But there's also a question, Christian, is there almost too much tinkering that you can do in a situation like this when things are going so well? What do you think?

I think you can overtinker, and that's a very good point.

But it's also a solid point about the likes of Kohler being so good of a distributor out of the back.

And I think in that situation, what we would see is, you know, also it could be time for Pulsar to step back into a central role and make way for Eli Feingold, who we know how good he is playing a right fullback, especially when he gets on the front foot It's nice to have the option, too, of Gosdog.

Harrison's a huge miss, obviously, but it does a little bit of a different dimension, and it does allow you that luxury to play Longoni wide and perhaps push Gosdog alongside a Terjiman if you really want to get attacking.

So there's different nuances and wrinkles, but for me, if you're that manager and it's gotten you to where you are, And as tough a games they've had and this run that they've had in such a compact period of time, when you have that back four like that, don't mess with it, especially at the heart, because that is, I think, the point that you just made.

You're so good back there.

But do you think that tonight's game against the Columbus Crew will affect the game on Saturday?

Mm-hmm

...

in the first 15 minutes.

But they didn't, and they came out on the wrong end.

And you can bet they're gonna be smarting for that.

And, you know, conversely to the way things have gone, Ted, since the World Cup break, they've had a chance to tweak things during training this week, and, you know, go back to Houston and work on it.

Because, you know, it's been a game, you know, Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday for about the last two or three weeks.

Mm-hmm

... is your first thought, "I hope he stays for a while," or is your first thought, "Man, I hope he goes to the Championship or LaLiga, somewhere where he can get in..."

You know, I don't, I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all.

I think a player, you know, you, you want to play at the highest level and play against the best, but you have to get consistent playing time, wherever that may be.

Whether it be Major League Soccer, MLS NEXT Pro, you know, clear down to the AYSO level.

But yeah, whether that means championship level, but I would say one of the universal rules for any player, you want to play at the highest level, but you need to be playing because, you know, look at Giovanni Reyna, uh, for instance, a player who bypassed the American system.

And, and to his credit, you know, a player with immense ability, but is stagnated because he hasn't fit in and has not latched on and been able to get consistent playing time, uh, in his European clubs.

So if he came back home, perhaps getting more playing time, get sharper and better.

Yes

I don't know if that's fair.

Well, I mean, you know, the quality always comes through in the end, regardless of all the backtalk and all of the chatter in social media, you know, as print media, the quality comes through and the football ultimately speaks for itself, no matter what you and I say or anybody says.

And it comes through and we're seeing it right now.

And it was a great run for the African teams.

I thought it was wonderful to see what we saw, but now we're getting down to the business and we're seeing the quality rise up to the top and, Where we go from here, it'll be really interesting.

The U.S. is just, it's more of the same.

I'm not going to sugarcoat this.

Well, we're seeing

one of them.

You go on social media right now, and you can see the challenge earlier in the tournament from Lionel Messi.

It was not in any caution whatsoever.

So the inconsistency is prevalent.

And look, let's be honest.

Lionel Messi is going to get away with those calls at any day of the week.

And that's just the fact of the matter and the reality of the situation.

And that, doggone it, is coaching, right? Yeah.

And, again, I like him very much, and it was just a tough night for him, I thought.

I think you're – I mean, you're spot on, and it's awful.

I mean, I like him too, and especially under the spotlight of his great father, George, who was one of the best players to ever, you know, touch foot to grass.

Disappointing for him.

But, you know, I mean, all sentiment aside, he wasn't good enough.

I don't think a lot of the U.S. players are good enough in a meaningless match.

But, again, look beyond the – the meaningful aspects of this game.

It

Is that fair?

I think you're right in that regard.

You and I talked about this after the Paraguay game.

Coming into this tournament, The United States were a giant question mark because we haven't been tested for four years.

There's been a series of friendlies.

I don't care how many friendlies you play and how many Nations League games you play and how many Gold Cups you play.

This is the real deal.

It is

Now, Turkey might have been the 48th team to qualify in this tournament, but they are not the 48th best team in this tournament either, do you think?

No, not at all.

I think, again, they're kind of an X factor.

I mean, a lot is not known of the Turks.

And yeah, they do that take a long road, as you mentioned.

We know from Turkish football in the past, passionate following, great fan base.

And it's reflected in the commitment, the energy that they play with.

What's the headline? As we wrap this up, Christian, what's the headline from tonight?

How does he compare as far as how, like, you think of your best baseball coaches, how does he compare? How's Will compare to the level of detail that he puts into things?

It was actually very interesting because when I was going into college for baseball, I was wanting, like, a set plan.

Like, you need to work out this way, this way, and this way, and you need to eat this, this, and that.

When I got into college, it was super open.

Like, I was pretty much doing everything on my own, like the workouts, the training, and just overall practicing.

And then once I hit with Will, that was exactly what I was, like, wanting in that sort of sense.

And a lot of the baseball coaches that I had that were really good, they encouraged me when I was doing things correctly, but they weren't afraid of giving me constructive criticism, and that's exactly what Will does.

I love this contest, but dang, dude.