What Has the World Come To?

USMNT Burner Week Recap/Preview - 6/17/25 - Vol. 11

Jun 17, 2025

After a one week hiatus, WE ARE BACK BABY!

Looking at you, Wonder Boy

On Alexi Lalas (unfortunately again):

We’re sure by now that you, our gorgeous readers, have heard the newest round of garbage that has been thrust into the mainstream soccer media by none other than former national team defender Alexi Lalas.

His overtly right-wing perspective on life is nothing new, but yet he has found a way to take his agenda and push it to another level. For those who are not aware of what he said regarding diversity in the American soccer landscape, I’ll sum it up for you: diversity is what is ultimately holding the American soccer program back, and countries with a more ‘homogenous’ nature and culture are what should be considered the benchmark.

We should not be giving this guy a platform, even if in our humble substack, but it’s important to understand that what he said is unequivocally false in every aspect. On the contrary, Alexi, the ‘melting pot fallacy’ is ultimately what makes successful soccer teams successful on the international stage, and it should go without saying that it is by a considerable distance, our country’s biggest strength.

France and their 2018 World Cup winning roster were almost ENTIRELY of immigrants and the children of immigrants. Where would Germany and their 2014 roster be without the influence of Turkish, Polish and central European players? Do the Spanish regions of Catalonia, Basque, Aragon and Galicia all share the same ‘homogenous’ socio-political outlook and reflect that in their soccer? Quite the contrary believe it or not!

Our country wouldn’t even have soccer for it not have come from Scottish immigrants. We wouldn’t have progressed past the footballing bronze age had it not been for German, South American, African, Asian, and other continental European immigrants. It’s honestly quite embarrassing being affiliated with the same fandom as someone like Lalas, and it’s honestly even more embarrassing that he is the voice that is heard externally when people think of American soccer.

What we’ve said isn’t groundbreaking or novel, but Alexi Lalas is not the voice of the American soccer fan.

Curtains Close on the Weekend Past

Bryan Okoh has joined FC Lausanne Sport 🇨🇭 from Red Bull Salzburg.
Josh Wynder scored for Benfica 🇵🇹 in a closed door friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in preparation for the Club World Cup.
Michael Boamah and Benji Michel both scored as HJK 🇫🇮ran out 4-0 winners against Oulu.

The Rumor Mill

Taishi Brandon Nozawa is looking likely to join Royal Antwerp 🇧🇪 from FC Tokyo. The Japanese-American goalkeeper pipeline to Belgium is well and truly back (shoutout Daniel Schmidt & Zion Suzuki)
Columbus Crew have rejected an offer from Toulouse 🇫🇷 for 24 year old left back Max Arfsten
Atletico Madrid 🇪🇸 are leading Tottenham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in the race for Johnny’s signature. The fee is likely to be around €30 million, although nothing has been agreed yet.
Mathis Albert has turned his focus toward staying with Borussia Dortmund 🇩🇪, signing a new contract with the club despite ‘concrete interest’ from juggernauts Barcelona and Manchester City.
Josh Sargent has been linked with a €20 million move away from Norwich to newly promoted Leeds United 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿.
Matt Turner is closing in on a €8 million move to Lyon 🇫🇷 from Nottingham Forest.
Yunus Musah is closing in on a move to Serie A champions Napoli 🇮🇹 from AC Milan.

Lore Moment of the Week

This week, burner staff was lucky enough to catch up with American-Spanish-French-Colombian quad-nat Xanti Oyharcabal of Athletic Bilbao! Here’s how the conversation went:

Burner: Hey, Xanti! Thanks for taking the time and sharing a bit about yourself with us!

Oyharcabal: Hello, absolutely! So, my dad was born and raised in San Francisco although my grandfather is actually Basque from Iparralde (he is from the French Basque country) and my grandmother is from Aragon in Spain. My dad grew up and played basketball at a very good level (Stanford collegiately). My mom is Colombian from Bogota. She grew up over there and then went to work in the US where she met my father. After they met, they decided to come to France where they live now and where I grew up.

Burner: How would you describe your style of play? What are your main strengths as a footballer?

Oyharcabal: I am a very technical player; I’m good at receiving the ball through the middle and turning to drive forward. I am also dangerous around the area - I’ve scored a good amount of goals this year. This year I have played attacking midfielder, central midfielder and right wing, but my main position is attacking midfielder.

Burner: You’ve played for both of the big clubs in the Basque region. Describe that dynamic and what’s the difference between the two clubs as a player?

Oyharcabal: This is my first year at Athletic Bilbao, and it has been probably my best season individually and collectively. We won the league (Liga Nacional Juvenil - U19B of Athletic) and the coaching, teammates, facilities and style of play are all top level. The club puts a lot of work into the youth teams. Real Sociedad also does a really good job with the youth teams, but I think Athletic is at a level above.

Burner: Have you had any discussions about representing the US, France, Spain or Colombia?

Oyharcabal: It is a dream to represent one of my nationalities at an international level. I feel the soccer level in the US has progressed enormously in the last few years. It would be an honor for me to represent the US national teams. I’ve not received any call ups yet.

Burner: What are your plans for the off-season?

Oyharcabal: My biggest goal for the off season is to gain some muscle and come back ready for the physicality of next season.

Burner: What are you looking to achieve next season?

Oyharcabal: Next season I will play entirely in the Division de Honor Juvenil which is the highest level in Spain in the U19 age group. I have played a couple games at this level this year and in the U19 Copa del Rey. We also have the UEFA Youth League which is a very important competition for myself and the club. Hopefully, we can win as many trophies as possible.

Burner: Finally, let’s get to some fun questions. How do you like to spend your down time?

Oyharcabal: I enjoy playing basketball with my dad and spending time with my friends!

Burner: What is your favorite food specific to the Basque region?

Oyharcabal: I’m a big fan of a dish called ‘chuleton’*

*chuleton is similar to a massive rib steak, typically from a fattened-up older cow

Massive thank you to Xanti for taking the time to answer some of our questions! If you want to keep up with Xanti, give him a follow on Instagram!

Xanti is now officially a part of our lore, and there is a big youth national team prospect who will be sharing a little bit about himself here next week, so subscribe NOW so you can be the first to hear from these American Abroad prospects or leave a comment with any kind of questions you want us to ask.

Burner staff is looking to continue this as a content segment moving forward and already have another exciting prospect for next week’s lore moment!

Red Lights, Stop Signs, I Still See Your Face in the White Cars

One canon event in every man’s life is sitting around a table drunkenly naming random sports players. Trying to one up your friends as you take turn yelling random player names. This is a burner favorite but we often do this with forgotten USYNT players.