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00:00I got to tell you, I'm still upset about Team USA and what happened on Monday in the World Cup.
00:07Eric Rinalda, Team USA legend, is going to join us to go over what happened,
00:12what needs to happen, and preview the rest of the World Cup.
00:16Shine Time starts right now.
00:25As we have discussed here on Shine Time,
00:28what was shaping up to be a magical World Cup run,
00:30our home soil entered in bitter embarrassment and disappointment on Monday night in Seattle.
00:37With that gross 4-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium,
00:41wasn't just that the United States lost,
00:43it was the sloppy, uninspired play of the team that irked both casual fans in addition to the diehards.
00:50Joining me right now to discuss all things United States and World Cup soccer,
00:57American soccer icon, Eric Rinalda.
01:00He, of course, retired as the all-time leading goal scorer for the United States team.
01:05He entered the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004,
01:09and he hosts the critically acclaimed Rinalda Talks Football, WTF, on Sirius XM FC.
01:17Eric, welcome back to the show, my friend.
01:20It's good to be with you.
01:21What is this, day three of hell in the soccer community?
01:25It doesn't seem to be getting any better, by the way.
01:28Things are escalating.
01:29It's kind of nuts.
01:30So let's talk about it right there,
01:33because honestly, this is hell.
01:36And sometimes in sports you have a loss,
01:39and, you know, 24, 48 hours, player, analyst, fan.
01:43Sometimes you get over it.
01:45Eric, I'm not over this.
01:46I don't know anybody who's over it.
01:49I wish we were playing on Friday.
01:51The way we lost still bothers me.
01:53Frankly, as the days move along, I'm even more annoyed.
01:56You agree with all that?
01:58Why or why not?
01:59I'm in Vegas, man.
02:00Anybody who's ever woken up in the morning and said,
02:03oh, man, what did I do last night?
02:04That's what it feels like every day.
02:06It feels like, did I lose that much money,
02:09or did I just really have that horrible of a day?
02:12What I don't like in the aftermath of all of this
02:17is the mudslinging.
02:19I do think it's an important time to reflect.
02:22I've had people like Marcelo Balboa on my show.
02:25We had a really reasonable conversation.
02:27But the second that we went away and we were, you know,
02:30just the two of us talking to former players,
02:32I mean, I think it was pretty clear we're heartbroken.
02:35It's not like that we feel cheated.
02:37It's just that we feel like we misread this.
02:40And everything that we knew about the game
02:43was pointing in the direction of this team
02:46being able to do great things.
02:48And they really fell short.
02:50We're asking the reasons why.
02:52I have been on the record now when there was that statement,
02:57there was that battle cry of why not us.
03:01I unfortunately have to remind people that why not us
03:04means Pochettino is not one of us.
03:06And nobody's ever won the World Cup with a foreign manager.
03:09So it's not that I'm taking a shot at the guy.
03:12I don't want people to think that.
03:14But if we really want to get our act together collectively as a country,
03:18we have to fix a couple of things.
03:20And we certainly have to have an American in charge
03:23because that is the cultural difference
03:25and the connection that was lost in a big moment.
03:29And I'm not saying it's entirely the reason why we lost the game,
03:34but it is why it escalated out of control.
03:37I know that from experience.
03:39I'm 100% sure that we could have been much better,
03:41a much better version of ourselves in that game.
03:43In a very crucial moment, we blew it.
03:45All right, so let's follow on that.
03:46How would you evaluate Pochettino?
03:48Whether it's not, we know the game was a disaster,
03:50and frankly, and you played, you're in the Hall of Fame,
03:54you're an expert, I'm not a soccer diehard,
03:56but I can see what I see.
03:58I blame the players more than the coaches, to be honest with you.
04:02That's how I looked at it.
04:03I thought the players were atrocious.
04:05How would you evaluate the coach,
04:08and what would you do moving forward?
04:12All right, so the game itself is a culmination
04:15of a couple of things that happened.
04:17We had a confidence problem that reared its ugly head
04:22in the very first couple of minutes of the game.
04:24The reason for that is because they threw something
04:26at us tactically that we were not prepared for,
04:29and that insecurity alone was the reason
04:31why our guys didn't look right.
04:33And when you don't feel right about the plan
04:36or the way that you're addressing the game,
04:38you rely on your coach, and in those moments,
04:41you can't step out of line.
04:43You've got to figure out a way how you can tactically
04:45outwit the opponent, and it required a B plan,
04:48and we didn't see it.
04:49And the irony of this is that these water breaks
04:53could have been that opportunity to really talk
04:57to the boys and say, ah, forget tactics.
04:59This is the game we're in.
05:02If you want to survive today, you've got to bring the energy.
05:05I, as being the person that I am, being the player
05:07that I was, and talked to some of my former teammates,
05:10there was a realness that wasn't there in that moment.
05:14There was no leadership.
05:15There was nobody grabbing somebody else
05:16by the scruff of the neck and saying, hey, come on, let's go.
05:19What are you doing?
05:20Where's your energy?
05:21Where's your, what happened to you?
05:23Why are you so afraid?
05:24You can't do this.
05:25Not now.
05:26That moment existed 22 minutes into the game,
05:29and our coach didn't grab it.
05:32He was, oh, it's okay.
05:33Calm down.
05:34We'll be okay.
05:34We'll find the game.
05:35And then, you know, at the end of the game,
05:37that's all he kept saying is,
05:38we never found the game.
05:39That's on him.
05:40That really is.
05:41He did make some moves at halftime
05:44to take Dest out of the game,
05:46who was not playing well.
05:47I'm going to back Pulisic a little bit here
05:50because he didn't get tactically the help he needed.
05:53We saw the stats after it was over.
05:55Lost the ball 11 times in the first half,
05:57which is unheard of.
05:58He was the worst player on the field.
05:59But he wasn't getting any support from his left back,
06:03meaning Jedi Robinson,
06:04who occupied the position behind him,
06:06needed to overlap him.
06:07He needed to make that right back back up,
06:11and he never got any help.
06:12He went into a bunch of one-on-two situations,
06:14and he lost the ball.
06:16So on the surface,
06:17it really looked like he had a bad game.
06:19He did not get enough help,
06:21and he's getting crushed now.
06:23It looks like he's got a microfracture in his tibia
06:26on the foul that he was injured on,
06:28and people should really back off a little bit.
06:30That doesn't feel good.
06:32I've broken my leg before.
06:33That's not fun.
06:34You can't continue.
06:36But his performance was lackluster,
06:38but so was the whole team.
06:39The whole team looked like they were lost.
06:43They were insecure.
06:44And when it started to spiral out of control,
06:46we lacked leadership.
06:47It should have come from the coach.
06:49It could have come from Tim Ream, our captain.
06:51But by the way,
06:52Tim Ream was having the worst game of his life.
06:54So it's really hard to be a vocal captain
06:57when you know that you might be the worst guy on the field.
07:01All right, let's get into Pulisic.
07:02And obviously you referenced it,
07:03the news and the injury and the microfracture
07:06and everything that goes into that equation.
07:08Now, here's my take, right?
07:11And I always make sure,
07:13and I'm, you know, a guy wearing makeup,
07:14so there's always perspective on it, right?
07:17I never talk about a player's health
07:19and speculate on injuries.
07:20I just, I don't do that, right?
07:22Now, if you're on the pitch
07:24or on the field or on the court,
07:26we're allowed to talk about your performance.
07:28That, that, that's different.
07:30We don't speculate on injuries,
07:32but you're judged on your performance.
07:34And I thought this was atrocious.
07:37His entire World Cup was brutal.
07:39We could talk about his leadership.
07:41He was the captain, Captain America,
07:44which I kind of roll my eyes at.
07:46So hearing the injury news today,
07:50does that change any perspective on Pulisic
07:53and what happened on Monday
07:55or in total on the World Cup?
07:56Well, not really.
07:58I think, I think his performance was pretty bad.
08:01And he just picked the worst time to do it.
08:03I mean, I think when you look at the year
08:06that he's had, right?
08:07You know, everybody was saying,
08:08you know, he took a break.
08:10He elected to, to pass on the Gold Cup
08:13and rest was the word that he used then.
08:15And he's using that now.
08:17And he's got people like Landon Donovan
08:19taking shots at him,
08:20which I don't appreciate, by the way.
08:21Landon Donovan took a hiatus
08:23and decided to go to Cambodia.
08:24So he doesn't get to talk about this.
08:27But Pulisic's situation coming in
08:29wasn't good to start with.
08:30And we were kind of hoping that
08:32he would rest up and be ready.
08:34And he showed that in the first half
08:36against Paraguay.
08:37And then immediately takes a knock
08:39that is not a, not a bad one.
08:42We looked at it as luck that,
08:44well, okay, we don't need him against Australia.
08:46But it's going to,
08:47the narrative is going to continue
08:48that he's soft,
08:50that he's not a good leader.
08:51And then in the big moments,
08:53he doesn't show up.
08:54You know, all the facts
08:56are working against him right now.
08:58You know, this is a guy
08:58that I still have a high opinion of.
09:01And I, but to be honest,
09:02he doesn't like the spotlight.
09:04He shouldn't be called a superstar.
09:05He doesn't want to be a superstar.
09:07He just wants to be a guy in a team
09:10that can help when he can.
09:12And, you know, part of the argument here is,
09:15you know, some guys feel like
09:16they're always a shoe in.
09:17They have to start.
09:18He's such an important guy.
09:20Maybe he wasn't the guy
09:22to start in this game.
09:23Maybe this was an opportunity
09:24for Pochettino.
09:26It's easy, you know,
09:26hindsight being 20-20
09:27to make these kind of assumptions.
09:29But only they know from the inside.
09:31But if they were putting him on the field
09:32on the assumption
09:33that he was going to be
09:34one of our best players,
09:37obviously they got that one wrong.
09:39So you picked the United States
09:41against Belgium.
09:42I picked the United States
09:44against Belgium.
09:45And look, Eric, it's sports.
09:46Sometimes, you know,
09:47you could do analysis,
09:48you'd have to pick a prediction,
09:49and you can regret it.
09:51I don't regret it.
09:52I still think if we played our best,
09:54we could have absolutely won the game.
09:57And that's what still chaps me
09:59and still bothers me.
10:00And I think so many sports fans,
10:02soccer fans, residents,
10:04and citizens of the United States, right?
10:06I mean, we wanted to win
10:08and we had a great opportunity.
10:09So where does Team USA go from here?
10:12Is this the best we can do?
10:14How do we get better?
10:16Well, I mean,
10:17they made a move immediately.
10:18They hired Steve Chirundolo,
10:21former LAFC manager
10:22and player with the U.S. national team,
10:24played in the Olympics,
10:25played in the World Cup,
10:26had a long career in Hanover.
10:28So that's a good step
10:30in the right direction.
10:31Not because he's American,
10:32because he's a guy
10:33that we're immediately
10:37addressing the situation at hand.
10:39That the next big tournament
10:40that could actually have some value
10:42in us becoming a better team
10:43is the Olympics.
10:44It's going to be in L.A.
10:45It makes perfect sense
10:47that Chirundolo was hired.
10:48I mean, the power brokers of soccer
10:49who actually own LAFC,
10:52his former employers
10:53are the ones that put him
10:54in this position.
10:55So it makes perfect sense
10:57to see him find this role.
11:00But we've had this problem, Adam.
11:02This is the systemic.
11:05If people really wanted to dig in here,
11:07go back and watch
11:08how the U-20 national team
11:10got knocked out of their World Cup.
11:13They had an opportunity
11:14to go to the semifinals.
11:15They were playing against Morocco.
11:17Same mistakes, same goals,
11:18same goalkeeper,
11:20not same goalkeeper,
11:20but same mistake from a goalkeeper
11:22coming out of his box
11:24and losing the ball
11:24and we lose the game.
11:26There's a lot to this.
11:28It's very complex.
11:30And the United States national team
11:31is starting to figure out,
11:33you know, what all this means
11:35in the bigger picture.
11:36Where do we get our players?
11:37Where is our edge?
11:39What does it mean to be us?
11:41Is it, you know,
11:42calling yourself a part of a family
11:44that you're not really related to,
11:46it sounds good,
11:48but it doesn't work.
11:48This country is ready
11:50to handle the next endeavor
11:52on their own.
11:53We don't need outside help.
11:55Look to the inside.
11:57Start figuring out a way
11:58to really get our assets
12:00that we have here
12:01to collectively make this country
12:05a better soccer nation.
12:06Right now,
12:06if we continue on this road
12:07with a league that,
12:09look at Chicago.
12:10They just did it yesterday,
12:11well, last week.
12:12Robert Lewandowski
12:13is a great player
12:14and he's going to go to Chicago
12:16because there's a lot
12:16of Polish people there
12:17because this is
12:18location-based entertainment.
12:20How does that help
12:21the U.S. national team?
12:22It doesn't.
12:23It actually prevents
12:24a young kid
12:25from getting the opportunity
12:27to play
12:27at the professional level.
12:29And we continue to do that.
12:30We keep hitting the reset button.
12:32It's Groundhog Day.
12:33It's a league
12:35for a bunch of guys
12:35to come here and retire
12:36and have their final payday
12:37and get a visa for their kids
12:39so they can go to good schools.
12:40How does that help America?
12:42It doesn't.
12:43So we have a lot of,
12:45there's a lot of complexity to this.
12:47We have some people
12:48who are making these decisions
12:50that need to really listen
12:52to the people
12:53who know what they're talking about,
12:54for one.
12:55And I happen to be one of them
12:56and I hope they call me.
12:57I got a couple of calls yesterday.
12:58I was really proud of that,
12:59that what do you think
13:00we should do?
13:01And that's healthy.
13:03Those are real conversations
13:04where we're actually engaging
13:05on the problem.
13:07There's that famous speech
13:08from Jeff Daniels.
13:10It's like,
13:10America's not the greatest country
13:12in the world.
13:13Right now,
13:13it's America's never going
13:14to win the World Cup.
13:16They're not.
13:17And if these people
13:18keep doing that
13:18and those people
13:19keep doing that
13:20and we continue to be
13:2227th on the market value
13:24and 7th in attendance
13:26and all,
13:26you can do the same thing.
13:28Somebody should do that,
13:29by the way.
13:29That would be actually
13:29pretty funny
13:30to do the annual speech
13:32because that's what it is.
13:33And we're never going
13:34to win a World Cup
13:34until we figure this out.
13:35Well,
13:36I want to follow
13:37on a couple of things here
13:38because 42 million people
13:39watched United States,
13:40Belgium across Fox
13:41and Telemundo.
13:42And I would make the case
13:43and your show
13:44on SiriusXM
13:45is hotter than the sun.
13:46I've watched more World Cup
13:48and more soccer
13:48than I ever thought I would.
13:50Seriously,
13:50I can't get enough.
13:52Right.
13:53People are picking up
13:53the phone and calling you,
13:55which I think
13:55is a brilliant idea.
13:56So who made the call?
13:59I'm fascinated.
14:00What did you say?
14:02Well,
14:02some of the delegates
14:03inside the Federation
14:05are,
14:06and some of the former coaches.
14:07I mean,
14:07I had a long conversation
14:08with Bob Bradley yesterday.
14:10And,
14:11you know,
14:11the idea that he's still
14:12sitting on the outside
14:13looking in
14:14is kind of somewhat criminal.
14:15The guy has
14:16an incredible mind.
14:17He's incredibly intelligent,
14:19intuitive.
14:19His son is doing great things
14:21as a coach in New York.
14:23And the idea is to,
14:25to instead of
14:26hand the keys
14:27to somebody
14:28that comes from the outside
14:30and say,
14:31you're in charge
14:31of driving this car
14:33and there's only
14:34a certain number
14:34of places in the car
14:35for people that,
14:36you know,
14:37we need to have a bus.
14:38We need to have a train.
14:39We need to have more people
14:40that are actively
14:42supporting our country
14:44and are allowed
14:45to be in the room
14:45and allowed
14:46to actually help
14:48give their insight
14:49and their experiences
14:51because if we continue
14:52to do what we're doing,
14:54we'll continue to fail.
14:55We can't recycle this.
14:56Our team is talented enough.
14:58I want everybody
14:58to know that.
14:59This team is clearly
15:00talented enough
15:01to do great things.
15:02We had the worst day
15:04and the worst possible time
15:06with 42 million people watching,
15:08maybe 20 million
15:09for the first time
15:10saying,
15:10really?
15:11That's it?
15:12That's who we are?
15:13What's all the excitement about?
15:14They're not that good.
15:15And that isn't fair
15:16either.
15:17So we've got to figure out
15:18how to fix this thing
15:19pretty quick.
15:20All right.
15:20Which quarterfinal matchup
15:22are you most excited
15:23to watch?
15:24Listen, man.
15:25Okay,
15:25there's a really crazy stat,
15:27okay?
15:28The team that beats
15:31the team that beat Japan
15:32wins the World Cup.
15:34That's the way it works.
15:35Wow.
15:36It's crazy, right?
15:37That's Norway.
15:39So if Norway happens
15:40to beat England,
15:42all the stats are saying
15:43that they're going
15:44to win the World Cup.
15:45And I love the story.
15:47I love Erland Holland.
15:48If somebody can convince me
15:50that that guy
15:50can't score against England,
15:53the league that he plays in,
15:54against guys that he sees
15:55week in, week out,
15:57there's a story there.
15:58There really is.
15:59This guy has captivated
16:01all of our interests,
16:01and he's not
16:02your typical soccer player.
16:04He gets hit.
16:05He doesn't go down and cry.
16:06He doesn't.
16:07He just gets back up,
16:09and he makes funny faces
16:10when he scores,
16:11and he scores great goals.
16:13He doesn't really work
16:15really hard
16:16until it's time to work,
16:17and people are getting
16:19to the point where,
16:19like, this is like
16:20a different version of Messi.
16:22It's like a six-foot-four Messi
16:23that can overpower you
16:26and score great goals.
16:27So he's so much fun to watch.
16:29I mean, if America
16:31does anything right,
16:31go watch the England-Norway game
16:33because that is going
16:34to be a spectacle.
16:36Listen, I think that
16:37England-Norway game
16:39is going to be incredible,
16:40and everything you just said
16:41about Norway,
16:42I mean, I can't get enough.
16:44I mean, I watched
16:44that whole game on Sunday.
16:45I was obsessed.
16:46I mean, it's, yeah.
16:47Roe, baby.
16:48Roe, baby.
16:49Let's go.
16:49I can't get enough.
16:51I'm excited for France
16:52and Morocco, too.
16:53And listen, France was my pick.
16:57Is my pick any shot for Morocco?
17:01Man, they're a resilient team, right?
17:03And they wait for it.
17:04They're willing to take
17:05a lot of pressure
17:06and they'll get it.
17:07But what we're understanding
17:08is when you play
17:09against the likes of France
17:10or Spain for that matter,
17:11but more so France,
17:12your best defense is offense.
17:14You cannot sit back
17:15and just build a wall.
17:17You have to have some of the ball.
17:18You have to play
17:19because their weapons
17:21and Bappe is a different level.
17:23Michael Ulisse
17:23is leading the league
17:25or leading the tournament
17:26and assists.
17:27They have Dembele,
17:28who's the current
17:29Ballon d'Or winner, right?
17:30Due is sitting this one.
17:32Barcola can come at you.
17:33This is an incredible team.
17:36And you're going to have
17:37to weather the storm
17:38and take advantage
17:39of your moments.
17:39If you can do that,
17:41they are beatable.
17:42But damn, they're talented.
17:44France is the likely
17:47winner of this competition.
17:48Spain might give them a go
17:50if they get past Belgium,
17:51which I think they will.
17:52Argentina, I can't figure out, man.
17:55They're all over the place.
17:56And the England-Norway deal
17:58is up for grabs.
17:59So let's see how we spin
18:01into the semifinals.
18:02It's going to get
18:02really interesting.
18:03But France, you're right.
18:04Rightly so.
18:05You picked the right team.
18:07They are very, very good.
18:08The entire officiating crew
18:10for the France-Morocco game
18:11is from Argentina.
18:13I'm fascinated to get
18:17your take on this decision
18:19by FIFA.
18:21I mean, sometimes you really,
18:23that's baffling.
18:23You can't make that up, right?
18:25Like, that's just remarkable.
18:27I mean, we've seen
18:28some of our decisions.
18:29I think we talked about
18:30this one before.
18:31I mean, the Egyptian goal
18:33was one of the best.
18:34And it was almost like,
18:36oh, no, somebody spilled mustard
18:37on their hot dog
18:39in the 18th row.
18:40So we can't count that.
18:41I mean, it was not even
18:43a real foul.
18:44And, you know,
18:44I watched Alan Shear,
18:46you know, famous player
18:47from England.
18:48And it just also
18:49exploded into that.
18:51And like, this is just
18:51not football anymore.
18:52And VAR needs to back off.
18:53When it has a tainted feel to it,
18:56when you actually see
18:56an Argentine crew,
18:58you know, in the box
19:00and you ask these people
19:02to give us an unbiased opinion,
19:03it's impossible.
19:05It's impossible.
19:06So they, it's,
19:07I mean, put the
19:08Uzbekistan crew in there.
19:10Do something,
19:10but don't put the Argentines
19:11in charge of that game.
19:13Wow.
19:13I totally agree with you.
19:15Spain, Belgium.
19:16I still can't believe
19:16we're not participating
19:17coming up on Friday.
19:19I mean, can Belgium
19:20compete in this one?
19:22You give Belgium
19:23any shot in this one?
19:24And it feels weird almost
19:25that I'm framing it
19:26that way after Monday,
19:27but I'd kind of be surprised,
19:30Eric, if Belgium won this game.
19:31Staunned, actually.
19:32I would,
19:33I would be too.
19:34But if you watch
19:35the way Spain struggled
19:37in this competition,
19:38they came out of the gates
19:39with a, with a,
19:40with a 0-0.
19:41We're unable to score.
19:42Good performance
19:43from a goalkeeper.
19:44Takes them a long time
19:45to get past Portugal
19:48and the 93rd minute
19:49for that matter.
19:50I mean,
19:50the idea is
19:51with Belgium
19:52and it kind of happened
19:53to us
19:54is they can play
19:54one or two different teams.
19:56They can come at you
19:57with a group of guys
19:58that are going to bring
19:59a lot of energy
19:59and once you're worn down
20:00at this stage
20:01of the competition
20:02and they bring in
20:03Kevin De Bruyne,
20:04Doku and Lukaku
20:05on the field,
20:06I don't know, man.
20:07If they can last
20:08to the 75th,
20:10maybe the 80th minute
20:11and then bring on
20:12the big guns
20:12for just a quick
20:14insertion of energy,
20:16Belgium could surprise us here
20:17because it's not
20:18because they're that good
20:19or we were that bad.
20:20It's just that
20:21they have a good coach.
20:23Rudy Garcia
20:23takes a lot of heat
20:25sometimes for a Frenchman,
20:27but he'll have a good plan
20:29for this game,
20:30100%.
20:30I want to get into
20:32Switzerland and Argentina
20:33with you
20:33and Switzerland
20:34has been preparing
20:35for every possible scenario,
20:36playing with a few men,
20:38heavy focus on penalties.
20:40So what do they need to do
20:42in order to advance?
20:45The Swiss need to be the Swiss,
20:47right?
20:47They've got some speed up top.
20:50They've got some electric players.
20:52They've got a pretty good engine.
20:54You know,
20:55taking out Colombia
20:57is in its own right,
20:58you know,
20:59a pretty amazing feat,
21:00but that's a pretty good precursor
21:01to the next game, right?
21:03I mean,
21:03it's the same style.
21:05It's the same creativity
21:08and you come at them
21:09with the same plan
21:10because the same plan
21:11will work.
21:12I mean,
21:12Shaka,
21:12Granit Shaka,
21:13their captain,
21:14you know,
21:14was one second away
21:15from being an unbelievable goat
21:17in the worst way
21:18because he gives the ball away
21:20and Quintero almost scores
21:23right at the end of that game.
21:24And then they go
21:25to the penalty kick shootout.
21:27Kanji,
21:28there's central defenders,
21:29stop taking penalty kicks.
21:30You're not good at this.
21:31Just stop.
21:32Just everybody's just like
21:34they're trying to try out
21:35as a field goal kicker,
21:37but everybody else handled it.
21:39They have a very good goalkeeper
21:40and then they got to enjoy
21:41an incredible moment.
21:43I think the Swiss are,
21:44I've always been a dark horse.
21:45They,
21:46them in Norway are the team
21:47that nobody wants to play
21:48because they,
21:50they're going to give you
21:50a solid defensive effort
21:52and they have enough talent,
21:53enough quality
21:54to beat you in big moments.
21:55So they're a scary team.
21:56There's,
21:57they're,
21:57they're no walkover
21:58for Argentino.
21:59I had to smile
22:00because I'm at a certain age
22:01where you have to explain this
22:03to the kids,
22:04quote unquote,
22:04not just mine,
22:05but the kids we work with.
22:07I mean,
22:07goat used to be a negative,
22:08right?
22:08Like if you get bad in a game,
22:10you're the goats.
22:11Now,
22:12if you say goats,
22:13we're talking about Messi
22:14right?
22:15Another unforgettable performance
22:16against Egypt.
22:17I mean,
22:17Eric,
22:18I'm watching it.
22:19I thought that game was over.
22:21How does this World Cup
22:22and what he's doing
22:24at 39,
22:25I'm just mesmerized by it.
22:28Add to the goat legacy.
22:30It's,
22:31because look,
22:32when he came to MLS,
22:34right?
22:34This was a no win situation
22:36for MLS,
22:36right?
22:36Because if he were to start
22:38scoring goals for fun,
22:39everyone would say,
22:40oh,
22:41well,
22:42you know,
22:43obviously the league
22:44isn't very good.
22:44If he didn't score,
22:46then everybody would just say,
22:47well,
22:47Messi's done.
22:48It's over.
22:49Obviously,
22:50he can't score
22:50against these guys.
22:51So it was,
22:52it was an odd scenario,
22:53but to see him perform
22:54for his country
22:56just reminds everybody
22:58that how special he is.
22:59That left foot
23:00is a wand.
23:01And even though
23:02he's missed two penalty kicks
23:04in this competition,
23:05too,
23:05he should have 10 goals.
23:06And he's missed twice.
23:08I mean,
23:09the realities of that alone
23:10are crazy.
23:11But they could always
23:13rally behind him.
23:14He's always going to be
23:16a guy that's going to show up
23:17in a big moment.
23:18But he's just a freak of nature.
23:2039 years old
23:21to play at that level.
23:22I get it that he walks
23:23around a lot,
23:23all right?
23:24That he's conserving
23:25his energy,
23:25rightly so.
23:26But when he gets the ball,
23:27he's still got it, man.
23:28He can't run at the speed
23:30that they just run
23:31past everybody anymore.
23:33He's kind of changed
23:34his game
23:35so he can bounce it
23:35off of people
23:36and find those little pockets.
23:38But, man,
23:38the guy can do a one,
23:39one, two in a phone booth
23:40and you still can't get
23:41the ball from him.
23:42He's crazy.
23:43Give us your official prediction
23:44on who wins the World Cup.
23:47Well,
23:47I'm going to go with you.
23:48I'm going to say France
23:48in the end.
23:49Too much quality.
23:51They have a French manager,
23:52which is also part of this.
23:53Nobody's ever won it
23:54with a foreign manager.
23:56So that puts England
23:57out of the equation.
23:58They're still going
23:59to get by Norway.
23:59But France is,
24:00to me,
24:01so good
24:02on so many levels.
24:04And too much,
24:05too much firepower
24:06on the bench.
24:07Great coach.
24:09And Mbappe
24:10is probably not done.
24:11I think Mbappe
24:12will probably get
24:13to 10 goals
24:13before this thing is over.
24:15Yeah, I'm with you.
24:15Mbappe's been unbelievable.
24:17One of the main reasons
24:17why I picked France
24:18beforehand,
24:19and I'm staying with you.
24:20I'm rooting for Norway.
24:21But I'm with you here.
24:23I'm rooting for him,
24:24having said that.
24:25Eric, you're the best.
24:26We'll be listening
24:27as we always do
24:28on SiriusXM FC WTF.
24:30It's an unbelievable show.
24:31Keep up the great work.
24:33We appreciate the time
24:34as always, my friend.
24:35Listen, man,
24:35we've already been over this.
24:36You're the best.
24:38Remember?
24:38That's right.
24:39That's right.
24:40And just be comfortable
24:41with that.
24:42It's hard being great like you.
24:43I'll be honest.
24:44I'm very comfortable with it.
24:45Eric, great.
24:46Okay.
24:47I figured it might be.
24:47I figured it might be.
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