WEBVTT - The Best (and Worst) of the 2026 World Cup 0:00:01.480 --> 0:00:04.320 Dear let you know USA listener. Before we start, you 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:06.720 should know that if you want to listen to this 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:11.480 episode ad free, just join Plus and you can join 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:15.040 for as little as seven dollars a month. Joining also 0:00:15.120 --> 0:00:19.160 gets you behind the scenes access and yes, some cheese 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:23.360 may so click the link in the episode description and 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:26.400 after you do that, then click play. Let's go to 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:40.960 the show. So the World Cup has come to an 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.320 end after more than five weeks of all things soccer 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:48.960 or football. It was the longest World Cup ever because 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:52.360 more countries were added to the tournament and yes, even 0:00:52.600 --> 0:00:56.720 I found myself engrossed with several of the games. This 0:00:56.960 --> 0:00:59.040 was also the first time that the games were held 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:04.200 across three Frankly, there were quite a few firsts this summer, 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:07.720 which is saying something for a global competition that's been 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:10.959 around for almost one hundred years. Here at Futuro, we've 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:15.160 been bringing you weekly episodes of American Football, a podcast 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:18.800 about soccer culture in the United States and it's underdog roots. 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:22.319 Our episodes go beyond the sport to the people and 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:25.479 the stories that make it great. It's hosted by our 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:29.760 very own Fernanda Echavaris. For our show today, we're going 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.440 to play the latest episode of American Football, which looks 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:36.600 at the significance of this World Cup and its most 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:40.080 controversial moments. Here it is American football. 0:01:50.920 --> 0:01:53.360 My dad was football to me. 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:56.840 We used to watch the World Cup together, and if 0:01:56.880 --> 0:01:59.040 we weren't in the same city, we were constantly on 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.400 the phone. I mentioned in the first episode of this 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:05.640 podcast that I was feeling anxious about watching the World 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:09.680 Cup for the first time since my dad's passing. I 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:11.639 didn't know if the tournament would make me miss my 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:13.079 dad more or bring me. 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:14.440 Closer to him. 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.919 Now that we've reached the end six weeks later, all 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:21.359 I can say is that this wasn't an either or question, 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:26.320 because both things happened. There were many instances in which 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:28.600 I had these flashed thoughts that I could still reach 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:32.119 from my phone and call my dad, wanting to talk 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:35.240 about a shocking moment on the field, a confusing ref call, 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:39.200 or a prediction in real time. My dad always picked up. 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:43.280 He always had an answer that made sense. But this 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:45.520 World Cup I didn't have him anymore. 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:47.519 It hurt. 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:52.160 I specifically remember a confusing moment in the group stage 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:55.120 when the Qatar goalie got hit, but it ended up 0:02:55.120 --> 0:02:58.960 as a penalty against his team. So I messaged my 0:02:59.000 --> 0:03:02.680 younger sister in Mexico, the one who, unlike me, is 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:04.320 all sports all the. 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:11.639 Time, sarvish, who's tosta momento? It's from the lib. 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:14.320 This is one of those moments when I would have 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:16.720 asked Dad about this. I told her, so I need 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.320 you to fill in for him. The three of us 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.079 used to text a bunch during previous World Cups. 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:24.280 Avish liouplnted. 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.520 I can't remember which game I was watching when I 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:31.200 heard an announcer on Telemundo say that this was a 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:37.720 World Cup of nostalgia and joy. He said, and I 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:41.880 felt that my dad had the superpower of bringing all 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:48.160 the good vibes wherever he went, and I'm sure he 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:50.440 would have enjoyed the hell out of this World Cup. 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:57.640 I also wonder what he would have thought of these 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:01.840 uh and commercial I mean hi dration breaks. What he 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:04.440 would have said about the shameless lack of separation between 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:07.960 politics and sport, and his take on the high tech 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:11.560 sensors that are so sensitive they annulled a goal because 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:20.320 of a strand of hair. Every time Mexico played, I 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:24.120 felt my dad's absence the heaviest, but that's also when 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:29.359 I felt closest to him. Because Mexico did incredible things 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:29.960 this summer. 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:37.680 I mean wow. 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.560 I got to watch Mexico win at times surrounded by 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:45.760 hundreds of green jerseys at watch parties I also hosted 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:54.720 at home. I think I watched I want to say, 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:57.360 eighty percent of the matches. I mean there were one 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.000 hundred and four for the first time ever, so that's 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:03.320 a lot. I watched while I work. To be fair, 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.320 this was work. I streamed on my phone so I 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:09.080 could listen while driving. I even once stepped out of 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:11.800 a movie theater to watch penalty kicks, pacing back and 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.680 forth in the theater hallway, quietly grunting like. 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:18.200 A crazy person. I wore yellow. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:20.000 When I went to watch the Colombia game with my 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:22.719 Colombian friends, I put on a red shirt and rode 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:26.839 my butt off. In the Norway England game, I rooted 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:29.000 for Egypt and Cabo Verde as if they were a 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.240 team I had supported for years. 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:33.320 I suffered with my favorites lost. 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:41.840 He love you, alaa Alaimoma, Mexico, Mexico traj and. 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:45.440 The best part of it all, the highest in a 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.440 summer full of highs and lows? Was that my young 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:53.760 daughter learned all about the World Cup? Hey kittle, Yeah, 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:55.680 can you do me a favor? And can you tell 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.400 me what is the World Cup? 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:02.000 The World Cup is special everything. I just want to 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:06.839 say God and we go like yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:08.839 And also the people. 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:19.240 Who played before soccer it's great. Shakita, oh eh. 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.960 Of course she loves Shakida, she's my daughter. Do you 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:23.120 know why the World Cup is so important to me? 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:31.000 I just know why it is because you not watched it. 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:34.520 So he likes soccer, So you like soccer. You've growed 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:36.040 up being liking soccer. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:38.880 That's true. Actually, can I tell you what my favorite 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:39.800 part of the World Cup was? 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:41.240 My favorite part of it? 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:43.240 But you don't know what my favorite part of the 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:43.840 World Cup is? 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:44.920 I do you do? 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.640 It's really special to you because you haven't seen the 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:49.440 World Cup. 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:51.480 With me and this is the first time we get 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:54.320 to watch together. Do you know how happy that made 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:55.520 me to have you wearing the mix? 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:59.520 Really happy, really happy, really happy. And my favorite part 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:01.560 was that everybody was together. 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:06.600 Honestly, it did feel like everybody was together. 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:13.920 I love the nods that I got when I wore 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.840 my Mexico jersey out in daily life. I love that 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:19.560 we all rooted for all the countries our friends are from, 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:23.000 that we laughed and stressed and meaned together in every 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:27.480 group chat. And yes, most of all, I loved passing 0:07:27.520 --> 0:07:29.840 on the ritual of watching it all with my daughter, 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:35.440 just like my dad watched with me. I'm Fernanda Chavarri 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.960 and this is American Footboard, a show about soccer culture 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:43.240 in the US and it's underdog roots. Today the end, 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:47.200 I sit down with a soccer expert and super fan 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:51.560 to discuss this World Cup significance, the few firsts, which 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:54.160 is saying something for a global competition that's been around 0:07:54.200 --> 0:07:57.960 almost one hundred years. We'll talk about the most controversial moments, 0:07:58.000 --> 0:08:09.000 and of course about Spain's journey to the coveted trophy. 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:17.200 I am now joined again by Jasmine Gars. She covered 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:19.760 the World Cup friend PR, where she's also an immigration 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.480 correspondent and you and I. Jasmin also worked together on 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:27.920 a podcast Last World Cup about MESSI called The Last Cup. 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:29.880 So Jasmine, thank you so much for. 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:31.760 Being here, Thank you for having me. 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:35.040 You know, this has been you could call it a 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:35.600 lot of things. 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.160 This has been an electrifying World Cup, to say the least, 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:40.840 and so much has happened on and off the field. 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.960 But let's work our way backwards and start with some 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.400 of your thoughts about how the final unfolded. Spain won 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:50.880 Argentina zero. I have to say I had Spain winning 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:52.320 it all in my bracket. I think I might have 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.120 told you this earlier, and I think that the second 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.120 half show does that Spain truly earned that trophy. Was 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.720 this the end that you expected, Jasmine? 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.280 I'm going to say something controversial, which is that I 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:06.800 didn't think that was a very exciting game. I can 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.160 name off the top of my head, like five more 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:12.080 electrifying games that I watched. 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:14.360 Starting with the game that happened the day before. Yeah, 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:17.640 totally much more exciting. Part of that is because Spain 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:20.920 dominated so hard. It was almost like there was only 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.720 one team on the pitch. It reminded me of that phrase. 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:28.600 I think it's like from Batman, when an unstoppable force 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:33.160 meets an unmovable object. I mean, like Spain is on 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:37.760 another level. Their defense was completely impenetrable. 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:39.960 Argentina kind of fell apart. 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:43.280 By the end of the game, Spain had done twenty 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.000 attempts at a goal, one of which ended up being 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:47.959 a goal, and Argentina had done two. 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:48.880 That's crazy. 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:50.840 That's how good the defense was. 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:55.200 And I think Argentina made them work for it, but 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:59.640 Spain was the better team and they absolutely deserve that win. 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:01.000 Were extraordinary. 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:03.680 I have to bring up the picture that's gone viral, 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:08.040 the one of twenty year old learn and Messi bathing 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:13.559 baby Lamin Yamal, because first of all, this is like destiny. 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:16.280 I mean in all of the things that I saw 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.800 about he's nineteen and they're nineteen years apart, and this 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:20.640 is being played on the. 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:22.400 Nineteenth and the number nineteen. 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:24.880 So can we talk about that photo please? 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:25.679 Yes. 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:29.040 The origin story of that is a raffle put together 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:33.439 by like a local newspaper and in conjunction with UNISEF, 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.840 several families got to take their newborn to meet the player, 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:41.600 and so Lamina Mal's parents take him to meet Messi, 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.560 and I think it was like a beautiful passing of 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.520 the torch. I think people love to focus on the rivalry, 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:51.520 but I think, you know, Messi has expressed a huge 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:56.760 admiration for Lamina Mal, and Lamina Mal is an extraordinary 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:01.960 player who is like kind of entering his stardom, and 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:06.720 Messi is slowing down right like this is actually expected 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.200 to be his last Cup, but he's going to be 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:13.480 in his forties in the next Cup. That photo is 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:19.080 really like a sort of almost like biblical Star Wars, 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:23.880 the and paving of the torch. I also think like 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:26.360 I was talking to a fan before the game, a 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:29.360 young guy who was saying to me, well, no matter 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:33.040 what I win, because I'm a huge Barsa fan. And 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:37.040 really on that field it was to some degree like 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.839 a Barsa reunion, and it speaks a lot to the 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:45.400 Barsa system and the Spanish soccer system, and how like extraordinary. 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:48.559 It is a system that formed Le Messi. 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:49.800 And La Minama. 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:53.000 It is the academy. And I think what we saw 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:54.480 on that field is that. 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:59.079 You know, La Minyama didn't have many goals or that 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:03.480 many assists, but he played an essential role in Spain's 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:08.080 offensive strategy throughout. What does he represent for the future 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:11.120 of soccer in this new upcoming era that you know, 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:13.480 perhaps four years from now we will have a World 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:15.199 Cup without Ronaldo and without Messi. 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:17.040 It's a changing of the guard. 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.920 When I see La mignaml I see someone who is 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:24.600 just like fierce and hungry and needs a little bit 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:29.800 of like sharpening. He's nineteen, of course he needs sharpening. 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:33.720 Of course, when Messi was nineteen, he needed sharpening. But 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:38.240 it's so exciting. I didn't really get to see Messi's 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:40.720 beginnings because you know, we're sort of in the same 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:43.920 age bracket. But to get to see like the birth 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:46.880 of a legend that is so exciting. 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.959 Yes, I want to talk a little bit about how 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:53.440 the World Cup felt. You and I throughout we're texting 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:57.840 about a few things, and this was a World Cup 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.640 that felt a little bit of mare recognized to me. 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:03.160 Oh, yes, you know commercialized. 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:07.200 Yes, it's always been driven by and profit and corporations. 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:12.600 But there was something about that halftime show, the hydration breaks. 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:17.120 So you're making already gestures with your hands, tell me 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:17.640 your thoughts. 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:20.319 Yes, I really wanted to talk to you about the 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:22.240 halftime show, So hydration breaks. 0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:25.200 I've let it go. Oh because I've been there. 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:28.120 Because you needed the hydration break. And how many stadiums 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:32.400 did you go to? At least six and you were 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:33.320 sweating at all of them? 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.520 Oh it was bad. Yeah, like the heat has been 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:37.200 really bad. 0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:40.679 You know, even with the hydration breaks, you're seeing players cramp. 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.280 I'm not saying, for the record, I'm not saying I 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:48.080 agree with the hydration breaks, but I can see an 0:13:48.240 --> 0:13:52.600 argument for it. But that halftime show as a soccer 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:54.440 fan really irked me. 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:57.320 Tell me why, because there's a natural. 0:13:57.000 --> 0:14:00.079 Flow to soccer in which you go, go, go, go, 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:04.040 and depending on what team you are, you're either winning 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:08.319 and you need to cement it quick, or you're losing 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:10.360 and you need to stage a comeback quick, and you 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:13.240 got about fifteen minutes to think about how you're going 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:17.559 to do one of the two. Soccer is a frenetic sport. 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:23.880 Soccer is anxietyness for like ninety minutes, maybe one hundred 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:27.600 and twenty, and it lost that like it was thirty 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:31.480 minutes the halftime, Yeah, was around the amount of time 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:36.200 of an entire first half, and I felt like it 0:14:36.320 --> 0:14:40.760 really lost the flow and that franticness of soccer. 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:44.760 See that's how I felt about hydration breaks, especially when 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:48.400 a team was really getting its groove and then hydration break, 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.120 Like what, No, don't stop soccer, You don't stop this. 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:54.120 I hear what you're saying about you being in the 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:58.000 stadium and understanding why the hydration breaks were needed, but 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:00.840 I felt, in a smaller way how you felt about 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:01.600 the halftime show. 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:03.800 Yeah, tell me how you felt about the halftime show. 0:15:04.280 --> 0:15:06.320 I thought it was a little strange, And the strangest 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:09.400 part of it all was like Justin Bieber showing up 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:11.640 as a sort of like the drunk guy at the 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:13.960 party that decides to pull out an acoustic guitar at 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:16.680 two am and brings the whole vibe down and you're like, mijoh, no. 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:19.800 Listen, I love a show. Yeah, but I did think 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:20.200 it was long. 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:22.040 I think they should have just done maybe one artist. 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:25.720 And I'm also understanding that it's crazy to ask, you know, 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.000 the soccer field to become a sort of stage and 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.560 a spectacle in a very short amount of time. 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:32.120 But I do think it was too long. 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.760 I joked to someone that, like, Argentina has only been 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.680 playing well in the second half, and now they're going 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:40.960 to like think this is a first half again. 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:45.520 And yeah, resting for that long is like when you're 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.040 at a wedding and you're wearing really tight shoes or 0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:50.920 uncomfortable shoes and you take them off for a second, 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:51.840 you can't put them back on. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:52.840 Like you can't. 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:54.560 You got to just like power through it. And that's 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:55.640 how I felt about that. 0:15:55.760 --> 0:16:02.360 I love that analogy. Well, that's a great analogy. 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.600 After the break, we get into some of the biggest 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:09.720 controversies surrounding the tournament and the underdog team that captured 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:10.920 all of our hearts. 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:16.840 Ola. 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:23.760 So it's just Canada, Rivera, It's just passio and it's 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:31.520 the podcast story is a kiness Oia and trona penitencia 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:32.880 and personal. 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:36.479 Penitencia. 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:42.400 Can a persona covet the la scucha penitencia and call 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:44.240 calata for my podcast. 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:58.440 This is American Football. I'm Fernando Chavari. Let's get back 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:03.400 to my conversation with reporters Jasmine Gars. You know the 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:07.560 three host countries, Mexico, the US, and Canada. Sorry Canada, 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:09.280 there's so much more to talk about when it comes 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:11.720 to the US in Mexico. Yeah, I love you Canada, 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:14.880 but you know, one the US, this is the first 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:17.439 time that one of the host countries is actively at 0:17:17.520 --> 0:17:20.760 war with one of the participating countries. And we really 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:23.560 saw sort of a contrast on how to be a 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:26.760 good host. So I think Mexico showed that and we 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:29.720 had so many videos of the reception of the Iranian 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:33.200 team last minute and just how people felt being in 0:17:33.320 --> 0:17:36.840 Mexico and felt welcomed by Mexican fans and just Mexico 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.560 in general. And then on top of that, you have 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:45.160 the US with this controversial red card situation. How would 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:47.639 you explain the red card situation and why was that 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:48.400 so meaningful? 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:53.200 So the US, you know, like superstar Fuller and Balagun 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:58.000 gets a red card and he's their star. This is 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:01.560 going to be a huge problem moving forward. And then 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:05.720 President Trump says like he publicly says that he called 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.320 FIFA and said. 0:18:08.119 --> 0:18:09.680 You know, this was not a fair call. 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:13.399 We know that President Trump and FIFA President Johnny and 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:17.639 Fandino have been seen together, They've expressed a closeness. So 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.359 it was really seen as like the US government interfering 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:26.760 in that red call, and FIFA effectively removed the red 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:30.120 card annulled it. And then you know, the US goes 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:33.760 on to lose tremendously against Belgium, which I think there 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:36.280 was like some kind of psychological thing happening too. 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:38.080 Even though Belgium's are a good team. 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:41.000 It had to have done something to them, especially you know, 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:42.879 I don't know how online they are. I hope that 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:45.200 the players are not online during the World Cup much. 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:47.560 But I mean there was also all of this it's 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:50.240 got the Trump touch. Now they're going to lose. Yeah, 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:52.040 it had to have effect at the players, and I 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:55.000 think that US fans also didn't think that was a 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:58.240 great thing for how they look to the world. 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:03.360 It really really FIFA corruption, which has been an ongoing 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:04.520 accusation here. 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.159 And it also just, you know, like we're at this 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:08.240 moment in the US. 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:13.520 In which there's these conversations about tatalitarianism and the overreach 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:17.360 of this government. And it was this moment in which 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:19.920 we were jolted out of the World Cup fantasy and 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:22.000 back into like world reality. 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:24.320 I think that's what it was like. It for a moment, 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:25.680 the illusion was shattered. 0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:33.040 Every World Cup has an underdog that's a crisis or 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:35.680 a few underdogs, and I think in this World Cup 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:41.000 that team was. They played their first World Cup ever 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:44.480 and they won everyone's hearts. So what would you say 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:48.639 made them such a special team to watch throughout this 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:49.240 World Cup? 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:52.040 I started off telling you that this final. 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:54.720 You know, I can think off the top of my 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:58.600 head of you know, five other games we've seen in 0:19:58.680 --> 0:20:02.680 this Championship that are more electrifying, and a lot of 0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:07.680 those games are with cave Verd. Gabo Verde was stunning. 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:11.479 They were defensively, they were a wall. I do think 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:13.840 there's this narrative that they kind of came out of nowhere. 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:16.800 Certainly this was their first World Cup that they qualified for, 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:19.200 but Gaba Vedade for the last like ten years or 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:24.040 so has been playing extraordinary soccer in the African Championships. 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:26.320 They didn't quite come out of nowhere. 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:28.760 And I think, you know, something I've been saying throughout 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:32.160 this tournament is like African soccer had a huge moment, 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:35.720 and I predict in twenty thirty it's going to be 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:40.119 just a tournament where we just see African soccer completely 0:20:40.280 --> 0:20:42.359 like bloom on the world stage. 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.360 And the indication I have of that is gabl abdebe. 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:47.760 I mean, there's no doubt about that. We saw so 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:50.919 many teams play beautiful games. 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:54.560 Yes, this World Cup. I want to talk about some 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.879 of the less fun things of this World Cup. You know, 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:01.040 we had already talked about FIFA in interfering in the 0:21:01.200 --> 0:21:03.879 US with the red card. Yeah, what were some of 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:06.640 the controversies that stood out to you the most. 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:11.200 I think the red card controversy was huge. 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:15.359 I think the treatment of Iranian players, Like we're so 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:18.000 far removed from that moment now that I don't think 0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:20.200 people are talking about it a lot. But like the 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:23.720 Iranian team was being forced to shuttle back and forth 0:21:23.800 --> 0:21:27.840 from Tijuana to you know, wherever they were playing after 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:30.239 every game. I mean it was like they had an 0:21:30.320 --> 0:21:34.120 added four hour commute back and forth because they weren't 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:37.000 allowed to stay in the US because of the conflict 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:37.440 right now. 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.719 It was putting this team through exhaustion. 0:21:41.480 --> 0:21:46.920 I think VAR was hugely controversial, hugely controversial, And I 0:21:46.960 --> 0:21:49.880 think the VR question goes beyond like soccer. I think 0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:53.359 like it's really tapping into this larger question we're having 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:56.560 in society right now about technology. 0:21:56.920 --> 0:21:59.600 At what point does technology help? At what point does 0:21:59.640 --> 0:21:59.920 it hint? 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:05.680 And if technology is ultimately being handled and decided by humans, 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:10.119 how unbiased can it really be? You know, because the 0:22:10.160 --> 0:22:13.760 ref is deciding ultimately, there's a human behind the VAR. 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:18.440 And I think also like rumors or so many rumors 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:22.240 of FIFA and Leo Messi and like Argentina and was 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:26.760 it fixed the infamous Argentina Egypt game. What I think 0:22:26.840 --> 0:22:30.080 about that, I think FIFA protects its stars like FIFA 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:33.680 protects its money makers, you know, like Pifa's there to 0:22:33.760 --> 0:22:37.160 make money. And I think FIFA does go more lenient 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:40.800 on m Babe, on Ronaldo, on Messi because they're the 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:42.680 big ticket salespeople. 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:45.600 They're the stars. Do I think the game was rigged? 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:48.200 Well, I think if it was, it wasn't done so 0:22:48.440 --> 0:22:56.479 very successfully. To me, A personal controversy was Mexico England, 0:22:56.640 --> 0:23:01.440