June 13, 2026 • 45 mins
Jason Smith and Steve DeSaegher filling in for Mike Harmon discuss Team USA's BIG WIN over Paraguay and Wemby being too confident despite being down 3-1 in the Finals. The guys are also joined by JP Morosi to discuss the World Cup and the biggest storylines in the MLB,
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Radio at Jason Smith Show with special delivery Steve Desager
in from Mike Harmon Well Dressed Hobo. If you miss
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Just search our names Jason Smith and Mike Harmon wherever
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(00:46):
provide a review. Again. Just search Jason Smith and Mike
Harmon wherever you get your podcasts. You'll find today's full
show and a best of version posted right after we
get off the air again about ten minutes after we
get done. All our content the night in Major League Baseball,
which has been outstanding, our preview of Game five of
the NBA Finals, and what's happening right now the United
(01:09):
States and Paraguay getting it in before the final gun.
And I don't want to say I'm a prophet, Steve
to Seger, I don't want to say I'm a propect.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
You don't.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I don't want to say. But last night on the show,
I said two things. I said one, the United States
is gonna score in the first ten minutes of this game.
And what happened. They scored in the first ten minutes.
What did I say the final score was gonna be
four to one. Well, we thought we're getting a nice
three to one final, united States dominating. We're getting to
the end of extra time, and Raina finds the back
(01:45):
of the net in the ninety eighth minute and that
is a Loton goal off the side of his foot.
That's an incredible bend from him. Four to one. The
United States leads Paraguay. They get that three goal bulge
back in again. As we talked about it, you never
know what could happen as far as gold differential. But
the two things I said last night, we're scoring in
(02:07):
the first ten minutes, We're winning four to one. We
scored in the first ten minutes. We're winning four to one,
and that's you need to know anything, You need to
know anything, Steve about the United States men's national team,
just ask me, because I'm the guy.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
And Giorana just came on as a sub in the
eighty second minute and he winds up scoring in the
ninety eighth minute and at chess gun final with the
crowd roaring in Los Angeles, my goodness, what an atmosphere.
This is beyond our wildest dreams of how this US
team would open the world cmeup for to one the
(02:40):
final over Paraguay.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
This was as good as a beginning game as you
could possibly ask for for the United States winning at
four to one. I mean, look, what's the right way
to break it down? We have the players to get
to what we saw where to feel right now following
this big win after the first.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
And put it in context, it's maybe the best opening
game they've ever played. Yes, in a world going back
to the nineteen thirties.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
They've never played better than this. I wasn't alive back then.
I'm going back twenty years. It was the best first
half of that.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Would come close. Just remember when Landon Donovan was very
young and I think it was three to one at
the half. Against Portugal and they beat him three to two.
This was three nothing at the half and it was
at home and foot on the gas the entire forty
five minutes to start and then scoring at the end
to top it.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Yeah, I mean, look, the only concern and right now
is waiting to hear is what the situation is with
Christian Polisic, who was subbed off at the end of
the first half. Now I don't believe it's an injury situation.
It could just be there getting him rest. But then
there's been no word on Polisic. We'll find out now
the game is over.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Maybe it had to do with the three nothing lead.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Look at Poaches walking around saying yes, now I'm Russell Crowe. Yes,
I'm Russell Crowe. I looked like Wressel Crow he's playing
me in the movie. Just so you know, what.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
He should do is stand midfield, look at the crowd
and yell are you not entertained?
Speaker 1 (04:06):
But instead he's standing in midfield and he's hugging all
the officials. I'm hugging all the officials.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
That's a little better than the officials got at the
end of the US.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Paraguay game a year ago, where you know again, we're
not seeing that with the Knickson the officials in the
NBA finals. But look, how to break this down, right,
because we just watched an absolute dominant display of soccer
for the United States as great as they played, right Balligan,
maybe he's the striker we've been searching for the first half,
Poliitic was dominant down the left wing the entire time. Right,
(04:37):
the United States had the time of possession, They controlled
almost all of the second half except for a very
short run by Paraguay. This is a very easy group
for the United States, right, you're talking about Australia. Is
I mean it is not a murderers row any Yeah,
I mean it's not a murderer's row by any by
any means. Right, This is not We're in the group
(04:58):
of death. This is not. Hey boy, you know the
first game we beat in Brazil, you know, four to one?
So is it a little bit of both? Here's the
right way to come out of it. There is no
reason to not be excited as all hell at what
the United States can accomplish in this World Cup coming
off of this game, because a lot of it is
about it's the draw, it's getting out of your group.
(05:21):
It's winning in the knockout round, and winning this group
puts the United States on a great path to the
quarter finals.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
That's right, because remember there's a new round with the
expanded tournament. It's forty eight teams now thirty two, so
there's a round of thirty two after these three group games.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
This puts them on a great path into the quarterfinals,
where anything can happen. There is no reason to not
feel great. There's no reason to feel well. I mean, yes,
this was Paraguay. They aren't as great a team. They're
also not a doormat right, right again, but this is
this is not a really difficult Paraguay.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
In the South American qualifying. We're able to split games
against Argentina and split the two games with Brazil, and
they had a winning record seven and four and seven ties.
And as I said earlier in the show, pretty much
all teams below first place Argentina in South America tied
for second place, just about. They were the equal of Brazil, Ecuador,
(06:18):
everyone else from South America that made this tournament.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
I mean, there are some things to understand, but there
is no reason. I mean, they've been waiting to play
this game and look, we talked about a little bit
last hour. I mentioned a couple of times this week.
My big thing for the Knicks in going into the
playoffs was maybe they're just waiting for the playoffs. They've
been through the heat of the playoffs the last couple
of years, and as many questions you might have, sometimes
(06:44):
a team that's played that much, they know when we're
going to turn it on the playoffs, and clearly the
next have turned it on. And the way this United
States World Cup team had been building up towards this moment,
there's been a lot of questions, but it's been a
lot of questions about what Poachattino was is is putting
together on the field, and so far he looks like
a genius. Right. It is a little bit different putting
(07:07):
together of a roster than we expected, but you gotta
give him the benefit of the doubt. Let him do
his thing, because that's why you hired him, right. You
hired him to come in and say, hey, you know
what to do. Hey, we're a little bit more heavier
on the back line, not in the middle. The mix
of players he picked, there's a couple of questions, but hey,
this is why you hired the guy, and all of
the questions leading up to it. We're hosting, this is
the time, this is the pressure on the golden generation
(07:29):
for the United States. There is something to be said
for we are ready. You are gonna see us when
we start this, when we start this tournament. We have
been waiting for this tournament to begin. And that's absolutely
what the United States looked like. They weren't a team
that got out to They played a great first fifteen minutes,
then they got tired and they sat on the lead.
That did not happen. They looked energized all the way through.
(07:52):
There was not a moment where I thought, oh they're
getting tired. I'm worried about where they are stamina wise.
Are they losing a little bit of focus. There was
none of that. They were plays offensive plays all the
way to the end. Gio Reina's goal in the ninety
eighth minute was fantastic. Way to put a big cap
aeron this. Everything you wanted to see from the team
you saw. There is no reason to not be so
(08:14):
excited about what they could accomplish over the next couple
of weeks plus, because you know what, why not, right,
Maybe this is the time. Maybe Pochattino is what we
needed to put everything together, all the questions on the pitch.
I know that we have been really I would say,
given fool's gold the last decade plus with the end
of Kleintsman and burr Halter and thinking, you know, hey,
(08:36):
do I dare to dream? Is this maybe too much?
And beat?
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Yes, there was no dreaming. There was a cap on
all of those teams. Once you meet you know, Belgium
or Netherlands. Oh, this is clearly a better opponent.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Yeah, with not making the World Cup, with all of it, Okay,
we've been burned before, right, we've been burned and believing
in the United States before. After tonight, there is no
reason to not feel optimistic. They can accomplish a whole
bunch of great stuff over the next month plus. Here,
no reason at all.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
And the US we were concerned about the goalie who
you know, it's kind of like the quarterback situation. Now
they have two or three goalies on this team, meaning
they might not really have one goalie. And we've had
in US soccer history some standout goal keepers and yet
this team doesn't really have one. Not tested in the
first half, I think it was two shots in the
(09:21):
first half for Paraguay. The US outshot I'm sixteen to
nine for the game. In fact, Paraguay had five yellow
cards in this game and only nine shots. Keep in
mind the context going into this World Cup. The US
played surprisingly well I think for most of us in
the two tune up games recently late May. Held on
(09:42):
three to two against Senegal in Charlotte and then in
Chicago the sendoff game. As I recall, gave up a
very early goal to Germany and lost two to one
in that one. But what had had a lot of
US down was the only other games all year the
US had had a team together four the two losses
in the spring. Late March, the US lost five two
(10:05):
to Belgium and then got shut out by Portugal two
to nothing. And we're thinking, oh great, now we're playing
teams that actually are World Cup level teams and we're
not even competing, and we're gonna be co hosting the
World Cup this summer. Please don't embarrass us. What they
put on the field the first half of tonight was spectacular.
(10:26):
It was thrilling. It was completely unexpected.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Yeah, I look, and you know, to go back to
your point, of hey, you know, our keeper wasn't tested.
I always tell I always say the same thing to
the teams I've coached, and I have that philosophy. The
best game is when I have no idea if the
goalie had a good game or not, because they never
had to touch the ball. That's always the be because
then I know we played great defensively, we played great offensively,
and if the goalie had a night off, that was
(10:50):
the best night. The best night always is when you
don't have to worry about your goalie making any plays
at all other than hey, I'm going to get the
ball back out to our defenders when they kick a ball,
when they came in, I'm gonna make the you know,
I'm gonna be Johnny on the spot when they had
their long shots. Those are always the best games when
you have no idea what kind of game the goalie had.
And that was the United States tonight. That was the
(11:11):
perfect way to encapsulate what we saw tonight against Parids.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
And then at the other end of the field, I
was surprised at the amount of continuous offensive pressure the
Americans had because you don't have to go that far
back in US history where if we had one log
pass down the side and one guy playing forward and
we had one quality chance and a half. You know,
(11:34):
that might be what you got. And then we had
some multiple scores in the landon Donovan Clint Dempsey era.
And now we started to wonder a couple years ago, Okay,
who's going to be stepping up for this team? And
my goodness, have people stepped up. Just in the last month.
We had how many attempts just inside the penalty area
(11:55):
against Paraguay thirteen tonight. That's an astounding number historically for
US soccer.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah, I mean, this was that's that's honestly, That's the
best thing I saw tonight was that even when the
game was no longer in doubt in the United States,
because you could see Paraguay after their run. They had
a good run the first eight minutes of the second half,
and then they scored the goal to make it three
to one. A bit of a breakdown to the United States.
I think they got caught watching the play more than
they were defending. After that, that was it. Like Paraguay,
(12:25):
they wilted and the United States with their subs that
were in were fresher and tilted the field the entire
second half. There was no worry that the United States
was tired. There was no worry they were sitting back
that they were gonna Hey, we did what we needed
to do. Now he's got to make sure we don't
lose the game. They attacked for ninety eight minutes dominate Reily.
(12:46):
That really was something and that that is not something
I can tell you I've seen from Team USA. Again,
going back the last two incarnations of this team with
Burhalter and Klinsman, I saw bits and pieces of it
with Clintsman where they would attack for a little wob
then eventually hey we're done. We're sitting back, like I
have not seen them attack like this for ninety plus minutes.
(13:07):
I'm going back, you know, fifteen years, you know before
I've seen something like that.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
No, I agree, and I canness that I can support
that with stats because we talked about the great opening
game that the US had when Landon Donovan was young
in two thousand and two, when South Korea and Japan
were co hosting, The Americans won their opener against Portugal
three to two. The US had not scored three goals
in any World Cup game since two thousand and two
(13:33):
until tonight when we got three in the first half.
It was crazy how good that first half was. Yeah,
and by the way, I can add one more stat.
We talked about how many times how much pressure we
had in the opponent's penalty area. There is a stat
in soccer touches in the opposition's penalty bucks. Paraguay touched
(13:54):
the ball nine times in front of our goalie. We
had fifty three touches in Paraguay's penalty area. Incredible. Yeah,
I mean that's like a pot points in the paint
type of advantage. It's I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Oh man. And I'll tell you what again, We'll wait
and see what we hear about Christian Polistic. He was
terrific in the first half. But boy, I can't tell
you how much with Baligan's first half and the two goals,
and especially the goal that made it three to nothing.
That is a goal scorers goal that you need to
win big games where it's just we need our guy,
(14:33):
We need our best offensive threat to be able to
create space and make a play by himself and put
the ball in the net and give us a big goal. Right,
It's what MESSI has always done. It's what all the
best offensive players have always done. And finally, I mean,
we've been waiting for a guy like Baligan for years
to be able to do something like that, and there
he was in the first half, not just being the
guy in the middle of the field to be able
(14:54):
to finish plays, but that one on one play where
it was me and the defender and the keeper and
being able to curl it in the way he did
like that is an absolute goal scorers goal and that's
what we've been missing that we've never really had, even
when we've played great, because look, Lennon Donovan's a mid
midfielder and you know he's not Yes, he was a
(15:16):
good goal scorer, but he wasn't that kind of guy,
a guy where, hey, if the plays aren't working, if
we're not able to get the pressure we want, our
system's not working, we need a play where our best
offensive threat can create a little bit of space and
give you a play that makes you go wow. And
that's exactly what he did there. And honestly, that play
right there has me more excited than anything else.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
The playmakers you had the combination on offense tonight again,
especially first half of people who could dribble in traffic
and not lose possession, who could create space when they
had the ball, and people who could finish. And you've
got guys that can with speed down the side create
an offensive chance. You had all of that in one game.
(15:58):
And to tell you a bit of and how historic
this final was a four to one final thanks to
the late goal beating Paraguay in La Tonight, the US
literally had never scored four goals in any World Cup
game ever, and the World Cup began in nineteen thirty,
almost one hundred years ago.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
I looked it up.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
The first two World Cup games the Americans ever played
were a couple of three nothing victories, and then we
had to play Argentina and lost six to one. Since
nineteen thirty, the only time the US had ever scored
three in a World Cup game was the game that
we had just referenced about twenty years ago when Landon
Donova was young and they beat Portugal three too. Tonight
(16:39):
was a four to one final.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
This was craziness, an incredible game for the United States.
They win their first game four to one over Paraguay.
We'll have more on this coming up. We got John
Paul Morosi coming up next, soccer ext fan, extraordinary that
he is, and as good a the night we had
for the United States against Paraguay. There may be a
couple of guys in Major League Baseball that had actually
(17:02):
better nights. Ah, we got that coming up next, as
well as with Tarik Schoobol coming back tomorrow. Where's the
most likely destination for him? All that more coming up
next right here, Jason Smith, Steve de Sag're in from
Mike Carmon. This is Fox Sports Radio. Hey, speaking of
Team USA. Upgrade your FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six.
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(17:25):
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The United States wins game one four to one over Paraguay.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
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Speaker 5 (18:00):
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Speaker 1 (18:34):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon
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(18:57):
Smith Show on YouTube and subscribe. Well, the United States
beats Paraguay and their World Cup opener four to one
went as good as it possibly could. But who had
the best night? Was it Team USA? Was it Jacob Mizerowski?
Was it your Don Alvarez Munny? It's now the hotline
of man who's gonna help us break that tie? MLB
(19:19):
Network insider extraordinaire and soccer aficionado John Paul Morosi. He
is on Twitter at John Morosi Pope. What's happening, man?
How are you?
Speaker 6 (19:28):
I'm doing great? And I do believe that Jacob Mizerowski,
with that big frame in front, he'd be a good
target man and score a lot of goals. He'd be
able to head him in. I believe. But I'm not
sure that anybody was more impressive tonight than slow Ballagan.
My goodness, those two goals for the US. What a start,
What a summer of soccer we've got, And yes, what
(19:50):
an impressive maddox for the young Misserowski there in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin tonight as well.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I mean, John Paul. The thing is like I just
keep going back, like for the last twenty years, it's been, Boy,
are we ever going to find a striker? Are we
ever going to find someone who can put the ball
in the net when it's not a set play, when
it's something that he can just do physically? And I
said it to Steve three times, and I go, have
we really been waiting all our lives for flow? Balligan.
(20:17):
I kind of.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
Feel like we have been I think you're right, and
the first multi goal performance by an American player in
a World Cup match since nineteen thirty. It has been
a while, and you're right, I do go back. Clint
Dempsey has an amazing World Cup games of course as
(20:38):
a striker, and obviously Atlanta Donovan had his amazing World
Cup moments too, He's more of an attacking midfielder in
his role. Baligan is a true striker, a true number nine.
And what you saw woman tonight was just a highlight
reel of why the US had worked so hard to
recruit him and for fans is dropping. He is someone
(21:00):
that has three citizenships. Born in Brooklyn, grew up largely
in England to Nigerian's parents, so he had three different
choices there and he had to make a big decision
several years ago, not long after the previous World Cup,
and there was a very aggressive recruiting pitch made John
(21:21):
Strong references on the Fox telecast tonight by a lot
of American fans. It was very much a grassroots competition,
if you will, and it certainly knowing a lot of
the players from the US that had played in Europe
had just got to know them through different connections. It
was not unlike what you hear of a college sports recruiting.
(21:42):
And turns out that was one of the biggest moments
of this World Cup happened three years ago in a
recruitment to bring in Balligan, who, as you're pointing out correctly,
Jason just does things on a soccer pitch that we
have seen very few players in that kit be able
to do. So he has given some real light, some
(22:02):
real confidence to this group and you saw tonight and
Pataguay never seemed to really be in that match after
a brief moment early where they had in the first
couple of minutes a chance that Richards was there to
help steer away. But aside from that, the US was
simply dominant. And Pataguay is a good team, not a
great team, but a good team for the most part
(22:24):
of their qualifying in South America. So that was a
statement game by the Americans to say that they fully
intend on making a deep run and if they play
like that, they've got a chance to do precisely that well.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Updating the Houston game, since there was the reference, jord
On Alvarez had two homers, including a grand slam in
the first inning. It's just ended. They did hold on
ten to eight at Kansas City. But back to this
incredible effort in Los Angeles tonight. You've seen baseball playoffs,
the first round, best of five. There's a dominant performance
in game one, and people tend to, let's say, over
(23:01):
extend with opinions on what this is going to mean
going forward, because it's not the same starting pitcher the
next night.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Here.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
The United States played at minimum their best game of
the last twenty years tonight, and now they're playing an
opponent up in Seattle next Friday, Australia that's not better
than Paraguay. Are you having thoughts that this should be? It?
Can I use the word an easy w FO?
Speaker 1 (23:27):
What are you doing? Steve? What are you doing? Steve? O?
Speaker 5 (23:30):
What?
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Just a question?
Speaker 6 (23:32):
Here's here's what I'll say, and it's it's a fair
question to ask. I do think that Australia is a
little better than Plataguay. And as you said it, this
was a clinical performance by by an American side. And
we have seen good American teams in the past. Let's
(23:53):
remember there was a team in two thousand and two
that included Geoana's father on it and the best Verhalter's
father on it as well. So a generation to go
in two thousand and two that probably should have reached
the semifinal if a handball have been called fairly. And
so we've seen good World Cup games before. I think
(24:14):
what stands out about this one, the even Jason, is
just how thorough it was. It wasn't just three great
goals and then a late one by Raina, and it
wasn't just a bunch of individual efforts. It was the
connectedness of the whole team that if you watch this
game and just sat down and enjoyed it, you saw
a team that was operating at a very high level athletically, tactically, creatively.
(24:40):
You've seen a team that it was almost as though
Mauricio Pochettino has taught them his brand of football and
then tonight was their final exam in front of the world,
and they passed it brilliantly because of the way they
were sharing the ball. And I think Steve, while I
would never say that the Australia game is going to
be easy, because I don't think it will be, but
(25:03):
the point is the way they played tonight allows them
to compete against anyone in the world, and that's what
the take home message is. It was a convincing first win, yes,
but it's how they did it that, to me is
the big takeaway message. If you are a fan of soccer,
or if you're just watching the World Cup and you
want to learn about what to pay attention to with
(25:25):
this team, just look at how well they possessed it.
I looked at the postmatch numbers. They completed more than
twice as many passes as the opposition did tonight. That
just tells you that they were connected, They had the
ball a bunch, they were possessing it in advantageous areas.
They had numerous chances in the penalty area of Plotaguay.
So it was just to me a clinic and so Steve,
(25:48):
it was not just that they won, it was how
they won and the style they played that I believe
is translatable whether you're playing against Plotaguay or again, even
some of the Titans of Europe. I'm not saying they're
going to beat France in a knockout round, or beat
Portugal or Brazil, but the point is they can now
compete with them because they've got players of a certain class,
(26:11):
and certainly there was the uncertainty at the end of
the game what had happened with Prolific. If Pachetino said
postgame that it was a calf issue that he had
incurred in the first half, seems like it was minor.
Maybe it was a wise decision because he had a
three zero lead at that point, just to get them
off and I think wisely knowing it was going to
be a very physical game. There were I think half
a dozen yellow cars handed out to the Pataguay tonight,
(26:34):
so they knew it was going to be a very
physical second half. So get your best player off the field,
your most most important player, if you will, outside of Boutigan,
probably get him off the field. Protect them. It was
the right decision. They got their three points and now
nearly a full week to rest there before they playoffs
really yet.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
And I would add Jason on the stat he brought
up with the passes. While Paraguay it was about seventy
of their passes they completed, the US completed a of
their passes tonight. It was about five hundred out of
six hundred in this game. It was just stunningly efficient.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
John Paul Morosi, our guest MLB Network insider extraord Now
now I'm sorry, John Paul, we have to get to
some pesky big baseball news. I know you'd want to
talk about. I mean, this day.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
We do, we do have to get I wait for
you to say, oh, I have no idea. I have
no idea.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
I'm ready for both. I this just for the benefit
of our audience.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
I am.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
I am in a split screen mode for the next
six weeks. Okay, I'll have baseball here, I'll have soccer here.
I'm not I'm not neglecting either of my kids there.
I'm paying equal attention to both.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Well, I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm sure your
dad asked you earlier today. So Tarik Schoolble set to
come back tomorrow, all right now, the Tigers not having
a great season, it is more than likely that as
long as he is healthy, he is dealt by the
deadline again. Little ways to go between here and there.
Teams are gonna want to see it is the early
part of June, and that the deadline is late this year.
(28:02):
But if I had to say to you, hey, for
the Tarik Schooble trade, market. If I said to you
give me the one or two teams that you would
expect to jump to the forefront of this, who would
you give me?
Speaker 6 (28:16):
So I will give you a couple. One one is
not going to surprise you. It's the Dodgers because they
they're going to be on it in on everybody and
the I can see everyone rolling their eyes around the
country driving their cars as they're hearing me say this.
But but that's that's the reality. The Dodgers make deals
like this. The Cubs, I would also put in that category, uh,
(28:37):
the Blue Jays if they have a need. And and
that's where I will say it's a little bit early
for the full market to crystallize because of exactly what
you said, that that we are still six weeks or
so away from from that moment in time, and and
all it takes is one week where two pitchers on
(28:58):
the Yankees get hurt and all of a sudden, the
Yankees are in the mix. But I mentioned those teams
deliberately because the Dodgers are the ultimate win now team
and they've shown a willingness in the past and great
for rental guys. That's one. The Cubs another team that
I think when you look at how competitive the National
League Central is and their group, it seems like they
(29:19):
believe they can go for it now, but they may
need one more arm. And then on the American League
side of things, the Jays, after coming so close to
one of the World Series a year ago, right now
they appear to have plenty of pitching. But I'm sure
just about every contending team is going to be scouting
the Tigers very carefully beginning tomorrow in Cleveland. I don't
(29:42):
get the sense from what I can hear locally in Detroit, Guys,
the Tigers are moving quickly on this. They're comfortable letting
the market play out a little bit. They did lose
tonight to a team that's in front of them in
the standings in the Central, so that might kick up
the chances of a trade a little bit, but we're
still a little distance away from when when this could
(30:02):
all happen. The other team I've mentioned is the Braves.
They have shown a willingness to make trades. Alex Fanthopoulos
will make big trades, and if they do have a
need for pitching right now, they seem to be pretty
good shape. Obviously, leading to the National League East. But
if they have an injury, I could certainly see them
jumping in as well.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Well, especially tonight. Spencer Stryder left the game tonight with
arms soreness, a game that the Mets have just won
seven to five. Big night for Boba Schett. But when
you look at these teams like the Brave Spencer Stryder,
the Dodgers, Otani, what do they have going on? Yes,
suddenly this market can heat up really fast, can heat
up as fast as flow Balligan against Paraguay. He is
(30:41):
John Paul Morosi, fall him on Twitter at John Morosi,
that is at John Morosi. Pope as always appreciated. We'll
touch you next week, my friend.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
Have a great one, hey, Jason and Steve. I gotta
say a way to bring it all home at the end,
connecting the Google market, the Ballagan what everybody just appreciate.
What a brilliant host you've got here in the ship tonight,
my friend, Well done.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Take it easy, my friend. We'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 6 (31:05):
So much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
Thank you. He is a professional. Do not try this
at home.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
I did not pay him to say any of those things,
none of.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Fox Sports Radio Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon, Live
from the Fox Sports Radio Studio. Special delivery Steve de
Seger In tonight he had Paraguay getting three and a
half goals. He is a very happy man right now.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Not true, I'm calling that in right before. Absolutely happy.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Maybe not for that reason. I just I saw something
tonight I haven't seen from an American soccer team in
a couple of decades.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
I was singing the national anthem because Jesse Marsh says,
you know they're bad at it. Do you see that? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (31:58):
I did hear about that.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Look, no bigger story tonight than the United States winning
their opener in the World Cup for to one over Paraguay.
And it was as dominant a night as it sounds.
The best way to look at this, right, you know,
there's been so many things to saying. We're gonna get
to the guy who has been the difference and was
(32:22):
the difference in the United States to night in a second.
But after one game there's prisoner of the moment. There
is wondering how big this is it's one game, after all,
how big is as well? You know you only get three.
It's not like it's you know, it's only Major League
Baseball where it's one game. Now you get three and
you got to move on to the next round of
the World Cup. The United States did everything to the
(32:46):
near best of expectations that you could possibly have hoped for.
The entire first half was spent entirely in Paraguay's and
it was a three to nothing lead at halftime. They
passed the ball through the middle of the field, well,
they moved the ball, and the wings well. The goalie
was never tested, which is always the best game in soccer.
When you don't know if your goalie played well because
you didn't get a lot of chances, those are always
(33:07):
the best games. That's always why I would tell I
would tell my team's coaching, the All Stars and the
extra teams, and the Clyde would say, yeah, no, the
best games is when I don't know if you played well,
how did they play today, coach the best? I don't know,
but that's the best. That's the best way because we
kept the ball away from you, right, that's everybody doing
their job. Yes, Paraguay scored a goal. Okay, just you know,
I don't like to say this too often, but you know, hey,
(33:29):
I'm kind of a USMNT whisper because I told you
last night, the United States is waiting for this series
to be waiting for this competition to begin. They're going
to score a goal in the first ten minutes. They're
gonna win four to one. What happened. They scored a
goal in the first ten minutes and they won four
to one. Anything you want to know, Steve Ashley, I
have the answers. Anything you want to know.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Magic often does happen to a post country at a
World Cup that is well established in World Cup history.
The thing is, when we were hosting the World Cup
in nineteen ninety four, I'll say it out loud, barely
had a team. In comparison, back then, Major League Soccer
didn't exist. We didn't have a major league in this
sport in nineteen ninety four when we hosted the World Cup.
(34:10):
So the magical thing that happened was Columbia putting a
goal into its own net instead of a pass back
to the goalie, you know, going back to the goalie,
and the Americans wound up advancing and actually playing a
close one nothing loss to Brazil in the round of sixteen.
So that was the magic.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Nothing like this, that honestly was because my lifetime of
soccer just really quick, before we get to we get
to Balligan because he's too important, Like my lifetime of
soccer was was okay. The Cosmos were a huge team
in the seventies when Pele went there, and they were
a big traveling road show and it was amazing. They
(34:49):
traveled across the country. The Cosmos was a big deal.
You had major indoor soccer league in the eighties which
was really fun to watch and that was always on TV.
But the nineteen ninety four World Cup was the be
beginning of you wus what the real birth of soccer
in this country was. It was the ninety four World
Cup team that somehow found a way to get to
the next round, get to the knockout round again, lost
(35:09):
a one nothing game to a really bad goal given
up by Tony Meol. That was a really, really bad goal.
Speaker 4 (35:14):
Was the Brazil team that wound up winning this tournament.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
I mean, that's an awful guy. Yeah, Roberto Bogio hit
the crossbar on penalties for team Italy, you know, back
when Italy would make the World Cup and like a
really bad goal by Meal against Brazil.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
By the way, Bogio was in attendance in Mexico yesterday.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Oh was he that rarely recognized?
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Oh wow? Did people throw the ball off.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Of the I know there's a joke to be had.
It's going to follow him the rest of his life.
But keep in mind nineteen ninety four. The US had
qualified for the previous World Cup in nineteen ninety but
you know, we got destroyed in our three games, and
then we hadn't made any World Cup the previous forty
years in a row until nineteen ninety.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Yeah, and it's a huge run in ninety four and
the game against Columbia, which you've heard of of the
you know, the the own goal by Colombia.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
There's a superb documentary exactly about that.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
I mean really it's it was I remember covering it
for ESPN, and it it was the Star like it
was that and the Knicks Rockets final going on at
the same time, right like the like the last time,
like two times ago, and the Knicks were in the
finals for the last time. It was the Knicks Rockets
in the World Cup, and I was like every day
it was one of those stories.
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Same month as the OJ stories June of nineteen ninety four.
By the way, not to make people feel bad, but
for all who spent over one thousand dollars for this
incredible US game tonight, I believe I believe tickets were
forty dollars at the Rose Bowl for US. Yeah play
back then.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Yeah, I mean after beating Colombia, things got really exciting
for the United States, right beating Colombia and moving on, Wow,
we can get into the next round of the World Cup.
And these are the guys that that you've heard of
that have been telling Eric Winalda who is you know,
Alexi Lallis was the was a defender on that team.
Like all the names you hear now talking about.
Speaker 4 (36:59):
Something, Tony Maiol, John Harks, these.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Are guys that all played in nineteen ninety four and
that's when the excitement level really hit a fever pitch
that I had never seen for soccer before. I remember
covering it for ESPN, and it was it was something
that's like, wow, was brand new. And the big takeaway
from tonight is really to say Okay, Paraguay, how good
are they? Paraguay's not bad, right, They're not one of
(37:22):
the bottom feeders. They're not one of the elite teams
in the World Cup. But they're not a bad team.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Well, let me put it this way. They were I
mentioned earlier in the show. They were just about all
the teams that aren't Argentina but made the World Cup
out of South America. They all pretty much tied for
second place, well back of Argentina, but that includes Paraguay.
In their eighteen qualifying games over the last couple of years,
they only scored fourteen goals, but they only allowed ten
(37:51):
in eighteen games. And they won at home against Brazil
and they won at home against Argentina. That team gave
up three the first half in La Tonight to the.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
US, and it looked like they looked like a team
that didn't deserve to be on the same field as
the United States. The women they were doing, it's like
what other countries had done to us in the past.
And so coming off of this game and seeing how
it worked for the United States and Christian Polisic was
absolutely fantastic in the half he played, and it looks
(38:23):
like he's okay. He got kicked in the calf. They
kept him out a little bit of precautionary reasons, but
with a week between games, I'm pretty sure he'll be okay.
But look, Baaligan was phenomenal, and you know, everything went
right for the United not right, but everything. The United
States made their own luck, They made their own breaks.
They attacked for ninety eight minutes, They did not get tired.
They were the dominant team. And I think that's a
(38:45):
big wake up call for a lot of the other
nations watching them tonight going oh wow, Poachattino's got them
exactly where he needs them. There is no reason to
not be incredibly excited about what the next few weeks
can bring us here at the World Cup. The way
they're playing end with it being the reality of we're
in a really easy group, right, you know, Turkey and Australia.
(39:08):
This should be a group we get out of and
win rather easily, which gives us an advantageous matchup in
the knockout round, which means, hey, all of a sudden,
we're looking at the quarterfinals, which whoa the quarter finals.
There is no reason to not be that excited and
optimistic about what we could see. There's nothing holding us back.
There's no drama off the field. There is nothing that
(39:29):
you didn't see tonight that you shouldn't feel great about
going forward. And this is whether you're a huge soccer fan,
middle of the road paying attention to the World Cup.
They were absolutely outstanding tonight.
Speaker 4 (39:40):
And US once we get to the knockout stage, assuming
they advance out of this group, and I think tonight
convinces most everybody that the US will, whether they win
the group or not, be advancing out of this group
and therefore still playing around July first or so in
still on the West coast. By the way, that's the
way it's scheduled. The US is playing in LA and
(40:01):
then up in Seattle, and then back to LA against
Turkey A and then maybe like Bay Area for a
round of thirty two games something like that. It might
be US against an easier team, yeah, as a group winner,
and then against Belgium or somebody like that who they
faced in round of sixteen before. If you win that
(40:21):
round of sixteen just after July fourth, you're in the
World Cup quarterfinals. For Cradloud, the US has only made
the World Cup quarterfinals once since the first World Cup
once that was when and you referenced this earlier. A
young Landon Donovan was on the two thousand and two
team that not only beat Portugal but wound up advancing
(40:43):
and beating Mexico two nothing the famed Dos a Sero
game in the round of sixteen, and we nearly had
the best of a German side that made the final
that year, lost one nothing.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Yeah, that was that was close and Oliver ConA that
was a great That was when Germany started their big
run as a big power, when even they're like their
junior teams would beat the crap out of everybody right
like they had.
Speaker 4 (41:07):
You know, it's amazing in Germany's women's team was winning
the World Cup back then. Remember Oliver Kahann at goal,
he was like a wall at goal.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
What a great villain he was. He was like Ivan Drago,
Like what a great villain he was. Yeah, he was
so much fun. But to be excited is one thing
fall Ballagan tonight playing the nine striker position for the
United States. You've heard this over the better part of
the last twenty some odd years for the United States,
(41:37):
is why can't we find a striker? Right why can't
we find a striker that can be a superstar, that
can not just be someone that can score. But the
difference between winning and losing and advancing in the World
Cup and going home is Hey, in a tight nothing
nothing game or a one to one game, you need
(41:57):
your striker. You're nine to be able to make the
play where I'm creating space and I am beating the
goalie because I have a special set of skills that
nobody else has. Right, We've seen Messi do that. We've
seen Rinaldo do that. We've seen all the great players
in Bape. We've seen him all do that. The United States,
don't forget have very special set of skills and succeeded
(42:19):
well outside of the country. He did well in France.
He did very well in France. So we've never had
that guy like Clint Dempsey. He would score goal, but
he wasn't that guy. Right like Landon Don was a
midfielder the goal against Algeria, which will live forever, he
wasn't that guy. We've never had that one player. We've
not have an earling Holland that is going to be
(42:41):
able to just do what physically I can get us
a goal. When there's no goals out there.
Speaker 4 (42:47):
Yeah, and like the post player in the NBA that
can literally just say give me the ball and.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Yeah, we can be wimby uh. And Balligan tonight showed
that he can be that guy like it's it's I'm
laughing going. I feel like we've been waiting twenty five
years for fall Balligan and and the brace he had
in the first half to gives a three to nothing
lead was incredible. You're gonna hear the goals right now.
(43:13):
It's the second goal that got me more excited than anything,
Ty Shirt, go ahead the great ball.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
I rob it for holistic, a holistic packet.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
It's in time. The flag is tatting down time.
Speaker 3 (43:27):
It's to the United States.
Speaker 6 (43:28):
As you said, I appreciated by the fans, right the
lowest prinster, Pochettino, Baligate, Canna get inside, still valiant.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
Big Fox on the call. There noise mine, Tybee.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Yeah, we definitely had home home field advantage tonight. That
was pretty sweet. I gotta say, not that it wasn't expected,
but it's nice to see that that was an overwhelming
home field advantage for us in this game.
Speaker 4 (44:00):
Look at what we have at this forward spot with
the variety, because there was well too long a time,
frankly in US soccer history where they had maybe one
reliable guy that could be the goal scorer. Here, look
what Polisic creates. We know he's finished in the past.
Balligan had two goals in the first half. They had
(44:20):
tim Way off the bench, Ricardo Peppi off the bench,
guy like Diego Lunda didn't make the team'll.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Rain off the bench and he scores in the ninety
eighth minute to make it for to one. Like this
is we finally have the firepower. The most goals we
scored in a World Cup game ever, correct? I mean,
but the goal by Baaligan, that third goal where he
does exactly what I said, He creates space and he
hits a hell of a bender in the top corner
of the net. That is that is a goal scorers goal.
(44:47):
And that's a goal that probably shouldn't have happened, but
it only happens because your striker is that talented. Like
that's the difference. That's gonna be the difference in a
nothing nothing game against Belgium in the quarterfinal round or
in the in the round of sixteen, where you can
score a goal like that. He's twenty four. You could
have played and he could have played for England. He
could have You could have played for three He could
(45:09):
have played for three different countries to play in the
United States.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
Thank you for playing for the United States, Mighty Balligan
Thanks for listening to the best of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon at Foxsports Radio dot com, or stream us live
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Radio at Jason Smith Show with special delivery Steve Desager
in from Mike Harmon Well Dressed Hobo. If you miss
any of tonight's show, be sure to catch the podcast.
Just search our names Jason Smith and Mike Harmon wherever
you get your podcasts from. Follow the podcast rated five stars,
(00:46):
provide a review. Again. Just search Jason Smith and Mike
Harmon wherever you get your podcasts. You'll find today's full
show and a best of version posted right after we
get off the air again about ten minutes after we
get done. All our content the night in Major League Baseball,
which has been outstanding, our preview of Game five of
the NBA Finals, and what's happening right now the United
(01:09):
States and Paraguay getting it in before the final gun.
And I don't want to say I'm a prophet, Steve
to Seger, I don't want to say I'm a propect.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
You don't.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I don't want to say. But last night on the show,
I said two things. I said one, the United States
is gonna score in the first ten minutes of this game.
And what happened. They scored in the first ten minutes.
What did I say the final score was gonna be
four to one. Well, we thought we're getting a nice
three to one final, united States dominating. We're getting to
the end of extra time, and Raina finds the back
(01:45):
of the net in the ninety eighth minute and that
is a Loton goal off the side of his foot.
That's an incredible bend from him. Four to one. The
United States leads Paraguay. They get that three goal bulge
back in again. As we talked about it, you never
know what could happen as far as gold differential. But
the two things I said last night, we're scoring in
(02:07):
the first ten minutes, We're winning four to one. We
scored in the first ten minutes. We're winning four to one,
and that's you need to know anything, You need to
know anything, Steve about the United States men's national team,
just ask me, because I'm the guy.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
And Giorana just came on as a sub in the
eighty second minute and he winds up scoring in the
ninety eighth minute and at chess gun final with the
crowd roaring in Los Angeles, my goodness, what an atmosphere.
This is beyond our wildest dreams of how this US
team would open the world cmeup for to one the
(02:40):
final over Paraguay.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
This was as good as a beginning game as you
could possibly ask for for the United States winning at
four to one. I mean, look, what's the right way
to break it down? We have the players to get
to what we saw where to feel right now following
this big win after the first.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
And put it in context, it's maybe the best opening
game they've ever played. Yes, in a world going back
to the nineteen thirties.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
They've never played better than this. I wasn't alive back then.
I'm going back twenty years. It was the best first
half of that.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Would come close. Just remember when Landon Donovan was very
young and I think it was three to one at
the half. Against Portugal and they beat him three to two.
This was three nothing at the half and it was
at home and foot on the gas the entire forty
five minutes to start and then scoring at the end
to top it.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Yeah, I mean, look, the only concern and right now
is waiting to hear is what the situation is with
Christian Polisic, who was subbed off at the end of
the first half. Now I don't believe it's an injury situation.
It could just be there getting him rest. But then
there's been no word on Polisic. We'll find out now
the game is over.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Maybe it had to do with the three nothing lead.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Look at Poaches walking around saying yes, now I'm Russell Crowe. Yes,
I'm Russell Crowe. I looked like Wressel Crow he's playing
me in the movie. Just so you know, what.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
He should do is stand midfield, look at the crowd
and yell are you not entertained?
Speaker 1 (04:06):
But instead he's standing in midfield and he's hugging all
the officials. I'm hugging all the officials.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
That's a little better than the officials got at the
end of the US.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Paraguay game a year ago, where you know again, we're
not seeing that with the Knickson the officials in the
NBA finals. But look, how to break this down, right,
because we just watched an absolute dominant display of soccer
for the United States as great as they played, right Balligan,
maybe he's the striker we've been searching for the first half,
Poliitic was dominant down the left wing the entire time. Right,
(04:37):
the United States had the time of possession, They controlled
almost all of the second half except for a very
short run by Paraguay. This is a very easy group
for the United States, right, you're talking about Australia. Is
I mean it is not a murderers row any Yeah,
I mean it's not a murderer's row by any by
any means. Right, This is not We're in the group
(04:58):
of death. This is not. Hey boy, you know the
first game we beat in Brazil, you know, four to one?
So is it a little bit of both? Here's the
right way to come out of it. There is no
reason to not be excited as all hell at what
the United States can accomplish in this World Cup coming
off of this game, because a lot of it is
about it's the draw, it's getting out of your group.
(05:21):
It's winning in the knockout round, and winning this group
puts the United States on a great path to the
quarter finals.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
That's right, because remember there's a new round with the
expanded tournament. It's forty eight teams now thirty two, so
there's a round of thirty two after these three group games.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
This puts them on a great path into the quarterfinals,
where anything can happen. There is no reason to not
feel great. There's no reason to feel well. I mean, yes,
this was Paraguay. They aren't as great a team. They're
also not a doormat right, right again, but this is
this is not a really difficult Paraguay.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
In the South American qualifying. We're able to split games
against Argentina and split the two games with Brazil, and
they had a winning record seven and four and seven ties.
And as I said earlier in the show, pretty much
all teams below first place Argentina in South America tied
for second place, just about. They were the equal of Brazil, Ecuador,
(06:18):
everyone else from South America that made this tournament.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
I mean, there are some things to understand, but there
is no reason. I mean, they've been waiting to play
this game and look, we talked about a little bit
last hour. I mentioned a couple of times this week.
My big thing for the Knicks in going into the
playoffs was maybe they're just waiting for the playoffs. They've
been through the heat of the playoffs the last couple
of years, and as many questions you might have, sometimes
(06:44):
a team that's played that much, they know when we're
going to turn it on the playoffs, and clearly the
next have turned it on. And the way this United
States World Cup team had been building up towards this moment,
there's been a lot of questions, but it's been a
lot of questions about what Poachattino was is is putting
together on the field, and so far he looks like
a genius. Right. It is a little bit different putting
(07:07):
together of a roster than we expected, but you gotta
give him the benefit of the doubt. Let him do
his thing, because that's why you hired him, right. You
hired him to come in and say, hey, you know
what to do. Hey, we're a little bit more heavier
on the back line, not in the middle. The mix
of players he picked, there's a couple of questions, but hey,
this is why you hired the guy, and all of
the questions leading up to it. We're hosting, this is
the time, this is the pressure on the golden generation
(07:29):
for the United States. There is something to be said
for we are ready. You are gonna see us when
we start this, when we start this tournament. We have
been waiting for this tournament to begin. And that's absolutely
what the United States looked like. They weren't a team
that got out to They played a great first fifteen minutes,
then they got tired and they sat on the lead.
That did not happen. They looked energized all the way through.
(07:52):
There was not a moment where I thought, oh they're
getting tired. I'm worried about where they are stamina wise.
Are they losing a little bit of focus. There was
none of that. They were plays offensive plays all the
way to the end. Gio Reina's goal in the ninety
eighth minute was fantastic. Way to put a big cap
aeron this. Everything you wanted to see from the team
you saw. There is no reason to not be so
(08:14):
excited about what they could accomplish over the next couple
of weeks plus, because you know what, why not, right,
Maybe this is the time. Maybe Pochattino is what we
needed to put everything together, all the questions on the pitch.
I know that we have been really I would say,
given fool's gold the last decade plus with the end
of Kleintsman and burr Halter and thinking, you know, hey,
(08:36):
do I dare to dream? Is this maybe too much?
And beat?
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Yes, there was no dreaming. There was a cap on
all of those teams. Once you meet you know, Belgium
or Netherlands. Oh, this is clearly a better opponent.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Yeah, with not making the World Cup, with all of it, Okay,
we've been burned before, right, we've been burned and believing
in the United States before. After tonight, there is no
reason to not feel optimistic. They can accomplish a whole
bunch of great stuff over the next month plus. Here,
no reason at all.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
And the US we were concerned about the goalie who
you know, it's kind of like the quarterback situation. Now
they have two or three goalies on this team, meaning
they might not really have one goalie. And we've had
in US soccer history some standout goal keepers and yet
this team doesn't really have one. Not tested in the
first half, I think it was two shots in the
(09:21):
first half for Paraguay. The US outshot I'm sixteen to
nine for the game. In fact, Paraguay had five yellow
cards in this game and only nine shots. Keep in
mind the context going into this World Cup. The US
played surprisingly well I think for most of us in
the two tune up games recently late May. Held on
(09:42):
three to two against Senegal in Charlotte and then in
Chicago the sendoff game. As I recall, gave up a
very early goal to Germany and lost two to one
in that one. But what had had a lot of
US down was the only other games all year the
US had had a team together four the two losses
in the spring. Late March, the US lost five two
(10:05):
to Belgium and then got shut out by Portugal two
to nothing. And we're thinking, oh great, now we're playing
teams that actually are World Cup level teams and we're
not even competing, and we're gonna be co hosting the
World Cup this summer. Please don't embarrass us. What they
put on the field the first half of tonight was spectacular.
(10:26):
It was thrilling. It was completely unexpected.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Yeah, I look, and you know, to go back to
your point, of hey, you know, our keeper wasn't tested.
I always tell I always say the same thing to
the teams I've coached, and I have that philosophy. The
best game is when I have no idea if the
goalie had a good game or not, because they never
had to touch the ball. That's always the be because
then I know we played great defensively, we played great offensively,
and if the goalie had a night off, that was
(10:50):
the best night. The best night always is when you
don't have to worry about your goalie making any plays
at all other than hey, I'm going to get the
ball back out to our defenders when they kick a ball,
when they came in, I'm gonna make the you know,
I'm gonna be Johnny on the spot when they had
their long shots. Those are always the best games when
you have no idea what kind of game the goalie had.
And that was the United States tonight. That was the
(11:11):
perfect way to encapsulate what we saw tonight against Parids.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
And then at the other end of the field, I
was surprised at the amount of continuous offensive pressure the
Americans had because you don't have to go that far
back in US history where if we had one log
pass down the side and one guy playing forward and
we had one quality chance and a half. You know,
(11:34):
that might be what you got. And then we had
some multiple scores in the landon Donovan Clint Dempsey era.
And now we started to wonder a couple years ago, Okay,
who's going to be stepping up for this team? And
my goodness, have people stepped up. Just in the last month.
We had how many attempts just inside the penalty area
(11:55):
against Paraguay thirteen tonight. That's an astounding number historically for
US soccer.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah, I mean, this was that's that's honestly, That's the
best thing I saw tonight was that even when the
game was no longer in doubt in the United States,
because you could see Paraguay after their run. They had
a good run the first eight minutes of the second half,
and then they scored the goal to make it three
to one. A bit of a breakdown to the United States.
I think they got caught watching the play more than
they were defending. After that, that was it. Like Paraguay,
(12:25):
they wilted and the United States with their subs that
were in were fresher and tilted the field the entire
second half. There was no worry that the United States
was tired. There was no worry they were sitting back
that they were gonna Hey, we did what we needed
to do. Now he's got to make sure we don't
lose the game. They attacked for ninety eight minutes dominate Reily.
(12:46):
That really was something and that that is not something
I can tell you I've seen from Team USA. Again,
going back the last two incarnations of this team with
Burhalter and Klinsman, I saw bits and pieces of it
with Clintsman where they would attack for a little wob
then eventually hey we're done. We're sitting back, like I
have not seen them attack like this for ninety plus minutes.
(13:07):
I'm going back, you know, fifteen years, you know before
I've seen something like that.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
No, I agree, and I canness that I can support
that with stats because we talked about the great opening
game that the US had when Landon Donovan was young
in two thousand and two, when South Korea and Japan
were co hosting, The Americans won their opener against Portugal
three to two. The US had not scored three goals
in any World Cup game since two thousand and two
(13:33):
until tonight when we got three in the first half.
It was crazy how good that first half was. Yeah,
and by the way, I can add one more stat.
We talked about how many times how much pressure we
had in the opponent's penalty area. There is a stat
in soccer touches in the opposition's penalty bucks. Paraguay touched
(13:54):
the ball nine times in front of our goalie. We
had fifty three touches in Paraguay's penalty area. Incredible. Yeah,
I mean that's like a pot points in the paint
type of advantage. It's I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Oh man. And I'll tell you what again, We'll wait
and see what we hear about Christian Polistic. He was
terrific in the first half. But boy, I can't tell
you how much with Baligan's first half and the two goals,
and especially the goal that made it three to nothing.
That is a goal scorers goal that you need to
win big games where it's just we need our guy,
(14:33):
We need our best offensive threat to be able to
create space and make a play by himself and put
the ball in the net and give us a big goal. Right,
It's what MESSI has always done. It's what all the
best offensive players have always done. And finally, I mean,
we've been waiting for a guy like Baligan for years
to be able to do something like that, and there
he was in the first half, not just being the
guy in the middle of the field to be able
(14:54):
to finish plays, but that one on one play where
it was me and the defender and the keeper and
being able to curl it in the way he did
like that is an absolute goal scorers goal and that's
what we've been missing that we've never really had, even
when we've played great, because look, Lennon Donovan's a mid
midfielder and you know he's not Yes, he was a
(15:16):
good goal scorer, but he wasn't that kind of guy,
a guy where, hey, if the plays aren't working, if
we're not able to get the pressure we want, our
system's not working, we need a play where our best
offensive threat can create a little bit of space and
give you a play that makes you go wow. And
that's exactly what he did there. And honestly, that play
right there has me more excited than anything else.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
The playmakers you had the combination on offense tonight again,
especially first half of people who could dribble in traffic
and not lose possession, who could create space when they
had the ball, and people who could finish. And you've
got guys that can with speed down the side create
an offensive chance. You had all of that in one game.
(15:58):
And to tell you a bit of and how historic
this final was a four to one final thanks to
the late goal beating Paraguay in La Tonight, the US
literally had never scored four goals in any World Cup
game ever, and the World Cup began in nineteen thirty,
almost one hundred years ago.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
I looked it up.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
The first two World Cup games the Americans ever played
were a couple of three nothing victories, and then we
had to play Argentina and lost six to one. Since
nineteen thirty, the only time the US had ever scored
three in a World Cup game was the game that
we had just referenced about twenty years ago when Landon
Donova was young and they beat Portugal three too. Tonight
(16:39):
was a four to one final.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
This was craziness, an incredible game for the United States.
They win their first game four to one over Paraguay.
We'll have more on this coming up. We got John
Paul Morosi coming up next, soccer ext fan, extraordinary that
he is, and as good a the night we had
for the United States against Paraguay. There may be a
couple of guys in Major League Baseball that had actually
(17:02):
better nights. Ah, we got that coming up next, as
well as with Tarik Schoobol coming back tomorrow. Where's the
most likely destination for him? All that more coming up
next right here, Jason Smith, Steve de Sag're in from
Mike Carmon. This is Fox Sports Radio. Hey, speaking of
Team USA. Upgrade your FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six.
Set up, build it like Beckham from living room to
(17:25):
lawn with the home Depot and take the fast free delivery.
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The United States wins game one four to one over Paraguay.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
That's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd Couple
on Fox Sports Radio and in addition to hearing us
live weeknights from seven to ten pm Eastern on Fox
Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand new YouTube
channel for the show.
Speaker 6 (18:13):
That's right, You can now watch The Odd Couple live
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Speaker 5 (18:19):
All you gotta do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube
again YouTube, Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out
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Speaker 1 (18:34):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon
special deliveries Steve de Sega in for Harmon tonight. Don't
forget check out our YouTube channel for the show. Just
search Jason Smith's Show within YouTube again, That's Jason Smith's Show.
Hit the subscribe button. After you've done that, tap the
thumbs up BiCon, comment away whether you agree or disagree,
let us know what you think. Again, just search Jason
(18:57):
Smith Show on YouTube and subscribe. Well, the United States
beats Paraguay and their World Cup opener four to one
went as good as it possibly could. But who had
the best night? Was it Team USA? Was it Jacob Mizerowski?
Was it your Don Alvarez Munny? It's now the hotline
of man who's gonna help us break that tie? MLB
(19:19):
Network insider extraordinaire and soccer aficionado John Paul Morosi. He
is on Twitter at John Morosi Pope. What's happening, man?
How are you?
Speaker 6 (19:28):
I'm doing great? And I do believe that Jacob Mizerowski,
with that big frame in front, he'd be a good
target man and score a lot of goals. He'd be
able to head him in. I believe. But I'm not
sure that anybody was more impressive tonight than slow Ballagan.
My goodness, those two goals for the US. What a start,
What a summer of soccer we've got, And yes, what
(19:50):
an impressive maddox for the young Misserowski there in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin tonight as well.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
I mean, John Paul. The thing is like I just
keep going back, like for the last twenty years, it's been, Boy,
are we ever going to find a striker? Are we
ever going to find someone who can put the ball
in the net when it's not a set play, when
it's something that he can just do physically? And I
said it to Steve three times, and I go, have
we really been waiting all our lives for flow? Balligan.
(20:17):
I kind of.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
Feel like we have been I think you're right, and
the first multi goal performance by an American player in
a World Cup match since nineteen thirty. It has been
a while, and you're right, I do go back. Clint
Dempsey has an amazing World Cup games of course as
(20:38):
a striker, and obviously Atlanta Donovan had his amazing World
Cup moments too, He's more of an attacking midfielder in
his role. Baligan is a true striker, a true number nine.
And what you saw woman tonight was just a highlight
reel of why the US had worked so hard to
recruit him and for fans is dropping. He is someone
(21:00):
that has three citizenships. Born in Brooklyn, grew up largely
in England to Nigerian's parents, so he had three different
choices there and he had to make a big decision
several years ago, not long after the previous World Cup,
and there was a very aggressive recruiting pitch made John
(21:21):
Strong references on the Fox telecast tonight by a lot
of American fans. It was very much a grassroots competition,
if you will, and it certainly knowing a lot of
the players from the US that had played in Europe
had just got to know them through different connections. It
was not unlike what you hear of a college sports recruiting.
(21:42):
And turns out that was one of the biggest moments
of this World Cup happened three years ago in a
recruitment to bring in Balligan, who, as you're pointing out correctly,
Jason just does things on a soccer pitch that we
have seen very few players in that kit be able
to do. So he has given some real light, some
(22:02):
real confidence to this group and you saw tonight and
Pataguay never seemed to really be in that match after
a brief moment early where they had in the first
couple of minutes a chance that Richards was there to
help steer away. But aside from that, the US was
simply dominant. And Pataguay is a good team, not a
great team, but a good team for the most part
(22:24):
of their qualifying in South America. So that was a
statement game by the Americans to say that they fully
intend on making a deep run and if they play
like that, they've got a chance to do precisely that well.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
Updating the Houston game, since there was the reference, jord
On Alvarez had two homers, including a grand slam in
the first inning. It's just ended. They did hold on
ten to eight at Kansas City. But back to this
incredible effort in Los Angeles tonight. You've seen baseball playoffs,
the first round, best of five. There's a dominant performance
in game one, and people tend to, let's say, over
(23:01):
extend with opinions on what this is going to mean
going forward, because it's not the same starting pitcher the
next night.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Here.
Speaker 4 (23:08):
The United States played at minimum their best game of
the last twenty years tonight, and now they're playing an
opponent up in Seattle next Friday, Australia that's not better
than Paraguay. Are you having thoughts that this should be? It?
Can I use the word an easy w FO?
Speaker 1 (23:27):
What are you doing? Steve? What are you doing? Steve? O?
Speaker 5 (23:30):
What?
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Just a question?
Speaker 6 (23:32):
Here's here's what I'll say, and it's it's a fair
question to ask. I do think that Australia is a
little better than Plataguay. And as you said it, this
was a clinical performance by by an American side. And
we have seen good American teams in the past. Let's
(23:53):
remember there was a team in two thousand and two
that included Geoana's father on it and the best Verhalter's
father on it as well. So a generation to go
in two thousand and two that probably should have reached
the semifinal if a handball have been called fairly. And
so we've seen good World Cup games before. I think
(24:14):
what stands out about this one, the even Jason, is
just how thorough it was. It wasn't just three great
goals and then a late one by Raina, and it
wasn't just a bunch of individual efforts. It was the
connectedness of the whole team that if you watch this
game and just sat down and enjoyed it, you saw
a team that was operating at a very high level athletically, tactically, creatively.
(24:40):
You've seen a team that it was almost as though
Mauricio Pochettino has taught them his brand of football and
then tonight was their final exam in front of the world,
and they passed it brilliantly because of the way they
were sharing the ball. And I think Steve, while I
would never say that the Australia game is going to
be easy, because I don't think it will be, but
(25:03):
the point is the way they played tonight allows them
to compete against anyone in the world, and that's what
the take home message is. It was a convincing first win, yes,
but it's how they did it that, to me is
the big takeaway message. If you are a fan of soccer,
or if you're just watching the World Cup and you
want to learn about what to pay attention to with
(25:25):
this team, just look at how well they possessed it.
I looked at the postmatch numbers. They completed more than
twice as many passes as the opposition did tonight. That
just tells you that they were connected, They had the
ball a bunch, they were possessing it in advantageous areas.
They had numerous chances in the penalty area of Plotaguay.
So it was just to me a clinic and so Steve,
(25:48):
it was not just that they won, it was how
they won and the style they played that I believe
is translatable whether you're playing against Plotaguay or again, even
some of the Titans of Europe. I'm not saying they're
going to beat France in a knockout round, or beat
Portugal or Brazil, but the point is they can now
compete with them because they've got players of a certain class,
(26:11):
and certainly there was the uncertainty at the end of
the game what had happened with Prolific. If Pachetino said
postgame that it was a calf issue that he had
incurred in the first half, seems like it was minor.
Maybe it was a wise decision because he had a
three zero lead at that point, just to get them
off and I think wisely knowing it was going to
be a very physical game. There were I think half
a dozen yellow cars handed out to the Pataguay tonight,
(26:34):
so they knew it was going to be a very
physical second half. So get your best player off the field,
your most most important player, if you will, outside of Boutigan,
probably get him off the field. Protect them. It was
the right decision. They got their three points and now
nearly a full week to rest there before they playoffs
really yet.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
And I would add Jason on the stat he brought
up with the passes. While Paraguay it was about seventy
of their passes they completed, the US completed a of
their passes tonight. It was about five hundred out of
six hundred in this game. It was just stunningly efficient.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
John Paul Morosi, our guest MLB Network insider extraord Now
now I'm sorry, John Paul, we have to get to
some pesky big baseball news. I know you'd want to
talk about. I mean, this day.
Speaker 6 (27:16):
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
We do, we do have to get I wait for
you to say, oh, I have no idea. I have
no idea.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
I'm ready for both. I this just for the benefit
of our audience.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
I am.
Speaker 6 (27:29):
I am in a split screen mode for the next
six weeks. Okay, I'll have baseball here, I'll have soccer here.
I'm not I'm not neglecting either of my kids there.
I'm paying equal attention to both.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
Well, I'm gonna ask you a question. I'm sure your
dad asked you earlier today. So Tarik Schoolble set to
come back tomorrow, all right now, the Tigers not having
a great season, it is more than likely that as
long as he is healthy, he is dealt by the
deadline again. Little ways to go between here and there.
Teams are gonna want to see it is the early
part of June, and that the deadline is late this year.
(28:02):
But if I had to say to you, hey, for
the Tarik Schooble trade, market. If I said to you
give me the one or two teams that you would
expect to jump to the forefront of this, who would
you give me?
Speaker 6 (28:16):
So I will give you a couple. One one is
not going to surprise you. It's the Dodgers because they
they're going to be on it in on everybody and
the I can see everyone rolling their eyes around the
country driving their cars as they're hearing me say this.
But but that's that's the reality. The Dodgers make deals
like this. The Cubs, I would also put in that category, uh,
(28:37):
the Blue Jays if they have a need. And and
that's where I will say it's a little bit early
for the full market to crystallize because of exactly what
you said, that that we are still six weeks or
so away from from that moment in time, and and
all it takes is one week where two pitchers on
(28:58):
the Yankees get hurt and all of a sudden, the
Yankees are in the mix. But I mentioned those teams
deliberately because the Dodgers are the ultimate win now team
and they've shown a willingness in the past and great
for rental guys. That's one. The Cubs another team that
I think when you look at how competitive the National
League Central is and their group, it seems like they
(29:19):
believe they can go for it now, but they may
need one more arm. And then on the American League
side of things, the Jays, after coming so close to
one of the World Series a year ago, right now
they appear to have plenty of pitching. But I'm sure
just about every contending team is going to be scouting
the Tigers very carefully beginning tomorrow in Cleveland. I don't
(29:42):
get the sense from what I can hear locally in Detroit, Guys,
the Tigers are moving quickly on this. They're comfortable letting
the market play out a little bit. They did lose
tonight to a team that's in front of them in
the standings in the Central, so that might kick up
the chances of a trade a little bit, but we're
still a little distance away from when when this could
(30:02):
all happen. The other team I've mentioned is the Braves.
They have shown a willingness to make trades. Alex Fanthopoulos
will make big trades, and if they do have a
need for pitching right now, they seem to be pretty
good shape. Obviously, leading to the National League East. But
if they have an injury, I could certainly see them
jumping in as well.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Well, especially tonight. Spencer Stryder left the game tonight with
arms soreness, a game that the Mets have just won
seven to five. Big night for Boba Schett. But when
you look at these teams like the Brave Spencer Stryder,
the Dodgers, Otani, what do they have going on? Yes,
suddenly this market can heat up really fast, can heat
up as fast as flow Balligan against Paraguay. He is
(30:41):
John Paul Morosi, fall him on Twitter at John Morosi,
that is at John Morosi. Pope as always appreciated. We'll
touch you next week, my friend.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
Have a great one, hey, Jason and Steve. I gotta
say a way to bring it all home at the end,
connecting the Google market, the Ballagan what everybody just appreciate.
What a brilliant host you've got here in the ship tonight,
my friend, Well done.
Speaker 1 (31:03):
Take it easy, my friend. We'll talk to you next week.
Speaker 6 (31:05):
So much. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
Thank you. He is a professional. Do not try this
at home.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
I did not pay him to say any of those things,
none of.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Fox Sports Radio Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon, Live
from the Fox Sports Radio Studio. Special delivery Steve de
Seger In tonight he had Paraguay getting three and a
half goals. He is a very happy man right now.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
Not true, I'm calling that in right before. Absolutely happy.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
Maybe not for that reason. I just I saw something
tonight I haven't seen from an American soccer team in
a couple of decades.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
I was singing the national anthem because Jesse Marsh says,
you know they're bad at it. Do you see that? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (31:58):
I did hear about that.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Look, no bigger story tonight than the United States winning
their opener in the World Cup for to one over Paraguay.
And it was as dominant a night as it sounds.
The best way to look at this, right, you know,
there's been so many things to saying. We're gonna get
to the guy who has been the difference and was
(32:22):
the difference in the United States to night in a second.
But after one game there's prisoner of the moment. There
is wondering how big this is it's one game, after all,
how big is as well? You know you only get three.
It's not like it's you know, it's only Major League
Baseball where it's one game. Now you get three and
you got to move on to the next round of
the World Cup. The United States did everything to the
(32:46):
near best of expectations that you could possibly have hoped for.
The entire first half was spent entirely in Paraguay's and
it was a three to nothing lead at halftime. They
passed the ball through the middle of the field, well,
they moved the ball, and the wings well. The goalie
was never tested, which is always the best game in soccer.
When you don't know if your goalie played well because
you didn't get a lot of chances, those are always
(33:07):
the best games. That's always why I would tell I
would tell my team's coaching, the All Stars and the
extra teams, and the Clyde would say, yeah, no, the
best games is when I don't know if you played well,
how did they play today, coach the best? I don't know,
but that's the best. That's the best way because we
kept the ball away from you, right, that's everybody doing
their job. Yes, Paraguay scored a goal. Okay, just you know,
I don't like to say this too often, but you know, hey,
(33:29):
I'm kind of a USMNT whisper because I told you
last night, the United States is waiting for this series
to be waiting for this competition to begin. They're going
to score a goal in the first ten minutes. They're
gonna win four to one. What happened. They scored a
goal in the first ten minutes and they won four
to one. Anything you want to know, Steve Ashley, I
have the answers. Anything you want to know.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Magic often does happen to a post country at a
World Cup that is well established in World Cup history.
The thing is, when we were hosting the World Cup
in nineteen ninety four, I'll say it out loud, barely
had a team. In comparison, back then, Major League Soccer
didn't exist. We didn't have a major league in this
sport in nineteen ninety four when we hosted the World Cup.
(34:10):
So the magical thing that happened was Columbia putting a
goal into its own net instead of a pass back
to the goalie, you know, going back to the goalie,
and the Americans wound up advancing and actually playing a
close one nothing loss to Brazil in the round of sixteen.
So that was the magic.
Speaker 1 (34:28):
Nothing like this, that honestly was because my lifetime of
soccer just really quick, before we get to we get
to Balligan because he's too important, Like my lifetime of
soccer was was okay. The Cosmos were a huge team
in the seventies when Pele went there, and they were
a big traveling road show and it was amazing. They
(34:49):
traveled across the country. The Cosmos was a big deal.
You had major indoor soccer league in the eighties which
was really fun to watch and that was always on TV.
But the nineteen ninety four World Cup was the be
beginning of you wus what the real birth of soccer
in this country was. It was the ninety four World
Cup team that somehow found a way to get to
the next round, get to the knockout round again, lost
(35:09):
a one nothing game to a really bad goal given
up by Tony Meol. That was a really, really bad goal.
Speaker 4 (35:14):
Was the Brazil team that wound up winning this tournament.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
I mean, that's an awful guy. Yeah, Roberto Bogio hit
the crossbar on penalties for team Italy, you know, back
when Italy would make the World Cup and like a
really bad goal by Meal against Brazil.
Speaker 4 (35:28):
By the way, Bogio was in attendance in Mexico yesterday.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
Oh was he that rarely recognized?
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Oh wow? Did people throw the ball off.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Of the I know there's a joke to be had.
It's going to follow him the rest of his life.
But keep in mind nineteen ninety four. The US had
qualified for the previous World Cup in nineteen ninety but
you know, we got destroyed in our three games, and
then we hadn't made any World Cup the previous forty
years in a row until nineteen ninety.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Yeah, and it's a huge run in ninety four and
the game against Columbia, which you've heard of of the
you know, the the own goal by Colombia.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
There's a superb documentary exactly about that.
Speaker 1 (36:05):
I mean really it's it was I remember covering it
for ESPN, and it it was the Star like it
was that and the Knicks Rockets final going on at
the same time, right like the like the last time,
like two times ago, and the Knicks were in the
finals for the last time. It was the Knicks Rockets
in the World Cup, and I was like every day
it was one of those stories.
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Same month as the OJ stories June of nineteen ninety four.
By the way, not to make people feel bad, but
for all who spent over one thousand dollars for this
incredible US game tonight, I believe I believe tickets were
forty dollars at the Rose Bowl for US. Yeah play
back then.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Yeah, I mean after beating Colombia, things got really exciting
for the United States, right beating Colombia and moving on, Wow,
we can get into the next round of the World Cup.
And these are the guys that that you've heard of
that have been telling Eric Winalda who is you know,
Alexi Lallis was the was a defender on that team.
Like all the names you hear now talking about.
Speaker 4 (36:59):
Something, Tony Maiol, John Harks, these.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Are guys that all played in nineteen ninety four and
that's when the excitement level really hit a fever pitch
that I had never seen for soccer before. I remember
covering it for ESPN, and it was it was something
that's like, wow, was brand new. And the big takeaway
from tonight is really to say Okay, Paraguay, how good
are they? Paraguay's not bad, right, They're not one of
(37:22):
the bottom feeders. They're not one of the elite teams
in the World Cup. But they're not a bad team.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
Well, let me put it this way. They were I
mentioned earlier in the show. They were just about all
the teams that aren't Argentina but made the World Cup
out of South America. They all pretty much tied for
second place, well back of Argentina, but that includes Paraguay.
In their eighteen qualifying games over the last couple of years,
they only scored fourteen goals, but they only allowed ten
(37:51):
in eighteen games. And they won at home against Brazil
and they won at home against Argentina. That team gave
up three the first half in La Tonight to the.
Speaker 1 (38:02):
US, and it looked like they looked like a team
that didn't deserve to be on the same field as
the United States. The women they were doing, it's like
what other countries had done to us in the past.
And so coming off of this game and seeing how
it worked for the United States and Christian Polisic was
absolutely fantastic in the half he played, and it looks
(38:23):
like he's okay. He got kicked in the calf. They
kept him out a little bit of precautionary reasons, but
with a week between games, I'm pretty sure he'll be okay.
But look, Baaligan was phenomenal, and you know, everything went
right for the United not right, but everything. The United
States made their own luck, They made their own breaks.
They attacked for ninety eight minutes, They did not get tired.
They were the dominant team. And I think that's a
(38:45):
big wake up call for a lot of the other
nations watching them tonight going oh wow, Poachattino's got them
exactly where he needs them. There is no reason to
not be incredibly excited about what the next few weeks
can bring us here at the World Cup. The way
they're playing end with it being the reality of we're
in a really easy group, right, you know, Turkey and Australia.
(39:08):
This should be a group we get out of and
win rather easily, which gives us an advantageous matchup in
the knockout round, which means, hey, all of a sudden,
we're looking at the quarterfinals, which whoa the quarter finals.
There is no reason to not be that excited and
optimistic about what we could see. There's nothing holding us back.
There's no drama off the field. There is nothing that
(39:29):
you didn't see tonight that you shouldn't feel great about
going forward. And this is whether you're a huge soccer fan,
middle of the road paying attention to the World Cup.
They were absolutely outstanding tonight.
Speaker 4 (39:40):
And US once we get to the knockout stage, assuming
they advance out of this group, and I think tonight
convinces most everybody that the US will, whether they win
the group or not, be advancing out of this group
and therefore still playing around July first or so in
still on the West coast. By the way, that's the
way it's scheduled. The US is playing in LA and
(40:01):
then up in Seattle, and then back to LA against
Turkey A and then maybe like Bay Area for a
round of thirty two games something like that. It might
be US against an easier team, yeah, as a group winner,
and then against Belgium or somebody like that who they
faced in round of sixteen before. If you win that
(40:21):
round of sixteen just after July fourth, you're in the
World Cup quarterfinals. For Cradloud, the US has only made
the World Cup quarterfinals once since the first World Cup
once that was when and you referenced this earlier. A
young Landon Donovan was on the two thousand and two
team that not only beat Portugal but wound up advancing
(40:43):
and beating Mexico two nothing the famed Dos a Sero
game in the round of sixteen, and we nearly had
the best of a German side that made the final
that year, lost one nothing.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Yeah, that was that was close and Oliver ConA that
was a great That was when Germany started their big
run as a big power, when even they're like their
junior teams would beat the crap out of everybody right
like they had.
Speaker 4 (41:07):
You know, it's amazing in Germany's women's team was winning
the World Cup back then. Remember Oliver Kahann at goal,
he was like a wall at goal.
Speaker 1 (41:14):
What a great villain he was. He was like Ivan Drago,
Like what a great villain he was. Yeah, he was
so much fun. But to be excited is one thing
fall Ballagan tonight playing the nine striker position for the
United States. You've heard this over the better part of
the last twenty some odd years for the United States,
(41:37):
is why can't we find a striker? Right why can't
we find a striker that can be a superstar, that
can not just be someone that can score. But the
difference between winning and losing and advancing in the World
Cup and going home is Hey, in a tight nothing
nothing game or a one to one game, you need
(41:57):
your striker. You're nine to be able to make the
play where I'm creating space and I am beating the
goalie because I have a special set of skills that
nobody else has. Right, We've seen Messi do that. We've
seen Rinaldo do that. We've seen all the great players
in Bape. We've seen him all do that. The United States,
don't forget have very special set of skills and succeeded
(42:19):
well outside of the country. He did well in France.
He did very well in France. So we've never had
that guy like Clint Dempsey. He would score goal, but
he wasn't that guy. Right like Landon Don was a
midfielder the goal against Algeria, which will live forever, he
wasn't that guy. We've never had that one player. We've
not have an earling Holland that is going to be
(42:41):
able to just do what physically I can get us
a goal. When there's no goals out there.
Speaker 4 (42:47):
Yeah, and like the post player in the NBA that
can literally just say give me the ball and.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Yeah, we can be wimby uh. And Balligan tonight showed
that he can be that guy like it's it's I'm
laughing going. I feel like we've been waiting twenty five
years for fall Balligan and and the brace he had
in the first half to gives a three to nothing
lead was incredible. You're gonna hear the goals right now.
(43:13):
It's the second goal that got me more excited than anything,
Ty Shirt, go ahead the great ball.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
I rob it for holistic, a holistic packet.
Speaker 1 (43:23):
It's in time. The flag is tatting down time.
Speaker 3 (43:27):
It's to the United States.
Speaker 6 (43:28):
As you said, I appreciated by the fans, right the
lowest prinster, Pochettino, Baligate, Canna get inside, still valiant.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
Big Fox on the call. There noise mine, Tybee.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Yeah, we definitely had home home field advantage tonight. That
was pretty sweet. I gotta say, not that it wasn't expected,
but it's nice to see that that was an overwhelming
home field advantage for us in this game.
Speaker 4 (44:00):
Look at what we have at this forward spot with
the variety, because there was well too long a time,
frankly in US soccer history where they had maybe one
reliable guy that could be the goal scorer. Here, look
what Polisic creates. We know he's finished in the past.
Balligan had two goals in the first half. They had
(44:20):
tim Way off the bench, Ricardo Peppi off the bench,
guy like Diego Lunda didn't make the team'll.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Rain off the bench and he scores in the ninety
eighth minute to make it for to one. Like this
is we finally have the firepower. The most goals we
scored in a World Cup game ever, correct? I mean,
but the goal by Baaligan, that third goal where he
does exactly what I said, He creates space and he
hits a hell of a bender in the top corner
of the net. That is that is a goal scorers goal.
(44:47):
And that's a goal that probably shouldn't have happened, but
it only happens because your striker is that talented. Like
that's the difference. That's gonna be the difference in a
nothing nothing game against Belgium in the quarterfinal round or
in the in the round of sixteen, where you can
score a goal like that. He's twenty four. You could
have played and he could have played for England. He
could have You could have played for three He could
(45:09):
have played for three different countries to play in the
United States.
Speaker 3 (45:12):
Thank you for playing for the United States, Mighty Balligan
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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