Former USMNT Legend Alexi Lalas Gives Scathing Review of Pochettino, Pulisic

It has not yet been determined whether or not U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino will extend his tenure; however, former USMNT legend Alexi Lalas has made his opinion on the matter quite clear. He wants him out of U.S. Soccer.

“You had one job, and you blew it,” Lalas told talkSPORT on Saturday.

The high-profile Argentine manager, who was formerly at the helm of the likes of Chelsea, Paris-Saint Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, was a massive coup in 2024 for U.S. Soccer, who hired him through the summer of 2026 specifically to lead the World Cup squad on home soil. He was reportedly presented with a four-year contract extension before the tournament began but has not signed anything.

The Stars and Stripes’ tournament run began even dreamier than anticipated, seeing them clinch first place in Group D with a match to spare and winning a knockout stage match for the first time in 24 years. Everyone sang Pochettino’s praises.

The dream quickly turned into a nightmare though, when the USMNT was humiliated 4–1 by Belgium in the round of 16. The squad never once looked competitive and made an inordinate amount of individual errors, as the Belgians simply danced around the final third. All of a sudden, pundits changed their tune.

“It was an abject failure,” Lalas said about the crash out.

“It’s one thing to go out to Belgium, it’s another thing to go out in the way they went out, especially with the way that they looked through the tournament. I don’t think the confidence and excitement was misplaced for this team, but they picked the worst possible day to play their worst possible game. It’s obviously on Mauricio Pochettino and these players.”

Added Lalas about Pochettino’s job status: “I mean, it’s not that I want him to leave. I just think that this cycle has run its course. When it comes to Mauricio Pochettino, you had one job. And it was the game against Belgium. You win that game, then you’re in some rarefied air.”

“So I think that [U.S. Soccer] moves on. I believe he’s had a good time, but you had one job, and you blew it. And, you know, you live and die by that. Every coach understands that, every manager understands that, and certainly Mauricio Pochettino does.”

Tough Love for Christian Pulisic

Lalas also didn’t spare the feelings of USMNT poster player Christian Pulisic, who is also known as “Captain America.”

Anticipated to make a big impact this summer, the 27-year-old star winger started out really strong. He directly created Paraguay’s own goal in the seventh minute before assisting striker Folarin Balogun just over 20 minutes later. His stardom only lasted the first half, though, as he suffered a calf injury and had to come off. Pulisic then missed the following Group D affair against Australia while recovering, before logging just 30 minutes in the loss to Türkiye.

Although Pulisic rejoined the starting lineup for the round of 32 bout against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he struggled to get involved. He ended with one shot all night.

Pulisic’s poorest performance came against Belgium, though, and on both sides of the ball. He did not take a single shot nor even have a touch in Belgium’s box. He had just one defensive contribution. His anonymity was capped off by another injury at the hour mark. He hurt his foot after he went to strike the ball, yet instead, struck the defender’s leg. He substituted himself off and was seen holding his head in his hands for the remainder of the game.

“Let’s be honest. He didn’t show up this tournament,” Lalas said. “Our biggest player in the biggest moment didn’t show up ... some of the criticism, that comes with being a star. Is it fair? Maybe some of it is. Maybe some of it isn’t. But ultimately in this moment, not just a World Cup but a home World Cup, America wanted Christian Pulisic to show up.

“Not only did he not show up, he begged off at the end of the game. We come to find out there was an injury. Fair enough, but in that moment, a lot of Americans wanted to see this player show some grit. He didn’t ... the accusations of him being weak, if you will, only become inflamed when you end with a sputter as opposed to a roar.”

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