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Hey, happy Thursday to you all. Welcome to football. America's shock of his love. Hercules Gomez coming in and style has always heard, but more for this week. It's right. It's, uh, what is it? Start of the season, right? Yeah. In the video, so you're going to be there? I am going to be there. Uh, Boston, Boston Legacy FC. Yeah, that's what it was. Yes. I was. Whoo. I got you. So glad I didn't say what I. Whoo. I got you. Thank you. Boston Legacy FC versus Gotham FC 1230 PM Eastern on ABC, but I digress. Let's get into what we're going to break down here on football. America's with business casual. Of course coming up. Mauricio Pagetino and his comments on rumors outside of the U.S. men's national team, also no guy bangs in his U.S. men's national team a future. A lot of future. We need a magic eight ball, especially when it comes to these players that we're going to talk about and some injury updates. It's been a rough week for pretty much all of the World Cup hosts. But let's start with probably the worst one when it comes to the injury. Luis Angel Malagone will not be going to the World Cup after tearing his Achilles in America's conca-caf champions cup win over the Phil Union Tuesday night. America confirmed the injury and said, quote, his recovery time will be determined by his progress. And of course, after determining said injury has to go through surgery on the other side, just heartbreaking. They're so close to the World Cup, more bad news for the Mexican national team. As concerns around now, Marcel Ruiz, after suffering a knee injury in Toluca's three two loss to San Diego last night, also in the conca-caf champions cup, Ruiz will be evaluated tomorrow per Toluca and his availability for the World Cup is still very much up in the air. But just so much heartbreak on these players' faces, we saw that as well. It said, you know, this who picked up a hamstring injury in PSV's two one win against AZ Alkmar on Saturday was taken off the field in the 55th minute. The pain was just written all over his face on his social media desk said, quote, I'll do everything in my power to make sure that I'm coming back ASAP on the right timing again. So close to the World Cup. It's never a good time to get injured, but especially in March, just a few short months away from sad tournament. Alfonso Davis also picked up a hamstring injury, a strain to be exact. In Bayern Munich's dominant six one win over Atalanta, close to the 70th minute. Now Davis also looked to be in pain as he covered his face with a shirt as he left the field. This isn't Davis's first muscle injury this season and isn't confirmed to be out of the World Cup. So a couple of situations very much up in the air. I mean, confirmed with obviously San Juan and we will, of course, break that down. But Jack, when we see these injuries important for the US, for Mexico, for Canada, the World Cup Post, which federation is impacted? Do you think the most by these injuries? I think it's kind of an Alfonso Davis. And you're right to point out that injuries are while they're apart of the game. They're a very tough part of the game, especially for players. And one of the discussions you often hear, particularly from people outside of the game, is with the work of coming up, do players take it a little bit easy just to prevent this kind of circumstance? As players, we know, from the time you decide to take it easy, that's when you get injured. That's when you have impact injuries, etc. You have got to play this game 100%. Otherwise, think things really do start to fall apart. But then you see moments like these. And they are always difficult to understand, to take, to navigate, to your question, Cristina. But for me, of the injuries, Alfonso Davis and Canada, we spoke about Alfonso Davis as an individual, about as a player, how good he is. As captain of this Canadian national team, as the face, as the leader of that national team, I just don't know how you replace him. How you replace every facet of what he brings to the Canadian football. So if we are putting it on somehow, judging us on a scale, Alfonso Davis for me, the most impactful. I mean, Shaq goes for the highest profile name, and it's hard to argue that you go for the highest profile name, and that should be a massive loss. In its reality, you're losing a player that has been very important for Canada, throughout the last five, six years. Another reality is he hasn't quite been the same Alfonso Davis for Canada, as he's been for Bayern Munich. And thus so that this very exciting, attacking prospect, Alfonso Davis, who at one point was best, or in the running, one of the best left-backs in the world, Champions League winner, wasn't considered exactly the best player in the Canadian pool, or the most important player in the Canadian pool. But certainly for Alfonso Davis, for Jesse Marsh, and everybody has their own hospital, this is a tough one, because that's a player that inspires a country. That's a player that has scored the first goal, World Cup goal, that your team has scored in a World Cup in its history. This is a very important player, yes. But if Alfonso Davis is not there, you can't honestly say the best player in the team is missing. You can't, as you say, a piece we can't live without is missing. Well, Mexico right now, he's better than Mordor, hasn't played in the last seven games. He's missed eight already. He's played 132 minutes. When they talk about Mexico, they're relying on a player whose 18-ager, who's got five international caps, because of how depleted the pool is, talent-wise. And then you lose a player that many thought would be the starting goalkeeper, and if you didn't, would start to compete for the starting job. In Luis Ángel Malagón. And that's not the window. So with Luis Ángel Malagón at the window, you're bringing back a 42-year-old memo to the conversation. And then now, the one true constant you had in the center midfield, a guy who was growing into his position and into his own, becoming a leader who was captain last night for Taluca, Marcel Ruiz, your most confident two-way player, goes down with a non-contact injury, remains to be seen how serious it would be. But it has to be Mexico, because of the player pool. I can go to the US and say, Sergenio does, that's a tough loss. It really is. But they're in better shape when it comes to the pool, the Mexico. Canada, that's a tough loss. Alfonso Davies, it really is, Alistair Johnson, it really is, Derek Cornelius, Bonbito, they really is. Maybe those players will get back on time, wait enough on time, I do believe so, the majority of them. But their pool is way better than Mexico's. This is the worst Mexican national team, the worst pool that I've seen in my lifetime. So it has to be Mexico. Yeah, let's get into it then, because you mentioned not only Malaguan, which we know is out of the ones that we talked about, is the only one truly confirmed to be out of the World Cup, because of the nature of set injury, of an Achilles tear, right? Yes, pretty much what I've heard is, is relearned how to walk when you tear your Achilles tear. Eight months, you'll be out. Yeah, minimum, at minimum. You just mentioned Guillermo Choir. Yeah. Right? And I know we talked about this throughout the week, and this isn't the first time that he's come up when Luis Anquel Malaguan was still healthy. What happens next with the goalkeeper pool, with the names that Javier Aira still has available? I've got one of the best concavig goalkeepers to my left right now. And it's history of where he's played, of what he's done for his national team, and he's seen some very good Mexican goalkeepers, a very good pool of Mexican goalkeepers. I can confidently say this is the worst pool of Mexican goalkeepers I've ever seen. Long gone are the days when you had Ochoa, Talavera, Jesús Corona. Long gone are the days where you had El Cono Joperas. Long gone are the days when you had Osvalo Sanchez, Jorge Campos, Los Forríos. You know, there's so many different names I could throw out there. And it's not just... La vera. Yeah, you know, it's not just Mexico. I could say the same thing about the U.S. I really can. And the Canadian goalkeepers right now, this season, Major League Soccer, have not been great either. It is in a Bismill pool, which is why you're going back to the well with a 42-year-old Guillermo Ochoa. It is not good news that Javier Aguirre is back for his third cycle, third World Cup with Mexican national team. It is not good news that Guillermo Ochoa could possibly play his sixth World Cup. That means you're not pushing the next generation. And if you want more evidence to that, look at Mexico and this World Cup when they will have zero players under the age of 25 years with World Cup experience. This isn't good news and you're going back to the well. But it's necessary because you saw right there, Acevedo. He's not going to have an opportunity with the Mexican national team. He's one of the most scored-on goalkeepers in the United States. You saw Tala Ranjel. Tala Ranjel has had bad moments with the Mexican national team. Yes, some good moments. Yes, but he's not been a guarantee. He's had his moments just as of late where he's given up silly goals. Luis Anquel Malagón was in the same boat. Right. This is why you're going back to Guillermo Ochoa. I mean, you know Guillermo Ochoa. Shaq, what do you think of his name being thrown in the mix now? Even more so. I'm surprising, but give him where we are right now. Not so surprising. And so let me quantify that. We sat here maybe four months ago and I said, you can't be going back to Ochoa. You really can't. It makes you can't be calling on a 40 plus year old to go into the World Cup. So it would be Malagón. That was the ball and end all. I am not at all convinced by Acevedo. Or Angela. At all convinced. At the work of level, at the expectation that comes with being a host nation, being Mexico and putting two of those together. So somehow you find yourself back with an Ochoa who's 42 years old. So I, as I said, four months ago, I said, you can't be going into the World Cup. Ochoa is a goalkeeper. Right now, I want to say the same thing. But I don't see another option. I just genuinely don't. That's the, you can back me up here and you will know the sentiment of the general Mexican public. There's a large divide that are saying, that can't happen. It is the other part of that divide that's saying, oh, his best football is played every four years. Sure. It's World Cup is my mother's winner South Africa. Exactly because you can say, the guy's playing in Cyprus. Well, the last World Cup, he was playing somewhere where he got relegated. And the World Cup before that, the same thing. And if you ask foreign press, foreign fans about Mexico, the World Cup, they're going to say two names. They're probably going to say two names. Chijarita won. And oh, yeah, Ochoa. Ochoa. That's it because he comes out every four years. So they're hoping that'll be the case. This go around. It's hard to argue with the logic here because of the lack of experience with the goalkeeping pool that you have right now. That they wouldn't just fall back on Guillermo Ochoa and hope he comes out again, like he does every four years. Yeah, and it's tough with what you said with Marcel Rees as well. I mean, we know that he had been a regular with the Mexican national team. Again, not ruling him out for the World Cup. We don't know anything yet. We obviously hope that this is just a big scare here for Marcel Rees because he was truly an essential part there in the midfield. But, Herk, I'll stick with you for this one. I mean, what does this do to Mexico and this potential absence? Well, I'll tell you what it does. It puts them on a alarm. It puts them, you know, alarm bells are ringing and puts them on notice. If before you had doubts about who the right back would be, who the second center back with Yo Han would be, who the goalkeeper would be, who would be the other midfielder in case Hilbert Amona wasn't there. If Edson, Alabama, this would be the same Edson, Alabama, this after this injury and how that would look. If who would accompany Raul Kimenez, the one guy you knew that you can count on was Marcel Rees. He's not there. I happen to think like majority of fans and I would say a lot of pundits that don't want to see a Charlie Rodriguez anymore. They don't want to see a notable impenetra. I think this firmly opens the door for an Obed Vargas to stop coming and maybe make a name for himself for an Alvaro Fidalgo to come in and make a name for himself. There is a chance in this next window that you see one or both of the players there invite for one of those central positions because Nomora, No Edson Alvarez, and now no Marcel Rees. The starting core trio that you had pegged in for this World Cup is not there. Yeah, and that's tough. It is. Three months out of the World Cup. I mean, as Hilkes is talking there, is the fan expectation? What is the fan expectation around Mexico the World Cup? No. I mean, just kind of given those injuries, given the struggles. What are fans expecting or hoping for? What are fans hoping for is a sexto partito which is the quinto partito because now this is the format. Yeah, but that's not a necessarily realistic scenario unless they win out in the group phase. And their group, I do think, is a winnable group. But if you falter that first game against South Africa, you need to get a result away from the altitude in Guadalajara against South Korea. And you saw what South Korea did to the US men's national team and did to Mexico in their friendlies. You see how dynamic they are. You see how sunny still has it. He's still got it. And then you got to play if you don't get a good result there, all or nothing in the last game, which could be Denmark. I don't think it's a realistic scenario for them. They think it's an automatic, but it is Mexico. And we spoke about this check. The ultimate leveler is Sadiosteka, the sun, the pollution, the altitude. I think they've got a good shot if they're healthy. But this national team doesn't have the luxury of missing their best pieces and thinking they can just dog walk the group. Yeah, let's get into the US men's national team. What we just mentioned with Sergenio Des, again, as he even said on his social media, trying to come back as quickly as possible because of what's coming up. But with the ideal starting 11 with Sergenio Des, outhurt, who could benefit the most from his absence? Not my ideal starting 11, but who could benefit the most? Well, it should be Freeman. But Freeman's not been playing for Villarreal. He's not gonna mention like three, four games. He makes this move, which is to La Liga and then I am there for it. Like, do the move, become a better player. But in making that move, you got to go back to the last time that he played a game, and that was last season. Like a realistic 90 minutes. So now you're hoping that he comes in March and he can show Marisa Pochettino that it's not affected him, that he's the same player. He's just as sharp, just as confident, but he's got the most to gain here. I don't think it'll go that way. If I'm Marisa Pochettino, I'm thinking, I can't rely on somebody who's not playing right now. And I would go with somebody who is playing. I would go with a Timothy Wea as a right wingback, which I think realistically takes Marisa Pochettino from having to make a very difficult decision of leaving him out to back into the lineup and a position that he knows very well, or even a Western McKinney, who's proven to be a very good player there. It's no Sir Gino Desk. What Sir Gino Desk can offer you on the ball going forward, very few in this pool can. He solves a lot of problems for you. But Timothy Wea is a very good player, different, very good, and so is Western McKinney. I think you can do something there, but if I'm freeing when I'm thinking about opportunity and miss because I'm not playing right now. I think Timothy Wea is probably the closest in terms of like for like where we're desks. I'm not overly convinced about desks defensively. I think he's great going forward. And Timothy Wea gives you that on that right hand side. He's played that position. He's played further up. He's been more advanced. If you want to sit play as an attacking wingback, which I think desks is, maybe Sir Gino Desk, we'll say differently. I think Timothy Wea is as good a like for like replacement as you will find in the USPS pool. Yeah, I mean, it's a difficult decision, right? Because it's someone who's playing right now or someone who has experience. And right now, so you know, that's only meets one of those criteria. So it's a difficult decision when it really comes down to it. And those really big important moments for the US men's national team for Canada and for the Mexican national team. I'm at least glad that we're not head coaches except national teams for it. But hey, listen, we're on this side and Shack is also on this side for ESPN FC, available daily on ESPN Plus. A new podcast series from ABC audio in 2020 goes inside a case that has captivated the nation. So many people, Luigi Mangione, is a modern day Robin Hood. People were cheering the demise of this person they'd never met. It was a father of two and a husband and had a life and was just doing a job. From the manhunt, ending in a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to what authorities are saying about a possible motive. I'm ABC News Legal Analyst, Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to Burnin' a Proof, Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. He's that ample opportunity and he has not done it. He has not taken the chance to say, listen, US of A, baby, America. I'm here for America, huh? He hasn't yet said that out loud. Ale has a point and this is what Mario Supacitino said about those rumors that he'll be coaching else or it's not the first time that we hear this, by the way. He said, all in good time and football, the timing always dictates what happens. Football will take you where it wants, not where you want. This is for El Chiringuito, which is not any other source when we're talking about Real Madrid and La Liga in general. But Shaq, well, as we welcome in our Jeff Carlyle, Jeff, I'm gonna start with Shaq here real quick because the language is different. Weird. It's different. It's odd. Football takes you where it wants, not where you want. You are in this game for as long as you have been Mauricio Pachitino so that you can make those decisions as to where you want to go. It's a less Mauricio Pachitino trying to tell me that he just happened to be the US men's national team coach by happenstance. That's what Football decided that he played no part in that decision and he will now play no part in what is to come next. Again, I have been fairly critical of a lot of the things that Mauricio Pachitino has said as US men's national team coach. And this is a reason why. I just find so much of it so unconvincing. Like, what are you trying to see? And no, it's not lost to me that two or three weeks ago, he was having a go with Timothy Ware about ticket prices. Now you're linguically read Madrid and a move elsewhere and you are nowhere near as firm by your measure, nowhere near as committed as you were asking Timothy Ware to be. I just don't get it. I really don't. Jeff, do you get it? Listen, I mean, from the moment Mauricio Pachitino was hired, I don't think anyone really expected him to last beyond the World Cup. And I can remember talking to people in the US soccer federation and they're saying, well, maybe he can take on a different kind of role after the World Cup is over. But I don't really think that ever included continuing to manage the team. And so, but I think shock is right. I think Pachitino could do more to kind of shut these things down and just say something like to the effect that I'm not going to talk about any of this stuff until after the World Cup. And for, you know, I'm committed to the US. You know, I'm going to give them my 100% focus is World Cup or nothing. And then, you know, you can say after the World Cup, then I'll start entertaining offers. You know, it kind of reminds me a little bit of Lupategui when, you know, when he was coach of Spain and then he was going to be linked with Real Madrid and then Spanish federation said no thanks. So, you know, obviously the US soccer federation is not going to make that kind of decision. But I do think the Pachitino could be firmer and could be more direct and just say, listen, I'm only thinking about the US men's national team right now. We have a great opportunity going into this World Cup playing at home a squad that, for the most part, searching your tests is probably the exception that seems to be healing up at the right time, you know, guys getting back on the field. So, you know, I think Pachitino could do more to kind of just put these rumors to rest, at least for the moment. I mean, because everybody does know that he's probably going to end up elsewhere. But, you know, communicate now what your focus is and how that is going to be directed at the US men's national team. He likes the attention. That's the reason he's not putting these rumors to rest. That's the reason when they ask him about the Premier League. He's talking and flirting about the Premier League. He's talking about how much he misses spurs, how much he misses the allure of the Premier League. And it's no secret that in the United States, our media, when we cover the game, isn't like the English media. It isn't like the Latin American media in Argentina, in Brazil, in Mexico. You can be whoever you want here and you're not going to be criticized in the same way. How? You don't even have to live in the country. As Marisa Pachitino does not live here. He lives in Barcelona. He misses the attention. So when they ask him, he flirts. It's no secret that Marisa Pachitino is not going to be with the US men's national team post-World Cup. I know that, Shack knows that. Chris, you know that, Jeff knows that. The US men's national team players know that. Maybe there are parts of the fan base that do not know that. But he is out afterwards. Regardless of what happens. Regardless, he is out. He doesn't want any part of the US program after 2026. You can see he desperately misses the day-to-day of a team, the day-to-day of a club, the day-to-day of the attention that comes with coaching somewhere where football is everything. But you're criticizing players. You're criticizing the press. And Jeff has been at those press conference when he criticizes and chastises the press. If we really wanted to hold Marisa Pachitino to the fire as he desperately wants, he would have been out a long time ago. And that's a reality. If we hold him to his words to the bar that he has set as Shack has mentioned, he would have already been gone. But that's not this type of program. So he's still here. So any time that there is a Marisa Pachitino linked to the Premier League or to a club like Ramadrid or to any high-profile job, Marisa Pachitino is not going to shoot it down and say, I'm not talking about it, he's going to entertain it. But here's my thinghood. Why not shoot it down? And this is the thing, this is the thing. He enjoys it. No, no, he can't. So if Marisa Pachitino arguments he because having conversations quietly with Florentino Perez, I have absolutely no idea who's running things at Spurs. So I've no idea who he talked to there. I don't think they even know. Exactly, nobody knows. But anyway, so we'll go with Ramadrid for our arguments here. If he's having conversations quietly with Florentino Perez, and Florentino Perez is saying, Marisa, I'm really interested. I'd love for you to be our next manager, come July August. Would Marisa Pachitino just coming out and say, I couldn't care about anybody else, I'm focusing on winning the World Cup, and that's it. We'll see you after that. After we win the World Cup, we'll all figure out what I'm doing next. That's not going to put Florentino Perez off. So unless he is still auditioning or asking for attention, flummer from a Florentino Perez, or whoever's the kid man at Spurs. Unless he's still auditioning for that attention from them, I don't understand what he's doing. Everybody for ball knows you walk into government at the same time. You can be playing for one club and know that the manager is getting a bid for you ready for you somewhere else. We've all done it. You don't come out and talk about it, but we've all been in that place. I just don't understand why this. I really don't. I'll tell you why he doesn't shoot down the Round Madrid rumors, because they're too good to be true for money to budget dinner. I've already, I mentioned this last week there. It doesn't make sense. It would have made sense. Champions League runner up when he was head coach at Spurs. That would have made sense. Maybe kind of after he fumbled being the first PSG team not to win League One with PSG with those players, not being able to manage that locker. Maybe after PSG and the Clash of Heads, he had the sporting director there over control. It doesn't make sense for money to budget dinner at this time in his career with his pedigree right now where it's at to be in the running for Round Madrid. He doesn't shoot it down because it's too good to be true. He wants his name to stay in the light. Jeff, you can help me out here. The English Club, I believe it was Brentford maybe where his name came up. He didn't shoot that down either. When you don't shoot down a Brentford, you're certainly not going to shoot down a report about Round Madrid. Jeff? Actually, I think he did shoot down Brentford. I mean, I think the comments that I remember had making, they were more forceful than what's going on right now with Round Madrid. And so I think, and that link never really made much sense. So I think on that standpoint, I don't think people took it seriously in terms of budgetino ending up at a club like Brentford. No disrespect to Brentford, but it just didn't seem to be an appointment that would be in alignment with what Brentford is about, with what Puchotino's about. Again, it just didn't make much sense. Certainly, Round Madrid is a team or a club that I think Puchotino would very much like to be a part of. And I can see Harks Point that he wants to keep his name in the limelight. He still wants it to be considered. But I will say this, Puchotino has constructed a castle around himself. I mean, if you want to hire Marisa Puchotino, you've got to get through his assistant, Hazel's Perez, you've got to get through his attorney who starts looking up this offer, looking at the kind of project that's being put forward. And then both of those guys give their blessing, then Marisa Puchotino was brought into the room. So I think an awful lot of work would have to be done. And maybe that's being done right now, who knows. But I do think that that kind of appointment it would be a long ways off. But we'll have to wait and see what happens. But I mean, for now he needs to focus on the world cup and he needs to focus on this window because it seems like every single window that we've looked at for the past eight months, we're thinking, okay, this is the time that he's going to have his full team together. And it seems like there's always some injuries that come up or for some reason, West and McKinney's not available because Juventus change managers. I think this is the time where he's really got to get this team together. And not that they weren't pulling in the same direction before, I think the team has looked a lot better in the last couple of windows. But he's got to get everybody together and really full speed ahead towards getting prepared for the world cup, getting guys more familiar with each other and getting the tactics sorted out, all of that kind of stuff. That needs to happen now in this particular current window that's coming up. And hopefully the US is at their peak when June comes around. But the work has started, it needs to continue in this particular window, I think. Listen, I'll just leave it at this. I don't blame Marisa Pochettino for not shooting down these reports. I mean, why would you want to make your name? Why would you want to dim the light? You know, if you know you're leaving after the world cup, you maybe want to keep something open. And if it's raw Madrid, it's raw Madrid. It's very difficult to turn that down. Yeah, but there's a way to do that without it. So leave it to us. Just really quickly. Yeah. I don't blame Marisa Pochettino for not wanting to turn that down or deny the reports. Where's US soccer at all this? Where's Matt Crocker? Where are the people, you know, the powers that be there? It's a valid question because what I thought with all of this too is don't they prepare, if rumors start going around, hey, if you're asked this, and the press conferences would be the ideal answer. I mean, we saw it halfway through the week, even with Juliana Álvarez in his future with Atlético de Madrid, kind of saying, well, I don't know, but maybe, yes, no, yeah, the simple answer. And we all know, we're not born yesterday, also saying my focus right now, he is with the US men's national team, means that there's something else to it. We're not playing devil's advocate. It's just the way it is. You guys saw it on the player side. Jeffrey and I have seen it on the journalistic side of it. So we're not saying it's that, but there is, I think, a better way to handle it, language wise, that back to your point, should have been prepared. And we don't know if it was and Mauricio Puchentino decided something completely else. Well, we do know that Mauricio Puchentino would like to decide for Noah Kai Banks in his talent that he has such a short age with 19 years old. He has the option to play for Germany. He also has the option to play for the US men's national team. Here is numbers with Augsburg, at least this season in the Bundesliga, which 21 games, 19 of those as a starter is average minutes per appearance to you, almost the 90 minutes his goals and assists as well and 86 clearances. All right, here's what Noah Kai Banks had to say on deciding which national team he will play for. I know there's a World Cup coming up. I don't want to set a deadline. I want to take my time, decide calmly. I have a long career ahead of me so I don't want to make it dependent on a tournament. This is per kicker. But Jeff, we know you had an interesting conversation with Novi, I guess we're calling him for you, is this something, nothing or everything? I think it's more everything. I mean, or I guess I would say something kind of leaning towards everything. Every time that Noah Kai Banks talks about his time with the US, it's in over the top positive terms. He looks back fondly at the U-17 World Cup in Indonesia. He said it was one of the big moments of his life playing in a big stadium for the first time like that. He talked about how much fun he had, coming back to camps, seeing his friends again, seeing guys that he played with. He would have been on the U-20 team at a World Cup, but Augsburg did not release him. But Marco Mitrovich, he's the guy who had initially scouted Banks for the US program. He was very high on Banks, had nothing but good things to say about him in terms of the kind of person he is, how he's improved his game over the years. Gonzalo Sagaras, who coached with the US-17 set, every camp that Banks came in during that time, it was just a quantum leap of improvement with different skills. Sometimes it was with his passing. Sometimes it was with carrying the ball out of the back on the dribble and beating guys that way. And so obviously, in his time at Augsburg, he's grown and developed his game even further. But in terms of the US program, he even talked about coming into the camp last September and how welcoming everyone was. He talked about some of the veteran players like a Tim Reem, a Tim Wea Christian Polistic, just how well they treated him. They included him in dinners and just tried to make sure that he wasn't isolated or by himself. I mean, they really tried to recruit him and indoctrinate him into the program. And this is following a pattern that we've seen with previous dual nationals. I mean, I can remember Yunus Musa kind of had a similar path where he played in some friendlies. Again, the guys were super friendly. The coaching staff was very welcoming. It's kind of a US men's national team playbook, if you will, in terms of recruiting dual nationals. Obviously, this situation is a little bit different. When I talked to him, he only talked about playing for the US, but at Roundtable later that day, he said, yes, I have been in contact with Germany. So I think that was kind of the first inkling that this wasn't a done deal. This wasn't going to be just a textbook situation of the US winning out at another dual national that they were going to have a fight on their hands. So listen, I think the guy is in an impossible situation because he has a foot in both countries. There's obviously a lot about the US that he loves. He sees his dad regularly. But he also grew up in Germany. And it grew up not only in German culture, but a German footballing culture. And so there are some compelling reasons. If he's got a chance with the German team to go that route, but it's really, really difficult to try to predict the future about what opportunities are going to come your way. And I can understand him saying, hey, I don't want to make this decision based on one tournament, but sometimes that one tournament is all you're going to get. And so I think there is a case to be made for striking while the iron is hot. But he's got a tough decision to make. I think another thing that's factoring into this is if Banks is called in and he plays in one of these games at the end of this month, that would set back his potential one time switch to Germany's team by three years. If I'm reading the FIFA statutes correctly and believe me, sometimes I wish I had a lot of agree when I'm reading these things. You know, it'd be a situation where he would be pushing out his possible debut with Germany a few years into the future. So there's that to think about as well. And I think you can say, hey, there's nothing, there's no skin off his back. If he comes here, he plays, he's still eligible to play for Germany. There are some rules on the books that kind of make it less of a cut and dry decision. Yeah, it's a big decision, Shaq with such little time and such a short age, a 19-year-old having to make this big decision. Yeah, and I think that's the thing here, because he's 19 and to just point wild, yes, he should strike wild, yeah, he's hot. You also, there's value in backing yourself. I'm thinking I'm 19, I continue to develop as I am. Who knows what, you know, where that could lead me into in terms of not just club, but maybe in demand for an international team. Now, I see this every single time. I was faced with a similar choice, having been born in England, but reason turned to big or I've only ever felt, turned out into big on you. And so when I was eventually called into the national team, the decision for me was easy. I also recognize it's a very personal decision because I've seen people do go the other way. For their own reasons. I will never criticize somebody for whatever decision they make for whatever reason they make. That's theirs. I haven't walked a step in their shoes. So I truly do sympathize with the position that he may feel that he is in or feel that people are trying to put him in, which is why, and then again, I credit what he said to Jeff and where I disagree with Jeff slightly is, let's now make this decision. I'll take some time and I'll make this decision on Mayune. It's mine to make and my own good time. Okay, there's a workup coming up, but if it's nothing, my time, then that workup kind of becomes secondary. It's a very difficult thing to process because in the eyes of most people, if Noah Kaybanks is thinking about representing Germany in their minds, well, then you don't feel American. So you shouldn't be with us. They don't understand how difficult of a decision it could be and it can be difficult because in a young boy's mind and he's still very much a boy, regardless of 19 years of age, you're asking to make a choice in many people eyes about identity. And try to figure out who you are at that age. It's an impossible task and it's case by case. You cannot put every dual national in the same bunch. But Noah Kayb lived in his journey and how he feels and the opportunity he may have of either a world cup with the US or a world cup with Germany. However, distant that maybe for some people, it's his right. It's his right as a dual national and his ability to represent the US men's national team is his birthright. Sometimes people get so just diluted with the fact that this person isn't 100% in in my country. So I don't want them, that type of mentality. And there are a lot of countries in this world that will recruit non-citizens in the US green card holders to serve in the military. But when it comes time to put on a uniform to play your sport, oh no, no, no, you better feel it. You could defend me whatever you want. Join the military, but if you're going to play my sport, you better feel it. It's an impossible task. It's a case by case. And I know there are video circulating on the internet, a Noah Kayb Banks making comments a while back about his dreams to play for the US men's national team. If you're a player who's not played first division football and you get a chance to go with a youth national team or your first full national team and they put a camera in your face. Sometimes you say things because you're so excited. And you're so young. That's the world we live in where you say things sometimes that you can regret. It doesn't make him a bad person and it doesn't make his choice wrong. This is an individual case and I'm glad Shaka mentioned that because Shaka, you very much felt Trinidad, Trinidadian, excuse me, and that's a great thing. But if the choice was you have to represent England to play in the Premier League, that's a choice that many would have said, well, this may change something now. So as you say that, that was... What were you, Shaka? I'm sorry, how old were you when you made that decision? Well, I heard my first cap for Trinidad to be a national team at 29 years old. That being said, to your point, so the longest story is now we're gonna go from a bit of a tangent. When I started playing in England, you were only allowed three non-UK nationalities in your squad. I qualified, having been born in England. And the reason that it took me that long to make my, to make my debut, trying to be a national team is, Jack wanted to try to call me a national team to play a friendly outside of a FIFA window. And I was like, I need to get this move. Premier League clubs were sniffing around. I was like, I need to get this move. Let me just get this move to the Premier League and then I'll come play for the national team. But he insisted. He insisted I come back to trying to be able to play a game November 19th, 1994. Five years after the USA beat us on November 19th, I qualified for the World Cup. Who celebrates not qualified for the World Cup? I don't know. So it wasn't falling. It wasn't falling enough for a window. So I would have had to leave my club. I'm like, just let me get this move. He insisted, it was a, to put it nicely, but it was falling out between the two of us. And I never made my, I didn't make my international debut for, so yes, so that'd been 94. I didn't make my debut until 98 or five years later. But then that, and I will also say, I have kids who born, my daughters were born in England, my son was born in the US. They're also citizens of Toronto, Bigel. My wife is from Toronto, Bigel. And we do everything in our power to make our kids feel like, or to understand, know, recognize, respect, Toronto Bigel, for what it is. We, we do everything that we can. So I say that in a personal, because I know, to your point, how people kind of want to twist everything. Yes. Even in playing for Toronto Bigel, the amount of times people have said to me, you're not really from Toronto Bigel, you're born in England. I think no one has two years old. The amount of times people have said that to me. So I, I, there's a lot to this in short, that, that, that, that, that Nookie Banks is, is going through, that I, it's not, you, you can't package. You, it's up to the individual. I don't allow anybody else to, to make that decision, or dictate a timeline for it. And I think at the end of the day, because it's such a personal decision, that there's no wrong decision. There's no wrong decision. Whatever team they, they want to work. Or do what you feel is right, when you're comfortable and confident in. Especially when you're 19. And I think the way that he wants to take his time, says a lot about his maturity at this point in his career. And that we're talking about him so much, at only 19 years old, also says a lot about his talent in his future as a professional soccer player. Jeff, thank you so much for hanging out with us on Football America, as we appreciate your time as always. Anytime. What do I remind you, what's coming up this weekend in the Bundesliga, and also if you want to hear the full interview with Noah Kaye, thanks and Jeff Carlyle, that will be available on YouTube, looking forward to all the action this weekend available on ESPN Plus. All right, let's take it to some more World Cup talk, because this is one of the biggest question marks. Will Neymar be on Brazil's roster? He has had quite the injury history, and this is just recently, so many in 2025, the most recent one being another muscular injury that he had in 2026. And he had a lot to say when it came to his future with Brazil, he did miss the last match with Santos, by the way, he said, since many people are creating theories about what is happening to me, nothing is happening. If I play injured, as he said last year, I'm wrong. If I only think about myself, I am wrong. If I take it easy, I am wrong. If I play with pain or something that could aggravate it, I am wrong, it's complicated, huh? It's very difficult to get it right, man. Very difficult, and continues on, very difficult to please everyone, what surprises me the most, I mean, it doesn't surprise me, it's the people, these people who seem to be by my side every day and start making up stories, saying this, as if it were the greatest truth in the world, as if they were the owners of reason. It's very complicated to me, my goodness, I have to be the patience to adapt the patience, to put up with you. I mean, he said a lot, but at the same time didn't say much here. Oh, no, I think he said what he wanted to say. Listen, the fact the name Mars, 34 years of age, excuse me, all-time leading goalscorer for the Brazilian national team has done so much with this career and still gets worked up about what people are saying about him. Tells me he desperately cares about playing in this world cup. He desperately cares about how he wants to go out about his legacy. And if I'm a Brazilian fan, that's what I want to hear, but I also want to see it on the field. Rodrigo just tore his ACL, okay? Karlo and Chalote just called him up, okay, or excuse me. Karlo and Chalote was gonna go see him play in a game that he couldn't play. The reports are he would be called up. He's back in the good graces, if you will. Of a national team that desperately needs a creative spark, three months out from a world cup, this is the name I want to see an angry name I would something to prove a chip on his shoulder and willing to put in the work, but it starts with health. And it ends with health with name Mars. Again, another carnival, another name Mars sister's birthday, another game that he's gonna be missing from. Those could be circumstantial, but at some point, if you're a name Mars, you've got to be on the field and Chalote, you could be on the field during the world cup. I think that's the thing for me. I need to see Neymar on the park consistently and contributing consistently. That's the be all and the end all here for Neymar. I'm not a fan of the statement that he put out. As a global superstar, that's powerful, of course. People are gonna talk about you one way or the other. You have to know what's best for you. To this statement, you have to be selfish. Certainly when it comes to your health, especially when it comes to your health, you have to be selfish. You cannot take on what somebody is saying or what some journalists may have written or somebody said on a podcast. You have to do what's best for you because in this game, all that matters is your performances on the park. You get yourself fit, you get yourself playing well, you score goals, you contribute significantly. What's somebody had to say in the podcast back in March 12th does not matter. One, I also. And the surprising thing for me is I thought Neymar would have known that by now. I thought the people around him would have recognized that by now and insulated him from that. If that is, if his reactions continue to be as emotional as these statements suggest. Yeah, there's a, I'm sorry. There's a woe is me sentiment about Neymar's message here. It's difficult to be me. Well, that's because there are many people who feel you have not fulfilled your potential. Even though you're the all-time leading goalscored the Brazilian national team, not Romario, not Ronaldo. It's Neymar. But you were in the era of Cristiano and Messi and nobody's gonna fault you for not being the best player in the world during that era. But many of us thought you could be. And the fact that you took the money, you went to Paris and then you took the money and you went to Saudi Arabia. Many people see that as a stain in the legacy. So I'm not with the victimization that he's putting out there, but he certainly has the talent when fit to be a productive player and help at some capacity for the Brazilian national team, this Brazilian national team. It's crazy that we're having the same conversation with Neymar as we've had since he was in Barcelona. And since he was looking for that out and we know that the reason was because he didn't want to be overshadowed by Eleon El Messi. But Neymar, who would have, I don't even want to say put his head down, but really put in the work and the talent that we all, and showcases talent at the end of the day, we would be talking about a historic Neymar, no brainer that he's gonna be in the World Cup. But with the Rodrigo injury, now Jacques, obviously, that kind of reinforces the possibility of seeing him there. But if you're into looking, you're seeing this pattern again because we know that muscular injuries really say a lot about your lack of work and recovery. Don't say that that's the case for every player before you name out in particular and the timing is always the same. Yeah, and the thing is Neymar has suffered horrific injuries over the last few years. Agreed, agreed. And that is always difficult to come back from, especially at his age. And then, so now you have to wonder, do you take him, do you take him because he can contribute because he's a lead in the dressing room or is there a concern, and I'm sure there's a genuine concern that he can't really see in 90 minutes. He can't really give you that 90 minutes. And if he's not a part of the team, if he's on the squad, if he's on the bench and doesn't play, does he become a problem in the dressing room of the park? Or, no, I ask that question, I have no idea what the answer is. But these are the only things that Carlo Ancelotti has to think. We're talking about succession planning, I guess, is a corporate team. In the terms of the Mexico national team. See, your business for a reason. Well, it is in Mexico national team. Would it be better value to have a young player who's on the fringes, who you can bill your squad around for the next two or three workups as a part of this one for the experience? All these things are Carlo Ancelotti's responsibility in making a decision as to who to take and who not to take. Six months ago, that would have been, you don't have those players. You don't have that pool. So he has to be one of the 26, if Neymar's not one of the 26 best Brazilian players, then where are they? But now there's the emergence of Chelsea's Brazilians. There's the emergence of Enrique Leon. There's an emergence of all of a sudden young attacking quality that's coming through that makes you second guess. If you should even be one of those 26, which is why I don't think the victim mentality's going to work for him if he doesn't change it right now. Yeah, no, it's definitely not working. I don't think it's working for him. I really don't think it's going to work for Carlo Ancelotti who really does not have the time or the energy to have to deal with that. The locker room question, I think, is one that could be the final decision. I mean, if you think about a younger player who can potentially have a standout World Cup with still a long future as a professional footballer, then that also becomes very, very attractive. But at the end, we know we're not expecting maybe that much from Brazil in general. Maybe that could also be a motivating point here for Neymar, so that is still very much up in the air. All right, we're going to move along. We saw some conca-caf champions cup action as well, the round of 16. So we're going to start with Nashville versus Inner Miami. And we know what it's been as a play in these matchups. Herk, were you surprised to see the No No? No, I mean, the No No, yes, because I think Nashville actually was the better team in this game playing at home. And I thought they'd give Inner Miami a scare, which is what they did, but they couldn't put the ball on the back of net. They had more chances. And quite frankly, I remember that I should have been sent off for an early tackle, he had in the first half. That doesn't go through Inner Miami escapes. I shouldn't say escapes. Nashville leaves Inner Miami very much alive and in the driver's seat for the next round, but Nashville's a good team. They're a team that if you allow them to run at you with Cristina Spinoza, with Sam Surage, with Honey Mootar, they're going to make you suffer. You suffered, but you survived, which is good for Messi who wasn't at his best, which is a little strange because I believe it's 15 goals and 10 games against Nashville for Leonel Messi. So I wasn't too surprised that it was so close that Inner Miami suffered, but I was very surprised at watching this game, that it stayed 0-0. I thought Nashville deserved more. And now Inner Miami, very much in the driver's seat. I was surprised I was in the military to your point. And he starts their show, 22 shots. It doesn't talk about how good those opportunities were. Yeah. Nashville's incredible football team and they showed it. But both these teams, guilt-edged opportunities that I would have lost at Morgan John, that one of them taking one of those. Because it really, the quality of the opportunities that they had suggested so much more than what we saw for from the final score line. To your point here, no, they go back to Miami, we'll see. But don't ride Nashville off. They showed that they are incredible football inside. Yeah, and learning from the not so fun history that they've had recently with Inner Miami, with Messi specifically. Let's take it to the other match, though, with San Diego vs. Toluca. And Toluca, with the missed opportunity, they played vs. 10 men for pretty much most of the game here. Well, minute 12, there's going to be a red card. This is how it starts off. Toluca, there's going to be right here. You're going to see Marissa Ruiz take a boot to the face. It's a red card penalty kick. Look at this. I mean, it's hard to argue. There's context, there's a dangerous play. It's going to be a Susca yada, though, in charge. It slots it away. And at this point, I'm thinking to myself, 1-0, I might go to sleep at half time. This is a 11 o'clock game for me. And then guess what, right off the gates, they make it a game. Yeah, it was great. And the basket's on the goal right there. I mean, 45th, 46 minute, it was Vasquez again, their shock. It really was. And to San Diego, it's credit. Look at the number of players they get in the box, even though they're on the man. Oh, this is a goal and a half. What a finish, this is. If you look at the angle behind the goal, there's just a little sliver of space and ender's dryer. Just finds it and curls it away. Listen, I saw this game come on. I'll watch the first half. I want to see what this is about. Minute 12, red card, and a goal off the mountain. And I'm thinking, it's over. I said to myself, San Diego is so young, they're naive enough to commit these mistakes. And it happened. And right when I was going to go to sleep, they started coming back and I'm like, oh, I need to pay attention to them. And in the second half, the white 10 men San Diego played, had me wondering which team had 10 men. And they weren't doing against any regular old team in Liga. I make his door doing it against the back-to-back champions, whose head coach said we're throwing away the league, what's important for us, what really matters, is the concaf champions cup. All their chips right there, and they took it to them. And I'm watching a 19 year old goalie. I'm watching both outside backs, we're also teenagers. I'm watching a center back, who by the way got red card at the end, saving a goal with his hand. It was a penalty kick as well. But I'm watching a 20 year old there. I'm watching Vasquez, who's 19. I'm thinking of myself, Mikey Virus and Taylor Heaps, like Tyler Heaps, excuse me. They've really created something here. Like this team is dynamic, vertical, they're confident, they're naive and the stupidest and best way possible, best going both ways. And I'm thinking of myself, wow, that was fun. Like this is a team I got to paint more attention to, and they did it against Toluca. And you could say what you want against Toluca, not their day, they got worked by 10 men and then nine men, whatever the case, but the Luca got two away goals. And this competition is different with the away goals rule. I don't know if it'll be enough for San Diego, but man, I do know that I'm going to be tuning in a lot more to watch San Diego, that's how good they were. Yeah, and those very particular errors, because the two only goals that we saw, well not only goals, but the two goals that we saw from Toluca were penalties, Shaq, at the end of the day. So they still have time to adjust and really just put this one away. Yeah, and listen, to Heaps Point, that second penalty that Toluca scored right to the very death, really changed things in awful lot. But San Diego are the story here. They, they, with all question are, it was a red card. No question early on, no question. And it took them 10 or 15 minutes, just to adjust and realize, hold on, we could still take this game to Toluca here, that they're sitting back slightly and we threw numbers forward. And I thought, again, San Diego, three, two, doesn't spell, not as good a result as you want to be taking on the road, sitting far better a result than you thought after a minute or 12 or whatever it was. But credit to that, they are the story at the end of this, this 90 minutes. Yeah, absolutely. It was a surprising night. We could say at least last night, with the round of sixies or a little bit unexpected. We're gonna run it back though, staying in the Gunkagaf by Champions Cup. Her try not to laugh that much. Well, this is still, yeah, this is running back. So go last. Yeah, go last. Yeah. This is a field player in goal. I don't think a real goalkeeper would have stopped it. And nobody's stopping that. No, you're right, it's almost wasted. What do you think? It's wasted out of things. There's no stopping that. Where's the blue boy that? Just saying that the Goli and the field players have the same colored socks, but I digress. I'm trying to divert the attention. Vive Valverde though, I mean, Shaq, what a game he had. It really was. This touch here. It's, it's, it's, it really is special. Nice football to pick him out. Arise Lee, great touch. Does that? Right. In a Champions League game against Manchester City, by the way. Or a hat trick. There are games that cement you in legendary status. And that's easier said than done for a team like Ramadrid. That was, that was ridiculous. It totally is. So I mentioned it. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Why? I mean, keep her, Shaq. Yeah. Come on. There's a question mark. It's tough. Would you have taken him out, Shaq? Huh? Would you have taken him out? No. You can't kill his confidence like that. I'd love to win. I, I, I, I, I mean, there's no, there's no getting back to the second game, so why take him out? I, so straight away, after the first goal. Somebody, in the Goliath game, a coach needs to go around and have a, have a boy with him. How do I prepare for something? I just thought, I just thought the entire coach and staff hung him out to dry. Yeah. I think therapy is in this future. If it's not there already. Um, Malik Tillman, though, hurts some's on. Yeah, this is, this is unfortunate. It's the dining minutes of the game. I don't think there's much to it. But when you leave your feet from behind in the box, you leave yourself open to a play like this. Malik Tillman did that and, uh, penalty kick. And what was a very good game for Liverpool's Inverses Arsenal? It definitely was. All right, let's get to our dripping or dripping. This is the Jordan, and a collab with the Soccer. These are Jordan Soccer sneakers. Shaq, thoughts? Um, I don't like your tongue. So it's Jordan's tongue? That's tripping. Yeah. I think it's probably a trip. More tripping and dripping. Oh, I kind of like the, I could, I could see her querying these. Yeah. I could kind of like, what if I say that and I'm like, and they're ugly now? Listen, they look like a crossover between a basketball shoe and a soccer shoe. It really does. And they look like the old Jordan's that are really like the ones with the black and the red. They're shiny. The 90s Jordan's. So that's why I like them. The tongue? I'm not a tongue guy, either. But I happen to like these. These are sweet. Interesting way to put that. Yeah. Interesting way to put that. I don't think I'm cool enough to wear these. Well, I don't have to be cool enough. Well, I, I mean, I like them. Yeah. Oh, the dripping. This is a dripping for me. I do, I do love the, the subtlety of the details. But again, it's like this. It's a nice, some details. This is the rocket, right? It's a nice, some details. It's 23 on the heel. Not bad. What 23 on the heel? Oh, you can see. I think this is like cool on you. I think that's a shack. No. I can't pull out a channel. What size are you? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk? Can I talk?
