Alexi Lalas says US players citing World Cup pressure are a ‘bunch of whiners’

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Alexi Lalas doesn’t want to hear U.S. players citing pressure ahead of playing in a World Cup at home and says Christian Pulisic, the top American, is 鈥渘ever going to be the leader.鈥�

鈥淐ry me a river, OK, when it comes to the pressure. Bunch of whiners, that they鈥檙e whining about the pressure,鈥� Lalas said Thursday at a Fox event to promote its World Cup coverage.

Lalas, 55, played for the U.S. when it hosted the 1994 World Cup and has been Fox’s top soccer analyst since late 2014.

American players, hoping to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, haven’t complained about pressure but have said it exists.

鈥淭here鈥檚 pressure, I feel it. Yes, it鈥檚 there, but it鈥檚 nothing that I can鈥檛 handle,鈥� . 鈥淚鈥檓 going to, yeah, attack it head on. We are as a team. I don鈥檛 need to do it by myself.鈥�

鈥淎llow me to grumpy old man a little bit here,鈥� Lalas said. 鈥淭his is a generation that has been given absolutely everything both on and off the field in terms of resources, in terms of opportunities, in terms of pathways. And I don鈥檛 think that I鈥檓 being unrealistic. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 being unfair by saying that we should expect more from this group. We should expect this team to win this group.鈥�

Lalas expects a turnaround from Pulisic, who and a Lalas said Pulisic, a 27-year-old with 32 international goals, is 鈥渨ell on his way to becoming the best male American soccer player in history.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 a fascinating player in terms of his talent. He鈥檚 a frustrating player in terms of his personality,鈥� Lalas said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going through a period right now from a football perspective where it鈥檚 not going well and so this is going to test my form-is-fallacy theory. I have to believe that when that door closes behind him and he’s on that plane, that he will feel a sense of relief and I think you will a sense a comfort coming to a team and, obviously, a country, that wants him to do well, that believes that he can do well.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 never going to be the leader that people want him to be,鈥� Lalas added, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 OK because I think there鈥檚 others that can do that, but he needs to be the star that this team needs.鈥�

Lalas said the U.S. should win in the new round of 32 and reach the round of 16, where the Americans were knocked out in 2010, 2014 and 2018. With home-field advantage, Lalas said the team could then hope to advance to 鈥渒ind of rarefied air.鈥�

鈥淲hether you鈥檙e a Christian Pulisic or whether you are a Weston McKinnie or whether your are a Diego Luna or an emerging player, this is the platform for your brand,鈥� Lalas said. 鈥淚f you star this summer, and this team does well this summer you will be remembered forever.鈥�

Lalas spoke alongside fellow retired stars Stu Holden and Carli Lloyd of the U.S. and Javier 鈥淐hicharito鈥� Hern谩ndez of Mexico along with studio hosts Rob Stone and Rebecca Lowe and Fox vice president of production Zac Kenworthy. which runs from June 11 to July 19, and 34 will be on FS1.

Hern谩ndez predicted England will win the title if not Mexico, while Holden and Lloyd said France. Stone went for Spain, Kenworthy with Portugal and Lowe went with England.

Lalas said he was rooting for 鈥渁nybody but England,鈥� especially because it was the 250th anniversary of American independence.

鈥淵ou think that they are insufferable now? Can you imagine if they came over and won that World Cup and it鈥檚 coming home through our country?鈥� he said. 鈥淎s much as it pains me to say, they are very, very good, and the soccer gods have a wicked sense of humor.鈥�

Stone said the quarterfinals likely were a U.S. ceiling put perhaps home-crowd patriotism could lift the Americans to a semifinal.

鈥淚 would love a 鈥楳iracle on Ice鈥� moment,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 just too far and too soon.鈥�

Retired Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovi膰, a Fox analyst for the first time, joined by video and chastised his colleagues for a lack of boldness in their U.S. predictions.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have the courage to say U.S. is going to win the World Cup,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 hear you: 鈥榊eah, if they win the group, if they go to the next stage, if they鈥檙e lucky.鈥� Oh, show some courage and say: 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to win it.鈥欌€�

Mexico and Canada are co-hosts of the tournament, and Hern谩ndez said El Tri players also face pressure.

鈥淭hey say I think we can win a tournament, they all call us crazy,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut then the first game happens, and they expect you to play (as if) you are going to win the tournament.鈥�

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