Talking Cups over cups: From U.S. Open Cup to League’s Cup to Gold Cup, what each mean to the soccer world, and what’s at stake for Charlotte FC and the USMNT, Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam fill you in on what you need to know about each.
What's up everyone I'm Eric krakauer he Is Lloyd Sam and we are talking cups Over cups I'm about to Cheers you can You cheers coffee yeah I don't know [Music] You know you're not a big coffee drinker Are you I'm not a big coffee drinker man Well I do want to say if it was good to Be back in Charlotte Italian Charlotte FC content wearing the same shirt by Accident I can't believe you wore that Shirt on a what day was it Saturday Saturday and you're wearing it again Today other people wear the shirt Cops over cops it's a bit on the nose Isn't it Cubs over cups there are a lot Of Cup competitions coming up here in Charlotte and specifically for Charlotte FC and before we talk about those Cup Competitions let's talk about your History as a player in Cup competitions Because you have participated or played In the FA Cup you've played in the US Open cup you have played in The League Cup as well No that you only play on FIFA correct Correct right so tell me a little bit About your just your experiences in Cup Competitions because you've played in so Many yeah in different countries it's Fun to get away from the league the League is a lot of pressure as we know It's nice to let your hair down and get Away and do something different play
Against a team that you don't normally Play against so it's opportunity for the Lower team a lot of the time to go Nothing to lose and for the bigger team It's a banana field that you could I was Just going to mention that the FA cup is One of the reasons that my fantasy team Premier League fantasy team is going to Get killed this weekend because there Are a couple of things I know I don't Plan ahead I have children To think about but let's talk about the US Open cup because it is the longest Active soccer competition in this Country the third round is going to kick Off next week Charlotte FC have been Slated to face Tormentor FC out of Georgia who play in the USL League one They were actually USL League one Champions in 2022. and they give into Miami a really hard time Well I remember this game specifically Because it took a masterful performance I think from Drake calendar in goal for Them not to be intro Miami that is I Mentioned that only because of the giant Killing theme in these competitions and You've played in the U.S open cup and I Believe that you actually lost the teams In the lower division yeah yeah yeah Yeah we got whooped by the cosmos one Time big rivalry by the Rivalry one of The biggest things about those games is Home or away if you're home at Red Bull
Arena for example well you're winning That game most likely we went there and They again they beat us up they they Beat us three you know we didn't have Some of our Stars playing that was a bad Experience we had there's been some good Ones in the open cup as well actually Another bad one was I was in the Semi-final of the open Cup against Philadelphia Union is that the one where You missed your penalty people say it Was over the line maybe we could get you Know a clip of that picture yeah but Yeah Mr penalty you know would have been Great to say I've won the open cup or an FA Cup for a League Cup but you'll find That in your career you don't get that Many opportunities to win actual Trophies yeah which is crazy open cup is Fun I mean you want to go and enjoy it But you don't want to take any team Lightly right remember we talked about This last year when it was against Greenville Triumph yeah if you remember That and that was a tough game Especially the first half that was an Away game yep good team home and away is Big but yeah in the end it was a win for Charlotte and then they beat the Richmond Kickers after that and then They fell to the New York rebels in New Jersey at Montclair University you went To that game it was a cold night it was An ugly game oh it was one of the
Ugliest games I can remember watching in A while being president it was cold Quite horrible meme the game it was a Very physical game for Red Bulls College Field as well without real stands you Know your badges on one side That was that was a tough game Charlotte Are hosting their first U.S open game Against Tormentor yeah it is not Actually being played at Bank of America Stadium it is being played at the Sportsplex in Matthews and this is a Great opportunity to to get a win in a Big competition one that you not only Can get silverware in but one that if You win qualifies you for the concacaf Champions League which then is an Opening to the FIFA Club World Cup I Guess the last point on the U.S open cup Would be this would be to remind Everybody that this is a competition That is littered with cup sets if you Will so despite the fact that torment The FC are two leagues below Major League Soccer Charlotte can't go into That game taking them live yeah of Course of course everybody's supporting You know the underdog in these games It's just normal that everybody wants a Cup set it's probably important to know That you know everybody wants to see you Lose if you're the bigger team so don't Take him lightly let's talk about Another cup competition and that's the
League I think a lot of people are not Familiar with this cup you're gonna have To you know get into some of the details About this I will so the leaks cup is a Competition that pits MLS clubs against Liga mackie's clubs and there's been you Know the ongoing discussion for years About which league is the better one out Of the two for the most part Liga Mackies have been better than MLS but MLS has finally caught up last year the Seattle Sounders won the concacaf Champions League well the leaks cup I Think is going to be a better metric Yeah because it includes every MLS team Every Liga MX team from the top division Then they get to face each other Charlotte will be playing nekaksa which Is a story club that has actually won The Champions League and they'll play FC Dallas as well they'll host nicaxa at Home two games in the group stage two Games in the group stage and what do you Have to do to qualify so win three Points yeah a draw is one point but After the 9 minutes then they go to Penalties so it's a point for the draw Yeah and an extra point for whoever wins The penalty shootout similar to exactly The same exactly the same as MLS next Pro which I like to see right I mean It's some fun you're gonna get a little Bit more out of it and you get to refine Your penalties
I like the American game because they Come with ideas and they make you Interesting things change this sounds Fun again you get away from the league You get to play some other teams and There are bragging rights at stake here Beyond MLS bragging rights this is like A continental bragging rage competition You know every team is going to go into This competition with an opportunity to Start on a on a clean slate during that Period of time so middle of July to the Middle of August MLS is taking a break So the sole Focus will be on League's Cup that's what really puts emphasis on Okay this is important because you don't Have to risk guys necessarily for it you Already know that this is your main Focus at that time you know you want to Take these competitions seriously Because you want to get into the Concacaf champions league and if you win The concacaf Champions League yeah you Get an opportunity to face the winners Of the confederations there is another Cup of coffee This one does not involve Charlotte yeah Cheers to that So those previous two all about Charlotte FC this third one doesn't Include the ground oh I'm sorry I'm Sorry I thought that was the rule when You choose but yeah what's the last cup It's the Gold Cup the Gold Cup a
Biannual tournament about the Gold Cup The Gold Cup we're talking about it the Gold Cup is being played from June 24th To July 16th there is a double header On I forgot to write the date down I Think it's the 3rd of July there is a Double header yeah yes Ian's giving me The second oh it's a second yeah I Thought he was going yeah peace man Hahaha Oh my gosh thank you on the second there Is a double header being played at Bank Of America Stadium between the United States and Nicaragua and then the second Game is Honduras versus Haiti which is Great for the Honduran Community here in Charlotte so this is a North American Championship so this is the equivalent Of a European championship in Europe Obviously a Euro so this is a big deal It's a big deal it's a big deal this is A soccer town already and like bringing You know national teams and gold cups And they're ravenous for more soccer so Lots at stake for Charlotte FC into Distinctive competition something at Stake here for the U.S Men's National Team as well who won the last Gold Cup As well as the nation's League or is it The League of Nations it's the Nations League Divisions completely different things we Have to explain Nations People are like please explain basically
Go please don't no definitely not I Think we've done enough explaining That's it for us big soccer heads hope To see you soon You still with the big soccer head stuff
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