The United States Men’s National Team is set to take on the Netherlands tomorrow in the World Cup Round of 16, and we preview everything on Episode 85 of the SSFC Podcast. In this episode, we analyze what to watch for tomorrow against the Dutch and we examine the World Cup from the fan experience perspective. The Round of 16 is set, so we go over the bracket quickly to see what the road to the World Cup trophy is for the teams remaining.

The USMNT have some injury questions answered, namely the health of winger Christian Pulisic. Josh Sargent’s injury is more of a question mark, and he’s likely doubtful for tomorrow. We discuss from the USMNT’s perspective what they need to do in order to get a victory and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. That includes being assertive in creating the attack, keeping the Dutch forwards in front of them, and embracing the moment of being in the knockout stage, where anything can happen.

After the break, we get into the discussion of what it was like being at the World Cup. From a fan perspective, there were some good things about being at the World Cup, some unique moments that fans could take advantage of while they were there. There have obviously been some incredible matches during the World Cup, and fans were able to experience many of them. However, there was also the bad and the ugly from this World Cup, from inconsistent security to detention for allowed items. We briefly discuss those bad and ugly things as well.

We’ll be back towards the end of the weekend to recap the Round of 16. Any questions or topic suggestions, send them to SSFC Podcast at Gmail dot com.

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