As World Cup 2026 edges ever closer and excitement levels peak – we’re certainly already locked in at AS USA – America is almost fully mentally prepared for a month of traffic, flags, beer gardens and confused sports radio callers asking what offside is.

And then there are the high-profiled pundits that want to get themselves heard, whether experts or not. Alexi Lalas is one of those and will be front and center of many a screen over the coming weeks, but it was last year when he decided to plant his own flag in the middle of the growing chaos.

And naturally, it involved Donald Trump.

Soccer or football for World Cup 2026?

The former USMNT defender turned Fox analyst revealed that he personally told the president: “Don’t ever let anybody shame you into not calling it soccer.”

Forget tactics, formations, or whether the U.S. can actually make a deep run on home soil. This is the debate.

Trump the “soccer president”

Lalas has spent years becoming less “former player” and more full-time sports provocateur. Somewhere along the line, the giant red beard became the least noticeable thing about him… and then disappeared completely.

During the interview, he even described Trump as the “soccer president,” arguing that no previous president had talked about the sport this much publicly.

To be fair, he kind of has a point.

The World Cup trophy has been rolled into Oval Office photo ops. FIFA president Gianni Infantino seemed regularly parked somewhere near Washington. And with the tournament arriving during America’s 250th birthday celebrations, the whole thing is being treated less like a sports event and more like a month-long geopolitical flex.

Lalas also said he warned Trump and Andrew Giuliani not to “f--- it up” because the tournament will reflect on the country itself. Others felt that he should maybe look in the mirror first.

Soccer’s culture wars somehow got even weirder

Back in the 1990s, soccer in America was still mocked in some circles as soft, foreign and, can you believe, even vaguely suspicious. Lalas talked openly about being called a communist growing up for playing the sport. Maybe that had a major effect on him.

Now, days before the biggest World Cup ever lands in North America – yes, and Canada and Mexico – one of the loudest pro-Trump personalities in sports is likely to still be passionately defending the word “soccer” like it’s part of the Constitution. Whether the president remembers his advice or not, we’ll have to see.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.