I type with fingers coated in Lemon Pepper Wet. We are in Atlanta for a live show tonight with Big Boi, Clint Dempsey, and the incredible Renee Montgomery amongst the guests. So much football. Yesterday, we watched the World Cup qualifiers deliver so many moving moments and Irish agony at levels which may impact the Guinness share price. The U.S. Men are about to test themselves once more. AND Mo Salah announces his exit. A pathos-filled message which triggers so many profound questions like: Is Beto the best striker on Merseyside now? 💙

ii. We watched the World Cup playoffs at the Brewhouse Cafe in Atlanta, which you voted as our nation’s best soccer bar last year. It was incredible to catch up with the owner Humberto Bermudez, who told us that the impact of the award has transformed his business to such an extent that he is opening another branch down by Atlanta United’s stadium ahead of the World Cup. That is the kind of joy the world needs right now.

Talking about the best bar award, the crown has been bestowed: Ireland's Four Courts in Arlington, Va. is officially America's Best Soccer Bar 2025-2026, presented by Michelob ULTRA. Join us on April 21 at Ireland's Four Courts for a live podcast taping with Clint Dempsey and well-earned toast. RSVP for free now (warning: spots are filling up fast). I find the story of the bar and its owners recovering from a devastating fire to be truly inspirational, and cannot wait to be with you all in the DMV. 🍻

iii. This is the best thing you will see today: Ref cam of the Tyne-Wear derby is incredible. 📹

iv. I am beyond thrilled that Lindsey Heaps has joined our network to tell her story on the road to World Cup 2027 with her new show “The Captain with Lindsey Heaps.” Her podcast chemistry with Sam Mewis is as good as it was on the field. Lindsey is a winner wherever she has played. She has a giant football brain and is also an enormous Arsenal fan. I can’t wait to do more with her in the year to come. It would mean a lot to me if you would give it a watch and let us know your thoughts. 🦅

More: Terrific piece about Sam and Herc Gomez and their MiB experience. 🙌

v. Lovely review of my book by NPR. Grab your copy here. 📚

Courage,
ROG

P.S. - This BTS look at what goes into being a Premier League commentator is fascinating. 👀

A nerve-filled Italy edged themselves past Northern Ireland. A lethal finish from Sandro Tonali (miraculously resurrected from the injury which kept him out of the Tyne-Wear derby) broke Northern Irish resistance and hearts. Italy will now travel to Wales-killers Bosnia and Herzegovina who won on penalties. Incredibly, the Italians are fighting their way into their first World Cup since 2014. As James Horncastle told us, their greatest opponent is fear of failure. 

Watch this: International football is the best. The quality of it may be lesser, but the emotional heft cannot be beat. Listen to the agony in the voice of eloquent Wales manager Craig Bellamy in defeat. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

ii. I found it so hard to watch the Republic of Ireland implode and cough up a 2-0 lead that I had to leave the Brewhouse Bar, so I did not have to watch their fans ricochet from light to darkness. Up 2-0 and soaring against the Czech Republic after 23 minutes, they fell apart to go out on penalties—a savage way to experience the nation’s fifth loss in six World Cup playoff fixtures. The true agony for my friend, Icelandic Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, was that this loss was self-inflicted. The penalty they conceded to let the Czechs back in was a moment of rash-self destruction.

I was watching the game with my friend Kevin Egan. He is flying back to Dublin for what he hoped would be Ireland’s World Cup qualification game. Instead, it will be one of the most depressing games in football history as the World Cup playoff losers now meet in friendlies next week. Ireland versus North Macedonia is going to be sadder than Tracy Chapman’s debut album. 🇮🇪

iii. It was incredible to witness Bosnia’s 40-year-old Edin Dzeko and Poland’s 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski deliver in their nations’ hours of need. Just as impressive, Viktor Gyökeres blasted an effortless hat-trick to propel Sweden past Ukraine. 

The United States will face either Kosovo or Türkiye. Run, don’t walk to look at this Güler assist that incapacitated an entire defense. That kind of quality is what we aspire to match.

Also: This French goal to destroy Brazil last night is the kind of level we will need to raise our game to. Stunning Ekitike finish, but the team play… wow. 🤩

iv. Here are the fixtures that will decide four of the six World Cup places. All seem too close to call:

v. The inter-continental bracket went to form. Jamaica beat audacious minnow New Caledonia, who won over the Mexican crowd with their tenacity from the moment they sang their national anthem, more than 7,400 miles from their island nation. The Reggae Boyz now face DR Congo. Bolivia overcame Suriname late and will face Iraq in the other final. 

Both the European and intercontinental playoff finals take place on Tuesday, March 3. I will recap all the glorious action in detail with the one and only Rory Smith on Wednesday. 👋

The USMNT return to action this Saturday (3 p.m. ET, TNT/Peacock) against Belgium, before facing a Ronaldo-less Portugal on Tuesday night. This March moment has been hailed as “the most important camp” by players fighting to prove they are World Cup worthy. We bring an unbeaten-in-five record to play, while Belgium have not lost in four games on the run. Though without the injured Thibaut Courtois, Leandro Trossard, and Big Rom Lukaku, the Belgians have sufficient quality to test and probe with Kevin De Bruyne churning his magic alongside Jérémy Doku and Youri Tielemans.

From a U.S. perspective, there are so many questions about this team as we careen towards a World Cup in which we are desperate to prove ourselves to ourselves. Who will start at striker (Flo!)? Who will be in goal (Is Matt Turner making a late charge)? Is Gio Reyna, who has played just 26 minutes in 2026, our James Rodríguez—a player who soars in an international jersey in a way he does not in a club shirt? Can Christian Pulisic make the U.S. team his happy place, away from the frustration and tension he has been experiencing recently in Milan? 

Above all, as Mauricio Pochettino openly muses about a return to England—it was fascinating that he chose not to say “Right now, I am thinking only of the U.S. and the World Cup challenge” here—how does that impact the culture and focus of the team?

I will talk in depth with Clint Dempsey about all of this live on stage tonight and then we’ll break down the game in its entirety right after the whistle blows on Saturday. Come be with us.

I am so excited to watch. I do believe this team has the talent to make a Morocco-like run, but we have to create a culture that is unshakeable and impermeable to outside reaction. We will learn a lot about ourselves this week and I can’t wait to unpack it all alongside you.

More: Watch this footage of Americans being interviewed at the 1994 World Cup. It is absolute gold. 🦅

This week’s phrase is:

“The USMNT have me feeling _______ ahead of the World Cup”

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

There were loads of brilliant entries last week, but there can only be one winner:

Andrew Seidl: “The main reason English football got found out in Europe is because Garnacho leaked the starting lineups.”

Andrew, this gave me a much, much-needed laugh. Your patch is in the mail!

Senegal 🇸🇳 vs. Peru 🇵🇪 (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, Fox Deportes)

Senegal are still technically AFCON champs, but after the Confederation of African Football belatedly awarded the win to Morocco, in a move that traverses the fine line between pettiness and defiance, Pape Thiaw’s side will parade the trophy for their fans before their warmup with Peru on Saturday. 

More: Senegal’s AFCON appeal to be heard ASAP!

Mexico 🇲🇽 vs. Portugal 🇵🇹 (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, Fubo)

El Tri are facing a goalkeeping injury crisis ahead of the World Cup, and after a dip in the Lazarus Pit, 40-year-old Guillermo Ochoa could yet be the man between the sticks this summer—but the WC hosts will have to deal with an in-form Bruno Fernandes first.

Here’s a question: What do Guillermo Ochoa, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi all have in common?

Colombia 🇨🇴 vs. France 🇫🇷 (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN Deportes)

At Bayern Munich, Michael Olise and Luis Díaz have a better working chemistry than Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, but on Sunday, they’ll find out how nightmarish it is to face each other when France meets Colombia in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.

Steve Wills from St. Louis writes: “Rog how do you feel about Mo Salah exiting Liverpool? Do you care? Does it, as a Blue, fill you with joy? Or do even you see his majesty?”

Steve – I am 97% Everton, but 3% of me is human being, and I do believe, if you don’t appreciate greatness because it is cloaked in a different-colored jersey, you are missing out on life. 

We knew this moment was coming, but it did not make it any easier. The video in which Mo Salah announced he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season was tear-inducing to so many Reds fans I know. I think the line that the team had “fought through the hardest time in our life together” was beautiful, human and revealing. We have been blessed to have Mo on the show five times over the years. He is an intensely reflective interview. A man who worked so hard to ensure he was physically and mentally ready to dominate. A gent who told us he envisioned the exact goals he was going to score in the locker room before taking the field and making them real. Man was part footballer, part chess grandmaster.

He won eight trophies in nine years at Liverpool. At times, he scored at a pace so sizzling, it felt like he couldn’t get out of bed without either setting or breaking another record. Watching him cut in from the right, everyone in the world knew what he was about to do, but no one could stop him, just as he could not stop himself from picking up the annual yellow card for taking his shirt off.

Despite all the goals, the trophies, the memories, perhaps there is no greater statistic than the one in this Stanford University study that discovered that since he joined Liverpool, hate crimes in the area decreased by 19% and anti-Muslim comments online dropped by 50%. 

There is no better way to pay tribute to him than through the words of John Oliver, a man whom I know will be devastated today. He wrote when inducting Mo into Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list, “Mo Salah is a better human being than he is a football player. And he’s one of the best football players in the world.” 🇪🇬 👑 ❤️

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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