FUT IN REVIEW | Solo Show: Pochettino Openers & Paris Hilton VIP Drama! 📺🇺🇸 | World Cup Daily #12

[00:00:00] Red cards on day one, straight red cards from covering your mouth. And now we are pausing World Cup matches for corporate commercials and staring at the back of Paris Hilton's shirt. Day two of the World Cup was pure Hollywood chaos. I am flying completely solo today and we need to talk about it. Cue the news.

[00:00:21] The World Cup is in full swing. Day two is in the books and guess what? I'm flying completely solo. The whole team is hiding somewhere. Probably nursing a jet lag or crying about Scotland, which means you are stuck with me to break down a massive night of football in Toronto and Los Angeles in this shorter show than usual.

[00:00:48] But before we dive into the host nations, a quick reminder that for our Patreon supporters, this show is landing in your feet the exact second I hit stop. Plus you can join in live while I record this. Our predicted leaks are heating up. I am not doing very well, unfortunately, and the discord sweeps are alive. So head over to patreon.com slash food in review for more info and of course to support our daily grind.

[00:01:18] And look at my face. It is definitely a grind. Because that jet lag I was talking about, it is definitely happening and they didn't even fly. But living a reverse life, it takes all of you even after three days. Now let's look at the results. Day two was, of course, all about the remaining host nation stepping up onto the grand stage. First up, Canada O'Canada playing in front of a packed house in Toronto.

[00:01:44] So the pressure was immense. And when Jovo Lukic scored early on for Bosnia and Herzegovina, you could feel the collective panic across the country. Canada was scratching and clawing for an opening and it took until the 77th minute and of course a, well, send away striker from Feyenoord, Kyle Lahren, to find that crucial equalizer.

[00:02:07] It wasn't pretty. It required some heavy vortex, but actually, Canada escaped with a 1-1 draw. In the end, they did deserve the win, obviously. But I think the stadium atmosphere was absolutely amazing. So there's that. A vital point, but they clearly missed the explosive power of Fonzie Davies on that left flank. I feel like that.

[00:02:28] Meanwhile, over in Los Angeles, the atmosphere at the SoFi Stadium was electric for Mauricio Pochettino's official USA debut against Paraguay. So everyone, and with everyone, I mean myself, maybe in the front, has been doubting the American squad. But to be fair, on the Poch, they did look very organized, extremely hungry and dangerous.

[00:02:58] Probably the best match I've seen so far from the four that's played. A very aggressive, but also tactically very strong US team. And I can't believe I'm actually saying that out loud, but it's true. So I'm here to apologize to all our US listeners and looking at the numbers. There's been a lot. I thought the US would struggle against Paraguay. I said it. I think Paraguay isn't the best Paraguay ever, of course, but it's a strong physical team.

[00:03:26] But they got absolutely wrecked by the US. So Paraguay did brought the South American grit and the heat. But, well, the USA stood still, silence the critics amongst me, and secured a massive three points to kickstart their group D campaign. So Poch's era has officially begun and it started with a bang. To be fair, this is where all my enthusiasm stops. Because, hey, I'm going to bring out the sarcasm mode.

[00:03:56] Because let's look at something that really caught my eye during these matches. So we talked about Pierluigi's Colina's brutal new rule changes. And I think it was episode one. And to be fair, the crackdown on time-wasting, I think, is actually working. The game flows better. Players are forced to hurry up. And the dark arts are definitely struggling. And I love that. Yesterday, we saw at Canada a player fall over.

[00:04:23] However, he was laying on the ground, referee pointed as his watch that he should go out. Immediately, he stood up. And I think this shows that there are some lessons to be learned for the players. But I wouldn't mind implementing this in all leagues. But then we have the hydration breaks. And you know, I have been speaking about it this week already. And look, I understand. Like, the North America summer heat is brutal.

[00:04:48] Like, players need water for stopping the game to turn it into four 25-minute quarters while the TV station just keeps blasting commercials in our faces. I absolutely hate it. And let's be honest with each other, okay? I doubt this is going to be a temporary thing. I mean, everyone's saying this is temporary and just for this tournament. But mark my words, they are testing the waters here. They're going to make this a permanent standard, I'm afraid. In a few years, we won't even call it hydration break anymore.

[00:05:18] It'll be like sponsored tea break or crypto commercial stoppage. And you know why? Because of money. Modern football is turning into an America's cash cow event. And as a European purist, it is absolutely driving me insane. Not much we can do to stop it though. But so I think these two things together is what's quite a frustrating thing. Like, we have faster play with less stoppage on one side.

[00:05:45] But instead, we've stopped the match four times instead of just... Or three times instead of one time. So we'll have to see either. Let me know in the comments how you feel about it. Well, speaking of Americanization, let's talk about the actual drama on the stands. Because Hollywood has officially taken over the World Cup. As I said, I'm a European football fan. And I'm used to looking at tactical cameras. Analyzing the manager on a touchline.

[00:06:14] Or watching like a fan spill a final legger. Yesterday, I swear, I swear I saw Ryan Reynolds on the big screen. More times than I saw the actual managers of the team. And I get it. Wrexham is cool. I mean, Deadpool's cool. Ryan Reynolds is definitely cool. Hollywood is here. But, you know, come on. And then the absolutely peak of the night. During a crucial phase of the match, the broadcast director decided to take a full 30-second break

[00:06:41] from showing the actual pitch when the USA was playing. And you know why? To show us the back of Paris Hilton sitting in the VIP lounge. And you know the best part? She was wearing a jersey with Hilton printed on her back. You know, her own name on a football shirt for in case he would like turn around. And we still wouldn't recognize her. That's why. So we missed it. I counted. It's a full 30-second during play.

[00:07:09] I mean, if there's an injury or something, I can sort of get it. We've seen it in Formula 1 as well. But during play, it's too much. If there's anyone listening or watching this right now, and especially our American friends, and I mean this because the amount of people from the US that have been listening and watching these shows, absolutely through the roof. You're absolutely fantastic. Keep those comments going, of course.

[00:07:35] But if you can explain the football logic behind Paris Hilton wearing her own name on a kit while we missed 30 seconds of a World Cup match, please jump into the YouTube comments or the Discord and educate me because I am completely lost. Anyways, as for our signature segments, my ball of the day has to go to Kyle Lahren. I know the US absolutely destroyed him.

[00:08:02] I think there's a couple of US players that could have this. But the reason I'm picking Kyle Lahren is, well, there's two reasons. One, there's no one actually to talk me out of it today. And the second reason is he played eight matches this year for Feyenoord. They brought him in as a backup striker. I have never, ever, ever in my life have seen such poor ball handling on a striker in the Feyenoord kit. And I'm not even kidding.

[00:08:30] So he took eight matches and halfway through the season, he was goal. After that, suddenly he started scoring. And yesterday he just stood up, scored an equalizer on that amount of nation pressure. It takes some serious balls. So, heads off to Kyle Lahren. I'm just wishing he would have done that when he was still wearing the Feyenoord shirt. But hey, GG's my friend. My ball of the day goes to the Paraguayan defense. They had the USA right where they wanted. Well, like for a couple of minutes.

[00:09:00] But they completely lost their discipline in the second half. The second half defense, absolutely atrocious. Tomorrow night, or actually when you watch this one tonight, we have the heavyweights entering the chat. We've got Brazil taking on Morocco. So Ancelotti finally against Morocco at the MetLife Stadium. And we've got Switzerland facing Qatar. Looking forward to the Brazil match, I must say.

[00:09:28] I think Switzerland will easily defeat Qatar, Qubay 3, 4, maybe even 5-0. But I think 3-0 is pretty realistic. Don't underestimate the Swiss team. I think it's a pretty cool team to see. But, I mean, the absolute highlight, of course, Brazil and Morocco. Honestly, I think Morocco is a really good team. I don't think this is going to be a walkover from any side. I think it's going to be one of those football fights with good technical football.

[00:09:55] But, fall left or right, we haven't seen any red cards after, of course, the first match. But this could definitely be one of those matches where that's going to be back. Anyways, before I jump off, you've got to do me a massive favor. The other lads, of course, left me alone today. So I need you guys to back me up. Hit that five-star review button on Spotify or Apple Podcasts right now. It takes 10 seconds and it rings a massive bell. This is the best spot.

[00:10:24] It rings a massive bell in Chris's office. And since he's watching all the matches, of course, live, it's going to wake him up. So let's wake him up by hitting that five-star review on either of those podcast platforms. Of course, follow us on Instagram. That is at Food and Review. And of course, on TikTok at Food and Review Podcast. And share this episode with a mate who missed the matches last night.

[00:10:50] And I will see you tomorrow or on day three for the World Cup.