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Soccer's Coming Home Against Paraguay & Uruguay 🇺🇸

Plus, a magical New Jersey high school game-winner.

November 14, 2025

Hail GFOP!

I type with international-break fingers. I am not going to lie, I am a little bit down on the absence of the Premier League. Last weekend was such a stunning time, filled with late wonder, comeback draws that felt like wins, comeback draws that felt like losses, and comeback draws that I believe will feel a lot better in hindsight. This break snaps all of that. But then I read a piece by Miguel Delaney, who hails this as “The best weekend of the football year,” and I am like, OK - I am good with that. And come on Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Also: Liverpool fans, I feel for you. So, enjoy this Ekitike banger in blue. Gunners, this exquisite Eze finish is for you. 🚀

ii. Talking of Liverpool fans. I am still buzzing after spending the night in the company of Trevor Noah at the historic Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J. It is a mic-drop performance by Trevor. A conversation about the Premier League, life, meaning and the human connectivity that football in general, and Jürgen Klopp in particular, can bring. You can see the whole conversation here and I would really encourage you to watch it. To experience it on stage was pretty transcendent. To watch a man talk about football and its power to bring joy, and create memory, and a sense of human bonding is just an honor to listen to. Give me more of that good stuff.

To play at the Stone Pony – essentially Bruce Springsteen’s living room — was also a giddy thrill. That place sings of history – it felt like going to Rome and playing the Colosseum. I found the whole town of Asbury Park to be moving. It was my first visit, but will not be the last. Shoutout to the barman at Johnny Mac’s who kept slinging the drinks late-night for our team because he was a big Manchester United fan. 🥃

iii. I am writing from New Orleans where I am this weekend to watch the Green Wave gripple-grapple with Florida Atlantic. I have no doubt my presence will tank the season. However, it is such a joy to be in this singular American city and eat all the po’ boys at Domilise's. It has been some stay: drumfish at Pêche, Mickey Ultras at The Boot, quite a night at Herbsaint. I will, of course, welcome all your recommendations at [email protected], but I will say, every time I come here, this city becomes more and more football and I meet more and more GFOPs. The World Cup excitement in NOLA is properly popping. ⚜️

iv. Next week, we head off to San Jose for the NWSL Final. I can’t wait to play our sold-out Night of 1,000 Stars live show at the GlassHouse with the great Sam Mewis. To revel in the growth of the league on the eve of the eve of its Super Bowl is why we exist. Let me know where we should eat while we are in town. The email is just above... ⭐️

Also: Big news for MLS, who are aligning their season with the rest of the world’s timing. 📈

v. Something new coming this afternoon: Player Pathways, presented by our friends at Allstate. This will be a simultaneous rollout of three interviews with the most promising, inspiring and up-and-coming American players. On the Men in Blazers YouTube channel, we’ll have Diego Kochen, backup keeper for Barcelona. On the Vamos channel, we’ll have Da'vian Kimbrough, the youngest professional player in U.S. history. And on The Women’s Game channel, KK Ream, the youngest goalscorer in NWSL history. Tune in at 2 p.m. EST to get to know the future of US Soccer, all at once. 🇺🇸

PS - We appreciate you GFOPs and we value your opinion so much. It’s massively helpful for us and our partners to hear from you, so we’d love if you could spare three or four minutes to take this new, quick survey for us. To sweeten the deal: Those who participate will be entered to win a $100 gift card to our NEW Men in Blazers shop, which launches next week. 🎁

Courage,
ROG

Boston, We’re Shipping Up to You 🍻

To the International Football, AKA Soccer’s Coming Home 🍻

USA vs. Paraguay (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, TNT/HBO Max/Peacock) 🇵🇾 🇺🇸 
USA vs. Uruguay (Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, TNT/HBO Max/Peacock) 🇺🇾 🇺🇸

The U.S. Avenger Assemble for their second-to-last international camp before the World Cup squad is announced, and the headlines are about who is not there: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Chris Richards and Tyler Adams, aka the heartbeat of the team. Tyler is out with injury, the rest have different reasons for not being called in – Weston has actually briefed through Landon Donovan that he wanted to play – so this is some massive gamble by Mauricio Pochettino to forgo the opportunity to build chemistry and reps. 

To be honest – I have never seen England or France suggest it is better that a player remain with their club.

ii. Irrespective, the shuffling of talent and open-auditioning continues, and despite the fact that Poch declared in August that there would be no more new faces, there is one very big name who has returned in the most fascinating of ways: Gio Reyna is back from exile. The call-up is a surprise. Gio has played just 146 minutes for German duffers Borussia Mönchengladbach this season, and mustered just 69 minutes for the U.S. under Pochettino, who is breaking his cardinal rule that “players need to perform for their clubs,” by hailing Gio as “a special situation.” The truth is, Gio’s form exists in our memories from the 2022 cycle. Gio came on our show last week to talk about his traumatic experience with the Berhalter fall-out and repeat injuries since then. Honestly, I found it really hard to listen to emotionally and wish him so well. Kid is just 22 years of age. He has suffered so much since falling off the starboy trajectory of his friend Erling Haaland. This is his chance for redemption and I hope he seizes it.

iii. Fierce 39th-in-the-world Paraguay will bite hard, while 15th-ranked Uruguay will be an even sterner test, and provide an emotional match-up for Poch against the enigmatic man who discovered him as a teen, Marcelo Bielsa. If you don’t know this story, it is worth a read.

More: Also back, Ricardo Pepi for the first time in a year.

Even More Football ⚽️

The Correspondent w/ Rory Smith: No Country for Bold Men 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Rory writes: Barely four months into his Premier League career, we can say with some assurance that Florian Wirtz is already very much a Main Character. Just not, perhaps, in quite the way he might have wanted and Liverpool might have anticipated when the club spent somewhere in the region of $120 million to prise him from Bayer Leverkusen over the summer.

It is hard to remember, now, but there were few dissenting voices at the time of his move. It was a lot of money, of course, but it was not difficult to justify the outlay. The 22-year-old was one of the Bundesliga’s outstanding players. He had inspired Leverkusen to the first championship in the club’s history. He was, as a former executive at Liverpool told me, the sort of player who would be “all things to all men.” There are no certainties in recruitment, obviously. But Wirtz was as close as you would get.

It is not exactly a shock twist to suggest it has not worked out like that. Wirtz is by no means the only player who has struggled at Liverpool this season. He has, in fact, not even been the champions’ worst performer, a dubious honor that would probably be shared at this point by Ibrahima Konaté, Miloš Kerkez and (maybe most surprisingly) Alexis Mac Allister.

Beautiful Football Around the World 🌎

Greece vs. Scotland (Saturday, 2:45 p.m. ET, FOX Sports) 🇬🇷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Two more wins would take Steve Clarke’s Scotland to a first World Cup in 27 years, and while a trip to Piraeus is traditionally difficult, Greece have lost their last three matches, leaking nine goals. Metronomic Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour will miss out with a groin injury, but his clubmate, Ballon d’Or nominee and Serie A MVP, Scott McTominay, must translate his goals in Italy to gold for his country. 

Georgia vs. Spain (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, fuboTV) 🇬🇪 🇪🇸

Spain can rubber-stamp their World Cup ticket with a win at Georgia, but are without injured Euro-winning wingers, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams. Their top scorer in qualifying with six goals is Arsenal’s Swiss Army Knife, Mikel Merino, who will be pivotal in midfield, up top or maybe even in goal if he’s asked to play there.

Albania vs. England (Sunday, 12 P.M. ET, FuboTV) 🇦🇱 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

It’s seven games, seven wins and zero goals conceded for Thomas Tuchel’s perfect England, but with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Eberechi Eze all coming on from the bench last night, like the British Prime Minister, his problems stem from the No. 10. Sylvinho’s Albania have guaranteed a play-off spot as Group K’s runners-up, but this is worth watching for England’s tense open auditions alone.

Italy vs. Norway (Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET, FOX Sports) 🇮🇹 🇳🇴

Under Gennaro Gattuso, Italy are often maybe good, winning their last six, but Group I’s top team, Norway, have Erling Haaland at the prow of their ship with his frankly silly 30 goals this season. Martin Ødegaard is “some distance away” from fitness, according to Norway manager, Ståle Solbakken, but his Arsenal teammate, Riccardo Calafiori, should return from a hip strain for the home team. Both won last night, so the Azzurri need to win by just checks notes nine goals to top the group.

The Women’s Game ⭐️

NWSL Playoffs: Gotham FC vs. Orlando Pride (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Four teams remain after don’t-call-them-underdogs eighth-seed Gotham saw off Shield-winners KC Current in last Sunday’s extra-time upset, which Sam spoke to Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell about this week. They continue their postseason run against reigning champs Orlando for a spot in the final with the winner of Washington Spirit vs. Portland (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, Paramount+).

WSL Manchester Derby (Saturday, 8:30 a.m. ET, ESPN)

Man City top the league for the first time this season after last weekend’s victory against Everton. With only a point separating first and second, they’ll need a win against their local rivals at the Etihad to keep Alyssa Thompson and Chelsea at bay.

Introducing Pet FC’s Newest Member: Heath 🐶

We have partnered with the two-legged people at Purina to create Pet FC, a new initiative where we will be featuring YOUR four-legged friends that show a true love of football on par with their human counterparts.

This Beagle from Indianapolis is named after USWNT legend Tobin Heath. She especially loves going to work with her human Kathryn, an athletic trainer, to hang out with the athletes, and they’ll be rooting for their favorite team, Gotham FC, this weekend! 🖤

Do you have a great football story involving the dog or cat in your life? Click the link below to submit your pets and pet stories, and we will be regularly featuring the best of the best here in the Raven and on our social channels. What's more, we have Purina prize packs for every pet featured.

MiB Mad Libs 📝

This week’s phrase is: “Going from the Premier League to the international break is like going from the ______ to the ______”

Email us your submissions to be in contention to win a coveted MiB patch.

There were tons of incredible entries this week, but there can only be one winner:

Rachel Adomshick: The cinematic equivalent of Manchester City vs. Liverpool is “Batman v. Superman” arriving with all of the hype, stars, and cash but leaving you only with the vague sense of disappointment.

Not Football and All the Better for It 📖

A GFOP Writes… ✍️

Rick in Delco, Pa. (pork roll) writes: “I’ve been listening to the pod for several years now, but I rarely have time to actually watch any matches, so I really have never had anything of value to share back with you. 

I did, however, happen to notice today that Thanksgiving Day will play host to the new (apparently not?!) ESPN Events Invitational men’s college basketball tournament presented by show-favorite Terry’s Chocolate.

Some thoughts that occurred to me: How is it possible that Syracuse Orange have been omitted from the field for this competition? Given NCAA proclivity for eccentric mascots, should we expect to see a life-size dancing chocolate orange on the court? If you had to choose a mascot costume to wear - Masked-Singer-style - and Chocolate Orange had already been picked by someone else, what would you choose?

Thanks in advance for helping me ponder these mysteries, and thanks in arrears for all the good you put into the world.”

Rog writes: Rick - First of all, thanks for dragging us into the pork-roll argument in your intro. Second, I can’t believe Terry’s Chocolate Orange has seized the moment to penetrate the American market in such a hardcore way. We are here to support as that delicious foodstuff cut from fruit dreams soars into the front of the American consciousness. Our country may never be the same again. In terms of mascots, I am a big fan of Partick Thistle’s Kingsley. I have a soft spot for Wycombe Wanderer’s Bodger. Gunnersaurus is an all-time legend, but West Ham’s Hammerhead is undersung hero.

There you go, Rick. Most of all, thank you for your kind words. They mean the world to me. 

Keep sending your stories and questions to [email protected].

To Better Days Ahead for All.

Let’s not take a moment watching football together for granted and make great memories.

Big Love.

Courage,
ROG

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