FOX Sports’ Alexi Lalas, Stu Holden talk preparation before ‘Summer of Soccer’ kicks off

NEW YORK – Soccer fans will have a busy summer with plenty of high-stakes matches on the docket.

Copa América and UEFA Euro 2024 will both be presented on FOX Sports, from June 14 to July 14, as part of a “Summer of Soccer.” 

FOX Sports will be the home of UEFA Euro for the first time and will expand coverage of Copa América in the United States.

FOX Sports will present 78 matches over 30 days. UEFA Euro matches, held in Germany, will start at 9 a.m. ET, 12 p.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET and Copa matches are held in the afternoon and evening in the U.S.

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Watch all the coverage on FOX Sports. (FOX Sports)

Alexi Lalas is FOX Sports’ lead studio analyst for UEFA Euro and Copa América. Stu Holden is FOX Sports’ lead match analyst on Copa América and a UEFA Euro studio analyst.

Lalas and Holden talked about their preparation going into the marathon of matches.

“From a studio perspective, it’s the same preparation that you’ve done – kind of times two. I think you just have to, at some point, come to the realization that you’re going to have to be able to adjust on the fly as you go,” Lalas explained to Fox News Digital in a recent interview. 

“You do all of the preparation in terms of watching games, in terms of reading everything that you possibly can about these teams. Some of them of you know, but there’s a lot of teams that you don’t, like the Albanias of the world.”

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Stu Holden and Alexi Lalas lead the coverage of Copa América and Euro 2024. (FOX Sports)

Holden shared with Fox News Digital what he believed was the “biggest responsibility” he has as a commentator going into the matches.

“I guess for me, the nice thing is that now, having done this and this being nine, 10 years of broadcasting, you end up with kind of this built-in knowledge of every tournament. You learn more and more. You see a lot of the same names, and you’re kind of just refreshed,” he said. 

“But it really is a lot of watching games, from my perspective as a commentator, a lot of tape, a lot of pronunciations, a lot of tactics and nuances of the game. 

“But I always think that our biggest responsibility to the viewer is to try to add in a way that doesn’t take away from the game and that we don’t become the stars. That, in many ways, we add to the action on the field when it comes to specific to calling the game.

“More often than not, in the big games, less is more. You have such great pictures and so, so many great players and big games and stadiums that are full. And it’s our job to kind of just paint around the edges. It’s kind of fun, actually. By the time you get to the later stages of the tournament, you’re doing less because you’ve seen it all. The viewers are familiar with it, and it’s my job just to add to the intricacies around that.”

UEFA Euro begins June 14. Italy is the defending champion.

A UEFA Euro 2024 match ball during a training session at Rockliffe Park May 31, 2024, in Darlington, England. (Eddie Keogh/The FA via Getty Images)

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Copa América begins June 20. Argentina is the defending champion in that tournament.

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