Alexi Lalas was just one of many former USMNT players who did not hold back his criticism of the Stars and Stripes' embarrassing performances against Panama and Canada.
The U.S. men's national team came into the March international break looking to win its first trophy under Mauricio Pochettino. The current USMNT squad, often heralded as the "golden generation" of American soccer players, had its sights set on lifting its fourth straight Concacaf Nations Cup.
Then, they suffered a shocking 0–1 defeat to Panama in the semifinals and a 2–1 defeat to Canada just three days later in the third place match. From Pochettino's perplexing substitutions to the USMNT's lifeless attack, the Stars and Stripes drew plenty of criticism from Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Lalas.
“I cannot tell you the amount of people that after the first loss in this Nations League, to Panama, came up to me and said: ‘Do you they care?’ Talking about the players. Does this team even care?" said Lalas following the USMNT's defeat the Reds.
"And many people were saying: ‘I don’t think they care,'" he continued. "What we saw against Canada, did absolutely nothing to dispel that. That is a problem. That is a problem for the players, that is a problem for Mauricio Pochettino, that is a problem for this national team."
