USA legend Alexi Lalas has left World Cup viewers stunned after calling Fox colleague James Corden a ‘w****r’ live on TV.
Lalas, who played 96 times for his country, is one of the network’s main analysts for the tournament, but he could find himself in hot water on just the second day following a remarkable faux pas.
During the build-up to the day’s first game between Canada and Bosnia, main Fox host Rebecca Lowe steered the crew towards a promo for Corden’s new late-night World Cup show After Hours.
‘Can we talk about James Corden for a second?’ she asked the panel, which comprised Lalas and two soccer legends, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Lalas was the first to chime in, but it’s fair to say nobody expected the comment he then produced in front of millions of TV viewers.
‘Oh! What do you guys call them?’ Lalas began, before adding: ‘Full kit w****r right?’
Alexi Lalas called James Corden a “wanker” on live TV and the entire panel was stunned
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Alexi Lalas, right, stopped the Fox broadcast in its track with a shocking slur at James Corden
Lead host Rebecca Lowe and analyst Thierry Henry couldn’t believe what Lalas had said
All three of his colleagues were immediately stunned by the comment, with Henry staring down the camera in shock.
Lowe, sensing the need to steer the conversation back to normality, then replied: ‘Okay… lucky we’re on American television, because the W word on British TV…’
The host, who also fronts NBC’s Premier League coverage in the US, is correct that foul language is more accepted on American shores. The clip quickly went viral on social media across the globe.
Lalas’s comment referenced a derogatory British slang phrase that refers to someone who dons a full kit despite not playing in a match.
In a segment on the first episode of the show on Thursday night, Corden appeared in a full USA training kit for a visit to the team’s training base ahead of the World Cup.
It is not yet clear exactly how many viewers were watching the faux pas live, but Fox’s day-one coverage of the tournament at a similar time hit a peak of 6.3million viewers.
Corden appeared in a full USA training kit in a segment on the first episode of his Fox show
Corden, above with his wife Julia Carey, is hosting a late-night World Cup talk show on Fox
The remarkable viewing figures from the opening game – a 2-0 Mexico win over South Africa – set a new record for the most-watched men’s opening match and non-USMNT group stage telecast in history.
Meanwhile, it is not the first time Lalas has courted controversy, with the analyst regularly dividing fans with his strong opinions.
Perhaps the most controversial moment came during the last World Cup in Qatar, when he donned a ‘thobe’ – the traditional loose-fitting robe worn by men in the Arab world – during a live TV segment.
He has also been a regular critic of the US men’s national team, both in and out of major tournaments.
Lalas (top, third left) is an icon of the US men’s national team and played 96 times for his nation
Lalas is the USMNT expert on the star-studded panel of Fox analysts during the World Cup
Corden, meanwhile, has not been free of criticism himself, especially after a 2022 incident in New York that resulted in him being banned from a celebrity hotspot restaurant in Manhattan.
The owner of restaurant Balthazar, Keith McNally, publicly called Corden ‘the most abusive customer’ to ever dine there, leading to a groveling apology from the Briton on his then-CBS talk show The Late Late Show. The host has since been welcomed back.
Corden, 47, ended his time on the show – and in America – in 2023, but has returned this summer to front his new late-night Fox show.
The first episode, which aired after the South Korea-Czechia game on Thursday, had Mila Kunis as its first guest – who was coincidentally also the first ever guest on Corden’s CBS show back in 2015.
