Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America

Latest Episodes:

#627: USA v S. Korea recap Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

Belz and Vince talk through the action, the contrast in minutes at striker, the problems we caused ourselves with our defensive shape, and our inability to adjust in-game, and whether a better list of call-ups solves anything (we think it does).

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Also, check out Boots on the Ground, our USWNT-focused spinoff podcast headed up by Tara and Vince. They are cooking over there, you can listen here: https://boots-on-the-ground.simplecast.com
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#626: Sebastian Berhalter joins the pod Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

Vince and Sanjay sat down with USMNT and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter on Friday morning to talk about his rapid rise to the national team, growing up ias U.S. soccer royalty, whether his dad would have been able to give him the same opportunities he's gotten under Poch, whether he'll get to take set pieces in this window, and a lot more.

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#625: Look-ahead to Japan with Ryo Nakagawara Sep 05, 2025

Show notes

Ryo Nakagawara, the author of Shogun Soccer, a detailed newsletter focused on the J-league and Japanese national team, joins Belz to talk about a likely lineup for Tuesday's game, where the goals and the holes are, the state of the Japanese men's national team, it's long-tenured coach, fan culture in Japan and lots more.

Shogun Soccer: https://www.shogunsoccer.com/

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#624: Look-ahead to South Korea with Steve Han Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

Steve Han, a longtime Goal.com reporter and now FIFA's content lead for South Korea and the host of YouTube channel FairPoint Football, joins Belz to talk about soccer in the Korean Republic, Son's move to LAFC, what the 2002 run meant for the sport in the country, and of course, who's likely to make an impact in the game on Saturday.

Fairpoint Football on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fairpointfootball
Steve on Twitter: https://x.com/realstevescores

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#623: Balo, Sarge come in hot, Poch visits Ohio Stadium, camp arrivals Sep 01, 2025

Show notes

Charlie Boehm returns to join Vince and Belz for the Monday Review. Seattle's triumph over Inter Miami leads us off, then Balogun and Sargent come into camp in form, and lots more after that, including a big win for Tyler at Tottenham.

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#622: Grassroots Pt. 4 — Listener Q&A with Jim Harte and Mike Idland Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

Why not tell kids to "space out"? Can you teach 7-yr-olds to defend? What to tell your intimidated 4-year-old? How to progress from U6 to U12? We wrap up this series with a bunch of listener-submitted questions and comments, and Mike and Jim (and Belz) responding to those. Lots of good ones, and this was a fun one to record. Respect and gratitude to Mike and Jim for their service to the game.

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#621: September roster preview with Greg Velasquez Aug 25, 2025

Show notes

Greg, Vince and Belz convene to discuss the soon-to-be-released roster for the upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan, and Greg classifies each position into Locks, Poch Favorites, All Eyes on You, and Shrugs. We work our way through who's going to get called up bc he absolutely should, who Poch WILL call up, and who might deserve it but may not get the phone call. Lots of news to sprinkle throughout, including Reyna to Gladbach, Balo's very encouraging first start of the season, Pepi's return, and much more.

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#620: What happened to the FC Dallas pipeline? With Buzz Carrick Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

Buzz Carrick, the founder of the 3rd Degree, the Dallas soccer blog and podcast, joins Belz to explain why the pipeline of elite talent at FC Dallas, once so full, has stopped producing (at least for a little while). Detailed conversation about a multi-faceted phenomenon with a guy who knows the pipeline from valve to valve.

3rd Degree blog: https://3rddegree.net/

Podcast: https://3rddegree.castos.com/

And here you can join the 3rd Degree patreon, where you get Buzz's "burns," which we discuss on the pod: https://www.patreon.com/c/3rdDegree/posts

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#619: Pulisic documentary fallout with Meg Swanick, plus the weekend action Aug 18, 2025

Show notes

The venerable Meg Swanick joins Belz and Vince to talk through the Pulisic & Weah vs the pundits news cycle, plus a full rundown of the weekend action.

https://swandive.substack.com/

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#618: Grassroots Pt. 3 — How to coach rec soccer with Mike Idland Aug 14, 2025

Show notes

Foxes & Hounds! Sharks & Minnows! High Fives! Pinecones! We’re getting into the nuts and bolts of helping little kids learn to master the soccer ball with Mike Idland, a college women’s soccer coach in New York state who’s spent a lot of time working with rec soccer and club coaches, and has been a huge help to Belz in his rec soccer efforts. Lots of practical stuff here to cap off this series of interviews on youth soccer.

Here’s Mike’s brief and excellent U6 training plan: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cG0r1WV6eJNS3pGSZGMubDeukj8ssoDx/view?usp=sharing

And here are some U6 drills from Belz, including Pinecones, Goal Races, Sharpshooter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1usw-Ivi9hpmiAi8M8suqEiYw1gYlz-1R/view?usp=sharing

In a couple weeks we (Belz and at least a couple of the grassroots episodes guests) are going to record a 4th episode where we respond to questions and comments. You can send us a voicemail here: https://www.speakpipe.com/scuffedpod

Or, if you don’t want to do that, send us a question here: https://forms.gle/YjdLExcqyyLn5KpK6

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