The Double Pivot: Soccer analysis, analytics, and commentary

Latest Episodes:

France's attack vs. Portugal's impenetrable wall for the Euro 16 final Jul 08, 2016

Show notes

Les Bleus faced their first true challenge and dismantled Die Mannschaft, while Portugal made sure Wales' greatest accomplishment of the tournament would be the quarterfinals win over Belgium. Now, Ronaldo's band of disruptors square up with the first squad that may be up to the task of running straight at them for 90 minutes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Euro 16 mega episode: Recapping the quarterfinals and previewing the semifinals Jul 04, 2016

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The two Mikes keep riding with Portugal (who, along with Ronaldo, is getting a bad wrap), while Wales made Caley look prescient, Germany vs. Italy wasn't the chess match we were looking for, and Iceland's dream died an honorable death. Plus: Will Germany be able to adapt with so many missing pieces against France, and can Wales keep the miracle run going against Portugal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Previewing the Euro 2016 quarterfinals Jun 30, 2016

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The two Mikes tackle a number of misconceptions including: Poland might be doing well because their best player is struggling, Belgium has at least one really great tactic, Italy is not a defensive team in the way that many are saying, and France is actually the underdog against Iceland (ok, we lied about the last one). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Messi's Argentina woes continue, and the Euros get exciting Jun 28, 2016

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A bunch of bodies crashed into each other in the Copa América final, and it ended with Messi's international career on life support. The two Mikes dive into the chaos that unfolded at MetLife Stadium before turning their attention to Croatia's cruel exit at the hands of Portugal, Italy's total disruption of Spain, and Iceland's smiting of England. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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USMNT Copa América postmortem, plus a Euro knockout round preview Jun 23, 2016

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Can anything positive be drawn from Argentina's destruction of a hapless American side? The two Mikes offer their findings from an autopsy of the U.S. loss, posit whether this Argentina vs. Chile rematch will be any different than the one we saw in the group stages, and preview the Euro knockout rounds, while trying to figure out what makes Croatia so good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Can the U.S. stop Argentina? Jun 20, 2016

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The power of Messi's beard (and really good players) is powering Argentina to what seems like an inevitable Copa win. Plus, Chile runs rampant, there's a nasty rumor going around that strikers at Euro 2016 are nonexistent, and the Mikes discuss what they've gotten right (Belgium) and wrong (Mexico). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What do we really know about the U.S, England, France and Belgium? Jun 17, 2016

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Now that we've seen each group a few times, what can we make of Besler at left back for the USMNT, Roy Hodgson's striker and midfield decisions, France benching its two best players, and Belgium not quite living up to its potential on paper? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Episode 4: The wrong way to talk about sexual assault and sports Jun 13, 2016

Show notes

The two Mikes break down the biggest matches of the Euro 2016 and Copa América Centario weekend, but not before a necessary discussion about the elephant in the room with the Spanish national team, and the lesson we must all learn when it comes to the teams and players we love to watch, and the sexual assault, rape and domestic violence victims who are thoughtlessly cast aside in the name of sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Holy goals, USMNT and Argentina Jun 09, 2016

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In case you hadn't noticed, Argentina is great and they showed why in a dominant performance against Chile. The Mikes dive into how good the former squad is, and how worried we should be about the latter. Plus, the sky is no longer falling for the USMNT, England and Belgium seem better than they probably are, and four players to watch over the next week and why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Euro 2016 favorites + more Copa América Centario Jun 06, 2016

Show notes

The two Mikes can't wait to talk about the red-hot, scintillating action from the first weekend of Copa America Centario, but first, they're going to preview Euro 2016. Specifically, a quick examination of France (the deserved favorites), Germany (who play weirder than you thought), and Spain (no, seriously, they're still really good!). Also: El Tri weirdly struggles with a man advantage, the USMNT wasn't that bad, and Klinsmann isn't that wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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