Champions League Chaos, Tim Weah’s Dream Night & Should USMNT Stay With the Back 3?

Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast

FOX Sports

Soccer, News, Sports, Sports News

4.4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Champions League delivered absolute madness this week. Ricardo Pepi endured a disappointing outing for PSV, while Weston McKennie’s Juventus clash with Dortmund turned into an eight-goal thriller. Over in Madrid, Tim Weah scored his first goal with his new club Marseille and made history with the first-ever USMNT goal at the Bernabéu. Is Timmy the USMNT’s best player right now? Elsewhere, Yunus Musah faced PSG’s firepower, Liverpool escaped Atletico at Anfield, and Bayern put Chelsea in their place. We also check in on USMNT Abroad, Chris Richards stepping up in Palace’s Carabao Cup win, Josh Sargent on finding his rhythm with the national team, and Quinn Sullivan’s stunner in the U.S. Open Cup. To wrap the show, the guys discuss the USMNT’s back 3 formation, Stu’s Starting XI for the next window, and big-picture questions on Pochettino’s first year with the USMNT. Intro (0:00) UEFA Champions League (6:55) USMNT Abroad: Chris Richards Steps Up (26:52) MLS/U.S. Open Cup (29:56) #AskAlexi: Is the Back 3 Formation to Stay? (33:26) One for the Road: Pochettino’s First Year with USMNT (43:31) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I can't wrap my mind around a U.S. starting 11 right now, or going forward for that matter,
0:06.9	that doesn't find a way to incorporate Tim Wea.
0:10.3	I would actually say all around Kane right now, that's center forward to New York.
0:13.7	What the hell is Stu Holden talking about?
0:16.2	Nookai Bank. He's 18 years old.
0:18.5	He still has no caps.
0:19.7	Hasn't been on the field.
0:20.9	A teenager.
0:36.1	Hello, Sunshine.
0:37.2	I'm Alexi Lalas and welcome.
0:38.8	State of the Union podcast.
0:40.1	We looked at a beautiful game on and off the field through the lens of red, white, and blue colored glasses.
0:44.3	This show, well, we got some UCL action, Big Sam, Small Town Waya, World Cup civics, Virgil to the rescue, Pachatino's Process, Manchester United's Future,
0:56.2	Stu's 11, Daddy Burhalter, and so much more.
1:00.6	But first, joining us all is my friend, my colleague, my guiding light, David Mossier,
1:04.2	a soccer, savant, and a Fox Soccer researcher and writer, extraordinary.
1:08.6	Mossie, how you doing on this? What are we looking at here?
1:10.7	Wednesday, September 17th
1:12.4	in the year 2025. I'm doing well. I don't know if you recall, but a couple of months ago, after I watched
1:18.2	the documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin, I asked you on this podcast to rank these four bands,
1:23.8	the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Led Zeppelin. Tonight, after we're done taping this pod, I am heading to the Hollywood Bowl for The Who concert. Wow, really? All right. Well, I want to know how it is. They've had some interesting dynamics. I mean, it's a rock band, so you got some interesting dynamics anytime within the band.
1:45.5	I don't know if you've been following it over the last year with the drummers and, you know, Townsend and Roger Daltry and all that kind of stuff.
	...

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