Zlatan Ibrahimovic surprises Thierry Henry with another bold move on Fox’s World Cup coverage.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has once again surprised Thierry Henry during Fox’s coverage of the United States vs Australia match. The former Barcelona, AC Milan, and Manchester United striker is working as a commentator for the World Cup in North America and hasn’t held back his usual bold style.
Ibrahimovic has been shining in his new role and seems to enjoy the back-and-forth with former US player Alexi Lalas, who many fans find hard to watch on American TV. US viewers have often complained about Lalas, but now they seem to love seeing Ibrahimovic take him down a notch.
For the US team’s win, Lalas wasn’t in the studio with Henry, Ibrahimovic, and host Rebecca Lowe. Instead, he was in Seattle with Carli Lloyd, Clint Dempsey, and Rob Stone.
At the start of the show, Lowe introduced the football legends and joked, “Chaps, Alexi left us!” referring to Lalas’ absence. Ibrahimovic quickly replied, “Who?” in a cheeky way. When Lowe said Lalas would return, Henry joked, “Your plan worked,” hinting she might have been behind his move to a different location. Lowe denied it, but Ibrahimovic looked at the camera and said, “America, you’re welcome!” with a grin.
Earlier this week, Ibrahimovic clashed with former US captain Landon Donovan who called France “arrogant” and “casual” in their 3-1 win over Senegal. Henry disagreed, saying, “I just don’t get it.” When Lalas echoed Donovan’s words but actually praised France, Ibrahimovic stole the spotlight with a strong response: “It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence. Ignorant people call it arrogance, smart people call it confidence.”
Ibrahimovic and Henry have playfully teased Lalas several times on air, and Lalas has also had some tough moments with fans on social media. One fan criticized him for calling the game “soccer” instead of “football,” saying, “Alexi, we need to talk. Even US players say ‘football’ out of respect overseas.”
But Lalas stood his ground, replying, “Nope, that’s not going to happen. I call it soccer, and I’m proud of it. I won’t apologize. Changing just to seem more authentic is cringe and makes you look fake.”