Europe in the Mud | The Beautiful Pod

Summary

The Adam Friedland Show – "Europe in the Mud | The Beautiful Pod"

Date: July 1, 2026
Host: Adam Friedland
Guests: Chris Riding, Erlen Borch (Norwegian comedian), Mimir Christiansen (Norwegian MP)
Theme: Dissecting the chaos, identity crises, and emotional triumphs of the 2026 US World Cup, with irreverent banter, biting analysis, and a Norwegian cultural detour.

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Episode Overview

The Beautiful Pod features Adam Friedland and Chris Riding breaking down the latest round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US, reveling in the tournament’s madness, upsets, and identity struggles of traditional soccer powers. With biting humor and irreverence, Adam and Chris celebrate the American-hosted World Cup’s unpredictability and take unfiltered shots at European soccer’s loss of identity, especially focusing on Germany and the Netherlands.
Later, Erlen Borch (comedian) and Mimir Christiansen (Norwegian left-wing MP) join for reflections on Norway’s football culture, the meaning of Viking heritage, and what it’s like to support a small but suddenly world-class national team.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. America’s “Perfect” World Cup & European Downfall

Timestamps: 00:05–03:54

• Adam celebrates the uniquely chaotic, joyful World Cup the US is hosting, calling it potentially “the best World Cup of all time” and marveling that the US is hosting despite not caring about soccer traditionally.
• Chris notes the novelty of watching football “from 10 to 10” in the US and the changed energy from previous US-hosted cups.
• Both hosts revel in Europe's traditional powers (Germany, Italy, Netherlands) floundering (“Europe in the mud!”), and joke about America’s “remontada” under Trump.
  • Adam: “Germany has not won a knockout game since Mario Gotza.” [03:37]
  • Chris: “They both abandoned their principles…abandoned their own footballing identities and got what they deserved.” [04:42]

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2. Identity and the “Hipster 4-4-2”

Timestamps: 04:50–18:10

• Adam and Chris mock the trend of “modern tactical coaches” (like Nagelsmann, Pep Guardiola) over-complicating teams away from their national footballing character.
  • Adam: “Germany needs to be boring and a machine. And we hate them. And the bad guys. Italy isn’t even in the World Cup. They’re supposed to be cheaters and…defensive and rude… Any time they try to make [these countries] modern…it fails.” [04:50]
• They roast Julian Nagelsmann (Germany) for narcissistic tactics and fashion choices.
  • Chris: “He’s dressed like Russ in 2013. Not even like a new Russ. He’s wearing harem pants and shutter shade sunglasses like the Heatles.” [05:53]
• Key Insight: Modern tactical “overthinkers” melt down in high-variance knockout tournaments, unlike “Don Carlo” (Ancelotti) who remains calm and pragmatic.

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3. Club vs. Country, Player Development & National Identity

Timestamps: 09:03–13:38

• Chris wonders if Germany’s woes are tied to Bayern Munich buying internationally rather than serving as a pipeline for national talent.
• Adam mirrors this, noting the “mafia kickback” setup where top Bundesliga players routinely transfer to Bayern, stifling competitiveness and perhaps chemistry.
• Discussion of how national identity is expressed through cohesion and development:
  • “There is something to…a team having chemistry and all playing the same system, does naturally translate over to a national side...” [12:07]

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4. Tournament Football: Brutality, Tactics, and the End of Hipster Dreams

Timestamps: 14:46–29:52

• Adam rails against overthought tactics—insisting that only “real men” with deep footballing roots (Dyche, Ancelotti) can credibly run old-school 4-4-2s.
  • Adam: “If you play 4-4-2, you gotta stand for something…you have to have a goatee, short shin pads, and barely pronounce a foreign player's name.” [18:51–20:52]
  • Chris: “You have to manage Wolves and Southampton in the same year. And Burnley.” [21:29]
• The hosts take pleasure in “hipster” favorites (like Japan, Netherlands, and Germany) falling as soon as tournament football demands pragmatism and grit.
• Notable roasts of managers for fashion and tactics—especially Nagelsmann’s “hipster 4-4-2.”

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5. Emotional Chaos, Meltdowns, and Nationalisms

Timestamps: 29:09–33:05

• Deep dives into the Dutch and German exits, mocking their national “meltdowns,” coaching chaos, and the (often public) finger-pointing.
  • “They don’t...‘we left it all on the field.’ They’re like, 'fuck my coach, fuck these fans, fuck my teammates!'” [29:17]
• Brief comment on South Korea’s national mourning after elimination and the pressure athletes face.

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6. World Cup as Entertainment Product & Corruption

Timestamps: 36:33–49:07

• Discussion on the flawed tournament structure (third-place group progression), its unintended (and intended) consequences, and the history of “disgrace games.”
  • Chris: “It gives you no comfort…it’s not particularly corrupt, it’s just typically corrupt.” [41:50]
• Adam and Chris mock FIFA’s prioritization of TV spectacle and mega-stars (Messi, Mbappé), sometimes at the cost of sporting integrity or underdog success stories.
• Recap of infinitesimal player compensation (compared to club wages), emphasizing the emotional and patriotic stakes over financial ones.

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7. Moments, Stars, and the True Drama of Tournament Football

Timestamps: 49:47–55:02

• The transcendent appeal of Lionel Messi, the magic of knockout upsets, and the satisfaction of seeing the supposed “ball-knowers” and tacticians defeated by raw emotion and talent.
  • Adam: “Tournament football is about moments and players and stars. It’s not about tactics.” [54:01]
• Unashamed American pride in the tournament's quality and the emotional highs of upsets, underdogs, and the anticipation of classic matchups that might still emerge.

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8. "Happy Trails" – Exiting Teams Farewell

Timestamps: 55:08–60:46

• Adam and Chris run through teams eliminated in the group stage.
  • Emotional farewells (South Africa: “We’re so proud of you guys”), humor and indifference for others (“Panama could not care less”), and inside jokes about managers and national stereotypes.
• Running jokes about random national teams, logistics of being a fan (Norwegian percentage at the Cup), and love for certain players.
  • Adam: “He kicked the ball so hard that he busted the ball open against Czechia. That’s Randy Johnson!” [55:59]
• Notable moment: Discussion of Norwegian football, Holland/Haaland’s national impact, and Norway’s newfound World Cup joy.

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9. Special Segment: Norwegian Guests, Culture & Football

Timestamps: 62:27–78:45

• Guests Erlen Borch and Mimir Christiansen (Norwegian MP) discuss what it’s like to follow Norway at their first World Cup in nearly three decades.
• Amusing aside about the challenge for Norwegian politicians if caught breaking rules (“cutting in line”):
  • Mimir: “In Norway, people will remember for years if they saw a politician cut in line at a game.” [65:42]
• Debate about the Viking identity:
  • Mimir: “You can’t leave the Vikings to the Nazis. You have to reclaim the Viking heritage.” [70:46]
• Reflections on seeing Norway’s anthem at the Cup and what it means to a small nation.
  • Erlen: “The World Cup for me has always been something where I have to pick another nation to root for. It’s kind of strange to have my own country present. But it feels right when the team is this good.” [71:31]
• Amusing Norwegian humility and dry wit:
  • Mimir: “When we’re very moved, we stand completely still and say nothing to each other. That’s very moving for us.” [72:05]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Adam (on modern tactics):
  “You can’t play a hipster 4-4-2...if you’re employing a 4-4-2 you gotta recognize you’re not him.” [18:18]
• Chris (on Germany):
  “What happened to them? During penalties, they had Kimmich have to go up to Goretzka to beg him to take pens. Why did you play for pens if nobody wants to hit pens?” [05:08]
• Adam (on the beauty of tournament upsets):
  “I want to see the hipsters' hearts broken over and over again. I liked Japan, but...I want to see everyone who thinks they know ball just destroyed and sad.” [15:54]
• Chris (on the US-hosted World Cup):
  “Happy 250, brother.” [02:16]
• Adam (on Norway and perspective):
  “The World Cup for me has always been something where I have to pick another nation to root for...It's kind of strange to have my own country present now. But it feels right when the team is this good.” [71:31]
• Mimir Christiansen (on Viking identity):
  “You can’t leave the Vikings to the Nazis, you have to reclaim the Viking heritage.” [70:46]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:05–03:54: Opening, US World Cup chaos, Europe’s struggles
• 09:03–13:38: Club/country dynamics, Bayern’s influence on Germany
• 18:20–21:13: Deep dive into the “442” culture and the comedy of English football stereotypes
• 36:33–41:37: Iran, Algeria, and Austria—politics, heartbreak and systemic flaws
• 62:27–78:45: Norwegian guests, football culture, and World Cup pilgrimage

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Tone & Style

• Informal, irreverent, with sharp wit and minimal reverence for tradition or authority
• Deep soccer knowledge mixed with American pop-culture references and biting, absurdist humor
• Fast-moving, “bar-room” style banter; often switches from insightful analysis to comedic exaggeration
• The Norwegian section adds a dry, self-effacing Scandinavian counterpoint to the unhinged American energy

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Summary Takeaways

• This is a World Cup like no other: chaotic, unpredictable, emotionally charged—with national teams struggling to balance identity and innovation, and fans reveling in the unpredictable outcomes.
• Adam and Chris excel at finding humor in the disappointment and meltdown of football’s traditional elite, especially when new formats and American hosting upend expectations.
• The heart of international tournament football, for The Beautiful Pod crew, is not tactics or spreadsheets—but moments, emotion, and stories: “Tournament football is about moments and players and stars. It’s not about tactics.” [54:01]
• The Norwegian segment offers a rare, endearing glimpse into the existential joy and vulnerability of being a small nation finally getting its footballing moment.
• Underneath the jokes, the episode is a celebration of sport’s absurd, tragic, and beautiful power to unite, dismay, and surprise us—even (or especially) when nobody expected it.

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For more irreverent slices of global football fever, tune in each week for Adam and Chris’s take on the greatest World Cup the world never saw coming.

Transcript

[Adam Friedland]

Welcome to the beautiful pod. It's Adam Friedland. I'm joined by cr. We go through all the games. It's been a crazy World Cup. I'm also joined by two Norwegian fellows, friends of mine. Erlen Borch, a comedian, and Mimir Christiansen, who's a member of parliament. I guess I didn't know he was a member of parliament until like midway through the game. I guess you like see the president at the supermarket when you live there and stuff. It's like 12 people and somehow they're amazing at sports. But yeah, also Chris and I just are going to break down the games from yesterday. I think yesterday was shocking. I think it's been shocking and I think America has given us the best World cup of all time. Happy birthday. 250 years, guys. You're welcome. I hope no one's going to thank us. No one's going to thank us. But anyway, please enjoy the show. The beautiful pod is brought to you by FanDuel. This summer, America's number one sportsbook is making it easier than ever to get in on the action across all your favorite sports. Think you've got today's home run hitter picked? Check out FanDuel's HR props, including moonshots and lasers for a chance at even bigger payouts. Late to start. FanDuel has you covered with all the live betting options all game long. Download the FanDuel Sportsbook app today and play your game. Game Disclaimer 21 select states 18 DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Conn. Chris Riding in Los Angeles. Adam Friedland in New York City. Europe in the mud. How happy are we? The Axis powers dead. The United States has given the world the best World cup of all time. And we don't even care about soccer. Once again, our president Donald Trump has proven him wrong. He's done a remontata. Every time we doubt him. Every time we doubt him, he's the Carlo Ancelotti of world leaders. How are you feeling right now? It's so good.

[Chris Riding]

Happy 250, brother.

[Adam Friedland]

Honestly, honestly on our 250, if General Washington were here to see, to see penalties, to see us put on the greatest World cup of all time. And deliberately, honestly, I'm not going to say that I'm not going to buy into it, but it would be very easy to manipulate offsides like replays, like just to move the guy a little bit.

[Chris Riding]

Uh huh.

[Erlen Borch]

Right.

[Adam Friedland]

And it would be very easy to have, like, a little remote control and whatever. This is like a new ball is. Yeah, it's like a little bit like. Yeah, let's just make it go up a little bit on a header. I'm not going to say that I don't want anyone to go crazy because I don't believe in conspiracies, but. Okay. Yesterday was one of the best days of ball in such a long time. I'm so happy. I have a vacation from thinking about Arsenal for one second. I thought about Arsenal the other day and. And it made me so mad because Carlo played Martinelli at 9. And then I was like, I hate Arsenal. But guess what? We have been having quite the summer. It's been, I think the World cup, sometimes dazzling, sucks.

[Chris Riding]

It's been dazzling.

[Adam Friedland]

So let's be honest, the World cup, like, you build it up too much in your mind and then the game sucks.

[Chris Riding]

Yeah. And it's also just like, I've never. I. I don't have, like, clear memories of the last time the cup was here. And it's like, to be able to watch football from 10 to 10 is nuts.

[Adam Friedland]

Germany has not won a knockout game since Mario Gotza. Do you know that? Since the last time they won. Spain, although this might change soon, has not won a knockout game since they won the World Cup. And Italy has not won a knockout game since they won the World Cup. Isn't that shocking?

[Chris Riding]

They also are not in this World cup at all.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, so it's so four more years. Okay, Yesterday's biggest winner. Let's play the clip.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

You want to ban our national flags, but we're going to wave you goodbye.

[Adam Friedland]

Yes, and we'll look forward in the

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

future to working with you as sovereign.

[Adam Friedland]

Now, Chris, you know I'm a fence sitter, okay? Shut up, Europe. Okay, I'm a fence sitter. But I think, thank God our boys, the Three Lions, are not in Europe anymore. And. And subject to this European catastrophe, thank God, England will be the only team immune to the Europa side that we've seen in this tournament so far. Germany are out. The Netherlands are out. Two great powers of soccer. How are you feeling about this?

[Chris Riding]

They both abandoned their principles. They both, like. I agree. They both, like, abandoned their own footballing identities and they got what they deserved.

[Adam Friedland]

Germany needs to be boring and a machine. And we hate them. And the bad guys. Italy isn't even in the World Cup. They're supposed to be cheaters and. And defensive and rude anytime. They've been trying to make the countries that are supposed to be the bad guys and boring, modern and interesting. It fails.

[Chris Riding]

Yeah. What happened to them? During penalties, they had Kimmich have to go up to Goretzka to beg him to take pens. Why did you play for Pens if nobody wants to hit pens?

[Adam Friedland]

Well, let's be honest.

[Chris Riding]

They bas.

[Adam Friedland]

They did win that game, let's be honest. But fuck off. Julian Nagelsman. I think what we're seeing is the pep effect right now. Yeah, we're seeing so many guys, tactical, modern coaches that think that they could do it like pep. Look at him, he's wearing Fucking fear of God. He's wearing, he's wearing off white. But just have some respect. And also, like, I think, I mean, I don't want to body shame, but he's put on a little weight.

[Chris Riding]

He has. Actually. I don't want to body shame either. I'm not in very good shape. But like, I, I, I find this outfit odd from a man who wants dressed like rust.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, he's dressed like Russ in 2013. Not even like a new Russ. He's wearing harem pants and shutter shade sunglasses like the Heatles.

[Chris Riding]

That's also like a G shock watch from. When is that from? That's like the biggest G shock watch I've ever seen.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. From middle school. I mean, what does he think? Who does he think he is? He tried to do the pep thing where he's like, I'm gonna fuck with the tactics so much that I'm gonna go hipster. 4, 4, 2. Which is. It was a narcissistic 4, 4, 2, right? It wasn't a proper 4, 4, 2. He's like, I'm going to start undov and Kai up front and guess what? I'm going to be so modern that I'm going to be from the olden days. Right? And guess what? You fucking lost and you fucking failed. And guess what? Kimmich was. Put him in the fucking midfield. Like, genuinely, like, I don't understand. There's a thing that happens in football where modern tactical coaches don't understand the difference. And I said, I was saying this to Clive and Elliot in the last episode, that between that and tournament football, and really in reality, what we see is like pep spent five billion pounds, walked the league, what, seven times, six times, just walked the league. And then what?

[Chris Riding]

Brain exploded. In every Champions League.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, Every Champions League final, he would do this thing where he'd go into a lair and he'd be at like the map of Europe and you'd Be like, this is how we just. We make everyone Germany. And like, it would fail every single time. He'd be in a bunker in Berlin with a gun. Okay. Genuinely speaking, it is. So I've turned into Emperor Palpatine in this tournament. I want to see any type of modern approach punished. I was really hoping that Koman would do the Neanderthal treble yesterday. And it almost worked.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

It almost.

[Adam Friedland]

He almost pulled it off by playing a back five with one of the most talented teams in the tournament, who was scoring at will in the group stages wearing that shirt. What was that shirt? How tight was that shirt?

[Chris Riding]

I think him and Nagelsman should have switched shirts.

[Adam Friedland]

They should have switched shirts. Yeah, I know. I think it's her. Vernard just thrown everything into chaos. Honestly, just have effortless chill fashion like Pep. Seriously, Pep has ruined it. Everyone was wearing Arsene Wenger three piece suits and then Pep came in with just a hoodie and everyone was like, wow, he's got like a effortless style. Kind of like Shia LaBeouf at his vintage T shirt chopping game.

[Chris Riding]

That's exactly what people think.

[Adam Friedland]

And you can't do it. You can't do it like the goat, right? I mean, honestly, the hipsters are in the mud. They're crying into their look. This is the kit that everyone that was celebrating.

[Chris Riding]

Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

They're crying into their Phil Foden ex Noel Gallagher kits. How atrocious is that dog shit kit? How bad is that?

[Chris Riding]

It's terrible. This is.

[Adam Friedland]

It's terrible.

[Chris Riding]

Offensive. Is this real or is this just like a. Like a. This is a drop that somebody did.

[Adam Friedland]

It's the. No, they. They did a collabo with Noel Gallagher to make a. Make a special kit for City and he. He was on drugs or something when he made it. Apparently that's what rockers do. Listen, the lesson here is you can't play a hipster442.

[Chris Riding]

All right, there's another lesson that I wanted to bounce off you.

[Adam Friedland]

Go ahead.

[Chris Riding]

Do you think that Germany's failings have anything to do, as I've seen kicked around online, with the idea that Bayern is no longer building for them like that Bayern is no longer developing their whole diversity set. No, but Bayern's buying like Kane and they've got like, you know, they're. They're like buying from all over the world now rather than just making the national team. And it used to be like Dortmund and Bayern pretty much propped that. That whole national side up. Right?

[Adam Friedland]

That whole league is so annoying to me.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Right.

[Adam Friedland]

The fact that, like, Levandowski could be at Dortmund and then go to them, it's there. It's a mafia kickback scheme.

[Chris Riding]

I know.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, why would. Why does everyone let the best team just take all their players? And why is that? Okay, why don't. Why do they give them, like, applause and stuff like that? It's one fucking team. Like, literally, like, if in any other league, if someone goes from. I mean, we know the names of the people that have gone from Real Madrid to Barcelona or vice versa.

[Chris Riding]

Right. If somebody goes from, like, Thunder to the warriors or something like that, that would be weird.

[Adam Friedland]

Granted, Dortmund is not anywhere near like, the competitive parody of Dortmund and Bayern are, obviously. But it's just. Everyone is sucking one team's. I'm too graphic on this show. Everyone is just gobbling one team's. But it's just like, what is the point of the league? Like, why are you, like, Wolfsburg, going out there to try that year? Because everyone's just gonna kick back their best players, the number one team. And yes, I do think that, like, there are, like, probably. That is like, an answer that there are probably more international players on. I think there is something to that. But, like, German players go abroad now, too. They were like, Italian players used to not go abroad, if you remember. Like, it used to be rare for, like, you know, dicanios. Like, I'm gonna bring racism to West Ham.

[Chris Riding]

Yeah, he brought it.

[Adam Friedland]

They didn't. He's gonna. I'm gonna do just the ro. The Romans. I'm gonna do the. The thing that Elon Musk didn't do at the. Whatever the. Okay. No, I mean, it's just like. Yeah, it was more rare. Like, Podolsky, I remember, was like, one of the only Germans, I guess, like, what's his name was on Chelsea.

[Mimir Christiansen]

What's his face? Sam.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Andreas.

[Adam Friedland]

Sherlock.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Klinsmann on Spurs. Yeah, Klinsmann. It was, like, very rare. I think now German players are, like. Are, like, going abroad more often.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

I think the issue, once again is Europe and the European Union and thank God. Thank God we got out of that. No, no. I think that there is something to that, perhaps. Yeah. Like a team having chemistry and all playing the same system, like, does naturally translate over to a national side, I guess. English players used to not go abroad as much, too, like Michael.

[Chris Riding]

Not as much. But now it's interesting to look at that Bayern team and see Luis Diaz, Harry Kane, Alphonso Davies, like, different guys, like, from different countries playing in that starting 11. And I wonder whether or not there's a trickle down effect.

[Adam Friedland]

You're saying like a more pure German.

[Chris Riding]

That's not what I meant.

[Adam Friedland]

Is that what you're saying, Chris? You want it to be like cleansed of. What were you saying? You know, I blame. You know, I blame. Okay, I'm just kidding. The rabbis. No, I mean, there probably is something to that. I, I just to mention that the South Africa match was like really satisfying to me and I'm like so proud of them as a team because my parents come from there and stuff. Because it was like a rebuilt roster that like, it was supposed to be like a terrible team. But they all play in the same league together, like the domestic league. I think they only had like five or six players abroad. Right. So they did speak the same kind of tactical language, footballing language. That's how that league plays. And there is something to like that, that being a thing. Spain has always had that advantage too, because they all came from Spanish academies and, and they all kind of like, you know, like Lamasi was obviously very dominant. So I think there is something to be said about that. Yeah, in Belgium they all went abroad. I mean, that's true. So you're saying that we just like basically have to reclaim identities of European.

[Chris Riding]

All I'm saying is that I think that that German national team relied heavily on Bayern. And I don't know if they're doing player development like they used to. And also a lot of people are like, Nagelsmann doesn't look under every rock for good players. Like basically goes and watches like Dortmund and Bayern. Now. This is just what Dee Hammond said. Like, I have no idea how nagging.

[Adam Friedland]

I think it's a little bit, it's a little bit hysterical of a response. Like, they won that match basically. Also, fuck Klopp. I mean, like, do you see Jurgen Klopp?

[Chris Riding]

He wants that job.

[Adam Friedland]

No. He said no. Well, first of all, that'd be. The boys would die for him. I lost my headphone.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

First of all, yeah, Klopp says if that's a disallowed goal, then Arsenal wouldn't be the English champions. They scored 60% of their goals like that. What does that have to do with Arsenal? We're a loser team. We're losers. We lost 82 at Old Trafford. They're acting like we're freaking, like we're. I don't know, ajax in the 70s. We stink and everything. The world revolves. Okay, anyway, back to cut that. Listen, I. No, I think they lost because less about like the makeup of like their, I guess their dominant club team. But like, I think it's more so that they probably. A kg group stage match probably eeked it out 2, 1. And they probably shouldn't have started an egotistical, like, put my nuts on the table kind of like, why am I so gross?

[Chris Riding]

No, you're right. They shouldn't have gone narcissistic to start the match.

[Adam Friedland]

It was just a narcissistic lineup. Like bring on undov. Like at 60.

[Chris Riding]

Like flop got in Nagelsman's head about undov. Like, I feel like that that was a little bit like too much chatter coming from the back seat.

[Adam Friedland]

Look at the outfit. Look at the. Look at the stupid lineup. Everyone want to be pep, but they're not built that way. He's trying to do effortless fashion. He's trying to do ridiculous, like, counterintuitive. I'm going to surprise them. Lineups. America. Beat this team. Four one. America. Okay, relax. You're Germany. You had the Kaiser. You know who's still the Desert Fox.

[Chris Riding]

Do you know who still wears suits to the match? And who knows where to put the guys in order to get results.

[Adam Friedland]

Who's that?

[Chris Riding]

Who's that? The Don.

[Adam Friedland]

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And you know who starts lineups where Casamiro looks like perhaps one of the worst players I've ever seen for the first half and then just does the remontada you in the second half all over again. How many times have we watched this? And I mean, yeah, this is. I've become.

[Chris Riding]

We're talking Brazil, Japan, obviously.

[Adam Friedland]

I want to see the hipsters hearts broken over and over again. I liked Japan, but I was happy that the people that were like, they're a tournament dark horse. Yeah, they fucking beat Spain in the last World Cup. You're not like, you're not. You're not like the like. Let me run that. They beat Spain in the last World Cup. It's not that fucking wild of a pick. We all like them. They're cool. They're Japan. They do like. Yeah, they're fascinating.

[Chris Riding]

It's the same thing as Morocco. Morocco is actually like a really, really good World cup team at this point.

[Adam Friedland]

They made the semifinal, like, right. And people are acting like they discovered Morocco. And it's just my insecurity about being an American that likes footy. But I want to see everyone that thinks that they know ball just destroyed and sad. And I just want to see Messi score as many goals as possible. And I want to just see do

[Chris Riding]

you get a lot of texts from people who aren't watching, like, never watch football. And then all of a sudden you get a text that's like, wow, great cross.

[Adam Friedland]

No, I'm having issues with a lot of the people in my life right now. Listen, Nagelsman, it was a narcissistic lineup and for some reason he didn't start like, he didn't start like. Like, why put him at right back? Who. Who is there, like, terrifying left winger that you need Kimmage to be starting at right back? Why can't you have one of your best midfielders playing in midfield? It's just, it's. It's like he thinks he's Pep, right? He thinks he's like, when Kinselo was. Was the best player on. On their team that year and Cancelo said I'm the best fullback in the world, he sold him in January just to say I'm the best coach of all time. You're nothing.

[Chris Riding]

You go through like, there's like Calvin pictures. So many guys. Pep bought that. He was just like, and now you're exiled after buying for 80 million.

[Adam Friedland]

It's just bragging. It's literally just bragging to show how good you are. Pep's like, I'm going to win the league with six eights playing. I'm not going to have a striker. Everyone's going to be a central midfielder.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Everyone.

[Adam Friedland]

And it's going to be confounding and so frustrating. And you're going to le. I'm going to say after you lose 5 nil that the other team are so good. They're so, so good. They were an amazing team. I'm going to be so complimentary of your bull of your team that just lost five nil.

[Chris Riding]

Play with five garbage.

[Adam Friedland]

It's going to hurt worse. Let me tell you, Nagelsman, I want to give you a lesson. Listen, what do I know? But this is what you can't do. A hipster 442.

[Erlen Borch]

If you.

[Adam Friedland]

You are employing a 442, you have to first of all recognize that you are not him. Okay?

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

You used to eat worms at training, and that's why you've got such a gravelly voice. I mean, did you shed any light on this? Well, no, it's a fact. I did. I also smoke exhaust pipes. As I've been told in the past. That's what makes my throat like this. I have gravel for breakfast. That was another thing. So them three combined often are the things I used to keep this voice sound of. Nowadays,

[Adam Friedland]

if you play a 442, you have to stand for something.

[Chris Riding]

Yeah. You have to shave your head and have a goatee.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Short shin pads. I know tackles to be fair. And even a semi bad tackle in a game. Now it's like the world's going to end. They wear these shim pads at. I mean my phone's not small enough. My rule was wear what you play. You have to wear shin pads. But now what they do. So to get around the wall, they'd put a bit of like sponge. Sponge in their shin. That big. Literally that. Bingo. Careful, I've got my shin pads on. I'm like, you know, you want to prove a point that much right. That you're going to put a bit of sponge. Then they've got designer ones, you know, like having specially made with picture of their family on them. I suppose you could see them. They're that small. I can't see the picture. Their family. Oh, you know, oh, look, it's my family. Like what you really need so many shinbags. That's. No, I need to wear white socks. Really? What for? What's the medical reason? I don't know. Oh my goodness me, John. I can tell all this now. Cuz when you're with a team. Yeah, yeah, I can see why you wear that. He just wear some on socks. I manage Sheriff, after wearing normal socks. I can't possibly play today cuz I. I didn't have my holes cut in the back of my socks. I mean, come on. Sometimes I'm like, just play.

[Adam Friedland]

Thank you.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Th.

[Adam Friedland]

This is what it takes to, to. To start a. A 442 line. You have to be a guy that, that like literally has a player, like a, like a Ben Me style player. Give someone a career ending, like multiple fracture, like compound fracture where the bone is sticking out of your leg and say like I think he was going for the ball and he wasn't wearing

[Chris Riding]

big enough shin pads. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And he has to be like, oh, I didn't see it. I'm gonna have to watch if Sean Dyche.

[Chris Riding]

If we replace Lawless with Sean Dyche, would you just DVR every Fox studio show and watch it for the rest of your life?

[Adam Friedland]

It would be insane if it was

[Chris Riding]

Zlatan, Thierry and Shawn Dyche.

[Adam Friedland]

But literally what we're ignoring is that Zlatan is just as insane. That's how Lawless is so abject that we're missing the fact that Zlatan is just, literally just out of his mind insane. He thinks that he's like Steven Seagal or something like you have.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

If you play 442, you can never learn how to pronounce a single foreign player's name on your roster. You have to. Literally, you have to. You have to wear the poppy 12 months a year and talk about the boys that died in World War I in the trench. How terrible of a war was that? It was just awful.

[Chris Riding]

World War I. You want to do this now?

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay. You have to be in a minimum of six relegation battles in the Midlands. You have to be.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Wait.

[Adam Friedland]

You have to be in like a bottom three side fired from that bottom three side, immediately picked up by another bot three side.

[Chris Riding]

You have to manage Wolves and. And Southampton in the same year.

[Adam Friedland]

And Burnley.

[Chris Riding]

And Burnley.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Chris Riding]

But you never leave your house. Like you're always in like the. Somewhere in the middle of the country traveling to those. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You have to replace Nuno Espirito Santo as a. As a manager. Yeah, you have to. Yeah, you have to be sacked so many times. Just sacked. Right? Like you have to. Like, you have to. You have to hit this penalty Play. Play. You have to be able to.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

You have to.

[Adam Friedland]

For something. Nagelsman. It's not FIFA, okay? It's not FIFA. You have to eat like for breakfast, eat a. Eat a curry for breakfast and minimum for none. You have to claim that something you said on Talksport you didn't realize was had a history behind it and was hurtful to a group of people.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Chris Riding]

You didn't realize it was being broadcast.

[Adam Friedland]

This has to be your bird.

[Chris Riding]

Is that actually Dyesh's old lady or is this just like an amalgamation?

[Adam Friedland]

No, that's. I think that's Dwight York. Dwight York's lady.

[Chris Riding]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

Who's apparently quite the around Manchester, the ladies man. Okay? You have to go on this vacation. Okay? This is the vacation you have to go on. You have to go on Thomas Cook.com and order this vacation package. Look at how insane it. I don't understand how they could. What food are they serving them? Can you put it on screen? This blows my mind. Okay. Tui. They used to sponsor Spurs. Amazing. Okay. 10 minute walk to the beach. Okay? 2, 294 pound total. Total, okay. To Greece, okay? Including meals and flight. What meals are they giving you on this vacation? What are you eating?

[Chris Riding]

Yeah, they hand you an octopus when you get off the plane and they're like, this is it. This is three squares.

[Adam Friedland]

They have a water park. There is not a single Greek person there. And a lazy river. It's Is Just filled with piss. Just filled with. So your.

[Chris Riding]

Your larger point is that if Nagelsman wanted to play 4:4:2, he needed to have gone through this initiation process.

[Adam Friedland]

He needed a hazing 100,000%.

[Chris Riding]

He needed to go to Sean Dice. You.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

You have to have violent criminals on your team. You have to have, like, just, like, just with the spikes two footed. Like, there has to be a bone coming out of, like, another player's leg. And. And you have to claim that he was going for the ball.

[Chris Riding]

Adam, I gotta tell you, man, a reality TV show where Continental managers go to Sean Dyche finishing camp where they show up wearing Uniqlo and they leave wearing, like, just Sergio Ticcini tracksuits.

[Adam Friedland]

They would never be able to find a single person to be in it because the game's gone. The game's gone. It's just him and Carlo left. That's it. And Carlo's Kiros, okay, It's pathetic. They lost to a team that lost to America 4:1. They should be ashamed of themselves. They actually did win that game. And it is. They. They. Freddy off forever, Nagelsman off, and Freddie off. Enjoy traveling back to your country, which isn't. Isn't 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Okay.

[Chris Riding]

Paraguay's a gaffer, though. He's got bars. Did you see, like, he was just like, we come from the red dirt. What's that? Yeah, he was like, we played on the red dirt. They play in, like, Tony academies. Like, he was really. He made it about something.

[Adam Friedland]

I love that they used to say that about Luis Diaz, about how he played it on a dust pitch. Yeah, I love that. He came from dust. He's like, Adam, he came from the. He's like the. He's like ganja. He came from there. Okay, wait. All right, let's get to Brazil. Japan again. I'm rooting against teams I want to have win, right? I like Japan better, but I want people, like, to learn that tournament football is a brutality, especially in the knockouts, and that no one is better suited for it than Don Carlo, who literally looks like he didn't give a team talk. He literally looks like he does. He looks like he doesn't react to a single goal. You cannot react to a goal. If you want to go 4, 4, 2. You cannot celebrate a goal at all.

[Chris Riding]

Goaded. And also just the fact that all he does is put guys in the right position. It's this. It is his. It is his brilliance is. He's like, Jude plays here. Martinelli plays here. Pirlo plays There, like, that's what he does.

[Adam Friedland]

It's the aura. I mean, yeah, he did it. Like, he moved kaka. I mean, Martinelli playing nine reminded me of how much I fucking hate Arsenal. I hate Arsenal.

[Chris Riding]

The best part about the Martinelli goal was the dudes around him being like, that's going in. Like, Rand, like, was just like. As soon as he passed to Bruno, he was like, it's in. He's, like, turned his back on it.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, Steph, he had 15 and 5 at 19 years old.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Let's just play my favorite Martinelli clip. Gabriel Martinelli.

[Erlen Borch]

Gabriel.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, Martinelli. Okay, listen, he's. I'm so happy for Gabby. He's been a loyal. Like, I've watched him for the last five years. The debate was, Saka or Gabby. Now Saka's dead. Can we stop playing him? I just. The whole world's watching. They're gonna think he's bad. No, he's like. He's being so selfless for England. It's, like, breaking my heart.

[Chris Riding]

It's also like, he's up against your boy for the right wing spot. So it's like Noni is pushing him.

[Adam Friedland]

Doesn't matter.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Doesn't matter.

[Chris Riding]

This was one of the coolest things in the Brazil game, was earlier in the match, Kunha had kind of done, like, settled down too small to one of the Japanese players and done five championships to him. But then after the match, he did this. That's sportsmanship, dog.

[Adam Friedland]

I think it's the second time. The last game yesterday.

[Chris Riding]

That's a plant, man. That's not real.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

How.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like when Trump won that one lady. Oh, my God, no. Poor guy. The Japanese will be back. They're incredible team. Like, they. They play like beautiful ball. They were better in that game. Once again, we learned our lesson. Never count out Carlo genuinely speaking like Gabby Martinelli in that goal. Like, he. He. He genuinely, like, took. Took his moment brilliantly. I love him as a player. And also both of our gabbies had. We had a 2. A Gabby assisted a Gabby. That was a beautiful cross.

[Chris Riding]

There's got to be like a. Like, a hard cap on. How many times you can talk about Arsenal in one podcast episode?

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, cut all the Arsenal then.

[Chris Riding]

This episode is, like, two minutes long.

[Adam Friedland]

No, genuinely, actually cut the Arsenal. I mean, it. No, that was too many. It was a good note. Guys, guys. Let's go to Morocco. Netherlands. I was Ronald Koeman. I think out of all of the Neanderthals, the dumbest one.

[Chris Riding]

Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

Isn't it weird they used to have a village idiot. They were like, this is a. This is our idiot. Does that mean like the whole community was like, yeah, that's our boy. This idiot dude. Yeah, that's Steve, the idiot. He's the. I mean, literally, this was not a back five of his hipstered it. See, this is a clear distinction. We have to draw. Cuban Kohman did it. It was the product of an imbecile. Right?

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Like.

[Adam Friedland]

And once again, like you were saying, before, the teams need to reclaim their identities, they have to be doing Cruyff turns. They can't be a back five.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Netherlands.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm sorry.

[Chris Riding]

This is my favorite thing about the cup, especially when you get to the knockouts and the teams are like, we actually are. Like, we maybe have a little bit of a chance here is that when they lose, the fucking national teams detonate. Like, they don't. They're not. Like, we left it all on the field. That was really hard felt. They're like, fuck my coach, Fuck these fans, Fuck my teammates. Like, they all go nuts. And Kimmich was just basically like, I play with a bunch of Betas. And then for the Netherlands, it was like de Jong. And everybody after the game was like, our coach sucked. That was a bad idea, dude.

[Adam Friedland]

We said it before the tournament. We all knew it was. When Veghorse came on, though, I'm like, this is going to be a moron. Like, treble. I think we're gonna just sweep. Yesterday. I was like, I. I was like, they're about to do it again because they have that psychopath that like, six foot. What is he, six, six or something? Yeah, he's a. He's a psycho. And the way he looks is insane. You can see his skull. You know when you see a person, you're like, that's a. You know what his skull looks like? Vegors is one of those kind of guys. When he put Koop miners in and subbed him in at left center back, and he's a 10, I pretty sure he didn't know the positions that the players played. I'm pretty sure that he literally forgot, like, mid tournament. It's. It's. Listen, Frankie is amazing, dude. Fucking. What's his name? West Ham Somerville. Crescenzio Somerville ran literally 120 minutes and

[Chris Riding]

was just like, Cody Yakpo tried, like, to everything he could. He scored coming off the back of personal tragedy. It was like they, they. They had. It was like they were so set up for like a storybook win there. And he just. He just really screwed them up. Coleman's really screwed. Screwed him up.

[Adam Friedland]

He stinks. The Mexican fans were booing the Netherlands because they lost to them in the round of 16. Like, what, 12 years ago?

[Chris Riding]

No, I was recently.

[Adam Friedland]

12 years ago.

[Chris Riding]

Oh, 12, 14.

[Adam Friedland]

What the hell? Like, just relax, guys. Like, like, please, can l Tree to make the. The second round of the knockouts. Please can l Tree. Just, like, just. Come on.

[Chris Riding]

You're gonna. By the time this episode goes up, they are going to be strolling.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay. Yeah, they will. Okay. Speaking of meltdowns, national team meltdowns. The response of South Korea news, Korean news to their team's response was an insanity. Yes. Those are like, just like, literally. First of all, I thought it was a different kind of East Asian cinema at first. And I was. You know, they blur out that.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And I finished.

[Chris Riding]

What about the airport? What about the airport?

[Adam Friedland]

And I did finish. All right, listen. It's a little bit, like, carried away. This man, they're blurring out his face. Like he's like an ice agent or something. Like, people know what he looks like. I just think, like, yeah. I mean, it's a national tragedy for these people. People are acting just like a little bit. Yeah. Look at this. It sounds terrifying.

[Chris Riding]

That's a long flight to get off of and have that be what's greeting you. Can you imagine if you got off an international flight? I can't imagine flying back to Philadelphia and feeling like this 19 hours and

[Adam Friedland]

then you return and you're like, drowsy. You're coming off and they literally just like, they're ready to just fucking kill you. They're ready.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

Anyway, Sam wanted us to mention our boy John. Joe Shelby. He's coming back. Third division ua, third division uae.

[Chris Riding]

I was pretty into this story, but I have no idea what it has to do with the World Cup.

[Adam Friedland]

I have no idea why you. I said cut this four times. He kept putting back in. Okay, there was a Croatian. A little bit more for the news roundup. Croatian man who went to the club. This is another great American culture immersion clip that I enjoyed. We can hear it. That's also great. I don't know. The coolest thing that I saw was there's a clip of Maradona in 2018 when he talked about the US, the North American countries winning the bid.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

And.

[Adam Friedland]

And he predicted basically that this fourth quarter, like, format would, like, be a thing. The goat. The absolute goat. Crystal ball. Finally, Chris, I guess we'll do the section that you wanted to do. You wanted to do the sexy Ladies. The World cup section. I guess. So you were just for the sake of journalism.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Thanks for you sending me these P. Specifically Adam. Thanks appreciate. I So I had Sam find sexy ladies of the World Cup. All right, you want to keep. This is a world. Come on, come on. We're going to get in trouble for this. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You got to play. You got to play the clip. Cuz that's the right now I'm seeing a woman with large breath.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

That's another lady.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, Chris, why do you want this on the show? Chris, why do you want this on the show? Okay, you got whoever's directing these love to like, you know, like cut away to a sexy lady on in during the broadcast. Which to me is like a little bit like I'm trying to watch the game. I can't be getting horny while the game's on. Like just like let me focus on the game. But like of course it pales in comparison. The same guy, I think B in sports that did the Martinelli thing, the horny brought the horny bronze. The same guy that does the Virgil Van Maguire, that guy in the last World Cup I believe in Qatar. The best cutaway. This is the goat cutaway to sexy lady cutaway. On a more serious note, let's get into Iran this weekend. I found myself watching the most dog match I've ever watched in my entire life.

[Erlen Borch]

Which was.

[Adam Friedland]

Which was Austria versus Algeria. Of course that was the match that determined the final slot in the third place of the third place finishers. Throughout this tournament like I mean we talked about Iran but like throughout this tournament I think one thing that has become apparent and let's actually hear from

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Taremi but we complain about outside the football because which is the details important in the foot football. As you know, recovery is the important things and small details affect the football. And yeah, we just. We have hope, we have good energy in the dressing room. As I said, I'm looking forward and let's see what will happen tomorrow for the games. Sorry there is a no word to a lot of games because we did our best during 90 minute by this situation we had since the beginning till now. We are proud of ourselves and if anything happen it's by my responsibility because I lose the penalty and if we pass the group stage. Yeah, thank God. As you see, we play so good. I think 90 minutes before I. I

[Adam Friedland]

think that the Iranian. The Iranian team obviously showed a lot of class. It was like a very difficult situation they were walking into which was they were walking into a tournament where they were playing in a country that they were at war with. And I think it showed incredible bravery in class. Like, they were doing it for, like, the folks back home to have some hope, you know, like, there's been. There was relentless bombing. The peace was negotiated, I guess, with Trump where he. But in the tournament, it seems to me people have taken issue with the offside and the VAR decision, and I don't think that that is the right point. At the end of the round game, of course, he was offsides. And also on the pitch, it was declared offside, so it wouldn't have been clear and obvious error. Even if, you know, like, it. That was. That's not the right argument to make. I think what. What's more apparent is that Infantino kind of like, you know, you know, bent the knee to all of the demands of the Trump administration. And to the extent that he went into the Iranian locker room and apologized, the players.

[Chris Riding]

Well, I would just say this is a black eye on the tournament. On the tournament. Like, in the. For as much as it's been, like, a blast to watch this, like, the treatment of the Iranian team has been, like, deplorable. The fact that Trump up until right before the start of the tournament was, like, threatening to remove them and replace them with Italy, like, by fiat, I guess. And that I'm sure Infantino would have gone along with it, to be completely honest. And you look at, like, for instance, Algeria and the way that they were welcomed into, like, Lawrence, Kansas, and it became, like, this huge community, like, this community in Kansas embracing this team. Iran never had that chance. They never got that opportunity. They were getting flown out at 10pm back to Mexico. They are very thankful for the Mexican fans, but, like, these guys had no shot. And the fact that they got as far as they did was amazing.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, they had every disadvantage thrown their way. Like, their support staff were not allowed to entry into the country. They had to be evacuated to TJ basically, after. Can you imagine how much more you'd hate America? Like, it's staying in Tijuana. Just, like, seeing, like, you see guys that were, like, they're like, just clearly on Molly, just, like, trying to find their friend who, like, got sp. Spooked during a, like, a donkey show or something. Can you imagine, like, how it is the worst example of American behavior? Like, guys named like, Tyler and Kai. Yeah, just like, the thing is this. The failure was a failure in the format. There are clips of Austria after the third Algerian goal, like, going, like, what are you doing?

[Chris Riding]

Yeah, I thought we agreed. Yeah. But although there's no translation as to what they were saying to each other, so I don't. Like, we can't really be. Yeah, they were like this.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Whether or not there's the actual collusion or not, it was. It was the most bizarre, unwatchable match I've seen ever. Probably. It was like 60 minutes of literally walking and then someone would get annoyed by it and then score and then the other team would go like balls to the wall trying to try to equalize. It was just in terms of making an entertainment product. It was like an insult to the fans. But beyond that, like the thing that's really heartbreaking at the end of the day is that after. Who's it? Mahrez. Mahrez scored like, scored an extra time for two minutes. Those players who have had such a shit experience like attending this World cup had like hope and thought that their nation had hope and that was whether it doesn't matter if it's a collusion. The thought of them and their hopes being crushed or dashed like that is. Is really sad.

[Chris Riding]

This is something FIFA had done away with. There's. I mean, I don't know whether it gives you. Gives people any comfort to know that it. It's not particularly corrupt. It's just typically corrupt. You know, it's like this is kind of.

[Adam Friedland]

It's been corrupt the entire time.

[Chris Riding]

Echoes across the World cup history and it's kind of the fabric of the tournament. It's what makes it such an. Maybe an interesting sporting event to study historically is to look at stuff like this, but like in 82, in this. In Spain, ironically enough, Austria and West Germany were playing in Algeria going into the Austria. West Germany match. Because usually all these final matches of the group should start at the same time so that there is no chance of people being like, oh, it's like this. So we're going to do that. But Algeria was in second place going into the last match between. They had completed their final group stage match. They were in second place but they only did a zero goal difference. West Germany had a plus two. And West Germany and Austria play what is now known as the District Disgrace of Gijon where Germany scores early and then the two sides basically like have a Sunday kick about for 80 minutes,

[Adam Friedland]

play catch basically with their.

[Chris Riding]

And it's. You can still see footage of it on YouTube. It is grotesque. It is like 80, 82 year old plumbers would play more vertical football than these guys and then you know, like they had to basically change the rules, I think, until now when they've introduced this third place qualifier thing where now it's, there's, it's all back into, into this jackpot.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. The point is, is that they wanted more games and they wanted to make more money.

[Erlen Borch]

Right?

[Adam Friedland]

And that's what we're seeing. Like the stated purpose of FIFA is for football development around the world. But like what this, what this organization really is is, hey, we're going to get the best guys, right, at sports and we're going to make a tournament and the whole world is going to watch it. We're going to get insane ratings and oh, how much, how much is it going to cost, you know, to get the best guys? And it's free, basically. It is. Basically. They are, it's such a good fucking racket, you know. Basically what they're doing is they're making the most popular thing and they're doing it basically at the. Just like it's, it's brilliant. In fact, if you think of it in those terms, there was no attention paid to whether or not this was actually going to work. And no one asked the question of like, oh, are the games going to suck if like, they know what, how many goals they need to qualify for third or how many goals, like both teams need to get through the knockout stages. I think there are other games in this tournament where people equally said that there was some funkiness. But I don't like, not to get into it, but like.

[Chris Riding]

No, but your point is really well taken because you could make the argument, I bet you could look at this tournament as the ultra television product. They're doing these hydration breaks that they're slamming in commercials for. And the third place safety net that they established is probably there so that they can get as many Messi Mbappe Holland, like global superstar matches. They didn't want these big stars to fall out after the groups, but they didn't actually need that. What they've created is like, what is the best thing about tournament sports, which is Cinderella stories. And they kind of, they, they really, they really fumbled it in this way.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, just. Or like what the corruption we used to see, I mean when it comes to the, the tournament as a television project or product, with the way that things are distributed these days, it wasn't like always that it was usually like the host nation's dictator would be like, tell the other team we're going to kill them. I mean literally like in 78, there was a military junta the year before in Argentina and Videla. What he did was like, him and Kissinger basically made a match, fixed a game. A lot of this wasn't on television. A lot of it was about state propaganda. But him and Kissinger entered the Peruvian locker room and gave a speech about the topic of Latin American brotherhood. But basically they. They needed to win by four goals. Peru lost six nil. Argentina made the final. And there's an understanding. I don't think it's true, but there was like, maybe someone read it and said, I'm gonna believe it's true that. That Generalissimo Videla watched the final with Mr. Joseph Mengele, who. I don't know who he is, but I'm going to. I'm going to have to look into that. The angel, he was no angel. Can we be honest? And also, you know that Cruyff Cruyff didn't go because his family was being threatened.

[Chris Riding]

The CR Story is. Is one of the all time greatest, like, legends of football.

[Adam Friedland]

The truth of this, I mean, like, it's always been like, dirty, but like, now that it's an entertainment product and now that the global audience is like billions, right. They're maximizing the amount of money that, that they're getting for it. And they're not thinking about, like, the meaning of this to the people involved. I mean, and the meaning of this to the supporters. Like, it means the reason people are doing this for, like, think of that. The amount of money that Pep has had to spend to build a really good team. Right, Right. The reason they're doing this, like, they're not getting paid. How much. Sam, can you actually look up how much players are getting paid for playing in the World cup? It's about £75,000, maybe. Look it up. I want to see if you're right. Well, wait, how. That was amazing. Give it up for the boy. I mean, like, like the amount that clubs have to spend on recruiting talent. They can do this because it means something to them to, like, score for their country, to play for their country.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Chris Riding]

So it's.

[Adam Friedland]

It's about £75,000 all included per match for everybody, for the entire team. FIFA pays the national teams. Wait, so that what's. It's about 2,500 a player. And if you're.

[Chris Riding]

Gabriel Martinelli got paid £2,500.

[Adam Friedland]

25. I mean, seriously, like, it's. It's the reason they're doing this because, like, they. I mean, these guys are on like a. Like 4, 500,000 a week. How much is Holland on? I Mean, it's reported at 500k, but,

[Chris Riding]

yeah, we know how that works.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah. So he's on a million pounds a week. Like, you know, he's doing this because it's meaningful to people and it's meaningful to countries. And what we saw was a country that, like, you know, I mean, they did double the. They did double. I mean, Trump just. Obama got one, gave 150 and Trump did 300. What a loser. Cut that. He's a friend of the show. No, I mean, like, seriously, they're giving it to a country where, like, they're. They. They fucking dash the hopes of a country where their players were bravely going to another place that had bombed a school of girls and killed them. Like, it's the US and ussr, like, didn't attend one another's Olympics during a cold war. Like that Maggie Thatcher was considering during the Falklands. Not going to 82.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You know, which was like, obviously, you know, that's probably. That was a. That was a big deal also. I mean, that's just for the. For these Argentines to. To think that they could invade our. Our beautiful rock.

[Chris Riding]

I love how you're doing this.

[Adam Friedland]

We're doing it for out. For king and country, Queen and country. But guess what? I literally found myself watching the most dog shit match of all time. Because they met. It had. It had, like, implications. I switched to Messi when they subbed him on.

[Chris Riding]

It just got so weird there at the end for Algeria.

[Adam Friedland]

I was refreshing fat mob to see when Messi came on and then he gave us a goal. And now that's the only thing that's making me feel. Love is messy, peace is messy. And it's just like, I want to see every single.

[Chris Riding]

Give me, give me the five reasons you're still. You're still hype. Give me, give me. Because you got Messi.

[Adam Friedland]

Messy, messy, messy, messy, messy.

[Chris Riding]

You got Don Carlo.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Carlo. Yeah. I want to see Carlo win football. I want to see Messi. I just want to see. I want to see this continue. I don't want to lose it, Honestly, Ronaldo, I want them to win, and I want to continue to see him human. I got some great Ronaldo stats if

[Mimir Christiansen]

you want to read them.

[Adam Friedland]

If I can read them to you right now, I know we're doing, like, okay. He's the first footballer in World cup history to go seven matches without a successful dribble. Not a successful dribble. He is. He's played the most minutes for any outfield player. He has less touches than the opposition goalkeeper through 10 straight matches, he's never scored in the World cup knockouts. You know, I don't know. Listen, I don't. I don't even mean to feel that way. I kind of want him out because he ruined having a messy Ronaldo quarterfinal because they finished second. I think what I really want to see is, like, I really want to see. Yesterday just was insane, right? Like, the World cup can be really. You could have huge expectations, and it could be a real letdown. Like, last final was the best final ever because it was the only one where it was like a bunch of goals, right? Usually it's Mario Goats in extra time. Usually it's like watching paint dry. And, like, I want to. Like, it was wild. Like, can you think of. Speaking of tournament football, can you think of the last good Champions League final? Like, I can't.

[Chris Riding]

I mean, we were talking about this the other day. Barcelona and Manchester United.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, well, that was just because I'm missing. Yeah. I mean, like, genuinely, like, this is not expected. Like, seeing an insane Paraguay, like a penalty shootout where everyone was missing, where they, like, it was like a match point at, like, basically, it was like tennis. They had two match points in a row. They fucked it. And then somehow they still. They still won. And then seeing Nagelsman, like, go home sad. And seeing Freddie sent to CIA black site in.

[Erlen Borch]

In.

[Adam Friedland]

In Syria, you know, that that's. I mean, it's just. It's been a lot of fun.

[Chris Riding]

Let me ask you, though.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Chris Riding]

So you're just talking about how we don't get Ronaldo. Messi in the what, quarters? If.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah.

[Chris Riding]

And Netherlands out. Germany out. We get robbed of Germany, France. So this is getting a little like, of one of those tournament NCAA tournaments where, like, George Mason's in the Final

[Adam Friedland]

Four, and there's a potential that right now we're really excited about, like, things being fucked with. And then France just walks it.

[Chris Riding]

Yes, that's either France walks it, or we have just like a goofballs, like, Final Eight or Final Four. And I'm. I'm here for it. I want to see the chaos. But sometimes you do just want to see Germany play France or you do just want to see Messi Ronaldo one more time.

[Adam Friedland]

I am still in, first of all, like, I'm not. I'll say it. People really are with the World cup right now in America. And it's not the U.S. national team. I mean, I am seeing enthusiasm for ball. Maybe I live in Brooklyn. I don't know.

[Chris Riding]

I think it's around. It's all over.

[Adam Friedland]

I live in a liberal bubble. Okay, Maybe I'm at the Park Slope co Op, Food co op, and everyone is talking about the Congo statue guy being deported by. No, but seriously, like, it. There's still a lot there there. I. We're going to probably get Mexico, England at the Azteca, the ghosts of the hand of God.

[Chris Riding]

And we could still get Brazil, Argentina.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, there's so much ahead. And then we are also seeing the greatest player of all time, like, at 39 years old, boss.

[Chris Riding]

He's just bossing.

[Adam Friedland]

And it's so beautiful to see because we didn't expect it. It was like. It was like, hello, old friend. I thought you played the mls. How are you this. How are you doing this?

[Erlen Borch]

Right?

[Adam Friedland]

It's. I mean, it's. It is a. It's special. And like, beyond that, it's the. It is like tournament football is about moments and players and stars. It's not about tactics.

[Mimir Christiansen]

It's.

[Adam Friedland]

It's about someone just busting out of like, a fucking dog fight or like a. Just a slug fest, which is like two. Two teams are like, punching each other in the face. And then like one player just has a dazzling moment. And.

[Chris Riding]

And that doesn't even have to be that dazzling. It could be like what Holland did, where he basically, like, shanks it into the back of the net and it doesn't even believe that it's there. But that's. He was just like the man in the right place at the right time,

[Adam Friedland]

but also on Neanderthal watch. I wanted them to be rewarded for starting sore loth right wing. I wanted just how more it is, just how the hell who came up. They literally have Oscar Bob and they literally scored. I mean, they. They look so much better after. I do sometimes want to just see dumb things being rewarded. The chaos of it, how unfair it is sometimes. Like, that is like, what's special about the World Cup. And guess what? America is. Is. It's the best one. We're the best country. We did the best World Cup. We have the best.

[Chris Riding]

We have the best sandwiches.

[Adam Friedland]

Best team. Best. Best sandwiches by far.

[Chris Riding]

Do you want to do Happy Trails or you want to wrap it up there?

[Adam Friedland]

Let's do Happy Trails.

[Chris Riding]

All right, I'm gonna give. I'm gonna throw the teams that we have just waved goodbye to as we exit the groups and into the knockouts. And you just tell me how you're feeling. Happy Trail, South Africa.

[Adam Friedland]

Listen, we're so proud of you guys like that. You guys are it Was such a young team.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

They.

[Adam Friedland]

I honestly like for your biography, man.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Come on.

[Adam Friedland]

Shut. What do you mean my biography? It's not Arsenal. That Japan guy, the Coena, that guy over. What's his name? If I mispronounce, I cut it. Please, please, please, please, please, please. If I nailed it, Chris.

[Mimir Christiansen]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

Mobokaze. Mobokazi. Fuck Mobokazi. The Chicago Fire guy. He's gonna get a fucking move. He's a brick shithouse. He kicked the ball so hard against Czechia. And I'm gonna give you one word answers to the rest of the teams. But he's my heart.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

He kicked the ball so hard that he busted the ball open against Czechia. That's Randy Johnson. Okay, continue. Japan, you got Carlo off Qatar. Greedy. Shouldn't have. And Japan also. We haven't forgotten who. Whose side you were.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

Qatar. You. They shouldn't have two teams. It's okay. What? They have PSG and then they have some bad team, like it's what. But you don't get two.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Enjoy.

[Adam Friedland]

Psg.

[Chris Riding]

Haiti.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Haiti.

[Adam Friedland]

Thank God they're going back to France. I mean. Oh, geez.

[Chris Riding]

Turkey. Turkey.

[Adam Friedland]

You want to say anything about Turkey? Yeah, I think you should. They got Matt.

[Chris Riding]

Because of my boys.

[Adam Friedland]

They got three on Matt Turner.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Let's. Let's watch,

[Adam Friedland]

you know, three on American legendary goalkeeper Matt Turner. Unreal.

[Chris Riding]

Thanks for coming.

[Adam Friedland]

Turkey of the Great Wall of Denver. What? It was the. The. The. New Jersey. New Jersey.

[Chris Riding]

Saudi Chechiya. Panama, New Zealand and Jordan do them

[Adam Friedland]

one at a time.

[Chris Riding]

Saudi don't care. Czechia don't care.

[Adam Friedland]

Panama could not care less. New Zealand don't care. Absolutely don't care.

[Chris Riding]

Jordan.

[Adam Friedland]

Were they nice? They have a gd. Nice index. Gross. Gross domestic niceness. Grow up. And Jordan's last 23 don't care.

[Chris Riding]

Okay. Uzbekistan, Borat.

[Adam Friedland]

Who else?

[Chris Riding]

We got Iraq.

[Adam Friedland]

So funny. I keep saying. Just to say Borat, it's not the right.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yo.

[Adam Friedland]

By the way, one of the guys that speak of the. I. I don't. Don't want to do Ronaldo propaganda. Literally one of the guys was a plumber that he scored those two goals. It's true. Literally a plumber. Okay. Iraq.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Chris Riding]

Iraq.

[Adam Friedland]

Sorry. Sorry about all that. But off. I mean, that was. That was. We up that one. Curacao. What the. I don't even know what the fuck Kurosaw is.

[Chris Riding]

Scotland.

[Adam Friedland]

We will be seeing you for three more games at World Cup 2066. Israel. I can't wait to see you again.

[Chris Riding]

You think that's how long it's gonna

[Adam Friedland]

take to be another 40 years. 40 years. And we'll get them for another three games. Steve Clark. I'm sorry. I'm gonna miss you. And then finally, one last team. Chris.

[Chris Riding]

Tunisia.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, big news. We've been following the Herb Renard story since his inception. Is the hottest story in the World Cup.

[Chris Riding]

We've been chronicling this.

[Adam Friedland]

There is a potential that he will stay, but he has a list of demands. Okay. They are a higher salary for him and his coaching staff. Reasonable full control over the national team for six months. Yeah. Six months of stability without pressure or criticism to implement his project. Basically, he's.

[Chris Riding]

We actually inserted this last one into your Spotify contract where we give you no pressure, no criticism. It's time to implement your program.

[Adam Friedland]

I am fucking schmitzing right now in this room, okay? Herb Renard has said since Tunisia, I will stay. I will stay. But you have to, for six months, let me do whatever I want to this team.

[Chris Riding]

Last team Uruguay.

[Adam Friedland]

I'll let you take this away be

[Chris Riding]

because you're sweating too much. Bielsa just lost his mind. And this was. Yes, basically, in 2024. Suarez. Luis Suarez said, this is going to happen. He was like, marcelo Beelzonezis never says good morning to anyone. And they should have taken that as a sign. He was like the best paid coach in the region. He comes in, he basically tells all the guys their shit, that they abandoned him, that they're cowards and they play.

[Adam Friedland]

He told Valverde he's a coward?

[Chris Riding]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Who the hell. He's like a old man that sits on a Yeti cooler.

[Chris Riding]

His keeper asked to come out of a World cup match at halftime. That's how much they hate him.

[Adam Friedland]

They're like. Literally, like, they. They need to. They need to. Like, they can't. They can't just keep bringing this guy back to be. To be mean to people at different teams. Like, just. It would be funny if he pulled the.

[Mimir Christiansen]

The.

[Adam Friedland]

What do you call it?

[Mimir Christiansen]

Move.

[Adam Friedland]

What's a guy? Damn. United. It would be funny if he pulled the cloth move where he was out of subs and then he subs a guy. I'd rather have no one replace you guys. They haven't won a World cup game without Luis Suarez since the year 1990, which is a meaningless. Meaningless stat that you put on here.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Chris Riding]

It's good, though. I like it.

[Adam Friedland]

Turning me. You want to see how wet I am?

[Chris Riding]

We gotta get you out of here. We gotta dry you out.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, my God. Look at Fourlon. All right, that's the episode. Guys, I hope you enjoyed it. The World Cup's fucking great. Chris. I'll see you next Tuesday. We will be back on Thursday or Friday. Have a great Fourth of July. America is going to win the World cup, guys. This is what an honor and a privilege. Soccer has landed in the United States and we will be. I think we might win like three or four of these in a row. Guys. Enjoy your time.

[Chris Riding]

Bye, Freddy.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

America.

[Adam Friedland]

250 years of just great, great stuff, great decisions. You have anything to say about the birth of America? These things keep falling out of my guys. I'm all out of sorts.

[Chris Riding]

We're good.

[Adam Friedland]

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[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Welcome.

[Adam Friedland]

We have two guests on the show. Two Vikings that I went to the Senegal Norway match. Two good pals. You guys want to introduce yourselves?

[Erlen Borch]

Yes, we are. I work in the Norwegian BBC. I would say nrk. I do podcasts. And I am, as you said, I am a Viking. And I have never felt like a Viking before. And it's a good. I'm starting to like it.

[Adam Friedland]

And your name? And your name is?

[Erlen Borch]

My name is. I forgot that part.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Erlen Borch]

My name is Erland Morge. It doesn't make sense in English, so I might as well not.

[Adam Friedland]

Erlen's kind of the Nathan Fielder of Norway.

[Erlen Borch]

Would that be fair to say that's 100% accurate?

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yes.

[Adam Friedland]

So you torture Armenians in Norway? That's.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah. Well. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Okay. And Councillor, sir. Your honor. Would you like to introduce yourself?

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah. My name is Mimir Christensen. I make a World cup podcast with Erlen, but usually I'm a member of parliament in Norway for the left wing party.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah. My name, by the way, my name means foreigner. So you.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, okay.

[Erlen Borch]

Dark foreigner. Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

I see you're enjoying a diet Dr. Pepper as well. Do you want to give us a review of one of. One of the finest drinks here in America?

[Erlen Borch]

I was pleasantly surprised. I expected it to be a bad experience, but I'm okay with it.

[Mimir Christiansen]

My opinion on Dr. Pepper is that when I'm hungover, I always have this extreme need to drink Dr. Pepper.

[Erlen Borch]

Okay.

[Mimir Christiansen]

But after the first sip, I understand why I don't enjoy it when I'm not hungover.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Okay.

[Erlen Borch]

Also, we've been following this podcast for the World Cup. I was very happy to see that you also make a World cup podcast. So we are also kind of colleagues, Adam.

[Adam Friedland]

I guess this is as good a time as ever to announce that I'm filling in in a diplomatic capacity for the Trump administration. So we are. We're. I will be. Okay, cut all that. That wasn't funny, guys. Yesterday we went to New York New Jersey Stadium, which, I regret to inform you, has a corporate sponsor that Gianni Infantino, which, I don't know if you guys know this is. The English translation, is Johnny baby. Did you know that? Yeah. He's removed all the corporate sponsorships because he is, of course, also member of the Norwegian Socialist Party. I had the entire experience. I wore your kit that you're wearing right now, which is a 2 XL.

[Mimir Christiansen]

I don't know why. I think it's like a dig at me if the Norwegian state podcaster gave me a 2XL.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's honestly because everyone thinks that politicians are fat. I don't know why I said that. Okay, continue. Yeah, guys, let's just go do a scene report. Let's do a report. We started off, we drove into Giants Stadium, as it used to be called, immediately. You guys. I tried to make you break the rules and cut the line, if you recall.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah. And I was. Especially me. But also Anna was very concerned about you breaking the rules, because in Norway, these are the type of things people can remember for years.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah.

[Mimir Christiansen]

I saw this one politician at a game once, 15 years ago, and he broke the rules.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah. It's the kind of thing people will say behind your back that they saw this guy, he actually. He's a guy that cuts in line.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, there were a lot of words you guys were saying during the match, which I didn't think were. I wouldn't even repeat them, but they were quite rude. Anyway. Yeah. I did take a picture of you, and I have it as compromise in the event of. You ever try to destroy me. No. You guys both had press passes, and there Was a huge queue before the Norwegian fan fest. And I was like, guys, like, you can cut the line. And you were like, oh, no, this is not a social welfare of us. Let's get into the match. I was in the fan section first.

[Erlen Borch]

Adam, how did you fight? Because you were with us in the Norwegian pre party with all the fans, and you did at times look kind of fish out of water or how did you experience it?

[Adam Friedland]

Did you like, was very blonde? Yeah. Yeah. You boys are big. You got some big boys over there.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah, I think it's the tallest population next to the Netherlands. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, okay. Congratulations.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Difficult question for Norwegian journalists ask to foreign people. What do you think about Norwegian girls?

[Adam Friedland]

I. I thought. I thought I was. I was focused on. On the. The guys pretty much. I don't know. What was the. What's the song? The goal song that you guys were playing? I. I fucking loved it.

[Erlen Borch]

Via Bernay Franur.

[Adam Friedland]

It's like punk. Yeah.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Mimir Christiansen]

It means where the farmers from the north. But it's more like a hillbilly. It means hillbilly. Where the hillbillies from?

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Who.

[Adam Friedland]

Who does that song? That's like your.

[Erlen Borch]

So there's a Norwegian band called Dum Dum Boys, but they have made. They call themselves Racer for the World cup songs.

[Adam Friedland]

The Dumb Dumb Boys.

[Erlen Borch]

The dumb Dumb Boys. So this is proud Norwegian music heritage. And that exact song is.

[Mimir Christiansen]

I think it's also connected to the Danish people calling the Norwegian national team Mount Monkeys, which is a derogative term, obviously. And then you have this response where the farmers of the north.

[Erlen Borch]

It's a good song.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, you got it. So it's like a diss track. They insulted you and you're like, yes, that's right. We are disgusting. Yeah, yeah. Okay, cool. Wait, so let's get to the match. It was three, two. I admittedly left. I had to catch a train back to New York City right before the second Senegal goal. Like, for me personally, I'm bringing in a little bit of club bias here. Haaland is objectively. He's the best box presence like striker I've ever seen. He's comprehensive. But to me it's annoying that we have to play. I'm an Arsenal supporter playing the same league as him. But the volley, the second goal. I remember just. It was so good. Was the volley the first goal or the second goal? Sam, Second goal. Let's run again. The second goal. The feed from Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal. Like, how many people are there in Norway? There's like 45 people like you. The president gave you these tickets. Is that how we got in?

[Erlen Borch]

No. Where.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Both members of the royal family.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, you are. Well, there's. There was a scandal.

[Mimir Christiansen]

The only family.

[Adam Friedland]

Actually, there was a. Recently a scandal, from what I understand, with the.

[Erlen Borch]

In the Royal family. Yeah. There have been several scandals, but Norway, number one country in the Epstein files. Okay. So we are. We are extremely present in the Epstein files, which is our. Our claim to fame. So it's. It's kind of nice for us to. To tell the world a different story instead of only being the Epstein files. We are also Vikings who.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

We're also rapists.

[Erlen Borch]

Okay.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you think what your friend said to me, do you think the whole Viking aesthetic is corny or do you think it's like a cool.

[Erlen Borch]

We have decided to lean into it.

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

We.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah, we love it.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Erlen Borch]

But there, There has been a debate in Norway, but I've been a big

[Mimir Christiansen]

part of the debate. I would say. Yeah. Because some left wing academics in Norway would think that it's a right wing kind of thing to love Viking aesthetics. Rooms, all that stuff.

[Adam Friedland]

What's your take?

[Mimir Christiansen]

My take is that you can't leave the Vikings to the Nazis. You have to reclaim the Viking heritage.

[Adam Friedland]

We have to reclaim it. Yeah.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah. And.

[Mimir Christiansen]

And the Viking heritage is our real history. It's not something we construct. It is a part of real Norwegian history. So we have to. Yeah. Take it.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Mimir Christiansen]

And also I'm named after a Norse

[Adam Friedland]

God, so I have to have that opinion. Yeah, I guess. Like, what did you make of the match? What's it like? It's been. How many years? 24 years since you guys were in the world? 28 years.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, is it scenes like, do, do you guys. Like, when the, when, when the anthem played, did you guys feel an emotion there? Like.

[Erlen Borch]

Yes, definitely. And definitely before the Iraq game, which. So that was the first game in 28 years. I have never seen Norway in any tournament at all. Not the Euros and not the World Cup. You haven't been to the Euros either in. Since 2000. So the world cup for me has always been something where I have to pick another nation to root for. So it's been Spain or England or whatever. So it's kind of strange to have my own country presence. But it feels right when the team is this good.

[Mimir Christiansen]

And Norwegian people have a different sort of emotional spectrum than Senegalese people. So when we're very moved, we stand completely still and say nothing to each other. That's very moving for us.

[Erlen Borch]

That's our drum.

[Adam Friedland]

That's our drum.

[Erlen Borch]

It's just staring into the distance.

[Adam Friedland]

It's a country of 8 million people, is that correct?

[Mimir Christiansen]

5.

[Adam Friedland]

5 million. And so what percentage do you think of the entire nation is in the States right now?

[Erlen Borch]

I think we tried to crunch the numbers and we ended up at about 1%. But Mimir, he's actually a dual citizen, so he's also Icelandic. So I think in Iceland had 10% of their population present in the 2016 Euros or.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

That's right.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah.

[Mimir Christiansen]

30,000 people.

[Erlen Borch]

And that's. 30,000 people is 10% of the. There's 300,000 people there. So we don't. That's not like. That's not a fact we brag about because we don't want the Icelandic people to start bragging. To start bragging.

[Adam Friedland]

What do you guys. What's it like having the best struggle striker in the world who of course is a. Was born in England and you guys settler colonialed him into Norway. Right? What's it. Yeah, I mean what I feel like in a country so small like you, you have a cousin that's friends with Holland or something like.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah, it's of course statistically incredible, but to me it's kind of two sided because on the one, I guess it's amazing to have the best striker in the world. But I'm just. Personally I'm wired in the way that I just keep thinking about the fact that this will never happen again. So it's. I also, I'm sad and emotionally. Yeah. I'm also disappointed by the fact that this will not last forever.

[Adam Friedland]

It's very Zen. Yeah, that's very.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

The Zen of Norwegian soccer support. Why do I talk? Can you cut me saying that, please? Jesus Christ. The Xen. I don't even know what Zen is. Erland, you made a series about Holland, an animated series.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah, we made an animated series which I guess could be resemble south park or something. And Holland plays this, you know the giant from Game of Thrones.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah.

[Erlen Borch]

He's a huge bodyguard, but he doesn't talk. He only makes noises like an animal.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Erlen Borch]

Holder. Yeah. Like Hodor. So I want to find out during this World cup if he has seen the show.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Do you think he would take issue with your portrayal of him?

[Erlen Borch]

No, I think he liked Bring Fool. No, when we made it I was kind of like, okay, maybe he will be offended if he sees it. But later I've seen his videos in Manchester City and in interviews he seems like just a really likable and fun guy, I think he would actually find it to be pretty funny.

[Mimir Christiansen]

And we were both yesterday very noticed that Holland was smiling during the national anthem before the kickoff. He was already happy before playing the game.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Mimir Christiansen]

And there was also a press interview after the game where he was asked, what do you think about meeting France? And he said, I don't know. They're probably gonna win and then they're gonna win the World Cup.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah, I was about to bring that up.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

It's awesome to hear a guy like a. Like a. The best striker in the world not be like, it's going to be a tough fixture, just do some media train answer. He's like, fuck, we have to play France.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah. So he's. Now he's authentic and real and fun in interviews. And so we have the best striker in the world, but he also turns out to be kind of a figure you want to watch videos of. Also off the pitch, which is great.

[Adam Friedland]

Boys, I genuinely so appreciated the invitation yesterday. Going to the World cup match. It was phenomenal. I mean, yeah, the flags like the anthems. I don't know why, but they do touch me. And when you see a guy cry Dick Avocat, you know, the coach of Curacao, who's from Holland, he cries every single match, like at the anthem too. And it's just like seeing how much it means to people. I really relate to you having something nice and then expecting it to go away. I think it means you're good people, folks.

[Erlen Borch]

Okay, that's.

[Adam Friedland]

That's good to know. How drunk did you get after the match?

[Erlen Borch]

I would say somewhat. It wasn't that bad.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Erlen Borch]

Different levels of drunk after the game.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah, but you.

[Erlen Borch]

Because he had your backpack.

[Mimir Christiansen]

So you were concerned before the game for rooting for the Vikings against a black nation from Africa.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Feeling that was.

[Adam Friedland]

I would say Africa. Yeah. I would. Being in a place with all blonde people rooting, you know, with a cross on the crest.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah. But did you like it? Did you like.

[Unidentified Speaker 1]

Was.

[Adam Friedland]

You know, and then Holland is the guy that scores.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You know, you guys were good. You guys the king. You guys said f you to old. Okay. We don't have to bring up the Holocaust. But you guys are. I'm good. I'm cool with you guys. But we'll say that you guys are good people. Yeah. Can you cut the Holocaust stuff, please? No, no, it was cost. The Holland cost. Keep it then. That. I mean, you're in the government, only

[Mimir Christiansen]

in the parliament, so I'm.

[Adam Friedland]

It's different Only the Parliament. It's awesome. You said the Holland cost.

[Erlen Borch]

Wow.

[Adam Friedland]

Can I vote for you?

[Unidentified Speaker 2]

Yeah.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Yeah, please.

[Adam Friedland]

You're awesome. Boys, Boys. It was so fun. We're gonna do your podcast after. After this one. I really appreciate it.

[Erlen Borch]

And then we will talk about who is. Who is right coded and who is more left coded of Holland and Mbappe. That's the subject of our podcast.

[Adam Friedland]

Mbappe is fascistic, I think.

[Erlen Borch]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And I think that Holland is. I think him saying, well, fuck it, we're going to lose to France is probably like, you know, he's.

[Erlen Borch]

He's tall and blonde, but he's also. Yeah, he's chill.

[Adam Friedland]

So I don't think he knows who the President is, probably. I don't think he does. All right, thanks, boys.

[Erlen Borch]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

You guys are the best. Skull.

[Mimir Christiansen]

Thank you.

[Adam Friedland]

Skull 21+ and President. In select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and present in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY RESET. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or. Or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 1-800-327-5050. For 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE New York or text Hopeny in New York. For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867.