Alexi Lalas has a lot of confidence in the USMNT.
With a World Cup on home soil to come in 2026, the former defender certainly likes what he sees from Mauricio Pochettino‘s team, which has won five out of six games under the recently-appointed head coach.
The likes of Christian Pulisic, Timothy Weah and Antonee Robinson have all impressed in recent months, as has young star Ricardo Pepi.
While the USMNT will have hopes of going deep into the knockout rounds as hosts of next year’s World Cup, which Lalas believes is more than possible, he was recently posed a different question.
During his State of the Union podcast, the former American soccer star was asked to name the best club team that the US could beat.
Lalas’ answer was bold, and he suggested the USMNT could win against all but three Premier League sides on current form.
“It’s an interesting question,” he began.
“Keep in mind the United States are 16th in the world rankings. I think the USMNT, as we stand today, can beat everybody up to Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
“I think they could beat Chelsea, and everybody else (in the Premier League).”
Lalas then doubled down, suggesting the USMNT could also beat all but two German clubs.
He added: “When it comes to the Bundesliga, I think they could beat everybody but Bayern Munich and (Bayer) Leverkusen.
“Unless we’re talking about the super clubs of a league, I think the US national team in its current form can beat all of them.
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“MLS, I would say most of them on any given day… That’s how good this US team is, and also how the elites of the elite out there, that’s how good they are.
“To quickly answer the question: What’s the best team out there (the US could beat?) It’s Chelsea.”
Lalas’ claim that the US could beat 17 Premier League clubs has caused a stir amongst fans, with many suggesting he’s overestimated the strengths of Pochettino’s side.
“He doesn’t understand how competitive the PL is. US national team would struggle against all PL teams and probably half the Championship teams,” one person said.
“In the last year alone, they’ve lost 5-1 to Colombia, been beaten by Uruguay, Panama and Mexico. But yeah, deal with the PL big guns, no bother,” another said.
“He’s delusional,” a third simply concluded.
Of course, it’s highly unlikely a game between the USMNT and any Premier League club would ever take place, and certainly not in the build-up to next year’s World Cup.
That tournament is the main focus for the Americans, and it’s one Lalas believes they can indeed win.
“There’s a lot of belief but ultimately the judgement of Pochettino is going to come in the summer of 2026,” he said last year.
“We will win a men’s World Cup in the future, whether it’s in 2026 or the next one, it’s going to happen.
“We’re America, this is what we do.”
