W. Harding

Alexi Lalas exclusive: On the 2026 World Cup and why modern players risk becoming ‘complacent’

worldsoccertalk.com · 2 months ago

US soccer icon Alexi Lalas talks exclusively to World Soccer Talk about the growth of the game in the United States, his fears over player complacency, and his outlook for the USMNT ahead of the 2026 World Cup. We are just a few days away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see the United States take on Paraguay in Los Angeles in their tournament opener, and one man who will be keenly watching is Panayotis ‘Alexi’ Alexander Lalas. Three decades after representing the USA in the World Cup on home soil—back when the US didn’t even have a professional soccer league—Lalas is now one of the country’s premier soccer pundits, proudly watching over as the beautiful game has taken hold in the USA. “It warms the cockles of my old, red-headed American heart how far we have come. I am incredibly proud of what America has become in terms of a soccer-playing nation,” stated Lalas in an exclusive World Soccer Talk interview. “We’ve still got a long way to go, but it’s pretty unprecedented when you look at how far we have come in a relatively short period of time. “There’s the element of being a proud papa, if you will, but I don’t rest on my laurels. I can still make mistakes, I can still get better. I love what I do, and they can pry it from my cold, dead, red-headed hands, and they’re all young and really, really good. I love the fact that we have progressed both on and off the field so quickly and so far. It does make you proud when you look back and see how far we have come.” Born on June 1, 1970, Lalas was born in Birmingham, Michigan to a Greek father, Demetrios Lalas, and an American mother, Anne Harding Woodworth. Whilst he didn’t start playing soccer until he was 11, Lalas quickly emerged as one of the best players in the state before attending Rutgers University between 1988 and 1991. Lalas then departed to focus on the U.S. national team, competing in the 1992 Summer Olympics before making his mark in the World Cup. These stellar displays in the heart of defense would see Lalas join Calcio Padova, becoming the first American to play in Serie A, before making the move to the nascent Major League Soccer in 1996. He proved indispensable for the New England Revolution until clashing with head coach Frank Stapleton and making the move to Ecuadorian First Division Club Emelec for a month, returning and then being traded to the MetroStars. After a year in the Big Apple, Lalas then headed to the Kansas City Wizards before moving to the LA Galaxy, where he won a boatload of trophies including the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield. He retired in 2004, calling it quits on a legendary career that saw him score 9 goals in 96 caps. And after working as a president and general manager for the Galaxy, MetroStars, and San Jose Earthquakes, Lalas decided to make the move into punditry. Lalas has spent the bulk of the two decades establishing himself as one of the nation’s top soccer commentators alongside the likes of Rodney Marsh, initially with ESPN before signing with Fox Sports. And this summer, just as he has done ever since Fox started broadcasting World Cups in 2015, he’ll be dispensing his unique commentary and no-holds-barred style to millions of TV viewers across the United States. But whilst he is rooting for the Stars and Stripes to go all the way, he isn’t overly convinced of the USMNT’s mental resilience to handle the pressure and excel on the world’s biggest stage. “This happens in families: you want better for your kids, and sometimes that means you give them things that you didn’t have. And yet, when you do that, that means they become complacent, they accept it, they come to not value these types of things. The same thing can happen to the team when they are given everything, but I would rather that they had more. I’m all for the Eye of the Tiger and the Spartan approach, I get that, but that train left the station a long time ago.” “Really, what it comes down to is, as a young player, what are you instilling in them? Are you in