Pre-match: 6/12/26 9PM EST USA vs Paraguay: Game 1 of the big show

Let's go!

Really hope there is a home field feeling in LA. The reporting makes it sound like the place will be half empty, and I assume that half of the population there that might be willing to spend their money on and evening at a soccer game would either pull for Paraguay or at best be neutral. I know the team is very used to playing away games at home, but the send-off games in Charlotte and Chicago probably got them hopeful for some serious support. Even a 60-40 crowd at half full will be a disappointment.

 

I personally like him. Not saying I agree with him, but I find him entertaining.

it’s easy to dump on him but he made it as a defender in the best league in talent and tactics of his era and the only thing that held him back was slow foot speed.

More importantly today is the most important day for the US.

Win and it will be a good group stage, draw and it’s going to be a battle, loss and it’s going to be painful.

Feels like a 1-1 but hoping for 2-1.

 

There is definitely a sweet spot for this. I' sure hope we see a little extra focus and intensity. Too much amped up psycho crap is not useful, but this is the opposite of just another game.

First tackle, first foul, all that jazz.

 

Poch is doing the right thing. You don't want the players totally hyped up and burning off all their adrenaline in the first 15 minutes.

 

Cannot stand Lalas, just clearly an attention merchant, the former athlete version of Skip Bayless.

 

He is a positive if you like brain cancer.

He's meant to shock and annoy with his commentary, as that is the purported rationale for him holding his position. But he's not even that good at that, and so often struggles to drive engagement when not put in a position where anybody could drive engagement (like during the World Cup).

The likely real reason that Lalas holds his position is simply that he is golf buddies with the guys who make the decisions and he will say the type of things that they like.

 

Because Poch speaks with an accent and English isn't his first language, he can say stuff like "keep improving, but don't ever change" and I hear it, and I nod my head in agreement.

But then I see it in print or think about it later, and I ask, "What the hell did that even mean?"

Tick tock. The next 10 hours are going to take for @#!%!#$ ever!

 

“Keep improving, don’t ever change, have a great summer.”

 

I think in that specific context the comment was meant to convey that the group had the right character and mentality at the Gold Cup, so improvement wouldn't entail fundamentally altering any of those things about themselves.

 

You’d think he would be better at it, given that grabbing attention has been his schtick for the three-plus decades that he’s been in the public eye.

 

UCLA fans are fond of quoting Wooden's "Be quick, but don't hurry." I have an explanation for that which makes sense to me, but ... yeh.

 

You're probably right (you usually are), but I still find it pretty funny that the language we actually get from Poch's mouth to convey that is "Keep improving, don't ever change."

 

ESPN rolling out the former USMNTers. GCam and Brek Shea! for thoughts on the Paraguay match.

 

It'll be packed -- I don't know the actual number but there's only a couple thousand seats left max and it's a massive stadium.

It'll be mostly US fans. How loud they will be, I don't know.

 

Ideally, the USA needs to score first within the first 20 minutes. The longer it stays 0-0, the greater the likelihood of Paraguay resorting to antics, assaulting Pulisic, and time wasting.

No messing around. Score first and keep the ball away from Paraguay, then make Paraguay have to chase the match.

 

There was a point when I found Lalas interesting, but as the years have gone on, his perspective is basically two-note.

One, he intentionally trolls and admits it. That bores me.

And two, his "analysis" comes down to the same progression every time. He succeeded solely because of his character and when the current team loses, they don't care / work hard enough / think they are better than they are.

Now, I've been pretty critical of the current team for a lack of focus and intensity at times, but it's literally the only thing he really offers, and it's been a lot longer than there's been any real issues -- that "tattooed millionaires" comment was a long time ago.

(We'll leave even the aside of why tattooed is even in that sentence, but at best, Lalas is grumpy old man yelling at clouds.)

Former players should at least bring an athlete's perspective to the more intricate details of the game: technique, decision making, the details of tactics. If they want to talk focus and motivation, talk about how they did it for themselves. That's interesting.

Some former players can also do high level tactics; Lalas brings nothing there. So basically, if we win, great, if we lose, the players don't care.

Meh.

 

He's kept happy the only people he needs to keep happy, sadly, as the man is still employed.

In a related note, I thought Landon was pretty good for the second game. Which kind of shocked me as I haven't loved him in other matches.

 

KIT

 

Or because they think enough people like him (or watch him to show they hate him) that it boosts views/clicks. It's a pretty ruthless business. The overwhelming percentage of the audience are not super soccer knowledgeable--nor the audience being "chased," as the die hards are going to watch anyway (perhaps with the sound off, but still watching).

 

The reality is that the Stephen A Smith style gets better ratings. More people want angry yelling than smart analysis, and that goes for just about everything in life. (More people want a leader who is straight out wrong as long as they are confident ... even though none of these things are actually certain.)

Lalas is no Stephen A., but he's the closest thing US soccer has to one, and he's probably relatively cheap and Fox doesn't really care about the sport, so it's easy and I'm sure he, as someone mentions, plays golf with someone and whines about the lazy poor and immigrants or something and they both chuckle.

For all the crap he gets, Herc is like that about 90% of the time as well, and guys like Salazar and Heath Pearce get dropped for basically being reasonable.

 

I haven't really paid too much attention to the Fox-specific buildup in 2026. But I paid much more attention in 2022 with the US returning to the tournament. What I noticed in 2022 was that Fox was relentlessly pushing videos across social media formats with Lalas as the lead. What caught me by surprise was that few of them drew much attention at all and a lot of them were just pushed out and didn't catch viewer interest at all. Lalas just cannot draw attention on his own even with a cozy perch, and he's nowhere near somebody like Stephen A. Smith.

Lalas doesn't hold the position he has because he draws attention or rage, though that's what he needs to say. He holds the position that he has because he is friends with the right executives and (as you do mention in your post) knows to be the mouthpiece for the type of views that executives want to be pushed when its going to be a captive audience who are watching no matter who is on the TV.

 

Agreed about the importance of getting ahead early. Regarding the "antics"... it is my hope that having this on home soil should protect us a bit from the "hack-a-cp" D that we often see from our opponents... This really seems to work for our CONCACAF opponents in big games as I am convinced that there is a ref bias against us in our region... but refereeing in the WC is going to be scrutinized heavily and I expect most refs will call unbiased games. On a related note, I have been very happy thus far with how little time-wasting there has been in the first two games. I had some concerns about the throw-in time limit but it has been fantastic... The ball has been OOB far less so far and there are still opportunities to throw it long (e.g. Czechia's goal). The GKs also seem to be getting the ball back into play quicker.

 

I have said for years that the USA needs to formally request UEFA officiating for matches involving Central American teams because Concacaf officiating is clearly biased against the US. Concacaf allows other teams free reign to assault Pulisic.

 

I want the team fired up but in a tempered way. I worry that they'll come out guns blazing and get caught on the counter.

 

100% and anybody that denies this doesn't watch soccer or is ....I was going to use a stronger word....I'll just say misguided. I am hoping that this Dutch ref doesn't put up with that crap.