00:00I know that you're excited to share with us. You're in Panama.
00:03Share with me what's going on and how are they getting ready for the World Cup?
00:07Yeah, that's right, Marissa. As a U.S. men's national team fan,
00:10I'm always shaking in my boots when we get put up against Panama.
00:12But to put things in an international perspective, in a World Cup perspective,
00:17this is only their second time ever appearing in the tournament.
00:20Their first Mundial was only in Russia 2018.
00:23That's right. They lost all of their matches.
00:25They lost 6-1 to England, so it was not a good result for them.
00:28This time around, they're looking to do better. They're pissed.
00:31But they are grouped with England again, and Croatia, and Ghana, and Group L,
00:34so it's going to be a really tough one.
00:36But hey, Panama is a great squad. They're representing Central America,
00:40the only squad to qualify from the region.
00:42So let's see if this World Cup will be different for them.
00:45I mean, over the last two decades, we've seen Panama quietly turn into this regional power,
00:50rivaling the U.S., rivaling Mexico with the Gold Cup,
00:53the CONCACAF Nations League tournament as well,
00:56where they actually kicked the U.S. out in this year's tournament.
00:58We all remember the swarming of Thierry Henry moment
01:01when they scored against the U.S. men's national team.
01:05So yeah, anything could happen.
01:06Their head coach, Thomas Christensen, is a Spanish-Danish former Bundesliga golden boot winner,
01:11ex-Leagues United manager as well.
01:13He has been in charge since 2020.
01:15They renewed his contract through 2026,
01:17so clearly those in charge like the direction that Mr. Christensen is taking the squad in.
01:22So we'll have to see what happens.
01:23It's a new start for Panama.
01:25That's right, Nick.
01:26Now, you mentioned Michael Murillo.
01:27He's playing Champions League right now with Marseille,
01:30and I know that no matter where you are in the world,
01:32you are plugged into that tournament.
01:34So break it down to me.
01:35What is the latest and greatest on the last matchday of Champions League?
01:39Yeah, so this week in Champions League, we had matchday six of eight.
01:42We are getting to the end of the league phase,
01:44and the table is really starting to take shape.
01:47Arsenal breaking away from the pack,
01:49and right behind them, things are very crowded.
01:51So let's start with Arsenal. Arsenal has been absolutely brilliant this whole season.
01:56They're the only squad that's remained unbeaten,
01:58but not only that, they've won all of their matches six for six.
02:02They're aggressive pressing, a back line that hardly gives up any chances to anyone,
02:06and a beautiful three up front that are turning these half chances into goals.
02:12So Arteta's rotation has kept them fresh, and they're looking great.
02:15Just behind them, you got Bayern Munich, Atalanta surprisingly doing well,
02:18PSG, Inter, and Real Madrid are all clustered in that top eight zone.
02:23City's win in Madrid, by the way, on matchday six pushes them out of that mid-table traffic
02:28into that same fight to get a bye so that they can jump straight into the next round.
02:32But below them, Tottenham, Dortmund, Chelsea, even Barcelona a little further down.
02:37And so, yeah, that's kind of the story.
02:38After matchday six, things are getting clear.
02:41Every point from here is going to matter because things are quite tight,
02:44and we're going to have to see who gets a free pass to the last 16,
02:47who has to sweat it out, duke it out in the playoffs,
02:50and unfortunately for a lot of teams, who's going to go home early.
02:54That's it for me, Nick Z in Panama City.
02:56Back to you guys in the studio.
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