Brendan Hunt: Yeah. Jason, what's your feeling? In your heart of hearts, what's gonna happen tomorrow?
Jason Sudeikis: The beauty of it is, like, I'm good either way. It's, like, where my fandom-- but obviously passport-wise, I hope we dump their tea in the harbor.
[LAUGHTER]
Rebecca Lowe: Let's not start that again. So, you have a little bit…
Sudeikis: [LAUGHS] "Start that again." Let's not bring all that up again!
[LAUGHTER]
[MUSIC FADES IN]
[WHISTLE BLOWS]
Hunt: From Apple News and Meadowlark Media, I'm Brendan Hunt.
Lowe: And I'm Rebecca Lowe, and this is "After the Whistle." On today's episode, we're gonna preview the very small matter of United States against England coming up Friday, share some predictions on that very game, play a little match of "Optimist/Pessimist."
Hunt: And Rebecca's good friend, and also my "Ted Lasso" co-worker, Jason Sudeikis, joins as the first guest on the show. And of course, a repeated warning, dear listeners, you will be hearing adult language on this episode, but not as much as last time.
Lowe: You're getting better.
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
Hunt: Rebecca, you're back from Hawaii.
Lowe: I sure am. And now, it really feels like Friday is upon us, and it's just so blooming big that we just couldn't not insert a new episode. We have to talk about this game.
Hunt: But we'll talk about a couple other things first as we review what has happened since our last recording. Japan has just shocked Germany 2-1, and that is nowhere near the biggest upset we've had so far because the biggest upset we've had so far was the shocker yesterday of Saudi Arabia 2, Argentina 1. The Messi meter is running at low, Rebecca.
[LOWE EXHALES]
Lowe: I mean, what did I say about the end of the last episode, about the mismatch of Messi and Saudi Arabia being the mismatch of the century? I mean, this is why football will forever make fools of all of us, because you can think you know what's gonna happen in every game, but really, ultimately, you absolutely have no idea. That was insane.
Hunt: And Argentina shouldn't get too upset, it is still only the group stage. And in fact, back in 1990, they had one of the other biggest losses of all time when they lost to Cameroon, and Argentina still made the final. So, nobody panic yet.
Lowe: Did you see that video, by the way, doing the rounds on social? The party that was happening somewhere in Saudi Arabia when the final whistle went, and the explosion of joy was so amazing. One of the people at the party just went to the door of the house, ripped it off its hinges, and just threw out the window. Just enjoyed-- Just throwing doors around over there in Saudi Arabia. It's amazing. That's when social media is at its best, just showing us the Saudi Arabian fans throwing doors around.
[HUNT LAUGHS]
Hunt: Oh, boy. Then we had Poland-Mexico, which I was looking forward to. Lewandowski, Robert Lewandowski of Poland, one of the greatest strikers of all time, has still somehow never scored in a World Cup after having a penalty saved by Mexico's Memo Ochoa. Is he gonna score? He's got two more games, and one of them's against Argentina.
Lowe: Yeah, I know. He will. He will. Class-- class, permanent. He will. He will. Talking of class, or maybe not, Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Manchester United, I know it's not a World Cup story, but it does still become a World Cup story 'cause Ronaldo's at the World Cup and, I think, going to talk to the media as well, leading up to Portugal's first game. So, they tore up his contract. According to reports, they haven't had to pay him a single penny of the 16 million quid which was left on his deal, and so he's walked out of there, which is obviously getting what he wanted. But then maybe as big, if not bigger story, that just gave United fans such joy after that, was the news that the Glazers are open to selling Manchester United after 17 years of the United fans and the Glazer family being at odds with each other. But the big question, of course, is who are they gonna sell it to, and can English football ensure that the new owners do good for not just this club but ensure that we don't have new owners that want to go down that whole European Super League road? So, we will move on because that isn't World Cup, but massive, seismic news coming out of Manchester United.
Hunt: All right. Here we are to our order of business. England-USA, a renewal of hostilities that we have managed at least over the last century or so to keep strictly to the football pitch. Let's acknowledge here, Rebecca, that you and I both have… You know, we have where we're from, but we also have soft spots for opposing countries. I'm an Anglophile. I've been into English culture since I was in high school. I liked Shakespeare, and I liked The Beatles, and I liked "Doctor Who," and I liked "Monty Python," and I had no friends. And as I got into football, I got into football via the Premier League, and I think anyone who's not from England who becomes a fan via the Premier League, you end up having… you know, you're at least aware of what's going on with England all the time. And for me, it's at least a soft spot. That soft spot will be, you know, hard as obsidian tomorrow. There will be no tenderness whatsoever, but, you know, I don't want England to do badly in the tournament as a whole. You are now living here. You're a citizen here. Your child is a proper American child. Where are you at?
[LOWE LAUGHS]
Lowe: Exact same. I want USA to do really well in this tournament, I really do. Just not on Friday. And I've never had that feeling about any team before, so it's a weird feeling. But yes, when you live in a country, earn your living in a country, raise a child in a country, and love the country, by the way, you're gonna have a soft spot for it. So it's a weird day, Friday, for both of us, isn't it? Little bit weird. You want the best for both of them, don't we? But just not Friday.
Hunt: Now, remember when this draw came out, and it was, you know, personally seismic? I love… I mean, I love the World Cup draw in general, I always have it on my calendar from the moment it gets announced, and I look forward to it. But England playing the U.S. was of course very big news, but nearly as big was the fact that just by the luck, literal luck of the literal draw, the game would be played the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. Thursday is also a day that's sort of always been the parish or province of the NFL. There's NFL games all day, and then Saturday is the one of the biggest college football days of the year. All the big rivalries happen. You know, Alabama-Auburn, Ohio State-Michigan. And then Sunday, we're back on to the NFL, which of course is the dominant sport. So, Friday is this day in the middle of this sports-dominated weekend that has no particular traditional sport attached to it, but everyone's gonna be home. So this Friday, when all these families are together and don't have that much to do, and for the first time, the World Cup is taking place during this ill-fitting time of year, the one benefit is this game could be the single highest-rated soccer game in the history of American television. And if we were to get a result that day, preferably a win but at least a draw, it could be a seminal moment for the match going forward for a generation or in fact generations to come. If we perform badly, if we go down in flames, it won't just be a sporting bummer, that's for sure. It'll be a cultural bummer in a pretty massive way.
Lowe: I think seminal.
Lowe: Yeah, it's a huge opportunity. And I think the USA-Wales game drew an average, right, Brendan, of 11.7 million viewers on both Fox and Telemundo combined. That's incredible.
Hunt: That's on a Monday afternoon in November.
Lowe: And I, having lived here now for nearly ten years and seen the growth of football, I'm even still surprised at that number. But it gives me great hope and great joy. And like you say, I think on Friday, if you're not at the mall shopping your Black Friday deals, you're at home watching this game. It could blow some people's minds, this audience figure. My worry for you is if it doesn't go your way, how damaging, especially with the World Cup coming up in four years right here in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. So, it's almost pivotal. It's almost pivotal maybe in the history of this sport in this country, this Friday.
Hunt: And England are clear favorites. Yeah? Fair to say?
Lowe: Yeah. I mean, without a doubt. They would've been clear favorites even before the World Cup started, and now the World Cup has started, you guys got your draw, we smashed Iran. I think now, even more so going into this game, the pressure is on England to, as we would say, put the USA away.
Hunt: Now, one of my only things I cling to here is the potential of English hubris. I think this for two reasons. I think these both came from you, Rebecca. I know one of them was, as people may have heard in our first episode. If not, you might wanna go back 'cause literally the first two seconds. I say, I think U.S. can beat anyone on their day, a pretty routine statement. Isn't this true of any country? Didn't we just learn this with Saudi Arabia? But I merely said I think the U.S. can beat anyone on their day, and do you remember what you said, Rebecca?
Lowe: I do. [CHUCKLES] "Really?"
Hunt: What did you say?
[LAUGHTER]
Lowe: "Really?" I mean, obviously I was just joking. You can of course beat anyone on a day, and we are experiencing the World Cup of shocks, so I actually am very nervous, and I won't be watching this game with anybody American. There is always a chance with England that we're gonna mess it up, and so I really don't wanna get to the end of the game and have to make conversation with anybody American. I just can't. I'm sorry. I just can't. So we'll be watching it alone.
Hunt: "Where'd Mommy go?" "She didn't wanna talk to you right now, son. Get outta here."
Lowe: Exactly.
Lowe: [LAUGHS] Not my little American! But no, I think-- I just… We are confident, but we also are bruised and we are scarred over the years with all the moments where England have let us down when we think they're gonna follow through. And so, you're right, they're favorites. Harry Kane had an ankle knock against Iran, came off, was hobbling, had a scan, is fit, has trained, but apparently still limping. What? I, for one-- I know this may actually feed into what you just said. This might sound super England arrogance, I may not… I don't think I'd play him. Because if he's hobbling or has-- And we know about Harry Kane's ankles, they ain't the best. And so, if you've got a dodgy ankle in any way and your name is Harry Kane, take the match off. We've got Callum Wilson who can slot in perfectly well, and we've got a ton of attacking forwards and midfielders. So I would actually not play Harry Kane.
Hunt: And you've got three points in the bag already, so, yeah, I think you're probably right, Rebecca. That Harry Kane? Not important. Get him out of there.
Lowe: Correct.
Lowe: [LAUGHS] Well, but an unfit Harry Kane, we do not want on the field as an England fan.
Hunt: No, no, no, no, no, no. Totally agree. Totally agree. Totally agree.
[LOWE LAUGHS]
Lowe: Um, okay. What about your chaps? Should we talk about the fact that you picked up quite a few yellow cards against Wales? Is that an issue?
Hunt: It is a little bit. I mean, for those who don't know, there's a thing in World Cups and other knockout tournaments called yellow card accumulation. Yes, if you get two yellow cards in one game, that's a red card, and you're out the next game. But if you get two yellow cards just over the course of this tournament between the opening and the quarterfinals, then you will miss the game after that. So, any one of our four guys who got yellow cards in the first game, that's Acosta, Dest, Ream, or McKennie, if they get another yellow card, they will not play against Iran. How generally do you think it's gonna play out, Rebecca? Do you think, from what you know of the U.S., do you think that they will be-- that they have to sort of park the bus and play counterattacking? Or will they, you know, go for it in that wonderfully naïve American way that we have about us?
Lowe: I don't know Berhalter enough. I haven't seen enough of the way he approaches games against the bigger teams, dare I say it. Not being funny, but you-- I mean, you genuinely don't tend to play teams that are ranked higher than you that often because you are one of the best in your geographical area as you're qualifying for various tournaments. So I haven't seen enough of what Berhalter will do. I would suggest he would probably park the bus a little and then try to find some space on the counterattack, yeah, with the likes of Reyna and Pulisic. I think that would be probably what's gonna happen. And England are just gonna have to be patient, like we were at the beginning against Iran who did the exact same thing, and slowly but surely move the ball around quickly with speed, with tempo, and break through a low block. I think that is how it will play out. Having said that, maybe he'll surprise. Maybe he'll say, You know what, we take confidence from the first game, which I think you should, and they go for it. I'm not sure that'll be the right thing, but what do you think?
Hunt: You know, a lot of the big footballing nations, they have developed enough support where the support not only want results but they want those results to come from playing in a certain way. You know, the Dutch are particularly defined by this, like, for example, that 2010 team that made it to the World Cup final, first time the Dutch have had a team in the World Cup Final since 1978, but they were not beloved in Holland because they played in a very physical, very Feyenoord kind of way, as defined by Nigel de Jong's completely accidental spikes to the chest of Xabi Alonso. We are unburdened by such aesthetic concerns, we really just want results. And we want the hanging-by-your-fingernails drama of it as well if we can get there. So if he were to basically park the bus, there's not a person in this country who would mind. We can't, like, go three at the back though, 'cause we don't have enough center backs to go around. So yes, I think it'll be largely… We have to go counterattacking. But, you know, I'm a fan, not a tactician, I'm speculating here. What the hell do I know?
Lowe: I quite… Sorry, just in general, I'm just think-- Talking about your center backs and seeing what Zimmerman did with Gareth Bale, I'm quite excited, if he does decide to rest Harry Kane, to unleash Marcus Rashford on Zimmerman and Ream. Is that fair? Would that be quite a spectacle?
Hunt: It's extremely fair. I mean, I think it's, like-- it's an Achilles heel with a bullseye on it, you know, that our center backs are not fast guys, you know, and they're not quick guys for turning around. So, the thing I'm most worried about from England here is their speed. You know, they have speed everywhere, and, as they say, speed kills. But one thing was, the final 30 minutes of that USA-Wales game was chaos, like beautiful, wonderful chaos. You know, it felt like… It felt like a cup final, and it didn't work out for the U.S., but if they can draw England into that kind of chaos game instead of, you know, England's far more disciplined approach than ours is, that could serve us well and it would also be a real hoot to watch.
Lowe: It was amazing.
Lowe: [LAUGHS] But what's also interesting is that Wales-Iran play first, don't they, on the day? So that result is important to, well, both of us, but probably especially the United States in terms of then who gets out the group.
Hunt: Absolutely. So, as we were saying before, the most important thing in a first match of tournament is just don't lose, which is why, you know, getting even the one point against Wales, as heartbreaking as it was, was incredibly valuable. Again, Argentina would love to have a point right now, so we could be worse. But then the other thing is, you basically are always hoping for the other teams in your group, when they are playing each other, to get a draw. Because if someone wins, it's three points. If it's a draw, two teams get one point, and that third point… [MIMICS EVAPORATION] …disappears into the ether, gone forever. So what we would all love to happen in Wales-Iran would be a draw.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
Hunt: Rebecca, it's not just, you know, this game of football that we love, but we also love a game called "Optimist/Pessimist." You've already given us a pretty optimistic view of England, so give me your pessimist answers, Rebecca. To question one, how can the U.S. win?
Lowe: Okay. So, I mentioned it briefly earlier on, the way I think USA can win is you're gonna have to sit deep, you're gonna have to be putting in that shift, that low block, which means everybody behind the ball. When England have the ball and they're heading towards you, you'll need to put in what they call a confrontation line in and or around that halfway line, so you are defending against England basically in half of the field, okay? So, you don't want this game to be stretched out, you want all your players in your half defending against England so that you then, if you can turn the ball over, you then use your speedy players to try and get in behind England and try and get some joy if you can try and get a goal. I also think that you can be and have to be, at set plays, watertight. England at set plays are very dangerous. That is your way to a U.S. win, to maybe nick one on the break and then just defend for your lives, chaps.
Hunt: And now, just so I can sleep better, how can England blow this game?
Lowe: England will blow it, using your word "hubris," if there is complacency. And England at times can be complacent. They will look at the Iran game, having scored the six goals, and think, Oh yeah, we're on our game, we're all good. This is USA, we're better than USA. I'm thinking complacency will lose us the game. I'm thinking Gareth Southgate gets similarly complacent with his personnel choice, so maybe he rests too many players, rotates too many players. He doesn't tend to do that, but if I'm being pessimistic, he's gonna wake up one morning and decide on Friday morning "I'm gonna do it today because I need to look ahead." And also by not generally attacking the game. By not having the energy, the tempo, the high pressing. Got to do all of those things. If we don't do all those things, we could lose this game.
Hunt: Thank you. Thank you for that.
Lowe: [LAUGHS] That was really tough.
Lowe: Um, okay. For you, your "Optimist/Pessimist" take on the Gio Reyna situation. Go.
Hunt: I feel so much better.
Hunt: Okay, for those who don't know, Giovanni Reyna is one of our young up-and-coming stars, his father Claudio Reyna is one of the best players U.S. has ever had, Gio now plays at Borussia Dortmund where-- they love him over there, and he didn't play in our last game at all! Not one minute. You may recall that we didn't win that game. Might have been nice to have Gio in there. He's an incredible offensive talent especially, attacking talent. His ball control, his dribbling… You can Google a highlight of an incredible slalom run against Mexico, in particular, just to show a hint of what he has in his bag of tricks. He's amazing, and he's only 20, but he did not play in the last game at all. Okay, so, optimist, you know why he didn't play in the last game? Because Gregg was saving his secret weapon. Coming out, coming at you, gonna take you down. I mean, and he's named after Giovanni van Bronckhorst. He's got two great footballers in one name. He's amazing. But the pessimist version is Gregg has had one of his overthinks, and now he thinks Gio Reyna is not up to this and he isn't gonna play him at all, which would be a real, a real bummer. But I would think he'd be in this.
[LOWE SIGHS]
Lowe: All right. I just decided just to be like super nice and just allow you a moment to just revel in what might happen, how the United States can win this game.
Hunt: It will take a performance of heroism from the X-Men, and by the X-Men, "X" stands for expats, and I'm referring to all the U.S. players who play in England. In no particular importance, you got your Tim Ream, you got your Antonee Robinson from Fulham. They of course need to step up. You got your Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams from Leeds, we've talked about them before, they need to have the exact kind of game they've been having in the Premier League where they hassle and harry their opponents into submission. Christian Pulisic, who had a great first game, needs to keep his foot on the pedal and play at an absolute ten. But the most important of the X-Men will be Matt Turner, the Arsenal goalkeeper who had some good moments in the Wales game, sadly did not get a chance to fully stop the Bale penalty though he got a piece of it. But the only way we can win this game is if those guys come together to form a sort of a super group of mutant powers, and on top of that, Matt Turner stands on his head because that has been the formula for American upsets for decades and decades and decades, including a great tradition dating back to 1950 in Belo Horizonte.
Lowe: Well, I'm so glad that our domestic league has allowed your players to play to their full potential, which is now allowing your side to go into the game on Friday.
Hunt: [CACKLES] Thanks for the platform. Oh, my God, we've learned so much.
Lowe: I know. I feel like I might be regretting this. We might be regret-- We might have to get them out after this. We might have to get Fulham and Leeds and Chelsea to terminate contracts all around if Friday goes badly.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
Hunt: Alright, listeners. Now for our very first guest on this show, my good friend, my partner on "Ted Lasso," the man himself, the great Jason Sudeikis. Jason, thank you for joining us the day before Thanksgiving. Where are you? What's happening?
Sudeikis: I am currently in my parents' basement, the house I grew up in, the room I grew up in.
Hunt: Are you in trouble?
Sudeikis: No, no, no, not in trouble. No. Just… They didn't banish me to this. It's not a, you know, a Grimm fairy tale. It's actually a happy one. But no, I'm down here in the basement using the Wi-Fi, which-- I'm proud that my folks have decent Wi-Fi. It makes me, you know, very proud. I feel like I've done them right. And there's a, you know, I would say anywhere between an 85 to a 100% chance an eight-and-a-half or six-year-old's gonna wander down here just to see where Dad is even though I told them how important it was not to do that, told them I was doing very important show business, and we'll see how that goes.
Hunt: Okay. Good, good, good, good, good, good.
Lowe: I have to tell you, Jason, Brendan has been… I mean, he is a little happier today, but the last couple of days since the game against Wales when you threw it away with the Gareth Bale penalty near the end, he's been pretty grumpy. Where are you with your levels of happiness with the U.S. men's national team and their World Cup so far?
Sudeikis: We were all watching at this rental home in L.A., we'd just gotten there, and so everybody was fired up. Otis and I, my son and I, had already played, you know, the game through a couple times on FIFA. We pretty much knew the outcome.
Lowe: Sure.
Sudeikis: A lot of high fives, a lot of screaming, you know, on the first goal. And then Matt had that great save, and we're kinda like, Okay, this is the… You know, the angels are playing goalie with us as well. And then he got a hand on that Bale penalty, and it was kinda like… [GROANS] And it sucked. Let's just leave it at that. It sucked. [LAUGHS]
Sudeikis: I was gonna say it sucked the energy outta the room, but that's just the long way of saying it sucked. [LAUGHS] And we were leaving that night to come to Kansas City, and I immediately was like, Why am I going back to my house, my parents to see family and friends? Like, this is dumb. Traveling's stupid. [LAUGHS]
[LOWE AND HUNT LAUGH]
Sudeikis: I guess I'm just like a house of cards anyway. And so… But then, you start to get into, like, the "Okay…" Then you go through the stats, and, you know, being smart enough to follow, like, Brendan on Instagram and also Twitter. Be like, Okay, well, we didn't lose. We got a point. Three's more than one, I know that, but, you know, at least it wasn't zero. And so, yeah, I'm very anxious about Friday to be quite honest.
Hunt: Good-- Good work.
Lowe: And the good thing about the World Cup, Jason, is that it comes around so quick. It's a bit like-- If you have a poor result, it's a bit like the stages of grief. You're kind of in the doldrums for a little bit, but then you, like you say, you start to kind of come out of that, like, There's another game, and it's in just a couple of days. And you just start to just move your mood, don't you, from where you were to where you might now be heading into that new game. So, your history with the World Cup is what? I mean, are you a long-time lover of it? Are you a recent lover of it?
Sudeikis: Oh, I would say recent, since "Ted Lasso," like full-on immersion into the, you know, beautiful world of the beautiful game. Yeah, this has been very, very exciting. And the fact that London, or excuse me, England is playing, you know, America, right after we just left London, I'm glad that all the trash talking is being relegated only to, you know, WhatsApp, you know, as opposed to face-to-face. I don't know if I can handle it.
Hunt: [LAUGHS] Oh, my God, if this was happening while we were at work, which, let's be honest, it almost did… [GROANS]
[SUDEIKIS GROANS]
[SUDEIKIS AND LOWE LAUGH]
Hunt: That would've not have been a cool place. I remember when the draw came out. We were at work, and we were shooting in the locker rooms.
That was a real exciting moment to realize that we were gonna be going up against each other.
Sudeikis: Yup.
Sudeikis: I'm sure there was some hugging, there was probably some musical theater references and, you know…
[LAUGHS] Oh, in the scene itself? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Probably deeper understanding of our emotions.
Lowe: [LAUGHS] Jazz hands.
Sudeikis: Yeah, yeah. [LAUGHS]
[HUNT AND LOWE LAUGH]
Lowe: So, okay. So, let's talk, Jason, about your time in England, right, because it's so interesting 'cause Brendan has, like, little things he does which are a little bit English. And I can't even really what pinpoint what they are. No, just every now and then 'cause you've been there so long. Or maybe it's just some-- maybe the knowledge that you have, whatever it is. You have immersed yourself in that country, Brendan has, and I know that, Jason, you've done the same. And so, if you're talking to, say, some of our listeners who have never been to the U.K., never been to England, let alone been to a football match in England, explain to the listeners who haven't done any of those things just, quite simply, how big is football in England? How big is Friday gonna be in England?
Sudeikis: Yeah.
Hunt: What?
Sudeikis: Mm-hmm.
Sudeikis: I mean, it's going to be huge. Like, it is like the biggest college football match. I mean, even the fact that I'm saying "match" so secondhandedly, like versus "game." It is like-- Here in Kansas, you know, Allen Fieldhouse, where the Kansas Jayhawks play, is an incredible environment. You know, Arrowhead Stadium, where the Kansas City Chiefs play, an incredible environment. You know, you add the various college stadiums around the country, and you pack all that into it with British accents and-- And no beer! No alcohol! And yet it still hits this feverish energy, and that's just within the stadium. The energy around the city when the women won the Euros was fantastic. And just… Again, like the team text chain that we have is just so optimistic. I mean, it's not too different from, like, the vibe you would think that the characters would have on the show to be quite honest. And it's great. And it's really, really fun, really clever. But yeah, it is like one big countrywide tailgate.
Lowe: There you go. There you go.
Lowe: Yeah. That's perfect.
Hunt: [LAUGHS] It truly is. And point of order, there's no beer, you know, being vended by people walking around saying "Hey, Bud, Bud," but, you know, they still got it on the concourse, people. Don't worry, they're not crazy over there.
Sudeikis: Yeah.
Hunt: But we both took huge advantage of our time there. Like, we went to tons of stadiums. We went to Emirates. We went to Anfield. We went to Stamford Bridge. We went to Craven Cottage on a previous trip. We went to tons. And we went to Wembley twice. We saw a rather unstimulating European Championship qualifier a while ago.
Sudeikis: Mm-hmm.
Hunt: And then we saw Wembley rocking when we went to that England-Germany game where Germany got up 2-0 and England stormed back to 3-2 before, in typical English fashion, conceding to make it 3-3 at the end. I thought that night… I mean, what does Wembley hold, 80,000?
Lowe: Ninety, yeah.
Hunt: I thought that night, that second half, to really see that place full and going crazy was… I don't know. It really felt like the first real glimpse into seeing how England cares about England.
Sudeikis: Yeah. The FA Cup final, too, remember, with Chelsea and Liverpool, which was also thrilling. But yeah, no, it showed up. And even to see the way that, you know, again, the women's team when we saw-- in the friendly England versus U.S. Yeah, when Wembley gets rocking, it's great. Yeah, you might as well have The Beatles and The Stones and Queen playing. Like, the people are on their feet, like just, you know, ready to cheer, chant, curse, sing, whatever they got. They've got it loaded and ready to rip. It's just a good, good vibe. I'm so nervous about Friday because when you're going through that and you're just talking about scoring three goals and then I'm thinking about the six that they got the other day, I'm just like, Boy, they score a lot of goals. [LAUGHS]
[HUNT LAUGHS]
Lowe: So, who are you… All right, so who are you nervous about? Give me a couple of names from the England team, Jason, that you are most nervous about if you're an American.
Sudeikis: Well, on the football pitch, you got, you know, Harry Kane. If it's a bar fight, Harry Maguire, you know, so…
[LOWE LAUGHS]
[HUNT LAUGHS]
Sudeikis: However, in maybe a game of Trivial Pursuit, I don't know if either of them would scare me, you know, to be quite honest.
Hunt: Let's see if we can get that on the docket for Friday.
Sudeikis: That would… Yeah. If they win, you know, then maybe the way that balances out the universe is the three of us doing, you know, Jeopardy.
Hunt: Tyler Adams will absolutely murder Trivial Pursuit. "Winston Churchill! Next!"
[SUDEIKIS LAUGHS]
Sudeikis: I mean, look, he only makes me nervous 'cause I love watching him play, and I'm sure… I would guess from just that sentence alone, Brendan knows who I'm gonna guess, but I'm a big Phil Foden fan. It's like when you have that guy on your team that you love-- when he's on your team, you love it. And usually, it's like a rabble-rouser, someone like, you know, Dennis Rodman. When he played for the Pistons, you know, we hated him, but then when he switched over to the Bulls, we're like, This guy's not too bad! I love this guy! You know, as a Chicago Bulls fan growing up. But yeah, Foden, it's like-- I'm like, Ah, dang it! Why's that little wizard gotta play for those dudes? You know? Then you hear him talk and you're like, Oh, I get it.
[LAUGHTER]
Lowe: Yeah, there are some amazing accents. I mean, Jack Grealish's accent is also incredible.
Sudeikis: Yeah, it is great. And for a second, like, the little bit of me that's always grown up sort of being a mimic and, you know, doing stuff like impressions, I can do the impression for two seconds after I hear it, and then it just turns into, like, you know, Terry Jones playing a woman, you know.
[LAUGHTER]
Sudeikis: Brendan's much, much better at it. He can-- He's got a better ear and talent for it all. I will say, Jack Grealish, I mean, I love that celebration. I love that whole story.
Lowe: I know.
Sudeikis: [SIGHS] Just… I was showing Otis that-- them just, you know, playing keepie uppie and just, like, basically playing catch with their feet, which I think is the big issue for Americans. I believe that most Americans believe that football is like 85% luck, because when we kick stuff, it doesn't go where we want it to, it usually goes through the neighbor's window or whatnot. And when you see those two dudes just, like-- just casually just, you know, keeping it up four or five times in a row and then sending it-- sailing it perfectly over to someone 30 yards away and then catching it with their chest and dropping at their feet, just back and forth, you're just like-- they make it look so easy that you're kinda like, Well, this has gotta be CGI. And then you see that all the time just in warm-ups, just dudes doing that. and it's like, golly, wouldn't that be fun to be that good at something, anything, you know?
[LOWE LAUGHS]
Lowe: All right. Should we get a prediction?
Hunt: Yeah. Jason, what's your feeling? In your heart of hearts, what's gonna happen tomorrow?
Sudeikis: Hmm. I hope they come out, and I know they will, because it's just the way pro athletes are, and I mean "they," I mean the U.S., with, like, fire in their butts and, like, something to prove, which they clearly, you know, have anyway. And not even in relation to England, but so much as to what happened with the Wales match and just… Golly. I mean, I guess I gotta go 6-0, U.S.
[LOWE LAUGHS]
Hunt: That sounds right. That sounds right.
Sudeikis: They gotta get those goals back.
Lowe: Yeah.
Hunt: And I thank you for speaking with your head and not your heart.
Sudeikis: Yeah. And five outta the six are bicycle kicks 'cause we love a show.
Hunt: Mm-hmm, yeah. Sixth one is a nutmeg.
Sudeikis: Yup. Exactly. You know what I mean? Hat trick for Pulisic. No, I mean, I'm hoping, like, it's gonna be a bunch. I'm gonna say 3-2, America.
Lowe: [GROANS] Wow. What game that would be.
Sudeikis: Wouldn't that be something?
Lowe: No. [LAUGHS]
[SUDEIKIS LAUGHS]
Hunt: It really-- It really would. It really would.
Sudeikis: Like, 'cause I think England's gonna be fine, so it's like I have to choose that we beat 'em. And that's the-- The beauty of it is, like, I'm good either way. It's, like, where my fandom-- but obviously passport-wise, I hope we dump their tea in the harbor.
[HUNT AND LOWE LAUGH]
Lowe: Let's not start that again. So, you have a little bit…
Sudeikis: [LAUGHS] "Start that again." Let's not bring all that up again!
[LOWE AND HUNT LAUGH]
Sudeikis: There's so many more modern, you know, political problems, why dip our toes back into those old waters?
Hunt: Those brown-tinged waters.
Sudeikis: Let's talk about Watergate. You know what I mean?
[LAUGHTER]
Lowe: Okay, 6-0. Okay, 3-2. All right, all right, I'll let you have that.
Sudeikis: Yeah, 3-2. I'm going 3-2. What about you? What do you guys…
Hunt: We can't tell you our predictions now 'cause we're gonna tell them in other places in the episode.
Lowe: Yeah. You have to listen.
Sudeikis: So, I'll listen. I'll listen, or at least read the tweets underneath the tweet announcing the episode, where people just lay into you guys.
Lowe: Correct.
Lowe: That's it. That's fine.
[HUNT LAUGHS]
Sudeikis: Thank you, Elon. Thank you, Uncle Elon.
Hunt: That's part of the gig!
[LAUGHTER]
Hunt: Jason Sudeikis, everybody. Jason Sudeikis.
Lowe: Thank you, Jason.
Sudeikis: Absolutely. Uh, Brendan, lovely to hear your voice. Rebecca, even more so.
Lowe: You're a ledge.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
Lowe: Let's just finish with your little treat for the listening masses, please. What is it, please?
Hunt: Um, it's my halftime playlist for USA-England, folks. If you're watching at a World Cup party, you might wanna watch the halftime host in the studio show. But if it's a party, people are scattered. They're going to the bathroom. They're getting more food.
Lowe: Yeah, please do.
Lowe: No, no, no, please watch the halftime. That's literally what I do for a living. Please watch them.
Hunt: It is. Well, you're not working this particular tournament, and it's not like you're going to Alexi Lalas' Christmas party, so be cool. So, to help by the time when no one can hear very well anyway, you might wanna have a playlist, and you can make your own playlist. It just has to be, you know, 14 to 15 minutes of length, and you wanna start it exactly when the first half ends. I have made mine. I'm not necessarily having a party, I just, you know, I'm a nerd, I think too much. Would you like to hear my playlist, Rebecca?
Lowe: Without a shadow of a doubt.
Hunt: Great. Thank you. And I try to include both teams even though I favor one. You start out with, appropriately, "Young Americans" by David Bowie. And then you confuse them a little bit, so you go into "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols, you know, you keep the energy up, and, you know, the Queen's not around anymore, so it's, like, ironic, and the song is ironic in the first place. By the way, you still get confused when they sing "God Save the King," don't you?
Lowe: Oh. Oh, right, yeah.
Lowe: I think Mason Mount said "Queen," didn't he? I think, apparently, he was singing… I know, bless him. But I don't blame him. You know, his whole life, all of our lives… But yeah, it is hard. I almost forgot to. Carry on. Next.
Hunt: Yeah. Well, the Sex Pistols are here to make you forget even more. Then we go into John Philip Sousa's "Liberty Bell March," 'cause what can be more American than John Philip Sousa or than the Liberty Bell? And, of course, it's also the theme to "Monty Python's Flying Circus." And then, finally, you bring it home with, from "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's "My Shot." And we will not throw away our shot! And you take that energy into the second half. Predictions. Rebecca, I'm telling you, USA 2, England 1. Boom!
Lowe: England 3, USA 1.
[BRENDAN SINGS SECTION OF "MY SHOT" FROM "HAMILTON"]
Lowe: You think you're gonna win 2-1? Okay. Oh, God.
Hunt: I think if I only sing three seconds of it, we don't have to pay for it. Rebecca, I wish you a fine Thanksgiving. I wish you all a fine Thanksgiving. For those who don't know Thanksgiving, it is, in my opinion, one of America's finer creations along with the musical "Hamilton" and hip-hop and jazz and basketball. It's just--
Lowe: And Christian Pulisic.
Hunt: And Christian Pulisic. It is… You know, its origins are, like so many things of ours, steeped in controversy, but the actual concept of taking a day to be with loved ones and be grateful for what you do have is a powerful thing. And I wish you all the best of it on Thursday, and then we can throw it all in the garbage on Friday and get back to hating each other.
[MUSIC FADES IN]
Lowe: Love it. I can't wait. Happy Thanksgiving. Oh, God.
Hunt: Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
Hunt: If you're loving the show, subscribe on Apple Podcasts and be sure to rate and review us. It really helps other people who are not as forward-thinking as you find the show.
Lowe: And if you want 'round the clock World Cup news, more than just what we give you here, plus live scores and standings as well, just follow along on the Apple News app in My Sports where available.
Hunt: We'll be back with more World Cup coverage right here in your podcast feed on Friday when, you know, Rebecca's gonna need a shoulder to cry on. And I will be that shoulder because I care. We've only met twice, but still, I care. I don't want you to be too crushed.
[LOWE LAUGHS]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]