Time spent without New York City FC matches means the focus of the latest Hudson River Blue Podcast wanders to some other competitions, namely the Concacaf Gold Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Episode 44 starts with talk of the Gold Cup and the United States men's national team, specifically the USMNT's starting goalkeeper Matt Freese. Freese made his first big mistake since becoming the Gold Cup starter in goal for Mauricio Pochettino, handing Haiti a goal in what was still a 2-1 USMNT victory. What will the gaffe do for Freese's place in the Starting XI, and how warranted is some of the criticism being thrown the way of the NYCFC goalkeeper?
Hosts John Baney and Mark Radigan and producer Andrew Leigh have a lot to say about Freese's USMNT status, as well as the divided opinions among USMNT fans about striker (and college buddy of our own Mark Radigan) Patrick Agyemang of Charlotte FC.
Our Gold Cup talk also includes some previewing of the big quarterfinal match that's next up for the United States, a New York City FC Derby of sorts pitting Freese's USMNT against Alonso Martínez and Costa Rica. NYCFC will get one of its two MVPs back after that quarterfinal, but we spend some time wondering who needs a good performance for their national team the most between Freese and Alonso.
The other big non-MLS focus in this episode is the Club World Cup, which is just getting to its knockout rounds but is proving more captivating than we first anticipated. Is this tournament better than we thought, and able to overcome the off-field baggage that's hounded it before and during the matches?
Club World Cup proved pretty difficult to navigate for the three MLS teams who qualified, with Inter Miami CF and their trio of superstar ex-Barcelona players the only MLS squad to escape the group stage. Miami advanced to the knockouts and became the first Concacaf team to ever beat a team from UEFA to get there – and earned some $21.5 million in prize money in the process.
We discuss what Miami's success says on behalf of MLS on the global stage and get into a wider discussion of some of the off-field pros and cons of the Club World Cup – from DAZN to the underdog teams to Saudi Arabia's involvement and beyond.
Finally, after a big stretch without one, there's another New York City FC match to preview. We get you all caught up on what's going on with CF Montréal as New York City prepares to head north of the Canadian border to try to earn a second road win this season. We wonder about Pascal Jansen's personnel and lineup choices for the trip to Montréal, but also all sound bullish on NYCFC's chances in this last MLS match in June.
Listen to our full Cup-centric episode below, or it's on Bleav, Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you find your podcasts.
