We break down and discuss the Women's EURO 2025's first of two semi-final matchups: England v Italy | England vs Italy | Italy v England | Italy vs England
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
OK, welcome to Into the Channel podcast primarily about women's
football. I'm your host, Dean of de
Suspetus and as always I'm joined by my Co host Mr. Grant
Angle. What is up man?
I'm feeling fantastic, buddy. You know, these last few months,
these last several months, I would say perhaps even these
last several years, feels like justice has been in short
(00:26):
supply. Not today, my good man, feeling
justice was absolutely served. Yep, some uppense has come, some
comeuppance has upped. I'm not sure, but some good
stuff happened. I mean hit that point where
starting to get a little a little emotional, a little a
little wistful about, you know the the, the journey that has
(00:47):
been this EUR 2025 tournament. Just three teams left a big semi
final match up, a historic memorable semi final match up
went down today. I'm not sure there's another
place to get started, but we'll go through the formality anyway.
Mr. Granengle, where should we get started?
My good man, let's start with a celebratory beverage.
Before you do that, roll the tape well.
(01:10):
Do you have a? Do you?
Have a prediction? I do.
I'm going to say 21. England wins it late.
I like it. I'm going to go with the old
tried and true 11 England wins in penalty gigs.
Oh, wow. OK.
Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
I mean, what else can you say? And you know what?
(01:30):
I I do also want to point out mybeer from Matchless Brewery
about like an hour or so, I think, South of Seattle called
Getaway, because sometimes it feels nice to make a getaway in
the late stages of a football match.
But. What a prediction by you, by the
way. Cheers to you.
You know what, I appreciate thatand cheers to you and cheers to
(01:54):
the football. It's a Lionesses.
Yeah, absolutely. They held them to the bargain.
We were in, we were in prime territory.
I mean, I had the 11 PKS, you had the two one with England
scoring late. I mean, things were looking
pretty rosy. But I think down the stretch I
was going through the scenario where I was like, Oh my God, if
(02:15):
Italy score here, though, in both of our predictions, just
get get naked, that would be a real bummer.
But wasn't the case. But I want to talk about the
match so much to cover so many different places.
We can get started. The beers have been cracked.
I don't know. Do we want to let people know?
I think everybody knows the result of this one.
England gets it done 2 to one late goal.
(02:35):
I mean, as late as you can get with both of those.
But you were there. Well, you weren't there, but you
were there in spirit. Tell me about your experience
watching this one. I mean, yeah, you're right.
Everybody knows the result because I told him days ago what
was going to happen. So everybody knew the result.
No, man, look, I I think I thought England played well in
(02:56):
the first half, you know, even going down, you know, one nil.
It was Italy's first shot of thematch, the bone and say match
the bone and say goal. But I felt like they were
controlling large, large stretches.
There was a weird thing happening where I was like, I
feel like England is getting thebetter chances, but the thing
about it is they they weren't really getting chances because
(03:18):
Italy was clogging up every single shooting alley that was
available. And I gotta tell you, as
somebody who's been an England supporter for a long time, that
was pretty frustrating. It was tough.
I mean I think that was Italies game plan.
I was a Blues guy with with our guy Charlie.
Shout out to Charlie. And I was mentioning that I
thought England looked a better side in the first half, but the
(03:40):
first half was played on Italiesterms, which was, yeah, you
could take shots, you could havethe ball in our half, but we're
going to have bodies everywhere and you won't, you won't have
any space or room to do anything.
I was actually shocked by how many of England's strikes didn't
even reach the keeper. Like it was like sometimes it
(04:01):
was 2 defenders there. They were just like fighting to
see who was going to get the block, just like trying to steal
rebounds in the NBA. But but again, I think I think
the first half was put in their terms and it was funny.
The bone and see a goal happens.When did that happen?
33rd minute happens at that 33rdminute.
And I'm like, I think this goal might be late enough that they
might be able to bleed this gameout.
(04:25):
They certainly thought so. I mean, you start time wasting
at 40 minutes. We haven't even got to halftime
yet. I mean, look, man, I, I
mentioned it, I've mentioned it multiple times throughout this
tournament. That is just kind of a a staple
of Italian football is that theyget a lead and they're just
going to dive and waste time andpull on your jersey and run to
(04:49):
the referee and do this every time they don't like a call.
And when the the keeper's going to take 90 seconds for every
goal kick. And you know, I you know what,
man, ball don't lie. They really ratcheted up the
time wasting. I want to say around like the
60th minute in my notes I just wrote, have some fucking shame
(05:09):
you. You can't start time wasting
with 30 minutes remaining in thematch.
It's just ridiculous, man. I'm totally with you on the
ball, don't lie. We'll get to sort of like the
ball don't lie ramifications. But we talked about Italy that
first half. I thought, you know, they
controlled it. I agree with you, Italy, I'm
sorry, England, England's attackpretty frustrated, couldn't
(05:30):
really get anything going. Even though they they win the XG
battle, they have most of the possession, even though it was
tighter, I think throughout mostof the match.
I think the the final result wascloser to the 6040.
But yeah, I think well, second-half, I think I want to
talk about the Subs Serena Wiegmann, you know, because like
it was pretty nervy. Obviously ME comes in right
(05:52):
after halftime. I thought LJ was a little off.
Mead comes in the second-half. Well what?
What were the vibes like for youwatching the second-half?
Well, you know, I mean sometimes, occasionally I can
get a bit emotional rooting watching the teams that I
support. And so you know that directly
the first two, the first two lines from my notes in the
(06:13):
second-half, one LJ off for MeadM dash don't love it.
And then the next line, Mead makes 2 mistakes within the 1st
150 seconds, loses 2 challenges,second one to Jarelli in
England's defensive half. Really don't like this.
Then it was like as I was typingthat Jackie only did mention,
you know, LJ picked up a knock in the last match and something
(06:35):
to do with her ankle I believe it was.
And so you mentioned she didn't exactly look herself.
I think that's right. She looked just like 1/2 step
off of of maybe a little more, maybe 3/4 of a step off step off
of what she usually looked like.I mean, she could have had that
goal in the first half where shehad the right footage shot near
post if she would have got a little more air under it.
(06:56):
I think she beats the keeper in that spot.
But it, I mean, it was a great save by Giuliani, a credit to
her. But yeah, I to be honest, I was
not optimistic about that change.
But wouldn't Oatley Jackie Oatley the goat?
Goatley mentioned that perhaps LJ was a bit Hanford.
I was like OK, had to be done. And from there it was just.
(07:17):
If you're a Vigman, do you choose Mead or Kelly?
And it just turns out that ChloeKelly is the end of match secret
weapon slash victory cigar. At this point I.
Couldn't believe it, You know, as the game's going on, you
know, I thought the Mead change,I thought it made some sense
because I I agree with you. We didn't get really like that
dynamic electric Lauren James. It just didn't really look
(07:40):
threatening. And we actually talked about in
the preview that I was like, I'mnot sure England has the right
profile of players to kind of breakthrough if they need to
look at their backs against the wall.
And I think that kind of that kind of played itself out
because roughly the starters, you know, minus Ham who stayed
in all kind of got subbed out, you know, like from an attacking
standpoint. And it ends up being those those
(08:03):
Subs that kind of can really make the difference down the
stretch. So I thought vegan playing a
little bit of a dangerous game, waiting till the 77th to bring
Chloe Kelly. But turns out it was like right
on the money. And I thought Italy, you know,
we, we talked about the, the style that they were employing.
They wanted to be defensive. They wanted to be really
economical, really efficient with their chances, which they
(08:26):
were. But I thought that strategy of
like, hey, let's defend, let's be in all the lanes.
It's like, like, let's not lose our discipline at all.
I thought that strategy really took a toll on them.
And like when you start to thinkabout all those moments that
James chances, Russo had a chance in the first half.
Kyra Walsh had shots. I think you were seeing like a
(08:46):
more, you know, shot happy Kyra Walsh than than we've seen
before. Chloe Kelly comes in the match
in the 77th and leads England shots with four.
You know, and then you look at Ihad one other shot stat here, 9
England players notched 2 plus shots in this match.
So if you're Italy and you're you're you're defending, it just
starts to take a toll. And as you as you watch like
(09:08):
down the stretch, you know, you get a lot more close calls.
You know, you get the ajamong, you know, you get the goal and
then she puts one in the bar like right before you know, the
the the the decider. So like, I think it it was the
right strategy to really hold, hold, hold.
And then kind of like bring on those Subs.
I mean, Ashaman comes on on the 85th, Aggie Bieber Jones come on
the 85th. Like I can't like like that's so
(09:30):
I would had a heart attack. You know, if it's me in that
spot, I don't know what I would have done, but I I definitely
would not want to not wait until85 or 77 for Chloe Kelly.
Yeah, I mean, Wiegmann, that's that's part of her calling card,
like and and credit to you who mentioned that.
I mean, you predicted that Esme Morgan would Esme Morgan, pardon
me, would would come on, it would start instead of Carter.
(09:52):
Now, obviously, you know, there's the racist abuse that
Jess Carter suffered. I think we'll get into that
later in the show. That may have played a bit of a
role there. But you were right about that
Morgan coming in for for Carter,But then the rest, you know,
that's vegan substitution pattern, man.
She she leaves it late like every single match when she
finds her 11, she likes her 11 and then she she wants to make
(10:14):
those tactical changes late. And it's a great point by you.
They really worked like Alessia Russo thought she was fine.
Like you said, she had her chances, but wasn't really a
game changer. And you know, once you get her
off, I I liked the so it was theIT was Williamson off for an
attacking player. Yeah, it was it was Williamson
(10:35):
off for Ajerbang and then Russo out for ABJ.
You know, obviously, like any manager is going to make like
attacking minded changes in thatscenario, but they immediately
came on and changed the game. So like it's easy to say now,
those were great changes, but those were the necessary
changes. They needed to have more of an
attacking posture. That's simple, but Ajamang was
(10:57):
just immediately able to get into dangerous spaces whilst
Italy's defenders were exhausted.
Exactly to your earlier point, because they were just pinned
back. The bus was firmly parked and it
was just getting pelted with shots all match and eventually
that's going to take a toll on you.
Yeah, no doubt. I, I, I, I mentioned Elena
(11:17):
Lennari a few times in our previews as well.
And I think Lennar, who's been awesome the entire tournament,
like just rock solid, a real problem for anybody trying to
score, do anything down that side.
And the Ajaman goal, she's just pinballing around Linari as a
defender. She's like kind of chasing.
(11:37):
I'm sorry, it was hemp to meet. So she chases Mead doesn't get
to Mead. Mead gets a shot.
Now she's spun around the other way, tries to chase down Ajaman,
tries to run off the ball, doesn't get there either.
And just a super clean finish. I had a comp, you know, because
like now you know, Ajaman on on England, you guys might have
yourself a real player here. I got to say, reminds me, I know
(12:00):
it's early. I know this is a big comp.
Reminds me of a young Barba Benda.
Wow, OK, that's I think that's agigantic comp.
I think she's got I think she's got the speed, I think she's got
the acceleration, kind of like in small spaces.
And I thought I thought the goalwas really incredible.
You know, so we talked about Meade.
(12:20):
She gets shot to deflection and you know, Ajaman like when the
shot happens, you see so many strikers or people in the box
kind of just be in the wrong position.
Like either they get close to somebody else or they're closer
to they could they almost take themselves out of the play.
And on that play, Ajaman like knows almost like a almost like
a rebound in the NBA knows whereto back up to and kind of like
(12:41):
get in position rightly A, wherethe ball is, you know, going to
end up deflecting to but B, where there's nobody.
So she kind of like like sails off into a little bit of space.
The ball comes her way and then it's a touch with the outside of
her boot to go right to get intoeven more space and then just
rips it, you know, like just an awesome an awesome finish, but
(13:03):
then also has the header. I'm sorry, like the the little
dinker down the stretch, like right before the death, you
know, so shows a little bit of touch too.
And both of these you, you cannot ratchet this the pressure
any higher. You know, you're talking about
90 + 6 for the, for the equalizer and what, 1/17, 1:18,
(13:25):
you know, going one on two to almost beat the keeper.
You know, for, for a winner, youknow, like in added extra time,
which we never, ever see a winner and added extra time.
Thank God we, you know, we, we actually had something happen
within those 30 minutes. But Aziman, what a what a
future. I mean, you said we might have a
player talking about me and my English, my England support
buddy. It is we because she's going
(13:48):
back to Arsenal off that loan from Brighton.
I think we both have a player onour hands here.
Cheers to that. Yes, nothing, nothing wrong with
that. I'm sure you're going to be
very, very excited as I continueto watch Chloe Kelly play great.
And and I thought Lauren, I thought Lauren Hemp was, I mean,
we, we say it all the time. She's a dog out there, man.
(14:09):
She's so tough, just like pushing players around, get into
her spots, like she she hits theafterburners multiple times and
I'm not surprised at how fast she is.
But still there are moments where I'm like, Oh yeah, she
really, she got around that corner even faster than I
thought. And so there were a couple of
times where obviously I could bea little cantankerous at at
(14:32):
points where I'm like, wow, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp,
they're great. Imagine if they played on the
same team. That would be awesome.
I would really like that if it maybe my manager would play them
both at the same time, but I digress.
That's not important right now. This is about England.
Yeah, it's about England and youknow, players working together
on the pitch like Ajaman and Kelly and Beth Meade and a lot
(14:53):
to no we'll talk about that later.
Chloe Kelly, my player to watch coming into this one.
I mean, we we already talked about 77 the minute enters
enters the match. How about leads?
The leads the match in shots with four.
Just comes in there and. Makes it happen, yeah.
Whatever you do almost has an Olympico off a corner.
She's got that 98th minute run into the box where she's like
(15:14):
in, out, in, out, just darting. I think Ejaculi described it as
dancing, which I loved. What else?
She's just freaking Mariano Rivera.
Like you could just bring her inand it just sends a chill down
the spine of the opponent. And my favorite part, and you
know, I don't get on players for, you know, stank facing, you
(15:37):
know, getting subbed off. It sucks.
You know, like you want to be able to play, but she's the
opposite. She's just like she's on the
bench. She's like, oh, I'm not playing.
That's all right. Like I'm going to get in and
fuck shit up and get out there. And like I've played with people
like that. Like they don't care if they
start. They don't care.
They don't like, they just don'tcare.
They just know that they're going to come out and just roll
everybody and everything. And it's just such a cool.
(15:59):
That's like the ultimate level of just badassery.
And then throw into that. Obviously the penalty shot gets
blocked. She's all over it.
The put back and then the Sally.The Sally have just like the I
know there's 30 seconds left in this match, but.
Everybody does. That's my favorite.
Calm down. I was like, Oh my.
God, are you kidding me? Ice cold calmed down.
(16:22):
I I literally said out loud. I'm like sitting in silence
watching the match. She does that.
She starts doing the calm down. I go, they're not going to calm
down. They're actually everybody's
going to do the exact opposite of calm down because you just
want you just sent us to the final again.
Yeah, ice cold. I mean, I'm glad you you
(16:43):
mentioned this about her being like the Super sub of all super
Subs. Like obviously, you know, we we
like to talk about the NBA occasionally, you know, some
Jamal Crawford vibes maybe. What about?
You say Manu. Manu also great, but is that
nearly as fun as instead of lemon pepper Lou will lemon
pepper Chloe Kelly. I mean, you know, just for the
(17:07):
the two people who might get that reference who watch this
show. Shout out to Lou Williams fan
loved loved when he played. Just coming in just doing what
doing what he does like you said, like you're like, oh, OK,
I don't start today. OK, wait till I get wait till I
get out there. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll play.
Yep, it's an order. Can't very excited.
You mentioned a couple players, Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp.
(17:31):
I think you can include Georgia Stanley in that mix for players
that came back from serious injuries, you know, like long
term injuries. All players that I think were
maybe loosely within the window within the range of this
tournament being a little bit inthe balance.
I think Georgia Stanway, like this first first minutes in a
(17:52):
while, you know, definitely within an England shirt after her
last entry. But it almost feels like you
take any of those three players out of the mix and like now all
of a sudden maybe England doesn't get past Italy because I
think those three players have just been so important in terms
of eating up minutes. Greenwood unbelievable, like
(18:12):
involved in everything, worked her way up the field once it was
needed defensively, what we had seen Italy be able to do
Contore, you know, Jadelli, you know, and so and some of those
offensive attackers, like we just didn't see any of those,
you know, joyous runs. We just didn't really see them.
Like, I think, you know, that the defense was really locked in
(18:34):
from an England standpoint and they just weren't going to get
beat with with anything more than what they what they got
beat within the first half of bonus.
Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a great
point. I I put in my notes at one
point, Italy, Italy employing the old 721 formation.
That's what it felt like at times.
But you know, it, it didn't helpmatters that that Stanway and I
(18:54):
thought Walsh in a lot of spots and to your point, Greenwood
were just mucking up their runs and they weren't able.
They were kind of doing like theSpain thing where their press
was really disrupting Italy fromfrom even getting the ball out
of their own half and in a lot of situations.
And Greenwood is a funny player,man.
I mean, you see it from Manchester City too, where there
(19:15):
are times where she has some moments where I'm just like, oh,
woof, like this is that she looks confused out there.
And then for the next 15 minutes, I was just saying, oh,
nobody can get past her. And she's making really smart
passes. So, I mean, you know, she's got
the experience a lot of times. Whereas the captain C, the
captain's C for Manchester City Football Club.
(19:38):
And yeah, I mean, she she came through Lucy Bronze.
You already know what time it is.
I mean, we, we call her Lucy Biggame Bronze.
How about Lucy back post bronze?Because that's 711 buddy that
plays always open. Like I I throw to my notes like
10 times like bronze at the backpost is eventually going to net
something for us. I'll always remember the
(20:01):
remember the Barcelona Benfica, the 4th, the 4th.
Yes, that was so great. The most unlikely, I think that
was other Broads back poster. But yeah, that's that's like
clockwork. Another super luxury to have a
player that is just going to be whatever, you know, be there for
for all of it. Even though she was involved in
the Bonancia goal. But I mean, great game
(20:22):
defensively, offensively was involved was a threat.
And on the day like today where Italy's super stout and you need
different angles, you need to you need to throw different
things at them. I mean, having bronze back there
kind of you know, to your point,you know, mosing around kind of
like, you know, being a little sneaky is a tremendous
advantage. And then you add to that 30
(20:44):
passes into the final third for for a Lucy big game Bronze to
lead the match impact player of of the highest order.
No doubt and plays pretty much the same way in the 118th minute
as she did in the second minute.I mean, you like the the the
endurances there. Unbelievable athlete, great
leader. You know, she's, you know, at an
(21:06):
advanced age in this sport and still just gives you the full
time. And there was never a moment
where I thought Wiegmann was going to take her off the pitch
because why would you? Because she was delivering
throughout the entire match. Yeah, no way.
I mean, she was she was huge. Let's talk about the penalty.
I didn't get your take on it. We haven't talked about it.
You mentioned a basketball ISM that's important to I think both
(21:29):
you and I that maybe could applyhere Baldontliest.
You know, I think the football gods may be a little annoyed
with Italy style. I mentioned all of the close
calls for England leading up, you know, to the penalty.
And I think if you're Severini there, you just you just can't
put yourself in that spot, you know, and I and I think it
(21:51):
reminded me a lot of what you LeBron did to Bosha in the box
when they played where it's justlike, OK, it's been rough all
day. And it will like, you know, it's
such a savvy play there by me tobe like this.
This place is going nowhere. Like all of the plays that we've
all of them but one that we've had today.
(22:12):
And let me see if I can bait Severini here into something and
the the ball was just close enough that the foul was live.
And I think if that foul happensat any other point in the game,
a foul is live, a penalty, a penalty kick.
All of those outcomes are live. It just so happened that it was
a knock down drag out game wherean added extra time we're just
(22:34):
minutes from the death. It gives it like a bad after
taste for sure. But I had zero problem with the
call. Yeah, same here.
Yeah, I thought the after taste was just fine.
The I was all right with a call.You know, especially.
I mean, we're talking about the ball don't lie principle again.
(22:54):
And you know, maybe I'll get yelled at in the comments for
this. It was around the 63rd minute.
Here's something from my notes. Greenwood barely gets any of
Jarelli and she behaves as if she's been hit by a double
Decker bus to maximum waste time.
Like if you're just out here behaving like that around the
63rd minute, if you're going to rely as you put it at, you know,
(23:16):
the common term is like the darkarts or shit Hauser or whatever.
If you're going to rely on that for 1/3 of the regular time of
the match, don't be mad when theother team gets away with it.
Like even, you know, there are acouple.
There are a couple moments too where Sanchin their their
manager is like doing like little things like like stepping
(23:37):
in the way of players who are trying to get the ball, who are
when the ball goes out of bounds, like get out of my face
with that, like enough, enough of that.
And then so like when England takes takes the lead late also
and the ball goes out of bounds,Sanchez like runs and grabs the
ball and is like holding it up to an England player to like,
like, hurry up the throw. And it's like, no, Bubba, that's
(23:59):
what you're way past that. Like of all people on planet
Earth, you do not get to do that.
So I've, yeah, sure, I've seen less called for a penalty in
that spot. I've seen more not called for a
penalty in that spot. You leave it up to the referee
if you both are wrestling right near the penalty spot inside the
(24:20):
18 and you got dinged for it, man, like sorry for you, but
like, that's that's the way it goes sometimes.
And if you're going to employ all those tactics, turn about as
fair play as they like to say. Yeah, I totally agree with that.
I'm laughing because did you sketch that moment when in the
in the match where Sunshine is trying to get the ball back in
(24:40):
play? And then, like, he spots like
Ajamang on the sideline and he'slike, all right.
And like, I think she's like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Toss it and he tosses it to her.She just lets it hit her in the
chest and fall on the floor. She just walks away, Yeah.
And she should have like the waythat, Yeah, the way that dude
and his players were behaving. I mean, Ashumang is, yeah,
quickly climbing up the ranks, one of my favorite players to
(25:03):
watch. I I was glad she did it and
Sanchon deserved it in that moment.
Pretty lame behavior. And then he does the walk off
like 2-3 minutes left in the match, like after the penalty.
Yeah, I. Think he I mean, he's in the
tunnel. Like putting his blazer back on
and then like 2 minutes later his Blazers back off.
I'm like, what is this guy doing?
Dramatic effect. You take the blazer off, put the
(25:24):
blazer on, I think, yeah. But I'm like, dude, there's
still 2-3 minutes in your tournament life.
You're still alive. Like, you know, the tournament's
still happening. You can't be in the, you know,
and like, you know, there's beena penalty kick.
There's going to be a couple extra minutes of that, you know,
like there's still some coachingto do here with stakes.
You're not down four goals, you're down a single goal.
(25:44):
So that was just very weird to see him like huff and puff, you
know, down the tunnel and then kind of grumble his way back,
back to the sideline. Oh, I was just going to say, you
know, there there is a just a reality in this sport and it's
just that men are emotional creatures and we just have to
deal with that. Yep.
I mean, it's, it's, it's a drawback, but that's OK.
(26:06):
You know, we're not going to, we're not going to dig them too
hard for it. But in all seriousness, in all
seriousness, I thought Italy hada really good tournament, you
know, considering where the expectations were to take it all
the way to the limit. I mean, just a couple minutes
away from from the final is is an incredible an incredible
endpoint for this run. And I think we see this across
(26:29):
sports, You know, a team that istrying to kind of reach the the
mountain top, reach the apex. You know, there's a lot of
there's a lot of like potholes and landmines up up the
mountain, right? You know, to get there and just
just like obstacles that that you just don't see coming.
You know, we mentioned this before.
To beat the Champs, you just have to really you have to take
(26:51):
the Champions belt. Like I think that's kind of like
a boxing adage. For sure.
Italy played their game and theygot they got extremely,
extremely close. I think that's probably as as
good as they they could have hoped for.
Last quick note, though, you cannot tell me down the stretch,
especially when England makes those defensive Subs, that one
Valentina Giacinti wouldn't havebeen helpful.
(27:13):
Maybe going at an SV Morgan, maybe going at, you know, an
Alex Greenwood that's a little tired or maybe a little dinged
up Leia Williamson. I don't know, man.
You know, there were some peoplemaking the case that she didn't
have the most productive seasonshere.
Yeah, but you cannot tell me that that player and that kid in
that moment wasn't going to at least put a scare or two in you
as an England fan. Yeah, no doubt.
(27:34):
I mean, you know, we've we've seen too much watching Roma
play. So yeah, I was, I was happy that
Giacini was not available to be to be put in the match, you
know, obviously not picked for the squad.
I'll tell you though, there werea couple times in my notes where
Martina Piamonte scared the hellout of me herself as well there.
(27:56):
I think there was one pass, likethey could have iced it a couple
times. You know, there, there's the
one. You have Severini chance. 86
Yeah, yeah. Where, you know, the match
should have been over in that moment.
I don't know. You know, it's kind of a howler.
Like, you know, Hampton's on herside.
It's a great effort by Hampton, but the second chance by
(28:17):
Severini, you're pretty much just, you know, easy for me to
say sitting here in my office inSeattle.
But like, I just thought she wasjust going to pop it over
Hampton and end the match right there.
But that's going to be a tough one to get over.
But yeah, I mean, Giacinti wouldhave helped, but you know, they
they made their choices. Pia Monte couldn't get it done
(28:39):
even though she played well. But I, I think overall, you're
right, Italy should be enormously proud of how far they
went, the way they pushed England, they, they looked like
winning it at times, even thoughI do think on balance, England
was, was the better side throughout.
So, you know, they have a lot tobuild off of.
I thought Jackie Olli and Lori Lindsay did a good job on the
(29:00):
American broadcaster talking about how Siri off Emineel is
not that old. But we we've talked about it in
this tournament. Like, you know, they have some
broadcast rights on CBS Sports Network here in America.
There seems to be investment. The league is growing.
They have good teams, they have good players.
They're getting to the knockout stages of the of the Champions
League. Good things are happening in
that league. And this is just proof of
(29:22):
concept. Yeah, no doubt.
All right, man. Quick episode calendar, just one
more EUR 2025 semi final match up to go and that is Spain,
Germany. Couple of the biggest dogs in
the mix here. Just three teams left.
I mean, I think we could we maybe could have predicted these
three, but you know, it was it was a very fun ride getting
(29:44):
here. So very excited.
We will be back tomorrow breaking down Spain, Germany and
we'll be back a day after that probably give or take to
breakdown preview, provide some predictions on the UEFA Women's
EUR 2025 final. And if our previous predictions,
our indicator for future success.
You're going to want to listen to those.
You're going to want to be, you know, probably, I don't know,
(30:05):
hop on the on the ITC bandwagon and rock with us if if you agree
with with where we think the wind is blowing.
But with that said, anything else you want to hit before we
get out of here? No, man, I think we've done it.
I mean, you're right, we're downto the final three.
Who could have thought that England, Germany and Spain would
be good in a football tournament?
But hey, it was more about the journey.
(30:26):
I'm glad we covered it. I'm glad we witnessed it.
I'm glad we're alive to witness it, even though witnessing
what's happening in the rest of the world is not so great.
I don't know why that had to take a dark turn there at the
end, but whatever it it's football.
The football's giving me life. Yeah, man, it definitely was.
It's been about the journey and the friends we've made along the
way that's ran the episode have been to the channel.
Thank you for hanging out. Thank you for hanging out.
(30:47):
We really, really appreciate it.If you enjoyed the show or loved
ones fall as much as your boys do, make sure you kick with us
each and every single week. Like, subscribe, follow YouTube,
Spotify, pop a podcast wherever you like to watch or listen.
Leave us a review over your favorite podcast app, links to
all of our socials except one inthe show notes of this episode.
And a big thank you to my close as well, Mr. Grant Angle for
(31:08):
never losing faith, you know, never wavering, you know, never,
never losing his cool, never raising his voice, you know, in
key moments during the game, just a quiet, pensive, even
keel. And what, what can I say, man,
championship, championship rounds.
And we got an ice cold performance from you and from me
and a great show. And I think, I don't know, man,
(31:29):
I think we're, I think we're in championship form.
We're I think we're ready for the final.
We got one more match to go justto, you know, work out some
kinks, get a little warm, get the blood pumping, and then
we'll be back for that, that big, big final.
But either way, bro, I appreciate you man, and, and
Congrats to you. Big win for England.
Historic Day. Memorable day.
Well, I appreciate that buddy and and the feeling is mutual.
(31:49):
You know Congrats to you for getting you you already have 1/2
of your final correct. I mean that's gigantic.
I I need to wait till this next match to see if I got even 1/2
of the final. It's still live for you to have
predicted both sides of the final.
So let's go now I'm even more excited for this second semi
final. I appreciate you know you always
(32:10):
dropping knowledge same with allof you.
Thank you for watching kicking it with us and just to all the
German fans, no matter what happens tomorrow, can you just
do us a favor? Don't just like unsubscribe if
Germany loses like that. I mean, like the numbers have
pot have like really jumped up and we've very much appreciate
that. Just like don't like chop it
back down. That's all I'm asking.
Not saying that Germany's going to lose, but we'll just have to
(32:31):
see how it goes. I picked it man.
It's not going to lose. Come on, no.
That's right. I mean, we're soothsayers at
this point. So all right, thank you
everybody for watching. Thank you for hanging out,
continuing to interact with us. We really appreciate it and we
will see you all next time.
OK, welcome to Into the Channel podcast primarily about women's
football. I'm your host, Dean of de
Suspetus and as always I'm joined by my Co host Mr. Grant
Angle. What is up man?
I'm feeling fantastic, buddy. You know, these last few months,
these last several months, I would say perhaps even these
last several years, feels like justice has been in short
(00:26):
supply. Not today, my good man, feeling
justice was absolutely served. Yep, some uppense has come, some
comeuppance has upped. I'm not sure, but some good
stuff happened. I mean hit that point where
starting to get a little a little emotional, a little a
little wistful about, you know the the, the journey that has
(00:47):
been this EUR 2025 tournament. Just three teams left a big semi
final match up, a historic memorable semi final match up
went down today. I'm not sure there's another
place to get started, but we'll go through the formality anyway.
Mr. Granengle, where should we get started?
My good man, let's start with a celebratory beverage.
Before you do that, roll the tape well.
(01:10):
Do you have a? Do you?
Have a prediction? I do.
I'm going to say 21. England wins it late.
I like it. I'm going to go with the old
tried and true 11 England wins in penalty gigs.
Oh, wow. OK.
Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
I mean, what else can you say? And you know what?
(01:30):
I I do also want to point out mybeer from Matchless Brewery
about like an hour or so, I think, South of Seattle called
Getaway, because sometimes it feels nice to make a getaway in
the late stages of a football match.
But. What a prediction by you, by the
way. Cheers to you.
You know what, I appreciate thatand cheers to you and cheers to
(01:54):
the football. It's a Lionesses.
Yeah, absolutely. They held them to the bargain.
We were in, we were in prime territory.
I mean, I had the 11 PKS, you had the two one with England
scoring late. I mean, things were looking
pretty rosy. But I think down the stretch I
was going through the scenario where I was like, Oh my God, if
(02:15):
Italy score here, though, in both of our predictions, just
get get naked, that would be a real bummer.
But wasn't the case. But I want to talk about the
match so much to cover so many different places.
We can get started. The beers have been cracked.
I don't know. Do we want to let people know?
I think everybody knows the result of this one.
England gets it done 2 to one late goal.
(02:35):
I mean, as late as you can get with both of those.
But you were there. Well, you weren't there, but you
were there in spirit. Tell me about your experience
watching this one. I mean, yeah, you're right.
Everybody knows the result because I told him days ago what
was going to happen. So everybody knew the result.
No, man, look, I I think I thought England played well in
(02:56):
the first half, you know, even going down, you know, one nil.
It was Italy's first shot of thematch, the bone and say match
the bone and say goal. But I felt like they were
controlling large, large stretches.
There was a weird thing happening where I was like, I
feel like England is getting thebetter chances, but the thing
about it is they they weren't really getting chances because
(03:18):
Italy was clogging up every single shooting alley that was
available. And I gotta tell you, as
somebody who's been an England supporter for a long time, that
was pretty frustrating. It was tough.
I mean I think that was Italies game plan.
I was a Blues guy with with our guy Charlie.
Shout out to Charlie. And I was mentioning that I
thought England looked a better side in the first half, but the
(03:40):
first half was played on Italiesterms, which was, yeah, you
could take shots, you could havethe ball in our half, but we're
going to have bodies everywhere and you won't, you won't have
any space or room to do anything.
I was actually shocked by how many of England's strikes didn't
even reach the keeper. Like it was like sometimes it
(04:01):
was 2 defenders there. They were just like fighting to
see who was going to get the block, just like trying to steal
rebounds in the NBA. But but again, I think I think
the first half was put in their terms and it was funny.
The bone and see a goal happens.When did that happen?
33rd minute happens at that 33rdminute.
And I'm like, I think this goal might be late enough that they
might be able to bleed this gameout.
(04:25):
They certainly thought so. I mean, you start time wasting
at 40 minutes. We haven't even got to halftime
yet. I mean, look, man, I, I
mentioned it, I've mentioned it multiple times throughout this
tournament. That is just kind of a a staple
of Italian football is that theyget a lead and they're just
going to dive and waste time andpull on your jersey and run to
(04:49):
the referee and do this every time they don't like a call.
And when the the keeper's going to take 90 seconds for every
goal kick. And you know, I you know what,
man, ball don't lie. They really ratcheted up the
time wasting. I want to say around like the
60th minute in my notes I just wrote, have some fucking shame
(05:09):
you. You can't start time wasting
with 30 minutes remaining in thematch.
It's just ridiculous, man. I'm totally with you on the
ball, don't lie. We'll get to sort of like the
ball don't lie ramifications. But we talked about Italy that
first half. I thought, you know, they
controlled it. I agree with you, Italy, I'm
sorry, England, England's attackpretty frustrated, couldn't
(05:30):
really get anything going. Even though they they win the XG
battle, they have most of the possession, even though it was
tighter, I think throughout mostof the match.
I think the the final result wascloser to the 6040.
But yeah, I think well, second-half, I think I want to
talk about the Subs Serena Wiegmann, you know, because like
it was pretty nervy. Obviously ME comes in right
(05:52):
after halftime. I thought LJ was a little off.
Mead comes in the second-half. Well what?
What were the vibes like for youwatching the second-half?
Well, you know, I mean sometimes, occasionally I can
get a bit emotional rooting watching the teams that I
support. And so you know that directly
the first two, the first two lines from my notes in the
(06:13):
second-half, one LJ off for MeadM dash don't love it.
And then the next line, Mead makes 2 mistakes within the 1st
150 seconds, loses 2 challenges,second one to Jarelli in
England's defensive half. Really don't like this.
Then it was like as I was typingthat Jackie only did mention,
you know, LJ picked up a knock in the last match and something
(06:35):
to do with her ankle I believe it was.
And so you mentioned she didn't exactly look herself.
I think that's right. She looked just like 1/2 step
off of of maybe a little more, maybe 3/4 of a step off step off
of what she usually looked like.I mean, she could have had that
goal in the first half where shehad the right footage shot near
post if she would have got a little more air under it.
(06:56):
I think she beats the keeper in that spot.
But it, I mean, it was a great save by Giuliani, a credit to
her. But yeah, I to be honest, I was
not optimistic about that change.
But wouldn't Oatley Jackie Oatley the goat?
Goatley mentioned that perhaps LJ was a bit Hanford.
I was like OK, had to be done. And from there it was just.
(07:17):
If you're a Vigman, do you choose Mead or Kelly?
And it just turns out that ChloeKelly is the end of match secret
weapon slash victory cigar. At this point I.
Couldn't believe it, You know, as the game's going on, you
know, I thought the Mead change,I thought it made some sense
because I I agree with you. We didn't get really like that
dynamic electric Lauren James. It just didn't really look
(07:40):
threatening. And we actually talked about in
the preview that I was like, I'mnot sure England has the right
profile of players to kind of breakthrough if they need to
look at their backs against the wall.
And I think that kind of that kind of played itself out
because roughly the starters, you know, minus Ham who stayed
in all kind of got subbed out, you know, like from an attacking
standpoint. And it ends up being those those
(08:03):
Subs that kind of can really make the difference down the
stretch. So I thought vegan playing a
little bit of a dangerous game, waiting till the 77th to bring
Chloe Kelly. But turns out it was like right
on the money. And I thought Italy, you know,
we, we talked about the, the style that they were employing.
They wanted to be defensive. They wanted to be really
economical, really efficient with their chances, which they
(08:26):
were. But I thought that strategy of
like, hey, let's defend, let's be in all the lanes.
It's like, like, let's not lose our discipline at all.
I thought that strategy really took a toll on them.
And like when you start to thinkabout all those moments that
James chances, Russo had a chance in the first half.
Kyra Walsh had shots. I think you were seeing like a
(08:46):
more, you know, shot happy Kyra Walsh than than we've seen
before. Chloe Kelly comes in the match
in the 77th and leads England shots with four.
You know, and then you look at Ihad one other shot stat here, 9
England players notched 2 plus shots in this match.
So if you're Italy and you're you're you're defending, it just
starts to take a toll. And as you as you watch like
(09:08):
down the stretch, you know, you get a lot more close calls.
You know, you get the ajamong, you know, you get the goal and
then she puts one in the bar like right before you know, the
the the the decider. So like, I think it it was the
right strategy to really hold, hold, hold.
And then kind of like bring on those Subs.
I mean, Ashaman comes on on the 85th, Aggie Bieber Jones come on
the 85th. Like I can't like like that's so
(09:30):
I would had a heart attack. You know, if it's me in that
spot, I don't know what I would have done, but I I definitely
would not want to not wait until85 or 77 for Chloe Kelly.
Yeah, I mean, Wiegmann, that's that's part of her calling card,
like and and credit to you who mentioned that.
I mean, you predicted that Esme Morgan would Esme Morgan, pardon
me, would would come on, it would start instead of Carter.
(09:52):
Now, obviously, you know, there's the racist abuse that
Jess Carter suffered. I think we'll get into that
later in the show. That may have played a bit of a
role there. But you were right about that
Morgan coming in for for Carter,But then the rest, you know,
that's vegan substitution pattern, man.
She she leaves it late like every single match when she
finds her 11, she likes her 11 and then she she wants to make
(10:14):
those tactical changes late. And it's a great point by you.
They really worked like Alessia Russo thought she was fine.
Like you said, she had her chances, but wasn't really a
game changer. And you know, once you get her
off, I I liked the so it was theIT was Williamson off for an
attacking player. Yeah, it was it was Williamson
(10:35):
off for Ajerbang and then Russo out for ABJ.
You know, obviously, like any manager is going to make like
attacking minded changes in thatscenario, but they immediately
came on and changed the game. So like it's easy to say now,
those were great changes, but those were the necessary
changes. They needed to have more of an
attacking posture. That's simple, but Ajamang was
(10:57):
just immediately able to get into dangerous spaces whilst
Italy's defenders were exhausted.
Exactly to your earlier point, because they were just pinned
back. The bus was firmly parked and it
was just getting pelted with shots all match and eventually
that's going to take a toll on you.
Yeah, no doubt. I, I, I, I mentioned Elena
(11:17):
Lennari a few times in our previews as well.
And I think Lennar, who's been awesome the entire tournament,
like just rock solid, a real problem for anybody trying to
score, do anything down that side.
And the Ajaman goal, she's just pinballing around Linari as a
defender. She's like kind of chasing.
(11:37):
I'm sorry, it was hemp to meet. So she chases Mead doesn't get
to Mead. Mead gets a shot.
Now she's spun around the other way, tries to chase down Ajaman,
tries to run off the ball, doesn't get there either.
And just a super clean finish. I had a comp, you know, because
like now you know, Ajaman on on England, you guys might have
yourself a real player here. I got to say, reminds me, I know
(12:00):
it's early. I know this is a big comp.
Reminds me of a young Barba Benda.
Wow, OK, that's I think that's agigantic comp.
I think she's got I think she's got the speed, I think she's got
the acceleration, kind of like in small spaces.
And I thought I thought the goalwas really incredible.
You know, so we talked about Meade.
(12:20):
She gets shot to deflection and you know, Ajaman like when the
shot happens, you see so many strikers or people in the box
kind of just be in the wrong position.
Like either they get close to somebody else or they're closer
to they could they almost take themselves out of the play.
And on that play, Ajaman like knows almost like a almost like
a rebound in the NBA knows whereto back up to and kind of like
(12:41):
get in position rightly A, wherethe ball is, you know, going to
end up deflecting to but B, where there's nobody.
So she kind of like like sails off into a little bit of space.
The ball comes her way and then it's a touch with the outside of
her boot to go right to get intoeven more space and then just
rips it, you know, like just an awesome an awesome finish, but
(13:03):
then also has the header. I'm sorry, like the the little
dinker down the stretch, like right before the death, you
know, so shows a little bit of touch too.
And both of these you, you cannot ratchet this the pressure
any higher. You know, you're talking about
90 + 6 for the, for the equalizer and what, 1/17, 1:18,
(13:25):
you know, going one on two to almost beat the keeper.
You know, for, for a winner, youknow, like in added extra time,
which we never, ever see a winner and added extra time.
Thank God we, you know, we, we actually had something happen
within those 30 minutes. But Aziman, what a what a
future. I mean, you said we might have a
player talking about me and my English, my England support
buddy. It is we because she's going
(13:48):
back to Arsenal off that loan from Brighton.
I think we both have a player onour hands here.
Cheers to that. Yes, nothing, nothing wrong with
that. I'm sure you're going to be
very, very excited as I continueto watch Chloe Kelly play great.
And and I thought Lauren, I thought Lauren Hemp was, I mean,
we, we say it all the time. She's a dog out there, man.
(14:09):
She's so tough, just like pushing players around, get into
her spots, like she she hits theafterburners multiple times and
I'm not surprised at how fast she is.
But still there are moments where I'm like, Oh yeah, she
really, she got around that corner even faster than I
thought. And so there were a couple of
times where obviously I could bea little cantankerous at at
(14:32):
points where I'm like, wow, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp,
they're great. Imagine if they played on the
same team. That would be awesome.
I would really like that if it maybe my manager would play them
both at the same time, but I digress.
That's not important right now. This is about England.
Yeah, it's about England and youknow, players working together
on the pitch like Ajaman and Kelly and Beth Meade and a lot
(14:53):
to no we'll talk about that later.
Chloe Kelly, my player to watch coming into this one.
I mean, we we already talked about 77 the minute enters
enters the match. How about leads?
The leads the match in shots with four.
Just comes in there and. Makes it happen, yeah.
Whatever you do almost has an Olympico off a corner.
She's got that 98th minute run into the box where she's like
(15:14):
in, out, in, out, just darting. I think Ejaculi described it as
dancing, which I loved. What else?
She's just freaking Mariano Rivera.
Like you could just bring her inand it just sends a chill down
the spine of the opponent. And my favorite part, and you
know, I don't get on players for, you know, stank facing, you
(15:37):
know, getting subbed off. It sucks.
You know, like you want to be able to play, but she's the
opposite. She's just like she's on the
bench. She's like, oh, I'm not playing.
That's all right. Like I'm going to get in and
fuck shit up and get out there. And like I've played with people
like that. Like they don't care if they
start. They don't care.
They don't like, they just don'tcare.
They just know that they're going to come out and just roll
everybody and everything. And it's just such a cool.
(15:59):
That's like the ultimate level of just badassery.
And then throw into that. Obviously the penalty shot gets
blocked. She's all over it.
The put back and then the Sally.The Sally have just like the I
know there's 30 seconds left in this match, but.
Everybody does. That's my favorite.
Calm down. I was like, Oh my.
God, are you kidding me? Ice cold calmed down.
(16:22):
I I literally said out loud. I'm like sitting in silence
watching the match. She does that.
She starts doing the calm down. I go, they're not going to calm
down. They're actually everybody's
going to do the exact opposite of calm down because you just
want you just sent us to the final again.
Yeah, ice cold. I mean, I'm glad you you
(16:43):
mentioned this about her being like the Super sub of all super
Subs. Like obviously, you know, we we
like to talk about the NBA occasionally, you know, some
Jamal Crawford vibes maybe. What about?
You say Manu. Manu also great, but is that
nearly as fun as instead of lemon pepper Lou will lemon
pepper Chloe Kelly. I mean, you know, just for the
(17:07):
the two people who might get that reference who watch this
show. Shout out to Lou Williams fan
loved loved when he played. Just coming in just doing what
doing what he does like you said, like you're like, oh, OK,
I don't start today. OK, wait till I get wait till I
get out there. I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll play.
Yep, it's an order. Can't very excited.
You mentioned a couple players, Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp.
(17:31):
I think you can include Georgia Stanley in that mix for players
that came back from serious injuries, you know, like long
term injuries. All players that I think were
maybe loosely within the window within the range of this
tournament being a little bit inthe balance.
I think Georgia Stanway, like this first first minutes in a
(17:52):
while, you know, definitely within an England shirt after her
last entry. But it almost feels like you
take any of those three players out of the mix and like now all
of a sudden maybe England doesn't get past Italy because I
think those three players have just been so important in terms
of eating up minutes. Greenwood unbelievable, like
(18:12):
involved in everything, worked her way up the field once it was
needed defensively, what we had seen Italy be able to do
Contore, you know, Jadelli, you know, and so and some of those
offensive attackers, like we just didn't see any of those,
you know, joyous runs. We just didn't really see them.
Like, I think, you know, that the defense was really locked in
(18:34):
from an England standpoint and they just weren't going to get
beat with with anything more than what they what they got
beat within the first half of bonus.
Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a great
point. I I put in my notes at one
point, Italy, Italy employing the old 721 formation.
That's what it felt like at times.
But you know, it, it didn't helpmatters that that Stanway and I
(18:54):
thought Walsh in a lot of spots and to your point, Greenwood
were just mucking up their runs and they weren't able.
They were kind of doing like theSpain thing where their press
was really disrupting Italy fromfrom even getting the ball out
of their own half and in a lot of situations.
And Greenwood is a funny player,man.
I mean, you see it from Manchester City too, where there
(19:15):
are times where she has some moments where I'm just like, oh,
woof, like this is that she looks confused out there.
And then for the next 15 minutes, I was just saying, oh,
nobody can get past her. And she's making really smart
passes. So, I mean, you know, she's got
the experience a lot of times. Whereas the captain C, the
captain's C for Manchester City Football Club.
(19:38):
And yeah, I mean, she she came through Lucy Bronze.
You already know what time it is.
I mean, we, we call her Lucy Biggame Bronze.
How about Lucy back post bronze?Because that's 711 buddy that
plays always open. Like I I throw to my notes like
10 times like bronze at the backpost is eventually going to net
something for us. I'll always remember the
(20:01):
remember the Barcelona Benfica, the 4th, the 4th.
Yes, that was so great. The most unlikely, I think that
was other Broads back poster. But yeah, that's that's like
clockwork. Another super luxury to have a
player that is just going to be whatever, you know, be there for
for all of it. Even though she was involved in
the Bonancia goal. But I mean, great game
(20:22):
defensively, offensively was involved was a threat.
And on the day like today where Italy's super stout and you need
different angles, you need to you need to throw different
things at them. I mean, having bronze back there
kind of you know, to your point,you know, mosing around kind of
like, you know, being a little sneaky is a tremendous
advantage. And then you add to that 30
(20:44):
passes into the final third for for a Lucy big game Bronze to
lead the match impact player of of the highest order.
No doubt and plays pretty much the same way in the 118th minute
as she did in the second minute.I mean, you like the the the
endurances there. Unbelievable athlete, great
leader. You know, she's, you know, at an
(21:06):
advanced age in this sport and still just gives you the full
time. And there was never a moment
where I thought Wiegmann was going to take her off the pitch
because why would you? Because she was delivering
throughout the entire match. Yeah, no way.
I mean, she was she was huge. Let's talk about the penalty.
I didn't get your take on it. We haven't talked about it.
You mentioned a basketball ISM that's important to I think both
(21:29):
you and I that maybe could applyhere Baldontliest.
You know, I think the football gods may be a little annoyed
with Italy style. I mentioned all of the close
calls for England leading up, you know, to the penalty.
And I think if you're Severini there, you just you just can't
put yourself in that spot, you know, and I and I think it
(21:51):
reminded me a lot of what you LeBron did to Bosha in the box
when they played where it's justlike, OK, it's been rough all
day. And it will like, you know, it's
such a savvy play there by me tobe like this.
This place is going nowhere. Like all of the plays that we've
all of them but one that we've had today.
(22:12):
And let me see if I can bait Severini here into something and
the the ball was just close enough that the foul was live.
And I think if that foul happensat any other point in the game,
a foul is live, a penalty, a penalty kick.
All of those outcomes are live. It just so happened that it was
a knock down drag out game wherean added extra time we're just
(22:34):
minutes from the death. It gives it like a bad after
taste for sure. But I had zero problem with the
call. Yeah, same here.
Yeah, I thought the after taste was just fine.
The I was all right with a call.You know, especially.
I mean, we're talking about the ball don't lie principle again.
(22:54):
And you know, maybe I'll get yelled at in the comments for
this. It was around the 63rd minute.
Here's something from my notes. Greenwood barely gets any of
Jarelli and she behaves as if she's been hit by a double
Decker bus to maximum waste time.
Like if you're just out here behaving like that around the
63rd minute, if you're going to rely as you put it at, you know,
(23:16):
the common term is like the darkarts or shit Hauser or whatever.
If you're going to rely on that for 1/3 of the regular time of
the match, don't be mad when theother team gets away with it.
Like even, you know, there are acouple.
There are a couple moments too where Sanchin their their
manager is like doing like little things like like stepping
(23:37):
in the way of players who are trying to get the ball, who are
when the ball goes out of bounds, like get out of my face
with that, like enough, enough of that.
And then so like when England takes takes the lead late also
and the ball goes out of bounds,Sanchez like runs and grabs the
ball and is like holding it up to an England player to like,
like, hurry up the throw. And it's like, no, Bubba, that's
(23:59):
what you're way past that. Like of all people on planet
Earth, you do not get to do that.
So I've, yeah, sure, I've seen less called for a penalty in
that spot. I've seen more not called for a
penalty in that spot. You leave it up to the referee
if you both are wrestling right near the penalty spot inside the
(24:20):
18 and you got dinged for it, man, like sorry for you, but
like, that's that's the way it goes sometimes.
And if you're going to employ all those tactics, turn about as
fair play as they like to say. Yeah, I totally agree with that.
I'm laughing because did you sketch that moment when in the
in the match where Sunshine is trying to get the ball back in
(24:40):
play? And then, like, he spots like
Ajamang on the sideline and he'slike, all right.
And like, I think she's like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Toss it and he tosses it to her.She just lets it hit her in the
chest and fall on the floor. She just walks away, Yeah.
And she should have like the waythat, Yeah, the way that dude
and his players were behaving. I mean, Ashumang is, yeah,
quickly climbing up the ranks, one of my favorite players to
(25:03):
watch. I I was glad she did it and
Sanchon deserved it in that moment.
Pretty lame behavior. And then he does the walk off
like 2-3 minutes left in the match, like after the penalty.
Yeah, I. Think he I mean, he's in the
tunnel. Like putting his blazer back on
and then like 2 minutes later his Blazers back off.
I'm like, what is this guy doing?
Dramatic effect. You take the blazer off, put the
(25:24):
blazer on, I think, yeah. But I'm like, dude, there's
still 2-3 minutes in your tournament life.
You're still alive. Like, you know, the tournament's
still happening. You can't be in the, you know,
and like, you know, there's beena penalty kick.
There's going to be a couple extra minutes of that, you know,
like there's still some coachingto do here with stakes.
You're not down four goals, you're down a single goal.
(25:44):
So that was just very weird to see him like huff and puff, you
know, down the tunnel and then kind of grumble his way back,
back to the sideline. Oh, I was just going to say, you
know, there there is a just a reality in this sport and it's
just that men are emotional creatures and we just have to
deal with that. Yep.
I mean, it's, it's, it's a drawback, but that's OK.
(26:06):
You know, we're not going to, we're not going to dig them too
hard for it. But in all seriousness, in all
seriousness, I thought Italy hada really good tournament, you
know, considering where the expectations were to take it all
the way to the limit. I mean, just a couple minutes
away from from the final is is an incredible an incredible
endpoint for this run. And I think we see this across
(26:29):
sports, You know, a team that istrying to kind of reach the the
mountain top, reach the apex. You know, there's a lot of
there's a lot of like potholes and landmines up up the
mountain, right? You know, to get there and just
just like obstacles that that you just don't see coming.
You know, we mentioned this before.
To beat the Champs, you just have to really you have to take
(26:51):
the Champions belt. Like I think that's kind of like
a boxing adage. For sure.
Italy played their game and theygot they got extremely,
extremely close. I think that's probably as as
good as they they could have hoped for.
Last quick note, though, you cannot tell me down the stretch,
especially when England makes those defensive Subs, that one
Valentina Giacinti wouldn't havebeen helpful.
(27:13):
Maybe going at an SV Morgan, maybe going at, you know, an
Alex Greenwood that's a little tired or maybe a little dinged
up Leia Williamson. I don't know, man.
You know, there were some peoplemaking the case that she didn't
have the most productive seasonshere.
Yeah, but you cannot tell me that that player and that kid in
that moment wasn't going to at least put a scare or two in you
as an England fan. Yeah, no doubt.
(27:34):
I mean, you know, we've we've seen too much watching Roma
play. So yeah, I was, I was happy that
Giacini was not available to be to be put in the match, you
know, obviously not picked for the squad.
I'll tell you though, there werea couple times in my notes where
Martina Piamonte scared the hellout of me herself as well there.
(27:56):
I think there was one pass, likethey could have iced it a couple
times. You know, there, there's the
one. You have Severini chance. 86
Yeah, yeah. Where, you know, the match
should have been over in that moment.
I don't know. You know, it's kind of a howler.
Like, you know, Hampton's on herside.
It's a great effort by Hampton, but the second chance by
(28:17):
Severini, you're pretty much just, you know, easy for me to
say sitting here in my office inSeattle.
But like, I just thought she wasjust going to pop it over
Hampton and end the match right there.
But that's going to be a tough one to get over.
But yeah, I mean, Giacinti wouldhave helped, but you know, they
they made their choices. Pia Monte couldn't get it done
(28:39):
even though she played well. But I, I think overall, you're
right, Italy should be enormously proud of how far they
went, the way they pushed England, they, they looked like
winning it at times, even thoughI do think on balance, England
was, was the better side throughout.
So, you know, they have a lot tobuild off of.
I thought Jackie Olli and Lori Lindsay did a good job on the
(29:00):
American broadcaster talking about how Siri off Emineel is
not that old. But we we've talked about it in
this tournament. Like, you know, they have some
broadcast rights on CBS Sports Network here in America.
There seems to be investment. The league is growing.
They have good teams, they have good players.
They're getting to the knockout stages of the of the Champions
League. Good things are happening in
that league. And this is just proof of
(29:22):
concept. Yeah, no doubt.
All right, man. Quick episode calendar, just one
more EUR 2025 semi final match up to go and that is Spain,
Germany. Couple of the biggest dogs in
the mix here. Just three teams left.
I mean, I think we could we maybe could have predicted these
three, but you know, it was it was a very fun ride getting
(29:44):
here. So very excited.
We will be back tomorrow breaking down Spain, Germany and
we'll be back a day after that probably give or take to
breakdown preview, provide some predictions on the UEFA Women's
EUR 2025 final. And if our previous predictions,
our indicator for future success.
You're going to want to listen to those.
You're going to want to be, you know, probably, I don't know,
(30:05):
hop on the on the ITC bandwagon and rock with us if if you agree
with with where we think the wind is blowing.
But with that said, anything else you want to hit before we
get out of here? No, man, I think we've done it.
I mean, you're right, we're downto the final three.
Who could have thought that England, Germany and Spain would
be good in a football tournament?
But hey, it was more about the journey.
(30:26):
I'm glad we covered it. I'm glad we witnessed it.
I'm glad we're alive to witness it, even though witnessing
what's happening in the rest of the world is not so great.
I don't know why that had to take a dark turn there at the
end, but whatever it it's football.
The football's giving me life. Yeah, man, it definitely was.
It's been about the journey and the friends we've made along the
way that's ran the episode have been to the channel.
Thank you for hanging out. Thank you for hanging out.
(30:47):
We really, really appreciate it.If you enjoyed the show or loved
ones fall as much as your boys do, make sure you kick with us
each and every single week. Like, subscribe, follow YouTube,
Spotify, pop a podcast wherever you like to watch or listen.
Leave us a review over your favorite podcast app, links to
all of our socials except one inthe show notes of this episode.
And a big thank you to my close as well, Mr. Grant Angle for
(31:08):
never losing faith, you know, never wavering, you know, never,
never losing his cool, never raising his voice, you know, in
key moments during the game, just a quiet, pensive, even
keel. And what, what can I say, man,
championship, championship rounds.
And we got an ice cold performance from you and from me
and a great show. And I think, I don't know, man,
(31:29):
I think we're, I think we're in championship form.
We're I think we're ready for the final.
We got one more match to go justto, you know, work out some
kinks, get a little warm, get the blood pumping, and then
we'll be back for that, that big, big final.
But either way, bro, I appreciate you man, and, and
Congrats to you. Big win for England.
Historic Day. Memorable day.
Well, I appreciate that buddy and and the feeling is mutual.
(31:49):
You know Congrats to you for getting you you already have 1/2
of your final correct. I mean that's gigantic.
I I need to wait till this next match to see if I got even 1/2
of the final. It's still live for you to have
predicted both sides of the final.
So let's go now I'm even more excited for this second semi
final. I appreciate you know you always
(32:10):
dropping knowledge same with allof you.
Thank you for watching kicking it with us and just to all the
German fans, no matter what happens tomorrow, can you just
do us a favor? Don't just like unsubscribe if
Germany loses like that. I mean, like the numbers have
pot have like really jumped up and we've very much appreciate
that. Just like don't like chop it
back down. That's all I'm asking.
Not saying that Germany's going to lose, but we'll just have to
(32:31):
see how it goes. I picked it man.
It's not going to lose. Come on, no.
That's right. I mean, we're soothsayers at
this point. So all right, thank you
everybody for watching. Thank you for hanging out,
continuing to interact with us. We really appreciate it and we
will see you all next time.
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