WORLD CUP RAMBLE 3 ⚽️ FIFA 2026 with Fred [BONUS]

0:00Hello listeners, welcome back to Luke's

0:02English podcast. How are you doing

0:03today? I hope you are more comfortable

0:05than I am because it is boiling hot here

0:08once again in podcast land. And I

0:11suppose there's every chance that it's

0:12also boiling hot wherever you are too.

0:15Unless of course you're in the southern

0:16hemisphere, in which case you might be

0:17feeling a bit chilly. But in any case,

0:19I'm absolutely boiling and I'm melting.

0:22And I expect that by the end of this

0:24episode, I may have become a sort of

0:26pool of liquid on the floor of my

0:28podcast room. Uh hopefully that doesn't

0:31happen. But anyway, it's really boiling

0:33hot. So, hello. This is World Cup Ramble

0:36number three, uh in which I'll be

0:38talking once again about the FIFA World

0:41Cup 2026. And this is a bonus episode,

0:45okay? This is in addition to your normal

0:48weekly podcast and not instead of. Okay.

0:52Uh, so you'll be getting a normal

0:54episode coming uh on Monday as usual and

0:57this is just an additional bonus

0:59football related episode. Feel free to

1:01skip this if football is really not for

1:04you. But if you're following the

1:05football, I hope you enjoy this and that

1:07you leave your comments in the comments

1:09section. We would love to hear from you

1:11about the various things that we discuss

1:14here today. So, I am recording this on

1:16Wednesday the 8th of July and hopefully

1:20it will be published on the same day. If

1:22I can get myself organized, I'll publish

1:24this um on the same day or maybe the

1:27next day. It might arrive on the 9th of

1:29July. Who knows when you're going to

1:31listen to this. You'll probably listen

1:32to it within the first 5 days or so. But

1:34I just wanted to establish the fact that

1:37today it's the 8th of July. The round of

1:3916 is over and the uh quarterfinals are

1:43yet to begin. That's where we are uh as

1:46I record this. Quarterfinals are coming

1:49up uh uh coming up over the next few

1:51days including France versus Morocco,

1:53Spain versus Belgium, Norway versus

1:55England, Argentina versus Switzerland,

1:58and then obviously semi-finals and then

2:00the final itself. There are lots of

2:02things to talk about at this point as

2:04the tournament has progressed. Things

2:06are starting to get really exciting.

2:08Things are heating up uh nicely now in

2:11the World Cup. Now we've got only eight

2:13matches, well eight quarterfinal eight

2:16four eight teams, four quarterfinal

2:19matches and so we're all able to

2:21understand and picture it all in our

2:23minds a bit more easily. Um so in World

2:27Cup Ramble 3, I will be joined by Fred.

2:31um returning guest, a returning guest

2:33for I think the sixth sixth time. Maybe

2:37he's been on the podcast more than that.

2:38I don't know. Uh Fred and I have talked

2:41before about diverse things on this

2:43podcast, including pub quizzes, spelling

2:45bees, word games, Avengers Endgame, and

2:49more. But Fred is a keen football fan.

2:54So, let's turn our attention to football

2:56in this episode. I'm recording this

2:58introduction uh about an hour before

3:01Fred is due to arrive. Um and so I guess

3:04at this point through the magic of

3:06editing, we're going to skip forward to

3:09my conversation with Fred. World Cup

3:11Ramble three. And here we go.

3:15>> So hi Fred.

3:16>> Hi. Hi Luke.

3:17>> Welcome to the podcast again.

3:19>> Hi. I'm glad to be back.

3:21>> Uh World Cup Ramble. That's the plan,

3:23right?

3:25the the the general idea is to uh have a

3:28chat about the main talking points for

3:30World Cup 2026, both on and off the

3:32pitch. At this point uh right here, end

3:35of round 16, just before we enter the

3:37quarterfinals,

3:38>> this is the first day since the World

3:41World Cup has started that there's no

3:43game. The first day without a game since

3:46uh June 11th.

3:49>> Wow.

3:50>> Yes. Can you can you

3:52>> So everyone's taking a little breather.

3:53>> Yeah, I think that's 27

3:57days of football like in a row or

3:59something. No, maybe less. But

4:01>> how maybe

4:03>> how has it been for you so far this

4:05World Cup?

4:06>> So I am a extremely so I I I love

4:10football. I've played football. I've

4:14watched it for my whole life. Uh, I

4:16don't watch football anymore because

4:19it's too time consuming and it's always

4:21like one nil and whatever.

4:24>> And you you should spend two and a half

4:26hours of your life watching it.

4:27>> Exactly. And I have I've decided I have

4:30many many many better things to do.

4:32>> But when the World Cup comes, I stop

4:35everything.

4:36>> Yeah. [laughter]

4:37>> And try to watch

4:38>> every as much as I can

4:40>> every four years.

4:41>> Yeah. Same as me. I don't really keep up

4:43with Premiership football.

4:44>> No. But when it's international stuff

4:46like the Euros or the World Cup, then

4:48I'm I'm really into it. Yeah.

4:49>> Yeah. And so I I really make an

4:50exception even for AFCON or the Euros. I

4:54I I'll watch, you know, I watch quite uh

4:57intensely, but WAP I really try to watch

5:00everything.

5:01>> Yeah.

5:02>> Uh so yeah, as a fan, so you know, a lot

5:06of people I was thinking what can I add

5:09to this conversation? The only thing I I

5:10can add is my very own experience. Mh.

5:13>> So, as a fan,

5:15um,

5:17first of all, there's a time difference

5:19as someone who lives in France, which is

5:21not the case for everybody, but we all,

5:24I guess, except you're in the US or

5:26Mexico. In that time zone, you you know,

5:29you probably feel the the the the time

5:32difference if you're in Asia, in Europe,

5:33etc. In Africa,

5:34>> in Europe, games are on really late in

5:36the evening or they're on in the middle

5:37of the night. But I think in somewhere

5:39like Japan, I think it's really

5:40difficult to keep up, isn't it?

5:42>> Yeah. They they must have like very

5:44early games or

5:46>> it's all messed up for them basically.

5:48It's difficult.

5:49>> If it's like 5 a.m. here, then it's like

5:525:00 p.m. there. But if it's 6:00 p.m.

5:55here,

5:56>> then it's what? 6:00 a.m. I mean,

5:58>> it's about 9 hours of difference.

6:00>> Yeah.

6:00>> They're about 9 hours ahead of us.

6:02>> Yeah. So, they must have had things in

6:04the middle of the night as well. You

6:06know,

6:06>> difficult to keep up. But but uh Okay.

6:08But you're a major fan of the World Cup

6:11and so you've been watching as many

6:12games as you can.

6:13>> Many games I can live or in replay uh

6:17while trying to work [laughter]

6:19>> and have a life.

6:20>> Yeah. And I should say also that uh so

6:23who do you support in this World Cup?

6:24Cuz you're from Cameroon. Yes.

6:26>> And Cameroon unfortunately didn't

6:28qualify. What happened? Why didn't Came

6:30Cameroon are normally one of the top

6:32African teams? I will say that the the

6:35the word normally is uh the most

6:39disappointing word in this because I

6:41mean as we'll talk about it but what

6:43should happen normally in the context of

6:45football is never what actually

6:47happened. So what happened

6:50>> is at first I was very disappointed.

6:53I mean I still am. I'm I'm sour. I don't

6:55want to talk about it. And if you ever

6:57see me don't mention I shouldn't have

6:59asked that question. There's an ad

7:01there's there's an ad in which like that

7:04features pictures from like fans from

7:07all over the world and there's a picture

7:08of a Cameroonian fan and it breaks my

7:10heart every [laughter] time.

7:13>> Um but yeah, so it was very difficult.

7:16We lost uh the our group to uh Cape

7:20Verie Camp.

7:21>> Yeah. Uh, and I've seen them play

7:26since and I'm like, okay, they're better

7:29than us, so that's why they qualified.

7:30And we didn't.

7:31>> Okay.

7:32>> So, yeah, names don't carry all the way

7:34to the World Cup. So, what happened is

7:36that I don't know. We have a our team

7:38isn't very good

7:39>> at the moment,

7:40>> at the moment. And yeah, we didn't.

7:41>> So, who who have you been supporting

7:42then? I suppose are you also French now

7:44or you you you've also

7:47>> I do root for France. I I root for

7:48France in a way that's different from

7:50from Cameroon, but I do root for France.

7:52Yeah. And and it's much easier to root

7:55for them when they play very well.

7:57>> You root for France. There's a nice

7:58phrase

7:59>> to root for. Yeah.

8:01>> Meaning support.

8:02>> Exactly.

8:03>> You root for France.

8:04>> To yay someone. [laughter]

8:06>> This is how the uh the kids today talk

8:10about it.

8:10>> I would tell the kids yesterday.

8:12>> Really? Yeah.

8:14>> Yay.

8:15>> You wouldn't know.

8:17You wouldn't know what the kids today

8:18say.

8:18>> No, I wouldn't. I'm completely out of

8:20touch with like Gen Z.

8:23>> Yeah.

8:24>> Yeah. Gen,

8:25>> it's Gen Z. Is there Is it generation

8:27alpha as well?

8:28>> Alpha is around. I don't know how how

8:30old Alpha is, but they're around.

8:32>> Yeah, that's right.

8:32>> They have the language now.

8:33>> Yeah. It's It seems so I mean, I guess

8:35it's always been this way, but like the

8:37different age groups and the kind of

8:39slang that they use, it just all seems

8:41so wildly different and diverse these

8:44days. Like the I like a few weeks ago I

8:47before the end of the school year I

8:49worked with a class of uh sixth graders.

8:52>> Yeah. Okay.

8:53>> And they were trying to do like a period

8:55piece like they inspired by u the mouse

8:58trap by Agata Christie and they're

9:00trying to set like the time and they

9:02were like the 80s

9:05and like [laughter] it was it's already

9:07strange for me to talk about the 80s

9:09>> or the 70s. They were born in like 2015.

9:13>> Oh my god. They're like, "What was the8s

9:16like?"

9:16>> For them, [clears throat] the 80s is so

9:18old.

9:18>> And they sort of look at me to ask me,

9:20"So, what were the '8s like?" I'm like,

9:22"I have no idea."

9:23>> And that's not even when the mouse trap

9:24was was written. We're talking about

9:26>> So, they're mixing the 30s, the 50s.

9:29>> So, for them, the 80s is kind in the

9:32same package as the 20s or something

9:34like that.

9:35>> It's like the 80s is like so far.

9:37>> Yeah. Oh my god.

9:39>> What were telephone like in the You're

9:41like, "No, there were many." They don't.

9:43They have no idea.

9:44>> Makes me feel very old. Um anyway, so

9:47you you're rooting for France then?

9:48Yeah. Yeah. That's it. Or do you have an

9:51interest in other teams? No. No.

9:52England. No, not at all. No.

9:54>> I mean, so

9:57>> I I've actually talked about it recently

9:58with someone. Uh I have had um

10:02historically I've had a fondness for

10:04England

10:05>> because I I'm a fan of Manchester United

10:09and a lot when I was younger the core of

10:12United was also in the England team. I

10:14mean

10:14>> Skoles gig uh not gig sorry um Neville

10:18Beckham etc. So my transfer I was also I

10:22also liked [snorts] England uh the

10:24England team.

10:25>> Mhm.

10:26>> But now as uh now I I most I root for

10:30Cameroon [laughter]

10:32>> when there's no one I I'll root for

10:33France

10:34>> and then I'll I watch because I really

10:37enjoy football.

10:38>> Yeah.

10:39>> And so

10:41Yeah. But like England if England had

10:44lost I wouldn't have minded. The way

10:47they won was very exciting against

10:48Mexico. So, I'm very happy for for

10:51England because as a fan, it's like I

10:53just enjoy watching great football.

10:55>> Yeah. Okay. I see. Um, at the moment in

10:58football, it seems there's different

10:59camps.

11:00>> Okay.

11:01>> Right. And either you support teams or

11:02you support certain players. Mhm.

11:05>> Um and so I feel football is in these

11:08different camps and if we organize it by

11:09player, there's obviously the Messi

11:11camp, there's the Ronaldo camp, there's

11:13the Mbappe camp, and maybe a couple of

11:16others like you've got uh maybe Erling

11:18Harland.

11:19>> Yeah, Bellingham. Bellingham probably

11:22Harry Kane

11:23>> for England.

11:24>> I was It seems to me that Harry Kane is

11:27much more consensual. He's so nice. He's

11:29a captain. He scores goals. Benson seems

11:32to have like more of a personality that

11:35can, you know, provide people.

11:36>> He's like a personality on legs, isn't

11:38he? He just he just drives and works

11:40really hard and fights so hard. Uh, and

11:43yeah, that's kind of what he's all

11:44about. He's not necessarily the sort of

11:46diplomatic kind of leader that you get

11:48in Harry Kane, although he would be a

11:50great captain. I think Jude

11:51>> Bellingham.

11:52>> Yeah. Just the spirit that he brings to

11:55the pitch and the hard work ethic and

11:57stuff like that. So, do you have a

11:58particular allegiance to one of these

12:01camps then?

12:02>> Um, I would say that

12:07I think Messi is the best.

12:08>> Mhm. Uh, he's proven it. Like there's

12:12there's no debate anymore really for me.

12:14If you like if you did I would say that

12:17people who yeah whatever is favored by

12:21FIFA and what it's like how how much can

12:24you be fa like you have to watch the

12:26games and in the end there's no contest

12:29about the fact that he's the best at

12:32least since

12:34I mean since the end of the Maradona

12:37Maradona era so maybe you can compare to

12:39him because you know they're one they

12:41have one world cup each so you can be

12:43okay as

12:45>> um but frankly in this generation of

12:48player like for the last for the past 30

12:50years there's for there's no contest

12:52>> I think if we're just talking about

12:54football there's no way to avoid the

12:56fact that Messi is obviously yeah the

12:58greatest isn't he of our time um and

13:00then there other factors come into it

13:02like the way that they handle themselves

13:04and also this stuff about how

13:06potentially Messi and Argentina are

13:08being favored by FIFA and there's a lot

13:12of discussion at the moment about bias

13:14about whether the whole World Cup is

13:16rigged. Is the World Cup rigged?

13:18>> How could you not be biased when you're

13:20facing Messi?

13:22>> Biased against him, biased in favor of

13:24him

13:24>> in favor.

13:25>> Yeah, because are you going to are you

13:27going to send him off? That's the

13:28question.

13:28>> Yeah. How Okay. So, there's this action

13:31against

13:32>> Algeria or Jordan when he steps on the

13:36ankle of a player

13:37>> in one of the early games,

13:38>> the first game. I I went back to watch

13:40that action again and there's no

13:42intention to harm. Uh but it's [snorts]

13:47it's a I mean he steps with his cleats

13:50on the back

13:51>> the studs on the back of someone's leg

13:54lower part of their leg ankle. So you

13:57could frankly

13:58>> he could have broken his ankle. So it's

14:00really bad. So you could give him a red

14:02card or not. It's actually quite

14:04comparable to what happened to Balagon

14:06with the another big controversy when

14:09Balagon stepped on the ankle of a

14:12Bosnian player.

14:14>> Uhhuh.

14:14>> Not intentional at all, but wow, he

14:17really I mean he almost destroyed that

14:19guy's ankle. So

14:20>> which team is that person from?

14:21>> USA Balagon is the guy that was saved by

14:24Trump with a red card.

14:25>> Oh, right. It's that that's that red

14:27card.

14:28>> That red card.

14:28>> Right. So this this goes into uh a lot

14:31of the stuff a lot of the controversy

14:33that is being discussed at the moment

14:35with allegations of corruption. Yes.

14:38>> Uh and then also

14:39>> allegations.

14:40>> Well, yeah. Obvious

14:41>> allegations.

14:42>> Not exactly allegations. It's just

14:44blatant blatantly obvious, but there's

14:46that kind of political corruption.

14:48>> Um and then also the kind of borderline

14:52conspiracy theory that the World Cup is

14:54rigged. And then also the fact that

14:56referees are biased and seem to be

14:58favoring certainly Argentina/ Messi. Um

15:02and so there's that going on as well

15:05which I feel like we should discuss uh

15:07during this conversation too. Um, yes. I

15:11feel like there's like the football, we

15:13could discuss the football and then

15:14there's all the football peripheral

15:15stuff and even even the peripheral sort

15:18of uh football adjacent things

15:21>> are potentially most the most

15:23interesting and exciting topics to talk

15:24about. But I do want to talk about

15:26what's happened on the pitch. Yes. What

15:28we expect is going to happen in the next

15:30round and then all of that other sort of

15:33political stuff.

15:34>> Let's want to start with the pitch.

15:36>> Let's start with the pitch. Yeah, that's

15:37a good idea. Um, so we've established

15:40that as a Cameroonian

15:42born Frenchman that you naturally root

15:44for France then in in this World Cup.

15:47Okay, good. So, what should we talk

15:49about the Let's talk about kind of like

15:50the last 16.

15:52>> Yeah.

15:52>> Uh, this second knockout round that

15:55we've just seen. We might touch on some

15:57of the things that happened in the last

15:5832 as well cuz Germany obviously got

16:01knocked out, Netherlands got knocked

16:02out. Um, we have six European teams

16:05remaining. There are eight eight teams

16:07in total

16:08>> remaining now. Six of them are European.

16:11>> Uh one South American, one African.

16:13>> Yes.

16:14>> Um only Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco,

16:16and Norway have never won it before. And

16:18the reason I bring that up is because in

16:20the last one of these World Cup Rambles,

16:22I said that what I really want is a team

16:25that's never lifted this trophy before

16:27to lift it. And I include England in

16:29that because [laughter]

16:31>> England have never actually lifted this

16:33trophy. we lifted the old one, you know,

16:36so I include England in that. So

16:38Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco, Norway

16:39have never won it before. England have

16:41never lifted this particular trophy. So

16:43it's it's it's interesting, but we do

16:45have some of the usual suspects. France,

16:47uh, Spain, uh, Argentina, England,

16:50probably the top four um, ranked teams

16:53going into it. I'm sort of glad

16:56surprised that England is still there. I

16:58had this funny feeling that they

16:59wouldn't be, but

17:01>> I mean, as an Englishman, why wouldn't

17:02you?

17:03>> I [laughter] know. just ready for

17:04disappointment every time.

17:06>> Yeah.

17:06>> Um, so which games should we talk about

17:09then, Fred?

17:10>> Okay, I'll I'll do a little uh I'll back

17:14up a little bit to like the whole format

17:16and then to arrive to last last 16.

17:19>> The whole format, all 48 teams. Yeah.

17:21>> So, as a So, going back to the

17:24experience as a fan. Yeah. The fact that

17:26So, I mean, this is my one.

17:30>> I know. Are we going to show how old we

17:31are?

17:32>> Yeah. Yeah, I'll tell you how many World

17:34Cups I've seen.

17:34>> Yeah.

17:35>> 82 86 82 I vaguely remember. 86 90 94 98

17:42>> 2002 I went to one of the games uh 2006

17:462010 2014. I'm running out of fingers.

17:502018 2022 2020. This is my 12th World

17:54Cup.

17:55>> So that's nine for me.

17:56>> Yeah.

17:56>> If I with 94 I vaguely remember.

17:59>> Oh, you don't remember 90 very well. cuz

18:02Cameroon did well in that one except I'm

18:04sorry they got knocked out by England

18:06>> in the quarterfinals.

18:07>> No, 94. No, that's 90. I wasn't there.

18:09You weren't there for

18:10>> 94 was we get we got out of the first

18:12round. We got like

18:13>> 94 is Roberto Bagio.

18:16>> I was messing for for Badger.

18:17>> Yeah. Um,

18:20so yeah, so I'm used to watching World

18:22Cups and so I was I thought I was ready

18:24for this one, but this one has 48 teams,

18:26which means

18:2814 games, which means 40 more games than

18:32usual.

18:32>> Wow. Uh, that's a lot.

18:34>> That's a lot. Especially because those

18:3740 extra games are mostly crap or not

18:40very interesting or not like, wow,

18:43amazing. So that's a lot of time spent

18:46hoping for gold and getting like you

18:50know some cheap like you know shiny

18:54stone that's like breaks easily.

18:56>> Um so it was tiring

18:58>> like by the end of the first round I was

19:01tired because I was football out.

19:04>> I was just like

19:05>> that's a nice phrase football out.

19:07>> Yeah. By the time I'm like, okay, I'm

19:08going to check out like Argentina,

19:11Jordan, and Algeria, A Austria. When I

19:14know that and with the third place

19:17teams, it's like this is there's so many

19:20calculations and actually also not very

19:22important games that Australia Paraguay

19:25won and both qualify and you're like,

19:28okay, I did watch that. You know, I I

19:30probably probably not full, but like

19:32>> I admire your commitment though because

19:34I didn't watch most of those games. I

19:37mean, I there is not a single game that

19:39I think the least I've watched uh of a

19:43game is like 15 minutes.

19:45>> So, I've really spent a lot of time.

19:47>> Wow, you're really invested.

19:48>> Oh, yeah. I'm extremely I've watched

19:50I've seen all the goals, all the all the

19:53main action of the World Cup. Um

19:54[clears throat]

19:55I I can pull out random scores like

19:57Australia Paraguay won one. I see.

19:59>> Although maybe it might might have been

20:0000 but it was boring. Um, so I was quite

20:03exhausted and then we got into the first

20:06uh elimination round. So last 30 run of

20:1032.

20:11>> Yeah.

20:12>> And I was like, "Oh, elimination round.

20:14That's going to be interesting." And

20:15then what happened especially because so

20:17there were 10 African teams at the

20:18start. I also root for African teams in

20:20general. That that for

20:22>> I forgot that part, but I do root for

20:24African teams.

20:24>> You're not sort of like really against

20:26your neighboring countries like you know

20:28like Nigeria or something are in there.

20:30You're not like, "Oh, no." Not like it's

20:33not like Scotland and England where

20:34Scotland will always support whoever's

20:36playing against England.

20:37>> Yeah. No, no, no, no. I root I I rooted

20:39for all African teams and they still won

20:41in and uh even though they Morocco beat

20:44Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the

20:46last African Cup.

20:47>> I, you know, I wish them the best. They

20:49were in France. It's going to be tough,

20:50but I wish them the best.

20:51>> So, there were 10 African teams at the

20:53start. Nine went to the last the run of

20:5732.

20:58>> Yeah. which was exciting because I was

20:59like, "Oh, this is the evolution for

21:01African football because we have so many

21:03teams that qualified for the knockout

21:05round and then only two were left for

21:08the round of 16." So, I felt that it was

21:11sort of a like it was all smoke and

21:14mirrors.

21:15>> What you mean the sense of like this is

21:17an opportunity for smaller nations. It's

21:19just an opportunity for smaller nations

21:21to get beaten. Yeah, because when you

21:22compare round to 16 to run to 16,

21:24there's only two teams which is the same

21:26as in 2022 when we had Sagal and

21:29Morocco. Now we have Morocco and Egypt.

21:31>> Okay.

21:31>> And so I feel like a lot of what

21:33happened in this World Cup, it's a bit

21:35smoke and mirrors with the expansion of

21:37the the format.

21:39>> Yeah.

21:40>> Where you have

21:42it's like empty calories. It's all empty

21:45excitement. We're like, oh this what was

21:48it? Um, I think it was Iran, New

21:51Zealand.

21:52>> Mhm.

21:52>> 2-2. So, four goals. So, quite exciting

21:55scenario. You discover a new player,

21:57Elijah adjusts. I've never New Zealand

22:00guy, exciting, etc. And then at the end

22:02of it, now New Zealand are out and

22:05there's nothing left of that. You know

22:06what I mean? Like in terms of football,

22:08the game was exciting, but those teams

22:12like didn't I mean, they're both out.

22:15just kind of like they were just sort of

22:17cannon foder for the meat grinder that

22:20is the World Cup now. You know,

22:22>> it's like, you know, bringing more

22:23people to watch and there's more games,

22:25but like

22:28there was a bit of dilution of the

22:30quality.

22:31>> Yeah, I see.

22:32>> Which is which is unfortunate,

22:34>> but don't you think it's paying off now?

22:35cuz I feel like there was a really heavy

22:38um opening stage to this World Cup with

22:42all those teams and a lot of what felt

22:44like fairly inconsequential football

22:46happening. But now we're down to eight

22:48teams. I feel like that somehow that

22:50investment has paid off. I feel like

22:52there's more momentum than there

22:53normally [clears throat] would.

22:53>> I mean, even the Red of 16 was great.

22:55>> Yeah.

22:56>> Now, now and the the Red of 32 was kind

22:59of where the the with Braz No, not

23:04Brazil. uh with um Germany

23:06>> Germany going out

23:07>> Netherlands

23:08>> the Netherlands is different because

23:09they played Morocco

23:10>> okay

23:10>> they played a really strong team so you

23:12know they're they're they have the same

23:14level so it's like yeah it's one-1

23:17penalties you know even though Morocco

23:19played better than the Netherlands but

23:21like all the a bit like Cameroon not

23:23being in like all those names are just

23:26out because you don't have the level uh

23:28Germany was extremely average during the

23:30the the uh the group stage

23:34>> except their opening match they they

23:35scored seven goals didn't they were like

23:37we okay we scored seven goals now let's

23:39just do nothing for now

23:40>> yeah exactly so I mean it's it those

23:43games Portugal was Beckistan five 5-0 5-

23:46nil like they don't really mean that

23:48much

23:48>> it doesn't it

23:49>> it means like okay they played well that

23:52game but it doesn't mean it doesn't give

23:53you any information about how good

23:55Portugal is which is what you want to

23:56know

23:56>> it's a very long journey as well between

23:58from from those opening games to like

24:00getting to where it really counts it

24:02feels like a long time has passed

24:03>> yeah So with with the usual format, you

24:06had three games in a group stage with

24:09probably all three games being

24:11meaningful.

24:11>> Mhm.

24:12>> In a certain way. So now you have

24:16three group stage games, then the run of

24:1832, but only maybe one or two of those

24:21games are really meaningful because if

24:23you win, then you draw. You you go to

24:25the next round.

24:26>> Yeah. Because it's Yeah. Um like the top

24:29two teams plus the the eight third place

24:31teams. So most people are going to get

24:33>> Look at Norway. Norway they they played

24:35Iraq. They beat they beat them 4-1. So

24:38they have three points three points and

24:40a plus three goal difference.

24:43>> Yeah.

24:43>> They're they're done.

24:44>> Yeah. Right.

24:45>> They're done. That's it. They're going

24:47to fight Sagal and whatnot and do their

24:50best, you know, and they're confident

24:52they can draw and and then they do that.

24:55They end up winning against Sagal. And

24:57then the night third game they send like

24:59the their like B team,

25:02>> right?

25:02>> And then you know it's like

25:04>> so it's inflated. It's over inflated.

25:06It's kind of full of hot air.

25:08>> Yeah. But instead of increasing the

25:09stakes, they have like

25:12>> a bit in the early stages. But now I

25:14feel that we're we're in this knockout

25:16stage where we know how many teams there

25:18are and it feels like momentum has built

25:20up to the point where um somehow the

25:22stakes are higher than they were they

25:24would normally be at this stage. Don't

25:26you feel

25:27>> we've we've we've been on more of a

25:29journey to get

25:30>> I see what you mean. I see what you

25:31mean. It's it was a bit of a drag, but

25:33we're finally here.

25:34>> Yeah.

25:34>> But I would consider that the run of 16

25:36is also very exciting because I felt

25:38that okay, this is a very serious state

25:40for all the teams that really have

25:43>> No, everyone had the right to be there.

25:45I'm not saying that it should go back to

25:47third or whatever, but it's it's in

25:49terms it's in terms of like how do you

25:51even if you have 48 teams, how do you

25:53make it the games more meaningful,

25:55>> right? It's okay.

25:56>> I was thinking about how about instead

25:59of

25:59>> maybe one of the players has to fight

26:02for their lives at the end, we enter

26:05some sort of gladiatorial element to

26:07this where not only it's not only about

26:10scoring points, it's also about keeping

26:11your players alive at the end of the

26:14game.

26:14>> For the final 10 minutes of extra time,

26:16you let in a lion.

26:17>> Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.

26:19>> That was interesting,

26:20>> right? You know, I was thinking instead

26:22of having the first two plus the fir the

26:25best the eight best third place teams.

26:29>> Yeah.

26:29>> Why would you have the top teams and the

26:32eight best second placed?

26:34>> How about that?

26:34>> Just straight into a round of 16.

26:36>> Yes. You have only the top teams.

26:39Imagine that. That would raise the

26:41stakes like crazy.

26:43>> Yes, it would. But

26:44>> you end up with 16, but you still play

26:45with 48

26:46>> because you open up you open up the the

26:49ranks. But the the games I mean you

26:51would have some people eliminated

26:53faster. That is true.

26:55>> But

26:56>> yeah, it would be exciting.

26:57>> No one would mess around because you

26:59have to be among this the best sec the

27:02eight. So four second best teams would

27:05be out right away.

27:06>> Yeah. But that's not what FIFA or

27:09hosting nations want to do because they

27:11want to squeeze as much juice as they

27:12possibly can out of this World Cup

27:14lemon.

27:15>> Yeah. It's a random idea, but I'm just

27:16saying you can have 100 teams and still

27:19make it make it exciting exciting. You

27:21know, I'm not saying you should go back

27:23to 30

27:24>> different ways. You could let them carry

27:25swords.

27:26>> Yeah. And you jump right [laughter]

27:28tiny knives cut you.

27:31>> Depends on the game, you [clears throat]

27:32know, like this game is, you know,

27:34whoever Netherlands versus Germany with

27:36and the random weapon.

27:38>> Yes, exactly.

27:40It's razor blades or it, you know, the

27:43random weapon is uh

27:45>> teddy bears.

27:46>> Exactly. Ted teddy bears, which you can

27:48use to potentially uh you know,

27:52suffocate your your opponents. Um Okay.

27:56All right. So, it's bloated the the

27:59beginning with a lot of too many games

28:01and whatever.

28:02>> Also, I'm sour because Cameron isn't

28:04here. So yeah, if Cameron was had been,

28:07it would have been entirely different.

28:09But

28:09>> um what about the um changes to the

28:12format? Uh how about the hydration

28:14breaks? Quote hydration breaks. How

28:17cynical are you about those things?

28:20>> Do you think that they've broken

28:21football? The Americans found a sneaky

28:24way to break football or is it actually

28:25fine?

28:26>> They've literally broken it down in more

28:27parts than usual. So

28:28>> it's unbelievable, isn't it really? when

28:30you think that they how they managed to

28:32just like, yeah, we're just going to

28:34change this game.

28:35>> You know, the funny thing is that there

28:37were changes in the way the referee

28:40referees approach games that make the

28:43game go faster.

28:45>> Yeah.

28:45>> Higher pace, like not not uh having as

28:48many fouls as usual, letting the game go

28:50on, etc., etc. And at the same time,

28:53they just chopped the game. They just

28:55stop it like just dead in the in the in

28:58the quarter. I can imagine some sort of

28:59negotiation where the US are saying look

29:02we need advert breaks every 10 minutes

29:04and you know look this is what we want

29:06and FIFA are willing to concede okay

29:10we'll you can have hydration breaks uh

29:12when you have commercial breaks but we

29:14will find a way to balance this out and

29:16yeah so they're trying to let the game

29:18keep moving they've introduced

29:19timewasting prevention measures which

29:22are really good

29:23>> uh the refereeing we we can talk about

29:26>> but I mean hydration breaks I mean, it's

29:28Obviously, it's obviously a

29:29commercial break.

29:30>> It's it's it's not when it's

29:3240° out or out,

29:34>> but a lot of the time it's not. You

29:35know, we've seen games where it's

29:36pouring with rain. You talk about

29:38hydration break

29:39>> or like with a closed roof with a

29:41control temperature. It's like, you

29:42know,

29:43>> Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, I mean, we know

29:44what this is. And when we talk about

29:46corruption, that's what it is as well.

29:47It's not just money given. It's like the

29:50game being corrupted.

29:51>> I'm Yeah. I'm conf I'm uh curious to see

29:55if this is a new thing now. If if that's

29:57it now for World Cup football, is it

29:59always going to be played in four parts?

30:01>> I don't know if if there's enough money

30:03made from this if enough money is by the

30:07end of the the World Cup. We'll see. But

30:09it's I I I

30:11feel that Europeans are not ready to do

30:13that yet.

30:14>> No, probably the the Euros wouldn't like

30:16be like that, but I wouldn't be

30:18surprised.

30:18>> It's it's being booed so much by

30:20everybody. No one likes it. Yeah,

30:22>> except coaches obviously because they

30:24get to like you know change things in

30:26between. So that the the one the people

30:29Yeah. the group of people that have

30:30enjoyed this these breaks are coaches

30:33because so many games have changed after

30:36hydration break.

30:37>> Yeah, that's true.

30:37>> Uh I mean Brazil, Morocco, Brazil didn't

30:41exist for 25 minutes and then they came

30:42back and scored and you're like oh

30:44because tactically some people are able

30:46to see small changes that impact the

30:48game right away immediately. Mhm.

30:50>> So, yeah. But yeah, I mean I No, we

30:52don't we don't need it. Please no.

30:54>> Please no. Hey JY, please no.

30:56>> We We'll come back to some of those uh

30:59corruptions and and scandals and things.

31:01Should we talk about Yeah. some specific

31:03round of 16 games?

31:04>> Talk about gay. What's your favorite?

31:06What's your favorite?

31:06>> Well, France versus Paraguay

31:09was extraordinary. My least favorite.

31:10>> It's your least favorite. So, let's talk

31:12about that.

31:12>> It's my least favorite of the of the

31:14entire tournament.

31:15>> Really? Yeah. I can understand why. It's

31:17it's worth talking about. France won

31:18Paraguay nil in the round of 16. Uh why

31:23was it your least favorite?

31:24>> Because it's the one that had the least

31:26the least amount of football in it.

31:29>> One team was playing football, the other

31:31team football punching ratio was out of

31:34whack.

31:34>> So basically France went out to play

31:36football as they usually do and Paraguay

31:39apparently didn't. Yeah,

31:41>> especially in the last half an hour of

31:43the game.

31:43>> Yeah, but frankly I blame the I

31:46>> referee. referee. I I I I

31:49>> I had watched all Power Guy games

31:52>> before and they always do the same

31:54thing.

31:55>> Yeah, of course they just it was just

31:58amped up because the opposition was much

32:00stronger, but they've they've done the

32:02same. So against Paraguay Turkey, second

32:05game of the group stage, uh they come in

32:08that number 23, Galar Mateo Gar Galarsa,

32:11I'm not sure about his uh first name. So

32:13the 23, the guy who punched Bape while

32:16Bee was running

32:18>> um didn't play the first didn't play the

32:21first game comes in for the second game.

32:24>> Uh scores in the first minute against

32:27Turkey.

32:28>> Yeah.

32:28>> So one zero for

32:31Paraguay and then they just stop they

32:33just blocked everything for 90 minutes.

32:35So that's how they play.

32:37>> They they stop. It's not only that

32:39because the against France um their

32:42their conduct was disgraceful. It's like

32:45the the world

32:47>> Mhm.

32:47>> almost the entire world all agreed that

32:50the way that the Paraguay team

32:52>> played or didn't play football uh the

32:55way they played

32:56>> they kicked uh so many French players.

33:00There was so much of what we call

33:01shitousery. [laughter]

33:02>> Do you know about this word?

33:04um shitery where they're they're not no

33:07one's touching them but they're falling

33:09on the floor holding their face. They're

33:12scraping the penalty spot before a

33:14penalty is taken. Uh they're doing all

33:16manner of cheating and and gamesmanship

33:19and it was disgraceful stuff.

33:21>> Totally. It's disgra other I mean

33:23>> and dangerous too cuz they could have

33:24injured players they were coming in

33:26really hard late tackles and not getting

33:28yellow cards. Nothing. That's a problem

33:30because other other teams have done that

33:32to a certain degree like and it's common

33:34in football when you're the small team

33:36to try and do that to the big team just

33:37make them

33:39>> uh lose their football, you know, just

33:42become nervous or irritated or, you

33:44know, get them somebody gets a red card.

33:46Imagine Bye gets a red card, you know.

33:48So friends was ready for that.

33:50>> But when you do that,

33:52when you punch someone while he's

33:55running and there's V

33:57>> Yeah. I I don't I mean I don't like the

34:00fact that someone is punching someone,

34:02but when you have VR that goes back to

34:06cancel goals and yeah

34:08>> and make decisions on corner kicks and

34:11whatnot and there's someone being

34:12punched and no one says wait, sorry,

34:16>> I think you might want to just check V.

34:18>> I think he he punched him. This is the

34:20second time in in in 90 minutes he

34:22punches him. That's the problem because

34:25you're in a way allowed to do whatever

34:27you want but there's rules so if you do

34:29them you pay the price.

34:30>> I mean we saw yesterday Argentina versus

34:33Egypt uh where um what happened? Egypt

34:36scored a goal.

34:37>> Yeah. And then someone had stepped on

34:39Lisandro Martinez like 100 yards away.

34:42>> Stepped on his toe right on the other

34:43end of the pitch

34:45>> and they went back to cancel the goal.

34:46>> And they cancelled the goal. A very

34:48similar thing happened the other way

34:50round as well where Egypt um

34:53>> Mosala was and then Argentina went on to

34:57score.

34:57>> Exactly.

34:58>> Uh the the thing is that if you look at

35:00those decisions they were actually

35:01probably the right decisions that the

35:02first one was a a foul that required the

35:05game to be stopped and the other one was

35:07not so bad. It was not really a major

35:09>> foul. Once once you see that when you're

35:11referee and there's V and you see that

35:13someone is stepping on someone's toe,

35:14you have your your hands are tied.

35:16>> They were the right decisions, but your

35:17hands are tied.

35:18>> It's easy to see why though you would

35:20look at the French Paraguay game and

35:22[clears throat] go look at all these

35:23things that uh the Paraguay were not

35:26penalized for and all the opportunities

35:28that France could have had.

35:30>> Um it looked like the referee was was

35:32definitely against France. I mean,

35:34that's how it looked,

35:35>> especially when you compare it to other

35:36refereeing decisions like the Argentina

35:39ones. When you, you know, it's easy to

35:41start thinking, well, clearly the

35:42referees are favoring Argentina,

35:44favoring Messi, and they're much harder

35:47on France. Is it gives the impression

35:50that things are fixed, but

35:52>> you think that the referees are

35:54>> I don't think so. No, it's that's just

35:55the way it looks.

35:56>> I think that the man was thoroughly

35:58incompetent.

35:59>> Yes, I agree. He was just overtaken by

36:02by what was happening on the pitch and

36:03he was unable to just

36:05>> he couldn't really order on his pitch.

36:07Like dude,

36:08>> get out those cards.

36:09>> Yeah. Yeah. [laughter] For some reason,

36:10he couldn't quite Maybe he felt like if

36:12I start booking these Paraguayan players

36:14for every little thing I do, there won't

36:15be any left. Yeah.

36:17>> Uh who knows? Who knows? But he was very

36:19lenient.

36:20>> I think it's just that particular

36:21referee in that particular game rather

36:23than it being a

36:24>> because the refereeing has been quite

36:25stellar in this cup.

36:26>> Most of it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it

36:29actually brought back some some measure

36:32of doubt and indecision in things like

36:35where like oh maybe it was a penalty

36:36maybe it wasn't you know like those

36:38conversation we had that you know never

36:41actually ruined football you know you

36:43have you have clear and cut technology

36:45like goal line technology extremely

36:48useful. Who who touched the ball last?

36:50Is it corner kick or a um throw in or a

36:53goal kick? Goal kick. Yeah. Yeah. when

36:55you have like

36:58so you so when they start touching at

37:02who stepped on whose toe you're like

37:04okay that's the football we have but

37:07then we expect you to say someone

37:10punched someone it's just like when it's

37:12you know so that that's

37:14>> some some cases where is it a penalty or

37:16not it's like so such a slight

37:18difference it's a question of how you

37:20read it but when someone gets punched

37:22someone gets punched in the

37:24you would assume that they would. Yeah.

37:26>> Yeah. But what an extraordinary game.

37:27>> I mean, what what what the the the other

37:30big lesson from that game is that France

37:32is a is on his way to win this.

37:34>> Yeah. They look

37:35>> I mean they got out of that.

37:37>> Yeah.

37:38>> Quite I mean quite unharmed. It smiles

37:43all very dignified.

37:44>> I have to say I was very impressed by

37:46the French team. Not just the way they

37:48played but the way they conducted

37:49themselves. I liked the way that I mean

37:51the the the Paraguayan press accused

37:54Mbappe of being arrogant because he was

37:56laughing and smiling, but I think it's

37:58the best way to deal with that sort of

38:00thing. Um, yeah,

38:03>> how could you not be a little bit

38:05arrogant when you're Mbappe? I mean,

38:07what do you want him to do?

38:08>> Yeah, he's getting chopped. He's getting

38:10punched. And his response is to laugh in

38:11their faces, which is

38:12>> and score a goal.

38:13>> and score a goal. So, fair play to him.

38:15Uh, but France do look like the

38:17favorites, don't they? Yeah, Argentina

38:19are obviously strong because they've got

38:20Messi and they're generally strong, but

38:22they've got sketchy defense it looks

38:25like. No.

38:25>> Yeah, they they've what it's four goals

38:28in two games against I mean teams that

38:31are not at their level. It's fair to

38:34say, but they have this

38:36>> they have very good players, a lot very

38:39resilient and I mean obviously they can

38:41come back from the depth of hell.

38:44>> The ref the referee is certainly one of

38:45the the top players. [laughter]

38:48What do you think? Do you think that

38:49>> No, I I I don't think it's rigged in

38:52favor of Argentina. I mean, you could

38:54you could construct that theory looking

38:57at the evidence, but then if you

38:58actually judge each each refereeing

39:00decision,

39:01>> um, for the most part, I think they're

39:03probably the right decisions.

39:04>> Yeah, I I I I don't think that they're

39:06more favored than than any big favorite

39:08in a in a in a cup. I think that in

39:10certain ways, um, France is favored,

39:14Spain is favored. Well, I I I saw

39:16something about how they always have

39:18those easy knockout rounds and I'm like,

39:20well, sometimes you have an easy

39:21knockout round. That happens.

39:23>> It's easy to have an easy knockout round

39:25when you're Argentina. Exactly. You

39:27know, [clears throat] because most teams

39:28are not as good as you.

39:29>> That's the thing. Like, what do you

39:30want? Do you want him to play Spain,

39:32France? And that's not how it works.

39:34It's never how it works.

39:35>> I don't know how it would be possible to

39:37rig a World Cup really. I mean, you can

39:39you can understand how referees might

39:40favor decisions,

39:42>> but I mean, is this really just to keep

39:44me Messi in the World Cup so that more

39:46people watch it? That's seems to be the

39:49the the reason why that

39:50>> happened. I I see. It's like it goes

39:52back, I think, to the 2014 player of the

39:55tournament, the warranty was given,

39:57which in a way was not very well, I

39:59mean, I don't know. I don't remember

40:00that tournament that well, but at the

40:01time it felt like, well, he lost the

40:03cup, so it should go to a German, but

40:05then the German was a real strong

40:06collective. And it's a that one is a

40:08oneman award and oneman awards are you

40:11know questionable anyway. So

40:13>> I see there's some roots to that but I

40:17mean the guy is just he's supposed to be

40:20dead not dead like in in in the football

40:22sense he's supposed to be out 39 playing

40:25in the US uh not the most competitive

40:28league. You see how Neymar went. You see

40:30how Ronaldo went. You see how all these

40:33players went.

40:33>> Yeah.

40:34>> And he's I mean

40:35>> still going strong. that second goal

40:37against Egypt. Oh my god. How do you

40:40>> how do you pull that out of your of your

40:42bag? Like how do you keep doing that

40:44until when are you going to do that? You

40:46know,

40:46>> you've been doing it for so long.

40:47>> Should we talk about Portugal? So, we're

40:49talking about Argentina and Messi who

40:51obviously contribute so much to the team

40:53>> and there's no question that he should

40:55be part of it if he's fit. But what

40:57about Ronaldo and Portugal? What's your

40:59analysis of that situation?

41:01>> Should have retired like four years ago.

41:03>> You think so?

41:04>> At least. So, do you think that Portugal

41:05would have done better without him?

41:06>> Obviously, he was he's dead weight.

41:09>> He's dead weight. Dead weight.

41:11>> There's another nice phrase, dead

41:12weight, meaning that he's not really

41:15helping the momentum of the team. In

41:16fact, he's holding them back. So,

41:18>> yeah, in 2022, it was already me. I

41:22don't know where where he played in

41:232022. Was he already in in Saudi Arabia?

41:26I don't know. But his level was down. He

41:27could have been substituted probably a

41:30bit more in 2022. He wasn't as you know

41:34his own his old self already.

41:36>> Lot of walking.

41:37>> But now it's like

41:39>> stop it.

41:40>> Is that ego then? Is that just ego and

41:42the the hold that he has over Portuguese

41:44football?

41:45>> Yeah. Oh yeah. I mean it's it's like

41:48>> it's the the the the

41:51coach that's not able to just say, "Hey,

41:52can you just sit sit out for 30 minutes

41:55and let other people play?" It's just

41:59this fog of that happens at the end of

42:02certain generations when you're not able

42:04to move on and you just have one too

42:07many. Yeah.

42:07>> It it has happened to Italy to Germany.

42:11Not Germany now but in the past where

42:13like you should stop old man.

42:14>> Yeah.

42:15>> A bunch of old men. You should just

42:16retire. Let other people try it out.

42:18>> And it's happening in the Portugal. And

42:20it's unfortunate because it's really

42:22it's less about a generation. And it's

42:24really about one player that should just

42:26step out and let the other people.

42:28>> Was he starting games or was he coming

42:31on? He was starting, wasn't he?

42:32>> Oh, yeah. Started all all the games.

42:34>> Yeah. Right. Right.

42:35>> All five games. Yeah.

42:36>> They could have done more.

42:37>> Sadly for them, he scored twice against

42:40Usbekistan. And that's when I was it

42:43Usbekistan. Yeah. I think when they won

42:455-nil.

42:46>> Yeah.

42:46>> And that was a worst news possible for

42:49them that he scored twice because like

42:50I'm back. You see, look at me. I can

42:53said that. He actually said, "I'm back."

42:55[clears throat]

42:56>> Like, dude, this is not Terminator. Just

42:58don't don't do that. It's embarrassing

43:00because we we know that that's, you

43:03know,

43:04>> if it was Terminator, it was like

43:05Terminator part six, wasn't it?

43:07[laughter] It's like the sequel you

43:08shouldn't have made.

43:09>> Yeah. This the squeaky Terminator like

43:12should have been WD40 thousand times.

43:15Like, go back to the shop Terminator.

43:17>> Oh dear. Uh, Brazil knocked out by

43:20Norway. Ooh, that is interesting.

43:23>> That was exciting. Now, uh I I like

43:26Brazil and I, you know, I like to see

43:27them do well, I'll be honest. But, um

43:29>> like that yellow.

43:31>> Yeah, I like the strip. That's large

43:33part of it. Um but what did you think of

43:35the Norway Brazil game then? Norway 2,

43:38Brazil one.

43:40>> So,

43:40>> two words probably.

43:42>> Erling,

43:43>> three words. Erling Holland.

43:45>> Yeah. What's the What's the Is it

43:47brought

43:49>> What's that? I guess it's his middle

43:51name or something like that. I

43:52>> guess so.

43:52>> Okay, let's keep calling him Erling

43:54Harland.

43:54>> Earling Harland, the cyborg.

43:56>> The man is talking of the Terminator. I

43:58mean, he this is like the Yeah.

44:01Terminator 6 where you've got the old uh

44:03Arnold Schwarzenegger, you know, I'm

44:05back again. And and then you got Erling

44:08Harland who is like the new actual

44:11>> the new Terminator like the top model.

44:13He's made of liquid glass or something

44:15like that and liquid metal. He's made of

44:17pure sort of Norwegian Viking like uh

44:21>> ice water.

44:22>> Yeah. Yeah. Right.

44:24He's made of narwhal tusks which have

44:26been ground down to a powder which they

44:28then formed into a clayike substance and

44:31then just electrified him.

44:32>> Exactly. And in the uh in the furnaces

44:35of

44:36>> Valhalla. Yeah. Right. Um the guy is

44:39unbelievable, isn't he? Dude, it it's

44:42there there's something about some

44:45players that just feel inevitable where

44:48you know that it will happen.

44:51>> Yeah.

44:51>> And I feel like there's a lot of them

44:53this World Cup. I feel I don't I don't I

44:56mean, you know, I haven't gone to check

44:57the records, but I don't feel like

44:59there's been so many of them at the same

45:01time. Mbappe, Messi, Holland,

45:04>> Harry Kane, Harry.

45:06>> Harry. Yes, definitely Kane. Uh

45:08>> cuz he's another one of those players

45:10where like just if the if you give get

45:11the ball to his feet in the penalty

45:13spot, penalty box.

45:14>> Yeah.

45:15>> Yeah.

45:16>> That goal against Congo.

45:18>> What is that?

45:18>> Shifted to the right.

45:19>> And at the same time, you've seen that

45:21100 times and you know he's going to do

45:23it.

45:23>> You know,

45:24>> amazing the way he makes space for

45:25himself. Also, the way he scores with

45:27his head, he'll just

45:28>> step back and jump into space. Um yeah,

45:32he just shift the ball to the right,

45:33beats two men, bang. and and and he hits

45:36the ball so hard.

45:38>> Speaking of I mean going back to Norway,

45:40the second goal against Brazil.

45:42>> Mhm.

45:42>> The I think Holland is pretty much

45:44standing still.

45:45>> Yeah.

45:47>> And then flings a rocket.

45:48>> The ball pings to him just inside the

45:50penalty box. He slams it and then just

45:53remains standing still. I thought, "What

45:55happened? Something went wrong." No,

45:57that's him scoring a goal. Yeah, it's

45:58just like

45:59>> does he does he practice yoga?

46:02>> I have no idea. But I

46:03>> You know, he has this pose his pose of

46:05like the lotus lotus pose is kind of his

46:07thing, you know, when they have like the

46:08all the players before the game when

46:10they announce the lineup and they have

46:11like

46:12>> they're pointing at the flag. He's like

46:14this

46:15>> zen.

46:15>> Yeah. And that's his thing. Celebration

46:18is a zen pose.

46:19>> I don't know if he does yoga or

46:20whatever, but he certainly is into micro

46:23what's it? Bio bio biio engineering

46:26biohacking. biomechanics.

46:28He he I think he closely regulates his

46:31diet and lots of other things. He's

46:33eating nothing but raw Norwegian salmon.

46:36>> Nice.

46:37>> Um nice.

46:38>> Yeah, they import what he's having.

46:40>> They import they the Norwegian team

46:42imported all their food cuz they didn't

46:44want to eat the rubbish American food

46:46that they were being given. So

46:48everything was ported.

46:49>> And now they're in the quarterfinals.

46:50>> However many kilograms of Norwegian

46:52salmon and this that and the other and

46:54milk. That's what you need to do for

46:56your country. Import the salmon.

46:59>> Don't forget to bring the milk and

47:00cheese, that unpasteurized cheese that

47:03you can't get in America.

47:05>> Very impressive. Now, now we're reaching

47:07the stage where I mean, England versus

47:09nowhere in the quarterfinals where you

47:10have Well, we have all of them.

47:12>> Yes.

47:13>> On the same pitch. What's going to

47:15happen?

47:16>> I don't know. Well, I think that Erling

47:18Harland is probably going to score. That

47:19seems to be what he does.

47:21>> And Kane is going to score because

47:22that's what he does. and Jude Bellingham

47:24is going to work incredibly hard.

47:26>> And uh

47:27>> Martin Odard is going to be average.

47:29[laughter]

47:30>> Who knows? Uh what what's your

47:32prediction for for Norway England?

47:34>> Ooh,

47:35>> as a as a as a I consider you to be a

47:38neutral.

47:38>> I will say that England has uh stepped

47:40up uh very well in this uh in the past

47:45two stages and they probably have a

47:47stronger team like as a whole.

47:51>> Mhm. I mean,

47:55I'm I'm trying to think of of the of the

47:57the Norwegian team,

48:00it's going to be I mean, because on the

48:02on the on the wings like

48:06I don't know, they they can't they could

48:08they can hurt you.

48:09>> Their goalkeeper is very good.

48:11>> Yeah, Nan is good. They have that new

48:13side. They have Oscar Bob. the I mean

48:16phys Bob

48:18>> Oscar Bob

48:18>> I found that funny like watching the

48:20game and now Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob

48:21Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob

48:21Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob there's a

48:22>> Bob BOB [screaming]

48:25>> have you noticed that the football

48:27commentators are doing this thing now

48:29where when the player shoots they shout

48:30the name of the player who's done and

48:32Harland [laughter]

48:35>> YOU KNOW KANE [screaming]

48:36>> I love it

48:37>> shout the name of the player when he

48:38shoots

48:39>> being paid to shout out names is my my

48:42dream destination Bob.

48:45>> Exactly. Um, wouldn't you love to scream

48:47Bob?

48:48>> The squad. Yes. I think on balance

48:50England have the strength in depth in

48:53terms of the squad. But frankly, Norway

48:56not all all eight teams can credibly win

49:00this because when you have Holland in

49:02your team and he can frankly score two

49:06goals out of nothing,

49:08>> just get the ball to get the ball in the

49:10box.

49:11>> Yeah, he can. And it's interesting

49:13because as we reach the higher stages,

49:15he's about to meet

49:18>> uh like defenders he's met in the

49:21European leagues. Yeah.

49:22>> So he's going to meet if his friends

49:24like Saliba in Arsenal, uh Opao in

49:27Bayern Munich, now it's going to go

49:29against the English team. He knows all

49:30of them. So there's no fear. He's beaten

49:33all of them.

49:34>> Yeah, he's

49:35>> uh there's no defender who fears and his

49:38team knows that. his team knows that

49:40there's no one to fear because he's

49:42there. Yeah.

49:43>> And so they will like generally try to

49:48beat everybody and never play like

49:52defend more than is needed or whatever.

49:56So I think it's quite open. I think

49:57Morocco can win this. They have

50:00defensive strength. They have uh great

50:03attacking players, a very good midfield.

50:05They have uh like on the benchers like

50:08really good players like France's

50:10favorite. But if you tell me tomorrow

50:12that Morocco is world champion, I'm not

50:13going to be like flabbergasted.

50:15>> No, no, no.

50:15>> Like all eight teams now have like

50:18>> I find it hard to imagine how Morocco

50:21will get past France though because sure

50:23Morocco are really great but France are

50:26really on another level. They seem so

50:29relaxed as well.

50:30>> Yeah. And I think France has like the

50:32the have like the abilities and the

50:35players to reverse any scenario the same

50:38way Argentina does.

50:39>> Yeah.

50:40>> But dude, it's 90 minutes.

50:42>> I thought

50:43>> or I mean, sorry, it's 105 minutes. So

50:45>> yeah, it feels like a lot. [laughter]

50:47105.

50:47>> It's not It's not 90 anymore. It's, you

50:49know, I used to

50:50>> It's 2 hours on average, it seems.

50:52>> When I was young, you know that. Okay,

50:54this the game starts at like 12:00 p.m.

50:57So, it's going to be So, it's going to

51:00be 12 + 45 plus maybe 2 3 minutes plus

51:0315 minute break plus 45 plus 2 3

51:05minutes. So, I know that by

51:08I don't know 150 p.m. an hour and 45

51:11minutes.

51:11>> I'm done. And now, and so my internal

51:14clock is out of whack because you know

51:16when I watch a game I I know I expect

51:19what time it's going to be by the time

51:20it's over and I'm always 10 minutes late

51:22to everything. Yeah, it's a nightmare.

51:24You were 10 minutes late for this. It's

51:26just like [clears throat] your whole

51:26life has been shifted 10 minutes late.

51:28>> Exactly.

51:29>> Every time you fall as every time you

51:31wake up Yeah. something happens in that

51:33day. Normally a football match which

51:34shifts everything 10 minutes later.

51:36>> Exactly.

51:36>> Um but yes, it's 90 minutes. So I don't

51:39know. I don't know.

51:40>> Anything could happen. It's all to all

51:42to play for here in the uh quarterfinal

51:44stage. There's injuries, there's

51:46mistakes, there I mean at this level,

51:49you know, it's And if like if Argentina

51:53is like two two goals down against uh

51:56Switzerland.

51:58>> Yeah.

51:58>> Well, maybe not Switzerland. Maybe not

52:01Switz No, frankly, you know what? You

52:03never know.

52:04>> Switzerland's actually very

52:05>> You never know.

52:06>> You never know.

52:07>> They're strong. They're in the

52:08quarterfinals.

52:08>> They're very organized.

52:10>> They've got their money certainly very

52:12organized.

52:13>> Exactly. Um, so they, you know, they

52:15they're a very uh

52:16>> I thought Colombia would win. Colombia

52:18didn't win. And you know, there we go.

52:21Who knows? Maybe like the defensive

52:23strength of Ar of Switzerland will be

52:25enough to thwart Argentina then to I

52:29mean they've beat France in the past. So

52:31like what?

52:32>> Yeah. Three years ago at the Euros uh

52:34not 2021. So it's not like crazy to

52:38imagine that Swiss could beat France in

52:39a you know

52:40>> in a 90 in a 90 minutes game. So, so

52:42Switzerland are in the final then

52:44according to your analysis.

52:45>> I'm just saying it's very open but

52:48playing against Morocco. No doubt,

52:49right? Because it's Morocco.

52:51>> It would be Yeah, it would be Morocco,

52:53Switzerland. No, it will be Yeah, it

52:54will be Norway or whoever somewhere.

52:57>> It could be a Switzerland Morocco final

53:00>> be bonkers. Very unlike very unlikely,

53:04very unlikely because, you know,

53:06>> let's be honest though, it's probably

53:07going to be France who go through

53:08against Morocco. It's probably going to

53:10be Spain who go through against Belgium

53:12probably.

53:13>> I'm not sure Norway, England, but let's

53:15say England.

53:16>> But there's just

53:17>> let's say England because

53:18>> why not?

53:19>> Why? Why not?

53:20>> Cuz it's England.

53:21>> Argentina, Switzerland. Let's say it's

53:23Argentina. So that means England would

53:24play Argentina in the semi-final

53:27>> and obviously England are going to go

53:28through. No, I don't know. I think I

53:30think

53:30>> Did you watch the the 98 game, this

53:33famous 98 game uh with the Beckham Owen

53:35Generation?

53:36>> Of course. So I know that game very very

53:38well. So you're talking about a World

53:41Cup semiinal, no second round, last 16

53:45game between England and Argentina in

53:47the 1998 World Cup. Uh yeah, I remember

53:50it. I remember where I was. I was in my

53:52living room in my parents house trying

53:54to call my friend who I knew was

53:56watching the game with his friend at

53:57another house saying, "Come and get me."

54:00Cuz he had a car. I had no way of

54:01getting anywhere cuz I lived in the

54:03middle of nowhere. Come and get me. Come

54:04and get me. And he just wouldn't come.

54:06And so I was alone watching this game

54:09and uh Michael Owens scored an

54:11incredible goal against Argentina.

54:13>> This is in a pre-UR world, kids.

54:15>> Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Um and then um

54:18and then Beckham did a stupid thing. He

54:20>> kind of was lying on the floor and he

54:22kicked someone with the back of his

54:24ankle and he got sent off and then

54:26England went out on penalties, I think

54:28it was. Yeah.

54:30>> Heartbreaking.

54:31>> Oh, horrible. So it would be a nice I

54:33mean you have a long Oh, I mean yeah

54:35there's the hand of God England

54:36Argentina that's a that's a work of

54:38classic

54:39>> right so that's the Aztec stadium 1986

54:41England versus Argentina in the

54:43quarterfinals

54:44Maradona famously the hand

54:46>> that's England versus Aring the

54:48quarterfinal Mar [laughter]

54:49>> I'm doing my commentary football

54:51commentary

54:52>> always

54:52>> uh Maradona went for a header

54:56>> used his cle deafly used his hand to put

54:59the ball in the back of the net the

55:00referee didn't see it got away with it.

55:02Uh, and then he went on to score another

55:04goal, but that was like a legitimately

55:06brilliant goal. So, we've got history in

55:09terms of World Cup knockouts. Normally

55:10Argentina coming out on top. So, I think

55:14probably Argentina are the Definitely

55:16Argentina Argentina.

55:18>> Yes, definitely afraid of Argentina.

55:19[laughter]

55:20Yes, I think they're more than capable

55:22of knocking us out. I'm afraid I'm

55:24afraid of Norway for goodness sake. All

55:25that you should be

55:26>> all that raw salmon is going to

55:28[laughter] be converted into raw power.

55:31back to life, flopping upstream, scoring

55:33goals.

55:34>> I can imagine Harland leaping like a

55:36salmon through the air to score a goal.

55:38You could imagine it. Um whereas the

55:41England players will be fueled probably

55:43on baked beans and Marmite [laughter]

55:47and maybe some uh what is it Bradorst?

55:50Because you know Kane maybe

55:52>> he eats German now. Who knows?

55:54>> I mean it it serves him well to be in

55:56Germany so

55:57>> some of that sound. Yeah. Um, okay. So,

56:04I'm just trying to predict a final. It's

56:06probably going to be Argentina, France,

56:07isn't it?

56:08>> Yeah, that's the one I had predicted. I

56:10predicted uh and many many times I mean

56:15so when Kevin Verie was like it was 2-2

56:18and when they were two 2-0 down

56:20yesterday I was like I guess it's over.

56:23[laughter]

56:24>> Yeah. and and and you know in 2022 they

56:27lost their first game against Saudi

56:28Arabia and they went on to win the whole

56:30thing 3-3 plus penalties. So you're like

56:33I guess they can do everything but

56:35anything is possible with Argentina.

56:37>> It's been a bit re bit sketchy though

56:40their last two games and they've shown

56:41that they have weaknesses and a bigger

56:44team could certainly capitalize on those

56:45things.

56:46>> It's it's been sketchy. I think if

56:48England went up against Argentina

56:49>> 2022 Argentina Netherlands it ends in

56:52the penalty shootout and it's like

56:54scrape let's scraping by the by the hair

56:58>> the skin of their teeth

56:59>> skin of their teeth.

57:01>> There's a nice phrase listeners there's

57:02a nice idiom they they they got through

57:05by the skin of their teeth.

57:06>> They won by

57:07>> very small margin.

57:09>> Yeah. By a hair's breadth.

57:12>> The width of a hair. So we're talking

57:13about very small margins by the skin of

57:15your teeth. They eaked out a win.

57:17>> They eaked out a victory even um and um

57:22by hair's breadth. So very by

57:24>> I'm all phrases, baby. I'm all phrases.

57:26>> Learn learn English idioms with Fred and

57:30football. Um yes, all small margins.

57:32Hair's breadth by the skin of your

57:34teeth. Uh but I think that England

57:36versus Argentina, I think we would give

57:38them a run for their money.

57:39>> Oh yeah.

57:40>> Make life difficult for them.

57:42>> Of course.

57:42>> We'd expose their weaknesses

57:44>> like defensively. uh you could tear

57:47through that. I've discovered Elliot

57:49Anderson at this World Cup. I wasn't

57:51aware that this uh young man existed and

57:53uh he was, you know, he's a was it under

57:5621 European champion and whatnot. Very

57:59good midfield.

58:01>> Bellingham, you know, always there.

58:04>> Anthony Gordon

58:06left.

58:07He looks like he looks like the the like

58:10one of those

58:12>> the the least interesting players like

58:13when you physically he's so bland and

58:16then he plays so well. You're like

58:18>> he's kind of like old school English cuz

58:20cuz he's got like a real footballers

58:22haircut.

58:23>> You know there was a period in the I

58:25guess the 80s and 90s when footballers

58:27had footballer haircuts

58:29>> which is true like

58:31>> it's the haircut you're it's the

58:33haircut. You're right. He just doesn't

58:35look very cool or trendy.

58:36>> Yeah. Now, we used to Yeah, we used to

58:37very trendy tattooed whatnot and he just

58:40looked like um run-of-the-mill. Uh he

58:43looks like you're just the guy you saw

58:46in the street and he's like, "Want to

58:47come and play?" He's like, "Yeah, I'm

58:48available."

58:49>> He's a scouser as well.

58:50>> Want to play Tony? He's like, "Yeah,

58:51sure."

58:51>> Yeah, I'd like to play. He's a scouseer.

58:53So, he sort of speaks like this Anthony

58:54Gordon. He's sort of, you know, like a

58:56classic Scouseer Scouse accent. It's

58:58great.

58:59>> Is that

58:59>> That's north Liverpool.

59:01>> Oh, yeah.

59:02>> Liverpool. Liverpool. Liverpool.

59:04>> Yeah. Um Yeah. All right. Great. I'm

59:08sure there are things we've missed. What

59:09about the um So, we we touched on the

59:10controversies and stuff I think we've

59:12dealt with, but what about the actual

59:13corruption stuff? Because there's been a

59:16bit of a scandal in terms of corruption.

59:18>> Is there an ongoing scandal? Is there

59:20something?

59:20>> I don't know if there's something now,

59:21but you know what I'm talking about

59:23though, right? The the red card that

59:25that was overturned

59:27>> because Trump personally requested it.

59:30I mean, this is just blatant corruption.

59:33>> There's something about the World Cup

59:34where because it's the biggest event on

59:38earth, like in like sports, at least in

59:40football sports wise.

59:41>> Yeah.

59:41>> Uh there it's the it's kind of the the

59:45it's the moment where the world takes

59:48stock of what has been done with their

59:50favorite sport. You know, even if you

59:51like you like football, especially if

59:53you're in Europe and whatnot.

59:55>> If you like football, you football is

59:58part of your life when the World Cup

59:59happens. So, you you watch the game and

1:00:01you're like, "Oh, is that how they do

1:00:03things now?" You know, like if you don't

1:00:05know about VR or about I don't know,

1:00:07>> right?

1:00:08>> Uh many things you

1:00:09>> everyone's chance to like check in with

1:00:11football. What's going on with football

1:00:13every four years? Oh, I see they do it

1:00:15like that now. And so

1:00:17FIFA is is a is a very corrupt

1:00:19organization and when you don't follow

1:00:21follow football you're like you're not

1:00:23aware of what h what's happening like

1:00:24the whole thing about how in 2030

1:00:26they're trying to expand the tournament

1:00:29to six country six countries so that in

1:00:322020 2034 the only possible candidate

1:00:36would be Saudi Arabia because all the

1:00:38other configurations would have been

1:00:40involved in recent

1:00:41>> well you see what I mean so in 2030 you

1:00:45have you one gaming gam in Uruguay in

1:00:47Colombia in Argentina plus Morocco plus

1:00:50Spain plus Portugal you have you've had

1:00:54this one in the current one is in North

1:00:57America so where would you organize in

1:01:00Asia who wants to organize and work in

1:01:02Asia Saudi Arabia so there's like stuff

1:01:04like that

1:01:05>> just look at like Russia Qatar I mean

1:01:07even North America United States these

1:01:10days I mean it's it's it's in the same

1:01:11kind of camp as this

1:01:13>> and Infantino is a who likes to be

1:01:15friend with uh dictators and people of

1:01:18the of the kind and weirdos and uh

1:01:22autocrats and all that. So when you

1:01:25don't follow football, you're like, "Oh,

1:01:27what's been happening?

1:01:29>> Football's gone evil."

1:01:30>> Yeah. Exactly. And now this is the

1:01:31result of those years of like of slow uh

1:01:37uh of gradual shift or downward

1:01:42slide towards like corruption and just

1:01:44like

1:01:45>> giving the ability to a man like Trump

1:01:48to say can you remove that red card?

1:01:50>> Yeah. Yeah.

1:01:51>> The first major signal was the when the

1:01:54the ref the Somalian referee was

1:01:56expelled was uh thrown out of the US.

1:01:59No, it wasn't thorough. They didn't let

1:02:00him in. They were like, "You are from

1:02:03Somalia. We have that country on the

1:02:05list, and you seem like you could be a

1:02:08terrorist." [laughter]

1:02:10>> Like, you know, this black these black

1:02:12clothes that you've got here, is this

1:02:13for a disguise? Why Why are you carrying

1:02:16a whistle? Is this a piece of spy

1:02:19>> gadgetry? Exactly. To signal uh you

1:02:22know, so the word

1:02:25>> yellow and red cards in your pocket. Is

1:02:26this some sort of sophisticated flagging

1:02:29system for for secret uh covert

1:02:32communications? What's going on here?

1:02:34Have you not you've never read the rules

1:02:36of football? What are you doing?

1:02:37>> So I I I don't know how you take back

1:02:39control of FIFA. I don't know how as

1:02:43>> we need a revolution, Fred. We need a

1:02:46revolution.

1:02:46>> You definitely because you know it's

1:02:49been understood that Yeah. Okay. It's

1:02:53they're a bit corrupt in sports and they

1:02:55have a lot of money and but now you

1:02:58jumping into like dirty dirty politics

1:03:00>> and this this one where Trump personally

1:03:03requested a a red card returned

1:03:06>> to his buddy to his mate. Yeah. His pal.

1:03:08>> Yeah. To his mate. It's like, "Hey mate,

1:03:10can you remove that red card?" Because I

1:03:12don't think it's a red card.

1:03:14>> Um

1:03:16I'll see what I can do. [laughter]

1:03:18>> What the hell? That's just blatant overt

1:03:21corruption right out in the open. And

1:03:23it's horrible because more and more this

1:03:25has just become an accepted thing now

1:03:28where you know countries powerful people

1:03:30will just do whatever the hell they want

1:03:32without any without any

1:03:34>> Trump has been abusing that

1:03:36to to to an extent that is frankly I

1:03:40mean it's it's a first it's a first in

1:03:42like

1:03:44>> American history.

1:03:45>> Yeah. [clears throat] just like the

1:03:46impact on popular culture is like why

1:03:48would you get involved with like sports

1:03:50leave sports and arts alone like you

1:03:52know what I mean like do your stuff

1:03:54>> I know he's certainly getting involved

1:03:56in arts with

1:03:57>> you know what I mean like do your stuff

1:03:59with immigrants leave theater alone

1:04:01[laughter]

1:04:02>> like

1:04:02>> are you not h you know you're not happy

1:04:04uh enough deporting immigrants you have

1:04:07to spoil the arts as well

1:04:08>> be like put my name on that

1:04:10>> on that building right

1:04:12>> what's wrong with you

1:04:14>> so yeah it's egregious It's uh it's

1:04:16embarrassing. Um and everybody hates it

1:04:19in

1:04:20>> I'm I'm sure including that guy,

1:04:21including Farin Balagon, which is a

1:04:23player who benefited from that. I'm sure

1:04:25he hates it.

1:04:27>> Yeah,

1:04:27>> because now your name is like tied to

1:04:29that that guy and it's like, okay, I'm

1:04:32going to play. He played this. This game

1:04:34was awful. And I'm wondering if that's I

1:04:36mean if that's part of it because it

1:04:39shouldn't be there and then you play and

1:04:41if you score, you know that people going

1:04:42to say you shouldn't have been there.

1:04:44And and I mean frankly I mean he's

1:04:46played well and now against Belgium he

1:04:48was he was really not not good.

1:04:50>> I don't know. I mean this is I'm just

1:04:52playing devil's advocate but maybe you

1:04:54could argue from Infantino's point of

1:04:55view that this is you know the way you

1:04:57have to deal with with Trump is that you

1:04:59know when you're doing something with

1:05:00him you've got to constantly acquies to

1:05:02his requests and you've got to tell him

1:05:04how wonderful he is.

1:05:05>> Of course that's what and just it was a

1:05:07pragmatic decision to just for some

1:05:09reason to allow things to run smoothly.

1:05:12But I don't see what would have been the

1:05:14consequence, the negative consequence of

1:05:16of him saying, "No, we're not going to

1:05:18overturn that decision." What would what

1:05:19would have been the outcome of that?

1:05:20>> I mean, that's a natural thing to do

1:05:21when you're a coward.

1:05:23>> Yeah. You know,

1:05:24>> it's it's really funny to be a powerful

1:05:26coward because he's the president of

1:05:28FIFA. Like, why do you fear people?

1:05:30You're the president of football. Like,

1:05:32you have so much power and yet you're a

1:05:35coward. So,

1:05:37>> in like from his point of view, it's

1:05:39natural because he's been cowardly for a

1:05:41long time. But yeah, I yeah, this I

1:05:43don't know what was it going to do?

1:05:44Cancel the World Cup? I mean, frankly,

1:05:46it would if the World Cup ended up being

1:05:49like cancelled because Trump is like I'm

1:05:51unhappy and we move it to Canada and

1:05:54Mexico. All the better. [laughter]

1:05:57>> Yeah.

1:05:57>> All the better. Like it's just, you

1:05:59know, it's good. We We would follow the

1:06:01whole thing. We would, you know, would

1:06:03they would move championships and

1:06:05whatnot.

1:06:05>> Get rid of the um the commercial breaks.

1:06:09Ah god,

1:06:09>> make halftime 15 minutes again, you

1:06:12know. Uh make make football great again.

1:06:14>> Exactly.

1:06:15>> Basically,

1:06:16>> please

1:06:17>> make football football again.

1:06:18>> Um let's talk about the up we maybe

1:06:21we've already done this. We have I was

1:06:23about to uh suggest that we predict

1:06:26outcomes. I feel like we've done that.

1:06:29>> So yeah, I I I do think that the the

1:06:31favorites are going to favor. So, France

1:06:33against Morocco,

1:06:35um, uh, Spain against Belgium, uh,

1:06:39England versus Norway, and Argent

1:06:41Argentina versus Switzerland. Although I

1:06:43think that ar England Norway is really

1:06:46tight.

1:06:47>> I agree.

1:06:47>> And that France, Morocco is really,

1:06:48really tight. I mean, Morocco versus

1:06:50Brazil, so impressive. They're much

1:06:54better than Brazil.

1:06:56>> And Morocco versus Netherlands, they're

1:06:58much better than the Netherlands. So I

1:07:00mean I mean from what I've seen and from

1:07:02what I remember there are better than

1:07:05the Netherlands and Brazil. So that's

1:07:07there are they are a step up from those.

1:07:11So what do you have left in that

1:07:13category? You would say England for me

1:07:16like Morocco and England are like the

1:07:18same.

1:07:18>> Okay. In terms of level, they're the

1:07:20same. And you know, they have an injury

1:07:21at the front, which is Ismaya Saibari,

1:07:24who's who scored three goal for Morocco

1:07:26and is maybe their best player so far.

1:07:29He's injured. So, they've lost a very

1:07:32very important weapon at the front. Uh

1:07:35their central defenders also hurt. Uh

1:07:37Riad, which is unfortunate is play of

1:07:40Crystal Palace.

1:07:41>> Oh yeah.

1:07:42>> So, you know, won the conference league.

1:07:43Very good season for Crystal Palace. So,

1:07:45Palace. So they they've lost some key

1:07:48players, but it's a strong it's a strong

1:07:51team, so you never know. Uh but yeah, I

1:07:53mean, Argentina, Switzerland, Argentina,

1:07:56>> I'll say it for the third time in a row.

1:07:57Argentina should go through easily. Here

1:08:00I am with those 32 32. [laughter]

1:08:03>> Yeah, they they probably won't. They

1:08:05haven't gone through easily in any of

1:08:06the the knockout games.

1:08:07>> They should because they you know there

1:08:09and also same the best player in

1:08:11Switzerland is injured. But you you look

1:08:13at past form over the last four or five

1:08:16games or whatever, but in the World Cup

1:08:18sometimes teams it's it's kind of a

1:08:20marathon these days and some teams don't

1:08:23come into form until the very late stage

1:08:25at the right moment

1:08:26>> like England

1:08:27>> like England then

1:08:29>> I think that's happening because we

1:08:31started well then we dipped um against

1:08:34Ghana

1:08:35>> um and Panama and arguably against um

1:08:40>> Congo

1:08:40>> Dr. Congo [laughter] as people keep

1:08:43calling them. Um but then raised our

1:08:46game in the last match. So maybe we are

1:08:48on an upward trajectory now.

1:08:50>> Definitely definitely an upward which is

1:08:51why England is so dangerous but so is

1:08:54Norway.

1:08:55>> Yeah.

1:08:55>> You know Norway is in an is on an upward

1:08:58trajectory.

1:08:59>> Uh they showed that against Kotivoir and

1:09:01against Brazil. Uh Holland is not you

1:09:05know foot of the gas uh on the gas

1:09:08pedal. Um, so yeah, but yeah, I think

1:09:11England is a favorite. Yeah.

1:09:13>> Yes. Okay. Well, we'll see. We can't

1:09:15predict.

1:09:16>> That's why I came here, just to say

1:09:17England is a favorite. That's why.

1:09:19>> Thanks a lot, Fred. Well, thanks, Fred.

1:09:22That's the end of the episode [laughter]

1:09:24now that I got him to say that. Um, I

1:09:27don't know if there's anything else for

1:09:28us to say at this point. Is there

1:09:30really?

1:09:30>> I don't know. I um I don't know. Now

1:09:33there's less games, so it's more

1:09:34manageable as a fan to watch them all.

1:09:36Uh, so I'm going to try to do that.

1:09:38>> Yeah,

1:09:39>> I'm uh I'm quite excited for I'm going

1:09:42to enjoy this day of uh of rest.

1:09:45>> Yeah,

1:09:45>> I mean it's it's intense.

1:09:47>> I'm going to try I'm going to try and

1:09:48get this episode out today if I possibly

1:09:51can.

1:09:51>> Yeah. So after Yeah. 26 days of uh games

1:09:54every day. I am Am I crazy for saying

1:09:57that? Was it It started on Yeah. June

1:09:5911th. [clears throat]

1:10:00>> So it's been a game

1:10:04>> more or less. and I've watched football

1:10:06for the past.

1:10:08>> How's your life? How's your

1:10:10relationship? I mean, is your is your

1:10:12girlfriend is she okay with this?

1:10:14>> Yeah, she's uh she's had moments of

1:10:17[laughter]

1:10:19it was a bit much. It's

1:10:20>> not putting too much strain on your on

1:10:22your personal life. This commitment to

1:10:24international football.

1:10:25>> It totally is. It's it's a it's a

1:10:27hardship frankly. At moments I there are

1:10:30moments I was like I'm not going to

1:10:31watch that one. I'm I sleep. I sleep a

1:10:34little bit. Uh I try to keep that

1:10:37[laughter] at least at least. But you

1:10:39know, I I always have like a computer or

1:10:41a TV.

1:10:41>> Yeah. The I tell you what, the World

1:10:43Cup's going to end. It's going to be a

1:10:44renaissance in your love life.

1:10:47>> Crazy. Cannot wait. Even just today,

1:10:49like the freshness of this gameless day,

1:10:53>> the amount of sex that you've already

1:10:55had. [laughter]

1:10:59>> Um

1:11:01>> Yeah. Yes,

1:11:02>> but it's it's it's more it's more the

1:11:04fact that my my attention is else has

1:11:08been elsewhere. But I I have to say uh

1:11:10she's been she's been supportive like I

1:11:13have cancer. [laughter]

1:11:15>> She's been really really patient.

1:11:17>> Uh she's been patient and she's enjoyed

1:11:20some good games. Uh she has rooted for

1:11:21Sagal against Belgium and for Egypt

1:11:23against Argentina. So her her heart has

1:11:25been broken twice.

1:11:27>> Okay. I hope she's rooting for Norway

1:11:30against England. Uh I wonder if she she

1:11:33might be she she she might root for she

1:11:35she you know she she was for Swiss she's

1:11:38>> she's French she's from the south of

1:11:40France she has some uh Swiss roots Swiss

1:11:43Swiss roots

1:11:45>> so she she was happy for Switzerland

1:11:47yesterday evening

1:11:49>> uh but yeah I I'll be I'll be happy when

1:11:54it's over. You know what I mean?

1:11:56>> Yeah. And then the obligation to just

1:11:58keep watching all these games. will stop

1:11:59watching football for the next four

1:12:01years. And I I I'm so glad I don't watch

1:12:03football in the regular because I cannot

1:12:05imagine every weekend,

1:12:07>> every Saturday,

1:12:08>> betting, whatever, fantasy sports, who

1:12:11scored what and I'm like, whatever.

1:12:13>> Yeah, I'm like you. I'm like I can live

1:12:15without football, but then when a World

1:12:17Cup rolls around, I I really like to get

1:12:19stuck in.

1:12:19>> And we certainly got stuck in today,

1:12:21Fred, in this World Cup Ramble number

1:12:24three. Thank you very much. Thanks so

1:12:25much for taking part. Uh and uh we look

1:12:29forward to seeing what's happening. Who

1:12:30knows? Anything could happen. Well, not

1:12:32anything.

1:12:35[screaming]

1:12:40>> So, that is the end of that. Thank you

1:12:41again to Fred for coming on the podcast

1:12:43to ramble with me about football. And

1:12:45what a ramble it was. Um that's the end.

1:12:49I'm very sweaty and hot. Uh if you've

1:12:51been watching the video version, um I'm

1:12:54wonder how sweaty I've been. I haven't

1:12:56actually reviewed the footage yet, but

1:12:58that doesn't matter, does it? I mean,

1:13:00doesn't matter. Does it? Does it matter?

1:13:02No, it doesn't. Good. I'm glad that it

1:13:04doesn't matter. Um, leave your comments

1:13:06in the comments section. I would like

1:13:07your comments about uh the World Cup as

1:13:10it stands right now. Obviously, this has

1:13:13been recorded on the 8th of July, this

1:13:15day of no football, right between the

1:13:17last 16 and the beginning of the

1:13:19quarterfinals. So, by the time you

1:13:21listen to this, everything may have

1:13:22changed. You'll probably know the France

1:13:24Morocco score. You'll probably know the

1:13:26England Norway score. Um, I have no idea

1:13:29what's going to happen. I'm going to

1:13:30stop talking now though because I need

1:13:32to edit this episode together and get it

1:13:35published as soon as humanly possible in

1:13:38order to just try and keep up with

1:13:39things just to make sure that this

1:13:42podcast is being published in the right

1:13:45way at the right time. Uh, it's all

1:13:48rather difficult to keep up with, but

1:13:49it's exciting. I'm really enjoying the

1:13:51World Cup despite all of the slightly

1:13:53more contentious aspects of it. I hope

1:13:56you are too. And I hope you enjoyed this

1:13:58[music]

1:13:58episode, World Cup Ramble number three.

1:14:01Uh, and I'll do World Cup Ramble number

1:14:04four at some point, maybe right sometime

1:14:06before the final or maybe even

1:14:08afterwards. We will see. Um, I'm making

1:14:10this up as I go along at this point. Uh,

1:14:13have a lovely morning, afternoon,

1:14:14evening, or night wherever you are in

1:14:16the in the world. And, um, I'll speak to

1:14:19you next time. But for now, it's just

1:14:21time to say goodbye. Bye. Bye. Bye.