USMNT vs Colombia preview, Euro 2024 tournament predictions

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Alexi Lalas
The goal of this team is to do well against the elites of the world. The goal of this team is to not just compete, but find a way to win against the best teams in the world. And when you're talking about Colombia and Brazil, these are two of the best teams in the world.

Hello Sunshine, I'm Alexi Lawless and welcome. Welcome to the State of the Union podcast, where we look at the beautiful game on and off the field through the lens of red, white and blue colored glasses. This show will be talking the us men's national team friendlies. Coming up, some predictions for this summer, some starting eleven predictions, Dune dud, euro group predictions, german mentality, priorities this summer and so much more. But first, joining me as always, my friend, my colleague, my guiding light, David Mosse, a soccer savant and a fox soccer researcher and rhetoric extraordinaire.

Mossy, how you doing? On this Wednesday, June 5, in the year 2024, I'm doing well. We should note, we both love Sean Sullivan, but this is a results business. Been too many mistakes lately, so we've made a change. Kyla Morris is producing today's podcast.

Yeah, there seemed to be an air of invincibility and, you know, kindness and warmth that has been missing in the past. But this is not new to her. She's wonderfully talented and at some point we will lose her to bigger and better things, but thankfully we have her running the show here. I don't know. Shawn's somewhere around here too, so he can still have his mitts on here in certain ways.

I know that last pod we had talked about the fact that you're shutting it down for the good of the game, for the good of Fox, and for the good of all of us that rely so heavily upon you. In terms of the stuff that you are watching and digesting over there, have you been able to sneak anything in? Well, on our last part, I alluded to the fact that I had just finished a book, and then I neglected to tell you what the book was about. So I'll mention that today. Excellent book about french intelligence in the 1930s in the lead up to World War two, examining whether they properly identified the nazi threat.

David Mosse
Ooh. Do you know a name of this book? You don't remember it? L'menace. Nazi.

It's actually in French. Oh, you're so. Are you kidding me? Can you slip that in? Oh, by the way, it's in French.

When I was in New York, whenever I go to New York to visit my parents, I always go to the french cultural center, which has a bookstore. And I'm able to buy books in French and I read them from time to time. I'm trying to hold onto the French. It's very tough. Without using it on a regular basis.

I feel myself losing it week after week. But if I go, it's a french cultural center, Upper east side. You're the one. Yes. Um, let's see.

Alexi Lalas
I attempted to watch something, you know, the dune franchise? Yes. The dune two is out. Oh, my God. If you're gonna say what I think you're about to say, I have.

David Mosse
There are people in my life who love that movie, who have said to me, if Alexi ever trashes that movie, I'm never gonna speak to him again. I don't get it. I do not understand. I've tried. Look, as we said before, I'm from the old dune.

Alexi Lalas
You know, the eighties dune that came out. And it's Kitsch and all that. And this is a whole other level. I will give them that. And again, it's just so boring and slow.

I don't get it. I don't understand why there was one, let alone two. And I've tried. I've tried. And I know you're out there screaming and yelling, and that's kind of what this is for.

I'm gonna continue to try to plow through it, but it just has not grabbed me in the way that it has others. I don't. So when you talk to other people, what is their fascination with it? It's just awesome. Yeah.

David Mosse
Incredibly well done. Thrilling. I must say, I love the dune movies. I mean, Brad Weimer, when he hears this podcast is going to lose his mind. Do you love it more than Star wars?

Yes, I think those movies were better than any of the recent Star wars movies that have come out. Oh, this is ridiculous. All right, well, Brad and others, you know, there's no accounting for bad taste, but that's fine if that's the way that you want to go. I think that there is an element of elitism and snobbiness that comes with the dune folks. And really, if we really got down to it, they don't like it as much as they say, but it's cool to kind of like it, especially relative to, you know, the Star wars is and the Star Treks and all that kind of stuff that is just for them, just kind of fluff.

Alexi Lalas
And this is much more layered and nuanced. At least that's what they would have you believe anyway. Well, who knows? Who knew that we were gonna get so, you know, deep down in the dune dud that has happened? All right, should we light this candle, my friend?

David Mosse
Let's do it. All right, we got an interesting show. Where should we start? Beginning with the us men's national team. As we know, they have lined up a pair of friendlies ahead of the Copa America.

The first one takes place on Saturday in Landover, Maryland. They will square off against Columbia, a team that they could actually face in the knockout stages of the Copa America. What are you looking to see in this one? Well, first off, right off the top, a reminder that after that game, we will, when I say we, you and I will be doing a spaces over there on the X machine, a live react, instant reaction to this friendly. Well, first off, and we're going to talk about this later in the pod, is what is this summer for?

Alexi Lalas
And these are two really, really good quality opponents that, who knows, they might face later on in the tournament when it comes to Acopa America. But what does this us want out of the whole tournament, and what does it want out of these two games? And I've said before in previous pods that I think that you have to look at this as a minimum of five games, the three that you already have in the group phase, and then these two wonderful friendlies. And I think the time for experimentation, it hasn't passed. There can be some of it, but in a way that maybe in the past you haven't.

You really got to use these to your benefit, even if it's at the expense at times of what's going to happen with the, with the tournament situation. I'll be interested in. See what mindset Greg Berhalter takes in terms of his starting eleven, in terms of how much people actually play and how much the starting eleven in these games mirrors what we then see come Copa America. I mean, this is great. This is great for this team.

Initial thoughts on what we're going to see here? Yeah, the approach will be fascinating. Will it be mass substitutions in the second half with no regard for the score and game strategy, or is he going to treat it as a real game? We know which way you think he should go on that. And one thing that jumps out to me right away is no Serginio desk because of an ACL injury.

David Mosse
We've talked about all the different possibilities to replace him. It could either be a like for like with a Joe Scally or Shaq Moore. It could be one of the center backs moving over there, or it could be somebody like a Eunice Moussa, Wesson McKinney or Timi Weah. Keep in mind Columbia's star player is left winger Luis Diaz. So whoever Greg Berhalter puts out there is going to be going up against Luis Diaz.

So it's going to be an interesting test for the new US right back. However the US is intending to play come the Copa America group stage. I think that you have to see that in these two games, and I know it's difficult because it's a really, really good opponents, but whether it's Stu Holden has floated a back three, back five back three, or anything like that, or whether it's the personnel as to who is going to replace Serginio Desta on that right hand side, you got to get at it right away. And if it works, great. If it doesn't work, then back to the drawing board.

And just to remind people of the groups the US and groups see in the Copa America with Uruguay, Panama and Bolivia, I mentioned they could face Colombia in a knockout stage. That's because the US group is crisscrossed with Colombia's group, Group D, which is Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Costa Rica. So this is a matchup we could see again as early as the quarter finals of the Copa America. The other things that we have to keep in mind, someone like Tyler Adams, who is so important to this team, but is still coming off yet again, another injury plagued type of moment. How good is he?

Alexi Lalas
How long can he play? How does he look? Is he as impactful as we need him to be and as he has been in the past when he is healthy? Also, who starts up front is Balagan still the incumbent there, or might a sergeant, if he's healthy, or Pepe, get a look? In a strange way, these two games could give us a better look into how this team or where this team is than, well, at least two of the three games when it comes to the group stage.

Because again, the goal of this team is to do well against the elites of the world. The goal of this team is to not just compete, but find a way to win against the best teams in the world. And when you're talking about Colombia and Brazil, these are two of the best teams in the world. Just to put some numbers to that, Colombia has not lost a match since February of 2022. They are unbeaten in their last 21 games, 16 wins, five draws.

David Mosse
That includes victories over Germany, Spain and Brazil. Also includes a no no draw against the US in January of 2023, a friendly that occurred outside the FIFA window. So very few european based players, the likes of Kucho Hernandez and Christian Arango, actually started that match for Colombia. But yeah, this team, they've got, obviously, Luis Diaz, who I mentioned, you know, James Rodriguez is a bench former at Sao Paulo in Brazil, but still starting games and playing well for shirt on. And this summer will be the ten year anniversary of that 2014 World cup.

He won the golden boot. You've got Miguel Borhub front, a striker that's on fire with River Plate. You've got Lucumi, a center back that Sean Sullivan knows well. He plays for Bologna, Daniel Munoz and Lerma, Crystal palace, teammates of Chris Richards. So there are certainly some names of note on this Columbia team.

It is a very good test for the US. Well, we have a long, storied history when it comes to games against Colombia. Colombia, I mentioned they're unbeaten in 21. Their longest ever unbeaten run was a 27 match streak they had in the early nineties, which was that great era with Aspria, Rincon, Valderrama, Leonel Alvarez, Andres Escobar, Etcetera, coached by Francisco Maturana. You ended up playing that Columbia team at the 94 World cup and beating them.

Probably the greatest moment of your playing. Career for those that have never seen the 30 for 30 over there, by the way. I think it just dropped on Netflix. So if you have Netflix, you can check out the two Esco bars when it comes to that. All right, so we already mentioned a couple of question marks when it comes to this national team.

Alexi Lalas
I have my starting eleven now. We did this before, and I have since kind of tweaked it here or there. And again, it goes back to what this tournament is, what we want it to be, what we think it's going to be. So I'm going to give you my predicted starting eleven. Actually, this is my starting eleven.

This is what I would do. Who the hell knows what Craig Barralter is going to do and who knows what everybody else is going to do. And I mentioned that from a formation perspective, I am still staying with the 433 that we have seen. The incumbent continues on in goal with Matt Turner. But things certainly can change going forward.

And it has not been a great couple of years for Matt Turner from a club perspective, but I still think that he is the number one. And I still think you mentioned James Rodriguez. I think that there is a different type of Matt Turner that shows up when it comes to the national team. Now, the backline Jedi over there on that left hand side, the good and the bad, but there's much more good. But at times, sometimes he can look a little crazy, but he's coming off of a very, very good year and just steady force out there on that left hand side.

Tim weah, who I want to get on the field and in the past we've talked about the Alfonso Davies and these people that in name only are playing in the outside back position. And so maybe this ends up being a back three, to my friend Stu Holden's delight here. But Tim weah, I'm putting him on that right hand side in place of Sergino Des because nobody has stepped up to that position. And then I got Cameron Carter Vickers and I wanted to put Chris Richards in there, but I thought back on it and said, you know what? I'm forcing it with Chris Richards.

I'm still not sold on Chris Richards and so I'm going to put Tim ream back in here and just humor me for now. But I don't, don't yell at me if at some point going forward, before the start of the tournament, I change it back. But right now, Chris Richards, through no fault of his own, he hasn't done anything. It's just the way that I still have yet to be convinced about Chris Richards. I know there's someone say, well then we should see him and you should put him there, but I'm going to put Tim ream there, same three in the middle.

And I know some people have some qualms when it comes to that. And we mentioned earlier about what Tyler Adams is and what he maybe isn't going forward. And then up top, I'm putting Raina out on that right hand side but he has carte blanche to go wherever he wants, even draw deep, which I know people scream and yell about. Pulisic continues over on the left hand side and then I got my red headed friend Josh Sargent up top. So I am having Josh Sargent, at least for now, replace Flo Baligan, who I still think has yet to live up top to the hype.

Yeah. One of the overarching questions this summer is Reina's position when he starts games. Is it going to be as the ten with just two guys sitting behind him or is he also in the mix for one of those wide attacking positions? So yeah, right off the bat against Columbia in the first friendly, you're putting him up top and still preserving that Adams McKinney, Moussa midfield, so you think that's the way to go. Now obviously it plays into that, the fact that you put way at right back.

David Mosse
Otherwise he would have been a candidate for one of those winger spots. Yeah, I mean I'm putting, I am forcing some things here and I am I guess forcing Georena on the field because if you look at the performance of Waya over the last few years, I know Christian Pulisic is in a wonderful moment right now, but really from a consistency perspective and somebody who consistently uses his speed to get behind the defense and cause problems, it's, it's Tim Weah who's been done, who's done it for the most part over there on the right hand side. So let's say Berhalter decided I need to have a true right back to go up against Luis Diaz in this game and he played a Joe scally there, then that would only leave room for one of Waya or Reina. You would then put Way in the lineup and then Reyna would sit or would you then take out one of those three midfielders out of the wow. It depends who you're playing.

Alexi Lalas
But there's a part of me that says, yeah, Raina, you're, you're out. But there's also a part of me that says, you know what, we'll throw some caution to the win and we'll have him play at the point of a three in the mid, in the midfield again. He can carte blanche to go wherever he wants. But it does take that dynamic that's evolved over the last few years of those three in the midfield out when you're, I guess taking Musa out. And again, that's the first of two us friendlies before the Copa America.

David Mosse
The other one is against Brazil in Orlando in Orlando. Okay. That should be fun. So wait, so the first game is Saturday and then the second game is later on the following week? Correct.

Alexi Lalas
Okay. How many days before they actually play Bolivia? So the Bolivia's on the 23rd. So there's a pretty big gap there if they can recharge their batteries. But see, that's good because you'll have a set of data points there over those last two games to tweak or fundamentally change or continue on and say, hey, we've really kind of found something.

David Mosse
And keep in mind, we still don't actually have a Copa America roster. The roster he named was for these two friendlies. And then afterwards he's going to decide he's going to have to cut at least one because he named 27 in the Copa roster can be no more than 26. We're getting into it, my friend. I mean, this is upon us.

Alexi Lalas
I'm getting excited, you know, I know we get excited about the club situation and all that, but summers are built for tournaments, summers are built for the international game, and summers are built for the experience. And this summer, as we said, with two tournaments going on simultaneously for those that like the game, you are going to be given everything that you want and more from morning until late at night. Anything else? No. All right, let's take a quick break.

When we come back, we'll take a look over in Europe with some euro picks. Hey, folks, it's your man, Keyshawn Johnson here to talk about Angie, formerly known as Angie's list, your go to home services marketplace for getting all your jobs done. Well, now, you might be wondering, what exactly is Angie? Well, let me tell you. It's the nation's largest home services marketplace, connecting over 150 million homeowners with skilled professionals to tackle any project, big or small.

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That's Angie, your trusted ally in home services. Okay, welcome back. Well, as we mentioned, both of these incredible tournaments going on this summer and overlapping simultaneously. Let's go over to Germany, which is hosting, as we know, the euros. And let's go, mossy.

Alexi Lalas
Let's go through these, through these groups. First off, before we get into the actual, who we think are coming out of these groups, you might have mentioned it on a previous pod that we did, but just for, for the case of our discussion here, do you have a group of death and do you have a group that you think is the most difficult to pick, top to bottom? I think it would probably be group b. Spain, Italy, Croatia. Although group D, which has France, Netherlands, Poland and Austria, is also a strong contender.

David Mosse
You could actually argue that top to bottom, that's the best, because you have Albania in that group B. So you do have a weak team, while there's no real weak sister in Group D. So it would be between those two groups in the group of death debate. Yeah, I agree that Group B, I mean, you have three teams in the top ten, and obviously with the storied history, including the defending champions, when it comes to Italy, I think that's hard. You know, that's hard to figure out.

Alexi Lalas
And, you know, potentially a good team is not going to go through, although we should remind people that third place teams do go through. I think the hardest one to actually pick might be Group E, with Romania, Ukraine, Belgium and Slovakia going forward. All right, let's go back to group a. Germany, Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland. The first game, and the only game to start the first day of the tournament will be Germany versus Scotland.

I have Germany and Switzerland coming out as the top two. And then I also do have Hungary being a best three team. I have the exact same thing. Germany won, Switzerland two, Hungary three. Let me just make one overarching point about Germany.

David Mosse
I know they had some terrible results at one point in this cycle, and they've had some lousy results in major tournaments recently, but to me, it was never a personnel issue. I always looked at that german squad and on paper, the name still popped. There was just something off with the chemistry there. Hansi Flick, they got rid of him. Nagelsman is now in charge.

Results have picked up a bit. You've got Tony Cruz back in the mix. So I'm expecting a big tournament from Germany, actually, at home. I love the names. They've got a couple of candidates for breakout player in Floridian, Wirtz and Jamal Musial, and you've got that veteran leadership of guys like Cruz and Gundam.

So there's still a lot of names of note in that squad. I think they'll do well. And I will say, you know, having spent the last couple of weeks over there in Germany, that there is a confidence in this team and maybe it's relative to their history, as you said, but there is a lot of talent and playing at home again, I think there's a feeling that this could be something special this summer. For Switzerland, this is a pedigree pick. They've reached the knockout stage of the last three World Cups and of the last €2, they got to the quarterfinals of the last euros, eliminating France along the way.

So I know on paper it's not the most impressive squad, but they just do seem to have a knack for getting out of groups in major tournaments, so I think they'll do it again. It is worth noting that Scotland was a big story during qualifying. They really played well. But when it gets to the tournament, you and I both think they're going to finish last in this group. Yeah.

Alexi Lalas
I don't mean as much as I love the fans and I love the whole story and anything. Yeah, I think that they're going to finish last in this group. And you mentioned Switzerland and Granit Jaka and what he has done over the last year. You see if he can translate that. And then they had a bunch of ties during qualifying, so they're going to have to be able to get points, but also turn some of those ties into wins here.

All right, so we're the same here on Group A. Let's go to Group B. Spain, Italy, Croatia, Albania. As we mentioned before, your potential and arguably the group of death here. I have Spain and Croatia, in that order, coming out from Group B.

And I do have Italy finishing in third and therefore getting one of those third place go through positions slightly different from me. I have Spain one, Italy two, and Croatia advancing as a third place team. Albania, by the way, are coached by a brazilian, Sylvia. So I'd love to see them make a run, but I don't think it's going to happen in this group. I think Italy, we know about their World cup struggles of late.

David Mosse
They haven't even been able to qualify the last two, but I don't know. They won the last euros. And I like Spalleri as a coach. I still think there are enough quality players in there that they'll figure out a way to finish in the top two in this group. I think Croatia might be a little long in the tooth, so I don't expect a great euros out of it.

Alexi Lalas
You mentioned Albania a little a while ago. Do they have not a chance necessarily to come out because both of us have them finishing last, but do they have a chance at any point in the three games that they play of actually being a spoiler or you think they're going zero three? I think they're probably going zero three. Okay, well, you don't like the Albanians, that's fine. That's certainly one way to go.

If that's. If that's the way you want to go. Okay, let's see. Go to Group C. I have England coming out on top, I have Serbia coming out second, and I have Denmark coming out as a third place team.

David Mosse
I have England one, Denmark two, and no third place team out of this group. No third place. Okay, keep in mind, Denmark made it all the way to the semis of the last euros. You have the whole Christian Eriksen subplot, that incredible health scare he had at the last euros. And for him to be back here, it's a great story.

You've got Rasmus Hoylan up front, Christensen at the back. So I think they're a very good team. I think they'll finish in the top two in this group. Okay, off to Group D. France, Netherlands, Austria and Poland.

Alexi Lalas
That's how I have them finishing. France at number one, Netherlands coming in at two, and then Austria and Poland. And neither of them. Actually, no. I have Austria being one of the third place teams.

David Mosse
The exact same thing for me. France won, Netherlands two, Austria three, Austria advancing as one of the third place teams. Keep in mind, Ralph Rengnick turned down the Bayern Munich job to coach Austria at this tournament. So he's very bullish. He looks pretty ridiculous if they were not in the group stage.

Alexi Lalas
All right, Group E again, I thought this is a very difficult group to pick, but I have Belgium finishing first, Slovakia finishing second, then Romania and then Ukraine. And neither of them actually Romania. Definitely not getting the third place. Oh, actually, yeah. No, not a third place.

Finishing third, but not going through. Right. I have Belgium one, Ukraine two, and no third place team advancing from this group. Ukraine. Maybe this is a little bit of a heart pick.

David Mosse
It would be such a great story in light of what's going on in the world, but I also do like some of their players. They've got a striker, Artem Dovik, who was the top scorer in La Liga, which girona this past season. We know Michaela Mudrick has struggled for Chelsea, but I think with Ukraine, he'll play well. You've got Zinchenko, so they've got some names of note. I think they finished second in what is probably top to bottom, the weakest group in the tournament.

Alexi Lalas
But you readily admit that it might be your heart talking over your head when it comes to Ukraine. Listen, I'm here for it. I think it'd be a wonderful story and it would be obviously something that would transcend the actual sport on the field. So I'm here for it. So I would be glad to be wrong.

David Mosse
I am known as a very sentimental. That's true. People think about you in that sense. Group F. I have Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal finishing first, Turkey a finishing second, Czech Republic third and Georgia fourth.

Alexi Lalas
And I do not have the Czech Republic in third place going through as one of the third place teams. I have Portugal one, Turkey two, Czechia three. And I do have Czechia advancing as well. Sorry, Czechia. Yeah.

David Mosse
Third place teams. Yeah. I said this on a previous pod. Turkey, for me, is a real dark horse to make a run in this tournament. I like their personnel.

They've got some really talented youngsters like Goular and Yildiz, who played at Juventus this past season. Goular, by the way, I don't know if you saw Jose Mourinho just got hired at Fenerbahce. He's already trying to convince Real Madrid to loan him Ardu Goler for this upcoming season, but I think he's a wonderful talent. Could be one of the breakout players at these euros. You've got Chalianolu there, so you've got some experience as well.

I like Vincenzo Montel as a coach. Plus, keep in mind there is an enormous turkish population in Germany. They're going to have tremendous fan support. I could see Turkiye being to this tournament what Morocco was to the 2022 World cup, so keep an eye on them. All right, so let's take it to the round of 16.

Alexi Lalas
And again, there are plenty of bracket formulations that you can put through. We're not going to get into all the different permutations, but because with the third place finishers and where they all do, so it sets it up for us. So this could certainly change. But I have, in my round of 16, should I just give you all of my round of 16? Results.

Should we do that? Yeah. Say the eight teams that are advancing to the quarterfinals. So I have Germany advancing to the quarterfinals, and in my bracket, I have them beating Serbia. I have Croatia advancing, and I have them beating Switzerland.

I have Spain advancing, beating Hungary. I have England advancing, beating Austria, Portugal advancing, beating Denmark, the Netherlands beating Slovakia, Italy beating Belgium, and France beating Turkey. So do you have Germany going through? Yes. My eight quarter finalists will be Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, France, Belgium, Italy and England.

France, Belgium, Italy and England. All right, so the way mine works out, I don't have Belgium because the way mine worked out, I had Italy actually playing Belgium in the round of 16. Okay, let's go through here. I have. In my quarterfinals, I have the winners.

I'm just gonna give you the winners. Germany, France, England and the Netherlands. So I have Germany beating Spain in the quarters. So do I. Yes.

David Mosse
I have Portugal beating the Netherlands. I do, too. No, I have the Netherlands beating Portugal. I have France beating Belgium and England beating Italy, which would give us a final four of Germany v Portugal, France v England. Okay, so I have a semifinals where it's Germany versus the Netherlands and France versus England.

Alexi Lalas
And in those semi finals, I have Germany winning and I have France winning. And so I have a final of Germany versus France. What do you got? I have Germany beating Portugal and England beating France, which would set up a Germany England final July 14 in Berlin. Wait, so your final is who?

David Mosse
Germany versus England. Oh, delectable. I mean, not that, you know, Germany versus France is anything but. You think that England gets by France in the semi finals and so now it's right there in the palm of their hand to come home. And who do you have as winner?

Alexi Lalas
Because I have the Germans. I have the home hosts using the fact that they are rejuvenated and playing at home and all of that energy to actually win euros. And Germany is my winner. I have England. I think it's coming home and style.

David Mosse
They beat Germany in Germany to win it. You get replaced by Warren Barton on this podcast.

Alexi Lalas
All right, well, we'll see how right or wrong, let's be honest. Our picks are when it comes to cope, America and the euros. But it's going to be fun. And let us know if you agree or you disagree. I'm sure you're all putting together your brackets out there and we'll see if they're broken right off the bat.

Long live Albania, my friend. Should we take another quick break? Let's do it. All right, we'll be back in a second with Ask Alexi. And my one for the road.

Okay. Welcome back. It's time for Ask Alexi, that part of the show where you send in your comments, questions, and concerns. Keep in mind that our State of the Union podcast handle out there on all the social media platforms is s o t u withalexi. Use that hashtag, hash askalexi, or you can call into our State of the Union podcast hotline, which is 657-549-2297 657-549-2297 what do we got today, mossy?

David Mosse
We have a voicemail. Let's take a listen.

Adam
Hey, David. Hey, Alexi. This is Adam calling from the land of the insufferables just outside Seattle. Alexi, there was something that you said in the last pod that really resonated with me. I was living in Germany in 2014 when they won the World cup and was shocked at how calm everybody stayed.

It was like there was this air of expectation around the national team and that winning that was the norm. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. And so people were happy. The country was celebrating, but it was way more muted than I thought it would have been. And I guess make a question out of it.

Do you think that the US doesn't have quite that level of expectation around the national team, and so the team just doesn't seem to kind of rise to that expectation? Curious what your thoughts are having. Just been there. Thanks. Bye.

Alexi Lalas
Okay. Thank you. Adam from Seattle. Yes, the land of the insufferables. But I love you, and I love everybody up there in Seattle, all my friends up in Seattle.

It's an interesting question, because for those that either didn't hear, and it bears repeating, I did not get the feeling in my few weeks over in Germany that everybody was out of their mind ready for this tournament. And as we get closer, I think more things will. Will change. But to the point of the german mentality, and, you know, without getting stereotypical here, the Germans approach their sports, approach the world, approach themselves, their relationship with the world, with an air of, some would say superiority, but I think it's just much more confidence. And that confidence comes from a country and culture that has been incredibly successful.

And certainly, when we're looking at it from a. A soccer perspective, the history of success, but I think it sometimes gets misinterpreted as arrogance when it comes to the way that Germans approach the situation. To your point, Adam, about if the US has that. No, we don't have that because we don't have. From a men's perspective, we don't have that history that we can lean on, we don't have that history that can justify the confidence that we had.

We heard Mossy a little earlier in the show talk about while it hasn't gone well for this german men's national team over this last couple of cycles here, nobody has ever questioned their talent. It's just not putting it together. And so whether it's a country or a culture or those of us on the outside and the perception that we have, you're absolutely right. They feel that regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the reality, regardless of the results that they have had, that they should win every single time they step on the field because they are Germany and because they have done the things in the past to justify that type of stance. And I don't think it necessarily blinds them.

As a matter of fact, I think it's what makes them great. But what makes one country and culture great in terms of their success doesn't necessarily mean you can assign it to a different country, especially a country like the United States, that is so different in our sports, that is so different in our history when it comes to our results, but also different in our history when it just comes to. When it comes to soccer. I'm not envious of it. I recognize the value of it, and from afar, I can respect it.

But I don't think that that is something that you can just implement in american culture in general, let alone when it comes to the soccer out there. But there is a calm and there is a belief that this is the way the world should be because of who we are. And I love it. And it's why they have been good. It's why I have them winning this tournament, because in their minds, whether it's the players on the field or whether it's the fans around it is the way that it should be.

We are Germany. We are playing at home. We have all of this talent, we have all of this history. Therefore, that should result in the logical conclusion of winning games and being the champions of Europe. Yeah.

David Mosse
Where you do see it with the US is in a concacave context. Gold cups, nations, league. The US now does take the field with this swagger, this feeling that they expect to win, but it's hard to have that in a global context when you've never won a World cup. So I think, or obviously a Copa America. So I think the US is going to have to break through and win one of these tournaments before they ever attain that sort of level of swagger and confidence and expectation.

Alexi Lalas
Yeah. So it's an apples and oranges type of thing. But I appreciate it, Adam. And look, hopefully we can get to the point where we as a country do have much higher expectations when it comes to our men's team. And maybe you can juxtapose it with the way that we look at our women's team, given all of the success in that, you know, last summer when they failed historically, everybody looked around and said, this is not supposed to happen.

And you could look at that as an arrogance. You could look at that as an overconfidence in who we are or maybe a delusion in who we are. But we'd like to get to that point when it comes to our men's team. But in order to do that to Mossy's point, you got to prove it. All right, should we head to one for the road now, Mosse?

Now, we've talked a lot about what this summer actually is, Mossy and what it is isn't, or how Greg Berhalter and company are going to use this summer. There was a bit of a kerfuffle over there in the media land and over on the social media platforms out there when Haji Wright, who has been called into this latest group of national teams of us men's national team, was interviewed after one of the training sessions. They put people up in the press conferences and stuff. He came out and was very, very clear and concise with what this summer is about, at least the way that he sees it. And he said, Copa America isn't an end all and be all for us.

Our goal is the 2026 World cup. And there is certainly a part of me that says, I get it. In the greater scheme of things, if we could pick one summer to have the ultimate success, of course we're going to pick 2026, and we are building to that. However, it is a little concerning that as we go into this cup, that the players themselves are looking past that the players themselves are looking to 2026. And this goes back to something that I talked about on a previous pod that is concerning to me in that whether it's Haji Wright or anybody else, you know what, Haji?

Nobody is guaranteeing that you or anybody is going to be involved in 2026. You have to do everything in your power to have success right now. And maybe he was looking at it much more from a big picture type of perspective. But I think it is concerning if the players themselves feel that 2026 is what matters right now. No, what matters for you relative to 2026 is doing well and being successful right now.

And I think whether it's Hadji Wright or whether it's Greg Berhalter or whether it's any of these players and coaching staff, by the way, everybody needs to be under pressure. There are no sacred cows. Everybody should fear for their job in a good way, in a competitive way. And while I know from the outside we can look at 2026, and certainly you're going to use the summer of 2024 to do well in 2026. You have to put everything in your power, physical and mental, into having the best possible performance.

I think Greg Berhalter needs it for his future, and I think that these players need to recognize that it's not about 2026, it's not about 2025, it's about now. And if you don't bring it now, you won't be here to benefit from whatever comes in 2026. And that's the way that it should be. Yeah, I mean, how this mindset could have manifested itself in a tangible way, as if with his squad selections, Greg Berhalter had picked a bunch of young players, cast aside veterans, not really thinking about which squad gives him the best chance to win this summer, but more thinking ahead to which players he thinks are going to be important in 2026 and need bleeding in. I didn't really sense any of that with his squad selections.

David Mosse
I think he is taking the squad that he thinks gives him the best chance to win games this summer, and I'm sure the players are going to go out motivated to try to win any game they play. So I know the Hadji quote rubbed people the wrong way, but I don't really see any sort of overarching approach that speaks to the US not taking this Copa America as seriously as they should. Exactly. And I'm just using Haji here as an example. However, if it goes south, if it is an unmitigated disaster and a failure this summer at Copa America, and Greg Berhalter and Haji Wright or any other player gets up on that, stand in the postgame press conferences and says, well, Copa America isn't an end all and be all for us.

Alexi Lalas
The goal is 2026. I'm going to be angry and I don't think that that is acceptable. I don't think that that should be allowed to pass when it comes to the future of Greg Berhalter or when it comes to the future of these individual players. And so, again, I don't know how it's manifested, I don't know why and in which way it's manifested. Into this team.

But I get why people, there's some consternation when it comes to hearing people talk about this. So we'll see ultimately. But I think it sets up this summer as a really, really interesting peek into the psyche of these players and into this team and as it relates to going forward in 2025 and then obviously 2026. Anything before we go, my friend? No, just a reminder, we will be taping a spaces after the US Columbia friendly on Saturday.

David Mosse
It will be Sean Sullan. We're going to give him one more chance as he tries to hold off the Kyla Morris machine that's really coming here. It's kind of like a mafia. You're never really out. Okay.

Alexi Lalas
We always bring you back into it. We will look forward to that. And we look forward to see what Greg Berhalter and company show us in these friendlies coming up and then obviously into Copa America. Keep downloading, keep reviewing, keep rating, keep doing all the different things. Let us know if you agree or disagree when it comes to all of the different predictions that we've made on this pod going forward.

And look, they can change going forward. That's the fun of having these tournaments. And we do have a very, very fun summer upon us when it comes to both of these simultaneous tournaments. We will talk to you again next week. And until then, and as always, my friends, size the day.

USMNT vs Colombia preview, Euro 2024 tournament predictions

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1: Introduction and USMNT Discussion

2: Euro 2024 Group Analysis

3: Key Players and Injury Updates

4: Tactical Insights

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