ROG'S BIG WORLD CUP FINAL PREVIEW

HAIL GFOP!

It’s Rog, I write with fingers barely hanging on after a World Cup month which has felt like an eternity of wonder. I am typing to you on a flight back from Seattle to New York City. Thrilled, fatigued, and finally headed home to my wife, kids, and Martin Scorsese, after nearly 40 days on the road, reveling in the act of making World Cup Memories with Americans from sea to shining sea. This has been a surreal World Cup. A tournament of wonder on the field, played with the perpetual fever born of corruption, death, and warped morality hovering off it. We have two more games to go. I will break both of them down below, and look forward to all there is to come in the run up to our seismic World Cup 2026 which is now faintly visible on the horizon. Let’s savor what we can while we can.

1. 2022 World Cup Final: Argentina vs. France (Sunday, 10 AM ET, Fox Proper) 🇦🇷🇫🇷

A World Cup that has twisted and turned and surprised at every step has delivered one of the most predictable, heavyweight, and narrative-stuffed finals of the modern period. Argentina vs. France. A clash akin to the De Niro-Pacino Restaurant scene in Heat. A team desperate to deliver glory for their hero and their beleaguered nation, against the defending champions hoping to become the first country to go back to back since Brazil 1962. Subplot: Messi vs. Mbappe. Qatari-owned club superstar vs. Qatari-owned club superstar.

The moment feels larger for Argentina. A team on a hero’s journey. Lionel Messi, that tiniest of giants, in his fifth and final World Cup, is on a Mission from God to win it all and eviscerate the one tiny rod that is used by haters to beat his back in the Generational GOAT Debate. It feels like months ago that his team were dropped to the canvas by Saudi Arabia in their very first game, only to shake off the shock and rise harder and faster. Argentina of Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, and Alexis Mac Allister are what the Germans reverently call a Turniermannschaft – a team who look better and better with every tournament game they play.

France have overcome so many obstacles to reach this pinnacle. A mass of injuries. Their innate Frenchness. The fact that defending champions are meant to wilt in their next campaign. Instead, they have played delicious counter-attacking football. Looking vulnerable, only to excel in key, exquisite moments, and show they know how to win. The French camp is currently being ravaged by a mystery virus. At 23-years-old, Kylian Mbappé is positioned to define himself as the first men’s footballer since Pelé to influence two different World Cup wins. An incredible achievement, because to go back to back in this tournament is a feat of organizational marvel. World Cups being four years apart, and footballers oft tending towards the arrogant and egotistical end of the spectrum – for the squad to be able to retain focus, form, and intensity, and stiff arm complacency to go again is humanly miraculous.

How will it go? Bookmakers have both teams at the exact same odds -110. As Steve Kornacki would say, this one is too close to call. Messi, in his 26th World Cup game, a Men’s record, will be Argentina's everything. France will trust their lightning-fast counter and let Argentina hog the ball, believing their muscled backline can repel all-comers. Expect Argentina to give born-again Antoine Griezmann a real kicking in an effort to cut off the French attacking air supply. Just as in the Morocco semi-final, the first goal will be so definitive, exacerbating both teams’ strengths and weaknesses. The only thing that is for sure is that we are guaranteed Messi Tears at the final whistle. Either of tenacious ultimate glory or Sisyphean agony in defeat. What would I like to see? Messi Triumph? I am 97% Everton fan, but the 3% of me that remains human wishes that Tiny Dancer final glory.

2. 🗣️Join us and Diplo as we Twitch the World Cup Final 🗣️

We will live Twitch the final as a watchalong sidecast on Sunday, starting at 9:45 a.m. ET with guests including Diplo and old friend (massive Arsenal fan) Josh Richardson. Come and join us and follow us on Twitch so you can see when we go live throughout the season.

🍻 The most important men’s game in global football calls for beers. Many beers. Order Budweiser via Drizly and get $5 off your first order when you use the code: BUDXMIB Courtesy of Drizly. New Drizly users only. Must be 21+. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Per applicable law, value may be applied towards order total or shipping or delivery fees. Includes orders of non-alcoholic items. Void where prohibited. Expires on 12/31/22 at 11:59 EDT. 🍻

3. More to Read and Savor on this Final of Finals

i. How do you stop Lionel Messi without Kante in the side?

ii. Lionel Messi-Mania diverts Argentina from its real world economic and political meltdown.

iii. Could Benzema return from the cold for France?

iv. Funny Fear: If Argentina win, Premier League Argentinians will not report back to Premier League teams. “Phones will be lost” as they head to Buenos Aries to celebrate.

v. FIFA rebuffed Volodymy Zelensky’s request to deliver a plea for peace ahead of the World Cup final. Further proof that FIFA is the Piers Morgan of Sporting Organizations. When FIFA is on one side of a moral issue, always wise to take the other.

Hail GFOPs! We are all set for the heavyweight final this weekend - France (+180) and Argentina (+180), Messi vs Mbappé. If you are looking for more action for the final, DraftKings has you covered. New customers who download the app now can win $150 in free bets if your team wins by betting just $5 on any pre-game moneyline! Use the following link for more: dkng.co/THERAVEN. More information on offer terms and problem gambling assistance can be found below **

4. Third Place Game is not Crap this Year!!!

Croatia vs. Morocco (Saturday 10 AM ET Fox Proper) 🇭🇷🇲🇦

This game is normally utter crap. An insult to ultra-competitive athletes who have all lost their chance to win, but are forced to stay and trot around a pointless 90 minutes so FIFA can garner some more brand revenue. But these two teams, a pair of searing collective fists, both want to win. Morocco have been the darlings of this tournament. Every team wants to buy Moroccan players now. Their diasporic talent have played brilliantly intelligent, tenacious football, uniting regions and creating indelible memories which will live long in tournament lore. Croatia are just as remarkable a story. A nation of just 3.9 million people, smaller than Oklahoma, whose players, coming of age during the Balkan conflict, talk of being born to suffering, and using that experience to play football in which they know they can weather pain more than their opponents. The winner gets a $2 million incentive in additional prize money. The game will be Luka Modric’s farewell. The 37-Year-Old who looks like the single greatest goatherd ever to kick a football. Modric has always been in the shadow of the Messi-Ronaldo GOAT debate. All he has done is win. I believe he will propel his nation to glory in this one, a remarkable cap to the career of one of the greatest ever to play the game.

More: Hisham Aïdi on the complexity of Moroccan identity and its subsequent embrace across Africa and the Arab World.

🎧 We are nearly 48 hours away from no Men’s World Cup Football. And we plan to catch up on so many of the books, films and pods we have neglected while traversing the country. One piece of content we absolutely cannot wait to listen to: ESPN 30 for 30 Podcasts’ “Pink Card.” A piece of work that has never been more timely, given what is happening in Iran right now. Shima Oliaee (Dolly Parton’s America, Radiolab) follows three generations of Iranian women who risk their lives for the simple right to watch a soccer game. An important and vital listen. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧

5. My World Cup memories

Over the course of the last month, we have lived it all and experienced every emotion. From the surreal opening Gianni Infantino press conference through the morally-damaging armband wars and rainbow hating. The Qatari team lost all of its opening round games, a numbing reminder of how wrong this whole confection was, with its imported fake Lebanese fans and overinflated attendances. On the field, we have savored. Messi. Modric. Mbappe. Morocco. Moroccan Mums. Louis Van Gaal’s humanity. The Japanese collective tenacity. The wonder of Wout Weghorst. The agony of Romelu Lukaku. Tyler Adams’ courageous press conference, Pulisic’s Penis, and the wondrous yet misguided feeling ahead of the Netherlands game that our boys could do it. Brazil, Germany, Spain, and Portugal all stunned. Suarez tears. Neymar tears. Ronaldo tears. Thirty nine-year-old Stéphanie Frappart of Le Plessis-Bouchard, France becoming the first female referee to officiate a Men’s World Cup game. The passing of Grant Wahl, the American pathfinder who was the most visible writer to cover football full-time in our nation and inspired so many more to believe it was possible.

I have savored every moment:

🌎 1 World Cup Tour

✈️ 10 cities

📆 4.5 weeks

🎤 10 Live Shows

🎥 17 Live Twitches and 10 Million Views

🎙 100+ hours of podcasts with Davo, Rory Smith, Herc Gomez, and Jesse Marsch

❤️ Countless memories made

My happiest memory came in Atlanta. We were mid-tour. The four-game-a-day pace had felt like a buzzsaw and I was really teetering. I arrived at the hotel, checked in, and waited, slumped over at the elevator, only to see my son Samson crash out of it with a gaggle of mates who had all charged up from New Orleans to be with us. After our live show and drinks that night, we ended up at JR Crickets and feasted upon Lemon Pepper Wet along with my tour team. Shattered and battered but propelled with the exhausted delirium that only a World Cup can bring.

🍻 Let me know your Favorite World Cup memory by emailing us here 

Hublot loves football, and so do we. GFOPs, we are excited to tell you about the watches that the Official Timekeepers in the world of football have unfurled. The Big Bang e watches are something that we have worn all tour long and that keep us up to date with everything football. Check them out as we barrel towards the final this weekend. bit.ly/Hublot22 

6. To Cross America and Savor the Football Cultures we have built here is the Honor of a Lifetime 🇺🇸

We might not have won the World Cup on the field, but it really felt that we at Men In Blazers were blessed to win off it. I am writing this right after our final Seattle Gig. Those of us who are married to the World Cup know just how physically and mentally exhausted we all are in this moment. The end of the journey is in sight. Men In Blazers World Cup Tour is now over. It was so special to end it in the Magical Kingdom of Seattle. Partly because it is a city I have learned to love everything about – the people, the place, the spirit, and the many, many chowders. Mostly because it is a town that is besotted with football in the right way – a fandom grounded in love and positivity and joy. I admire it all so much.

To voyage across the United States during a World Cup is to see its unique, distinctive footballing cultures at their finest. We have traveled this great nation from sea to shining sea propelled by a mission of bringing Americans together, to form community and make memories through this World Cup experience. From New York, which is a true global footballing hotbed of dizzyingly diverse delight, to St. Louis, home of Sauerbrunn, Ream, and Sargent, and so many iconic players throughout history. Philadelphia, the lungs of youth development for our current men’s program, Washington DC, a Premier League obsessed wonder, Austin, Nashville, and Atlanta, three of the freshest, kinetically passionate and distinctly authentically local gems. On the West Coast, we danced in Los Angeles with the MLS Cup, feasted in San Francisco – the love for that game there and the energy in that room I will never forget – to Sweet Seattle. Home to the bluest skies you've ever seen and hills the greenest green.

I want to thank our small but mighty MiB team for making it through this journey. It is so physically and emotionally shattering, but we have sailed through it, propelled by the joy, passion, and creative wonder of you, our GFOP audience. All of you know there is a rich, vibrant footballing story that flows through our nation’s history. For all of us at Men in Blazers, to tour like this and trace its contours, experience its energy, and thrive, is so bloody energizing. Especially after the pandemic, when at times, we often wondered if any of this would ever be possible again.

Know this: there is a massive wave of footballing fandom rolling across our nation. With the Women’s World Cup seven months away, and World Cup 2026 about to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in just 1,270 days, that wave will become an inevitable, unstoppable Kahuna. My goal for the next four years is to be like Laird Hamilton, albeit a bald Laird Hamilton. Let’s surf that wave together, and not take a second for granted.

Big Love

Courage.

Go! Go! USA!

ROG

PS - Feel guilty because your second cousin mentioned she got you a little something for the holidays and, until now, the thought of buying for them hadn’t even crossed your mind? May we introduce you to The Men in Blazers Shop. And we’re giving you 20% off. Order now to receive in time for the holidays. And, you can receive 30 percent off any of our recent Umbro Collaboration by using promo code ENJOY30.

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