2 years, 1 month, and 24 days — that’s how long it took for Cristian Roldan to return to the US men’s national team. Having last featured in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup under Gregg Berhalter, it wasn’t until this year that Mauricio Pochettino called him up during the September window. Since then, the 31-year-old midfielder has retained his spot in the squad, even earning a call-up for the recently concluded October window. Yet, in the eyes of some, Roldan isn’t a player deserving of a place in the USMNT, a sentiment that compelled American soccer icon Alexi Lalas to take a bold stance in defense of the veteran.

Earlier today, the USMNT played its second October friendly game against Australia at DSG Park in Colorado. Before the game, Alexi Lalas took to X to share the starting lineup with a caption saying “World Cup starts in 240 days.” Of course, Cristian Roldan was starting the match, but one particular X user couldn’t stand this fact, only making a critical remark stating: “And Cristian Roldan a player with 0 technical ability is starting.”

This only caught the eye of Lalas, who, even though he took a rather subtle dig at the lineup, couldn’t stand such negative remarks regarding the Seattle Sounders star. Replying to the comment, he said,

“Few things:

1. This is demonstrably wrong and disrespectful.

2. I wish our more talented players had half of Cristian Roldan’s fight and attitude.

3. If Roldan was the same player, but playing in Europe, he’d be seen differently.”

This comment implied that such bias against the Artesia, California native wouldn’t even exist if Roldan were playing outside MLS. However, the discussion only intensified when another X user voiced his disagreement with Alexi Lalas through three sharp pointers.

The netizen argued, “You cannot convince me that there are at least three players better than Roldan on the squad,” adding that despite all his fight, the midfielder has contributed “next to nothing” in his USMNT appearances, before concluding, “He never made it to Europe because he wasn’t good enough or didn’t want to fight for it.”

This again saw Alexi Lalas standing his ground in favor of Roldan, making another analytical claim. “An American playing in Europe is as much about timing, representation, and lineage as it is talent. We should just rent a plane, fill it with American players, fly it to Heathrow, have them juggle the ball on the tarmac, and then fly back home. Instant credibility.”

Boy, is Alexi Lalas pissed over USMNT players getting slammed, especially those who aren’t playing in Europe. And to be fair, quite a valid explanation. After all, it’s all about how good the players are performing in their domestic setup, considering the only goal is to impress Mauricio Pochettino in order to make the 2026 World Cup roster.

It was during the South Korea clash that saw Cristian Roldan make his return on the international stage. The following appearances came against Japan and last weekend’s Ecuador clash. In total, he has played 213 minutes in these four games. And if you are thinking why exactly he is being favored by Pochettino, well, we have plenty of reasons to share.

Cristian Roldan is a crucial chess piece for the USMNT

Having played 40 games and notched two goals and four assists for Seattle Sounders across the MLS regular season campaign, Leagues Cup, and even Club World Cup, we hope there’s no explanation needed about the impact he can have on the team. Despite such numbers, its only natural to see a soccer icon like Alexi Lalas defend the veteran midfielder.

And it’s only logical as well for Mauricio Pochettino to give the 31-year-old opportunities to at least showcase that he has what it takes to make the World Cup roster. Sure, young midfielders like Brendon Aaronson, Aiden Morris, and hopefully Gio Reyna are crucial for the Stars and Stripes, but so is required a balance of veteran stars, and Cristian Roldan is one of them.

Regardless, we would like to know your thoughts in the comments below