Alexi Lalas Has Already Worn Out His Welcome

Yesterday was the most entertaining day of the World Cup when it comes to big names doing big things on the biggest stage. And by that we of course mean Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry openly dismissing Alexi Lalas on Fox's between-games studio set for the high crime of being persistently and unashamedly Alexi Lalas. Sure, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland also combined for seven of the day's 16 goals, which is all well and good if you ignore the fact that they've been doing that sort of thing for their entire careers. They make the extraordinary routine, and have done so routinely enough to make even multiple goals seem drab. But TV requires that people—or as they are often mistakenly termed in the industry, talent—on the same set pretend to get along even if they spend the entire pre-show prep thinking of ways they could murder each other without anyone noticing. That is why, despite the best efforts of the flawless Rebecca Lowe to keep the show both convivial and moving, Zlatan and Henry look at and speak to Lalas as though he is a badly disguised undercover cop. It's not just because of the massive discrepancy between their respective fútbol résumés, although there is that. No, this one can be pretty well chalked up to Alexi Lalas being Alexi Lalas.