'There's no confetti' - Alexi Lalas says winning the Gold Cup should be minimum expectation for Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT

Following the USMNT’s poor showing at the CONCACAF Nations League finals, with losses to both Panama and Canada, questions have been raised about how Mauricio Pochettino's side will perform at the upcoming 2025 Gold Cup.

Former USMNT star Alexi Lalas says winning the tournament should be the minimum expectation.

"I find myself kind of fantasizing about this summer, obviously, where I have a lot of focus on 2026," Lalas said on his State of the Union Podcast. "Trying to imagine how I will, or how I should feel, if the U.S. were to live up to what I say, and to win the Gold Cup... I picture myself saying there's no confetti, there's no music, there's no 'Hey, good job guys," Because this is what we expect you to do. And now that you're finally living up to it, you don't get an attaboy relative to what you have done in here in the past."

The USMNT finished a disappointing fourth in the 2025 Nations League. That marked the first time since 2019 that they had lost consecutive matches to CONCACAF opposition, and the first time they failed to win the Nations League. Meanwhile, Mexico captured their first Nations League title, intensifying regional competition ahead of the Gold Cup.

The USMNT begins their Gold Cup campaign this summer, facing a group that includes Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and Saudi Arabia. The tournament offers Pochettino an opportunity to evaluate players in competitive matches ahead of the 2026 World Cup.