Ronaldo's Late Drama & Spain's 3-0 Knockout Sensation! 🇵🇹🇪🇸 | Daily #32
FUT IN REVIEWJuly 03, 202600:29:1926.85 MB

Ronaldo's Late Drama & Spain's 3-0 Knockout Sensation! 🇵🇹🇪🇸 | Daily #32

Welcome back to World Cup Daily #32. Day 22 of the World Cup 2026 is officially in the books. Today, Shaq is joined by Artyom to break down a thrilling three-game schedule, calculating the tactical evolution of the knockout bracket while navigating high-stakes tournament pressure.


  • The Spanish Blueprint: Spain moves into the round of 16 after putting on a commanding 3-0 demolition against Austria. Marc Cucurella was absolutely magnificent out wide, registering two crucial assists. Mikel Oyarzabal proved his clinical number nine efficiency by netting a beautiful low brace , while Alex Baena and Dani Olmo pulled the creative strings in midfield. We praise Spain's ability to slowly build momentum like true championship contenders.


  • The 94th-Minute Portuguese Escape: Portugal books a massive round-of-16 date with Spain after a dramatic 2-1 victory over a resilient Croatia. After Ivan Perišić struck a counter-attacking opener for Croatia , Cristiano Ronaldo converted a crucial penalty to net his first-ever World Cup knockout stage goal. In the 94th minute of stoppage time, substitute Gonçalo Ramos headed home a lethal winner to break Croatian hearts. We discuss Croatia's absolute heartbreak of having three separate goals disallowed by VAR.


  • Underrating the Swiss: Switzerland ends decades of knockout pain by defeating Algeria 2-0. 20-year-old rising star Johan Manzambi completely terrorized the flank channels before Dan Ndoye swept home a clinical second-half finish. We evaluate Switzerland's solid, highly organized team system.

⏱️ MID-SHOW HYDRATION BREAK

  • 👑 Join our Patreon: Unlock every single daily tournament episode the exact second we finish recording, plus full access to active Discord channels, trading tips, Predictor Leagues, and Sweepstakes: patreon.com/futinreview

  • Support the Night Shift: Monitoring simultaneous knockout matches across slumping time zones is an absolute grind! Support the crew one-time only by buying the boys a coffee lifeline here: buymeacoffee.com/futinreview

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  • The Midfield Balance Crisis: We evaluate Roberto Martínez's rigid tactical lines. Despite starting creative superstars like Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes, Portugal struggled to generate open space behind deep blocks.


  • Round of 16 Previews: We predict three upcoming blockbusters: Australia vs. Egypt, Argentina taking on surprise pack Cape Verde, and a highly anticipated grudge match between Colombia and Carlos Queiroz's Ghana.

📱 Follow the socials: Instagram: @futinreview | TikTok: @futinreviewpodcast

⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:02 - Day Twenty-Two Intros: Bracket Evolution & The Long Grind
01:35 - Spain 3 - 0 Austria: Cucurella’s Overruled Corner Drama
04:02 - Clinical Execution: Oyarzabal’s Underrated Number Nine Balance
06:57 - Preparing to Go All the Way: Evaluating Slow Tournament Starters 08:00 - Portugal 2 - 1 Croatia: Perišić’s Clinical Counter Strike
09:00 - Ronaldo’s Knockout Landmark Penalty vs. Luka Modrić's Ageless IQ
11:59 - Martinez’s Midfield Balancing Problems: Vitinha & Bruno Static Lines
14:12 - Mid-Show Hydration Break: Support the Pod on Buy Me A Coffee!
15:17 - The Fine Lines of VAR: Dissecting Croatia’s 3 Disallowed Goals
20:09 - Switzerland 2 - 0 Algeria: Ndoye’s Sweep & Johan Manzambi Hype
22:20 - Best Third Place Trajectories: Facing Favorable Bracket Sides
24:12 - Baller of the Day: Johan Manzambi’s Electric 20-Year-Old Flank Engine
25:06 - Bottler of the Day: Portugal's Fragmented Attacking Flow
26:13 - Tomorrow's Blockbuster Previews: Colombia vs. Queiroz's Ghana Grudge
27:59 - Outro: Ronaldo vs. Yamal Brackets Set & Drop a 5-Star Review!

Welcome back to World Cup Daily #32. Day 22 of the World Cup 2026 is officially in the books. Today, Shaq is joined by Artyom to break down a thrilling three-game schedule, calculating the tactical evolution of the knockout bracket while navigating high-stakes tournament pressure.


  • The Spanish Blueprint: Spain moves into the round of 16 after putting on a commanding 3-0 demolition against Austria. Marc Cucurella was absolutely magnificent out wide, registering two crucial assists. Mikel Oyarzabal proved his clinical number nine efficiency by netting a beautiful low brace , while Alex Baena and Dani Olmo pulled the creative strings in midfield. We praise Spain's ability to slowly build momentum like true championship contenders.


  • The 94th-Minute Portuguese Escape: Portugal books a massive round-of-16 date with Spain after a dramatic 2-1 victory over a resilient Croatia. After Ivan Perišić struck a counter-attacking opener for Croatia , Cristiano Ronaldo converted a crucial penalty to net his first-ever World Cup knockout stage goal. In the 94th minute of stoppage time, substitute Gonçalo Ramos headed home a lethal winner to break Croatian hearts. We discuss Croatia's absolute heartbreak of having three separate goals disallowed by VAR.


  • Underrating the Swiss: Switzerland ends decades of knockout pain by defeating Algeria 2-0. 20-year-old rising star Johan Manzambi completely terrorized the flank channels before Dan Ndoye swept home a clinical second-half finish. We evaluate Switzerland's solid, highly organized team system.

⏱️ MID-SHOW HYDRATION BREAK

  • 👑 Join our Patreon: Unlock every single daily tournament episode the exact second we finish recording, plus full access to active Discord channels, trading tips, Predictor Leagues, and Sweepstakes: patreon.com/futinreview

  • Support the Night Shift: Monitoring simultaneous knockout matches across slumping time zones is an absolute grind! Support the crew one-time only by buying the boys a coffee lifeline here: buymeacoffee.com/futinreview

  • 📬 The Newsletter is LIVE: Don't get left behind by social media algorithms. Your ultimate tournament shortcut to executive summaries, behind-the-scenes studio footage, and live FUT upgrades: futinreview.com

  • Rate the Show: Take 10 seconds to leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to keep the studio alarm bells ringing!


  • The Midfield Balance Crisis: We evaluate Roberto Martínez's rigid tactical lines. Despite starting creative superstars like Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes, Portugal struggled to generate open space behind deep blocks.


  • Round of 16 Previews: We predict three upcoming blockbusters: Australia vs. Egypt, Argentina taking on surprise pack Cape Verde, and a highly anticipated grudge match between Colombia and Carlos Queiroz's Ghana.

📱 Follow the socials: Instagram: @futinreview | TikTok: @futinreviewpodcast

⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:02 - Day Twenty-Two Intros: Bracket Evolution & The Long Grind
01:35 - Spain 3 - 0 Austria: Cucurella’s Overruled Corner Drama
04:02 - Clinical Execution: Oyarzabal’s Underrated Number Nine Balance
06:57 - Preparing to Go All the Way: Evaluating Slow Tournament Starters 08:00 - Portugal 2 - 1 Croatia: Perišić’s Clinical Counter Strike
09:00 - Ronaldo’s Knockout Landmark Penalty vs. Luka Modrić's Ageless IQ
11:59 - Martinez’s Midfield Balancing Problems: Vitinha & Bruno Static Lines
14:12 - Mid-Show Hydration Break: Support the Pod on Buy Me A Coffee!
15:17 - The Fine Lines of VAR: Dissecting Croatia’s 3 Disallowed Goals
20:09 - Switzerland 2 - 0 Algeria: Ndoye’s Sweep & Johan Manzambi Hype
22:20 - Best Third Place Trajectories: Facing Favorable Bracket Sides
24:12 - Baller of the Day: Johan Manzambi’s Electric 20-Year-Old Flank Engine
25:06 - Bottler of the Day: Portugal's Fragmented Attacking Flow
26:13 - Tomorrow's Blockbuster Previews: Colombia vs. Queiroz's Ghana Grudge
27:59 - Outro: Ronaldo vs. Yamal Brackets Set & Drop a 5-Star Review!

[00:00:00] Spain beat Austria 3-0. Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 with a 94th minute header after a VAR disallowed goal. Switzerland ended 88 years of knockout pain and now Spain play Portugal in the round of 16. This bracket is delivering. Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of FUT IN REVIEW World Cup Daily, episode 32, day 22 is done.

[00:00:29] I'm Shaq as always joined here by the master tactician, Artyem himself, all the way from Poland. How are you doing Artyem? I'm great Shaq, how about you? I'm so grateful to be on the show again. Yeah, it's been a long time and I think it's great having all of the usual co-hosts jumping on the podcast and having a discussion on the World Cup. So before I go ahead, because we haven't recorded together about the World Cup, what are your thoughts on this World Cup? How are you finding it? It's long. I mean there are so many games. You want to basically watch all the games.

[00:00:58] Because it's a World Cup once in four years. But sometimes I'm getting a little bit already tired of watching football. But you know, it's fun. I'm so happy also that so many teams are in. Like you're watching different styles of football and so unique countries. First time in a World Cup. But it's fun. I mean, Poland is not in. So I want to bring it out before you do.

[00:01:27] I wasn't referencing. Yeah, I just mentioned you. A little heartbreak there. But we'll get into Poland. We'll get into yesterday's game. So three more games yesterday. We had Spain that were dominant. Portugal were lucky. And Switzerland quietly ended 80 years of knockout hurt. And now we have Spain versus Portugal in the round of 16. Ronaldo versus Jamal. And this is the sort of stuff I think we start to see from here on in these big games that come up. I think had Germany qualified, we would have seen Germany, France as well. But unfortunately, unfortunately, that's not happening.

[00:01:57] But let's get into it. Let's get into game number one. Game number one, Spain versus Austria. Let me break it down. Spain were in complete control from the start to finish. Cucurella had an early goal, controversially ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper at the corner. Soft in my opinion, but we'll leave that alone. Spain dominated but had to wait till 36 minutes for an opener. Oyarzabal sweeping in a low Cucurella cross. Bayana hit the crossbar from a free kick just before halftime. And Jamal was denied by a rebound.

[00:02:25] Borough headed in a Bayana cross in the 66th minute and Jamal had a goal cleared off the line. Oyarzabal, all these names are very, very tongue twisters. But Oyarzabal finally sealed it with the 89th minute low cross from Cucurella, which was a beautiful pass, I believe. Essentially, Spain is through to the round of 16. What are your thoughts on the game, Artyom? What are your thoughts on Spain? I'm really curious to know how you think Spain's doing this so far. You know what?

[00:02:50] There are so many people expected Spain to start like right from the, like they should be in a final of the World Cup games. Like they always start slowly. I mean, this is a, Spain has always been in World Cup, in Euro Cup, wherever they play those tournaments, big tournaments. This is a team built for those tournaments. Why I'm saying that? Because they're slowly building up and they're slowly progressing and improving game after game.

[00:03:20] I'm very disappointed what I've seen from Austria. Please, like, sorry for my old friends from Austria and all the supporters, but I didn't see the fight from their side. Like, you know, this was domination of the Spain. I mean, like there was no doubt, like in the, during the game that Austria is going to be back in the game. You know what? Like we have some games that are like close, whatever.

[00:03:44] And, and, and the team is even worse that fighting, like they're trying their best to, to come back to the game whenever they're losing, whatever. Over here? Nothing. I mean, from start to, to the end, Spain was dominating. And one more mention of like, okay, we have to mention Cucurella because he had two assists. Yes. Yeah. And because I'm a supporter of Real Madrid, so I'm happy that we're getting the left back like that.

[00:04:11] But you know what very underrated striker is about? Oh yeah. It's like so many years. He, he's not like a type of a striker that is superstar. You know what I mean? But he's always in the right position. He, he finishes those, those situations that he has. Like for example, you have Ferran Torres on the other side, right? Young guy who, who, who always also finds him in the right position.

[00:04:38] But that lack of finishing 100% situations and we are about maybe it's a like age difference and the maturity of the player, whatever it comes with experience, of course. But so underrated. And yeah. I'm, I'm so glad you brought up Ojozabal because I think at the start of the, when Spain normally slow starters. And at the start, everyone was starting to think, especially when they drew against Kei Verde, they were like, are they missing a number nine? Are they missing a number nine?

[00:05:07] Or Ojozabal is either right kind of player that for Spain. I mean, a lot of people who actually watch La Liga and watch Ojozabal were pretty confident that this guy is an amazing finisher. And there's a lot of people like myself on the outside who've seen him as a winger, know him as a winger in our heads. Don't, don't really, don't, haven't really seen that finishing of his and just seeing him yesterday, such incredible finishing. I think, and you brought Ferran Torres, which is a really good parallel because Ferran Torres is a player that I brought up in the podcast as well, along with John in discussions.

[00:05:37] He's a player that I can't really pinpoint. Is he good? Is he great? Is he not? I can never tell. He's a confusing player. Ojozabal is not that. Ojozabal is a clinical finisher. And the second finish was such a short finish. It looks so simple. It looks really simple. He's got a beautiful pass, but that finish, he took it so calmly. So calmly. So calmly. It's just brilliant.

[00:05:59] And I think, look, we have to give Spain all the flowers because this is a different kind of football compared to the France's where they literally hold the ball. If they hold the ball that well, and you brought up Austria, but not being able to have the fight. I don't, I think they were just getting tired running behind the ball, chasing shadows. Yeah. I mean, I agree with you. It's not easy to run without a ball and trying to intercept or whatever, but like, I hope so, like a little bit more from them.

[00:06:28] Like, I don't know. It just like, this was the first game that I was bored actually watching it. I mean, the, the looking, the way that Spain plays, it's not easy because like they, they can't even go up to 90% of the possession of the ball during the game. If they're like, you know, concentrated and whatever, but it's like that they didn't pick up in during the game, any like moment that to fight or fight back. You know what you mentioned, they drew the first game.

[00:06:56] Hey, Argentina lost the first game in the last workout with a regular. So it's like, this is the teams that prepare to go all the way, not to start, you know, from the high and just, you know, get out of the tournament in a quarter final, for example. Yeah. So, so I mean, I'm expecting them to go even further, even though they are facing Portugal in the next round. Absolutely. Yeah. We'll, we'll get to Portugal in a short minute. Just want to give flowers across to even Alex Baina.

[00:07:25] I think this is a player that I've only heard of and I've only seen in snippets, but he, what a quality player he is. What, and even Danny Oldmore, he played amazingly today. It's just, they've got so many players and we've not even spoken about Yamal. They've got so many players who can actually turn it on. And Nico Williams sitting on the bench, who can come on once he's fit as well. I am really hoping for Spain. Yeah. Superstars on each position in Spain. It's like, you know, but you know what, when you brought the Yamal, I think he didn't show yet what he's capable of.

[00:07:53] I mean, it's like maybe because he's playing surrounded by all the superstars in Spain, but it's still not the same Yamal that we've seen like in Barcelona. Right. I mean, it's still coming. I think it's still going to come. Yeah. I think he's still, he's still carrying a knock, but not fully there, but it's there. But I think it, once it opens up, oh my goodness, this, this is going to be a scary team. I think fair play to Spain, fair play. This is, this is beautiful football. I mean, it's really frustrating.

[00:08:21] You pointed it is boring because for someone that wants to see, especially a Premier League fan wants to see end to end football. That's not what Spain's going to give you. Spain's going to give you beautiful, crucial football where it's so planned. It's so, it's just genius. It's just genius. Well, moving on, all the way opposite to genius. We'll move on to Portugal to Croatia one. Ivan Perisic gave Croatia a deserved lead in the 53rd minute. Portugal was second best for large stretches. VAR awarded the penalty on the 60th minute.

[00:08:53] As Vigar got fouled, Ronaldo converted from the spot his first ever World Cup knockout stage goal. Crazy. It's, it's 2026. It is, huh? It stayed 1-1 with Croatia growing in confidence. Then fourth minute, fourth minute of stoppage time substitute. Goncalo Ramos headed home for backpours to win it. Croatia had a stoppage time equalizer ruled out for offside. The third disallowed game goal in the match. It was crazy. It was crazy.

[00:09:21] The only sweet thing at the end was Ronaldo and Modric embracing after the final whistle. That was really lovely to see. And I'm sure as a Madrid fan, you would really appreciate that. And I was trying to explain to my kids as well, the monument of what we were witnessing. Let's break it down. What happened? This game was complete. I think first half Portugal literally made Croatia sit back. Second half Croatia thought, hang on a minute. I think we've got this. What are your thoughts? You know what? Okay. I, first of all, I watched the game live.

[00:09:50] I stayed up all night to see the game. I love Modric. I love Ronaldo. So it's like, I knew it's going to end for one of them. So, so, and you know what? Again, even though I, in the first shot, I was like, I'm going to go to the game. I know that I was doing the, about the World Cup subjects. I said the Portugal is one of the favorites to go all the way and win the World Cup. And it just like reading the list and the squad. It's like, come on guys. It's obvious. And, and I'm so disappointed.

[00:10:19] I mean, I think the middle of the pitch when it comes to Portugal is like just reading the names. It should be the most creative one in the whole tournament. Vitinha, Neves, Bruno Fernandes. Come on. And those are, those are actually the weakest points. Yes. It's so frustrated because you said the first half, the Portugal had position. Yeah, they did, but no one, not a single chance created.

[00:10:47] I mean, why did Croatia decided finally to go for a goal? Because they're like, hey, they're doing nothing. Yes. And to be honest with you, I know the score. I know the result of it, who, who went further with the tournament. I think Croatia was better a team. Yeah. I, in my opinion, they were a better team. The, the one thing that changed after what they scored, well, after Perisic scored the goal and from the counter, and it was a very nice goal, they start pressing.

[00:11:16] Finally, they start doing something. It's like, I'm like watching different Portugal team. Now you care? Exactly. It's like, I was watching them. I was watching with my oldest son and I'm like, Hey, I think they're trying to draw the game, go for a penalties. I don't understand what they're doing. It's like, they were holding ball, just passing from left side to right side. Nothing was going on. And again, I know you, Shaq mentioned about you don't understand why Ronaldo was so long in the team, wherever playing.

[00:11:45] And after the changes, the Portugal was different team. But for me, the Ronaldo was not the issue yesterday. Actually he was running. He was like, he didn't lose the ball. He was passing. I know he was passing mostly back, whatever showing, but he was showing up for the ball. Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha. Why they were changed? And I'm like, you know, they can like say to Martinez coach of Portugal, what the hell are you doing? You took off Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha.

[00:12:15] But look what happened. Absolutely. I think, yeah. Sorry, go on. Yeah. No, I think one of the key things that really confused me at that point in time was the right thing to do was when he took out Vitinha. I was like, yes, but no, but yes, because Vitinha was not doing anything. He was not getting stuck in. He was not getting the ball back. He was not recovering the ball. He was not able to pass the ball. He wasn't doing much, but then he removed, he had the, I don't know if it's the courage or luck.

[00:12:40] He just removed Vitinha and Bruno at the same time and brought on the other people on board. The game did change. But then the one thing I, the one difference, one thing I'm finding with this Portuguese midfield is we've seen them play. I know I've seen Bruno every week play. And I'm sure we've all seen Vitinha and Neves play for PSG. They are capable of a lot more. They are capable of a lot more, but they need, not saying Ronaldo's a bad striker by any stretch. Of course not.

[00:13:08] But the kind of play that they need, they need someone to stretch the play so that they can actually then flourish. I don't think the combination of these four, the, at least Vitinha, Bruno and Ronaldo, it just isn't working for them. So they need to have switched it up some way or the other. And I think, I think Ramos can do that. And if, if Ronaldo is okay with it, he could probably come on a 60th minute against, against Spain. But I don't know that we can't keep doing this because third, fourth game in a row, it hasn't really worked.

[00:13:36] Well, Uzbekistan worked, but it's Uzbekistan. Yeah. That's the wicked team, right? So I totally agree. There is something, I mean, we watched Vitinha and Neves, their cooperation in PSG. And it's like totally different guys. It's the different players and they're creating so much, so many situations for their forwards and stuff. And here, you know what the problem with Ronaldo, the only problem for me is they trying to assist him every pass. Yes. Yes. Correct.

[00:14:05] Even they have a great chance to score. They're still trying to, you know, assist him. And that's the only issue with, with Portugal for me at least. Right. If they have a great situation, Liao, Neto and whatever, they're still going to look for a pass. Yeah. Yeah. I completely agree. The one thing I must point out as well is you saw that the goal that Ramos scored, the cross from Liao, that exact same cross, Liao and Neto had numerous times in the start. For whatever reason, nine out of 10 times, Ronaldo would have hit it.

[00:14:34] For whatever reason, he couldn't connect with the ball today. I don't know what happened today. Just couldn't connect with that ball. That same ball was played from both the right and the left. So that was a part of the tactic. And that worked for them in the end. So they have been practicing that exact same move. And it's just one of those things. It's just not happened today. And I'm really hoping that it kicks on. Not let's not just focus on, on Portugal right now, but I think Croatia, let's just talk about Croatia as well. I think this is team is just, it's, it's marvelous to watch them. I was so happy seeing Perisic score, not because of anything else,

[00:15:03] but just the memories of the Perisic, Kovacic and Modric midfield. Well, Perisic was just playing more on the left this time, but these guys are, so they always, as soon as they put on the Croatia shirt, they're completely different, different players. Completely different players. What an amazing game they had. Shaq. I mean, I was like, so happy to see what Modric is doing still. Like the ball control, the, the, the controlling the whole game actually, you know, and he played the whole game.

[00:15:32] It's like, you know, running full 90 minutes, not 90. It was whatever it was added also. Right. So, and all the passes, like still top notch passes to, to, to, to right wings, to, to like the whole thing that his IQ, football IQ is like top notch still, you know what? You mentioned the Ramers goal. I just want more, one thing to, I watched the replay of that goal. And I'm like, what happened to the defenders? When the cross came in, they didn't jump.

[00:16:01] They just like, let him score actually. And it's like, that was sad, but we speak about Croatia. We have to speak about the, this allowed to go probably. Right. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. It was a heartbreaker. You know, in our group today, right. We discussed a little bit about the war. Right. And stuff. And I'm, you know what? I'm on the side that I don't mind war at all. My problem and issue is that we don't have consistent decisions. Hmm.

[00:16:30] Even what we see in war. Yeah. One time the touch on the leg, it's a foul. The second one, it's not a foul. One time it's a yellow card. Second time is a red card or one time the, the, the hand touching that with a hand ball with a hand. It's a penalty. The second time it's not. That's what I'm frustrated because when I'm watching it, it's like, Oh, two days ago, there was nothing here. Now we have a penalty.

[00:16:58] And I'm, and I'm actually referring to the situation with Vega. It's obvious penalty. Yes. It's obvious penalty, but those situations happens in each corner. Yep. They're all grabbing each other. Correct. It's like, okay. If we are like, you know, whistling penalty here, just start whistling those penalties. Defenders will start, stop grabbing the, the, the attackers. I completely agree.

[00:17:25] You cannot choose one time that we are like, you know, whistling penalty here. And the second time we're not whistling a penalty. Probably you guys discussed the same thing with the ball of gun in a previous shoot with you at United States. Yesterday. Yep. That was a foul. That wasn't even a foul or whatever, you know, it's like, I don't understand. And you know what? I watched the replay of that offside and I'm like, I don't see the touch. I don't see the touch. You know what?

[00:17:55] The Croatia striker, but you know, they have a ball with a chip. Yes. It's like, Hey, it's offside. Yeah. It shows that he touched. But if we were just based, based, our decision was based only on the replay. I'm not taking the decision that he touched the ball. I didn't change the direction change of the ball wherever after, you know, he, he had it to the forward.

[00:18:20] So it's heartbreaking, heartbreaking, but the striker actually, when the camera was closing out to his face, he knew he touched it. You know, it's like, he knew he felt like he, it was like tiny touch, but he did. Right. So it's heartbreaking because I honestly believe Croatia were better team yesterday. I completely agree. Completely agree. Croatia was a way better team. Well, just peeling it back and taking it onto the next stage. Now we have Portugal versus Spain.

[00:18:46] Do you see any chance that Portugal will pull something out of the hat and get through Spain? I don't. Both teams love to play possession. It might be the most boring game. I'm afraid of it. And in my end up with the just one, one goal, like, you know, one zero for one of the teams. Right. Like, I hope it won't. I just want to see the open football because we have so many great names coming in. Yeah. Like in the same game.

[00:19:16] I just want to see the like really open game and many chances for, for goal scoring opportunities and stuff. I'm not sure that's going to happen. The stake is too big right now. So we'll see. I mean, you asking me a chance if Portugal has a chance. To base on what I've seen so far. Hmm. Nope. Yeah. I'm with you.

[00:19:41] I mean, if there are three players in the midfield will not start playing to their capabilities. Nope. I don't, I don't, I don't think that midfield and that all. I know he replaced, he removed Neves in the second, in the previous game and put in Ruben Neves instead of Jao Neves. That didn't really change because he put Ruben, Jao Neves back in the second half. So I don't know what he has to do, but those three, Vitinha, Bruno and Cristiano, there has to be something changed in there.

[00:20:08] I don't know what he does, but he, he has to figure something out. You know what Shaq was working in Portugal? One thing is working. Two centerbacks. And the goalkeeper. Yeah. Costa. Amazing. He has great game. I mean, Mendes is not also, even Nuno Mendes is not himself. Cancelo as well. So many mistakes. It depends. It's like, and you know, I don't know.

[00:20:35] It's just like the Martinez has a lot of thinking to do. Completely agree. Completely agree. Well, quickly, we'll just do a quick hydration break before we move on. So we've got two games done. Spin with clinical. We've discussed that. Portugal lucky. We'll talk about the one more game that we have. This is your foot and review hydration break. 32 episodes deep into this world cup. We are. And we're showing, we're showing no signs of stopping. It's been a fun part. And we're really hoping for some support.

[00:21:02] If you would like to support, support us, just jump on to buymeacoffee.com slash foot and review. Or jump us, jump on Instagram at foot and review or tick tock at foot and review podcast. And just, just give us a like or follow us and give us a like on your podcasting apps. Back in three, two, one. The third game we have to discuss is Switzerland versus Algeria.

[00:21:24] This was, I think after the first two games, I think my, I don't think I had it in me to sit down and watch this full game because I think that Portuguese game literally took everything out of me. But I saw the highlights of this particular game. The Algeria had the better of the early stages, but couldn't capitalize. Then Switzerland stuck on the counter. 20 year old Johan Manzambi. This guy is just brilliant. It caught my attention a lot, caught a lot of people's attention. 48 seconds into the second half.

[00:21:52] A ball fell into Endoy who swept to the bottom corner. Switzerland two, Algeria zero. Algeria tried to come back and it just couldn't happen. And Switzerland won the game in the end. Any thoughts on this game, Art? You know what? I'm not surprised that Switzerland went through and beat Algeria. And I think this is in the stage of the tournament that we are in right now. Switzerland is one of the most underrated teams. I know they started slowly. I know they, you know, the draw with the Qatar.

[00:22:20] It was just like, they were not taking, I think, too seriously that game. And they didn't expect even the Qatar is gonna, you know, try to score whatever. Yeah. But game after game, they playing better as a team, as a whole team. And also, they have names. It's not like we don't know who is playing for Switzerland, right? They have big names playing for their team. And I don't know who they're gonna face in the next round. Do you have that info? I have it right here. I'm just putting it up.

[00:22:48] So they will either play, it'll be Belgium or... Just give me one second. I had it here and I just clicked. I just clicked out of it in a second. Just continue carrying on. I'll let you know in a second. That's not... The reason I'm asking is because if they're gonna face Belgium, or I was thinking I'd get Australia, maybe that couple. Sorry. But the next, sorry, the next group stage, if Switzerland go through, they'll either face Colombia or Ghana. My bad. Alright. So that might be the end for them. Because I think the Colombia is one of the greatest Colombia that we have,

[00:23:18] like, in so many years in a World Cup. But I'm not crossing them yet. The Switzerland is a strong team and they know what they're doing. Algeria? I don't know. They, you know, that... I'm so upset about what happened in a group stage, the game, the way they play with Austria. And I'm gonna finish there. Yeah, fair enough. Fair enough. Yeah, fair enough. Right. We've been doing this thing on the show on a day-to-day basis.

[00:23:46] So we pick a baller, bottler and the drama of today. And the baller, we'll just continue with the Switzerland. And the baller for today we've picked is Johan Manzambi. This guy is just fabulous. Before this World Cup, not many people knew who he was. 20 year old. He's just... He's electric. He terrorized the left-hand side today. I mean, the right-hand side of Algeria today. Any thoughts on this guy? I think there's some links for this guy to jump onto Newcastle and I think it'd be... He'd be electric in the Premier League. Any thoughts on this guy?

[00:24:15] The only thought that I have about him. 20 years old. That's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. That's enough. It's like, you know what? I have one more... It's from a different team. Morocco. Yeah. We have that 18-19 bulldazi. The midfielder. I'm sorry for pronouncing his last name wrongly. The midfield quality, yeah. The future is bright. 100%. And Jan Diamande from Ivory Coast. What a player. What a player. We've got some really good players this World Cup. And even...

[00:24:43] It's been fun to watch these new players. And I think people like you and me, we've been watching a lot of football. But every time in the World Cup, when you see these kind of players show up, it just really excites you. It's like, oh, there's a lot of good football yet to come. So Manzambi is the baller for today. We won't discuss the bottler in too much detail, but I think the overall bottler is Portugal, not because of their went through, but because of the fact that there's so much more. We've discussed this in great detail. There is a lot more to this Portugal team, and we really would love to see it. There's nothing more than... I think you...

[00:25:13] Before the tournament started, some of the co-hosts, Art, myself, Homer, John, foot and review, Gaffer John, all of us picked Portugal to go really far. But as soon as we start looking at their play, it's not working out. And we really want Portugal to go through and do well. And more than go through, just do well, because we want to see some really good performances. So bottler for today is Portugal. And the drama, we've discussed this in great detail, is Croatia's disillot goals. Three disillot goals in one game.

[00:25:41] Heartbreak for Croatia, but it is what it is. That's the way the football works out sometimes. And look, we've got some really good games that are coming up tomorrow as well. Any thoughts on tomorrow's games, Art? We have Australia versus Egypt, which is a brilliant game in my opinion. I'm fully locked on. 4am kickoff for us. Any thoughts on that game? You think Egypt is good enough to go through? I know that Egypt is a favorite in this game, but I'm not crossing Australia at all. It's just like they are playing every World Cup. They're an experienced team, right?

[00:26:10] So, and Egypt is like... They can play one game great, and the second one, they just disappear. It's just so different. So, so strange with those sometimes African teams, right? Yeah. Let's go back to Senegal. It just... Yes, yes, yes. So, this is like for me, honestly, 50-50 in that game. What we have else? Argentina, Capo Verde. Yeah. Any thoughts on upset? Any upset? I'm going to be a fan of Capo Verde.

[00:26:41] Spoken like a true Cristiano fan. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. It's not about Messi. I know because I think the Messi, whatever he's doing in this World Cup, it's just mind-blowing also. It's just fantastic. Fantastic. He's so caring that team. It's just unbelievable that in this age, and he's so willing to still like give his best, like run and pass and whatever. He's not only thinking about scoring, and he's like distributing the ball like old times, like it was. Yeah. Like we used to watch in Barcelona times, right?

[00:27:10] So, I know that Capo Verde is just like so happy to be wherever they are right now. And, you know, maybe just one goal maybe from there, like one mistake from Argentina, defender lines and maybe they score. Could be. It's just going to open the game. It's going to be more fun even to watch how Argentina is like trying to score, right? And the last one we have, we have Columbia Ghana. I said in a first show that I was in a World Cup appearance, that Columbia is one of my dark horses to go all the way.

[00:27:40] So, and you know, you watch probably the game Columbia Portugal. Yeah. They destroyed the Portugal. They destroyed it. Yep. They were unlucky not to score. Yeah. It's just like, and the way they're playing, it's just like, they're playing open football. You know, they don't care about like defending and stuff. I mean, they do defend. They do. Yeah. They're trying every attack. They're trying to score, you know, and fast, fast. This is fun, quick, fast football. Exactly.

[00:28:08] James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz, Munoz, absolutely beautiful. I'm not going to go to Ghana because, you know, but I think Columbia should be like maybe one or two or two, one. Maybe then I will score one goal, but. The only spicy element to that game, along with a whole lot of football is Carlos Queros, who's the manager of Ghana was the manager of Columbia and they didn't end on good terms. That's another whole twist. This is going to be the epic.

[00:28:36] I think this is probably the game of the day. And I really can't wait to discuss this game tomorrow. So listeners day 22 done round of 16 is taking shape and everything we hope for is happening in the sense. It's just been dramatic. It's been a lot of stuff going on. It's been beautiful. Argentina Cape Verde, Australia, Egypt, Columbia, Ghana, all in action. And we will jump in and discuss that tomorrow. See you guys. Bye. See you guys. Bye. Bye.