the Euro 2025. So without any further ado, our special guest for the summer is Ben Haynes. Hey guys.

Woohoo. How we doing? Party poppers. Thanks for having me. You're welcome. Thanks for coming on. How are you two getting on? I'm really intrigued to know.

Have you had any FOMO yet? Do you want to know? That's so weird because everyone keeps saying to me like, oh, you know, how have you been since you retired, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, fine. Like honestly, fine. And then last night it was all over my TV about FOMO. I was like, I'm going to be on TV.

I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be on TV. I'm going to be on TV. It's so weird because everyone keeps saying to me like, oh, you know, how have you been since you retired, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, fine, like honestly fine. And then last night it was all over my TV about the Euros. And I was like, oh, this is my first tournament that I've not been to. Like, this is weird.

And obviously the nostalgia of winning the Euros last time. Yeah, I'm a bit, not FOMO, but I was like a little bit, woke up with a bit of a, oh, wish I was there kind of thing. Are you the same, Milz? Pretty similar, I think, when you see the girls getting on the bus and I then instantly remember me and Rachael looking back like, holy shit, we're going to the Euros, and you're just getting

on the bus and you know what those players are experiencing right now and it's just pure excitement, get us there, get us on the pitch, get us at that first game and obviously with the games having kicked off, it's, yeah, it's like, we know those emotions, what everyone's feeling. So it was a little bit like, oh, really wish I was there. But then I think another side is super excited to watch it from a different perspective as well.

Aside that, I've, you know, neither of us have ever watched it as a fan. And I think this is going to be the highest, you know, quality Euros we've seen or tournament to this day. I think it's gonna be like super competitive. So really excited, but how are you? Obviously you're out there just for anyone listening. Ben is out in Switzerland, which is why it's gonna be super cool

to have him on the pod throughout the Euros. But yeah, how is it? Hot, like it's really hot. I'd be dying then. I heard you two talking about how basically at home we're not prepped for things because we don't have air conditioning. So we just melt in England.

And I've just transferred that out to Zurich. So I've got here and I'm just sweating. Like it's absolutely boring. It's good fun and it's beautiful, but it is properly warm. I think the other thing, what I went down to, It's good fun and it's beautiful, but it is properly warm. I think the other thing, what I went down to, I just kind of, you know when you get to a major tournament

for the players, they go and almost do that thing like you're on holiday where you go like run around and look around the hotel and you go and see for you guys it's like the games room and all of that. For me, I was like, right, I want to go for a quick run around the city and just kind of take it in a little bit. And it is stunning. Zurich is beautiful.

It looks like a toy town, but the Lionesses have done so well. Have you seen the hotel they're staying in here? It looks like Magic Kingdom. I think the one thing that England do really well is making sure the base camp is sick. Like it's your home away from home. Even in England, obviously we were in the Lensbury and that was so, the way they did it, you just feel like it's home. Do you know what I mean?

Like it's such a nice vibe, but also they take into consideration everything. Like you said, the games room, like we absolutely rinsed the shit out of the games room in your rooms, didn't we, Mel? Every day. You know, they give you things to do. Like I know it sounds stupid, but like colouring in or making bracelets or, you know, just things to like keep your mind busy and like, because ultimately you do have a lot of downtime when you're there. So I think England have always done so well at getting that right.

I spoke to Ellen White the other day and you know when you were saying about how you guys were like obsessed with the basketball? She was saying the same thing and she like almost felt a bit bashful about it. She was like, I wasn't on there all the time. I was like, El's you're protesting quite a lot for someone who wants to try and make it out that you weren't on it all the time. Excuse me, Miss Ellen White, you was on it every day. Four hours and we would have doms in our shoulders

and we came out like, we were like shoulder boulders. Honestly, like we were absolutely henched by then. Everyone's like, been training shoulders? I was like, no, I've just been playing basketball. I've been playing basketball for five hours. But back to your point on exploring, I do think it'd be great. You've now gonna have to send us pictures

of everywhere that you explore. Yes, I will definitely. I'm gonna have a little sort of mooch around the city and try and take it in a little bit, particularly because I was trying to remember the first time that I would have worked with you guys properly with you two together and I was thinking about in 2019, do you remember like, I think it was maybe Doville, you were in a really similar thing, it looked like a castle, it looked like something from Beauty and the Beast and you were staying in this huge Hotel that looks exactly the same

and I just remember thinking at the time that was really really similar. That was almost like a little postcard and I Mills do you remember this I got you to do like a Takeover for me on Instagram for the company I was working for at the time. And so we gave you a load of questions from fans and said, I think it was like 10 questions that you had to do.

And the last one was, which one teammate would you recommend that people should follow on Instagram? Who do you reckon you picked? It better have been me. Most likely Rach. Look, and we got a special guest appearance from Rach in this as well. I've got to show you this. Who did I say for that?

You did say Rach, don't worry. Yeah, of course I did. God, you're getting in my head there. Listen to this, hang on. One teammate that you should definitely give a follow on Instagram is Rach Dailey, in other names, RD3. She's a bundle of joy, she's always messing around

and gives really good content on Instagram. Woo! Follow me! And I love the fact, right, that you always say, like, no, no, no, we're just always together. And she was literally just sat in the back of the video you are literally always together when you're on those camps. Do you know what was really funny about that hotel I'm surprised you even able to get any content from Millie because Millie that in that hotel like I did everything bar wipe her ass in that hotel because

she had like explosive diarrhea, the sh, sickness, like the worst bug you could ever imagine all while having one arm. Oi, it was, that's when I absolutely demolished my shoulder. That was Erin Cuthbert actually, you little cow. She knocked me out and completely did my AC joint. Remember Rach when we was on the plane and I was like, get Rutan, get Rutan, it's exploding, my shoulders exploding. That's when they had to inject my shoulder before every game for me to even

like run, jog, anything. And we got split up didn't we? Because we were supposed to, we obviously were sharing a room back then. And then it was like, oh, Emily's going to have to go and get another room because she's literally... Rach, we came in, we came in from training and I kept saying to Rach, I feel a little bit sick. And we came in from training

and I was just coming through the hallway and I just went, and sick, just flew. Honestly, it just flew everywhere. And then I was literally stuck in this massive, it was like a four-poster bed as well. I can't even, I can only like, I remember it as that, but the bedroom was sick. And then I did my shoulder and I was so ill

and it got to a stage where Phil was like, right, if you can't eat anything by this day, I'm gonna have to not play here. Like I was that ill. So are you like, at that point, are you trying to like force food down? You're like, I've got to prove I'm good. Oh, God no, for two days I was literally like,

it was bad, like Rach, they both end bad. No, literally, cause all the doctors and everyone's are like, everyone stay away. Like Rach, they both end bad. No, literally, because all the doctors and everyone's are like, everyone stay away from Millie, she's so poorly. And she's like, Rach, I can't even move. I come to her bed and she's like this. Ben, I had one arm. I literally was in excruciating pain with one arm. My AC joint was completely gone.

I tore my ligament. I know I'm going to be getting an injection ready for the next bit. I'm like Rach, I cannot put on my pants or socks. I can't do my hair. I can't wash. You're going to have to wash me. She had to put me in the shower and everything. Adam- See, this is why I love this podcast because no one's ever finding this out at the time. No one would have had any idea at all. Rach- Genuinely, I think the only thing I didn't do was wipe your ass.

Adam- Yeah. Rach- But even that was a struggle for you because you had one arm. So you're like, I was like pass me the toilet roll. Let's bend over a bit and I'll give you a little wipe. We did everything else. So that's, that's kind of really needed one of them toilets. Like, like you press the button and it just jet washes you. I needed that.

So fast. We've totally gone off topic here, haven't we? You're feeling like we're talking about some football now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think we probably should. Just before we move on though. Just before we move on, just quickly something that we have to do. We have to do a little check-in. So, Rach, how's your week been? Any news? Any more DIY? No, I've got...

Oh, how's Louis? That's all I've got time for, honestly. I feel like I'm losing the will to live. It's like having a baby. Before, Ben, I was getting like interrogated by reaching these questions. Should I get another dog? What's it like? Will it be like this?

What if this? What if that? I was like, I have three, you'll cope. You'll be fine. No, but Dexie is a queen. You were an enabler. Yeah, she was. You were like, yeah, it'll be fine, it'll be fine. And Dexie is a queen. You were an enabler. Yeah, she was. You were like, yeah, it'd be fine.

It'd be fine. And then now I bet you're not sleeping. Literally. But I had Dexie from a puppy and she is honestly like a rare breed. Like she is the easiest going dog you've ever met. Like never had any any moment of bother with her ever. Right. In comes fucking Louis. Lunatic Louis. He's absolute bundle of joy, but it was really stressful the first few days because she hated him and they were just,

she was just going at him so nasty. Honestly, I was like, I cried. I was like, what have I done? I've made such a mistake. I'm like, I'm going to have to send him back. Like now they're honestly getting on like house on fire, but he is like one big bundle of energy. But other than that, he's great. Is he crying at night? No, so he doesn't, he sleeps really well during the night. He always gets like a solid eight hours. No matter, so if he goes down at 11,

he'll wake up at seven, like on the money. I love that, if he goes down. Like an actual baby. Give him a bottle of milk and shut him up. But it's in the day, like that's what I'm struggling with at the minute. Like if I go out to training in the morning and I'm leaving him for a couple of hours, I put the ring doorbell on him so I can see what he's doing. He just howls.

He'll stop eventually. But it's getting better. It's getting better. I've only had him for just over a week, so he's good. How are you Millie? Just had a couple of days in London actually. That's my little holiday till Christmas. So yeah, it just was so nice to just escape,

switch off completely, just do normal things, go get nice food. Love that. And I was burnt to a crisp, I will say that bad Millie moment, didn't put my sun cream on, but it was just so nice to escape and just, yeah, forget everything and everyone really,

and just have a little bit of milli time, which I'm trying to do a little bit more of. So yeah, it was good, but now I'm ready to get back to training now and go to the Mannequin Step in rehab and push on. So yeah, I'm getting like that itch now, I need to train. Mills, when you stop, when you have like a few days to yourself, are you one of those people that it takes

ages for you to like chill and sort of almost get calm again? Or do you just sort of completely switch off straight away and go, right, this is my time, I'm going to relax? I feel like I'd go through like waves of like, I'll enjoy my time and then normally, so like this whole last week, I've had like a whole week off, which has been really nice. So before we went to London, I'd have like a chilled day

and then I'd spend one whole day cleaning. Cause I'd feel guilty for doing nothing. And I'd be like, my mind's like, do this, do this, do this. Like I've got all my shutters booked in, like for new shutters and new blinds in the house. I've been, I have to do something, I have to. So I'll have one day chilled, then I have to do something. Then I'll have a chill, then I'll do something.

Say if I was on holiday though, I'd like be active like all the time. I can't just. Quite similar like that. Yeah, I'm just a bit pickled, aren't I? Like if I have too much time, I'm not good with my head, so I need to keep a ticking. Do you guys, have you guys gone on holiday much

before together? No, no, that's one thing we need to do. I know, we never have. It's gonna be carnage. I say we go Vegas. That's chaos. I say Vegas. Oh God, I'm trying to think what I'll be coming back with.

Probably a tattoo on my forehead. Yeah. I was just gonna say the hangover. That'll be me with the tattoo. Honestly. No, you'd have the tattoo and I'd be the, what's the one that always gets locked up? That'd be me.

Yeah, probably. Or lost on their own. Yeah. That'd be me. You know, when they come with all your teeth knocked out as well. I'd be in the room with the tiger, to be honest. That'd be me. Caesar's palace. Right, let's talk about some footy.

Ben, talk us through England and their group. Like, what's your projections? I'm a bit torn on this, right? Because everyone's calling England's group the group of death. Everyone's saying this is the hardest group in the tournament. And I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. I think there's a couple of other tough ones. But you can guarantee when the balls came out and you saw Netherlands and France,

there would have been a bit of Serena Vigman sitting there going, oof, could have done without that. And she, like, you know what she's like, obviously she's incredibly direct. She's never gonna say, that's really frustrating. She was like, it's a great challenge. They're great teams to play against, but it's gonna be tough for them, right?

Cause they're gonna have to start really fast and there isn't room. I'm trying to remember for you guys in 2022, kind of felt like you grew into it a bit. Is that fair? You kind of like built momentum. Well, look at the first game, it was Austria. But even that game, like the first game, opening game,

and because we'd had such a good run up to the last Euros, everyone expected it to be like a five nil, and like everyone just wrote Austria off. But it was one of the hardest games. Like your first game is always the hardest one because you're like finding your feet, like you said, you're getting into it, but it almost feels like there's no time to do that.

But I think that is the way the Euros will be anyway. I think every game's a tough game. I think everyone's overlooking Wales, which I think you should not do at all. A team that's coming in for the first time, you don't really have anything to lose and they're a good team. They've got that grit, they've got that fire,

they've got that like never die mentality. And in a tournament, anything can happen. So with our group, there's no time for that hang around. Like you said, you've got to go, you've got to get in there straight away. How quickly after you arrive, do you go into match mode? Cause I know people maybe listening might not know this, but you kind of almost have every bit of your time allocated, right?

You know where you're going to be from first thing in the morning, almost to last thing at night, every day building up to the games. So how quickly after you get to camp, do you start thinking about the first game? I think pretty much straight away, because I think you almost go from prep camp, which is just like getting your feet on the ground, like getting prepared for the tournament.

Like it's almost like you're waiting for it a little bit, aren't you, Mel? Like it's like training, training, training, training, training. And then it's like it hits you, then you get there and you're like, oh, right, tournament mode. Like say you're walking into the hotel, seeing all the things set up and like everywhere around Switzerland, I'm sure is Euros, euros, euros.

I think obviously the girls watching the game last night, it's exciting. I remember in even the World Cup mills, like we just used to sit and watch the games all the time, didn't we? In that little room and you just get really ready for it. I think like as soon as you get there. You start analysing as well, don't you? I think when you first arrive, you probably like you said, everyone's running around like, oh my God, look at the hotel. This is this, oh my God, my room's this, my room's that. You kind of like set your little bits up,

like we'd always unpack and get everything straight and you know, you want to be at home, that's your home. And then I think once that's out of the way, you then very quickly, for me, as soon as that first game's played, like the girls like Rach said, watching last night, then it's like, we're in tournament mode. Like, and then you start analyzing, you start thinking, oh, like, said, watching last night, then it's like, we're in tournament mode. Like, and then you start analysing,

you start thinking, oh, like depending on, you know, what team it could be, let's say Norway for instance, you'd be like, oh, Norway could be like a tricky team or whoever's playing, you're starting to like think about like who you could potentially come up against, what players are like in really good form. And once that first game kicks off, like I said, then it's, then you just want your game to arrive

and you almost want to not train and just be like, give me the game, I want to play now. Do you know, when do you know whether you're going to play or not? The night before. Yeah. Obviously you went to base camp yesterday, Ben. I'm sure you probably saw a lot going on around there,

but Lucy Bronze is really good at like, she always has a wall chart, doesn't she, Mil? She always puts the big wall chart up, so she'll have the whole spread of the euros and like after every game, she'll fill in all the scores. So it's quite exciting, like, especially when you come back from your game and you've won, to like fill that in and be like,

oh, we've won. It's like old school, like newspaper cutout and you used to fill them in. Ah, amazing. Tick them off, like tick your games off and you've always got that final insight, like it's on the board, it's on the chart. Yeah.

You've got every game that you could potentially play in. And it's always like, you keep one eye there, but this is where we are. We've ticked that off next one. So you just get closer and closer. It's really nice to see. Will she be doing that this time, do you reckon? Does she do it every time?

I would have thought so. I would have thought so. She's always done it. It's really, it's cool though. Because it's like, everyone gets amongst it. So you come in and it's filled in in the morning. And it's a nice little thing just to see where you're at. If we get round of 16, who do we get here? Who do we get in the quarter?

What will it look like? That'll be a great match-up in that quarter-final sort of thing. I really enjoyed that. Can I ask who you guys are looking forward to watching out at the Lionesses? Is there anyone that you think maybe will surprise people a little bit? I'm LJ, Aggie. But I think Aggie, just because she's like, just seeing her progression and like her growth as a player, but also as a person,

like I think it'll be a really like proud, I'll be like a proud big sister moment. But also, I think she's really like stepping into her own and she's really starting to show like a mature side. And yeah, I just think she's gonna hit the ground running and whatever part she plays, she's exciting. She's scoring, she's assisting. Like I think she's really gonna showcase. But I think all the youngsters, to be honest,

it's like a new era now for the Lionessers. And you know, I feel that in football in general, like the next generation are really starting to come through and, but yeah, LJ, like Rach said, I think that's a no brainer. She's going to light it up, isn't she? I think just watching her the other night, like she's just got that spark back again. And it's like it's literally it's like it's by no means arrogance,

but it's just pure like she just pisses confidence. Like she gets the ball at her feet and it's like, come on then. It's always like, come at me, come at me, 2v1, let's go. Like honestly it's magic. And obviously you train with her every day Mill and I've obviously had the pleasure of being with her at England and stuff.

And that girl's magic. Like you meet one of them players in your lifetime and she has got that swag, like she can just turn it on. And I just think she's phenomenal. But I agree with you, Mil, like the youngsters, it's a really exciting time. There's so many of them that have never been to a tournament before.

Like, Aggie has obviously done well and come on and impacted in every game she's played. And it's almost like you get that vibe of like, less in the last year or so. Like, was absolutely shining. Like training, she's bossing it, like comes on every game and she makes a difference. And it's like, not saying that, you know,

she hasn't got a chance to start at all, but if it is Alessia that is the starting number nine, you've got Aggie, like, what a great super sub to have. And you need them in tournaments. You need players like that, that no matter what, they can just come in and just determine what the game's gonna be like. And just thrive, no matter what opportunity you're given. Just be like, all right, even if it's my 10 minutes,

I'm gonna make it the best 10 minutes. And that's what Rach saying, like tournament football, you need every single player to play their part, no matter how big or small they see it to the team. It's massive. Even if you don't play any minutes, but you're the best player in training every single day, it's the hardest role to play,

but like you're giving to the team, like that was Euro 2022, like that's why we won, because our bubble was so tight and everyone did absolutely everything they could do, whether they were starting, finishing the game, not playing at all in the stands, like everyone did absolutely everything.

But it's gonna be exciting. I think the quality of the tournament is just gonna be class, to be honest. I am backing Alessia to be golden boot though. I just got a feeling. Yeah. Got a feeling this year, like this year's her year. Like she's done so well with Arsenal.

I don't know, I've just got Alessia, it's got a little golden boot written all over her, so I bloody hope so. When they're doing the prep this week, who do you think they'll be picking out from France that they need to not worry about but they'll have to compete with? For me, I think that, yeah, they're so, they're raps, aren't they? We always say that every time you watch them, it's just like pace, pace, pace. But, I mean, players from your team, Bill're Baltimore. She has been outstanding this year.

And honestly, one of my, I say it to you all the time and in the pod, you'll have heard it in the podcast. I'm just like, Sandy Baltimore, Sandy Baltimore. I remember coming up against her. It was one of the first times I played, one of the first times I played fullback for England. And I remember like she was only a kid. And I was thinking, all right, it's all right.

It's just a kid, come on. And I was like, who the fuck is that? And from then on, I was just like, always like, sort of just looked at what she was doing, because every time anyone would tell you who's that, I'm like, nah, watch this girl, she's so fast, so powerful. But I think, yeah, like you say, Bill, their front line is insane.

Yeah, I think their attacking threat is probably what you need to like zone in on and nail. But I think, like you said, the likes of Sandi can play left back, left wing, turn, nine. She's done it for us all season. Like she was left back for so long and then obviously with injuries and stuff like moved higher up and then was one of our like best attacking options. So I definitely think it's you have to also look at players that are coming off a really, really good season. I think that's something that I always look for is

if a player's at an outstanding season, like players will be zoning into less because she's been one of the best this season. So they'll be zoning into that. Like once you've got that momentum and you've got that confidence and you're in that really good place, like you're firing and nothing really stands in your way.

It don't matter who you come up against. So yeah, I definitely think their frontline is something to be aware of. But honestly, I think every team has got something in this tournament. Like, I think it's anyone's to take. There's no there's no weak teams in international football anymore. Like, you know, like in the past, like there was always teams where you'd probably naturally just write off a little bit, oh, they probably won't get out of the group or, oh yeah, you know.

But like now I'm looking at it and I'm like, hmm, it like, you can't write Switzerland off because it's their home nation. Like anything can happen in a home tournament. Like, you know, there's so many teams, like Wales, like you say, been written off. Why? Like they're so hungry. Like, yeah.

If you don't start the tournament fast, that's a new play well in your first game. They can take points off people. They can win games. Like they can win games against top opponents. They've done it. They've done it in the games leading up to this. Who was the team? Was it Sweden?

In the Nations League, yeah. They drew Sweden. Yeah. So I think it's like that. And if you don't start with your foot on the gas, you can very quickly find yourself in a position where you're like, holy shit, we've got to win our next two games otherwise. We're out of the group. So I don't think any team is to be just overlooked, to be honest.

And I think starting a tournament is the hardest thing. The quality is going to be so high. The crowds are going to be bigger than ever. Everything's different. So you can't even compare it to any other game previously. Just quickly, Mills, on Wales, how happy are you for Sophie Ingle? Because her recovery just looks like she's absolutely gone through the ringer

to make sure that she's there. Yeah, oh, I'm so happy for her, so proud of her as well, I think. To get yourself back and put yourself in contention to go to a Euros is incredible. And it's been one of her dreams and a massive, massive target for her. Like, I must make the Euros, I wanna be there.

But she's such a team player as well. She's worked so, so hard, honestly. I'm buzzing for her. When their squad came out and I seen her name, I was just like, oh. Part of you's like, please, please, please I seen her name, I was just like, oh, like party is like, please, please, please like put her in, put her in. Cause you know what, even if she doesn't play a huge amount,

she's someone that you want within your squad and she's a leader for them. She was captain for a long, long time and she's got a lot of experience and wisdom to guide them. So yeah, she's definitely someone that sparks them and gives them that fire. So yeah, but I was so, so happy for her. And just on just to finish up England's group as well,

Rach, I feel like what you just said about every team having something. When you look at Netherlands, they're like a great example of that. You look at their squad and then you just sort of play for player. Oh, my God, their team's unbelievable. They're such a weird team, I think, because it's like I feel like their results of late, like a bit hit and miss, like, you know, like, obviously they've suffered with a lot of injuries,

but on their day, they are one of the hardest teams to play against, I think. Like, Mil, you can say the same, probably, but the talent throughout their team, they've got youth, they've got experience, like, Meadamah, come on,, come on, like let's just talk about her year. Do you know what I mean? Like they're so, so, so deep in talent. So if they can get it right, I do think there'll be a team to, you know, watch out for. So again, it's anybody's like,

this whole tournament is so, obviously after the group games, I'm sure we'll probably be sat here saying more clear of like what, which way we think it's going to go. But I think the Netherlands is such a strong side. I agree. It's scary because every team has so much talent and there's not like, you try and look at different positions when you're analysing and be like, oh, we could maybe attack there or they'll be weak there. But you literally look like front to back and you're like, holy shit, like every team

is stacked. weak there but you literally look like front to back and you're like holy shit like every team is stacked like our team's stacked so it's like you try and I don't know when you're playing against people you try and pull out weaknesses and where you can exploit and I can all agree it's going to be a very exciting tournament but I think we're most excited for our group and you know England at the top come on the girls but for now we're going gonna take a quick break and we will be back very soon. Hello everyone, it's Gary Lineker here from The Rest Is Football. Just a quick message to tell you all about

the Club World Cup tournament that's taking place in the US at the moment. It's 32 of the best teams from all around the world battling it out to be crowned the best side on the planet. We've reached the knockout stages of the competition which means all the big guns will be going head-to-head. Manchester City, Real Madrid, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are just some of the sides vying to lift the trophy. Join myself Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and our expert out in America Alex Aljo as we guide you through the explosive

final stages of the tournament. To make things even better, if you're watching the video version of the show on Spotify or YouTube, you can also watch all the goals and the best bits of the action as we discuss the games of first for podcasting. Just search the rest is football wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the Resties Football daily brightness. Time to have a look now at some of the other teams that will be competing. And I think world champion Spain seemed like the obvious place to start. I always think whenever I watch Spain or whenever you watch Barcelona, it just looks so draining

for the opposition. I mean, you guys will know this better than me Barcelona, it just looks so draining for the opposition. I mean, you guys will know this far better than me. But it just looks like you're drowning. You are, you're treading water, mate. Spending the entire time, and you almost don't know whether to press them because you wanna try and make a mistake and then counter attack.

Or whether you just sort of sit there and go, do you know what, you just have it. Do your thing for a bit and we'll just try and sit in. And I, I think Bon Matie, I mean, it's good news that she's out of hospital and she's back playing because she had, people don't know she had viral meningitis as well, which is a little bit worrying, but it looks like she's going to be okay and going to be able to get up to speed,

which is obviously brilliant because you want the best players playing at the tournament. Like you keep saying, it was like so many talented players, but you want to see the best players at the peak of their powers. But for everyone else, it's just a little bit scary that Spain midfield, when they get on the ball, you just think, just forget it. You're not going to get the ball back off them. Yeah, it is honestly, it's exhausting, not only physically, but mentally because you know what it is when you play against them,, even if you know where the pass is going, you can't, it's like you can't stop it anywhere.

You could be way in front and have read the game like a little bit before. It's still get there, because it's just, I've always said like, they make very few mistakes. They're exceptional on the ball, like technically. But we have seen teams do damage against them and you know, you see a little bit of a break in play or defensively.

So you know what I think about Spain is we've always said this, Mel, like every time we've been to tournaments and stuff, it's like, obviously they're so, so good on the ball, but I think in recent years they've been a lot better at this, but I know for a few years before they obviously have just taken on the world, but I think like they used to struggle to score. It was like they almost wanted to walk it in. So like their build-up play was insane. They'd get you on the back four all the time,

you know, backs against the wall, you're defending with like 11 people in the box. And instead of like shooting, they were trying to like walk it in. So I think that was where you were able to like really capitalize on Spain, but now they're just, they're ruthless. And now they just shoot from 30 yards out and just curl it in the top corner.

Pina is a jerk. Wow. Absolute jerk. Honestly, I think she's going to be like the one to watch in the tournament. Like I think key, key player. Why is she so good? What is it about her? I think she's a little bit unpredictable.

Like she's good to come inside. She's good to go outside. She can go one V one. She's got an unbelievable strike. She links the play well. I think she's got a pretty much all of what you want as a player like in her ability in her position. She's got it all. Well, she can play more than one position.

That's she can play anywhere across the front line. I think she goes under the radar. Like it's almost like obviously she plays very Spanish, but I think there's parts of her game that are a bit not Spanish. The way she just couldn't just strike the ball so from anywhere. Sorry, Mil, but when she scored against Chelsea.

Oh, unbelievable finish. She could just pick the ball up out of nowhere. A separation touch is insane. Touch, bang, goal, every time. For her age as well, to be able to read the game like that, to already know what you're doing, she's five steps ahead of you.

Like, and like Rach said, to be able to execute like that, but not even just on a one-off, like consistently. Like she's been, and that's the thing this season, she's done it consistently, like for Barca and for Spain. Like she's not just had like one-off performances, like she's been scoring on a regular basis,. She's been scoring on a regular basis. She's been performing on a regular basis. Even if she's done start, she comes on

and she's a super sub and she's the one that has been making them tick a little bit. But I feel like anyone that plays in the Barca team, I think it's quite easy to go under the radar because they've got so many big players. You've got Patea, you've got Bob Matty. Do you know what I mean? So I feel like they're always the starters

and everyone else is kind of below them a little bit. But she plays with so much freedom. Like she just, and she gets stuck in. Maybe that's like the- Little Teria kind of vibe as well, ain't she? She's quite short and like, I really think she's gonna shine this tournament. Can you tell me a little bit about Germany?

Because I feel like having won it eight times, they're always gonna be in the conversation around the favourites tag, but they also just have this really, really ruthless attacking line, which is gonna be a bit scary for people as well. I also think they've got extra motivation. Avin came so close last time,

obviously playing us in the final, I think they've got extra motivation this time. And I also think they've gone up a level, I think they've got extra motivation this time. And I also think they've gone up a level, I think you've seen in their recent games. I think they've definitely brought new players in, they've got different personnel, but like you said, that attacking threat is no joke. You can never, ever, ever write Germany off.

Like you say, it's the same in the men's game, isn't it? Like they've always got that like ruthless energy and that bite that, you know, you switch off for one second against them and it can be game over. Do you know what I think as well though with Germany, they're so close to Switzerland. I know that sounds stupid, but it's almost like a home sort of,

it's only over the way, isn't it? I don't know, I think you do get a little bit of a competitive edge by doing stuff like, I wonder if there are base camps in Germany, for example, I don't know, but yeah, I think Germany is definitely going to be a team that I'm going to have my eye on going into like the latter stages. I think Shula up top is like a really good threat for them particularly when you consider like it was all about Alex Pop before so I mean that must have been such a big

weight for her to step in to almost like a bit of a shadow that she was in. And then Alex Popp moving on, kind of giving her a little bit more freedom. I feel like she's playing as herself. And I think that's what's nice to see is whenever players leave the game, it's hard. And because people get so used to that personnel, when new players then kind of take that, it's almost like when Ellen left and Alessia came in, but Les played her game and she plays her way. And now it's the same for Shella, like she's playing her way. Whereas I don't ever think you should be expected

to play the same way as the person before you. Like you bring something different and that's how teams evolve and get better. So it's exciting though. They've got a lot of players in that frontline, but then I think equally defensively, they're just always strong and gritty and hard and Germany bodies on the line.

They're not gonna give anything easily. You're not gonna score against them easily. I think defensively, they're always so organized. They're so tight at the back and you've got to have it all. You've got to have every part of your game, like solid in this tournament because I'm well excited for this tournament. I think it's going to be sick. I think the talent is so, so high.

And also, cause like, if you take, if you take what you were saying earlier about Lucy's wall chart, I feel like every day, particularly during the group stage, there's going to be a massive game that we can all get stuck into. Cause even while we were just talking about Germany there, Germany have got a really tough

group. But their group is almost on paper kind of as difficult as England's as well, because you've got Denmark have got so many good players. You've got Sweden that have kind of got that thing that we were just talking about with Germany and that they've got loads of players that are probably doing their last tournament. And the manager doing his last tournament as well. So there's that whole thing of you've got to do it now or never. There's a lot riding on all these individual narratives

that are really, really interesting as well. And I just wanted to ask finally from from me, who are the who's that player that you're going to be looking out for? There's not an English player, but is in one of the other teams you're like, I'm so excited to watch them. Mine's Pina. Yeah, I just think one of the other teams, you're like, I'm so excited to watch them. Mine's Pina. Yeah, I just think she's gonna just, yeah, eat it up, to be honest.

I think she's already in that place of like confidence and momentum and like I said, when a player comes off the back of a season in really, really good form, you're like, okay, let's see what you've got on the biggest stage. Like when the competition's at the highest it's been and the level of like the games is going to be crazy. Like I'd like rated,

I think it's going to be one of the best. I'm really excited to watch. Just no one do that against England, please. Yeah, stay away from England. Stay away. Who do you reckon the final four is going to be when we're sitting here at semi-final point? England for sure.

Spain. Yeah, I'm gonna go Spain. I say Germany. And the fourth one. I don't know, cause I don't know how all the diagrams work, like who can get there and who. Yeah.

I think we need a wall chart. We definitely do, don't we? You've got one from group D there, you've got one from group B, and you've got one from group C. What about from group A? So you've got Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Finland. Who do you reckon is gonna progress the furthest out of them? I wanna say Norway.

I'm gonna go Switzerland. Because of the home advantage? I actually hope Switzerland, yeah. You can't rule that out. Like having the crowd is like the biggest thing, and they'll have so much like confidence and like umph and energy and like intensity put into their game just by it being a home like tournament.

So I don't think you can write that off. Right, Ben, I'm not sure if you're aware or not, but we do this thing after every episode where we talk about three things that we're grateful for for the week. So you're definitely in this. You can either do one, two, three, whatever. But it's just a nice way, we always thought,

to like round off, I don't know, all the bullshit in the world. Like, let's just be happy about some things and be grateful for it. So, and stop focusing on the things that we like, maybe don't have or things that are going wrong and be grateful for all the things that are going well. But it could be like the smallest of things. Like mine was like my new set of pegs

because the wooden ones are shit and the plastic ones are way better because they don't break. Just little things, you know? I love this. I'm going to start and I'm going to say that I'm really grateful for Ben for you being on our podcast because, do you know what?

Look, I'm going to sound like a wet wipe here, but I think this is like our little baby. We love doing this. Whenever we had a conversation about who would you want on the podcast, we were like, we both literally went then. Oh, that's so nice. So I am actually really grateful that you, one, want to be with us and two, just having

all your little insights while you're out there. So I feel like I'm having less FOMO because you're just telling me what's going on. That's so nice. I'm properly grateful for two of you guys for having me on as well, because it's such wicked fun. And I'm like, when the producers are saying to me,

like, why are you coming on? What's one of the reasons why you're coming on? One of the big things for me was like, because I'm properly nosy, like I wanna ask loads of questions. When you do the questions episodes, I'm always like, I always think of like four or five questions, so I'm grateful that I'm gonna get to like

whack in all of my questions. And one of my things that I thought I'd do ahead of this pod is I would like do my research. So I tried Rach's Marmite with poached eggs. How did it go? Like it was bizarre. It's totally mental. It should be illegal.

Illegal is what it should be. Spanking, get amongst everyone. Don't knock it till you tried it. Do you know what, Ben? I rate that you tried it. Thank you. Yeah, I thought I got to give it a go. One more thing that I'm grateful for. I'm well up for the lake. So here in Zurich, people seem to just finish work for the day. They just walk down to the water,

they drop their stuff and then they just go for a swim. And it just looks like the most calm, chill thing. Everyone just sort of sitting there reading books, jumping in the go for a swim. Love that. And it just looks like the most calm, chill thing. Everyone just sort of sitting there reading books, jumping in the water for a bit, get out and dry off and then sort of go back. It's just such a calm, serene thing. So I'm very grateful for that. As well as one more thing I'll chuck in, my missus helped me pack. And I like, I get so nervous about packing to go away for a long time.

I don't know whether you two had that when you used to go to tournaments. Rachel. Rachel. Really me. Have you packed this? You better not have taken an extra t-shirt. I've packed three. You better have only had three. I haven't changed a lot. Just two. So yeah, we know the stress. Yeah, so she helped me pack, so I'm very grateful for her. I give her a shout out.

Shout out. That's nice, really nice. What am I grateful for? I had a tough week, love. I had a freaking heck. I had a really tough week. Holy shit, I'm struggling. Do you know what? I'm grateful for just having a couple couple days away in London and just appreciating

life and trying not to worry as much. And yeah, that's my one gratitude. And I'm just going to stick with that one because I think it's an important one. Right. That is it for the rest of this football daily brightness. Thanks so much to Ben for joining us and giving us such a great deep dive into all things tournament related We'll be back on Sunday with the next episode to discuss England's opening game and how the tournament is shaping up now that we're into The tournament and won't be following our usual schedule for releasing episodes

Do make sure you are following or you have subscribed to the show and thank you for all those that already have Keep putting out there. We really really appreciate your support. Goodbye from me. Goodbye from me. Goodbye from me.