MLS Mid-Season Review, USMNT Finish Top of Gold Cup Group & Club World Cup Impresses

Summary

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard
Episode: MLS Mid-Season Review, USMNT Finish Top of Gold Cup Group & Club World Cup Impresses
Release Date: June 24, 2025

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1. MLS Mid-Season Review

Standings and Surprises

Landon Donovan and Tim Howard kick off the episode by reviewing the current standings of Major League Soccer at the mid-season mark. Predictions made earlier in the season are scrutinized for accuracy.

• Vancouver’s Performance:
  Timestamp [34:31]:
  Tim Howard: “Brian White's got 10 goals at nearly the halfway point. We didn’t see that coming.”
  Despite initial predictions by Tim that Vancouver would finish at the bottom, they are surprisingly at the top of the standings with 18 games played, securing 8 points and moving ahead of expectations.

• LA Galaxy’s Struggles:
  Timestamp [35:09]:
  Landon Donovan: “The Galaxy or second half.”
  The LA Galaxy have underperformed, trailing significantly with only one win from 18 games, making them an unexpected disappointment in the league.

• Performance of Other Teams:

  • Columbus Crew are fourth in the East, six points behind the leader.
  • Montreal is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference as predicted.
  • Inter Miami has shown surprising competitiveness, currently holding four points with strong potential to advance.

Key Players and MVP Candidates

The hosts discuss standout players who are prime candidates for the MLS MVP award:

• Tyrell Baribo: Leading the league with 13 goals for Union Estudiantes.
• Brian White: Scoring 10 goals for Vancouver, exceeding expectations.
• Andres Dreyer: With nine assists, Dreyer is highlighted for his exceptional playmaking abilities.
• Lionel Messi: Despite limited appearances, Messi has scored 10 goals and provided six assists in 13 games, making a strong case for MVP consideration.

Notable Quotes:

• Tim Howard: “Messi is going to be the MVP. He gets to 20 goals, and then the six assists go up to what, 10? I think he's won it.” [39:48]

2. USMNT Finish Top of Gold Cup Group

Group Stage Performance

The United States Men's National Team (USMNT) has successfully topped their group in the Gold Cup, setting the stage for the knockout rounds.

• Key Matches and Performances:
  The USMNT’s victory over Saudi Arabia (1-0) and their tense match against Haiti demonstrate their maturity and ability to secure crucial points. Malik Tannen emerges as a standout star, contributing significantly to the team's success.

• Goalkeeper Debate: Matt Freeze vs. Matt Turner
  A heated discussion ensues about whether Matt Freeze should continue as the starting goalkeeper or if Matt Turner deserves the spot due to recent mistakes.

  Timestamp [09:07]
  Landon Donovan: “I think Matt Turner should start going forward.”

  Timestamp [14:42]:
  Tim Howard: “Show me another US9 who's dangerous. And by the way, he’s available. He’s not injured.”

  The conversation highlights the need for a reliable goalkeeper as the team progresses, ultimately leaning towards giving Matt Turner more opportunities to prove himself.

Notable Quotes:

• Tim Howard: “If you want to be a naysayer, he’s got five goals in nine games. He missed a bunch of chances.” [07:25]
• Landon Donovan: “In his first nine US Men's national team appearances, he scored five goals.” [06:56]

3. Club World Cup Impresses

Positive Reception and Highlights

Donovan and Howard express their surprise and satisfaction with the performance of teams in the Club World Cup, defying initial skepticism about its appeal.

• Tournament Atmosphere:
  The hosts commend FIFA’s decision to reduce ticket prices, making the Club World Cup more accessible and enjoyable for fans. With electrifying matches and passionate supporters, the tournament has exceeded expectations.

Notable Quotes:

• Landon Donovan: “The tournament’s been fantastic. Every time I’m sitting at Fox every day, prepping. We’re doing the Gold Cup, which has been great, too.” [26:14]
• Tim Howard: “We have the screens there and we’re watching and every. The Rose Bowl, 80,000 people. It’s been amazing.” [26:14]

4. Controversial Moments and Rants

Offside Decision Against Costa Rica

A significant moment of frustration arises from an offside decision that nullified a spectacular goal by Santiago Jimenez during a match against Costa Rica.

Timestamp [20:02]:
Landon Donovan: “I was so mad. I mean, you cannot take… It looked like a goal. It was a goal.”

The hosts delve into the contentious nature of the offside call, questioning the consistency and clarity of refereeing decisions during crucial moments.

Substitute Strategies Critique

Tim Howard vents his irritation over Dortmund’s unconventional substitute strategy during a match in Cincinnati, where players opted to stay in the locker room to avoid the intense heat, sharing his disbelief and frustration.

Notable Quotes:

• Tim Howard: “There’s so many other ways to do that. Like, you can literally... the substitutes go... It was a bit of a piss take.” [32:14]
• Landon Donovan: “I just can’t. It’s crazy, dude. It’s crazy.” [32:35]

5. Listener Questions and Engagement

Audience Interaction

The episode incorporates listener questions, addressing topics ranging from streaming app frustrations to personal experiences with coaching decisions.

• FIFA Club Games Streaming Issues:
  Listeners express concerns over the fragmentation of streaming platforms for club games. Donovan and Howard acknowledge the inconvenience but highlight that the games are available on Dazone for free.

Player Chemistry and Team Dynamics

Donovan shares insights on having the best on-field chemistry with players like Demarcus Beasley and Brian Ching, emphasizing the importance of understanding and timing in successful collaborations.

Follow-Up on 2014 World Cup Relations

A personal question about Landon Donovan's relationship with former coach Jurgen Klinsmann reveals a reconciliatory discussion where both parties acknowledged past tensions but chose to move forward amicably.

Notable Quotes:

• Landon Donovan: “We sat in a bar and we just talked because it was… but we sat in a bar and we just talked.” [51:03]
• Tim Howard: “Sometimes hatchets need to stay where they.” [54:58]

6. Other Sports Events Commentary

NBA Finals Game 7 – Tyrese Halliburton’s Injury

The hosts briefly shift focus to the NBA Finals, discussing Tyrese Halliburton’s unfortunate Achilles injury during Game 7, drawing parallels to their own injury experiences and debating the wisdom of playing through significant injuries for championship aspirations.

Notable Quotes:

• Tim Howard: “Should he have played? My opinion is that they are about an hour, give or take, from immortalizing themselves and championship as champions.” [57:35]
• Landon Donovan: “If you and I were in that position… there’s zero doubt we’re playing that game.” [57:37]

7. Closing Remarks

Final Thoughts and Upcoming Topics

As the episode wraps up, Donovan and Howard express excitement for the upcoming knockout stages of the Club World Cup and Gold Cup, promising more in-depth analysis and discussions in future episodes.

Notable Quotes:

• Landon Donovan: “Appreciate you guys. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, Podcast, Spotify, anywhere you get your pods.” [40:36]
• Tim Howard: “There’s nothing better than feeling like someone has your back and that things are going to get done without you even having to ask.” [41:16]

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Key Takeaways:

• The MLS season has mid-way surprises, notably Vancouver’s strong performance and LA Galaxy’s struggles.
• USMNT tops their Gold Cup group with emerging talents like Malik Tannen, amidst debates on goalkeeper selections.
• The Club World Cup surpasses expectations with positive fan engagement and competitive matches.
• Controversial refereeing decisions and questionable substitute tactics spark heated discussions.
• Engaged listener interaction adds depth to the podcast’s dynamic conversation.

Stay Connected:
Follow Unfiltered Soccer on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms. For bonus content, follow @UnfilteredSoccr on X and @UnfilteredSoccer on all other social media channels.

Transcript

[Landon Donovan]

We are at roughly the midway point of the MLS season.

[Tim Howard]

I was worried you were going to say that.

[Landon Donovan]

And you said, vancouver, we're going to finish at the bottom.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Just let me look. I'm still scrolling up. Oh, there's Vancouver there at the top at the time.

[Tim Howard]

It was a great take. Us is coming, by the way.

[Landon Donovan]

I had the LA Galaxy win. You did, you did.

[Tim Howard]

Which as bad as my takes were. That's amazing. Let's go.

[Landon Donovan]

Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. Volkswagen has long been a supporter of soccer in America and has proudly been a partner of U.S. soccer for over five years.

[Tim Howard]

LD my guy back for another episode of Unfiltered Soccer. I keep laughing at you. You're a very busy, very busy man nowadays, by the way, doing doggies back and forth to the studio in la, covering the Gold cup, doing our pod. How's things, man?

[Landon Donovan]

Good. It is. It's tiring. You know, these. These tournaments are tiring, but it's fun. There's been a lot of. Lot of drama, a lot of talking points, a lot of stuff to talk about. What is that? Is that an Alabama shirt, by the way? I was just looking.

[Tim Howard]

Alabama fc. It's my daughter's E L team.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, that's cool.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

What about you?

[Tim Howard]

You were.

[Landon Donovan]

You weren't you at the Fanatics thing this week?

[Tim Howard]

I was at Fanatics Fest this weekend, which at the Javits center in New York. I was there two days, Friday and Saturday, doing a bit of signing. I did some stuff for the Premier League and NBC, bro. It is. I mean, it's the second year that it was that they did this, and I was blown away. I mean, LeBron James was there. Tom Brady was there.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, I saw the thing about Brady winning something. Didn't he win some. He won some, like, event or something. They did and won a million dollars. I'm like, that dude needs a million dollars.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, please give that away. But it was. It was crazy because there's just mobs of like. So every. Every celebrity or athlete has, like. Basically there's. They just mob of police and security around them, and you kind of move through this crowd and people just are like screaming everywhere like, it's a LeBron. It's. They didn't scream my name, but they scream other people's name. Now they're like, okay, it's Tim. We're looking for Joe Burrow. Where's he at? You know, so it was crazy. I mean, it was crazy for me to see. There was one Point. I was. Was in the green room, and LeBron and Steve Nash were doing their. They were doing, like, a quick pop of their podcast in the corner, and then Logan Paul was getting interviewed in that corner. I'm, like, getting shoved around. I'm like, I'm getting out here. Get a. I got a coffee. I'm like. I'm like, get me.

[Landon Donovan]

They're, like, tapping on you, and you're like, not right now. I'm not going to sign. And they're like, no. Can you just get out of the way, please?

[Tim Howard]

I will say this. This NYPD officer, he. He was like. He's like, yo, my bosses. And look, let me get a selfie on the soccer fan. He's like, Never mind, LeBron. I was like, that's my guy.

[Landon Donovan]

I love when they do that. Like, I know I can't do this, but can you please just take a quick picture?

[Tim Howard]

But it was cool.

[Landon Donovan]

Hey, I just forgot. Hold on. Yeah, Shameless Plug. But I've been talking about the book. Look, I got my cover. We got the COVID It looks great.

[Tim Howard]

You look better on the COVID Congratulations.

[Landon Donovan]

I totally forgot. I wanted to. I wanted to show today. Shameless Plug.

[Tim Howard]

Is that. Is that. Is that my signed copy? That's the one for your.

[Landon Donovan]

No, just keep checking the mail, but. All right, guys. Follow us at Unfiltered Soccer. Subscribe to the show as always. Always. YouTube, Apple Pod, Apple podcast, Spotify. You can email Jordan at Feedback. Unfiltered Soccer. All right, Timmy, right in US. LNT on USMNT. Lots going on. So the US beat Saudi 1 0. So they went to their final game yesterday only needing a point against Haiti, and even. Even a loss, I think, would have been enough in the end. It wasn't, you know, it wasn't like a perfect game. Po made four changes to the lineup. Two of them were because Luna and Berhalter had yellow cards, so he was SM about not starting them. Luna came in, but didn't play much. It was a. You know, it was a tense game because Haiti still had a lot to play for, but the US I thought very maturely, still won the game. And, you know, it'd be easy to just say, ah, whatever, let's save it. And. But they did well. Ajamong scored great goal in the end. Malik Tman was fantastic again. He's been, I think, really the emerging star of this tournament. He and Chris Richards and a very good win. And now they move on to play Costa Rica in Minneapolis next weekend.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I think they played well. I Said, you know, before the tournament and then at some point, maybe after, after the Trinidad and Tobago game, I said, I said to you that, like, I want them to blow the doors off these teams. And that didn't happen. And maybe that was a bit pie in the sky, but it's because, look, when you play three teams that are going to bunker in and give you the ball, it's hard to break them down. It just is. It is. And so, you know, to, to the US's credit, yesterday, they were, they were safe at the back for the most part. Didn't give a ton of chances away, if, you know, if any real chances. And then they had a bunch of, you know, opportunities. There was the balls in the back of the net a couple times. Right. So aside from the two goals, so I, I, I think they played well. I think they played well. I Tillman, you know, this is a per, not he clearly, we knew his name, we knew his caliber and his ability, but this is a perfect example of, like, not really sure how you keep him out of the team now any, on any Gold cup friendly big match, like, if he keeps going and stays fit. Yeah, I mean, I'm saying his name's on a team sheet that's got to be, got to be nailed on. And then Aja Mang, for me, you know, I hear different arguments. He's a, he's a number nine that makes things happen. He does. And you can talk about clinical finishing and so on. He makes things happen. He drags people along. I know there's gonna be some people out there that disagree with me, but show me for the people who doubt Aja Main, I would say show me another US 9 who is dangerous. And dangerous could be categorized a bunch of different ways. Yeah, but show me another one. And he can do things on his own. LD and as a US striker, we've talked about this over and over and over again throughout the years. A US number nine has to be able to do things by themselves on their own because it's not, these games are comfortable, but when stuff really starts flying, you're going to be isolated.

[Landon Donovan]

So, yeah, I like, I mean, interesting stat for, I mean, he gets so much crap, like, from people and, and it, people don't understand the sport and they don't understand that you can be effective without being like this clean clinical. If he was a clean clinical, he'd be playing at Barcelona like, you know what I mean? Like, give the guy some credit. He's 24. He's, he's, he's Making a great career for himself. In his first nine US Men's national team appearances, he scored five goals.

[Tim Howard]

Yep, yep, yep.

[Landon Donovan]

That means. Tim, hold on.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

That means he's tied with a guy who was pretty damn good, Josie Altidor, for the six fewest games needed to score five goals. Like, he doesn't need to be a world beater, but he's been really effective for this group.

[Tim Howard]

Correct. He's been really good. I've been very good. And here's. Here's. Let me jump on your point. Five goals in nine games, right. That people who are. He plays at Charlotte and he's young. How old is he?

[Landon Donovan]

24, I think.

[Tim Howard]

24, okay. Plays at Charlotte. He's 24 years old. If. If we look at the other side of it, right, if you want to be a naysayer, he's got five goals in nine games. He's missed a bunch of chances. Okay?

[Landon Donovan]

Right.

[Tim Howard]

If he scored those chances and had 10 goals in nine games, he wouldn't be at the Gold cup because he'd be on the plane somewhere to Europe because someone would pay $50 million for him. That's how this works. So is he a $50 million striker that's going to play at Barcelona? Not right now. But, like, this is good. This is what I'm saying to me, show me another us9 who's got that goal record.

[Landon Donovan]

Right?

[Tim Howard]

That's it. And you can.

[Landon Donovan]

And by the way. And he's available. He's not injured. You know, other guys are injured all the time.

[Tim Howard]

So, yes, I like. I like him. I like him. I think he's. And by the way, all of this, he's growing.

[Landon Donovan]

Nine games, getting better.

[Tim Howard]

Nine games. Like, by the time the World cup comes around, I hope he has 20 games under his belt and five more and five more goals. That's really good for us.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, that's right.

[Tim Howard]

All right, LD it's time for the unfiltered refresh sponsored by Coors Light. Choose Chill. Get Coors Light delivered. Go to coorslight.com USLNT if we're talking about the Saudi Arabia match, for me, Chris Richard chose Chill. He was. I mean, Chris Richards was absolutely brilliant. There was a block that saved the goal, and then he got the game winner. He's talked about recently he wants to be him, that he's the guy. Give him the pressure and he'll perform. Chris Richards, thank you from all of us for choosing Chill.

[Landon Donovan]

Congrats to you. Chris Richards.

[Tim Howard]

Brilliant.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, let's talk about Matt Freeze. So this you Know, Mo and I on set had a decent disagreement about this. So long.

[Tim Howard]

Ball gets. Tell me before. Yeah, no, I know what happened. But tell me about your Mo's disagreement, because as much as I watch, I didn't see that.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, okay. Let me tell you. So let me just paint the picture. And they will. So ball gets. Plays played over the top. Tim re. Tracks it down for those who didn't see, which, assuming everyone did, he plays a difficult pass back to Matt Freeze. And Tim Ream would. Would tell you that, too. Matt Freeze, I can't tell. You can't tell with intent. It looks like he's trying maybe to, like, pass the ball out with his left foot. And it comes to him fast.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Who's. Who is he passing to?

[Landon Donovan]

I think Tolan, maybe.

[Tim Howard]

I think it was Tolan. Yeah, for sure.

[Landon Donovan]

And it kind of bounces on him, gets caught under his foot, and he rolls it right to the Haitian attacker, Lus, who then takes a touch and smashes it in the far post. It's a big mistake, right? I mean, there's no doubt about that. It's a big mistake. And in retrospect, he would say, just put his laces through and kick it anywhere. I mean, if it goes out for a corner, who cares? Kick it anywhere. My point with. With Mo is now the group stage is over. Right? Po's objective. He has two objectives. He said it. Win the Gold cup and evaluate players. You're in the quarterfinal now. My point is all the evaluation stuff is going to happen, but the goal now is to win the Gold Cup. And Mo, you know, Mo's. He's. He won't be necessarily as candid as I am on camera. And so he's like, look, I'm not willing to throw Matt Freeze under the bus. He's still. And I said, I'm not either. I'm. He's a fine goalkeeper. But now you need to win the Gold Cup. And I know Matt Turner's not been great. He's not been playing a lot, but that's the guy you need to have in the goal. We saw what Kaylor Navas did yesterday against Mexico. You need the guy who can make the play. So that's my opinion. No one cares what I have to say. You're the goalkeeper, so that's. That's kind of the back and forth we had. So I think Matt Turner should start going forward. I just. I want to hear your opinion on all.

[Tim Howard]

Okay, so. So let me give you. Yeah, so to. So my thoughts on the goal and the mistake that Matt Freeze made and, and whether he should be playing or not. So mistakes happen at the highest level. Mistakes happen. Here's the problem. Ball comes back, Tim Ream, who is a footballing center back, like he naturally takes the ball, wants to play his keeper, wants to play between lines, all that's fine. So he plays his goalkeeper, right? Which is still fine. It's tight, but he plays his goalkeeper. Matt Freeze goes to play Tolkien, okay, Bumbles it. It's a, it's a bobbly pass. He then, but he then tries to play a first time pass off of a bobble from Tim Ream to Tolkien into a tight window. Makes a mistake, okay? What happens is that ball, right, as he knows it's coming to him. So he's shaping, he's shaping to receive it one way or the other, right? When he reads that, it's hot and bobbly, you lean back, you open your foot up with a really big surface and you smash it into the stands. Here's the problem. These kids are not taught to think. They're taught to be robotic. So he would have been taught. And this isn't Pochettino's for the goalkeeper. This is football. He'd have been taught to play. To play, right?

[Landon Donovan]

Yep.

[Tim Howard]

So. So you have one option in that moment. The objective is to play, but they don't have enough gumption to say, I'm going to play nine times, eight times out of 10. But when there's an opportunity for me to make a decision, I'm going to make the right decision. So then what happens is go back in hindsight, lean back, smash the ball into the stands. And if you're an older player and you're a senior player, he's not as young kid, right? If you're an older player, you look at your captain and go, don't freaking play me that ball. Me, don't do it. Right. But the option B is he's my captain. Can't speak to him like that. So now you do put the ball in stands, puff your chest out and go, no problem. We got it. Cool. Everything's cool, everything's calm. So one way or another, that ball needs to end up in the stands. He can't ever take that risk. But what I would say is mistakes happen. And there's a learning process, ld and so he'll learn from that. I still think you can play in moments. But that ball has to go and he needs to make a simple decision. The problem is, for all those people at home, football now is taught in A way on the training ground where it's play no matter what. See, for me, when, when goalkeepers make mistakes now, they're just patted on the back and like, oh, play again. Keep playing. Where before, if I'd have done that and you'd been in the. You're in the dressroom, David Moyes would have absolutely throttled me. Right. And so that plays a factor. Whether he should be playing or not. I think. I think Potch has made his bed. Now. I think you have to play him because I'm not disagreeing with you, that Matt is. Matt Turner is a more experienced hand. What I'm saying is he's ice cold.

[Landon Donovan]

He hasn't played, you mean.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, he hasn't played.

[Landon Donovan]

Right.

[Tim Howard]

He hasn't. He hasn't. He hasn't played. Now you're going to throw him in. Do I think he can handle it? Yeah, I think he can. But like, this was my point to you. This was my point to you. You'd have been better off playing Matt Freeze. Game one, Game two. Right. Yesterday on the board was a nothing game. Right. Play Matt Turner. Turner, yeah, Turner.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah.

[Tim Howard]

You can then actually go back to Matt Freeze because he's. He's cooking and he plays in the quarterfinal. Now off the back of that mistake, which again, whatever, you win the game. And those are the best time to make mistakes, when your team wins the game. Now, we're asking these questions.

[Landon Donovan]

Now there's a decision.

[Tim Howard]

Yes, yes. So if you're asking me who do I expect to see, and I've gotten this wrong a couple times, I'm expecting to see Matt Freeze because this is what Paches said. And quite frankly, you've made a really interesting point, because the goal now is to win. But I'm saying I'll throw back at you, which I agree. I'll throw back at you. If we want to. If we want to evaluate Matt Freeze, you know I'm the best time to do it. No, I know right now.

[Landon Donovan]

I know right now because you made a mistake. The evaluation of everyone is better, is easier and better. If we get to play two more games after the quarterfinal, if you lose the quarterfinal, I mean, if that mistake happened in the quarterfinal and we lost to Costa Rica.

[Tim Howard]

Right. Okay, right. But what I'm saying, you're not wrong. But if that's the case. Yeah. Then the evaluation of Matt Freeze is over. Because I'm telling you now, if Matt Turner plays against Costa Rica, you know, when he's playing again, the semifinal.

[Landon Donovan]

Sure.

[Tim Howard]

And he wins the semifinal, you know, he's playing again. So then, then your evaluation of Matt Freeze is completely over.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I mean, my opinion is he's. He's probably the fifth or sixth choice.

[Tim Howard]

We agree on this.

[Landon Donovan]

So, so what's the point of, you know.

[Tim Howard]

Okay, right. So then, so, so if we're casting a bigger scope, right, and this could go for all the players, then what's the purpose of. Well, keep it. Then why is Matt Turner ice cold and bring him in for the.

[Landon Donovan]

I agree. And this is. This was my point yesterday. I said on set too. If you were one of the guys who didn't start this game, you should be concerned. Right? Because he brought in Aaronson, he brought in Quinn Sullivan, he brought in Tolkien, and he brought in Tyler Adams. But he's a, you know, starter. But the rest of the guys, this was the game to give them a chance. So if not, it's like, okay, well, the evaluation's probably over for you guys because, you know, so, so, so final.

[Tim Howard]

Answer going into the quarterfinal for me. Matt Freeze plays, I think, because.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, so up next is Costa Rica in Minnesota. Costa Rica, God bless them. They did us so many fa. I mean, two they couldn't help. Ariel Lassiter and Warren Madrigal, both injured, so they're not part of the tournament. But Carlos Mora got us. Got a second yellow yesterday and Manfred Ugalde, so stupid in the 85th minute, just, just hit a Mexican player in the head and got his second yellow. So he's. And that he is. Tim. That guy's a real player. I was watching him closely yesterday. He's a real player. So I would expect now coming into the game, if they were full strength Costa Rica, I would have said this is going to be a really good game. I expect us to win now. So.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. And the second yellow thing is, is one of the, one of the most stupid things in sports. Like, I'm baffled even now every time a player gets a second yellow card or, or in a match when they can't afford to get one, they get. I'm like, I'm like, that's just really dumb. It's like a really. Whether it's the manager or it's the player himself, it's amazing to me when people get second yellows. I know.

[Landon Donovan]

All right, so the other. Let's just talk through the other games. So Mexico is first in their group. They'll play Saudi Arabia. We're playing Costa Rica. And then the other games are tomorrow. Canada certainly has a lot going on. Your guy, Jesse.

[Tim Howard]

Yes.

[Landon Donovan]

He's still under investigation. I don't. There hasn't been any clarity, but he's still under investigation for. I think there were three things. One, was he communicate. He was suspended, so he was sitting up in the stands.

[Tim Howard]

One was first two games.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. Was he communicating with his bench? Two, he was apparently sitting in a place he wasn't supposed to be sitting, which, you know, who knows. And then three, when he was told or asked to move, he had some unkind comments. Yeah. Some choice words. So he's, he's got a lot. He's got a lot going on. And then in his press conference, this was the best they asked him about. And he said, guys, I don't want this to be about me. I want it to be about the team. I'm like, you're making it about you. What are you talking about? Listen, just talk about the team. I'm like, you can't have it. It'll be interesting to see Canada tomorrow because, by the way, Tim, they drew their second game. There is a scenario where they don't advance. Now, I don't think it's going to happen, but there's a scenario where they don't advance. But this looks like it's on track for a US Canada semi, which would just be spectacular.

[Tim Howard]

Imagine that the current, the current US Men's national team coach, Pochettino against the future US Men's national team coach and Jesse Marsh. What a matchup in the semifinal.

[Landon Donovan]

He said he will never coach for.

[Tim Howard]

The U.S. by the way, that's a lie. By the way, that's a lie. He's a. Jesse. I mean, if you, if you're a soccer person, you know, he, he, he will be a. He will be a co. He will be the coach of the Usman's national team at some point in the future.

[Landon Donovan]

I would think so. Okay, I want to talk one more thing before we take a break. So yesterday this, man, this, this wound me up so hard. So I'm calling the Mexico, Costa Rica game yesterday. Okay? So for people who didn't see it, please go Google it or YouTube it. There's a goal at the end of the game. I don't know what minute. 86, 87, 88. Mexico takes a free kick. It goes into the box. Costa Rican defender jumps up as he's kind of, kind of falling backwards and heads. It literally heads it sideways across the goal, mouth to about seven yards out. And Santiago, Santiago Jimenez jumps and does like a chilena, like a scissors slash bike and smashes it into the roof of the net. It's a phenomenal goal. Just if you go. Watch it. Phenomenal. It's called, by the way, chilena.

[Tim Howard]

Is that what it's called? Like a sideways scissor?

[Landon Donovan]

You didn't grow up in a. I don't. You didn't grow up in Southern California. You have no flare.

[Tim Howard]

Everything's a bicycle kick to me. If it's overhead.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, you guys. No flare. So it's amazing. Goal. The celebration, the scenes are phenomenal. And you know now, like, when you're calling a game, you're so excited, and then you go, oh, no, is the flag up? And the flag was up and. Or, sorry, I don't even know if the flag was up. But the center referee, then, you know, the cameras go to him and they're zooming in on him, and you're like, oh, no. What could possibly. What could have happened here? So they show a replay, and there is a Mexican attacker who's even and on side with the defender for Costa Rica. He doesn't impact the play, but it doesn't matter because he's on side. The Costa Rican defender is kind of a little behind him. Jumps and heads it. When he heads the ball to Santiago Jimenez. In the first play, where the ball was played into the box, Santiago Menes was offside. And my thing was this is a different phase of play now. Like, once that ball is headed sideways, this is a whole new phase. And you can't be offside. If the defending team heads it to you. They take like three seconds, which is a miracle in this Gold Cup. Everything's taken a minimum of three minutes to make every decision. And he puts his hand up and says it's offside. And I just went berserk.

[Tim Howard]

I'm like, you lost it.

[Landon Donovan]

I was so mad. I mean, you cannot take. I mean, if he's offside, he's offside. You can't take a goal away from a guy. That kind of goal in that moment. It was incredible. And what are we. I'm thinking, like, what are we doing? Why are we taking goals like that away from.

[Tim Howard]

You made the point. There's goal bonuses, and there's also.

[Landon Donovan]

There are goal bonuses. And by the way, he hadn't scored in the Gold Cup. There's momentum things. It's. That can impact his career. Now, look, the referee. I'm not saying the referee was cheating. I want to be clear. The. The. The wording in the law. A player is in an offside position, receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately played the ball. So the opponent in this case, I mean, I think he deliberately. What they claimed is, like, it was a deflection. The ball went sideways. I mean, he headed it hard.

[Tim Howard]

He actually.

[Landon Donovan]

It wasn't a little Nick deflection. So they're saying he didn't deliberately play it.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know. It's semantics, whatever, but, I mean, just use some common sense to look like a goal. It looked.

[Tim Howard]

It looked like a goal. And for the. And for the layman at home, it's like, offsides is difficult enough, and then this, like, really muddies the water because essentially what's happened is a guy has scored who was deemed to be offside on an initial play, but the play is already. Then fast forward moved on, and he scores. And so he's like, when was. He was offside at some point. But. Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. It was a spectacular goal. That wasn't to be.

[Landon Donovan]

It's really. I. I just. I hate it. And. And, you know, like, Tim, if you watch. If you're a NFL fan, you watch a guy catch a ball, fall to the ground, roll over three times, three seconds go by, and then he. It, like, drops out of his hand.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And, like, by the rule, he didn't complete the catch or. But you're like, that's a catch. You can see it's catch A. And this was the same thing. When you're watching. If you've. I've watched tens of thousands of soccer games. It's a goal. It's not offside. It's a goal. And so it was. It was frustrating. But I digress. I'm off my soapbox. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, we'll be talking Club World Cup. It's been fascinating. I've been, I think, very, very surprised and overwhelmed with how good it's been. Tim. Yeah. And we'll dig into it right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. Stay right there.

[Tim Howard]

The Unfiltered Soccer podcast is brought to you by Volkswagen, the presenting partner of U.S. soccer.

[Landon Donovan]

As the U.S. gets ready to host the world for soccer's biggest moment, Volkswagen is helping people discover new turfs and new ways to play the beautiful game right here in the US from deaf.

[Tim Howard]

And power wheelchair soccer to beach and futsal, VW is actively supporting all the communities and teams within the U.S. soccer ecosystem. They've signed U.S. soccer talent from across the portfolio of the federation and will be helping to give these less popular forms of soccer a platform moving forward.

[Landon Donovan]

As A longtime friend of Volkswagen, I'm excited to support them in their mission to increase visibility of all forms of soccer. I was recently on set with them shooting their new campaign to do just that.

[Tim Howard]

Keep an eye out for that launching soon alongside the all new redesigned 2025 Tiguan. It's a beautiful car. We've even had one with us at our recent live show. Make sure to check it out in person and learn [e-mail] all right, Timmy.

[Landon Donovan]

It's summertime. You remember these days, kids are home. It's exhausting. You're babysitting all day. I know you don't think it's babysitting. It is babysitting. In order to choose chill, I'm on the golf course, man. My wife knows when it's time to get away and choose chill. See you later. I'm gonna go play golf.

[Tim Howard]

I gotta be honest. I choose chill a lot in the summer. Going to concerts, family barbecues. I spend a ton of time on the beach. I reach into the cooler, get a Coors Light. For me, I choose chill very, very often.

[Landon Donovan]

Coors Light is mountain cold refreshment, crisp and refreshing. As the Colorado Rockies make the most out of the times you choose to chill, Choose Coors Light.

[Tim Howard]

Choose Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door. Visit coorslight.com USLNT Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Co. Golden Colorado Beer LG let's talk more major summer soccer competitions. Club World Cup. You and I have both been pleasantly surprised with it. I think a lot of people have been pleasantly surprised with it, given the fact that, what, two weeks ago we were like, is anyone going to take this seriously? FIFA couldn't sell tickets for it. Right. Like, they're basically starting to give away tickets. Yeah. Really pleasantly surprised with. With. With the product on the field and. And the butts and seats. Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

I mean, FIFA made a very smart decision. They slashed ticket prices, which turned out to be the best thing they could. Yeah, Tim, you know those Walgreen receipts, those long ones that come out? You have talked about them before.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

I might be the only person in this country who was saying, I was excited for this. I thought it was going to be great. I was like, this stupid tournament. No one's going to care. The players aren't going to. Well, I think everyone's gonna eat some crow. This tournament's been fantastic. Every time. I'm sitting at Fox every day, prepping. We're doing the Gold cup, which has been great, too. And we have the screens there and we're watching and every. The Rose Bowl, 80,000 people. This stadium, 70,000 people. Atlanta, like, there's, of course there are going to be some games that are terror duds, right? Because just who the teams are. But the South American teams, obviously the European teams, they've come to play and the draws have been fantastic. It's been amazing. And by the way, it's only going to get better.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

As we get to the knockout stage, it's going to be better. So blockbuster, not so humble brag there, but. So let's just talk real quick about where the MLS teams are. So lafc, I think we can say, very disappointing. Not the Chelsea result, that's fine. But losing esperance was. Yeah, not good. And now they are officially right, eliminated.

[Tim Howard]

With one game to go. They play. They play.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, one game to go, but they are officially eliminated. Seattle, I believe, played a night and by the time this releases, they are mathematically still alive. But I think, realistically, yeah, not happening.

[Tim Howard]

Probably not happening.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah. So those two have been disappointing. On the other hand, Inter, Miami have been, I think, revelatory a little bit. I think people are expecting them to be competitive, but sitting on four points and every opportunity now for them to advance.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, you know, this, this whole messy thing, I, I, it baffles me, like, it baffles me that he can still. And by the way, Inter have, they have some players who have played in, like, major competitions, World Cup, European competitions. And so, like, it's not the entire team, but there's enough of them that can like, carry the other players. Right. Like, so if you're, if you're not one of them, you're kind of, you're kind of buoyed by the fact that they're in your locker room and you're in the dressroom. You're not, like, they're not scared, so you're not scared kind of thing. Right. And like, I guess I'm just, I'm just baffled at, at Messi because he, he's always, he's always kind of produced this magic. But, like, at his age, he shouldn't be running the show in games. Right? Like, when you and I played against him, you could understand why you're like, we're not going near that guy. He's right. But now in every other single, aside from him and Ronaldo, which we'll get to like, aside from those guys, every other player, I don't care how good you are, you end up getting the lumps kicked out of you. You end up like, you you slow down. Like, this guy just keeps going. It's. It's. It's awesome to watch. Like, it's just. You can still take over a game in the second half. Like, what?

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, they play. They play tonight as we're recording. This will be released tomorrow. So they play Palmaris I. So if and when, I think we hope and expect that they will get through, they will then have the opportunity to play in a knockout game, which I think should be just spectacular. So that's going to be really fun to watch. All they need is a point, and even a loss could be enough for them to. To get through other results. I think the upset of the tournament so far was. I don't know if you saw, but this Botafogo PSG game was so fun. By the way, I've been in la, so everywhere you go, Tim, you're seeing these jerseys. You're seeing Botafogo. I saw tons of River Plate jerseys the other day. It's been so fun to see the fans are, like, parking and then driving to whatever, the Rose bowl, and it's been amazing.

[Tim Howard]

You know, it's funny.

[Landon Donovan]

Fun.

[Tim Howard]

It's funny you say that. So obviously, I live in. I live in Manhattan and. Same here. Like, I'm kind. I'm surprised only because, like, I don't see it every day. So, like, I'll see these random, like, Botafogo jerseys or, like, Porto jerseys. Like, that's a cafe, like, in my house. Like, oh, yeah, that's right. Like, of course your fans are here. Right? Like. But it takes me by surprise a little bit. It's great. It's. It's.

[Landon Donovan]

It's amazing. And you just. That's why I said. I said the beginning of the tournament. This is maybe the only country you can really have this tournament in, because you have people from all over the world who already live here. You know, there are cases where people are, you know, Japanese fans are traveling or Korean fans or South African fans are. But they just have fans here already. They're immigrants, and they're in this. This country, which is beautiful. And so they're just showing up to support their team that they never get to see here. Botafo never plays here ever, of course. I mean, maybe once in a blue moon, but it's been phenomenal. Okay, let's rant a little bit.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, I'm here for.

[Landon Donovan]

This is. I know I'm a grumpy, like, old man now, dude, but this was ridiculous. So the Dortmund played Mamalodi Sundowns the other day. They're in Cincinnati. It was like 90 degrees. There's this tweet that went out from the club's official account.

[Tim Howard]

By the way, do me a favor. If you're the.

[Landon Donovan]

Do me a favor, somebody. I mean, I don't want anyone to lose their job, but please have a stern talking. So. So their subs watched the first half of the game from inside the locker room to avoid the blazing sun at TQL Stadium. You go first. I mean, it's just.

[Tim Howard]

Okay, I'll go first.

[Landon Donovan]

I just can't.

[Tim Howard]

When you do something dumb, don't draw attention to it. Right? And that's what Dortmund did. But my. My rant. I say it's quick, but my rant is this. It was hot as heck. The substitutes went inside to be cool. Here's. Here, Here's a simple math. If those same players in that same heat were asked to start the game and play 90 minutes, you know what they would have done? They just started the game and played 90 minutes. So it's not about the heat. And by the way, it didn't get hot in 2025. Teams come here every single summer for the last 20 years and play games. And you know what? The substitutes go, don't go hang out in the dressroom. And if they do, they sure as heck don't put it on social media. So, like, sit on the bench, support your team, and drink some cold water. I'm. I'm baffled by it. Honestly. I'm. I'm shocked. I'm shocked. It's. It's. It's borderline stupidity.

[Landon Donovan]

Is it. By the way, is it even legal? Do you have to be on the. I mean, I guess you could. If you were on the bench and you went back to, like, go to the bathroom, wherever, it's fine, but I just. I just can't. The level of stupidity, really. And to your point, if they did it and it was like behind the scenes and they said, just spend the first 15 minutes in there and just so you're not. Whatever.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

I think it's soft, but whatever. Yeah, but then you're tweeting it like, what the hell are you doing?

[Tim Howard]

Totally. It's. There's so many other ways to do that. Like, you can literally, if you. You got a player you want to go on as a sub. So, like, at the 30 minute mark, just go in the back, go in the dress room, cool off, put your feet up, come back out at halftime and warm up, and you're going to go on second half, like, the whole team hanging like, it just. It was a bit of a piss take. Not sure. People started to like that. Then started the campaign of like, oh, my God, next summer. What's going to be like, nothing's going to happen next summer. Teams are going to sit on the bench and support their team.

[Landon Donovan]

Tim, you know where else it was hot, dude? In Korea in 2002. It's hard for me to describe how hot it was. Okay. Because. And the humidity. And we trained for a month in North Carolina ahead of it where it was equally hot and humid. But, dude, I couldn't even. I literally couldn't take my jersey off after the game. It was stuck to me.

[Tim Howard]

Sure.

[Landon Donovan]

Like, you had to have people pulling it off of you.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And I'm just like, this is crazy, dude. It's crazy. Anyway, all right. Off our soapbox. Okay. So we are at roughly the midway point of the MLS season.

[Tim Howard]

I was worried you're going to say that.

[Landon Donovan]

So I just want to remind. Well, me, but you too.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

Of some predictions we had before the season.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And we could pull the video, but I'm gonna spare you. So, Tim, you said. And I have the standings pulled up here, too.

[Tim Howard]

Okay, good.

[Landon Donovan]

You said the Houston Dynamo were gonna win the West.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, Now, I was a little early on that show. A little early.

[Landon Donovan]

It's still early. I mean, they are 50, 15 points behind right now and they are 11th out of 15. But I appreciate their second half team with the heat. I get it. They will not be in the locker room at half in the first half. And you said Vancouver, we're going to finish at the bottom.

[Tim Howard]

Yep.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, just let me look. I'm still scrolling up. Up. Still scrolling up. Oh, there's Vancouver there at the top at the time.

[Tim Howard]

It was a great take.

[Landon Donovan]

Ah, yeah. So.

[Tim Howard]

But here we are.

[Landon Donovan]

Go ahead. You know's your chance. Go ahead.

[Tim Howard]

No, look, they've. Brian White's got 10 goals at near nearly the halfway point. We didn't see that coming.

[Landon Donovan]

Sebastian Berhalter, national team player now.

[Tim Howard]

Right. Like, I mean, do me a favor. It was a great shot at the time. Yours is coming. Yours is coming, by the way.

[Landon Donovan]

Let's go. I had the LA Galaxy win. You did.

[Tim Howard]

You did. Which as bad as my takes were. That's amazing.

[Landon Donovan]

So let me just. Before you look up your own standings. So scroll all the way. They have. They've played 18 games.

[Tim Howard]

Good Lord. I don't have.

[Landon Donovan]

They've won one.

[Tim Howard]

You can count on one finger how many. How many wins they have.

[Landon Donovan]

They have eight points they're seven points behind the next team. Now I will say. I did say Sporting or St. Louis will finish bottom and the second and third to last are Sporting in Saint. All right, so I did get those right question. But the Galaxy or second half.

[Tim Howard]

This is for our. For our research. Has any people have. I think there's a worst to first category. Is there. Is there a first to worst to worst? Like, is it. Has that ever happened? Ms. History. Watch this space. We'll get to you.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, so in the east, you said Columbus will win the East. They are fourth right now, only six points out. That's fair.

[Tim Howard]

Not terrible fair.

[Landon Donovan]

Montreal will finish bottom. Great shout. That was. They are currently bottom. I said inner Miami will win the East. They are. Ooh, sixth. I just saw that. Okay, but you know, are we saying, by the way, in the regular season, win or actually win the East?

[Tim Howard]

You're trying to chop and change this.

[Landon Donovan]

But I did say Columbus is the better overall team.

[Tim Howard]

You did. He did. So you're two places better off.

[Landon Donovan]

And I said New England would finish bottom. They were on their way for a while, but they've hit a decent stretch.

[Tim Howard]

The Revs fans hate us.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, they must. Absolutely.

[Tim Howard]

I. I forgot you picked them bottom. And I, and I said, like, do me a favor and get out of the heating areas and go sit in the seat. No wonder they.

[Landon Donovan]

No, it was the. Yeah, the heating area.

[Tim Howard]

Right.

[Landon Donovan]

Everyone's too cold. Everyone's too cold or too hot.

[Tim Howard]

Listen, if in this country, if they write, if they send us tickets, I will go to a reps game for sure. I will take.

[Landon Donovan]

I'll go.

[Tim Howard]

I'll take it for us.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay, so a few things. Let's do. Biggest surprise for me, I think it's Vancouver. I mean, I don't think anyone saw that coming. Yeah, definitely. You didn't?

[Tim Howard]

No, no, I didn't. Van City is great.

[Landon Donovan]

Amazing.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. They need to be. They need to be good.

[Landon Donovan]

That's such a. I will say too, if you remember, in the beginning of the year, I said with San Diego FC, I like their first 11, 12 players. If they can stay healthy.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And then they, they, they had a few bad road losses in the beginning, but otherwise they've been very good and they've stayed healthy. And I think crucially, that is the key for them. They've been, I think, a surprise for me. Biggest disappointment, I mean, has to be the Galaxy, right?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, Yeah, I think so. I mean, my biggest surprise, I think, is Philly because I just think when, when you, when you talk about how good Jim Crow was. And no one can deny that. Right. Like obviously he got fired and they made a decision. But when you bring in a new. A new coach and a new technical director or. But more a sporting director, but more importantly a new philosophy, I thought that's not a bad thing. But that's going to take some time and it hasn't taken any time at all. They've been absolutely fantastic.

[Landon Donovan]

You know those long receipts you get at Walgreens?

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, yeah, those.

[Landon Donovan]

Unfortunately, I have. Have one there too. Cuz I said that was going to be a disaster.

[Tim Howard]

They have one.

[Landon Donovan]

They've been good.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, they've been really good. Galaxy. Yeah. Galaxy are only rivaled in biggest disappointment by Atlanta United. I mean, four wins through 18 games.

[Landon Donovan]

They've been bad latte lot.

[Tim Howard]

Amaran.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, they sp. They spent so much money.

[Tim Howard]

There's a lot of money. And they spend money, which is great. They had a new manager come in, you know, behind the scenes they changed a lot in the front office. So like, it's a tough year. I mean, it's a tough year. I mean they haven't. They have an incredible owner, you know, then. And they back. He backs them with support and finances. So, you know, I. They might take this on the chin, but not a great season.

[Landon Donovan]

The beauty of MLS though, Tim, is like, as long as you're within touching distance, they're eight points back, so it's like it's getting dicey. But you win three or four in a row and all of a sudden you're back in it. So that is. That's the beauty of. That's the beauty of the playoffs.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

MVP candidates. So I've got four here for you and then I want to hear what you think. So ty baribo, 13 goals, he leads the league for a very good union team. Brian White team leads the west and he's on 10 goals. Andres Dreyer, who, honestly, if this guy played in LA or Miami or played with Messi or whatever, you'd hear so much more about him. He is. He's a real player. He's got nine assists and he leads the league. And then Messi, it's amazing. Like, I haven't even seen him play a league game in so long. Yeah, but he's got 10 goals and six assists in 13 games. It's incredible.

[Tim Howard]

But here's how this is going to work. Messi's got mess. Messi is going to be the MVP. Hear me out. I mean, 10 goal, 10 goal success in 13 games. Ridiculous. Now Variega wins it or Brian White wins it. If they lead their team in goals and they win either Philly the East and Vancouver the West. And if so.

[Landon Donovan]

So Beribo wins it. Even if Messi's near the top, Miami's near the top.

[Tim Howard]

I think Messi's already won it.

[Landon Donovan]

Okay. I was gonna say he gets. Award him the trophy.

[Tim Howard]

So he gets to. I think he plays more down the stretch. LD so he gets to 20 goals, right? He's on 10, and then the six assist goes up to what, 10? If he's hovering at 20 and 10, good luck. I mean, I think he's won it, right? And I think they're. I think there's some other people who have already put his name on the trophy. They're etching. It's like they got. They have the L on there and they're like, you know, so. But I think. I think Baribo and White could win if they. If they lead their. If they lead their teams.

[Landon Donovan]

I think my opinion. I think. I mean, Messi is the best player in the world, one of the best of all time. I think the most impactful best player this year has been Dreyer. I. I really. If you watch him, he is so good, Tim. He really is.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, he's good.

[Landon Donovan]

He is. We'll keep. We'll get back to MLS more after club World cup and Gold cup are done, but it's been a. It's been a. A good, exciting first half of the season. All right, when we're back, we will get into your Questions in the AT&T fan connection and talk anything but soccer. Right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim. As always presented by Volkswagen.

[Tim Howard]

There'S nothing better than feeling like someone has your back and that things are going to get done without you even having to ask.

[Landon Donovan]

Like fans who start to sing and chant at the exact moment their team needs to rally.

[Tim Howard]

A coach who can change strategies at halftime to help their team win.

[Landon Donovan]

A keeper you know is defending your.

[Tim Howard]

Goal or a forward who is always ready to receive the ball.

[Landon Donovan]

At Unfiltered soccer, Tim and I know all too well how important it is to be sure someone out there has your back. That's precisely why AT&T has a new guarantee.

[Tim Howard]

The AT and T guarantee is all about having your back when you're with AT&T. If there's a network interruption, they'll proactively make it right with a credit for a full day of Service, guaranteed.

[Landon Donovan]

Visit att.com guarantee to learn more. Terms and conditions apply.

[Tim Howard]

AT&T connecting changes everything.

[Landon Donovan]

Credit for Fiber downtime lasting 20 minutes or more or wireless downtime lasting 60 minutes or more caused by a single incident impacting 10 or more towers. Restrictions and exclusions apply. See att.com guarantee for full details.

[Tim Howard]

It's time for the Fan connection presented by AT&T. Every week, we invite you, the listener, to connect with us by submitting your questions. The best way to grow the game of soccer in the US Is to keep asking questions and keep talking about this sport we all love. At, AT and T Connecting changes everything. And on uslnt, our connections with you will help grow the game. Time for the AT&T fan Connection. Most of our listeners favorite time of the week because they get to hear from themselves and ask us questions. And also Jordan's favorite time of the week because she gets the spotlight. Jordan, welcome.

[Landon Donovan]

Hello, Jordan. Who's older, you or Kevin Durant?

[C]

Please shut up.

[Tim Howard]

What's your shirt say? Ask me about my.

[C]

My podcast is what it says. Somebody gave it to me as a gift, and I don't want to wear it in public because I literally don't want anyone to speak to me ever. But I thought I could wear it on the show.

[Tim Howard]

That's amazing. Listen, I just said to you before this, bring, bring the heat. Like, like, it's been too nice. We don't like. Well, I like nice, but, like, bring some heat. We like a good debate. And you said you got some, so I do.

[C]

Here we go. So this one's from Steve via YouTube. I want to know why the FIFA club games are on the worst possible app. Don't they want people to watch these games? Soccer is so ridiculous. How many apps people need to have to watch all of these games? At some point, the middle finger is just going to rise up and not look back.

[Landon Donovan]

Well, I would say as a general statement, I understand and agree, but it's on dazone, right?

[Tim Howard]

I believe that's right.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, it's on the zone and it's free. So I understand the problem here. Now, if you. If afterwards you don't want to keep paying or you don't want to pay or whatever, that's fine. But I mean, literally, they're streaming it free.

[Tim Howard]

So I will say, Steve, there are. There's a lot of soccer competitions and there are a lot of paywalls. I, I get it. I subscribe to some of them because I want to see the games, too. Yeah, it's. It's. It's a little bit of. Of a headache. So I, I hear you on that. I hear you. I'm not really sure of what the short term answer is, but the short.

[Landon Donovan]

Term answer is just download it, it's free. But after that, if you don't want. I mean, like, I get it, I get it.

[Tim Howard]

True.

[Landon Donovan]

I don't know, dude. Pete, this is, this is business stuff. Steve. That's over our head.

[C]

This one's from Leo via email. I was at your live show and really enjoyed the experience. Thanks for coming, Leo. My question to you guys is, do we know why the club World cup games are being played at odd hours? Like 12 or three players are saying that the summer heat is affecting them, which we talked about earlier. Why aren't games in the US played, like in Europe where the games start at like 8 or 9?

[Landon Donovan]

So the easy answer is just TV. And they want to make sure every game's on TV. So you're going to see this next year, by the way. Games will most likely, I would think, be like 12, 3, 6, 9. And that's, that's how it was in Qatar too. It's just so they can get everything on TV because they don't, they don't want people missing the games. So that's the price.

[Tim Howard]

Right. And the problem. The problem, it's the, the right answer. LD the problem is also when you start to dig much deeper. It's about television slots. It's about global television slots. Right? So we begin to play our games at night so that. So that, you know, nightfall can come and the heat can go down. Then they're trying to broadcast to the rest of the world and they're, you know, mostly asleep. So it's not always a perfect science, but there is a method to the madness.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, it's tricky with time zones. It just, it just makes it difficult. It's never going to be perfect. It's just part of. Just part of the deal.

[C]

This one's from Philip via email. First, I want to say how much I love the show. I haven't missed a single one.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[C]

You both have played with hundreds of different players in your careers. I'd like to know who you had the best, best on field chemistry with. Who was that player that you felt on the same wavelength with at almost all times?

[Landon Donovan]

It's a great question. I have my. I have two right away. One was Bees, demarcus Beasley. And that's literally because we started playing together when we were 15 with the youth national team. They under 17. So as time wore on, we just knew each other. I knew exactly how he wanted the ball where he wanted it, timing everything. And then the other was Brian Ching guy I played with at the Earthquakes and with the national team a bit. And the way the. The reason why is I was. I was sort of a. I was classified kind of as a striker, but I was like an underneath striker. And at that time that was very common to have sort of a hybrid 10/striker. And Chingy was just happy to be big presence, physical presence. So the ball would go into him and I would move underneath him and. And run underneath him and. And he could find me, lay it off. And then we could com. We scored some. Some amazing goals together. But our chemistry was just perfect for me.

[Tim Howard]

Phil Jagielka at Everton, I played with. He was my center back and I played with Sylvan Distant and Jolian Lescott and for equal amount, you know, amounts of times, Joel, I think Julian for like four years and I think Sylvan for five or six, something like that. But I played with Phil Jagielko Jags for a really long stretch. He was, he was an England center back at the time. He was linked to like a move to Arsenal and he, he was everything. He would put his body in and it would defend and block and he would head balls, you know, defensive set pieces. He just was in the right place. He could take criticism, he could give criticism, and it was never an issue. And Landon, you play with Jags as well at Everton and just there was nothing. I, I could do no wrong to him and he could do no wrong to me. Like, it. No matter what the case was, we were always on the same page and it was pretty special. But you get that when you play, you know, hundreds and hundreds of games with a guy.

[Landon Donovan]

The thing I liked most about you guys was like, if there was a ball that was in between you guys and in the end you had to come out and clear it last second, you'd tell him what you know, you'd go off on him and then he'd go off on you. But then it was like you guys were fine.

[Tim Howard]

You just knew.

[Landon Donovan]

But yeah, you just wanted to win.

[Tim Howard]

Is best.

[Landon Donovan]

Great.

[C]

This next one is from James via email and is more of a suggestion of a topic to discuss than it is an actual question. Okay, gentlemen. Love, love when they start off like that. Gentlemen, the podcast is great. Being an owner of a soccer team in Rochester, New York. The team is called Flower City Union. We went from. I had to look up these acronyms. The National Independent Soccer Association 2023 champions. Well done. To the National Premier Soccer league. It would be informative to your audience to delve into the lower levels of soccer in this country and the passion that these second tier market owners have, losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to try and sustain the sport in these smaller markets. It's certainly a labor of love. More so than a business.

[Landon Donovan]

No, no, it was more of a comment, she said. But you started off your career playing for one of those Long island something.

[Tim Howard]

No, I played for. Get your pens out. I played for the New North Jersey. Not New Jersey. We're in the northern part of the state. North Jersey Imperials. And we're in the usisl.

[Landon Donovan]

What a squad.

[Tim Howard]

Usisl, which.

[Landon Donovan]

Anyone Is that indoor soccer league. US Indoor soccer. Is it United States something independent.

[Tim Howard]

Great. Yeah. So I started my. So I understand it and, and I think that we. Again, Landon, I talk about our experience.

[C]

Interregional, inter regional, whatever you want.

[Tim Howard]

The I in US ISL can stand for anything you want it to. And we understand the importance of it. But what I would say is more importantly, thank you for. Thank you, James, for your. Your comment. Please, and I am begging you, send me a Flower City Union shirt kit jersey. I will absolutely wear it on the show. So if you want to plug, I'll wear the entire show. But we definitely support all levels of soccer in this country because they play a massive part. So thank you for that.

[Landon Donovan]

Agreed.

[C]

There's one more.

[Tim Howard]

Good.

[Landon Donovan]

She's smiling. Look at her face.

[C]

This one's from Will via email. Landon.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, boy, that was coming.

[C]

Landon, in the aftermath of the 2014 World cup, did you ever sit down with Jurgen Klinsman and attempt to bury the proverbial hatchet? Did you try to repair, slash, rebuild bridges? How are things between you and him today? Y' all cool?

[Tim Howard]

Tell the people what they want, give it to them unfiltered, like the title.

[Landon Donovan]

So, yeah. Yeah, great question. So if you remember, at the end of 2014, October 10, 1010, ironically, I had a send off game in Hartford. Hartford with U. S Soccer, Sunil Galati. I'm really, really grateful to him. They got a plane for me and 15 family members flew us all from LA to Hartford for the game. I wasn't part of the camp I wasn't part of, but they flew me in to allow me to have a send off game in Hartford. And when I got there, Jurgen and I sat in a bar.

[Tim Howard]

Wow, I didn't even know this. Thank you for the question.

[Landon Donovan]

Yeah, we sat in a bar and we just talked because it was. Obviously it was awkward, right? He never would have wanted me to be called in there, right. And have that. But we sat in a bar, and the interesting part was he came and I was there first, and he came and sat down, and he had a backpack with him. And I was like, this is kind of weird. Anyway, we just talked and, you know, we said, set our piece. And I didn't agree. And, you know, he thought he was doing what was best for the team and whatever. And then he said at one point, this was really interesting. He's like, you know, and I. I journaled everything that happened during all of this time, and I kept notes on everything that happened, and I'm happy to show you. And I was like, huh, huh. It was really interesting that he, like. And the takeaway was he.

[Tim Howard]

He.

[Landon Donovan]

He knew what he was doing. It's very calculated, and he was making sure he took notes because he either had to justify it to. To somebody or he felt like he. You know, you only take notes with things or keep recordings of things when you're. You're kind of scared about what the outcome could be. So it was interesting. But I give him credit for sitting down. He also, you know, apologized for his son being obnoxious during that time. And then, look, my choices were on the field. When I got subbed off, I think it was the 40th minute or so, I was still upset with him. I still, you know, I didn't want to give him any time. But you also don't want to make a bigger deal out of it. And so we had, like, one final handshake, and. And that was that.

[Tim Howard]

So let me ask you this. Let me follow up. So you played 40 minutes in that game, by the way.

[Landon Donovan]

I think so, yeah.

[Tim Howard]

Did I play? I don't remember. It was my day.

[Landon Donovan]

No, I don't think you were there.

[Tim Howard]

No, I. I was there. I was certainly there.

[Landon Donovan]

Were you? It was against Ecuador in Hartford.

[Tim Howard]

Oh, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't have been. Because I took that. I took that.

[Landon Donovan]

Oh, yeah, no, you wouldn't have been there. You would have been there.

[Tim Howard]

Here's what I would say is that. By the way, is any of this in the book? Because can we tease any of that?

[Landon Donovan]

It's actually not. That part of. It's not in the book, but there's a lot about that time in the book.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah, well said. All I would say to the general public is a manager in a decision where a legendary player who still has so much to offer that team going into a major tournament could never, ever be Making a decision. Let me quote him. That's best for the team without asking the senior players on that team for their opinion. So you can read between the lines, but you won't have to. The senior players on that team were never asked for their opinion. So it's impossible, impossible as a manager to make a decision that's best for the team without gaining that knowledge before the decision.

[C]

So I have to ask the obvious follow up here, otherwise I'm bad at my job. So, Tim, you and Jurgen Klinsmann have not had a conversation since he left the national team about this, that period in time?

[Tim Howard]

No, I. I don't need a conversation with him. There's not. There's nothing. There's nothing to bury. Sometimes hatchets need to stay where they.

[Landon Donovan]

Are to stay above ground. Stay.

[Tim Howard]

Keep the hatches above ground.

[C]

Interesting.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. So.

[C]

Okay, so we got it. We got a little spicy today.

[Landon Donovan]

Jordan. We don't shy away from any questions.

[Tim Howard]

By the way, these are all easy conversations. Remember, buckle in and get comfortable when you have uncomfortable conversations.

[Landon Donovan]

Amen.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And remember, hell has a trapdoor. Tim, I don't think it fits here. Oh, rock bottom has a trapdoor.

[C]

That's where hell is. Below the trapdoor for rock bottom.

[Landon Donovan]

I love your sayings. I'm just using one of your sayings.

[Tim Howard]

Cheers.

[C]

All right, thanks, guys.

[Landon Donovan]

Jr, Great job. All right, Timmy. Abs. Anything but soccer. I think there's only one way we were going to go this week. Last night I was at the fox studios in LA working, doing all the things, but on the TV was the Pacers, OKC, NBA Finals, Game 7. And the moment I think that everyone talking about, obviously congrats to okc. Great for them. But Tyrese Halliburton came into the game with a strained calf. Of course he was going to play it's game seven, but then tore his Achilles in the game. And it was right when I saw it, someone was next to me and they said, what do you think he did? Was it an ACL that I said, let me watch the play.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

And I could just see right when he pushed off and went, oh, that's not good. So just sad for him. In moments like that, it kind of took us back. And Andrew reminded of in the chat when Mo Salah was forced off in the 31st minute with that shoulder injury in the Champions League final, Madrid and Liverpool. It's just a sad moment and you hate to see it. I think OKC probably win the game anyway. But, like, it just. It's devastating now. He's out for a year.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Yeah. Look, I've learned. I've learned not to speculate on injuries, and I think that's important. But the headline now, aside from, again, massive credit to OKC and sga, SGA is the king. But should he have played? My opinion is that they were. They're about an hour, give or take, from immortalizing themselves and championship as. As champions. Is that worth the risk of the next nine months? 150. 100. It'll take him, you know, nine months to get back from this. A year to get back from this. 150%.

[Landon Donovan]

And, Tim, there's no question. Sorry. Let me just.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah.

[Landon Donovan]

If you and I were in that position and I was. Zero doubt. Yeah. You with your grind. There's zero doubt we're playing that game. Or your hip flexor. There's zero doubt we're playing that game. Yeah, of course we're playing that game.

[Tim Howard]

Sorry. And I. And I. And I think. And. And when I. When I tore my adductor off the BO. Mexico game, I have experiences that I can tell you this. Halliburton, I don't remember which game it was. Midway through the series, he. He had the calf injury. Right. There's no doubt these two things are connected. Right. And what I mean. What I mean by that is he would have gone into Game 7 knowing things weren't okay. Right. They knew. He knew he was going to play Game 7, and he knew that there was more than likely a big risk of something. Now, I probably didn't think he was going to tear his Achilles. He probably thought, maybe I'll tear my calf or something. But he knew that there was a risk, and he weighed up the pros and the cons, and he went for it. And I think most people I know in that position would have went for it, too. So sad. Sad for him, sad for the Pacers, but what a season they had. And hats off to. To okc.

[Landon Donovan]

Congrats to okc. That was. It was a great year. Really good year for them. They were the best team all year, and then it's good when the best team wins it in the end. All right, Tim. Another great, great week. Lots will be happening this week, so we'll have a lot more next week. Club World Cup Gold Cup. Should be exciting now as we get to the knockout stages. Appreciate you guys. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, Podcast, Spotify, anywhere you get your pods. And as always, always follow us at Unfiltered Soccer for bonus content.

[Tim Howard]

Yeah. Thanks so much, everybody. Thank you to our presenting sponsor, VW and our Fan Connection sponsor, AT&T. And, of course, our unfiltered refresh sponsor, Coors Light. Have an amazing week. Enjoy all the soccer you can. We'll be back next next. Excuse me. We'll be back next Tuesday with another edition of Unfiltered Soccer.