00:00Share with me what's going on and how are they getting ready for the World Cup?
00:04Yeah, that's right, Marissa. As a U.S. men's national team fan, I'm always shaking in my boots when we get put up against Panama.
00:10But to put things in an international perspective, in a World Cup perspective, this is only their second time ever appearing in the tournament.
00:17Their first Mundial was only in Russia, 2018. That's right, they lost all of their matches.
00:22They lost 6-1 to England, so it was not a good result for them.
00:25This time around, they're looking to do better. They're pissed.
00:28But they are grouped with England again, and Croatia, and Ghana, and Group L, so it's going to be a really tough one.
00:33But hey, Panama is a great squad. They're representing Central America, the only squad to qualify from the region.
00:39So let's see if this World Cup will be different for them.
00:42I mean, over the last two decades, we've seen Panama quietly turn into this regional power, rivaling the U.S., rivaling Mexico with the Gold Cup,
00:50the CONCACAF Nations League tournament as well, where they actually kicked the U.S. out in this year's tournament.
00:56We all remember the swarming of Thierry Henry moment when they scored against the U.S. men's national team.
01:02So yeah, anything could happen. Their head coach, Thomas Christensen, is a Spanish-Danish former Bundesliga Golden Boot winner,
01:08ex-League's United manager as well. He has been in charge since 2020.
01:12They renewed his contract through 2026, so clearly those in charge like the direction that Mr. Christensen is taking the squad in.
01:19So we'll have to see what happens. I mean, it's a new start for Panama.
01:22That's right, Nick. Now, you mentioned Michael Murillo. He's playing Champions League right now with Marseille.
01:27And I know that no matter where you are in the world, you are plugged into that tournament.
01:31So break it down to me. What is the latest and greatest on the last matchday of Champions League?
01:36Yeah, so this week in Champions League, we had matchday six of eight.
01:40We are getting to the end of the league phase, and the table is really starting to take shape.
01:44Arsenal breaking away from the pack, and right behind them, things are very crowded.
01:48So let's start with Arsenal. Arsenal has been absolutely brilliant this whole season.
01:53They're the only squad that's remained unbeaten, but not only that, they've won all of their matches six for six.
01:59They're aggressive pressing, a back line that hardly gives up any chances to anyone,
02:04and a beautiful three up front that are turning these half chances into goals.
02:09So Arteta's rotation has kept them fresh, and they're looking great.
02:12Just behind them, you got Bayern Munich, Atalanta surprisingly doing well, PSG, Inter, and Real Madrid are all clustered in that top eight zone.
02:20City's win in Madrid, by the way, on matchday six pushes them out of that mid-table traffic into that same fight to get a bye,
02:27so that they can jump straight into the next round.
02:30But below them, Tottenham, Dortmund, Chelsea, even Barcelona a little further down.
02:34And so, yeah, that's kind of the story.
02:36After matchday six, things are getting clear.
02:38Every point from here is going to matter because things are quite tight,
02:41and we're going to have to see who gets a free pass to the last 16,
02:45who has to sweat it out, duke it out in the playoffs,
02:47and unfortunately for a lot of teams, who's going to go home early.
Comments