Fox Sports has Alexi Lalas splitting time between the main World Cup studio and on-site coverage this tournament. On Friday, Lalas headed to Seattle to join Rob Stone, Carli Lloyd, and Clint Dempsey for the United States match against Australia, while Rebecca Lowe, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Thierry Henry held things down back at the desk in California.
On Friday, Lowe broke the news to the desk that Lalas had left them. Don’t worry, she assured everyone, he’d be back very soon. Zlatan turned to the camera and told America it was welcome.
Rebecca: “Chaps, Alexi left us”
Zlatan: “Who?
Rebecca: “Alexi will be back, Alexi will be back with us very soon”
Thierry: “Your plan worked, Rebecca”
Rebecca: “Don’t you bring me into this, no chance”
Zlatan: “America, you’re welcome”
lmaooooooooooooooooo
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) June 19, 2026 at 3:42 PM
It was just another moment in what has already been one of the more entertaining subplots of the tournament, namely, Zlatan and Henry’s increasingly visible struggle to pretend they enjoy being in the same room as Alexi Lalas.
To recap, Lalas called James Corden a “full-kit wanker” on live national television on Day One; he picked the USMNT to win the entire World Cup, which Zlatan immediately pushed back on and wouldn’t let go of even after Lowe tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. He suggested that if Erling Haaland had a big tournament, the Norwegian striker might be better than Ibrahimović. At another point, Zlatan noted that only he and Henry are “used to the big stage,” which, with Lalas sitting right there, landed about how you’d expect.
The pièce de résistance came after popstar Lisa performed “Goals.” Zlatan riffed that the U.S. team represents the future on the pitch, and the studio desk represents the present. Without missing a beat, a stone-faced Henry pointed at Lalas and said he is “part of the past.”
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Lowe insisted there was mutual respect among colleagues during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show.
“There is a lot of respect, I can promise you that, between everybody,” she said. “I don’t care what people think they know, they see stuff. It’s not right … everyone loves each other, I promise.”
That may be true, but Zlatan just told an entire country it was welcome for temporarily removing Lalas from their line of sight.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.