STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The round of eight, the quarterfinals in the World Cup. France already won its game in this round, defeating Morocco. Ryan O'Hanlon will follow the remaining games for ESPN. And he's on the line. Good morning.
RYAN O'HANLON: How's it going, Steve?
INSKEEP: Doing OK. So this is going to be interesting today. Spain against Belgium. Of course, the Belgians are the ones who knocked off team USA, so we know they got game. They just crushed the Americans. How do they match up with Spain?
O'HANLON: Yeah, I think it's an interesting question. Belgium's - despite what you saw against the U.S., Belgium has really struggled in the World Cup. They were nearly eliminated by Senegal. So I think - did we see Belgium turn a corner against the U.S.? Did the U.S. just really play terribly? I kind of think we'll get an answer to that in a game that the U.S. doesn't play in because Spain are the defending European champions.
On sort of pure form and results, they've been the best team in the world, I would say, for the last three years. But Spain's one issue in the World Cup is their best player, Lamine Yamal, he's 18 years old. He's sort of the heir apparent to Lionel Messi. He just kind of really hasn't gotten going in the tournament. So what happens with Spain is they either play a really boring game where they're able to keep possession and then nothing happens in the game, or they play a really boring game where they keep possession, then Lamine Yamal does three amazing things in the game and they win 3-0.
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
O'HANLON: So I think that will sort of decide what we see today.
INSKEEP: OK. So you mentioned one of the star players, marquee players, who has not been great in the World Cup. What about some of the other big stars?
O'HANLON: Yeah. It's been - it's kind of like teaching people that don't really follow soccer the wrong lessons about how soccer works in that, like, one individual will do everything for your team, and that will help your team win, when it's really an 11-person game.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
O'HANLON: But so far, it's been all of the superstars. I think Erling Haaland with Norway, I would say, has been kind of the breakout star among the wider American consciousness. And I think he's broken out in the American consciousness kind of way because it's very easy to understand what Erling Haaland does.
INSKEEP: He's a big guy.
O'HANLON: He's big, he's fast and he kicks the ball hard. But he's so good at doing those three things that it makes him one of the best players in the world, even though, I think as of our conversation, he's completed 35 passes so far in the World Cup, which is nothing. And he has seven goals.
INSKEEP: OK. Seven goals. OK, that's a lot of goals. So he's with Norway. They're going to be playing England this weekend, by the way. What about Lionel Messi, who's also going to be on the field again?
O'HANLON: Yeah. It's funny for me as someone that, you know, covers soccer for a living, looking at Messi. And, you know, you take someone that maybe just follows the World Cup, right? And we saw the last World Cup, Messi was the best player.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
O'HANLON: Argentina wins the World Cup. And then, four years later, Messi is the best player, and Argentina looks like they might win the World Cup. But Messi left Europe. He's kind of not been at the top of the sport for four years. So someone like me, like, I didn't expect this to happen.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
O'HANLON: And yet Messi has been - you know, I'm not going to say he's as good as he's ever been because there was a point where he scored, you know, 70 goals in a season and had like 30 assists. So he's not there. But he just does everything for Argentina. And it's been enough for them to make it to the quarterfinals and be favored to make it all the way to the finals.
INSKEEP: You emphasize, of course, this is a team game, an extreme team game. But is there something about the biggest stars that they do rise to the moment under this incredible pressure?
O'HANLON: Yeah, I think there definitely is. And I do think, in international soccer, it's just a little bit more of a simplified game because the players, you know, this isn't their full-time job. They're used to playing with their club teams. So it does maybe provide a little bit more of a platform for sort of simplified tactics, which allows the individual players to, you know, do three amazing things each game and have that decide the result.
INSKEEP: OK, Ryan O'Hanlon of ESPN, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
O'HANLON: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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