American soccer great and Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas believes the 2026 World Cup could elevate U.S. Men’s National Team star Christian Pulisic to the ranks of the “greatest male American soccer players in history.”
Speaking with noti.group’s Brandon London, Lalas described the upcoming World Cup on American soil as the perfect place to “polish your brand” for Pulisic and the USMNT.
“There’s no better way in polishing your brand than doing it at a home World Cup here,” Lalas said. “It doesn’t matter where you play or the fame that you have, the money that you have, this is an opportunity in front of your home country to almost introduce or reintroduce yourself. So I think with Christian Pulisic, a lot of eyes will be on him and rightfully so. He is a star, obviously, already played in a World Cup, but this is a little different playing at home.”
During the conversation, Lalas praised the path Pulisic is on.
“I think as he continues on [he] will ultimately be looked at as, arguably, the greatest male American soccer player in history, that’s the trajectory he’s on,” Lalas said.
Pulisic is far and away the biggest star on the U.S. Men’s National Team and he is expected to make the World Cup squad in 2026.
He has also been a bit of a lightning rod for controversy this year after opting not to participate in the Gold Cup in the summer to rest following a grueling club season with AC Milan after the USMNT had a poor showing in the CONCACAF Nations League in March.
Lalas had been among the pundits and former U.S. players to criticize the current group of players, and Pulisic specifically, though that has quieted after good showings for the program during the October and November camps.
Pulisic did not take part in the November camp, which saw the United States beat Paraguay in Chester, Pa., and Uruguay in Tampa, Fla.
The USMNT won’t reconvene until March, leaving only a small window before head coach Mauricio Pochettino decides his roster.
Among the names that could be included on the 2026 U.S. squad are Cristian Roldan, Sebastian Berhalter and Diego Luna.
“There’s some players that are now creeping into this team that at the perfect moment next summer kind of use it as their coming out party,” Lalas said. “Some of these players from Major League Soccer, through coach Pochettino opening it up have … earned their way in to be part of the conversation.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
