Two Robbies Daily: Mexico and the USMNT
Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe break down the latest storylines and performances from the North American giants. How do Mexico and the USMNT stack up against the world's elite, and who is currently carrying the torch for CONCACAF?
Video Transcript
Welcome to a brand new show.
There it is, mate.
Finally.
The Two Robbies Daily.
An in-depth look at, into the games, what's coming, what's been happening, who the stars, who might go through.
Exactly.
That's all it is.
It's gonna be fun, mate.
Getting into it.
Yeah.
Let's kick off.
So we have day one.
Home nation Mexico, Azteca.
What a brilliant stadium that is, by the way- Azteca Stadium.
they got the job done, two-nil, Rob, but what did we learn about Mexico?
What can, what can we tell people that we've learned about them, and what to watch for going forward?
Well, I would say based at the Azteca, with that altitude and with that fan base, I think they can go deeper in the competition.
I- Yeah I was more impressed with them than I thought I would be based on, they've come in as a kind of okay team- but people weren't really sure about.
Yes and no for me.
Yes and no.
I, I, I like- Give me the yes first.
Well, the yes, in terms of not really knowing what to expect from them.
Mm-hmm.
and I thought they looked bright in moments.
But no, in generally, not great.
Not great.
We know they've got some important players out, and- Yeah and more of the young kid that came on can add excitement to them.
But the general performance level for Mexico, I thought was just okay against the South Africa team, Rob, that we know that they're gonna struggle.
Yeah.
They're a poor side.
We'll get into the, the, red cards and stuff.
I just expected more from Mexico, Rob.
And on the back of the football, on the, on the back of being a home nation at that stadium, I just expected a little bit more quality.
Again, we both look at stats a little bit.
Mm-hmm.
And xG, which is expected goals, so it's kind of a measurement of how many goals you're expected to score given the, the opportunities that they create in a game.
And against nine men towards the end, granted- Yeah but they were a man up for a, for a large period of that game, just I think it's into the second half, the first red card- Yeah for South Africa.
1.46, so, like, not even two goals.
So, and they got the two big chances.
They took the goals and- So basically you're saying with, with the amount of play and the amount of chances created, it should've been- I, I expect a bit more of an xG you'd expect more than two goals.
So much- Even on the first day, not, you know, on the first day yeah, more, more, should be more dominant with a man, extra.
Should be more on the front foot to control it.
This is South Africa, by the way, Rob.
They aren't great, and with men missing, I thought Mexico could've done a little more in the attack.
Let me go in a slightly different direction.
We got three red cards in, in this- Right one game.
We had four red cards in the whole tournament last time around.
Okay.
Let me tell you what every team in every country in this tournament's gotta be careful of, the refereeing.
For me, one of the three red cards I would give.
I'm gonna say there's gonna be a different standard of refereeing in this tournament than players are used to in their domestic tournament, and they better get ready for that.
Rob, we, we've seen, we watch a ton of Premier League football, right?
And those, and, and, and maybe one of those isn't given, but I, I disagree a little bit.
I think they're kind of borderline.
And we know watching European football- international football, a tournament like this, generally, internationally the game is, is reffed tighter.
We saw it there in, in game one.
I get that other tournaments haven't been quite the same, but that's a marker.
The referees have laid down a marker that any kind of foul play, the serious foul play, the slap on the face, the, the deny of the, the dogso, which you didn't- Yeah, denial of the goal scoring opportunity think was, I thought was, is just an indicator to everybody just to, to be careful of.
So cut to the chase.
If you're doing an over and under i- in this kind of game, and you're talking about cards, I'm saying you better make that number a little bit higher than you would've thought.
Yeah.
I mean, th- Because of the- A limited- way the referees are gonna- Yeah go about their business small sample size.
And we know that the- Yeah each referee's gonna be a little bit different, but I would expect this tournament to be sharper on that than, than ever before.
But again, we'll see that going forward.
Quick line o- on South Africa.
Was there, is there much expectation fro- from this group to- L- to do an awful lot and get out of, of the group stage?
No, they, they, they haven't been playing well.
their results going into this haven't been good.
and g- you get your men sent off, you got zero chance.
So they will be the ones in this group that are gonna struggle to get out for me.
So I'm not sure where the value is for South Africa.
It's not really even worth a punt, a gamble, to say, "You know what?
I think they might make it- Third spot for, for good odds."
That, they ain't good enough to get through.
So Rob, South Korea started their tournament with a- Yeah two-one victory against Czechia.
Mm-hmm.
Come from behind- Yeah impressively.
You like that?
Yeah.
I, I, I particularly like the way that South Korea play.
I think it's progressive.
I think it's sharp, it's intricate, it's attacking.
It's tactical, playing through the lines, keeping possession of the ball, energy.
I, I think they're gonna have a good tournament.
Can you have kind of too much variety in that kind of way, Rob, in, in, in tournament football?
Is it not sometimes to have one style of play and then in little adjustments to- No to play with, with that much variety?
I, I, I love that, that a nation and a coach are saying, "This is the way."
And by the way, this isn't for this tournament.
They've always been this way.
Yeah.
They, their, their style is very different to Czechia's style.
Yeah.
Czechia are very long ball.
Contrasts, yeah.
Very direct, long ball for their, for their goal.
Big Czechia scored, the Wolves defender scored- Conceived, yeah for their goal.
And South Korea's football, they stayed with it, and they- found a way through.
Now, I'm not saying that South Korea are gonna go and, and get into the semifinals this tournament.
Yeah.
There's obvious weaknesses with physicality, conceding goals.
I mean, so easy, the goal they conceded from the long throw.
So they, they obviously lack- Yeah many physical attributes to go the whole way.
But I like a team, and a nation, and a philosophy that tries to play their way in a proactive manner, instead of being the team that sits back and just plays for the counter.
I mean, for all their football and all their good play, though, they go a goal down, they don't take- Yeah their chances.
That's something they're gonna have to brush up on as the tournament- goes.
From Czechia's point of view, Rob, it's basically a plan A and nothing else.
And if plan A doesn't work, then we haven't got an awful lot of places to go.
That's gonna limit their opportunities, of making it, it through into the knockout stages.
Yeah.
I think the, the big percentage of their pl- goals come from small penalty box, balls into the box- Yeah long throws, et cetera, et cetera.
11 goals, 11 qualifiers, seven of tho- those goals- Were inside the- Inside the box yeah Which tells you a lot.
Yeah.
So for set piece stats- and for, for a team that might get a few of those, that's, that's dangerous.
But that, for, for that to be their main and only kinda weapon, if you like- Yeah that's not gonna cut it.
I mean, they might find a way to grind and get through to the, the round of 32, but South Korea, that's- Yeah I think you saw from the players afterwards, there's a lot of relief there.
Yeah.
They found a way to win that.
And they're one of those teams that as the tournament goes on, people might not wanna face, might they j- kinda grow in, in, in to form.
I think they're gonna embarrass teams with the way that they play.
And that's what they do.
Heung-Min Son w- was, was lively, was bright, was involved in everything going forward.
He had two really good looks, Rob- Yeah where you might have expected him to hit the target 'cause he's so great off his right foot and his left foot.
He's still gonna be the main attacking threat- Yeah and probably will end up being their top goal scorer.
but there's other sharp, creative players in this team that, I don't know, I, I- Well- I've always liked watching them play.
Definitely one to keep an eye on South Korea as this tournament goes on.
Rob, Canada.
Host of this tournament- Yeah play Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Yeah.
Their opening game, their three games, I understand, are all in Canada, Toronto, and then Vancouver.
Yeah.
Expectations will be really high- Absolutely given what we're talking about here.
Yeah.
How, how good are they?
Expectations should be high.
It's the best Canada squad, I think, that's ever been put together.
They are yet to win a game in tournament football.
Twice they've qualified.
On all occasions, they've lost all those games.
They've lost all games, yeah.
I think that will change.
Yeah.
I think Jesse Marsch is, is, is a smart coach.
He knows how to set his team up.
I think they'll be good out in possession, difficult to play against.
I think he'll probably look to counter it if, if he can at times to get goals.
Came through that Re- Red Bull coaching system.
He's very smart.
Yeah.
They, they understand with and without the ball.
Well, we saw him at Leeds United, and it was very, very much the high pressing game- high energy game, and that's what he does.
Yeah.
Now, whether he's gonna do that with the conditions, maybe a little cooler up in, up in Canada, but that's kinda how he coaches, and I just wonder if he's gonna do that, Rob, given how hot it can be.
And he's also got a lot of injuries, Rob.
Yeah.
It's, it's a squad that he's missing a lot of his- And Alphonso Davies is- Yeah is arguably the best ever Canadian player.
Bomba isn't at the center back.
I think he's- Out as well gonna b- be missing for a while.
But Davies is, is, is, uh- Yeah they're saying to- Could be maybe the last game- Yeah of the, of the group stage for him- Absolutely to play there.
Yeah.
And they- Jonathan David is the, is the, is the hope up front- The guy right?
Yeah.
The guy.
The Juventus striker.
He scored two Champions League goals for Juventus this last season.
Not a ton of goals in Serie A.
Got plenty of starts, got plenty of minutes.
He will be the player they'll hope can score the goals for the team.
Keep on the little box to box midfield player, Ismael Cone as well, mate.
Okay.
Little box to box, gets things going.
He's kind of the, the little generator in there that, that can add a little bit- Yeah of speed to them.
But this could be historic for Canada.
Yeah.
This is a big deal.
They win a game, that's, that's a big deal.
And I think, as you said, the best ever team that they feel is assembled.
Let's see if they can do it against Bosnia.
Against the Bosnian team- Yeah that's still got Edin Deko, still very much part of the- At 40 years of age Bosnian team.
Yeah.
I think it's 20 years now he's been scoring for, for Bosnia.
an incredible return from him.
Yeah.
What, what do we expect from the Bosnians?
Well- In some respect, no pressure on them well, i- in some ways, Rob, it, it's a, it's a little like other teams, maybe Czechia and a few others- that, that have ground their way, 'cause European qualifying- Yeah is difficult.
So, you know, if you're not one of the big boys, you've gotta grind your way through, and they beat Italy and Wales in playoffs- Yeah to get to these, this tournament.
So- So they've handled big moments, haven't they?
Yeah, they know how to grind a little bit.
And I think that's gonna be a, a theme, a theme we're gonna keep coming back to in this tournament, is those teams that are proactive that try and, try and find ways to create and score- and those that really are happy just to defend and play on the counterattack.
I think we're gonna see that in this game given Jesse Marsch and how he, how he coaches.
I expect him to have more possession, to create more opportunities.
It's just whether they can take those opportunities or not.
And just before we finish, you talked to me about Bosnia having to travel- Yeah a, a, a lot, and, and that could affect whether they make top three or not.
You know, we know in this country it's so big, Rob.
Yeah.
Travel and weather and, and time zones will affect play.
Yeah, I think just over 3,000 miles they've gotta travel between, uh- Three, two games I mean, mostly on the West Coast, I think, between the three games, so they have that issue to them.
We've traveled a lot and the, and, and the, the travel in general in this country is amazing.
Great.
Yeah.
But this time of year, we know there's storms- that, that, that halt, airports and, and flights.
So that's w- another challenge for them.
But on the, on the whole of this game- Yeah I think i- if there's, if there's one opponent that, that Canada at home in Toronto that might enjoy- for th- or good for them, would be Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We'll see.
Jesse Marsch and the boys, Canada expects.
All right, Rob Earl, the big one.
Yeah.
USA hosting- this tournament as one of three countries, of course.
this is huge.
This is gonna set the tone- Correct for their tournament- Yeah and for their backing of this huge country- Yeah to get behind and believe in what the US can do this tournament.
What can they do under Mauricio Pochettino that feels, Rob, over the last few weeks- have just sifted through all his options- Yeah and he's put together a, a pretty useful kinda setup and, and team.
I kinda feel that Pochettino's in the perfect spot that he'd wanna be, Rob, with this group.
And there's an argument, and people will argue, that this group is probably one of the deepest groups of players that, that, that this country's had- for, for many, many years.
A lot of players playing in Europe in big clubs, Rob.
A lot of players playing in , doing good things.
Yeah.
there's an expectancy that goes with that.
That's something you're gonna have to handle.
It was really interesting to hear Mauricio Pochettino talk in his press conference a couple of days ago saying, "It's not ab- about me standing up in big speeches and motivating.
If players in this squad aren't ready for the start of a World Cup in their home country, they shouldn't be in the squad."
And so I feel he's bringing a little bit of a different flavor to this USA team- about believing in themselves, pushing their chest out, and showing that they can compete at this stage.
You know what I, I also like, and you know what I'm like, Rob, we've been working together for such a long time, I like a coach that comes up with something a little different.
System-wise and, yeah.
And he has, and he has It is a back four, particularly without- The ball, and they'll look like a 4-4-2 out of possession.
Yeah.
But in possession, Antonee Robinson- Yeah who scored that brilliant goal against Germany in- in the warmup game, plays really, really high.
Ahead of him is Christian Pulisic- Yeah that will go inside- Mm-hmm to, to match up with Pepe or Balogun or whichever- Yeah one it's gonna be.
Yeah.
So I kinda like that.
Three defenders sit back, so it looks like a three at the back system, but it's- not really.
Yeah.
It's just three and a half.
Obviously coming in.
Yeah.
Like one, Robinson goes forward, the three sit there.
And Tyler Adams and Tillman will hold there.
Yeah.
And I think we know, I think the US fans might be a little excited about the two strikers- Yeah 'cause there's talk about who should play.
Yeah.
I think- They're, they're starting to look like they can get some goals run.
I think Balogun, Balogun starts for me, Rob.
I th- I think what he's done in, in club football, I think 19 goals in all competitions, five goals in Champions League.
I think at Monaco he's done enough- Yeah.
All right to be ahead of Pepe.
Just, just let me take you to the other end of the pitch.
Goalkeepers.
The first time since '99 the US have got a goalkeeper who's not playing in English football.
It's Matt Freese or Matt Turner seem to be the choice.
I think Freese gets a nod for me.
Yeah.
For me too.
I mean, we've seen quite a bit of, of Matt Turner- in English football, and hasn't always commanded that first team place for a long period of time.
Yeah.
Matt Freese is a little bit more lesser known, I guess, to a lot of people outside of the US.
Yeah.
MLS player now.
So I w- I agree with that.
But I wanna go back to the front pl- of, of the team, Rob- Go on a little, 'cause you talked about those two strikers- Yeah and, and the possibility that they can score.
Yeah.
I kinda like the creativity around them.
Pulisic, Dest.
McKinney.
McKinney.
That's three players that, that know how to play a through ball.
Yeah.
And can link and play- Yeah a little combination play.
Now that's something different.
So it's a team set up for that center forward to get goals from- Yeah then, isn't it?
And you've got the promptings.
You've got two players attacking down the left with Robinson.
Yeah.
And you only have one down the right, so Junior Dest, who's, who's a creative type.
And I know he's a right wing back, but he's not playing a wing back.
He's playing as a right-side midfielder- Yeah player that's gonna link and try and create.
So I, I'm, I'm, I'm pretty encouraged with what I've seen.
The, the big question then, w- with Turkey and Australia as part of that group, can they win it, the, the US?
Can they win the group?
The group.
And, and, and get out in, which gives them obviously a better opportunity to go deeper.
They can, they can win the group.
They can win the group.
Yeah.
That's, that's not being, you know, trying to be overly optimistic.
Too rah-rah, USA.
Turkey, Turkey got good players too.
Yeah.
but I think there's enough kinda behind the team now with the coach, with these players, being a host nation- to win this group, and I think that's what they d- need to do to get an easier game in the round of 32, and then, wow, then it gets exciting for them.
So the US play Paraguay.
The two met recently in a friendly game in November, but this is tournament football.
This is different.
We'll have to see how this game plays out, Rob.
Paraguay have got some quality players, can still cause a bit of a problem.
Th- well, listen, I, I, I used to work on, CONMEBOL qualifying.
South America qualifying.
It's brutal.
Yeah.
Play each other home and away, and Paraguay qualified.
Yeah.
On the way they beat both Brazil and Argentina.
They came through- Qualifiers.
Yeah a key game against Colombia where they had to win.
The coach saying that was such an important part of them- growing as a team.
We know a few of the players that play, in the Premier League.
Alderete- Yeah the big defender of Sunderland.
Alderete's a good player.
Diego Gomez, a Brighton player, a midfield player, can do a little bit of everything.
Good player, by the way.
Keep an eye on him.
Julian Enciso that was in Brighton, is at Strasbourg right now.
He's probably their star player- Conveyed an injury, hasn't he?
in terms of dribbling and creativity.
He's, he's not gonna make this game, I believe.
But, so they've got enough in there.
With the qualifying and the difficulty of that qualifying, and the teams that they beat, the US can absolutely not take this for granted, and this will be, you know, maybe a very dangerous game given the euphoria around the US and, and what they might do.
Well, it's a huge game for the USA.
We'll be watching with our friends from, from America, hoping that Pochettino and his team can get their first three points.
