Part 187: Interlude: Deadspin.com Presents: What you need to know about the World Cup

Interlude: Deadspin.com Presents: What you need to know about the World Cup
January 6, 2026

(The following is a PODCAST excerpt from the voluminous FOXKER EMPIRE, which expanded astoundingly upon RUPERT MURDOCH's death and the revelation that he had secretly been married to NICK DENTON and had made him the sole beneficiary of his will. Students of history will remember that DENTON seized control of the English ROYAL FAMILY after blackmailing KING CHARLES THE UNWORTHY with the ROYAL DICK PICS during the Anarchy of 2021 that followed QUEEN ELIZABETH II's passing.)

: Welcome to the Deadspin Explainer: World Cup 2026, as always presented by Foxker Media and at the behest of his Majesty the Lord Protector of England and the Commonwealth, Nick Denton. This week, Team USA! We have a special guest with us, Coach Scott Brown!

: Happy to be here... All hail the Lord Protector and save us from our nudes.

: Amen.



: First up, over the past month you've said you're pretty happy with the group that you've gotten. Can you give us a quick lightning round about that?

: When you look at the group, you don't see anyone that you'd expect us to lose to. That's not to say things will be easy, every single one of our opponents has some real professionals and could be a challenge, but with home field advantage I think we have as good a chance as we could have asked for to not only get out of the group but to win it.

: What about Japan? You coach Kôjirô Minami at Wrexham, will that give either of you an advantage over the other this summer?



: Kôji is a great player, but soccer is a game with eleven men on the field at the same time. He certainly does give Japan a chance to advance out of the group, but they're going to need to score to get through.

: Are you saying that Shimane needs to provide that offense?

Masataka Shimane


: Shimane, yes, but we'll also have to be on our guard for Shintarô Fujii. I know he's out right now with tendonitis and he's not expected to be fully recovered until April, but that still leaves him two months to get fully fit for the World Cup. If he's on his game he'll be one of the biggest threats we'll face in the group.



: We've also been drawn with the Ghanaians, again. This will be the fourth time in the last five World Cups Ghana and the US have played. What are your thoughts on that?

: I think that it would be five of five times we've been matched up had they qualified in 2018. It seems like every four years we have to play them, and there's a whole generation of fans in each nation that have grown up watching us play. It's a good thing, even if a bit of an odd rivalry.

: You have to think they can make some noise this time around with Diallo and Osei.




: If their performances in Roma's midfield is any indication they could make Ghana a surprise victor, the two of them knowing each other so well from playing together on the same club could be what they need to advance.

: Finally, turning to Bulgaria, they're the weak link here right?

: I don't think so at all. They've got something of a golden generation going on right now, and you can't just account that to Spasov, Nedkov, and Fotev.





: But those three do give them a very good spine to work from, which is something of the case for both Ghana and Bulgaria. We've been emphasizing wing play on the national team, so it should be interesting to see how our styles compare.

: If you had to rate the one area where the national team was better equipped than our opponents, what would it be?

: Oh, it's absolutely our depth. We may not have a world class player on our roster, but no injury to any player would cripple our team. That might not be the case for any of the other teams in our group. We've also got home field advantage, which counts for a lot. The crowds will be huge for us, and we're relying on them to help carry the team.

: Moving on to the team next summer, everyone wants to know who's going to start in goal, Toninho or Echedey Rubio de la Fuente?




: It's an open question, still. Both have really impressed me, Echedey in the Confederations Cup last summer and Toninho in how he's fought to get his starting spot back. That's something that might not be decided until training camp, but either way we're going to have a solid presence in goal.

: You've also been, I wouldn't say accused, but questioned about the number of young players you've brought onto the team over the previous three years.

: Yeah, and that's something that confuses me. Have they seen me leave Mario Carroll off the roster when he's been rested and healthy?



: Or Brian Burman for that matter? Those are two of our three starting forwards.



: And on defense, I thought I'd been clear in my vote of confidence in the current generation of players. I don't think anyone could confuse James Needham, Bruno, Darren Latham for teenagers. They're exactly the type of seasoned defenders we're going to need if we're to make some noise during the tournament.





: That's certainly true, but what about leaving Bobby Padilla off the team for a full year?



: Bobby is a unique case, and he knows exactly why he was left off the team after his performances at the Copa America. I'm more concerned about is his failure to perform even after that at Porto. He's going to need to step things up if he wants to be a major part of this team. Everyone has to earn their position, and I don't care if he just got a big money transfer to Lazio, he simply hasn't shown me he can perform up to his ability.

: But you have to admit that you've been working in a lot of teenagers and younger players.

: Absolutely, and I make no apologies for that. Isaac Parsons may only be 21 years old, but he's earned his spot by playing well every time I've called on him.



: The same goes for Hunter Fisher.



: And the same goes for Érik Jiménez, the only reason he hasn't gotten into the squad more often is because of some bad fitness luck. Major League Soccer may never have developed into a top flight league, but his performance at the club level warrants my confidence that he can perform for us at left fullback.



: So you're not saying that every young player has locked down a starting job.

: I'm not even saying they're going to get invited to the pre-tournament training camp! Guys like Xavier Hughes and Chris Ramirez will have to prove they deserve their spot on just like any other. I think they might deserve it, but we're still more than 150 days from making our preliminary decisions.




: What about the players from the team that finished second in the U20 World Cup?

: That will largely come down to whether I think they can add something during actual games. That being said, I'm very excited for the future and I could imagine some of them making the team. I'm disappointed that Rodrigo probably won't due to a lack of training time from that stress fracture which turned into a broken foot- something we would never have allowed to happen had he been given a work permit to come play for me at Wrexham.



: But beyond that, it would take something special from our top young players to prove to me that they deserve to be on the World Cup squad. I intend on winning matches, not having a field trip for teenagers. That being said, I can understand why American fans are excited, some of the teenagers could legitimately be described as phenoms, and I think in four years you could see Keith Coleman, Paul Barrett, Jesús Melendez, Andrew Paredes, and David Hunt all making strong bids to be on the 2032 squad.







: That's a lot of attacking firepower, but the lack of young defenders has to concern you a little.

: Ramirez and Parsons will both be just entering their primes, but you have a point. We haven't even gotten through this World Cup yet, though, and four years is a long time.

: Is that imbalance of talent a reason you've been so willing to cap foreign nationals?

: They're not foreign nationals. They're American citizens. They became American citizens when they took the oath of citizenship. We are a nation founded by immigrants, and our culture, both football and popular, were born of the melting pot. I think it's wrongheaded and downright offensive that in this day and age we still have these nativist sensibilities.

: So that's why Sinan Ulusal has gotten capped so often since becoming a citizen?



: Well, that and he's a damned fine player. But I also think it's important that we seek out talent that isn't solely American in provenance. Which is something that the previous regimes didn't do so well. Remember the Martin Henning affair?

Martin Henning


: How on earth does one of the best defenders America has produced in the past decade, and perhaps ever, end up capped for the Puerto Rican team? It's as if England had ignored a great player simply because he'd been born on the Isle of Man.

: That was a dark day for the USMNT. We're reaching the end of our time, so let's end on a speculative note. Brent Woods unexpectedly announced his retirement from international soccer after the Confederations Cup this past summer.



: There's been a lot of rumors since then about your efforts to bring him out of retirement, can you confirm that you've been in touch with him, and how he's feeling?

: Well, actually, I have some news to break on that topic. I got a text just as we were going to record this.



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