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Roger Bennett
For nearly two decades, almost as long as Tim Ream has been in the U.S. men's National Team, All State has bat the growth of this game in every corner of this great footballing nation, from grassroots pitches to the biggest stages, they've been here believing in it, protecting its future. Because supporting soccer, it's not just about match days. And that's why All State offers affordable coverage at personalised rates, so you can spend less time worrying and and more time watching. Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. Visit allstate.com or call a local agent today. Allstate. You're in good hands. Potential savings vary subject to terms and availability. Allstate North America Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. We are delighted to bring you the Men in Blazers City Guides presented by Visa, a joyously assembled guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore and watch the beautiful game across the country enjoyed. Aimed at helping fans experience the city as a local. It's built by you, our listeners, recommending some of the best small businesses in your communities, like the finest Fiat Cajun in Houston. Yes. The best burrito in San Francisco. Yes. Where to save a lemon pepper wet in Atlanta. Yes. Yes. Yes. A massive shout out to our sponsor, Visa, who's made this guide possible. Visa gives local business owners the tools and support to be ready for moments exactly like this one. Welcoming you to enjoy the games this summer. Start planning your journey@meninblazers.com CityGuides lays an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026, is also the official sponsor of all bandwagon fans during this euphoric summer of footballing wonder. And this summer, they're inviting all of us to jump on because come kick off. Hope springs eternal. My cold, dark heart grows three sizes every FIFA world up. The ebullient Moroccans, the splimed Spanish. You can't help but fall in love again and again. So ask grandma if perhaps your 1/16 French, Brazilian or Japanese. Adopt a new anthem, borrow a new flag. Embrace that bandwagon. Because when your team goes home, the party doesn't have to grab a bag of lays, gather some friends and cheer for whoever you damn well like.
Betty Glover
Hello, welcome to Morning Cup Day. I am Betty Glover, coming to you from sunny Seattle, where the USM and team play their second game in this World cup face Australia. Both sides know that a win will guarantee their spot in the knockout. Scotland are also in action against mighty Morocco. This is everything that you need to know ahead of day nine of the World Cup. Hello everybody and welcome to Morning cup date built by the Home Depot, the perfect supplement for your morning cup of coffee. We have been absolutely loving Seattle, by the way. We were out and about by the waterfront and near Pike Market, savoring up the atmosphere. What an incredible day it was. By the way, join the Home Depot to welcome the world to our backyard and get fast free delivery on everything you need to get match day ready, subject to availability. And by the way, I think Seattle does the best coffee in the whole of the usa. That is, that is my claim that I am bringing to you this morning. Now, USMNT fans, I hope you are ready. Mauricio Pochettino's side are back in action. Can you believe it's been a whole week since this? During their incredible 41 win over Paraguay. Oh, some very sore heads in the morning following that, I imagine. It was pretty special though, wasn't it? A brace from Flo Balogun, an own goal and a spectacular Gio Reina Trivella gave the USMNT a dream start to this World Cup. Full focus now though, on game two that's going to take place here in Seattle. Seattle at noon Pacific 3pm ET as the USA play Australia. The Socceroos also had a special start to this tournament as they beat turkey at 20 in Vancouver. And afterwards, the Socceroo fans had an interesting chant to taunt their opponents with. It is pretty Route 1 as chants go, isn't it? Turkeys in the bin. Australia were widely predicted to finish bottom of Group D and the win over Turkey was one of the shocks of the tournament so far. Their hero was goalkeeper Patrick Beech, best name in the World cup, by the way, who on just his third cap made a staggering eight saves to keep the Turks at bay. The big Warwick for the USMNT is Christian Pulisic, who was substituted at halftime against Paraguay and has been training solo ahead of the game. Mauricio Pochettino said in his press conference yesterday that he is much better, but also hinted that he may not be available until next week. So how are the USMNT fans feeling out of this match then? Well, we went down to Seattle Stadium yesterday afternoon, had a little walk around and also had a chat to some of the fans.
Roger Bennett
Honestly, after. After the. After the match the other day, we're gonna win the whole thing. It's pretty clear to me.
Rory Smith
I mean, no one can stop us now.
Roger Bennett
We're too good. I'm thinking we can make it to the final eight, so.
Betty Glover
The final eight.
Roger Bennett
Yes. Yeah. Hope vent. Yes. That's that's. Yeah, we made it to 16 before, so let's just go one step further.
Betty Glover
And of course, we have to hear how Klimt Dempsey feels about this match, don't. We played in the city where he spent the final five years of his career.
Roger Bennett
I think they'll feel a weight off their shoulders. Whether you're the coach, whether you're this team, you knew that there was a lot riding on how you do in this tournament. They put themselves in a position to get, you know, I would say on a wave, right, you're on top of the surfboard, but you got to stay on it for as long as you can do it right for a bit of balance.
Betty Glover
We've also been speaking to some Aussies out here in Seattle as well. It is fair to say they are very confident.
Rory Smith
Look, Grella's been talking a whole lot of smack in the lead up to this game and I think the boys are ready to go do all the talking out on the pitch. It's very American to showboat beforehand. It's all good. We put Turkey in their place. 2 nil. No one expected that. The Aussies, we're going to come back and we're going to get the win tomorrow.
Betty Glover
10 out of 10 for the fancy dressmate and the banter as well. EP. Then at 6pm Eastern, it's another big match for the Tartan army as Scotland take on Morocco once again. In Boston, tens of thousands of Scottish fans will be out in force in their new adopted city. And this is going to be the soundtrack. Of course it is. Of course it is. And whilst you might think that Boston are getting a little bit fed up with those bagpipes, aren't we all? After two consecutive Scotland games, it turns out that they have absolutely fallen in love with the Scottish. So much so that it's been announced that Glasgow and Boston are to become Twin Cities. The governor of Massachusetts even signed an executive order making haggis legal, although it turns out that that one was just a slightly elaborate joke. The Twin Cities, though, that is actually happening. That is official. It is going to be sealed in April 2027. The mutual admiration can be summed up by this city worker who had nothing but praise for the visiting Scots.
Roger Bennett
They came conducted theyself man with class, dignity, man, and they like our city. So I'm happy.
Betty Glover
Also, one of my favorite things I saw yesterday, not quite content with Mexico having their own national duck fan called Merlin, Scotland adopted a local duck in Boston to sport the blue and white cross they named It Donny. So we got some exclusive audio of Donny especially for Morning Update.
Roger Bennett
Quack, quack.
Rory Smith
Let's go, Scotland.
Betty Glover
Amazing. Donny, we thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to send us that. Now this is going to be an extremely difficult match against the semi finalists for you ago. Scotland won their opening game against Haiti 1 nil, but were far from convincing whilst the Moroccans, well, they looked very convincing against Brazil. How the Scots approached this match is the subject of today's Drill Down. Today's drill down, brought to you by Makita, is all about how Steve Clark Scotland go about keeping one of the world's best and most dangerous teams at bay. Because of that victory over Haiti, Scotland have a real chance of making the last 32 for the first time ever, but they probably need a draw against either Brazil or Morocco to achieve that. Getting four points gives you a 90% chance of making the knockouts, while three points only offers a 50% to 60% chance. So getting one more point would make a massive difference. That is easier said than done though. Haiti were ranked 83rd in the world. Meanwhile Morocco, they're sixth and Brazil are fifth against Haiti. The Scots struggled to keep possession, particularly in that second half, something Rory Smith talked about on Nightcup.
Rory Smith
Haiti were amazing. Haiti were much the better team. Scotland, I think struggled with the pressure of knowing that they had to win that game to have any chance of qualifying. I think that really seemed to get
Betty Glover
into their heads in that opening game. Scotland played a 4, 4, 2 system, but there is no way they could do the same today. Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie was dropped for Haiti, something that Steve Clark, the boss, said was one of the toughest decisions that he's ever had to make. Maybe Christie will come back in to add some energy. But Clark's biggest decision is whether to choose a back four or a back five system as a way stopping Morocco's star studded lineup. Now, I think it is safe to say a nil nil draw would be celebrated back in Scotland like a World cup, but the odds are very much stacked against them achieving that. Then at 8:30pm Eastern, Brazil, well, they're back in action. They really do have severe pressure on their shoulders to get the win against Haiti in Philadelphia. The five time champions were very poor during their draw against Morocco and would have lost were it not for Vinicius Junior's moment of magic. What magic that was though. We will have more on the antics in Philly a little bit later in the show. Then in the final game it's the Group D teams who lost their opening matches, Turkia against Paraguay and San Francisco at midnight Eastern. A defeat in this match for either side will likely be curtains to any hopes of making it through to the knockout stages.
Roger Bennett
A word from our friends at 1440 the 2022 World cup final drew 1.5 billion viewers. It's 11 times this year's Super Bowl. To understand how football became the world's game and what drove it, listen to 1440 explores with financial Times journalist Simon Kuiper who will give you the inside scoop into the depths of the tournament. Listen to 1440 explores wherever you get your podcasts and as the world arrives in the United States for the biggest spectacle in sports, we're going coast to coast, host city to host city to meet the world with the Men in Blazers Matchday Live Tour. These are free college game day style live events taking place just before kickoff at some of the biggest games of the summer where we'll be taking the stage with celebrity guests in front of thousands of fans. It's going to be amazing. Come and be with us in person or From Afar on YouTube. Let's celebrate this some other way. It's meant to be celebrated. Head to the events tab on meninblazers.com for all the details. To the football to more together Courage.
Betty Glover
Next, let's run through everything that happened yesterday. There were wins for both of the co hosts in action. Firstly in Vancouver, Canada claimed their first ever World cup win in some serious style as well, sending fans across the country into full football fever. Oh, a win like that, it calls for this, doesn't it? World cup shout out to the Toronto Mayor. I bet she's feeling great. A six nil thrashing for Canada over Qatar was quite the way to claim a maiden win in the tournament. Three goals in each half for Jesse Marsh's team, including a hat trick for Jonathan David. But the match was overshadowed by an extremely serious leg break for Ishmael Kone early on in the second half. Ishmael was taken to hospital where he will have surgery. Now Qatar's Massimoma Madibo, who made the tackle, was sent off and went into the Canada locker room after the game to offer his condolences to Ismail's teammates. Then in Guadalajara, Mexico picked up their second win of the tournament. Here's the reaction from Football asada's Chris
Roger Bennett
that was ugly as but we got the W baby. Six points out of six. We won the group.
Betty Glover
Oh absolute scenes for Elchery fans as they beat South Korea 1 nil thanks to a second half goal from Luiz Romo. By the way, for all things Mexican footy, you have got to follow our Vamos network channel football asada on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to get all of their thoughts. Now, Luiz Romo's goal was a horrible moment for South Korea goalkeeper Kim Sung gyu, who collided with his own player and spilled the ball straight into the Mexico midfielder's path. He will not want to watch that back. By the way, some of the shots of Koreatown in LA during this match were absolutely incredible. Nearly as many there as in Guadalajara itself. In the other group A match, South Africa scored a late penalty to claim a one all draw against Czechia, meaning that Mexico now just need one more point to seal top spot in that group. Then in the other Group B match, Switzerland scored all their goals in the final 20 minutes of the match to blow away Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 1. It means that Switzerland and Canada are level on points at the top of the group. A draw between Canada and Switzerland in the final match would get guarantee both qualify for the final 32. Now, directly after USA take on Australia, you've got to tune in to Nightcup because Roger and James Horncastle will be joined by another old friend, one of the greatest NFL players of all time, part owner of Burnley Football club, the incredible J.J. watt on Nightcup. Watch them break it all down, pint in hand, right here on the men in Blazers YouTube channel. Okay, it is time for our nightly prediction challenge against Morning cup dates. Against nightclub. It has been a bad few days for Morning cup dates. I'm going to be honest, I take the full burden of that. But our fortunes did change yesterday. Rory and I. Rory and I both predicted a Canada win. So all square there. But I predicted a win for Mexico against South Korea while Rory went for a draw, which means it's a win for Morning cup day. Come on, everyone. Oh yeah. And we pull the overall scores back to everybody. Respectable Morning Cup Date 2 Night Cup 3. I'm on the hunt today. Looking to redeem himself, Rory Smith was up for predictions once again. Two big old games coming up. Two big clashes that we've got our eyes on. Let's start with the US against Australia. Intriguing clash.
Rory Smith
More intriguing than I thought it would be. Actually, to be honest, I wasn't sure that Australia could beat Turkey and I definitely didn't think they'd beat Turkey like they did. So it looks a little bit more challenging for the US than we thought.
Roger Bennett
But.
Rory Smith
But they were so good in that first game. They've kind of treated all this momentum. It feels like the country's kind of got behind them. They'll be full of confidence. So I think the US Take it, but the Aussies put up a fight. We're going to say 2:1 to the
Betty Glover
US I was going to do that.
Rory Smith
Okay.
Betty Glover
I am going to say 32 to the U.S. so still a U.S. win, but okay. Next one. Scotland against Morocco. Nervy for you.
Rory Smith
I'm very upset about it. I think Morocco look really good against Brazil. They're so creative. They've got so many kind of ingenious players. They've got players who I thought weren't that good anymore playing brilliantly. Nasser Masraoui at left back looked amazing. Brahim Diaz Boadi, the midfielder at Lille, is 18 and looks like he's been. He's, like playing in his third World Cup. So as much as it pains me to say it, I think Morocco will probably win and win quite comfortably in the end. So I'll say 3:1 to Morocco.
Betty Glover
I'm going to give you a little bit of hope here. I'm possibly putting the morning cup date team on the line by not winning a point point. But I'm gonna say nil. Nil. I think Scotland are going to defend for their lives and I don't think Morocco are going to be able to break them down.
Rory Smith
I would bite your arm off for a nil Nil.
Betty Glover
Today's finishing touch, brought to you by Bear Paint, is a warning to all fans in Philadelphia about a curse that could strike your football team. You might remember that last Sunday it was Ecuador against the Ivory coast in Philly and fans of Ecuador all gathered by the Rocky steps. Pre. And look, this all appeared pretty innocent enough, but fans of Ecuador committed one cardinal sin. They dressed up Rocky in an Ecuador shirt. Sadly for those Ecuador fans, they did not know about the Rocky curse that fans of American football know too well. Now, if you dress him in your team's colors, they will lose. Ecuador, sure enough, enough lost 1 nil to the Ivory Coast. If only they'd had Travis Kelce in their lives to warn them.
Rory Smith
Do not touch the Rocky Memorial, okay?
Roger Bennett
Do not do that. All right? Definitely don't put an 87 on there. Do not do that.
Betty Glover
By the way, my producer just called Taylor Swift Lane, so I hope Travis Kelsey isn't listening. With Brazil playing Haiti today in Philadelphia, the Philly tourism Ball Ford put up a post on social media reminding traveling fans that putting a shirt on Rocky will lead to disastrous consequences for your team. As this news report points out, fans of the five time champions heeded the
Roger Bennett
warning because as you can see, show that Rocky statue. There's no jersey on it. So a Brazilian sports fan group actually warned fans here to not put the jersey on Rocky Don. So thankfully they listened to.
Betty Glover
But if you see a kit on the statue, do double check exactly who put that kit on it. Yesterday an Argentina shirt was spotted on the Rocky statue, but it turns out it was just a cheeky Brazil fan trying to stitch up their eternal rivals. That, everyone is why we like this sport. That is it for your morning update Built by the Home Depot Join the Home Depot to welcome the world to our backyards and get fast free delivery on everything you need to get Matchday ready subject to availability. Today is the day everybody. Quite literally your last chance to join us for the free Matchday Live show in Seattle at Pier 58. It gets underway at 8:30am Pacific Time, just ahead of USA Australia. Roger will take the stage with the somewhat unbelievable line up of local icons for a match preview and tailgate that dreams are made of of leading right into the famous march to the match. For those of you not in Seattle, do tune in on the live stream link is in the notes below. We will be back tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the football. We'll see you then.
Date: June 19, 2026
Host(s): Betty Glover, Roger Bennett, Rory Smith
Theme: A lively look-ahead to Day Nine of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, featuring USMNT’s crucial clash with Australia in Seattle, Scotland’s test against Morocco in Boston, reaction to yesterday’s matches, colorful fan stories, and bold predictions.
This episode of the Men In Blazers Morning Cupdate, presented by The Home Depot, brings listeners all the essential storylines, analysis, and fan energy heading into Day Nine of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Recording from sunny Seattle, the show previews USMNT vs. Australia and the Scotland v. Morocco match, recaps dramatic action from the previous day, and serves up memorable quotes, local color, and trademark banter.
- USMNT’s World Cup Start and Stakes
- Australia's Surprising Start
- Legendary Insight: Clint Dempsey’s Perspective
On playing in Seattle:
Australian fans: Confident and cheeky:
- Tactical Drilldown:
Scotland’s narrow win over Haiti means a draw against powerhouse Morocco or Brazil would virtually ensure knockout progression (four points = 90% chance).
The Scots are likely to switch tactical systems to cope with Morocco:
Morocco’s strengths highlighted: strong performance against Brazil, full of “ingenious players” per Rory Smith.
- Canada’s Historic First Win
- Mexico Squeaks Past South Korea
- Other group results:
On Bandwagon Fandom:
On Seattle’s Coffee:
A Local’s Take on Scottish Fans:
On Scotland’s Hopes vs Morocco:
Prediction Banter:
Maintains the playful, banter-rich, and story-driven tone familiar to Men In Blazers listeners: witty, self-deprecating, intensely passionate about football, yet inclusive, accessible for bandwagon and diehard fans alike.
| Match | Stakes | Notable Comments | Predictions | |-----------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------| | USMNT vs. Australia | Both can qualify with a win; Pulisic's fitness in question | “We’re gonna win the whole thing.” — Roger ([05:05]) | Rory: 2-1 USA; Betty: 3-2 USA | | Scotland vs. Morocco | Scotland can make history with a draw; tactical switch likely | “A nil-nil draw would be celebrated like a World Cup.” — Betty ([09:00]) | Rory: 3-1 Morocco; Betty: 0-0 | | Brazil vs. Haiti | Brazil under pressure after shaky start | “Severe pressure…Vinicius Junior’s moment of magic.” ([09:44]) | No specific predictions provided | | Turkey vs. Paraguay | Both lost openers; loser likely out | — | — |
The energy of the World Cup fills this Men In Blazers episode with optimism, local color, and fan hope—be it for the USA’s next leap forward, Scotland’s dream of defensive resilience, or just the right coffee in Seattle. Tactical insight, humor, and narrative tidbits (including the Rocky curse and a Scottish duck mascot) make for a must-hear show for fans and bandwagoners alike.
Next episode tease: Results, reactions, and more from Day Nine—including whether the Rocky statue curse strikes again.