Three Semi’s | The Beautiful Pod

Adam is joined by Elliot Smith and producer Sam to talk the remaining quarter final matches and review France vs. Morocco. Host: Adam FriedlandCohost: Sam SerxnerGuest: Elliot SmithExecutive Producers: Adam Friedland, Marc Fineman, and Mason KleinWriters: Adam Friedland and Sam SerxnerProducers: Sam Serxner, Julia Cassidy, and Chris WholersEditor: Jon RoemerStudio Tech: Adam Tarin--See Adam on tour https://theadamfriedland.show/pages/tour--JOIN THE FRIEDLAND FAMILY FOUNDATION / PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION:https://www.youtube.com/@TheAdamFriedlandShow/join--Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheAdamFriedlandShow--Buy our merch: https://theadamfriedland.show/collections/new--X: https://x.com/adam_talkshowInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theadamfriedlandshowTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adamfriedlandshowclipsYouTube: Subscribe to @TheAdamFriedlandShow here:https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAdamFriedlandShowSubscribe to @TAFSClips here: https://www.youtube.com/@tafsclipsThe Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

• 0:04Adam Friedland?

  Welcome to the Beautiful Pod. We got the Beautiful Boys here today. Producer Sam, Adam, and very shortly Elliot Smith. No, not that Elliot Smith. That one is still in heaven with, you know, the rest of the rockers. He's got.

• 0:20Speaker 01

  They all get in?

• 0:21Adam Friedland?

  If you're a rocker, you get into heaven because God is like, listen, you did some bad things, but you're cool. And God cares. God is a bit of a clout shark. Is that what they call it?

• 0:34Speaker 01

  Do you think Phil Spector's there?

• 0:36Adam Friedland?

  Phil Spector? Because he's cool.

• 0:40Adam Friedland?

  Yes. In fact, there's a band they're gigging up there right now. It is Jim Morrison, Elliot Smith. You've of course got, who else? The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, Ritchie Valens, unfortunately.

• 0:55Speaker 01

  What about the Who?

• 0:57Adam Friedland?

  The Who, what do you mean, are dead?

• 0:59Speaker 01

  Do they all get in?

• 1:00Adam Friedland?

  Keith Moon is the only dead one. The Beautiful Pod is brought to you by FanDuel. This summer, America's number one sportsbook is making it easier than ever to get in on the action across all your favorite sports. Think you've got today's home run hitter picked? Check out FanDuel's HR props, including moon shots and lasers for a chance at even bigger payouts. Late to start? FanDuel has you covered with all the live betting options all game long. Download the FanDuel Sportsbook app today and play your game. Disclaimer, 21 plus, select states, 18 plus, DC, Kentucky, or Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut.

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• 2:55Adam Friedland?

  We're going to be going through a reaction to yesterday's match, French match, I believe. Sam, I kept you on the phone for about two hours trying to convince you of some sort of narrative. And I do think, unfortunately, I'm going to read you my text to Nick, right? And then we're going to show you the tweet that he tweeted out yesterday. And I do think that I have kept his cold streak alive of betting in the World Cup. I text Nick this yesterday. Can I give you a heater?

• 3:26Speaker 01

  A heater? What?

• 3:27Adam Friedland?

  Can I give you some heaters? I thought I was going to give this to him so he could say it's a Broussard and all the other guys in the studio. I said, the guy who got them to the World Cup semi in two Afghans, his setup was way more, let them have the ball and hit you on the break. They played a black bet. They paid a, played a back five.

• 3:49Speaker 01

  Not always.

• 3:50Adam Friedland?

  Sometimes, okay. They're, um, the current manager plays a far more adventurous system, but they're, but we can assume that they're quite comfortable playing without the ball and the game state against France will require that. France has really looked only kind of good at that point in the round of thirty-two match.

• 4:08Speaker 01

  France hasn't played anybody.

• 4:09Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, well, they looked good in the round of thirty-two against Sweden.

• 4:13Speaker 01

  Again, I questioned the entire.

• 4:15Adam Friedland?

  This is what I was telling Nick.

• 4:16Speaker 01

  Right. Oh, my God.

• 4:18Adam Friedland?

  Um, okay, um, uh, Senegal were peppering them with chances in the first match. It could have easily gone their way. The main problem with their setup has yet to be exposed and it's that they're playing a two-man midfield with four attackers and they could easily get exposed by a halfway decent opposition. Paraguay low blocked the fuck out of them and they did not deal with it well. So you're saying I should bet on Morocco, correct? I said.

• 4:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 4:43Adam Friedland?

  I said, not necessarily, but it could go bad for France. There's a lot of history between the sides, six Argentine refs, but that's just the argument against France. Um, if they put in Zaire Emery in midfield and pull an attacker, they could boss it. But Deschamps is a more, Deschamps, I meant Deschamps.

• 5:02Speaker 01

  I actually thought tactically, he was pretty spot on.

• 5:04Adam Friedland?

  I think he was pretty spot on.

• 5:06Speaker 01

  Moving Mbappe to the left was really smart because it forced Hakimi into these weird spots where if he marauded forward, which is what he does best, he's leaving huge spaces, which is how France won that penalty.

• 5:16Adam Friedland?

  And then Nick said, and I think I've ruined my relationship with him, I should be taking you to this game instead of my wife. And I said, here's another good one. Uh, out of the teams remaining on the tournament, who could have held on at the second for forty minutes with ten men? There's only one answer, potentially Argentina.

• 5:34Speaker 01

  Okay, has England shown us that there is a second team then?

• 5:38Adam Friedland?

  What?

• 5:38Speaker 01

  That can do that, that could hang in?

• 5:39Adam Friedland?

  We don't know.

• 5:42Speaker 01

  Against France, you're saying?

• 5:44Adam Friedland?

  I'm saying, could France have held on for 40 minutes at the Azteca like England?

• 5:49Speaker 01

  I see, like England did, okay.

• 5:50Adam Friedland?

  And I'm not convinced that there's... When I saw Dan Burn go in, like Chris was saying, I'm not fully convinced of the fact that there could...

• 5:59Speaker 01

  The French personnel.

• 6:00Adam Friedland?

  That the French have the personnel. I'm not convinced that Spain has the personnel. And then the other teams, I don't really think... But here, I'm gonna eat my words on this, but I think that those are the four, the final four teams. You know, but certainly I don't think Norway have the personnel. I said because Argentina have played bad teams, they actually haven't been able to play the game that they're set up to play, with 10 psychos low-blocking the fuck out of you. Ironically, because the quality of their opponents have had too much of the ball. France lose that game, Spain probably lose that game too. England has the Southgate DNA. Think the way in the Knicks had Tibbs' DNA in their roster in this last championship run.

• 6:45Adam Friedland?

  Also psychologically, the England players have been there before. They fucked it, so they know how thin the margins of error are. So that means that he will be putting it all on England tomorrow. And if you guys want to go on FanDuel, is that correct?

• 7:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:01Adam Friedland?

  FanDuel. We're taking Norway, because I'm convinced Nick Wright to put the house on England. Let's show his tweet from yesterday. It's a picture of him and his wife. He's wearing a Morocco bucket hat. "I feel really bad." And this is a public apology to Mr. Nick Wright, who is, I think, 04, probably 48.

• 7:23Speaker 01

  How much did he put on Morocco?

• 7:24Adam Friedland?

  I didn't ask him, but I should call later on, see if we still have a relationship and apologize to him. Okay, so let's go ahead. Let's talk about France and let's talk about Morocco. I think the inevitable is coming. I think they certainly look like the best team in the field. Would you agree, Sam?

• 7:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't really think there's an argument for anybody else. I think Spain are growing into the tournament a bit. And to go along with the point you said about the two men midfield, I think that's the way that France get eliminated. And the only team that can really take advantage of that is Spain. Because they'll press and they'll keep the ball. And that's how you can hurt France.

• 8:06Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, I would tend to agree. But like, let's just look at the Paraguay, Paraguay match. You need, but what we saw was that they, they low blocked him and they nicked a penalty at the end. I think it is the roadmap to finding some joy against this team. And then that, to me, is, I, I think we're, this is like, what was, was said a couple of last week's episode, it's like, trying to find a way to say that there's a weakness in the prime Golden State Warriors. Yeah, I think Steph's defense is bad.

• 8:44Speaker 01

  You're just, you're just picking nets. They have overwhelming attacking, attacking talent. And the format is suited to them. It's like, it's an NBA style format almost. And when you have guys that can get to the bucket and score, that's how you win.

• 8:58Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, obviously, Spain, Belgium has just happened. So congratulations, Romelu Lukaku.

• 9:05Speaker 01

  And we should talk about that.

• 9:06Adam Friedland?

  For your eight goals. And now you are, you have 10. You're tied with Mbappe at the top of the Golden Boot.

• 9:13Speaker 01

  And Messi.

• 9:14Adam Friedland?

  And Messi at the top of the Golden Boot race. What do you make of this, this thing? It's like Messi keeps taking over as the top goal scorer in World Cup history. And then this just like, yeah, there's another guy who's got 17 World Cups left. That is just like, keeps tying you, you know. Is Kylian Mbappe potentially, what does he have to do to become the best player in World Cup history? I mean, I think arguably, he needs three. Arguably, like, who do you have as the top five at this point?

• 9:50Speaker 01

  In just World Cup history?

• 9:51Adam Friedland?

  Just World Cup history. Pele?

• 9:53Speaker 01

  Say, Pele, Messi.

• 9:56Speaker 01

  Garincha, you know, are we looking at?

• 9:59Adam Friedland?

  Yes.

• 9:59Speaker 01

  R9 and then Mbappe, Zidane. I mean, I think it's it's those two probably that are looking at the at the top five. I think Mbappe needs one more.

• 10:08Adam Friedland?

  You want to tell me a little bit about this fellow Garincha from Brazil?

• 10:12Speaker 01

  Who's bow legged, first of all.

• 10:14Adam Friedland?

  He was bow legged, yes.

• 10:16Speaker 01

  They say that he's like the dumbest man to ever play for Brazil.

• 10:19Adam Friedland?

  They say that? I I never met him, but potentially I think he was, yeah. And also potentially, I think he did, we're not going to talk about.

• 10:27Speaker 01

  We're not going to say what he did to the animals?

• 10:29Adam Friedland?

  No, but we will say that he was, uh, he loved, he loved animals.

• 10:34Speaker 01

  He was a lover.

• 10:35Adam Friedland?

  He loved animals and apparently at that time, a lot of people loved animals in Brazil.

• 10:38Speaker 01

  It was their style.

• 10:39Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, there were a lot of animal lovers in Brazil and that was a common thing, specifically donkeys. And now for a quick word from our sponsor of FanDuel. TaFS is brought to you by FanDuel. When the stakes get higher, the matches go longer. And on FanDuel, your bets can too, because when extra time changes everything, your bet shouldn't stop at 90 minutes. Now you can back your favorite players all the way through extra time with markets like anytime goal scorer, two plus goals, hat trick scorer, anytime assists, or score or assist and more. So whether the winner comes in regulation or deep into extra time, your action stays alive the whole match. Bet the knockout rounds with 120 minute markets only on FanDuel

• 11:24Adam Friedland?

  and let there be goals. Visit FanDuel.com slash TAFS to get in on the action. Disclaimer 21 plus select states, 18 plus DC, Kentucky, Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER, call 1-888-789-7777. Visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut.

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• 12:48Speaker 04

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• 13:18Adam Friedland?

  Elliot Smith from the Arsenal Vision Podcast is joining us. Everyone give it up for Elliot. Hi, brother. Okay, just to finish up, Brazilian legend Garrincha famously failed a pre-tournament IQ and psychological test ahead of the 1958 World Cup, scoring in the low 70s. Despite testing as an intellectually, okay. He struggled with complex instructions, but he possessed extraordinary on-pitch intuition, and he led Brazil to two famous World Cup victories, 1958 and 1962. When you watch highlight clips of Garrincha dribbling, it looks like modern. I think-

• 14:00Adam Friedland?

  He's sometimes when you watch stuff from like the 1950s, it looks like the olden days. When you watch John Havlicek highlights, you're like, they're like, they're like dribbling like this. Yeah.

• 14:13Speaker 01

  You mean Bob Cousy.

• 14:14Adam Friedland?

  Oh, yeah, yeah. Bob Cousy. Sorry, dude. Sam. Okay.

• 14:18Speaker 01

  Havlicek was a forward.

• 14:20Adam Friedland?

  Fine, but they still dribbled like this, you know. But yeah, Garrincha looks like Ronaldinho or something. I mean, you can't take the ball off him.

• 14:30Speaker 01

  So his IQ was too low to be in the US Army.

• 14:35Adam Friedland?

  Listen, he had a crooked leg, he had a low IQ, and he was an alcoholic. But that did not stop him from two famous victories in the World Cup, 1958 to 1962. Elliot, question for you. What is required for Mbappe to become officially the best World Cup player ever? Like, what in your mind, when all is said and done?

• 14:58Speaker 05

  I mean, apparently drink copiously and fail an IQ test.

• 15:01Adam Friedland?

  Yes, and have a crooked leg.

• 15:06Speaker 05

  It's, I mean, I always think these comparing across generation things are really difficult because not only does the standard of play come up as there's more talent globally, but the game changes in terms of the amount of goals scored, the way attacking is done. But for me with Mbappe, I think the mediocrity of the Real Madrid team has obscured his brilliance and the extent to which he is the best player in the world and has everything in his game. And he's going to be the all-time World Cup leading scorer and probably going to win his second World Cup. So, you know, I don't know what else you have to do if you're Kylian Mbappe to prove to people that you are one of the all-time greats.

• 15:45Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. I mean, I think that if you think about like his, like if you think about Wayne Rooney, like you close your eyes, you imagine. Manchester United kit on it.

• 15:56Speaker 05

  Do you see Wayne Rooney when you close your eyes?

• 15:58Adam Friedland?

  Uh, I do oftentimes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We both love our grandmothers.

• 16:04Speaker 05

  Was it just the Shrek movies?

• 16:05Adam Friedland?

  Uh, no, no, no, I see. Yes, I see Donkey, Princess Fiona. I see, of course, Lord Farquaad. And I see Wayne Rooney.

• 16:15Speaker 05

  Do you think he's aging gracefully?

• 16:16Adam Friedland?

  I think he's really nice to us. Okay. Right? Scholes is a jerk, right? Ferdinand is a jerk to us. I think Rooney, for some reason, seems to be a fan of our favorite team. But we, I talk about our favorite team too much. So, uh, but I do think like, just for instance, like if you think of Wayne Rooney, you think of Manchester United, I think when all is said and done, legacy wise, uh, you think of the France kit on Mbappe. I don't think of PSG kit or Real Madrid kit at this moment, I think. And what is, when, just in looking at yesterday and looking at this tournament, um, I think that something has occurred to him.

• 16:59Adam Friedland?

  He scored a hat trick in the best final of all time, four years ago, eight years ago, and 19 years old. He won the World Cup. I think that this is an opportunity for him, uh, career wise, legacy wise, to solidify his the status and greatness. And I think that it certainly is something that's motivating him, uh, in this World Cup. One, uh, the potential counter argument, this is hokey and it might be like stupid to even speculate, but if there is a rematch, I think one thing that could, uh, potentially hold him back is the possibility of him, uh, kind of hyping himself up too much. Uh, he's if potentially he faces Messi again in the final, um, the, you know, uh,

• 17:42Adam Friedland?

  we could, uh, the, the only thing that could prevent this from happening is if he's just like, uh, you know, too haunted by four years ago, we don't know these guys. We speculate, uh, as to their state of minds all the time. So I don't even think it's worth going there. But right now it certainly looks like, uh, the inevitable, uh, will occur if, if I had to, uh, guess it would, would you agree, Elliot?

• 18:09Speaker 05

  Not necessarily. I mean, I think France will get to the final. I do think Spain-France is an interesting matchup if that's what we get. And obviously, Spain beat France in a semifinal in the Euros last time around, but a very different France team where they went more defensive with their midfield. They didn't lean in their attacking identity, and I don't think they'll make that mistake this time. As for Argentina, I don't think it's by any means a foregone conclusion. This is an Argentina team that kind of had to rescue themselves against Cabo Verde and had to rescue themselves, as some would say with the help of the referees, against Morocco, and they could be staring down the barrel of England in a semifinal and famously have never had any success against them in the world. I'm kidding. But like, I

• 18:51Speaker 05

  think that England has the right kind of talent in many ways to give Argentina a lot of trouble if they're able to get past them.

• 18:58Adam Friedland?

  I'm gonna go, this is Joker mode IQ. This is Galaxy brain. Argentina have faced weaker opposition consistently throughout this tournament. But if you look at the way they're, they are set up, potentially facing weaker opposition has forced them to keep the ball, right? And potentially, this roster is set up in the opposite way. In fact, like, they have played matches that ironically have prevented them from playing the actual game that they are ideally set up to play, which is 10 psychopaths behind the ball, and then God, God just kind

• 19:37Adam Friedland?

  of looking like he's, I don't know, like, is he distracted? What's going on? And then in 15 seconds of chaos, and then the goal, the ball is back in the back of the net. Like, you know, is there anything to that in your mind? Like Elliott or Sam? And we go to Sam next?

• 19:56Speaker 05

  Yeah, Sam, what do you make of it?

• 19:58Adam Friedland?

  Okay, yeah, Sam, what do you make of it? Because he wants to copy what you're saying, Sam.

• 20:02Speaker 01

  I think most good teams want to have the ball. So I think if you asked Argentina, what would you want to do? I think they would want to have the ball more than they would not want to have the ball. Now, if it's against France, there's a different strategy. So what you're saying is they sit in. That's fine. I think that with their midfield, when you look at McAllister, when you look at Enzo, when you look at Thiago Almada, Messi, Julian Alvarez, these are not physically robust players in the way that I think we're kind of describing. So maybe if we see De Paul or Palacios, that's a good fit. I I tend to think though that when you have Messi on your team, you you want to play with the ball. You want to get the ball to Messi whenever you can.

• 20:40Adam Friedland?

  Francis attacks back. Can I you should we call him?

• 20:42Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 20:43Adam Friedland?

  Uh.

• 20:45Speaker 06

  Yeah, what's up?

• 20:46Adam Friedland?

  Real quick, Mike, um, I'm just like looking, I I think I just want to kind of want to pick a couple winners in the this World Cup. Uh, it's just seeing what what who you're taking.

• 20:56Speaker 06

  Um. You can't ask me. I don't know anything about it.

• 20:59Adam Friedland?

  But like if you're you've been watching the World Cup, like, uh, who do you who do you like, who do you got? Like, if you if you just had to throw a a.

• 21:09Speaker 06

  If I thought who is the best team I've seen?

• 21:11Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 21:12Speaker 06

  France.

• 21:13Adam Friedland?

  France. Okay, cool. All right, so I'm gonna put it on France. I think, yeah, I think I would agree.

• 21:18Speaker 06

  You know more than I do.

• 21:19Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, well, who do you make it? What do you make of this Messi kid, though?

• 21:24Speaker 06

  Messi kid?

• 21:26Adam Friedland?

  I mean, that's true. I mean, I don't know. I'm thirty. He's the he's the he's thirty nine, I guess. Yeah.

• 21:33Speaker 06

  He's been a long, he's retired.

• 21:36Adam Friedland?

  Is he?

• 21:37Speaker 06

  This is his last World Cup.

• 21:39Adam Friedland?

  No, I know. It's kind of a last dance. It's a little bit of a Jordan situation, no?

• 21:43Speaker 06

  He's he, well, it could be, I guess, you know, they're they're one of the favorites, if not the favorites, to win it yet.

• 21:50Adam Friedland?

  All right. Well, okay, I'm I'm just, uh.

• 21:52Speaker 06

  I thought from what I've seen, and I know nothing about soccer, nothing.

• 21:57Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 21:57Speaker 06

  Okay, uh, I think France is the is the best team.

• 22:01Adam Friedland?

  All right, okay, I appreciate it, Mike. Um, all right.

• 22:04Speaker 06

  What are you? Do you live in Vegas?

• 22:07Adam Friedland?

  No, I'm from Vegas, though. Yeah, I'm from Vegas.

• 22:09Speaker 06

  Oh, okay.

• 22:10Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, Mike. Uh, all right, Mike, uh, I'm gonna have my producer reach out, uh, to your guy, and then we'll we'll set it up for late August.

• 22:17Speaker 06

  Yeah, you you, uh, get you, I'll get I'll text Jimmons and stuff, and, uh, you can, uh, set everything up with him.

• 22:24Adam Friedland?

  Okay, incredible, incredible. All right, take care. God bless. Okay.

• 22:29Speaker 01

  You forgot the most important question.

• 22:30Adam Friedland?

  Stop it. Okay, we're not gonna ask him about Giambi.

• 22:33Speaker 01

  Why not?

• 22:35Adam Friedland?

  Hey Mike, what do you think about this Giambi kid out of Argentina? All right, Mike Francesca, everyone.

• 22:41Speaker 05

  Oh my god.

• 22:42Adam Friedland?

  How ma- Elliot, how amazing was that?

• 22:45Speaker 05

  Amazing.

• 22:45Adam Friedland?

  I can't believe I get my wife, I can't believe, I can't believe. There's an incredible New Yorker profile about Mike and the Mad Dog from the early 2000s, where they were, they were on the road covering a Yankees playoff game, I think in Kansas City, and they would always, Mike would always have to have a better hotel room, and through some sort of scheduling mix-up, they had to share a hotel room for a couple hours during a day, and the journalist walked in on them, like silently, watching the end of the Robert Redford film, The Horse Whisperer, and as the credits rolled, he turned to Russo and he goes, "Dog, he did what he had to do."

• 23:28Speaker 01

  And the reporter was just in the room with him?

• 23:30Adam Friedland?

  The reporter, because he was like covering, he was doing a maze on send, you know, New Yorker piece. Okay, I want to talk to you about the two matches tomorrow. I think those are the most, kind of like, by the time this airs, obviously, we will, Ruben Lukaku will score eight, be at the top of the golden boot race, and we will see him in the quarterfinals. Obviously, we have Argentina, Switzerland, the nightcap, and England, Norway, in Miami, 5pm, in the heat. Guys, some of these guys play for Bodo Glimpse. Some of these guys play up north of the Arctic Circle.

• 24:07Speaker 01

  Which guy?

• 24:08Adam Friedland?

  I don't fucking know, I don't want to know his name, I don't want to know.

• 24:12Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 24:13Adam Friedland?

  So yeah, Sam, you're a big skull guy, you're a big rowing guy, you're going Norway, what do you think? No, Jen.

• 24:22Speaker 01

  I think Holland eats those guys for lunch.

• 24:24Adam Friedland?

  I think, I think genuinely speaking-

• 24:28Speaker 01

  I like I like Konzer more than Gaye, to be fair.

• 24:30Speaker 05

  Well, Gaye might not be available, as I understand it. So it could be big Dan Burn back there.

• 24:35Adam Friedland?

  Yes, Gaye, of course.

• 24:38Speaker 01

  John Stones would come in, I think, right?

• 24:40Speaker 05

  Yeah, probably John Stones.

• 24:41Adam Friedland?

  No, big Dan Burn. There was a moment in the last in the Azteca when Dan Burn came in and I just nodded. I just went like this. I was like, yes. Yes.

• 24:55Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, as I mentioned last week, the altitude affected him even more because he's six foot seven. So, yeah. No, genuinely speaking, England, Norway, what's the argument against England? Because I feel like all three of us agree. Am I correct that England's going to win? What is the argument against England, Elliot?

• 25:17Speaker 05

  I'm not sold that England just win this game. I think Erling Haaland is probably the best player on planet Earth right now, and I don't think he can be stopped. He's worth at least a goal every game. And England have terrible center backs. Like, I don't rate Gaye that much. I don't rate Konzer. I don't particularly think John Stones is up to the task at this stage of his career. You know, I, I think obviously a lot will be on Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson to protect them. But if he steals a run on those guys and England are going to have the ball, they'll be up the pitch sometimes. I know Norway had a lot of the ball against Brazil. I expect it to be more even than it was. But I just think Erling Haaland scores in this game, at least a goal.

• 25:57Speaker 05

  Now, the problem for Norway is I don't think defensively they're very good either. This could be a surprisingly fun game. This could be a surprisingly 4-3, 3-2 kind of game. I don't think it's a fait accompli personally.

• 26:09Adam Friedland?

  Sam, what are you saying?

• 26:11Speaker 01

  I think, not to big you up here, Elliot, but terrible defense seems a little bit crazy. I don't think the England defense is terrible. I don't think any of those.

• 26:19Adam Friedland?

  It's the opposite of bigging him up.

• 26:20Speaker 05

  Who do you rate?

• 26:21Adam Friedland?

  You're downing him big. You're downing him. You're downing him down. Yeah. You're smalling him down.

• 26:28Speaker 05

  I small myself down. I small myself down.

• 26:32Adam Friedland?

  Small him down, sir.

• 26:33Speaker 01

  I'm going to big you down.

• 26:34Adam Friedland?

  No, no, Sam is five foot three, dude.

• 26:36Speaker 05

  Baby, let me big you down.

• 26:37Speaker 01

  I'm literally taller than you.

• 26:38Adam Friedland?

  Okay, I'm taller than you. Okay, continue. You're five foot one. Okay, continue.

• 26:42Speaker 01

  I'm five foot nine.

• 26:43Adam Friedland?

  Just in case any girl, and there are no girls watching, Sam is five foot one. Okay, continue.

• 26:47Speaker 01

  I think, I think Konzer's a good player. I think Stones is a good player. I think.

• 26:50Speaker 05

  Konzer's been terrible in this World Cup.

• 26:53Speaker 01

  Again, like I don't, I don't really agree with, with Terrible. I don't think he's a fantastic player, but I think he's Premier League proven and I like, I like the body. I like the speed and I think he's got good technical quality for a center back as well. I think the main issue for Norway is the strength of their, of their game against Brazil was essentially Odegaard. Odegaard ran the show. They couldn't press him. They couldn't get Bruno and Casemiro could not get near him. I think when you have Rice, Jude and Anderson pressing, it's a different story. I don't see him sort of dictating the game in the same way. And I don't think, as you said, Elliot, the Norwegian defense is good enough to hold off an attack of Gordon, Kane, Bellingham, Rogers, Saka, even our boy Nony Matueke.

• 27:32Adam Friedland?

  Um, yeah.

• 27:33Speaker 05

  He does a good job holding himself off. But no, look, the, the fact is, I, where I really agree with you, right? Is you got a Brazil midfield that was not able to control the game against Norway. They played Martinelli nominally in midfield. So it was really a two man midfield with Gimaray and Casemiro. And Bruno, as good as he is, I think, cannot make up the ground that Casemiro seeds. So it was very easy for the, the three technical players at the heart of the midfield for Norway, Sanderberg, who plays for Fulham, he's a, he's a good on ball midfielder. Uh, Berg, so there's Berga, and then there's Patrick Berg from Boda Glimp, really good on the ball. And Odegaard, who had 100 passes in the game, they controlled the tempo of that game.

• 28:13Adam Friedland?

  What a player.

• 28:14Speaker 05

  Tremendous player.

• 28:14Adam Friedland?

  What a player. I mean, I think his transfer value is skyrocketing. I would say Odegaard is maybe at 120, 130 million pounds at this point.

• 28:24Speaker 05

  Straight swap for Vini with Real Madrid?

• 28:25Adam Friedland?

  I'm saying that any team would be stupid not to take him. Uh, yeah, I, I do think if, if I'm Real Madrid, I'm calling and I'm saying straight swap for him and maybe Artaguler.

• 28:38Speaker 05

  I'm not doing that.

• 28:39Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, plus cash.

• 28:41Speaker 05

  Look, England has a much more combative athletic midfield. With Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice, they're going to be able to recover the ball. They're going to be able to, I think, Bosch the midfield a little bit more, right? Um, especially with Jude is in there as well. That's a big, physical, athletic midfield. But that means Holland is attacking space more and England have looked like they can be hit on the counter. They have, they do not defend in space well. For me, Gaye and Konse, if that's what winds up being in, in the middle. And even the best defenders, just ask Gabriel Magalhaes, struggle when Erling Haaland gets a run on. So. Maybe England has too much for what is, I agree, Sam, a weak Norway defence.

• 29:24Speaker 05

  But I just think at the current moment, Holland is good for a goal every game. I don't see, I don't see England keeping them out.

• 29:29Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 29:30Speaker 05

  I just don't.

• 29:30Adam Friedland?

  And Pickford has this magic where he could put on that. He's like, it's like Christian Romero. When he puts on the Argentina shirt, it's different. As he was the captain of Spurs and he was like, I don't want to be here no more. Like, he tried to go, he tried to go watch a Sunday league match in Argentina instead of play their, the game that would keep them up in the league. But somehow like Pickford, for me, looking at that roster prior to the World Cup, I'm like, Pickford is due like a, kind of the, like a US third goal or Belgium third goal in the US match.

• 30:06Speaker 05

  We already had Haller, right? He was beaten at his near post already once poorly.

• 30:10Adam Friedland?

  I think that there's something about him where I'm like, this could be more of a disaster than it's been. The first save against Mexico, I think like, wow. Pickford, like, that completely changed the profile of that game. And, you know, credit to him. The keepers matter a lot in knockout stages. I think people forget that every time. And, you know, we have Emmy Martinez at Argentina. I think he's good for any penalty shootout. Arsenal legend, FA Cup winning. Emmy Martinez, who was injured or who came in because of an injury against Brighton.

• 30:51Adam Friedland?

  It's really crazy how the world's changed because of, because of that, that Berlino injury at Brighton. And the famous Arsenal fan TV clip about, my pay is a cheat. You know, literally Messi won the World Cup as a result of that, that one moment. So it's crazy, the butterfly effect. I want to talk real quick about Argentina, Egypt, before we talk about Argentina, Switzerland. The team that I keep forgetting is still in the World Cup, Switzerland. Zoran Mamdani does not look healthy for this match, is that correct?

• 31:31Speaker 01

  I think Manzabi may or may not be fit, we'll see. Sorry, Zoran Mamdani.

• 31:37Adam Friedland?

  Zoran Mamdani might not be fit. I think, is he going to Newcastle?

• 31:41Speaker 01

  I, they say it's an agreed fee, they say they've agreed terms, but I think someone might come in and steal him still. I mean, that is already one of the best.

• 31:49Adam Friedland?

  But they're selling their whole midfield. What is going on?

• 31:53Speaker 05

  They have Joe Wellington. Can I do a question, Sam?

• 31:54Adam Friedland?

  They have Joe Wellington.

• 31:56Speaker 05

  Have you watched much, much of Man, can I call him Manzabi? Is that okay? Or do I have to call him that?

• 32:01Adam Friedland?

  Zoran Mamdani, he was Sam's pre-tournament pick and I was like, look at this fricking socialist over here, but yeah.

• 32:10Speaker 05

  It's on the rise. But can I ask you, because I haven't watched really much of, if any, of him at Freiburg. And as I understand it, he plays in a deeper midfield role there and he's looked so explosive for Switzerland as an attacking player. Is he a six? Is he a deeper midfielder or is this someone who's going to naturally have their game evolving to be more of an attacker? Like a winger or a 10?

• 32:33Speaker 01

  To me, he's just a modern midfielder in the sense that he's positionless. You can, it's like in the Enrique system, you could see him playing any one of those three. You could play him off the left. As far as what I've seen of him at Freiburg, you know, originally I was just looking at his, you know, statistics. And before they took down the FB ref, like percentiles, I was interested in him because they were just off the chart.

• 32:53Adam Friedland?

  Why did they do that? Because of betting in the World Cup?

• 32:56Speaker 01

  Because of, of sports betting, it was giving like too much valuable information.

• 32:59Adam Friedland?

  We should make a clone website.

• 33:01Speaker 01

  I think it might be too late.

• 33:02Adam Friedland?

  We were so stupid, Elliot, we could have made a clone website.

• 33:06Speaker 01

  But he, yeah.

• 33:06Speaker 05

  Yeah, no one, no one's thought of that, actually. It's the first time it's been thought of.

• 33:10Speaker 01

  He, when they, when they played Villa in the Europa, in the Europa final, despite them getting absolutely crunched, he was the best player on the field by a mile. And that's on a field with, you know, Rodgers, Onana, Telemans, Watkins. He was the best player and it wasn't close. And I was like, okay, he's going to explode for the Swiss team. And that's what's happened.

• 33:29Adam Friedland?

  Um, yeah, so he's potentially out. Argentina, Egypt, I mean, it's been two fucking heart stoppers in a row. Siempre Leo, siempre Messi. Um, this is the easiest path to the World Cup final. All they've had is is basically the potential of England in the semifinal. I'm sorry, Norway. The way that Messi kept that ball down. Any other player who takes that, who takes that, who fucking swings it at like, it goes fucking, as Elliot would say, Rose. You know, like I

• 34:01Speaker 05

  Rose.

• 34:02Adam Friedland?

  Rose. I mean, the way it just clipped the bottom of the bar. I'm like, you just saw it rising and like, uh, uh, when he snaked, like he was like coming down the down the right and he snaked that defender. I was like, it's, it's really just, I, I, I keep gushing about it. But, um, it's really just awesome. We get to keep watching him play, play ball. And guess what? If the VAR has to, has to help us out, I, I don't. It's always

• 34:33Speaker 05

  Has to cheat every opponent of Argentina.

• 34:35Adam Friedland?

  It's always been corrupt. Okay? It's always, they used to have Kissinger threatening the Peru team's laps. Okay? What'd you make of that last 10 minutes, uh, guys of the, of the Egypt match?

• 34:47Speaker 05

  I loved it. I thought it was captivating football theater. It was, it was why do we come to the World Cup? I mean, obviously a lot of people feel it was tarnished by the overturned goal. But you had the Egypt counter attack that was blown, um, where they could have made it safe. You know, you had the Messi goal, which is obviously the moment of, of the tournament so far. Enzo's, Enzo's header. And anyone who watches football a lot has been on the Egypt side of this. You're winning, but you know, the nerves are there and you know, if they get one, you're in trouble. They say 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in football. And you know why they say that because anyone who has supported a team that's trying to defend

• 35:30Speaker 05

  a lead late knows that quicksand feeling. That this team hasn't scored a goal against Desa game, but somehow there's an avalanche of them coming. And I felt for Egypt because we've been on the other side of that. Certainly as Arsenal fans down the years and like, it, that, that feeling of inevitability in football is such, it's such an extraordinary thing when it's palpable like that. I, I thought it was captivating. Yeah, I loved it.

• 35:55Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, we have been on the other side. Yes, you just reminded.

• 35:59Speaker 05

  I mean, there was a 4-4 at Newcastle. If you want to relive it where Arsenal were 4-0 up.

• 36:03Adam Friedland?

  You know, he's dead.

• 36:05Speaker 01

  Tiote.

• 36:05Adam Friedland?

  Tiote is dead.

• 36:06Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah.

• 36:07Speaker 01

  What do you think about the precedent of VAR going that far back? Now, I know technically it's still in the same phase of play because number 12 on Egypt, who had a great game, was, you know, dribbled by four people in that sequence through the, you know, back third to the middle third to the front third. Do you think that that opens a can of worms potentially for how VAR is used moving forward?

• 36:28Speaker 05

  So here's the thing, the way I look at it. If you want to look at the American sports angle, like, forget this is football, pretend this is NFL. American sports would absolutely rule that game out, uh, rule that goal out because it'd be like, well, the foul is how they got the counter attack.

• 36:43Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, it was offside.

• 36:44Speaker 05

  It's a much more fluid, it's a much more fluid game in terms of how it thinks about the application of the laws. I don't like the precedent of going that far back to overturn it. But I understand the logic that that foul is how they start the counter attack that leads to the goal. So it's not very contrary to the traditions of football.

• 37:06Adam Friedland?

  Against Liverpool, against Liverpool, the edge of the box, I think there's this time where Martin Odegaard had a handball. And.

• 37:16Speaker 05

  Well, what about Martinelli's goal against United that was ruled out? There was a similar situation. Martinelli had a great goal at Old Trafford to, to what would have been, I think, one of the game in Old Trafford. And, and there was a foul, I think Martin Odegaard committed, taking the ball off United and they brought it back for that foul.

• 37:32Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, I, I, I think, uh, I was someone, uh, I sent Nick Wright, he was talking about the bullshit red card against Balligan. And I just sent him the David Luiz red card against Wolves. And I was like, you think, what do you think?

• 37:46Speaker 05

  Red card and penalty.

• 37:48Adam Friedland?

  And penalty.

• 37:50Adam Friedland?

  I have ni- I think that's the worst one. Guys, we gotta stop. No, but uh, oh my god, I have nightmares of that one. Just how? How? I still don't see it. Okay.

• 38:02Speaker 05

  Guys, there's no way that's worse than the Rice sending off for kicking the ball away.

• 38:05Adam Friedland?

  For being, for being assaulted in an alleyway at night by uh,

• 38:11Speaker 01

  Joel Veltman.

• 38:12Adam Friedland?

  Joel Veltman, who, you know, just uh, just got, I mean, a kick from him might, might feel like uh, like it's, like, you know.

• 38:21Speaker 01

  He swung through him. I was shocked he wasn't sent off in that game.

• 38:24Adam Friedland?

  He was attacked. He was attacked by him in broad daylight. And then they blame us. They blame the agenda. And, and guess what? This year, they finally started calling it right. Because some, because they definitely wanted Man City to not win. Okay, anyway. Um, okay. Guys, let's uh, go ahead. Just finally, Argentina, Switzerland. Um, Shakka still looks like, I think, their best midfielder. I would say at this point. Um, you know, Argentina just have better players across the 11. Is that, I mean, it's, it's fair. You know, that necessarily doesn't translate all the time in the World Cup, but uh,

• 39:09Adam Friedland?

  you know, it's gonna take, I think, probably uh, some sort of freak weird thing, but we've seen that happen. I mean.

• 39:18Speaker 05

  I think without Mounzambi, this is, this is game over. They, they need an X fact. Uh, sorry, Mounzambi. If Zoran Mounzambi is not able to play for Switzerland, then I think it's, it's game over.

• 39:29Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. Uh, you know, we're gonna see him in the final. I, I, I, I think. What is uh, Johnny Baby want? I mean, in a final, I think ratings wise, I think you want the rematch. You want the rematch. And uh, I think I'm really excited. I mean, as a semifinal, I think it sounds pretty much like we all have Spain, France, and then we have the the geezers versus Argentina.

• 39:59Speaker 01

  Is this the worst World Cup quarterfinal draws that we've seen?

• 40:03Adam Friedland?

  It does feel like a round of like 16 or 32 or whatever.

• 40:07Speaker 05

  Are you guys not excited for England Norway? Like, I, I feel like I'm on an island by myself thinking that that's a fascinating, fascinating game.

• 40:14Adam Friedland?

  I think they might have to walk it for a while because it's 90.

• 40:16Speaker 05

  Didn't we have like the best record of any team in Euro qualifying? They scored like a million goals and conceded almost none. Why are they being taken for, taken for granted?

• 40:25Adam Friedland?

  Well, Sam and I went to Norway, Senegal, and they looked pedestrian. So I might have a little bit of a bias against Norway, but you know, granted, they have, they have the best.

• 40:38Speaker 01

  I mean, Elliot, how many, how many players from Norway get into the England team besides Holland?

• 40:42Adam Friedland?

  One. And he was born there. And he was born there.

• 40:46Speaker 01

  But maybe even Holland doesn't, right? Like, depending on the personnel, you might want Kane instead.

• 40:50Speaker 05

  Stop that. No.

• 40:51Speaker 01

  You think Erling, Erling Holland is definitely without doubt a better footballer than Harry Kane?

• 40:56Speaker 05

  By a big margin, yes. Yeah.

• 40:59Speaker 01

  I don't know. To me, to me, they feel pretty equal. I would personally rather Holland as well, but I think they are, I think they are of the same level of player.

• 41:07Adam Friedland?

  It's, I think it's different aspects of their game.

• 41:09Speaker 05

  I play them together. I play Kane and Holland together and like Kane would be like a nine and a half.

• 41:13Speaker 01

  But then where's Jude?

• 41:15Speaker 05

  I mean.

• 41:17Adam Friedland?

  Now you're starting, now you're thinking Deschamps.

• 41:20Speaker 05

  Now I've got the Gareth Southgate problem, right? I'm even, I'm picking Foden and Palmer.

• 41:25Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 41:26Speaker 05

  But it's all very FIFA, too. Like, yes, they've got a lot of talent, but if you, if you tell me that you think Rice, Anderson and Bellingham is a coherent midfield, I can poke holes in them. I don't think that those profile, I think you need a proper eight to connect Rice and Bellingham. Otherwise, Bellingham is either coming too far back and trying to do Roy of the Rovers everything, which worked against Mexico, but I want him higher up, closer to Kane. And I don't think Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice both need to be in there. They're, they're. There's duplicative qualities in there that I think

• 41:59Adam Friedland?

  I think what we're seeing, I think what we're seeing is Rice, because he's geek and he's so comprehensive. I mean, the thing that Rice does, and he does it for us, is that he fixes like 20 fuckups a game, right? And they're little, little like fuckups that could just lead to like a leak that could just lead to like a, like a, just the entire dam breaking. I think because he's that guy, Elliot Anderson can then roam and hunt, right?

• 42:27Speaker 05

  The funny thing is you should put Anderson on Norway for Santa Berga and put Odegaard into England.

• 42:32Adam Friedland?

  I would say, I was gonna say, if I could say, Sam, the answer to your question, who would I, who would get into the England team? I would start Odegaard over Jude. I mean, it's simple. And if you're Real Madrid.

• 42:42Speaker 05

  Elliot Anderson.

• 42:43Adam Friedland?

  If you're Real Madrid, I think you want, I think you want Odegaard, and then I would swap him for Jude any day.

• 42:51Speaker 01

  But even, even if you put Odegaard into the team, and by the way, Elliot, I think you're, I think you're right. I think that is a more balanced midfield. Rice, Odegaard, Jude is better than Rice, Anderson, Jude.

• 42:59Adam Friedland?

  I think you're right, too.

• 43:00Speaker 01

  But who else gets in? So you say Holland, you say Odegaard. I don't think, and the funny thing for me is, I don't know that any other Norwegian player is even that close to being substituted. Is even like an impact player off the bench.

• 43:12Speaker 05

  I don't know how many make the team. I agree with you. I mean, I think.

• 43:15Speaker 01

  But that's, that's why I think England, England, if England play well, they will win this game.

• 43:20Adam Friedland?

  Would you, would you?

• 43:22Speaker 01

  If they play okay, they'll probably win.

• 43:23Adam Friedland?

  Would you rotate in Oscar Bob on the right?

• 43:26Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 43:26Adam Friedland?

  Yeah. I think Oscar Bob, Oscar Bob could maybe be a rotation piece on the right.

• 43:32Speaker 01

  Oh, for England?

• 43:33Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 43:33Speaker 01

  No. You would just take Cole Palmer if you wanted Oscar Bob?

• 43:37Adam Friedland?

  No, I would, I would, I would put in, I would put in, yes, you're right. I would say Nony Madueke is looking like a 250 million pound player.

• 43:46Speaker 01

  But Nony Madueke walks into that Norway team. That's the funny thing.

• 43:49Adam Friedland?

  He does everything so well, except for one thing.

• 43:52Speaker 01

  The most important thing.

• 43:53Adam Friedland?

  How many guys have we had like that? I mean, Gabby J.

• 43:57Speaker 05

  I mean, he's, he's a domitraore. Like, it's, it's, it's the same kind of situation.

• 44:01Adam Friedland?

  Gabby J does everything perfectly, except for one thing, and that's the thing that. His striker needs anyway enough about Arsenal guys. Um, Elliot, thank you for joining us. We're gonna do a real fun game. Sam, Sam wants to play a game with us. I think Elliot, you'll do a round. I'll do a round.

• 44:19Speaker 05

  I just want to make sure you have me back when England win 5-0 over Norway, so I can disavow anything I've said about that.

• 44:26Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, we will. We will. We're gonna have a mea culpa segment on Tuesday with CR. We're gonna do, what's a game of what? This or that?

• 44:36Speaker 01

  This or that.

• 44:37Adam Friedland?

  The him or that him?

• 44:38Speaker 01

  Him or her?

• 44:39Adam Friedland?

  Him or her? Okay, so yeah. Uh, yeah, so we're talking 21st century footballers. Yes, Elliot will take the first one. I'll take the second, and this will be really fun.

• 44:53Speaker 01

  Okay, Elliot, Michael Elise or Bukayo Saka?

• 44:58Adam Friedland?

  Well, fuck. Why are you starting there?

• 45:00Speaker 01

  Because I want to test his metal.

• 45:02Adam Friedland?

  Right now?

• 45:03Speaker 05

  This is who I like. If I'm starting a team, I have to pick one of these players.

• 45:06Speaker 01

  So in the 21st century, let's say, view it most importantly over like the peak of a three-year run. But 21st century, Bukayo Saka, Michael Elise, who do you think is a better player?

• 45:18Speaker 05

  Now, you know what? This is going on the internet. I'm just gonna do the smart thing and say Bukayo Saka.

• 45:21Speaker 01

  Why?

• 45:23Adam Friedland?

  Stop it, Sam. Why are you being so mean to us?

• 45:26Speaker 01

  He loves answering questions. What do you mean?

• 45:28Speaker 05

  Because I love him, and I believe that if you

• 45:33Adam Friedland?

  ignore the Achilles issue.

• 45:36Speaker 05

  If you ignore the Achilles issue, I think Bukayo Saka has the ability to be a Mohamed Salah level wide player if he can just get back to full fitness. For what it's worth, I actually think Michael Elise may be one of the three best players in world football as well. But I'm still picking Bukayo Saka because I love him.

• 45:50Speaker 01

  Have we ever seen evidence?

• 45:52Adam Friedland?

  Stop it. Stop it. Stop it next.

• 45:54Speaker 01

  Okay, Riyad Mahrez or Vinny Jr.?

• 45:59Speaker 05

  Vinny Jr.

• 46:01Speaker 01

  Vinny Jr. or Sadio Mane?

• 46:07Speaker 05

  Vinny Jr.

• 46:08Speaker 01

  Vinny Jr. or Alexis Sanchez?

• 46:11Speaker 05

  Alexis Sanchez.

• 46:12Speaker 01

  Alexis Sanchez or Antonio Di Maria?

• 46:15Speaker 05

  Alexis Sanchez.

• 46:16Adam Friedland?

  Angel, Angel.

• 46:18Speaker 05

  Angel.

• 46:19Speaker 01

  Oh, Angel. Yeah, I don't know why I said Antonio.

• 46:20Adam Friedland?

  Oh, I got you. I sand you.

• 46:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, you did. Okay, Alexis Sanchez or Dembele?

• 46:32Speaker 05

  Alexis Sanchez.

• 46:33Speaker 01

  Sanchez or Robin?

• 46:37Speaker 05

  Iron Robin.

• 46:38Speaker 01

  Robin or Kvaratskalia?

• 46:40Speaker 05

  Iron Robin.

• 46:41Speaker 01

  Robin or Hazard?

• 46:43Speaker 05

  Iron Robin.

• 46:44Speaker 01

  Robin or Bale?

• 46:46Speaker 05

  Iron Robin.

• 46:48Adam Friedland?

  Whoa.

• 46:49Speaker 05

  I think Iron Robin when fit was the closest thing we had to like a Messi level player for a couple of years. So are you saying his peak?

• 46:56Speaker 01

  Well, I guess it's up to your interpretation. I think the only player who's really ever seemed like Messi to me was Neymar. Yeah, exactly. So, okay, Robin or Mohamed Salah?

• 47:07Speaker 05

  Salah.

• 47:08Speaker 01

  Salah or Yamal?

• 47:11Speaker 05

  Salah.

• 47:12Speaker 01

  Salah or Neymar?

• 47:14Speaker 05

  Neymar.

• 47:15Speaker 01

  Neymar or Ronaldinho?

• 47:19Speaker 05

  Ronaldinho.

• 47:20Speaker 01

  Ronaldinho or Cristiano Ronaldo?

• 47:22Speaker 05

  Ronaldinho.

• 47:23Speaker 01

  Ronaldinho or Messi?

• 47:25Speaker 05

  Messi.

• 47:25Speaker 01

  Okay, so Elliott thinks that Messi is the best winger of the 21st century.

• 47:31Speaker 05

  I think he's the best any player on the pitch of the 21st.

• 47:33Adam Friedland?

  I think he's the best goalkeeper, 5'6".

• 47:35Speaker 05

  This is like the people who commentate on football and go, is it time to discuss whether Messi might be the greatest of all time?

• 47:42Adam Friedland?

  I think it is time. I think it's about damn time. All right, Sam, hit me. Midfielders.

• 47:47Speaker 01

  You want attacking mids or center mids?

• 47:50Adam Friedland?

  Center mids.

• 47:51Speaker 01

  Okay, Adam.

• 47:52Speaker 05

  Do you know any of those?

• 47:53Speaker 01

  Thiago or Joshua Kimmich?

• 47:55Adam Friedland?

  Thiago Alcantara?

• 47:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 47:58Adam Friedland?

  Thiago.

• 47:59Speaker 01

  Thiago or Schweinsteiger?

• 48:01Adam Friedland?

  Schweinsteiger.

• 48:02Speaker 01

  Schweinsteiger or Vidal?

• 48:04Adam Friedland?

  Vidal.

• 48:05Speaker 01

  Vidal or Makalele?

• 48:08Adam Friedland?

  I didn't really watch as much.

• 48:09Speaker 01

  Okay, Vidal or Rice?

• 48:11Adam Friedland?

  Rice.

• 48:12Speaker 01

  Rice or Pirlo?

• 48:17Adam Friedland?

  Comprehensive Rice.

• 48:19Speaker 01

  Rice or Scholes?

• 48:20Adam Friedland?

  Oh!

• 48:23Adam Friedland?

  Fuck. Fuck you.

• 48:28Speaker 01

  I think you know the answer.

• 48:29Adam Friedland?

  Scholes. Rice. Rice. It is Rice. It is Rice. It is Rice.

• 48:34Speaker 01

  Okay, Rice or Alonso? Xabi Alonso?

• 48:37Adam Friedland?

  Fuck. Xabi Alonso.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  Xabi Alonso or Roy Keane?

• 48:43Adam Friedland?

  I didn't watch Roy, but like Xabi Alonso.

• 48:46Speaker 01

  Alonso or Xavi?

• 48:49Adam Friedland?

  Xavi Hernandez?

• 48:50Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:52Adam Friedland?

  I would say Alonso.

• 48:53Speaker 01

  Alonso or Gerrard?

• 48:58Adam Friedland?

  I might be wrong, but I didn't watch as much Steve.

• 49:02Speaker 01

  Okay, Alonso or Conte?

• 49:05Adam Friedland?

  Conte.

• 49:05Speaker 01

  Conte or Vieira?

• 49:11Adam Friedland?

  I mean.

• 49:14Speaker 05

  If you don't pick Patrick Vieira, I'm walking off the show.

• 49:15Adam Friedland?

  Patrick Vieira.

• 49:17Speaker 01

  Why?

• 49:18Adam Friedland?

  Because he's our, no Conte, I think, honestly, Conte is, Conte and Torres are the best midfielders.

• 49:24Speaker 01

  Conte went Leicester prem, Chelsea prem, World Cup, Champions League.

• 49:29Adam Friedland?

  Okay, fine.

• 49:29Speaker 01

  Yeah, Conte or Cruz?

• 49:31Speaker 05

  Well, Vieira went invincible World Cup.

• 49:34Speaker 01

  But World Cup 98.

• 49:35Speaker 05

  Premier League, Premier League, invincible.

• 49:38Speaker 01

  But it's World Cup 98. He won a Euro and two premes and then he sort of sputtered out in Italy.

• 49:43Adam Friedland?

  He kind of was, he was fading by the time I started watching. He was on Juve when I started watching.

• 49:47Speaker 01

  Yeah, Juve and then what, Inter? And then Man City, Man City legend, Patrick Vieira.

• 49:51Adam Friedland?

  Yeah.

• 49:52Speaker 05

  I think, I think where Patrick, just to make a point about it, I don't think he was a holding midfielder strictly. I think Conte was better deeper, but I think Vieira was better bringing the ball forward.

• 50:01Adam Friedland?

  He was box to box.

• 50:02Speaker 01

  I think Vieira, Vieira was definitely a better player than Conte, but as far as.

• 50:05Adam Friedland?

  Conte was good for a fucking rocket, though. He was good for a pop. Yeah, he had a couple.

• 50:10Speaker 01

  I don't know. When did Conte?

• 50:12Adam Friedland?

  Vieira, Vieira.

• 50:13Speaker 01

  Vieira. Vieira or Cruz? We're almost done.

• 50:17Adam Friedland?

  Vieira.

• 50:18Speaker 01

  Vieira or Rodri?

• 50:20Adam Friedland?

  Vieira, Rodri. Okay, what? He won one Euro?

• 50:26Speaker 01

  Rodri won Euro. He won what, four or five premes, Champions League, Ballon d'Or?

• 50:30Adam Friedland?

  He didn't win a knockout until this year.

• 50:33Speaker 01

  In the World Cup.

• 50:33Adam Friedland?

  In the World Cup.

• 50:34Speaker 01

  Yeah, but they might win it.

• 50:36Adam Friedland?

  Uh, they knocked Vieira.

• 50:39Speaker 01

  You're, you're that confident that Spain can't beat France?

• 50:41Adam Friedland?

  I don't know. With the drink breaks, with the drink breaks, I don't know. Continue. Just say the one, say the one I, say the one.

• 50:49Speaker 01

  Rodri, Rodri or Modric?

• 50:52Adam Friedland?

  No, no.

• 50:53Speaker 01

  You have to answer this one first.

• 50:57Adam Friedland?

  It's hard.

• 50:58Speaker 01

  It's a point.

• 51:01Adam Friedland?

  Luka Modric.

• 51:03Speaker 01

  Modric or Busquets?

• 51:05Adam Friedland?

  Ah, but he, oh, oh, oh, ah.

• 51:10Speaker 01

  Like Larry David.

• 51:15Adam Friedland?

  Iniesta, Yaya Touré, 1-2. Fuck you.

• 51:19Speaker 01

  Fine, I'm fine.

• 51:21Adam Friedland?

  Yaya Touré, the best player I've ever seen. Wenger wanted to make him a 9. He played centre-back at Barca.

• 51:28Speaker 05

  I once said if you had to have 11 of any player on the pitch, you'd pick 11 Yaya Touré's.

• 51:32Adam Friedland?

  He's the best player I've ever watched.

• 51:33Speaker 01

  What about 11 César Azpilicueta's?

• 51:37Adam Friedland?

  What about 11?

• 51:38Speaker 01

  It's a deep cut, Adam. You probably wouldn't get it.

• 51:40Adam Friedland?

  Azpilicueta.

• 51:44Speaker 01

  Do you remember where that's from, Adam?

• 51:47Adam Friedland?

  From what, Chelsea?

• 51:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, Mourinho said that if he could pick any player, he'd want 11 César Azpilicueta's.

• 51:54Adam Friedland?

  Dude, Mourinho said if you could, I would want 11 Mario Balotelli's. That's who I would want.

• 52:02Speaker 01

  That'd be awesome.

• 52:03Adam Friedland?

  All right, Elliot, it's been great. Sam, it's been great. You've served, you, how, let's give Sam a 5-mob rating. I would say you're fucking, that was a 9-2.

• 52:14Speaker 01

  Really?

• 52:15Adam Friedland?

  Yeah, 9-2.

• 52:16Speaker 05

  8.8.

• 52:17Adam Friedland?

  You had a hat-trick of assists.

• 52:18Speaker 01

  What did I do wrong, Elliot? What can I do better?

• 52:21Speaker 05

  First of all, you forced me to pick Sack. You forced me to pick Sack.

• 52:25Adam Friedland?

  You're such a nut.

• 52:25Speaker 05

  You beat me down. You beat me down. I didn't enjoy that at all. You went with Antonio Di Maria. That's another one. It wasn't.

• 52:32Adam Friedland?

  Oh, yeah, Antonio Di Maria, that's a howler. That was a howler. That was a lone goal. Guys, thanks for joining us. We'll be back next Tuesday with CR. Guys, I'm really bummed. It's one game a day and then it's two tomorrow and then, and then we're gonna stop having games every day. And what are we gonna do? Talk to our families?

• 52:52Speaker 05

  Go to Dublin and watch Arsenal-Real Betis in the preseason.

• 52:54Adam Friedland?

  You're amazing. You're a man with the code, Elliot. Thanks for joining us. Check out Elliot's podcast, Arsenal Vision Podcast, Post-match Podcast, whatever the fuck it's called. All right, they have the best club-specific podcast. I think they're award-winning club-specific podcasts, if that's right. You won that at the AVN Awards, the best club.

• 53:13Speaker 05

  No, that's different.

• 53:13Adam Friedland?

  Okay, all right. Thanks a lot, guys. Bye. 21-plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino, or 18 and present in DC, Kentucky, or Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MYRESSET. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplineMA.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts, or call 1-8778-HOPE in New York, or text HOPE-NY in New York.

• 53:58Adam Friedland?

  For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867.