FOX Sports Soccer Analyst Maurice Edu Talks USNMT & World Cup

Maurice Edu came into studio with Suzy Shuster as a World Cup analyst and a former US international, and the conversation kept circling back to how much this particular tournament means to him. The last time the World Cup came to this country, in 1994, was the moment a kid raised by Nigerian parents fell fully in love with the sport. He never made it to a game, but his dad took him to the activations around the Rose Bowl, and seeing countries celebrate in their own ways opened his eyes. Now he gets to cover the largest World Cup ever, 48 teams, and share it with his own kids.

The roster, announced the day before, was mostly as expected, but Edu walked through the noise. The snub that stands out is Diego Luna, the Real Salt Lake star who had been a major part of the national team for a year and a half with incredible form, a player most assumed was a lock. He flagged Tanner Tessmann as another omission, likely tied to injury. The construction told him something tactical too: with around 10 defenders, including five true center backs, Edu reads it as a plan to play three at the back.

On the surprises, he pointed to Gio Reyna, whose quality is unquestioned but whose club minutes have been scarce, and to number 26, Alejandro Zendejas, who had not featured in recent camps despite starring and sometimes captaining at Club America. Edu expected Zendejas and was glad to see him. As for why Luna was left off, he called it the billion-dollar question, recalling that Pochettino had alluded to players not being physically prepared entering a World Cup year, while stressing it is ultimately a coaching call. He spoke from experience, having been cut from the 2014 team and feeling like the biggest snub, until he learned minutes later that Landon Donovan had been cut too.

Asked what these players are about to feel, Edu got reflective. Wearing the crest, with your name on your back, you represent far more than yourself, he said. You never know if it is your last time in the jersey, and the anthem gives you goosebumps. If he could bottle that feeling and sell it, he joked, he would be a billionaire. Half this roster already has 2022 experience, but he hopes the other 13 seize the moment.

He was happy to revisit the drama that shaped that 2022 cycle, the saga involving Gio Reyna and the Berhalter family, which Suzy compared to a twisted Ted Lasso turn. Edu acknowledged it played out in front of the world, but said he is not concerned now. These are mature young men who have moved past it, both having earned their spots, and he refuses to let an old mistake disrupt the team. Who am I, he asked, to judge two players for something when I made my own mistakes at that age?

On the path forward, Edu kept the focus on the group. The US opens against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, plays Australia in Seattle, then returns to face Turkey, and he hammered that the opener is everything. Then he let himself geek out over France's embarrassment of riches, Spain's teenage star Lamine Yamal, and England's perennial promise, before naming France his pick to win it all, with Mbappé the biggest star. For the breakout name, though, he wants an American, whether it is Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, or a first-timer like Malik Tillman.

Suzy closed by asking which fans are the craziest, and Edu braced for backlash before answering. South American supporters are wild, he said, singling out Colombia and the scenes when Argentina last won. He gave reluctant credit to Mexican fans, who travel incredibly well and now host alongside the US and Canada, and tossed Scotland into the mix. That, he said, is the beauty of it: the fans compete off the pitch to showcase their cultures just as the teams compete on it. Edu, who will call games across all three host nations, could not wait for it.