Call It What You Want: A CBS Sports Golazo Network Podcast · CBS Sports, USMNT, U.S. Soccer, MLS, World Cup, UCL, Americans Abroad

Wright takes Coventry top, World Cup roster depth chart, MLS G.O.A.T. teams (Soccer 2/17)

·1 hr 7 min·4 clips

Haji Wright scores a hat trick and forces a U.S. men’s national team depth-chart rethink.

1. Call It What You Want: A CBS Sports Golazo Network Podcast centers on Haji Wright’s hat trick, a U.S. men’s national team depth chart, and Americans in the Champions League. 2. Jimmy Conrad hosts with Charlie Davies and Tony Meola, and their soccer credentials matter because they are sorting roster locks, bubbles, and fringe players by position. 3. The episode asks what Haji Wright’s Coventry performance and the March friendlies roster mean for Mauricio Pochettino’s plans. 4. Wright’s three goals against Middlesbrough send Coventry back to first place in the Championship by one point. 5. The hosts note that Wright had only two goals in his previous 19 appearances before this match. 6. Wright tells Nigel Reo-Coker that Didier Drogba is a comparison his manager gave him, but Thierry Henry was his childhood model. 7. Tony Meola calls the performance efficient because Wright had five shots and three were on target. 8. Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies, and Tony Meola build a depth chart using green dots for locks, yellow dots for players on the bubble, and red dots for players outside the group. 9. Matt Freese and Matt Turner are treated as goalkeeping locks, while Jonathan Klinsmann, Patrick Schulte, Matt Brady, Ethan Horvath, and Zack Steffen are discussed as alternatives or long shots. 10. At center back, the panel discusses Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, Austin Trusty, Tristan Blackmon, Joe Scally, Noahkai Banks, and Erik Palmer-Brown. 11. Charlie Davies pushes Anthony Robinson as a clear left wingback lock and says Max Arfsten has progressed enough under Mauricio Pochettino to join him. 12. The hosts debate Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, and Joe Scally on the right side, with Freeman valued for athleticism and Scally valued for experience. 13. In midfield, Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, Johnny Cardoso, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Diego Luna, and Jack McGlynn all come up in the lock-versus-bubble conversation. 14. McKennie becomes a major talking point because the hosts keep moving him between deeper midfield roles and attacking roles depending on where he plays for Juventus. 15. The Champions League segment starts with Juventus at Galatasaray, where Luciano Spalletti calls McKennie a possible false nine and the hosts discuss his three Champions League goals. 16. They then move to Monaco versus PSG, where Folarin Balogun leads Monaco’s Champions League scoring and Ousmane Dembélé’s availability and scoring record against Monaco are both discussed. 17. The tone is conversational and argumentative, with the hosts frequently interrupting each other and challenging formation choices in real time. 18. The format mixes player evaluations, tactical speculation, and quick news-style previews of club and international matches. 19. Best for U.S. soccer fans tracking roster debates and European minutes. 20. Not for listeners who want a tightly produced single-topic episode.

As heard by us

A loose soccer panel that gets sharpest when the depth chart opens up.

The show opens on Haji Wright's hat trick, then moves through a USMNT depth-chart debate, the Champions League knockout round, and the start of MLS this week. The tone stays loose and conversational, with a Winter Olympics detour before the discussion circles back to soccer.

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Want a soccer group chat that still gives you a real depth chart and a match read?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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