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00:08presented by Nikolak paving stones. Only Nikolak offers 28 vibrant color blends made exclusively
00:15with paver shield that will last for generations. Let's talk about the World Cup. The U.S. men's
00:22national team has officially advanced the knockout round with wins over Paraguay and Australia to
00:27begin their campaign. They have one group play remaining in Turkey on Thursday. Joining me to
00:32discuss the United States and all things World Cup American soccer legends Eric Rinaldo who's nice
00:38enough to join us. He retired of course as the all-time leading goal scorer for the United States
00:43team. He's a National Soccer Hall of Famer and he hosts the critically acclaimed Rinaldo talks
00:49football on Sirius XM FC. Eric how are you? I'm good man. Good to see you. Great World Cup so
00:56far.
00:57This is pretty cool. Honestly why don't we start with that quickly just in general because I've said
01:01this. I feel like whether it's Team USA whether it's the upsets whether it's the stars and how
01:08they've performed. I feel like this has been a banger just in general your early thoughts on the
01:13first week and a half of the World Cup. I think this might be the best start to the World
01:18Cup on
01:18the men's side we've ever seen. It is for us. I mean no never have we been able to win
01:24our first two
01:25games. Mauricio Pochettino our manager is the first one to do that. It took I think Bruce Arena a couple
01:30of decades and a couple of tournaments to get to and we're already there with this guy. But you're
01:36right man. I think all of the negativity coming in the ticket prices was a big concern. You know
01:43security was a concern. Some of the people trying to get in and maybe their visas being revoked. Some
01:48of that stuff started to put a little bit of a damper on all the pre stuff. But man what
01:53they
01:54blew a whistle. They started kicking the ball around and this tournament has been fantastic
01:58on all levels. Every single level. Are you surprised by what we've seen from Team USA? I mean
02:04these first two matches Eric. I mean I can't get enough here. No and you should I'm glad you're
02:10saying that man. I'm I was we go back six to eight months on my program. I was I feel
02:16like now I was the
02:17voice of reason. But there was a lot of people that were really negative about this team. They
02:21didn't the negative about our coach. We had you know guys on ESPN you know saying stuff. We had guys
02:26on Fox saying stuff. Guy again everybody thought that Christian Pulisic wasn't going to be able to
02:30perform because he had scored. And I really felt good about it. I felt good about this coach. I like
02:36what
02:36he's doing. I like the way he's putting the puzzle together. And I guess the one thing that got me
02:42a
02:42little bit in trouble this past week with some of my ex teammates is they said look in former you
02:46know
02:46world cups. We had maybe six seven or eight guys that could do it. And that's why we ended up
02:52bowing
02:52out of the tournament at some point because we just couldn't sustain. This team is 17 18 19 deep.
02:59We have some really good players. It's not that we didn't have good players in the past because we
03:05did guys like Taberamos are still probably my opinion with everything included still the best player
03:10we've ever had. But now we just have more players. We have more guys that can do it at the
03:14highest
03:14level. And that's what we're seeing. This team is this team is for real. And I'm expecting even bigger
03:20and better things throughout the competition because we're not done yet. We're nowhere near
03:23done. I want you to hit on that with some of your former teammates or other Team USA stars in
03:29the past
03:29because whether it's you know like the Donovan or Gomez or Howard you know they've been critical
03:35of you. And frankly I don't even remotely understand. First of all it's your job. Second of all you're great
03:40at it. Third of all you're right. Are you surprised that their comments are so anti you and or Team
03:49USA.
03:50And I think you're right frankly when you look at the depth for this squad and what we've been able
03:56to do so far and what we can do in the World Cup. All right. Well here's how that works.
04:02Okay.
04:02Hurt Gomez was the first one to call our coach a fraud. So I attacked him for that. I didn't
04:07appreciate
04:08that. And then and this is a guy that he and I have a have a you know back and
04:13forth going anyway.
04:14Tim Howard came out and said we have no chance to win the World Cup. It's impossible. And Landon
04:20Donovan's been criticizing our youth systems but never has he done anything to change it or put his
04:27money where his mouth is or come up with a solution. So all three of those guys. Yeah. Okay. There
04:32might be
04:32mad at me for being right. I like to tell people I'm never wrong. I'm just early but
04:39while they catch up. But I look I think that that's part of the problem. We have a problem with
04:46our inability to to to really truly have faith and believe in a team because we've been we've
04:54been hurt so many times in the past where we didn't have enough guys that could do it. And now
04:57we just
04:58assume that that's just going to be the case all over again. We got to grow up and this country
05:02as
05:02a soccer nation has come a long way. We've waited a long time to be this competitive and pound for
05:07pound player for player in every single position. We are hitting all cylinders right now. And I don't
05:14think I'll quote another player who I tend to agree with Jermaine Jones because I think he has the
05:20right mentality. There isn't a team that we're afraid of or should be afraid of who that we can't
05:27compete with. In the past maybe that was the case but not this team not this group not right now
05:32not
05:32with the 12th man kicking in. This is going to be good. So I'm curious with that as a backdrop.
05:37There's
05:37a couple things you just said Eric I want to piggyback off of but I want to start with this
05:41because I do think Christian Pulisic obviously is terrific right. I do think big picture Team USA
05:51needs him. When you start talking about advancing and or winning the World Cup or getting as far as we
05:57possibly can reaching whatever our ceiling is. Do you believe that we need Team USA needs Pulisic back
06:05and how do they handle him this week? And let's be honest a match that doesn't really matter
06:10because to me I would never play him and risk exacerbating the injury. So what do you see
06:18with regards to Pulisic and how should they handle him? Okay first of all you nailed it right and
06:23there's so many people that are concerned about this but when you talk about needing luck okay or good
06:30fortune in a World Cup we had the good fortune of playing Australia second. So we didn't have to put
06:37him in harm's way because he was the right move to play with two forwards and give somebody a 10
06:41roll and get it get him get around them on the wings. So he didn't need to play. So this
06:45is need
06:46versus one. Yeah we want to see him play. We didn't need him and we don't need him against Serkia
06:51either.
06:51Do you realize what an incredible advantage that is to have one of your best players and to be in
06:57a
06:57situation where we don't need him right now? We put so much pressure on this kid. We called him
07:02Captain America. The smartest thing we did or Pochettino did is take the captain's band away.
07:08Let him focus on the game. He doesn't need to flip a coin. He doesn't need to go to the
07:12press
07:12conferences. He's not his personality. He's been able for the first time to be able to relax and play
07:17and the truth is he's going to get healthy and we're going to go into that knockout phase and we're
07:23going to have a rested and ready and healthy Christian Pulisic. That's what good luck looks like.
07:29That's what it looks like. That's good fortune. 100% and I agree with you. So now if you're
07:34Pochettino, in general, whether it's who you play, chemistry, how do you handle Thursday? Because
07:42you're right. In all sports, sometimes you get great luck and then what do you do with it? So how
07:48do you
07:48handle Thursday? Well, I mean, I think it's important to, I mean, even though Chris Richards has
07:54been fantastic for us, he did come into this thing very similar to Pulisic carrying an injury.
08:00What we need right now is we need certain guys to touch grass. That's it. All that means is we
08:07don't lose rhythm. We don't lose the consistency and we certainly try to win the game, but what would
08:12be bad is if we needed only, and this is the way it's been in the past, man. I'm telling
08:16you,
08:17we only have 11 guys and man, if somebody gets a suspension or someone gets hurt, now we got to,
08:22you totally have to rethink the whole thing. What we need is a couple of guys to touch grass
08:28before we get into the knockout phase. There's nothing worse than being in that boat, right?
08:32I mean, a guy that's been sitting there watching the whole thing, first three games happen,
08:37somebody goes down, they go, well, you're in, let's go. And that's his first part of the World
08:42Cup? No, get the nerves out of the way, get through a game, right? Get the feel of it all
08:48and
08:48be able to contribute when we really need you instead of saying, man, I hope this works.
08:52So, I mean, again, good fortune. We've put ourselves in a great spot. We've won the first
08:57two games. We're going to win the group. Now it's just a matter of keeping rhythm and making sure
09:02that we're resting and ready for the next one. So if I'm Pochettino, I probably don't even play
09:06Balogun. I'd like to see him play. I'd want to see him play. I don't play Christian Pulisic under
09:10any circumstances. Tillman should probably get a rest. They've been kicking the crap out of him.
09:14I'd like to see Gio Reyna. Get him some minutes. I think that's the logic behind
09:18Joe Scali and Trussi getting in the game the other day. Were they the best options? Probably not.
09:24But that's a forward-thinking coach who's saying, I might need these guys later on. Let's get this
09:29out of the way. Get the nerves gone. Get the feel for the World Cup and start figuring out what
09:35this
09:35group looks like. I mean, Berhalter has been a first sub in both games. I don't necessarily agree
09:39with that. I understand it. But he's done well when he was in there. He almost got called for a
09:45penalty kick with the handball. But all in all, we've got enough guys to fill in the blanks. Tim
09:51Ream probably should sit this one out. Sorry, man. You're 38 years old. I know what that's like.
09:56You could use a couple of days rest. Sleep in a couple of times. Let the blood settle. I mean,
10:01that guy's amazing. But don't need to manage it right now. And then he doesn't run out of gas
10:09if we get to a semifinal. Right? And then that way you've got a team that's been well-prepared
10:16for this competition. It's called management, man. It's not coaching. It's all management. And I think
10:20this guy's doing the right stuff. With that said, what's in your opinion, Eric, the ceiling and the
10:25upside for Team USA? So eight months ago, here we go again, I said semifinals. You would have
10:32thought that I said that the moon was going to explode. I mean, everybody would not get on board
10:37with that. I'm watching this team. I'm watching, you know, in certain positions and form and realities
10:45of health. And I've been impressed with this group for some time now. Semifinals, I'm going to stay
10:51with that. I do think if we get there and we can get there, that's the other part. I encourage
10:56everybody that I talk to, start your sentences positively and start them with what if. That's
11:03it. We got to start saying why not? And what if, what if we are able to do that? And
11:08then that
11:08mentality starts to build. And then those what ifs become reality. And then all of a sudden you're in
11:13a semifinal and you're not surprised to be there. I like the mentality of the group, man. I think that
11:18in the end of the day, they've gone through a lot of adversity. They didn't have a particularly
11:22great World Cup last go around. And this is their opportunity to, you know, draw off all of those
11:28experiences, all the talent that they have. Let the 12th man chime in and let's go. This is a really
11:34good team. I think they're excellent. I think your take is excellent. And you've been ahead of the curve
11:38here outside of Team USA. What has stood out to you the most so far in the World Cup? You
11:44know,
11:45I think there's the, the overall engagement. I think that the, the, there's just two ladies
11:50coming by there. They're good. I need to tell them to be quiet. I'm at, I'm at the wind hotel
11:54or casino. And this is the best I could do. I apologize. I got to get on my show in
11:58a bit.
11:59The World Cup, you know, is always a party, right? And a lot of people have made a lot of
12:04issue about 48 teams, right? 48 teams. That's too many. I see this, man, we've got introduced to
12:09some teams and some cultures and some love that has been really cool. You know, Cabo Verde,
12:15that's what we're calling him. Cape Verde, Cape Verde. It's Cabo Verde. The guy that does my show,
12:19he's actually from there. He's just like, they got more volcanoes than they do soccer coaches, but
12:23it's pretty cool. But it's stuff like that. It's those stories and just people just joining in on the
12:30party. And the second part is we're good. The U.S. team is not trying to prove that they deserve
12:37your
12:37respect. Not anymore. We should already be there. And I think it's time to believe.
12:43And I think that momentum that's been created by our U.S. team has made the World Cup so much
12:47better. So, man, this is, we've made a long time for this. I never thought I would, I thought I
12:52was
12:52going to go into my grave, you know, always get knocked out of the World Cubs and never going,
12:57I wonder what's going to happen. Bro, this might be it. This is the one we've been waiting for.
13:02You give me the chills. Eric, you're the best. Of course, we listen all the time on SiriusXM's
13:07FC World Cup coverage throughout the tournament. Ronaldo Talks football weekdays. It's an amazing
13:12show for Eastern SiriusXM channel 157. Keep up the unbelievable energy, opinions, analysis,
13:19and we'll do it again real soon. You got it, man. Always anything for you. You're the best.
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