Transcript of A Complete 2026 FIFA World Cup Preview With Mike Ryan And Chris Wittyngham | Morally Abhorrent New

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Welcome back to Morally Abhorrent: An Occasional, quote, "situation," as Dan Le Batard calls it on the Dan Le Batard Show. And I am very happy to introduce our co-creator, the former talisman of Morally Abhorrent, Chris Whittingham. Welcome back. Look, I got you in the graphic, Whitty. I got you in the graphic. Yes, we're back.

Is this the graphic from 2022 or is this a whole new graphic?

Well, it is a repurpose. It's the same headshot from 2022. Same, you know, moral atrocities, different nation. Different nation. Same funny moral confliction, but whole new country. And we are honored to have you here. Hopefully the graphic, you know, is good in place of the money I might have promised you. But Chris Whittingham, who doesn't really have any platforms to talk soccer anyways, he's just happy for the opportunity to return home to the Dan Lebatard Show. Chris, any life updates? First off, why don't I give you an opportunity to plug your very illustrious list of possible platforms that the people can catch you on this summer?

I mean, it's really only CBS. We'll be on every day. I think we have 13 hours of coverage scheduled throughout the tournament, which is going to be pretty wild throughout the day. But I'm actually going to Kansas City for the opening game of the tournament, for the opening game for the US of the tournament, because we're going to be from the Power and Light District at one of those bars where thousands of people get together. So yeah, CBS Sports Golazo Network on CBS Sports Golazo, YouTube and Instagram and TikTok and all that good stuff. We'll be covering the World Cup right the way through it.

So for those of you that don't know, Chris Whittingham left the Dan Lebatard Show to pursue his dream of being an OnlyFans butthole model. Model. But after that came and went, he decided to fall back to, uh, to calling games. And he has called some big-time games, most recently called the Women's Champions League final. We are so proud of Chris and really glad that he still has a good enough humor for me to say something like OnlyFans butthole model, knowing that it, it's probably the reason why he's not calling any of these World Cup games.

Yeah, maybe. But, uh, I will say I am disappointed that that original career pivot did not work out. I really gave it an honest go, but just couldn't quite find the traction on OnlyFans that I was looking for.

Quite literally, for my money, you good butthole. Good butthole.

But not great. Why did you say it in the Zazzlo cadence? Why did you say it in the Zazzlo cadence?

Butthole. So Chris Whittingham and I are actually going to talk some soccer. And look, we've done this before. We've done some content. We got a nice little banter thing going and we are now oligarch-free. So yes, that's a bonus, I guess.

Although no big hand, no heavy hand over us.

Although God, do I miss that oligarch. An oligarch with a heart of gold, or at least we can concede perhaps the best of the oligarchs. I always liked the fantasy book that he was actually a secret agent. More on that in a future episode of Morally Obliged.

The funny thing is, is you're one of the rare sports fans that has the ability to compare Oligarch versus private equity. And so far, oligarch is winning and winning by a lot.

Yes, but I am a reigning world champion and will be for the next 3 years. So please keep that in mind. Don't ask me about the trophy ceremony. There is a reason why it's still called morally abhorrent. So for you in the audience today, the last episode that we had, we had Tom Bogert, Chris's colleague over at the Golazo Network, and we did a U.S. men's national team intensive preview episode. And Chris, I'm going to get you in here to talk plenty of U.S. when we preview their group. But you are the biggest soccer expert I know. I respect you immensely. And I thought it would be fun to catch the layman, the casual sports fan, the person that maybe drifted away from the game a little bit. Look, hand to God, I hate VAR. It's kind of ruined the game a little bit for me. And also, you know, I kind of miss the oligarch a little bit.

Let's be real.

So So I had to, I had to bone up and I watched plenty of Chris Winningham in the last few months and plenty of Galazzo. And I got to tell you, like, you are such a great ambassador and caretaker of this sport. And I wanted to bring you in so we can have a macro view of all these groups. We're going to try to preview every single one of these groups, groups A through L. We're going to try to get as much as we can in 5-minute doses here. And Chris knows all about soccer. And we're gonna try to make some predictions here. And for those that don't know, this World Cup format makes predicting who gets out of the groups really difficult. Why don't you tell the people why?

So we have expanded from 32 to 48 teams, which means that in order to have an even number of teams that can play each other in the knockout round, there are third place teams that will get through. However, not all of the third place teams. So what'll happen is there are 12 groups of 4. The top 2 teams in each group will advance, but the 3rd place teams will sort of go into a standings, and whoever has the 8 best records of the 12 teams that finish 3rd will advance to the round of 32 to play a group winner at some point. So you have to basically accrue a number of points and have not a bad enough goal difference in order to survive to the next round.

So it makes this very, very tricky. So I'm not exactly sure how we're gonna discuss that part of this. I guess we'll kind of like earmark teams for potential advancement in that upper tier of third-place finishers. But let's get into it right away. There are 3 host nations here for this World Cup. The U.S. has the majority of the games, but Mexico— I don't know if you saw this. Did you see the view from that stadium in Monterrey, Mexico?

In Monterrey? No, I haven't.

Have you seen it?

Tell me about it. Is there a mountain? ¿Hay una montaña?

There's a mountain. There's a mountain. Yeah, it's stunning. There is a, uh, that is a running joke in American soccer that every month or so a new aggregator finds the stadium picture from Monterrey. Oh, you got to see it. It's one of the wonders of the world. Mexico is a host nation. They are the headliner in Group A. They get the benefit, the host benefit, of being in Pot A. So a flatter track, a better draw, especially when we get to the knockout fixtures. They are in a group with South Africa. That is your kickoff match. That is the first match that we see in this tournament. Also, South Korea, pretty good nation when it comes to soccer, and Czechia. So this is a very difficult, very interesting group, and match day 1 is hugely important. Chris, 5 minutes on the clock. What do you got on Group A?

So I'm going to start with Mexico. I think that over the course of the last 2 years, really, they have really course-corrected into a good place. If you go from the last World Cup, they bring in a manager who was at the most successful club in Mexico at the time, in Atlas, and Diego Coca, he lasted like a few games. They get rid of him, they bring in the Under-23s coach, they get rid of him, and they go back to a tried and tested manager in Javier Aguirre. They call him Vasco Aguirre. I think this is his third World Cup that he's managed for Mexico. I think his first one was in 2002. So he goes all the way back with this national team and he kind of has them playing more traditionally Mexican soccer, what you would come to expect from a Mexico team. And I think they have the pieces that can come together. Raul Jiménez will be the main player up front that I think their entire World Cup rests upon, but they've got some pretty good other players. The player to watch here— this is sort of the one you can impress your friends with— is Gilberto Mora, 17 years of age, plays for Tijuana, and there is a lot of expectation that he is off to Europe after this World Cup, that he's going to go to one of the big clubs Some people have called him, including our friend Michele Giannone, who's in our group chat, uh, the best Mexican player that has ever been developed at youth level.

Better than Cuauhtémoc Blanco, better than Chicharito Hernández. So this is a Mexican player that a lot of things are expected of, and he might have a breakout tournament. I have them as pretty significantly the best team of the group, not only because of the talent but because they're playing at home. I think we're going to go back to the old days, Mike. You remember when you used to watch qualifiers and the United States are playing away at the Azteca and you're thinking, holy shit, we'd love to get away from here with a draw. I think that's what it's going to be like for Mexico in these first— potentially if they win the group— 5 games of the tournament that they would play at home. So I think that home field advantage is going to be massive for them.

For Mexico, I have optimism envy because they are now at a place where they feel like they can make actually a deep run and make some noise in this tournament. And that's where we were all hoping for as Americans. To be when 2026 was first announced. Their arrow is pointing up. I know Senegal just happened and maybe that arrow's turned in the other direction, but right now the vibes are really, really good around Mexico. And that is a 180 from where we were just a couple of years ago. Real quickly, how was that achieved for Mexico?

Oh yeah, I mean, it really is sort of getting back to sort of your, your traditional roots. And I think you have a couple of good developmental projects. I think in in midfield in particular, obviously with Mora, but Alexis Vega, why Julian Quiñones has shown, has shown well. But I just think they're a little bit more defensively solid. One of the things that happened was in the previous 2 years, they tried to attack, they tried to be more enterprising, and they just gave cheap goals away. Now that's, that isn't to say that they're completely immune from this stuff. I think against higher level opposition, we saw them play against Colombia and get smashed 4-0, but I think they have become a little bit more defensively solid They have a few younger players that have developed. Should we focus a little bit on the rest of this group? I can't imagine we have a great deal of time for it. Absolutely.

Yeah, I absolutely do. But I wanted to give Mexico their proper shine as a host nation. But yeah, we have some pretty interesting soccer nations here. Why don't you go with, in chronological order here, for, for, for the group, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia. Give it to me.

Yeah. So I've actually watched video on all these teams. So for South Africa, they're a bit of a one-man team. Basically, when they, when they played at the Africa Cup of Nations in January, it was Lyle Foster up front who plays for Burnley and not a great deal else. It is a lot of players— for the soccer sickos that know a little bit about African club football— it's a lot of Orlando Pirates and it's a lot of Mamelodi Sundowns in this team. Uh, but otherwise, not, not a great deal of footballing talent. From a South Korea perspective, we actually saw them play really well against the United States The headline maker is Son Heung-min, but there are tons of other pretty solid players, including Hwang Hee-chan, who's had some good minutes in the Premier League, primarily for Wolves. So I actually kind of like the South Korea team to finish second. And again, if we're talking about projections, this is one of the groups where I actually have the third place team going out. I think it's going to be in this order: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, and Czechia to finish last. And I have South Africa as that third team who is not going to advance.

Only have 2 teams making it out of this group.

Wow, that was expertly done, and believe it or not, under 5 minutes. Chris Whittingham, fantastic. All right, we head over to Group B. Another one of the 3 host nations, Canada, led by an American in Jesse Marsh. Uh, some name recognition, uh, from a, a soccer nation that continues to improve. This is an interesting group. Some hotly contested matches in this, in this group, I reckon.

Chris? Yeah. So I think you have to start with Canada as the team that, as you mentioned, is one of the host nations, has an American coach, and has really embarked over the last 10 years really of becoming a genuine serious soccer nation. It starts with John Herdman, their women's national team taking over. Now, there was, of course, a scandal in which he was implicated in flying drones over opposition training sessions that has sort of marred his, his achievements. But even still, in the 2022 World Cup cycle, it was a genuine achievement not only to qualify for the World Cup, they actually finished top of the qualifying group with the United States and Mexico before taking 0 points at 2022. But obviously, as with all of the other hosts, the key for them has been developing players and getting to a high level in the period in between 2022 and 2026. And they have done a reasonable job at that. And all of a sudden you look at a group of players, you start with Jonathan David up front, their record goal scorer in the history of the country, who has had 3 or 4 really good seasons in Ligue 1 as a goal scorer of at least, you know, 15 to 20 goals.

He moves to Juventus this past season. It doesn't quite work out for him. So that really is the worry, that he didn't take that next step to a, to a bigger club, but still their record player and will definitely have a big role. The question though about this tournament comparing to 2022— in 2022, they came out and tried to play with some of the bigger teams and they kind of got smacked. Their manager talked some trash, particularly against Belgium, and they lost by a heavy margin. Jesse Marsh is going to do the same thing. He's going to attack, he's going to high press and do what he always does. The question is, do they have the underlying talent? And then the real big issue for Canada is the health of Jonathan— of Alphonso Davies, who is the best player that has ever been developed by Canadian soccer by a considerable margin. He's been the left back at Bayern Munich for 6 or 7 years now, was the record sale out of MLS when he was 18 years old. Going from Vancouver over to Bayern Munich, but he's had recurring health issues that go back probably a year and a half now, and he is going to miss their opening game of the World Cup against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

So the, the goal for them is to win that first game even without him and give themselves a chance in the remainder of this group.

So you mentioned Bosnia, uh, obviously I had my heart set on Italy being in this group in place of this nation. More stars on Italy. The casual observer recognizes that brand, but Bosnia is not a team to sneeze at whatsoever. This is a team that is hell to play against. What do you think of their chances?

Yeah, I think Bosnia— one of the other things that sort of aided them in that game against Italy is they're playing at home, and I think that home atmosphere that they created, the fact that they've really got the one big player that's still out there doing it, and Edin Džeko at 39 years old is still delivering a high level of performance for them. They've added to it with a few players from around the region. They've got a few players particularly playing in Germany. And the one name that Americans can maybe sort of claim a little bit is Esmer Bayraktarović. He was a youth national team player for the United States. In the end, I was actually reading about him because he plays for New England, used to play for New England, got sold. He actually kind of feels more Bosnian at heart. He's someone who grew up in sort of the Bosnian tradition. And sort of wanted— always wanted to play. His dream was to play with Edin Džeko because he grew up watching him, and now he's going to provide crosses to him. He's a really good deliverer of set pieces from those corner areas.

So Bosnia are definitely a team that will try to contend. I don't believe I actually— in predicting out this group, I have them finishing in third.

All right. Well, also the Trinidad and Tobago legacy advantage of being two nations that you have to play. Can you imagine how one's very difficult?

Yeah. Playing St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Bosnia-Herzegovina. It's a It's a tough old task. Yeah.

But let's turn our attention to our old friends, the former most recent host nation, Qatar.

They have not really gotten on. I mean, well, okay, so here's the crazy thing about Qatar. They're one of the worst teams in this tournament by any measure.

Well, Chris, respectfully, that's not the crazy thing about Qatar.

Well, the crazy thing about Qatar. Well, okay, let's— when we, when we ignore— we look at it in a purely footballing point of view, in any possible respect, this is one of the worst teams in the tournament. They haven't necessarily, even though they've naturalized a bunch of citizens from other countries and have tried to build up their program, they actually have a recognizable manager in Julen Lopetegui. They have not really been able to kick on and compete at a real level when it comes to sort of this top level of competition. That being said, they've won back-to-back Asian Cups. They are the reigning champions of Asia when it comes to international tournaments. So they can perform well at times in tournament settings. But I think the taste that they left in everyone's mouth as the host nation in 2022, I remember kind of saying, I don't know, maybe Qatar as a host nation, obviously, if anything is going to be tilted in their favor, it would be this home World Cup. But I don't know, I don't see a great deal of much happening. I have them finishing bottom of the group.

And now we close with, top to bottom, the best team in this group in Switzerland. How do you forecast them in this group? I assume group winners. But, you know, you never know with a host nation, Canada, that can be scrappy, all tied to Alphonso Davies' fitness. That's going to be a big match between those two nations that probably determines who wins this. Give the audience some players to watch for there. And what do you think about their general prospects in this tournament?

I look at that midfield and I see a great deal of talent and a great deal of quality in it, starting with Granit Xhaka, who people thought wasn't going to— wasn't heading for good things when he was at Arsenal, but had a fantastic run at Bayer Leverkusen when they went unbeaten in the Bundesliga. And then he's actually gone on and played really well for Sunderland as well, as they stayed in the top half of the league and actually finished in European football for a newly promoted team in the Premier League. You then move on to Ardan Yashari, who did not have a good season at Milan but was, you know, €40 million prospect that they paid for. Uh, you look at Remo Freuler, who's had a good run of it at Bologna. Denis Zakaria in midfield. So they've got a lot of options in the forward areas. I'd watch out for Dan N'Doye, uh, who had a really good season, uh, playing in Serie A before moving over to Nottingham Forest. So he didn't quite hit the ground running as much, but still a player that I rate really highly and has played really well for them in international competition.

At the Euros, was one of the players that— one of the players I most enjoyed watching. So Switzerland have some pretty solid players, and I agree with you, I think they're the most talented team in this group. I think they're the best team in this group, and the only way that they don't win it is if Canada ride the quest— uh, ride the crest of being the host nation and end up sort of emotionally getting their way to the top of the group. But I see Switzerland as by far the team with the most bona fides here.

To Group C we go. And I lowkey love this group. I am so dialed to Haiti, Scotland. You have no idea. Yes, I have so much riding on this one particular match as well. But look, Morocco were the Cinderellas of the last tournament. Loads of talent on that team. And Brazil, yes. This is a, a North American tournament. Brazil tends to do really well in those, but while they're a legacy brand, qualifying wasn't what we've grown accustomed to, and there really isn't the same type of quality that you might be used to coming into a World Cup tournament. So can you please tell me some of the, the hurdles that have faced Brazil along the way and how you forecast them?

Well, I think the biggest hurdle for them is that no one has taken on the mantle from Neymar. And Neymar, a lot of fans still want him to be out there even though he doesn't really play football anymore. He's always hurt.

I want to be anywhere that's not a poker den, right?

Exactly. A poker den or a McDonald's at 2 AM. Like, that's what Neymar is after the poker den, right? Exactly. After the poker den. And so when he was at PSG, Kylian Mbappé, like, questioned his professionalism and sort of his ability to, like, get some sleep. And be in good shape. Like, these are the basics that— and yet still the Brazil fans hearken back to a time when he was one of the very best players in the world, and they think that he can still do that in the yellow shirt. And the reason why I think so many Brazil fans are desperate for him to come back is because no one's really replaced him as the guy. So the guy that should be in that position is Vinícius Júnior at Real Madrid, but the problem is, is that he hasn't really been able to hit those heights in a Brazil shirt. He still is delivering. I think this year is 22 goals and 16 assists in all competition for Real Madrid. He's a fantastic player who probably should have won the Ballon d'Or 2 seasons ago, but the problem is that when he didn't win it, he spiraled and he just hasn't been able to carry the burden.

He has 9 goals in 48 games for Brazil. It is nowhere near the level. And then you start looking around the team, are there other players to pick up the slack? I, I— Rafinha is fantastic for Barcelona, but again, it's not the same level for for Brazil, right through the team. You look through a bunch of players that are really good for their clubs but don't deliver for Brazil. So what's the problem there? I, I don't know. And that is the job for Carlo Ancelotti, the manager, who of course is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of the club game. But this is his first go at international soccer, so the fact that he has never done this before sort of leaves that question if he's going to be able to do it with this Seleção.

Yeah, Ancelotti, well respected, uh, can probably get the best out of Vinícius and tap into that previous form. Having trouble lining up. You mentioned Mbappé. Maybe that has a lot to do with some of the struggles that Vinícius has had over at Real Madrid. But I look at this roster selection. You mentioned Neymar. That was controversial. The fans really wanted it. João Pedro seems to be able to really help this team. A world champion with Chelsea, was very good in that Club World Cup, had a solid season despite Chelsea's up and down nature. Why didn't he make this, this squad for this World Cup? Especially when they could really use him?

Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. I, I really don't know the answer to this. And if the answer is, well, because we took Neymar instead, I kind of think that's ridiculous. I, I kind of think that if you're looking at where players are right now— and Neymar had a good few months with Santos, but then the exact same problem that always creeps up with him happens. He has a calf injury. He's going to miss the 2 weeks to build up to the World Cup. Is he going to be ready for their opener? I don't know. But that opener is against Morocco. And Morocco are a damn good team. They were semifinalists at the last World Cup that, depending on your perspective, are either the champions of Africa or are not. But I don't understand why you wouldn't give yourself the best chance. Now, maybe Ancelotti decides, I'm not going to pick him, I'm not going to start him. And so why bring him? I'd rather bring somebody else. But that was a real shocker to me. I don't understand the thinking there.

I think this group, despite not being labeled Group of Death or getting the fanfare, The matches are going to be close, sneaky close in this group. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about Morocco's chances. It's going to be hard for them to recreate the magic of 3 and a half years ago, but they've got loads of talent. This is no fluke from Morocco.

No question. I mean, you go back to not only, you know, getting to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, getting to the semifinal of the World Cup. They're also bronze medalists at the Olympics in 2024, which indicates that there's a pipeline, which indicates that they invest a ton in football. They also have done really well to naturalize, uh, people with Moroccan heritage from other countries, namely Brahim Diaz, who's been, you know, one of the top-level players. Then plays for Real Madrid. But this is a team that is loaded with talent, and that's only going to get better. The big story for them is the Africa Cup of Nations final, in which they were playing at home. There was a lot of questions throughout the tournament about the refereeing decisions that were going in their favor. They get another one in the final and the Senegal players got so mad and they thought it was so corrupt that they walked off the field and didn't return to the field for 20 minutes. And so the Morocco player, Brahim Diaz, who was meant to take the penalty, was just kind of standing there waiting to take this penalty.

And then we finally get back to play and he misses it. And then they go to a penalty shootout and Senegal ended up winning on the day. After the fact, the African Federation decides, well, because of that, because you walked off the field in protest, This result is now null and void. You forfeited. And Morocco were the champions of Africa by default. And they have like that 3-0 scoreline next to them. Now, throughout that tournament, they weren't playing very well and they actually sacked their manager. They sacked the manager that got them to the semifinal of the World Cup because they felt that in their pipeline, the head coach of their U-23s was ready to take over. So he's now in charge. But this is his first real goal. He'll have had 4 games in charge of Morocco. By the time this thing kicks off, the fourth of which will be in New Jersey against Norway in a friendly on Saturday. But I don't know. I think this is a really interesting one to call on a talent basis and on a cohesion basis. I can see them as actually better than Brazil, but I don't know, all this chaos might get in the way.

I think you and I both have Morocco and Brazil getting out of this group. One of the games of consequence that might really affect the next stage is sneaky Scotland and Haiti. And Haiti, if you watch them recently, they play some exciting ball. And in North America, as we've learned from, uh, Gold Cups down here, they can be feisty. What do you make of that match?

Yeah, well, that match— so this is one of the great things about this World Cup. Because of the third places getting in, it actually more often is the games among the worst teams in the group that'll end up being the most interesting. Because if you're Scotland or if you're Haiti, the only chance you have of getting through to the knockout stage is to win this game because you're probably not going to beat either Brazil or Morocco. So you have to win this game. And so it creates opening weekend of the World Cup, Saturday night, 9:00 PM at Foxborough Stadium. It is going to be Haiti and Scotland. Now, you mentioned that incredible performance they put in against New Zealand in a friendly. Ah, there's just something that feels like a bit of a one-off to me. There was a great crowd there in support of Haiti, and I imagine the American-based Haitians will be out in full force, uh, for that game. But also the Tartan Army is going to be out in full force for Scotland. They haven't made the World Cup since 1998, and they got here in the craziest fashion, winning on the final day of the qualifying group with a goal from the halfway line with an overhead kick from Scott McTominay.

It was absolute madness for them to get here. So I think those fans are going to bring it too. So yeah, I think kind of low-key, the game of the group stage is Scotland-Haiti in the opening game of the group stage.

Oh, I'm camping out already. You can already hear that pink skin sizzling. Welcome, Scotland.

Excited about it.

Now, Tom and I covered the US extensively. I think it's fair to say that you have them coming out of the group, even though that's not— yeah, that's not guaranteed. That's a spoiler. And trust me, Witty, we're going to get your voice on plenty of US analysis after their first match. But let's turn our attention in the interest of time to Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey-A, as some people are calling it. It's Turkey, man. It's Turkey.

I think they— I think they rebranded on account of probably not being the top Google result for Turkey.

It's Czech Republic and it's Turkey.

Come on. Okay. Now who's the one being morally abhorrent? Now you're not respectful of other people.

I'm 40. This comes with the territory.

Okay. So let's start with Türkiye because I actually think that right now I have them to win this group. Now I am getting a little bit into delusion land when it comes to the United States. I was that excited about their performance. Time honored tradition on Sunday. Yes.

Don't worry, Germany's coming.

I'm right. Exactly. But now if they play well against Germany, if they beat Germany, I'm all in. I'm all in. So I think when it comes to Türkiye, I just think that they have a few really high level players that are just at that level above what the United States has to offer. There are 3 guys, Hakan Çalhanoğlu in midfield, who is one of those mainstays. He's been there for forever. Got converted from being an attacking player into more of a defense-minded midfielder. But distributing from deep is as good as it gets. Has that long-distance strike, which is valuable at a World Cup. You kind of have to score goals from, you know, lower probability chances at a tournament like a World Cup. Kenan Yildiz for Juventus is absolutely fantastic. I get the joy of watching him week in, week out covering Serie A at CBS. He is fantastic. And then Arda Güler, who is really on the rise at Real Madrid. Terrific. So when you have those three guys anchoring your team, it's kind of difficult to see through them. The problem is, is that going all the way back to Euro 2020, people have sort of said, oh, watch out for Türkiye, but then they never actually end up delivering.

So it is going to be incumbent upon this group to actually do that. Uh, I, I have them right now to win the group pending the US result against Germany and my level of delusion. But yeah, I have the— I have Türkiye on top and the USA second. I went for Paraguay third. Um, I think them and Ecuador are similar stories, so Ecuador do it at a higher level incredibly defense-minded. They're going to be behind the ball. They're going to let you have it. They're going to kick you. They're going to try and shorten the game. They're going to try and frustrate a team like the United States in their first game of the group. And the question is, do they have the one or two moments? Diego Gomez, the former Inter Miami player, now at Brighton in the Premier League. Julio Enciso, who is, I believe, signed by Chelsea and played for Strasbourg last season. They've got a few, 2 or 3 guys that can try and make the difference in a game. But ultimately it comes down to can they be defensively solid enough to frustrate you, keep it at nil-nil, and maybe make a goal on the counter?

Yeah, that first match for the US is fascinating, just not because of how important it is for their prospects, but Paraguay kind of plays a style that I wish the US played, and the US plays a style that is susceptible to that counterattacking style of Paraguay. So it's a very dangerous match. Let's move over to Group E where, look, it's, it's a girl on the couch meme. Everyone's going to tee off on Curaçao here. I feel bad for them. Uh, but we got Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador, which if you're looking for a Cinderella, could be that here in a North American World Cup. What say you?

Uh, by the way, I do just want to quickly mention on Australia, just because we didn't mention them in Group D, they'll probably be similar in terms of being that defense-minded and not really having much of the ball and trying to frustrate you. Let's get to Group E then. So Ecuador is the fascinating story of this group because in a qualifying region with Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, an incredible array of talent. They finished second. And if you like that style of soccer, they, in 18 qualifying games, so the most difficult games to play in the world, they conceded 6 goals. 6 goals. So this team is incredibly difficult to play against. That starts with Moisés Caicedo in that midfield, who plays for Chelsea, who is just an absolute beast in midfield. But it doesn't stop there. There are tons of other really interesting players that have been developed by Ecuador who have really sort of gotten behind a footballing project that is actually led by one club. This called— this club called Independiente del Valle, who have been a fantastic developer of talent. So you look all the way through this team and you see some pretty talented players, uh, going.

And but then of course your main stage, you have Ener Valencia up front who's been there for a million years. Um, but you have, uh, Caicedo in that midfield, you have Alan Franco in that midfield who's picked up tons of caps, uh, Pedro Vitte who actually played for Vancouver is now in Mexico. So they have some pretty solid players. And then at the back, two really solid central, uh, central defenders in William Pacho and Piero Hincapié, who play— who played in the Champions League final, uh, less than a week ago, um, that are going to anchor your back three. And you have Pervis Estupiñán who had some good seasons at Brighton. So I don't know, you look at this Ecuador side and you see a team that could potentially challenge Germany. Germany I find incredibly fascinating because they're a team that obviously has the pedigree of being the 4-time World Cup winners, won in 2014, but in the 2 World Cups that have followed, they went out in the group. They went out in the group in 2018, they went out in the group in 2022. At the last Euros, they were the host nation and went out in the quarterfinals.

Despite being Germany hosting the Euros. So I see a team that isn't quite in the top tier of contenders but still has some damn good players and some players that you wouldn't want to face off against.

What'd you make of Ivory Coast roster selection, primarily Wilfred Zaha not making the national team?

Yeah, I mean, for, for Zaha, I think some of that— some players get penalized for playing in MLS, and I think even in MLS, relative to, to the standards of other great players in the league, he wasn't really delivering at a great level. So I think it probably was time. And Ivory Coast have some pretty solid players to come in behind them. The one player to watch— again, this sort of the one that you can take to your friends— is, uh, Yann Diamandé. He plays for, uh, RB Leipzig in Germany, and already there are links with him going to Liverpool in this summer for an astronomical sum. He scored 12 goals in the Bundesliga this season, and he is a player absolutely to watch at this tournament. But that's not it. I mean, they've got, uh, N'Gon Boni, who had a pretty solid season, uh, for Inter as well in Serie A. Simon Edin Dzongre, who's had some good seasons. Amad Diallo for Manchester United. So this is a team that has reloaded with some talent. It's not quite the golden generation that they had with Didier Drogba, uh, back in the, in the late 2000s, but it's still a, a really good group of players that I can see giving a real challenge.

As far as if they are to finish third, which I'm not even certain that they will, I think they can challenge Ecuador and Germany.. But if they are to finish third, I would definitely see them getting through against Curaçao quickly.

Group E, probably because Curaçao's presence in it and everyone looking to load up on goals against them, one of the more likely groups to have 3 teams make it to the next stage. Agreed.

Yeah, agreed. Because of— because goal differential will play a role. Curaçao, we should mention, is a great story that they're even here.

It's almost entirely basically the Dutch national team D is essentially what it is because it's all the players who just sort of Because, because the story is not going to be a long one at the World Cup.

But it's an island of 50,000 people that qualify for the World Cup. It's amazing.

It's just, it's amazing. But, you know, for many teams, just getting here is the achievement in itself. And that is the case for Curaçao. But, you know, an incredible opportunity should they get a point. It'll be a monumental moment for that team. Group F, Netherlands. I'm seeing a lot of people pick Holland as a potential dark horse winner. Lately. It's getting very sexy to, uh, to pick that. This is one of the toughest groups in this World Cup competition. The Dutch, the Japanese, Sweden, Tunisia. Give me your take on this group.

Well, I think when you look at Netherlands, I think they're going to have to win the group because if they don't— well, I mean, either way, that the matchup in the next round is tough for them. If Japan wins the group, um, then you're playing either— basically, if you win the group, you're playing Morocco or Brazil. Which is pretty, pretty tough as far as round of 32 matchups go. But yeah, I mean, Netherlands are a team that I think have really found some good answers. Donyell Malen is definitely the player who's been the biggest story in the second half of the season. Signed for Roma in January and almost single-handedly led them to the Champions League, which was not a given when he signed, and they had some down periods as well. But Malen has been very good. Um, the big surprise here in terms of the playing squad is no Jeremy Frimpong. For as well as who's playing going into Euro 2024. He had a bad season for Liverpool, so he's out. Virgil van Dijk kind of on his last legs. He's still able to still anchor a defense. And kind of the shock name that's still out there doing it is Memphis Depay in that forward area.

He had 8 goals in qualifying. He was really good for them. So yeah, I can see it. I think the Netherlands have some pretty good players. But this is sort of my classic March Madness preview. Don't sleep on Japan because Japan are a team that have been absolutely fantastic over the last few qualifying cycles. Their manager's been there since 2018, knows exactly how to get that group to play. I actually— this is sort of one of my surprise picks. I have Japan winning this group.

Wow. All right. So you and I have a very similar take when it comes to Japan, because there is a scenario here where Brazil matches up with Japan. If that's the case, look out. Yeah, that is upset city.

That's upset city. Put the town on alert.

Absolutely. Put the town on alert.

I gotta, I gotta look up where is that game being played. If whatever, it's, it's not important now. But anyway, I mean, with Japan, this is just a side that knows exactly what they want to be. They've got players that, uh, many of them play in Germany actually, and they have more sort of a German style of play. They have 6 or 7 of them that are playing in Germany, but sort of the entire team is brought into that idea. Eiichiro Tanaka in midfield was really good for Leeds both in the Championship and had a good season in the Premier League as well. Wataru Endō will be a key part of that side, playing for Liverpool and will continue to anchor that midfield. The one player that is a big miss for them is Kaoru Mutoma, who has been a really good winger for Brighton for the last few seasons. He misses out because of injury. So that is the one thing that I would definitely hold against them. But yeah, I mean, in this group, Japan, for the way that they know how to play together, I can definitely see them being a group winner, at the very least a group runner-up in my mind ahead of Sweden and Tunisia.

Yeah, Tunisia's Not the easiest side to go up against, and this might be a group that on the surface you think gets 3 into the next round, but that might be tough depending on Tunisia. Does this group get 3 teams, and if so, who's the odd team out?

So I actually think it's going to be Tunisia who will be the odd team out, um, just because Sweden have a pretty solid group of forwards. When you can start with Victor Jokerez or start with Alexander Isak and bring the other off the bench or figure out a way to play them together.

Isak, a mixed bag though, like his fitness, especially right now. Do you think that this is a group that gets 3?

I think so. I think so. Just because I think Sweden is of that level. The way that they don't, the way that they don't is Tunisia causing everyone else problems. And here is a stat that I think you'll really find interesting based off of how much, uh, you enjoy defensive football. They played 10 qualifying games in Africa. They qualified conceding zero goals. Yep, zero goals they gave up in qualifying. So if they're gonna be the stingy team— and I think the, the groups that won't see a third team advance is because there are a number of draws that happen in the group, and I can see Tunisia being that pesky team that draws with everyone. Sweden ends up with 2 points or 1 point or whatever, and they don't get through because they don't have enough points.

Yeah, the expanded World Cup allows for some bad matches in the group stage. Every match, I think, in Group F is interesting and going to be tight. Group G, not necessarily the case. We're familiar, although when it comes to storylines, this is probably Dan Lebatard's favorite group because you have Iran and you have New Zealand and he's all caught up on Tim Payne and that story. So we don't have to get so into that. Yes. But you got Egypt and Belgium. Now, most people on name recognition would just assume Belgium, but it's not the golden generation. And maybe people are carrying that result that they had against the US thinking that that might be some sort of predictive analysis. Not the same Belgium. This group is interesting in that I'm not exactly sure who the worst team is, and on Egypt's best day, I, I'm not so sure Belgium can beat them.

Yeah, I mean, Egypt is a fascinating one. They haven't gotten out of the group in the World Cup since 1934, so I'm kind of— I'm holding my breath and waiting for that to happen. But you have the 3 players you need up front in order to get it done. You You have obviously Mohamed Salah, who is now out of contract, having just left Liverpool. I wonder if he kind of left his decision until after the World Cup, just in case— if I go out there and score 3 or 4 goals and I look like Mo Salah again, maybe he can go still play at a pretty high level, uh, in Europe, or he just goes and gets the bag in Saudi Arabia, which is what a lot of people are anticipating. Um, so you have him, you have Omar Mahmoud, who had a really good 18 months with Eintracht Frankfurt first and then Manchester City. Um, he's been a really good player. And Trezeguet, No, not that Trezeguet, just a player who takes on the nickname Trezeguet, who was actually a really good player for Egypt. So, but the thing is, in these knockout tournaments, you just haven't seen it at the highest level from, from Egypt.

So I still think even though some of that golden generation has aged out, I think Belgium are the class of this group, uh, still going forward and still producing some pretty high-level players. It's not, it's not Eden Hazard anymore, but Jeremy Doku has been really good for Manchester City and is sort of one of those players where again If you're not watching club football in between World Cups, watch Jeremy Doku. That dude is fun to watch. He's got that little dance step that goes over the ball and just goes flying past defenders with a minimum of ease. With De Bruyne, with the Catalanes, I like, I like this Belgium group. I think that they'll win it.

Now, this could be one of those sneaky groups that does get 3 teams in depending on how some of these matches break down. And if the circumstances were more normal, I'd probably have Iran pegged as one of those teams. The United States knows from running into Iran in the World Cup, famously losing in 1998, needing a result in the last group day of the last World Cup against Iran. And you and I were very nervous in that match against that opponent. This, though, seems like a very difficult situation for this football program. Yeah. And to play in this country, too. I got to imagine that this is near impossible for them considering the circumstances.

Well, and the interesting thing, too, is they play their first two games in Los Angeles, and Iran is a big expat community in Los Angeles. So I'm kind of fascinated to see what those crowds look like. It is sort of difficult to comprehend what this is going to be, especially if there is no ceasefire, there is no agreement, there is no nothing that happens in the intervening period before this thing kicks off. So yeah, I have no idea. It's kind of— it kind of seems frivolous to talk about, but their first game against New Zealand is kind of massive. Yeah, because we saw New Zealand get smashed by Haiti in a friendly. And if they're there for the taking at that level, Iran are going to need to win that game if they're going to advance in the group. But it is kind of sort of ridiculous to talk about them in a sporting context, given everything that's going on. And yet we see all the time when sports teams become this sort of safe haven or this uplifting story through which a nation can rise or a nation can feel better about itself despite everything that's going on at home.

So, yeah, I mean, I think Iran will definitely be carrying that to the World Cup. But we've seen that go both ways. It can be both a horrible burden that leads to poor performance or it leads to a sort of inspirational, motivational performance. But it will be a fascinating watch nonetheless.

All right. We head over to Group H. I think you and I both have Spain winning this group and there's going to be plenty of time for us to talk about Spain. So let's skip them here in the interest of fairness and time. A couple of matches actually being played in Miami. This group is one of the features, one of those matches. Is this a group that can get 3 out of the group?

It's going to require Cape Verde kind of being a doormat, which is entirely possible just based off of, you know, what, like their complete lack of history in the competition. The fact that it was a complete shock that they qualified for this in the first place. That was the group with Nigeria in it. It probably should be Nigeria in this position. But instead, here we are. Cape Verde are in the World Cup as a tiny nation. Also a ton of expats that come from elsewhere. But Saudi Arabia obviously took care of business in the opening game of the World Cup. Last time out beating Argentina and completely throwing the biggest upset of the tournament by a long distance. They now have to play the role of favorites, and that is their final game of the group. So you kind of, if you're Cape Verde or you're Saudi Arabia, maybe you nick a point off Uruguay or off Spain in those first two games. But I think this game comes down to matchday 3 in Houston, Cape Verde against Saudi Arabia. One of those games that whenever this, whenever, when the World Cup expanded, everyone's like, Oh, there's going to be terrible games like blank against blank.

And people would have said Cape Verde against Saudi Arabia, but that game might be massive. It might be incredibly important for a team like Cape Verde or like Saudi Arabia to potentially advance. If they win that game, they give themselves a great chance. So I think Spain, as you say, are clearly favorites. I actually probably have them as my favorites to win it all, never mind this group. But Uruguay are a team that I think a lot of people thought would get here in a good place, but they don't. They just don't. I mean, they got smashed with the United States in November. They did not qualify very convincingly. The manager, Marcelo Bielsa, one of the great characters of world football. They call him El Loco. He has this incredibly defined style of play, but he seems to have fallen out with a lot of the players, namely Luis Suárez, who kind of leads the hearts and minds of the players in that Uruguay dressing room. So I do not feel a great deal of confidence about their prospects, but it should be enough to get out of this group as runners-up given the competition.

And they should be able to get some good crowds in your best, your best guess, does Uruguay and Spain, does that matchday 3 end up mattering?

No, no. I think both teams will arrive to matchday 3 with 6 points.

All right.

Let's— it really only comes down to the matchups that you want. I think that'll be a sort of interesting part of this bracket. If you finish as a group winner, your chance of playing a third place team is much better. So when I, when I ran the simulation— sorry, sorry to drag this on— when I ran the simulations and I did my picks, I had Spain winning the group. They would play Austria in the next round, whereas Uruguay would play Argentina. And that— there's a big difference between Austria and Argentina in the next round.

I kind of hope that plays out. Let's head over to Group I. I'm actually watching in person one of these matches, heading up to your neck of the woods in New York to watch France-Senegal. Iraq is in this group and Norway, a team that I think can make some noise in this tournament. What is your takeaway? France obviously being one of the tournament favorites, I think odds on between them and Spain kind of vacillating, uh, being top dog there. Um, what do you make of Group I?

I think this is the toughest group. I think this is the best group. I think this is the group that is most, most worth watching, just because you have really Norway as the team that are sort of the third team in that group. Senegal, as you mentioned, won the Africa Cup of Nations. They have since had it rescinded, but obviously they got there in the first place. This is a really talented group of players. They were missing some of their key guys against the United States. I wouldn't necessarily hold that performance against them massively. France are the tournament favorites by a long way, and Norway have come from nowhere. Let's be very clear, Norway have not qualified for a major tournament, Euros or World Cup, since 2000. You've had how many chances to qualify in between, including 3 Euros that have had expanded fields, and you still can't get to the Euros. And all of a sudden, Erling Haaland, obviously as one of the best strikers of the world, if not one of the best players in the world, is in top form. But they've got 3 strikers. They've got Alexander Sorloth, who's playing really well for Atletico.

They've got Jørgen Strand Larsen, who's had a couple of good Premier League seasons for Crystal Palace. He got 3 good center forwards at this level. Insane. And then you, you bring on Martin Ødegaard, who's a good number 10 and can play creatively in midfield. Andreas Schjelderup in wide positions. All of a sudden, Norway look like a pretty good team. So I think this is the most talented, uh, group of teams. And I think Norway versus Senegal, there— for as much as I say don't take too much in their performance against the US, I do think Senegal are the team that are going to finish third here, just because I believe in Norway that much. And I believe— now obviously one of the things that you would say is, well, Norway, you know, they're playing, uh, in America, it's going to be really hot. But I actually think they kind of got the luck of the draw here in terms of their locations. They're not playing in Miami, they're playing at Foxborough twice and at MetLife in their other game. So they actually might get lucky in terms of the conditions that they're going to be playing in.

So I, I don't think heat will be too much of a role for them, uh, and I think that they're the second best team in this group.

All right, um, let's move on to Group J. Oh wait, briefly, does Group I get 3 teams?

Yes. I think poor Iraq, poor Iraq is going to have a, a bit of a rough go here, and I think those 3 teams will beat up on them. And maybe you can see Senegal drawing against France but then beating Norway. You can see multiple teams getting to 4 points in this group.

All right. Group J, you tipped your hand on Austria. You have them coming out of the group. Does Group J have 3 teams that come, comes out of this group?

Yes. And I really like Austria as well. They're a team that, again, international football is so much about identity. Can you find an identity, a style of play that is cohesive and fits your group of players? And Austria have done that fantastically well. They brought in Ralf Rangnick, who's sort of one of the minds, one of the, the big minds of the philosophers of football, who brought in this idea of counter-pressing, playing quickly, and trying to score in 6 seconds or less when you turn the ball over. That's sort of his idea— go high pressing at your opponent, win the ball back quickly, play it quickly. And every team that all these guys play for at club level largely play that system, and so it works for them. So I actually have them as the second best team in the group. But Argentina are so worth talking about. Obviously, this seems like a last hurrah for Messi. This seems like a last hurrah for quite a few players. And the question with them is, are they overly reliant on the group of players that won them the World Cup 3.5 years ago? Is Rodrigo de Paul still capable of hitting a high level when he has bad performances for Inter Miami in MLS?

Was he saving his best for the World Cup? Was Lionel Messi saving his best for the World Cup? Is he still capable of carrying a team on his shoulders? At 39 years old to going and winning the thing again. It's a fascinating conversation. It's hard to rule them out because of how good they have been in winning back-to-back Copas América and winning the World Cup last time. But there are still a lot of questions around that team.

And you did say that you have 3 teams coming out of this group. I assume Algeria is that 3rd team for you.

Yes. Algeria, as you know, one of those teams in Africa that are just sort of a consistent performer. They're not anything spectacular, but they always have a solid enough group of players where you can see them getting out of a group. And I just think that Jordan will probably make up the sort of bottom level of that group. Riyad Mahrez is one of those figures who still is scoring at a decent level in Saudi Arabia. Hossein Mouar in midfield as well. Actually, quite a few players are based in Saudi Arabia for this Algeria group. But I still like them. I still see a lot of talent here. Ibrahim Mazza in wide positions could be an interesting one to watch as well. But yeah, I think, I think Algeria have enough talent to beat Jordan, which will probably see them through into the next stage.

Group K, sneaky tough. Now, you know how you'd probably be asking, how is a group with Portugal and Colombia sneaky tough? I think a lot of people underrate Uzbekistan and DR Congo. So while the— when the fixtures came out, I'm like, man, a lot of people are going to be paying a lot of money for a Portugal-Colombia match that might be inconsequential when it's all said and done. That might not be the case. This could be a tight group. There might be some draws in this group.

Yeah, well, and it's not even just that that game could be considered inconsequential because it's first against second. I think the difference in paths for the winners of this group is fairly significant. So in my predictions, I had Colombia to finish top ahead of Portugal. I had them beating Portugal on that final day of the group. They would play the Ivory Coast. If Portugal advanced to the round of 32 as runners-up, they played Croatia. And so that's a pretty significant difference in terms of level of opponent that you can play in the next round. And then if Portugal got through that, they played Spain in the last 16. So if you finish as runners-up, you're on a collision course with Spain in, in the last 16. So I think going and winning this group is going to be very important. But I agree with you on this DR Congo side in particular. I think the— it really is about sort of the level of talent and where these guys are playing at. Johan Wissa, great season for Brentford 2 seasons ago, didn't quite hit those heights at Newcastle. But you have Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who's still in the side, plays for West Ham.

You have, uh, Noah Sadiku had a great season for Sunderland as well. So they've got 5 or 6 pretty good players that are of the level. I think Uzbekistan will probably have a little bit tougher of a go in this group. I, I have them to finish 4th, but even still, Eldor Shumuradov is one of those players who's been around for this group for a million years and can still kind of be that inspirational figure. So yeah, I don't think this is going to be easy necessarily for Portugal and Colombia. But as I mentioned, winning this group I think is going to be paramount for whoever wants to go deep in this tournament.

Excited, humble brag, I'm going to Guadalajara to watch Colombia versus, uh, DR Congo. I'm really excited about— that's a good game.

Yeah, that's a good game.

Coming up here on Group L, um, name recognition-wise, especially those familiar with CONCACAF, Panama, a tougher opponent. Is Group L potentially the group of death here, our final group? And can football properly come home.

Well, okay, so here's a really interesting sort of scenario that I've come across that a lot of people have talked about. So if England win their group and Mexico win their group, the path for England to the semifinal is playing Mexico at the Azteca on July 5th, which would be incredibly difficult given the atmosphere and given the conditions there. They would then have to go into a quarterfinal, uh, against Morocco or, uh, I believe it was Brazil is the other team in that group. Morocco or Brazil in Miami for a 5 PM kickoff. 5 PM kickoff in July in Miami. Good luck, lads. This is going to be a really tough, uh, knockout stage for England if they go on and win this group. I think in terms of the talent that they have, this is as good as of an England side as they've ever had. And, and the players that they're leaving at home— ludicrously good. Ludicrously good to leave Cole Palmer at home, to leave, you know, so many of these guys that play well week in, week out in the Premier League at home. But Thomas Tuchel has an exact idea of what he wants, and if you don't fit in that idea, get out.

And I think that actually is the more intelligent way to go about it when it comes to international football, because you have to form an identity in a team. It's not an all-star team. So I kind of like what they've done with their squad, But you're right about the rest of this group. Ghana are never easy. The United States has learned that over and over again when it comes to the World Cup. Uh, Croatia obviously as well, finished third last time, second the time before. Are they too old? I think so. I think so. I think this might be one World Cup too many. I think they'll advance, but I think in terms of that midfield, Luka Modrić, it's been reported he might retire after this World Cup. And he's still playing and gonna play a key role in that midfield. Kovacic, Perišić, it's still a lot of the same guys. You need a couple of players. The, the main one being Petar Šukić, who plays for Inter, had a good season for them. He's got to take a big step forward. And we saw them take a pretty solid beating in, in their pre-World Cup friendlies as well.

So I'm a little bit worried for Croatia. I still see them as the second best team in this group, and it's an all-out war for Ghana and Panama to be the third best team. Yeah, Ghana still have some really good talent. But Panama and CONCACAF have been the team to be afraid of for the last 6 years that aren't the big teams, US, Canada, and Mexico. Panama have absolutely been next, and I can see them causing more than a few teams problems in this group.

Yeah, I think England, Croatia, and Ghana better be on their toes. We're familiar with, with CONCACAF, Panama, and the challenges once you get to this side of the US.

3 times. Yeah, they beat them in the Nations League. They beat them in the Gold Cup and they beat them in qualifying as well. So, I mean, this is a U.S. team that— this is sort of the group for the U.S. to hide behind the couch between Ghana and Panama being in that same group.

I got a sneaking suspicion Panama might crash a party or two.

I have them. I have them to finish third. I have them to finish third in this group.

And then we're playing.

But I think we're playing. So I think they might draw against Ivory Coast and it might be tough for them to get out. But I have them finishing third in the group.

Alright, so believe it or not, we've actually done all of this in under an hour, and it's left me time to ask you some just tournament— for some tournament predictions on the whole. So first things first, let me get your prediction for group match of the tournament.

It's kind of funny that they were focusing so much on Scotland against Haiti, but that honestly might be up there in terms of a candidate.

You sicko!

Just because of sick— just, yeah, sickness. Uh, just because of how important that game is to both nations, how long it's been, how great the Haiti story is. I mean, look, the most obvious one is— there are two for me, you know, key winners of best group game: Brazil-Morocco and Colombia against Portugal.

Yeah, just because those are two high-level teams and the atmosphere is just gonna be insane.

Oh my God, it's gonna be madness. I think about the number of people they're going to try and get in the door to watch Colombia. And then the number of people that are going to try and get in the door to watch Cristiano Ronaldo, that, that stadium could be 150,000 doors. How about the air vents, Chris? Think of the air vents.

Think of the air vents. Yeah, they don't care for doors. I'm well familiar with the Colombians work at that stadium.

Uh, all right, so I hope, I hope the security perimeter is better established this time.

I would hope so. Give me your prediction for the semifinals.

Okay, so my semifinals based off of having done the group, I'm kind of amazed at looking at it, uh, over again. I have Mexico against Argentina in one semifinal, and I have France against Spain in the other. So I have Mexico winning the group, beating England in the last 16, beating Morocco in the quarterfinal, and getting to a semifinal against Argentina, which would be absolutely wild for Mexico in, in this country to go all the way that far as a host nation. But I just sort of see there was something about Mexico, Mexico against England at the Azteca. I don't know, man. I don't know. I just, I see it as a, as a tough place for England to go in that altitude after everything they've given to the season. And then France against Spain, Argentina against France in the final again with France winning it this time, have them being the champions for a second time in three.

All right. Now some predictions for some individual awards. Golden Boot.

Kylian Mbappé. I mean, if I have France going all the way, I think Kylian Mbappé is going to score tons of goals for that team. And, you know, he's been probably one of the best World Cup players that we'll ever see just based off of what he did in the last two, getting to the final, scoring a hat-trick in the final, won the Golden Boot last time. I see Mbappé doing it again.

Young player of the tournament.

So this is an interesting one. So if I have Mexico going that far, I can easily, I can easily see it be Gilberto Mora for Mexico if they're going far. He's going to be part of the way that they do it. Yann Diamandé is another candidate. We mentioned him already. Florian Wirtz, I actually think I'll probably go with him as my pick. I really like Florian Wirtz as a player for Liverpool. He did not have a good season. All the Liverpool fans seem to hate him. He's one of those guys that gets into the troll football cycle of criticizing individual players. But I don't know. I love that guy.

I love watching that guy play. Leverkusen Wirtz was just an outstanding player. Kind of crazy to refer to him as a young player because he was just incredible early on for Bayer Leverkusen. Golden Gloves.

Golden Gloves is a good question. So I am—

why is it Memo Ochoa?

Can you imagine? Can you imagine if he starts?

I mean, given your bracket, I mean, I know, I know.

I don't even know if he's going to— I don't know if he's going to play.

I guess given your bracket, Emi.

Yeah. Yeah. Martinez is certainly— is certainly up there. Yeah, I'll go. I'll go for— I'll go for Dibu Martinez for for another World Cup.

Make big saves.

Maybe Magic Mike Maignan as well.

And finally, Golden Ball, player of the tournament.

So if France are going all the way, which I have them to do, I'm going to go for Michael Olise. He right now is my Ballon d'Or pick. If the Ballon d'Or were held today, I would pick him as my Ballon d'Or winner. He is my favorite footballer to watch in the world. The creativity that comes out of that dude's boots is absolutely staggering to watch. He puts so many defenders on skates. And we're talking about the best defenders at the highest level. And incredibly, because he was— it took a while to get here. He grew up in the English system. He played for Reading, then he played for Crystal Palace. He made his big move to Bayern 2 seasons ago. And incredibly, this is his first major tournament. He had— he didn't play at the Euros in 2024. So this is his first major tournament. I just see him as that level. I see him as that guy at this tournament. I think he's going to become a household name during this tournament.

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