00:00And we now go with our special segment on the occasion of the World Cup Beyond the Game, the Ball
00:05State Spiel. Go ahead Luis.
00:07Hi Pablo, it's a pleasure to be back. We're going to be talking about the upcoming match in just a
00:12few minutes.
00:12Qatar will face Switzerland in their opening debut. We're going to be right back after the break.
00:41Welcome to Beyond the Game. The Ball State Spiel this Saturday, Qatar and Switzerland make their debut at the 2026
00:46World Cup meeting in match day one of Group B.
00:49The match will be played at San Francisco Bay Stadium in the United States, Qatar, who hosted the 2022 World
00:55Cup, arrived at this tournament after a technical overhaul and now under Spanish coach Julian Lopetegui.
01:02They will be looking to star strongly and for the first time in their history reach the round of 16.
01:08On the other side, Switzerland came in as clear favorites in Group B after a strong run of recent international
01:14friendlies.
01:15This marks their sixth consecutive World Cup appearance and they will be aiming to break new ground by reaching the
01:21quarterfinals for the first time ever.
01:30And in more World Cup 2026 previews, Group C will feature a highly anticipated clash between Brazil and Morocco this
01:37Saturday at the New York Stadium.
01:39Brazil, led by Carlo Ancelotti, are looking to start on the right foot after a somewhat inconsistent South American qualifying
01:45campaign, where they finish fifth.
01:48In their recent friendlies this year, the Sala Sao have shown strong attacking power thrashing Panama 6-2 and defeating
01:54Egypt 2-1.
01:55On the other side, Morocco arrives as one of Africa's strongest sides under head coach Mohamed Ouibi.
02:01The Atlas Lions, historic semi-finalists at Qatar 2022, have established themselves as a rising global force.
02:08They come into this match in excellent form, carrying a long unbeaten run in international play,
02:13including a 4-0 win over Madagascar and a 1-1 draw against Norway in their most recent friendlies.
02:27And the United States opened its World Cup campaign with a statement victory crushing Paraguay 4-1.
02:33Mauricio Pochettino's side imposed its tempo from the start, pressing high and attacking with pace.
02:38An early on-goal gave the U.S. the advantage before Florian Balangun struck twice to put the match out
02:44of reach.
02:44Paraguay briefly threatened but struggled to cope with the U.S. intensity and movement in transition.
02:50Giovanni Reina added a late fourth goal to cap a dominant display.
02:55The victory puts the United States on top of Group D.
03:01It was definitely a statement.
03:04Three goals in the first half of the opening game.
03:07I felt like it was a real statement and that's what we wanted to do.
03:10So I'm very, very delighted with the overall performance, especially the first half.
03:15Yeah, you know, as I said, when I committed and throughout the whole cycle and the whole journey to me
03:21being at this point,
03:22I've always said, you know, the fans gave me so much motivation, you know, showed me so much support.
03:27And for me, the most important thing has always been to be able to repay that.
03:31So, you know, I feel like today is a great opportunity.
03:34And, you know, as I said, you know, I just want to continue to show the fans, you know, I
03:37made the right decision.
03:38And, you know, I'm completely proud and, you know, I want to, you know, continue to make the fans proud
03:45as well.
03:48And U.S. fans celebrate their team's important opening victory. Let's listen.
03:56USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
03:59How are you feeling after the win?
04:01I feel great. It's an awesome start for the World Cup and also for it being on home soil.
04:07A 4-1 win, that's like, we're definitely, we're not going to win the World Cup, but I want to
04:13believe that we are going to win the World Cup.
04:15I want to see that. I want to see the United States going to the quarterfinals.
04:18I want to see us giving the whole thing, nothing like Brazil, nothing like Qatar, that we lost against the
04:25Netherlands.
04:25I want to see this team building. I'm very hyped. I'm very energetic.
04:29I have a lot of faith towards this team and I hope it does give it its all.
04:35We have a lot of Americans here in Mexico City and all over Mexico that are supporting the U.S.
04:40So hopefully they give it their all and that they know that there's people over the world that do care
04:44about soccer, which here we call it football.
04:47It should be called football. And hopefully the U.S. goes the long way and we give it its all.
04:52I feel proud. It's awesome. I'm excited to be here. It's a joy.
04:57I mean, that's my country, so I can't help but be just like super happy.
05:02You dream that it will start that way. I'll take an own goal. I'll take any goal. I'll take all
05:06goals.
05:07And you know, sometimes USA you never know what you're going to get, but today we got exactly what we
05:11were hoping for.
05:12It's incredible. This is one of the best teams that the U.S. has had in its history.
05:15It's incredible. We saw the proof of it. There's better stuff to come. See you at the next match.
05:28World Group D is taking shape after the opening round of matches at the 2026 World Cup.
05:32The United States sits atop the standings following its emphatic victory over Paraguay, giving the U.S. an early edge
05:37on goal difference.
05:39Meanwhile, Australia and Turkey are set to begin their campaigns with both teams looking to keep pace in what is
05:44already becoming a competitive group.
05:46Paraguay, meanwhile, faces immediate pressure to bounce back in its next match if it hopes to remain in contention for
05:52a place in the knockout stage.
06:01In other topics, former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has intensified his criticism of cooling breaks at the 2026 World Cup,
06:09claiming they are harming the integrity and flow of the game.
06:12Klopp argues that these stoppages disrupt football's natural rhythm and turn matches into fragmented sequences rather than continuous contests.
06:20For the German coach, the issue goes beyond tactics suggesting the sport is increasingly shaped by broadcast and commercial interests
06:27rather than pure competition.
06:29He added that players are already conditioned to cope with extreme conditions through modern training methods, sports science and squad
06:37rotation.
06:38Klopp's comments have sparked debate across the football world, adding to growing criticism of the tournament's expanded commercial breaks and
06:46in-game interruptions.
06:56This is all for this edition of Beyond the Game, the ball stays pure. Stay tuned with Telesur to follow
07:01up the scoring line of all the games that are going to be played this Sunday starting at 3 p
07:05.m. Caracas time, Qatar versus Switzerland.
07:08So we're going to go back now to you, Pablo.
07:10Thank you, Luis, for the latest information. And unlike this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
07:15But remember, you can find this and many other stories on our website at TelesurEnglish.net.
07:19And you can also join us on social media. We are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok.
07:24For Telesur English, my name is Pablo Micheliche. Thank you for watching.
07:35We'll see you next time.
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