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00:00Yeah, Jamie Watson, former MLS player, MLS analyst for Apple TV.
00:05Perfect to jump in with him for a little bit and talk this out with Team USA winning 2-0
00:12over Australia earlier today.
00:15So out to the River Islands guest line we go.
00:17On the line is Jamie Watson.
00:19Today's Insider Call is presented by Lowe's.
00:21Members get more at Lowe's.
00:23Hi, Jamie.
00:23Thank you for coming on.
00:24How are you?
00:25Well, it did.
00:26So happy to be on with you guys, especially after a nice USA 2-0 win today.
00:31Life is good right now.
00:32Happy to talk with you guys.
00:33Boom.
00:34Yeah, we are thrilled.
00:35We're loving what we're seeing.
00:37And it looks to us, and I want to know if you agree, Jamie, this looks different than Team USA's
00:45of the past.
00:46So I'd love your expertise on how this particular group looks different and what opportunities they might have going forward.
00:55It does look different.
00:57It does feel different.
00:58And that is because it is different.
01:01This group has probably the highest feeling of any U.S. men's national team that we have seen going into
01:07a World Cup.
01:08And there was a lot of pressure on the group today just simply because you have such a good performance
01:12in match day one against Paraguay,
01:14and then you get a week of hype.
01:16And, you know, the media machine, the casuals, everybody's talking about it.
01:20These players are not immune to hearing what's going on.
01:23They have social media.
01:24They have television.
01:26They have ears.
01:27They can hear and read and see what everybody has been saying about this group and how great it was.
01:31And if they go out today and they don't get it done, then all of a sudden it's like, whoa,
01:34wait a minute.
01:35Was that a fluke?
01:36Was that a one-off?
01:37But they go and get it done.
01:39They get themselves a spot in the round of 32.
01:41And now we all become the biggest Paraguay fans because if they're able to get at least a draw or
01:47a win against Turkey later,
01:49the U.S. clinched the group after two match days, and you didn't have to play your best player, Christian
01:54Pulisic.
01:54You were able to rest him with that lingering cap issue he's got going on.
01:58And that would be incredible, and I wonder if they would even play him in match three.
02:02That's a question for another day.
02:03But just looking at the composition of this roster and how many top league Europeans they have,
02:10how did this evolve over the course of the last four or eight years?
02:15That's a fantastic question.
02:17And you start to look at it.
02:18You get your best players playing in high-pressure situations week in and week out.
02:22And make no mistake about it, there's still some MLS players that are getting the job done as well, too,
02:26that are on the roster.
02:26Matt Brees, again, made all the saves that he needed to as well today.
02:30The goalkeeper plays in Major League Soccer.
02:32I can only imagine what Christian Roldan was feeling today as a Seattle Sounders player getting to play in his
02:38home stadium for a World Cup game.
02:40But, man, you get your best players playing week in and week out in difficult situations, and they can handle
02:45the pressure.
02:45They've been handling the occasion that is playing in a home World Cup.
02:49And so with that, this group looks like they have bought into the identity that Mauricio Pochettino has tried to
02:56implement.
02:56And he's only had about a year and a half, maybe 20 months, to be able to implement that.
03:02And you don't do it every day, day in and day out.
03:04You only get these players once every couple months with an international window.
03:07So you've got to get a lot and condense the information to the players to get them to buy in.
03:13And they have.
03:14They're believing.
03:15And they're starting to get a lot of people in this country to believe as well that this group has
03:21the potential and the ability to achieve the highest heights we have ever seen a U.S. men's national team
03:26do in a World Cup.
03:27Jamie, you just started to mention it a little bit there, and I'd love for you to expand on Coach
03:32Mauricio Pochettino.
03:33And basically, I think a lot of fans might still be either getting to know him or kind of now
03:41just starting to look at how this is all playing out.
03:44How would you put into words the impact he's having on this program?
03:49Well, I think one of the biggest things, you know, there's no qualifier.
03:52He says you have to be a good player to be able to be a good coach.
03:56I think that's crazy talk, just like you in the sports media landscape.
04:00You don't have to be a player to be a good sports media analyst or journalist.
04:05But what you do have to have is the respect of the people in the room that you work with.
04:09And I believe that's what Mauricio Pochettino has with this group because he's charismatic, great-looking guy.
04:15He's got great flow with the hair.
04:16He gets in front of the camera.
04:17He knows what to say to the media.
04:19He's a darling in that sense.
04:21But when he shuts the doors, from what I've heard with conversations with people that have been inside of those
04:25four walls,
04:26this guy holds the group to a standard that he was used to when he played back in Argentina
04:32and was able to play for the men's national team in Argentina.
04:36I mean, this guy has a dynamic about him that really holds the players to a standard.
04:43And he strikes a healthy bit of fear into the players that I don't care what you've done
04:49because he's coached Messi and Neymar at PSG.
04:52I mean, this guy has been in the locker rooms with the biggest superstars in global soccer,
04:58and he's been able to deal with the personalities and be able to get the respect of those players.
05:02So when the players buy into what the coach says, look, you've got one executive chef in the kitchen,
05:08and that's Mauricio Pochettino.
05:09It's telling everybody that's in there with him, all his sous chefs, this is what we're going to do to
05:13cook up a good recipe for success.
05:15And that's what's happening right now.
05:17And I believe that is one of the big key factors to this group to go along with the experience
05:22we just talked about just a moment ago.
05:24Everything is firing on all cylinders for this U.S. men's national team.
05:28Jamie Watson joining us here on 95.7 The Game.
05:31Jamie, let's get crazy.
05:32If they win the group, how is their path?
05:35I'm just glancing at it.
05:36It would be a possible match in the 16 against the winner of Group G, which could be Belgium, no
05:42guarantee.
05:43Spain in trouble in Group H in a possible quarterfinal.
05:47Are the semifinals now within reach?
05:51I think that, you know, look, you've got to start thinking lofty, right?
05:55And semifinals talk before the tournament would have been like, come on, man.
05:58Come on.
05:59Come on.
06:00But, you know, look, things could work out.
06:02There's a really cool algorithm that I believe BBC has it, if you want to be able to look at
06:06it.
06:07No free shout-out there.
06:08But BBC.com, somebody came up with some sort of algorithm to be able to figure out in real time,
06:13as the results go,
06:14all the groups and the permutations of where everybody would play right now if it stood.
06:19And the U.S. men's national team, as it stands right now, of course, there's still multiple games to go
06:24in the group phase.
06:25They would play Bosnia-Herzegovina in the next round.
06:29That's a match, you know, they had to qualify on the last day for European qualifying.
06:33Things will change, but you win the group, you give yourself a far more significant advantage in the knockout stage
06:40because that route then becomes a little bit easier if you pick up a third-place team that you're playing
06:46as opposed to finishing second and then having to play a little bit more difficult of an opponent.
06:51So winning the group is so important, and by the end of the night, guys, after two match days,
06:56the U.S. men's national team could have won their group.
06:57The staggering achievement, and it goes to show they've been getting the job done the first two games.
07:02Hanging out with Soccer Insider Jamie Watson.
07:05Find what you need to get projects done from brands you trust at prices you'll love.
07:11Lowe's, we help you save.
07:13Let's talk Flo Balligan a little bit and just the process of him choosing to go with Team USA over
07:21England
07:22and not just what that means for this tournament, but what's the larger meaning for the entire program?
07:30You're talking high-level soccer, and I love it.
07:33Flo Balligan, at 24 years old, has been banging in goals at Monaco,
07:38and he has really given the U.S. men's national team what we haven't had in the past couple of
07:43years
07:45is we used to have Landon Donovan, we used to have Glenn Dempsey, Brian McBride before that,
07:49and you can go on and on, you know, Joe Max more back there.
07:52You can start to go back, but what we have not had recently is one clear-cut, number nine,
07:58that you say this is a guy that when the pressure's on, he wants the ball,
08:01he's got to figure out a way to score goals like he did the two goals he scored in the
08:05opening match day.
08:06He is an elite striker, and this is a player that you can put the weight of the world
08:12and the country on his shoulders because he can handle the situation,
08:16he can handle the moments, and he can produce the goods when he needs to.
08:19Even on a day like today where he didn't necessarily have his greatest output that we've seen,
08:26he still was influential, he was still a part of the build-up for the first goal,
08:30the own goal where he was in the right position and caused a bit of confusion for the defender
08:34to turn it into his own goal.
08:35He's still making plays, he's still affecting the play, and right now for the foreseeable future,
08:41Flo Balagan is the number nine for the U.S. men's national team,
08:44and if we are going to make it to the semifinals like you asked us a moment ago,
08:47you're going to have to get Flo Balagan to continually scoring goals,
08:51and I don't think it's unrealistic to think could it happen.
08:55It may seem lofty, but I don't believe it's unrealistic.
08:58I love lofty, especially coming off of two straight victories and already into the knockout,
09:03so let's just assume that Turkey draws tonight and the group is secure.
09:07If you're Pocatino, what do you do with Pulisic for the third match?
09:13You say get comfortable, have the most comfy seat in the house,
09:16let me put some cushions on your seat, prop your feet up, pal,
09:20enjoy the L.A. weather because you ain't playing today, Christian.
09:24That's exactly what I would say if I was Pocatino, and by the way,
09:27you got away with it not having to play him today.
09:30You just took the decision right out of his hands.
09:32You gave him a full week of being able to work, recover.
09:35You hopefully give him another week, and if this goes the way where the U.S. men's
09:39national team, the result is irrelevant in a sense, other than just momentum and continuity,
09:46you tell Christian Pulisic, you're not playing again until the next match,
09:49and he's got enough fitness that he'll be okay to take the two weeks off,
09:52but you want to make sure that he is as rested as he possibly can be until the very last
09:57moment,
09:58and I don't think it's much of a decision whatsoever if the U.S. clinch their group
10:03as top winners of the group tonight.
10:05Hey, Jamie, great stuff, man.
10:07What a great day, and thank you so much for your time.
10:10Really fun to have you on.
10:12Hey, great to enjoy it.
10:13I hope everybody out there, you guys are enjoying all the amazing games
10:16that you guys are having out there.
10:17Well, it's going to keep getting better and better,
10:19and the rest of the world get to see the Bay Area continue to shine
10:23and be great hosts for these matches.
10:25So thanks for having me on.
10:26Let's do it again soon, okay?
10:27We would love to.
10:28We would love to as the month unfolds.
10:29There it is.
10:30That's Jamie Watson.
10:31Today's Insider Call was presented by Lowe's.
10:33Members get more at Lowe's.
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