Pepi Powers PSV, MLS Cup Playoffs Begin, and no captain’s armband for Pulisic?

Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast

FOX Sports

Soccer, News, Sports, Sports News

4.4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Alexi Lalas and David Mosse start in the UEFA Champions League, where Ricardo Pepi made instant impact — scoring and assisting off the bench as PSV dismantled Napoli 6–2. Would you start him over Folarin Balogun? Bayer Leverkusen suffered a 7–2 defeat against PSG without Malik Tillman, and Arsenal cruised 4–0 past Atlético Madrid in a tough outing without Johnny Cardoso. On Wednesday, Weston McKennie battled hard but couldn’t stop Real Madrid’s dominance ahead of the first El Clásico of the season. And finally, Tim Weah & top of the table Marseille fell to Sporting Lisbon. Back stateside, the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs kick off with a loaded best-of-three first round. We’ll tell you who’s hot, who’s not, and who could lift the Cup. Plus, #AskAlexi returns with your fan questions including a heated plea for Christian Pulisic to NOT wear the armband for the USMNT. Tune in and and smash that YouTube & Spotify subscribe button! Intro - (0:00)USMNT in UCL - Pepi is BACK BABY (:)MLS Cup Playoff Preview - (:)Best Superstar to add to USMNT: Harry Kane? - (:)Should Pulisic get the captain's armband next summer? - (:)2031 FIFA Women's World Cup heads to CONCACAF - (:) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I don't think that Christian Polisic is the captain that this team needs or that this team wants.
0:08.5	The problem is who else is there?
0:11.2	Weston McKinney, I think he's a wonderful player, and I think he will go down as one of the great American players.
0:16.7	But he can't hold a candle to the Tad Ramos.
0:19.0	I'm sorry.
0:20.2	It's not even close. You think Johnny makes it to the World Cup? No. I'm sorry. I'm not even close.
0:21.6	You think Johnny makes it to the World Cup?
0:23.0	No, I think it's trending against him.
0:44.1	Hello, Sunshine. I'm Alexi Lawless, and welcome to the State of the Union podcast.
0:49.0	We look at the beautiful game on and off the field with the lens of red, white, and blue colored glasses.
1:12.1	This show will be talking, ooh, Champions League baby, peppy, desks. M playoffs are upon us. A U.S. men's national team wild card player. Women's World Cup. Oh yeah, baby. It's coming. Gacy, Redford, Scorsese, Polic's captaincy, and so much more. But first joining me as always my friend, my colleague, my guiding lights, David Mossie, a soccer savant and a Fox Soccer researcher and writer.
1:17.5	Extraordinary, Mossie, how are you doing on this? What are we looking at? Wednesday, October 22nd in the year 2025.
1:28.3	I'm doing well. Welcome back. Thank you. And thank you to you and Stu in particular for coming in on short notice and filling in for me on Monday. I appreciate that. I listened to the show and, you know, while the egotistical and narcissistic part of me
1:37.2	doesn't necessarily always love to, you know, to have that streaming through my ears and the Wally Pipness of it all.
1:46.1	I thought you guys did a great job.
1:47.5	I knew you were going to.
1:48.7	But I was really actually taken and interested in what you guys were talking about.
1:53.1	Don't take my surprise as a comment on either one of you individually or collectively when you're
1:58.0	here.
1:58.3	But that's just a way of me saying thank you.
2:01.0	And I thought you guys did a wonderful job on Monday.
2:02.8	I appreciate that.
	...

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