American pride is at a peak right now, you gotta love it.
That’s usually the case when we have an international sports tournament going on, and things are no different here at the beginning of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Just ask FOX Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas, who has an incredible wave of patriotism rolling through his body right now.
In the 1994 World Cup, Lalas did his thing as a player for the United States, with that tournament also taking place here in the homeland. And it doesn’t matter if you’re talking about then or talking about now, Lalas has always had an incredible amount of American pride.
In the opening game of the World Cup for the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT), the red, white and blue absolutely destroyed Paraguay, 4-1, and not many people were happier about it than Lalas. But the game itself wasn’t the only thing that had Lalas’ patriotism flowing. (RELATED: ‘We Stand Up And Salute’: Jim Edmonds Says He Would’ve Had Zero Tolerance For Player Protests Against National Anthem)
Prior to the match Friday night, while the national anthem was being performed, Lalas ended up getting quite emotional and shed a few tears because he was so moved.
The moment was revealed by Lalas’ FOX colleague and French soccer legend Thierry Henry during a post-game broadcast, with Henry saying that he was touched by how emotional Lalas got.
“This man over there, as I looked at him (during) the National Anthem,” said Henry, pointing at Lalas. “How you cried, and how you were passionate about singing the National Anthem … then I realized how important it was for you guys and how important it is for you. It was actually outstanding. I will always remember that.”
Zlatan Ibrahimović, a soccer icon out of Sweden, repeated the sentiments from Henry.
“You made me emotional,” said Ibrahimović. “That doesn’t happen every day.”
WATCH:
One moment during the @USMNT‘s opener yesterday made both Thierry Henry and @Ibra_official emotional pic.twitter.com/BNH8naWQnP
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 13, 2026
The United States of America … best country in the world, baby.