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The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Colin Cowherd Podcast - Colin Cowherd & Landon Donovan react to World Cup Draw: USA Is Group D favorite
00:16:01
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- [00:02]
A
The volume today's World cup draw reaction is presented by Halion, the maker of Advil, Centrum, Tums, Sensodyne and Voltaren. They've teamed up with U.S. soccer for for the Assist, a campaign celebrating all the moments of support that make the big goals possible. Because every goal starts with an assist.
- [00:24]
In the history of the United States men's national team, the man you're looking at has the most goals and most assists in the history of our country. And we have ourselves a World cup on American, Canadian and Mexico's soil. It will shatter every record from television revenue to television ratings ever.
- [00:50]
Landon, you and I have talked multiple times before, but I think the thing that's exciting to me is you were one of the rare Americans that could go overseas and be prominent and dominant in the States. This group of players and they've grown up in a different reality. Right.
- [01:11]
We've got multiple players playing overseas. It's the most intense soccer. Most of the best basketball is in the States. Most of the great soccer is in, let's say Europe.
- [01:23]
Does the, I, I believe you're just more battle tested. I, I, I feel like this group of players has faced greater competition. It's almost like they're more mature kids than you had the opportunity. Clint Dempsey or Alexi. Our, our soccer has grown. It does feel like a little bit more European. Take me to your history. That how you changed as a player. The more you faced international players, how the comp because group, they, they have an advantage over your era is that they've been more international consistently. And I think that helps us in bigger stages in bigger tournaments like the World Cup.
- [02:07]
B
So theoretically for sure. And they've, they've played, they've played at a higher level more often than we ever played. The challenges con and you know this generationally that when you grow up with million dollar contracts when you're 18.
- [02:28]
A
Yeah.
- [02:29]
B
Soccer on TV, everybody knows your name, you're famous, you're popular, whatever. You lose a little bit of the grit that the previous generations had. And I'm sure this happened in all sports over time. The NFL in the 70s and 80s, it was just hard and rugged. Now you get guys coming out of college actually in college already making gazillions of dollars. So theoretically, yes. What we've seen, the evolution of this group of players is a bunch of them were 21, 22, 23 in Qatar in 2022 and over the past six months or so you saw a bunch of them. I don't know if entitled is the right Word, but expectant that they were going to be part of this national team and that things were just going to sort of fall into place. And then they went through like a six or seven game losing streak with the national team. And it's over the last few weeks, few months, it's changed back to where guys realize that it's time to get your stuff together. You don't want to get embarrassed during a World cup on home soil. But if all of it comes together, yes. What you've said is absolutely right. They are more battle tested in all the ways.
- [03:35]
A
Well, Mauricio Pochettino is demanding and so he walks into this group of players and he wants to establish a culture and part of the culture is I want to see you play. I really don't care what you did with Greg Burhalter.
- [03:53]
B
That's right.
- [03:54]
A
I totally respect that. And I'm a Pulisic devoted fan. I think he's about as good skill wise as we've had. He's a really clever player.
- [04:07]
He feels global in any league against any competition.
- [04:13]
But I don't like the word entitled but I do feel like I almost want to defend him and go, well, LeBron's a bad comp, but he is our global star. Should he have not expected sort of a dude? We understand you got stuff overseas or do you think Mauricio had a right to say, hey, I'm establishing a culture? Everybody's even. I mean if you took over the Lions job, you'd be like, okay, Amaron St. Brown is our number one receiver. It's sort of understood in the room. Right? Like so I think it's a very. I think it's a tough call. Landon, I think, I think the United States man national team job is a hard job.
- [04:56]
Brazil has higher expectations, but you're not. They're at a different time and place. What do you make of Mauricio's relationship? Handling of Pulisic in the early stages?
- [05:11]
B
So I think both can be right. So from Christian's standpoint, he has done a ton already at 27 years old. And by the way, I think he just scored two more goals today in Italy. So just he just keep racking them up. But there is a level and this is challenging for players in all sports where you feel like, I've done the work, I've proven myself, I should be on the team, I should be a starter, this should be the way it is. And unfortunately not so much with Christian, but a lot of his colleagues with the national team sort of Took that same attitude and mentality, and then they got their butt kicked a while during the beginning part of this year in the summer. And so Pochettino, by the way, Pochettino has coached Mbappe, Harry, Kane, Neymar, Messi. Some, like, random American player isn't going to fluster him, right? So what he's had to do is say, listen, guys, where he comes from in Argentina, if you declined an invite to the national team, it's like, sacrilegious. Like, you might as well never show up in Argentina again because the people there would cut off fingers to play for their national team, right? And so when a few players, at different times, and I'm excluding Christian from this argument because he's a different case, but when a few players have said, well, I'm a little tired, I don't want to go into the national team, his mind is just like, what are you talking about? You don't want to play for your country? And so what he's done over time very successfully is brought real pride back. And it's crazy that I'm even saying this to you, Colin, real pride back in playing for your country and for your national team. And I think he's done a fantastic job of it. And now every time someone comes into camp, they have to fight and earn and scrap for every minute. And I think it's good.
- [06:59]
A
Yeah, Landon, I think big picture, it is good, but I think it's more difficult than maybe soccer writers and fans understand, is that there's a fine line in dealing with global stars. Music, entertainment, it could be singing, it can be soccer, it can be basketball. The world's changed. The money. I mean, like you said, College quarterbacks make 5 million. We have separated from Europe financially over the last two decades. America has like, this is where capitalists come. So I do think our athletes, it's. I mean, you know, again, I'll go to London and I'll be in a restaurant and I'm like, you don't have air conditioning. This is London, the financial center of Europe. Sometimes, and I hate to use spoiled or entitled, it's the reality of the life here. And if you're a premier athlete in any sport, it is different. Group D is interesting. The sense is it's a great draw. Australia, always a little underrated. Paraguay, and then potentially, I guess Turkey is what many believe could be a favorite coming out.
- [08:01]
You say to yourself, well, it's a favorable draw. But let me ask you about playing in the States. You see this in other sports, sometimes playing at Home brings enormous pressure. Do you think? All right, now you're a favorite. Australia, you're the favorite. Well, Australia knows that they would love to ruin your World Cup.
- [08:26]
There's a duality in that. I'd love to play at home, but shit, I've got to win. Your takeaway on playing at home? Favored probably in a group that's new. That's foreign territory for the United States national team.
- [08:39]
B
Very foreign, yeah. So the interesting thing is there are three countries who are hosting in this World cup, right? The Canadians at home will be rabid, intense, amazing support no matter what happens. And it's based on expectations, right? Sports are all about expectations. Mexico, on the other end of the spectrum. If they go 10 minutes in their first match without scoring, there'll be some, like, some.
- [09:07]
Thoughts of maybe booing, some hesitation about cheering, whatever. They go 45 minutes without scoring against South Africa and their opener, you're going to hear a lot of boos, right? And that's where it turns from like support to pressure of you better perform or else. Soccer in America is somewhere in between. It's mostly supported, will be mostly support. But if for some reason lose the opening game to Paraguay, now there's rampant pressure that turns up, and that's a whole different element. So it's an interesting dynamic and one that, to your point, it's a great point we have not dealt with before. We have never gone. I was talking to Tim Howard this morning. We've never gone into a World cup expected to win our group and not even close. I mean, it's.
- [09:47]
A
That's right. Rather easily.
- [09:49]
B
And it's a very different dynamic because we were one of the seeded teams this time. The other three teams in our group are significantly, quote, unquote, worse than we are. And so it's going to be a really interesting thing to follow during the World Cup.
- [10:02]
A
What's reasonably appropriate success.
- [10:08]
To you? What does it look like?
- [10:10]
B
Okay, so the analogy I was thinking about, Colin, is in college basketball, if next year the NCAA went from 64 teams to 128 teams, your expectations of what success is would change. If you are a mid major or if you're Duke or Duke or Kentucky, North Carolina, like they want to win, but if you're a mid major or you're a Seton hall or in the past maybe, and I'm just making this up, you know better than I do, making an elite eight is wildly successful, wildly successful. But now you have 128 teams in the NCAA now getting to of 16 is the comp. That's the actual comp. But in your mind you're saying, oh, it's only around a 16, we should have got to an elite 8. So my point in all that is in the past there were 32 teams in the World Cup. Now there are going to be 48 teams. So if you get out of your group now you're in a round of 32. Last time in Qatar, if you got out of your group, you were in a round of 16. So I don't exactly know. And it's going to be interesting how teams deem success. And this is where all the spin doctors will get. And I'm sure if U.S. soccer, if we make it out of the group and win the round of 32 game, they're going to say, well, this is maybe the most successful ever, even though Our team in 2002 got to a quarterfinal. So I don't know exactly how that's going to play out, but my opinion is winning the group is a success. Winning a first knockout stage, because if you win the group, we would play a third place team from another group. Winning that game I think should be an expectation. And then from there a lot of it's based on who you play and that the way it's set up now is likely that team would be Belgium and that's a team that on paper is probably a little better, but absolutely a game we could win.
- [11:52]
A
Yeah. You know, I kind of feel like I've said this. In professional American football, most super bowl champs have seven elite players in their prime going into it or still clinging to it. You can't. Kansas City now. Chiefs too old argue. Seattle little too young. So we have an interesting. I would say currently, if I. And for the first time I can ever remember, I'm not sure.
- [12:21]
Our goalkeeping is in our top seven players. Like for the first time in my.
- [12:25]
B
Life, I don't think so. Right.
- [12:27]
A
Okay, let's take the best seven players. I would say.
- [12:34]
All seven are either going into their prime or just entered it. Now. We're still on the young side. We were the second youngest team in last World Cup. When we faced Netherlands, it felt a little bit like the dads and the oldest son. You could. The physicality, you know, it just. They were a bit bigger, a bit stronger, more experienced.
- [12:54]
I don't expect us to go toe to toe with Argentina, but I usually feel there's 10 to 12 teams going into a World cup that will play a more defensive style. Less attacking, more defensive. I don't see it this way, I think there's maybe.
- [13:13]
Three to four teams that we would be underdogs, but I do feel we can be aggressive. I mean, you know this. There were times you play Brazil, you don't go in attacking. What you're looking for is a late goal to win it, tie it. That's how we played forever. I don't feel that way with this team. I think our team speed, I think we can be a more attacking style. Or is that a very myopic American view?
- [13:42]
B
Well, it is a myopic American view. That's what we love about America.
- [13:45]
A
Right.
- [13:46]
B
We believe we can. And. But what, more importantly is this team is set up to attack. And I don't mean attack with the ball. I mean to go and go after it. And that is they are young, athletic.
- [13:59]
A
Yes.
- [14:00]
B
Physically durable, and in. In the previous regime under Burhalter, at times it was a little too tactical. And let's be cagey. And what. These guys, they're like. They're like lions ready to get out of the cage. You got to let them go. And. And Pochettino likes to play that way.
- [14:18]
A
Yes.
- [14:19]
B
In world soccer now, it's become way, way, way more tactical and cagey and all these things. And so now if you're a team that really goes after teams, you can really surprise teams. And we saw that. We played Uruguay a month ago and beat them 5:1, and that's a very good team. And they were just stunned. I was watching the game, and I couldn't believe how unprepared Uruguay was for a team that just came after them and got in their face. And so if you can play that way, with the momentum, with the crowd, with the energy of tens of millions of Americans, it doesn't really matter how far you go, you are going to inspire and put a product out that people are proud of. And I think that's what fans most want.
- [15:01]
A
Yeah. So when you talk about the way soccer has changed, what you're basically saying is the analytic part. Just like baseball and basketball, you're saying soccer's gotten a little bit more analytical and. Okay, so this is. This is a global reality of all the sports. And I.
- [15:22]
I always say, I like analytics. Analytics plus, let athletes be athletes. Like sometimes. Landon, the clock says eight minutes. Do your thing. Let's get out of the. I think analytics has an absolute role, especially in volume sports and regular seasons. So I imagine you like the Americans to get out of group D. Fair.
- [15:42]
B
Yes. To win Group D. Yeah.
- [15:44]
A
Big thanks to Halion and for the assist, reminding us that no one scores alone. To learn more, visit halyanassist.com and follow at for the Assist Every goal starts with an assist.
- [15:58]
B
The volume.