“Something Wrong With You” – Alexi Lalas Blasts Christian Pulisic for ‘Brushing Off’ Mexico vs USMNT Clash

Life comes at you quite fast, doesn’t it USMNT fans? Just days ago the US indulged in wild celebrations over the debut 2-0 win against Panama under Mauricio Pochettino. However, today, the script completely turned upside down as they lost 2-0 against Mexico. While there’s no point in igniting the blame game, Alexi Lalas seems to have directly put everything on Christian Pulisic for not being ‘involved.’

To remind you, the AC Milan star had to leave the USMNT camp after playing just 60 minutes against Panama. ‘Load management’ was the reason given for his absence, but it seemed to benefit only Pulisic, not the team as the American boys rather endured a humiliating defeat at Akron Stadium. “Load management can kiss my a–,” Lalas began his rant on his own-hosted State of the Union podcast alongside co-host David Moose.

“It should hurt you as a player [to be not there for the team]. You should watch who have been on the field tonight to play Mexico. Whether it’s in Guadalajara, Los Angeles, Columbus, or on the fr–king moon, you should want to move heaven and earth to be involved in a game as a USMNT player against El Tri. Anywhere, anytime, bring it. You want it,” said the former American forward, expressing his anger at Pulisic’s absence.

USMNT players and Mauricio Pochettino know that the 2026 World Cup comes at them at breakneck speed. Friendly matches like these are the only games that the Stars and Stripes can count on to gear up for a stellar showing as the host nation. Yet, such absences due to constant games are something that drives Lalas up to the wall.

“One leg, I don’t care. You want to be involved. And if you don’t want to be involved, and if just brush it off, there’s something wrong…there’s something wrong with you, something wrong with the program,” concluded Lalas, questioning the grit within Pulisic to play for his nation during the time of need.

However, Pulisic cannot shoulder all the blame. Pochettino himself admitted that the former Chelsea attacker returned to the States in poor condition. This points to an issue that makes his domestic club partly responsible.

Mauricio Pochettino shall have a word with AC Milan regarding load management involving Christian Pulisic!

The former Tottenham boss had earlier issued a warning regarding Christian Pulisic’s health. “He’s playing every single game, every single minute. That is also a thing that we are a little bit worried about. Sometimes we need to protect [him]. We’ll see because he arrived a little bit tired,” said Pochettino earlier, admitting the former Borussia Dortmund star is susceptible to injuries.

In an attempt to save Pulisic from the worst-case scenario, Poch has a plan that may require support from AC Milan “[We need to] build a very good relationship with the club and try to help. And when we really need him, he needs to be in form, happy, strong and the quality is there, because he has an enormous talent. He’s a fantastic player,” added the 52-year-old.

Now it’s not like Pulisic has to play less for his domestic side and play more for his national camp. Just like Mr. Captain America, thousands of players have to strike the right balance between both aspects of their careers. It’s just the right balance that the USMNT boss wants his star skipper to find. That way, neither party suffers. Regardless, let’s see how it goes then.