WORLD CUP Bonus Episode: The Round of Sixteen

The knockout rounds have turned the 2026 FIFA World Cup upside down. In this week’s World Cup bonus episode, Trevor and Joe break down Germany’s stunning penalty shootout collapse, Cape Verde’s remarkable performance against Argentina, and FIFA’s decision to overturn Florian Balogun’s red card suspension, before making their predictions for the next week of matches. New bonus episodes drop Mondays at 10pm ET / 7pm PT on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Trevor Noah?

  This episode is brought to you by Fabreeze and we're coming to you from the official Fabreeze sponsored bootroom, which if you know anything about soccer is usually the last place you want to hang out.

• 0:16Trevor Noah?

  This is What Now with Trevor Noah.

• 0:20Trevor Noah?

  In the infamous words of Eling Haaland, "Well, well, well."

• 0:26Trevor Noah?

  What a week. Welcome to the, welcome to the podcast, Joe. And welcome to a crazy week of knockout football. We have so many things to get to in this episode. We got to talk about the results. We got to talk about Brazil. We got to talk about the Netherlands. We got to talk about Germany. We got to talk about Norway. We've got to talk about France. We got to talk about Mexico and England. We got to talk about Belgium and the USA. We've got to talk about, who else? Who else do we have to talk about?

• 0:57Speaker 01

  We have to talk about the African teams.

• 0:58Trevor Noah?

  Argentina and Cape Verde. And we have to talk about France and Paraguay, but let's kick things off with the freshest news.

• 1:07Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 1:08Trevor Noah?

  You know, they say that football, what makes football such a beautiful game is that it can bring out sides of people we didn't know existed. Who would have thought Team USA would have Donald Trump fighting for a birthright citizen?

• 1:26Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:27Trevor Noah?

  Who would have thought? I mean, we've seen some pretty crazy decisions in a World Cup. I don't think since, what was it, like Garincha? We've seen a decision overruled like this. Team USA player getting a red card. Balogun.

• 1:46Speaker 01

  Florian.

• 1:47Trevor Noah?

  For Florian Balogun, which shouldn't have been a red card. We all agree on that.

• 1:51Speaker 01

  He was had done by.

• 1:53Trevor Noah?

  But the World Cup has never cared about what should have or shouldn't have been. The punishment is doled out. You take it. You got to deal with the punishment. You got to deal with the effects. And it turns out if your president is Donald Trump and if your country is the United States and if Infantino is in charge. Anything is possible. The impossible is possible, my friend.

• 2:13Speaker 01

  FIFA is usually like an African parent. Once you've gotten the punishment, you get the punishment.

• 2:18Trevor Noah?

  Oh, yeah, that's it.

• 2:18Speaker 01

  You can't go like, oh, but can I appeal? But ma'am, you see, no, no, no. You get eh eh. And then you can talk afterwards. But yeah, what happened with football, so we all agreed, hard done by. But political interference into the judicial system of FIFA. FIFA normally comes and takes over your judicially, not just footballing decisions, but everything from copyright and all this. And so this was, it's the thing you said, we haven't seen like a country, we haven't seen a horse country lean on FIFA like this since nineteen seventy eight. When the dictatorship in Argentina hosted the World Cup, because even people still say actually Holland or the Dutch. Led by the famous Johan Cruyff should have won that final.

• 2:57Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 2:58Speaker 01

  But they didn't because apparently the dictatorship made sure they needed that win and they leaned on, they leaned on everyone from FIFA. Down to the referee. That's why people say the first World Cup won by Argentina was very tainted.

• 3:14Trevor Noah?

  I I wonder what this does for the conversation around the game. So if you're a Team USA fan, it's great.

• 3:20Speaker 01

  Yes, yeah.

• 3:21Trevor Noah?

  I'm happy because I think the red card itself was trash.

• 3:24Speaker 01

  Yes, you're saying justice has been served.

• 3:26Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, but then like the way the justice has been served isn't my favorite. You know what it feels like to me? It's it's it's almost in many ways like the real justice system.

• 3:35Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 3:35Trevor Noah?

  Where the rich, powerful kid got off with the crime.

• 3:38Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 3:39Trevor Noah?

  But if it was a kid from like.

• 3:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:41Trevor Noah?

  A developing nation. A kid who was struggling, they wouldn't have gotten off with this crime. Yeah, yeah, they wouldn't have gotten away with it. Because I I would, I I've always said, I would love for FIFA to go over its rulings because the World Cup has so few games.

• 3:53Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 3:54Trevor Noah?

  That they should be able to look at a a ruling during the match and say, you know what? That decision actually, maybe that was a bit a little harsh, maybe that decision was wrong, maybe that decision, I don't think. That decisions should be set in stone like like law.

• 4:09Speaker 01

  Yes, so okay, two things.

• 4:10Trevor Noah?

  So so for me, I don't mind that they did it with Balogun, but I wish they would do it with other games as well.

• 4:14Speaker 01

  So for me, two things. One, first of all, FIFA has always insisted that the referee's decision is sacrosanct. It's sacrosanct, it can't be messed with, it stands as it stands, because FIFA has always been very big at empowering the referees. The referee is knowing that our decision is final. So that's disappointing from that end. Another reason is FIFA has always insisted that politics and football should be separate.

• 4:39Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 4:39Speaker 01

  If actually, if you're, I think they recently banned one country, I don't, I can't quite remember, it wasn't Kuwait, one of the countries. If your government interferes with the FA of your country, FIFA bans you immediately, automatically. If you're, because they want, they want the government to not interfere in the running of football in any country. So again, disappointing on that front. But also third and most importantly, I went to law school, I didn't pick up much. But one thing I picked up was, justice cannot just be served. Justice needs to be seen to be served. So you can't just make a decision that just, it has to be seen. So in this case, if you're, again, as I said, if you're

• 5:19Speaker 01

  maybe Ghana, or if you're a small emerging African country, or if you're Asia, you're going to go, so just because we don't have the clout to lean on Gianni Fattino, we can't get decisions with us. It's very, very disappointing.

• 5:32Trevor Noah?

  You see the Belgian, uh, Belgian Football Federation put out a post online, they responded, and but all they did was they responded with the rules.

• 5:41Speaker 01

  Oh, that's very petty.

• 5:42Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 5:43Speaker 01

  And also very Belgian, yes, very, very Belgian, yes.

• 5:46Trevor Noah?

  All they did was respond and say, per the rules, regardless of whether FIFA suspends or doesn't um, one much, one match ban has to be served for a red card minimum, the player has to miss the next match.

• 5:57Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, yes.

• 5:58Trevor Noah?

  That is the rule, and they cannot change that. And so like FIFA now, FIFA, it's, it almost feels like FIFA has invented a rule.

• 6:05Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 6:06Trevor Noah?

  Just for this scenario, they've gone, we haven't overridden the ref.

• 6:09Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 6:10Trevor Noah?

  But we've overridden.

• 6:11Speaker 01

  Mess with the punishment, yes.

• 6:12Trevor Noah?

  We've overridden the effect of the ref's decision, which is for all intents, for all intents and purposes. That is the punishment of the ref.

• 6:22Speaker 01

  And I'll say this.

• 6:23Trevor Noah?

  You know what I mean?

• 6:23Speaker 01

  Because football has a very cruel and twisted sense of humor. Balogun is going to score in his next game. He might score the winner. Against Belgium. And now you're going, you know, you know, when you watch games and the player, we're supposed to have gotten a red card and

• 6:35Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And they stay in the game.

• 6:37Speaker 01

  Football has such a twisted sense of humor that might happen. Very disappointing, but, but not unexpected because we've seen throughout this process. Normally FIFA is very independent.

• 6:47Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 6:47Speaker 01

  But we've seen throughout all this process, the Somali referee, the way they treated the Iranian delegation, the visas, they kept denying funds from Africa, from smaller countries. We've seen that the US has consistently, consistently thrown its weight around. It has consistently bullied FIFA into accepting its decisions. And so for me, when I watched Gianni Infantino at the press conference, when they asked him, are you embarrassed by how much you bent over backwards to accommodate the Trump administration, when I watched him go like, yeah, you know, FIFA really cannot be in charge of the immigration system. I wonder, Gianni, are you kidding me? You always take over the immigration system of the country that's hosting. You did it with Qatar.

• 7:29Speaker 01

  When you invented the higher cards, where people just come in if they had the higher card, you did it with Russia. When you invented the fan pass, where fans, if so long as they had the ticket, they could just march straight into Russia. So for me, it's been, people say FIFA is always disappointing, so the bar is on the seafloor. But they have managed to somehow dig under. And yeah, go under the bar, very disappointing. Not unexpected, very surprising, but you know, as I told you, I see Barogan scoring against Belgium and that's just going to add now fuel to the fire.

• 8:03Trevor Noah?

  It's really.

• 8:05Speaker 01

  Enough to leave you speechless. It really is.

• 8:08Trevor Noah?

  Here's what it is for me. I don't expect them to not make certain decisions.

• 8:14Trevor Noah?

  I just would have hoped

• 8:15Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 8:15Trevor Noah?

  that they would find a way to make the ruling seem a little bit more, uh, equally. Distributed like.

• 8:23Speaker 01

  Mm hmm.

• 8:24Trevor Noah?

  I would have liked it if FIFA had just like. Put their thumb on the scale for a few more decisions in this World Cup.

• 8:31Speaker 01

  I'll say.

• 8:31Trevor Noah?

  Then then we would go there's a trend, you know, but but look, I mean, all all it seems like to me is. We've realized that FIFA's real.

• 8:39Speaker 01

  Multivision, yeah.

• 8:40Trevor Noah?

  Or rather their weakness is not. The power of the country that's hosting the tournament. It's the power of the market that the country has.

• 8:51Speaker 01

  Oh, interesting. Okay.

• 8:52Trevor Noah?

  Because because if you think about it, you have. FIFA will host its tournament anywhere, Brazil, France.

• 8:58Speaker 01

  It has its.

• 8:59Trevor Noah?

  You know, yeah, South Africa, you name it. There's only one nation in the world where football. Is like nowhere in terms of like market share.

• 9:12Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 9:12Trevor Noah?

  Right? And it's the United States.

• 9:14Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 9:15Trevor Noah?

  The United States is one of the biggest markets in the world. Look at how much NFL players earn.

• 9:23Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 9:23Trevor Noah?

  Look at how much NBA stars earn.

• 9:25Speaker 01

  Baseball.

• 9:26Trevor Noah?

  They are shocked when they see the followings.

• 9:29Speaker 01

  Hmm, that's football.

• 9:30Trevor Noah?

  That football players have in the world. Like whenever an American athlete sees how popular and how big. A footballer is worldwide, they're shocked when they realize sometimes they're earning three times their money.

• 9:41Speaker 01

  Not not just sports player, not just sports or ball players. Everyone, I remember when there was the whole fight about who is bigger, Taylor Swift or Messi or Ronaldo?

• 9:49Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 9:49Speaker 01

  Who is bigger Beyonce? Beyonce fans were shocked. When people are posting like Instagram followers for Ronaldo, they went like, oh, my God.

• 9:56Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 9:57Speaker 01

  So it's that, but for me, the one thing I want to say, though. For me, this even goes outside. So you're saying FIFA is trying to tap into desperately trying to tap into the American market. I get that. But for me, this goes outside football. It's way bigger than football. Cause if the US can throw its weight around at the UN. And make the UN bend its rules. In a way, South Africa can't, in a way Uganda can't, in a way Kura South can't, then what's FIFA? The US can veto things, the US can do whatever it wants at the UN.

• 10:27Trevor Noah?

  But that is, but that is what the big countries do at the UN, not just the United States.

• 10:31Speaker 01

  Okay, okay, no, you're right.

• 10:31Trevor Noah?

  You get what I'm saying? That's exactly what they do at the UN, right? At the UN, if you're not one of the major countries, you can veto any bill that another country or another, you know, whatever motion another country wishes to passes, it's up to you.

• 10:42Speaker 01

  But you're saying when it comes to football particularly.

• 10:44Trevor Noah?

  Yes, what I'm saying is, we make it seem like FIFA, like the US leaned on FIFA. I think, I think people are making it seem like FIFA bowed to the US. And I argue Donald Trump and Infantino, it's just quid pro quo. They've gone, this works for both of us.

• 11:03Speaker 01

  The interests are aligned.

• 11:05Trevor Noah?

  Trump is going, keep America and its fans happy. Infantino's going, yeah, I actually do want America to stay happy because America

• 11:14Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 11:14Trevor Noah?

  has paid so much money. How many ads is Christian Pulisic in?

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 11:19Trevor Noah?

  Think about, think about how much money.

• 11:20Speaker 01

  I think it's between him and David Beckham. I can't turn on the screen.

• 11:23Trevor Noah?

  David Beckham, yo, I've, David Beckham.

• 11:26Speaker 01

  Beckham is, yes.

• 11:27Trevor Noah?

  David Beckham, I was counting. I was counting his ads. It starts in the morning with like coffee and breakfast.

• 11:32Speaker 01

  He works you up.

• 11:33Trevor Noah?

  And then in the middle of the day, it's like Bank of America and Home Depot. And then by the end of the day, it was like Lenovo AI.

• 11:41Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 11:42Trevor Noah?

  And Stella Artois.

• 11:44Speaker 01

  He's in every block, yes.

• 11:45Trevor Noah?

  Every block has David. You'd swear David Beckham's playing now, by the way.

• 11:48Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 11:49Trevor Noah?

  With how popular it is. Like, I've never seen anything like it. But Christian Pulisic is another one. And Team USA is another one. Like, if you think of the value and like how much this is worth, not just in money now, but like in value of the game, think about the MLS. Like, if we think of this in isolation, I think we can miss the forest from the trees. The longer Messi stays in the World Cup, the better it is for the MLS.

• 12:12Speaker 01

  That's true.

• 12:12Trevor Noah?

  The longer the Mexican players stay in the World Cup, the better it is for the MLS.

• 12:16Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:16Trevor Noah?

  The longer any of these teams, but the longer Team USA stays in the World Cup, although they have eight players from Europe, they've also got other players. But now they can say, the world, they went into the whatever stage, the World Cup player, the world, it adds value to the MLS. So that adds, like, it's, it's that, what is it, rising tides?

• 12:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 12:34Trevor Noah?

  All both.

• 12:34Speaker 01

  All all both.

• 12:35Trevor Noah?

  Right.

• 12:35Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 12:35Trevor Noah?

  So if you think of the value this is adding to the US, I can see it from everybody's point of view. Gianni Infantino is going, I can't let this thing.

• 12:44Speaker 01

  It's insane.

• 12:44Trevor Noah?

  I can't let this thing cockblock all the money I want to make.

• 12:46Speaker 01

  It's insane to your point that you're saying, because yesterday I was watching, I was watching Morocco, I made the mistake, I made the mistake, sorry, I apologize, I made the mistake of watching the Morocco versus Canada game on Fox, and Morocco scored, and the commentator went like, Morocco takes the lead on this Fourth of July holiday. And I went like, what? What does Fourth of July have to do with Morocco at all? But it's the thing you're saying, it's the thing you're saying, it's it's more profitable to see everything through the prism.

• 13:13Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 13:13Speaker 01

  Of the US, yes.

• 13:14Trevor Noah?

  It's actually funny, if if I was to bet, I would have said that Canada will get knocked out first of all the host nations.

• 13:20Speaker 01

  Oh, okay, it would have been St. Porton, they were the first ones.

• 13:22Trevor Noah?

  Because they just, they just seemed like, I know it's a stereotype, but like the most polite host nation in a way.

• 13:27Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 13:28Trevor Noah?

  Because I don't know if you if you've seen, like, by the time this episode comes out.

• 13:31Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 13:31Trevor Noah?

  England would have played Mexico, but did you see what?

• 13:33Speaker 01

  We're stepping it right before, right before.

• 13:35Trevor Noah?

  Did you see what the Mexico fans were doing outside the England um team hotel?

• 13:40Speaker 01

  Classic.

• 13:41Trevor Noah?

  Shooting fireworks.

• 13:42Speaker 01

  Classic.

• 13:42Trevor Noah?

  Playing music.

• 13:43Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 13:43Trevor Noah?

  Screaming at them in the lobby.

• 13:45Speaker 01

  Trying to ensure that they don't sleep the night.

• 13:47Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, they're just like, we just don't want you to sleep.

• 13:48Speaker 01

  It was crazy because I've seen Eastern European clubs do that, club fans, but I've never seen a country do that, a host country, so what happened actually was England booked fifteen hotels to throw them off.

• 14:00Trevor Noah?

  Which is pointless.

• 14:00Speaker 01

  To throw them off, they went like, we don't want them to know where we're staying.

• 14:03Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 14:03Speaker 01

  But then remember, the hotel that they booked in, I feel like the hotel manager had a patriotic duty to snitch.

• 14:10Trevor Noah?

  But Joe, you don't even, you don't even need to switch and snitch, if you've been to a World Cup, you know, every single team moves around like a, like a, like a diplomatic delegation.

• 14:18Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:18Trevor Noah?

  It's hard to sneak around when you've got a giant bus written England on it.

• 14:22Speaker 01

  And also with lead cars.

• 14:23Trevor Noah?

  With like police cars, then like, oh, I wonder which hotel they have, is it the one that has a giant bus with police, uh, police escort, or is it the hotel where nobody's there?

• 14:30Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 14:30Trevor Noah?

  Where do you think England is staying?

• 14:32Speaker 01

  Yes, no, the Mexican fans really brought it, because they spent, I don't think any English player. Slept a wink, unless you're one of those players who can sleep through like the apocalypse.

• 14:41Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, man.

• 14:42Speaker 01

  Cause it was insane outside the hotel. Yes, you should see the videos.

• 14:45Trevor Noah?

  And speaking of insane, if we look at some of the results, Germany, since we last recorded an episode, knocked out, and you know what, for me, it's the full, it's the full sentence, not just knocked out by Paraguay, knocked out in penalties.

• 15:00Speaker 01

  Penalties, the most un-German-like way to go out, yes. I'll say this, we both did favor Germany for that matchup, but we both also did say German was in transition, Germany was having an identity crisis. And for me, when I watched that game, especially the penalty shootout, I couldn't believe this was Germany, because you saw the videos that came out afterwards, Joshua Kimmich trying and begging and pleading with Leon Goritzka, who has won a Champions League, has almost eighty cups, begging him to take a penalty, he refused. Jonathan Duhart stepped up, take his first penalty.

• 15:33Trevor Noah?

  Okay, but here's my question, maybe, I don't know when the game changed this.

• 15:38Trevor Noah?

  When I first started watching football, penalty takers were, were decided before game started.

• 15:43Speaker 01

  That's right, you're very right, you're very right.

• 15:44Trevor Noah?

  So the coach, long before the game started, like literally, they knew, they knew coming into the game. The way I understand football, a coach knows who's gonna kick, by the way, penalties even in the match, no one should discuss anything, they go, first kicker is this one, second kicker might be this one, third kicker.

• 16:01Speaker 01

  They know who takes corner kicks and free kicks.

• 16:03Trevor Noah?

  So if we get three penalties in a match, this is gonna be the order, and then when we go to a shootout, this is the order. So to me, I couldn't believe that the German captain was begging his players. The man looked like, the man looked like he was selling like, like, like goods in a, in a flea market.

• 16:20Speaker 01

  Oh my god, I thought you were gonna say he looked like a guy, you know, you know those activists handing out flyers at the, at the subway?

• 16:26Trevor Noah?

  It was worse.

• 16:26Speaker 01

  Greenpeace?

• 16:27Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, but it was worse. No, but then, at least the people have the power.

• 16:30Speaker 01

  Engage with you, yes, yes.

• 16:31Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, man, the man was begging people, said, please buy the, please.

• 16:33Speaker 01

  I'll tell you what happened, I'll tell you what I think happened. So I think this is what happened. I think Germany were a bit like us, I think they thought this wouldn't go to penalties, which is very irresponsible and very un-German, cause you have to plan, you have to plan for every eventuality.

• 16:45Trevor Noah?

  You gotta plan for everything.

• 16:46Speaker 01

  But also, I grew up with a German team, and I told you this.

• 16:50Trevor Noah?

  Man.

• 16:50Speaker 01

  The current generation of them, the current generation of German players are what I call, and you laughed, but I call them walk footballers. They are too soft and too pretty for their own good, so. When I, when I was growing up, you remember, Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff, Rudvora. When I watched Euro ninety six against England, the semi-final.

• 17:10Trevor Noah?

  German penalty takers.

• 17:11Speaker 01

  They played at Wembley. And German penalty, Stone Cold Killers, they scored five out of five. Stefan Rauter, uh, Thomas Stranz, uh, who are the others, uh?

• 17:24Trevor Noah?

  You don't, you don't even have to go over that far.

• 17:25Speaker 01

  Andreas Muller.

• 17:26Trevor Noah?

  You don't even have to go over that far back.

• 17:27Speaker 01

  Christian Ziegler.

• 17:27Trevor Noah?

  You don't even have to go that far back. Miroslav Klose, To- um, Thomas Muller, um, uh, Mario Gomez.

• 17:34Speaker 01

  You, you didn't have to ask those guys who's gonna take the penalty. They were all.

• 17:37Trevor Noah?

  Who did you wanna face with those, you know what I mean?

• 17:39Speaker 01

  No, but I'm saying, we, back then, cause again, I remember that team, Christian Ziegler, Andreas Smo- Andreas Muller. Scored the winning penalty against England at a packed Wembley, when everyone was singing, it's coming home. And you know what he did? He strutted around like a peacock. Packed Wembley, this guy had no fear. And, and so I'm saying, back then, you didn't even have to ask the Germans who's gonna take a penalty. All of them would be volunteering, all, all of them would be putting their hands up.

• 18:05Trevor Noah?

  What do you, what do you, what do you think's happened?

• 18:06Speaker 01

  I, I think what happened to German football is what's happening.

• 18:09Trevor Noah?

  No, no, no, in general, what has happened to penalty takers, like, or penalty taking? Is it that, like, cause I, I wrestle with this, I'm like. Have players become?

• 18:22Trevor Noah?

  Uh, like, I was really trying to break this down and I was like. Is this, is this the, is this like the Roberto Baggio effect? Is this like a second system effect? You and I grew up at a time when Roberto Baggio was widely considered the best footballer in the world when he was playing, right?

• 18:39Speaker 01

  Incredible player.

• 18:40Trevor Noah?

  He was the best, he was a number ten, he ruled the game. Every kid was trying to grow their hair into a ponytail.

• 18:45Speaker 01

  The divine ponytail, yes.

• 18:45Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, to try and match him. He goes to the final.

• 18:50Speaker 01

  Drags Italy, kicking and screaming.

• 18:51Trevor Noah?

  Drags Italy to the final.

• 18:52Speaker 01

  To the final, yes.

• 18:53Trevor Noah?

  And in the final, it's a penalty shootout and he has to kick.

• 18:58Speaker 01

  The final kick against Brazil.

• 18:59Trevor Noah?

  And he's.

• 19:00Speaker 01

  Funny enough, USA ninety four.

• 19:01Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, and he boots that ball, skies it.

• 19:04Speaker 01

  Into the skies, oh, into, into the sky.

• 19:05Trevor Noah?

  He kicks that, he misses that penalty so badly that his name is essentially forgotten.

• 19:13Speaker 01

  He became a byword for a missed penalty.

• 19:15Trevor Noah?

  From the, from, from the, the, like, you know, the halls of fame. No one really speaks about him. If you talk to any footballer, any people today, when you talk about football.

• 19:23Speaker 01

  They go, oh, the guy, yeah.

• 19:24Trevor Noah?

  When you say Bajjo, they're like, if they know him, they go, the guy who missed the penalty. Or they don't talk about him at all, which is pretty crazy. His career disappeared pretty much after that.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  He did, he did redeem himself in ninety eight because he scored a penalty in ninety eight. But, and then they used him in the John Walker ad.

• 19:40Trevor Noah?

  Oh, the making up for it.

• 19:42Speaker 01

  Yes, maybe, maybe, maybe that's a deep cut for soccer, but they're gonna keep walking even if you miss it. But I mean, I think that's a deep cut.

• 19:48Trevor Noah?

  But yeah, but what I'm saying is though, like, I wonder if that moment lived in the heads of so many players that the, that generation, when they got to an age where they were now playing the game, they went, the worst thing you can do

• 20:01Speaker 01

  is miss.

• 20:02Trevor Noah?

  Is miss a penalty. Cause for instance, let's even look recently, Gabriel Martinelli. He has not lived that penalty down, not him personally, but what I mean is if you go online, the amount of like memes and jokes that have come out.

• 20:15Speaker 01

  You're saying, Magares, Magares of Arsenal.

• 20:18Trevor Noah?

  Gabriel, not Martinelli, Gabriel of Arsenal, yes, not Martinelli, Gabriel from Arsenal. He misses that, that, um, that penalty.

• 20:27Speaker 01

  In the Champions League final against PSG.

• 20:29Trevor Noah?

  Right, skies it. If you go online now, there's still those jumps, you know, those jump memes where they, they make it seem like it's something else. And then all of a sudden it's him missing it. He's become the missing guy in that way. You know what I mean? I, I almost feel like players would rather let the goalkeeper take the trophy than to be the player who missed it. Because if you, because if you let the goalkeeper save it, no one remembers you as the kicker. But if you miss it, no one forgets you were the kicker.

• 20:58Speaker 01

  But I'll say this, I don't understand why players don't step up personally. Cause when I played, and I didn't play to that level, but when I played, I used to have this mentality of if someone is going to make the team sad. By missing, it would rather be me.

• 21:13Trevor Noah?

  Ronaldo has that attitude.

• 21:14Speaker 01

  It would rather be me.

• 21:15Trevor Noah?

  Do you remember that penalty shootout?

• 21:18Speaker 01

  When he did.

• 21:18Trevor Noah?

  Portugal, when he went and fetched guys off the bench, not off the bench, but off the sideline. And he said, come and kick. And he chose, I think it was Neves. I think it was Ruben Neves.

• 21:28Speaker 01

  No, no.

• 21:29Trevor Noah?

  He chose him to take the first kick, like the first kick. And he said, Ruben, come kick. And Ruben said, no. And Ronaldo said, hey. And then he looked at him and he said, hey. You kick really amazingly. He said this all in Portuguese, like, you're an amazing kicker. Come and kick that ball. He said, if you miss, you miss. It doesn't matter, but go out there, be brave, kick the ball. And I was really, it was amazing to see like that Cristiano Ronaldo said this. Cause you saw, you saw that attitude.

• 21:52Speaker 01

  I think he has learned from his lesson because Ronaldo, I think three times in his career now. I've seen him want to take the fifth penalty and it didn't reach there.

• 22:00Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 22:00Speaker 01

  And his team lost because he was waiting. Messi always takes the first penalty. Miss or not miss, he always takes the first penalty.

• 22:07Trevor Noah?

  Oh, that's interesting.

• 22:07Speaker 01

  Because you need to set the tone. So me when I was playing, and again, I didn't play at a high level, I used to go like. I would rather miss than Trevor misses. And then I spent the whole night going like, oh, maybe if I take him, yeah. They do great things. So for me, I would rather you step up because now Leon Goretzka.

• 22:22Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 22:23Speaker 01

  Who keep asking himself, maybe if I'd taken instead of Jonathan Ta, instead of Jonathan Ta, maybe. So I don't like maybes. Step up, take the penalty.

• 22:30Trevor Noah?

  Here's another question I have, like. Staying in the world of penalties. Why are the Dutch so bad at penalties? And what I mean by this is like. This is not the first World Cup where the Netherlands has gotten knocked out in penalties. Like what is it about penalties that the Dutch? Are they just unlucky? Are they, is it not something that is, I don't get it. Like, we can go back in time.

• 22:52Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 22:52Trevor Noah?

  To the greatest Dutch teams.

• 22:53Speaker 01

  Ninety-eight against Brazil.

• 22:55Trevor Noah?

  They lost in, uh, two thousand and, when?

• 22:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, Qatar against Argentina. There is, I think it's a national, for me, and that's why I was surprised by Germany. Because I think penalties have a national character attached to them. Their teams were killers when it comes to penalties. For the longest time, Germany were. And England sucked at penalties for the longest time. So I, I don't know whether that, I was surprised that Van Dijk didn't step up. He has missed penalties, yes. Messi has missed more. You you always joke about this.

• 23:23Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 23:24Speaker 01

  You always tell me Messi needs to work on penalties.

• 23:26Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 23:26Speaker 01

  But Messi still steps up every time.

• 23:28Trevor Noah?

  He does, he does.

• 23:29Speaker 01

  Van Dijk as a leader, you need to step up. Why is Bruno Guimarães taking a penalty?

• 23:34Trevor Noah?

  I still don't get that, man.

• 23:35Speaker 01

  Why?

• 23:36Trevor Noah?

  I don't know what Brazil.

• 23:37Speaker 01

  Vinny, you're on the pitch, you're the leader. Step up, take a penalty.

• 23:40Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, man, Brazil.

• 23:41Speaker 01

  Zidane, Zidane always stepped up. As a leader, you need to step it up.

• 23:45Trevor Noah?

  But now, we were watching this game together, Brazil versus Norway.

• 23:48Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 23:49Trevor Noah?

  I didn't see a moment where there was confusion. It didn't seem like Vinny didn't step up.

• 23:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 23:54Trevor Noah?

  It seems like, it seems like he was there holding the ball.

• 23:57Speaker 01

  You're right.

• 23:57Trevor Noah?

  It almost seems like Bruno Guimarães was like, no, I'm supposed to kick this.

• 24:00Speaker 01

  Hmm. He was a designated, yeah, you're right.

• 24:03Trevor Noah?

  And then again, maybe I don't know things, but in my head, I don't, I just don't understand why your striker is not kicking the penalty.

• 24:12Speaker 01

  You're right.

• 24:12Trevor Noah?

  Like, like for me, I just feel like a player,

• 24:15Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 24:16Trevor Noah?

  a forward who spends more time kicking a ball in a box.

• 24:19Speaker 01

  Into the net, into, yes.

• 24:20Trevor Noah?

  Is the player I would choose to kick it.

• 24:23Speaker 01

  You're very right.

• 24:23Trevor Noah?

  That's why, that's why with Belgium, you could even see there was like so much tension when Tillmanns took the ball.

• 24:27Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 24:28Trevor Noah?

  And said, I'm kicking it. People around him were like, what are you doing?

• 24:30Speaker 01

  Hmm. And it's a great thing. So only, so when I was playing, and this is how we used to look at it, and I agree with you. When I was playing, the most technical players, the technicians.

• 24:39Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 24:39Speaker 01

  Are the ones who should take penalties first. So the strikers, then you come down to the defend, to the, to the midfielders.

• 24:45Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 24:46Speaker 01

  And then defenders, and then keeper last.

• 24:48Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 24:48Speaker 01

  Keeper last.

• 24:49Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 24:49Speaker 01

  So when you see so many defenders stepping up, there's a problem with that team. Because technicians can pass the ball into the net.

• 24:55Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 24:55Speaker 01

  Technicians spend the whole time trying to pass the ball into the net. A defender, what do they spend most of their time doing?

• 25:00Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, they kick the ball as far as they can and as high as they can.

• 25:02Speaker 01

  Trying to not put the ball in the net.

• 25:03Trevor Noah?

  We saw the, we saw the Australian kid do that, the eighteen year old.

• 25:06Speaker 01

  He stepped up.

• 25:07Trevor Noah?

  We saw, no, but we even saw the first guy do that as well.

• 25:09Speaker 01

  Ayew Sata, yeah.

• 25:10Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 25:11Speaker 01

  Had a great game. He was a man.

• 25:13Trevor Noah?

  He also booted it out. I don't understand.

• 25:15Speaker 01

  He Gabriel Maguera's did, that's what they call it these days.

• 25:18Trevor Noah?

  You see, he's Gabriel did.

• 25:24Trevor Noah?

  We're coming to you from a boot room sponsored by Fabreeze, which if you know anything about soccer, is usually the last place you'd want to hang out. Because this is where all the gear lives. The cleats, the jerseys, the socks, the bags, everything that probably never sees a washing machine until it's too late. But right now, it actually smells fresh in here. That's because Fabreeze fabric is built for exactly this kind of odor. The stuff trapped in fabrics that you can't just throw in the wash. It doesn't just cover it up, it actually fights the odor. And I have to say, this is one of the more confident sponsorships I've ever seen.

• 26:07Trevor Noah?

  Usually brands want to put their names on the nicest room in the building. The VIP lounge, the luxury suite, the hospitality area. Fabreeze looked at the boot room and said, "No, no, no, put us in there." And honestly, I respect that. Because this room contains decades of bad decisions. Wet cleats, forgotten gym bags, socks that should have retired years ago. The kind of smells that don't just enter a room, they sign a long-term lease. And yet somehow it smells fresh. Yeah. Can you smell that, Joe?

• 26:44Speaker 01

  Smell what?

• 26:45Trevor Noah?

  Exactly! That's what is so impressive about this. Because a lot of the things in here are exactly the things that you can't throw in the wash. None of it, the cleats, the bag, the car seat after practice, that's the whole point. Fabreeze fabric is for the things the game touches that the washing machine can't. And it's made with no dyes, no formaldehydes, and uses a 100% natural nitrogen propellant. If your soccer gear is starting to smell like its own locker room, it's time for Fabreeze fabric. It doesn't just mask the odors, it fights them!

• 27:19Trevor Noah?

  Find Fabreeze fabric at Walmart.

• 27:25Trevor Noah?

  Let's talk about Brazil. Is it, is it, is it over for Brazil?

• 27:30Speaker 01

  I think Brazil.

• 27:31Trevor Noah?

  Like, like in this moment in time, and the reason I ask the question is, and you can, you can ask any of you have like, but like.

• 27:39Speaker 01

  Why do you think it's over?

• 27:40Trevor Noah?

  No, no, I'm asking. I'm not saying it's, it's over. What I'm saying is, this is the first time I've seen Brazil where I don't know who's next. I, I don't know who's in the pipeline. I don't have an obvious like idea of where Brazil's next generation is gonna come from.

• 27:56Speaker 01

  I'm not worried about the next generation.

• 27:57Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 27:58Speaker 01

  I'm not worried. They have Hendrick, they have Estevo. I think if Estevo was in this World Cup, he would have added a dimension to their attack that they were missing.

• 28:06Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, but what about the midfield?

• 28:07Speaker 01

  Ah, the midfield is aging, the midfield is killing them. It's killing, killing them.

• 28:11Trevor Noah?

  Where's the new midfield?

• 28:12Speaker 01

  It's killing them. Brazil has never though had.

• 28:13Trevor Noah?

  What about the wing backs?

• 28:14Speaker 01

  I'll say this. Okay, I'll say this.

• 28:15Trevor Noah?

  I think, I think you, you, you know, you know what you're doing, you know what you're doing right now.

• 28:18Speaker 01

  I'll say Brazil has never really relied, relied on having the flashiest defensive midfielders. Kleberson and Gilberto Silva helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup because they had Ronaldinho. So what they need is that guy in the hole. Paketa can't be your guy. And today because Paketa was out, who did, who did they play there? You can't play Matinelli in the hole. He doesn't have the vision. He doesn't have the balance. Matinelli is a winger. He can't play in the hole, in the hole, in the certain finesse, a certain vision, spatial awareness. He doesn't have that. So they're missing that player there. They were able to win the World Cup in 2002 because they had Kleberson, who was good but not spectacular. They had Gilberto Silva, but ahead of them, they had Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Aranay. Phenomenal. That's, so they need a guy in the hole.

• 29:03Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, but who, but who did they have as their wing backs?

• 29:05Speaker 01

  They're also missing because they produced Carlos and Cafu and.

• 29:08Trevor Noah?

  But that's what I'm, but that's what I'm trying to say. That's what I'm saying.

• 29:10Speaker 01

  If you're, if you're playing Danilo.

• 29:11Trevor Noah?

  If we look at Brazil's game.

• 29:13Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 29:13Trevor Noah?

  If we look at Brazil as we know it as a team.

• 29:15Speaker 01

  Flying guys.

• 29:17Trevor Noah?

  They've not focused on defense, but the wing backs, they've created the most legendary wing backs.

• 29:22Speaker 01

  They'll kill you, yes.

• 29:23Trevor Noah?

  They've created the most legendary wingers and they've created the most legendary forwards or attackers.

• 29:27Speaker 01

  That's how they have won the five. Yes, the five stars on their shirt.

• 29:30Trevor Noah?

  Now, I don't know any Brazilian wing backs who are special.

• 29:33Speaker 01

  Playing Danilo. Six hundred year old Danilo at this point in time.

• 29:38Trevor Noah?

  He's six hundred year old.

• 29:39Speaker 01

  It should be in a nursing home.

• 29:40Trevor Noah?

  Oh man.

• 29:41Speaker 01

  You're very right.

• 29:42Trevor Noah?

  Six hundred year old Danilo.

• 29:43Speaker 01

  A country that gave us Maicon, that gave us Dani Alves, that gave us Cafu, that gave us Roberto Carlos. To go back in time that gave us Carlos Alberto.

• 29:51Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, man.

• 29:52Speaker 01

  Is now playing Danilo. It's a damning indictment on Brazil.

• 29:55Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, but you know what we also got to talk about is the other side of the coin, Norway.

• 30:01Speaker 01

  I frankly, I called it and I know it sounded crazy when I said Norway would win. Uh, but Norway, I knew Norway would win because one.

• 30:09Trevor Noah?

  No, it didn't sound crazy though. But Joe, but Joe didn't know, but let's be honest, it didn't sound crazy.

• 30:12Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 30:13Trevor Noah?

  If, if anyone who knew football, it didn't sound crazy. But what sounded crazy was the idea that like Brazil wouldn't, even in the game.

• 30:23Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 30:24Trevor Noah?

  Let's say Norway won, like when we were talking about, I said, I said two, two.

• 30:28Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 30:28Trevor Noah?

  I didn't, I didn't even say, I didn't even say that.

• 30:30Speaker 01

  You said that would be good.

• 30:31Trevor Noah?

  The fact that you said two, one, the fact that I said two, two.

• 30:32Speaker 01

  You knew that would be good.

• 30:33Trevor Noah?

  Tells us that we both didn't assume that Brazil was gonna win the game in that way, right?

• 30:38Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 30:39Trevor Noah?

  But I don't think anyone thought Brazil was gonna eh fold the way they did.

• 30:46Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 30:47Trevor Noah?

  But on the other side, Norway is playing a type of football that almost feels deceivingly good, if there's such a thing.

• 30:58Speaker 01

  Deceptively good, you're right.

• 31:00Trevor Noah?

  You know what I mean? Yeah, deceptively good. You know what I mean?

• 31:02Speaker 01

  I'll, I'll say this, I'll say this. So part of the reason I fancied Norway is Norway has a very good front three. Nusa, Haaland and Soloth.

• 31:11Trevor Noah?

  I don't know about Soloth.

• 31:12Speaker 01

  You keep saying that. No, no, no, no, no.

• 31:14Trevor Noah?

  No, man.

• 31:14Speaker 01

  But when I saw, uh, my point was Nusa, I knew Nusa was going to expose Danilo. And I knew that.

• 31:19Trevor Noah?

  You didn't call that, yes. Nusa's dynamic, man.

• 31:22Speaker 01

  But the thing that made me fancy Norway even more is I knew that when Soloth eventually comes off, Oscar Bob is coming on. Oscar Bob is your boy.

• 31:29Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 31:29Speaker 01

  You love him.

• 31:29Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 31:30Speaker 01

  Then I knew that on the left, when Nusa comes on, comes off, they're bringing on Andreas Schröder up.

• 31:35Trevor Noah?

  Yep.

• 31:36Speaker 01

  I've seen Schröder up. Kill teams in the Champions League. He's a twenty two year old kid, but he plays for Benefica and he's incredible. And so I knew that when Shodderup comes up against Danilo, after Nusa has run him.

• 31:48Trevor Noah?

  Ragged, yeah.

• 31:48Speaker 01

  He's going to kill them. And Shodderup came on, created two goals. So for me, when I looked at the benches, I said, Brazil, who do you have coming off the bench? Hendrick and Neymar. I said, Norway, who do you have? I went, Norway has two killers coming off the bench. That's why I fancied. Plus the midfield battle, but that's why I fancied.

• 32:04Trevor Noah?

  What they also really have that gets overlooked? They have a structurally defend, like solid defensive line. Like, the Norway's defence is focused, is together.

• 32:16Speaker 01

  No names, by the way, all of them no names.

• 32:17Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, all no names.

• 32:18Speaker 01

  No names, yeah, you can't pick them out of a police lineup.

• 32:20Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 32:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:21Trevor Noah?

  But.

• 32:22Speaker 01

  Also because they can never be in a police lineup because they are white, but.

• 32:28Speaker 01

  They are white, blonde men, they will never be in a police lineup.

• 32:30Trevor Noah?

  But they, but they, they, they play like a, they play like a solid, boring, good football at the back.

• 32:36Speaker 01

  Okay, so I'm going to tell you something about Norway that also is, and I know might be getting into this later, or maybe this is a good segue. I'm going to tell you something about Norway that reminds me so much of Cape Verde.

• 32:47Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 32:48Speaker 01

  Their team, who are like brothers, they will lay their body on the line.

• 32:54Trevor Noah?

  That's true.

• 32:54Speaker 01

  For ever, for themselves. So for me, they remind me of Greece in Euro two thousand and four. Greece was unfancied coming to the tournament. Otto Reha, the iconic German manager, got this Greek team of dreamers.

• 33:05Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 33:06Speaker 01

  And they were fighting, like, you posted the Sparta meme, the Sparta meme.

• 33:10Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 33:11Speaker 01

  But this was real Sparta. Theos Zagorakis, Terios, Jena, Angel Kaiestas. This was a team of like dreamers who hadn't had like great footballing careers at their clubs.

• 33:20Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 33:20Speaker 01

  And my friend, they came in, beat Portugal in the opening game, beat France in the quarterfinals. They were winning one nil, one nil. Met Portugal again, Portugal was hosting, beat them again in the final, and they were just fighting for each other. When you saw that Cape Verde team, they don't have a star. Don't have a stand name. Their only stand name is, I think, Vozinha, who is the goalkeeper, and maybe Pico Lopez.

• 33:43Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, but that's not even that to your point, they're not stars.

• 33:45Speaker 01

  They fight for each other.

• 33:46Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 33:46Speaker 01

  These are guys who are, so Norway, when you look at Norway, when you look at that Greek team of, of Euro two thousand and four, and when you look at Cape Verde, these are guys who have bonded. These are guys who are going to be brothers eighty years from now, they'll be meeting, they'll be in the same WhatsApp group. You know when they're going to be, have a WhatsApp group for forever? These are guys who have bonded, and teams like that in a tournament are a menace. Because when you can trust the man on your, like they say in three hundred, when you can trust the man on your left to never run. Then you, or when you know, like if the flank collapses, the whole team collapses. These guys fight for every ball. Capvad made Argentina earn every goal, every goal.

• 34:24Trevor Noah?

  Even.

• 34:25Speaker 01

  There were no gifts.

• 34:26Trevor Noah?

  Every goal that Argentina scored, except the last one, which was, that's where it's like football and it's luck.

• 34:30Speaker 01

  Hmm. That header was going out, by the way. It was going out.

• 34:33Trevor Noah?

  Messi's goal.

• 34:34Speaker 01

  It had to be perfect.

• 34:36Trevor Noah?

  Was so good. It was so good for so many reasons. First of all, it's good because you watch Messi start the play. He's facing his team, he's standing on the edge of the box, he's walking with the back line. He starts orchestrating his players and starts moving the ball around from his position. He's not on the ball.

• 34:54Speaker 01

  He's not on the ball, yes.

• 34:55Trevor Noah?

  He's just pointing, telling people what to do, very Pedri-esque.

• 34:58Speaker 01

  Yeah, very yes, yes.

• 34:59Trevor Noah?

  You know, he's just telling people what to do, where to move, how to play. And then in a split second, the centre back takes his eye off Messi.

• 35:07Speaker 01

  Runs back onside.

• 35:08Trevor Noah?

  Messi runs back onside, then runs to get the ball, traps that ball on a half volley.

• 35:14Speaker 01

  Had to be perfect.

• 35:15Trevor Noah?

  That, that was beyond perfect.

• 35:17Speaker 01

  God.

• 35:18Trevor Noah?

  And then flicks it at the goalie's head.

• 35:21Speaker 01

  Because the keeper has to, they flinch every time.

• 35:24Trevor Noah?

  At an angle where you, you just don't think that's gonna happen, gets the goal. Now you're like, oh, okay, this is now Argentina, they've unlocked.

• 35:32Speaker 01

  You know Zlatan said that, and I think they teach it everywhere. If you're a striker, smash that ball at the keeper or just put it, because naturally, they have to flinch. No keeper is going, the natural body reaction when something is coming at it is to do this.

• 35:47Trevor Noah?

  So I, I have a different opinion on that, funny enough.

• 35:49Speaker 01

  Okay, but first, yeah, first goal, because you were saying, yeah.

• 35:50Trevor Noah?

  I don't, I don't think goalkeepers are necessarily flinching. I think goalkeepers spend so much time practicing choosing a side.

• 35:57Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 35:57Trevor Noah?

  They never think up is the side. So if you, if you, when you, when you shoot a ball, they, they're like, they're always left or right.

• 36:05Speaker 01

  Yes, okay, yeah.

• 36:06Trevor Noah?

  But very seldom are they thinking it's coming like straight here. Do, do, do you know what I mean?

• 36:10Speaker 01

  Okay, but I interrupted you. I was going like, okay, so after Messi scores.

• 36:13Trevor Noah?

  We now think.

• 36:14Speaker 01

  It's done.

• 36:15Trevor Noah?

  The layman would now think.

• 36:17Speaker 01

  It's done.

• 36:17Trevor Noah?

  Oh, okay, the game's done.

• 36:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, put a fuck in them. Yeah, that's what, that's what. Put a fuck in Cape Verde, they are done. But this is Cape Verde.

• 36:24Trevor Noah?

  Cape Verde not only comes back, they play a beautiful football. They don't, they don't pull like a, like a haram ball. They're not just kicking the ball over the top. They're not just like spamming crosses. They're not, no. They move the ball, they pass the ball, they play the ball, they move the ball, they pass the ball, they come back, they get a goal.

• 36:43Speaker 01

  Not just a goal. They not make two defenders. The first pass.

• 36:48Trevor Noah?

  And that first pass was beautiful.

• 36:50Speaker 01

  Not make Medina, they shot into the goal, not make Lisandro Martinez.

• 36:53Trevor Noah?

  Was more lucky. No, no, no, no, no, no. It was more lucky.

• 36:57Speaker 01

  I don't think it was.

• 36:57Trevor Noah?

  It was more lucky.

• 36:58Speaker 01

  I don't think it was.

• 36:59Trevor Noah?

  The first one was very much a not make.

• 37:00Speaker 01

  But I don't think it was. When I watched Duarte shoot that ball.

• 37:03Trevor Noah?

  Really?

• 37:03Speaker 01

  I don't think it was, man. Like, I watched it, he didn't just shoot, because sometimes players shoot and in shala.

• 37:08Trevor Noah?

  Okay, got it, got it.

• 37:09Speaker 01

  They shoot and in hope and go like, let me just shoot and in shala. He, that you could see him, not making two great defenders like that is never by luck. I was impressed. I thought I. Both Cape Verde goals, brother, you can't take anything away from them.

• 37:23Trevor Noah?

  Then you go, you go to the other side of the field, Argentina has the ball again, Lisandro Martinez gets it.

• 37:29Speaker 01

  Striker's finish.

• 37:29Trevor Noah?

  You're like, you're like, oh, what's he gonna do?

• 37:32Speaker 01

  He's a, he's a defender.

• 37:33Trevor Noah?

  He's a defender?

• 37:33Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 37:34Trevor Noah?

  It's on his left foot.

• 37:35Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 37:35Trevor Noah?

  Okay, I don't know what he's, he scores a banger again, similar top corner.

• 37:41Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, you're right.

• 37:41Trevor Noah?

  In the top, Vuzina not there for it.

• 37:44Speaker 01

  Kind of expected though, because he, he, he, he learnt his trade, uh, Martinez, Lisandro, they call him the butcher.

• 37:49Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 37:50Speaker 01

  But people forget he learnt his trade at Ajax. You don't play for Ajax if you're not technically sound.

• 37:55Trevor Noah?

  Well, I didn't, I didn't think of that, actually.

• 37:56Speaker 01

  If you're tech, Ajax doesn't just sign anyone. You have to be technically sound on the ball. So, he has scored some bangers.

• 38:02Trevor Noah?

  He has.

• 38:03Speaker 01

  Uh, Lisandro, but yeah, you, again, you're saying, yeah, he scores, yeah. Yeah, again.

• 38:07Trevor Noah?

  And then Cape Verde comes along, strings together, what was it, like fifteen, twenty passes?

• 38:13Speaker 01

  Twenty passes, yes.

• 38:13Trevor Noah?

  Coming up the field, moving the ball beautifully. Argentina chasing shadows, Argentina chasing shadows. You see them. Running from the top right corner of the box, Cape Verde passes it forward, the man brings it down, brings it around. They move, they switch positions, they slowly come creeping down the left side of the field. They move the ball. You think, okay, there's nothing, they, what are they gonna do here? And then.

• 38:37Trevor Noah?

  The left winger gets the ball.

• 38:39Speaker 01

  One on one with McAllister.

• 38:41Trevor Noah?

  But.

• 38:42Speaker 01

  Shake of the hips.

• 38:43Trevor Noah?

  But so far away from the goals. That the worst you're thinking is a good cross. And that man.

• 38:49Speaker 01

  You're praying for a good cross, yes.

• 38:51Trevor Noah?

  That man.

• 38:51Speaker 01

  A shake of the hips.

• 38:52Trevor Noah?

  Yo, man, he released.

• 38:53Speaker 01

  He sent McAllister back to Buenos Aires.

• 38:57Trevor Noah?

  A banger.

• 38:57Speaker 01

  My god. I'll tell, I'll tell you.

• 38:59Trevor Noah?

  Goal of the World Cup.

• 39:00Speaker 01

  I'll tell you two things about it. An, an instant, instant contender for goal of the.

• 39:06Trevor Noah?

  That's goal of the World Cup.

• 39:07Speaker 01

  Yes, no, goal of the year. You know the award, the famous award?

• 39:10Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 39:10Speaker 01

  That they give out, goal of the year are the push cars.

• 39:13Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 39:13Speaker 01

  Eh, from Ferenc Puskas, immediate contender, just not because of the goal, by the way.

• 39:17Trevor Noah?

  The whole play.

• 39:18Speaker 01

  They build up.

• 39:18Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 39:19Speaker 01

  They should, they should.

• 39:19Trevor Noah?

  And the team they were up against.

• 39:21Speaker 01

  Perfect.

• 39:21Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, and the moment.

• 39:22Speaker 01

  I'll say two things about that game. One, that goal that you just described.

• 39:27Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 39:27Speaker 01

  Reminded me so much of the goal Saudi Arabia scored against Argentina to win in twenty twenty two. It was almost the same goal. Into the top corner.

• 39:36Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 39:36Speaker 01

  Ah, ah, ah, Al Sawali, Al, Al Dawasri, sorry. And then the goal Messi scored reminded me so much of a similar goal that Messi scored against Nigeria. If you remember, Messi checked, it was at twenty eighteen World Cup, the one that had Diego Maradona praying to the gods.

• 39:53Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 39:53Speaker 01

  Messi checked, ball over the top, that time I think it was, ah, the great midfielder, I can, I'm, I'm ranking on his name. Ball over the top, brought it down, and he was off to the races. But again, kept very contact. Even the celebration from that goal makes it for me a push cast. Cause he didn't just celebrate, he ran to the crowd and looked for his girlfriend.

• 40:15Trevor Noah?

  He was, yo, that moment, I thought the guy was, like, he, he, he forgot there was a game.

• 40:20Speaker 01

  He forgot. He stopped the game, brother. He's, cause they were waiting for him.

• 40:23Trevor Noah?

  He forgot there was a game. He forgot there were teammates.

• 40:26Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 40:26Trevor Noah?

  He, he, he could not believe what he had experienced.

• 40:30Speaker 01

  No, I was reading their story. It's a beautiful story, cause he was playing in the German third division.

• 40:33Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 40:33Speaker 01

  Just, I think, eighteen or so months ago, this guy had stood by him. It was a great, it was a great moment. I'm not even a romantic like that. I'm a cynical, cynical, cynical football fan. I'm a cynic. I don't have a tender spot in my heart, but that really, really did bring a tear to your eye.

• 40:47Trevor Noah?

  I saw, I saw, um, the rumors. Fabrizio Romano said apparently Inter Miami might be signing Vazinha.

• 40:52Speaker 01

  They should. He was incredible.

• 40:54Trevor Noah?

  That would be amazing.

• 40:54Speaker 01

  He's the Messi stopper.

• 40:55Trevor Noah?

  Can I tell you?

• 40:56Speaker 01

  He's the Messi stopper. They better sign him.

• 40:57Trevor Noah?

  I also think that would be like a beautiful, it's just, it's just a wonderful reward for a player.

• 41:02Speaker 01

  I saw him with the jersey with David Beckham. It would be great. He's forty, he would earn some good money.

• 41:08Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 41:08Speaker 01

  He's a star. He's definitely a star. Social media.

• 41:10Trevor Noah?

  He's got twenty million followers now on on on social media.

• 41:13Speaker 01

  Yeah, he would be good. But I but the thing I loved about that game, Trevor, even if they lost, Cape Verde, those players, first of all, will never buy a dinner or buy a beer in Cape Verde ever again. Chances are their grandkids will never buy a beer. If you represent your country like that, if you make your country that proud.

• 41:32Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 41:33Speaker 01

  Because now everyone knows what Cape Verde is. They actually, for me, if they had dumped out Argentina, they did, they came close, but for me, that would have been the biggest upset since Cameroon beat Maradona's Argentina in nineteen ninety. It was incredible.

• 41:45Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 41:45Speaker 01

  It was, it was, it was a beautiful game. It was. It was the game of the tournament.

• 41:50Trevor Noah?

  Were you sad? Because on the one hand, you've got your goat Messi. On the other hand, you've got Cape Verde, who you've been pushing from the beginning of the tournament.

• 41:58Trevor Noah?

  Are you happy with the results?

• 42:00Speaker 01

  I'm happy with the result because I want Messi to win back-to-back championships. But if they had lost, for me, I've told you this, Trevor, and you asked, and you you did say that me when Barcelona loses, I never get down. It's because for me, when you beat a team with Messi, you've earned the victory. I love Messi, I support Messi, but Messi is such a good player that if you beat him, I can never be sad. I go like, you've earned it. Because it takes a special team to beat Messi. When when Liverpool beat us four nil, when Liverpool beat Barcelona four nil, and they came back from a three-nil down.

• 42:31Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 42:32Speaker 01

  I want like fair play, because I love the game. I love Messi, but I love the game of football more than Messi.

• 42:38Trevor Noah?

  Let's talk about another player that you love talking about, Cristiano Ronaldo.

• 42:43Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 42:44Trevor Noah?

  We, in our last episode, we said something that I would argue has now proved to be true. We said, if Portugal wants to go through, by hook or crook, Ronaldo's gonna have to be off the field.

• 42:59Trevor Noah?

  Portugal was playing against Croatia.

• 43:00Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 43:01Trevor Noah?

  Was a tense, tense match where Portugal never looked like they were gonna pull away. They get awarded a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo steps up, takes the penalty brilliantly.

• 43:10Speaker 01

  Brilliantly, yes.

• 43:10Trevor Noah?

  Scores the penalty.

• 43:11Speaker 01

  High-pressure penalty.

• 43:11Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, scores the penalty. But then again, the match goes back to a tense game where anything can happen.

• 43:19Speaker 01

  Croatia could have won it, uh, uh, Mateo Kovacic.

• 43:22Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 43:22Speaker 01

  With that run.

• 43:23Trevor Noah?

  Kovacic made a crazy run.

• 43:24Speaker 01

  Hit the post, yes.

• 43:26Trevor Noah?

  And then Portugal's coach Roberto Martinez.

• 43:28Speaker 01

  That woke him up.

• 43:29Trevor Noah?

  Makes a ballsy decision. Substitutes Cristiano Ronaldo and I'm sure you remember the moment.

• 43:35Speaker 01

  Yes, I remember.

• 43:36Trevor Noah?

  Anyone who was watching it will remember this moment. Ronaldo looks up at the board showing who's being substituted. He looks at the sideline, he looks at the boards, he looks around him. And you can see he's going, guys, I think this is a malfunction because I see my number.

• 43:52Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 43:53Trevor Noah?

  But there is no world.

• 43:54Speaker 01

  Yes, in which.

• 43:55Trevor Noah?

  Where I would be getting substituted.

• 43:56Speaker 01

  When the team needs a goal.

• 43:57Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 43:58Speaker 01

  When your team needs a goal.

• 43:59Trevor Noah?

  He looks up, he looks down, he looks up, he looks around.

• 44:01Speaker 01

  He was in disbelief, yes.

• 44:02Trevor Noah?

  He's always waiting for someone to say, sorry, sorry, sorry, that, not, not your seven, another number seven. He comes off the field, not, doesn't throw a tantrum to his group, but you can see.

• 44:11Speaker 01

  He was, yeah.

• 44:12Trevor Noah?

  He's, he's in disbelief though. He, he has like a, okay, I guess.

• 44:15Speaker 01

  I guess that happened, yes.

• 44:16Trevor Noah?

  I guess that happened. And then, a few moments later. Portugal gets their goal, Rafa Leao swings across.

• 44:25Speaker 01

  Your boy. He had, he had, he had swung crosses in for Ronaldo.

• 44:30Trevor Noah?

  Yo, man, Ronaldo, again.

• 44:31Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 44:32Trevor Noah?

  Say what you want, he had missed so many chances, so many crosses up until that point.

• 44:38Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 44:38Trevor Noah?

  And then there you go, Ramos comes in.

• 44:40Speaker 01

  Gonzalo Ramos, one, one cross and boom.

• 44:43Trevor Noah?

  And a fantastic goal.

• 44:44Speaker 01

  And not just, okay, I'll say this first of all, before I talk about Gonzalo Ramos's goal. I have to give kudos to Roberto Martinez. I'm one of his biggest critics. I think he wasted Belgium's golden generation of Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois and Robert Rukaku and Eden Hazard.

• 45:00Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 45:00Speaker 01

  I think and Driz Martins, I think he wasted them. And I thought, even coming to this tournament, I think, I still think he might waste Portugal's golden generation.

• 45:10Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 45:10Speaker 01

  But on the day, he made a ballsy, gutsy decision because before he took Ronaldo off, Portugal was being overrun in the middle because they had one man less in the middle. Because Ronaldo doesn't track back. That's why when Mateo Kovacic got that ball, he just ran through the middle. So he realized we need another body in the middle to staunch the flow. He brings on Ruben Neves and I think you saw what happened. The game settled back into a fifty fifty. So that was ballsy for me. That was, that was an incredible, I didn't think Martinez had it in him. He brings on, so when he brings on Ruben Neves, Ruben Neves goes in the middle, then Gonzalo Ramos plays as the nine, which is where he thrives. The last time he repressed Ronaldo, he scored a hat trick in Qatar.

• 45:54Speaker 01

  So when he scores that header, part of the reason why I screamed that Ronaldo would never do that was one, I'd seen crosses coming in and Ronaldo's not getting to the end of them. But also two, Gonzalo Ramos, that was a tough header. He jumped in between.

• 46:10Trevor Noah?

  It was so good.

• 46:10Speaker 01

  Three defenders.

• 46:11Trevor Noah?

  And to get that much direction and power on it.

• 46:13Speaker 01

  And power and also like, but he's jumping in between three defenders. I saw, I saw the former, I saw the former Liverpool defender, Croatian defender, uh, talking about it. I think I remember him. He was a great, great Liverpool defender, kind of chaotic. And he said, I think Croatia gave the ball away because there is no way in my days, a striker would have jumped between three defenders. One of you has to get to that ball. So it wasn't an easy header, you'd think it was. And so for me, that's what Gonzalo Ramos gives you. Gonzalo Ramos gives you a target man, Gonzalo Ramos gives you deadly finishing, Gonzalo Ramos gives you the ability to track and press that Ronaldo doesn't. I feel Ronaldo should be doing what Neymar did. I feel Ronaldo should be coming on the last fifteen minutes,

• 46:56Speaker 01

  last twenty minutes against aging tired defenders.

• 46:59Trevor Noah?

  Be a talisman player.

• 47:00Speaker 01

  Against tired minds.

• 47:02Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, be a talisman player. Um, let's get into a few predictions.

• 47:06Speaker 01

  Before, before we get into the prediction, I just want to talk about this one. And we disagreed and I don't like when we do a podcast and we don't disagree. The Croatian goal. You called it immediately, you went like it was offside.

• 47:16Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 47:18Speaker 01

  I disagreed immediately.

• 47:19Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 47:20Speaker 01

  And I still disagree. The reason I disagree is this, I feel everyone focuses on the snicker. The ball was attacked by Matanovic or not.

• 47:29Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 47:29Speaker 01

  I think they're focusing on the wrong thing. The focus should be on was Renato Vega trying to make a defensive play. Cause if you say it was unintentional, then the Croatian player was offside. Passa, it was offside, but for me, I argue that Renato Vega was making a defensive play. Why?

• 47:47Trevor Noah?

  So, so let me, so let me tell you why I think you lose this argument if you're gonna do that. I think by the strict interpretation of the game.

• 47:54Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 47:55Trevor Noah?

  The player jumping that close to a ball in an offside way is offside, in my opinion.

• 48:00Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 48:01Trevor Noah?

  It is offside.

• 48:02Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 48:02Trevor Noah?

  You cannot, this thing of like, did they touch the ball or not is irrelevant.

• 48:06Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 48:06Trevor Noah?

  When the player is actively trying to play the ball and is this close to playing the ball, you know why? We have to defend them.

• 48:11Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 48:12Trevor Noah?

  The whole field has to shift with them. The purpose of the offside rule is to protect the game from an unfair advantage or disadvantage, right? So if a player is jumping to head of the ball and they happen to miss it by a hair.

• 48:23Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 48:23Trevor Noah?

  Let's say they didn't touch it. How is that not offside? You made an active effort to play the ball, right? You made an active effort, people had to defend you. Because of your positioning, the ball might have been missed by somebody else or somebody got thrown off. The same way if you block the goalkeeper's view and it's offside, it's offside. You interfered with the play, to me, whether you touched it or not, that is an offside.

• 48:43Speaker 01

  Okay, so here's where I disagree with you. Uh, for me, if it was a midfielder in that situation. And if Renato Vega hadn't stooped, if it had hit him while he was standing upright. It's unintentional and accidental. Renato Vega stoops, I've played as a defender, listen, I'm saying, no, I'm saying I played as a defender. Some people saying he was ducking, a defender stoops to head the ball. So let me ask you, if I'm a defender, let me ask you this, let me ask you this.

• 49:07Trevor Noah?

  Joe, I'm saying, I'm saying yours, you, you're measuring the wrong part of time.

• 49:10Speaker 01

  No, I'm saying they focused on the wrong thing, they focused on Matanovic, they should focus on Renato Vega.

• 49:15Trevor Noah?

  They can't though. It's like, it's like a mathematical equation, if, if, if.

• 49:19Speaker 01

  Okay, Trevor, let me ask you.

• 49:19Trevor Noah?

  So let's start with the first thing.

• 49:20Speaker 01

  Yes, okay, let me, let me ask you a question.

• 49:22Trevor Noah?

  Let me ask you a simple question, simple question. Did the first man try to play the ball in an offside position?

• 49:28Speaker 01

  If he, yes.

• 49:29Trevor Noah?

  Did he or did he not?

• 49:30Speaker 01

  If Renato Vega doesn't touch it, yes.

• 49:31Trevor Noah?

  No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

• 49:32Speaker 01

  No, no.

• 49:32Trevor Noah?

  The first man, the man who jumps.

• 49:34Speaker 01

  He wasn't offside. He wasn't offside. Matanovic wasn't offside. The offside player is Pasaric, behind. Cause when Matanovic touches the ball.

• 49:41Trevor Noah?

  Oh, yeah, okay. So you're saying if he doesn't touch it on the other side.

• 49:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, no, it's a goal. Cause, cause Pasaric was, Pasaric was onside. No, Pasaric was on.

• 49:48Trevor Noah?

  But he wasn't playing it.

• 49:49Speaker 01

  No, no, listen. So when the ball comes.

• 49:51Trevor Noah?

  No, but he wasn't playing it.

• 49:51Speaker 01

  When the ball comes in, Pasaric is onside. When Matanovic touches it with the hair, Pasaric is offside. But then the ball hits Renato Vega. So the reason I think Renato Vega was making a defensive play and it was intentional is because if that ball hits Renato Vega on the forehead and goes out and goes back, it's a defensive clearance. But he screwed up his head and the ball hit him on the top of his head, went to Pasaric. That's why for me, I'm going like they focused on the wrong play. The right play is, is Renato Vega.

• 50:19Trevor Noah?

  I think those things are all offside to me. I, I think they've made the offside rule too complicated.

• 50:22Speaker 01

  Too complicated. You're right. You're right.

• 50:24Trevor Noah?

  I think they've made it too complicated.

• 50:26Speaker 01

  Can you talk about the African teams, please? Cause many of my friends were traumatized.

• 50:31Trevor Noah?

  By who?

• 50:32Speaker 01

  By the way African teams crushed out. Senegal, African teams kept crashing out with ten minutes to go. They were winning most of their games with ten minutes to go.

• 50:40Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 50:41Speaker 01

  And most of my friends, cause I picked, when we made the predictions, I got all the African teams right. I said Egypt and Morocco were progressing.

• 50:48Trevor Noah?

  Yes.

• 50:48Speaker 01

  I said the rest were going to be dumped out. And so my friends were asking me, why did I do that? And also part of this is why I wasn't had broken when African teams lost out. It's because I've been traumatized enough by African teams. In fact, Trevor, I shouldn't be holding this podcast in a chair. I should be on a couch because I'm going to trauma dump on you. So I've watched enough football to know that when it comes to the knockouts, African teams always find a way. For some reason, it could be structural, it could be psychological, I don't know what's happening. But African teams always find a way and unfortunately, mostly black African teams, find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It started when I was a wee lad.

• 51:30Speaker 01

  I was really young. I think I was around five, six. I remember Cameroon, nineteen ninety World Cup. I remember my, my father and my uncles and the whole village going crazy when Cameroon with nine men beat Diego Maranas.

• 51:44Speaker 01

  Argentina, in the opening game.

• 51:45Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 51:46Speaker 01

  And this was the Cameroon team.

• 51:47Trevor Noah?

  That's when we, that's when we thought the world, we thought it was coming.

• 51:49Speaker 01

  Pele in nineteen seventy seven said, an African team is going to win the World Cup by the year two thousand. In nineteen ninety, we all believed. I remember I was young and I think, maybe it's not just my memory, it's also because I've watched like clips and afterwards. I remember when Mambik scored that header, because that, that team was good. He had Roger Mira, Mambik, uh, Siro Makana, Kito Masinko, all these great players. When they beat Argentina with nine men, we were like, they're going to win it. They topped their group, they went into, they beat Romania two one, Roger Mira scoring a double. I remember the village going crazy. I was young, but you know, I think that's when I fell, I fell in love with this game. They went into the knockout rounds, round of sixteen, beat Colombia. Roger Mira, I remember clearly watching Roger Mira steal that ball from Rene Higuain, scoring, going to the corner flag.

• 52:29Trevor Noah?

  And doing his little dance.

• 52:30Speaker 01

  Doing the dance, yes. And we went like, this is it. They played England. Cameroon was eight minutes away from winning it. They conceded a penalty. Gary Lineker scores, goes into extra time. Gary Lineker scores another penalty, Cameroon out. I remember the way the village felt after that.

• 52:48Trevor Noah?

  Nigeria?

• 52:49Speaker 01

  Na- nineteen ninety four, Nigeria, a famous Nigerian team, Peter Ruffai and Rashidi Akin, Samson Sia Sia. That was Ammanu Ramoniki, Danny Ramo Kachi, incredible Nigerian team that won the Nations Cup.

• 52:59Trevor Noah?

  Yep.

• 53:00Speaker 01

  The one they had. Everyone thought this is it. They go, win their group again.

• 53:04Trevor Noah?

  Yep.

• 53:04Speaker 01

  Win their group again, Trevor. They reach the round of sixteen, play Italy. They are winning with, I think, two minutes to go. Roberto Baggio scores a goal. Extra time, Roberto Baggio scores again. They are out. I go like, okay, maybe that was bad luck. Nineteen ninety eight, Nigerian team, same Nigerian team now even better because they had Jedi Okocha, Nuankokanu, a better team. They humiliated Spain in the opening game, winning three two. Famous goal by Olise, Long Ranger, winning that. I remember I was in high school and I went like, this is it. This is the team. Trevor, round of sixteen, because they had played so well, they were given Denmark.

• 53:44Speaker 01

  Everyone thought this is a walkover. Denmark beat Nigeria four one. The game was over by the fifteenth minute. And I went like, you know what? I think I'm done. But then, but then because football keeps giving you hope. Two thousand and two, Senegal, first game against France. They win one nil. Papa Boubadiop. Great team with Khalidou Fadegail Haji-Joof, Salif Jaou of Liverpool. Incredible team. They beat, they beat, uh, Zidane wasn't playing, but they still beat France, who are the world champions. We were like, this is it. They go on, defeat Denmark. We are like, this is it. They reach, they play Turkey. Now we are just playing for a, a, an African team to reach the semifinals. They meet Turkey. Turkey beats them. Last minute goal by Iran Mancis.

• 54:28Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, Ghana, Ghana, Ghana against Uruguay.

• 54:30Speaker 01

  That's the one that.

• 54:31Trevor Noah?

  They missed, they missed the penalty.

• 54:32Speaker 01

  That's the one that broke my heart.

• 54:33Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, they missed the penalty.

• 54:34Speaker 01

  That's the first time. That's the first time that every African got really traumatized by an African team. Cause Ghana get a penalty. Suarez did what Suarez had to do.

• 54:43Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, but they had the penalty.

• 54:44Speaker 01

  Penalty. I was watching that game. I was in South Africa as part of a delegation of, of African journalists who were like picked by Reuters to come and cover that game. I was watching it with my African friends. Uh, Ghana get the penalty with a minute to go. And as someone Jan stands up, steps up, and I tell my African journalist friends, I tell them, he's going to miss. Then they go like, no. I tell them, guys, precedent, he's going to miss. I've watched enough games, he's going to miss. He steps up, hits that ball against the crossbar, Ghana loses later. That's the first time I realized, oh, soccer fans hate the bitter truth. Cause my friends.

• 55:17Trevor Noah?

  So wait, wait. So why, so why do you think this? Why do you think this happens to African teams?

• 55:21Speaker 01

  I don't know, man. I can't place, I don't know the structure or psychological.

• 55:24Trevor Noah?

  Witchcraft.

• 55:25Speaker 01

  I don't know what it happened. I.

• 55:26Trevor Noah?

  Why don't you look at witchcraft, Joe?

• 55:28Speaker 01

  White people, white people watch witchcraft never works on us. What are you talking about?

• 55:30Trevor Noah?

  Why, why are you ignoring the elephant in the room, Joe?

• 55:33Speaker 01

  No, but I, I remember that day. Cause no one, no one asked me, how did you know? Why? People were just, they felt like I was trolling them. They wonder, why did you have to say it? They felt like, people felt like I, I had made him miss. And then.

• 55:45Trevor Noah?

  Witchcraft.

• 55:46Speaker 01

  And then, and then you saw what happened in twenty fourteen as well. You saw what happened. Algeria and Nigeria both make it. And they both lose with, both of them lose with like two minutes to go in their matches. For me, it's, it's, it's a, and so that's why when you asked me last week, which team is going to make it through, I was so sure. All the black African teams would let us down and lose in heartbreaking fashion. And I was only sure Morocco and Egypt would go through because Morocco showed me in twenty twenty two that they don't have the psychological mental block. They will win games and I think you saw them against the Netherlands. Morocco against the Netherlands, another team, I'm sorry to say, but I think another African team would have collapsed. Morocco didn't. Netherlands took the lead.

• 56:29Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, they did.

• 56:29Speaker 01

  And Morocco went like, okay, the Moroccan, first of all, let's just give for me my man of the week. And I know the Cape Verde coach is amazing, but my coach of the week, Mohamed Owabie, the coach of Morocco. He was paratrooped in with three months to go to handle this team in the World Cup because he helped Morocco win the under twenty World Cup. Just in last year, he was paratrooped in and has made this team his own against the Netherlands. When Gakpo scored with just like what fourteen minutes.

• 56:55Trevor Noah?

  No, I mean, he played it.

• 56:56Speaker 01

  He brought on three twenty year olds, Trevor. He didn't just. He had like, he had Elkabi.

• 57:01Trevor Noah?

  No, he played it. He played it. Completely. I'm with you.

• 57:03Speaker 01

  He brought on three twenty one. The amount of bravery it takes to bring on three twenty year olds. Morabert, uh, uh, who are the others? Uh, Gesami Hassan and Tably. One of them ended up taking a penalty. A twenty year old stood up and took a penalty and scored it. For me, that takes a certain amount of mental and psychological bravery. And that's why I'm backing Morocco to go, not to go all the way because I think they are four years too short. I think they'll win when they host it.

• 57:32Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 57:33Speaker 01

  And I think they're going to.

• 57:33Trevor Noah?

  You don't think they're gonna beat France?

• 57:34Speaker 01

  I think, I think they'll fall short. I think they'll fall short this year, but they have such a young crack. They have such a young core. And when you look at their midfield, we've been, we've been raving about Ayubuadi, right?

• 57:47Trevor Noah?

  And yet, I mean, there's other stars that have shown.

• 57:49Speaker 01

  So I'll tell you this, every midfielder in Morocco has stepped up. Ayubu was amazing against Brazil. But then when I watched Netherlands, I think El Anawi is even a better midfielder. I think he should be playing for Barcelona. He's incredible. I haven't seen a midfielder break up play and launch attacks like that since Xavi. And then in the game, last game, guess who stepped up against Canada? Onahi. Every midfielder is stepping up. Brahim has four assists. Every midfielder is stepping up. El Canaus, who plays on the left, he's incredible, tracking back all the time. So for me, I think this Moroccan team has something. It has like a resilience to it, but I think they're too short. I think they're winning in twenty thirty.

• 58:27Trevor Noah?

  There's only one uh prediction I'm looking for here, Joe. USA, Belgium.

• 58:32Speaker 01

  I think.

• 58:33Trevor Noah?

  Because this was the game.

• 58:34Speaker 01

  I think Belgium is going to win.

• 58:35Trevor Noah?

  You think Belgium's winning?

• 58:36Speaker 01

  I think I think USA has run its course. I think all the host countries.

• 58:39Trevor Noah?

  What has Belgium shown you that makes you think they're gonna win?

• 58:42Speaker 01

  They've shown me that they have character.

• 58:44Trevor Noah?

  You think Team USA doesn't have character?

• 58:46Speaker 01

  My friend, they came back and beat Senegal. That was character. Yuri Tillemans.

• 58:50Trevor Noah?

  No, my friend, you're gonna say that they've shown that they have character.

• 58:54Speaker 01

  I think.

• 58:55Trevor Noah?

  When they came back against teams that you say crumble consistently.

• 58:58Speaker 01

  Okay, okay, okay, okay.

• 58:59Trevor Noah?

  What has Team USA shown you that doesn't say character?

• 59:02Speaker 01

  Okay, let me explain it. So I feel like in tournaments.

• 59:05Trevor Noah?

  So I'll tell you.

• 59:05Speaker 01

  No, no, let me just pass it.

• 59:06Trevor Noah?

  So here's what I think. Here's what I think. I think if Team USA runs them ragged in the first forty-five.

• 59:13Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 59:14Trevor Noah?

  Team USA wins the game. I think Team USA has to take the game away from Belgium early. Because I think Belgium is relying on their prowess as a footballing like nation. Or rather, the individual players like Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Trossard, Tillemans, et cetera, et cetera. But I don't think that they have the legs nor the stamina to win the game. But if if um the USA lets them play the game for enough time. I think that's why they'll I think that's why they'll lose.

• 59:43Speaker 01

  Ah, the thing, the one part, the reason I disagree with you is I think you're judging Belgium. On how they have been playing this tournament.

• 59:49Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, you're not wrong. That's exactly how I judge them.

• 59:51Speaker 01

  I think, I think, I think.

• 59:54Trevor Noah?

  That's exactly how I judge them.

• 59:55Speaker 01

  And you're right, and you're right. But I think why you're slightly wrong is the result against Senegal changes everything.

• 1:00:01Trevor Noah?

  Oh, that's interesting. Okay, okay. You think that's given them the turn?

• 1:00:05Speaker 01

  In tournament football, you need a moment that trauma bonds you.

• 1:00:09Trevor Noah?

  Okay.

• 1:00:09Speaker 01

  For the team to come out.

• 1:00:10Trevor Noah?

  Yeah, you're a big fan of trauma bonding.

• 1:00:11Speaker 01

  So for Argentina, it was the loss to Saudi Arabia.

• 1:00:14Trevor Noah?

  And now you think it's Cape Verde for Argentina?

• 1:00:16Speaker 01

  So Argentina.

• 1:00:17Trevor Noah?

  And now for Belgium, it was the...

• 1:00:19Speaker 01

  You need that thing where you go like, yo, we've been forged in fire.

• 1:00:21Trevor Noah?

  Okay. And then so for Morocco, it was the Netherlands?

• 1:00:24Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:00:24Trevor Noah?

  For France, it's Paraguay?

• 1:00:25Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:00:26Trevor Noah?

  Okay, okay.

• 1:00:27Speaker 01

  So for you to win a tournament, you can't just stroll through the tournament.

• 1:00:32Trevor Noah?

  You've got to have your rocky, your rocky moment.

• 1:00:33Speaker 01

  Yes, you're going to face a setback at some point, and whether you stand up or not, that's what tests you. So for me, I think Belgium, that moment, you remember they were fighting before that moment?

• 1:00:43Trevor Noah?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:44Speaker 01

  That moment bonded them as brothers and also makes you believe that, hey, we are invincible. The Knicks, the Knicks, let's go back to basket, baby. The Knicks, when they won that game when Oji Ananobi came in and bam. You can't come back. There's something that that makes to it, that gives to it. There's a certain invincibility. So for me, I think Argentina needed it.

• 1:01:05Trevor Noah?

  We'll see what happens.

• 1:01:05Speaker 01

  Argentina needed it against, uh...

• 1:01:06Trevor Noah?

  We'll see.

• 1:01:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:01:07Trevor Noah?

  We'll see what happens. I mean, look, it's one of those games, I don't know who's gonna win.

• 1:01:11Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 1:01:11Trevor Noah?

  It's not an obvious one, but I just wonder if...

• 1:01:13Speaker 01

  I think, I think Belgium's...

• 1:01:14Trevor Noah?

  Having the president and the nation and Bellegan and like having that whole thing behind you.

• 1:01:19Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 1:01:20Trevor Noah?

  And I wonder if Belgium feels a little hard done by, does it work against them? It's just gonna, it's gonna be an interesting one. But let's, let's wrap it then, go watch the game.

• 1:01:28Speaker 01

  I think the hosts, their race is run. Mexico, the US, their race is run.

• 1:01:32Trevor Noah?

  Okay, well, let's, let's watch the games and we'll see.

• 1:01:34Speaker 01

  I think Hurricane is going to kill Mexico today because they're going to try to play attacking football when they should be sitting back.

• 1:01:38Trevor Noah?

  Then let's watch the game. It's been fun.

• 1:01:40Speaker 01

  It's, no, it's always fun.

• 1:01:40Trevor Noah?

  This has been fun, my friend.

• 1:01:41Speaker 01

  It's always fun.

• 1:01:42Trevor Noah?

  Let's see how the games play out.

• 1:01:48Trevor Noah?

  This segment is brought to you by Fabreeze. You know what's funny about soccer's growth in America? Everybody talks about the stadiums, the fans, the television audiences, the stars coming over to play here, but nobody talks about the smell. Think about it. More kids are playing soccer, more adults are playing soccer, more leagues, more tournaments, more gear, and every piece of that gear eventually ends up in a room exactly like this one, which is why today we're doing an official smell draft. That's right. With the overall pick in the draft of smells, I am taking soccer cleats. No hesitation. Those things spent 90 minutes running through sweat, grass, mud, rain, sunshine,

• 1:02:33Trevor Noah?

  and occasionally, somebody else's foot. Joe, what are you taking for the second pick?

• 1:02:38Speaker 01

  Oh, with the second pick, hands down, I'll take the gear bag. Because the gear bag isn't just one smell, it's an entire ecosystem.

• 1:02:47Trevor Noah?

  Actually, that's a good pick. I was hoping you wouldn't go with the gear bag. For the third pick, I'm going with the backseat of the car after practice. Yeah, parents, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You open the door, and immediately you realize the game has followed everybody home. Honestly, that's why this room is so confusing. Every instinct tells me that a professional boot room should smell terrible. This should be the place where we experience one of the strongest home-field advantages of sports. And yet somehow, it smells fresh. That's because Fabreeze Fabric is built for the things you can't throw in the wash.

• 1:03:27Trevor Noah?

  The cleats, the bags, the car seats, all the places where the game rarely leaves its mark. If your soccer gear is starting to smell like its own locker room, it's time for Fabreeze Fabric. It doesn't just mask odors, it helps fight them. Oh yeah! Find Fabreeze Fabric at Walmart. Man, you nailed that spray. That was amazing. Did you see how fresh it got in this room?

• 1:03:57Trevor Noah?

  What Now World Cup bonus episodes are produced by Day Zero Productions in partnership with Sirius XM. Executive produced by Trevor Noah, Sanaz Yamin, Ryan Harduth, and Rebecca Shane. Music, mixing, and mastering by Hannes Brown. Thank you so much for listening. Join us every Monday during the World Cup for bonus episodes of What Now with Trevor Noah.

• 1:04:26Trevor Noah?

  Thanks again to Fabreeze for sponsoring this episode. Fabreeze is the official odor fighter of Major League Soccer. That's the point. Fabreeze fabric is for everything the game touches that the washing machine can't.

• 1:04:39Trevor Noah?

  You're not changing anything. It was really fresh after the first spray.

• 1:04:42Speaker 01

  Ahhh.

• 1:04:42Trevor Noah?

  I feel like you're just, you're just having fun with the bottle now.

• 1:04:45Speaker 01

  I just have too much. Peep, peep, peep.

• 1:04:46Trevor Noah?

  No one man should have all that power.