Print it out … spell my name correctly

Alexi Lalas is relishing Australia’s World Cup draw with the USA, Croatia and others—then turns the moment into a personal challenge, telling Tony Popovic to print out his comments and “spell my name correctly.”

When the Socceroos were drawn into World Cup Group D alongside the USA, the reaction in American soccer circles came fast. Alexi Lalas made it sound almost like a win before a ball was kicked—then, this week, he backed that swagger by aiming it straight at Australia’s coach.

Lalas urged Tony Popovic to print out his comments and put them on the walls of the Socceroos’ dressing room. “I hope that they print it out. Make sure you spell my name correctly,” he said. He added: “I hope that it’s wallpaper all around the Australian dressing room. because they’re going to need all the help they can get.”.

Lalas isn’t alone in the gloating. He was one of several American soccer pundits who could not hide his glee when the Socceroos landed in Group D. The draw came with Australia listed as the lowest-ranked team in pot two, alongside Croatia, Morocco, Colombia and Japan. Statistically, Australia was described as the best possible opponent for the co-hosts.

The celebrations began almost instantly ahead of the showdown on June 20 (AEST) in Seattle.

In December, Mike Grella—an American ex-player turned analyst for CBS Sports—described the Socceroos as a “lay-up,” using a basketball term as the shorthand for how easy the match would be.

The tone didn’t stay soft. Grella later struggled to defend his position during an on-air grilling from Mark Schwarzer, and then said that if the USA couldn’t beat Australia, they shouldn’t be at the World Cup.

On Fox Sports, Lalas framed the draw like a gift from above. On the night of the draw. he looked up to the heavens with gratitude: “If you believe in the soccer gods. you should be thanking them. This is not just a good group, this is a great group. This is a group you should expect this United States team to win.”.

This week, Lalas went hard and direct at the Socceroos. He has rated Australia 36th out of the 48 teams at the World Cup in his personal power rankings.

“They’re going to struggle to score goals, to maintain possession … against better quality competition and the elites of the world, they can’t play the way they play in their region,” Lalas said on the State of the Union podcast.

The message was blunt on its own terms. “This is an average team by any measure, and certainly not a great team.”

Best known as the long-haired. ginger-bearded centre-back for the USA during their last World Cup at home in 1994. Lalas has become one of the defining personalities of American soccer—famous for refusing to soften his opinions. He is also described as a proud MAGA advocate and has a habit of engaging in rolling social media battles with people willing to take him on.

“I don’t have to defend myself,” Lalas said. “Because the one thing that I’ve learned from travelling to Australia is, while you are a mighty and proud nation, you’re also a realistic nation, and a nation of truth. There is total truth in what I said.”

He insisted his view holds up when the group is placed beside what the USA has faced in the past. “If you put it up certainly against groups that we have had in the past. this is. like I said. not just an easier group – and I know you use that. and that’s a triggering type of word – but I think it’s a winnable group for a number of different reasons.”.

For Lalas, there’s another ingredient: the advantage of being a host nation. He travelled to Australia for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in his capacity as a “FIFA Legend” and saw first-hand how the Matildas rose on the back of an unprecedented wave of support.

“If you piss it away, it’s on you. Hopefully these guys don’t do that,” he said.

That friendly between Australia and the USA in October adds heat to the lead-up. Lalas has already staked his reputation on the idea that the USA’s group won’t just be winnable—it will be punished for Australia if it’s handled poorly.

Even so, he talks about Australia and the USA as “kindred spirits” in soccer because of the sport’s domestic outsider status in both countries. He also promises anyone coming to visit for the tournament will have a “kick-ass time”.

His logic is straightforward: if he’s talking up the Americans and trimming down the Socceroos, it’s not meant as spite. Lalas calls it “necessary” to demand more from the world No.16-ranked USA.

He points to what the US have managed so far—going past the World Cup’s round of 16 once, in 2002—and he ties the present squad to a different expectation. He describes the team as filled with top-level quality and experience, and he names the coach as the famed Mauricio Pochettino.

Lalas admitted that there would be no valid excuses if this squad couldn’t go on the USA’s deepest World Cup run yet.

“The [USA] group that your Australian team is going to face has been given everything that they ever have wanted from a very young age, and I am incredibly proud of that,” he said.

He then returns to the parent analogy—one that sounds supportive until you hear the pressure behind it. “I’m like a proud parent that has made it better for the kids – but with that comes higher expectations and a responsibility to live up to what I feel are fair expectations. I wouldn’t put it on this group if I didn’t think that they could.”.

But he also uses the draw like a stage role assignment. “But it puts you guys in a good position, by the way. I’m helping you out, if you really look at it, because I have framed you now as Cinderellas, or underdogs. This is a role that as the US, we’ve played that very, very well for many years.”

“So you’re welcome, Australia.”

Alexi Lalas Socceroos Tony Popovic World Cup 2026 Group D USA vs Australia Mike Grella Mark Schwarzer Mauricio Pochettino