Nico is now with us, and it is that time for the handoff, where we are going from one coast to the other coast to Peru and all points in between. Nico, we got a visit from Nino Damas this morning, the truth seeker and soothsayer of the future. Oh and so he has laid upon us with twenty one months to spare the winner in the world competition that is coming
to this hemisphere in twenty twenty six. And after much thought and analysis and having the wool on top of the dome, he has said, Nino Damas, so let it be said, So let it be done in some circles. Donas almost to us all that the i'lb Celeste will have a parade in Fort Lauderdale and or Miami and ar Buenos Aires, and it will be back to back Argentina in twenty twenty six with a thirty nine year old Lionel Messi going out like no man has gone
out in sixty plus years. What's say you to what Nino Damas brought to the table this morning?
Wow, I say, Nino Damas must have that very powerful crystal ball or you know, looking to the future, because that's that's deep. Having a prediction all the way to twenty twenty six might be tough. I think it's a good choud. I mean, you see what Argentina has been
doing in Coma ball as of recent uh. And I'm not just talking about the six year over Bolivia, but you know, I'm just saying overall, the quality, the balanced roster that they have, a guy likes Colonia that just seems to do no wrong when he comes to both collups and management of that specific group. So yeah, it's a good shout. I'd say that, not like I'm not gonna say that that England is going to be one
of the get anything. But there are other teams that I'm waiting see what happens with with some madagial changes with some new players that could eventually be revelations of that twenty twenty six World Cup. So I think that there are some teams that I still want to wait up and look. But I think Argentina right now is definitely the best team in the world.
No doubt about it. All Right, As always, Nino, it is fantastic to see both you and Nino Domas dropping by on Thursdays. Please stay warm, May the Dome stay warm. May the information continue to come to Nino Domas and all forms dominis olmos to Nino domason, dominis almos to us all. Thank you, my friend, love you very much, and we will see you next week.
Well Nico Jo take care, guys.
All right, there goes Nino. Nino's going to become properly hydrated. And it was yeah, Nino Domas, he put up the he took a little bit of what happened in the past window. But I think Nino Domas is going for the storybook ending where Lionel Messi at the age of thirty nine, who's feeling younger. The guys there are keeping him young, he's having fun, he's keeping it loose, keeping it light, and so I think Nino Domas is looking for the storybook ending. I wouldn't put it past them, but.
I give a shout because they I mean, look, I know that they seem to be there and they never do it as it just happened to them h in the Euros, in the WEFA. But I just I just think with Tuccuo as the manager and a team that has progressively gotten better and better, I think they're going to have something to say in twenty twenty six, I think that there are a couple of teams that could be tough to play against. I want to see Columbia
do well. And now one twenty twenty six is going to be a really, really good World Cup to watch.
All right. So with with Tommy Tuckle for School now in charge in England, you've got tukel in England, You've got Pochettino in the United States. And we talked about an hour Number one Tim Howard's comments about saying that Christian Polistic needed to stay and not go back to his team, not go back to league play and go back to Syria, but he needed to stay with his team for that second match, even though he wasn't playing
in it. He had to stay, and that the USA has to sit there and go, hey, Milan, this is how it's gonna be. We need to keep our guy. And I'm paraphrasing it was probably there wasn't necessarily a whole lot of finger pointing, I wouldn't think, but he was verbally finger pointing that the United States and US Soccer needs to go to these big clubs and go
this is how it's going to be. They're gonna stay here, and they're gonna just even if they're gonna hang around, they're gonna stay and not report to you until the window is done. I've raised the people's eyebride of that one. I'm like that, it's not how you play in the sandbox these days.
Yeah, and that's exactly what I wanted to say. I mean, look, but you didn't doing the right thing by getting himself slowly integrated into the group. And he's not gonna come in there and just put player in situations that they don't have to be. And he understands what players are playing for at the club level. He understands that eighty percent of their development is due to leak play and club play and their positions, the amount of time minutes
that they get with their clubs. So it's a big deal. And I feel like the overreaction has been massive with this whole Mexico US loss and where's west End and where's Pulisic and what happened to Ricardo Peppy. Look, there's only so much of and we talked about this, there's only so much you can do a national team head coach when he comes to the tactics, the soccer module the ideology, the concepts, all of these things that takes time.
Do you think that Pulisic or Western or anybody who's going to get so much more out of staying with this team a couple of days, other than maybe just the group the camaraderie. No, you really don't. Let's take it easy. This is we're just getting started puts doing the right thing by making sure that the group components, that the relationships with the players are where they need to be. Everything else will come in time. What is
he doing now? What did he need to do? He needed to see, not the politics, not the regard of Pa, the player that he needs to watch, that he needs to see that he hasn't been able to work with, but saw a whole bunch of eight. I guarantee you that a lot of tape, and most of that tape had all the stars the start that are going to
be there. I would be more focused on some of the things that Pochettino did with certain players, like Scally playing in the back of a three man back line, like Musa playing out as a right back, like making sure that there's certain players that maybe I saw something in that I can't manufacture, and I could harness that other positions. Those are the things that but Justina wanted
to do. And if you're not going to experiment in a friendly and an exhibition, in a warm up game, in a tune up game, where are you going to experiment in the in the League's Cup, in the World Cup? I mean, where are you going to do that? I mean Nations League. I'm sorry, where are you gonna be? When are you gonna be able to experiment? No other tournament? So I think that the reaction is way too high. He did what he had to do against Panama, got
a good positive first win. In second game, I let go all my stars, and then I go ahead and go up to Mexico and play with my beat team, and I got to figure out what certain players do or didn't do. Like Sergeant's case, he needed to make sure to see certain players play ninety minutes ninety plus sixty minutes, and he did that.
So you're saying that the sky isn't falling, we should you mean that? They mean that after one window and two matches where you had load management and a couple of knocks where a couple of your big guns weren't there, and you lose to Mexico in the Guardado sendoff match, that the sky isn't falling? What? What? What?
Absolutely? And I'm saying that anyone who and respectfully of course, said that is an abomination and disrespectful that Pulitic and these guys were in there are absolutely just overreacting and off their meds. I mean, you need let's just take a breather. Lest understand, it is a lung process and there's no need for that to happen. Actually, if you think about it, this is the right way to do it.
Is you go from the outside in and figure out the guys that are in the outside of that bubble of the US pool are and then you focus on those who are in who you know will be in.
You mean, you mean that we have to look at your depth and figure out who those dudes are that can contribute and not the stars that you anticipate will be there anyway. What you want to fill in a roster from the bottom up. What is the matter with you?
Craziness?
Craziness damn all right, So let's go ahead and shift it to decision day before we play a little Cliffhanger, because then Cliffhanger has a direct result in what you think is going to happen on decision day. How then we've been talking about it all season. Or additionally, the West is the one that's chaotic top to bottom on decision day, and the East is the one that's locked in place this year. It's the reverse. The East is the one that has its bouts of chaos, and it's
got its couple of groups. You know, it's almost like the Tour de France, where you've got the you got the dude that's gonna get the yellow jersey. You know who that's gonna be. You know who's gonna finish. Second. Then you've got the chase pack. You've got that first chase pack, and then you've got the peloton, the big
group that's chasing after that one thing. In the East, it's four teams, one win, three points, two spots plus positioning up above, and the West is the one that's all calm about all this what is going on with this planet that we live in.
I just think that, in all honesty and just by looking at it, seem like the East was just more entertaining. There was a lot more challenges there were the the level just seemed a little bit higher in the East. In my opinion that that the tougher teams, the teams that had a lot of changes. The the West just was a little bit block. I mean it was a little bit bleak. I mean you outside of the first five teams, everybody else was extremely inconsistent. They were almost,
uh in a dire need for for help. And I understand that we have New England on the on on the east side, but teams like Austin the worms all season, teams like San Jose that seemed to just be going through the motions of every single game. When you have all those teams that've been up in Minnesota, was a mess. Finally they figured it out at the end of the season. But I mean there was so much inconsistency in the in the West that I feel like in the East
it was just a little bit more competitive. And I think you're seeing that here to just close it all out with Montreal, with this United, with Atlanta, and you know, you got all these teams that are still in the works Nashville, I don't know where not anymore, but there was a point in time where you're like, can Callahan do it? So it's just some of those things that I think have made the East interesting and I'm excited for it, and I think DC United against Montreal is
going to be one. I mean DC United against Charlotte's going to be an interesting game. I think that Montreal also will have everything on the line and we'll see what they can do. I don't think that they'll end up going through. Atlanta has a difficult game against Orlando. So I just think that the East in general, to me, had a little bit more quality on the field than the West did. If we go overall all, every single team in that conference.
East has Messi and friends. They're number one, they're chasing after records. So my guess is is that they're eighteen will be flipped. You'll have the Gulf Stream Galacticos on the bench. You need to close something out late, you'll
substitute them in. And we've seen what Tata Martino has been able to do with the roster that he and Chris Henderson have assembled that it's to the point to where there's a lot of trust in those guys that are twelve through thirty, and you're seeing what's happening with them, so they're untouched. Columbus they're going to be the number two. Cincinnati they're going to be the number three. Then this
is where the fourth fun begins. Orlando could be a lockdown four if they win, but they've got NYC breathing down their neck. NYC is a favorite on the road at CF Montreal, so Orlando. If there is going to be a point that Orlando needs more than a point, then they get it on goal difference, because then if there's any kind of a draw in New York City wins, they're both at fifteen, fifteen, eleven and eight. Orlando in theory,
would have a better goal difference. Charlotte if they win, could jump in YC if NYC loses on the road. In my treol, Red Bulls if they win, could be as high as five. If things fall down in front of them. Charlotte could be five if they win an NYCFC doesn't, then you get into the math. But Red Bulls they don't have as many wins as Charlotte and NYC, so any kind of a tiebreaker involving them, that's where that falls down. You're four to five to six and
the seven. Then we mentioned DC Montreal, and then you end up with Philly in Atlanta once again, four teams, two spots two at forty two at thirty seven, and there will be math in a test later on. In the West, LAFC took care of business last weekend. They got the win against Vancouver to get them back to thirty three matches. LAFC needs a win. Lag needs a point basically to secure the top. Seattle and salt Lake.
They're beating the ish out of each other because right now salt Lake's got one less win, same amount of points, so Seattle has to better a result from RSL to be the threef My math is correct, then five, six, seven, eight nine could be chaotic. Dynamo could lock themselves in at the five with bettering a result from Colorado fifty one to fifty forty nine I feel like a Van
Hagar album. Minnesota, then Vancouver at forty seven. Vancouver could have made things a little bit more interesting if they had gotten a result against LAFC, but they were five men down because of international duty. Portland's at forty six. Everybody else is gone. So now we bring in Cliffhanger and this will then where the math is concerned. If there's a game that you want to talk about then this is where we all stop and we talk about it.
NYC Hall. They are a road favorite at c F Montreal at a plus one thirty three, tough place to play. They're a road favorite trying to solidify their place fire in Nashville. Who cares? Chicago Fires even money plus one hundred DC and Charlotte. You mentioned that one DC is a minus one fifteen at home. Charlotte is a plus two point fifty four. With Christian Kalina in net, your draw is a plus three to Zho eight.
Yeah, man, that P eight draws some pretty interesting and I like it. I think that that's those are numbers that I would like to get into. But I have a gut feeling that DC United is going to pull it off. And regardless of playing against the best goalkeeper my vote for a goalkeeper of the year in Kalina, and a Charlotte team that has actually figured it out even up top, and they've been able to do a lot of things right, I think that DC Unit is
going to pull it off. Whenever D United has send a lot of guys forward, I think Benteke has a lot to play for when he comes to Obviously that Golden Bood his team. I mean, in another era, he he'd be MVP. Can it for everything he's done for this United. But I like the midfield. I really like how Area has played all season, the way he pushes on the right side. I think that there's a lot of movements on the attacking end that can flustered Charlotte
and their well disciplined defensive tactics. So I'm gonna go ahead and take this United. I do think that it's going to be a low scoring game, so maybe a one zero two to one at best, But I do think it's going to be a low scoring game for this United. On the other side, when it comes to Montreal, that seems to be a game that I'm not so sure Montreal has enough to beat New York City FC.
New York City is needed. They have been inconsistent. They've looked like they can, you know, beat teams like Miami at times, and then they go ahead and completely have duds of a game. But I think santagoguez Alonso that attacking end in a midfield, the's starting to look like the midfield of an experienced balance team. I would say that New York CITYFC takes down as well.
Messi and Friends are a minus two seventy eight hosting the Revs, who are north of plus five eighty. Red Bulls hold favorite in a game that means nothing for Crew at a plus one thirty three Crew or a plus one seventy two. Philadelphia at home favored against Cincinnati once again. Cincinnati game doesn't mean anything to Cincinnati at all because Cincinnati is at fifty six points. They can't touch Columbus. Orlando can't touch them. So what will Cincinnati's
lineup look like? We don't know. Cincinnati a big road dog at a plus two seventy six. Philadelphia at home of minus one twenty seven, which leaves us with the Purple team hosting Atlanta United at a minus one thirty nine at Lanti United is a plus two to ninety. Your draw is a plus three forty three Atlanta United. It's got to have it, Nico, What do you think?
I want to see the goals on that. That is probably the only thing that I would touch because I do think Orlando will take it. I think Atlanta.
Man.
Atlanta just has been tough to watch at times, and as much as the new acquisitions have given them some life and I think that eventually next year, when there's a full roster and you're using all of your resources to put that team together, I think it's going to be a very good team. But I feel like Orlando is in great form. I think that there's such a gambit of offensive players that are spot on when they
need to be. I think Fundooris is having one of the better close seasons that the closing part of the of the season, if we compartialized what he's done in other seasons, this end part of it has been really really good. I think Poppies figured out Oscar Perea. I think he's really got it going on over there, making every body available. You see when Louis Muriel goes in Louise Moriell that you thought that was going to be absolute bust. I think Oscar Pere has done perfectly. What
he does best is hitting the individual. Get him to understand this is what you're gonna do better. He's changed his training regiment. He's looked better. He's played almost like a ten for this team because he knows that Dramiron Rique and Duncan MacGuire ahead of him in the striking component. So Maria has been doing a little bit of everything. Sometimes he drops socaus, he gets really white. He's been a distributor. He's been really good coming off the bench.
So I think Orlando just has too much power on the attacking end for Atlanta.
Three and a half over is a plus one ten, and that's where it flips. Four and a half is a plus two forty six. That sounds like you don't need to touch it.
No, that's a little to reach from my blood, especially lately when I've been getting a little bit too greedy on some of these. So yeah, I wouldn't. I wouldn't touch it either way. I don't think there's enough good numbers for me to grab onto it. But I do think Orlando will get the best out of Atlanta in this one.
Okay, Western Conference and now let's roll through juice boxes here. Austin and Colorado. Colorado is a road dog at a plus one seventy three. Austin's a plus one twenty three FCD and Sporting FC Dallas favorite at a minus one twenty five Sporting and plus two eighty six. Houston at home hosting lag Lag is a plus two seventeen on the road. Yeah, plus two eighty seven to draw, LAG
needs a point to distance themselves away from LAFC. LAG to win on the road at Houston A plus two seventeen Houston Dynamo a plus one oh four.
That's my lock of the day. And let me see that. Let me see the goals on that, But that is my lock of the day LAG over Houston. Houston has been good, they have been deaf difficult. They do play that Benny ball that has gotten them to where they are. But can they keep up with this team? Can Dorsey stay back enough to not allow Pencil to get behind him when he loves to get forward? I don't think so. Can this midfield old Ricky Pooch, I don't think so either.
Can anybody do anything to hold up Gabriel Peck and how dominant he has been all season? I don't think so. I do think that LAG with this team, this roster, they take it, and I would do three and a half in this one easy.
Plus LAG plus one oh six is three and a half. So that's where it turns from a minus to a plus is three and a half. Four is a plus one seventy five In the composite, four and a half is a plus two thirty seven, but three and a half is where it changes from minus to plus.
Man, that's a good one. I'm definitely taking that one. I will be going here later on today to set some so definitely Brugman's back. That gives LAG such a better balance. You saw them be able to get guys on the same page, man, and that the depth of their bench. I mean, man, LG is going to be a handful in the playoffs, and they're going to start off by taking this Houston game as a playoff game. It's just going to be the startup to what I had for this LG squad.
LFC big favorite of minus four hundred against the San Jose Earthquakes, who are north of plus eight hundred loons or a minus one ninety six at home against All Caps Saint Louis City City is a plus four twenty six RSL in Vancouver RSL, which we know hasn't been the same a minus one oh three. Hosting Vancouver, who's a plus two to nineteen on the road, draws a plus three eighteen.
Mm hm m ooh, ooh. That's a good one. That is a good one. Uh, you know what, uh, what's what? What's re Elsea Lakes.
Numbers there again minus one oh three light minus to be favored at home.
No that stuff. I'm gonna go ahead and go with the draw on now one know there's enough to go with a draw just to make that West Coast even more difficult to kind of get through. Uh yeah, I think a drawing down one makes makes sense for me.
Yeah, okay. Last one on the board is your Sounders, the game that you're going to be at reporting on and blowing up Seattle a minus one thirty five against Portland. Who needs it? Portland's a plus three twenty one draws basically a plus three hundred, but a minus one thirty five for Seattle hosting Portland. What do you think?
All right? Well, before that, I will say that that's a Lewis game. Looks to me like a big game that you could take sa Lewis on. Look at No. Minnesota and I heard that number? What was it? Well?
Plus what ridiculous? Plus four to twenty six for All Caps to win.
I will put some money on that.
Man.
Look, that's that All Caps game between that they had against Houston. They really jumped on Houston and it seems like the Germans have really put their things together, and I understand that they have nothing to play for, but jobs are to play for, and what you're kind of hoping to get here at the end of the season going into next season. To me, I don't know why that jumped right in front of me, and I will be setting that up. So I will take all Caps
no goals against Minnesota. I think whether it's a low scoring game or not, that's to be seen. But I do think Saint Louis has enough to make Minnesota struggle and I think that he could pull it off.
Yeah, Josh Jarras signs a contract extension by the way through twenty twenty five with a team option for twenty six. That just came out a couple of minutes ago.
But all should a big riverory, the big one, the game everybody's going to be watching. Seattle got the best out of Portland in Portland, but Portland has had Seattle's number at home for a very long time. We asked brands mat Sure about it and his and his reaction was, you're gonna remind me of this. You're really gonna remind me that we haven't been able to beat Portland at home when we're in such a good streak, Yes, Brian.
Unfortunately that was Jeremiah who has the question Jeremiah from Sandra Hart And yeah, so there is a lot to be played for their pride. There's obviously Cascadia. There is a birth to CCC conker keV Champions Cup that is on the line. So there's a lot to be played for here for Seattle. So I think there's a lot of pressure. If I'm not mistaken, I had heard that Kamal Miller might not play this game. That's a big blow for Portland. But let's be honest. Portland is not
worried about the defense. Portland is your typical Mexican boxer is gonna go out there and knock your head off. They're the defense. They're gonna come at you. So because of that, I think it's gonna be a really good game. And I'm struggling to just say that the Seattle Sanders will win because they are in such good rhythm. But I think Portland they're kind of against a corner and they have a lot of offensive weapons that could make Seattle very vulnerable. So give me those numbers.
Again, numbers again, minus one thirty five for Seattle at home plus three to zero one on the draw Portland to plus three twenty one.
Plus three twenty one. My goodness, Yeah, it's uh, it's it's gonna be a game. It's gonna be a game, and I'm gonna go ahead and go with the draw. I'm gonna go with the draw. I'm gonna go with the draw on this one, and I think that it'll be it'll be a good game. It could be a one to one, it could be a two to two game. But I think that Seattle's going to be tested against a Portland team is gonna come in here with everything that they have. I think Seattle has done well. They
have some guys that are international duty. They'll be coming back. All but Vargas got about ten minutes with the Mexico national team, which you know, props to him. He barely got to touch the ball, really, but you know he's going to be coming back. So we'll see how those players Raider grate to this team as quickly as they can and play against his Portland team. But I'm gonna go ahead and go with a drawing.
Now, one, okay, one more thing before you get out of here, and we put a bow on Today. Earlier in the week, Johnny and Fantino Today, I feel grunge. As we said on the show. He shows up in Seattle and announces that Luman is going to be the host for the three as he takes his drink from his rave green mug. Going to be the home for the Sounders matches in the Club World Cup. So Johnny Infantino in town, he had the pictures taken, he had the scarf around him for World Cup twenty twenty six.
Please patent police, don't let us get in trouble for mentioning those words together as a group, Johnny and Infantino came to town first announcement for Club World Cup and the Sounders get to stay at home.
Yeah, I mean it was exciting, it was. It was a great experience. I'm not gonna lie to he. Whenever you see someone of the stature of Infantino around here, you get to ask him a couple of questions. He sounds like a really cool guy, by the way. I mean I know that he's probably not, and there's a lot of things that you know surround that name in FIFA, to be quite honest, but you can tell why he is well. He is because he is as likable and charismatic as he gets. Man. I mean the way he talks,
the way he handles questions. I mean he's a politician. I mean to be honest, I mean to be where he's at right. But I thought it was great to just see him enjoy the city. I like what he said about Looming Field. He said that he felt like there was some soul in that stadium. He loved the way that the stadium was directly connected to the center
of the city or the downtown area. Peter Tomasawa, who is the CEO for the Seattle committee for the World Cup, mentioned that they had him at the top of the Toyota Balcony in Seattle, right next to the city, and he was just taken back by that that field that connections between the city and the stadium. So it was it was great to see someone like Infantino that has seen, you know, stadiums around the world. And I'm sure he was probably also very nice to you know, age and everybody.
He was always gonna have been positive, but it was good to just see him being part of what we've experienced and kind of put that in a global spect so yeah, six games in the World Cup, six Gay, six seven in the World Cup, six seven, the Club World Cup. That's gonna be huge for this city. We have seen how much involvement there's been from the city from a Sounders organization to get the city right for
those moments. So just overall a huge moment for the community in Seattle, and I don't think that they're gonna disappoint at least in terms of experience and the city and everything in general. With the stadium. We'll see what happens with the Sounders and how well they can perform in those moments. But I was just happy to see the excitement from everybody surrounding the organization about having those games and that amount of exposure globally.
No doubt about it. All Right, cut the promo for me. What's going on with Polsto Sports in the soccer bar because you're gonna be busy in about forty five minutes.
Yes, So if you want to hear what Infantino said about his experience here in Seattle, you could check that out a postal sports we have the whole thing. I did ask him about, are there any improvements that need to be made to the stadium to the city things like that. He did not answer. I shouldn't have asked that question because I should have known better. He did talk about other things that are that are pretty cool,
so go ahead and check that out. We also have Adrian Hanauur and Peter tomas Hawa in the same channel, of course, talking about everything that happened with Infantino, and then here in Soccer Bar we're going to be getting into the US two zero loss against Mexico, the overreaction. What we like, what we didn't like is the ceiling falling, you know, is the sky falling all of those states.
We're going to talk a little bit about Mexico and the struggles that they've had and how he kind of felt like Pochettino maybe left them a loose, loose situation because if there was a team in need of rescue and in need of a big game, was Mexico. And was a two zero win against a B squad of the United States really a big win? I don't think so. I think that if Pachatino would have put some more of those stars they would have had, they would have
had more relevance as of a win. So I thought that Pagettino and the US Federation were maybe given Mexico less to work with, and regardless of the win, I think it did this. So we're gonna talk about that. We're gonna talk about decision day, so go ahead and check it out here in about forty minutes.
What he said, as always, my friend at l Rollo in w on the twitters, at sports Pulso at the Soccer Bar, we will catch up with you next week because next week we're through the eight nines and we're into the playoffs, so we will have set the regular season aside and the sprint continues in other forms. As always, my friend, great to see you. What coup coffee?
Are we on number two? Number two here today. I had to rewatch that Mexico US game this morning just because we're going to get deep into it. So it's going to be interesting to talk.
About that, no doubt. All Right, be good, my friend. We'll catch up with you soon. Love you very much. We'll see you next week.
Thank you, my guy.