The FOX Sports analyst joins Mic'd Up to discuss changes needed for MLS, Pulisic's' game, Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT
One thing Stu Holden does exceptionally well is break down complex soccer narratives with ease, both on and off the pitch. Whether he's explaining a new MLS rule or dissecting a controversial U.S. call during the 2022 World Cup, the Fox Sports analyst makes it feel effortless.
That comfort has elevated the former U.S. men’s national team midfielder to the upper echelon of soccer broadcasting. From early stints with NBC Sports to becoming Fox Sports' lead match analyst, Holden’s rise has been defined by an ability many athletes avoid: engaging with the media.
“I was always the teammate, the guy on the team, that would stand up in front of the media, win or lose. I liked being on camera,” Holden told GOAL, before jokingly adding, “There’s obviously a vanity element there.”
Holden’s willingness to face tough questions as a player gave him valuable reps and visibility, skills that would prove pivotal when injuries derailed his promising career. A playmaking midfielder who thrived in physical duels, Holden stood out in the Premier League, helping Bolton Wanderers to a stunning seventh-place finish and winning the club’s Player of the Year award in 2011.
But that standout campaign was cut short after a brutal tackle from Jonny Evans required 26 stitches. The physical toll mounted, culminating in a devastating ACL tear during the 2013 Gold Cup final – a bittersweet 1-0 U.S. win over Panama. Moments after celebrating on crutches, Holden faced a surprising question from legendary broadcaster Shaw Brown:
“Hey, have you thought about TV?”
Holden, raw with emotion, replied, “I just tore my ACL 30 minutes ago. Like, what are we doing here?”
Still, he ultimately gave it a shot, viewing broadcasting as a healthy distraction during rehab. As his return to the pitch faced setback after setback, Holden leaned deeper into his second act, saying he began "finding a confidence in myself. It was just kind of like dipping my toe in, and then once I really went all in, I had a different mentality of, like, 'I want to be the best at this.' "
Holden has since built one of soccer's strongest on-air partnerships alongside John Strong, calling more than 300 matches together since 2014 – more than any other English-language duo. His most recent assignment? The 2024 MLS Cup, a thrilling LA Galaxy victory over coastal rivals New York Red Bulls.
As North American soccer surges toward the 2026 World Cup – Holden will be part of the broadcast – the landscape feels more promising than ever. MLS continues to grow in quality, and Mauricio Pochettino now leads the USMNT. But challenges remain, from the push in MLS for a bigger domestic footprint to lingering questions about the U.S. roster.
Holden addressed all of this and more in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
AFPON TRACTION FOR MLS
GOAL: One thing MLS Commissioner Don Garber alluded to in his State of the League address is that the league and its teams needs to be proactive in growing its audience before justifying additional spending. If he asked you one thing to change, what would it be and why?
HOLDEN: The league is doing really, really well – attendance-wise and globally – regional markets, local connections, strong fan bases, soccer-specific stadiums. It's just crazy to think about where this league has come from. When I played in the league back in 2006-10, there were 14 or 15 teams, and half of them were playing in college or NFL stadiums in front of 5,000 fans. We have to remember that MLS is still just 29 years old – next year will be its 30th – so it's still in its infancy compared to leagues globally.
I understand why owners and Garber have been reluctant to take the handbrake off and allow free spending and reckless spending. But to create national interest, you're competing not just with local markets but globally, where every morning fans can watch the Premier League, La Liga, and Bundesliga. Then they see MLS at night, and there's a stark difference in quality.
MLS has to heavily invest in star players to drive interest. Look what Caitlin Clark has done for the WNBA – it's insane. Lionel Messi is one star, but he needs others to duel against. Imagine: Messi vs. Harry Kane live on FOX, or Messi taking on Erling Haaland and New York City FC. Matchups like that draw in casual fans who have been on the fence about MLS and still see it as inferior to European soccer. The in-game and fan experiences are great. But to improve the TV product and drive national interest, the league has to raise its quality by investing in stars.
GOAL: Do you think MLS is a bit over-reliant on Messi since his arrival? You played in the David Beckham era and it feels like there's a lot of parallels to that time. Is the league is too reliant on a singular star and does it need to do more?
HOLDEN: I have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, you’ve got the greatest player to ever play the game in your league – why not put him on absolutely everything? He’s a player every kid knows. My four-year-old knows Messi, the kids at his school know Messi. The danger is when you rely so heavily on someone like Messi to drive national interest. If he gets injured, you don’t have the same level of star power. Cucho Hernandez is phenomenal. Denis Bouanga is great.
But they’re not big stars, and building star power takes time. It takes working with TV networks. Messi transcends that. Beckham transcended that. But can you also have nine-out-of-ten-level stars, not just Messi or Beckham? In L.A., it’s a star-driven city. I watched the Galaxy win MLS Cup, and yet the local buzz wasn’t what I expected – especially coming off a run where the Dodgers won a championship, too. Why is that? Is it a lack of promotion? A lack of visibility on Apple’s TV product? Or is it just too much competition in a season with college football, the NFL heating up, and baseball just wrapping up? That’s always the challenge with MLS.
I lived through that Beckham era, and it was amazing to play Beckham at home in Houston, and 35,000 fans would come out for a game. And like that buzz and energy for us was unlike anything else we'd ever played in front of. I know that's what guys feel when they play on the Messi star tour. But it can't just be one theme, but I understand why they do it. I would, too, if that's the best story you have going for you.
AdvertisementAFPON MAURICIO POCHETTINO'S IMPACT
GOAL: Moving on to the U.S. national team, what have you liked from what you've seen from Mauricio Pochettino?
HOLDEN: I love the intensity and the freshness that comes from a new manager with Pochettino. I think Pochettino has pretty quickly identified the strengths of the team and maybe some of the shortcomings as well. He knows he's got a pretty good core of guys that he can work with. But also what we've been saying for a long time, this team is full of some really high end athletes, guys like Tim Weah, Weston McKinney, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson. Christian Pulisic is a very high-end athlete with top speed and dynamic.
What I love about Pochettino is he's figured out a way to feature that part of the guys' game. Knowing they still have the quality and they can still dig in and fight a little bit and be aggressive, but trying to find ways to allow these guys to be dynamic… allowing the team to play at a high intensity and press teams and transition quickly and a little bit more unpredictability in the final third.
He's set some very high standards, and he's able to do that as well because he's a big figure. He's had a lot of success and he's a high-profile manager who has coached at some of the biggest clubs in the world. Day 1, he commands a lot of respect from that locker room. It's not to say Gregg Berhalter's tenure was a failure. For the first four years, Gregg was exactly what the young players needed – a fatherly figure who created a culture and identity of what it meant to play for the national team again.
But we saw in the second cycle, he'd taken them as far as he could. You needed a guy like Pochettino to push that bar higher and try to break the ceiling of what we feel this team is capable of.
Getty ImagesCOMPARING POCH TO JURGEN KLINSMANN
GOAL: You were on the squads of Jurgen Klinsmann, who was the last big name foreign manager to coach the USMNT. How does the vibe compare to what you're seeing now?
HOLDEN: It's hard for me to directly compare because I haven't been in a camp with Poch yet… I had a good experience with Jurgen and I really enjoyed when I was going through a really tough period in my career with injuries and he was the manager – when I got wrecked at Man United after Johnny Evans tore my knee to shreds.
He flew over to England and traveled to the middle of nowhere in Bolton and watched me play a reserve game. I played terrible. I was in the locker room at halftime. I was crying. He came in and kind of consoled me. I was in that point where I thought I'd never get back to where I was. And so I saw that side of him, which I thought was very good, and he understood and managed personalities and character as well. I think where Jurgen struggled was with the tactical side of the international game.
Pochettino – he's a guy who has coached some of the top pros and top teams in football. He brings a fresh prospective, a bit more South American and Argentine style. Like "We're going to cut you and we're going to do everything we can to win this game" type of vibe. And that's what I've loved seeing from him so far.
Getty Images SportON WHERE CHRISTIAN PULISIC RANKS
GOAL: You've been around a lot of special USMNT players in your playing days – where does Christian Pulisic rank for you?
HOLDEN: I'm knocking on wood over here, but I think he'll go down as the best U.S. Soccer player by the time he's done, and he might be already in terms of what he's achieved on the club level. Champions League winner [and then you add] his goals to assists to appearances ratio for the U.S. How he will fully cement that legacy is just by being the guy in '26. He came in with the pressure, kind of like Landon Donovan did when he was an up-and-coming national team player at 20 going to World Cup. These guys in Landon and Christian, I can't relate to having to carry that amount of pressure and expectation every time you put the jersey on…Talent alone, he will be the best U.S. Soccer player of all-time.
GOAL: OK, but is he already better than Landon or Clint Dempsey?
HOLDEN: Yeah, I had Clint up there. With Clint and Landon, people go back and forth on that. What nudged Clint ahead, was his consistency in playing in Europe – at Fulham and Tottenham. Being Fulham's best player for a long period of time in the Premier League. Then going to Tottenham, being written off, and finding his way on the team. I'm going to say yes, I think Christian [is better].
