We took it all. We brought them to our land. An endless night.
Ember hot and icy gold. The rage of the earth. We made this curse. Carved it in the blood on our backs. We did not see.
We could not, but she did. And in the end, what will I become? Senua's Saga. Hellblade II.
Play it now with Game Pass. It's insane. People all love that.
It's great. Brian, I'm smart. I stand next to Alexi, so I actually look good. What color is that, Stu?
It's like a reddish salmon, I guess we could go with it. You had a little rose in there. But you matched Alexi's tie.
Yeah. I mean, I always do the pink tie and everything, Stu. Stu loves his tight pants and his cool guy tennis shoe look that everybody does.
I'm an old school, actual dress shoes and stuff like that. Fitting pants, but not the... You look good, buddy. Your pants at times are almost like shorts. So let me ask you, as a soccer player, now that you're more of an adolescent player, did you lose quad size?
I lost a little bit of quad size, but the legs have remained... When I was growing up, my father would call me Nubs. That was his nickname for me and stood for No Upper Body Strength. Is that true? That's true.
100% true. And still to this day, whenever I come around the corner, hey, Nubs, whatever. But I made up for it in terms of the power in lower body.
And that's maintained. I got a good story quickly. We were in New York covering a game, US Men's National Team were playing it at MetLife. And Lexi and I came in a day early and I said, hey, one of my buddies here is a trainer. Let's go do a workout. So we quickly go to this workout.
I mean, this guy was throwing kettlebells and ropes and dumbbells, squats, all this stuff he'd never done before. The next day, he couldn't even get off the toilet. He texted me, he goes, I'm stuck, Lexi. He's like, I've never felt so sore in my life.
He goes, I don't live weight. You were sore for a week. It was brutal. It was brutal. But I couldn't let it go. I couldn't be a wuss about it.
And so I went and did it. But it was brutal. You're looking, though, at two former athletes who are bionic at this point. We have both had knee replacements and we are better for it.
I don't want to speak for you, but we are better for it. Can you run still? I can now, yeah. At 38, I've had a knee replacement. I think I was the youngest patient my doctor had.
Well, that's what beats you up. You did have a injury still. I had four ACLs. I had fractured my left knee. I've had 14 knee surgeries, including now the replacement. And you have one new knee? Yeah, I got one new knee and it's fine. Just wear and tear? Just wear and tear. Was it constant pain?
Yeah, I wish I had done it sooner. And you start to compensate and do all that. And they get you right up. I know people that have had this are nodding their heads.
They get you right up and going and everything. And did you want to be coddled? I wanted a couple days, maybe. But my wife and kids, there was none of that.
It was pop another pill and off you go. All right, so there's two tournaments coming up this summer. Are you, by the way, are you going to the event? Are you going to go to Europe?
Stu, do your things, Stu. I will be in Los Angeles in the studio, but Stu Holden, my friend, is going to get some frequent flyers. We start the way for Euro on June 14th and that's going to kick off our coverage. We've got all our commentators on site over in Germany.
Because you don't really need them. They show that during the pandemic. I prefer the commentators there. But do you notice that most people didn't know that you guys weren't there?
Yeah, and that's the thing, actually. Sometimes you do some different games not at stadiums. But big events, we're in a stadium and I'm going to be at every game. So here's my schedule.
It's Lexi loves me reciting. I'm starting June 20th in Atlanta for Argentina against Canada to kick us off. I go to Houston, Dallas, Dallas to New York, New York to Atlanta, Atlanta to Miami, Miami to Kansas City, Kansas City, Phoenix, Phoenix to Vegas, Vegas to Charlotte, Charlotte to New York, New York to Miami. Wow, and those are two cups combined. That's only Copa, what I'll be doing at that. But I'll be in stadium and this is Argentina, it's Brazil, it's Messi, it's the United States. My first U.S. game is against Bolivia in Dallas and then the U.S. play in Atlanta after that. But it's another summer of soccer.
Summer of soccer, man. And like we said, from the moment you get up until the moment you go to sleep, and hopefully you stay up late, we got you covered. So you get your breakfast and your lunch, maybe a little bit of liner when it comes to the European Championships, which are happening over in Germany, which we're broadcasting.
And then we're going to segue right into the Copa America, which is happening right here in the United States, into your afternoon, your happy hour, and then obviously into the evening and dinner. So you picked the right network. Yeah.
I mean, Fox. Absolutely. Were you hesitant at all coming over? So I worked at ESPN for a number of years, and look, it was wonderful, but it's a very, very different type of environment. I wasn't hesitant in that they showed you the commitment to the sport. They bought the rights to the World Cup, and so I wanted to be where the World Cup is and has been now for multiple cycles. And who knows, maybe in the future we'll continue to be.
And obviously 2026 is a big part of the conversation that's going on. The people were just incredible. I mean, I'm very proud of the work that I've done before, but what we have done in terms of propelling the game, if I can say so, I have incredible pride. All the men and women behind the camera that have made us look good, believe me, it takes a village when it comes to what we're doing. But it's a fun place to be when it comes to soccer, especially when we do these big tournaments.
Isn't that the Eric Shanks who runs the place? What do I need to make you happier? Because then if you're happier, you're going to be better and feel supported. Absolutely. Rather than sit in judgment.
That's pretty much the philosophy of Fox News, too. Yeah, well, there are a lot of happy people there, and a lot of people that work their asses off each and every time to put this together. And I think this summer is going to be really interesting. And like I said, it's a precedent-setting type of thing where you have two tournaments happening at the same time, overlapping on the same network.
So we got you covered from morning till night. You know, what's interesting for me is you could break down any game. I could put a game in front of you guys. You could tell me exactly what's happening, what lineup works, and the adjustments you'd make.
Right or wrong, it would be an educated guess. But to know the names and the style of play. That's more my job as a commentator in games. And I tell you, I do feel it is one of our greatest responsibilities to get somebody's name right.
I mean, it sounds easy, right? But it's very challenging sometimes when you're dealing with, you know, let's talk about some of the Middle Eastern countries and the Korean Times team at times is very difficult. I think there's six or seven players with the last name Kim. So you have to say their full name every single time to be able to distinguish the different players. And it's our job to get that right because these are the players that have earned that right to be on that stage. But how do you do it?
With headshots? Or do you do it by watching them practice? Watching games. Yeah, you watch a lot of games and you become familiar. The biggest grace saver for a commentator is the number on the back of the jersey. And it's my biggest pet peeve when a team will have a jersey with a number that is very similar to the back of the jersey and you're kind of trying to squint and make sure that you have the right guy because misidentifying a player is a big part of it, especially if it's a big moment.
And it's our job to really pay it off for them. Just so people at home understand, too, a lot of people, non-soccer players, are now watching, which I never thought would happen in my lifetime. Usually soccer players try to get them passionate about being viewers.
I never thought that just sports fans who never touched a soccer ball are now so into it. But it starts June 14th, right? Friday, June 14th, they have on Fox Sports for the UEFA Cup. Yep.
All right. The Euros. Germany against Scotland. Germany against Scotland.
We start that. And then days later, the Copa America, which is happening here in the United States, starts. So when you're over there watching the Euros, you want big stars, you got them. Cristiano Ronaldo with Portugal. Kylian Mbappe with France. Who just changed clubs, right? Who just changed that. Now he's going to Real Madrid.
25 years old. Yeah, Harry Kane and Jubel Ingham when it comes to England. Is it coming home for England? Is this the final dance when it comes to Cristiano with this Portugal team?
Or is he looking also to 2026? Can I just stop you there? Yeah. He wasn't playing.
Didn't he have a coach bench him? Yeah. And then he played the last game and then he goes over to Saudi Arabia. Yeah. What is the last World Cup?
Do you know the answer to that? What is left of his game? I still think he can be used in a way that is beneficial. I know he does, but it's like any big-time player that does not want to stop. I don't think he necessarily has to stop, but that dynamic is going to be really interesting.
They have a new coach and how you navigate that. And this is a huge ego. This is arguably one of the greatest players. Not arguably. He is one of the greatest players ever to play the game. Arguably the greatest player of the game. But he's at a point where if he is not your best option up top, you got to go and tell Cristiano Ronaldo, no, you're not playing, and then deal with the possible backlash that's coming. Is there a chance that he would play, instead of being the striker highest up, play back a little and give a better, somebody who's more lethal? It's a good question and actually is a question that's very prevalent often with aging stars that maybe don't have the same physical capacity that they had when they were younger in their career, but still mentally very tuned in, still have that fine art of being able to finish and find a way. Argentina did it better than anybody with Messi in the World Cup in 2022. Everyone was like, oh, you can't defend in this way and you need to do this.
And they just said, hey, Messi, you hang out. He walks about 75% of the game. He doesn't run. But when the ball is there in the dangerous position, this guy sprints, he boom, gets on the end of it and finishes the ball in the back of the net. And they found a way to defend with basically 10 guys and said, you don't have to do it.
We don't need you to do that. The challenge for Ronaldo is there's a little bit more ego there than there is with Messi. And he was pushing back with his coach and still feels he could do, because you look at the guy, he looks like he's 21 years old.
You know what I mean? He's shredded. He's one of the best athletes of all time. But yet if they can find a way to not have to ask him to do all that stuff, but still have the guys around him, which they do, they have an amazing team. He scored 10 goals in qualifying still for Portugal. And he lit it up in Saudi Arabia. I mean, I can say what you want about Saudi Arabia in terms of the level and all that kind of stuff, but he's still doing the most difficult thing to do in the game, which is put the ball in the back of the net.
Right, and with players that aren't close to his level. Yeah. Which can get frustrating.
It can get frustrating. And I guess I saw some video of people getting in fights with him and things like that. Sounds about right for him, yeah. All right, so I didn't mean to stop you.
No. So then we segue right into later on in the day when we're talking about Copa America and this tournament that is happening here. And you got your Messi right in his backyard playing with Argentina, by the way, the defending champs when it comes to Copa America. And the first time we were seeing him in a competitive tournament since winning the World Cup.
And checking that box. You got Brazil with Vinnie Jr. and everything that's going on there. And then of course you have the US team, which we can talk about forever, but a really important summer for Greg Berhall to the coach. And this team that is now kind of matured in front of our eyes, but is I think desperate and really needs a kind of seminal moment to point to, especially relative to doing well in 2026. And this summer they're gonna be up against it because this is about winning a men's World Cup ultimately. In order to do that, you have to be competitive and beat the best in the world in the leads in the world and teams that people say are better than you.
And this team in its current form, as deep as it is and as talented as it is, has yet to do that. I think when you played, I think I did cover you winning the Copa America. We played in the Copa America in 1995. We went to the semi-finals. That was the semi-finals? This is the fourth time the US team has been involved in Copa America.
And the second time we're hosting it. We've been to the semi-finals twice. So people ask me, can you win Copa America this summer? This US team absolutely can win Copa America this summer. They're going to need a lot to go right. But this is the type of raised expectations that we need. You need to believe after this summer that this team is worth your time, whether you're into soccer or not, because 2026 is coming in a couple of years and it's going to be unlike anything it's ever seen. It's going to be wonderful. And you want to have a team that you believe can compete and can win in 2026.
Let me just piggyback off of him quickly because we had this conversation earlier. American sports fans, right? We're used to seeing and feeling excellence. We're the best in football in the world. You know, basketball, basketball, like we're used to being the best of the best. On the women's side, we are the best. Well, we weren't those last one. We lost to Spain, but we haven't had a moment where we have watched our men's team compete against the Brazil's and Argentina's and England's and said, hey, we can be on that level.
That's what I want to be inspired by this summer and know that we're further along that path. You've covered soccer for a long time. You know that. You haven't really felt that.
Maybe if we beat Brazil and we beat Argentina and we win the Copa America, people will start thinking about 26 in a different way. Right, when we come back, just we'll talk a little bit more about the American team and also the emergence of Carl Lloyd as a broadcaster. Bummer. Fantastic, right? Are you? Jersey.
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That's Angie, your trusted ally in home services. We took it all. We brought them to our last.
An endless night, amber hot and icy cold. The rage of the earth. We made this curse. Carved it in the blood on our backs. We did not see.
We could not, but she did. And in the end... What will I become? Senua's Saga, Hellblade II. Play it now with Game Pass. Stu Holden's here. And Alexi Laus is here. They're working together to tell us about two cups that are coming to America. The UEFA Cup, the Europeans are gonna fight it out. And the Copa Cup, right?
So we're gonna talk about what's gonna be happening here. We left off with America. First off, could you give me the top five teams in Europe to look for? Give me the top five teams, Stu. Yeah, so Germany are the hosts of this tournament. They are the World Cup champions from 2014. Then the last two World Cups, they go out in the group stage.
But I think there's a belief that this team could do something real being at home. France are one of my favorite teams to watch. They got to the final in 22. They won the World Cup 2018. They've got one of the best players in the world.
And Mbappe. England. My analogy for the English is like the Dallas Cowboys. Every single year you come into the season, they've got stars. You're thinking this team's gonna win it.
It's a soap opera. And then they crash out in glorious fashion. And so they're fun to watch for that. But I actually do think they have a real chance to win this tournament. And then Portugal is kind of my dark horse team. With Ronaldo, I know it's hard to say, but they've got super talented stack.
Betting odds, they're about plus 800. So it shows you they're not one of the top, top favorites. But they're a team that I think really could win this tournament.
And guys, okay, go ahead. Just when it comes to England, because... He loves the English. England is blockbuster in that everybody wants to watch them. But as many people watch them to see them lose, it's to see them win. So they are kind of like Dallas Cowboys.
They are insufferable on and off the field. But to his point, they are stacked right now. And they are desperate for the opportunity to win a cup, to bring it home. I don't know if it's coming home, but they certainly want it to come home.
And that's going to be a huge story that we're following. So here in our hemisphere, we come in, the favorite to win would be? So you have Argentina with Messi, I think is easy money when it comes to... Reigning World Champions. Reigning World Champions, and the reigning Copa America champions. So Argentina and Brazil would be your upper echelon. Then you get into your Colombias and your Uruguays.
And I would even put the US there in that second tier. The US certainly can win this tournament. I think it's going to be really one of the big stories, obviously, as Messi as he always is. But now in his backyard, now in his neighborhood playing with Inter Miami, and it's the first time that we are seeing him since they won the World Cup, in terms of a competitive environment and a competitive tournament. And is it a prelude to 2026, when again, in his backyard, he could be defending his World Cup.
So it's pretty amazing times. Because Canada, Mexico, and the US, I'm sharing the whole thing. And you guys are going to be covering it all on Fox Sports 1, and the network. Now, for the American team, how many players off the top of your head do you know are playing competitively overseas? It's the majority of the roster now. So every single cycle, there's less and less MLS players that are a part of that. Now, it's not to say that when we're talking about players that are playing in Europe in the top leagues, a lot of them started their career here in the United States, and then they make the jump where the level is better. Look, I mean, the Premier League, La Liga, in Spain, the German League, these are superior leagues to the United States right now, and that's why these players are over there and playing, and you can see their levels are raised as well. It's also raised the level of our team that these guys are playing in the biggest games now in the biggest leagues and the biggest clubs. You name a league, we've probably got an American guy playing over there, and it's an exciting time for the team. But the thing is, these guys have been doing it for their clubs. It's time for them now to step up and do it with the national team. So Polisic, he seems to have done really well in Italy.
Yeah. It seems to have gotten people's respect. Do you think at the point from which you've seen from the practices and some friendlies where they're looking to make the next step? Yeah, so when it comes to Christian Polisic, he has grown up in front of our eyes, and he is absolutely a man now. And I love the fact that he has done so well in Italy. I love the fact that he's staying healthy.
I'm going to knock on wood because that's always something we have to be concerned about. But now, as not just a player, but a leader and the expectations on his shoulders, he doesn't have to do everything himself because he has a wonderful supporting cast, but he does need to be that star. I know he's kind of a reluctant personality, and he's not over the top or anything like that, but he performs on the field. And if he takes what he is doing now and has done in Italy at AC Milan and he's able to translate that to this national team, that's good things going forward. And like I said, a lot of other good players, Tyler Adams, Weston McKinney, who's also playing over in Italy, Gio Reyna, who I know a lot of people that maybe don't know a whole lot about soccer, heard about the story and the drama with his parents and all this kind of stuff.
But he is an incredible talent, still relatively young, but he's got to step up, too. And this has to be your favorite interview so far. Oh, my God, this is the best. Thank you very much. This is the best. You know we love you. I wish I didn't have to ask you to say that.
I wish that it came out naturally. Alexi Lawin's still holding. Check out the Fox Sports lineup. Too great. You know what you're doing this summer. You're watching Soccer on Fox, right? Yeah.
