World Cup Q&A: our US soccer team answers your questions on stadiums, Lalas, hydration breaks and more – live

As we near the end of the group stage, writers from our newly expanded US soccer team Alexander Abnos, Pablo Maurer and Jeff Rueter are now online answering your World Cup questions

Post yours below the line now

Jan Olsson asks: Is Alexi Lalas actually a character comedian?

Pablo: It’s been fascinating to watch the discourse around Lalas, which has grown more and more hyperbolic by the day. He is by all accounts a staple in the world of American soccer commentary in no small part because of the vibe you’re talking about - and you’re not wrong, many people think he’s doing a bit. There’s a little bit of that going on, and Alexi is certainly aware of the sometimes intensely negative reaction he drives, and his employer is, too. To Fox, he keeps people talking, and that’s enough. I actually haven’t found him bad to watch this summer.

I think Zlatan is the dud at the desk, but that’s all subjective. In the States, we also have the option of just turning Fox off and watching matches on Telemundo, in Spanish. Just saying.

Jeff: In the sense that it has many homes these days, sure. I did have some concerns about Tuchel’s squad, but maybe not the ones most people have voiced most loudly. Adam Wharton’s ball progression and positional savviness seemed like an obvious boon for the team as they tried to control games and find seams in and beyond the opposing defence. Right now, this team is struggling to create those “big” chances on which Harry Kane feasts, and their speculative shooting against Ghana showed that an organised opponent might give them fits.

Then again, some of the other pre-tournament favourites have already wobbled. My initial bracket had England out in the QF against Ecuador, when I assumed this tournament’s tactical zeitgeist would skew more defensive given the heat. With how expansive it already appears, I have England to the semi-final, but falling to whomever comes out of that possible Argentina v Portugal quarter-final.

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