Jason went live. Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Buy a t-shirt and be an American soccer OG: https://the-best-soccer-show-shop.fourthwall.com/products/the-best-soccer-show-t-shirt See you next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The end came and it hurt. The USMNT failed to show up for one of the biggest games in US men's soccer history and fell 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday night. Jason grabbed Alex Shephard from the Golden Goal World Cup magazine (among other things) to try to figure out how to feel. Join the Patreon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The USMNT is on to the Round of 16 after beating Bosnia & Herzegovina on Wednesday night in Santa Clara. After a week off jammed packed with World Cup, Jason is back to dive into the US win and what's next for the Americans. Ryan Rosenblatt returns. Ryan and Jason talk: The USMNT win over Bosnia Folarin Balogun's red card and VAR's impact on the game Looking ahead to the Belgium game and a massive moment for American soccer The issue of supporting the USMNT during a dark time in America Mexico and England at the Azteca Check out Ryan's newsletter: https://thinkoutsidetheball.substack.com/ Join the Besties on the Patreon and get access to the Besties Slack: https://www.patreon.com/c/thebestsoccershow Buy the Sun's Out Baloguns Out shirt: https://thebestsoccershow.creator-spring.com/listing/suns-out-baloguns-out?product=14&variation=2537 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason grabbed Ryan Rosenblatt of many soccer media endeavors past and present to talk about the USMNT, the World Cup narrative, and much, much more. Read Ryan's daily World Cup dispatches at thinkoutsidetheball.substack.com. Becoming a Besties and join the amazing BSS American soccer community at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Buy a "Sun's Out, Balogun's Out" tank top. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With just days left until the USMNT kicks off its World Cup campaign in Los Angeles against Paraguay, Jason went live to take stock of the team. TBSS Chief Correspondent Jonathan Taylor Tannenwald (support Jon's work by subscribing to the Philadelphia Inquirer) joins the show from Irvine, where he's covering the USMNT camp ahead of World Cup kickoff. Jonathan gives some insight into key US defender Chris Richards' status for the World Cup opener before he and Jason open a discussion about a few of Mauricio Pochettino's pending choices for his World Cup lineup. Then the Rodius arrives to give some national team thoughts and his DEFCON for the tournament outlook. Jared didn't just come for USMNT analysis, though: he brought a game. The Gamemaster puts Jason and Jonathan through two rounds of a "closest total" game you'll have to hear to understand. Support the show by joining The Best Soccer Show Patreon. You get access to an incredible Slack community and bonus content from Jason (and occasionally Jared). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason was back in the usual timeslot to talk about the building hype around the USMNT (thanks to the win over Senegal) and the vibes for soccer fans a week and change out from the start of the biggest tournament in history. Jonathan Tannenwald then joins from Chicago where he's covering the USMNT v. Germany game on Saturday. Jason and Jonathan breakdown what we might know about Pochettino's plan for Germany and beyond. There's stuff on soccer books, AI scouting, the USMNT/Nike/Off-White gear fashion line and the weird new pre-game ceremony FIFA is planning for the World Cup. Jason said it a bunch on the show, but here he is saying it again: PLEASE GIVE THE SHOW A RATING AND REVIEW WHEREVER YOU LISTEN. Apple is best, Spotify is fine, but just do it somewhere. Sign up for Jason's newsletter on soccer things, Soccer Eagle. Watch Morning Kickaround on YouTube, or find it wherever podcasts live. LET'S GO WORLD CUP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's The Best Soccer Show's USMNT World Cup Roster Reveal Reaction Special featuring Jason Davis and Special Guest Alex Shephard. Alex is a senior editor at The New Republic, a massive soccer fan, and one of the editors of a new World Cup magazine set to drop very soon called Golden Goal. Jason and Alex dive into the USMNT roster as revealed (sort of) by Fox on Tuesday afternoon, examine the cultural disconnects that colored the roster naming process, and debate what is success for the USMNT in this home World Cup. Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow There are perks and a Slack full of Besties. See you soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the countdown to the biggest World Cup on American soil since 1994 officially underway, we are looking back at where the American soccer media landscape started, where it is now, and where it’s going next. This week, Jason sits down for a special interview with long-time friend and foundational voice in American soccer media, Shawn Francis. Known to many generations of fans as the creator behind The Offside Rules and the original MLS Insider, Shawn has tracked the growth of the game from its early blogging days to the modern landscape. Today, Shawn is working with Copa90 as they make a massive push back into the American market. Jason and Shawn dive deep into the "soccer wars," how the internet and social media fractured modern sports media, and why the upcoming North American World Cup will force fan experiences to become beautifully local. Plus, Shawn shares some incredible, vintage World Cup viewing memories from the streets of New York. Whether you're an old-school fan from the pre-Twitter blog days or new to the American soccer pyramid, you won't want to miss this insidery conversation. 00:00 - Welcome to a special episode of The Best Soccer Show 01:10 - Introducing Shawn Francis: From The Offside Rules to Copa90 02:12 - Support the show on Patreon & getting access to the Bestie Slack 03:24 - Welcoming Shawn: Remembering the American soccer world before Twitter 04:35 - Have we "won"? Looking at the commercial boom of the game today 05:45 - The fracturing of modern sports media and how social media changed MLS 07:35 - Rocket fuel or watershed moment? Expectations for the upcoming World Cup 09:34 - Personal nostalgia: What the 1994 World Cup meant to a generation of fans 10:10 - The local knock-on effect of ticket pricing and massive tournament travel 10:43 - From French restaurants to Harlem auto garages: Unforgettable World Cup watch stories Watch Copa90: Check out their incredible football culture content on the Copa90 YouTube Channel. Join the Community: Support the podcast, unlock exclusive bonus content, and get immediate access to our private Slack channel by becoming a Bestie at The Best Soccer Show Patreon. Read the Newsletter: Subscribe to Jason’s deep dives and tactical analysis over at the Jason Davis Soccer Eagle on Ghost. Bluesky: @davisjason.bsky.social Instagram: @soccer.eagle.jd If you enjoyed this trip down memory lane and our look toward the future of the game, please take a moment to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your reviews directly help us grow the community, reach new listeners, and keep bringing you these exclusive conversations! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The USMNT fanbase freaked out on Thursday over the news that Chris Richards has "torn ligaments". But will he miss the World Cup? Jason runs down the saga and checks the DEFCON of the fan base to start the show. Jonathan Tannenwald (OMGFGPG13 IT'S JTT) joins to unpack the Richards news and dive into the World Cup roster ahead of Tuesday's big release. We get a look at JTT's USMNT roster spreadsheet. Love the show? Want more Jason Davis in your life? Join the Best Soccer Show Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow and become a Bestie. Perks include: 🎧 Wednesday Office Hours with Jason — live, interactive, drop in and pick his brain 🎤 Studio link access — Patreon subscribers can jump into the office hours stream directly 🗣️ The Bestie Slack/Discord — the community for American soccer obsessives 🎁 Bonus content drops — including random appearances from Jay Rodius and more It doesn't cost much. It means a lot. See you in there. Subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and review, and we'll see you next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special Edition: The Long Game with Leander Schaerlaeckens Jason is taking some time off, so this week he's sharing his full conversation with Leander Schaerlaeckens — journalist, USMNT beat reporter, and author of the new book The Long Game: US Men's Soccer and Its Savage Four-Decade Journey to the Top (or Thereabouts). It's the definitive history of the program, written just in time for the World Cup. Jason calls it a must-read, and this conversation shows why. [0:00:28] — Jason introduces the episode and Leander's new book, The Long Game. He'll be back live soon — catch him at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow for Wednesday office hours, the Bestie Slack, and bonus content. [0:02:50] — Interview begins. Leander on the writing process: three-plus years, 150+ interviews, every US World Cup game since 1990 rewatched — and then US Soccer fired Berhalter and he had to rewrite the whole thing. [0:07:50] — The book's structure: a chronological USMNT history woven with profiles of six current players — Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Matt Turner, and Antonee Robinson — each chosen because their story says something bigger about American soccer. [0:20:00] — The Dark Ages (1950–1990): the USMNT once went 11 years without winning a game and nobody noticed. A 1974 qualifier where they didn't have enough players and pulled one from the stands. A $5 per diem that players were sometimes asked to forego. It was a circus — and Leander went deep on why. [0:31:00] — The big structural question: is a US World Cup win inevitable, or does it require investment that doesn't make financial sense? Leander's take — it's not just a matter of time. The FC Dallas academy director's point lands hard: a kid in Dallas is still 12 times less likely to end up in a professional academy than a kid in Madrid, which has the same population but a dozen pro clubs. [0:43:00] — Closing thoughts: buy the book at your local bookstore or bookshop.org. Jason wraps with a thank-you and outro. Join the Bestie community at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow — Wednesday office hours with Jason, a bonus podcast feed, the Bestie Slack, and World Cup content on the way. Your support keeps the show going. Timestamps🎙️ Support the Show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices