Welcome to SI Planet Football Podcast, where each week we discuss the latest in the world of soccer.

I am SI.com soccer editor,

Avi Creditor, joined today by SI senior writer Grant Wall,

SI dot com's Brian Strauss, we are here to talk

Women's World Cup and Clint Dempsey today. We're going to start with the

women, the US women win their group, the group of death, not overly convincing in doing so, but they managed to take that all-important

first spot in the group and set up a pretty favorable path.

Grant, you are in Canada, your overall thoughts on the US's group play and now kind of what lies ahead.

Survive in advance, my man.

No, I think it's a fair point if you're going to say the U.S. isn't exactly a world beater right now, but

one nothing over Nigeria, first place in the most difficult group in the tournament and in the end what really matters

is winning the group that way you avoid having to go completely across the country

to Monckton to play Brazil in the round of 16. Instead you get a very friendly draw as far as the knockout

round is concerned. The US ends up playing Columbia third place team in the round

of 16 and looking to face either Cameroon or China in the quarterfinals.

So really not that difficult to path at all for the US into the semifinals. Now there it's likely that

France or Germany will await but this is a US team that is going to face

probably the next two opponents being easier than any of the three opponents in the group.

Yeah, and you reported on this too. FIFA, I mean this is their doing essentially. this is this is a ticket sales ploy which is

they're not really hiding it either right I mean this is kind of you know they they need to

prioritize selling tickets and so they want to ensure that the biggest draws remain in there and it's kind of set up this way for the U.S. to make that path.

Not that the U.S. really needs the help, but it's there.

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