Colin Cowherd & Landon Donovan react to World Cup Draw: How Far Will Messi & Ronaldo Advance?

Colin is joined by U.S. Men's soccer legend Landon Donovan and host of the “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast with Tim Howard to preview the 2026 World Cup.

They start with group J featuring 2022 champions Argentina & Lionel Messi and Landon explains why Argentina is great with Messi… but also great WITHOUT him (:30). 

Moving to group K headlined by Portugal and Christiano Ronaldo, they discuss whether Portugal is capable of hoisting the trophy and providing the one missing piece to Ronaldo’s resume (2:20). 

They head to England’s group L and discuss the overvalued expectations for the English team and the crushing pressure they face from an aggressive media (4:00). 

Finally, Landon recounts his favorite places to play around the world as a member of the U.S. team (7:30)

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. Today's World Cup draw reaction is presented by Haleon,
the maker of Advil, Centrum, Toms, Censedine and Voltaian. They've
teamed up with US Soccer for for the Assist the campaign,
celebrating all the moments of support that make the big
goals possible, because every goal starts with an assist. In

(00:24):
the history of the United States men's national team. The
man you're looking at has the most goals and most
assists in the history of our country. And we have
ourselves a World Cup. Okay, Argentina headlines Group Jay, Algeria,
Austria and Jordan. When you said the defending champs Messi

(00:45):
will do messy things, which is just individual greatness. Off script,
nobody has won back to back World Cup since I
believe Brazil fifty eight to sixty two. It's a different worlds.
It says moneyed and is competitive, and now we're expanding
the tournament, so it's very difficult. There's an argument the

(01:08):
last World Cup was perfect timing because you kind of
had it felt like the end of Messi's prime, just
the end of it. He's now out of his prime.
How dependent is Argentine on.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
Messi what Scolonia has done, their coach a fantastic job
of is they are very good with him, and they're
also very good without him. And that's a really unique
quality when you think about players at the end, think
about Lebron, Right, how do you know the first part
of this season the Lakers are playing really well and
Austin Reeves is going off, and Luca's great and whatever,

(01:39):
and now you have to play Lebron. He's Lebron. And
so my question is for them is how will they
use Messi? Right? Remember it's in the summer, Colin, it's hot,
there's travel, It's not going to be easy. And he's
I think thirty nine years old. You can't play every
minute of every game. He just can't. Maybe he'll prove
me wrong, maybe they'll prove but I don't think they're

(02:01):
going to get the best out of him or Argentina
if he plays every minute. So the real conversations are
going to be way before the World Cup with Scolone,
their head coach, talking to Lionel Messi and saying, look,
this is how I'd like to use you. Let's work
together so we get this thing right, because I don't
want you playing every minute, and you can't play every
minute if we're going to be successful.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
All right, Group K is Portugal, use Beekistan, Colombia and
potentially a team like Jamaica. So Portugal is the obvious favorite.
Cristiano's last World Cup. The only thing he is missing
from his career is the World Cup, which was the
only thing Messi was missing. Many believe he's the greatest

(02:44):
individual player. He's certainly on a short list. Pele Messi,
Do you give Portugal, always formidable, a shot to win it?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
I do? And this is why last summer in the
Nations League they this. They played a very very good
Spain team, who I think are the best team in
the world, and they won the game and it wasn't pretty,
but it was gritty and they are more than just
Rinaldo now and over time they've really developed some high

(03:14):
quality players and they're also a very good team, very
well coached by Roberto Martinez. They have now a trophy
that they can look to and say we've been here,
we've gone through these things, and we have the ability
to do this again. Now. Do I think they will?

Speaker 1 (03:29):
No?

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Much like the Messi conversation, do you think Messi has
a little bit of an ego. Christiano is totally next level.
So can you have Roberto Martinez that conversation with him
and say, look, we don't want you playing every game.
Maybe against Uzbekistan, you're not starting. We're going to win
that game. Are you okay with that? Can we so
that we get the most out of you when we

(03:50):
need you. In the knockout stages.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Group L features England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama. England is
pretty star studded. They've got the new manager Thomas too.
They're two talented, may be strong, but there are a
lot of there's a lot of jocking with England. How
do you balance? I mean they England's a country that

(04:15):
is always fascinating, not always great. They're you know they
the English Premier League is physical, remarkable, immense pressure. Probably
overstated in terms of I think they tend to be
a bit overrated, a little overvalued. You're you're, you're nodding appropriately.
They but it's the British and the austere way of

(04:38):
the Brits. I mean, uh, it's a roster that certainly
doesn't lack talent, right.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Right, And you said he nailed it. So the problem
with the English team is they are overvalued. It's like
it's like people who don't really know the NFL might
think Dallas Cowboy players are better than they are because
every week, right, so we turn on our TV every
Saturday or Sunday morning and you see all these players

(05:06):
and names playing in the Premier League that you know,
and you're like, oh, I know him, I know that name,
I know that name. So you think they're better than
they are. But you talk about a team that can
rough unravel fast. I mean the English press are.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Brutal, tabloid, the rumor driven.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
And that the weird thing about England is almost to
a man, all the players know it and read it
and follow it, which is bizarre to me because you
get to a point in your career where like I'm
turning off the social media, I'm not. But the players
I used to when I played at Everton, we'd go
have breakfast and there's all the rag magazines on there.
The guys are sitting flipping through reading them. All what

(05:43):
you're doing, Stop reading that crap, you know? And so
they really feel it and and if things go bad,
it can go bad fast for them because you can
see it and sense it on the field. When things
are going poorly in a game, they're thinking in their head,
oh my god, what is the press going to write
about this? You can see it happening in their head.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
They'll have enormous support. However, in Canada or the States
would they not.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Oh they massive, massive, massive, massive. And that's the beauty
of having a World Cup in America is you could
say that about probably fifteen nations, and that doesn't generally
have Like in Qatar it was there. You don't have
thirty thousand people there for supporting a team, but you
could have. If Jamaica make the World Cup and they

(06:27):
play a game in or near Miami or Haiti. Haiti's
playing a game in Atlanta, there's gonna be a lot
of Asians there, right. So this is a really unique
opportunity if you get a chance anybody to go see
a game, doesn't matter what game, go see a game.
Scotland's in the World Cup, call them Scotland. I called
the first game of the Euro's Germany Scotland two years ago.

(06:50):
Listening to Flower of Scotland the national anthem live is
a memory I will never forget in my life. Thirty
thousand Scotts belting it out. They are a team that
will bring the party. So if you get a chance
to be around them or a game, do it. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
I'm often asked if you could go to one sporting event,
what would it be, And I've always said, men's or
women's go to a World Cup match. If not featuring us,
featuring our allies like France or England. It's just I'm
envious of few, but I am envious of our American

(07:24):
soccer stars, you and Alexi and Clint Dempsey, who I've
always loved. There's a global aspect to your life that
your job was getting on a plane and going to
see the world. And I've always felt like with my kids,
I always say, you know, experiences and education. I don't
worry about what they cost. Get on planes, go amen

(07:46):
in your world that you've lived. Give me the place
that you love to play and the country you love
to face. What to you was you would think about
it two weeks out? It could be in Parish, could
be in Wembley. But was there was there a place
to you globally that always felt special?

Speaker 2 (08:09):
Yeah? There are soccer mechas right, so estudio as Teca
in Mexico City, the Marca in Brazil, Wembley in England,
and and almost every country has a version of that.
But the benefit of playing for the US is we
used to play a lot of Caribbean countries and so
one of my first national team camps ever was in Barbados,

(08:29):
and we want it was was when we had multiple
rounds of qualifying and we won this game and got
through that qualifying round and then it's like, let's go party.
And you're on the beach and you know the rum
and all the things, and so you get to go
to these amazing places. You're sitting on a beachfront hotel
and you're kind of looking at yourself like, this is
my job. This is a jack, right, It's phenomenal.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
Thank you for doing this, man. I really appreciated this,
and this is going to be so much fun for me.
And I've always I tell Alexi this all the time.
I'm paid to know American sports, but I am an
a and I try to be a journalist. I am
not with the United States men's national team. I am
an abject homer. I have no problem saying it. I

(09:11):
care more about that than anybody else. And I can't
wait to watch it.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
Thanks Matt, it be awesome.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
Thanks col Big, Thanks to haleon and for the assist,
reminding us that no one scores alone. To learn more
of visit haleianassist dot com and follow at for the assist.
Every goal starts with an assist. The volume