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This is Roch, coming to you from Seattle. And the World Cup is at its final countdown. Did it air their stage? It's the semi-finals.

And I've said this before, the way the World Cup works, it's been like drinking an incredible bottle of Malbec. And at the start, it's just fun. And there's just seems like there's endless so much to get through. And it all feels infinite and free-flowing.

In the middle, it's really, really good. It's breathing. But by the end, you just sadly desperately point the last drops out of that bottle, trying to save her every morsel.

Three important games still to come. Plus the third, fourth playoff nonsense. All the teams now feel like familiar, great friends. We know them. And their heroic journey so well.

The semi-finals. One heavyweight versus a charismatic underdog. And two teams. Led by not just generational, but all time talents. Looking to cement their legacies.

And this World Cup won't define them. But if they can win that, it'll be the statue which will be smelt of either of them. We have two exquisitely-poied matches overflowing with backstory.

Want to go on Ravel, this great giant ball of football in twine. You may have guessed it by now. I'm joined by the man with the most nimble fingers at the New York Times, Chief Soccer Correspondent, author of expected goals, my co-host of Europeanites.

It's Mr. Rory Smith. How you doing? Rory, I am overjoyed to see you, your beautiful human being. Before we get to the football, I just want to extend my sympathies to you.

And the entire journalistic cohort out there in Qatar, only a few days after the passing of our colleague, Grant Wall, who was a ubiquitous presence in the media room.

And I can't imagine what you're all experiencing having to return to the press box in which Grant should be, but he's not.

It's been a really strange few days, very sad few days. I didn't know Grant, especially well. I've known him for a long time in that slightly strange way that you do when you encounter a colleague basically once every couple of years in a professional setting.

And there are times when it's a very intense relationship, you'll spend sort of hours sitting next to each other and talking. And then you don't talk for an awfully long time.

And then I just found Grant very warm, very enthusiastic. There's said to someone the other day that British people, I think, love football in a slightly detached ironic way.

We sought deep down, we sought of hate it. That we hate that we love it so much. Whereas Grant's enthusiasm for football for writing about football was always incredibly pure.

And it shone through and it kind of he couldn't conceal his enjoyment of the fact that he got to work on this sport that he loved as his job. And that I think is very sweet.

Something the British aren't necessarily capable of. But it's something that was infectious whenever you're with him, just his genuine enthusiasm. There was no kind of edge to it. There was no, there was no but, if you know what I mean, it was just he loved soccer.

And he loved writing about soccer and he loved spreading the word of soccer. And I think that's the other thing that's really significant about Grant that I guess we'd all secretly deep down like someone to say this about us. It's not true in most of our cases.

Although it is, it's a little bit yours. I think that's that's that's undeniable. But I think Grant. I think Grant genuinely was was a hugely significant fit in the in the growth and the spread of of soccer in the states. I think, you know, it was I think 1994 was his first world cup. I think he it was after the LeBron story that he kind of went to sports illustrated when sports illustrated was still sports illustrated.

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