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00:00And now it's time to go across the pond with our expert in European football.
00:06Nixie, happy to see you again, my friend.
00:09Talk to me about the biggest surprise in this set of games.
00:14Netherlands tying with Spain.
00:16Everybody thought that Spain will have the dominance because they're just so,
00:20you know, they're such a powerful team.
00:22And yet the Netherlands, back to old glories, getting the tie.
00:26Oh, yeah, without a doubt.
00:28That was certainly look, both teams played amazing.
00:31It's just the bar is so high for Spain right now, given the talent.
00:34And they really did dominate.
00:36Let's be real.
00:36They dominated in more ways than one.
00:38But I have to say, they just weren't strong enough in the back.
00:41And Netherlands was able to squeeze two goals without without them being able to kind of
00:45triumph over them the way that everyone thought they would.
00:47Another game that was surprising Italy that as of late has been proposing with a very
00:52offensive brand of soccer, unlike the Cappinaccio of the past.
00:56Yet it was not enough against Germany, which goes to show that Germany, it's always the
01:03favorite.
01:04Tell me, what was your highlight of this game?
01:07Oh, my God.
01:07I mean, the highlights didn't stop.
01:09Italy came in hot in the beginning.
01:11But as you kind of mentioned there, Germany, Italy, the history is just always been on
01:16Germany's side, though, at least for the last decade and a half.
01:19You'd have to go back to 2012 to see Italy beat their German rivals.
01:23That was in the Euro semifinals.
01:24And before that, it was in 2006 in the World Cup when Italy went on to win the whole thing
01:29after Zidane smashed that one guy's sternum with his forehead like an angry rhinoceros.
01:34But yeah, since then, look, Italy is always a solid team, but they're inconsistent, right?
01:38They've been successful.
01:39We're talking about a team that's won four World Cups, yet they've also failed to qualify
01:44for World Cups for other major tournaments since then.
01:46So they're hot, they're cold versus a very strong and solid German squad.
01:51That's just the way it is.
01:52Let's see what happens in the second leg.
01:54Another game that nobody had in their parlay going this way was Croatia defeating France.
02:05Nick, what happened?
02:06Croatia were just absolutely dominant, dominant.
02:09They have amazing players.
02:11Mbappe, before the game was interviewed, was giving praises to Modric, right?
02:17And it wasn't just Modric in the end.
02:19Perisic came in hot with that beautiful goal as well to put them on the map and seal the
02:24deal for that second goal.
02:25But look, this is Croatia, again, sort of proving that they are a force to reckon with,
02:30that they are a world-class team.
02:31We are watching them make a name for themselves.
02:33They're on a journey to cement themselves in football history and be up there with teams
02:38like Argentina, like Brazil, like France, like Italy, who are just synonymous with
02:43amazing football.
02:44But they need that silverware.
02:45They haven't won anything significant yet.
02:47They were the runner-ups in 2018.
02:49But look, we're talking about a team that has been an independent football nation since
02:531998, coming off of the Yugoslav Wars, when they became an independent nation.
02:58So in such a short time, they've been able to make a big name for themselves.
03:02They just got to hold on to a trophy.
03:04And I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a Croatian team lifting up the Euro or the World Cup
03:09trophy in the next few years.
03:10They're just on that path and they're really hungry for it.
03:13And you could see that.
03:14These games are truly important, Nick.
03:16Tell us why these games matter more beyond just the silverware that is ahead of them.
03:23It matters for this.
03:24You get to practice.
03:26You got the World Cup coming up.
03:27And on top of that, how you finish here for these big teams, like the ones we're talking
03:31about, that's going to determine what groups they end up getting placed in when it comes
03:36time to play in the World Cup qualifiers.
03:39The winner of Italy and Germany will play in a group of Slovakia, Northern Ireland,
03:44and Luxembourg.
03:45So you want to be the winner because that is an easier group to be in than the loser
03:50of Italy and Germany will play with Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova.
03:53Now, none of these teams are necessarily teams to reckon with.
03:57They're not big forces you should be scared of.
03:59But there's clearly a stronger group that the winner wants to go for.