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00:00The biggest World Cup ever. It's now down to four teams, and what a Final Four we have.
00:05For the first time since the FIFA World Rankings were introduced,
00:08the four highest-ranked teams in the world have all reached the semifinals of the World Cup.
00:13France and Spain, they will meet in a heavyweight European showdown,
00:16featuring Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, and two very different ways of controlling a match.
00:21Then England and Argentina, they renew one of the World Cup's most historic rivalries
00:25as the three Lions try to end Lionel Messi's pursuit of another World Cup final.
00:30Can Spain's midfield slow down France's explosive attack?
00:33How should England defend Messi, and which two teams will be playing for the World Cup trophy?
00:38All good questions.
00:39Joining us to break down both semifinal matchups is a three-time All-American Soccer Hall of Famer,
00:43sports anchor, and analyst for ESPN, FIFA, and NBC Sports.
00:47You see it right there, the one and only Renee Washington joins me now.
00:50Renee, how are you doing?
00:53I'm great. I'm excited.
00:54Honestly, this Final Four is a heavyweight showdown of the best four teams.
01:00Superstars and so much that's just very unpredictable.
01:03So I cannot wait.
01:04I can't wait, too. I'm so excited.
01:06I'm excited to watch both of these games, see who's going to the finals.
01:09But I'm also a little sad, Renee, because it means the World Cup is almost over.
01:13But we've got to talk about these games here.
01:15And Renee, you just mentioned it.
01:16We have the top four teams in the FIFA rankings, four former World Cup champions and two matchups that feel
01:23like finals one round early.
01:25With demand and ticket prices reflecting that level of anticipation, is this as strong a World Cup Final Four as
01:32we've ever seen?
01:35Absolutely. Definitely on paper.
01:37And let's hope the matches actually live up to the expectations and the hype.
01:41Because you have, as you mentioned, the top four teams.
01:44It's literally one through four.
01:45We don't ever see that.
01:46There are no Cinderella teams.
01:48There are no surprises.
01:49You have the teams that all, if you had told us back in the group stages, they'd be here, we
01:55would not bat an eye about it.
01:56So I think that's the beauty of it.
01:58You've got France, who's got the power, the speed.
02:00They've been to back-to-back World Cup finals, looking to make it three in a row.
02:04Of course, they won back in 2018.
02:06You also have Spain, as you talked about.
02:08They've got the possession.
02:09They've got the midfield.
02:10They've got the young talent who turns 19 tomorrow in Laminia Mall.
02:14You also have Argentina, the GOAT, in Lionel Messi, who's looking to make their first back-to-back World Cup
02:20title for any team since Brazil did it in 1962.
02:24And then England, who's got Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane.
02:28They've got the star power as well, and a team that really has been increasingly getting better and showing that
02:34they truly can win it all.
02:35So we've got superstars.
02:37We've got storylines.
02:38We've got talent.
02:39We've got depth.
02:40And, of course, even with France, I can't – let me not forget Ousmane Dembele.
02:45I have to give him his flowers, the Ballon d'Or winner who was FIFA World Player of the Year.
02:49So these are the best of the best that could be matching up.
02:52Let's just hope that it's not just the four big names and teams, but we get the true big down
02:56-to-the-wire, overtime, penalty-kick, shootout types of moments without controversy, without anything else, that we can actually enjoy
03:04these matches.
03:05Yeah, that's the thing you always want, no controversy.
03:07I hope that we get great matches.
03:09That is the thing I'm hoping for as well.
03:11Now let's talk about France.
03:12You've got to have those fingers crossed, Rene, for sure.
03:14But France, for my money, they've looked like the most complete and, I would say, imposing team in this tournament.
03:20While Spain, they might be the one team equipped to take the ball away from them.
03:24We know how great France is with controlling possession.
03:27Is this semifinal simply about whether Spain can control the game before France's attacking talent takes over?
03:33How do you see it, Rene?
03:35I think the way that France plays, and it's a really good tactical question you bring up, they are very
03:40patient.
03:41They're very composed.
03:41They can attack in a number of ways.
03:43We talk about Kylian Mbappe, who is head and shoulders above most players.
03:47He's right there neck and neck with Messi for all-time World Cup goals.
03:51He's in the golden boot hunt right now.
03:53It should come down to him and Messi, essentially.
03:55And when you look at a player like him, he knows how to get his teammates involved.
03:59And he's got teammates around him.
04:01Again, I mentioned someone like his Robin is a player that in Ousmane Dembele would be the number one on
04:07many other teams in a FIFA men's player of the year.
04:10A player that has been lights out scoring.
04:13I mean, he's had five goals now in all the games after he hadn't scored in a World Cup previously
04:18coming into this tournament.
04:20So they don't need prolonged possession.
04:22They can strike at any time.
04:24They can create something.
04:25They've got the pieces.
04:26They're comfortable on and off the ball.
04:28I actually think for Spain, it's a matter of weathering the storm.
04:31They have to win that midfield battle.
04:33They have to make sure they're getting out and also making France defend them.
04:36These types of matchups, you can't sit back and defend for 90 minutes.
04:40You want to make sure you're also making, for Spain, make France chase.
04:44Make them sweat.
04:46Make them on their heels a little bit.
04:47Because if you have Mbappe, Dembele, Olisse, you know, all their talents across that are comfortable, patient,
04:55playing with house money in that sense of just working the ball around, creating lots of shots,
05:00that can make it very difficult for Spain.
05:02Oh, it can indeed, for sure.
05:04And you just mentioned that Spain has to win the midfield battle here.
05:08And I would think their biggest advantage might be Rodri and Pedri controlling the middle of the field.
05:13Can Spain dominate that midfield battle, or does committing numbers forward leave them vulnerable
05:18to the exact transitions that France wants?
05:22That is where a lot of teams struggle.
05:24It's how much do you press forward and leaving yourself susceptible in transition.
05:28And keep in mind, for Spain, as you mentioned with Rodri and Pedri, they do have those guys.
05:33They control the tempo.
05:34They're great in transition.
05:35They're also really good at making sure to get compact, get organized early.
05:39And they can also just keep France in front of them.
05:42I think that's the other key.
05:43You look at how France scores a number of their goals.
05:45It's slip passes.
05:46It's getting in behind.
05:47It's breaking you down off the dribble.
05:49And so I do think that midfield is going to be really important to keep everything organized,
05:53to keep France in front of them, and making sure they're not pressing numbers too many forward,
05:57but picking and choosing their spots of when they go versus when they maybe stay home a bit.
06:02But also, let's keep in mind, we did see, to go back to France specifically,
06:06we did see for Kylian Mbappe, that ankle injury he suffered at the end of Morocco,
06:10came off the pitch, had some ice on it, seemed to be walking okay.
06:13But that is also something to keep an eye on beyond any tactical aspects of how his overall health is.
06:19Yeah, got to watch out and keep an eye on that with Kylian Mbappe.
06:22And this is what makes that matchup such a very, very interesting chess game,
06:27or chess match, if you want to call it, just what's going to work for either side.
06:30Let's move over to England-Argentina.
06:32We saw Switzerland, they did have some success limiting Lionel Messi by congesting central areas,
06:37but he still created Argentina's decisive moment.
06:40That's how great he is.
06:41How should England defend him?
06:43Is it a sign one player, crowd the middle collectively, or accept that, look,
06:47Messi's going to create something, and the focus has to be on stopping everybody else.
06:52How should they defend him?
06:54That's the key.
06:55With someone like Lionel Messi, nobody knows how to defend him.
06:58He's 39 years old.
06:59We're still trying to figure out how to defend him.
07:01But guys like him, like Mbappe, they're going to get their chances.
07:04They're going to create.
07:06So you know he's one that he's going to make something out of nothing.
07:09He can, in a tight space, dribble through multiple defenders.
07:12He's got the disguised passes and passing arsenal.
07:15He can create shots out of anything.
07:17And he also just knows how to move off the ball, how to drift in his spaces where, believe it
07:21or not, people lose Messi.
07:23So it is difficult because you can't man-mark him for the entire game.
07:27You can't have someone following him around.
07:29It's a matter of making sure you're always accounted for him.
07:31You're always understanding where Messi is, but also limiting his options.
07:35I think the biggest thing when you play a team like Argentina, if you're England,
07:39you want to make sure that the guys around Messi, force them to get their head down.
07:43Don't allow them to be comfortable, see options, and find players like Messi specifically in dangerous spaces.
07:48If you can get tighter on a lot of the other players and force them into tight spaces,
07:53keep them compact, forcing turnovers, it can make it more difficult for them to even find Messi to begin with.
07:57I think you want to keep the ball off of his feet.
08:00It's like in basketball.
08:01You want to keep the ball out of certain guys' hands.
08:03In this matchup, you want to keep the ball away from Messi as much as possible.
08:07Once he gets it, all bets are off.
08:08But I do think when you look around the team, there are other attackers, Julian Alvarez and Nataro Martinez
08:14and other guys that can attack you, so you can't fully rely on Messi and focus on him
08:19because the others can also step up when needed.
08:22Yeah, you don't want to sleep on those other guys.
08:24We've seen them strike.
08:25We've seen them get some big-time late goals against teams in this tournament.
08:29Talking about England, because they're a country that always has a lot of pressure on them to win,
08:34even though they have not won a World Cup in quite some time.
08:36They've shown tremendous resilience, Rene, in this tournament, but they needed 10 men,
08:41down 10 men, and they had to survive against Mexico.
08:44They had to take extra time to beat Norway.
08:47Are those experience proof that this team is finally built for tournament football
08:51after years of being criticized, or are they playing a little bit too close to the edge
08:55to survive against Argentina where you don't want to have that risk where it's like,
09:00oh, we're playing down a man.
09:02We're playing into extra time.
09:04How do you look at the way England has played?
09:06Is it resilience, or have they been playing too close to the edge?
09:09I think, to be honest, listen, the World Cup run for anybody is difficult,
09:13but to be honest, England has had one of the hardest.
09:15You look at Erling Haaland and Norway.
09:18You look at Mexico, who has been playing amazing.
09:21They've had some really tough teams to get through to get to this point,
09:24and I think that is evidence and a testament to their talent.
09:28Guys like Jude Bellingham, guys like Harry Kane, their ability to be resilient, to come back,
09:34to score goals in close succession, and for them to go up against the defending champions,
09:39it only gets harder, as this is the first time Messi is going to be facing England.
09:43So it's the first time England is facing Messi.
09:45Let's make that clear.
09:46It goes both ways.
09:47So you can't rely on adversity to really wake you up.
09:50And I think England's been a team that does well when they get kind of punched in the gut a
09:54little bit,
09:54and that wake-up call that gets them going, and now they're rallying.
09:58That can only take you so far.
10:00You do not want to have to always be playing from behind, rallying, playing catch-up.
10:03So I do think that someone like Jude Bellingham, who we've seen get increasingly more confident,
10:08increasingly becoming more that defining player with England, along with Harry Kane, the captain,
10:14they're truly going to be guys that you want to hope from the opening whistle can help set the tempo
10:18and help make, like I said with France and Spain, make Argentina defend.
10:23Do not rely on comebacks and having to crawl out of a deficit because a team like Argentina,
10:28they know how to play the game, the long game.
10:31And I think that's the difference come the Final Four.
10:34These are teams that aren't focused on winning 20 minutes.
10:37They're focused on winning the entire game.
10:39They know how to put together a complete game to start and finish strong and close out to get a
10:43result.
10:43Yeah, I love what you said there.
10:44These are all 90-minute teams and extra time if they need to be to get a win.
10:50These teams know how to play the complete game.
10:52So I guess let's close on this, Renee.
10:53Let's put you on the spot.
10:55Who wins France-Spain?
10:56Who wins England-Argentina?
10:58And what do you think is going to be the decisive matchup in each semifinal?
11:03Gosh, I wish I could say.
11:04I feel like every time I think one game is going to be better than the other, I'm swung the
11:09other way.
11:09They're both going to be great.
11:10And they should and please do.
11:12Hopefully the soccer gods, so to speak, are looking down on us to help us out.
11:17Because these should be close matches.
11:19One goal, you know, a late goal type of a game.
11:23They should not be wide open.
11:24I would be actually disappointed if these are.
11:26I think France is going to win in a very narrow win.
11:28And I think that Spain might have more possession.
11:30But I think France can be more clinical to capitalize on their chances and put them away and score.
11:35And I also just think that their transition attack, the pace they bring, that they're going to be able to
11:40win this game versus Spain.
11:41But again, very close, narrow margin.
11:43Same for the Argentina-England game.
11:45And I feel like Argentina has been pushed a lot repeatedly.
11:48They're opposite teams.
11:49Argentina has been struggling with some teams that they honestly should not.
11:52Whereas England has been struggling with teams that they should.
11:55So I think that they've been really pushed to the brink and the edge.
11:58To me, they're the ones that's winning a little too close for comfort.
12:01And I actually think England can win this game, give Argentina a bit of a surprise.
12:07And I do think that they just have a little bit more of, when you look at the teams they've
12:12played in the road here,
12:13a little bit more that they've shown in tougher matchups that's going to help them win this one.
12:18That one decisive moment.
12:19But honestly, I could see it going either way.
12:21My hope that I want is an England-France final because that'd be great versus what could be a rematch
12:28of 2022's France-Argentina World Cup final.
12:32So we'll see.
12:33Yeah.
12:34So you and I have the same picks here.
12:36I'm going France-England.
12:37I'm also, I also hope, I want to see that matchup.
12:40I know some people are going to want to see the Mbappe-Messi rematch from 2022.
12:46Give me France-England.
12:47I'd like to see France there again, and I'd like to see England with the pressure to get it done.
12:52I think that could be a very intriguing final.
12:54We'll see what happens on Sunday.
12:56That is Renee Washington.
12:58Check her out.
12:58Everywhere does a fantastic job with FIFA, NBC Sports, ESPN.
13:03The Soccer Hall of Famer, great, great, great player and analyst here to break down the World Cup semifinals with
13:09us.
13:09Renee, always appreciate you.
13:10And we'll talk more soccer or football pretty soon.
13:14Yes.
13:15Thank you so much for having me.
13:16Regardless what happens, we should be able to get three strong final matches.
13:20Whoever gets to the finals after today and tomorrow should be all good games to close out the World Cup
13:26for 2026, which is wild.
13:28We are saying that.
13:29So enjoy this moment for you.
13:31Dexter, thanks for having me.
13:32For everyone, enjoy this moment because it'll be four years until we get to see it again with the men.
13:36But just next year, we get to see it again with the women.
13:39That is true.
13:39Can't wait.
13:40Hey, more soccer.
13:41I know both of us, we love the sport.
13:42Always good.
13:43Thank you again, Renee.
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