- Lalas felt disrespected by Pochettino’s diminishing of friendlies
- Believes coach failed to understand cultural significance
- Analyst acknowledges Pochettino’s intent but criticizes approach
U.S. soccer icon Alexi Lalas criticized Mauricio Pochettino for framing September friendlies as training sessions, saying the coach’s comments diminished the importance of representing the national team in matches that players and fans still value.
“I recognize that at times I can say things that are incredibly facetious from the way that I’m going about talking about what’s going on. But it did rub me the wrong way when Mauricio Pochettino talked about it just being a training session. This is a national team game,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast.
Lalas criticized Pochettino for downplaying the importance of recent results, arguing that dismissing fan concerns and framing the games as mere training sessions ignores the responsibility the coach has to the American soccer public.
“I understand kind of what Pochettino is trying to say, but at this moment, read the room, dude,” Lalas explained.
Lalas also touched upon the potential upcoming March international friendlies, where the rumors are that the USMNT will face Portugal and Belgium. He believes that the U.S. will go into those games as underdogs and that’s a role they’ve traditionally excelled in.
“One of the things that we actually have done well from a U.S. men’s national team perspective is play the underdog role,” Lalas explained. “We actually are very, very good at that. We rise to the occasion often times when people say we can’t. I mean, you need to look only against England last World Cup, for example. So there will hopefully be some moments where that more comfortable type of position of being the underdog happens going forward.”
Lalas also addressed Pochettino’s recent comments calling for increased fan support, expressing disagreement with the coach’s approach to building public confidence. The former defender stated that while he generally supports positivity around the program, he cannot endorse “blind faith” in either Pochettino or the team.
“You have to earn the respect of the American fan base, or any fan base for that matter,” Lalas stressed. “To just blindly throw out, ‘Oh, but you have to support us.’ No, that’s not how it works.”
He specifically noted that the current USMNT has not yet demonstrated the level of success necessary to command unconditional backing, making Pochettino’s appeals for support inappropriate and misguided.
“People aren’t going to support you just because you say they should support you,” he explained. “That’s not how the world works. That’s not how humans work, and that’s not how it’s going to work.”
Pochettino’s tenure with the USMNT has been defined by uneven results and mounting doubts about his ability to maximize the player pool. His calls for unconditional support have often sounded more like reactions to criticism than expressions of confidence in his vision.
Lalas argued that the next challenge for the team is learning how to perform as favorites or equals against top opponents, something he believes the U.S. has long struggled with.
“Sometimes, that’s the most difficult thing to do is to be the favorite and learn how to consistently be competitive and to win while you’re the favorite,” Lalas said. “I don’t think that this team has necessarily learned that.”
The USMNT will regroup next in October for the international break where they will face Ecuador and Australia.
