Masterminds & Ego’s: Rating the World Cup 2026 Managers! 🧠 | World Cup Daily #4

[00:00:00] One manager at this World Cup took Spurs to a Champions League final. Lost. He managed Messi, Mbappe, Neymar at PSG. Just couldn't push them to Champions League glory. His career has taken a downward trajectory since, but now he's managing the host nation. 330 million Americans are watching. This is Mauricio Pochettino's moment. Welcome back to Good Move You, World Cup Daily, Episode 4.

[00:00:29] Today I'm joined with Nathan and Homer. Patreon supporters, just a reminder, this episode will be in your feeds almost as soon as we finish recording. In the Prediction League and sweeps alive. Today we're talking about managers. This is the deepest, most fascinating coaching field a World Cup has ever produced. We're gonna have six managers with aura to win this thing, and one hidden gem which we kind of teased before. Before we get into the profiles, one fact that tells you everything that you need to know about these.

[00:00:58] Six of the 48 managers at this World Cup are Argentine. Six. Scaloni with the defending champions, Pochettino with the hosts, Bielsa with... The man literally who created Pep Guardiola is with Uruguay. Argentina just doesn't support Messi's. They export a whole lot of coaches who shape the game. And Italy, who if you've heard Episode 3, we refer to a lot.

[00:01:23] They forget to qualify for the third time, but they have their most decorated manager in history, coaching Brazil instead. This is not a normal tournament. Nathan, Homer, glad to have you guys here to talk about these managers here. What are your thoughts on any of these managers? I think we should start with Kala Ancelotti. What do you think? Yeah, I think there's a lot of fascinating managers we're gonna talk about. Ancelotti is obviously one that is fascinating.

[00:01:50] He's taken over a team that many people kind of thought was struggling. Ancelotti is one of the greatest managers of a generation, if not of all time. So, really excited to do a deep dive into all of these. But there's a few of these that are going to be quite intriguing to hear everyone else's sort of points of view on. Homer, any thoughts on Ancelotti?

[00:02:12] He's arguably top three managers of all time. The absolute dawn. He's always flooded with the Brazil job, so he's finally got his sort of dream. It's a shame that he couldn't take the Italy job, but I'd be interested to see what he does with all these talented players. Is it the first time Ancelotti is actually managing a national team at the World Cup? I think so, yeah. He's always been a club manager. He's never managed a national team as well, hasn't he? This is the first national team job that he's done.

[00:02:42] That's a big jump to go and manage Brazil. And I think it's given Brazil that... I must admit, when Ancelotti was rumoured to go from Madrid to Brazil, I just didn't think it would be something that would actually happen. But in hindsight, now in 2026, I'm looking back and thinking, it's a brilliant move. Suddenly we're talking about Brazil having an actual chance of actually making something happen in this World Cup.

[00:03:06] And he's won 31 major trophies as a manager. He's managed at the top of the game for 30-odd years. And he's just this 24 years of hurt for Brazil. They haven't really won anything since 2002. This might be the one time they come back and do something. What do you think? I don't think they've got the squad to do it personally. But Carlo Ancelotti is a great manager.

[00:03:35] I just don't think even his magic touch can get around the weaknesses that's within that squad. They've had so many legendary squads like the 70s, the 60s. The 98 and 2002 squads were amazing. They're filled with so many stars. I just think this year, they have a great, solid centre-back. Good goalkeeper. Full-backs are very weak.

[00:04:04] I think central midfield is really weak. And up front, they have some good strikers like Igor Thiago. But I don't think he's going to be enough to really compliment Vinny and Neymar trying to be the stars of the show. So I guess get his hands really, really full on how he's going to set them up all together,

[00:04:31] make them all harmonious and play well and be united. I just think he's going to struggle with it. Yeah. I think just purely from a spectacle point of view and just from understanding the emotional intelligence of a choice of picking Neymar, purely on a footballing sense. I think, Nate, you touched on Cristiano Ronaldo the other day about how he might hamper Portugal's chances of winning anything.

[00:04:58] But taking Neymar to the World Cup, what it meant to the country, he just captured that in just allowing him to come along. Your thoughts on Brazil's chances before we move on? Yeah, I actually think, I don't think they'll win it, but I think they might go fairly deep. When you look through the squad, you've touched on some of the players. But the issue, unfortunately for me, is the centre-mid for Brazil. I think they're pretty well set up apart from that. There's a few decent names that have missed out on the squad.

[00:05:26] And it sounds like Casemiro's have got quite a lot of pull in the team because there was a quote that came out recently that they wanted to take Ederson, who's just signed for United. But Casemiro thinks that Fabinho compliments him in the middle. So I know they'll be more acclimatised to the warmer climate. But also these players, well, Fabinho's recently gone back, obviously, to Saudi Arabia, isn't it? But I just think if you look at that midfield too, Casemiro and Fabinho, those legs aren't what they used to be.

[00:05:55] But going forward, I actually disagree slightly, Homer. They've got Ryan, who's scored. I know it was only against Curacao, but Ryan scored in their friendly. I think he's a frightening talent. He's been brilliant for Bournemouth. Igor Tiago has got a soft spot for him being Brentford. They also like to play Cunha in there. So I don't think Neymar will see an awful lot. But you've got Vinny, Rafinha, Igor Tiago. So Martinelli, I think, is overhyped.

[00:06:24] But he's still a third-level player. Tiago, Hendrik, Ryan. I think these are all very capable of causing pretty much any defensive setup trouble. The defence, you've got Gabriel at the back. Gabriel Marquinhos. But they're still playing, you know, Alexandro at left back and they've got Danilo and stuff. So I'm not sure they've got the wide sort of defenders, if you like. Obviously, they've got Bremer that can go into centre-back as well.

[00:06:54] He's obviously a fair player. So I think they've got a fair squad. I think that they'd probably be well set up to compete. I just don't think that they've got enough to get over the line. But this is a hell of a challenge for Ancelotti. I'm really intrigued to see how it plays out. Because they've got a decent squad. They've got huge egos. It's, you know, Ancelotti traditionally can manage egos and players really well. And that's what, you know, a lot of the top players love him. Because he's kind of got that personality, that person-to-person skill.

[00:07:24] And I think that their squad this World Cup is going to be more about managing individuals than the collective squad. So it's a huge task. And we're really going to see if Ancelotti can still sort of compete with the best. Or if, you know, some people see a national squad as a bit of a sort of way down. Because it's not as intense as day-to-day club management. So we'll see if Ancelotti is still this elite manager that he has been for the last, what, 20 years, say? Yeah, fingers crossed. Fingers crossed.

[00:07:54] We'll find out. We'll find out. Well, swiftly moving on, gents. Just because of time constraints, we want to make sure we cover everything we want to cover. Next one. Lionel Scaloni. Scaloni has won three consecutive major tournaments with Argentina. Copa America 2021, World Cup 2022, Copa America 2024. And nobody in international management has that record right now. He's trying to become the first manager to win back-to-back World Cup since Brazil in 1952 and 1962.

[00:08:22] Look, it would be incredible. I didn't give him any opportunity. I didn't even know. To be fair, I didn't even know how good he was in 2022. But he got them through the promised land. He got Messi where we all wanted Messi to be. Do you think he has it in him? And the squad has it. More than the squad, let's talk about him. Do you think he has a special source? We just spoke about Ancelotti. I think one of his ethos is the players come before the manager. No ego, no theatrics, just results. Any thoughts?

[00:08:54] I don't think Argentina will be there this time. I have to say. I think the squad's, you know, they've got some young, young players. They've got some at the complete other end of the spectrum. I think that, you know, was it the last World Cup? They lost to Qatar in the first game, was it? Saudi. To Saudi Arabia, sorry. They lost the first game and they were very poor. And I remember watching that game. And again, like we said on the last pod, you do need an element of luck. And they certainly got that in the final.

[00:09:21] When Colin Moani was clean through, he had to score. Had to score. And they wouldn't have that moment. I just feel that they don't have... There's just something about them. And, you know, I'm usually wrong when I say these sort of things, but I just don't think they've got it anymore. So, yeah. And it's like Portugal and Ronaldo, how he handles Messi. And was he a 38-year-old Leo Messi that's been cruising in the MLS? Let's be honest.

[00:09:50] How is he going to handle, you know, playing against these elite players game after game after game? He'll be acclimatized, which is probably a bonus for him. Exactly. You know, 38 playing games like that every three or four days against, you know, better calibre over the pitch, more attention on it. Like, it's fascinating. And my gut says that they probably will be a quarterfinal team. However, that usually means... When I say something like that, it means they're going to go on and win it and blow every team out of the water.

[00:10:19] But just my feeling is I don't think they've got the complete, you know, the balance of the squad and the complexity of the squad to really impact things this time around. That makes complete sense. Makes complete sense. Homer, any thoughts on Scaloni? Obviously, he's a young manager. This is his first real job in management, and he's done really well. So, the squad isn't the best. It's not as good as the last World Cup,

[00:10:48] but I still think it's better than the Brazil squad. I think they would personally do better than Brazil. And I think because Scaloni knows how to hand off Messi, he knows how to build the team around him. It's not about... He has it built in a way that he does service Messi, but it serves everybody else. So, it would be interesting if he still keeps that with this newer squad, that same philosophy where Messi is still serviced,

[00:11:17] but as is the whole collective. So, as Nays says, I reckon they could get to the quarters, maybe the semis, but I can't see them winning it. Yeah. Yeah. I think we're quite equal. We're all agreed there. I don't see Argentina would make a big mark this time. Quarterfinals is probably the best they can do, and let's see what happens. Well, moving along swiftly, next cap off the rank is Didier Deschamps. Now, before I get going, this is one manager that really frustrates me

[00:11:45] because he has the capability to... He's got everything at his disposal. And it just never... The firepower doesn't work out. But he's got them a World Cup. He's made them close again. He keeps getting his squad, at least in the semifinals or finals most times. So, your thoughts, Nathan? Yeah, I think he's done pretty well up until now. He's obviously... He's got a bit of the garrison south gates about him where he kind of gets so far, but can't get them over the line.

[00:12:14] I think, objectively, if he doesn't win the World Cup, he's obviously announced that he's leaving. There's big rumors that I think Zidane's taken over after this World Cup, but Deschamps is definitely leaving. If he goes out without winning a World Cup or a Euros, I brutally think that he'll go out as a failure because you look at the players at his disposal. Maybe he'll go out celebrated that he could be part of the setup that's allowed them to bring these players through.

[00:12:44] But in terms of purely on the field, what he does with that team, this team has to be winning trophies. They need to be... Realistically, you need to be expecting Spain-France finals and all the Euros that they've been in with the squad that they've got. I think it was at the last World Cup they thought they'd already won it and then they were celebrating maybe it was the Euros. Euros against Switzerland, wasn't it? They thought they'd pretty much won the game. They were all celebrating and they chilled out and then got put out. So the players they've got, this squad is frightening.

[00:13:13] On paper, and I know football's not played on paper, on paper this is one of the best squads in terms of... I can remember being as a collective. They've got... You could probably put three teams out there that should be able to compete. I'm not saying they'll be able to win it, but they've got so many players. And they've got players they've left out as well that you're thinking those players would walk into 95% of other teams. So he has to win it. I think he's done well. I'm not sure if he's the most likable character in the world in terms of the outside in. I don't know how the French feel about him,

[00:13:43] but yeah, for me, he won't be successful properly unless he wins it. And I think if he goes out and you bring someone like Zidane in who clearly can manage... He got the three Champions Leagues with Real Madrid. Yeah, so if he comes in... Well, when he comes in, if it is him, and I could well imagine him coming in Euros in two years' time winning it because this team is made up to win.

[00:14:12] Whether he gets the mentality right, whether he gets the setup right, it's a different thing. But on paper, with the quality there, this team has to be... If they don't win it, and it can happen on the day in cup football, but if they're not serious contenders, I think it's a poor result for France in the end. Completely agree with you there. Nate, Homer, any thoughts on Deshawn? Similar to Scoloni, he's a guy that thinks of the bigger picture. He gets that harmony,

[00:14:41] he gets the team set up really well to work for each other, but still work for the superstar. I think announcing that he was leaving before the end of the tournament may have been a bad mistake. I generally dislike when managers tell people that they're leaving before the finalisation of things, so that could be a negative in the camp, especially with the big gloaming figures of Dan waiting to come in. I know he's not the most liked manager,

[00:15:10] but I think he's the most practical and more well-thought-out manager. He knows how to set up a team to win international games, win international tournaments. So it will be interesting how he does. I just think that the idea of him leaving, regardless, will be the point that strangles these chances, I think. But he doesn't know how to win international tournaments because he's never won one. As a manager. He won the World Cup. He won the World Cup. One of your teams,

[00:15:40] he won the World Cup. Oh, my bad. I totally go back on what I said then. He won the World Cup. He's won the National League. He just, yeah. He has won the World Cup in 2018. The one with Mbappe, Pogba, that big, I can never forget that song. He has won them something, but then you just expected them to keep at that level. You just couldn't keep it up. And the football as well. I think when you don't win stuff, it's just then you look at the football and the football with this talent that he's got

[00:16:09] just has never been up to what it should have been. So, yeah. And look, even with winning the World Cup, yeah, that's a great achievement, but he could have dominated with the tools at his disposal. And that's the part. I think some of the things of you saying he was a failure is a bit harsh, but it is... Yeah, no, I was mistaken. I totally missed that he'd won the World Cup, so I'll put my hands up to that. But I'm thinking, you know, when Spain won, did they not win the Euros twice

[00:16:39] and the World Cup or something? They won, you know, back-to-back championships. Like, this team... And to be fair, the squad's got better as well as he's gone on. So he might have had a hand in terms of the pathway for that. But I just think a team like France should be dominating and not just... Even, like I said, not just winning. Like, they should be in final after final. They should be cruising through every group. They should be just, you know, they should be... Like, I feel like on paper, they're the most feared team

[00:17:08] in terms of individuals. At this World Cup and probably at the last two or three World Cups, because they've got players in every department that can hurt you. We talk about Spain, but I just think France theoretically should be at... You know, they should almost be untouchable with how good they could slash should be. Agreed. Agreed. Moving on swiftly, because we have three more managers to go. We'll be very quick on the next three. Bielsa, El Loco. I think I first was introduced with Bielsa in 2010 with Chile.

[00:17:38] He played the 3-5, two-form one mistake, and he had some mental players with the Dal. And he had some mental players. Isla, not a player called Isla, really, really, really mad team. Really loved. And that's when I got introduced to Bielsa. Loved him ever since. Didn't work out. He came to Leeds. He did stuff that was interesting, but didn't really work out. But he has this myth, this aura, this guy who created Guardiola. Any connections with Bielsa?

[00:18:07] Anything that rings something to your heartstrings? He plays great football and everything, but he's mad as a box of frogs. Like, I just wait for the self-implosion. Everything, it starts well, and everybody loves the football and everything that comes with it. But at a certain point, it always implodes. So, he's got a good squad with Uruguay. Maybe not the best

[00:18:37] Uruguay squad I've ever had in recent years, but I wouldn't be surprised if they went out of the group stages with a massive implosion, just given how he is and how he handles certain situations. Yeah, that's true. That can happen easily. And I think there's already some rumors or some drama in dressing room unrest. So, yeah, there's already happening. Nathan, anything about the answer? He'll be fascinating to watch. I think he's going to be one of these managers that, you know, he will be a new story at some point

[00:19:06] during this World Cup. I like to watch his football. I think he's pretty good. To be fair, I know he's got a decent record when he was Argentina manager back in yesteryear. It'd be interesting to see because I would imagine that he, the way that he plays is probably more set up for cup football nowadays than it would be for, you know, a tactical type league thing. So, I'm intrigued. But like Homer says, they've got an okay squad, but I don't think their squad is capable of really challenging

[00:19:35] and doing too much damage. But I think he's a firework waiting to explode. So, it's going to be quite interesting. And I hope he's got his drinks cooler box that he likes to sit on all the time because that just, there's just something about watching him on the sidelines and he's just either crouching down or sitting on his drinks cooler. Like that's synonymous with, especially Leeds United and sort of that, that era of the football. So, he'll be an interesting one to watch. Absolutely. Absolutely. Moving along to, the next one on our list is Nagelsmann. And Nagelsmann is one

[00:20:03] where I don't really understand the hype. I could be, I'm completely on a different planet. I just don't understand the hype. It's nothing that he's done that I just stood up and thought, wow, nothing. So, correct me, please. Educate me. Nagelsmann plays good football. I like him. I think the issue that he had, especially at Bayern Munich, because he's a young manager, he's still like, just now he's 38. So, he's very young. He did pretty well at Hoffenheim. Good job at Leipzig.

[00:20:32] Went to Bayern and the players kind of just didn't take to him. And I don't know, I'm not fully clued up in German football, but I don't know whether it was an age thing or whether like just his personality or whatnot, but they didn't take him that seriously. And he, I think he got an average of 2.3 points per game. So, he actually has a good record there. He's made Germany a lot more entertaining, a lot more dangerous as well, because Germany went through a patch where, again, they weren't that feared. They were a bit like,

[00:21:01] they were a very good team years gone by. There's just something missing about them now. But I think, I think he's got them set up well. There's obviously something about them because anytime there's a big club team looking for a new manager, he's always one of the first names linked. Whether that's just journalists just throwing his name out there because he has a name or not, I don't know. But there's obviously something there and his points per game records, like Germany's got 2.06 points per match, Bayern Munich 2.31, Leipzig he was almost two points per game.

[00:21:31] So, the last three jobs he's been in, he's actually got a fairly good track record. I mean, Bayern Munich you'd be expecting maybe three points per game because they're a different level. but I think he's entertaining. I'm going to be quite intrigued to see what Germany do because there's a bit of an unknown about them in terms of they've got some very good players. They've got some very good players that are maybe off the boiler bat. You've got the likes of, I think in the Euros, Wurz was, you know, stand out, but he has been distinctly average this season. He's had the odd

[00:22:01] good game, but overall, he's been poor. Yeah, I'm quite intrigued. I see that Leroy Sane has been told he'll be a bit higher player at this World Cup. He's already been told that straight out, which I find is quite interesting for a player who's still dangerous. I know he's playing as a Galatasaray now. He's still, every time I've seen him, he still looks like he's a proper threat. So, yeah, Germany are kind of a little bit mysterious in respects of don't fully know what to expect, but it'd be interesting

[00:22:31] to see if Nagelsmann's the hype at this stage with obviously the biggest tournament that they've ever had or whether he is just a young manager and everyone likes to get behind young managers and put them as the next big thing. True. We'll wait and watch. How about any thousand Nagelsmann? He was highly rated because he was at a UEFA seminar camp thing for young managers so he ranked and outscored every other coach manager there. So that's why he's seen as this great up-and-coming

[00:23:00] higher-ranking guy. The problem with Bayern was that he couldn't manage the Eagles and he said he said his communication skills dealing with older, more higher-ranked and higher-profile players is something that he couldn't deal with. He could do all the tactical work and everything else but he just couldn't manage the Eagles so he plays great football. It's great forward-attack in press and football. Like I said he'd be the Eagle management would be his biggest issue

[00:23:30] going into this camp. Absolutely. As young managers time will tell. Last one on the list. Thomas Tuchel, a German high-to-end 60 years of English head, record-breaking qualifying squad chaos we discussed on episode one. Any quick fire thoughts on Thomas Tuchel? Any idea whether he will actually make it and take England to the promised land? Nathan? He won't. He won't. He won't. I want England to win it. Absolutely. I think like we said on Monday's episode, squad

[00:24:00] selection I find strange. Maybe he'll know a lot more about it than we do but I think squad selection is strange. I don't think England's squad is in the best place to threaten. I think we've probably got the best manager to do. I think the way that he's got through qualifying has been second year which has been brilliant. He's a proven winner so I think he could be the right man in terms of that but I just find it a very strange squad selection so I hope he proves me wrong but I just don't think

[00:24:29] England will do any damage really. Yeah, that's fair. We could wait and watch. Homer, your thoughts? I'm sure you would love Thomas Tuchel to do amazingly well for England. I grew up in England for a while so which when I went back to Scotland is why I don't really get on with Scottish people so well. I think the squad selection he said was for harmony and for tactical flexibility rather than

[00:24:59] picking the egos and people that might splinter camps. He's went for the more harmonious approach which is a clever idea. I wouldn't surprise me if he did. It would be one of the ironic things that a German wins England a national tournament after the last one was against Germany. I think there's a touch of fate and irony in that one but he has a good manager, plays good football. He's picked a squad based on harmony and more

[00:25:28] thinking and who's the best player so it'll be an interesting watch for him. Yeah, I'm fascinated to watch how he fares and how England fares. The last one, it was not really one of these special order managers but we have to discuss him because he's the manager of the host nation Mauricio Pochettino. Gents, I love the way he plays his football and when it works it looks beautiful but this is the US

[00:25:57] men's national team. Do you think they have it to go far in the tournament at home under Pochettino? Homer, what do you think? Nope. Again, he's another one of these managers that plays great football, he loves these 4-2-3-1 high press and when it works, it works, he just does not have the players, the squad, nothing in that set up as geared. I don't even think they could,

[00:26:27] I wouldn't be surprised if they failed to qualify from the group. the team's not good enough for what he wants to do and I don't know if he can compromise enough to get the best out of it. I would not be shocked if they dropped straight from the group stage. Look, Australia is in the same group as the United States so I have a strong suspicion that we will smash them. Anyway, that's just me. Nathan, what are your thoughts on Pochettino? Yeah, I think that when

[00:26:57] he gets it right, he gets it very right. I think he plays good football. At Southampton he was excellent. At Spurs he took them to another level which was tremendous. PSG, he failed in Europe although I think he won the domestic double treble so he did well. Ever since then Chelsea was a mixed bag. He got sacked at a time where he started to look like he was getting them on the right path. He was a bit of a slow burner there. I think he's got a very good agent to be able to keep getting him top jobs

[00:27:28] because ultimately it's about winning things and he's only won at PSG in a one horse race at that point. I think this is going to be interesting. It'll be interesting to see how the United States react. If they do get put out, I think they'll sneak through in third place. think they'll probably will get through. But at the same time, I know there's been a lot of mumberins of disharmony and I think Pulisic has come out a few times and said a few things about the US stuff. I'm quite intrigued to see how they do. It

[00:28:00] wouldn't surprise me to see them win a couple of games but then get absolutely battered by a moderately big side. I like you know

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