America Gets Bounced, World Cup Picks, Knicks Fan Bliss, ‘Heat 2’ and ‘The Odyssey’ With Chris Ryan, Anthony Dabbundo, and Jason Concepcion
July 7, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readAmerica Gets Bounced, World Cup Picks, Knicks Fan Bliss, ‘Heat 2’ and ‘The Odyssey’
The U.S. men's national team's World Cup run ended with a 4-0 thrashing by Belgium in Seattle, a result that Bill Simmons described as "another colonoscopy" and that left the panel searching for explanations. The loss exposed the same structural weaknesses that have plagued American soccer for years, even as the tournament itself delivered what Simmons called "one of the greatest couple of sporting weeks of my life."
The Belgium Debacle: What Went Wrong
The U.S. came into the knockout stage riding the momentum of its best group stage performance ever, with a home crowd and the return of Folarin Balogun from suspension. What followed was a complete collapse. Anthony Dabbundo put it bluntly: "I couldn't have imagined they could have failed that test anymore." Belgium played long balls, won every second ball, and the U.S. defense panicked. Tim Ream looked every bit of 38 years old. Sergiño Dest was "unplayable" in Simmons's words. The goalkeeper had one of the worst errors the U.S. has given up in a World Cup. Christian Pulisic, the team's best player, stunk in the first half and got hurt in the second.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:42) **USMNT World Cup Exit Postmortem** - The panel breaks down the USMNT's round-of-16 loss to Belgium, calling it a terrible performance and a wake-up call about the talent gap.
- 2 (03:16) **Defensive Collapse and Individual Failures** - Detailed analysis of the specific defensive breakdowns and poor individual performances that doomed the US.
- 3 (05:57) **Belgium's Tactics and Talent Gap** - Discussion of Belgium's strategy to rest key players and how their superior talent exposed the US.
- 4 (08:35) **The Worst US Performance of the Tournament** - The panel argues this was the worst the US has played all tournament, with four terrible goals conceded.
- 5 (11:40) **Big Picture: What's Next for US Soccer?** - The panel discusses the core to build around, the need for a defensive stopper, and the lack of a midfield playmaker.
- 6 (14:44) **World Cup Tournament Overview and Betting** - The panel shifts to the broader tournament, discussing favorites, standout players, and the betting landscape.
- 7 (18:53) **Jalen Brown Trade and Celtics Fallout** - The panel discusses the Celtics trading Jalen Brown, the press conference, and the implications for the team.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Join The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Anthony Dabbundo LIVE on Netflix to react to the USMNT losing 4-1 to Belgium in the World Cup's round of 16. Then, Jason Concepcion joins the pod to give more World Cup thoughts, discuss what the Jaylen Brown trade means, break down the TV landscape, and much more.
(0:00) Intro
(1:15) Belgium defeats Team USA 4-1
(41:57) More World Cup thoughts
(01:07:01) What the Knicks win meant for Jason
(01:14:33) The TV landscape, ‘The Odyssey,’ and more!
Host: Bill Simmons
Guests: Chris Ryan, Anthony Dabbundo, and Jason Concepcion
Producers: Chia Hao Tat, Eduardo Ocampo, and Chris Wohlers
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