# Episode 197 - World Cup Teams We Underrated: USMNT, Japan and more

An episode of [The Transfer Flow Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1756763626), 25 Jun 2026, 48 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VI7279030732.mp3

The group stage isn't even finished, and some World Cup teams have already completely changed how we see them. We break down who's rising, who's falling, and what it means going forward. Then we get into transfers: Marco Palestra to Chelsea, Nmecha’s stock soaring, and Folarin Balogun's case for a Premier League move. Try out World Cup Predictor game: https://world-cup-2026.variance.inc/matches Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTransferFlow Subscribe to our FREE newsletter: https://www.thetransferflow.com/subscribe Join Variance Betting: https://www.thetransferflow.com/upgrade Follow us on our Socials: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1WTKOt7byrELQcGRSzu1Q X: https://x.com/TheTransferFlow Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetransferflow.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetransferflow/ Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro 1:44 – Which World Cup teams have we upgraded or downgraded? 2:52 – The USA are the biggest upgrade of the tournament 6:45 – Mexico's home advantage and the Azteca factor 9:07 – Morocco's attack is better than we thought 14:29 – Ivory Coast’s surprise 16:28 – Portugal are choosing to be a tier two team 20:12 – Ecuador have been disappointing 22:55 – Why we're suddenly believers in Japan 25:27 – Marc Palestra's £55m move to Chelsea 32:20 – Nmecha’s rise and the Liverpool links 38:17 – Folarin Balogun's case for the Premier League #worldcup #usa #portugal #ronaldo #cr7 #mexico #japan #football #soccer #fifaworldcup #footballpodcast #transfernews #fyp #foryou Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.