US OLYMPIC KNOCKOUT ROUND PREVIEW 🇺🇸🏅

Hail GFOP!

I type with fingers braced for a weekend filled with American Olympic Promise. It feels so good to feel so good about United States football again. Living in this new America, where we are so good at cricket and rugby now. I started to worry we had bypassed the soccer. But tomorrow, our “Smells Like Teen Spirit” US Women’s National Team will play hungry and free, and this morning, our Men’s U23s will unfurl their football Hipster’s Eleven at the world. A starting line-up of unpolished diamonds my friend Tom Bogert might pick if he was interim manager. Our “Hope… is that you?” team. 

ii. This week we head to England, the place where football is never going home to, to film with Premier League managers and players, across the land. Brace yourselves, for our first ever MiB Football Holiday, in which we meet all the stars, travel to all the cities, and eat all the pies, to do whatever it takes to prepare you for the season of seasons that lies ahead. We start at Tottenham. If you have a question for Ange Postecoglou or Sonny, we would love to hear them. At the weekend, we will charge across to North Wales, and raise a glass of STōK with the great Tomi Cheese, as Wrexham return to action, back in League One for the first time since 2004/05. It was incredible to take the stage in Vancouver, just a week ago, and relive the story live with many of the gents who made it real. This show was the single highlight of an incredible summer. 

iii. It has been some week at MiB Media Network. We were in Atlanta on Tuesday to spend the afternoon with new Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, the seventh Italian man to manage the club, five of whom won silverware I’m just saying. What a lovely bloke he was. To be able to talk chess and football with a gent who wrote a thesis on chess and football, was the joy of joys. 

b. We also released a YouTube video of my conversation with Edu, Arsenal’s Sporting Director. A quite brilliant gent, who won the title as an Invincible, then taught himself the skills to become a front office transformational agent, and change the club. You can watch that conversation here. I found him really inspirational – both from a football perspective, and a human one. Edu described the three traits he looks for when signing a footballer, and also, defined success thusly: "Of course, we want to win titles. Of course, we want to bring the trophies here to this football club but, how are we going to bring it, for me, is the most important thing. When I compete with someone as I am competing internally, I want to win in the best way possible, I want to win and get the trophy and I want people to look into us and say I feel proud of you guys because you're winning the right way. You get the trophy in the best way possible and that’s what I feel when I want to feel proud of ourselves.” We have so many Premier League interviews ready to fly in the next 10 days, follow us on YouTube, and turn on the notifications so you do not miss a Manager interview to come. 

c. We also released a podcast going deep into our annual survey, created in partnership with YouGov, on the state of the American football fan, From Sea To Shining FC (which you can download here). It looks at 9000 American soccer fans and how they are similar and different to their European counterparts. We have received so many lovely emails from you GFOPs in terms of your responses to it, and I have loved each and every one of them. More on the study which was covered by the London Times this week HERE.

d. I am so proud of the work we are doing at The Women Game covering the Olympics tournament. To have the likes of Kristie Mewis, Georgia Stanway, and Midge Purce join us to break down the tournament and our American journey in it, has been a slice of magic. The community building around Sam Mewis and Becky Sauerbrunn’s work is a joy to behold. Make sure you follow The Women’s Game on YouTube and set notifications to on so you can see whenever they go live. 

e. Finally, Men In Blazers: Early Kick Off has been nominated for “Best Daily Podcast” at the British Podcast Awards alongside some big names such as The Guardian and the London Times. The BPAs are the UK’s most prestigious podcasting awards ceremony and we are thrilled for the EKO team – especially Sammy and George – who are up every morning early doors cranking out their wonder. The winner will be decided in September at a ceremony in London. I expect Manchester City to somehow win that too.

2. To the Football

Olympic Men's Quarter Finals Friday 8/2

Morocco vs. United States 9 a.m. ET, USA/Peacock 🇲🇦🇺🇸

Japan vs. Spain 11 a.m. ET, Peacock 🇯🇵🇪🇸

Egypt vs. Paraguay 1 p.m. ET, Peacock 🇪🇬🇵🇾

France vs. Argentina 3 p.m. ET, Peacock/Telemundo 🇫🇷🇦🇷

Olympic Women's Quarter Finals Saturday 8/3

United States vs. Japan 9 a.m. ET, USA/Peacock 🇺🇸🇯🇵

Spain vs. Colombia 11 a.m. ET, Peacock 🇪🇸🇨🇴

Germany vs. Canada 1 p.m. ET, Peacock 🇩🇪🇨🇦

France vs. Brazil 3 p.m. ET, Peacock 🇫🇷🇧🇷

a. A USWNT that makes us soar once again. Japan will be some test though 🇺🇸 Saturday, 9 a.m. ET, USA/Peacock 🇺🇸🇯🇵 

LIBERTÉ, EGALITÉ, TRINITÉ! A USWNT! It feels so good to watch the United States Women again. Emma Hayes has our young squad playing ferocious football, a style which Kristie Mewis aptly summed up as “Hungry, foaming from the mouth.” Make no mistake, technical, tactically astute Japan will pose a true cryptic challenge tomorrow. Yet, it is incredible to experience an American team enjoy taking the field together, as opposed to the 2023 World Cup and the Olympics before it, where our aging squad emitted a heaviness, fear, and feigned, fading confidence. MORE ON TOMORROW’S GAME IN SAM AND BECKY’S PREVIEW PODCAST, PRESENTED BY ALLSTATE. 

b. Three wins out of three. Nine goals scored and just two conceded. This team has Naomi Girma led-defensive solidity, and attack with abandon through that peerless hungry ferocious front three, who soar like Princess Rhaenyra’s Dragons, Syrax, Caraxes, and Verma. Trinity Rodman in particular, Exhibit A for a footballer who has thrived under Emma. Trin has always had undoubtable natural skill, but has mentally often struggled against the biggest teams. Her confidence and decision making on the ball at this Olympics has been a masterclass. She knows exactly when to play it safe and drop the ball off to Emily Fox, and when to unleash her primal urge to hurt her opponents, and it has been magnificent to witness. 

c. The Olympics tournament takes its toll. Three games squeezed into seven days does not allow for recovery. The squad, already tiny, is now reduced to 17 players after Sam Coffey received her second yellow card and a suspension for this game. She will be a terrible loss, our sword and shield. The rhythm setter for this team – a footballing bass player. How will Emma find the tactical fix if Coffey’s natural back-up, Emily Sonnett, is already spelling the injured Tierna Davidson at center-back? Remains to be seen. Godspeed, Tierna. Come back to us, or it will be Korbin Albert time. 

d. Japan will have a gameplan to exploit our clearest vulnerability: Our midfield shorn of Coffey. When the Nadeshiko beat Spain 4-0 at the last World Cup, they had just 22.9% possession, seizing their moments, to spring a lethal counter. They have scored six goals in the group stage, each netted by a different player. That versatile attack will be a test, but it’s the test we crave. Will we win? I believe we can and that would mark success for Emma Hayes in her first tournament: turning us into contenders again and making the act of watching the United States feel so incredibly fun, which is something we will never take for granted again. 

P.S. On TWG we asked you for your nicknames for Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, and Mal Swanson and I know you voted for the Holy Trinity. Shoutout though for GFOP Tim Mason’s Hendrix inspired idea for “The Purple Hayes.” 

P.P.S Gear up for an Olympic run with the official 99ers rerelease kit, jacket, and more from our friends at WorldSoccerShop.

PPS: incredible to see Christen Press back on the field again after a staggering four ACL surgeries and 781 days. Wishing her strength and love.

3. Our USMNT may have played before you read this! Morocco vs. United States 9 a.m. ET, USA/Peacock 🇲🇦🇺🇸

Our Men, into the Olympic knockout rounds for the first time since 2000. To be able to shake off the pain of the first game smack down against France, and rise, and play feisty football is an achievement in itself. Today we face a strong Moroccan team led by PSG star Achraf Hakimi. Victory at a hostile Parc des Princes in Paris would mean a chance to win the first medal in the program's 100-year history at the Olympics.  

b. Morocco are bloody good. They have already beaten Argentina. Look out for Amir Richardson of Reims, who is the son of the American former Knicks player Micheal Ray Richardson. A dual national who chose to represent the land of his birthplace. 

c. What does it all mean? Symbolically, the U-23s plus Old Man Walker Zimmerman have been some palette cleanser after a stinker of a Copa summer. It has been lovely to watch star turns by Paxten Aaronson, Tanner Tessmann and Kevin Paredes, a 20-year-old once-D.C. United winger who has played the last two seasons for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. However, this tournament has been purpose-designed by FIFA so it does not challenge the primacy of the World Cup. This is the international football equivalent of the NITs. A magical journey for the players – a number of whom will be putting themselves in the European club transfer spotlight – as they seek to make us proud. Godspeed.

More: The Olympic team are salvaging a miserable summer for US men’s soccer.

4. BEST MEN’S GAME OF THE WEEKEND? 🇫🇷🇦🇷 France vs. Argentina 3 p.m. ET, Peacock/Telemundo 

France vs. Argentina. An Olympic knock-off of the 2022 World Cup final. A game that has been described “as personal to every French citizen” by striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in the wake of the global uproar which followed footage of Argentina players singing racist chants after winning the Copa. On the field, the game promises a managerial clash between Thierry Henry and Javier Mascherano, as well as Laca vs. Julian Alvarez. 

More: France set up grudge match after Argentinian racist song 🇫🇷🇦🇷

5. A word on the US Manager. Why has it gone so quiet?

Do not be afraid. I do know US Soccer is working hard, taking meetings in Europe. They are not going to announce anything while the Olympics are going on. One would hope they will make an announcement shortly afterwards. While there is a lot of fear on Twitter they will appoint an MLS manager, I am hearing a fair amount of noise around Mauricio Pochettino. Two sources in England suggest that this week, he is currently the leader in the club house. I think he would be magnificent. No international experience but the gent is a culture builder who can make young players feel great about themselves individually and as a collective. With no big six Premier League team jobs available, the commercial heft of being US manager during a World Cup on home soil could be intriguing. Sing it with me: He’s Magic You Know. 

WIN YOUR VERY OWN CRYSTAL PALACE KIT 🦅

The GFOPs at Crystal Palace are currently in the US and want to help us outfit one of you with your very own kit. Want to enter? All you have to do is answer this one simple question: what size kit would you wear? (We won’t ask what number, we know it’s Chris Richards.)

The Eagles played (and won) their first U.S. match in Maryland defeating Wolves 3-1. They now journey to Tampa, FL where they will face London rivals West Ham on Saturday, 3rd August at 7 p.m. EST at Raymond James Stadium — home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tickets for the match can be found RIGHT HERE. Wishing nothing but the best for Palace and their traveling supporters. 🦅

6. More Football, Did Ya Say? 

i. American pre-season Premier League games harbinger of all that is to come?

ii. Leeds fans see Red. I love football fans.

iii. Everton keep it real: A summer tour with no game more than 200 miles from Goodison Park. Old School.

iv. 10 well-known players who are free agents and up for grabs.

v. ‘Welcome to Wrexham!’ Is my old hometown about to become a hothouse of culture?

7. Moment of the Week: Steve McClaren becomes Jamaica manager 🇯🇲

The smiley English veteran leaves his role as assistant at Manchester United to lead the Reggae Boyz, who, with their talent and diaspora, should be a CONCACAF power were it not for the corruption and chaos of their own Federation. I hope Jamaica soar. We need as many challenges as we can in our region as steel sharpens steel. Most of all, Steve McClaren is a man who spoke with a full Dutch inflected English accent within weeks of arriving in the Netherlands. How will he sound after three weeks on the rums in CONCACAF? I bet he goes full Chet Hanks.

More or Less: Powered by PrizePicks

Charlie Kipp Writes: Just like the year of football never sleeps, going from club to CopaEuropa Summer to the Olympics - and soon, back club - PrizePicks rolls on as well. Right now - we look at (future USMNT Manager?) Thierry Henry’s France team that has looked head and shoulders above the rest of Olympic competition given the inclusion of genuine stars like Michael Olise - who we like to grab MORE than 3.0 Shots in today’s match vs. Argentina

Olympic football on the men’s side is historically and afterthought to much of the world - but NOT SO MUCH in South America where historic rivalries between Brazil, Argentina (and frankly - Uruguay) have driven passion in this Under 23 competition. Need context? How about Julian Alvarez going straight from Copa America to France to play in both competitions… natural favorites right? Not so fast - enter hosts, France, filled with young stars including Michael Olise. The 22 year old starlet who (quietly) signed for Bayern Munich this summer was born in London and eligible to play for England, France, Nigeria or Algeria at national level has been dropping worldies for Henry’s France this summer and will CONTINUE that trend in the Knockout Rounds. Michel Olise MORE than 3.0 shots. Book it.

If you haven’t joined PrizePicks, CLICK HERE and use code MiB for a first deposit match up to $100.

8. Not Football and All the Better For it

i. How two wandering cows started a culture war. Come for the cow named Hornee, stay for the statement from Joaquin Phoenix.

ii. Tales of the "Bigfoot Mafia": At the Great Florida Bigfoot Conference.

iii. "Like all secretive institutions revealed to be ultimately quite stupid – the royal family, the Garrick Club, GCHQ – the imaginary version of it is a lot more comforting than the reality." Bib Brother.

iv. The sky's the limit when you're 6 foot 7: The Remarkable Reinvention of Chase Budinger.

v. Bad Art Friend on steroids: Four Friends, Two Marriages, One Affair — and a Shelf of Books Dissecting It. I won't say more lest it be included in a future novel.

vi. Dismiss the interns at your peril: Emily White was dragged for predicting the future of music streaming 12 years ago. Where is she now?

vii. Welcome to the Hartnettissance. Forget Brat Summer, it's TRAP Summer baby!

viii. Free the loofahs! Retailers Locked Up Their Products—and Broke Shopping in America.

ix. The Untold Story of the Most Bonkers Sunglasses in Olympic History. What's truly unthinkable is that these sunglasses are now old enough to both drink AND vote. 

x. This Song Made My Week: Neil Young’s version of Helpless from Early Daze which I listened to, on repeat, in Canada. 

That is it for today. I am rushing to push this newsletter out before the USMNT play. Let’s savor our men and women playing football. Last thought though: Like so many of you, I have experienced an agony witnessing Evan Gershkovich while he was imprisoned so cruelly in Russia for the last 481 days. From the moment his trauma came to light, so many of you have written in to make sure we knew Evan is an enormous Arsenal fan. There were “Free Evan” banners flying at the Emirates last year. Football is, of course, the most-important least important thing. But I am ecstatic Evan is free and is back home, with his family and can also experience that small act of savoring his team with his friends again. Something we all take for granted but should not – the freedom to watch together is a precious gift. Let’s savor it. And Godspeed Evan Gershkovich. 

To Better Days Ahead for All,

Courage

Go! Go! USA!

ROG