Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast

Stu Holden and David Mosse dive into all things red, white and blue soccer. Up first, Stu gives his take on Mauricio Pochettino staying through the 2030 World Cup. What is up next for the leadership of U.S. Soccer? The duo then dives into a packed weekend of Americans abroad. Will Folarin Balogun make the jump to EPL or LaLiga? Elsewhere, Gianluca Busio and Tim Weah captained their sides while Yunus Musah made his long awaited return to the starting XI at AC Milan. In #AskAlexi, Mosse and Stu dive into the wunderkind, Cavan Sullivan. Is he the next Christian Pulisic? To wrap the show, the guys recap the MLS weekend where Josh Sargent and Co. topped Messi and Miami + MLS looking into expanding the playoffs. Is B.J. Callaghan a USA coaching candidate of the future?

CHAPTERS:0:00 - Intro3:50 - What is next for Mauricio Pochettino this cycle?15:01 - Flo Balogun and Barcelona18:44 - Captain Tim Weah & leadership missing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup23:46 - Yunus Musah BACK?28:08 - Who is the face of this USMNT?31:00 - Pepi and Dest score, too good for PSV?33:07 - USA in EPL: Chris Richards and Tyler Adams adapt to new roles52:23 - #AskAlexi: Cavan Sullivan the next Christian Pulisic? 65:00 - One For The Road: MLS Playoff expansion
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Alexi Lalas and David Mosse are back with a new episode of State of the Union! Today, Alexi and Mosse deep dive on all the Americans playing in Europe and give their predictions for the major leagues. Will Pulisic bounce back with Milan, what does McKennie have in store for an encore, how will Zavier Gozo fit in at Crystal Palace, will Flo Balogun bag 20+ goals and much more. After breaking down each league, Alexi gives his predictions for the USMNT MVP in Europe, the “now or never” USA player, and a darkhorse candidate for USA players currently in Europe that will definitely surprise you. We then touch on MLS, including Breel Embolo’s move to Atlanta United falling through and trying to figure out the best path forward with Cavan Sullivan and the national team. In #AskAlexi, we discuss what things soccer could take from American football style broadcasts and what potential rule changes we’d like to see implemented in MLS and in One for the Road, Alexi breaks down some of the key differences between football and futbol.

CHAPTERS:

(0:00): Intro(2:28): EPL Preview: Haji Wright out for multiple weeks(17:41): Serie A Preview: Pulisic back, can Weston continue his form?(22:18): La Liga Preview: Johnny Cardoso stuck on the bench for Atleti(27:56): Ligue 1 Preview: Can Folarin Balogun reach 20 goals?(37:00): Rapid fire predictions for USMNT players in Europe(30:10): Folarin Balogun to Barcelona? (50:05): #AskAlexi: The Americanization of soccer(56:24): One for the Road: Football vs Futbol
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Alexi Lalas and David Mosse are back with a new episode of State of the Union! Today, we start the show with some burning questions about USMNT players in Europe: Will Pulisic regain his form at Milan, when we will next see a GK starting in the top 5 leagues, what CB can make a name for himself and more. After, we get into Arsenal dominating Manchester City in the Community Shield and what that means, if anything, for both teams going forward. We then get into the Leagues Cup quarterfinals bracket before touching on some MLS action that saw USA youngsters Adri Mehmeti and Cavan Sullivan keep making noise. In #AskAlexi, Mosse and Alexi answer questions about when Pochettino should be calling up our youth talent to the senior squad and what the 2028 Olympics roster could look like. In One for the Road, Alexi discusses his on-air persona vs his real life persona and we end the show with Alexi giving Mosse a big surprise.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 - Intro2:56 - Burning U.S. Soccer Questions heading into the European Season7:57 - Christian Pulisic bounce-back at AC Milan?11:15 - CB depth an issue?13:33 - Where are the goalkeepers in Europe?15:56 - Middlesborough USMNT trio to EPL?19:15 - Arsenal trounce Manchester City in Community Shield27:39 - MLS Recap: Messi and Miami routed & more39:20 - #AskAlexi: USA Youth Movement problem for Pochettino, Olympics vs Copa America49:52 - One For The Road: Does Alexi believe everything he says?
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Alexi Lalas and David Mosse are back with a new episode of State of the Union! Alexi starts the pod interviewing the producer of the new Mourinho documentary on Netflix, John Battsek. John breaks down the experience of working with Mourinho and lets Alexi in on his process of collaborating with one of the most mercurial men in world soccer. Who was the real leak at Real Madrid? After the interview, Alexi and Mosse do a Stock Up, Stock Down segment for US players in Europe. Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman and Tyler Adams are looking up, while Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna have some work to do. In #AskAlexi, the guys discuss what it would be like if Concacaf and CONMEBOL were to merge and what effect that would have on the American game. In One for the Road, Alexi breaks down the differences between U.S. soccer culture and South American soccer culture.

CHAPTERS:0:00 - Intro4:15 - Recruiting José Mourinho14:46- José Mourinho at Real Madrid28:57 - U.S. Stock Watch: Malik Tillman Up, Gio Reyna Down & More47:57 - #Ask Alexi: Concacaf & CONMEBOL Merger & importance of U.S. vs Mexico57:59 - One For The Road: Burning cars, hooligans, and U.S. Soccer Culture
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Alexis Lalas and David Mosse are back with a new episode of State of the Union! Today, we begin the show reacting to Mexico defeating the USA 2-0 in the CONCACAF U-20 championship. Alexi and Mosse discuss the loss and what it says about the state of the USA’s youth teams before getting into some young talent that was NOT at this tournament that we could see make an impact going forward. Alexi and Mosse highlight players such as Cavan Sullivan, Zavier Gozo and Noahkai Banks as ones to watch for the future. Next, we recap all the action from around the Leagues Cup that saw Inter Miami fall on an emotional day, LAFC win at the death, and Club América turn Portland into their home stadium. In #AskAlexi, we discuss what promotion and relegation could look like in MLS and in One for the Road, Alexi highlights the most interesting storylines and players across Europe this upcoming season.

0:00 - Intro2:15 - Mexico tops USA for another CONCACAF title4:12 - Does MLS have a duty to U.S. Youth Soccer?9:36 - Should Mauricio Pochettino pulled a Jesse Marsch and coached the U.S. Youth National Team?12:45 - The Future USMNT stars: Zavier Gozo, Cavan Sullivan and more20:46 - Leagues Cup: Rodrigo De Paul tips cap to Messi, MLS continues success over LIGA MX31:02 - #AskAlexi: Pro/Rel and MLS + Vini Jr stays at Real Madrid44:05 - One For the Road: European soccer storyline that we are most excited about
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