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I think we all want the US men's national team to do well. And I do believe that this US men's national team can and needs to grow for the last two cycles. We have gone in with goalkeepers who are good, but not great. There has got to be a changing of the guard. I don't want to arrive at the 2030 World Cup and have the key players be the same guys from 26, Bullysic, Bologna, McKinney, Adams. I do think you need some fresh blood there. You need somebody new to emerge as a star in this cycle. Hello, sunshine. I'm Alexi Wallace and welcome to the State of the Union show. This is where we look at the beautiful game on and off the field through the lens of red, white, and blue color glasses. This show will be talking, oh, yes, some more pochotino reaction, new MLS commissioner, US men's national team priorities, leagues cup, checkies back, what we're watching and so much more. But first, join me as always, my friend, my colleague, my guiding light, David Mossy, a soccer, Savant, a Fox soccer researcher and writer, extraordinary. And Mossy, how you doing on this Wednesday, August 5th in the year 2026? I'm doing well, busy day for me. As soon as I'm done with you, I'm going into Fox to cover a conca-caf under 20 match between Canada and Jamaica, JP della camera on the call. So I go from one hall of fame or an Alexi Wallace to another in JP della camera. Wow. Well, I look at that and I would tell JP and I think a lot of people out there would agree that is a huge step up in terms of quality and talent, my friends. That's going to be that's going to be fun. How are you feeling? All right. We're back at it. By the way, a huge thank you to everybody that has reached out and told us how thankful they are of the fact that we are back and we are broadcasting and we are very excited to be back. Yes, it was important that we took a little time off and for those listened on Monday, we talked a little bit about that, but we're back and back in the swing of things. But a lot of people have reached out and told us that they missed us, Mossy, which is nice to hear. Absolutely. And it was Sean on Monday, Trip West, Moreland producing today, this interesting back and forth that's going to go on now between these two who both consider themselves the number one producer on this podcast. Well, you know, we're going to we're going to talk a little later in the show here about upgrading and where we should look in terms of the talent and the field and the team, if you will. And so this is something that is on our minds right now as we look as we look forward because you cannot rest on your laurels, my friend. Should we like this candle? Let's do it. All right. Where should we start? We've had two days to digest the Mauricio Pochettino news. Today, we're going to get into the US talent pool and the implications of Pochettino staying for certain players before we get into that. Any more big picture of thoughts, something you didn't say on Monday. You want to say today about Pochettino remaining the US coach? Well, I think the general reaction out there and then correct me if you disagree, a mossy is that, you know, this is even people that thought that we should move in a different direction. As I mentioned on Monday, are okay with this. This isn't oh my god. This guy is falling. This is the worst possible selection ever. I think a lot of people have, you know, a respect and appreciation for what Mauricio Pochettino has done while still being fair and accurate in pointing out the failures and the problems out there and sharing my concern that this is not a four-year type of situation. We hope it all is and hopefully it is. And if it is, I think we can hopefully get the best out of him. But in general, I think the reaction has not been, oh my gosh, tear it all down. This is a horrible thing and as a matter of fact, many people are very excited to see what Mauricio Pochettino looks like in a full cycle. And I think that's the reason a lot of people are giving as to why they believe that this was the right thing to do. So we'll ultimately see, you know, it goes without saying that whether it's me or anybody else out there, I think we all want the US men's national team to do well. And in this case, at least for the foreseeable future, is going to be under Mauricio Pochettino. And I do believe that this US men's national team can and needs to grow and will grow under him. So we'll see what's going for it. But he has my full support as any coach of the national team would. But I think the general, even people, you know, as we mentioned, Mossy, this summer, a lot of people came into the tent and we're experiencing soccer and this US men's national team and participating in the discourse when it comes to soccer. It's a good thing, by the way, even a lot of those folks, even with a limited time seen Mauricio Pochettino, I think are excited and positive about this news. In terms of the talent pool, we'll take it back to front. I think arguably Pochettino's biggest decision in his first two years in charge was making Matt Freese is starting goalkeeper. It did not go all that well at the World Cup, particularly against Belgium and around the 16. So what do you think those frees begin this cycle as the incumbent somebody has to beat him out? Or is it wide open again? You've got younger guys like Chris Brady, Gaga, Slonina, Diego coach and Patrick Schulte. How do you see the goalkeeper situation right now? Well, I know we're going to, in a little bit, we're going to talk kind of bigger picture relative to Pochettino, but this is, this is specific, but it does have a big picture component in that as we know, historically, the US has been very, very good when it comes to developing goalkeepers. You could argue that it has been the spot where we have developed not just a couple, but many and almost multi-generational types of elite goalkeepers out there. And in this situation right now, I guess for the last two cycles, we have gone in with goalkeepers who are good, but not great. And I think regardless of the aspirational direction that the US men's national team has, I think we can all be honest in that we need to have a continuation or a return to somebody in goal that we have complete faith in. And we haven't had that now for a number of cycles. Now, is this something that's systemic? Is it we've taken the eye off the, I guess the literal ball here when it comes to how we train goalkeepers or the amount of time or value that we put on it? I don't know. I don't have that answer. But to your point, Mosse, yes, I think if you're looking at places and power ranking where we need to upgrade and find more competition, certainly you can, you can look at goalkeeping right now. I don't, you know, there are goalkeepers out there, but until you actually see them, which is why I think blooding goalkeepers going forward is going to be incredibly important. And as we talk about kind of moving on from a generation and not even a generation from from certain players, I think in a goalkeeping as capacity, there has got to be a changing of the guard. Because if Matt frees is as good as it gets, that's not good enough for us to take that next step. At center back, Chris Richards will be the anchor. I'm assuming Tim Reem is done with the national team. You've got a bunch of guys like Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, Austin trustee, Cameron Carter Vickers, who are just okay. So I do think this is a position where you do need some new players to emerge. Keep in mind, Noah Kaye Banks is still out there. That gets into dual national recruitment. Yeah. I mean, we talked a little about the dual national thing and that certainly is going to, I think continue. And I use that, that term specifically is going to continue on and, and rightfully so. I guess right now it's who is going to pair with Chris Richards and or even challenge Chris Richards because you're not assured a place just because your Chris Richards or anybody else out there. So yes, finding more center backs more, it doesn't even have to be young. It just has to be, you know, even with the Tim Reem situation, you just have to be, I think better. And are they, are they out there? You talked about under 20s. We're watching the under 20s now in that next crop. Is there somebody that can step up because the rise of Chris Richards was pretty phenomenal. So can you duplicate that? Are there other players that can come up and like I said, either play next to him or even challenge for his, for his spot over there on that right hand side. I think we're, we're moving on from, you know, I even think, you know, dust is what 25. So age wise, he would be fine. I don't know if it continues on. It's, it's a feast or famine with him. And certainly we saw the famine when it came to this world cup and to be fair, he came in and injured, but you've got to have, you know, somebody else and we do have Freeman right now. So that's a, that's a good thing over there, but the more the better on that left hand side. You mentioned Robinson, who will be in his 30s now, you know, Max Arvston and that kind of stuff. But, you know, there's, there has to be a new crop of center backs in particular, but just defenders in general. And, you know, the, you know, the Scallies and the trustees and, and all these players, we're going to talk a lot about this. You have to decide, or at least try to anticipate, is this the ceiling for some of these players? Or, and, and therefore, are we fair judging them in this moment? Or are they going to be different for years from now? And how, how, how much better are they going to get? I mentioned Noah Kay Banks. If he decides in this cycle, he wants to play for the US, do you welcome him with open arms? Or does it turn you off that he could have played in this last world cup, but chose not to? That's a good question, Mossy. Um, you know, there's an element of a, a jilted lover and a sensitivity to being rejected. But yeah, I mean, I, I think timing is important. And I, I, I want to be fair and give him and anybody else the benefit of the doubt as to when this all comes about and it, maybe it came about and it was just overwhelming in that moment. And so maybe with a little bit more of a, of a runway here, the proposition looks a little bit different to a different thing. But again, you know, these are decisions that have to be made from a human perspective. And, and you know, when you sit down and you look somebody in the eye and you hear what he or she has to say to you relative to this incredible opportunity that you are providing. And that's the way I think it has to be framed. It can't be that you're, you're doing us a favor. Yes, yes, we want you otherwise. We wouldn't be sitting here in front of you and recruiting you. But the future is not, and certainly cannot, it could be portrayed as it is completely dependent on you. And it's not even you have to meet us halfway. I think you have to meet us three quarters to 80% of the way. And I just don't know yet, but I think it's certainly worth continued contact. And, you know, I continued wooing, if you will. I'm going to lump midfielders and wingers together. You've got guys like Adams, McKenny, Tillman, Policic, Weia, who we expect to play a big role in this cycle too. Tillman, by the way, comes out of this world cup with his stocks. Scott, I've heard people say that him and Balagan are now the two stars on this team. I don't know if I would go quite that far. But this is where you get into some of the guys that were notable omissions from this world cup squad. You're unusmosis, you're Tanner Tespins, you're Diego Luna's. What do you expect us to see from them? Are they going to work their way back into the picture in this cycle? Yeah, I actually think that Mauricio Pochotino is going to almost make a statement with some of these players in that it's not a new sheriff. It's the same sheriff, but it's a sheriff in a different time and place. And therefore, I think he will go back to this well of some of these players. The players that he believes just weren't ready yet, but that they have a much higher ceiling right now. And with time, he can get them there. Yeah, so I don't think that there's a lot that the players that you mentioned are completely gone. It's just in that moment, they weren't part of that 26. It doesn't mean that now with a new lease on life, they can't come in. But again, this goes back to what I said, you know, you know, when you look at those midfielders, Malik Tillman, he'll be 28 at the time of the World Cup. Conventional wisdom over the years has been that 28 is the prime of a career where you have the physical abilities that have developed, but also the the the acumen that develops over time. And it's the perfect marriage of both of those things. Now we've seen also in this day and age, the game has been much kinder to older players. And you can play a lot longer, given the the realities of what medicine is and what, you know, the amount of playing time that you have and all the different things that go on. So I do think Malik Tillman will continue to be there. Sebastian Berhhalter, you know, is there a ceiling? Is this what he is, even with his move over to a Middlesburg? I don't know. I think he can get better. And I think he certainly acquitted himself well. And does if there's a deserving type of a situation he does. We're going to talk a little bit more about Adams and McKenny later on in the show. Georena, I think is one that you go right to and say, well, is this as good as it gets? And if it is, you know, it was a nice substitute. It was a nice goal. But it's almost as if you make a not an example out of him because that's not fair and that's not even, it's not, it's not even kind. It's just that there is a recognition that we are moving in a different direction. Some of these players who, let's be honest, have been given chance after chance after chance. If this is as good as it gets, is that enough for Maurizio Pochettino? I think Georena might fall into that category. I'm going to save teenage starlets for last as its own separate category. Let's do striker first. You've obviously got Balagin there who's going to be maybe the star of this team moving forward. Peppy as well. Haji, right? You've got Patrick Ajiman, who Pochettino likes. If he hadn't gotten hurt, there's a very good chance he would have been in the World Cup squad. And obviously Josh Sargent, his back here in MLS, trying to rebuild his career. So how do you see the striker situation? I don't see Josh Sargent coming back, you know, the Ajiman, because of the way that he plays and literally the way he looks, he provides something different. And I think that's what Pochettino was targeting until the unfortunate injury. I think Balagin is the incumbent and will be and rightfully so. He'll be 29 years old, come the next World Cup. We've talked about the potential moves. And I think he does have a higher ceiling right now, especially if he, you know, starts going to some elite teams out there and just starts scoring for fun. A lot of Peppy didn't see a whole lot of him this, this World Cup. He was a nice number two to have, and we'll continue, I think, to bite at the heels of Balagin. So that's a, that's a wonderful thing. Tim Wei is interesting, because let's be honest, Mauricio Pochettino had ample opportunity to find a way to work him in and not only did he not work him in, he, because of the change of, of system, he was the odd man out. And now, unless Pochettino is going to change again, I'm not sure that, that this change is for Tim Wei. He's only 26 years old, but it has nothing to do with his age right now. Again, you know, these, you know, some of these, some of these players, you're, you're just going to, you're going to move on because I think in Pochettino's mind, he will have said, this is the ceiling. And if Pochettino has aspirations, and I think he does, he better, to do things better, and he recognizes that either he has to get better players from the outside, or be confident that he can make the players that he already has better. And I'm not sure he is confident in a lot of these players. And finally, you have this very talented crop of teenagers, including Xavier Gosa, who it looks like might be headed to Rebecca Lowe's Crystal Palace. You've got Kevin Sullivan starting to play very well in MLS, Julian Hall, Adry Mehmeti, named Fasha Betakeema, who unfortunately got hurt in this Coca-cuff under 20 tournament I'm covering. You do have another 20 world cup, make sure you have the Olympics in 28, so you could bleed them in there before they graduate to the senior team. Nevertheless, I do think it's important for a country that wants to project this image of this ascending soccer nation that's pumping out lots of talent right now for some of these guys to really break through and become key players in 2030. I don't want to arrive at the 2030 world cup and have the key players be the same guys from 26, Pulisic, Balaghan, McKenny Adams. I do think you need some fresh blood there. You need somebody new to emerge as a star in this cycle. Wait, but are you saying you don't want to because you just don't believe that that's good enough or just the actual act of, I guess, risking throwing the baby out with the bath water is enough to get you excited about there just needs to be new faces. Yeah, it would be very disappointing if we arrive at the 2030 world cup and the nucleus of the team is the same exact one from 26. You want some new stars to be emerging. Yeah, and you know, so this gets into, you know, I guess, what Puchatino, because we, you know, in his, I guess, reintroduction, there was a lot of talk about a greater role. Now, how that ultimately is defined and how that is in practice executed, those might be two different things going forward, but, you know, we've talked a lot about the micro here in terms of what Mauricio Puchatino needs to do. And I have agreed with you, Masi, that especially now, in this moment, right now, this is the time to, because this is an A, you know, the, you know, the tours that the women's team often takes after, after a world cup of celebration tour and, you know, that, this isn't going forward here. They already have games in September and October. I think you, Masi, and a lot of people want to see, okay, you've been given the opportunity for Mauricio Puchatino, show us immediately that you mean business, and you are going to do the things necessary to change. And there's never a better point than right now, because the consequences are so low in terms of these friendly's coming up. But Masi, but before we get to that, and we talked a little bit about this on Monday. What do you think Mauricio Puchatino, big picture, macro, if that is his role going forward, should be concentrating on going forward and starting, you know, here in this fall. I do think he needs to be collaborating with the youth national teams, particularly Toronto low, the Olympics. I want Puchatino to have a say in who's in that squad and how the team plays so that it feels like an extension of the senior team. You don't want it to feel like the youth national teams are off on their own island. And then Puchatino is over here with the senior team doing his own thing. So yeah, I know you've said, and it's an interesting take, you would like to see the senior coach coach the Olympics. Yes. Right. Well, you would have been okay if Puchatino coach the Olympics in 28. Look, when you say changes, all right, almost entirely those changes are relative to younger players that are coming up. It's very rare that you are saying, well, this player was left off and he should be included. And so if that's the case, then I think the focus and the priority should be those younger players and where are those younger players going to show up in the Olympic team. And so I know from a practical perspective, it's not as easy as it sounds. I know I'm being idealistic when I talk about this. And I think Steve Trolundel actually was a really good hire, but the coordination and the understanding and the trust between Steve Trolundelow and Marisa Puchatino, I think is vital to whatever we see for four years from now. I will say this because there's a lot of people that when they, when they're talking about Marisa Puchatino in this current version of him, talk about him with his thumb on American soccer and youth soccer and development. I think it's really, really dangerous and we saw a lot of this this summer where you equate youth soccer and what happens in youth soccer with the national team. The vertical integration, that's fine, but that vertical integration has to and can only happen. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it within the US men's national team or within the United States soccer federation system and structure. What I like in this case, it would be Marisa Puchatino dictating to America. This is how we're going to play with that be the most direct, the fastest way of creating players that are going to be able to be plugged in in terms of this is the system. This is how we play. We want to identify players that can either play in it or can adapt and therefore play in it going forward. That'd be great, but that's, that's never going to happen. And people would argue and I think this is fair that it never should happen. But in this particular moment, when it comes to Marisa Puchatino and the quote unquote youth game, the youth game is the national teams, all right. It's not the youth game around and I'm not saying he can't have an opinion that he and that he can't make an impact and that he doesn't at times have a valuable opinion when it comes to what we should what we should be doing. But again, his job is to have us in the best possible position to have success four years from now. And I don't want him to spread, I don't want to spread him to spread himself thin out there. So collaboration with Toronto, absolutely essential has to happen. And I think if it's done right, we will be able in four years to look at the men's Olympic team and recognize that there was a matriculation and they were fostered in a way to play that benefited them individually, but also benefited the US men's national team come 20 20 30. It's not easy to do and it doesn't always happen. But if he is in this new kind of position where he's overseeing more, then it has to happen going forward. In terms of when the senior team will play next, remember in an effort to reduce the amount of international breaks, they have now combined the September and October windows. It's this longer period with four games. The US will play Peru and Orlando, Chile and St. Louis, Mexico and Glendale, Arizona, and then Canada in St. Paul, Minnesota. Some people underwhelmed by the opposition, but Mexico and Canada will be fun. So then the question is, what does that roster look like? How many new players you bring in? How many of the old guard? There will probably be some sort of blend, but that's the next thing we'll be looking out for. Okay. So first things first, these are four teams that didn't qualify for the last World Cup. I understand Mexico and Canada are always good games, but they have always been good games and they're always good tests for us. And as I mentioned on Monday, let's also be honest, really the only consistent tests in terms of competition from ConquerCaf. And Peru and Chile, we know they've been up, they've been down. So who knows what we're going to ultimately get when it comes to these teams. But yeah, I understand, and I even sympathize that this is a little underwhelming, but also keep in mind that the world has changed with all of the tournaments and all of the mandatory tournaments and the games that everything happens, you know, getting teams, especially when it comes to friendlies is not as easy as it once was. I would love nothing more than to consistently, when we're playing friendlies, be against the elites of the world, because we all recognize that that's the, it's a small step, but the most difficult step for this US team to make. You know, we're all good at being in the top 15 in the world. It's harder for us. And that final step is consistently being in that top eight in the world. And the quickest way and the best way to do it is to constantly test ourselves against the best in the world. And I know it's, it's finite. There's only, there's only a handful and everybody kind of wants to play these big teams. So you take what you can get, but, you know, it'll be good. And maybe to your point, Mossy, it's, these are, these are good teams to, as Marie so puts a Tino starts to change and starts to bed in this new generation of players. Maybe you start them out here with these types of, I'm not saying the US can't lose to them, but if there is going to be this massive type of transition, maybe this is, this is better. And then, you know, the elite teams come later on in the US, Mexico and Canada all went out in the round of 16 of the World Cup. Does the Jesse Marsh thing still have any juice for you or you're kind of over that? I think it'll, it'll help juice when it happens. I mean, he will be asked the questions and Jesse will be Jesse and, as I've said time and time again, I love it, provides plenty of content for all of us out here. It is a little strange that this is the, the path that he has leaned in on, but he's a smart guy. And so I think it, it's done strategically and, you know, I, yeah, I don't think that it will have dissipated at all. And, you know, he got himself a new gig and he will want to build on what happened in this past World Cup and to be fair to him. He had injuries, not the least of which was Alfonso Davies through the, through the entire tournament. So he's got to be more, and I think he would tell you that this himself, Canada has to be more than Alfonso Davies and times they showed that they were, but he's trying to develop this team and test this team and probably bring in a new generation now too as much as the US is. Puchatino was officially announced on Monday, the other big news that they MLS named its new commissioner. It's going to be Larry Berg. He's going to officially start on January 1st, 2027, Don Garber will finish out this year. Berg, the third commissioner in league history had Doug Logan before Don Garber. He has been the co-owner of L.A.F.C. since they're founding. He also had an ownership stake in Swansea City and has one in AS Rome. He's going to divest himself from L.A.F.C. obviously, but he's presided over a very successful period, MLS Cup, US Open Cup, two supporter shields, two CCC finals. So what do you think about this news and also what should be on his to-do list? I know you were asked that question by James Handel on X and you answered it, but you can elaborate on here with us. Sure. So, yeah, the white smoke came out and we have ourselves a new commissioner when it comes to Major League Soccer, only the third in history, Larry Berg. It came down to Larry Berg and David Nathanson. We know David Nathanson from our time at Fox. I think MLS couldn't lose with either of these two picks, but it is understandable that of the two, the MLS owners went with one of their own in the L.A.F.C. owner, Larry Berg. He has a long history when it comes to soccer. He is a huge soccer fan, but more importantly, he has a history of success. And you can look at L.A.F.C. and what L.A.F.C. has done both on and off the field. And I think you can argue that as far as expansion teams, you know, he's right up there when I say he, I mean, L.A.F.C. and through him and guidance of others, but what they have done with L.A.F.C. I think they understand the landscape. So they understand soccer in America. They understand MLS is place in soccer in America. More importantly, I think he understands because he's lived it and worked in it now. The challenges that MLS has. Now he has to put on a league hat, which can be different and difficult. But I think, you know, he will make that transition seemingly. He'll start in 20, 2027. We know 2027 is a big year for Major League Soccer. Don Garber will still be around. And I'll talk a little bit more about Don Garber at the end of the show. But when it comes to the priorities for Larry Berg as the new commissioner of Major League Soccer, these are the three things, I think. There's more, but let's just do the three here because that's what I was asked over there by James on the old X machine. One would be salary roster modifications. And this is an evergreen topic, but this is a topic that has gotten legs. And I think that this is something that is inevitable in terms of changing the extent that it changes who knows. And now that Larry Berg is commissioner, he's going to be charged with and part of the skill of being commissioner is the hurting of the cats, which are the owners and getting consensus. I think he has shown that he is good at doing that and he's going to have to be great at doing that going forward in order to shift this league in a different way when it comes to spending. We all know that it's easy to spend other people's money and to tell other people how to spend their money and just spending money doesn't change anything. So strategically allowing owners to spend more money and therefore increasing the value, which is his job as commissioner of what Major League Soccer is. I think that's a huge priority, but I think that there is a willingness and a real positivity towards doing that, both internally and certainly outside. Secondly, media rights, the Apple deal is completely understandable given the amount of money and the vast amount of more money that it afforded MLS and therefore the value of MLS when it comes to their media deals. But for a lot of people, it's been out of sight, out of mind. And so what is the strategy going forward in terms of yes, getting value from your broadcast deals, but also making sure that this league, as wonderful as it has been for 30 plus years right now, still is being seen and therefore has relevance and credibility in the general public, especially coming off of the world. And then this goes hand in hand with whatever the money is because we're going to see what those valuation, what those media rights are going forward. And if they continue with Apple, if they go more linear, whatever it ends up being, we're going to see what MLS is worth under Larry Berg and what he can negotiate and figure out is this CBA because as we know in 2027, MLS is going to make a fundamental and a huge change in changing the calendar. And potentially, as I mentioned before, some salary and roster changes that are massive and fundamental. Well, the last thing in the world you want is any type of labor problems. So you got to get ahead of that and you can bet that the MLS players organization is sitting back saying, all right, here we go, we're not going to make it easy for you as they should. And that's what that's what their job is. But preparing for that is important because you want all guns blazing and you don't want anything holding you back when you make this transition in 2027 with the change of calendar. Well, I wish him well, hopefully we'll get him here on the state of the union. We can ask him some question when it comes to this league now 30 plus years in. But he is taking over a major league soccer that it's in a very, very different place than when Garber took over at the turn of the century. If you will, I'll talk about that a little bit later on in the show. The thing I find fascinating here is we've both attended MLS seminars in recent years in which they touted both incoming and outgoing transfers as evidence of growth. They love to point out that in the last window, we sold this many players for that amount of money. So that speaks to this balancing act where at least in the short term, MLS has decided they have to play the game sort of speak and embrace being a selling league while the ultimate goal is still to be the best league in the world. So I would, if I could interview Larry Berg, I would ask him about that moving forward. I think it's interesting, hypothetically, in 2027, if some American phenom emerged in MLS and Mbappe La Minya model level talent who came up through an academy broken to the first team was dominating, generating all this interest. And a Real Madrid or Barcelona came along and offered you 100 million euros for him. In the year 2027, where MLS is at, what's better, holding on to that player, keeping him in your league or selling him and getting that global headline that you produced a player that Real Madrid bought for 100 million euros, I think that's an interesting question. Well, Don Garber is famous for saying that he wants and has wanted now for a number of years to make MLS a league of choice. And now Larry Berg coming in, it remains to be seen if that's going to be also his mantra and his priority, because it's all fine and well to say it, but it's another thing to actually do it. And, you know, in your example right there, MLC, you have to make it a choice not just for players coming from the outside, but also for players on the inside. And you have to make it where you can't take no for an answer because they're going to make money. They're not going to lose credibility. They're going to have the competition. But the fact is, this is America and this is North America when it comes to Major League Soccer and players that are born here, while they might have aspirations, you have to make it so there's no place that they want to go more than Major League Soccer. I guess it wouldn't go. It'd be stay from Major League Soccer while also making it attractive from the outside. That's a true league of choice. A league of choice is one where people on the outside choose to come to it and people on the inside choose to stay in it or come to it locally. David Nathanson, by the way, as you mentioned, was at Fox Soccer for many years, including when you and I were hired. So I think that might have hurt his candidacy, just questions about his decision-making. He is a smart, smart man and hopefully there is and continues to be a place for him at the soccer table, if you will, because, you know, and he said wonderful things after this whole process, you know, about Larry Berg, and I think he is, again, also an incredible supporter and a believer of Major League Soccer and American Soccer in general as a sport and as a business. Now, I've said on this podcast before the next step for MLS in terms of global credibility is getting to the point where MLS players get called up to top national teams based on their MLS form. And I've said that an interesting test case for that is a vendor given what he's done in the MLS the last couple of years, as we transitioned to League's Cup, we had plenty of action last night, including Cincinnati with a 3-1 victory over Patuica in a vendor connected on a sensational strike, second straight game. He had an incredible goal against San Jose at the weekend. And you put out a cheeky little tweet with the Brazil flag. Let me get the wording here, exactly what you said. You said, just maybe think of me once in a while. And yeah, if you scroll through the comments, there are a lot of people talking about it and even saying, hey, you've got to ask Mossy about this. Why doesn't a vendor get a look with Brazil? So yeah, at the dawn of a new cycle, here we are talking about this again. Well, so first off, let me give a context because I'm an old guy at Mossy. And so my post there, for those that are older, we'll have remembered the old sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. And that was the theme song that I was using right there. But it works whether you know that or not, because we come off a summer where your Brazil underwhelmed, shall we say? And again, you have this player who, and it's not just last night, I was a wonderful goal, but who has been playing very, very well has been scoring goals. But as we know, this is in Major League Soccer. And whether it's right or wrong, doesn't really matter whether it's fair or not, the reality is the perception is reality. And so, you know, that he is not with Brazil in general and around the world. It comes as no surprise and is no shock. There's great Brazilian players that are playing all over the world that are part of the Brazilian national team. But yeah, you know, you think about it and, you know, it would have been interesting to see if Carlo Ancelotti had had, you know, an idea or even thought about the possibility of him. Let's make some headlines here. Both of them at this point in their respective careers, who is a better player, Evander or Neymar? Oh my goodness. It's like close. It's Evander. It's not even close. Because a lot of the comments were in that direction. How could you take Neymar rather than Evander? Yeah, let me just say Brazil is unfortunately behind other countries in South America in terms of MLS acceptance. So it would be a tough sell. And particularly with Carlo Ancelotti because in Brazil, they're very sensitive. It's actually in stark contrast to here in the United States. In Brazil, they're very biased in favor of their own domestic league. And they want more players from the Brazilian league and the national team. And they resent the fact that the national team is almost entirely comprised of European based players. They resent the fact that doing it in Europe carries more weight than doing it in Brazil. So imagine Carlo Ancelotti, a foreign manager, walking in there and choosing an MLS player over a Brazilian league player. He knows that would really upset people. So from a political standpoint, I think even if he thought Evander was deserving of a call, he's probably not going to go there. He just can't bring himself to do it. Well, look, regardless when it comes to League's Cup, MLS had a very, very good night. Well, there's some more action tonight. Obviously, we mentioned Evander and Cincinnati, Ohio in general had a good night with Columbus beating Atlas and Charlotte crushing Pumas. We also, we also, Lake lost in penalties to Tigress Vancouver up there lost and Minnesota lost. But in general, a good night for, for Major League soccer is they get back into the swing of things. And it was fun to, you know, watch these games and it kind of, you kind of sense that these, that these players had gone through a strange year, shall we say in terms of how open it was. A trip had a couple of wrong scores and run down. He's a bit disoriented right now. The Dodgers have lost five straight, Scooba lost his debut, so he's a little bit preoccupied with that. He told me that this is a, this is a surprise. They should be just running through everybody here, but maybe, you know, they may be, they're benevolent. They're just giving a little charity out there before they really take hold. And we all know that baseball doesn't really count to later on in this season, right? Yep. That is it, my friend. All right. Let's take a quick break and we come back. Oh, yeah, we got some Ask a Lexi. It's back, baby. Don't go anymore. Okay. Welcome back. It's time for Ask a Lexi, that part of the show where you send in your comments, questions, and concerns. Keep in mind that our SOTU hotline out there is a 657-549-2297. That's 657-549-2297 or, as I said, you can use that hashtag ask a Lexi over there on the old social media platforms and our handle out there is SOTU with Alexi Mossy. What are the folks want to know today? Well, there are rumors that the LA galaxy are pursuing Chucky Lozano on loan from San Diego. So Jason Wood on X asks, isn't this like buying stuff from your next door neighbor's yard sale? I just don't get it for the LA galaxy. So what do you make of it? Chucky hasn't played a game all year. We know he's been involved in this bizarre standoff with San Diego management. So the galaxy's sensing an opportunity here to add a Mexican star. But what do you think? Is this a reach? I guess it's a reach unless if you're the galaxy and you see some hidden value and you see something that San Diego didn't and sometimes when there is, I don't want to say animosity, but friction, shall we say, you can get clouded. And I think even think if you were to talk to San Diego, they would say, look, he's a talented player, but there's baggage and there's other stuff that has just made it so this is untenable. Okay, that's fine. And if you're the galaxy, you probably say, you know, we can take a shot on this and to your point, Mossy, it's the neighbors down there. And if it hits, we look great, sell some tickets, we'll get some attention. And I think both teams, like I said, if they're fair and honest, would recognize that this is a talent, it just needs to find a place. But are you believing that he's something that he's not? I'm here for it. I'm here for the experiment. I think the galaxy kind of needs something like this, but maybe it's the galaxy and in particular galaxy, we know the history with big, bold, dare I say, arrogant type of personalities out there. That is a organization that historically has been able to get the most out of them. So maybe this is just a better fit for the personality and the person that Chucky Luzano is and maybe they will get the best out of what we'll see. Yeah, between you, Zlatan, Landon and Chitra Rita, there was a real galaxy flavored to our World Cup coverage this past summer. Yeah, we had a lot of, yeah, we had a lot of galaxy going on over there. That was fun. Yeah. Next up, we have a voice mail. Let's take a listen. Hey, guys, it's Jeff from Minnesota. I wanted to thank you guys for the daily doses of the World Cup. Really appreciated listening to you guys and putting it in perspective. And with that, I actually have a question to kind of wrap up one aspect of the World Cup. We often talk about what our team needs to do in order to get into the upper echelons. And I actually want to talk about two specific players who had good World Cup, not necessarily in terms of goals and assists in Weston, McKinney and Tyler Adams, both played really well for us. And there were a couple of other players in the tournament who everybody would describe as being world class. And they basically fulfill the exact same positions, such roles that Tyler and Weston do for us. And the question kind of is, what does Tyler need to do to elevate his game so he would be considered like a Rodry? What does Weston McKinney have to do to elevate his game so he would be a Jude Bellingham? In my book, those Rodry and Bellingham were playing similar roles that Adams and McKinney do for their national teams, but they do it at a way higher level. What's the difference, guys? What do they need to work on? Love the pod. Thanks, guys. Bye. All right. Well, first off, thank you, Jeff, for the kind words. And thank you for listening through the summer. You're not alone. We had a lot of people that came in and appreciated the daily dose of what we were doing. It was our pleasure. And we've done it now. I don't know how many world cups and certainly tournaments over the years. And it's always fun. So we're glad that people respond. This is a great question. And I love that Jeff gave comps with Rodry and Bellingham relative to McKinney and Adams. My fear, and I mentioned this, I think earlier here in the show, is that the ceiling for both of these players is you can argue already been reached or there's very little room for growth. Now, that doesn't mean that they can't be incredibly impactful and important players going forward. I think when it comes to Tyler Adams, and we started talking about this even before the world cup, undeniable talent, nurtured from a very young age, a proof of concept, if you will, when it comes to development. And the steps that he has taken and the impact that he has made. I'm left feeling that we have yet to see the best of Tyler Adams. And I thought maybe we would this summer. And again, to your point, Jeff, it's not like he played poorly. I think in order for Tyler Adams, ever, you know, to be in the mode of a Rodry, first off, he's never going to be. And that applies to 99% of the players out there that play in and around that position. It's not, it's not going to happen. There's no amount of practice or time that converts him into that type of player. And that's okay. But when I think of Tyler Adams, number one, we always talk about you got to be healthy. And you have to be consistently healthy. So I think that's an important thing going forward. But specifically on the field, what he could do, I don't know, because I don't think that there's stuff that he's necessarily not doing. But you don't know, you watch that final Rodry in a very unsexy position. And in a very, I guess, unsexy way dominated and dominated so much so that even people that aren't looking for it or have little experience seeing and finding and recognizing the nuances of the game could see. Can Tyler Adams do something like that? And can Tyler Adams do something like that or anybody in this version of the US men's national team? Because Rodry is doing it with Spain, which is a different proposition. Anyway, that's a long way of saying, I don't know if we're ever going to see a better Tyler Adams going forward. Does that disappoint me? I guess because maybe I had thought there was more of a ceiling, but maybe I was being unrealistic. When it comes to West and McKinney, I think that's actually, as some people might disagree, but I think that comp with a Jude Bellingham is much more possible, okay? And body types and they play the game differently. But the impact, the personality, the drive to impact a game, I think exists in West and McKinney. I do think that he has made dramatic strides and improved as a player. I think him taking the game by the scruff of the neck, if I was looking for him to be a different player going forward, that's where it would be. I mean, we saw what Jude Bellingham did again with England and West and McKinney is doing it with the US. But in moments saying, I'm not going to let us lose. In moments saying, I am going to do what is necessary to take my team past this opponent. And nobody has been given more freedom than West and McKinney. So it's not as if he's being shackled and is unable to do that. He marauds, and I love the fact that he marauds, but refining that marauding, I guess it would be going forward. And when we say world-class players, everybody has a different definition. It's subjective, right? I mean, I guess if you're playing at the world stage, you are a world-class player. But we also recognize that we reserve it for kind of a select few. And I don't think that either of those players has yet proven in comparison to the people that you're talking about or even others that they're at that level. And I'm not sure that they are going. As we start to get this generation starts to age up and age out, we have to come to a real, you know, a realization, again, it goes back to what I said that this might be as good as it gets. And as good as it has been, it's still not where, whether it's Jeff or anybody else kind of want him to be, or even all of us want ultimately these players to be going forward. But it doesn't mean that they're not impactful, it doesn't mean that they're not important even going forward. In terms of age, they're both 27 years old. Kenny actually turns 28 this month. Tyler turns 28 early next year. I agree with you. I think they've both reached the, they are what they are, point of their careers. They're both excellent, but I don't really see a whole other gear. And to your point, in the case of Tyler and Roger, I don't even think there's a stylistic match there. I know they technically play the right, the same position, but they interpret it differently. Roger is much more of a playmaker at that six with McKenney and Bellingham to your point. There's a little bit more of a stylistic match. And any event thanks for the call, Jeff, that is it for Ask Alexi. Okay, take one more, one more quick little break here and we'll come back with my one for the road. You'll go anyway. Okay, welcome back. It's the end of our show. And at the end of each and every show, I give you my one for the road. I thought I talk a little bit about outgoing commissioner Don Garber. We mentioned earlier on the show that Larry Berg is the new commissioner of Major League Soccer. He will be replacing Don Garber, who came on the scene way back at the turn of the century, but way back in 1999 when the league was still in its infancy and certainly looked to nothing like it does right now. As a commissioner of any professional league, you recognize very, very quickly that the slings and arrows come with the territory and are part of the job. And there are plenty that have been sent his way over the years. Fairly, some unfairly along the way, but you know, I think you would be the first person to tell you that like I said, you take those because you recognize that, let's say, hopefully a long-term type of situation as it has been for Don Garber. Regardless of whether you like or don't like Don Garber, I think everybody has to recognize how fundamentally changed Major League Soccer has been through his leadership. When it comes to the quality on the field, when it comes to the valuation of the individual teams, when it comes to expansion, when it comes to the infrastructure, when it comes to media, and the list goes on and on and on. And you know, this is, when I say I'm a less this, this is La Cosa Nostra, this is our thing. I'll never forget when Don Garber came in and he was coming from, quote unquote, the outside and NFL and American football. And certainly he was bringing his knowledge and his experience in terms of the business of sport in, but he also recognized that this was a very different world. And it is, as we know, being in this soccer world and in this American soccer world and particularly live in, it is a strange and beautiful world, sometimes at the exact same time. And immersing yourself in that and understanding the realities and the unique realities is important. And I think Don Garber did that from, from the start. And he recognized the way that this league needed to grow. He, I think would also be the first to tell you that he made mistakes along the way, as anybody does, but again, when the book of American soccer is written, Don Garber is going to have a chapter as he should because of the impact that he has made, not just with Major League soccer, but because the league has grown so much and is what it is now here in 2026 relative to 1996. He should take incredible pride and I know he, and I know he does. And now you, you pass this baby that you nurtured who is now much more than a teenager. It's into, you know, it's into its adulthood, if you will, and you, and you pass it on. And you are ultimately a custodian and you hope that it's in better shape. And I think Don Garber can absolutely say that under his leadership, he is passing on an MLS that is, like I said, fundamentally, not just in better shape, but completely different in the most positive way to Larry Berg. It'll be interesting to see what Don Garber does going forward if he just, you know, would understandably go and fade off into the sunset, or if he does some other things, I think he's got a lot to give, whether it's to soccer or anything else out there. And I also think that his history and his experience is valuable and should be tapped into going forward. But I'm also excited about the future when it comes to Major League soccer and the differences and the direction that it takes. But whatever differences and whatever direction it takes, it can only have happened because of the stewardship. And like I said, because of the impact of Don, of Don Garber. So congratulations, Don, on an incredibly successful tenure as commissioner of Major League soccer. And I wish you well going forward. Bossy, anything before we go here, I know we've been watching a different things and I know you've been parsing them out now because there was a backlog when it comes to things you've watched. And I continue to do that and save some stuff for Monday of next week. But I do want to mention on the documentary front, I watched this Netflix five part documentary The American Experiment about the American Revolution. I'm in the middle of it. It's sort of a cliff notes version of the Ken Burns documentary, but I found it enjoyable. And also thank you, my friend, because I've already ripped through both Lockerbie bombing documentaries. You sent me the HBO Max one and the frontline one where the brother of one of the victims went to Libya to try to get to the bottom of it. I found both documentaries endlessly fascinating. So I appreciate you sending that my way. Oh, there's a lot out there. There's so much out there. Let's see, I got the Idaho murders, College Nightmare over there on Netflix. Yes, it's a rehashing of the horrible story there and it just gets more horrible as more and more interviews come out and more and more footage comes out. And it's just, it's a crazy story. But yeah, I crammed through to that. I will say this, there's, it's not a new movie. It's been out for a couple of years, but it just showed up on my Netflix called Chief of Station Horrible, absolutely horrible. Just don't even waste your time, okay? I tried to watch it there the other night and at one point I said, did they in the moment, I always wondered about this when you see a horrible movie. The day in the moment, know that it was going south, knowing, know that this was just not working. Anyway, does not get any thumbs, absolutely no thumbs at all. Anything before we go, Massey? That's it. All right, listen, we're so happy to be back in the saddle again when it comes to the state of the union. We will continue to be doing shows, have a wonderful weekend, enjoy all of your soccer on and off the field, keep downloading and reviewing and rating and subscribing and doing all the different things that you do out there smashing that button left and right up and down over there on the old subscribe button over there on spotify and YouTube and all the different platforms that we have out there. Again, another thanks to everybody that has reached out and told us how excited they are that we're back and back in the saddle. We'll talk to you again next week and until then and as always my friends, size the day.
